Waking up at six in the morning sucks. Still being awake at six in the morning because you didn't get to sleep at all the previous night sucks. Glaring at the digital display of the clock on his nightstand, Percy reluctantly rolled out of bed. There was no point in sleeping, because he would wake up feeling worse than if he just pulled an all-nighter. He spent the late hours just tossing and turning in his bed, his gut continuously twisting with anxiety. He debated several times just jumping out of bed and going to do something, anything, but he kept telling himself, five more minutes. If I'm not asleep by then, I'll get out of bed. Of course, five minutes turned into ten, into thirty, and before he knew it, he could see the sky brightening outside his window.
With an exhausted sigh, Percy changed into a pair of jeans and an orange Camp-Half-Blood t-shirt, foregoing his sneakers, before heading to the beach. Taking a dip in the Long Island Sound would wake him up, but only for a few hours. He'd have to keep visiting if he wanted to make it through the day without falling asleep with his face in his plate at dinner- he'd done it before, and it wasn't a pretty sight.
Outside Cabin Three, a wind was blowing, though it was so gentle it hardly even ruffled the rat's nest of raven hair on his head. Apollo's Sun Chariot was cruising over the horizon, inching higher and higher, painting the sky a myriad of reds, oranges, and yellows. The occasional trace of purple blended well with the warmer colors. That was just to the East, however.
To the West, Artemis' Moon Chariot was still visible, though it seemed to finally be falling over the edge of the world. It was a full moon, glaring brightly at the Son of Poseidon. In the West, the sky was a stark contrast to the East. Royal blue coated the cosmos, split apart by rays of purple and pink, with one or two lines of orange creeping through.
Lost in his reverie, the young man hardly noticed when he reached the beach, packed dirt giving way to grainy sand under his feet, until he stood ankle deep in the sea. The surge of energy startled him back into awareness, but his surprise morphed into a giddy grin. Still, he waited before diving under the surface. It would be a waste to simply ignore the sky, especially when it was still like this, stuck in the limbo between day and night, when the Twin Archers would quarrel for dominance. Percy had no doubt that Lady Artemis was probably scolding Apollo for encroaching on her domain before it was his time, while Apollo was most likely thinking about some girl he was flirting with in a bar a few minutes ago. Though they were Olympian gods, they had gotten predictable. Just like his life these days.
Every day, it was wake up, eat, train, eat, train, hang out with friends while training, eat, hang out with Annabeth, then go to bed. Sure, the repetitiveness grated on his nerves a little bit, but he was genuinely grateful for the stability Camp brought to his life. It was the complete opposite of those years as the subject of the two Great Prophecies, where every moment was filled with the constant wondering of whether this day would be last, where it seemed his life was in danger at every turn. Now, though, he could finally relax.
Well, he could relax after his swim. Surging forward, Percy dove into the Long Island Sound with the grace of an Olympic diver, which came to him as easily as breathing. He reveled in the chill of the water entering his lungs, filling his weary bones and exhausted mind with what felt like limitless energy, which he pushed towards propelling himself further and further into the depths. Down near the ocean floor, his thermal-vision revealed a series of colliding ocean currents; his favorite undersea playground.
With a bubbly laugh of childish joy, Percy zoomed into the nearest current, allowing it to throw him into another, abruptly switching directions and carrying him to yet another stream.
This… This was the best. Allowing himself to simply let go, become a passenger in a life where he'd been driving above highway speeds since he was twelve. Now, at a little over eighteen years old, Percy finally felt like he could finally lift his foot off the gas and switch into cruise mode. Sometimes, though, Percy wished he could just hit the brakes.
He could at least pretend, though. Like now, for instance, when he was laying at the bottom of the ocean, watching the sky through the kaleidoscope of waves. A stream of rainbows criss-crossed over his face, and Percy began to feel drowsy. His eyelids were like lead, dragging themselves down until his world was black, and sleep claimed the Son of the Sea.
The sun hung directly overhead, illuminating the ocean into a shimmering turquoise. A shark was nuzzling against Percy's side, which had woken him up. It's rough skin was not tearing up his clothes or scratching away at his flesh, as one would expect- perks of being the son of Poseidon. Percy reached over and scratched the animal on top of its scaly head, causing it to swish its tail back and forth like a dog. Smiling, Percy finally straightened up, and propelled himself to the surface, with enough force that he launched at least ten feet above the water. Reorienting himself in the air, he shot through the Long Island Sound to the beach, making the transition from sea to land with the effortless grace that came from practice.
Judging by the position of the sun, it was around noon. He'd missed breakfast and his morning classes- not that he really needed them. Plus, as his own Cabin Counsellor, he could pretty much set up his own schedule. Lunch wouldn't be for a little bit, but oddly enough, Percy wasn't that hungry. He did feel a bit bored, though, so he decided to switch things up a bit and go find Annabeth.
Around this time, she'd normally be in her cabin, working on something or other with Daedalus' laptop. Despite losing it in… That place, Athena had managed to track it down, with the help of Hermes, and retrieve it, miraculously intact. It had been part of her gift for saving Olympus for a second time. Even after a few months, Annabeth was no closer to making a dent in the incredible number of prospective projects than she had been when she got it from the ancient inventor a few years ago. Still, that didn't deter the blonde at all. In fact, it just made her more excited.
Her most recent invention was a war machine which made the ballistae obsolete, somehow. Percy didn't really get it, but he knew it involved gears, triggers, and a lot of projectiles. It was, like, a primitive mounted machine gun or something. As he walked into Cabin Eleven, Percy just hoped he didn't interrupt anything serious enough that would make her want to use that thing on him.
Apparently, that didn't matter, because he walked on her making out with another guy. Percy froze, took two steps back, and closed the door. He opened it, looked at them, then closed it again.
"Did I just see that? Did I really just see that? Nah, I'm just goin' crazy- Wise Girl would never cheat on me." He opened the door, and saw that, yes, she was currently locking lips with a blond dude, who seemed vaguely familiar. He closed the door again.
"Okay, maybe I did see that." Percy didn't know why he was talking to himself. Perhaps it was just because he felt the need to confirm it with himself, since there was nobody else around to talk to. Regardless, the words kept slipping out.
"But, this doesn't make sense! Why would she… I mean, everything was fine, right? We weren't fighting or anything, but even if we were, we've always managed to work things out! Did… Did I do something? I don't remember pissing her off, but sometimes she just gets really mad for no reason… Is she just in one of her moods? But, why would she do something like this if she's just mad at me? She normally just beats me up in the arena… What in Hades is going on!?"
Taking a deep breath- and then a couple more to regain his shattered composure- Percy opened the door once more, praying to every god that he could name, Greek or Roman, that this was all just some elaborate ruse. Or, better yet, just a dream. An illusion.
Those hopes withered in an instant when he saw Annabeth on her back, with the blond dude on top, tugging at the hem of her orange t-shirt, planting vicious kisses on her neck. Annabeth was breathing hard, eyes glazed, but she grabbed the guy's arms.
"W-wait- wait. Luke, wait, I have to finish this project."
Luke!?
"Aw, c'mon Annie, just take a break. You've been working for hours."
"I know, and I'm sorry, but I'm so close-!"
"Alright, alright," Luke said with a grin, amused at how passionate the Daughter of Athena was about her work. He waved off her apologies, planting a kiss on her forehead and rolling off the bed. "I'll see you at dinner, Wise Girl. And no, you're not skipping to keep working. I'll drag you to the pavilion if I have to- I've done it before."
"Ugh, I know. I got it, I'll be at dinner. Bye, Luke."
"Bye, babe."
Then, the man turned to him, revealing the gray streak in his sandy-blond, and the scar running from below his right eye to his jaw. He met Percy's eyes, blue to sea-green, but there was no recognition. In fact, there was no acknowledgement at all, as if Luke was looking straight through him. Apparently, he was, because Luke proceed to walk through him.
Percy shuddered at the sudden chill that overtook his body. Then, to his surprise, an iron grip clamped onto his shoulder, and he was yanked backwards out the room, Luke closing the door behind them.
"Walk with me, Jackson."
"So, you're probably wondering what all this is about."
"No, really? What gave it away? The fact that I walked in on you kissing my girlfriend, or the fact that you're supposed to be dead?"
Luke winced. "Ouch, harsh. But, first, let's clear something up; Annabeth is my girlfriend. At least, this Annabeth is."
"Like there's more than one?"
"Well, not in this world, no. But there's another Wise Girl in another world- your world. That one's your girlfriend."
"Um...What?"
"You heard me. You're in another world, dude. So, what's that like?"
"What's that… What the fuck!?"
Luke took a step back, holding his arms up in surrender. "Woah, relax, dude. It's not that big of a deal."
"Maybe not for you, since you're not the one in an alternate fucking dimension!"
Luke nodded his head to the side, conceding the point. "Alright, so maybe it is a big deal. I guess I better explain. That's why the Fates gave me the ability to temporarily see you."
"Wait, what?"
"You're a ghost, my dude."
"Wait, what!?"
"Alright, so you're not actually dead dead, but you basically are, all things considered. The Fates took your spirit, slapped it out of your body, and dropped it here, in this alternate dimension. Pretty much everything is the same, except where I chose to side with Kronos in your world, you did that in my world. I was the one to lead Camp Half-Blood in the Battle of Manhattan, and I was the one Hera used for the leader-switch with Camp Jupiter. Otherwise, pretty much everything is the same; Tartarus, the Giants, Gaea, whatever. Obviously, that means the you of this world is dead."
Percy dropped to the ground in shock. Luckily, they were on the beach, or his rear-end would have smashed painfully into the hard dirt. Luke also sat down, but in a more controlled fashion.
"So, I don't really know why the Fates did this to you, or why they gave me the knowledge of it, but I guess they want you to at least not be running around like a headless chicken. Still, now that I think about it, this kinda sucks for you. Nobody except a god or titan can see you, and you can't interact with the physical world."
Percy gaped at the blond, but he couldn't form the words for the million questions racing around in his mind.
"And don't count on me being able to help. In a few minutes, the old ladies are gonna take the knowledge of all this out of my head, and it'll be like it never happened. My advice? Stay away from the Olympians. Even though the you of this world was actually the Hero of the first Great Prophecy, the gods aren't gonna see it that way. They still think you're a traitor. So… Yeah. That's all from me. Have fun!"
Luke waved at Percy, and that seemed to be the trigger for a sea-green light to envelop the Son of Poseidon. Apparently, it was some form of forced teleportation, because when the brightness faded, Percy realized he was not in Camp Half-Blood anymore. Instead, he was five thousand feet above Manhattan.
