Chapter 1: I HAVE MANNERS LIKE THAT OF A DOG.
What would you do when the fate of the world hangs in the balance by a sword point?
You have tea with three old women and a big black dog. But unlike the hell hounds which is how big Padfoot was he felt completely friendly and welcoming like Mrs O Leary though there was an aura of sadness to him. That didn't make him any less dangerous. I remember seeing something similar called a Grim on the Television once.
Padfoot for his part sat at the edge of my chair rubbing with my leg and I had to keep rubbing his head letting him make contented sighs.
"What's going on?" I asked the Fates who took a seat in front of me. There was a table in the middle of us and there was a tea pot filled with hot water. Cups were placed in front of each of us and tea bags were kept ready for each of us. The place was nothing other than inky blackness. The only thing here was the table, the five of us and a light bulb over us casting light around us.
"The tapestry has been messed with in the case of both of you," said the middle fate Clotho I think said. Honestly all of them looked the same. Old, wrinkled hags with sewing kits.
"I am going to let that one slide," Atropos said, sitting to my right or Clotho's left.
"Drink Percy. Eat a little," said Lachesis glaring at Atropos as she huffed in irritation.
I didn't expect the Fates to be so human, I guess. I had this all planned out in my mind to yell at the Fates for everything they put me through but seeing them here I couldn't bring myself too. I just couldn't.
"You can't because we don't write how your life is supposed to go but make sure it goes how it is supposed to," said Clotho.
"Stop reading my mind, it's creepy," I told the Fates which caused all three of them to grin. Padfoot nodded his head as if to say I was right. Clotho freaked me out the most. There was no expression on her face. Lachesis was soft and nice and Atropos was snarky and irritable but Clotho was passive to everything. Even her grin was just a small twitch of her lips.
Atropos started to say something but Clotho silenced her with her hand. "Eat Percy, you will need it for the next discussion."
And I did. The table filled with everything from sandwiches to steaks. There were gravies, broths, and soups. There was chicken, lamb, pork and salmon which caused me to make a face at the Fates. I couldn't bring myself to eat the fish so I gave it to Padfoot along with a good portion of the gravies and chicken. He even seemed to like the potatoes.
The food was delicious and I indulged myself. I realized that I was running ragged and had barely eaten for almost two days and mostly ran off by dunking myself in a pool of saltwater or ambrosia. I had a good resistance to the thing and I could consume more than usual.
I along with Padfoot finished most of what was on the table and I took the tin of Cola and enjoyed how it felt in my parched throat. The fish was left generally untouched except for two pieces that Padfoot finished. The soup spilled everywhere because of my attempts to drink it. The Gravy was everywhere because of One of Padfoot's attempts to drink it. There was a last piece of steak that I managed to give to Padfoot who finished it.
During the meal the Fates hardly spoke, just staring at me and Padfoot as they kept sewing a hat. Atropos let out a few snide remarks at me for my lack of manners comparing me to Padfoot because he made an equal amount of mess.
Now that I was fed and watered. I started feeling a little sleepy. I was trying to fight it when the Fates meaning Clotho rapped her hand against the table managing to wake me up.
After I managed to properly wake up, I asked them again.
"As we said Perseus Jackson, the…"
"Tapestry has been messed with," I interrupted them which was probably dangerous but I couldn't care less. Now that I ate my mind went back to Annabeth and the kiss we shared. It was the most wonderful five minutes in my life. "What does it mean?"
"The Tapestry of the world was messed with by Jackson," said Atropos.
"Simply put you were not supposed to die Percy and neither was Padfoot," said Lachesis.
Padfoot looked crestfallen at that sentence. I rubbed his head and behind his ear for some time finally getting the dog up on his feet and back to being excitable.
"So, Kronos kills me and destroys the world or something because I am pretty sure the Gods were right there."
"Not Kronos," said Clotho, her face just as passive. "Kronos was supposed to be finished by Luke sacrificing his life like it was written but it didn't happen. Kronos rose up and that was something that wasn't supposed to happen."
"So that thing he became isn't part of the Plan," I asked the Fates with a slight amusement, the show Lucifer coming to mind.
"Yes. I cut the thread of Kronos first and then Luke but he didn't die like it was supposed to be," said Atropos, not picking up on my amusement.
"Why is Padfoot so important? I mean, no offense buddy you are great and if I didn't have Mrs O Leary as a pet, I would be okay with taking you in but he dying can't be that bad," I asked the fates.
"Padfoot is a Wizard Perseus," said Clotho.
"He is a what?"
"Be more tactful Clotho, you are about to destroy the lads' understanding of the world," said Lachesis and Atropos let out a snort of laughter.
"Okay what's going on?" I asked them confused and terrified because they just said Wizard.
"This is a complicated matter, Perseus and I need you to listen carefully. Can you do that for me Child," asked Clotho.
I nodded with nothing else to do and a slight amount of trepidation.
"Percy, do you know who our mother is?" asked Lachesis.
"Lady Nyx the Primordial Goddess of the Night," I answered almost immediately. Annabeth had drilled so much stuff into my head during the summer I could never forget.
"Who do we serve?" asked Atropos.
"Lady Ananke," I answered after some time.
"Yes, that's right." Said Clotho. "Millions of years ago before even my mother came into existence there only existed Lady Ananke and Lady Chaos. Lady Ananke had started weaving the tapestry of life and kept on weaving it. All the Primordials came into being and we were the first of our type. Immortals with Golden blood. We didn't have a distinct domain of physical power like the sea or the ground like in the case of Pontus or Gaea."
"Lady Ananke took us from our mother," continued Lachesis. "She took care of us and showed us the Tapestry. She showed us how the life moved on and though us signs to look out for when to cut the thread and when to weave it forward or when to rewound it,"
"When she started to fade since only the demigods remembered her and we started to be related to the concept of fate she gave us her responsibility saying it was bound to happen she had already weaved it and she was happy she got to spend time with us," said Atropos.
All of them shed a few unsaid tears in the memory of the faded Primordial of Fate. I sat there awkwardly and uncomfortably as I was given the history lesson. I didn't know how this was related to Padfoot and Wizards but I listened. I knew Annabeth would kill for such an opportunity and I will remember what I can and tell her. If I ever see her again that is.
As if he sensed my sorrow, Padfoot walked up to me from his position by a fireplace and suddenly I realized I was in some sort of Cabin. I was sitting in a recliner and I didn't even notice the change. The Cabin was made of Wood and there were some cats around that Padfoot growled at.
Multiple large clothes hung from the top of the cabin and they just kept weaving themselves. There was only a single needle moving on its own with respect to each cloth but weaving the cloth nonetheless. Each strand was off a different color and different shade and none of the Tapestries were the same. Some strands seemed like an odd mix between different colors.
Padfoot placed his head in my lap and I rubbed him behind his ear. He wagged his tail and I had half a mind to play fetch with him. Before I could decide my attention was drawn to the Fates who were all sitting in a sofa with Lachesis in the right, Clotho in the middle and Atropos to the left.
"Welcome to our humble abode. I would suggest avoiding opening the door unless you want to suffer a gruesome and horrifying death," said Atropos cheerfully.
"You live here," I asked them, looking around. After seeing my dad's palace (even though it was in ruin and in the middle of a war) and some of the Olympians' palaces I had to say this was down-to-earth and quaint.
"Yes, we prefer a simple life Perseus, our work takes much of our time," almost as soon as she said this Lachesis got up holding a needle and walking to a Tapestry to the far right. She joined her needle to a Blue and Black one and they knotted up and produced a white strand.
She came back and took a seat and refreshments were brought to them. They were filled with all sorts of things from bacon, to sausages. I ate them heartily and fed some to Padfoot who looked happy to be fed.
"If you both are done stuffing your face," said Atropos with a slight wrinkle of her nose.
I nodded and stopped a little reluctantly. Padfoot looked unhappy and walked to Lachesis who indulged the black shaggy dog with some more meat.
"When Lady Ananke faded and gave us the reins, she gave her needle to bring forth life to Lachesis and the Scissor to cut life to Atropos. I got the middle job. To manage the thread of life. My job was relatively easy. The needle of Life had Milady's essence imbued in it and wove the thread on it's own. I just had to make sure it went as it was supposed to," said Clotho.
"So, something went wrong with this needle," I asked her.
"Aye, it did Percy," said Lachesis, scratching Padfoot behind his ear. She was about to continue before Atropos cut her off
"Maybe we should explain more things to him rather than moving forward and telling him when he has a problem. I would hate for my scissor to cut his thread just because he had a seizure due to the information,"
"I like you too milady," I replied to Atropos with a high amount of sarcasm, making her glare at me.
Padfoot nodded his head as if to say she had a point and Lachesis let out a huff before composing herself and looking at me.
"What we will tell you will have discovered yourself if things didn't go wrong and you died without Atropos's interference. but if we want to continue this discussion, we have to set up some points," said Lachesis
"The first point you have to understand Perseus is that Lady Chaos is an ever present being of so much power it barely makes sense to even immortals like us. She can do stuff that makes Kronos look like a kindergartener. She is the only presence in this multiverse that can't come under our needles and scissors," said Clotho.
"Multiverse," I asked them as I took in each a different Tapestry, each representing a different universe maybe.
"Are they…" I asked and all the Three Fates nodded.
"Did you know?" I asked Padfoot. Oh, great! I am talking to a dog who understood me and shook his head.
"He is much smarter than he looks and behaves," said Atropos looking at Padfoot.
"Okay, so Chaos is powerful and she causes problems," I asked them.
"Not really. At least generally. Anything that she makes or does to affect people comes under our domain and we could cut it off or grow it up according to milady's instruction," said Clotho pointing to each of the needles.
"Then why are you telling me this?" I asked them.
"She did something this time that has affected us but we will get to it but first let us finish," said Atropos, slightly irritated. Don't blame me, blame the ADHD.
"Lady Chaos created most of these universes Percy and any thing out of the ordinary or unexpected tends to be her. We try to minimize the damage she causes when she makes a change. One of the most important change she made in ours was the other Pantheons," said Lachesis
"The other Pantheons. Other Gods. Gods other than Greek Gods," replied Atropos but she was doing nothing to help me. A sense of dread settled in me. More Gods. Other Pantheons. This is too much. My head hurts.
"Calm yourself Perseus," said Clotho as she gave me a glass of water and I managed to drink it without spilling it all over myself. This is too much information. After taking a deep breath he managed to compose himself. If the Greek Gods are real who is to say there weren't others out there. Let's hear them out.
Hell I accepted the fact there was a multiverse. Compared to that this was nothing.
An ADHD part of me wondered if there was a universe where stuff like the Justice League or the Avengers existed.
"As a general rule of thumb one Patheon doesn't interact with the other but these rules went out of the window the minute you died," said Clotho.
"Why? Why is me not dying so important?" I asked them.
"It's not only your world you keep safe Percy but by interacting with the other Pantheons you play a role in keeping them safe too. However major or minor it may be," said Lachesis gently.
"So, if I lived like I was supposed to I would have seen all this," I summarized.
"You and Annabeth Chase," said Lachesis.
"Shush, you weren't supposed to say that Lachesis," chastised Atropos.
"It will never be Atropos or did you not hear Clotho," she fired back.
"Silence both of you," said Clotho and both of them quietened.
"What would have happened? To me and Annabeth, I mean?" I asked them with hope and pleading in my eyes. Padfoot stood by my side wagging his tail hopefully.
The three fates looked at each other and after a long staring contest Lachesis let out a victorious smirk, Clotho sighed in defeat and Atropos let out an irritable huff but relented.
"Your life would have gotten more difficult but finally settles when you turn twenty. The both of you get married when twenty-one and have five children and a bunch of grandchildren. Your first child named Jason serves his time as a legacy of demigods in Camp Jupiter- the Roman camp. He studies and becomes a marine biologist and spends his time at sea studying animals unless with the two of you or his girlfriend and later wife, a daughter of Bellona a Roman goddess. Your second daughter Zoe also serves at Camp Jupiter before taking over after Annabeth's architecture firm named Athena. She marries an influential and rich man who she fell in love with and helps the reconstruction of Athens and many other Temples of the Greek Gods in Greece. Your Third child named Luke goes to Camp-Half-blood where he had to deal with a prophecy and comes out on top and becomes immortal due to his efforts. He remains behind helping train demigods along with Chiron and Lady Athena. The two of them get married later,"
"I am sorry what," I asked them bewildered.
"You heard right, Lady Athena falls for Luke; they get married and have a few godly children," said Clotho.
"You are joking," I told her.
"I have no reason to."
"What about the other two," I asked her, showing it back into the depths of my mind. My children. Our children. Images of Blonde boys with green eyes and black-haired girls with gray eyes came to mind. All of us are enjoying our time at a beach or a park or a zoo. Stuff like Roman Gods mattered little to me. They were true, let them be. This was almost perfect.
"One of them named Sally was not interested in the Camps business. She was a very good artist and joins Dare Comics and helps her Aunt Rachel. She doesn't get married, dedicating her life to her art. The last one called Bianca leads a dangerous life of an archeologist looking for ancient sites of burial and other sorts of magical tombs. She marries someone who shares her passion though she was from the Norse Gods. You and Annabeth die at the age of eighty and eighty-two respectively and spend eternity in Elysium together," finished Clotho.
I nodded in giddy happiness imagining all of that before it came crashing down realizing how it was all fucked-up now. I got so angry but before I could say or do anything Padfoot placed his head in my lap and I passed my hand through his fur feeling myself calm down. I took a few deep breaths before looking at the Fates.
"Roman Gods and Norse Gods are real. Who else?" I asked them.
"Egyptian, Indian, Persian, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish and the Angels and Demons," said Clotho and I gulped in fear.
"Don't fret. Except for the Egyptians and Indians most of the others have faded or locked themselves up," said Atropos.
"Okay now why did I have to learn about all of this?" I asked them.
"There is more to be said,'' said Percy. Padfoot if you will, I think it is time he met you for rela," said Lachesis.
Suddenly the dog moved away from my lap and walked away from the recliner into a more spacious area. I looked on in confusion at Padfoot. He was odd, that was for sure. He was far smarter than a general dog.
Right before my eyes Padfoot transformed into a man and a rather tall man. He would have looked handsome if not for his eyes. They were Gray and had a haunted look in them. The kind of look I got in my eyes whenever I thought about the unpleasant Labyrinth or the dreams about the Pit. Other than that, he had long black hair and looked thinner than he was supposed to but healthy enough like he ate food out of necessity rather than want or need. He must have been in his late thirties or maybe it was his situation since he looked a little sick. He might have been younger. He wore a shirt along with a biker jacket on him. He had a black jean on.
The oddest thing was what he held in his hand. It looked like a well crafted and highly polished stick of wood but something was off about it. There was a slight hum around it. A hum of power.
"It's a wand," said Padfoot.
"And you are a wizard," I told him.
"I am, Sirius Orion Black at your service," he bowed in a flamboyant manner.
"Perseus Achilles Jackson, the pleasure is mine," I told him, putting out my ring on my left hand that stretched out into a shield for him to kiss. A smirk was present on my face and one made a way to his face.
"I like him even more now," said the now named Sirius.
"Good now that the two of you are done, Perseus as you said Sirius here a wizard and very good one at that and there more like him out there in his world," said Clotho.
"So, you are from a different world. How is it there? Is everyone magical?" I asked him and it seemed that was the wrong question. Sirius scowled at what was said but didn't say anything and remained quiet. I was about to ask him what was wrong but
"Percy, you know of Witch hunting and burning right?" asked Lachesis.
"I do," I told her. I remember it well. Chiron told us that they were demigods and it was because of their powers which made the mortals believe they were witches and led them to get burned. It was a very difficult time and had we not moved it would have been near impossible to keep the secret, said Chiron.
"Magic exists in the very air of Sirius's world. The limits of what it can do were pretty much no existent but the Wizards themselves weren't so strong as to be capable of harvesting these powers to their capabilities. Some stretched the boundaries farther than most but magic was an endless rabbit hole," said Clotho.
"This magic chose certain People. The choices were random and uncoordinated, like death, but once there was magic in your blood it wasn't going anywhere, but what magic gave it could just as easily take away evidence in a few cases. As it came to the second century the people with magic started believing themselves superior to others. They tried to maintain the magic within themselves even though it reached others who weren't descendants of other Wizards or Witches but their beliefs over time became stereotypes and later bigotry," said Atropos.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust and looked to Sirius to confirm this was true. He nodded his head sadly and I let the Fates continue.
"The witch Hunts gained prominence in the 14th Century but were pretty much in existence since the 4th Century. During the time there were some very public and strong Wizards from families of Wizards calling themselves purebloods. They had relations within these families. The lines which interacted with muggles and had Wizards were called half-bloods and the last of them who came directly from contact with magic were termed muggle born. The Wizards of the time tried to fight the good fight against muggles trying to make them see reason. Some other went into hiding and the last of them massacred muggles like they did Wizards,"
"Britain is the focus of magic or something like the US is for the west," I asked the Fates. Most of the story seemed to rotate around it and Sirius had a distinct English accent.
"No Percy, it isn't. There was magic everywhere but Britain or Europe in general had the strongest affinity for it," said Sirius Black.
I nodded.
"These Wizards who tried to be diplomatic didn't survive. The ones who went into hiding created a castle with magic and the help of other magical creatures. They wanted it to be a safe haven for all wizards. The numbers of the Wizards terrorists were falling and they finally managed to take what was left of them to the Castle and hide from the muggles. The only Wizard who remained outside was Merlin whose actual name was Marvinic Mestmermius Mage. He stayed out covering their retreat and then joined the muggle world as a normal muggle,"
"Wait Mage is his actual surname," I asked in amusement.
"Yes," said Sirius, also smirking. "I know it's silly but muggles tend to do things like that," he continued.
"I know," I told him in understanding, "Mortals are the same, when they see something that doesn't fit their world, they make it fit,"
"There is a reason for this and both of you are aware of it," said Lachesis in a slight chastising tone.
"Still doesn't explain them being stupid," muttered Sirius making me laugh.
"Anyway, this castle was named Hogwarts. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Sirius looking nostalgic, forlorn and proud.
"They named the school after a pig and a skin disease. Either they are very crazy or wonderful," I said, making Sirius burst out laughing. Even the fates let out an amused chuckle.
"Oh, we are going to have a lot of fun," said Sirius shaking his head after he stopped laughing.
"Okay now back to the class," said Sirius, smirking, making me roll my eyes.
"The wizard families that went into hiding were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gaunt, Stoneheart and Smith. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin had become founders of the school and the other three families along with another three called the Peverell's, the Mage's and the Pendragon's…," said Lachesis
"Pendragon's. Like Arthur Pendragon of Camelot," I asked surprised. I was pretty sure I heard about him being a demigod or something.
"Yes," replied all three fates at once.
"Okay," I replied. I was about to say more before I realized this was a different world. Sirius looked at me and gave me a shrug and grin. I am really starting to like Sirius Black.
"It wasn't much but these ten families with a few smaller families that came into existence then formed a sort of government for the rest of the Wizards. The families taught their children magic in the school under the guidance of the four founders of Hogwarts. The rest of them managed other requirements to keep the Wizard line running," said Clotho.
"This led the other countries to follow Britain's initiative and form their own schools and governments that came to be known as the Ministry of Magic. The last of this happened in America in 1500 after it was discovered. The numbers of these pureblood families increased and they came to be known by four classifications as the most ancient and most noble families, the ancient and noble families, the noble families and the general families. They formed a Wizengamot in the year 1006. But the idea didn't take world view until 1556,"
"So they basically created a secret society of magicians hiding in plain sight in Britain," I told them in conclusion, taking everything in though still unsure why I am doing it.
"Not just Britain, it was everywhere and the secret society almost came into the light," said Sirius seriously. Oh, that one I store for later.
"How, I mean wizards seem smart and careful not to mention powerful. How did it happen?" I asked, looking at Sirius.
"During the Second World War a wizard named Gellert Grindelwald went bad. Very bad. He wanted to subdue the muggle world under the thumb of the Wizards. He formed quite the following in terms of Wizards who didn't want to hide and put the muggles under them. Grindelwald was defeated by a Wizard. A very strong one named Albus Dumbledore putting an end to his reign of terror. At some point of time during his reign of terror a boy named Tom Morvolo Riddle came to Hogwarts, finished his education and left," said Sirius.
"What is it with secrets and the second world war," I mumbled, causing Sirius to raise an eyebrow.
I went on to explain why World War Two was so important to the demigods. Sirius gasped and oohed at all the right places and he couldn't help but laugh at the irony of only Lord Hades keeping it in his pants. I told him in general the gist of what happened with my quests and the Battle of Olympus and Kronos. After it was done, Sirius walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You are a brave kid Percy. Reminds me a lot of Harry. He had a difficult life too and that only made him better like it has you. I would probably wet my pants if I did any of the things you did," said Sirius, making me chuckle.
"I hate to admit it but half the time I didn't have a clue what I was doing and just went with the flow," I told him.
"Well, keep swimming then you won't even tire from what I understand if you do so," he told me and I gave a grateful smile for trying to diffuse the tension.
"Who is Harry?" I asked him after a little while missing the Fates' amused expressions.
"Harry Potter," said Sirius sighing. His eyes went distant and there were unshed tears, regret and guilt there but also pride, happiness. "He was my godson and his father my best friend and his mum one of my greatest friends. He was a lot like you and both of you share a little resemblance too," said Sirius and started crying.
"It's hard for him but let me explain," said Lachesis. She pulled him away and explained what she did about Tom Morvolo Riddle or Voldemort. About Harry Potter. About Sirius and Peter and then how he escaped. She told me everything until Remus Lupin becomes a werewolf.
"This is where things changed. Instead of drinking the potion he came there but what we had written was that Remus Lupin would drink it. Sirius with a little help from Harry Potter and Severus Snape keep Remus away while Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley keep the rat occupied and then he gets hauled off to Azkaban and Sirius goes free and Harry stays with him," said Lachesis.
"But that didn't happen," I said simply and she nodded.
"Sirius became a fugitive on the run and things went sideways from there. Everything that was woven was changed and kept on changing and before we knew it Sirius was gone. Everything following that was bad so we stopped it from happening. We brought Sirius out and then we saw what was happening with you," said Atropos.
"With Kronos," I said resignedly.
"No actually," said Clotho. "It was at the beach in Santa Monica after fighting Ares. Neither the curse nor anything that followed was planned and it ended with you dying and the world going to end."
"But you said, I got a happy ending," I asked them.
"You did and some very important things changed but some important things stayed the same," said Lachesis cryptically. After being open for so long, them being cryptic worried me.
"So, what now?" I asked them and Sirius sighed.
"It's complicated," said Sirius.
"Try me, my dad had a horse baby with my aunt who was his sister," I told Sirius. This got a chuckle out of the man.
"Come it's better to show you," said Clotho as the four of them got up.
I got up from my recliner and followed Sirius with the Fates to the end of the hallway. There was a turn to the left and right I couldn't make out from the recliner.
The fates and Sirius took the left and we walked for a while before stopping in front of a tapestry. This one was fine until a point. High quality and fine craftsmanship but the tail end of it just looked like a mess of colors with tears, abrupt cuts, uneven additions and in a few places' burns.
Clotho pointed me to another Tapestry hung just opposite to this one and it was the same with that one. It was then that I noticed the point of them both starting to become ugly was almost vaguely the same place. I didn't understand what they were trying to show me so I looked at them questioningly.
They turned me around and pointed to the other Tapestry.
"This is the Tapestry of your world, Perseus," said Atropos pointing to the first one they took me too.
"This point here," said Clotho pointing to some place in the Tapestry to sea green thread. I immediately knew this thread was mine. My destiny and looking at it was hard. It looked batter and worn out and at one point it went far away to get lopped up with another thread only for it to return back. It finally got together with another grayish gold coloured thread only for mine to be violently torn away.
"There was supposed to be more. A lot more thread and all these tears at the wrong place," said Clotho.
"What caused it?" I asked them.
"Lady Chaos," said all three of them at once.
"How?" I asked them. "How did she affect my world and Sirius's?"
"During the later half of the First Titanomachy Kronos, realizing that he was losing, tried to make sure some part of would remain and teach his children a lesson," said Lady Atropos.
"He prayed to Lady Chaos. Like a lot and when she did appear in his dreams..."
"God's have dreams," I asked them incredulously.
"Not the time Percy," said Sirius making me mumble out a sorry and letting the fates continue.
"Lady Chaos appeared in his dreams and when he asked her for his wish she accepted," said Clotho
"Why would she do that? Kronos is evil."
"That wouldn't matter to her, Perseus. Everything in the world is from her and she is happy to help anyone if they call out hard enough," said Lachesis.
I was not happy with this but let them continue.
"Lady Chaos had after a lot of consideration split Kronos's soul into ten parts and before you ask we are calling it soul for your better understanding. Except for three of them she hid the other seven in your world and spread them apart. A few of them she had hidden in another world altogether to make sure these pieces weren't found and killed. can be killed. They were a single aspect of the Titan's soul and as such with the right weapon could be killed,
"If Kronos had a complete self he would have come together much sooner and bide his time even better," said Atropos as an afterthought.
This was too much. Splitting the soul and all of that it was making my head spin but I steadied myself. It wasn't so impossible. I took a calming breath and started to piece things together.
The other world they mention must be Sirius's. Maybe I need to do something to help them deal with the Kronos aspects.
The seven aspects must have come together and fought me off and then I destroyed them but how did they come here. The same point. Maybe it created some sort of doorway.
"Yes, yes and yes, Perseus and for the record it is a miracle you survived the confrontation. We half expected you would die as the things went on," said Lachesis.
I looked towards Sirius who didn't say anything but didn't look surprised either. They must have already told him.
"What must we do?" I asked them.
"Simple really. You have to hunt down and kill all these fragments before confronting Kronos in the new world we create combining both your worlds using the doorway while also reliving your life from thirteen with Sirius living in your head and helping you," said Clotho.
I am unashamed to say I fainted.
LINE BREAK.
Time in this Cabin was difficult to understand and even more difficult to keep track of. It was kind of like Oogyia.
Calypso is another name I have to add to the list.
The List. It's the rule book or rather guideline. Well it's actually my target's to make sure I could have the future Annabeth and I had in the past also giving everyone a fair chance at life.
The Fates had explained about a multitude of things in this world after they started putting it together.
How the magic in the air is similar and about Valhalla existing at Boston. Then there was the House of Life and everything that came with them and the Duat.
1. See if there is any way to save Luke.
2. Confess to Annabeth, asking her to be your girlfriend after saving her from Atlas.
3. Save Zoe Nightshade's life.
4. Save Bianca and prevent Nico from going full Emo.
5. Tell Chiron about the Labyrinth and the entrance at Zeus's fist.
6. Work on the relationship between the Big Three.
7. Prevent Civil War with Hestia's help.
8. Make contact with the Romans and Amazons and build a relationship. Maybe even with the Einherjar.
9. Save Beckendorf and prevent Selina from becoming a complete spy. Kick start their dating process.
10. Find Tyson if you go to Hogwarts instead of Meriwether.
11. Figure out if the Nemean Lion can be tamed like Mrs O Leary was.
12. Figure out more about the aspects once you go back and stay away from the House of Life.
13. How to kill these aspects?
14. Save Calypso from her island prison.
Those were the targets. The first one was pretty basic. Luke didn't hate the Gods and he wasn't evil. I had considered simply killing him but he just wanted change. If I could bring about the change like I want to with Lady Hestia's help then he wouldn't be a problem or be a less problem while innocent people are saved.
I want more time with Annabeht as my girlfriend. It is as simple as that and under no circumstances was I getting involved with Rachel or anyone for that matter.
I always thought I should have done it on Olympus. Confessing to Annabeth. That day when after the Winter Solstice I shouldn't have let Athena make me second guess myself like that. So, that was exactly what I was gonna do. Confess to her even if Lady Athena dares to smite me.
Zoe Nightshade wasn't supposed to die and I wouldn't let her. How do I do that is still a work in progress.
Save Bianca was a very to the point goal. She would be fine as long as in the Hunt. Nico wouldn't be so much of a problem and I could help him when Chiron figures out who his father is or I make sure he gets claimed.
I could almost see the Star Wars movie scene play out in front of my eyes with Nico and Hades instead of Vader and Luke.
The Labyrinth entrance and figuring out about it could be a tactical advantage. If we set up even better defenses to prevent loss of life that could come with Battle it was good enough for me. No doubt Chiron will figure out the method to navigate the Labyrinth and tell us if we have to go for a Quest.
The next two might be the most challenging and probably the most difficult. The Big Three have never been cordial to say the least. If I could maybe bridge the gap even slightly it would be a huge help.
Lady Hestia would help us. I have no doubt about that. I had to use the fact that I had dreams to my advantage and convince her of why she needed to help me. She will listen. I have no doubt about that.
Of the many things that the Fates explained to me Camp Jupiter and the Amazons were distinct and most important. If I could make contact with them. If we could build a relationship on the basis of mutual need and trust they could help in the fight.
The Einherjar were a last minute resort. They should not be involved unless absolutely necessary or we run into Norse problems. Never know what Kronos might do.
Charles was not going to die and neither was Selina and if I had anything to say about it she wouldn't be a spy.
Tyson. I will find him. Whatever it takes. Besides, I couldn't leave him like that living in a box.
This one was just pure hope. It would be amazing to have a pet like Nemean Lion. Maybe I could rename him. Nemo. That sounds like a great name.
The hunt for the aspects was probably the most important thing in the whole list. If I don't do that Kronos would pull shit like he did before again and that is just dangerous on so many levels.
According to what the Fates told me there were seven aspects hidden in total. They don't know where they are or what they are or how to kill them. I had to figure out all three of these things once I went to the new old world.
They did tell me something else though. Each aspect specialized in something related to Kronos. They had all the domains Kronos had but other than that they each took a characteristic or relation of his as a driving force.
The first aspect was related to his Power. As the King Titan who controlled time he had a lot of power and this aspect wherever it was must have become something very powerful and dangerous. Even more so then Kronos was because it had only this aspect with it.
The second aspect was related to his control on time. Wherever it must have settled the concept of time and it's flow would make no sense. I briefly considered the Sea of Monsters but it went out as soon as it came because the Fates would have figured that out and would have told me if it was right.
The third aspect of Misery. This aspect had an ability to spread misery anywhere it must be. It would be so bad that nothing could ever live there and even if I killed the aspect the place would become inhospitable forever.
They assured me this aspect was somewhere in the Wizarding World of Britain. Sirius had no clue but said we could look into it together.
The fourth aspect is his feeling of superiority. This was one aspect even the Fates did not have much information about. This must be the hardest and most difficult.
The next one was Death. This one was confusing and the Fates were very vague about this one. They just said it was everywhere but focused its energy in a single place and if I found it we could remove it.
The sixth one was his paranoia and madness. This was probably the easiest one. They said it sat on my Uncle's shoulder and I had to figure out how to deal with it. I hope you saw the sarcasm in the statement.
When I asked them why they couldn't do anything they said,
"We are observers and overseers. We can't interfere in anything without reason"
Lachesis added after that, "There is also a high chance Zeus might consume it and you never have to deal with it."
That didn't comfort me. My uncle was an airhead and paranoid fool. Anything adding to that would be like giving more wood to raging forest fires.
The last aspect they had the most information about. The cunning in Kronos. They said most of the wars fought around the world were from it's influence.
Not that it's absence would leave everyone in peace. It just egged people on or placed the thoughts in their head. The war was fast-forwarded, not created.
Hitler would have waged a war. He would have risen to power and definitely would have started World War Two but this aspect had pushed the process forward.
The Fates told me to be most careful about this aspect. They told this thing stuck around the Greek World. It was this aspect that saved me from Ares, it was this aspect that made the plan to bring back Thalia, it managed to create the dome during the Battle in New York and the plan for freeing Atlas and trapping Artemis came from it.
Killing it was rather easy or I knew how to do it. I just had to find it and stab it with a Stygian Iron. Only problem was I had no idea how to find it.
"This aspect, unlike the other ones, doesn't stay at a single place. It moves from place to place and pinning down where it is and finding it is very difficult.,"
This was hard enough as it is but there were additional problems. Firstly, all my quests. Then there is The List and Lord Voldemort who might rise back and then finally Hogwarts itself where it seems each year a different problem shows up.
"Sometimes dressed in Pink," said Sirius laughing. I don't know what he found so funny.
Sirius Black was slowly becoming one of the greatest friends I could ever have. He had a sense of humor and a moral compass.
He told me about his time at Hogwarts and about the Wizarding society in general.
He told me about his best friends and the War against Voldemort and how Peter Pettigrew betrayed them. He told me about Remus Lupin being a werewolf and how they became animagus to help him.
I asked him. No begged him to teach me how and after much cajoling he accepted though I am pretty sure he did it for his own amusement and nothing else.
It took him some time but he even opened up about his abuse with his mother and in turn I told him about Gabe. He told me about Azkaban and I told him about the war and Kronos.
"Damn kid, I don't know if I have to pity you or hug and comfort you,"
I looked to him for advice about almost everything and he never disappointed.
The Fates when they started remaking the world told me that I would be born to two prominent or if possible three prominent families. They didn't say who the families were. They said it was needed and I had to be a political figure.
The idea of Politics disgusted me but Padfoot even if he was disgusted by the idea too understood it's importance and coached me in them.
The first lessons had been about the layout of the Wizarding Government and the Wizengamot. It was tedious and so boring and I could barely remember half the family names or the terms Sirius used.
They sounded funny too but I am pretty sure it is in relation to the ICW.
But I did manage to catch on about the DMLE. The job as Aurors and Hit-Wizards sounded cool and Sirius told me after I did my OWLS in my fifth year that according to the career I took I could study my subjects.
Being an Auror interested me. A Hit-Wizard even more so. The Fates told me it was my blood. It would never settle and push me towards conflict and that was why I could only rest in the Roman Camp because there was always a fight to be fought.
Sirius then went on about the Magical Intelligence Department, which sounded like the magical version of the oo program.
Then there was the Department of Mysteries with Unspeakbales and all other sorts of Departments. Sirius gave me a very basic rundown of the Ministry and every sort of corruption present in it.
In the second lesson Sirius went in depth about the Wizengamot. This was better. He pointed out the set-up and told him the stronger the family was the better your station was and the easier to speak your mind was.
He told me about the set-up of the Wizangamot. The most ancient and most noble house sat on top. Followed by Minister, Supreme Warlock, Senior Under Secretary and the head of DOM and head of DMLE. In case of a criminal court the head of Aurors and Hit-Wizards were there too.
This was more my area. I was a son of Poseidon and going by that alone was enough information to tell me that whatever the family was it would be very prominent. Being a teenager and tearing through idiots in front of the best of Wizarding Britain would be fun.
"I think you and I have different ideas of what fun is," Sirius said.
"Oh, chin up. Just because I could do it and you couldn't," I told him teasingly.
He chased me around in his dog form to bite my pants for an hour.
The Third lesson didn't start until I managed to grasp the whole understanding of all the families in the Wizarding World.
He talked about the laws as either dark, white or a chocolate of caramel and nuts. A dark law was dark chocolate, a very liberal law was white chocolate and the last one the middle ground one was chocolate of caramel and nuts.
Then we talked about political agendas and alliances formed due to the agendas. He showed me the common alliances formed on the basis of mutual trust and also marriages. There were bethroals and how people joined with families to pull themselves to the top.
The next one was with the importance of threatening, bribing, fame and finally the power of your name. Threatening and bribing I understood. Fame, alos I understood but the power of your name I didn't get. Sirius then elaborated.
"Being a Black was a free ticket in a lot of places other than Hogwarts. People didn't question them and even if they did they never managed to get anything from it other than the ire of the house. If the wrath of the house of Black was brought down on someone as simple as a muggle born or lower wizarding family or even the same level family, they would be destroyed. So there was fear and value to your name. you could throw it around and make wonders happen,"
I was thoroughly repulsed by this idea and under no circumstance was I going to do this.
Sirius also talked about the importance of attending balls, feasts and all other sorts of formal events and told me to be prepared for it.
The last one was about looking behind any gesture and trying to find the need to do so. A hidden motive if you will. Once found you have to completely decimate the person or use him how you please. He hinted at the general condition of the families as Sirius had last seen things and they gave me some ideas as to what had to be done.
The whole thing about Politics gave me a thoroughly disgusting and unclean feeling. Even if I seemed to have a slight ability for it.
"It's in your blood Perseus, every Greek God was a politician and now so are you."
They finished these things off with debates. I thoroughly detested and enjoyed these things. Tearing through people and ideas was fun and a great method to test my ability to think on my feet. Sirius created a fake platform and all sorts of puppets to use for this and made it even interesting.
It would be great to do those things with Annabeth once they were dating again.
This was where complicated stopped and highly complicated came into play.
The Fates wanted to change how things went and wanted to prepare me. So, they decided I needed training. Well, more training than what Sirius and the Fates was teaching me. Not in Magic or about the world mind you. I would have enough of that at Hogwarts apparently. It was more physical training.
So, I trained in Sword Fighting, Archery, using a War Hammer and Mace, hand to hand combat, use of guns and all sorts of them (from Snipers to Shotguns), knives and spears
People who trained me were believed to be the best in their business from all across the Multiverse. There was Ser Arthur Dayne ( A Song of Ice and Fire) for sword fighting, Robin Hood for Archery, Bheemasen (Indian Mythology) for Mace and War Hammer, the Dark Knight (DC comics) for Hand to Hand Combat, John Wick for the Guns, Drax the Destroyer (Marvel Cinematic Universe) for knives and finally Aggregor (Ben 10 Ultimate Alien) for spears.
It was later on that I found exactly who they were and I didn't know if I wanted to curse the Fates for what they did or not.
LINE BREAK.
I am pretty sure I spent close to a year in the Cabin and I had the basics down in using so many weapons and I got a lot better in the Sword and Spear work. I didn't understand how I was supposed to hide it but the Fates said I wouldn't have to. The new world would deal with that.
He enjoyed his lessons. Well most of them. Aggregor had about as much charm and teaching capability as a wooden brick. I barely survived my first lesson with him. If it wasn't for that little training with Thalia I would have been dead. But after almost a year I was pretty sure I could hold and defend myself well and if the need arises use it slightly to fight.
The War Hammer and Mace were impossible to lift. I could barely lift some of the heavier ones and the lighter ones were also ill balanced like every sword before Riptide. The Fates told me I could only use weapons that were with the sea in them like Riptide was. Percy sat there one day and hoped it transformed into a Hammer before practice and when he uncapped it there it was. A war hammer waiting for use. It was perfect to and after talking to the Fates I discovered that Riptide had the ability to change into the Weapon I wanted it to.
"The sea doesn't like to be restrained Perseus even if it is in a sword," said The Fates.
The lessons with Drax were interesting and funny. I had a lot of fun and since I could use a knife a little Drax took me to sparring almost immediately. I picked up techniques quick enough. Drax was a cool guy and metaphors seemed to go over his head.
"Nothing goes over my head. my reflexes are too fast. I would catch it,"
The Guy called John Wick looked kinda similar to Keanu Reeves if I was honest but it couldn't be so I left it and trained under him. As it turned out I had no talent for this but John showed me enough to fire a gun without harming my shoulder or elbow due to the recoil.
Archery was something else I picked up. I didn't know what sort of magic was part of the Riptide which became a proper English Longbow but it came with a Quiver that never ended and released all sorts of arrows.
Robin Hood had different goals to my other teachers. Instead of hitting a bull's eye, he concentrated on hitting a human. Instead of my accuracy he concentrated on how fast and how many arrows I could shoot in a quick succession. The answer was three arrows in a second if I kept them in my hand instead of the Quiver like Robin thought me too. Also the Accuracy increased when my bow was made of Celestial Bronze from Riptide.
But my best classes were with Arthur and Bat. The both of them had a code. Duty and Honor. Those kinds of things. They made sure I understood the value of what I was doing. Even better, they understood my inner conflict about saving all those people who turned bad.
Ser Arthur was very vocal about giving them second chances and managed to put my head right when I doubted the fact they needed their chance.
The Bat on the other hand was a lot more mysterious. He didn't even think about killing like the others did but he understood it's necessity. He wasn't vocal about anything but he dropped his own nuggets of wisdom if you will. About life, trauma, chances, power and almost everything.
It was eye opening for me to talk to so many people and have my needs and plans questioned and validated. Even to boost my confidence.
"It's done," the Fates said from the side, knocking me out of my thoughts.
I was sitting on the sofa reading a book about animagi that the Fates gave me after much pestering. The book was impressive and I barely scratched the surface about these transformations.
"Are you ready?" asked Sirius, managing to come from wherever it was that he went. There wasn't a lot in the larger on the inside cabin.
"To put my life at risk continuously for three years, no. To save my friends from death, yes,"
"Good," said Lachesis.
"Remember Perseus, we aren't exactly sure of the point to which we are sending you but it might as well be right in the middle of your fight with Ares so be prepared,"
I nodded my head in understanding as Sirius came to stand by me. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and I grinned at him.
Clotho snapped her fingers and a blinding light erupted. I felt like I was being burned to death while stuck in a compressing machine. My muscles screamed and my brain went blank due to the pain and before I knew it, the whole thing stopped.
"Return my helm now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. "That is my counter proposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson-your skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."
I barely managed to stand straight as I was back in Hades's palace asking for the Master Bolt.
'We couldn't have picked a worst possible place to pop up then here,' said Sirius in my mind.
It was true. Now, it was time to play the game and play it well.