Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase, any other future mythology Rich Riordan writes about, or Rich Riordan Presents. I am simply a humble fan, writing this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release!
The week practically flew by. I never thought I would have so much fun with kids, given how old I was when I died, but Camp Half-Blood was... Fun. There couldn't be any other way to describe it. Maybe it was because I got to swing around real weapons, or maybe it was because I had freaking SUPER POWERS, but it wasn't anything like the summer camp I went to when I was a kid.
It was way, WAY more fun. Combat classes were my favorite. I loved sparing and using real weapons. Unlike my old body, Thalia's was a kid. Not only was it young, but she was also a demigod and the ADHD came with PLENTY of energy. Before my death, I hardly ran. I was pretty static and didn't like moving much. After my rebirth, I couldn't stop running. I was so full of energy, so much of the time.
The first week at camp flew by and I woke up Friday feeling the buzz in the air. Today was Capture the Flag day and oh boy, as a kid who grew up reading Percy Jackson, I couldn't wait to play. I had fantasized about it so much as a kid and all day I was distracted. I fumbled through my ancient Greek lessons, let Marry kick my butt with a spear, and air dirt when the wood nymph left me in the dust.
Still, nothing was going to bring my spirits down. When dinner finished and Chiron directed us to the fields for play, a cheer went up through the camp. The teams were divided; Zeus, Hera, Apollo, and Hermes under the Athena cabin, versus Demeter, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Hades. We were going to cream them.
James Black was the leader of our team and he pulled me aside. He made sure we were out of earshot, and only Annabeth was with it. He looked me dead in the eye: "Kid, I need to know. Are the rumors true? Can you fly?"
A smirk. I willed the air to gently pick me up and soon I was floating. I would have made the air shoot me up like a rocket, to myself in mid-air, or fly down like a bullet to stop at the last second. Being a daughter of Zeus was freaking awesome.
When I landed, James threw his head back and laughed. "Okay kid, That's good. Because we have a mission for you. Annabeth?"
She handed me her Yankees cap. When I took it, I couldn't help but stare. Could it be...
"This will make you invisible," Annabeth said. "You can fly over the border. Nico di Angelo and his skeletons will probably be on border patrol again. You can sneak by everyone, fly over, take out their guards, get their flag and fly back. Simple as that."
James laughed. "Athena always has a plan."
... I was kind of disappointed. I wanted to be in on the action. I wanted to fight on the front lines. But now?...
No. Don't think like that. There will be future Capture the Flag games and I'll have plenty of time. Besides, I wanted to win. "I can do that."
James answered my smirk with one of his own. "Good. Then let's get down to this."
James put me at the very back of the woods. He couldn't risk anyone leaking my part of the plan, so officially, I was on wood patrol. If anyone crossed our lines, I would be helping take them down. When the horn blew, I was alone, so I put on the Yankees cap and watched as my body disappeared. I couldn't see any part of me.
I willed the wind to shoot me into the air and soon I was above it all. I had a birds-eye view of the battlefield below and I watched as the Ares cabin began the assault over the border. Annabeth was right; Nico was decked out in armor that barely looked small enough to fit him, holding a celestial bronze sword that looked like he could hardly hold it. But when Victoria Walked led a mixed team of Hera, Apollo, and Hermes guys across the field, Luke right beside her, Nico shoved the sword into the ground and yelled: "SERVE ME!"
Ten skeleton warriors erupted from the ground, crawling their way into the world of the living. Nico started wobbling and an Aphrodite girl caught him. Probably whispering sweet nothings to the kid fighting to stay awake. Lucky bastard. I would love to have that kind of attention from Aphrodite's daughters. Some guys got all the luck.
It didn't take me too long to find the flag and I thought this was going to be easy. Then I saw who was guarding it and I cursed. James Dean and Issac Schustler. Shit. I wanted to call down a lightning bolt and blast one of them, but everyone would see that, so I landed quietly. I took the mace can out of my pocket, pulled it out, and it extended into my spear, fully invisible.
I could only take out one of them. The other one would know something was up after that, but which one. James Dean was the best sword fighter in camp, but Issac was a monster with that warhammer. In the end, I pointed my spear at Isaac and fired a bolt of lightning at him. I wasn't in the air, so the trees would hide my attack. Isaac dropped his hammer and collapsed to the ground, face first.
I turned to aim at James Dean, but he hide behind Zeus' first. "That you, Thalia? Annabeth gave you her cap, didn't she? Damn, I hate to say it but that was a good move. "
I slowly crept behind one of the trees. "Why don't you come out, James Dean? Fight me like a man. Or are there two little girls here?"
It hurt my pride to call myself a little girl, but at least I was a little girl. I hoped it would hurt his pride more.
Instead, he laughed. "Kid, I might look like a teenager, but I'm an adult. I've been called worse. Also, the name is Trent McCord. Just because I have my memories intact doesn't mean I go by James Dean anymore. Make sure you remember that!"
James Dean, or Trent, broke for the trees. Before I could zap him, he was in the tree line... And coming right for me. I cursed myself: me and my big mouth.
I will the air to shoot me into the sky and just a second later, Trent's sword swung through the air right where I had been. Shit.
"So the rumors are true? Can you fly?" He looked up as if trying to see me.
What should I do? Could I beat him in a fair fight? There was no way. I didn't have the skills. He would cream me. Being invisible might give me an advantage, but I was sure there was more to the movie start than met the eye. I was sure he would have some trick.
I could always blast him with a bolt of lightning, but now that I was in the air, everyone would see. Ares would send some people back. If I tried to land, Trent would be able to hear me. If he did and he was fast enough, I might not be able to take off again.
What do I do?
Trent started looking around the trees like he wasn't sure if I was on foot or not. "Come out, come out, where ever you are. Why are you the one hiding, Thalia? Aren't you invisible? I can't see you. I promise, Aphrodite doesn't have any powers to see through the mist, I can assure you."
No, but you have good ears I thought. I wasn't going to change it. At least, not recklessly. I needed to think this through. If I can at him stupid, I was dead.
Trent sighed. "Really? Really, Thalia? You're just going to hide?" He sounded so bored. If I couldn't see him, I might believe it, but his body was tense. He was ready to spring.
"Maybe I should go see if I can wake up Issac? That's why you got him first, isn't it? Because you can't deal with the two of us at the same time, but if you're not going to press your advantage, then you might lose it."
He was taunting me, I knew it, but he was also right? How long until someone took our flag? Or someone comes to see if their guards needed anything? I couldn't stay in the air and plan any longer. So I decided to change the bolt from above. I aimed my spear at him and from a cloudless sky, a yellow bolt of lightning struck the ground. It wasn't strong enough to kill him but it put him flat on his back. However, now everyone on both teams would know I was here.
I had just enough time to grab the flag and shoot into the air when a bunch of Ares kids came storming into the clearing, ready to roast me alive. Luckily I was already in the air and even if Annabeth's cap had fallen off in the middle of the clearing, I was quick enough to make it quick enough over the border. As I flew into friendly territory, the flag changed color from a bloody red to blue and grey. At the center of the new flag was a yellow lightning bolt.
We had won and a huge cheer went up from my team. I was again the talk of the camp, only this time it wasn't because I was a daughter of Zeus. I had pulled it off and became some kind of hero. Everyone wanted to talk to me that night and even the other team came to congratulate me. For the first time since I had gotten to Camp Half-Blood, I felt like I belonged.
That night I went to sleep with a full stomach and a warm fuzzy feeling. I dreamed of that majestic golden eagle and the white-furred cat. This time the eagle sat by the cat on the branch of a gigantic tree.
The rest of the summer went by too quickly. I continued my lessons, from swimming to spear fights, and honestly, the longing I felt for my old life began to fade. I was even getting used to being a girl, and being sore in strange places. I could wash and go to the bathroom without my skin crawling.
The next week, it was the Zeus cabin verse, Athena. I refused to give up my shower spot, but I traded a lot of other privileges. I found out that the Aphrodite cabin had two private bathrooms, one for boys and one for girls, in their cabin, which I thought was completely unfair. But whatever. Luke got the Hermes cabin on my team easily enough, and I managed to get Dionysus, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Demeter.
Athena had Hades, Apollo, Ares, and Hera. I wasn't about to lose, even when we faced two war gods. It was hard, Athena did have a plan and we would have lost if Luke wasn't faster than Annabeth. He crossed the border a few seconds before she did, ending the game in Zeus's favor.
The next Capture the Flag I lost my flag to the Aphrodite cabin because of Trent McCord, but you can't keep the flag forever.
When the summer was over, I didn't want to go. I almost Iris messaged my mom and told her I was going to stay. I could be a year-rounder and train to be a hero. Kronos was going to rise, so I needed the training...
But I wanted a life. This was my second chance and school was a part of that experience. So when the last day came, I packed my bags and bid Cabin 1 goodbye for the year. I was coming back though. No doubt about that.
I met my bother at the airport and her stomach was huge. She was pregnant. If that wasn't enough, she was carrying a baby in her arms. A man was standing protectively next to her, eyeing me with... Worry? I guessed this was Michel Desjardins, my stepfather.
"Thalia! Say hello to Ansel Lescheres," she said excitedly and then shoved the baby boy into my arms. "He looks so much like his father, doesn't he?"
I looked at the man next to her. This baby and he shared the same eyes. When Michel made to take the baby, I let him. "My son," he said in a thick French accent. "He is the blood of the pharaohs!"
My mother shook her head. "Michel was invited to join the House of Life over one hundred years ago. His uncle was the first mortal who wasn't Blood of the Pharaohs to use Egyptian magic since the fall of Egypt. He's a little sensitive about it."
"I am not," Michel protested.
My mother rolled her eyes. "His children might be Blood of the Pharaoh's, but we're not from the most prestigious line. We descend from Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt before it fell to the Romans."
"She is your ancestor. The ancestor of my children. What she did has no bearing on your or our children," Michel said firmly. Okay, I kind of liked the guy.
Still, it felt strange that I was a decedent of Cleopatra.
"Are we going to see him?" Michel asked, but Beryl shook her head.
"See him? See who?"
My mother hesitated. "My half-brother. We had the same mother, but I lived with my father. He was a magician in the House of Life, who ran the Nome in Texas. Until she died and I moved to California. I haven't seen Carson in years."
"Isn't there a Caron Grace on TV?"
My mother shook her head. "Grace was my father's name. My mother's last name was Greene. Carson took his dad's last name, Sloan. I think he has a son about your age. Mathew, I think his name is. Or does he go by Matt?"
Matt? Matt Sloan? Why did that name sound so... Familiar. Then it clicked: Matt Sloan was one of Percy's bully's in the Sea of Monsters. Was he still going to that prep school Percy went to?
"Well, we better see him now. Did Carson not say he was moving," Michel said.
"He's moving to Boston," Beryl said. She sighed. "Let's go home. I don't want to see Carson. He's a very busy name. He has a giant company to run."
So I wouldn't meet the bully that was Matt Sloan? Oh well. I could live with that.
In my last life, I had always wanted to travel. I had wanted to see the world, but hell, I would have taken seeing the rest of the US as a starting place. Paris and Tokyo were the two biggest cities on the top of my to-see list and as the plane touched down at Charles de Gaulle airport, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Paris looked beyond beautiful. It was probably the most beautiful city I had ever been in, surpassed only by the beauty of the Redwood forest. He drove us to a street called Rue des Pyramides, or as my mother helpfully translated, Pyramids Street. At the end of the street was a large, five-story white marble mansion. It reminded me of Brooklyn House where Amos lived. Were all the Nome mansion?
The driver took us right into the small garage and I learned that he was one of the magicians that worked in the fourteenth Nome.
"We will need to begin our lessons immediately."
"Lessons? What lessons. Wait... Do you mean magic?" I was going to learn Egyptian magic?
Desjardins shook his head. "Non, child. Zat will come in time. First, you must learn French. You will attend school here in Paris in a week. When I am finished, you will speak as fluently as your mother ."
Me? Learn an entire language in a week? I doubted that. And I was wrong to doubt. Desjardins cheated and used a spell specifically designed to help learn languages. I remembered the Russian boy from the second and third Kane Chronicles books, who spoke bad English. If they could magic up learning languages, why didn't every magician speak multiple languages?
"It only works on the young. Before their bodies began to... Change." I could tell he was embarrassed. Hell, I was embarrassed. I knew what was coming when my body developed far enough and I was not looking forward to it.
"Couldn't you use it to teach initiates when they're young? Don't they come to the First Nome to be trained?"
"The spell can be dangerous."
Wait, dangerous? "You want to spell me with it?"
"It was created when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. Half of the magic has come from Alexandrian Egypt. It was designed for those of strong enough Greek blood. Only those born in Greece itself and have a long bloodline there have been able to... Reap the benefit of this magic."
"I'm not Greek," I said. Then I realized that wasn't necessarily true.
Michel raised an eyebrow. "You are not? You are the daughter of Zeus, a very old and powerful Greek god. Your bloodline extends back to the very foundation of Greece itself. You are only a generation removed from Zeus. Surely that makes you Greek enough?"
I did not like where this was going but it was worth a shot. The spell worked. By the end of the week, I was beyond conversational in French. Maybe not truly fluent, but close enough to read and write. When I said he should use the spell for Greeks, Michel told me he couldn't. Only a mortal with a Greek blond like that practiced Egyptian Magic could benefit. Which seemed like it was a shame to me.
When the French school year started, Michel intervened and convinced my mother to send me to Collège Fortuna. It was a young school by the city of Paris' standards, founded when Michel Desjardins was young, a little over 200 years ago. It was the school he attended before he was invited to the House of Life and as far as schools went, it wasn't bad.
Sure, I had to scan my handprint if I wanted lunch, but the school sure offered me better lunches than my old High School did. We got longer breaks in the middle of the afternoon, and on the whole, it felt like a lot less pressure. Still, as a guy who didn't go to school for a long time, it took me a while to get back into the swing of things.
Desjardins promised he'd get me French citizenship, but I doubted it. It would take a long time to arrange that and I would have to jump through some hoops, but three days into my stay, I had a passport, a certificate showing my status as a French citizen, and a French ID card. When I asked him, Desjardins smiled. "Magic. How do you think we arranged for your records to be changed? You were born in December 1993 now."
I had American and French citizenship and I was going to use them to explore the world when I got older.
I explored Paris like there was no tomorrow. My first week in the city had been combing threw it like a mad man. When school started and I made French friends, they took me to the catacombs, some of which lead into the Labyrinth. I made sure to avoid those.
It was fun exploring a new city. It was fun speaking a different language and I was going to learn more in the future, other than ancient Greek that was. Even if English was always going to be my favorite language. I am biased, given that it's my mother tongue and all.
My little sister, Alice, was born a few months later. Ansel and Alice Desjardins, burn a year apart. They would continue Desjardins bloodline and give his family blood of the pharaoh. Even I could tell how much my stepfather loved them.
When Christmas came along, we headed back to the United States. It was kind of a relief. Since I came to Paris, the only ones I speak English to was my mother and the magicians in the Fourteenth Nome that could speak English. Most of them spoke with a British accent. It was nice to be able to use English more, even if I had come to love French.
We were going to Boston for Christmas, to visit my cousin and his family. The Sloan mansion wasn't as big as the Fourteenth Nome, but it was still impressive. A butler greeted us at the door and invited us in. The Christmas feast was lavish and my mom talked to Carson endlessly. Uncle Desjardins, as I'd come to call him, joined in the conversation, but Matt excused himself.
"Come on. Let's go play video games."
Well, I doubt the adults would let me in on the conversation, so I agreed. Why not?
"I'm so bored," Matt Sloan groaned when we were out of earshot. "I wish dad let me go see Magnus."
Magnus? Magnus Chase? Annabeth's cousin, that appeared in the last three Riordan books I read before I decided that I wasn't a kid anymore? That Magnus? The son of Frey, Magnus? How did Matt Sloan know him?
"Who is Magnus?" I asked, trying to sound disinterested.
"Magnus Chase. He's my cousin."
Cousin? Was Matt Sloan a relative of Annabeth? She didn't seem to think so when she punched him. Wouldn't that make me Magnus' cousin?
"So your dad is related to Magnus'... Parents?"
Matt shook his head. "No. My mom is the sister of his dad. At least that's what my dad said. I don't think I've ever met my mom."
Wait... Frey's sister? Did that make Matt Sloan a son of Freya? We went to his room and played video games for the rest of the night until Carson and Beryl came to make us go to bed. We left the next day, but I couldn't help wondering if this was always a part of the canon I knew, and Rick just hadn't gotten around to explaining it, or if it was part of the AU world?
The rest of the year passed too quickly. I enjoyed going to my new school, maybe more than a kid had any right to, but it was a part of my second life that I embraced. It was fun and I enjoyed the learning. It sure beats living my old life.
In no time at all, I was getting ready to go back to New York. I had my iPod, an old 3rd generation that was pretty new in my current timeline. All year, I've had the chance to visit other countries in the E.U. and I hadn't taken it. I wasn't going to let it slip away and I took the train to London. I had saved up enough money all year for a day in London.
It was my bias because I lived there now, but I preferred Paris. Still, London was beautiful and I enjoyed walking around. I was heading back to the station when I heard it: "Oh my god, Sadie, look at this!"
I froze and turned around. On the other side of the street was Sadie Kane. I had seen pictures of her from my mom and sure enough, it was her. Just a little older.
"It's gorgeous," Sadie said.
Her other friend giggled. "You should get it for your dad."
Sadie snorted. "When he comes and sees me next year, I will. I don't want to talk about him, Liz. I'm starving. Let's go eat something."
Then from the other side of the street, I watched her disappear behind a building. I ran after her. I thought maybe I could tell her not to let her father summon Osiris, but when I rounded the building, she was gone. Sure, maybe I could keep looking for her, but what would happen to the world if Osiris wasn't summoned? If Apophis was freed without the gods? Nothing good.
Did I have the right to use what I knew to alert the past?
Author's Note:
Just going to leave this here. I got a PM from a reader, asking me how much of an AU this is. I figured I could answer it here. The biggest change will be I'm only going to include Greek/Roman, Egyptian, and Norse Mythology. I know Rich has hinted and said there are other mythologies in his books, but I am only familiar with the ones I listed above. So in this fic, only those exist.
As you read above, Thalia does have an uncle and a cousin in the minor character that was Matt Sloan, which I'm fairly sure she didn't have in canon haha. Other than her being Blood of the Pharaohs, that cousin, and limiting this verse to three mythologies, I don't have any huge changes. At least at this point. That might change in the future.
Anyway, a huge thanks to my one guest reviewer and codepercy, OokamiMoon, and merendinomikkano for reviewing my fic! It means the world to me guys!
Also, some of you guys have been asking, so I have a timeline. It's taken from The Riordanverse wiki, It's page is called Important Dates. I used their system and have done some guesswork for myself. The current year at the end of this chapter is 2005.
Naturally, the nature of this AU changes some of these events, but I wanted to show you the timeline we will be working with.
2005: Luke steals the Weapons of Power from Hades and Zeus.
2006: The Events of The Lightning Thief takes place.
2007: The events of The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse take place.
2008: The Events of The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Sword of Hades take place.
2009: The Events of The Bronze Dragon and The Last Olympian take place.
Camp Jupiter's Twelfth Legion attacks and Vanquishes Mount Othrys.
Jason Grace slays the titan Krois with his own hands.
Natalie Chase dies and Magnus becomes homeless
2010-2011:
The Events of The Heroes of Olympus take place
The Events of The Red Pyramid take place
The Events of The Throne of Fire and The Serpent's Shadow take place.
The Events of The Sword of Summer, The Hammer of Thor, and The Ship of the Dead take place.