After a quick change of clothes, they had been sequestered away to Olympus. Percy felt a lot better now that he was outside of the pantsuit he had been dressed in. Not that the silk flannel shirt was much better. And the royal stylist had just about died when he walked in to see Ariadne cutting his hair with her dagger.

But honestly, Percy didn't need to look that much like his father.

Especially not now. Apparently, they awoke right at the beginning of World War II. Logically, he knew that since his dad had made a mention of Nico being born recently. [And he couldn't wait to see kid Nico. The one from his vision of the past? Future? Future-past? Man time travel was difficult.] But he hadn't expected to see his sister sneering and stating that she wasn't fighting another war.

Of course that started an argument with the royal advisors who had come by to see them and apparently get the paperwork started of what they would be expected to handle as their duties. And well, it may not seem like it to them, but Percy had just gotten his sister back from egotistical assholes. Everyone was a threat at this point.

And he kind of understood where she was coming from. They had been asleep for a millennia. They need to get a lay of the land and work out the stiffness in their bodies. But Percy was also down with punching Hitler in the face. He was always a Captain America fan [Ariadne was more of an Iron Man fan. Did they even have comic books in the 40s? Does Batman exist yet?]

He had also seen that look in her eyes. The one that stated she knew something she wasn't inclined to share.

Either way, they made their way into Olympus happily. It looked the same as it did so long ago and miles better than the mess Kronos left it. He could deal without all the beings on the mountain staring at them in confused awe.

Amphitrite had told them that a lot were still young. [Young being only roughly half a millennia. Yeah he was not going to calculate his own age. Though Annabeth probably knew.]

Annabeth.

It felt like only a day had passed since he last saw her. Since they had last been in this throne room, and the only thing he could focus on was his Wise Girl . The others had turned to look at him but... a part of Percy relaxed at the sight of Annabeth.

It was only a beat of silence before they tackled each other in hugs. The twelve of them went down in a huge pile. Laughing and giggling echoed around the room as they tried to separate. Looking at his sister from the corner of his eye, Percy knew that they could work through all of this.

Once they finished catching up, they all stood to look back at the gods. It was a strong sense of deja vu especially when Ariadne strong armed her way beside him.

It only lasted for about a minute when she went down with a yelp as Hermes tackled her into a hug. He smiled widely at her and she smiled just genuinely back. "We are almost back to your time, yes? I will know all the weird references you used to make then!"

She smirked, "Yeah. Okay, Steve Rogers."

"If you're done flirting," Aphrodite called out mockingly and completely gleefully. Percy took note of the way she smirked at Apollon who glared at Hermes who rolled his eyes in general. Percy felt a little bad for his sister. She just could not stop getting into weird love triangles.

The god didn't even respond to her. He gave Ariadne another hug before returning to his throne.

And then it was all business.

"Welcome back," Zeus started with a smile. It was pretty weird. He looked like the god he knew since he was twelve the first time around and yet he looked like the actual warrior god-king that he met once before being placed in eternal sleep. And there were still subtle differences. Mainly being this one had been planning for a war that span across centuries. "I wish you would have awoken during more pleasant times, but the Moirai stated this was where you all needed to be."

Made sense. Ariadne seemed to struggle with something, "What year is it exactly?"

The gods looked confused before Athena answered, "It's currently May 13, 1940."

Ariadne shifted; expression falling a little guilty, "The giants. I assume you beat them. Either way, in the original timeline... I eavesdropped on one of Hermes and Apollo's conversations. There is a giant in the process of being reborn in Alaska. Don't really know more than that since Aphrodite had noticed me snooping and they started speaking in Ancients."

Silence

The gods began muttering out curses in what could only be the language of the ancients. Ariadne just stretched slightly, turning to him with a raised brow at the look he gave her. She shrugged before tilting her head. They said a lot of suspicious things but this is all that I remember.

"Alright," Zeus stated louder than everyone else. A roar of thunder emphasizing his words. The Kronides roll their eyes at the dramatics and Percy notices Ariadne biting back a giggle. "A lot has happened since the last time you were here. Ananke and the Moirai had decided to write you somewhat out of history to not disrupt the timeline anymore."

Their jaws dropped. They went through all of that. Put in all of that effort just for it to no longer matter?

Hades shook his head, "It's not like you seem to believe. It's a very fine level of mist at work. The Moirai wiped Castellan from the minds of most of Ancient Greece. You are nothing more than a cautionary tale. But those that know you like Krokus and the others. They knew you to be real. The Moirai allowed them to speak whispers of you in the Sleep. But seeing as we had taken you all and protected you from those that would take advantage of you... well." The god shrugged and Ariadne laughed aloud this time. Amusement sparkled in her eyes, "So we're the myths of the myths."

"What's the plan," Clarisse interrupted. Her eyes held a hard glint, "Are we going to fight the nazis?"

Ariadne smirked, "Are we punching Hitler in the face?"

"I want the Red Skull," Travis stated; miming out punches.

"Guys, please take this seriously," Annabeth pleaded. Ariadne eyed her before snorting, "We are, Chase. I'm not getting involved with another war that has nothing to do with me."

"It's World War 2! Over six million people died," Annabeth stressed. Ariadne rolled her eyes, "And approximately 10.7 million people arrived on slave ships herded around like cattle across the country. If the Moirai wanted us to interfere that badly, they would have let us start from there at least. Or maybe when the Native Americans were forced from their homelands by the American government. You do remember the Trail of Tears? Or maybe start when the Roman Empire was conquering lands. Or maybe at the burning of the Library of Alexandria? Or maybe during the spread of Christianity? But instead they chose now. We can't pick and choose which battles to face. And besides, we still need to learn the lay of the land and the polit--"

"I know the politics. We had debates with the Apollo cabin all the time," Annabeth argued. Ariadne's eye twitched. She took a careful breath before grabbing the older girl's hands, "Annabeth-"

All the demigods sucked in a breath. Ariadne did not call her by her first name. It was basically an unspoken rule. Percy watched the two carefully. "We're not jumping into this war. I want to. A part of me desperately wants to. But we are not. The Moirai has some sort of sick plan for us. We can go in now. Rip the Nazis to pieces and save their victims. And they'll just force us back to sleep and who knows... they might wipe out more victims. We have to be even more careful than before. We derailed from the plan the first go round. We cannot afford to do that now. Grandfather started building power during this time. He was already gathering his conscience."

She paused before she placed a hand on her forehead, "I-I think that's what Aphrodite had said. I-I can't remember that much." Her eyes widened and a flash of something [was it fear?] crossed her features. Percy wrapped her into a hug, "And you don't have to. She's right, Annabeth. Time and fate is clearly a delicate thing and not all on our side since they wiped us from history."

[What was the point of even sending us back?]

Thalia moved forward, running a comforting hand alongside their backs. She bowed in front of her father before turning to bow in front of Artemis. "Lady Artemis has led her hunters to raid some of the camps."

The goddess nodded her head, "Yes. We've been doing that already. It'd be easier if Hitler was actually a respectful being. He doesn't give those innocent people peace even in death."

There was a glint in Hades' eye as he thought about his son, "He will soon find out that his death will not be peaceful either."

Nico winced; no doubt remembering whatever unpleasantries that Hades had forced upon his wayward son.

"We have gotten off topic," Zeus gently reminded them. Everyone but Ariadne shared looks. They still weren't used to this version of Zeus. "We have taken note of the things that you told us so long ago. We've strengthened the bonds we have with the minor deities." His facial features twisted into the god he knew as he gritted his teeth, "And as much as it pains me to say, they have been incredibly helpful."

His father and Hades nodded, "It's much easier to get things done by delegating the tasks now. Melinoe has done wonders for unclogging Asphodel. And now that we've added two more panels of judges, we're able to streamline everything much quicker. Once we capture Daedalus, we'll be able to clear up the traffic."

Poseidon inclined his head in agreement, "We've also done a pretty good job expanding the alliances between ourselves. Its sort of an exchange program between those of the sky and the sea. And keeping the Styx cleaned by sand dollars in exchange for a never ending supply of pure greek fire. My daughter, Kymopoleia, has taken over training more of our storm inclined warriors from each realm."

Before anything else could be said, Apollon and Rachel suddenly stiffened. Annabeth rubbed a comforting hand over the demimortal's back. "What's going on," Connor asked as he looked between the two. Ariadne moved forward slowly until she was standing at the foot of Apollon's throne, "A prophecy is being announced. Where's the oracle?"

Amphitrite waved her hand through the air, "Mother of rainbows; a blessing to the sea; accept my offering and let my heart speak to me." A small orb of water suddenly reflected the scene of the oracle. Hekate could be seen cradling a small child. Tears ran down her face. Her green eyes, the same shade as greek fire, burned almost as dark as night.

"I warned you," another voice called out. The Oracle stood not too far away from her; green mist swirled around the maiden's body suddenly turning to look pointedly in their direction. "You've seen what happens."

The orb expanded to show what were clearly demigods fighting against each other. Four children of the Kronides battled against each other. A son of Zeus blocked a son of Demeter's attack as the daughter of Poseidon and daughter of Hades exchanged nearly fatal blows. The echoes of their attacks hit the building like earthquakes. The house was caving in. Hekate shifted and they could see the metal sticking out the child's chest. 'You're trying to manipulate me. I will not let you."

The Oracle's eyes widened before the green mist wrapped around her. Hekate looked at her curiously. The oracle, whose voice was echoed by Apollo and Rachel, sprouted out the most dreaded words of the next few decades.

"A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze"

Hekate scowled as the maiden came back to herself. "Is that supposed to move me? Leave. I have no use for your twisted tongue."

The Oracle huffed amused, "I foresee the future. I cannot change it."

"Leave me now," Hekate demanded. "I'm more interested in beheading you and let your twisted words die with you."

Smiling mockingly, the oracle replied, "The power of Delphi protected me and I warned you to hide the child sooner."

Hekate side eyed her, "You have grown arrogant with the power bestowed upon you by Phoebus."

"I opened my eyes to the future and embraced the past. The Olympians are not your enemies."

Hekate frowned, "With them as allies, who needs enemies. No, little oracle... if I cannot kill you, I can still curse you."

The maiden's eyes widened as Hekate turned to her. The oracle screamed out as the green mist twisted itself like knives back into her body before the sound of hissing snakes drowned out all the other words. But Percy could hear it as if he was watching it once more in his dreams , " The spirit of the Oracle would never pass on to another host. Even after death, the spirit would never move on and would continue to speak prophecies until her body withered away to nothing but dust."

Apollon came back to himself snarling in anger as the orb of water dispersed. It was quiet in the throne room. Percy could see the horror on the gods' face. And he could see it in the way that his father and Uncles wanted to drag down the need for that stupid pact. And well Percy couldn't let that happen.

"It wont work," he reminded them. Their eyes snapped towards him. He waved a hand at his sister and at Thalia. "We have the upper hand. We can strengthen our defenses. If we do this right, it might even pass over us."

Apollon's eyes glowed as he looked at the invisible threads of fate before shaking his head, "No. It will be upon us soon but I cannot be sure as of til when. And as such, no matter how hard you try... some places will be closed to you simply because fate will it so."

Percy inclined his head in acknowledgement, "We fought against fate once before. We'll do it again. We'll prepare for anything that's thrown our way. We'll be ready." He bowed down in front of them all. " We just need the gods' help to see it through."

"And you shall have it," Zeus declared. Looking around the room, he looked everyone in the eye, "We will fight and we will prevail." He raised the Master Bolt into the air, "FOR OLYMPUS!"

"FOR OLYMPUS!"