The Sheepskin Rug

I don't know if I want to just go to school and not work, or go to work and not school, or if I should stop putting so much need to write…no, I need a hobby to keep me sane.

Anyway, welcome after well over a week!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or AC

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Annabeth stared at Lou Ellen. "Woah."

The witch nodded. "Woah."

"The…Templars?"

"Yeah."

"And the Assassins?"

"Yep."

"…when you weigh a secret war over mankind's freedom against the existence of gods and monsters capable of destroying the planet, it lessons the impact of that secret being revealed."

"Uh-huh."

"I mean, what's the Templars and Assassins and all their money and resources against your magic and Percy's power and all the other demigods, especially the gods?"

"A minor annoyance?"

"Yeah."

"What really gets me is the reincarnation thing. That's…that's pretty big. I mean, that's a lot."

"Yes, yes it is. I'll leave you to your thoughts on it."

With that, Lou Ellen popped up to her feet and left Annabeth in the gundeck by herself to digest the information that she was given and form her own conclusions.

Ascending the ladder, the witch arrived to see the ending moves in the spar between her boyfriend and his daughters….Whew, they were going to need to work out how Lou was going to fit into this new love web stat, because she might've had a fur baby back at Camp Half-Blood, but she was not ready for motherhood of human beings.

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The amount of pride Percy was feeling right now was only comparable to the day he helped deliver the two girls before him. In their previous life, he had never dueled with them, as they had chosen pursuits away from the sword, so to cross blades with them and bear witness to their skill was nothing short of pure joy.

Of course, what he didn't know was that Hylla and Reyna, at twelve, were already leagues better than what they were as adults, since they were both demigods now, and demigods of the Roman goddess of war at that. Their natural combat ability was comparable only to that of children of Ares.

Percy parried a jab from Reyna, letting her go sliding past him, and he popped the flat of the Sword across her butt in a spank that sent her to the deck with a whine.

"Dad~!"

"That's for your filthy mouth," Percy rested the Sword on his shoulder.

Hylla went for a strike to his back, and he simply spun around her and delivered a spank to her own rear that sent her sprawling next to her sister.

"Why~!?"

"For letting her say it."

"But I didn't-"

"Hylla," Percy cut her off flatly. "I changed your diapers, child. I know the both of you better than you would be comfortable with."

The twins flushed, rubbing their butts.

Even as a thirteen-year-old, their dad could still deliver some punishment.

Granted, using a sword as opposed to a plank of wood might've also had something to do with it.

Percy put the Sword to the slit in his coat where the Minotaur Horn was, and it vanished into the dimensional pocket that Lou Ellen had turned it into, and he helped his daughter to their feet. He crushed them in a hug.

"Well done, girls. Absolutely amazing."

"Thanks, Dad," the twins said in tandem.

Did they find it weird they were calling a boy just a few months older than them and about two inches taller than them "Dad"? Not really.

It was one of those things where if you were in their shoes, you'd understand a lot better.

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Hylla and Reyna kept the cutlasses they borrowed from the pirates—said pirates being far too scared to try and get their weapons back after watching the girls duel Percy—and they and their father went back down belowdecks, accompanied by Lou Ellen, who confirmed she was not the reincarnation of Claudia, and they found Annabeth still down there by herself, ruminating.

For the rest of the time until a little past noon when the twins decided they were going to take a nap, they and Percy debated with Annabeth the merits of the Assassin and Templar causes, weighed them up against the existence of the pagan gods, and tried to figure how Jesus fit into everything. Around the same time the twins went down for a nap, Annabeth did as well, her brain having been exercised in ways it never had been for a long time, and she wanted to sleep on everything.

Before he got cozy with his daughters for a nap of his own, Percy engaged in a quick, serious conversation with his girlfriend.

"How many others from my past have reincarnated?"

Lou Ellen swallowed. "I'm not sure. I know a few have, but I don't who exactly has, and who they are now. But I know that we're going to run across all of them along the way."

"How far down the way?"

"I don't know."

Percy's mouth set into a line. He was unhappy, obviously, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. He knew Lou Ellen didn't have any control over her precognition, and what she saw of the future was subject to whichever force allowed her to see it in the first place.

Still, there was annoyance in the fact that the witch was usually a walking plot device filled with relevant information, and then suddenly she wasn't.

Since blaming her was unfair and there was nothing further he could do about it, Percy joined his daughters, the three of them naturally fitting together, and into the realm of sleep he went.

Since she was now alone with no one to have a worthwhile conversation with, Lou Ellen put up a ward that would only allow Blackbeard down here—because she didn't trust any of the other pirates not to do anything unsavory—she found a cozy enough spot for herself and also drifted off.

Where she, Annabeth, and the twins got to enjoy a peaceful two-hour rest, Percy did not, courtesy of his inner demon.

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"I'm trying to take a nap with my daughters," the Assassin said in a most displeased tone.

Amon's ever-present toothy grin never wavered. The red-skinned beast towered over Percy in such a way that the demigod's face was only just above the demon's crotch.

"Yes, they are the subject of this meeting, so I'll make it quick out of respect for you."

Percy's eyes narrowed.

"Keeping secrets is a dangerous thing, little man, especially when it's out of pride. I wonder: just how long can you live with the shame of Nero taint all over your body? How long can you go without revealing to your precious girls how their big, strong, powerful father was another man's little sissy bitch?"

To hammer it in further, Amon conjured an image of what Percy had looked like at the end of his torment: sparkling jewelry, a magnificent golden dress, long, lustrous black hair, dainty, hairless limbs, perfect nails painted royal purple, a beautifully done feminine face, and of course, a set of swollen breasts created from the demigoddess hormones that had been relentlessly pumped into him.

Percy constricted with revulsion at the sight of him, phantom pain arising from certain areas.

Amon chuckled and dismissed the image, grin pulling back even further. "Makes you long for simpler times, doesn't it? When all you had to worry about was the hypnosis and the brainwashing, instead of all this emotional and familiar turmoil that comes with living as someone else for so many decades."

"Go fuck yourself," Percy spat.

At the curse, the demon got just a little bit bigger, and he chuckled. "The more you sin, the more strength I gather. When strong enough, I will destroy you."

Percy glowered. "You'll never win."

Amon just let out a low, rumbling chuckle.

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"Who's never going to win?"

Percy was awoken by the voice of his oldest.

"The Templars. Now that I'm back in command, and you two are at my side, we can take back control of things," Percy said smoothly. "Of course, your old man is in better shape now than he ever was before, so I'd actually prefer it if you two didn't want to go back to war with me."

"About that…" Hylla started, unsure how to proceed as her mind was busy thinking of the pros and cons of every possible thing out of her mouth.

So, naturally, Reyna just laid it all out there without regard for anyone. "Hylla and I aren't too sure about what to do with ourselves. I mean, getting a second chance of life doesn't happen very often, and we were grown women, and now we're kids again, so now we've got the opportunity to do things over again, but we're not sure what. You've told us there's a camp for Greek demigods, so I think there's a camp for Roman ones. Personally, I'd like to go find it and see what's what."

Percy nodded. "Hylla?"

"I mean…I don't want to leave you. Not after everything that happened, and everything that's happened since."

"Mia figlia," Percy said with a warm smile. "You've been given a very, very rare gift by the Lord. Do not waste it on me. You might be a child again, but only in body. In mind and spirit, you are grown and free to make your own decisions. Pursue what your heart wants."

Christina had always struggled with her heart, and Hylla had as well, even before remembering her past life. Something that didn't help matters was the time in which she did open her heart and try to continue her bloodline out of love instead of need, she had her heart broken, and she died a miserable woman.

Hylla was keen on avoiding being miserable because of her heart, and Percy could see it. So, like he had done many times before, he made his daughter's decision for her.

"After we're done with this quest, I'll get in touch with Lupa and ask about a possible Roman camp. If there is one, you will go with your sister, and start a new chapter in your lives. Am I clear?"

"Si, Papà."

"Reyna?"

"Roger, roger!"

Percy raised a brow at her, making her grin mischievously.

Maria always had been the cheeky one.

Hylla, for her part, was relieved to have direction give to her, orders to follow. To have the choice taken from her, the responsibility lifted from her shoulders, and the decision made for her. She had always been like that, indecisive, afraid to make the wrong move, unsure of herself, and her sentiment regarding choices was one Virgil had always been contempt with.

It all stemmed from her bedwetting, pathetically enough. Having that massive wad of cloth pinned around her hips all through her youth and midway into her teens had rattled her confidence in ways that never stabilized. Even now, in this new life, she was still insecure, and Percy needed to fix that.

Hylla's flaw of not wanting to make decisions, of wanting others to choose for her, was dangerous.

Dangerously close to the Templar ideology of the error of choice, and how all decisions should be made by others, particularly those with power.

"Up we go, girls. Time to stretch our legs, and introduce you to an old friend of mine."

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Introductions with the infamous Blackbeard were temporarily postponed due to an argument between Lou Ellen and Annabeth that was happening up on the quarterdeck, an argument that was slowly driving the son of Ares insane.

Percy had to raise a brow at what he heard.

"I am not about to tie you to the mainmast with rope! Do you have any idea how weird that sounds?"

"Yes," Annabeth admitted stiffly. "However, if you stop being a pervert and take the BDSM out of it, then it's fine."

"No," Lou Ellen insisted, "it's not fine."

"What's going on?" Percy interjected.

Blackbeard jabbed a finger over his shoulder and spoke before either of the girls could get a word out. "These banshees are croaking about the Sirens. The blonde lass wants to enjoy their spell without fear of being brought to her death by being tied up to the mast, and the magic lass is totally against the whole thing. Me, personally, would rather just launch a volley at the damned beasts and shut them up for good."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Percy agreed, and then sent a pointed look at Annabeth. "Are you insane? You want to hear the Sirens' Song? The same song that was known for enchanting whoever heard it into seeing their purest fantasy come to life, only to lead them to their death via teeth?"

"Yes," Annabeth began to explain, "but if I'm immobile, and have no way to get to the Sirens, I can listen to their song and see their vision without worrying about being eaten."

Percy stared at her. "No."

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean no. No one will be tying you to anything just so you can indulge in your private fantasy. We don't know anything about the Song other than it hypnotizes people and leads them to their deaths. There aren't exactly a lot of survivor accounts, and the ones that do exist are because the sailors plugged their ears, which is what we'll all be doing. Annabeth, for all you know, listening to the Song and then not dying could leave you with permanent mental damage. You could be stuck living your fantasy out in your head while your body just wastes away, leaving you as a vegetable with no motor function whatsoever.

"You'd be left in a hospital bed with tubes pumping food and water into your stomach, drooling all over yourself. Depending on the hospital, it'll either be your diaper or your bedpan that has to be periodically changed, and your hygiene, bodily and feminine, will have to be handled by a third party. You're a very smart and intelligent young woman, Annabeth, one with a mind for architecture. You have the potential to build great monuments and buildings that could very well change the world. Don't jeopardize it just because you think you candle the Sirens."

"…okay," Annabeth said in a small voice.

She was effectively cowed, trudging back down the steps to the gundeck. Despite her deflation, Percy still had a quick word with Lou Ellen.

"Make sure she's neutralized when we approach the Sirens."

"Got it. I can also make sure we're not affected by their song."

"Molto bene."

Percy then turned to his daughters with a smile. "Girls, this friend from a previous life, Edward Thatch, otherwise known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard, these are my daughters from a previous life, Hylla and Reyna Cavaliere-Jackson."

The pirate stared at the technically younger demigod. "Come again?"

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"The more things change, the more they stay the same," Percy said.

He and Blackbeard were alone on the quarterdeck, Hylla lightly sparing with Lou Ellen, Reyna doing the same with Annabeth, and the rest of the pirates were doing their own thing, knowing not to try anything with the girls because they were very scary, and the scary kid was also watching.

"That being said, the weapons and technology of the current day far surpass anything you could've imagined, Thatch. You won't be able to simply retire and live quietly somewhere."

"Aye," the infamous captain agreed. "I take it Chiron is still around and teaching brats?"

"He is."

"Camp Half-Blood, I take it?"

"Aye."

"It's not still in England, is it?"

"No. Long Island Sound, up in New York."

"Ah. Quite the voyage."

"I'll get us there in one piece. I promise."

Blackbeard barked a short laugh. "Honestly, I've got no idea what to do with myself there!"

Percy shrugged. "Teach history. What it was truly like to be a pirate back in the day, what the Crown was like. Swordsmanship, of course." A thought suddenly struck the son of Poseidon. "Actually, you'll be needed in the Ares Cabin. Without their father around anymore, they're in need of guidance."

Blackbeard's brows knit together. "What happened to Ares?"

"He's been disposed of."

"Zeus?"

"God."

"Which one?"

"The God."

Blackbeard blinked. "Oh."

Percy hummed. "Rather satisfying, really. As it currently stands, since we obviously cannot count on any of Ares' children to take up the mantle, it falls to you, the oldest child of the false war god to be there for your siblings."

The pirate looked as certain of that as any premature father.

"I don't…I don't know…"

"Well, put it this way," Percy turned to face his old friend, his eyes dark and heavy. "If you don't go and become a mentor at Camp Half-Blood, I will kill you now as penance for your many crimes during your career as a pirate."

Blackbeard swallowed heavily.

"To…to Camp Half-Blood it is, then."

"Wise choice. Onward!"

The Queen Anne's Revenge lurched forward as Percy's will took hold. The ship powered through the waves, the current and the winds pushing her forward with more speed than what was natural for an 18th century man-o-war. In no time at all, they were at the island where the Sirens lurked, and Percy merely launched a full broadside at them, cutting their song off before it could even begin, therefore relieving any of the crew of the possibility of being lured in and devoured.

Shortly after the brief episode—in which it would forever go unanswered how Percy was able to load the cannons—they were at the island of Polyphemus, which was confirmed by Lou Ellen as she could feel the massive amount of nature energy being produced by the Fleece that resided within the monster's cave.

Blackbeard hardly wanted to tangle with a cyclops, the remaining members of his crew agreeing, which left Percy and all the girls to go and climb the cliffside to get to the inner parts of the island.

Lou Ellen merely used her magic to levitate herself up.

Hylla and Reyna, with their climbing skills and demigod stamina, went up like a pair of goats.

Percy, obviously, was just fine.

Annabeth was the one who struggled, considering climbing a sheer cliff wasn't part of the Camp Half-Blood curriculum, the lava wall being nothing like this exercise, and she wasn't a climber in the first place. So, at the top, where the other four were casually waiting, Annabeth made it, a little winded.

"Welcome," Percy said with a smile.

"Nice to be here."

There was a loud rumble and a tremor, and the half-bloods gathered at the edge of the ravine to witness a massive boulder get moved aside by a cyclops, Polyphemus, and a flock of abnormally large sheep came toddling out of the cave. On the monster's shoulder was the Golden Fleece.

"Well," Percy said. "This certainly makes things so much easier. Polyphemus is mine. Girls, if Grover is still alive, he'll most likely be in the cave."

"When you say girls, are you talking about all of us, or just your daughters?" Annabeth asked.

"Hm, now that you say it, I have a better idea."

With that, Percy sprinted and leapt through the air, sailing over the edge of the cliff with the Sword in his hand. He made it look easy, performing the Air Assassination on Polyphemus, landing on the monster's head and transferring all that momentum into stabbing the blade through the skull and into the brain, but it truly wasn't.

The Air Assassination was the hardest to perform, as it required luck, skill, timing, math, aim, and more luck.

Luckily, Percy was rather experienced in the technique, and dispatched Polyphemus without a struggle, securing the Golden Fleece, and making the sheep go into a panic across the wooden bridge, where the larger, meaner, carnivorous sheep proceeded to devour the whole flock in a manner eerily reminisce of piranhas.

"Dad is so awesome," Reyna said.

"Mm-hm," Hylla agreed.

"So," the little sister turned to Lou Ellen, "are you our mom now?"

"Nope." The witch answered, popping the "P."

Annabeth was feeling left out, not having anywhere near as strong a connection to Percy as any of the other girls.

Back down in the ravine, said demigod, casually tossed the legendary Golden Fleece over his shoulder, and looked up at the girls. "Head back to the ship. I'll get Grover and meet you there."

They did as instructed, and Percy found his satyr acquaintance inside the cyclops' cave, wearing a ragged dress.

"Percy! Thank the gods you're here!"

"The gods?" Percy raised a brow.

Grover flushed, reminded of his friend's devotion to the monotheistic religion. "Thank God you're here, then. Come on, we need to leave before Polyphemus gets back."

"He's already dead."

Grover paused. "…that explains why you already have the Fleece."

"Indeed. Come, the Queen Anne's Revenge awaits, and so does Camp Half-Blood."

"The Who's Revenge?"

"Oh, you'll see."

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Percy and Grover reached the beach to find Blackbeard's ship in splinters, the mortal pirates dead in the sand, Hylla and Reyna locked in combat with a pair of humanoid bear creatures, Lou Ellen engaged in magical combat with others whose eye colors marked them as her half-siblings on the godly side, and Annabeth going to knife to sword with a blonde male in the intermittent stage where he was no longer a boy or teenager, not quite yet a man, but past being a young man.

Annabeth was dueling a guy.

Percy stared at the guy, honestly lost as to he who he was, until Grover let out a gasp.

"Luke!"

Then Percy was even more lost as to what the physician companion of Paul had to do with anything in the present circumstance, and he got even more lost when his brain conjured up thoughts revolving around the titular character of the original trilogy of Star Wars.

And then it suddenly clicked in his head.

Luke Castellan. Son of Hermes. Follower of Kronos.

Yeah…that guy.

In Percy's defense over forgetting someone arguably of importance, he was just not even two full days of coming off being an 80-year-old man who saw the Golden Age of Piracy, the Seven-Years War, the American Revolution, and time travel. Really important stuff.

Percy also noted Blackbeard engaged in combat with other monsters, a faint red glow around him as he battled with rage.

"Hm, I suppose we should do something."

Grover turned to Percy, askance. "Ya think!?"

Percy ran onto the beach with a battle cry that was a lot more terrifying when he was a grown man instead of a boy who hadn't quite started puberty yet. However, it had the desired effect of drawing all attention to him, and by proxy, the golden mini carpet on his shoulder.

And it came pass that Percy said in a mighty voice:

"WE SURRENDER!"

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Here's the now official reincarnation list:

Jason and Thalia will be Jacob and Evie.

Piper will be Connor.

Hazel will be Aveline.

Rachel will be Arno.

Nico will be Giovanni, Virgil's son.

Bianca will be Mary Read.

Carter Kane will be Bayek.

Zia will be Aya.

These are the ones now set in stone and will not be changed. I've reneged on the idea of Frank being Shao Jun, because I feel that's overdoing it. There's also no one I could think of for Leo, so Leo will be Leo, and Annabeth will be Annabeth, and Luke is going to be Luke. I've got plans for Annabeth later on, and as per my usual take on Luke, as in Backup Plan and Xenomorphic, he'll be a lot deeper than "Gods bad—Titans good."

Something I noticed that I just want to comment on: in asking for suggestions on reincarnation characters, no one offered ideas on any of the Magnus Chase cast. While the most likely scenarios for this are A) no one thought of them, and B) none of them seem like they fit any AC characters. However, I like to delude myself and think the reason the MC cast got totally sidelined is because most of you agree that they're the most idiotic, annoying, totally unnecessary and irrelevant, shoe-horned in characters whose sole purposes are to serve as not-so-subtle, completely out of place, socio-political posterchildren/messages.

Anyway, just a theory.

Now, the real food for thought:

Octavian and Michael Kahale as Haytham and Shay.

Fav, Follow, and Review please!