A/N: LordChalupa here! I made a lot of changes to this chapter. I like little Percy but I decided to switch him out for someone else because I'm not sure how I'd implement little Percy in my later chapters. Still followed the original work for the most part. I hope you enjoy the changes I made. If you have any comments on my changes or just anything at all you want to say, then please leave a review. Now onto the chapter. Enjoy!
Story is Rated M for language and mature humor.
The Annabeth from 2005 will be written like, "Annabeth" or "Annie", While the Annabeth from 2010 will be written like, "Annabeth".
The Clarisse from 2005 will be written like, "Clarisse", While the Clarisse from 2010 will be written like, "Clarisse".
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan. The cover image is not mine. (If there are any artists reading this that would like to create a cover for my story then you can DM me and show me your work)
Edit:
Thoughts are now italicized: "I'll have to find a time to talk to my older self and tell her to keep her distance from other guys, in case Luke gets the wrong idea," Annabeth thought to herself.
Grover is now also a part of the 2010 group. 2005: "Grover" 2010: "Grover"
For those confused about which characters are from which timeline then here is the timeline I used:
· 2005 group and gods are from the winter solstice when Zeus' bolt was stolen. December of 2005.
· 2010 group (both Greeks and Romans) are from after 'The Lost Hero' and from a month before Percy wakes up at the Wolf House. March of 2010.
· Enforcers are from a year after the end of 'Trials of Apollo'. May of 2012. (I never read the Trials of Apollo but I got the dates based off the link below.)
Here is the link I used for the dates of all the characters in case people are curious: (seems like I cant put in a link, so if you go to riordan .fandom .com and then click on important dates, that is where you will find the timeline I use.)
To say that things were awkward between the group of demigods would be a complete understatement.
The Romans mainly kept to themselves and glared at the Greeks in distrust.
Annabeth kept looking between her future self in awe and at Thalia with tears in her eyes. She had so many questions but didn't know where to start.
Thalia and Annabeth looked at Luke, not sure whether they wanted to hug him or punch him, and then gave up on doing either when they remembered that this wasn't the Luke that ended up sacrificing himself to destroy Kronos. So many questions were going through their heads seeing their old best friend and worst enemy: Is this Luke already too far gone? Or is there still a sliver of the Luke they once knew?
Meanwhile, Luke was feeling very torn. On one hand, he was very happy to see Thalia alive and well; while on the other hand, he was feeling very guilty for what he was about to do. After fretting over what to do, a malicious glint came to his eye. In the end, his hate for the Olympians overpowered his happiness and guilt. They'll understand, he told himself. Once I tell them my plans, they will surely join me.
"So…" Leo spoke up, trying to break the tense atmosphere that had settled over the demigods. "Are we trying to reenact some weird western showdown, or am I the only weird one for thinking that?
Piper gave him a smack over the head. "What he means to say is that we should all get to know one another since we'll be together for the time being."
"That's not –" Piper clamped her hand over his mouth before he could say anything stupid.
"How about we all sit down and you all can ask any questions you might have. We'll do our best to answer them," she said, using a little bit of charmspeak.
Everyone felt compelled to sit down at her words. Even the Romans felt obliged to join them.
"Alright! Now that we are all seated, who would like to ask first?"
As soon as she asked that, Annabeth started rapid firing questions to no one in particular. "What's the future like? Do I get to go on a quest? Why have I never seen the Roman's before? How is Thalia alive? Who are –"
"Woah, woah, woah." Thalia put her hands on Annabeth's shoulder to calm her down. "Slow your horse's little girlie. We're not going anywhere, so one question at a time."
Annabeth blushed in embarrassment, realizing that she was being way too eager. Annabeth smiled wryly at her younger self. She'd forgotten how overly eager she'd been when she was younger and how, to this day, hated not knowing things.
"Well, to answer your first question. As my boy -" She cut herself off when she was about to mention Percy. Thinking of Percy made all the anxiety and sadness from the past three months pour over her like a cold shower.
Annabeth looked at her older self oddly, "You alright? You're clamming up."
Annabeth shook her head to get rid of any negative thoughts. "I'm fine. Just remembered something that has been bothering me."
Thalia wrapped her arm around Annabeth to try and comfort her, and whispered, "We'll find him. I promise. We already know that he's probably going to end up at the Roman camp, we can even ask them."
"But if his memories were taken like Jason's were, then what if he doesn't even remember me," Annabeth whimpered, trying not to break down in front of everyone. "What if…What if he's found another girlfriend while we were apart?"
"You silly girl. You should know better than that. I'm not the one that's in love with him, and even I know that he'd never leave you. Heck! I bet he's trying to get back to you right this moment!" She wasn't just saying that to cheer Annabeth up, she truly thought that.
Annabeth felt somewhat cheered up by her best friend's words and apologized to the rest for the interruption. "Back to your question about the future. Since I can't spoil anything, I'm going to paraphrase it in a way that a great friend of mine would've done: Bad."
Annabeth tilted her head at her future self's response. "Bad?"
"Bad," Annabeth confirmed.
"Just leave it Annie. Without spoiling anything, 'Bad' is the most accurate term to describe the future." Thalia said before Annabeth could argue. She still looked unsatisfied but dropped the subject anyways.
"To answer your second question, you do go on a quest. If the quest isn't mentioned in the books, we can find a time to sit down together so I can tell you all about it." Annabeth told her.
Annabeth nodded in satisfaction..
"As for the Romans…Well I just learned about them recently, but from what I've gathered, our two camps have been kept separate to avoid any…disagreements." She looked at Reyna to see if maybe she knew more, but Reyna just shrugged in response, indicating that she didn't know any more than she did.
Thalia answered the last question since it was about her. "For your last question, I'm alive now and that's all that matters. I'm sure you'll hear more about it in the books or at a later date."
Annabeth opened her mouth to ask another question but Thalia cut her off. "Enough questions out of you Annie. Dinner will be ready soon and I'm sure the others would like the chance to ask their own questions."
Annabeth was discussing with Thalia about what they should do about Luke when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. On her other side was Reyna.
"Can I help you?" Annabeth asked politely.
Reyna gave her a look that she couldn't quite comprehend before responding, "You're Annabeth, right?"
Annabeth nodded in confirmation.
"You destroyed my home," Reyna said while scowling angrily at her.
"What do you mean 'I destroyed your home? I've never even met you." Annabeth said with a little bite in her tone. In a way she was a lot like Percy. She hated being accused of something she didn't do.
"You may not have known me…" Reyna said darkly. "But you did meet my sister, Hylla."
Annabeth looked at Reyna, trying to remember if she met anyone that looked like her, but came up with nothing.
"I'm sorry Reyna, but I truly don't have any recollection of anyone named Hylla."
"Does C. C's Resort & Spa mean anything to you?"
Annabeth's eyes widened at the reminder of that place. She hadn't thought of it in years.
"I see that you recognize it," Reyna said, a snarl coming from deep within her throat. "That was my home, before you and Percy destroyed it!"
Annabeth stood up, also becoming angry because of what Circe had done to Percy.
"It's not OUR fault that your home was destroyed! You can blame SQUEAK!"
Annabeth covered up her mouth with both hands when she made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a guinea pig.
"Spoiler?" Reyna asked.
Annabeth nodded sheepishly, too embarrassed to say anything.
Reyna let out a long sigh but loosened up her scowl. "Well, it seems like I'll learn of what happened during the reading. I hope for the sake of any future relations between us that there was a good reason for what you and Percy did."
After Reyna walked away, Annabeth plopped back down beside Thalia and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was quite the cute squeak," Thalia joked, making Annabeth's face flush red again.
The demigods sat around asking questions and chatting for another 10 minutes before Hestia came in to let them know that food was ready. As they walked to the dining room, Annabeth ran to her older self's side.
"I have another question…one I didn't want to ask around others. Do we ever…ya know…manage to gain Luke's attention in the future?"
Annabeth grimaced, wishing that she could avoid answering, even though she expected her younger self to ask it. How could I tell my younger self that the love she felt was more of a love between brother and sister? How could I possibly tell her that Luke betrays her and everyone else? I remember how badly it hurt me. Do I really want to put my younger self through that same pain?
She felt a small tug on her sleeve, breaking her out of her thoughts. Looking down, she saw her younger self looking at her with a mixture of anxiety and hope. Letting out a sigh, she decided to tell her at least half of the truth. "We don't get together with Luke. He wasn't the one meant for us. There was someone so much better however." She sighed again seeing the anguished look on her younger self's face. It's to be expected, she only had Luke to rely on for five years. "Look. I'm sorry, but I promise you'll understand in the future."
Annabeth felt tears coming to her eyes. How could her older self say that? Luke means everything to her. "You're lying! There's no one better than Luke!"
Annabeth tried to hug her, but she shoved her hands away and ran away crying. Annabeth wanted to run after her, but Thalia walked up beside her and shook her head. "Let her calm down. She'll get over it with time." Annabeth nodded sadly and followed Thalia to the dining area.
After dinner, Hestia guided the demigods to her temple, which is where they would be sleeping each night until the end of the reading. She put the boys and girls into two separate rooms. "Behave." Hestia said in a no-nonsense tone. "The guys are not allowed in the girl's room and the girls and not allowed in the guy's room. If you want to talk with one another, then you can do that in here. If I find anyone breaking the rules…" She let the unsaid threat hang over their heads and left the room. Hestia might be a peaceful and caring goddess, but she could be pretty scary when she wanted to be.
The next day, the demigods woke up at 8 AM, except for Clovis, who had to be dragged everywhere. They ate breakfast and trained as much as they could during the time they had before the reading began.
In the throne room, the gods were having a short discussion about the upcoming books when the doors were pushed open. A teenage boy, about 16 years old; with dark, messy hair and sea green eyes walked in, looking around in desperation.
"I don't recognize you from the group of demigods we met yesterday. Who are you? If your lost, I can help you find your way," Hestia said to the boy.
The boy ran past her and continued searching around the throne room in desperation, ignoring the rest of the gods.
"She asked who you are, boy," Zeus said, obviously a little angered by the boy's lack of respect. "So I will ask again in her stead, Who are you?"
The boy looked at him in surprise, like he just realized he wasn't alone in the room.
The rest of the demigods started streaming in, curious about the commotion they heard from outside. Annabeth let out a small gasp and was about to rush forward if it wasn't for Thalia holding her back.
"Sorry, can we talk later? I really gotta go," the boy said to Zeus.
Everyone looked at the boy, thinking he was either really brave or very stupid for speaking to Zeus in such a disrespectful manner.
Zeus' eye twitched and he said, "Don't test my patience, boy. I'll ask one more time: who are you?"
The boy looked at Zeus in annoyance. "If you need to know my name that badly, then it's Percy Jackson! You happy now, ya old coot! Now if you could help me, I really need to go the bathroom! I've looked everywhere but haven't found a single one! Why would a big city like this not have a single restroom!?"
The whole throne room went completely silent and Zeus' face turned purple with rage. He summoned his bolt to his hand, ready to kill the boy at any moment.
"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me." Zeus gritted out each word in a deathly quiet voice, making the boy step back in fear and his limbs shake, but a look of defiance remained on his face. "Any last words befo–"
"Please wait Lord Zeus!" Annabeth screamed, running forward and pulling Percy behind her. "I know Percy from the future. He should be the guest that the Fates mentioned in their letter that would arrive today."
Zeus still looked furious but the threatening air slowly dispersed.
"Please forgive him My Lord," Annabeth pleaded breathlessly and then turned to Percy. "Apologize to Zeus, Percy, and then I'll bring you to the restrooms. Can you do that for me? Please?"
Percy didn't respond. He was too busy looking at Annabeth in a daze. He had been thinking of her all day up until the point he had to use the restroom. For him, all of this was completely new. He had just woken up in this big city with hardly any memories. He could hardly even remember his own name. But this girl, Percy knew that she was important to him, as she was the only face and name that he remembered.
Percy slowly retrieved himself from his thoughts and saw Annabeth looking at him with a mixture of love, dread, hope, and a whole variety of different emotions that made his heart flutter.
"Percy, please," Annabeth pleaded.
Percy wanted to say sure, but it came out like, "Umm- err- yerrrr."
Percy turned red from embarrassment when he fumbled over his words. "Ahem, I mean, yeah. I'm sorry for any disrespect I have given you…umm… Lord Zeus."
Zeus still looked angry but humphed in acknowledgment.
"Thank you!" Annabeth bowed to Zeus and dragged Percy out of the throne room before the Lord of the Skies could change his mind.
Once they were a safe distance away, Annabeth let go of Percy's arm and sighed in relief. After catching her breath, she pulled Percy into a tight hug, only to pull away just as quickly when she thought of how Percy probably didn't even remember her.
"Thank you for helping me back there miss," Percy said, with a red face.
Annabeth blushed when she saw Percy's shy look. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Percy laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, the way he always did when he was embarrassed, which Annabeth always found endearing. "S'Okay. I can't not be happy when I'm hugged by a beautiful girl."
Annabeth started beaming, which made Percy think it was totally worth it to compliment her. He wanted to ask her if they knew each other but before he could work up the courage, she grabbed Percy's hand and started dragging him to Hestia's temple.
"Where are we going?" Percy asked.
Annabeth looked at him in amusement, "Didn't you say you had to use the restroom? There's one up ahead."
"O yeah," he'd completely forgotten since he was too mesmerized by Annabeth.
After coming out of the restroom, Percy let out a gasp of awe.
Annabeth giggled at the dumbfounded look on his face and decided to tease him a little. "You're starting to drool Percy."
Percy clamped his mouth shut and turned to glare at Annabeth when he found no drool on his face.
Annabeth doubled over in laughter. This was the happiest she had felt since…well since Percy disappeared three months ago. So, even if he didn't remember her, it still felt great to see him again.
"Ha ha ha. Hilarious." Percy drawled, but smiled at her. If she was happy, then he was happy
After getting her laughter under control, she apologized and said, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Percy stared at her and muttered under his breath, "Very."
"What was that?"
"Nothing I was just saying that this place is so coo…" Percy paused and squinted his eyes and stared at his surrounding like he was trying to burn them into his memory. And then his eyes widened in disbelief. "SO NOT COOL!" He exclaimed.
Annabeth looked at her boyfriend in concern as he turned from red to white, then to purple, and then back to white again.
Percy grabbed at his head in agony, and grabbed onto Annabeth's arm for support.
Annabeth furrowed her brows in concern, "What's wrong, Percy?"
"Re-remem-bered," Percy managed through clenched teeth. "Don't let me fall wise girl, gonna pass out." And with that, Percy went limp and fell face first onto the floor.
Annabeth winced, "Sorry!"
"We were all brought here by the Fates to read a series of books?"
"Check."
"And these books are going to be about us and everything we've been through?"
"Double Check."
"And I called the king of gods an "old coot" while I had amnesia?"
Annabeth covered her mouth to try and fail to suppress her giggles. "Triple Check."
Percy sighed and gave his girlfriend a wry smile, "Well, it's nothing new really."
"So true," Annabeth agreed. "You've always been a natural at pissing off supernatural beings."
After Percy had recovered from his sudden memory gain, Annabeth explained to him everything that had happened up to this point. How he went missing (she couldn't tell him about what happened with Jason and the others because of spoilers) and then how they had been teleported onto Olympus to read a bunch of stories to hopefully prevent the end of the world.
"So, the typical life of a demigod," Percy summed it up.
Annabeth nodded and then wrapped her arms tightly around Percy. He wanted to hug her back, but suddenly he felt weightless and the next thing he knew he was on his back, groaning in pain.
Meanwhile, watching the reunited couple from the void, a couple of the enforcers were exchanging bets.
"Pay up," one of them said smugly.
The others complained but still handed him a wad of cash.
"Still," a female voice said. "I'd only give that flip a 6 out of 10."
"Yeah," another said. "The other one made a bigger impact."
"My back still hurts from that you know," another whined.
"Then don't disappear on me like that again."
"It's not my-"
"AA! No excuses."
The enforcer let out a sigh, "Yes ma'am."
The enforcer beside him chuckled, "Whipped."
"Like you're not."
"…touché."
Percy smiled up at his girlfriend and said, "Great to see you, wise girl."
Annabeth grinned through the tears and choked back a sob, "Never disappear on me like that again."
"I promise, together forever."
"Always," Annabeth responded.
"Still," Percy sighed. "To me it was only yesterday I saw you. To you it was a few months. I'm just glad you haven't killed me yet."
"You're not out of trouble yet, Jackson," Annabeth warned with a mischievous smile on her face. "You'll just have to make up for all the time we missed for the rest of your life."
Percy looked at Annabeth's lips hungrily. "I can live with that," he said.
Just as the two were about to kiss, a cough came from behind them. Annabeth shot up and whipped her head around while Percy grinded his teeth in frustration.
The boy shuffling his feet awkwardly behind them, Frank was his name if Annabeth remembered correctly, was staring at them with a bright red face.
"What is it?" Annabeth asked grouchily.
"Ummm, Zeus is starting to get impatient and asked when you two would be coming back," Frank responded rapidly.
Annabeth instantly sobered and told him that they'd be right there.
"Okay, ummmm, sorry for interrupting," by this point steam was coming from Frank's ears. "I won't tell anyone what I saw, I promise!" And with that, Frank scurried away like a frightened mouse.
"What does he mean 'he won't tell anyone'?" Annabeth huffed but when she looked at Percy, she noticed he was a little red and avoiding her eyes. That's when she noticed that she was still straddling Percy's lap and their positioning would be quite suggestive to prying eyes.
Annabeth instantly shot up and buried her head in her hands, "Gods that's so embarrassing."
Percy smiled wryly but that smile slowly turned into a look of horror, "What are you doing with that knife? Put that down!"
"I can't live anymore," Annabeth sobbed. "I'm going to kill you and then kill myself and then haunt Frank from the afterlife, that way no one would be able to find out about this!"
"Wait! NO! Stop waving that thing around! STOP! GYAAAAA!"
After calming the rampaging Annabeth down, Percy and Annabeth entered the throne room hand in hand. Frank's face was still red and refused to look them in the eyes, and instead opted to look at his shoes. The tips of Annabeth's ears slowly turned red, but she forced the embarrassment down and brought the reluctant Percy to kneel at Zeus' throne.
Annabeth elbowed Percy. Percy grunted and looked at her unwillingly. 'Do I really have to apologize?' Percy mouthed. 'Yes,' she mouthed back.
Percy grumbled but gave in to his girlfriend's harsh glare.
"I apologize for my lack of respect earlier, Lord Zeus." All of the future demigod's eyes widened in shock. This was probably the first, and probably the last, time they had ever heard Percy apologize to a god.
"I was going through a serious bout of amnesia and didn't remember anything until just 20 minutes ago. Due to that I had completely forgotten about your greatness and amazingness." The future demigods and some of the gods choked back their laughter at his obvious use of flattery. "Please forgive my misconduct." Percy finished, with his near perfect act of regret.
Zeus glared at the boy for a couple of seconds longer before softening up. "I sense you tell the truth. Apology accepted."
The demigods, even the ones that didn't know him, let out a collective sigh of relief.
The gods, on the other hand, were looking at their king in disbelief.
He fell for that kid's flattery so easily?
Has he gone senile?
Among many other thoughts going through their heads.
As soon as Percy and Annabeth got up, Thalia waved them over from her spot beside Nico.
"Did you tell him everything?" Thalia asked Annabeth when they sat down beside her.
"Yeah, and not only that, Percy remembers everything now."
Thalia and Nico's faces lit up in surprised delight.
"That's great!" Thalia exclaimed, truly happy for her two best friends.
"It is great and all," Nico agreed. "But did you remember that you've been gone for months and Sally and Paul are still worried sick that you're missing?"
All three of them blanched.
"…Σκατά!" Percy cursed in Ancient Greek. "I have to call them right away to let them know I'm okay!"
"Well, it's nothing to worry about right now."
"What do you mean?"
"According to Hecate, all time outside of Olympus has been frozen for the duration of the reading," Nico relayed to them.
Percy's eyes widened in surprise, but calmed down nonetheless. "Then I'll just have to contact them as soon as possible."
Annabeth and the other two both agreed.
"I'm assuming that Percy is the guest that the Fates said would arrive today in the letter," Athena said, breaking the silence.
Zeus hummed in agreement. "Where are the enforcers?" He asked. "It's almost 10."
"We're here!"
At the back of the group of demigods, they saw the ten hooded enforcers standing there like they had been there the whole time.
"When did you get here?" Zeus asked in a dark tone, not happy at all that they let themselves in unannounced. Again.
"Since the beginning," one of them said.
"It was quite an amusing affair to watch," said another.
Zeus' turned a bright shade of gold. "Now that were all here, can we just get this stupid reading started!?"
The enforcers agreed and one of them pulled a book out form thin air. "Who would like to read first?"
Athena raised her hand, her curiosity about the future getting the better of her.
She took a look at the title of the book and a sudden suspicion started playing through her head.
"Book 1" she read, "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief."
Question: Who would you want as a godly parent?
Edited on March 12th, 2022
