Disclaimer: chapter one

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No Fanfic No Life: Memories are what we remember of the past, as in what our brain records as what happened, so they are a form of recorded history. Merlin was simply doing a word play at that. Hopefully that clears your confusion. If not, send me a PM and I will be happy to clear it up. (though it may take me a few days to respond depending on how busy I am)

Metal book of the Scotsbear: yeah, I also wish more authors would just derail canon in entirety especially when doing crossovers.

Chapter Ten

"All of that is a bit hard to believe, don't you think?" Mr. D said as he and Chiron heard Harry's tale of what happened.

They were all in the infirmary, with Luke's unconscious body on one of the beds. The wound had long since healed, and Chiron could not find anything physically wrong with him.

"Regardless, we have to wait until Luke wakes up to really know of this," Chiron said. "We must hear his side as well. If nothing else, it might shed some more light on this."

"Will it?" Mr. D said with an uninterested tone. "Bah, they don't pay me enough for this. Kick them both out, I say. Be done with it once and for all."

Harry was silent as Mr. D walked out, leaving him and Chiron alone.

"Don't worry, he doesn't actually have the authority to expel someone from the Camp," Chiron said after a small awkward silence. "He may be the director, but his authorities are extremely limited. Otherwise you all would be kicked out by now for the slightest offence. The thing with Mr. D is–"

"He's a god," Harry spoke up. "That is what his thing is. No matter how wise or idiotic they may be, gods are not meant to be humanity's guides. That is why they never interfere in a way that reshapes the course of human history. We believe that they should have prevented all wars. Prevented all the destruction and unfairness in the world. Or made it so that humans would be content and happy all around. But that is not the case. That was never meant to be the case. These are all human issues, meant to be solved by humans. Not gods. But we blame them anyways. Because it is easy to do so. The truth is... you simply wanted to blame your father for whatever happened to your mother. Not once did you think about what your own selfishness might do to others. You simply sought the easiest, most stupid solution to a complex problem!"

"Harry," Chiron cut in with narrowed eyes. "Are you aware of what happened to May Castellan?"

Harry shook his head. "Merlin implanted several ideas and memories in my brain about conversations and interactions with Luke that may or may not have happened. I am still sorting through them, trying to differentiate what really happened from what Merlin implanted." He chuckled. "I did not even know her name until you just told me now."

"Chiron..." Luke said weakly. "What happened to my mother? How do you know her name?"

Chiron sighed. "You knew he was awake..." Chiron said as he rubbed his forehead.

"His breathing pattern changed around the time Mr. D left. I am surprised you did not notice yourself," Harry answered.

Chiron decided to address that later. "Luke... this is very important. What happened in that quest? I want full details, start to finish. Leave nothing out."

"No," Luke said, glaring at the centaur. "I want to know about my mother first."

Chiron sighed tiredly. "Lord Hermes specifi–"

"Who cares what he wants?! He abandoned her! He abandoned ME! He does not get any rights to say about what I want to know!" Luke said angrily.

Harry could not help himself. He chuckled. "Abandoned you? How?"

Luke turned his attention to Harry. "What do you mean how?! He was never there for me! He let my mother grow progressively worse when he could have done something about it! He–"

"Ensured that you would run into Thalia and Annabeth," Harry cut in. "Made it so that you would somehow, against all odds, find the Camp. Sure, Grover might have been the one to take you three here, but before then? Not like any of you had a map, or even any sense of direction. But as the God of Travellers, it would have been very easy for him to simply ensure that the path you take would be the most efficient way in getting you to Camp, where you would be safe."

Luke was silent once again as Chiron nodded. He could see what Harry was trying to do, so he let him.

Harry continued. "Yes, he did not raise you. Yes, he was never directly present in your life. But the same can be said for all seventy four demigods present in Camp! But you know another difference? None of our parents even gave us a single personal quest. Does not matter if it was some new, original quest or a recreation of Herakles's Labors. Had you focused on the smallest of details that proves that he cares rather than the times he was not physically present, maybe you would not even be in this mess!"

"Then what of my mother! He could have–"

"There was nothing that Lord Hermes could have done," Chiron said softly. "The truth is, your mother was cursed by some thing very ancient, something that not even Lord Hermes had any knowledge of. Even I was unaware of it until your mother was cursed."

"Like I said," Harry said. "It is easy to blame. If your mother was cursed, then there is always a chance that the curse is removable. That just means there's something that needs to be researched."

"Luke..." Chiron said, his eyes turning sharp. "What happened in the Garden of Hesperides? Spare absolutely no details."

Luke turned his misty eyes away from both Harry and Chiron.

"Young demigod... you seem to harbor much hatred directed at the gods," said the hulking figure that was the Titan General Atlas. "But... what if I told you that there is a way to get your revenge?"

"How do you know?" Luke asked. Peter and Laura looked at him in confusion.

"Don't listen to him! He is just trying to–"

With a simple glare, Peter's mouth slammed shut. Even Laura seemed to be frozen in fear. Behind them, all hundred of Ladon's heads were glaring at them.

"They killed your friend, made your mother go insane... surely you want revenge?" Atlas continued.

Everything seemed to fade away for Luke the more Atlas spoke. He found himself nodding. It was almost as if he was no longer in control of his own actions.

"No, not just that. Thalia can never rest, can she? Her soul is forever trapped within that tree," Atlas said with a smile. "No Elysium for her, despite her heroic deeds. Surely that makes you angry, wanting to get back at those who wronged her. Perhaps, I can tell you how to get revenge. And strike back at those pretenders who call themselves the Rulers of the West."

"...and then something was implanted in me," Luke said quietly as tears freely ran down his eyes. "It made me ki–" he choked out a sob. "I pushed Peter and Laura into Ladon..."

Chiron had a rather blank face as he heard Luke's story. Harry seemed to be correct. Luke had evil in him, literally. Caliburn exorcised something out of Luke. As to what that something was, Chiron had his suspicion, but hoped it was not true.

"Luke," Chiron said heavily. "Are you aware of what it was?"

Luke nodded slightly. "It was a fragment of his. My great-grandfather's fragment."

Harry's breath hitched as did Chiron's.

"What else did you do while under his influence?" Chiron questioned. "I want the full details. Harry, use any legillimency you want to get the information out of his mind if he doesn't. And if you cannot, then I will simply have to get your sister to do it instead."

Chiron's tone scared both Harry and Luke. It was a kind of a tone that a hardened general would have, not the kind teacher and guide that Chiron regularly was. It made Harry wonder just how much of that was just a front and which was his real self.

Luke said nothing for a while. "The Master Bolt..."

"Of course it was..." Harry whispered under his breath.

Chiron closed his eyes in deep thought. "Lord Zeus would not be pleased...even if we make the case that you were controlled by Him, there would be severe consequences. Where is the Bolt now, Luke?"

"...I do not know."

Chiron turned to Harry. "Harry, get inside his mind."

"No, I literally do not!" Luke spoke up. "I was caught! By Ares! He took the Bolt from me!"

"Then why was it not returned?!" Chiron asked, not believing Luke.

Harry's eyes widened. "Do you not realize? A war will break out amongst the Olympians. As a, no, the god of War, he would be empowered beyond anything."

Chiron rubbed his forehead. "To think that Lord Ares would betray his own father..."

"Wait. Before you do anything, didn't you send Annabeth and Percy into Hades for the same?" Luke asked softly. "Shouldn't we inform them?"

Chiron shook his head. "That is their quest. That is for them to discover and handle. I will not inform them of this. And you should be more worried about yourself. Lord Zeus will most likely kill you himself, regardless of whether you were in control of your actions or not."

Harry turned to Chiron with an incredulous expression. "What do you mean it is for them to discover? This is far too important for some nonsense Camp traditions!"

"That is how it has always been," Chiron said with an air of finality.

Harry huffed. He got what Chiron was trying to say. As director, Chiron could not directly help like this. There were probably oaths against it. As much as he hated to, Chiron could not do anything.

"Now then, what to do with you?" Chiron asked. "I will need to take this Olympus, assuming that Mr. D has not yet done so."

Luke turned to Harry. "You always say that every problem has a solution. What's mine?"

Harry closed his eyes in thought. There was only one way to ensure that Luke would live. Yes, Harry was beyond angry at Luke for accepting the Titans' offer. But that did not mean that he wanted Luke to die. A mistake, no matter how severe, should not define Luke.

Harry sighed deeply. "Chiron... there is no need for the King to deliver any punishment on Luke."

"Harry, I fully understand that you wish to save your friend but–"

"Luke Castellan is dead. He died on this very bed, from the wound I inflicted upon him. Caliburn's cleansing effect was too powerful, and neither his body nor his soul remains because the Fragment had bound itself that deeply," Harry said.

Luke and Chiron looked at Harry with wide eyes. Both understood what he was saying.

Chiron's expression softened. "Mr. D will not believe that."

"He will. Because shortly after he left, Luke attacked us. It proved that the initial wound had not cleansed him completely, forcing me to use Caliburn again. This time it destroyed him in its entirety because just how much of him was corrupted. That should give you a very plausible scenario."

Luke closed his eyes, a few tears escaping. "So I have to run away."

Harry nodded. "Trust me... this hurts me too. But if we say that you ran away, it would be a matter of time before someone or the other is sent to track you down. But if you are dead, there is no need to do anything of the sorts."

"They'll hate you," Luke said softly, referring to not only his Cabin and siblings but the Camp as a whole. "Does not matter if you say this was justified... they will still hate you."

"Yeah. But you'll live," Harry said in response.

Chiron rubbed his eyes tiredly. He felt a weird sort of pride for Harry. He was willing to take the hate just to let Luke live. It was a true heroic action, not born of any desire for honor or glory or any sense of want of fame. Simply a friend protecting another, because he felt it was the right thing to do.

"Luke... the harpies that patrol the Western Boundary will be on a five minute break in about half an hour." Chiron said simply as he walked out.

Luke turned his eyes to the retreating Centaur in surprise, and nodded. Then he turned to Harry. "Why go so far for me?"

Harry smiled. "What do you mean go so far? You're out of the Camp, now I have no rival to the best swordsman title."

Luke could not help but laugh. "In your dreams, owl-head."

"Your window is growing ever shorter... you scatter brained trickster." Harry said as held out his hand. Luke smiled as he shook Harry's hand.

"...Look after them for me," Luke said softly.

Harry nodded as he left the infirmary.

Luke did not waste any more time in leaving, making sure to steal a sword from the Forge as he left. While the Backbiter was unharmed, Luke did not want anything to do with Kronos. As Chiron had said, there was no one patrolling the Western Border by the time he got there.

Luke took one last look at the distant Cabins and the demigods going about. With a heavy heart, he turned around and walked into the distance.

Silena smiled to herself as she found Harry by himself in a secluded area in the Forest, near Zeus's Fist. He was sitting on the ground, his eyes closed.

"Hey," She said as he approached him, sitting down in front of him. "I tried to find you when I woke up back in my own Cabin. I had a feeling you would come here. I was sure that explosion would send me on a one way trip into – huh?"

She stopped talking as she saw Harry open his bloodshot eyes, with tears that ran down his cheeks. "Hey," Silena asked softly, "What's the matter?"

Silena pulled him into a hug, hoping to comfort him.

Harry could not help himself as he slumped into her arms. "I – I think.."

Silena patted his back, understanding that he was struggling to speak. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" She whispered.

"I just exiled someone," Harry said as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "I... may have killed him. Or maybe I am the reason he dies in the near to distant future." He chuckled at himself. "Look at me... I made a split second decision that was upheld by the wisest being in Camp... and here I am second guessing it. Whether it was the right thing to do. Whether it was the best outcome for everyone. If there was another solution. Its truly pathetic isn't it?"

"No, it is not. Why don't you tell me everything?" Silena asked as she moved back, separating herself from the one sided hug. She looked at his tearful face, trying to hold back her own sadness at seeing him in that state.

Harry knew full well that he wasn't supposed to. It would defeat the whole purpose of the 'Luke is dead' ruse. But he couldn't help it. He didn't want to hide anything, especially from Silena.

Silena, for her part, listened intently as Harry told her everything, from the time he appeared in Camp to Luke being possessed by Kronos, to the part about Luke's faked death at his hands.

Silena, for her part, could not believe it. If anyone else would have told her this, she would not have even bought any of it.

"So... Luke is gone," She said softly.

Harry nodded.

"And you told Chiron to tell Olympus that you killed him."

Harry nodded yet again.

"Yeah, that is ju – uhh what are you doing?" Harry asked as she hugged him again. This time, Harry was acutely aware of her body as it was pressed into his. She rested her head on his shoulder, even.

"I cannot say if that was the correct decision. Or if there was another solution," Silena said, her hot breath hitting Harry's ear. "But... I have full faith that if there was, you would have thought of it. No, you would have taken it. No matter how much you second guess yourself, there hasn't been a moment where you were wrong about something."

"Yeah, there are moments when I am wrong," Harry muttered, thinking back to all the times Rowena had scolded him for his many mistakes while learning magic and even the times he couldn't outmanoeuver her in chess or any other strategy game.

"I am trying to lift your spirits," Silena said, in a slightly annoyed tone. "And I am sure that we are talking about different types of moments..."

There was a brief amount of silence as they separated themselves from each other's embrace.

"One of the moments where I was supposedly correct almost got you killed," Harry said. "If I knew... no, if I had planned for an event wherein he would try and take us all out at once..."

Silena narrowed her eyes. "You did not know he would."

"No, but I assumed that he absolutely needed us alive," Harry said. "It was a dangerous assumption."

"Why are you so hard to cheer up?!" Silena said a bit loudly.

Harry flinched at the sudden loud voice.

Silena took a small breath, giving Harry a smile.

"Well, I knew that a similar thing might happen when I fell for you..."

Harry wasn't sure he heard her correctly, but his face turned redder than a tomato nonetheless. "Wha – wha – did I?"

Silena giggled as Harry's brain shut down at her impromptu confession and tried to reboot itself. She stood up, dusting herself off. "Its okay if you do–"

Harry stopped her, grabbing her hand. "Does.. I mean... do you... uh... can I... wanna-go-out-with-me-sometime?"

Silena looked at him. Harry couldn't meet her eyes, and his face was still red. Given that he had spoken that last line in a very fast manner, it took her a moment to decipher what he had said.

When she did, Silena smiled widely. "Of course I do!"

"This is very troubling news, Chiron," Zeus said as his stormy blue eyes fixated on the Centaur who bowed in the center of the Throne Room. "Dionysus, can you confirm?"

"Bah, those brats keep fighting so many times that I honestly lose count," said the god uncaringly from his throne.

Hermes glared heatedly at Dionysus, as did Athena. "That is one of my sons! AND HE–"

"Silence, Hermes," Zeus said, his eyes flaring with power. "If Chiron is to be believed, then your brat not only accepted a deal from the Titans, making him a traitor, but also had a direct hand in stealing my Master Bolt."

Hermes flinched. If nothing else, it was the calm tone of his father that scared him the most. Normally when he got angry, Zeus was loud, threw more insults than all the sailors in the world combined. But this silent fury was something that was truly frightening.

"If nothing else, I should award Athena's boy for dealing out a quick justice," Zeus said in a softer tone. Then he turned to Athena, who looked proud that her father had praised her son. "Well? Can Caliburn actually function like that?"

"I am afraid that only Merlin would know for certain..." Athena said reluctantly. Despite possessing nearly all of the world's knowledge, there were some things that she simply did not know. It frustrated her to no end, even admitting that was a blow to her pride.

But Caliburn was something that was entirely shrouded in myth and legends, and nothing was definitive.

Zeus closed his eyes. "This is actually a blessing. With his special vision, no doubt he was a witness to this event. Who can either confirm or deny Chiron's account," he mused. He turned to Hermes. "Bring him here within the minute."

Hermes stood up from his throne, swallowing the sadness and frustration. Before he could even move, however, there was slight shift in the wind as a tall brown haired man, wearing a trench-coat, seemingly appeared in the Throne Room, standing beside Chiron.

For his part, Chiron did not so much as flinch. He hid his nervousness quite well, however.

"No need," Merlin said, his bright green eyes fixed on Zeus. He bowed deeply.

Zeus growled. "You were observing this meeting, despite the fact that I ordered you to never train your eyes anywhere on Olympus!"

"And you swore never to have any demigod children. If the King can break his own words, surely his subjects can't be expected to uphold his words either," Merlin said, shrugging his shoulders in an uncaring manner.

Zeus gripped his throne tightly, his body shaking with rage. It did not help that Hera was sitting right beside him, glaring at him. He knew that Hera was mocking him, as if her expression said 'I told you this would happen'

"Did you witness what happened between the sons of Hermes and Athena?" Zeus asked, gritting his teeth.

"Of course!" Merlin said. "And it went down exactly as he said."

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Did it now?"

"You call me here, ask for my statement, and then doubt said statement?" Merlin asked in return. Then he gave a small smile. "But I suppose that there was something that Chiron left out..."

Zeus turned his attention to Chiron, who gulped. "Oh?"

"Don't blame the old Centaur. It sounds unbelievable even to me! But Luke let it slip that Ares took the Master Bolt off of him! Imagine that!" Merlin said with a laugh. "I mean, why would that old war monger steal something that powerful from the real thief, especially with a potential war breaking out? Imagine that!"

Zeus's eyes widened. He looked at Ares's empty throne. "So... he thinks he can truly get away with this? And he had the audacity to lie to me that he could not find it?" Zeus muttered to himself.

Chiron looked at Merlin in confusion and slight relief. He honestly had no idea how to tell Zeus of Ares's deception. Had he said that Luke told them such before he suddenly attacked Harry, as was their fabricated tale, it would have been easily picked apart. If not by Zeus, then by Athena.

Merlin winked at Chiron in response, that only Athena caught. She narrowed her eyes at the two. She wondered what Merlin was up to. She could just point it out, but Merlin would find a way to talk himself out of it.

It did sound a bit suspicious to her when Merlin had said 'it went down exactly as he said.'

Before she could do anything, Zeus called out, "Artemis! Athena! Apollo! Hermes!"

All of them, except Athena, immediately stood at attention.

"Find and bring Ares here. I do not care in what condition he is in! I do not care what he's doing! I want him here within the hour!"

Athena was still contemplating if she should bring up her suspicions, even as the other three flashed out of Olympus.

"NOW ATHENA!" Zeus yelled, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"My apologies, Father," Athena said, flashing out after her siblings. That would have to wait. Zeus was too fixated on Merlin's accusation.

"Well, if there is nothing else," Merlin said. Zeus waved his hand in dismissal as he slumped back into his throne. Merlin bowed again as he disappeared into thin air. Chiron was dismissed as well, and Dionysus walked over to him, to take him back to Camp Half Blood.

"Keep in the loop next time," Dionysus said in a low whisper as he and Chiron flashed out, that went unheard by the rest of the Olympians.

Chiron looked at the god in surprise, before nodding.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were immensely confused.

They had just arrived at Las Vegas after Ares had given them supplies and a rather... questionable method of travel.

They were about to step in the Lotus Casino, to rest for the night, when Hermes himself had come to them.

Without saying much, he had taken the backpack that Percy was carrying, saying that the real lightning thief was caught. There had been an emergency meeting of all Olympians, and the thief, Ares, had been punished after he had revealed everything.

Then Hermes had handed them three flight tickets back to New York, saying that Zeus was willing to overlook Percy entering his domain just this once, as at the end of the day, he had taken it upon himself to find the Bolt.

Percy wanted to ask what about his mother, but Hermes did not stay long enough.

All three of them just knew that their quest was suddenly cut short, and they were meant to return. Percy, very badly, wanted to go to Hades just to try and get his mother back, but a second surprise had come in the form of Mrs. Dodds, or rather the Fury Alecto, who had informed him that his mother had been returned to her home after the stolen Helm was returned.

And thus, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were sitting in the plane that was taking them back to New York, wondering what just happened.

They did not even know that Hades' Helm was even stolen.

Merlin sighed in annoyance as he turned to face Athena once again. "Must you be so insistent in disturbing my peace and quiet?"

"Why save Hermes's son?" Athena asked simply.

"I am not at all surprised that you caught on," Merlin said with a slight smile. "And as to why, well... call it a bet with the Fates."

Athena raised a brow. "A bet?"

"That night... what do you think happened? How did your son survive a spell that kills unconditionally?"

"I am clearly not as well versed in the mystics as you or Hecate. But I assume that Lily must have used a very obscure ritual to–"

"Nope," Merlin cut in. "The Killing Curse is just that. If its target is something that is alive and mortal, as in 'that which can die' the curse will kill. No exceptions. Nothing can save you from this, as the curse is literally death being imposed on your very body and magic."

Athena's eyes widened. "Then the only ones who could have saved him was..."

"Exactly," Merlin said as he nodded. "A unique existence, whose thread was never cut on purpose. This makes him such that he is no longer influenced by the Fates. As such, he possess a unique ability to free others from theirs, something that he must never be made aware of. After all, the bet entails how many lives he saves for the better. It would be a shame if he actively tries to do so and fails at all of them."

"But why would they? It makes him a chaotic element!"

"Isn't that what they felt was needed?" Merlin asked. "Fates merely exist to ensure that there is balance. As such, at times, there will be a need to do something chaotic. And they chose someone who is very similar to a king I once knew. To the point where I wonder if he reincarnated. But that is wishful thinking."

"Harry is nothing like Arthur," Athena stated. That much she knew for certain.

"On the surface, sure," Merlin said. "But how many humans, or even demigods have you met with the Fatal Flaw of altruism?"

A/N: And that is a wrap for this chapter.

One thing I want to clarify: the Fates not cutting Harry's thread when it was supposed to does not make him immortal at all. He is still subject to everything that can make someone die, be it natural or not.

I am ready to receive all the hate for essentially exiling Luke, but there was no logical way for me to let him get away with everything. It is unfair, and I hope I made a sufficient job in portraying as such. Rest assured, he will back.

I know I said the Lightning Thief quest would go according to canon, but the change simply felt logical to me. The thing is, despite not doing so in the past, I believe that if you make a crossover, or even do something as simple as dump an OC into a series' canon, their very presence is enough to completely derail the canon. Like here, the fact that Harry found out so many things is sure to have far reaching consequences – whether he wants them or not.

While I have a majority of this story outlined, I may or may not do a short interlude of 1 or 2 chapters before taking everyone to UK, to get rid of our good pal Voldie.

Also if this was a fic in the same vein as Dragon Emperor, my other active fic, I would 100% pair Athena with Merlin. If only for the lulz even if it doesn't make sense.