Percy was dreaming again. It wasn't normal dreaming, but it wasn't demigod dreaming. He was clearly not seeing something that was currently happening. It looked like it was colonial America, around maybe the seventeen-hundreds.

For one thing, the houses were log cabins with fist-sized gaps the let winter air blow in. It was most likely the start of winter, because there was only a little snow on the ground, and things were only just starting to freeze over. Any skating (if they even had skates in that time, Percy didn't know) would break through the ice.

For another thing, the people walking around were wearing scratchy woolen clothes that were clearly not modern or comfortable.

Percy's consciousness appeared to be hovering over a lake. He could see some people milling about far to his left, probably gathering wood for the coming winter storms. He could hear a few children running around, trying to get in a few last hours of playing.

Then he heard a voice that shocked him. It was the flying boy's voice.

"We will!"

The he appeared on the lake, cautiously testing out the surface. Percy gasped. It wasn't the boy. He had brown hair, and was shivering slightly in a cool breeze that the non-corporeal Percy couldn't feel. Percy tried to warn him about the thin ice, but no sound came out of his mouth. He sighed. Silently.

"Come on, midget. It's safe." No, it wasn't.

"Are you sure?" Percy heard a little girl's voice. He couldn't see her, but he knew she was close, probably behind a tree. She sounded full of well-founded doubt.

"If I wasn't sure, would I do this?" The brown-haired boy walked out to the center of the lake and started jumping up and down. A thin hairline crack appeared, but neither of them noticed it.

The girl peeked out from behind the tree, and wobbled over, feet already shod in brand-new skates. Percy just noticed that the boy was barefoot.

She cautiously put one foot on the ice, and tested it. Seeing that it seemed stable enough for her tastes, she put her other foot down with an ease that told of a lot of practice. Maybe this would end up alright, if the two kids (Percy suspected they were siblings) had had that much practice.

The girl got to the middle of the lake before it started cracking.

And then the girl was surrounded with cracks.

She let out a moan of despair. She definitely thought she wasn't going to come out of this.

Suddenly, the boy held out his hands in a surrendering style. "It's okay. It's okay. Don't look

down, just look at me."

She looked up for a brief second, then flashed her eyes back down to her feet to make sure she wasn't falling through.

"Jack, I'm scared." Percy could hear the fear in her voice, plain as day. He strained his ears to make sure he didn't miss anything.

That was when he heard the sirens' call.

They were water sirens, the ones that lured children into unsafe situations near water and caused them to drown. Maybe they were literal, maybe not, but the song of the water was calling to Jack and his sister, and one of them wasn't going to make it out. There was nothing Percy could do. This was in the past. Percy was seeing this for a reason, but so far it was unclear.

The ice below Jack's sister cracked more. Her ankles wobbled unsteadily. Percy could almost see the gears in Jack's head turning as he desperately thought of a way to save his sister. Then the lightbulb flashed on.

"I know, I know...but you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in. We're gonna have a little fun instead." He offered a weak smile.

"No, we're not!" the girl shouted. She looked like she was on the verge of panicked tears.

"Would I trick you?" Jack tried again for a smile, and seemed to succeed.

"Yes! You always play tricks!" Ouch.

Nonetheless, the boy smiled again and gave a little laugh. He understood that the girl wasn't trying to be vicious. "Well, alright. Well, not- not this time. I promise. I promise, you're gonna be...you're gonna be

fine." He was stuttering now, his idea having lost steam as quickly as it was created.

"You have to believe in me." That sentence held a lot of weight. The girl looked up again, and even from Percy's angle, despair was visible in her eyes. But she tried to smile.

And just like that, Jack's demeanor changed. A light was switched on inside him. The last thing that could be happening is actually happening, contrary to Percy's earlier beliefs. Percy smiled invisibly. It will turn out all right for sure, now.

"You wanna play a game?" Percy saw the boy smile even wider. Whatever he had come up with, it was going to be good. "We're going to play hopscotch! Like we play every day!"

Jack's sister looked more reassured. Percy saw the beginnings of hope light across her face.

Jack continued talking to try and distract his sister, and Percy could see him hopping lightly across the ice. "It's as easy as...one...whoaaaa..." he took a misstep and flailed, although Percy thought it looked mostly for show. His sister laughed, and Percy smiled again.

"Two..." He jumped again.

"Three!" he turned to the girl again, safely away from the cracks. Jack bent down slowly, and picked up a stick. Percy gasped. The stick was the exact same one as the boy's from the cave!

"Now it's your turn."

Jack's sister looked down at her feet, unsure again. Jack lowered his voice so that Percy had to strain to hear it.

"One..."

The girl stepped once, full of fear and caution.

"That's it, that's it...two..."

The ice beneath her cracked even more. The siren call in the background rose to a crescendo, and Percy heard words to it now, words that made no sense to him.

Aching for release….. I am your home…..You can rest your weary head, you shall take it to the grave…

It was crooning, beseeching. It had no effect on the girl, but the boy tensed subtly. Then he glance to the sky, and sent a reassuring smile in Percy's direction. Gathering his resolve, the boy breathed his last word.

"Three."

Several things happened at once. Jack hooked the girl around the waist and sent her flying across the ice to the solid part. Jack's momentum sent him to the place the girl was just standing.

They both stood up shakily, giving each other reassuring glances-

And then Jack and his stick fell through the ice.

The girl screamed his name, her arm outstretched. Realizing where she was, she scrambled to the banks, and sat on the dirt and snow, tears streaming down her face.

She stayed until nightfall, until a hysterical woman found her and grabbed her by the arm. The girl screamed, even as she was dragged away.

"Jack's back there! You're leaving him! We have to go back! We have to! We have to…." Her voice faded away, and then it was all silent.

The lake magically froze over again, until there was no sign of anything having ever happened, not even the skates.

And a boy with white hair rose out.

(^)(^)(*)(^)(^)

Jack was starting to get worried about Percy. He had hit his head on the floor hours ago, and he wasn't showing any signs of waking any time soon. Occasionally he would mumble a little bit, mutter a few words, or drool, but he would still soon after. Something about him made Jack want to stay there forever (besides the obvious medical possibilities). He was… hot.

When thoughts like those flashed across Jack's mind, he simply blushed and desperately tried to make himself forget about them and move on, although more often than not, he failed.

He wondered what Percy was like before he had ended up in the Blue Mountains. Did he spend most of his time in books? Did he work out? Have a job. Jack knew practically nothing about him, and already was finding him "hot."

All of a sudden, Percy launched forward, his arm outstretched. "No!" He screamed. "Jack!" Tears started streaming down his face, and it soon became obvious he was still asleep. "Jack…"

Jack started out of his "deep" thoughts. Percy was calling his name! Jack was sure that he'd never given his name to Percy. He must have been dreaming about some other person named Jack. It was a common name.

Soon enough, Percy woke up. Strangely enough, although he had practically weeping, there were no tearstains on his shirt.

"You're Jack." He breathed. "Your sister…"

Now Jack was confused. "Sister?" He asked. "I don't have a sister. I've always been alone."

"No, you did!" Percy was adamant about this. "But you wouldn't remember her because you… you died! That's why you're so old! You died and she never saw you again, and you drowned, and… and…."

Jack held his hands up. He had no clue what Percy was talking about, but maybe he could get Percy to explain.

"Start from the top, and calm down." Jack said. "I can barely understand you."

"I didn't see much." Percy said. "Only a couple hours' worth. But.."

So Percy proceeded to tell Jack everything that he had seen, starting from the very beginning, although he omitted the part about the water siren. He didn't want to let Jack figure out anything that could link to his godly heritage.

As Jack listened, he leaned closer and closer. Everything Percy was saying seemed preposterous, but a small part of them rang true. He could almost hear his sister's screams in his head, her accusations, his soothing replies.

"Wow." Jack said when he was finished. "Are you sure that actually happened?"

"You really don't remember." Percy stated. "What was your sister's name?"

And that was the catalyst. Memories came flooding into Jack's head, from his entire life. The one before. He remembered every single detail, saw himself doing stupid things, smart things- everything. He remembered how he was going to be wed to one of the village girls in a few days' time. How he did everything he could to avoid it. His best friend, stupid enemy, mother, sister…

And lastly, he remembered how he was happy to die, not because he was suicidal, but because it meant his sister could live. She could grow up now, and be happy. A glistening frozen pearl fell to the floor.

I'm really insanely happy with this chapter. Also, I'm on a hunt for a beta and/or a new cover artist. You'll get the credit. Anybody interested? PM me if you want it. Anyways, in my mind, I just feel like they'd have a beautiful sister-brother relationship, complete with name-calling. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!