MASTER OF TIME

Installment One: Percy Jackson and the Olympians,
The Lightning Thief

by Tannin & Tele

Disclaimer: All rights belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, voiding that of original content and characters.

CHAPTER FIVE: I CALL BULL

Long Island, New York

"Immobulus!" a voice suddenly snapped, a long stream of purple catching the razed tree from descending onto us.

My mother let out a shriek as the Minotaur staggered shakily to his feet, a large, bloody gash marring his forehead. Before the bull could regain it's bearings, a spray of misty blue light cascaded over the Minotaur's torso. His arms and legs instantly snapped together, his expression one of shock as he fell onto the ground, motionless.

The only sound was the howling wind, thunder rumbling above us. I blinked the rain out of my eyes and watched the shadowed figure standing heroically above the monster's fallen shape. My jaw tensed as he tentatively turned towards me, bright eyes abnormally distant.

"Um...hello?" I asked, voice cautious. Harry blinked rapidly, his eyes swiftly roaming up and down my body for injuries.

He expelled a little breath when he found none. "He won't be down for long," Harry spoke quietly. "We need to get you to safety."

At the word 'safety', my gaze snapped to my mother, finding her figure hunched in the darkness. Grover's head was cradled in her lap, the satyr shaking from the cold as he dug his head deeper into my mom's dampened nightgown. Harry followed my gaze and without another word, we both bounded over to the couple.

My mom glanced up at us with watery eyes, her hair hanging limp around tear-stained cheeks. I crouched down beside her immediately, wrapping my arms tight around her shoulders. She hugged me just as tightly, petting my hair with murmured sweet-nothings. The non-romantic kind, obviously.

Harry awkwardly averted his eyes, absentmindedly pushing away wet bangs. He waited until we parted before swiftly flicking his wrist without a word. Grover gave a loud snort as he was carefully levitated a few feet into the air, made to hover gently beside Harry's shoulder.

I helped my mother stagger to her feet, her eyes reluctantly leaving mine to land on my friend. "You must be Harry," she croaked, voice raspy as she extended a still-trembling hand. Harry shook it lightly, and she grasped his much smaller hand within hers. "Percy's told me much about you," she said kindly. "Although I don't believe he's gotten around to mention your...special abilities."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know," I reminded her in irritation. My mother gave me an indiscreet poke to the stomach, and I tiredly swatted her hand away. We both swiveled our eyes to Harry, who jerked his wand to keep Grover from hitting the ground.

Harry gave us a sheepish smile. "Oops?"

The act of me swatting him upside the head was interrupted by loud, feral groan. Harry's face went drastically pale, and he adjusted Grover to glide along beside us. "That Body-Bind didn't hold as long as I thought it would," he murmured, green eyes squinted. His glassed were fogged and splattered with ran; he took a second to swish his wand, his body rippling with color. Almost immediately, the falling rain seemed to veer away from him, as if he was impervious to it's affects.

I bit my lip to resist asking how?

"We need to move!" He told me urgently. "Where's the pine tree, again?"

We hobbled up the hill, my mother tucked under my arm. She was muttering under her breath, but I couldn't catch a word through the thundering storm...and the bellowing bull. Minotaur had roared upon reviving and Harry swore frantically, flicking his arm. Grover sailed over the treeline, depositing lightly on the grass beyond the large pine. "Run, Percy," my mother told me, pushing my arm away. "I can't go any farther."

I immediately began to protest, not noticing Harry's internal panic.

"What do you mean you can't go any farther?" Harry interrupted, voice sharp. My mother shot him a strange look. "I'm mortal," she hurriedly explained. "I can only be invited onto the property by someone with authority already within the camp."

"Does the barrier keep all non-half bloods out?" Harry asked, his eyes wild in urgency.

"I don't-" my mother stuttered, and Harry waved her off dismissively.

"Never mind. It can't possibly-" he took a deliberate step forward past the tree, immediately hitting an invisible barrier. He stumbled back painfully, and I quickly caught him from slipping in the mud. His cheeks went red, from frustration or otherwise, I didn't know.

"It does," my mother confirmed. I nervously chewed my lip, and Harry turned to me, jaw clenched.

"Percy," he said. "You need to go through."

Before I could argue, Harry shoved me through the barrier, ignoring my protests. The Minotaur's figure clambered out from behind a pine tree, before his feet went out from under him. Harry tucked away his wand. "Keep going, Percy," he told me, forcing his voice to remain calm. "Get some help, if you can. I lost the element of surprise, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Don't worry about me." He finished, putting a small hand against the barrier. I mirrored his action, and thought I could feel the warmth of his palm if I closed my eyes. But I kept them open, staring into his fiercely bright green orbs.

The moment was broken as the Minotaur roared, and Harry turned, shoulders set in determination. Sparing a glance backwards, he flicked his wand, and the barrier rippled with something bright. "Sense altering charm," he informed my mother. "It blocks his scent, his appearance and any noise he makes. It'll wear off in a bit, but so long as Percy keeps within the camp, he'll be safe.

"Now, be warned, I'm about to cast a protective charm around you. It won't hurt a bit, although it may be...ticklish. Just remember, whatever you see, whatever happens, do not break the bubble." He warned, and my mother nodded reluctantly in ascension. "Contego," Harry swiftly rapped his wand over my mom's head, causing a glimmering, starry orb to gradually surrounded her.

She gasped at the sensation, fruitlessly slamming her palms against it. The filmy liquid molded against her hands, and Harry gave her a meaningful look. She ceased her protests, clasping her hands nervously. Harry flicked his wand again, dismissing an invisible charm around the two. Everything suddenly became sharp, the rain colder, the wind louder, and their breathing heavier. As if sensing the unnatural magic, thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning cracked dangerously close.

The Minotaur's ears perked in interest, and as the monster charged them, I ran.

The sounds of battle echoed in my ears.

Lightning zagged down from the skies, slamming into a distant tree. Sparks flew, and the branches collapsed into fire. I could feel the tremble from here, looking up to the sky as another bolt cracked. I dashed forward, my breath coming in pants. My head felt like it was splitting open- as though Harry had taken his golden sword and sliced my brain in two.

I was weak and trembling as I staggered down toward the lights of the farm-house, futilely attempting to ignore the screams, the roars, and the eerie lights from the peak of the hill.

Finally, finally, I stumbled onto the wooden porch of the farmhouse, slamming clumsily into the screen door and screaming for all I was worth. For extra measure, I knocked. (Yes, knocking; My secret super-power.) The door swung open to reveal a scowling blonde girl, and I opened my mouth to plead, to cry, to grab her and shake her for answers; but before I could, a great rumble came from the skies. The girl gasped.

I whirled on my heel to see Harry's small, shadowed figure erect a bright blue shield above him. He dove to the ground as an enormous blaze of light snapped down from the sky, slicing through the Minotaur's lumbering body. He disappeared in a flash of light, and the forthcoming eruption caused me and the girl- even a half a foot-ball field away- to stumble to the ground. "Ποπο!" the girl swore, and somehow I understood it to mean something similar to "holy shit!"

A shower of golden sparks came from my mother's body, and when I looked up from my sprawled position on the ground, I saw nothing but a decimated hilltop and a single, smoldering figure collapsed on the ground.

Somehow, I just knew it wasn't my mother.

The thunder and howling wind suddenly sounded like a mixture of maniacal laughter and sobbing. Someone was crying, the sound full of grief, and before my eyes slipped shut, I knew it was me.

I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals and angered shouts. I saw green eyes and dark hair, freckles and hoofs, and wrinkled my nose at the smell of wet dog. Or, wet goat, rather. I must've woken up several times, but despite the efforts of my overseer's, I just passed out again.

I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn but with the texture of pudding. The girl with the curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon. It hurt to open my eyes, but somehow, I managed.

"What will happen at the summer solstice?" the girl hurriedly asked when she noticed I had awoken. I shifted, trying to see her better.

"What?" I croaked, and saw a flash of dark hair by the opened door. "Where...where is he? Where's Harry?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at me, pursing her lips. "Never mind him," she snapped, clearly annoyed. "Tell me, what's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks left!"

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, turning my head into the pillow. "I don't..."

A raised voice came from the hallway, the irritated lilt achingly familiar. "Annabeth!" someone called, and the girl sighed in exasperation. She settled down the cup, and disappeared from my view, muttering "damned new kids."

Everything slowly faded into darkness.

When I finally came around for good, it was to the sharp chirping of birds. I was sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, gazing across a serene meadow. I blinked the sun out of my eyes, and relished in the cool breeze against my skin. Without thinking, I reached for the tall drink sitting on the table besides me.

It looked like iced apple juice, which I wasn't overly adverse to. Perhaps I'm in heaven, I thought, still a bit groggy. If so, this certainly isn't the worst place to spend the afterlife. That ideal was shattered as soon as I tried hand was so weak that I nearly dropped the glass, cool condensation dripping off my fingertips. My limbs shook with urgency, and I had to take a few breaths to calm myself. "Careful," a familiar voice said, startling me. "That's expensive stuff."

Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. He was wearing blue jeans, dirty hi-tops and a bright orange shirt that read Camp Half-Blood. Just plain old Grover, not the satyr. I blinked at him.

"You saved my life," Grover said, almost reverently. "You got me across the border-"

"Um, no." I rasped, before clearing my throat. "I didn't save you. It was Harry."

Grover blinked, brow furrowing. "He didn't-"

"He did!" I interrupted, suddenly quite awake. I struggled to rise to my feet. "He saved us! He appeared out of nowhere, and fought the Minot-"

"Don't say it's name!"

"Where's Harry?" I demanded, remembering the flash of lightning. "Where's my mom?!"

"I'm sorry!" Grover shouted, covering his face. "I'm a failure. I'm...I'm the worst satyr in the world." He whimpered, stamping his foot onto the porch. It fell off. I mean, the hi-tops came off, and I saw that the inside was filled with Styrofoam. "Oh, Styx!" he mumbled, struggling to get his cloven hoof into the shoe.

I watched frustrated tears well in his eyes, and took pity on the poor goat-boy. "It wasn't your fault," I soothed, awkwardly leaning forward to pat his skinny, freckled arm. "Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault"

"Yes it was! It's my job to protect you, and at the first sign of monster, I-"

"Get knocked unconscious during a car crash," I insisted, "You couldn't help that!"

"But I-" Grover whined. "I'm a Protector, I'm supposed to-" I frowned at him in confusion and attempted to stand.

"Don't strain yourself!" Grover yelped, leaping forward to push me back into the rocking chair. "Here." He helped me hold the glass, lifting the rim to my lips. I recoiled at the taste, expecting apple juice; but it wasn't. It was so much better. I instantly began chugging it, my whole body bursting with warmth. My muscles relaxed, my heart beat slowed and my eyes fluttered shut in bliss. Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared down into it, positive that I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.

"Was it good?" Grover asked nervously, smiling at the color to my cheeks. "What did it taste like?"

"Sorry," I apologized, feeling guilty. "I should've let you taste."

"No! That's not what I meant. I just...wondered."

"Oh. Chocolate-chip cookies," I told him wistfully, licking my lips. My eyes closed at the remaining taste. "My mom's home-made ones. And something caramel, too...like those beers Harry had snuck into Yancy," I paused, frowning. "Where is Harry, anyways? Is he..."

Grover stiffened, which worried me, before giving a long sigh. "He's not dead, if that's what you mean. Unfortunately," he muttered beneath his breath. I pretended not to hear, looking back towards the hill. I grimaced at the darkened grass, the burnt tree line and the smoky scent to the air. That lightning strike was horrific, but if Harry managed to survive, maybe my mother... "Well, if he's not dead, where is he?"

A loud crash came from the farmhouse, and Grover winced. I swiveled my head backwards as a muted voice shouted. "How in the name of Zeus did you get out!?" There was the sound of glass being broken.

"Magic, you arsehole," came the muffled response. "Now give me back my wand, or I'll castrate you with my bare hands. See how many demigods you can sire, then!"
AN: And this is where Tannin Tele's writing ends; the next chapter is purely mine! So it may have a different feel to it... If there are any errors in any of the chapters please say so in a review or a PM I promise to fix them! also no review no messages of thanks from me personally... Though I greatly appreciate all those who have followed and favorited so far!