The bustling city of New York was a familiar sound to me, despite only visiting on occasion. It was always a special treat, something that only happened when something really good, or really bad, was happening. So far, though, it's been mostly the former. Times Square was where we were dropped off, and how the mortals didn't notice two teenagers appear from a cloud of golden dust is something I'd long since ceased trying to rationalize. It was New York, they saw weirder stuff all of the time.
"Can someone make the world stop spinning?" my hapless boyfriend cut me from my musings and observations of the world around us, gently stumbling towards me for a moment before hanging on to my shoulder. He looked queasy.
"If you throw up on me, you're sleeping on the couch for a month," I told him, a gentle smile gracing my features. A smile that only widened when he lightly slapped my shoulder in protest of my words. "Oh, don't be such a baby. It's just a little extradimensional time travel."
"I hate you," he groaned, slowly regaining his bearings. "Hate you so much."
"I love you too, Seaweed Brain," I replied, helping him stand up straight and regain his sense of balance. Really now, what would he do without me? I took another few moments to observe our surroundings. Honestly, not much seemed all that different. This was supposed to be some alternate timeline? I was a little bit disappointed. "What should we do first?"
"Find the other version of me, I guess," Percy answered, having regained his footing and looking around as well. "So, maybe at mom's place or at Camp Half-Blood?" Yeah, that sounded about right.
"Camp Half-Blood, first," I decided. "Let's try not to give your other mom here a heart attack. You could look completely different, or act completely different. Not to mention, if he really is there, having two of you in the same place might make her..."
"Freak out, yeah, probably," Percy agreed. "She's seen some crazy stuff, but even this is a little hard to believe." I nodded, and we both started walking towards Camp Half-Blood. You might ask why we didn't hail the Gray Sisters, or even just use a normal Taxi? Well, even if the two timelines were nearly identical, I couldn't be sure that everything was the same. Including currency. I wouldn't want Percy's or my alternate selves ending up in some trouble because of some minor difference in currency being spotted, and being traced back to us- well, them. As for the Gray Sisters... well, anything supernatural would obviously attract the attention of the gods, which we definitely didn't want right now. Speaking of...
"Hey Annabeth?" Percy spoke up after a few minutes of walking. I glanced at him, humming softly to let him know I'd heard him. "So, demigods all have this scent, right?"
"Yes, Seaweed Brain. Didn't we already go over this, like, six years ago?"
"Hey, stay with me here," he insisted. "So the stronger a demigod gets and the more powerful their parents, the stronger the smell, right?"
"Yes, yes, is there somewhere you're going with this?"
"Your other self said I'm kind of the strongest demigod in every world, and so is whoever I'm dating. So, you, right?"
"Yeah," I sighed, slowly losing my patience. "So yes, Seaweed Brain, we're going to have a really strong scent. And given the alternate histories, monsters might potentially... Oh." I slowly was piecing together what he was getting att. Looking around, I noticed that he noticed we were getting some pretty intense stares from that hotdog vendor. Was his tongue forked? Oh, that dog walker and her dogs were all staring at us, too.
"...potentially smell us like we're the last box of fried chicken at the store, and not care who we are," Percy finished for me. "Yeah, that. Think we should run?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," I told him, not sure how I found my voice. Oh, gods, that was a lot of monsters staring at us. The two of us started running, and the horde gave chase. I don't know how long we ran for, but it had to have been at least for a half an hour.
"Well, so much for not attracting attention!" Percy shouted at me as we ran across the Williamsburg Bridge. "Think the gods noticed!?" I glanced out at the East River, noticing it churning and bubbling like an angry pool of stomach acid.
"I think they definitely noticed!" I told him. Gods, what would Poseidon do if he found out about my Percy? Gods, what if he found out about me? If this world's Percy wasn't dating me, then I was in a lot of trouble.
"Duck!" Percy suddenly shouted. I didn't even hesitate, I hit the ground, hearing the rush of water roar over my head. Behind us, I heard the howling and screaming of monsters as they were thrown into the river. I stood up as soon as the sound passed, and looked behind us. There were still monsters coming after us, but their numbers looked like they were cut in half.
"Nice thinking," I complimented him.
"Uh, that wasn't me," Percy was quick to correct me, though. It wasn't him? but if it wasn't him then-"
"Hey, pick on someone your own size!" I heard a distinctly familiar, yet oh-so different voice calling from the water. I glanced down, and sure enough, Percy was there. Well, this world's Percy. He seemed at ease, and had a bright grin on his face as he waved to us. "Hey, you two, jump on dow! Don't worry, the water's fine!" I glanced at Percy, who nodded as we shared a look. He took my hand and we both took the plunge down into the river below.
I've been inside of air bubbles under the water before. In fact, one of my fondest memories was in an air bubble just like this at the bottom of the Long Island Sound. Still, walking along the dry bottom of the East River like this was a completely foreign experience. It was with quick assurance that we weren't monsters that Percy- other Percy, didn't just drown us at the bottom of the river. Seaweed Brain, being the lovely and simple minded man that he was, quickly proved his own identity by making an air bubble of his own, which other Percy seemed to accept. Still, he didn't look happy. I could imagine a few reasons why.
We walked in silence under the water, completely safe from monsters, but with me obviously being at other Percy's mercy. Oh, I'm certain my Seaweed Brain could match this Percy tit for tat, but fighting him while also protecting me? Yeah, he knew better than to risk my safety. I'd kill him if he let me die, here.
"So you're me," other Percy glanced at my Percy, who had been busy craning his neck in each and avery direction. I'd been busy staring at other Percy. Right now, he was easy to identify because of his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, unbuttoned Hawaiian print over-shirt, and cargo shorts. "From some different world. Is that what you were saying?"
"Yeah," Percy replied pretty easily, focus back on his alternative self. "That about sums it up. Trust me, it was pretty weird for me, too."
"Right, you mentioned this 'Perseus'," Percy acknowledged, letting out a pretty tired sigh. "Ugh, why couldn't you have just been my dad's secret lovechild, or something? Woulda made this so much easier." Percy, other Percy, then let out a frustrated groan. "Gods, I don't want to fill in the paperwork for all of this!"
"There's paperwork?" I asked, suddenly speaking since anything involving logistics was my specialty. I also realized my in for getting some more information. "Actually, what exactly do you do? I wouldn't expect you to be out in the East River at just the right time."
"That's because I wasn't," other Percy replied, his eyes softening a bit as he looked at me. "Olympus sent me a message telling me about two strong demigods who basically just appeared out of nowhere. Normally I would have sent a satyr, but when I heard what you guys looked like? Well, I figured that a satyr just wouldn't cut it." In case we were dangerous, went unsaid. "So here I am."
"And what are you?" I pressed, and I could see he'd pretty much figured me out by the grin on his face. I didn't back down, though. With my Percy, you just keep pushing until he finally spills the beans. I hoped it was the same for this one.
"Percy Jackson, camp director of Camp Half-Blood," he introduced himself. "But if you wanna keep it simple, you can call me Director. Sounds cool and judging from other you's words, this is your quest, not mine." He seemed all-too happy about that, though I really couldn't blame him.
"Wait, you're the camp director?" Percy asked, getting a nod from said Director. "What happened to Mr. D?"
"Got off easy with good behavior," Director replied easily. We must have had some funny faces, because he laughed at us when he looked back. "Heh, yeah, imagine that, right? Turns out helping in a war against Gaea definitely gives you some brownie points with the big guy. What, did you think only the demigods got rewards out of that?"
"Didn't Apollo get told off?" Percy asked. Director blinked, and hummed in thought.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess he did," Director responded. He shrugged. "Eh, not my problem. It probably wasn't all that bad. The gods are kinda unimaginative with their punishments. Basically they just turn you into something else, like a dolphin or something." There was a pretty high number of myths of gods using forced transformation as punishments... "Well, looks like we're here." We started ascending, and sure enough, we walked up the sandy beach of the Long Island Sound into Camp Half-Blood. A part of me thought back to how Turncoat had said that the army of monsters had done the very same in her world. That was tragically easy. Looking back at the sound as we continued into camp, I could imagine an entire legion of monsters doing the very same. so close to everything else, and so unexpectedly... it would have been a slaughter. I pressed myself against Percy's side, trying to stamp down the image in my head. I don't know if he really understood why I did it, but he wrapped an arm around me, anyway, and held me close. Instant comfort.
"Perce! You're back!" the voice of Jason rang out across the yard, and the blonde came running towards us. "Did you find our two wayward demi... gods...?" His eyes wandered towards us, and I could see his visible confusion.
"Hey, Jace," Percy waved to Jason at the same exact moment as Director. They shared a look before Director turned back to our otherworldly friend. "Yeah, you could say that. Jason, Percy and Annabeth. Guys, I guess you already know Jason."
"We're acquainted," I said, hoping to move things along. "Director, I believe we have some things to discuss?"
"Oh, you might wanna bring whoever you're dating, too," Percy added. I nudged his side, but it was too late. Director gave us a curious look, but Jason looked like we'd slapped his sister.
"What do you want with Percy and Thalia?" he asked, tone obviously hostile. Well, I guess that answered that question. "Percy, who are they? They can't be monsters if they're in the borders, but..."
"It's kind of a long story, bro," Director told him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Just trust me, alright? Besides, you think some randoms can really take me and Thalia down?" Thalia and I, I corrected in my head. Also, I was confident that Percy and I were more than a match for them, even if they were both children of Poseidon and Zeus.
"If you say so," Jason still spoke uneasily. Definitely unsure about our entire existence.
"Hey, it's cool," Percy spoke up. "We're all friends here, right?" I held back a sigh. Well, at least Jason seemed placated for now.
"I'll need you to keep this a secret for a bit," Director told Jason. "Go get Thals for me, will ya? Send her to the Big House. My office." Oh, gods, this Percy had an office. It felt like I'd suddenly landed in the twilight zone, or something. Jason, still uncertain, gave Director a nod and headed off towards the fighting arena. Director made a motion for us to follow him, and Percy and I did so without much hesitation.
Heading into the Big House, it was like stepping into a time capsule of our adventures. I guess Director had moved into the place completely, since it was filled with all kinds of stuff that I'd recognized from his cabin. The thing that stood out, though, as we entered his office- gods it was strange saying that, was the minotaur horn, resting silently on a small trophy stand on his desk. He motioned to a pair of seats in front of said desk and took his own behind it.
I took a look around, seeing familiar yet different things on the walls. It was so strange. Was this what Perseus and Turncoat felt, looking at the adorned walls of the Poseidon Cabin?
"So you and Pinecone Face, huh?" Percy asked, obviously trying to make some small talk. Thankfully, Director only chuckled at the nickname. "How'd that happen?" Director turned to face us a picture on his desk. On it was a familiar sight. It was a picture of Thalia and I in a photobooth; this was in Virginia, I think. Back after she and Luke had taken me in when I ran away from home. Except the booth itself was different, and instead of Luke, there was Percy, right there beside me.
"Turns out that you can make some long-lasting friendships on a school field trip to the aquarium," Director spoke wistfully as he glanced at the picture in the frame, then back to us. "And some friendships persist even beyond dying, once."