Thanks for everyone that stayed with this story after last chapter's unexpected twist. Due to your amazing feedback, I was able to fix the ending and posted a much better version of the last section late on October 22nd depending on your time zone.
I struggled a bit with this chapter and went back and forth on using this particular character's perspective since I would prefer for him to be in the shadows, but I think it would have been too difficult to communicate everything if I had used someone else. Also this chapter and probably other elements of this story have been influenced by the amazing Star Wars time travel fanfic, "The Red Past" by Toruviel on Ao3. It really is a masterpiece, so you should definitely check it out if you haven't read it yet (and maybe it would encourage the author to write another chapter).
Interlude I - Palpatine
Over two months after the Battle of Naboo, Senator Sheev Palpatine waited at the door of a three-story residence along one of Theed's main thoroughfares. It had taken longer than he had liked to leave Coruscant, but now he could finally turn his attention to far more stimulating pursuits. Once Palpatine had returned to Naboo, Captain Panaka had been more than willing to invite the senator to his home for a dinner. Honest and exceedingly loyal, Panaka had been far too easy to manipulate. Although Palpatine did wish to show Panaka favor for his dedication to his superiors and overall competence, a trait that was becoming increasingly rare throughout the galaxy, he was far more interested in the captain's two charges.
After a moment, Shmi Skywalker opened the door and greeted him with a kind smile and a bow. "My dear Shmi, it is a pleasure to see you again," Palpatine exclaimed forcing the warmth into his voice. They exchanged further pleasantries, and Shmi admitted that Panaka had offered her a guest bedroom until she found a place of her own, although her blush suggested that she might remain for some time.
While she had stayed with him on Coruscant during the conflict, Shmi had been an excellent source of information regarding both her own son and Panaka's charges. Based on the extraordinary circumstances of Anakin's birth and the boy's powerful Force-presence, Sidious suspected that he may indeed be the child resulting from his Master's Force experiments. Young Skywalker would make an excellent apprentice, and with time, Sidious knew he could turn the boy. At the moment though, his attempts to build a relationship with young Skywalker had been thwarted by Skywalker's current Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sidious was certain that a young Jedi Knight just saddled with a Padawan would welcome a break from constant chaperoning, but Kenobi had accompanied Skywalker for tea at the senator's office all four times he had invited the boy.
In his previous dealings with Kenobi, the young Jedi had always exhibited the distant respect the Jedi encouraged their members to show politicians, not this open distrust. The change could only mean that Annabeth Chase had shared her suspicions, probably as a precaution in case she was targeted, smart girl. Palpatine had known she would figure out that he was the only candidate to benefit from an attack on Naboo. She was too clever not to. He even suspected that she had put the pieces together in his office but had the sense not to say anything more. However, he knew that she had not figured everything out because the Jedi would have acted against him by now. That meant the situation could still be salvaged, especially, since Kenobi, for whatever reason, seemed to not have shared his misgivings with the Jedi Council.
Though if his plan was successful tonight, Annabeth Chase would willingly help Palpatine and convince Kenobi that their distrust was misplaced. Turning the girl into an ally was a far more rewarding scheme than simply eliminating her as he had initially planned since her death at this point would only increase suspicion no matter how craftily he went about it. Plus, if he had the girl, then he had the boy. Despite Percy Jackson's claim to be unpredictable, Palpatine knew that he would always follow the girl, such was the depth of their attachment.
Shmi acted as a gracious hostess and led him to the dinning room where the rest of the dinner party waited. Panaka bowed and thanked him for the honor of his visit. The children bowed as well. The girl gave him a polite smile, but he felt her steely gray eyes analyzing his every move. The boy was far less subtle at hiding his feelings and grimaced when Palpatine entered the room. Clearly, the boy still did not like him. In fact, Percy Jackson had seemed wary of him from the very beginning even before the girl had formed her suspicions. Palpatine supposed it was possible that the boy could sense something about him.
Palpatine still did not know what exactly Jackson and Chase were, only that they were different from any other Force-user he had met before and rather powerful, particularly the boy. When he had inspected the battlefield on the Great Grass Plains, he had immediately sensed the remnants of power from the formation of the new branch in the Solleu. It had the distinct signature of the boy's Force presence though the Naboo Security Forces had insisted the new water feature was from the Trade Federation's weapons or the Gungan's volatile plasma bombs. He had to talk to that fool of a Gungan to get the real account. He would have thought the Gungan was exaggerating, but Jackson had clearly done something impressive to receive that level of reverence from the primitive amphibians. If he were to believe the Gungan, Jackson possessed power the likes of which the galaxy had not seen in over a millennium: controlling a Force resistant beast, cracking open the very ground, and directly manipulating matter at such a large extent.
The Force whirled around the boy like a storm making it impossible to sense his thoughts or predict his actions. Chase had a more conventional block, but it was still effective. When he had asked Shmi about their origins, she had told him they were Force-sensitives stranded from another galaxy. Perhaps, it was just a coincidence that two strange and powerful Force-users appeared out of nowhere right when Sidious executed his plan, but coincidences were very rare.
As they sat down at the table, the girl asked, "So Senator, were there any complications in Nute Gunray's trial that were not mentioned in the HoloNet News coverage?"
Palpatine smiled at her, "Beside Gunray's lawyer trying to use every possible delay tactic, the trial ran rather smoothly. I actually had very little to do since the jury had no choice but to declare the viceroy guilty with all of the evidence collected by the Senate commission."
"You are being too modest, Senator," Panaka stated. "The final speech you made at the trial was very compelling."
"Yes, and I'm sure your success with the prosecution will help with the upcoming chancellor election," Chase gave him an assessing look.
"A man can hardly complain if doing his solemn duty for his people does happen to boost his polling numbers as well," Palpatine said with a smile like he was sharing a great secret. In fact, that was the main reason why the trial had to be successful, at least initially. Nute Gunray would stew in prison and reflect on his utter failure at the hands of four children. However, Gunray did have his uses, mainly his droid army which was why a corrupt judge would overturn the jury's verdict in a few months and with a bit of manipulation Gunray would retain his position as viceroy. It would just be another black mark against the current administration, while Palpatine and Naboo were once again victims of corruption. The whole affair would ensure that he won the chancellor election even if it had delayed his plans.
Palpatine directed the conversation to Naboo's recovery and the new Gungan alliance. He hoped to engage Jackson in the discussion since the boy had been doing a rather impressive job at dissipating thousands of years of distrust between the two peoples and must clearly be passionate about the subject. However, Jackson seemed to be doing his best to ignore the senator. Even when Palpatine asked him a question, the boy would stubbornly reply with only one word. Finally, Palpatine took a more direct approach, "Percy, if the rest of the company would excuse my bluntness, I would like for us to speak plainly."
Jackson raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Sorry Senator, but I thought that was exactly what I've been doing."
"I suppose you have," Palpatine said dryly. "Therefore, I will follow your example of frankness. You dislike me, Percy," He was amused that the boy did not even try to politely deny it like most would, "possibly even before that meeting in my office all those months ago. Usually, I would not trouble myself over a single man's regard, but your guardian and I are close friends. I am sure the good captain would prefer if we got along better. Past events have also shown that you and Annabeth are quite talented and have much to offer Naboo. I believe if we work together, we could have a lasting impact not only on Naboo but the rest of the galaxy as well. However, to accomplish any of this we will have to at least be able to talk cordially, so I would like to know why I have earned your seemingly instantaneous disapproval."
Jackson leaned back in his chair and gave a nonchalant shrug before focusing those green eyes on Palpatine, "Well since you asked, you just remind me a lot of this other politician I knew back on my home planet. He took over his government, used a war he encouraged to extend his political power to almost unprecedented levels, and then tried to kill my friends and family. I'm sure you're nothing like that, and it's just that you are a skilled orator like he was." The boy grimaced, "But, every time you speak, I'm reminded of that scrawny, teddy bear slaughtering, slime ball."
"Percy!" Panaka and Annabeth exclaimed.
"I expected better behavior from you. Apologize to the senator," Panaka ordered.
The girl sighed, "Really, Seaweed Brain, you should know better than to just blurt out whatever you think. How many powerful people have you managed to anger by doing that?"
Jackson smirked, "At least I wasn't the one to get Hera mad enough at me to curse me with cow poop. I mean after what she did to Hercules, even I knew better than that."
"Percy," Panaka warned.
Jackson stared at his guardian for a moment before turning to Palpatine, "I'm sorry if I offended you, Senator." The boy looked like he had swallowed something bitter. Obedience clearly did not come easily to him. It was a testament to Jackson's deep respect for Panaka that the boy did as the captain asked. In fact, Palpatine suspected Jackson only obeyed the order because he felt indebted to Panaka for taking them in. The boy would certainly be amusing to break to his will.
"Besides, I'm sure Senator Palpatine is nothing like Octavian," Chase said attempting to soothe everything over. Palpatine saw strength and intelligence in those calculating grey eyes. She had a softer Force presence than the boy's, but her perception was better than most Jedi Masters on the Council. Between her astuteness and the boy's massive, unbridled power, it was little wonder that they were able to foil his initial plan. Suddenly, he felt a strong need to possess these children, to control them.
Palpatine chuckled genially, hiding his surprise that Percy was a little too familiar with how a politician might extend his power. As long as these children were alive, he would have to tread carefully with his plan unless he could succeed in gaining their trust. "Dear boy, I will do my best to ensure you that I am not like this Octavian though I greatly appreciate your honesty. It is so hard to find in most of the people I deal with day to day. Talking with you is like a breath of fresh air. Please, there is no need to apologize. I asked a very nosy and personal question. Only a politician would have given a flattering answer to that question, and you, Percy, are no politician."
"Thank you, sir, I'll take that as a compliment," the boy replied with a grin.
The tension in the room lessened considerably. "So now that you have saved the planet, what's next for you two?" Palpatine asked.
Perhaps he would send a few bounty hunters their way to see how talented they really were after they helped him with his problem of course. If the hired killers succeeded, it would be two less people in his way no matter how useful they might be or what the Dark Side suggested. It would also keep them focused on the mysterious Sith Lord and not Palpatine.
Percy sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Well, I sort of swore this oath back on Tatooine that I would try to free the slaves, so we're going to find a way to do that."
It seemed that Palpatine would not have to send bounty hunters to test them. The Hutts would take care of that for him, foolish boy. When Shmi had mentioned the boy's intentions on Coruscant, Palpatine had assumed the boy had just made another empty promise, but no, he was serious. He glanced at Chase. They were serious. Palpatine wanted to smile. He could use this. The situation did give him the perfect opportunity to gain the children's trust if he helped them and assuming they were skilled enough to survive the Hutts' wrath. Depending on how they went about it, he could also use this to start his war. It would be different than his original plan, but it had the potential to be even better because it would be an authentic catalyst that he did not manufacture.
"Ah yes, the slavery problem," Palpatine responded wearily as if he had spent many nights pondering the issue. "It has been a plague on this galaxy for far too long, and many have tried to find a way to end it. Unfortunately, there is little the Republic can do under our current laws even if enough senators agreed to take action, although numerous politicians are on the Hutts' payrolls. Many believe ending slavery outside of the Republic cannot be done."
"I've actually wondered about that, sir," Chase admitted. "Perhaps, you could explain some of the finer details in the Republic's laws."
"I will do my best," Palpatine replied, excepting to explain anti-expansion laws, or why the anti-slavery law could not be extended to Tatooine. Those were the typical first approaches to the slavery issue.
"Based on the data I've managed to find and what Shmi has told me," Chase said, "I estimate that at least 25% of the slaves on Tatooine were once citizens of the Republic, and that's a conservative estimate. The Republic has the right and responsibility to protect its citizens from foreign sovereignties. Could the Republic use that as justification to at least free the slaves that were once citizens? If negotiations failed and conflict was necessary, a few other slaves may accidentally be freed as well, but surely, even the Republic's strongest critics could not fault a government for freeing its citizens who were unlawfully captured by another government."
Palpatine was impressed. "That is one of the more promising approaches I have heard for this particular issue, young lady, and it would prevent accusations of warmongering or unjustified expansion. With time and the right political pressure, it could possibly succeed in at least freeing our citizens though I doubt it would stop the practice entirely. However, at the moment there are two major obstacles that will be very difficult to overcome. Plus, you still risk outright war even if the cause is justifiable.
"Firstly, those slaves are first and foremost citizens of their home planets. In order to act, the Senate would initially require a formal petition for aid from the slaves' home systems. Most of the time pirates and slavers are careful to only capture citizens whose absence will not be missed, like colonists or those from a poor settlement. Unfortunately, the systems that would have the strongest petitions, because their citizens are actively targeted by slavers, are also the ones least likely to make a motion. For example, Ryloth has the greatest percentage of citizens sold into slavery than any other system in the Republic, but their politicians will not take any action because slavery is Ryloth's most profitable export." Both children looked horrified. Clearly, slavery was not a common practice in their original home.
"But. . . how? It should be illegal under the Republic's law," the girl managed to say.
"Should is the operative word. Sadly, there are loopholes and differences in wordings that allow the Ryloth government to continue the practice, and most in the Republic just turn a blind eye. Ryloth's government and even many of its citizens believe slavery is a better alternative for orphaned children or for those children from families that are too poor to support them."
Jackson snorted in derision, "That's worse than the Jedi trying to justify taking babies away from their families."
Palpatine nodded in agreement, "Some of the Jedi's critics have certainly compared the Jedi's recruitment method to slavery. For better or worse though, the Jedi's recruitment practices are perfectly legal with the consent of the child's parents though I fear sometimes the consent of the parent may be given under ambiguous circumstances.
"The second obstacle to this approach would of course be the Republic's lack of an army when negotiations with the Hutts fail as we all know they would. However, that issue is easier to go around perhaps with the creation of a volunteer force or systems with armed forces could loan troops to the Senate."
Chase sighed, "Well, that was my best idea to try and get the Republic to directly help. I guess it might be better if Percy and I try some of my other ideas and let this one be a backup since it will take so long. Is there anything we can do to stop the slaving on Ryloth?"
"I am afraid the legal slaving on Ryloth may be even more complicated than the slavery on Tatooine. Perhaps it is time, though, for the Senate to take a stand. We could try to institute a new tax on lifelong contracts as the Ryloth government likes to refer to it. However, that may only increase the amount of illegal slaving and not solve the problem. Hmm, I will have to think on it. Maybe, we could focus on increasing humanitarian and education efforts on Ryloth, give the people an alternative."
The party moved to the study for drinks after dinner though Shmi excused herself due to tiredness. Jackson looked like he wanted to escape too, but Chase gripped his arm and dragged him along. "But, Annabeth, we can't even drink," he muttered.
"We can on Naboo," she hissed back.
Panaka poured Palpatine a generous glass of Tarul wine and offered the children smaller glasses of the exceptional drink. The girl hesitated for a moment and took a glass, but Jackson turned pale and shook his head, "Thanks, Panaka, but I'll pass." Chase looked at her companion with concern, but he just shook his head, again, though his eyes were full of an emotion that Palpatine could not read. He had no trouble reading the girl's emotions even without the Force. Her eyes blazed with an almost righteous anger even as she squeezed the boy's hand providing comfort.
The conversation picked up again with Palpatine and Panaka reminiscing about some of the more memorable incidents with King Veruna but shifted to the upcoming chancellor elections in four months. "It seems like you have a good chance, Senator," Panaka stated. "I will admit that it would be nice to have a chancellor from Naboo. Not that I think you would favor us because you are too good of a leader to do that. It is just that most of the galaxy seems to think we are just a bunch of idealistic artists, but you could show them otherwise."
Palpatine graciously accepted the complement, "I hope I have the opportunity to do so, old friend. Unfortunately, I might not have the chance."
"What do you mean?" Chase asked.
Palpatine sighed, "I must tell you something though it cannot leave this room." He looked at the girl, "I assume there are no spying devices?"
She nodded, "I check regularly after the ones we found on the ship."
"Senator, are you in trouble?" Panaka asked.
"Yes, I am afraid I am," Palpatine said solemnly. "You see, I am being blackmailed."
"I knew it!" Chase exclaimed. "It was the only logical scenario."
Panaka frowned, "Who could blackmail you, Senator?"
"I'm afraid even by telling you I am putting you all in great danger," Palpatine replied with concern.
Jackson just rolled his eyes, "Please, we can take care of ourselves. Besides you have to tell us because clearly you need something from us otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it at all, and you made the terrible mistake of making Annabeth curious. Believe me, she won't let something go until she figures it out."
Palpatine gave a small smile, "You are right, Percy, I was hoping you and Annabeth might be able to help me if your guardian gives his permission. Otherwise, I fear I will have no choice but to withdraw from the chancellor's election and face the consequences of the exposed blackmail. As terrible as that would be, I refuse to be someone else's pawn." He met the boy's green eyes and found grudging approval there.
"Of course, Senator, I am sure we will all do whatever we can to help you as loyal citizens of Naboo," the captain stated.
Palpatine bowed his head in respect for the captain's loyalty. "Thank you for your support, Captain. About a month ago, I received this hologram."
Palpatine showed them the hologram of a hooded figure who said in a gravelly voice, "Senator Palpatine, it is an honor to speak to the next Supreme Chancellor. I hope you and I will have a most fruitful friendship. If you wish to enjoy successful terms as chancellor and be remembered as the Republic's finest leader, then you will listen to my future advice. Otherwise, I am afraid the whole galaxy will know what occurred 18 years ago, particularly the interaction on your third night on Anison. I ensure you that I have everything well documented. We can be friends or enemies, Senator. The choice is yours, but trust me when I say, you do not want Darth Sidious as an enemy."
The girl glanced at Jackson who gave her a small nod, no doubt confirming that the figure in the hologram was the Sith Lord in his Force vision. If Palpatine had not been looking for such an exchange, he would have missed it. Jackson then did something rather unexpected. He laughed, "Man and I thought some of my relatives have weird names. I mean, can these guys be any more obvious with the evil names!"
Chase snorted, "I'll admit they do seem rather dramatic with the ominous names though it's not like you can talk Seaweed Brain."
Jackson rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well mine is way less obvious, and I don't use it." Then his eyes narrowed as he asked, "What I want to know is why come to us, Senator? I mean with blackmail being illegal and all and the Sith, shouldn't you ask the Jedi to help you instead since the Sith are their like sacred enemy or whatever?"
Palpatine was impressed. The laughter and foolish statement followed by the shrewd question. That was the second rather insightful remark the boy had made since dinner while the girl was too preoccupied basking in her brilliance of being right. Jackson was clearly far more intelligent than he appeared to be. Perhaps he even deliberately made ridiculous comments just so people would underestimate him.
"I fear the matter is rather delicate, my dear boy," Palpatine responded. "If the Jedi found out what the blackmail entails, then I will not be the only one to suffer."
"Senator, I know the situation is delicate, but if you want our help then we need to know why the Jedi cannot be involved," Chase pleaded.
He sighed, "Yes, I suppose you do. Please excuse an old man's attempt to preserve his dignity. You see, when I was a much younger man, I foolishly fell in love with a member of the Jedi Order who was assigned on a prolonged mission with me, and perhaps even worse, she fell in love with me." Gasps of surprise came from his audience as he expected. After all, this was a performance specifically tailored to hook Jackson and Chase. "I do not know how, but this Sith Lord must have evidence of the affair."
"But surely an affair can't be that damning even if Naboo is rather conservative when it comes to sexual intercourse outside of marriage," Chase reasoned.
Palpatine shrugged, "If it was only an affair, perhaps I could survive the political backlash from my constituents. Unfortunately, it was an affair with a Jedi who has become a rather prominent leader in the Order. That would be seen as an extreme conflict of interests and could result in inquires into all of the motions and bills I have pushed through as well as the actions of the Jedi Order, including their recent involvement in stopping the Trade Federation. I also fear what the Jedi might do to the woman I loved since the affair was not solely physical. They are rather strict when it comes to emotional attachments though that is a rather objective label for something as abstract as love."
The boy grimaced and nodded in understanding. Good, Palpatine suspected that the Jedi's disapproval of Force-users having attachments was one of Jackson's disagreements with the Order. Clearly, the Jedi recruitment method was another. No doubt the Jedi Council had been critical of the boy's own relationship in at least one of the two meetings. Those old fools were driving away a powerful ally. "As heartbreaking as it may be for me, I hope for her sake that her feelings for me have lessened over time. Otherwise, the Jedi Council may expel her from the Order if they ever found out which would crush her. That is why I made the decision long ago to deny my true feelings when she confessed her love. I knew I loved her too much to make her choose between me and the Order."
"You still should have let her choose," the girl said disapprovingly.
The Senator sighed, "Maybe, I should have, my dear. But back then, I was blinded by love. After all, love seems to make us all do foolish things at one point or another," he said with a sad smile that he directed at Jackson.
The boy glanced at Chase, most likely remembering whatever foolish choices he had made for love. Palpatine would guarantee that the boy would make more since he intended to use the boy's love to turn him into the perfect pawn. Love and compassion were weaknesses to be exploited. The girl could be useful as well in her own right in addition to providing a means to control Jackson. She was smart and resourceful. He would just have to direct that mind to pursuits that would benefit Palpatine once he gained her trust. However, if Chase became too troublesome or got too close to his secret, he would get rid of her regardless of the Dark Side's urging. If necessary, he would eliminate Chase in a way that blamed the Jedi. Then Jackson's wrath would be directed at them, and the boy would easily turn to Darth Sidious to help him seek revenge for his beloved.
"Based on Shmi's story about how you infiltrated a Hutt's residence," Palpatine continued, "not to mention breaking through the Trade Federation's communication block and battling a Sith, I believe you are the best choice for this even if I could go to the Jedi. You will not be restricted by some of the Orders more outdated and unrealistic traditions." He glanced at Panaka, "Though I am afraid, that this will likely put your charges in grave danger."
Panaka eyed the children. "I am beginning to believe that being in danger is a common occurrence for them whether it is because of terrible luck or their own rash actions," the captain said sounding both amused and resigned. "Though they are rather capable at handling themselves."
"Wait," Percy interrupted with a defiant glare at his guardian. "You're cool with us putting ourselves in danger to help a politician with some Sith who the Jedi strictly told us to avoid, but it's too dangerous right now for us to go against the Hutts to free slaves! I mean this Sith guy is probably at least as dangerous as the Hutts."
Panaka stared down his charge, "This is different."
Percy snorted, "The only difference I see is that one would help a powerful, important person while the other helps people the rest of the galaxy seems to have forgotten about. So, you're cool with us risking our lives as long as it's for a friend in a high place."
Panaka recoiled as if the boy had slapped him. Palpatine was once again impressed by Jackson's rebellious spirit as he questioned his guardian's orders. Yes, breaking that spirit would indeed be amusing, but for now he needed to soothe the situation since Jackson's respect for Panaka was one of the only reasons the boy was even talking to Palpatine. At a later time, he would see exactly what would happen if Jackson gave into that anger. "I am certain that is not what Captain Panaka meant, my dear boy. Your guardian was wise to caution you against rushing off to free slaves. As we discussed at dinner, the slavery situation is extremely complex and could take years to solve politically much less any required physical conflict. It would be suicide to rush off on a crusade of two against the Hutt empire. I am sure as a gifted strategist Annabeth would agree with me when I say that the blackmail problem is simpler though the Sith should still not be underestimated."
Jackson glanced at Chase who shrugged, "They are not wrong. As you know, freeing the slaves will take years to plan out strategies and actually execute them, while with luck this blackmail problem could be fixed in a few months. I may be able to back trace where that hologram came from though I'm sure this guy is good enough to hide his tracks from at least conventional tech. Give me a week, and I might be able to come up with something to put on your holoprojector to track the next call. Once we find a location, we can work on recovering and destroying the blackmail, but this Sith will be tricky and dangerous."
It was time for the final push now to see if the fish would take the bait. "I understand perfectly if you do not wish to help me, Percy. Especially, after your justifiable mistrust of politicians, I cannot expect you to risk your life for me and an unknown Jedi Master. Plus, this Sith Lord clearly is dangerous if he is really the mastermind behind the attack on Naboo and the assassination attempt on our queen. I would not think any less of you if you refused."
Jackson sighed, "No, I'll do it." He looked at Chase, and the girl nodded confidently. "We'll do it. I understand trying to protect someone you love, and I wouldn't want that Trade Federation douche to walk free because of this." Jackson then flashed a rather predatory smile. "Besides, I owe that Sith Lord a kick in the podex."
Author Notes: To answer some review questions I've received:
Will this story include the Clone Wars? This is a tough question. My original outline just focused on the three prequel movies, and I will admit that I had not seen much of the Clone Wars TV show before I started writing this fanfic. However, since then I have been watching the TV show when I can. Part of me would love to include some of the campaigns, but I also know it will drag this story out even longer and make it more difficult for me to actually finish. So I am considering maybe including three or so battles just to act as a transition between Episode II and III, or I could just follow the outline and maybe make a separate story just for the Clone Wars once I'm done with this one. Let me know what you guys think?
Will Percy and Annabeth get married and have kids? The issue will be addressed in this Interlude though don't get your hopes up