Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were passing the Fields of Asphodel when it happened. Pain shot through Percy's head, forcing him to his knees. He saw Annabeth fall beside him as she clutched her head. Waves of agony filled his mind, blocking his sight.
His mother had told him that time worked differently in the Underworld. The inhabitants there didn't experience time the same way as the living did. Percy and Annabeth would one day die. Their memories would exist in this place. The Underworld saw no need to keep some of those memories to them, not when they were so close to one of it's favored ones.
Percy opened his eyes, looking around frantically. Last he remembered, he and Annabeth had shared some blue cocoa together before going to bed in their apartment in New Rome. Now, he looked down on himself and saw he was twelve again. He looked over at his beloved and saw she was as well. What was going on? Was he Percy of New Rome, turned back into a child… or was he a child given the memories of his eighteen old self? Annabeth took her hands from her head.
"Seaweed Brain… tell me what you put in the cocoa and you might just live to see our wedding day."
Percy knew that voice. This was 'his' Annabeth's no nonsense voice. The one she only used when he was truly in trouble.
"Nothing, I swear! You know I'd never ruin blue cocoa with other additives, even if I used them, Wise Girl."
Annabeth hugged him, relaxing into his arms so easily. Their bodies did not fit together as neatly as they would in the future, but she still had the same scent and the same eyes looking up at him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm guess we are the Percy and Annabeth on their first quest together." He stated, looking around. "And the Underworld did something unexpected to us this time. Maybe it wanted us to notice something."
Annabeth inhaled sharply. "Or someone! Look!"
She pointed and sure enough, Percy's eyes settled on a girl with Cocoa colored skin and brown eyes, flecked with gold. While the other people standing in the field just stared blankly forward, she would shift her weight or blink every so often. A child of the Underworld, in the wrong place. She deserved to be in Pluto's palace with her siblings. But Pluto had seen to it she would be here, for Nico to find and rescue one day. As they approached, they saw Hazel start to cry. Percy shot forward and wrapped the future Preator in a hug.
"Percy…" She wailed and clung to him. He hugged her back tightly. It was weird that his body was younger than hers right now.
"Oh, Hazel… I'm so sorry that this happened. You'll have another 4 years in the dark all by yourself."
Annabeth stepped up and took over hugging Hazel. The two girls clung together as if on a lifeline. Grover just looked confused but tactfully stayed out of it, as Percy trusted him to do. Satyrs did not go to the Underworld when they died. Thusly Grover could not receive his future memories.
"Promise me, the moment the future arrives again and you recall this, you'll come straight to our apartment in New Rome." Annabeth stated.
"I promise. I'll see you both soon." She swore as Percy and Annabeth took a step back. "Now go, be heroes. I'll see you in a few years, Percy."
He hugged her again. "See you soon, my fellow Schist enjoyer. Now, we got to go and talk to your father."
Hazel snorted. "Good luck with that. Try not to offend him too badly."
Percy rolled his eyes. "I cannot be held accountable for twelve-year-old me, kid was a sass master."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "As if you are not now. Come on, Seaweed Brain."
Hazel gave them each one more hug, clinging onto them as if to absorb their warmth and happiness. To get her through the hard times until she saw the surface again. Percy and Annabeth walked away, holding hands. They had to force themselves with each step to distance themselves from Hazel. Each step cost them more and more of their memories. They did not try to cling to them though. They knew they would have them in due course. For now, they must follow the river of time and where it lead.
Percabeth-One-Shots*
A/N: I know it won't happen, but I have been obsessed with the idea that Hazel might be teased in Episode 7. This fic is the result of that thinking. Hope you enjoyed.
