Prologue

Percy

Olympian Throne Room:

Luke collapsed, clutching his burnt hands.

"Please, Percy…"

Percy struggled to his feet. He moved towards Luke with the intent of killing him. That would be the plan.

Luke seemed to know what Percy was thinking. He moistened his lips.

"You can't…can't do it yourself. He'll break my control. Only my hand. I know where. I can…can keep him controlled.

Luke was definitely glowing now, his skin starting to smoke.

Percy raised the knife to strike. Then he looked at Annabeth, at Grover cradling her in his arms.

Only 4 years ago, the two of them had begun their journey into the war with the Titans, all three having come out of it with heavy hearts weighed down by the loss of friends and family.

It had begun with the three of them, and it would end.

But…

Only Luke knows where his weak spot is. Percy thought. He had no time to figure out the spot before Kronos took back control.

The hero's soul, the cursed blade shall reap.

The hero's soul…

The cursed blade…

It all clicked in Percy's mind as his expression slackened, and he flipped Annabeth's dagger around to grasp its blade.

"Perseus, you are not the hero."

I am not the hero. Percy thought.

Rachel was right. He wouldn't be the hero to put an end to Kronos.

It would be someone else.

Percy's hand extended to hand the dagger over to Luke…

What if Kronos took over and attacked me with the knife?

One intrusive whisper from the back of Percy's mind made his hand pause for a moment.

"Percy…pERcY…" Luke's voice started distorting as the light shining from his body was starting to get blinding.

"The kNIfe…" Luke spoke as Percy shook his head, immediately removing the thought from his mind.

Percy put the dagger in Luke's hand as Grover stared at him in confusion.

He's probably thinking I've lost my mind. Percy thought as he stared blankly at Luke taking off his armor, knowing what was about to come next.

Luke was the only one who knew his weak spot. If he stabbed it there, it would be the end of him…and of…

"nO…"

Before Luke could pluge the dagger into his armpit, his eyes flickered to gold.

"I..WiLl…nOT…lOSe…" Kronos growled as Luke's arm stopped.

Percy's eyes widened.

Luke's losing control! Percy thought as he looked at the knife poised over Luke's left armpit.

That's his weak spot! Percy thought rushing in.

"Percy…!" Luke spoke gasping as his eyes turned gold again.

Percy cursed and immediately grabbed Luke's arm, attempting to push it towards the armpit.

"jACkSoN!" Kronos growled as Percy wrestled with the Titan lord to push the dagger into Luke's left armpit.

Percy closed his eyes as the light from Kronos got harsher.

"Percy, watch out!" Grover spoke as Percy kept pushing, the knife's blade inching towards the armpit.

"30 miLLeNIa I HaVE sPEnT scaTTeReD…I wILl nOt lEt yOu ruIN iT…" Kronos spoke as his eyes started glowing with a purple color.

"Percy! Get away from him!" Grover spoke as Percy grit his teeth and gave one last push, jamming the dagger straight into Luke's armpit.

"JACKSON!" Kronos bellowed as Percy's world started glowing white. Kronos grabbed Percy as he tried to scramble away.

Damn it, get away from me! Percy thought struggling but to no avail.

"Percy…! Percy…!" Percy heard Annabeth's croaking shrieks.

Percy stretched out his hand as his vision was slowly being consumed by white light. Soon, all he could see were Annabeth's horrified eyes.

"Annabe…" Percy's yell was cut off as Kronos exploded in blinding light, engulfing the throne room and forcing Annabeth and Grover to cover their eyes.

When they opened them again, all was silent in the throne room. Luke Castellan's broken corpse lay on the ground…

…But Percy Jackson was nowhere to be seen.

"Percy…?" Annabeth spoke as Grover stood stock still.

"Grover…where's Percy?" She spoke as Grover looked down at her with a devastated expression.

"My empathy link…" He spoke softly.

"...I-I-It's gone…"

Annabeth's eyes widened.

The two of them were still as silence fell again. And then, tears welled up in Annabeth's eyes.

"Percy…" She whispered in a broken voice.

Her chest tightened up, as she covered her mouth and let the tears fall.

Grover stared blankly at Luke's corpse as Annabeth's breathing turned sporadic, the daughter of Athena silently crying. Grover's body trembled as tears started falling down his face.

Grover slowly hugged Annabeth, as she pressed her face against his shirt, sobbing.

At that moment, the gods burst into the throne room. But all they would find would be Luke's corpse, and Annabeth sobbing into Grover's chest while the Satyr looked at them with tearful eyes.

Poseidon was the first to step up.

"...What happened? Where is my son?"

Annabeth was unable to focus her attention, her mind completely distraught at Percy's demise. Grover attempted to open his mouth to speak, but the words would not come out.

But that would not be required. Zeus walked up to Luke's corpse and looked down at it.

Zeus turned back to Poseidon.

"It seems…we have lost a hero of Olympus." He declared with a neutral expression, but his eyes showed pity towards Poseidon.

Poseidon stood still as realisation hit him, Zeus walking up to his brother and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"...Brother…"

"No…" Poseidon spoke as Zeus felt a slight tremor in the ground.

"Brother!" He suddenly snapped, his grip tightening on Poseidon's shoulder.

"Now is not the time." Zeus spoke sternly as Poseidon looked at Annabeth and Grover, still in shock.

Athena and Dionysus walked up, the goddess gently prying her daughter off Grover while he quickly stood up to kneel before the wine god.

Dionysus stared at Grover calmly as Athena looked at Apollo.

"Apollo…"

"Yes, of course." Apollo spoke seriously as he knelt down to Annabeth's side to tend to her injuries.

Athena stood up as Artemis joined her, the two goddesses staring at Annabeth's broken face in pity. Ares and Aphrodite exchanged looks, the war god staring at Luke's corpse with a neutral expression.

Hermes fell to his knees as he looked at his son's cold dead body, Zeus and Hera watching him silently while Hephaestus stood next to him. At the hearth, Hestia watched over the scene with a sad frown on her face.

In this scene, Dionysus sighed and snapped his fingers, clearly seeing the messenger god's distress.

A nymph popped into existence.

"Inform the citizens and the forces below of Kronos' defeat." Dionysus spoke.

"We will require a shroud for the son of Hermes…" Dionysus looked at Annabeth, Grover, both unable to hold to stop crying, and then at Poseidon, his face stoic but the slight tremors on the ground indicating his grief over the loss of his son.

"...And for Percy Jackson."

That day, Olympus had lost the same demigod who defended it from the forces that desired its destruction. Percy's shroud would be burnt alongside Luke's, with all the gods present at the cremation. After that, Camp Half-blood would hold its own funeral for Percy. Unlike the year before, this time Percy Jackson was truly dead.

…Or so everyone thought.

Percy Jackson's story was over. But now, a new one shall begin…

…One in a different time.

"...!" Percy sat up with a loud gasp.

What happened? He thought as he looked around frantically.

But, his surroundings were really dark. Percy blinked a bunch of times, but it's clear his eyes hadn't adjusted to the sudden darkness in his surroundings.

"Annabeth? Grover?" Percy spoke as he could slowly make a better note of his surroundings.

He was in an alleyway, right next to a dumpster. It was still pretty dark, and looked like it was really early in the morning.

Gone were the white marbles of Olympus, replaced by simple red brick of the houses near him.

Percy got up and looked around. What happened to him?

He quickly hobbled out of the alleyway and looked around the street.

This isn't New York. Percy thought shaking his head. Had Kronos plopped him somewhere in america?

He was trying to do something to me. Percy thought as he was hit by a wave of exhaustion.

"Ugh!" Percy grunted as his body suddenly felt like lead, the demigod stumbling before leaning against the wall to prevent himself from collapsing to the ground.

Percy panted as he slowly slid down to the ground to catch his breath, remembering Chiron's words about the side effects of the Styx's curse.

That fight with Kronos has left me exhausted. Percy thought shaking his head, still reeling from the exhaustion.

But despite his body being so tire, Percy felt some relief.

I got him. He thought. Whatever happened, there was no way Kronos could have survived that.

Whatever the case, it was over. Kronos had been beaten.

The war could no longer claim any more demigod lives.

Percy smiled, before he remembered Luke.

Perseus, you are not the hero.

Annabeth had realised the possibility of Luke's struggle long before him, while Rachel pretty much confirmed Annabeth's suspicions. In the end, Luke really was the hero. Even if Percy helped, it was Luke who showed the weak spot that brought about Kronos' doom.

You were right about him, Annabeth. You were right. Percy thought as he closed his eyes.

For some time, Percy lay there to regain some energy before he reached into his pocket, and felt Riptide inside.

It must have reappeared just before Kronos sent me…wherever this… Percy's line of thought stopped as he took one look at his surroundings again.

"Wait a minute…" He spoke furrowing his eyebrows huffing.

"Isn't this…Richmond?" Percy spoke in confusion as he found himself looking upon the same place Hestia had shown him.

This was the same area Luke and Thalia found Annabeth. Percy noted in surprise as he uncapped Riptide and propped himself up with it.

Sure enough, Percy could spot the James river some distance away from, and towards the right…

"Richmond's Iron works." Percy muttered, recognising the place Annabeth met Luke for the first time.

"Interesting place he put me in." Percy spoke before remembering Annabeth.

Oh gods, Annabeth and Grover must be worried sick. I need to get back to New York! Percy thought.

But how was he going to get back?

Percy shivered slightly as a cold wind blew through.

What the Hades? It's the middle of August! Why is there a winter chill?! Percy thought in annoyance, before he thought of the Chariot of Damnation.

Percy's face scrunched up in disgust at his memory of the Grey sisters, but at this point, he was desperate to get back to Manhattam and reunite with everyone.

Percy fished his pockets for some drachmae, but did not find any. Percy frowned and checked, but there was nothing.

As soon has he realised he had no drachmae, Percy let out an explosive sigh. He looked up at the sky, and silently cursed the fates.

Looks like I won't be using the chariot. Percy thought.

For that matter of fact, he'll only be able to use mortal transport.

But he wasn't exactly familiar with Richmond, so he needed to ask for some local help.

At that moment, Percy spotted a man in a jacket and a beanie walking down the road.

"Hey, uh, sir!" Percy called out to him.

The man looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Do you know what's the fastest way to New York?"

"New York?"

The man looked around. "Uh…I mean, the plane…"

"No, no! Not a plane, not a plane!" Percy spoke hastily. Even though he'd just probably saved the gods, he still did not trust Zeus not to blast him out of the sky.

"Is there…like a train?" Percy asked.

"Yeah…you can get a train from Staple Mills station straight to Manhattan. Think it stops at Moynihan, as far as I remember from my last trip to the Big Apple. It'll be 6 hours though."

Moynihan. That's about 3 blocks from the Empire State Building. Percy thought. The six hours was a bit hard to bear, but it was his quickest route right now. He'd just have to settle with a repeat of crashing his own funeral.

"But it's 5:00 AM in the morning, kid. You won't be finding any trains till 5:30." The man spoke as Percy nodded.

"Ok. Just half an hour of wait, then."

"I hope you're not going to stand in the cold."

"Yeah, speaking of which, why is it so cold in August?"

"August? Kid, we're sitting in November right now." The man spoke as Percy did a double take.

November?! Was I like away for 3 months?! Percy thought in panic. Oh gods, what would everyone be thinking.

But at least that explained the weird winter chill.

"No, I'll go find a place to stay in. Thank you, sir."

"It's ok. By the way, weird costume there." The man spoke looking over Percy's armor.

"Were you at some sort of party last night?"

For some reason, Percy's mind went to the Party Ponies and the second day of the assault on Olympus.

"Something like that."

"It must have been wild…because that costume looks pretty worn out." The man commented as Percy chuckled.

"What ca I say, sir, my friends are just like that."

"Hm. Anyways, see ya later, kid." The man spoke walking off as Percy scratched his head.

It was cold, and he had half an hour before the first train. So where could he stay?

At that moment, Percy's eye went back to the Iron works.

"That could work…" Percy spoke before heading towards the iron works. He was just going to hang about the furnace to keep himself warm before he headed for the train station to catch the train for New York.

Percy slipped past the security and walked through the grounds. As he went past the warehouses, Percy noticed the uncanny familiarity to the vision Hestia showed him on Olympus.

It was dark with a little bit of daylight just like he had seen it. The weather was slightly misty. Percy could even see the alleyway where Luke and Thalia had found…

Percy suddenly heard metallic creaking coming from that alleyway.

Immediately, Percy stepped away from the alleyway, keeping Riptide ready as he stared down the alleyway.

Maybe it's just a rat. Percy thought.

Percy narrowed his eyes, before he spotted a sheet of corrugated iron shuffling.

On second thought, rats can't make iron sheets of that size. Unless they're really big rats. Percy thought. He did hope it wasn't some monster waiting to jump out and bite his face off, because it would be annoying yet expected.

Percy moved closer to the iron sheet, taking careful steps and keeping an eye on the iron sheet, raising Riptide to prepare for a lunge at any moment.

Percy inched closer and closer to the rattling metal sheet, maintaining some distance from it.

Okay, no monster would let me get this close and not decide I'm their next breakfast meal. Percy thought he crouched down, slowly extending his hand towards the sheet.

Percu noticed someone moving in there, and also spotted some sort of object.

"Oh…well, here goes…" Percy muttered before lifting the sheet and jumping back.

As soon as he did, Percy spotted a hammer flying towards him, tossed from the position where the sheet was. Riptide came in an arc and deflected the hammer away.

Percy immediately rushed towards some small shape. The shape tried to run but Percy was much faster and caught up to it, pinning it to the ground, and pointing Riptide above the back of its throat…

"AHHH!"

The small shape shrieked in fear as Percy looked down to noticed a little girl struggling under his grip.

"Get away from me, monster!" The girl yelled as she tried to bite at Percy's hand, which had no effect due to the Curse of Achilles as Percy turned her over.

As soon as he did, Percy nearly fell back out of shock.

What… Percy thought as his mind lost all functioning, because at that moment, Percy found himself staring at the grey eyes of Annabeth Chase.

…An Annabeth Chase who was much younger than he remembered.

A/N: Hello to you all, I'm Hsuyaa, a fic writer who went from writing crossovers about a year back to beginning to extend his hands into more regular fic territory. If you've seen my PJO crossovers 'Under the Rowan's Shade' and 'Percy Jackson and the Tree of Life', just note they are on a hiatus, mostly because I have to reevaluate my plans for their storylines (Rowan's Shade because I was genuinely going through a story with a skeletal plan for a storyline. Tree of Life because I have an absolute clusterfuck of a gathering of ideas in my head which I need to string together into a proper storyline. And also because I'm currently focussing on building a sort of a Prequel storyline to my FGO crossover 'Remnant: The Soulless Plains' at the moment). I will be back with them after some time when I finish working on an FGO fanfic and progressed upon this one. With that being said, welcome to 'Home' - A PJO series that is a 'time travel' fic. Of course, Percy is alone this time (No Annabeth and all), plus I'll be taking a bit of a different route from how usual time travel fics go.

This will be a multi-fic series, probably the second one I've thought of after the 'Percy Jackson and the Tree of Life' series. Will it follow canon? Mostly not. No fun in writing the PJO canon storyline again with a time-travelling Percy inserted into it. So, instead of Titan's Curse or just shortly before Lightning Thief as a lot of Time Travel fics tend to go to, I'll start from the very beginning in Richmond.

But anyway, this is the first of what might be a lot of fics that will extend into other parts of the Riordanverse as well, so expect me to get burned out, pause on this series, and then pick it back up again. Unless I get out of my lazy phase, this, like most of my other stories will take some years to finish. I'm probably being a bit too much starting so many fics, pausing on them and then creating new ones, but I'm getting impatient thinking of exploring cool ideas and then having to wait because I have a bunch of unfinished storylines. But never mind that, no matter how long it takes, I'll finish all the stories I started. For the time being, enjoy another new story from me.

Hope you all enjoyed and Constructive criticism is appreciated.