A Simple Change

Pt VII

Characters: Thalia Grace, Luke Castellan, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, Grover Underwood, Chiron, and Hermes Cabin

Ships: Only hints at the moment, but it will become clear

Description:

A simple nudge, a mistake, a change. Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace do not find Annabeth Chase, instead they find Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. Unbeknownst to them all, Reyna is a Roman Demigod. What happens now when The Daughter of Bellona and The Daughter of Athena are switched by The Fates incidental tampering?

Chapter Description:

We journey back in time to the year 2000. I have a feeling everyone will no where that is going. Major Character Death.

Disclaimer:

This would not leave me alone…. At all…. So here we are. I do not own Percy Jackson & The Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus, I've ignored Trials of Apollo as I haven't read them yet. Please don't sue me!


Reyna & What is Camp Half-Blood?


Half-Blood Hill

[2000]

Thalia screamed as lightning arced down across the hill. Every bolt that collided with the ground carved divots and cut through the army of monsters. Golden dust danced through the air. Reyna, knife in hand, stabbed a Hellhound as she dragged Grover up the hill. Behind the girl was Luke. His blade was a blur as he appeared to use the speed of Hermes. Thalia's eyes rose to the growing number of monsters, and the three Furies back lit against the storm clouds by bright blue lightning. They tracked down and in only one second of thinking Thalia knew. In her bones, in her blood, in her heart. Her friends would not crest that hill alive if she didn't act. Thalia didn't waste a moment. She leapt. The air swirled, it lifted her up and floated her past her friends. She came down like a meteor.

Thalia crashed down directly in front of Luke. Lightning followed and it cleared them space. Hellhounds and Dracanae filled the lost gaps. She fell in step with Luke. Sword and spear killing any monster unfortunate to get close. Aegis plugged the holes in their centre. Thalia radiated energy. Her eyes lit up like the lightning she called down in spades. They reached the top of the hill.

Reyna still dragged the near unconscious Satyr. Grover had been taken out in the third wave right as they got to the bottom of the hill. Luke was next to her. They had seconds of breathing room. Thalia glanced at the approaching army.

"Fulfil my promise to Hylla Luke. I won't live like this any longer, hunted and chased like an animal." The Daughter of Zeus shoved Luke down the backside of the hill. He rolled past Reyna. She stopped and looked up and caught sight of Thalia. The patrol was still too far away. Luke wasn't any closer. The girl set Grover down and spun her heel. Ready to charge forward. Then she caught sight of Thalia. "Take care kiddo."

Reyna couldn't get up the hill fast enough. She'd lost her sister. Grover was injured. Luke too far away. Thalia was all that stood between this supposed safe haven and an army of angry monsters. Then the crest of the hill exploded in light.

Thalia became lightning. Bolt after bolt reigned down disintegrating monsters left, right, front, and centre. Thunder clapped like applause as The Daughter of Zeus put on a show Hades would never forget. Her spear was like an extension of her very will. Her aegis froze others in place as she held the hill alone. Every flash illuminated as The Furies closed in and Thalia continued to beat back the hordes of Tartarus itself. Then came her scream.

A Hellhound had gotten past her defence and lightning. It clamped down on her spear arm. She screamed and tore away. Three arrows peeled out, aegis only caught two, and the last buried itself near her heart. Thalia hit the ground. She glanced up at the approaching Furies. She tried to rise, but her legs crumpled beneath her.

Thalia, Daughter of Zeus. She blinked and glanced about, the voice in her ear. It sounded… familiar. Thalia, I cannot save you from The Fates, but I can make sure you do not die in vain. All you need do is agree.

She saw a figure, with deep black hair and eyes like the sea, who leaned down above her. His face twisted like a sour lemon had been shoved in his mouth.

"Uncle?" Gasped the dying girl. He nodded. I can make certain no other Half-Blood dies pursued by The Spawn of The Pit. You will die, but save so many lives. She blinked. The Furies were close, she could smell ash on the air. "Yes."

A breeze like the sea wafted over the hill and a bolt of lightning came down atop her. As it struck the ground a Pine tree erupted and Thalia disappeared. It grew tall and proud. The greater than any other tree. Reyna screamed.


The Big House, Camp Half-Blood

A scream pierced the air. Eyes shot open from across the hall. The door was thrown open and a lanky teen with pale blonde hair charged across the wood. He slammed through and found the young girl writhing on the bed. Her screams continued as he leapt to action.

He rushed close and slipped atop the covers. His weight dipped the bed and she rolled towards him. His hands settled on her head and his voice began in a soft, practised, voice. The words flowed over his tongue, and as he held her. The girl's struggles slowly ceased. Her face marred and twisted by whatever had sought her out, softened. Her breathing returned to normal. He didn't dare move. He didn't stop. He feared even a single misstep could catapult them back into her nightmare. She had seen enough, he wouldn't let her go back to that, not if he could help it. A creak echoed from the doorway. He turned.

Without missing a beat he stared at the man in the wheelchair. He'd introduced himself earlier. His name escaped him now. The wheelchair entered and the teen soon found himself next to the old man.

"I heard the scream and came to check on her. I guess I need not have worried. Her older brother Luke was there to save the day." Luke looked away.

"Not every time… not when it was needed most." The old man's features fell. His hand rose and rested upon Luke's shoulder.

"My boy. You cannot blame yourself for her decisions. What she did was beyond brave. Her loss will be felt, but it will never be in vain. Not as long as you and young Reyna continue to live." Luke turned towards him, his blue eyes hard like ice.

"Yah. Then why weren't you there? Why'd we have to get here with nothing but a goat man, a little girl, myself, and my best friend." The old man's name suddenly flew into his mind. "You're supposed to be some age-old trainer of heroes. Right, Chiron? So where were you to train us? Why'd we end up all alone?"

The fury pulled Chiron up short. His words failed him. Luke was right. He had failed Grover. He had failed Reyna. He had failed Luke. Most of all he had failed Thalia. The young girl was practically his niece and he could not have saved her. If he had done more perhaps she would be alive. Sadly they could not get second chances. He would have to live with this failure.

"You are right child. I failed all of you. I failed her. I will do better next time. If even an inkling of such a powerful Demigod draws my eye I will do better. Because you are right." Luke's eyes well with water. He blinked the unshed tears away and focused back on Reyna. Chiron could not forget those eyes. Like glass cracked with a massive web stretched across the surface. Only a single wrong move and they'd shatter.

Chiron squeezed Luke's shoulder. Then he rolled back from the room. He did not need to tell the boy to sleep. All that would do is anger him. He'd been on the run for longer than any Demigod in Chiron's recent memory. It would be best to take his time, let him acclimate at his own pace. It was why he hadn't forced the issue and pushed Luke to join his half-siblings in Cabin 11. That could be done later.


Sword Fighting Arena, Training Grounds

The sun beat down upon them all. The whole of Cabin 11. Well, more campers than was probably safe to house stretched out through the arena. Reyna had her knife and relentlessly went after one of the training dummies. The current Counsellor had disliked letting her participate with so many big kids. Luke was not so lucky. He raised his sword and levelled it with one of the other Cabin's members.

Reyna hissed as her knife sliced through the bag and spilled sand onto her feet. She grumbled and looked over at Luke. The blonde twisted his blade, bringing it down in an arc. It connected with his partner's. Reyna's lips pulled tight as she saw the angle of Luke's wrist. That wasn't going to end well. Sure enough, The Counsellor twisted his weapon and flicked. The sword in Luke's hand spun away and hit the dirt in front of Reyna. Her eyes never left The Counsellor who quickly placed his sword to Luke's throat.

"Dead." He turned and looked at the other Hermes' campers. "What did Luke do wrong?"

"He made the right movements, but his wrist was too low. It made for a weak grip on his blade. You took advantage and relieved him of his weapon." Everyone turned to stare at Reyna. The seven year old raised an eyebrow at them.

"That's right…" The Counsellor's gaze narrowed on Reyna. "Do you think you can do better?"

Luke shook his head emphatically. Reyna held up her knife. It was the only weapon she had. In her hands, it seemed closer to a tiny short sword. Her lips curled upwards. The Counsellor was big, bigger than Luke and that meant he'd underestimate her… or go easy. She could pay him back for what he did to Luke. She wouldn't win, but she could do that.

Reyna turned and squared up against The Counsellor. The other members of The Hermes Cabin stared at her. Luke started forward but another camper grabbed his arm. Reyna lowered. Her mind slowed from its normal sprinting pace. She saw each minute movement as The Counsellor fell into his starting position.

"Begin." Reyna rushed. Her small legs carried her well inside The Counsellor's reach in a fraction of a second. She slashed twice at his legs before she twirled away. The older boy blinked, his sword swept downwards in an arc and just barely blocked the strikes. He swung out and Reyna ducked under it. She closed distance again and sliced. He stepped back.

The pair traded blows, blocking, attacking, and stepping back in a cycle of consistency. With each attack, the members of The Hermes cabins felt their eyes stretch wider. The seven year old was holding her own against their best swordsman.

The Counsellor's blade came down. Reyna went to step left. Then the attack changed direction. It sliced through the air right towards her. Reyna blinked as the weapon stopped next to her neck. Her chest heaved and she stared at The Counsellor. His breath was heavy, but his lips were curled into a bright toothy smile.

"Awesome work! Of course, you'll be at a disadvantage being smaller than everyone else. I think next time we do sword training I'll set something up for you to do other than attacking a dummy." He turned away. The other campers rushed forwards and shouts and chants of congratulations filled her ears.

The last to come up was Luke. His hand fell onto her shoulder. He had a small smile on his face. He squeezed her shoulder and then lowered himself to be face-to-face with her. Reyna blinked at him. She knew that smile was too small, this wasn't happy Luke, this was slightly disappointed Luke.

"You can't fight my fights for me Rey. I know you want to. I know that you know a lot more about combat than I ever probably will… But you can't fight for me, I have to do it for myself."

"But why? I…" Reyna looked away, the water in her eyes was not something she wanted him to see. Not so soon.

"Reyna, one day you might be the best fighter in camp. Better than anyone we ever meet. But you can't be in two places at once. If you don't let others learn their own lessons…" He glanced towards Thalia's tree. Reyna reached up and squeezed his wrist. She knew he wasn't entirely talking about either of them now. "Just take some time Rey. Learn to be yourself before you start trying to fight for everyone else."

"I will."


A/N:

Thalia made the same choice. Luke and Reyna are left alone. But this isn't that different from PJO. Or is it? I want to let everyone know there will be a new chapter of Imperial Academy and Time Itsself planned for this month. Posting Date TBD. I hope you all enjoyed this. I will continue my exploration of this time frame before PJO actually starts and probably also do PJO at some time. I'll try to keep up with every Tuesday, but no promises. Expect this to be more shorts focused for the mean time probably until we get back to PJO.

Thank you all for reading! Please Comment and review. I love hearing from you all. I hope you enjoyed this short update and hopefully I'll have another one for you soon.

-Six Out!

PS Sorry this was late I worked yesterday and didn't get this finished until right before. No idea if there will be another chapter next Tuesday, this might be a week or two off. We'll see I need to get work done on Time Itself and Imperial Academy plus more writing for this. With my job we'll see how that turns out. Thanks for your patience!