AN: So honestly this chapter took me by surprise too. It wasn't intended at all. Originally I was planning on leaving the story for a while, and then focussing on updating my other things. But the response was so warm that it inspired me to get out another update as thanks. It is pretty rare that I get such a large and overwhelmingly positive response. So thanks for that.

Hope you enjoy the chapter, and please do continue to comment and review, and also if you have some time to kill and enjoy this, please do check out my other stories, there are a variety of them, of differing fandoms, popularity and quality.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.

( - )

(Last Time)

Gritting his teeth at that thought, and at the thought of being manipulated by some old crones. Percy couldn't quite decide whether he was happy to be alive and well, and to potentially have another chance at life. Or whether he should be pissed that he had to do things over again, and that he was robbed of his eternal rest at the eleventh hour.

"I can't hear any cleaning going on?" Sally Jackson's voice floated through the open door.

"Alright, I'm on it!" Percy called back instinctively, a frown on his face as he looked around at the pigsty of a room. He wasn't sure what he thought of his current situation at the moment, but what he did know, was that he would at least try to enjoy it whilst he could.

( - )

Chapter 2

( - )

(With Percy)

Searching through the wardrobe in his room, Percy was at least able to scrounge up a few bits and pieces of clothing that matched his particular tastes. A pair of black jeans, a blue T-shirt with some random design on the front, and a black parka coat.

It wasn't fancy and it certainly wasn't as protective as he would have liked. But for the moment, it would do.

Pulling on a pair of ragged-looking trainers his body was almost on autopilot as instead of focusing on getting dressed, he continued to think about his current situation and the sheer craziness of it all.

He was alive and was somehow several years younger than he should be. Additionally, he was also apparently a proud member of Camp Half Blood and a demigod to boot.

It was a very bizarre situation.

Perhaps the craziest and most pleasant part of the entire thing though was that he was living with his mother and not under the sea with some of his father's associates.

Still, there were at least some things that hadn't changed as for one, he could still feel the sea, and his connection to it was as strong as it ever was.

That was important to him. After all, the sea and his connection to it was a significant part of what made him who he was. That connection. It was always there in the back of his mind. It calmed him when he was angry and comforted him when he was upset. It gave him strength when he was feeling weak and washed away his worries when he was feeling anxious.

The sea had been more of a parent to him than either of his actual parents had ever been. Not that that was particularly fair to his mother. After all, she hadn't really been given a chance to properly parent him before his colossal arsehole of a father had removed her from the picture.

Bringing his mind back on track, even as he finished lacing up his shoes, he focused on what else he had figured out about his current situation.

He still had his abilities and had retained the same amount of control over them that he had always had.

Not that that was much of a surprise, considering his abilities came from his semi-divine spirit/ soul, or whatever you wanted to call it, and not from his body.

After all, as he remembered being told long ago, gods and divine beings were not biological creatures but were instead celestial constructs of pure, divine energy who merely took on physical forms to better interact with the world around them. A divine being's true form was so intense that they would destroy the mind and soul of any mortal who looked upon them. Or, in the case of a titan, their true form would not only destroy the mind and ravage the soul of those who saw them. It would also disintegrate the bodies of any mortal unfortunate enough to be near them when they cast off their physical forms.

Either way, the headache of just what divine beings were aside, his powers were burned into his soul and were not a biological process, which is no doubt why he was still able to use the same abilities in this younger, weaker body that he had been able to use in his older body.

Unfortunately, however, the same could not be said for his muscle memory, as after testing out his polearm and sword forms with a handy broomstick whilst he was sweeping up the worst of broken shards of glass in his room before hoovering, he had already noticed that he wasn't quite up to scratch.

His movements were janky and awkward, especially since his mind hadn't quite clocked onto the fact that he was both weaker and shorter than he should be and that his reach wasn't quite what it had been.

This, he knew, was an issue and one he would have to rectify as soon as possible. It essentially meant that he would need to get some serious training in ASAP. He needed to engrave the proper motions and reflexes into his body.

It was just a shame he couldn't montage that shit or something. Unfortunately, however, this was the real world, and such hurdles couldn't just be skipped over. There were no shortcuts in life, not that that stopped him from looking for them when he could.

Pushing himself up and onto his feet and rolling his shoulders, Percy glanced back at his freshly cleaned room, pushing down the sudden urge he had to somehow kick his counterpart in this world for making it such a mess to begin with. After which, with a sigh, he closed the door and headed into the kitchen to wait for his 'friends' to arrive.

Honestly, the fact he went to Camp Half Blood and was friends with the bloody migraines that were Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase was still one of the hardest things he was getting used to.

Thankfully, he had always been adaptable and flexible it was one of his greatest strengths. He had always been able to react quickly to the changing tides and go with the flow.

That said, as he sat down at the kitchen counter and glanced up at his mother, Sally, even as the kind-looking woman continued to bustle around the kitchen. A part of him was curious about what he was supposed to be doing in Maine, of all places, with two demigoddesses in the middle of winter.

"So, are you sure you're happy to drive us?" Percy asked suddenly.

A slight smile spread across his face as he saw a pot of coffee on the side. Grinning, he swiftly poured himself a cup of the dark ambrosia within. Who was he to deny such heaven-sent goodness?

"Of course," his mother replied. There was a slight smile on her face as she turned away from drying some dishes and looked over at him. "How else do you expect to get to Bay Harbour? You can't exactly fly up there, can you? Your father's brother would blast you out of the sky the moment you tried, and the train service from New York to Bay Harbour is pretty awful. No, it's easier this way. Besides, I'd feel a lot more comfortable dropping you and your friends off there myself. Besides, Chiron has already compensated me for the trip, so there really is no problem."

"Well, it is appreciated all the same." Percy nodded. She was a kind woman and generous too. That said, she was also quite chatty. Already, she had given him a few things to work with for example, he now knew that he was in New York. Additionally, her unwillingness to say the King of Olympus's name - who else could she be talking about when she said someone would 'blast him from the sky' - and her lack of surprise about his ability to control water and create ice back in his room, all made working out that his father in this world was Poseidon, surprisingly easy.

The irony behind his new parentage almost made him laugh. His father, or former father now, would fly into a homicidal rage at the idea of his nemesis, the usurper, Poseidon, stealing 'his' champion. Honestly, the thought of it made him smile.

"Hey now, no need to be so formal." His mother interrupted his train of thought. There was an odd look on her face. "I'm your mum. Looking after you is in the job description."

Percy couldn't help but smile slightly at the reminder. Was this what he had been missing out on?

"By the way, since when did you drink black coffee?" His mother continued curiously.

Percy glanced down at his cup before with a crooked smile, he shrugged. What else could he say. Somehow, he didn't think she would appreciate the true explanation of him being some kind of trans-dimensional interloper that had stolen her son's body in some unknown way, and due to some unknown reasons, all of which probably had something to do with the Fates being sociopathic, controlling old bints.

Rolling her eyes, his mother shook her head. "I tell you, you seem to be changing more and more every day."

"It's called growing up. It happens to us all." Percy couldn't help but comment slightly sarcastically.

"Well, at least some things don't change." His mother replied with a smile back on her face as she rolled her eyes. "So then, mister grownup. I take it you are ready to go?"

"Yep, just waiting for the others to arrive." Percy nodded before a slight frown spread across his face. "I still don't fully understand the reason we're all going up to Maine though?"

His mother gave him a queer look at the comment. "What do you mean? I thought it was pretty self-explanatory your friend Grover found a couple of demigods and needed some help extracting them. You, being a good friend, said yes… or at least that's how you explained it to me…?"

"Yeah, I know that," Percy lied, his mind swirling as he picked over what he had just heard, his thought processes splitting, as part of his mind stayed with the conversation whilst the other half continued to process and think about everything he had heard, and everything he could remember about Camp Half Blood and what they had been up to in the last couple of years. "But still, satyrs usually just sniff out demigods and then ferry them back to the Camp themselves. They don't normally need backup. There must be some issue or some danger for him to want the three of us to help out."

His mother nodded thoughtfully. "It wouldn't surprise me that a lot of monsters were drawn to their scent. Especially since you said there were two of them."

"Maybe, but even so, the demigods must be quite strong. That or they have become aware of what they are. Otherwise, why is this issue only cropping up now?" Percy muttered to himself, his mind still whirling as he teased out half-forgotten things and scraps of information he had picked up over the years.

He did remember something happening in Maine a few years ago, or at least in his world. It had been around the time that the weakened Kronos had been dethroned and cast back down to the Pit. With his brothers, the new triumvirate, Oceanus, Hyperion and Iapetus, taking on his mantle and assuming control over the resurgent Titan faction in his stead.

That said, he hadn't been personally involved in those events. After all, at the time, his father had not fallen in behind Kronos, not when the Titan of Time was still so weak and disembodied. That, and the Crooked One, had still not redeemed himself, or at least in his father's eyes, of his failures in the first Titanomachy.

Still, he did remember hearing bits about what happened. But that had been mainly in the form of his father mocking his brother, Kronos, for his failure and his nephew, Atlas, for his incompetence.

It had all started with the Di Angelo siblings.

He froze mid-sip.

It was like a lightbulb had just gone off in his mind. The dangerous brother and sister duo, the children of Hades. Those two, he remembered, had been wrapped up in the events that had happened around that time.

Bianca and Nico, along with Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, Luke, the son of Hermes, Annabeth, the daughter of Athena and Zoe, the Lieutenant of the Hunt. They had foiled Atlas's plan, freed the captured goddess, Artemis, and killed Kronos's human host, the son of Nemesis… Ethan… Naka-something or other.

The exact details of what happened he didn't quite remember, as he had never been told. But what he could recall was that it had ended in a total and complete victory for the forces of Olympus and a complete rout and decimation of Kronos growing power base.

It had been a particularly heavy blow considering Kronos' previous failure to destroy the defences around Camp Half Blood and his inability to get an agent into Camp Jupiter.

Honestly, it was no wonder, or at least in his mind, why Kronos had been betrayed. His achievements in the modern age were less than impressive.

"Honestly, I don't know. Most of this demigod stuff is above my head…" His mother shrugged.

Percy nodded at that. "Well, I guess I'll find out when I get there."

That and he was hoping to get some more concrete answers on what else was different here.

Were the Di Angelo siblings still children of Hades?

Was Thalia Grace still the leader of Camp Half Blood?

Would Annabeth Chase still join the Hunters of Artemis and, along with her sisters in the Hunt, continue to be a thorn in their side in the years to come?

Would Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes, still cut down Kronos's vessel and indirectly cause the Titan Lord of Time's downfall?

Would the Great Prophecy still come to its sudden and anti-climactic conclusion in just a few day's time?

He had so many questions he needed answers to.

Was his father still around waiting to stab his wounded and weakened older brother in the back, and then with his other brothers, usurp his position and his destiny to crush Olympus and retake the world in the name of the Titans?

A slight smile played across Percy's mouth at that thought. Retaking the world might be a bit of an exaggeration.

More realistically, the titans would only be conquering the Greco-Roman Pantheon's territory. Which, while admittedly one of the strongest factions in the world, was not the only one. After all, once they took over, they would be re-entering a very different world to the one they had previously known. A world in which they would be competing against and fighting with the powers of the other Pantheons in the world, such as the Norse Pantheon, Egyptian Pantheon, Celtic Pantheon, and the other nearly half a dozen Pantheons that were still active and relevant in the world.

Either way, one thing was clear. Things here in this place, this peculiar realm, were going to be different to the things he knew and remembered. The people might be different, and so might the future.

Before he could think any more about the ongoing issues surrounding him, he and his mother - both of whom had lapsed into a comfortable silence - were startled by a sudden knock at the door.

"Oh, that'll be your friends!" His mother chirped eagerly. "I've been hoping to meet them properly for a while now!"

Ah yes, Percy grimaced. His erstwhile enemies and apparent new friends. This was one meeting he could have done with putting off for a while longer so that he could at least settle into the strange goings-on and sort out how he was going to act and react now that he had come to terms with his current situation. Fortunately, however, he was adaptable, and with his ability to split his thought processes, multitasking was a cinch.

"Come on, Percy, don't pout. I'm not going to embarrass you in front of your friends." His mother laughed as she pushed herself away from the counter, and ruffled his hair, which he grudgingly put up with, and headed for the nearby door.

"Mother Earth, give me strength," Percy muttered a silent prayer, his eyes closing for a moment before without another word, he downed the remnants of his hot coffee. The heat, thankfully not bothering him at all, due mainly to the handy fact that he was heat resistant both inside and out.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he stood up, straightened his coat and forced a crooked smile onto his face.

From what his mother had said thus far, he was on good terms with both of the girls, good friends even. Whether he was any more than that… well, that was something he would have to find out. Personally, he hoped not, if only for the fact that it would needlessly complicate an already complicated situation.

Besides which, he was still a bit raw, in the metaphorical sense after his last sort of girlfriend/ occasional lover, Kelli, tried to eat him after a passionate night of sex, and it hadn't been in the sensual sense of the word, but more in the literal sense.

Suffice it to say their break up had been sudden, swift and without a doubt deadly.

Shaking his head and withholding a shudder at the thought of that crazy, vampiric she-beast and relishing in the fact that he was unlikely to ever come across that literal man-eater again, Percy focused back on the here and now. His preternaturally heightened hearing could already pick up the audible murmur of voices coming from the hall as his mother opened the door to let the two girls into the apartment.

"So you must be Annabeth. You're exactly like Percy described. It really is lovely to meet you, and I also just want to say thank you. I never had the chance before, but thank you for trying to help me back when I was taken, and thank you for looking after Percy ever since. You have no idea how much it means to me to know he has friends like you out there with him, watching his back!"

Percy cringed as he heard his not-quite-mother's words. Her voice was pitched low enough that under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for someone without supernaturally heightened hearing to hear.

Unfortunately, however, Percy could hear what was going on and as such got second-hand embarrassment from the words. Which was especially odd considering 'he was not the son she was talking about'.

"I-It's fine Mrs Jackson, it really is. H-He's a good friend and watches m-my back just as much as I watch his!" An equally soft female voice replied.

He could almost hear the mortified embarrassment she must be feeling in her voice.

Likewise, he could hear a stifled laugh from the other girl.

"Thalia!" Annabeth hissed, a short intake of breath following after the hiss, no doubt from the daughter of Athena elbowing, the daughter of Zeus in the side.

"S-Sorry…" Another voice replied. Her words didn't hold even a hint of remorse. "And how's it going Mrs J. I'm Thalia. Can't say I know Percy as well as Anne here does, but I know him well enough."

This voice was slightly louder and more casual than the other. It gave him the impression of her being a laid-back, easygoing person.

It was a far cry from the striking, spear-wielding, lightning-clad, punk rocker girl with a knock-off version of Aegis that he remembered. That girl, the one he knew, was a complete hellion, intense and ruthless. She had been a deadly enemy and an unrelenting one too.

In his final fight, the one that had cost him his life, he had lost track of the number of times he had knocked her down or away, only for her to attack him again moments later.

In the end, it had taken several solidified spears of highly acidic water and a chitin-clad claw through her chest to put her down, and even then, she had managed to inflict close to a score of wounds on his person. Which had been all the more impressive considering he had a moderate resistance to lightning and had been in full plate armour.

The young woman he knew was a terror on the battlefield and a formidable enemy. As such, he was having somewhat of a hard time comparing the girl he knew with the light-hearted, friendly tone of the girl in the doorway.

The same could probably be said for the nervous daughter of Athena. The Annabeth Chase he had known had been determined and implacable. She had possessed a strategic mind far beyond his own and a raw, natural intellect that would have probably left Koios himself stumped for at least a moment or two.

He never thought he would hear her nervously stuttering because of the words of a mortal, even a mortal as warm and kind as his mother seemed to be.

"Ah yes, Percy mentioned you too. You're the girl who got turned into a tree?" His mother's voice continued, undeterred by Thalia's casualness.

Once again, there was a snort of laughter, only this time it came from Annabeth.

"Shut up, Anne," Thalia hissed, before with a light, slightly forced laugh, she pitched her voice higher, more in the range that a normal human would be able to hear, even as she spoke again. "But yeah, that's me. So is Percy in Mrs J?"

"Oh, well, yes of course. Come in, come in! "His mother replied quickly. The smile on her face was somehow audible in her words, even as the sound of her closing the door rang out, and the sound of footsteps on the carpet coming his way became audible.

"Yo, Percy!" Thalia Grace's voice exploded across the kitchen, even as the girl herself, a spiky, dark-haired beauty with electric blue eyes and a cheeky grin on her face burst into the room.

"Thalia…" Percy nodded awkwardly, his sea-green eyes roaming up and down her familiar form, taking in the metal-studded, black leather jacket she was wearing. Her shiny, black Doc Martins and her skinny black jeans, complete with a retro silver chain at her hip. Combine her outfit with the familiar silver bracelet on her wrist and the silver stud in her nose, and the girl looked pretty similar to the one he had known.

Only of course, the one he had known had been older and had never once smiled at him in a friendly way like she was doing now. Nor had she ever approached him without either a weapon in hand or some kind of armour.

"Down, fish boy, at least buy me a drink first before you check me out." Thalia laughed, her blue eyes twinkling as she strode up to him and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Erm…" Percy replied eloquently, his mind racing as he tried to work out the best way to react. How would the Percy, she seemed to know, react?

"Wind it back a bit, Thals." Annabeth Grace's voice rang out next, the curly blonde-haired girl's head shaking back and forth, causing her blonde ponytail to do the same, even as a slight grin spread across her tanned face and her stormy grey eyes flashed with amusement. As she entered the room, Percy's bemused-looking mother followed along behind her. "Seaweed Brain here isn't used to your… unique brand of humour yet."

"Yeah, yeah…" Thalia smiled, clapping Percy on the shoulder again. "I suppose I get that. We didn't get to talk properly back in summer, not with everything going on."

"Right," Percy nodded, quickly finding his equilibrium as he locked on to the fact that Thalia didn't know him well. Whilst Annabeth, going off the quite frankly lazy nickname, knew him slightly better and had at least a friendly relationship with him.

Additionally, going off of the tone and cadence of the voice, as well as the words themselves and their implications regarding his intelligence. He could at least infer that she was often exasperated with him about either him making rash decisions or not having the knowledge, most likely of Greek Mythology, that she expected him to have.

A lot of that of course, was based on guesswork and on reading into words and expressions using the heightened thinking power that his ability to split his thought processes gave him. But still, having grown up around untrustworthy and treacherous monsters, siblings, and 'friends', he had become quite adept at cold-reading people and creatures.

"Still, I suppose I do owe you some thanks for the whole Golden Fleece thing. Without you and Anne, and Grover too I suppose, I would still be a tree. That or I would be dead." Thalia smiled again. Though this time, her smile looked hollower, and her tone also seemed to hold a bitter edge to it that hadn't been there before.

"That and Clarisse," Annabeth said, her stormy grey eyes switching from him to Thalia as she spoke.

"What, that overly aggressive, totally compensating, muscle-brained cow?" Thalia asked abruptly, her mood quickly perking up.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes before looking back at him. "So that's Thalia. But really, how are things Percy? I've not seen you properly since the end of summer."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot going on, you know. I've had a lot to think about." Percy shrugged. It was a pretty neutral response.

"Thinking? Well, that's new for you, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth laughed. A quick, mischievous smile flashed across her face.

Percy cocked his eyebrow and gave her a dry look. "Rude."

"Oh, what's this, no witty comeback? Or have you finally developed a filter?" Annabeth laughed again, her eyes crinkling up a bit in a cute way.

"Okay, enough flirting, you two." Thalia interrupted brusquely, a slight smile still on her face. "You're making Mrs J feel uncomfortable."

"Thalia…!" Annabeth muttered, her face and ears going a bit pink as she abruptly looked away from Percy.

"Oh no, don't mind me." His mother grinned. "I'm just enjoying getting the lowdown on some of this gossip."

Looking between his mother and the two trained killers, Percy couldn't help but let out a tired sigh. Was this his life now? Maybe he had been right in his first conclusion, and this was some kind of weird, divine punishment.

"So, shouldn't we be heading off?" Percy finally offered, his gaze switching from both Thalia to Annabeth, even as the two of them focused on him again. "It's a long drive up to Maine."

"Yeah, you have a point, fishboy. The sooner we set off, the sooner we can catch up with Grover and evacuate the newbies." Thalia nodded.

"The drive will give us time to plan." Annabeth piped up, her stormy grey eyes narrowing in thought. "From what Grover has told Chrion. He thinks there is a powerful monster lurking around Westover Hall. Which means we'll need to move carefully, especially since there are going to be other kids around, mortal ones."

A grimace spread across Thalia's face at the child of Athena's words. "Yeah, I didn't think of that. Didn't Grover say they were having a school prom or something like that tonight?"

"Yes, so they'll all be gathered in one place. It should give us the cover we need to sneak in, grab the demigods, and get out before the monster realises what we're doing." Annabeth nodded.

"That, or we could try and identify the monster and get rid of it first?" Thalia offered.

"No, it could have allies, and we don't want to cause too much of a scene. Not with there being so many mortals about." Annabeth shook her head.

"Wait, so we're going to a school prom?" Percy cut in, a slight frown on his face as he looked down at Annabeth's casual attire, complete with a pair of boots, jeans, and a thick, puffy, dark blue coat, Thalia's punk rocker outfit, and his own casual, decisively not fancy or protective, garb. "Shouldn't we, you know, take a spare set of formal-ish clothes so we can blend in?"

Annabeth gave him a surprised look. "It's a nice idea."

"But not necessary. Chiron has shown me a few tricks with the Mist. I can sort out our entrance and invitation. Just follow my lead." Thalia grinned.

"That can be plan A," Annabeth nodded. "But it is always good to have a plan B."

"Yeah, monsters can see through the Mist, and I thought the idea was to get in without attracting too much attention?" Percy nodded, a part of his mind instinctively switching gears into 'plan mode'.

"They can see through the Mist, sure. But have you forgotten that they can also smell demigods? The moment we enter the school, they'll know we're there." Thalia replied, the grin sliding off her face. "You and me, we're children of the Big Three. Which means we are basically a walking buffet for monsters."

"So what's the point of the subterfuge if we're going to be spotted the moment we enter the school anyway?" Percy shot back before he frowned as an idea appeared within his mind. He had always liked these kinds of conversations. Back-and-forth debates and strategy meetings. It was so familiar to him that he almost felt nostalgic. "Unless you use that. You and me, Thalia. As you said, we have the largest presence. The pair of us can approach from the front and cause a scene. That would draw all the attention to us, including the monster's attention. Annabeth, meanwhile, you can sneak in using us as a distraction, grab the kids, and get out of there."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed as she thought about his words. Her shrewd gaze locked on to him. It was unnerving it almost felt like she was trying to see through his flesh and into his very core. "It could work. I have my hat, and if you two cause a scene. I could be quickly in and out without being seen or noticed. That's good thinking, Seaweed Brain. It seems you've learned something about tactics while you've been away."

Percy smiled awkwardly in response. There was a chance he might have just overplayed his hand there.

That said, he thought, his smile turning slightly more genuine. What could they even do if they did clock on to the fact he was acting differently from how he usually did? He was a teenager, after all. He was at an age where people tended to find themselves. If someone did get suspicious, a simple answer would be that he was growing up and maturing.

It would be a better answer than the truth. After all, if he told the truth, what would happen? Were there asylums out there for demigods that buckled under the pressure and lost it? Or maybe they would try and exorcise him? Now that was a frightening thought.

"Just makes sense to me." Percy shrugged, a smile on his face as he looked back at Annabeth. Only for his smile to weaken slightly, as he saw her expression shift a little. Though not into an expression of suspicion or curiosity. Instead, it almost looked like she was disappointed. Though just what he could have done to disappoint her in this life, that is to say, he wasn't entirely sure. But either way, he knew he would need to keep a wary eye on her. The girl was far too smart, both for his good and her own.

"We can sort out the details in the car." Thalia interrupted.

"Oh, yes. I supposed we should be setting off soon." His mother suddenly piped up, her sudden exclamation making Thalia flinch slightly. Almost as if the daughter of Zeus had forgotten she had been there all this while, listening in with interest. After which, his mother then headed out of the room, no doubt to grab a coat and her car keys.

"R-Right," Thalia nodded before looking at Percy and Annabeth again. "Yeah, so we can sort out the details on the journey up there, but your idea seems solid enough, Percy. Still, as the one with the most experience with this kind of thing, I think it would be best if you two both follow my lead when we get there, okay?"

"Haven't you been a tree for the last couple of years?" Percy shot back, a slight stirring of irritation rising up in his chest at the other girl's presumption. It was a bit petty he knew that. After all, for all he knew, the Percy that Thalia sort of knew might be completely useless. But still, the fact she thought she was better than him rankled a little.

"Low blow, fishboy," Thalia grimaced. "But that doesn't mean I can't still run rings around you."

"Uh-huh," Percy replied unconvincingly.

"Hey, let's not get into this now." Annabeth, playing the role of the mediator, quickly intervened. "Like you said before, we should head off. I take it you have everything you need, Percy?"

Nodding his head abruptly, Percy was about to say yes before he quickly remembered one important thing. He didn't have everything. He didn't have a weapon. All he at present was a ballpoint pen in his pocket and a distinctly anaemic wallet.

"Yeah, sure, though I just need to ask my mum where my weapon is." Percy finally said after a few moments of thought.

From looking at his bedroom, he had concluded that the Percy that they all knew was kind of a mess, or at least in terms of cleaning up after himself. As such, he was pretty sure that it was not beyond the realms of possibility that he could reasonably state he couldn't remember where he had left his sword/ spear/ dagger/ whatever Celestial Bronze weapon this Percy used.

Personally, he was hoping for either a spear or a polearm. They would be the ideal options. Either of those two or preferably a trident. If not, he was good enough with a sword, mace, axe or dagger to get by. The worst-case scenario, however, would be if he ended up lumbered with a bow. Archery was not really his forte.

"Well, I assume it's in your pocket? Seriously, don't tell me that you somehow lost your magic sword, you know, your magic sword that is enchanted to always return to you…" Annabeth rolled her eyes, her tone exasperated. "Like seriously, what is it with you today? You're all over the place half the time you're coming up with clever ideas, the other half you're forgetting obvious things… you're acting pretty odd..."

Again, he could almost feel the disappointment wafting off of her.

Shoving his hands into his pocket, Percy pulled out the only thing in them, aside from his wallet, which was the ballpoint pen.

"See, there it is." Annabeth sighed.

"Come on Percy get it together." Thalia laughed. "It's not that early in the morning."

Forcing out a laugh at that, Percy just shrugged. "Yeah, sorry, Stupid I know. But to be fair, I only just woke up, like an hour ago, and I had a long night, the night before."

"Excuses, excuses." Thalia shook her head.

"Maybe that's it," Annabeth muttered, her stormy grey eyes once again boring into him. "I think you should get some sleep on the way up to Maine. This job is important, and we all need to be at one hundred per cent."

"Right, sure thing." Percy nodded.

Annabeth, however, merely continued to watch him expectantly for a few seconds, as if hoping for something more, before she then sighed and looked away.

Frowning, Percy was about to speak again. However, before he could, his mother came back into the kitchen wearing a coat, with her car keys in one hand and a rucksack in the other.

"Well, come on then, the sooner we set off, the sooner we'll get there. Next stop Bay Harbour, Maine."

( - )

AN: So not heavy on action, but instead more focussed on interaction and introspection as he comes to terms with his current situation. Fortunately demigods have to deal with crazy stuff all the time, and so they become pretty adaptable. Especially ones like Percy who just take the good with the bad, and then go with the flow.

That and I think it is important to flesh out AU Percy a bit, and his character, as well as his origins, just to provide some context to who he is and why he does the things he does. I like to think that he is a multi dimensional character with lots of different moving parts.

On top of that, I am sure a few people have picked up a few brief mentions of abilities. Suffice to say I have ideas in mind for his powerset, which will be similar to canon Percy, but also have distinct differences. I'm going to have fun playing around with those, but I will say I have taken some influence from two Marvel comics characters, i.e. Namor and Storm, when putting together Percy's skillset. I think there are going to be some fun and unique twists.

That and I also have some other things I want to try out as the story progresses.

But anyway, that's all from me. It's weekend time, and I am going to try and get at least half of Last King done before I kick my feet up and relax for the rest of the weekend.

Have a good one all, and thanks for reading.

Greed720.