AN: I don't own anything, all rights to Rick, Hyperion, and Mythomagic.
Slightly based off of Once more, slightly to the left but also heavily…me.
Percy Jackson, 25 years old, sat at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Chiron had touched some sensitive points, by bringing up everyone he failed to save.
The old centaur was extremely desensitized.
He wished he could go back and change things. He fell asleep, leaning on his megalodon, Sherbet; he wished he could unravel the strings of fate…
Suddenly he felt a tremor.
With a start, he woke up.
He was in the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood.
He looked down. Different clothes, no Anaklusmos. A murky blonde haired figure stood over him.
"You drool in your sleep."
She looked around hurriedly.
"What will happen at the summer solstice?" She asked.
"Uhh?" He managed out. He was in a dream in the past.
Oh shit. Annabeth.
He was NOT going down that toxic, mentally unsafe, pride driven, path again, no matter how much he was pressured into it. Not this dream.
Another oh shit.
He hadn't dreamt.
The shockwave he felt…was the same as when Pan had faded but stinger with a mix of lavender and incense.
Chronos, who lived in Big Ben, and his wife Ananke, who lived at Stonehenge, now dwelt in the void, the Abyss of Chaos, the Realm of the Faded; True Afterlife.
He was back in time. Anybody else could, but thank the gods not Annabeth.
Suddenly he remembered where he had been.
"Legio Vicesima…Valeria Victrix…"
Annabeth whirled around, but he pretended to be asleep.
Fate was being rewritten as their birth mother faded.
Inevitability? No such thing.
Now he needed to find out who and why. Well, not why. Just the why who.
Annabeth led him to Chiron. He remembered his plight.
"Where is my mom?"
"Ahh, young Percy. Care to join us for Pinochle?"
"I will play. You can explain to me this whole you're insane but it's normal thing in game."
As they played, Chiron said the usual stuff.
"It's not often I make a house call," said Chiron, "but I'm glad you proved yourself worthy."
"Why didn't you tell me, Mr. Brunner?" Said Percy, "and what do you mean proving myself worthy?"
"I wanted to keep you safe as long as possible. And you made it to camp. Showing you were worth it."
"Right, because it was a month after getting attacked by an old hag witch thing before you told me, after which the literal mino-"
"Names have power, young man," said Dionysus, for the first time.
"Asterius killed or took hostage my mother. If every one who lives here had to go through that they're all worth it. So why me and who am I, and who are you?"
"I am Chiron. Trainer of Heroes. This is Mr. D. Director. Grover you know and Annabeth who nursed you back to health."
"I see. Thank you guys. Who am I?"
"Ahh, the problem is not who but what you are."
"I am a Daughter of Athena," said Annabeth proudly.
"So it is who I am. Thanks for the help…Chiron. Lord Dionysus."
Annabeth spluttered while the immortals looked up, surprised.
"You taught him well, my dear centaur." Said Mr D.
"Best class, remember? Even if it ended with me being told I wasn't welcome and didn't belong, courtesy of Mr. Brunner, it still was better than Mrs. Dodds."
"Annabeth, why don't you give him a tour of the Camp?"
She led him as he remembered, but he didn't trip near Hermes cabin. He secretly controlled the water around him to react, trying to give them a hint as well as test his control over his abilities.
He talked with Luke, but it went slightly differently and he apparently did well as Annabeth didn't scold him.
They had finished introductions as he suddenly said to Luke, "do you ever think about why we serve the gods?"
"Yes," he said, wincing briefly, "but I don't think there is a good answer."
"Because they are the best option and they are changeable. It's hard to hate Hestia, or Hades once you think about it. Zeus is not as bad as he looks once he starts thinking. Hermes is ridiculously busy. But they are our best option, really no matter what."
"You don't understand, you're new here. They demand worship for no reason. They aren't the lesser of two evils."
Percy sighed and turned around.
He went through his sword lesson that day, impressing Luke but he refused to try again.
He sat on the beach, waiting, writing down his goals for this timeline.
•He needed to see who else was awake.
•He needed to save Nico, Bianca, Thalia, Hazel, Reyna, and Hylla.
•Save Silena and Beck, get Ares cabin in the war for good.
•Destroy the Scythe
•Be on Hera's good side
•Piss off immortals
•Don't fall for Annabeth.
Suddenly the water churned and two figures stepped out of it.
A girl with medium tanned skin and long black hair with vibrant blue eyes stood next to a carbon copy of Percy, who shimmered into a double fish tailed ponytailed merman briefly.
"Brother! You remember too?" Said the carbon copy.
"Triton! So you and Rhode, huh? I felt them fade, but I don't remember. I think Aion and Kairos might have something to do with it—but mainly Chronos."
"Little brother, we are fully aware," said Rhode, "Mother is starting to remember and Father does fully. There is a random palace for some mermen from the Pacific. It seems to be a Sea thing- Delphin remembers. Kym and Triton, we do not know yet. Benthisikyme is in Sri Lanka and not yet awoken."
"No major differences then?"
"No. Except the baby of the family has an uncanny knack for knowing just how far he can go this time. And we know about Oceanus and Aigaios," said Rhode, smirking.
"Go easy on Aigaios. He's being blackmailed, remember?"
They said goodbye and lifted the shield so Zeus couldn't tell they were conversing.
Percy made his way back to camp and sacrificed his food.
"To Hera, because my mom is in a shitty marriage, Poseidon, to remember, Kym, Triton and Rhode, cause you guys are awesome. To Hestia for keeping the fam together. To Amphitrite for being the force behind the Seafam." He scrapped almost everything down from his meal. Luke frowned, saying, "you don't have to give them everything, you know?"
"I know but I sacrificed to a lot of people."
"You were the one who questioned the gods earlier. What has changed?"
"Nothing. The gods are much more human than we realize."
"Curious, for one who is new to this world…?" Luke squinted at him, in interest. Percy made a note that his hatred for the gods was ill concealed in his facial expression.
"Your point, Castellan?" He blurted, realizing that Kronos was likely to learn and be suspicious.
"Nothing. But watch it around Chiron and Dionysus."
Percy noted his use of the gods name so that said god could hear.
"Why, Dionysus seemed nice enough. Chiron was callous but not bad. Why should I watch myself? Do you not trust them?" He asked innocently.
"Of course I meant nothing of the sort. But if you act so smart they might be suspicious." Said Luke.
"Thanks for the compliment, I guess? I'm not an Athena kid, though, my eyes are green," replied Percy, aware of Mr. D's eyes on them.
Luke turned away but looked back halfway to his own table. "And Percy? You are a natural with a sword, no matter how much you try to hide it."
"I wasn't hiding it, that sword just sucked!" He yelled back, annoyed.
He suddenly realized that he needed to be more friendly with Luke in order to fulfill the prophecy.
His once bright sea green, now dark and stormy after his stint in Tartarus and losing his contacts with many of his friends were trained on Grover, who could read emotions.
He needed Grover on his quest if Grover would be able to find Pan.
Annabeth he really wanted to avoid but she was necessary. Otherwise , he'd bring Clarisse, but that wouldn't go well in a fight with Ares.
Well, damn. Best not get too friendly with her. And avoid Procrustes.
He walked through towards the Hearth, but was stopped by Sherman Yang.
And Clarisse La Rue.
"I heard you're the kid who killed the Minotaur," she said, "nice trophy."
He only just noticed the horn in his pocket. Damn it Percy, no perception.
"Ares kid?"
"And proud of it, what's your name?"
"Percy Jackson, unclaimed."
"Well see here, Prissy, we have a little initiation ceremony for new campers."
Without a word she grabbed him with Mark but he elbowed her face and kneed her brother in the family jewels.
She swung at him wildly but he axe-kicked the back of her knee and she collapsed. Annabeth shimmered into existence and pulled him away.
"Hey, we were having fun," he protested, "Ares cabin respects belligerence."
"What did you think you were doing?! Now is not the time to try and impress people," she said.
He purposely had avoided the bathrooms but she had no need to know that. He didn't want to reveal his parentage yet.
He made his way to the Hearth before capture the flag where he saw the familiar eight year old girl.
"Hello, Lady Hestia."
She looked at him in surprise and bewilderment, but he merely smiled.
"How did you know?"
"Try looking at my memories, all of them."
She did so and drew back in shock.
"No mortal should go through what you have," she said, as she turned thirty instantly and hugged him.
He was surprised by the gesture but hugged her back as they made small talk, him voicing his concerns and she giving him advice.
"Who else do you think would remember? It seems to be a sea thing," he said, "at least so far."
She shrugged wordlessly and played a game of battleship with him in an attempt to get his mind off of his precarious situation.
He saw Annabeth coming towards him as his brain screamed at him to run away.
Calm, Percy, calm. Her fatal flaw hasn't completely surfaced yet, she is just a kid, she treats you like an intelligent human being.
Hestia put a hand on his shoulder.
He smiled at Annabeth. "You need anything, Chase?"
"I want you for capture the flag."
She didn't see the goddess or the battleship.
Later that day, as they readied themselves for the game, he drew a curious comment from Luke on how he knew how to put on armor. He made a conscious effort to befriend the son of Hermes and it seemed to work.
"Percy, you will take border patrol. Stand by the river, a little bit far away. Keep the reds out," she said.
"You want to draw Ares cabin towards me while Luke gets the flag. And you haven't said where you will be, so you'll probably be with one of us two," he replied matter-of-factly.
Her eyes widened in surprise before she scoffed. "It's a good plan," she said.
"Effective. Good? Not so much." He jogged off towards his post, afraid that his seemingly irrational anger had shown. He couldn't let that happen.
Luke gave Annabeth a slightly disappointed look but she ignored it and put on her cap.
As expected, five Ares campers came at him.
As expected, he beat the living shit out of all of them except Clarisse, while being clumsy enough to hopefully convince Annabeth.
Clarisse, however, pushed him into the water and shocked him, fully expecting him to be sent reeling.
But he was one; dry, and two; one of Thalia's best friends. He could take a little lightning.
He willed the water to subtly trip her and broke her spear over his knee with savage glee. No injuries were there to be healed, however.
But the green trident was there regardless, and he bedded that night in Cabin Three.
He was mostly shunned at camp, except for the surprisingly fun company of Katie Gardner, Travis and Connor Stoll, and Lou Ellen Blackstone.
Luke he talked to regularly, but Annabeth avoided him like the plague and made no secret of her disdain for him.
Grover was there for him too and they formed their empathy link easily.
Waking up the morning he knew he would receive the quest, he found a small white box lined with gold and emerald on his bedside.
On it a beautiful calligraphic note was splayed with bronze ink, reading, "I am in on the situation. Here is compensation for Chronos and Ananke messing with us. Enjoy finding his majesty's sparkler!" The Ethiopian nymphs bit was full of her sense of humor and it warmed him that his family was there for him.
Inside was a dark bronze and silver trident pendant, in the middle of a four shark tooth necklace. He put it on gingerly, again touched by the small gesture.
He tugged the pendant, his hand suddenly holding the trident, a handsome blackened-Celestial Bronze and Trojan silver thing with a green gemstone in it.
There was water at the top, bottom, and middle, so that Percy could call it him as well as manipulate it in battle.
He was already thinking of his fight with Ares. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Grover peeked in.
"Mr. D and Chiron want to see you," he said, "it's urgent."
He hid his pendant under his CHB shirt and smiled in his head.
They found the centaur and director playing pinochle on the big house porch. Percy wordlessly joined them. After a while, Mr. D spoke, saying, "Maybe I shouldn't incinerate you. Save you the trouble, you land in Asphodel with your mom. Least I could do for you, brat."
Hmm. So Mr. D liked him.
"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D." Said Chiron gravely.
"I should hope not. He won't feel a thing. Or I'll make him an Atlantic bottlenose and send him to the bottom of the ocean. To his dad. Or, there is an utterly futile third option."
"Does this have to do with the sea and sky fighting," said Percy, "or am I imagining things?"
"Well done, Petros Johanneslav," said Dionysus. The more complicated the nickname, the more he liked you. At least, that was Katie's theory.
The daughter of Demeter was having flashbacks of the future, and he didn't know if he should tell her or not. But she knew that he knew something about it and was surprisingly perceptive.
"Thanks, Daniel…a," he said, purposefully tacking on the feminine ending.
The god huffed and flashed away, muttering about Ariadne, Olympus, Ariadne, wine, Ariadne—huh, he really missed her. Why hadn't Percy noticed that last time?
"I hope you are ready, my boy," said Chiron, "I hope you prove yourself worth the effort."
"For what, Chiron? And tell me if I'm wrong but all demigods and their descendants should be worth the effort."
"A quest, of course," said the centaur, ignoring his other words, "and how did you know what it was about?"
"Mrs. Dodds. And I've been having dreams, about horses and eagles fighting in the surf while a pig watched," he said, adding in the last part.
"Indeed. And who would benefit the most from a war between your father and Zeus?" He said, leveling the demigod with a grave look.
"You tell me."
"Go for a prophecy, first."
Percy did so and was greeted with the not so familiar mummy.
"I am the Speaker of the Prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, Slayer of the Might Python. Approach, Seeker, and ask."
"How do I get my mother back, and retrieve what was stolen?"
"You shall go west, and face the god that has turned. You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end."
Chiron reiterated his question once told the prophecy, and Percy's response was "Enlighten me."
POV Change: Athena wjth Hestia and Apollo on Olympus.
Athena sat with her aunt and half brother at tea on Olympus, watching the scene unfold below them. The Sea-spawns insistence on Hades' innocence was suspicious but he was well intentioned. Her children did not do well to alienate him.
"Enlighten me," said Percy.
"The god in the west who would benefit from War between the big three is Hades. It would enlarge his domain and he has always been jealous."
"Has he though? Everyone of those casualties will come to him eventually. Rushing it is inconvenient. And he has not always been jealous. He hasn't plotted against Olympus in millennia, despite always being the first scapegoat, why start now?"
"Hades is—"
"Your brother, Chiron. And I think Ares would benefit. Hence the pig. It would enlarge his domain drastically, and based off of his kids he ain't the brightest star in the tapestry of Nyx."
Athena was thoughtful. Hades wasn't the logical option. Additionally, Posiedon had become suddenly non belligerent since the boy's appearance. He refused to fight or argue with Zeus.
The more she thought about it, the less it made sense for Hades to be the culprit.
She was impressed.
She set her eyes to the mist again.
"So who will you pick, Percy?" Said Chiron. "I believe you already have a volunteer."
Annabeth shimmered into existence.
"I'm the one you want, Seaweed brains. I can make up for your intelligence. Athena always has a plan. I'm your friend, despite your childishness."
Athena winced at the blatant pride.
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Oh? My intelligence or lack of it? Athena always has a foolproof plan. Her kids, have a plan that keep them from harm. You deliberately sacrificed me in CTF, then treated me like the plague over a childish and petty rivalry, then have the audacity to call me childish and call me your friend?"
He sent a look at Chiron, who realized he must be thinking of the line in the prophecy.
"I'll take Grover Underwood and Katie Gardener," he said.
Annabeth's face contorted in shock, disdain, and anger.
"A daughter of Demeter? She is a powerless, weak-"
"She is a daughter of one of the Elder six and capable with a Bident or sword. You have a yankee cap, n uncontrolled fatal flaw, and a pretty knife. So, if I may go pack…?"
Athena grimaced again as Chiron nodded.
The boy was right, as much as she hated to admit it.
She flashed down to the canoe lake in twelve year old form.
She approached a storming Annabeth but decided not to talk to her. Instead, she made her way to Perseus. The boy sat on the dock, fingering a shark tooth necklace with a black trident pendant. At first she thought it was a weapon but he was not a child of hades and there was no Stygian iron.
"Something on your mind?" She said gently.
"Understatement. Fucking hubris…" he turned to her, stared at her face, then his eyes widened in surprise.
"Lady Athena? I didn't mean…my intention…I guess I can't bullshit my way out of this."
"No, you can't," she said, "and I wouldn't try. How did you know who I am?"
"Black hair, grey clothes, and really, really, startling godly eyes? No brainer."
"I noticed a lot of things off about you," she said, "starting off with why you know so much."
"Ah, right," he said, grimacing slightly. He knew he would have to tell the goddess of wisdom eventually, so he said, "if you would be so kind as to read my memories and then block them so that only those I want to can?"
She complied: her face darkened.
"I have no words. I am sorry. I knew your attitude towards my daughter was correct but I didn't realize how destructive she could be. Or how my pride could doom her."
"Sooo… your reason for being here?" He said, curious but suspicious.
"I was interested. A few of us have been watching you."
"Oh shit. Okay. Not good."
"Not to worry. With my support it should be easier then expected. Nobody will expect me to side with Poseidon."
"Thank you, Athena," he said,
"This could make a huge positive difference."
The sincerity touched her but she was mainly concerned with the information. He fiddled with his pendant nervously.
"What exactly is that, Perseus?" She said, staring.
"I Thought you saw my memories. It's a trident. About 5' 5 since I am 5' 2."
"I didn't look at everything. That is…ugh. Just the important stuff."
"Thank the primordials. Except Gaea and Ouranos, of course. I'll sacrifice some lamb chops to you next time I can."
She had no idea when he had learnt her favorite food, she didn't care.
After his encounter with Athena, he caught sight of her discussing things other a downcast Annabeth.
Katie and Grover readily agreed to help him. As expected, Luke gave him cursed shoes and he stuffed them in his backpack. Chiron gave him Riptide and told him if it's long and tragic backstory-not. Nope, Chiron spoke in cryptic mysteries.
Sigh.
But right before he left, in front of his friends, Hestia came up and fussed over him in a motherly way while Chiron stood surprised to the side.
Finally, she said, "Do you want a sword? I know you like duel wielding."
He stared in surprise when she handed him a darker bronze xiphos almost exactly like Riptide. She waved her hand and they both were engraved gilded in electrum and decorated with Chryselephantine on the handles. Silently, Strychnos appeared on the plaque. He hid it from Chiron to not raise suspicions on the name.
"Thank you, Aunt Hestia. I like the new aesthetic," he said sincerely.
"Sacrifice some of your mothers cookies for me next time, will you?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am."
She vanished in flames. He stared at Chiron belligerently and promised his friends he would explain later.
Once Grover was asleep, he prepared to talk to Katie.
"Okay. So you have memories of being like twenty five, right?"
"That was oddly specific," she said, "but yes. You clearly knew something."
"Right. So me and some of my family and others are from the future?" He said.
"I'm sorry?"
"…"
"The fuck, Jackson?"