Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

The universe was far more complex than the mortals would ever understand. While most tended to follow a singular religion, the truth was that every god that humans believed in or knew of, existed in the real world, even if this knowledge was not known to many. And with the existence of Gods, came the existence of other beings that humans were unfamiliar of, whether be demigods, magicians, or monsters.  

But while the existence of such beings was unknown to the common human folks, certain demigods, magicians, or other beings with connections to gods were at least aware of the existence of the divine and supernatural nature of their world, even if for most it was only in regards to their own pantheon of belief or connection. 

But that didn’t stop the world from keeping its own secrets, ones even some of the gods were kept away from. And one such close kept secret was the existence of multiverse. 

It might sound like fiction of the movies, but the concept of multiple universes did exist in the world, ones too different from others, as well as ones almost a replica of other asides from small differences. 

Our story is mainly centered around two, with the Greco-Roman pantheon taken in consideration. One gifted with something the other gods of another universe tried so desperately to have. 

In one universe, the gods would have millions of children until they grew too tired of caring and losing them over and over until they simply stopped displaying them the love and attention those children deserved. 

Yet in another, the gods would do anything to have a child but would fail to conceive in most cases. In this universe, the gods experienced heartbreak repeatedly, until they almost gave up on hope. 

That is, until the fates themselves decided to interfere with the multiverse, gifting the gods of the other universe with children both godly and those who were demigods, to the gods they believed more worthy of nurturing these children. 

Chapter Text

Chapter One: I am not feeling well, must be the gods' fault

It has been a while since Percy Jackson had returned to Camp Half-blood since his education at New Rome University. But with the summer breaks starting, and him feeling homesick, he had returned home to his lovely mother, Sally Jackson-Blofis, his amazing stepfather Paul Blofis, and his most adorable baby sister, Estelle Blofis alongside his beautiful and badass girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. After a week stay, he had decided to visit camp Half-Blood for a while before returning to Camp Jupiter. 

Nearly a year has passed since Apollo’s trials and Nico and Will’s visit to Tartarus, and things have significantly calmed down since. Of course, they still had quests and faced annoying monsters, but after two wars and one evil three musketeers overthrown, all that felt like a light breeze. 

Perhaps that had been a sign that something strange was about to happen. 

When Percy Jackson walked out of his cabin, he noticed huge numbers of campers were gathered around Apollo and Hermes tables, which had been joined together for some strange reason.  

Percy’s good friend and ally, Nico Di Angelo was seated in front of another friend, Chris Rodriguez, both boys holding a bunch of cards in hand, with Nico having significantly less cards in comparison. In fact, Nico had only one card in hand, at which he smirked before placing it on the table. 

Hermes Cabin groaned at Nico’s move, while the Apollo cabin cheered at the victory. Will and Annabeth were seated on Nico’s side, Will actively cheering alongside his siblings while Annabeth looked at the sight with amusement. The Stoll brothers were seated on Chris’ side, both sighing with defeat. 

“This is impossible.” Chris exclaimed. “How can you possibly win four times in a row? You must be cheating somehow!” 

“Chris, you are last person to accuse someone of cheating when we both know you removed a card from your deck when you thought no one was looking.” Nico replied with amusement, although his voice sounded a little tired. “As for how I won four times in a row, well let’s just say I am that good.” 

“No one is that good!” Chris pouted. 

“No, no, the kid has been good at cards ever since he came to camp.” sighed Travis. “I still remember when he was tiny little puppy boy, beat me and Connor at poker when we thought he was just an innocent unsuspecting kid. He then robbed both of us of our remaining pocket money by winning three times before we decided it wasn’t worth losing to a ten-year-old again.” 

“What can I say, you pick up some stuff after living at a casino for seventy years.” Nico shrugged. 

“That’s my boyfriend right there!” grinned Will cheerfully. Strangely enough though, Percy sensed something off about him. Will’s grin wasn’t reaching his eyes the way they usually did. “Now pay up losers. We won fair and square.” 

“What is going on?” asked Percy, approaching his brilliant girlfriend. 

“Hermes cabin and Apollo cabin had a bet on who would win in a uno tournament, Nico or Chris, best out of five.” Annabeth replied. “Nico just beat Chris four times.” 

“Of course he won, there is a reason why I never play any board or card game against him.” Percy replied, looking towards his friends. “He’s too good, it’s not fair.” 

“Honestly I told them it wasn’t a good idea to play it here.” Annabeth commented. “No one wants Chiron to find us gambling.” 

“Mr. D would be ecstatic though.” Percy replied.  

“From what I’ve heard, he likes Nico more than most campers.” Annabeth said. “Maybe he would turn a blind eye.” 

Percy shrugged, “Find it hard to believe, but he has always been the more respectful towards Gods in comparison to me and Thalia.” 

“A pebble is more respectful towards gods than you both.” Annabeth spoke, rolling her eyes fondly. 

“Annabeth, come take your share!” Kayla called out. 

Percy looked towards his girlfriend, “I thought you didn’t want them play?” 

Annabeth shrugged, “Doesn’t mean I don’t recognize a good investment.” 

Percy snorted, and Annabeth smiled at her boyfriend. 

“Our next date is on you.” Percy told her playfully. 

“Got it, seaweed brain.” Annabeth grinned, kissing his cheek. 

After collecting her share, Annabeth returned to her boyfriend. 

“So, what took you so long to wake up?” asked Annabeth. “Usually, you wake up much earlier.” 

“I don’t know, just haven’t been feeling very good lately. A little lightheaded.” Percy replied. 

Annabeth frowned, “Strange. Will has also been feeling lightheaded today. I have been feeling a little nauseous since morning too. Nico also said that he has been having some difficulties sleeping last night, and you know how much he sleeps like the dead ever since the wars ended.” 

Percy frowned, “Anyone else?” 

“No one I noticed, but I wouldn’t be surprised with how many of us have been feeling sick. It hasn’t been anything alarming, just discomforting.” 

Percy nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I agree with that. Do you think it has something to do with the gods?” 

“Let’s hope not.” replied Annabeth. “We have barely recovered from last few years. I don’t think we can afford something new for a while.” 

Percy nodded, “Let’s hope it is nothing serious.” 

And yet deep down, Percy felt that their hope was in vain. It was never not serious with demigods. 

It has been a year since Apollo has ascended back to his godhood, and he still found it difficult to adjust sometimes. 

It was strange, to be a god and face the fear and terrors of mortality. To face things that demigods faced on a regular basis (well except for python and maybe the triumvirate) only to return to your godly life and live a suddenly uneventful life. A part of him missed that mortality, the idea that he could possibly die as a consequence of his actions, because all of a sudden he was free. 

As a mortal he was free from the expectations and responsibilities he had as a god. He could hang out with his children without angering his father, he could make friends that weren’t just lovers. He could be something real, someone who made a difference, someone who could die but also someone who had people who cared for him. 

He missed human. 

Apollo had changed after his trials. No one was surprised by that. Apollo has been through many changes in his long immortal life. He had been a powerful deity respected and feared by many at one point. He had been careless at another, writing bad poetry and underplaying his potential because life at Olympus was fake anyways, so why bother trying. He would write poetry that made others cringe, but sometimes it made his siblings smile, and it has been so long he has seen them smile. 

Apollo changed like the civilizations; it was no surprise he would change again. 

But this time the change was startling. No one expected the god of light to start avoiding Olympus when he wasn’t required to be there. No one expected the god of music to start spending time with his muses more often like he did in the bronze age millennia ago. No one expected the god of sun to busy himself with his duties with seriousness they had forgotten he could display. No one expected the god of art to suddenly busy himself painting paintings and painting of the victories and loses of heroes. No one expected the god of music to not give them a mesmerizing musical depicting his victory over a lifelong enemy. No one had expected the protector of youth to suddenly start paying attention to demigods, not just his children, but others, granting every prayer unless a prophecy didn’t allow him to. No one expected the god who had once killed the first cyclopes in anger at Zeus for killing his son and then further being turned mortal a second time to suddenly start visiting his children in their dreams. 

No one expected the god of knowledge to avoid his own father when he could. 

Most of the Olympians were nerved by the drastic change in the god, because this version of Apollo had never existed to them. Not in current times, and certainly not centuries ago. But they didn’t understand the consequence of experiencing mortality, they didn’t understand the feeling of in toxification possibility of death bought. 

“Apollo you alright?” asked Hermes, stepping into Apollo’s art studio. “I asked if I could come in, but you didn’t respond.” 

Apollo turned towards Hermes, smiling sheepishly, “Ah, my apologies. Just lost in thought, it’s fine.” 

“You just painted the river the wrong shade of blue.” Hermes refuted.  

Apollo blinked, turning towards the painting he was making. It was a scene from the battle of Manhattan, one that had costed him many of his beautiful, brilliant children. It was a cruel painting, but he felt the need to paint that particular scene. He hadn’t gotten the chance to properly grieve the loss of his children, with the second gigantomachy and his trials following through. He had decided to paint the scenes of the last decades, the tragedies and victories. Because these events deserved to be remembered, and Apollo would always be haunted Jason Grace’s last words. 

“Go! Remember!” 

Apollo sighed, removing the paint with a flick of his hand before reaching for the correct color. “It’s nothing to worry about. I’ve just been feeling a little lightheaded lately.” 

Hermes’ eyes widened, “You? Pollo, you don’t get sick!” 

“I mean I wouldn’t exactly call it sick,” shrugged Apollo. “Just a little inconvenience. I’ve faced worse.” 

Hermes frowned, “You realize it is different when you are a god, right?” 

“Obviously,” Apollo rolled his eyes. “Still, it’s probably nothing sleep wouldn’t solve. Anyways, any reason why you are here?” 

Hermes looked sheepishly at his older brother, “Can’t I just come around to visit my favorite brother without any reason?” 

Apollo raised his brow, “Do not jest Hermes, it has been centuries since any of us reached out to another without reason.” 

Hermes frowned, “Surely that isn’t true.” 

“Well unless you guys have started hanging out without me, I am quite certain we have not met up with one another just for the sake of since America gained independence.” Apollo replied. “And I would be very offended if Ares or Hephaestus got invited but I didn’t.” 

“Well, it hasn’t been that long since America gained independence.” Hermes defended. 

“Quite certain it has been more than two centuries by now.” Apollo replied. 

Hermes’ frown grew, “Has it really?” 

“Do you want me get you a calendar?” asked Apollo, turning his attention away from the painting. 

Hermes dismissed the offer, “No, no, you are probably correct.” 

“Of course, I am. When have I ever been wrong?” Apollo asked with a cocky smile that he used to display a lot more during the ancient times. “Now, are you here for a reason, or are you here to steal my paints or something? Because I would be very upset if I find any of my paints missing.” 

“No paint stealing, I promise.” Hermes spoke, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture. “I have just been having a light headache since the morning. Hoped you help.” 

Apollo frowned, placing the brushes aside and turning towards his half-brother, “You’ve been having a headache? Why didn’t you say something sooner? Common sit down, let’s see what’s wrong.” 

Hermes obediently sat down on the seat Apollo has summoned; something the trickster god rarely did. 

“Hmm, let’s see. When was the last time you drank water? Energy drinks and coffee don’t count.” Apollo questioned. 

Hermes pouted, “They should count. But um, three days ago I think.” 

“And when did you eat something? Not counting the offerings from demigods.” Apollo asked again. 

“I mean, I don’t really remember.” Hermes replied, growing somewhat nervous at his brother’s disapproving gaze. “Maybe last week? Or was it two weeks ago?” 

“And sleep?”  

“Uh... I cannot recall?” 

Apollo sighed, “So you haven’t eaten, hydrated, or slept for three days and more? Who allowed you to be a father?” 

“Hey!” Hermes protested. “Us gods don’t need those things to survive!” 

“Yeah, but they are still good for us and keeps us balanced.” Apollo replied. “We’re going to go for dinner now, and then you are going to drink a tea I have prepared, and after that you will go and sleep.” 

“But I have too much work to do!” protested Hermes. “I cannot delay it any further.” 

Apollo stared at his brother challengingly as the two siblings got engaged in a staring contest. Apollo won, leaving Hermes to sigh, “I am going to get so many complains. Martha, can you email the remaining senders and receivers that I am retiring early today, and they will receive their stuff tomorrow?” 

Of course. Hello Lord Apollo. 

“Hello Martha, George.” Apollo greeted them politely. “Have you both been doing well.” 

Yes Lord Apollo, we have been doing wonderful. Said Martha. 

Do you have any rats? Asked George. 

George, at least say hello to him. Martha hissed. 

My apologies. Hello Lord Apollo, do you have any rats? Asked George. 

Apollo laughed at the two snakes while Hermes sighed. “It is your fault I have to deal with this on a regular.” 

Apollo grinned at his younger brother, “I am not the one who proposed to have the caduceus in return for reed pipes.” 

Apollo then turned to George and informed him, “And yes, I think I’ll find some rats for you.” 

George cheered at the sun god’s announcement. 

Hermes smiled, tired yet fond, before speaking, “Very well, you can feed them. But I am picking the restaurant for dinner.” 

“You’ve got yourself a deal.” 

The fates had found this reality by mistake. 

It was different from their universe, a far future from the one they resided in. They had the same gods as their world, but these gods had children the gods of their world weren’t blessed with. 

They watched the camps, filled with more godlings then they had ever seen. In their world, these children would have been protected, cherished, and loved to the greatest extent. And yet to their horror, these children seem to neglected by parents, left to fend for themselves.  

Children of gods should never be left in such a state. It was clear that these gods did not care well enough for their kids. And such gods did not deserve to have such blessings. And so they decided that they will give these children a better life with parents who would actually show love for them. 

And so, they chose some children to enter their world. Ones they felt had been through more than any person should ever get to. They intended to take all of them, but they didn’t want the gods to suspect them just yet. 

But if they were sending these children, then they had to send some parents alongside to keep them safe. After all, monsters roamed in their world as well.  

So they looked around the mortal world, their eyes eventually landing on Sally Jackson-Blofis and Paul Blofis, and agreed that they would be the perfect set of parents for these demigods. 

But they were still mortal, and the fates worried for their safety. Reluctantly, they looked through the Olympus in case there was any god that they could trust with their miracles. 

To their surprise, they found the second generation of Olympians were just as hurt by their father their children. There seemed to be some level of emotional hurt in each of them manifesting in different manners. 

They were shocked to find the level of pain one God in particular felt, and just as shocked at his profound love for the miracles at their camp. And with that, the fates decided Apollo would be one of the gods to join their world. 

They thought about taking Dionysus with them as well, the young god was clearly suffering with his domain being taken from him, but they decided that they would take him at a different point. 

Instead, they chose Hermes, because the god clearly loved his children more than most of his family, and regret and grief he felt at the death of his son. The god certainly deserved a second chance at parenthood and family, and fates agreed that these two gods should get the chance first. 

And with that they casted a spell that no one has ever dared to cast. One that would change the lives of many, and bring light to the failures of the gods of this world. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: Apollo Says Tea Solves Everything, No He Is Not British

Sally Jackson had seen her eldest leave for Camp Half-blood three days ago, and while she could never be too sure of his safety, her son had been gone for a much longer period and survived, so she could at least assume he was doing alright right now. 

Still, since last night she has been feeling somewhat uneasy, and she didn’t know what to think about this feeling. It was like something had shifted in a way that was too wrong, too unbalanced, but she just couldn’t pinpoint what it was. 

“Sally? Everything alright?” asked Paul, appearing with their one and half year-old daughter in his arms. The young toddler she clung onto her father, her face turning into a bright smile upon seeing her mother. “You seem deep in thought.” 

“I don’t know,” Sally replied. “I just have a feeling something big is going to happen, but I don’t know what it could mean.” 

Paul frowned, “Weird, I’ve been feeling the same since last night. Do you think it could have something to do with Percy’s world?” 

“I hope not,” replied Sally. “It has only been so long since he has gotten any peace, I don’t want another war to happen so soon.” 

Paul nodded, “Yeah, I agree, but I doubt it is just a coincidence. I hope this is nothing more than a feeling.” 

The couple hoped that their intuition was wrong, but they knew deep down that in the world of Greek gods having that type of hope was simply too optimistic. 

For the last three years, Luke Castellan did not understand why or how he got into Elysium. 

In his life, he had made mistakes that did not deserve to be forgiven, hurt more people than he could count. So many people were here because of him, so how did he manage to get here when he should be in the fields of punishment? He did not know. 

At the end of the day, he was a selfish man, and so when he was unexpectedly granted Elysium, he didn’t fight it even if he felt it was wrong. He could pretend to act like a naive trojan and not look a gift horse in the mouth.  

Here most people he had known in life tended to avoid him, and he did not blame them for it. He did not blame Selina for not being able to look him in the eye after he had taken advantage of her feelings for him when they were still alive. He didn’t blame Beckendorf for shooting a glare at him every time they came to vision before the daughter of Aphrodite noticed him. 

He didn’t blame Michael Yew for insulting him and glaring at him at every moment while Lee Fletcher dragged him away, the older Apollo son looking at him with a look of distaste and disappointment. 

He didn’t blame Castor for getting awkward every time the two saw each other. 

He didn’t blame the dead hunters of Artemis give him a look of disgust each time he came across them.  

How could he blame any of them when his actions had caused their death. He wanted to say that it wasn't his fault, that Kronos had manipulated him, turned him cruel and full of hatred. But that wasn’t the truth. He had been drowning in hate for much longer than Kronos had approached him. Long before Percy had appeared at the camp, or when he had stolen the lightning bolt, or even before Thalia’s temporary death. Kronos had only amplified his hatred and anger, but his actions had still been his. 

Sometimes he wondered if Lady Persephone had decided that the best punishment for him would be to send him to Elysium to be surrounded by the people he had wronged. 

He doesn’t understand what kept him to stay. To live with the people he had wronged, the people who suffered because of him.  

Today, he found himself at the edge of river Lethe where most would go for the purpose of rebirth. He contemplated, was this what he wanted? Would this be the right thing to do? 

What if he chose rebirth and ended up causing another war? 

“Planning on rebirth?” a lady asked, appearing next to him out of nowhere. When he turned around, there were three identical looking old women next to him. 

“I don’t know, maybe.” Luke admitted. “I haven’t decided yet. I just feel I don’t deserve Elysium.” 

“Why so? The gods must have believed there was some reason for you to end up here.” The second lady asked. 

“When I was alive, I hurt a lot of people. So many people here are dead because of me. It just feels wrong to be here around the people that I’ve caused so much pain.” Luke replied. “I think it is right time to move on. A second chance where I can live without causing pain to others.” 

The ladies hummed, and Luke found himself unnerved by them. Three old women in Greek world could mean a lot of things, and Luke could tell they weren’t just any random grandmothers. 

“You seek for a second chance at life?” asked the third lady. 

Luke nodded, hesitantly. “Perhaps a life where I get to live a normal life, where I don’t the mistakes I did in this life.” 

The women nodded together, and then spoke in unison, “Then your wish shall be granted.” 

And before Luke knew it, his world turned black. 

Thalia sat down next to Reyna, passing the bottle of water to her fellow huntress. 

The hunters of Artemis had just finished their hunt for the day, and their lady had agreed to let them rest for the night. 

“Is everything alright, Thalia?” asked Artemis, looking at her lieutenant with concern. “You have been rather distracted today.” 

“I have been feeling a little ill, my lady.” Thalia admitted. “I don’t know when it started, but I am feeling a little hot and sore since this morning.” 

Artemis frowned, “Why didn’t you say something before? We could have postponed the hunt or had you on standby instead.” 

“You do not need to worry for me, my lady. It’s nothing too serious.” Thalia tried to reassure her patron.  

Artemis shook her head, “Now I do not know much of healing, but if I have learned something from my brother, just sicknesses tend to get worse when you don’t treat them in the initial stage. Perhaps I should call Apollo to look over you.” 

“Oh, you don’t have to-” 

“Ridiculous. You must maintain your health. It is strange that you’ve caught a sickness in the first place, to ignore it would be unnecessary. Let me go ahead and contact my brother.” Artemis interrupted her, standing up and leaving to contact her twin. 

Thalia knew that Artemis was worried for her, which she found to be unnecessary. But Artemis has always been caring towards her huntresses. So it didn’t surprise her how she would call the god of healing over something minor like this. 

Then again, she suspected Artemis missed Apollo. Apollo has been distant and different since his trials had ended. He rarely came over to visit them now and never flirted with them when he did. And in a weird sense, she missed that flirting. 

It wasn’t that she was attracted to Apollo, he was her half-brother, and regardless of their first meeting, she had grown fond of him in a way one is fond of their annoying older brother.  

It’s just- Apollo never flirted with them for the sake of flirting. If any hunter was to ever reciprocate the flirting gesture, he would probably snitch to Artemis or smite them himself for disrespecting his twin’s hunt. The flirting was just a funny gag he used to have, a silly side that he allowed others to see of him, one that was annoying to other huntresses. But it was never serious, because even in his worst moment, Apollo would never disrespect his twin in such a manner. He just liked to poke fun, and she had always found it amusing. 

She missed that version of Apollo, who was more open and willing to tease them. Now he was just so careful, so serious, so distant, it worried both Artemis and her.  

Apollo wasn’t as distant to Artemis as he was to the rest of gods, but he still rarely reached out to them. He had always been the more outgoing one of the twins, always the one who approached first. So it was strange when he stopped reaching out, because their goddess did not know how to approach her brother because she never had to. 

Still, even then, the twin gods were as close as gods got. One thought, their other half would appear without any question.  

“You didn’t tell me you were sick.” Reyna spoke, turning to Thalia with a frown. 

Thalia shrugged, “Like I said before, it’s really not a big deal.” 

“Thals, we’re not supposed to get sick in the first place.” Reyna reminded her. “There is no way you catching a sickness is something that should be taken in granted. 

Isabelle, another one of hunters, nodded in agreement, “She is correct, Thalia. You shouldn’t just brush it off so easily.” 

“I would agree with your sisters, Thalia.” a familiar voice spoke, as Artemis appeared with Apollo by her side. “Illnesses should never be taken too lightly, especially when you are a huntress like you.” 

Thalia turned to the god and shrugged, “It’s not really that bad.” 

“Sure,” agreed Apollo. “And yet you are the eighth person I’ve met today who has caught some form of sickness.” 

“Eighth?” asked Artemis, turning to him with a frown. 

“I have been feeling a little lightheaded today myself,” admitted Apollo. “I didn’t think much of it first, but then Hermes came to me with a headache. And then I received prayers from my son because he and some other demigods seem to be feeling unwell. Not to mention a little prayer from Sally Jackson as well.” 

“Mrs. Jackson is unwell?” asked Thalia, now concerned. 

“It’s nothing serious,” Apollo assured her. “She and Paul were having some issues with anxiety. And frankly, with all these people catching illnesses or nerves, I cannot help but feel the same.” 

“You think something is going to happen?” asked Artemis, concerned. “Wait, if you are feeling lightheaded, then why didn’t you just decline coming here.” 

“Well, I wasn’t going leave my favorite half-sister in the hands of your medical care.” Apollo responded back, grinning cheekily at his twin. “Besides, I am fine. This is nothing in comparison to the injuries I experienced during my time as a mortal.” 

“Good to know at least I am favorite in some category.” Thalia said grinning. 

Artemis rolled her eyes. “I nursed you to birth when I was nine days old, I think I can deal with some human sickness.” 

“Yet here I am,” Apollo remarked, sitting next to Thalia. He started to check up on her as Artemis and rest of her huntress watched them with concern. Apollo frowned after some point, “I don’t see why you are experiencing these symptoms. Have you guys had dinner yet? I can prepare a tea that might soothe the symptoms, but it should be taken after having some food.” 

Artemis shook her head, “Not yet, we just finished setting the camp. We were about to start cooking dinner.” 

Apollo nodded, “That’s alright. I can just give you the supplies and instructions-” 

“Actually, I was hoping you would stay for the dinner.” Artemis interrupted her brother. 

Apollo looked surprised for a split second, before his eyes softened as he spoke, “I already ate dinner with Hermes after he told me he wasn’t feeling well.” 

Artemis almost looked disappointed at hearing that. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it, but Thalia knew her lady too well to not catch that disappointment. She could almost relate to it. She understood what it felt like knowing you are slowly getting too distant to your sibling. But Thalia had lost Jason forever, or at least until death. At least Apollo was still alive. 

“But,” Apollo added quickly, noticing his sister’s expression as well. “I can stick around if you wish me to.” 

Artemis rolled her eyes, “You are free to do as you wish. I do not care.” 

From the look in goddess’s eyes, she clearly did not mean her words serious. And with the way Apollo smiled, Thalia could tell that the god understood his sister’s words as well. 

Nico Di Angelo sighed, lying in his bed staring at the dark ceiling. 

Sometimes he wonders what the hell had he been thinking when he constructed this cabin. It looked like Dracula’s mini lair. The bed wasn’t even comfortable. 

“How do you see anything here?” asked Will Solace, sitting down next to him. “It’s pitch black in here.” 

“Well usually I’d turn on the lights, but since you are blocking them, I can’t turn them on.” Nico replied cheekily. “Also I can see in the dark, perks of being my father’s son.” 

Will immediately turned to the side, running straight into a desk and nearly falling on his face before Nico grabs him and helps him with balance.  

“You realize you can just use your night light powers, right?” asked Nico, amused. 

“Urgh, just turn the lights on.” Will whined. 

Nico complied to his boyfriend’s demands. Then he turned to him and asked, “Did you contact your dad yet?” 

“I prayed to him,” Will replied. “He sent a package; in his letter he said to make a tea out of it and drink it after dinner and before going to bed. I just delivered another package to Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse.” 

“Clarisse got affected too?” asked Nico frowning. 

“Didn’t you see how she didn’t even try picking fights with Percy when she had several chances to?” asked Will. 

Nico shrugged, “I didn’t even notice what I ate five minutes ago, do you think that I would notice if Percy had their daily quarrels? I forgot what it was like being sleep deprived ever since you got me staying here. This is your fault.” 

“Wow, blaming the boyfriend whose been looking out for you? Low blow, shadow boy.” Will said, playfully. 

Nico snorted, before turning more serious, “Let’s get back to the topic. Clarisse is also sick. So that’s like what, five of us? That can’t be a random coincidence, can it?” 

Will nodded with agreement, “Annabeth would agree with you there. I don’t anyone else is affected though, I didn’t get anyone else’s complains.” 

“And we’re all experiencing something different, right?” asked Nico. “Did Apollo send all of us the same thing?” 

“Well in his letter mentioned that he thinks something suspicious is going on, and that’s why we’re getting sick. He doesn’t think it would heal us, but it might relieve some of the symptoms.” Will explained. 

Nico nodded in understanding. “That’s concerning.” 

“And hopefully an issue for later.” Will spoke. “I hope if something is going to happen, it won’t be now. I kind of like the life we’ve got going on right now, the peace.” 

“It’s our world though,” Nico argued. “Peace rarely lasts for too long with us.” 

“Let me savor it while I can,” pouted Will, and Nico smiled. 

“Let’s call it a night for now?” asked Nico, going back to his bed and lying down while looking at his boyfriend and asked, “You staying?” 

“Of course, cannot leave you alone with whatever is going on.” Will replied. “I’ll stay, protect you from all the monsters.” 

“My hero,” Nico said, rolling his eyes sarcastically. “Now come here, knight in shining armor.” 

Will grinned, climbing in with his boyfriend. 

Fates observed the people they had selected for the first round of the transfer.  

“Do you think they are ready for this?” asked Lachesis, the measurer. 

Atropos nodded, “I think their bodies are well prepared for the process. They should be able to travel without any complications.” 

“And what about Hermes’ son, the one from underworld? Do you think his soul is well prepared for coming back to life in a completely different world?” Lachesis further inquired. 

Clotho nodded, “I ensured to prepare in every possible manner so he can come back to life without any complications. You are simply thinking too much. I assume you, we are reading to send them there. My only regret is we didn’t take more. There were in underworld who deserves to be able to leave.” 

“It was not possible Clotho, you know that. Hades is one of the few gods who has always been too observant and active with his domain in nearly every universe.” Atropos said. “We are trying to avoid catching their attention for as long as possible.” 

“Which is why I am concerned. Are we certain we must take the gods as well?” asked Lachesis. “The Olympians might not care enough for their children, but two gods missing would be noticed immediately.” 

“Of course, but we will not be their first suspect. At least not yet,” Clotho defended their plan.  

“So, we’re going through this?” asked Lachesis for confirmation. 

The other two nodded, and with that started their spell.  

When the sun rises tomorrow, there would be no sun god to drive the sun chariot, or a messenger god to deliver messages. And six of the most prominent demigods would be disappeared, with no way of finding them. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Three: We Got a One-Way Ticket to Ancient Greece, No Passport Required

Clarisse La Rue did not know where she was. 

It was strange. Just last night she had gone to sleep after drinking Apollo’s tea that Will had given her. She didn’t know what caused it, but she had been so tired yesterday she didn’t even want to pick fights with the sea brat. 

What insanity. 

She felt much more energized today, like all of the sickness has been drained out of her body. She wondered if it was the effects of that tea, and if she would have to thank Will later. 

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around to get a better sense of her surroundings.  

She was surrounded by quite a lot of trees, and upon some looking around she concluded that she was in some sort of forest. She couldn’t tell how she managed to get here. She was certain she had fallen asleep in the Ares cabin last night. This wasn’t even the area of woods that surrounded Camp Half-Blood.  

So where was she? 

Upon hearing a sound of rustling leaves, Clarisse stood up straight, reaching out for the knife she spelt with. Only whatever had gotten her in the forest had decided she didn’t need her weapons with her. Preposterous, Clarisse would tell the whichever entity had decided to play these stupid games with her. 

“Clarisse? Is that you?” a familiar voice asked. “Oh my gods, not you too.” 

Two figures came out of the woods. One was a girl around the age of 11-13, with spiky black hair and a black leather jacket, accompanied by a white shirt with the text “Traumatize Your Father” on it and distressed black jeans. Another was a boy of around 6-8 years old, with bright blonde hair and a surprisingly shy personality. 

“Thalia? Is that you?” asked Clarisse confused. “Whose kid is that.” 

“You know me Clarisse,” the young boy informed her, although the kid sounded like he a toddler trying to convince his parents there were actual monsters under their bed. “I am Will.” 

“Holy shit you are tiny.” Clarisse remarked with surprise. “What the hell happened to you.” 

“It’s not just us, Clarisse.” Thalia told her. “Look at yourself, you look like you are twelve.” 

“What?” shock rippled through the daughter of the war god.  

“We don’t know, I just woke up in the middle of this forest with only Will next to me. Which is weird because I wasn’t even near New York.” Thalia remarked.  

“So, we don’t know how we got here and somehow we’ve de-aged?” asked Clarisse, annoyed. “Great, what’s the bet that Jackson is somehow involved in it.” 

“I don’t have currency here so that will have to wait for a while, but I’ll bet fifteen.” Thalia shrugged. 

“I’ll shake on that.” Clarisse agreed. “Now, let’s try to figure out a way out.” 

“Wait guys, I think I hear someone coming our way.” Will spoke. 

The two girls frowned as they looked at one another. 

“I don’t hear anything.” Thalia commented. “Wait, how old are you mentally right now?” 

“Does that matter?” asked Clarisse. “As a matter of fact, I don’t hear anything either. Maybe you’ve got an imaginary friend or something?” 

Will huffed like an angry preschooler, before running off into the woods. 

“Will, wait!” Thalia exclaimed. “Damnit, why are children always running away like this?” 

Clarisse didn’t bother to waste time complaining, instead she ran after Will. Thalia followed right behind her. 

Will was surprisingly fast for a kid his age. When Clarisse finally managed to grasp him, she was running out of breath. 

“Don’t ever do that!” Thalia exclaimed, scolding Will like an older sister. Clarisse supposed it fit, with her being Artemis’ huntress and Will being Apollo’s son. “What if there was a monster around? You are a child now; you could have gotten severely hurt. You don’t want that, now do you?” 

Will’s lips wobbled like a kid about to cry, and Thalia sighed. “Look kid, I am sorry for snapping at you. Just promise me you wouldn’t run away like that again.” 

Will nodded, and as Clarisse looked at Thalia, she realized something about this situation was affecting Thalia more than it should.  

Clarisse wondered what it was about but dismissed asking on the topic. It was not her business, and she barely knew the huntress in the first place outside from when they fought in the wars together. 

“Hello? Is anyone here?” another familiar voice came across them, and this time they found themselves face to face with Sally Jackson-Blofis and Paul Blofis, much to their surprise. 

“Sally! I knew I heard you both!” Will exclaimed, suddenly all happy and cheerful. 

“Um hello sweetheart,” Sally blinked with confusion as she observed the three children in front of her, “Thalia? Dear is that you? And who are these children?” 

“Yeah aunt Sally, it’s me Thalia. That’s Clarisse over there,” the mentioned girl shyly waved to the older woman, an unlikely gesture from the daughter of Ares. “And that’s Will.” 

“Clarisse? Will? Percy mentioned them before, didn’t he?” Paul asked, turning to his wife. 

Sally nodded, “Yes dear, they’re his friends. Although they are usually older than they seem to be right now. Will anyone tell me what happened?” 

The three demigods try to explain the situation to the two adults present in the room, but they themselves didn’t know what had possibly happened, leading to nothing but more confusion. 

Paul frowned, “So what do we do now? Do you think there are other people here?” 

“I don’t know.” admitted Sally. “But if we’re here, the chances are Percy is also here somewhere.” 

“Do you think Estelle is with him?” asked Paul, clearly worried. “Or do you think she’s still at the apartment?” 

“Gods, I really don’t want her to be involved but having her alone at the apartment would be much worse.” Sally sighed. 

“We should try to find a water source.” Thalia interrupted. “A river or something. If anyone else is here as well, they would eventually look for a water source as well.” 

The group collectively agreed, and they started walking towards what they hoped was a stream or river, as Sally and Paul kept a close eye on the kids, especially Will who was now holding Sally hand. 

Annabeth woke up next to a seven-year-old Nico, and honestly for the first time in her life, she was feeling empathetic towards Thalia and Luke because if she was even half as energetic as Nico is when they were travelling, she owned them an apology. 

It was strange, because Nico still had the knowledge and memories of everything he had went through until the age of sixteen, but his personality was the same as the one when they had met one another, which was a weird combination consideringly the polar opposite Nico at the of sixteen was from him at the age of seven, it was almost depressing. 

Seven-year-old Nico was incredibly curious, asking her questions and then immediately apologizing when he’d realize that he was asking too much. Personally, Annabeth appreciated the curiosity, children of Athena were particularly known for their curious nature. 

This curiosity was still in the current Nico, but instead of asking questions, Nico would now investigate and go through stealth missions to gain the knowledge he wanted to gain. And honestly, the rest of the camp was awful in stealth, so Nico being so good in stealth and spy stuff was great. 

“Is that Hermes?” asked Nico, pointing at the messenger god who wore a chiton instead of the modern clothes they had gotten used to.  

From all the times Annabeth had met the messenger god, she found him to be looking younger than she was used to. He had always appeared as a middle-aged man to them, someone who could pass off as a father to the many demigods he had. Of course, the gods could change their appearance to their liking, but Hermes had decided to present himself in his mid-thirties to them on most occasions. 

This version of Hermes looked much younger, like a man just out of adolescence. He looked more like his descriptions from the ancient texts than the one she remembered seeing. His hair was curled and blonde, but not golden in the way Apollo’s hair would be. There was something about him that felt godlier than their previous meetings. Perhaps it was the winged helm he wore, or perhaps for some reason the god had decided to showcase his Greek rendition than his modern form today. 

Annabeth did not know what it meant, but she felt that whatever it was would not be pleasant. 

As they approached the god of languages, they found that the god was sitting next to young baby, who in return was staring at him with wide curiosity. Or at least at the wings on his head. 

“Hermes?” Annabeth asked, as they reached them. “Is that Estelle?” 

Upon hearing her name, the one-year-old turned towards Annabeth and Nico and clapped her hands happily. “Anna! Pesi?” 

“Sorry sweetheart, Percy is not with us.” Annabeth told her softly, picking up the little girl. She then turned to Hermes and questioned, “What is going on? Where are we? Do you know where we are?” 

“And are you actually Hermes?” asked Nico, excitedly. “You look so much cooler with the wings! You should wear them more often! Did you know that in mythomagic-” 

“We can talk about all of that later, Nico.” Annabeth interrupted, and as if his older self-had kicked in for a moment, Nico’s eyes widened and he shut his mouth. 

“Nico? Wow kid, didn’t remember you being this chatty.” Hermes spoke, somewhat surprised. “And to answer your questions, I do not know how we ended up here. All I know is that Apollo forced me to sleep last night, and next thing I know is that I wake up next to this child.” 

Annabeth frowned. It was rare for a god to be as clueless, even though there were possibilities that they might not know somethings. But this was too strange; a god, two demigods, and a mortal one year old, all waking up somewhere alien with no idea of how they got there. 

She and Nico were also de-aged, whereas Hermes was also in a different form than his current usual. She couldn’t shake the fact that something big was at play, and the very idea made her nervous.  

At least Estelle seemed unharmed. 

“She’s so cute!” Nico exclaimed, looking at the little girl in Annabeth’s arms. “I missed her, can I hold her?” 

Annabeth raised her brow, “Do you know how to hold her?” 

“I’ve held her before!” argued Nico. “Aunt Sally always said I was good with her. Isn’t that right Estelle? Do you remember me? It’s me, Nico!” 

Annabeth didn’t think the little girl would recognize the son of Hades. For one, he was far much younger than the Nico Estelle knew, and for another, as much as Nico adored Estelle even as a teenager, he was still an emo boy who did not even try to show five percent of enthusiasm as this younger version of him seemed to have. 

Yet Estelle seemed to respond to the familiar name, as she cheerfully exclaimed, “Ni! Ni!” 

“See! She remembers me!” Nico exclaimed happily. 

Annabeth would tell him that she probably did not recognize him as a seven-year-old, but Nico was honestly too cute for Annabeth to remind him that. 

“Still, you can hold her when you grow back to your normal age.” Annabeth told him. She looked at Hermes, “Did you figure out where we are?” 

Annabeth was certain she would have figured out on her own if she had enough clues, but there was a god of travelers with them, he should be able to figure out without needing a ten year old to figure out things for him. 

Then again, he was a god, and gods rarely cared for age of their children to make them work for them. 

Hermes grimaced as he nodded, “I had a telepathic conversation with Apollo. Apparently, we’re in the ancient lands of a different universe. Apollo is with Percy, and he says that some other demigods are also here alongside Percy Jackson’s mortal parents. He told me to find the mortals first as some of the demigods are also with them.” 

Annabeth felt like her brain was shutting down just from hearing that sentence. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately, because really it depended on Hermes’ patience in this scenario, Nico seemed to take the information as a que to ask more questions. Bless his curiosity. 

“Ancient lands? You mean we’re in Greece or Ancient Greece? Also, what do you mean by we’re in a different universe? Is this universe travelling or time travelling, or both? Is that even possible? Does this mean in some universe I got to meet batman?” Nico kept on asking, and for the first time in her life, Annabeth knew what Percy meant when he spoke of Nico’s exhausting levels of enthusiasm when they had first met, because she did not understand how this bundle of energy had turned into one of their most powerful and deadly friends. 

Hermes blinked in surprise, before letting out an amused laughter, “Take a breath kid. How about you ask those questions to Apollo when we get to them? He’s always been more interested in answering other’s curiosities, especially children.” 

Nico blushed from embarrassment, and Annabeth wondered what it must be like to be in his position right now. To have the mentality and instincts of a seven-year-old, but the experiences and memories of a sixteen-year-old. She wondered how it worked, whether it was mix of the two or a conflict between his two ages. 

She herself was young, but Annabeth Chase had not acted like a child ever since she was seven, so she didn’t feel her child-like nature take over as much.  

“You don’t seem very thrown off by this situation.” Annabeth said, looking at Hermes with narrowed eyes. 

“I can assure you that internally I am freaking out about this. Travelling to different universes should not be possible, not to mention how no one has ever tried it prior.” Hermes replied, frowning at the implied accusation. “We hadn’t believed it possible. Of course I am not calm. But we can freak out later when we find everyone else. Right now, we need to focus.” 

Annabeth hated agreeing with the god in front of her, but she also knew that he was right. Reluctantly, she asked, “So how are we getting to Sally and Paul then?”  

“Well, I am a god, aren’t I?” asked Hermes. “I’ll just use my powers to find where they are.” 

“You can do that?! That’s so cool!” Nico exclaimed. Estelle decided his enthusiasm should be replicated and so clapped her hands as well. 

Hermes smiled at the younger children, before deciding to guide them through. 

“Oh, gods not again,” Percy cursed, looking around at an unknown place. “I swear if this is Hera’s doing, I will take up law and become a divorce lawyer.” 

Sometimes he wondered what he had done to anger the gods that led him at this point in life where he would wake in random places without any explanation. He was supposed to be retired! 

At least he still had his memories this time around. Small mercies he supposed. 

Upon hearing flowing water, he decided to follow the sound and found himself near a river. On the banks of that river laid a familiar figure. It was a handsome blonde man in a golden-white chiton, asleep on the green fields. His long golden hair was sprawled around like the sun rays, and every aspect of him felt divine in nature. 

Percy suddenly remembered meeting the gods for the first time during his first quest. When he had met Ares and Mr. D, neither of them had felt very godly. He understood that Mr. D was purposefully appearing that way, not because he wasn’t capable of looking more divine. And Ares was Ares, Percy would never really find himself taking that god seriously.  

But then he had met Hades, and that was the first time he felt like he was in the presence of someone powerful, someone divine. 

He hadn’t gotten that feeling from any of the second-generation gods. That was until now, as he looked at the sleeping god in complete Mycenaean age get up. Looking at him how, he could tell why out of all the gods of Troy’s side, this was the god who had given the Greeks most trouble. His presence didn’t remind me of the silly god who spoke bad poetry, but the god who had been respected and feared by both the Greeks and Romans.  

Percy wondered what had changed to make him feel in such a way regarding the god in front of him. 

“Apollo?” Percy spoke, shaking him in order to wake him up. “Apollo, wake up.” 

“Wha- Percy? What are you doing in my temple?” asked Apollo, looking at the demigod with confusion. “Wait, why are you ten years old?” 

“What? No, I am nineteen, what do you mean?” asked Percy in confusion. “Also, we’re not in your temple. Look around.” 

Apollo did look around him, frowning before his eyes widened in recognition of the landscape. “No way, this shouldn’t be possible.” 

Meanwhile Percy was now standing by the river, staring in horror at his ten-year-old face. At Apollo’s reaction, he turned around and asked, “What’s wrong? Where are we? Do you know how we got here?” 

“I don’t know how we got here.” Apollo admitted, then touched the earth as his eyes turned a bright gold, his expression getting more terrified once he was done with his assessment. “But as for where we are? We’re in ancient Greece of a different universe.” 

Percy would like to say he said something eloquent in response. Something like smart and clever sounding. Instead, he let out a very elegant, “Like marvel?” 

Apollo’s lips quirked at the statement, and Percy was glad that if he was stuck with a god at least it was one of the friendlier ones. “I suppose that is a fair, and strangely enough, accurate comparison. Only universe travelling is far more complicated than any movie will show you. Even amongst us gods only a handful of us are aware of the existence of multiple universes in the first, actually travelling to another? That shouldn’t even be possible.” 

“But we’re here.” Percy stated with a frown. “Unless you are the Apollo of this universe?” 

“Would I know you if I was from this universe?” asked Apollo with a raised brown. 

Percy shrugged, “I don’t know man. You’re the god of prophecy, aren’t you? Maybe I exist in the far future of this universe, and you saw me in a vision or something.” 

Apollo frowned, as if he were contemplating whether Percy’s theory could be correct, before shaking his head and huffing with annoyance, “Stop giving me an identity crisis, I already had my regular of the decade.” 

Percy snorted. “Okay fair enough. So, what’s the plan?” 

“I thought you would have a plan.” Apollo frowned.  

“I thought you would have a plan.” Percy also frowned. 

“Dude I just woke up.” Apollo defended himself. 

“Aren’t you the god of knowledge?” asked Percy with a raised brow. 

“Yeah, not the god of strategy.” Apollo replied. 

Percy sighed, “I miss Annabeth. She would have a plan.” 

“We’re in an alien land. Give me some time to figure out a plan.” Apollo commented, then he frowned like he realized something. “Wait, are we the only ones here?” 

“Well, I didn’t come across any.” Percy told him. 

Apollo nodded, “Let me check.” 

The god closed his eyes, focusing and his aura turned bright. Frowning he spoke some names, “Hermes, Will, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, Clarisse, Sally, Paul, Estelle and.... Luke.” 

Percy felt like he went through ten stages of grief at that moment, because five was clearly not enough. Hermes, another god, personally Percy couldn’t care less. Will, Nico, Thalia, and Clarisse were all his friends, some more reluctant than others, and naturally he was worried that they were here. Annabeth’s name caused a physical reaction in him, because on the one hand he was happy she was here somewhere and he could find her, but on the other hand he was upset that they were both stuck in another mess again. 

Then he heard his mortal parents and half-sister's name, and all of a sudden, he felt rage, because how dare they involve his mortal family into whatever mess they were in. He and his friends were used to dealing with the gods and their bullshit, but his family? That was a low blow, and Percy had every intention to give whoever got them in this mess the Ares treatment. 

And then Apollo said Luke’s name, and Percy just froze. 

Luke Castellan is someone Percy had very mixed feelings towards. On the one hand, Luke was a huge reason for who Percy was today, in ways both good and bad. Percy had learnt most of his sword fighting skills and leadership skills from Luke. Luke had been one of the first people to have welcomed him the camp that was a second home to him. He had been to give him answers when everyone had dismissed his confusion for stupidity. In a way, Luke had been a mentor and older brother figure to him initially, and Percy had looked up to him until pit scorpion incident. 

On the other hand, Luke was the reason Percy had suffered the losses of so many people. He was the reason Percy had to go through a war and suffered for it. Percy still couldn’t celebrate his birthday without crying as the flashbacks of the dead people surfaced. Percy hated Luke, because Luke’s actions had forced him to grow up a lot quicker than he should have. Demigods didn’t have an easy life, but a life without war would still have been better. 

“Percy?” Apollo spoke gently, breaking through Percy's train of thoughts. “Take it easy kiddo. I’ve placed a tracking spell on your mother. I’ll guide us to where she would be, and hopefully it would be with the other children. I’ve contacted Hermes through our telepathic connection. Annabeth, Nico, and Estelle are with him. We both have agreed we’ll head towards where your parents are, and from there look for any missing members” 

Percy nodded shakily. He still couldn’t get over the idea that he would have to face Luke again. But he couldn’t afford to get nervous at this point. Not when his family and friends were involved. 

He looked right into Apollo with full determination, “Lead the way.” 

When Dionysus woke up the next day, he could tell something had shifted in the world. 

He didn’t know what it was, but there was some sort of unbalance. A wrong type of emptiness that he didn’t know the world could have. 

It was different than the rise of Kronos and Gaia. As a god, he was more entuned with the world in ways mortals could never possibly understand. And so this strange shift, it confused him because he had never felt something like this before. 

The rise of Kronos had been subtle to the point by the time they had realized the Titans were rising it had been almost too long. Yes, the Johnson kid had warned their father, and he had been one of the few to believe the demigod’s warnings, the very feeling of their evil grandfather’s rise was something that they didn’t properly feel until Artemis herself had been abducted. And even then, it had been a gradual feeling of impending doom rather than aloud scream of a war cry. 

The rise Gaia had been more noticeable than Kronos, no matter what his father said. The moment it had started, they had noticed the signs. And as much as he despised his stepmother like any other illegitimate son of Zeus, they all knew that without Hera’s meddling things would have ended badly. 

Then again, anyone that knew how the Olympus functioned knew that Zeus rarely acted upon things until he had no other choice but to acknowledge the problem. Hera was always the more active ruler who made the moves with the intentions of keeping the Olympus and related spheres safe, who would later deal with Zeus’ anger for going behind his back for trying to keep everything together. He hated Hera as much as the next person, but he also knew that no matter how unsavory her actions might seem, sometimes they were a necessity. 

She was a petty woman on most occasions, but she was always the more responsible and active ruler than her husband. Dionysus hated to admit it, but he had the decency to admit what was right in front of him. 

Of course, Dionysus had been weakened in both wars, decades of being kept away from his domain had not done his power or health any benefit, which might have affected his senses to recognize the coming danger. It was only because of his regular visits to his elder brother Apollo that he was able to sustain himself from the loss of his wine.  

Still, this strange feeling of unbalance troubled him. The god might be the youngest of all Olympians, but he was still older than most mortals could fathom. He was older than the oldest of texts and artifacts humans had been able to procure, older than their stories and older than the oldest surviving culture of the contemporary world. From his birth as a demigod from Zeus’ thigh to his life in pretense of being a mortal girl to godhood to current day, Dionysus had had more experiences than one could count even if given two centuries. He knew almost every sensation there was to feel, every sound there was to hear, every scent there was to smell, every flavor there was taste. 

A god as old as him did not get taken back by much, so whatever had happened much be something powerful. And powerful events often indicated danger. 

“What is this commotion about?” he questioned as he joined his centaur friend and the bunch of demigods who seemed to be in a frenzy.  

“Some demigods are missing.” Chiron replied, turning to the Olympian. “The demigods had been present in the camp but were found missing in the morning. No one had been able to find them.” 

Dionysus frowned, “Who is missing?” 

“Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Clarisse La Rue, Will Solace, and Nico Di Angelo.” the centaur replied. “The rest of the demigods are in check, but these five have been missing and no one knows where they are.” 

Dionysus sighed, “Ah, Nico was one of them? I was actually liked him.” 

“Mr. D, this is a serious matter.” Chiron chided him, and Dionysus knew that the old centaur was correct with that statement, even though he didn’t quite like it.  

“Are we sure they didn’t go walloping in the woods or something? You know how restless those children are.” Dionysus questioned him, even though deep down he knew it was something worse than that. 

He hoped his instincts were wrong, but they rarely ever were. 

Chiron shook his head, “It’s not quite that. Kayla and Austin have also mentioned that Apollo has not answered any of their prayers. And you know how Apollo is.” 

Dionysus did know how Apollo is. Afterall that was his big brother. Dionysus had always been the closest to Apollo alongside Hermes, of course he knew how the god of arts was like. His elder brother always had a soft spot for young ones, which included gods as well. And Dionysus had been no exception. 

Dionysus frowned at the thought of his elder brother ignoring his children’s prayers. The god had always answered his children’s calls, even before his trials. The god had literally cried to his sister after the battle of labyrinth and Manhattan because of the children he lost. He had tried to talk his daughter, Alyssa Simpson or whatever her name is, out of joining Kronos, and had been so upset when she had still joined the enemy. It was as like for Apollo to ignore his children’s prayers as it was for Zeus to remain loyal to his marriage. 

Concerned, he looked around the room to see who was in the room. Nearly everyone was in the room outside of the demigods Chiron had mentioned. However much to the god’s confusion and worry, he could not spot his only living son. 

“Where is my son?” asked Dionysus, trying to not show his worry. He knew that the demigod trainer had mentioned that the rest of the demigods were still in the camp, but not seeing his son worried him when he did not know the reason for their disappearance. 

“I am right here dad,” his son’s voice came through as Pollux walked inside, looking more worried than the god would like to see. Dionysus tried not to look like he was relieved and tried to manifest his inner Athena as he continued to have a neutral expression. “There is bad news. I found this in the Poseidon cabin.” 

And when Pollux showed them his discovery, Dionysus felt like his dominion over madness was madness was finally starting to affect him. 

Before right in the hands of his son laid the infamous Anaklusmos. 

Upon the realization of where they were, Apollo had decided that they simply could not walk around in their usual get up, and so now the god of music and son of Poseidon had an instant makeover. 

The god had taken the disguise of a man in his late twenties, with flowing blonde hair and a surprising beard. Percy had never imagined the protector of youth to ever wear a beard since he always appeared as a young man, never over the age of twenty. He had swapped his golden chiton for a white and pale yellow one, appearing to be as mortal as he had during his trials. 

Percy hadn’t changed in any physical form, but the god had swapped his sleepwear for a white and teal chiton. He supposed it made for him to wear ancient people clothes since they were in ancient Greece of all places, but the garment did feel uncomfortable and he had to be super careful with how he moved in it. 

“We will have to pretend to be normal people of ancient Greece.” Apollo told him, who did not experience the same struggles that Percy was facing. “To people, I am your uncle Lester. We were travelling with our family, but you heard something and ran away because you got scared. I went looking for you and now we’re looking for our family.” 

“I don’t understand why I am the one who ran off.” Percy pouted. 

“Well, it’s more believable that a ten-year-old ran off in comparison to an adult.” Apollo replied. “Unless you have a better explanation as to why we both are wandering these woods alone?” 

Percy pouted even more, “I hate this.” 

Apollo chuckled, “You are such a cute kid. I don’t remember you being this adorable when we first met.” 

“Yeah, yeah, make fun of the child, sure.” Percy rolled his eyes. 

“Hey, I would never make fun of a child! I am the protector of youth!” Apollo defended himself. “I mean it, you are adorable. Must have gotten it from your mother, since my entire family is nothing but a terror.” 

“On that I’ll agree.”  

And just then, they heard the sounds of crackling leaves, like someone was walking in their direction. Both travelers turned towards the sound and found themselves staring at the face of the person who had been their enemy at one point in life. 

“Percy?” the teenager asked, looking at them in shock. 

Percy’s eyes widened as he recognized the younger version of the man he had fought in a war three years ago. 

“Luke?”