Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One moment, they were at Camp Half-Blood. The next, Percy was laying on someone’s front lawn, looking at the sky that seemed... wrong. It was like magic saturated in the air, thick and pulsing, but in a way that didn’t feel like Greek, Roman or anything else familiar. It was older. Stranger.

Around him, the rest of the Seven (why were they here?) were already getting to their feet; Annabeth rubbing her temple, Jason cursing under his breath in Latin, and Leo crawling on the ground to collect his tools that had scattered around. Even Nico was there, struggling to get up, sword half-drawn.

“Anyone want to explain how we just got kidnapped by a magic Uber?” Percy asked, scanning the strange countryside. Rolling hills, a crooked old fence, and an oddly cozy and welcoming house sat in front of them. Like an aged painting – almost as in British design, but something about it made the hairs in his neck stand up.

The front door creaked open

A figure stepped out; tall, broad-shouldered and dressed in an impeccably neat suit. But where a face should’ve been was a skull; long and animal-like, with curling horns and glowing red eyes sunk deep into the sockets. The creature tilted its head, observing them in eerie silence.

“What is that? Hazel whispered.

“That’s not a human,” Nico said flatly, stepping forward a little.

(Well, obviously. What kind of human has a skull as a head?)

Another figure stepped hesitantly out from behind the horned man(?); a girl with long red hair (not really that long), wearing a knitted sweater and a mid-long skirt. Her green eyes were sharp and cautious, like someone who’d seen too much for her age. (It’s the trauma)

The creature finally spoke, its voice deep and echoing slightly, like it didn’t quite belong to this world. “You are not from this realm.”

“Yeah we noticed,” Leo muttered.

Chise glanced between the strangers and Elias. “Should we… offer them tea?”

Elias didn’t answer. His red eyes stayed fixed in Nico. “One of you smells of death.”

A dog that seemed to appear out of nowhere beside the girl continued. “Yeah, it stinks all the way here.”

Nico didn’t flinch. “Good nose.”

Annabeth stepped forward, her voice measured. “We are not here by choice. Something dragged us here. We were in our world just a minute ago.”

“Mm,” Elias said, seemingly deep in thought. “Then something ancient has taken interest in you.”

Percy looked around at his friends. “Great. We are back in overworldly problems. Again.”

Chapter Text

The silence stretched; uncomfortable, waiting. The skull-faced figure, introduced as Elias, stood there, unmoving, like a statue carved from your worst nightmares. The girl, Chise, lingered beside him, fidgeting her hands, as the very awkward silence continued.

Percy, who was obviously very suspicious of the two strangers, –three, if you counted the dog, which was probably for the best, since it(?) had talked– didn’t lower Riptide.

“Okay, so, we fell into some weird, probably magical world, and met a… very tall goat-headed guy who wants to talk about realms.” (Also, let’s not forget the traumatized-looking redhead who offers tea out of nowhere and is seemingly calm with the guy. And a talking dog? What’s next? Someone tells them that fairies are real?) “Does anyone else think this feels like a trap?”

“I don’t think he’s a goat,” Hazel whispered. “I think he’s… something older.”

“Yeah, older and horned. Definitely reassuring,” Leo muttered, seemingly having gotten all his stuff back to the toolbelt, one hand still twitching near it, like he wanted to make sure it didn’t vanish to thin air.

Nico stepped forward, face full of distrust and locked eyes with Elias. “You said I smell like death.”

Elias tilted his head. He took his time before answering. “You carry it with you like a cape.. the same smell you can find on graveyards, but stronger. Not unlike a fae, but colder. Harsher.

Chise shot a worried glance at Elias. “He’s not a threat.” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“That remains to be seen,” Elias answered, voice expressionless, with a slight hint of curiosity. “But he is interesting.”

Nico didn’t respond. His fingers flexed on the hilt of his Stygian blade, but he didn’t draw it. Percy could feel the weight in the air again; ancient magic curling abound them, tugging at the edges of their senses like whispers – just out of reach.

This time, Annabeth broke the silence which had begun again. “We are not here to fight, although it may be hard to believe,” she glanced at their weapons, “but we are not coming inside with you until we know we are not about to be hexed, enchanted or harvested.”

Chise blinked, seemingly very confused. “Harvested?”

Leo raised a hand. “Don’t worry, we are pretty much used to it. It happens more than you would think,” he said, voice full of sarcasm.

Elias made a low, amused sound, the closest thing to a laugh anyone could imagine from someone without a proper mouth. “We have no interest in harming you.”

“THAT is a little hard to believe, but okay,” Nico said, still not trusting enough to stop glaring.

Chise took a deep breath, looking a little uncomfortable by the tension. “You are clearly confused and very far from home. You need rest and I’m sure you have many questions. I’ll make tea.”

She looked at Nico, and for a moment, a soft look came over her face. She recognized the weight he carried. “Please. I know it’s hard, but try to relax. We won’t bind you with spells. Not unless you ask us to.”

That got something vaguely resembling a smile from Percy. “Well, that’s reassuring.”

Slowly, most of the weapons lowered. Nico didn’t relax, not really; but he nodded once, which seemed to be enough for everyone.

“Fine,” he then said, more to himself than anyone else, “but if the tea glows, I’m walking into the nearest shadow and never coming back.”