Chapter Text
Ablaze.
If he were to describe the world around him, that would be the word uttered from his lips. A fiery haze of hues blotted out the very skies and seas, a mesh of blazing orange scorching the world itself. Orange light burned within sea green eyes, as the very oceans seemed to burn in agony. Smoky winds choked the world in their grip, as the ground begged for mercy in its cremation.
Sea green eyes stared at the world around them in abject terror, with steam curling from the tips of messy blond hair. Ashen snowflakes layered his skin akin to fine dust, as a glint of bronze lit up his devastated expression. Tears were evaporated before they even made it past their window, and a charred up corpse lay beneath him. It may have been burnt beyond recognition, but the person was unforgettable.
Flaming cracks within the body illuminated it, as stony magma layered what was once a demigod. The half blood of the eldest gods, vibrant with life no longer. To fire the world had fallen, and one had been betrayed by who was once called a friend. He despaired, as all life lay entombed in flames, as may were lost in this land without rain. Many had lost to a fate worse than death, and many more fell to the cursed blade.
A shout made its way to his ears, but the words too muffled for him to discern. The sounds itself seemed to vaporize around him, as waves of heat burned the very vibrating molecules that passed on the sound. A moving tongue and open mouth were the only remnants of the sound left behind in this world. Existence itself seemed to crumble around him, as he looked up into the falling sky, fiery embers cascading down like meteors.
The silhouette of a man shone with a silver lining, a tall man with a Celestial Bronze blade in hand, a trident in another. He knew who the man was, who didn't? But even so, he didn't know why he was there. The Sun's fiery gaze swept across the world, yet it never locked down on him. It was almost as if the silhouette above him was shielding him, protecting him. The darkness cast down below was his only solace, and within this cold embrace, he found security from the flames of the world beyond him.
"Charlie! Time to wake up!"
His mom's voice jarred him awake, as Charlie Jackson arose from his slumber. The boy rose up, gathering himself for a brief moment. He looked to the mirror on his wall, as sea green eyes and curly blond hair looked back at him. His tanned skin gleamed lightly in the morning Sun, as the child got up from bed. His legs lazily inserted themselves into his crocs, as the sluggish child made his way to the bathroom.
"I'm up!" He yelled back, as the same was chorused by a female voice from the room next to him. He paid it no mind, as he looked at himself in the mirror. Lean, muscular and pretty tall for a 16 year old, coming in at an even 6 feet tall. He got ready, but even as he followed his daily routine, his mind lay elsewhere, lost deep in thought. Questions, answers, mysteries and so much more danced within his brain in an endless tango of thoughts and memories.
He shook his head, shaking himself out of his stupor. He walked down the stairs, ready for his day ahead. He wore a tight fitting blue t-shirt, with jeans below and a golden band with a blue stripe on his left bicep. His feet reached even ground, quickly slipping into a pair of jet black shoes as he reached the dining table.
"Took ya long enough." A girl's voice called out to him, as a girl with stormy grey eyes and long black hair greeted him. She had pale skin in comparison to him, but a similar facial structure was carried by the both of them. "Breakfast is ready, Mom just went to go check on Mrs O'Leary."
"Ah, makes sense." Charlie nodded, taking a seat. He looked down at his plate of blueberry pancakes, which were literally blue. A small smile came to his face, as he dove right into the food, showering his pancakes in maple syrup.
"Anymore and you'll drown them kiddo." His mom's voice carried out to him, as the blonde haired woman came back inside. She carried herself with an air of calm authority, a small smile plastered on her face as she watched her son.
"Mom, I can't drown and neither can my pancakes."
His mother smiled, saying nothing in return. Annabeth Jackson, daughter of Athena only watched in happiness as her two kids sat on the table. The girl, much like herself, and the boy, an exact copy of his father, the legendary son of Poseidon.
"It's Andy's first day today, right?" Helen asked her mom. Annabeth nodded in response.
"Yes, it is." She turned her gaze to her son. "Be nice to him, okay?"
"Of course I will." Charlie's eyes widened. "That's my cousin, Uncle Nico's son. Which, I still don't get how it happened, since you know-"
"Two words Charlie." Helen interrupted him. "Lou Ellen."
"But still." Charlie protested. "Like how? Did she gender bend one and have him deliver? Like what?"
"Let's not talk about switching genders here." Annabeth coughed lightly, a subtle blush on her face. "But, the kid's transferring from Italy, and it's his first day in a new country, with a new education system. Be nice Charlie."
"Yeah yeah Mom." Charlie nodded. Not only was Andrew, Andy for short, his cousin, he was also a good friend. Annabeth's gaze drifted over to the clock, as she clapped her hands.
"There you go, time to head out." Annabeth said, taking her cooking apron off. "I'll see you two in the evening, okay?"
"Okay mom, see you." Charlie said, heading out through the door. Helen hung back for a moment.
"Is the movie plan still on?" She asked her mother.
"Of course." Annabeth responded. "Now go, have a great day."
"You too mom, bye." And soon after, it was just Annabeth.
"Those kids sure have grown." A voice called out, as a person stepped out from the shadow of Annabeth's staircase. He had choppy jet black hair, pale skin and obsidian black eyes that stared straight into one's soul. "I still remember the time when they were as tall as my knee."
"Sounding like an old man already, Nico." Annabeth smiled, reaching up to a shelf. "You want coffee?"
"Might as well indulge myself." Nico Di'Angelo responded, returning her smile with a smaller one of his own. He rubbed the little stubble on his face, signs of having recently shaved. "Haven't been here in so long. The house still looks the same."
"I never saw a reason to change anything." Annabeth responded, giving him his coffee. "Here you go, as black as your soul."
"Oh very funny." Nico rolled his eyes. "For being the smartest person alive, you have horrible jokes."
"As if you're doing any better." Annabeth retorted. "Your comeback is still snatching the person's soul out."
"One time, one bloody time."
"Anyways, how's Will?" Annabeth asked.
"Dropping Andy off to school." Nico replied. "He's probably happy to be back here."
"He must be." Annabeth said. "And you? What brought on the decision to come back?"
"Well it was Andy, actually." Nico said. "He wants to be a Guardian."
"Ah, naturally." Annabeth sighed. "That makes a lot more sense."
"And in Italy they don't really have the best of facilities that they have here, so you know how it goes." Nico added.
"And since America has the best resume in terms of guardians along with the facilities, sending him here is the most probable option." Annabeth completed. "My kids find the whole thing boring, though they don't say it."
"Of course they do." Nico sighed. "After demigod training, anyone would. Speaking of which, I was wondering if you could help Andrew out with daggers."
"Daggers, huh? Interesting choice. Let's talk details over brunch then?"
"Hey! Let me go!"
"Huh? Would you look at that?" Helen sighed. "Same shenanigans over and over again."
Charlie looked over to the noise, following his sister's line of sight. Three taller kids were picking on a smaller kid. However, that wasn't what had gotten his attention.
"Their bands..." Charlie pointed out. "Looks like it's the usual then."
"Two coppers and a silver, picking on a green." Helen noted. "You want to handle this one?"
"I will." Charlie walked up to the boys, as he noticed the disheveled state of the green boy. Luckily enough however, there didn't seem to be any injuries on the boy yet. Charlie patted the guy with a silver band on the shoulder. "Problem here, guys?"
"Dude, mind your fucking business." Silver band retorted, glaring up at Charlie. One of the coppers looked him over, eyes widening in shock.
"Man, that's a gold." He said, as the Silver's eyes drifted over to Charlie's bicep, where a golden band with a blue stripe rested. "I'm not messing with gold bands, I'm out of here."
"Gold bastard." Silver band backed off, turning around. "You got lucky."
"Yeah yeah, get the fuck out of my face." Charlie waved him off, as he looked at the kid with a green band. "You okay green bean?"
"I'm fine. It's the usual at this point." He replied. "But, thanks for helping me out."
"No worries." Charlie shrugged. "So you're a green huh? What can you do, vine manipulation?"
"No." The boy shook his head. "I've got plant growth."
"Ah, pretty suitable for what you're getting into, isn't it?" Charlie asked. "But, if that's what you have, then why are miners picking on you?"
"Superiority complex if I had to guess." The boy said. "But, thanks for helping me out. I've got to get to class now. See you around, Guardian."
"Speaking of classes, we need to rush it as well, the world isn't going to stop for us." Helen pointed out.
"Race you there." Charlie yelled out, zipping away as fast as his feet would carry him.
"Get back here asshole!" His sister shouted, laughing as she chased after him.
As the day went on, Charlie found himself focusing on everything except his classes. Elemental manipulation, history of abilities, it all went by as a blur for him. There was something in the back of his mind that gave him an odd sense of discomfort. He didn't know what, but he knew for certain that his classes could wait. It was that demigod instinct that his mother always told him to follow, no matter what that had his mind hooked.
And follow it he will. Charlie closed his eyes, as he concentrated his mind. He felt his body slowly dissolve, the very essence of his being turning into water, into a fine layer of mist. He opened his eyes, reappearing outside his classroom, as he slowly walked the corridors of his school. He went lower and lower, past the ground floor, and into the basement. He hadn't been here much before, it was mostly just additional car parking for the staff and storage, which meant he had no reason to be here. Or, if you were in a relationship, a make out spot. Charlie couldn't care less about that.
He looked around, trying to understand what his senses were telling him. Him mom often told him that demigod instinct was a massive asset for him, and his dad had one of the, if not the sharpest instincts out of all demigods. And while Charlie didn't have his father's versatility with powers, he was still his son. So, Charlie did the one thing his brain told him to do.
"Ah fuck it."
He blew up the water pipeline.
After mentally apologizing to everyone who was currently using the restroom, Charlie waved his arms. The rushing water swirled around his body, as it spread across the basement. The water spread over the entirety of the basement, as Charlie used it to sense if anything was amiss. Charlie tilted his head, as something caught his attention.
Bzz!
Charlie looked down, as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He sighed, knowing what it was about, as he picked it up.
"Charlie what the fuck are you doing?" Helen asked through the other end. She had just sensed the massive explosion happen below her, and didn't know whether to question her brother first or smack him.
"Helen, get the school to go on lockdown." Charlie ordered, rushing towards what he had seen before. "And get here, in the basement, eastern corner right now."
"Charlie, what's going on?" Helen asked, even as Charlie could hear her getting up from the other end. Even if she was questioning him, Charlie could at least be relieved that she was following what he was saying. "I've told the teacher, but he needs credible reason here."
She said, just as alarms began ringing over their heads.
"Guess someone found credible reason, or maybe it was my pipe work." Charlie shrugged. Whatever it was, it was a stroke of good luck for them. "Get to my location now."
Charlie reached his destination, and waited. He wasn't waiting for long, as Helen appeared next to him in under a minute, as she sighed.
"So, what are we looking at- Oh Holy Hades!"
Charlie nodded in agreement. Holy Hades was pretty accurate to describe the situation they were in. Because where the wall of the basement should have been, there was nothing there. Nothing, except a wide hole that was clearly made by an exterior party.
"The school's under attack. We need to go, now!"
Percy was having a shitty time living, and that was before he woke up in freefall.
Now now, credit where credit is due, he did just reset his entire timeline, practically his entire Universe, so it was natural for him to have a massive headache.
Alas, it wasn't his only headache.
Now, here he was, caught up in a Multiversal scaled version of the Hunger Games. And knowing him, he wasn't going to have as much of good fortune as Katniss did. Order had just declared that all of their Universes, the Universes of the 16 alternate versions of himself were about to collide. To ensure that one Universe survives, all 16 of them need to get down and dirty in a battle to the death. The loser dies and their universe gets destroyed.
Pretty simple, right?
And here he was, falling downwards onto a planet with a fire and water contrast so absurd it would give the Firefox logo a run for its money. The corners of the world sizzled in flames, while the equator drowned in a wide ocean that spanned its entire length. He noticed the shoreline, and a little distance beyond it being a charred landscape, the only possibly hospitable land of the entire planet.
Wind blew in his face as he descended into the orbit, gravity pulling him downwards as the air resistance threatened to set him alight. His sea green eyes scanned the world below him, and he aimed himself for the ocean in the center. He was going to make one Hades of an impact, that much was for certain.
"Or we could simply use your water abilities, remember? Then there wouldn't be an impact." The ancient voice of Horus, the Egyptian God of War, spoke in his mind. His wise companion had been a great help to Percy, even in adventures older than the one that had led him here.
"You have no appreciation for a dramatic entrance, you know?" Percy rolled his eyes, falling soundlessly into the water below. Beneath its surface, Percy found the purest ocean he had ever seen. Waves of sapphire brushed past him, and while there didn't seem to be any aquatic life nearby, pure fresh water lay over his skin, giving it a soothing embrace.
Floating with the waves, Percy found himself lost in thought. There was much that he had in his mind, and a distracted mind would fare him no good for the enemies he was about to face. Time was a fickle thing. Percy didn't know how much time had passed since Order took him from his family. It could be 5 seconds or 5 centuries, Percy would never have a clue. However, the temporal displacement did make his family immortal to aging, but he was no longer there to watch over them.
"Perseus, your family will be safe. Now is no longer the time to ponder over what will happen there. Focus your mind, it is time for battle." Horus spoke to him, bringing Percy out of his stupor. Percy sighed.
"It sounds so easy when you say it, when it's anything but." Percy looked around, spreading his senses across the vast ocean around him. "Seems like we're alone. No one else has landed in the ocean."
"Indeed. Now Perseus, let's take stock of what we have in store for this battle." Horus advised him, choosing to bring up the odds that lay against him, along with Percy's own arsenal.
"I have to face 15 alternate versions of myself, in a death match if I want to return home." Percy recalled. "And 1 of them is Egyptian, while 2 of them are Norse. And even if I do win against all of them, it gives me no guarantee that Order will let me go home. So, if I have to go see my family again, I have to face them, and then, possibly the nigh Omnipotent creator of the Universe."
"Indeed." Horus agreed. "That only leaves one question.
Are you ready?"
Let the journey begin, everyone.
And I know, there are some things many don't understand. All I can say is,
just keep reading.
Signing out,
Knight Crawler.