Chapter Text
Poseidon did not want to go to Olympus. His brother was still blaming him for his bolt going missing and was throwing an equally-angry hissy fit over the fact that he’d broken the oath and claimed his son (the hypocrite). Poseidon did not want to go anywhere near Olympus unless it was because Zeus had decided to apologize for blaming him (and for being a massive hypocrite (like that would ever happen)).
Unfortunately, when the Moirai summoned the Olympian Council, the Olympian Council convened. The Fates didn’t summon them. They tended to simply watch as time went by. The last time the Fates had summoned the Council, they’d narrowly avoided an inter-pantheon war with the Egyptian and Germanic pantheons.
It wasn’t just the Council that had been gathered; Amphitrite and Triton had received their own summonses and were accompanying him to Olympus.
They arrived in the throne room to find it already busy. The rest of the Council was there, with a few other additions: Hades was speaking with Persephone in a shadowed corner; Artemis had her lieutenant at her side; Ariadne was embracing her newly-arrived husband; and Hestia was waiting to greet them.
“Brother,” she said, greeting him with a hug. “I’m glad you came. And Amphitrite and Triton as well!” she exclaimed, offering embraces to each of them as well.
“Angered as I am, not even I would ignore a summons from the Moirai,” Poseidon said. “Are we the last?”
“No,” Hestia replied. “Dionysus reported that Chiron was also summoned, as were quite a few campers. He had to arrange with the counselors who were not summoned to take care of the camp while he, Dionysus, and some of the counselors and campers are gone.”
Some of the campers…perhaps…?
“Do you know which campers were summoned?” Poseidon asked, doing his best to act casual. From the way Hestia’s face softened, he doubted he managed it.
“I do not,” Hestia said. “Dionysus did not say. Just that some were counselors and some were not.”
Her attention was drawn to the other side of the room, where it seemed Demeter had noticed that Persephone was with her husband and was making it everyone else’s problem.
“I’d best calm our sister down,” Hestia said, before reaching out to squeeze Poseidon’s hand. “I’ll speak with you more later, brother.” She moved quickly towards where Demeter and Hades were descending into a shouting match.
Amphitrite squeezed his hand before he could get lost in thought.
“I hope we’ll have the chance to meet him soon,” she said, offering him a small smile.
Triton snorted from his other side.
“You don’t have to like him, dear, but please be polite,” Amphitrite instructed.
“Yes, Mother,” he replied.
Poseidon considered the room. So far, the throne room was as it usually was, with twelve thrones and nothing else. Not even the temporary throne Hades used on the winter solstice was there. That wouldn’t do. There were already six additional deities present, and with Chiron and the campers coming as well…
Well, Zeus wouldn’t take the idea well from him at the moment, and he wanted to avoid talking to his brother as well. But he wouldn’t say no to Hestia.
His eldest sister had successfully gotten Demeter away from Hades and Persephone, and the pair was conversing with Hera near the hearth. From the way that they kept glancing at him and Zeus, he knew what they were talking about.
Poseidon reached out mentally to Hestia and expressed his concerns and possible solutions. Hestia shot back a wink in reply. Poseidon let himself relax. She’d handle it.
The doors opening heralded the entrance of Chiron and the campers. To Poseidon’s delight, Percy was one of them.
Amphitrite’s eyes widened at the sight of him.
“It’s a wonder everyone didn’t know immediately that he was yours, my darling,” she said quietly. “He looks just like you.”
“Just scrawnier,” Triton added.
“Be polite, dear,” Amphitrite reprimanded.
He wasn’t wrong. Percy was one of the smallest campers, though most of them were older than he was. He certainly didn’t have the muscle definition of demigods who had been training for years. Many of the other demigods were obvious in their parentage as well – Athena’s daughter had her eyes, Hermes’ boys had his smirk, Ares’ daughter had his scowl. The youngest of the campers was a boy that was so obviously Apollo’s, from his golden hair to his sunny smile to his blue eyes. He had two older boys hovering close to him – one with the same golden hair and another with the same squinty look Apollo got when he’d been staring down an arrow too long.
All in all, there were fifteen demigods accompanying Chiron, ranging from the son of Apollo who looked younger than Percy to another son of Apollo already in adulthood, as well as one satyr who didn’t look much older than his son.
The campers’ entrance was the gods’ cue to take their seats. Hestia was the one to stop Zeus, and with a short, mental conversation, his youngest brother’s face went from stern to mulish to resigned. Hestia nodded, satisfied, and snapped her fingers. Six additional thrones appeared in their semi-circle. Ariadne took hers beside Dionysus with a grateful smile. Persephone was beside her mother (to prevent Demeter’s complaints) and Hades was between her and Athena. Hestia had (quite wisely) placed herself and Amphitrite between Zeus and himself, with Triton at his other side. They all took their seats before the campers made their way to the center of the room.
“Lords and ladies,” Chiron greeted, bending forward in a bow. The campers bowed as well, some more quickly than others.
“Chiron,” Zeus greeted stiffly, though his eyes were focused angrily on Percy.
Poseidon scowled at his brother, which was enough to get his brother to stop glaring at his son and focus on Chiron instead.
“You received the summons from the Moirai as well?”
“Yes, Lord Zeus,” Chiron said. “I was given specific instructions of which campers to bring with me. We came as soon as the camp was settled. I left the remaining counselors and Argus in charge.”
“Very well,” Zeus said. “Now that we were all here –”
His brother was interrupted by a bright light, then suddenly the room was twice as full as it was before.
The newest arrivals had very obviously not known they were about to be transported someplace – they were all in varying states of dress, from business formal to sweatpants to the man standing in the center of the room, dripping wet and only wearing a speedo and swim cap, goggles perched on his head – and apparently reacted to being abruptly transported by drawing weapons with admirable speed.
Well, not all of them drew weapons. Half of the newest arrivals were children younger than any of the campers and didn’t appear to be carrying any weapons, much less than concerning mix of celestial bronze and imperial gold the adults had. Even the man in the speedo had a sword – was that bone steel? – though where he’d been keeping it, Poseidon couldn’t say.
Then they apparently got a good look at where they were, because most of them lowered their weapons, although they didn’t put them away.
The man in the speedo let out a heartfelt, “Bólbiton.”
“Language,” all the other adults chorused.
“Daddy!” one of the children – practically a toddler – exclaimed, ignoring the tension and making a run for the man in the speedo. The little girl was followed by two more toddlers, the three oldest children who looked about the age of the younger campers, and a blonde woman who had a baby clutched to her chest with one hand while she held a knife in the other.
The man’s sword disappeared…somewhere…as he gathered up all the children – his children? – into a hug.
“Daddy!” one of the older girls exclaimed. “You’re all wet!”
“I just got out of the pool, sweetie,” the man said patiently.
“I am curious as to how you went from Paris and we went from home to all being on Olympus though,” the blonde woman said, looking around with sharp, grey eyes.
One of Athena’s. Of course.
“I’m more concerned with the fact that we seem to have time traveled,” the man in the speedo said.
All of the other adults turned to look at him. He shrugged and pointed towards Chiron and the campers.
“It’s that or Olympus started a cloning project and didn’t tell anyone.”
The other adults turned to look at the campers as well. If it weren’t so odd, it would have been funny.
“This is so weird,” one of the two adult satyrs in the group said, his eyes fixed on the satyr who had accompanied Chiron. They looked enough alike that the time travel comment made perfect sense.
“You guys are so tiny,” a Latino man observed. “I am seeing it and still not believing it. How old are you guys?”
“Judging by everyone present, this must be the summer of 2006,” Athena’s blonde adult daughter said.
“And considering how tense the gods are, I’d say it’s before the summer solstice and the bolt is still missing,” the man in the speedo said. “And…judging by who’s standing where, I’d guess that it’s after the capture-the-flag game but before the quest so… June 10th or 11th? Since it looks like morning,” he added, glancing up at the sky.
The blonde woman hummed. “Sounds about right. How’d we do?” she asked, looking towards the front of the throne room.
“Today is June 11th, 2006,” Athena stated, her eyes fixed on her adult daughter. “What day have you come from?”
“August 2, 2024,” the blonde woman said. She looked over at Chiron. “Has the quest been assigned yet?” she asked.
“Percy was with the Oracle when we were summoned by the Moirai,” Chiron said. “We came straight here afterwards, though the trio has been chosen.”
“Midmorning, then,” the blonde woman said thoughtfully. “It was midafternoon for us.”
“I think the real question is, why are we here?” a girl with the silvery aura of one of Artemis’ Hunters asked.
“You are here because we summoned you, Huntress,” a gravelly voice cut in, drawing everyone’s attention to the doors. One of the babies started crying.
The Moirai stood there in all their glory, wearing long white gowns and white veils over their silver hair. Clotho held a spindle, Lachesis a rod, and Atropos her shears.
Poseidon didn’t know which one had spoken before, but it was Lachesis who spoke now.
“Many cords were cut before the length I allotted them. Many fates were altered from their assigned path. We have brought you to the past to go over your trials with the gods and demigods before they occur, so that the same mistakes will not be made.”
“Can they change things?” the man in the speedo asked immediately.
“The great events cannot be changed,” Atropos stated. “The battles, the wars…the threats must be ended. The people of this time will not consciously remember what they have read. But subconsciously, they will remember. Deaths may be averted. Your lost friends may be saved. Some personal tragedies may be deterred.”
The adult demigods exchanged looks.
“But people could be saved?” a blond man asked, almost desperately.
“Yes,” Clotho said simply.
That caused all of the new arrivals to start talking amongst themselves.
Only because he was still watching the man in the speedo and Athena’s daughter did Poseidon notice when the blonde woman poked a different blond man, this one wearing scrubs (definitely one of Apollo’s). The man in scrubs put his fingers to his lips, and the man in the speedo, Athena’s daughter, all the nearby children, and several others slammed their hands over their ears.
A painfully high-pitched whistle sounded through the room, made worse as it echoed across the marble walls and floors. It was successful at silencing their guests from the future, though most of them were glaring at the man in scrubs afterwards.
“What’s the price?” Athena’s daughter asked the Fates in the ensuing quiet. “This seems too good to be true.”
“It will not be easy,” Lachesis cautioned. “You cannot simply tell your point of view of what happened. It has been too long. You would forget details or leave them out due to embarrassment. That will not suffice. We have compiled the events of the past into a series of books, written from the points of view of the premier players in the wars.” Her gaze was firmly fixed on the man in the speedo. “I fear you shall bear the lion’s share.”
“Of course I will,” the man sighed. “But…this could save lives?”
“Yes,” Atropos said. “At the cost of your privacy. Not only your own secrets, but others’ whom you carry…all will be revealed.”
The man in the speedo frowned.
“I know a lot of others’ secrets. Is there any way to leave them out?”
“No,” Clotho said.
The man looked at the other adults.
“I’m willing to give up my privacy if it could save lives,” he stated, “but I won’t do that to all of you. I know a lot of secrets – some because you told me knowingly, some because I was in the right place at the right time to hear them.”
Athena’s daughter pursed her lips, but said, “I’m willing. My secrets – and I’m very aware that you know all of them – are nothing in comparison to our friends’ lives.”
“Second,” grunted a buff woman with the sides of her head shaved.
“Third,” Artemis’ Hunter said.
The rest of the time travelers – the adults at least – muttered their agreements.
The man in the speedo took a deep breath, then nodded at the Fates.
“Alright then. Is it really necessary for our kids to be here though?” he asked. “They’re a bit young for this.”
“Not all of you are required to be here,” Lachesis said. “But this will take several days. You will be returned to the future to the exact time and place you left –”
“Good,” the man in the speedo mumbled, “considering I was on international television at the time.”
“–and neither will time pass in the outside world here,” Lachesis continued. “Mount Olympus is now in a time bubble that none can penetrate. No one outside it will be able to perceive any differences. Because of the amount of time this will take, we presumed that you would not wish to be separated from your spouses and children for so long, so we chose to bring them into the time bubble with you. Estelle Blofis should stay, but the other children may stay or not at your leisure. We are certain that the Olympians can provide childcare. We have asked Leto to come to Olympus for that purpose, and there are others on Olympus who can assist her.”
Poseidon glanced over at Hera, who was scowling slightly at the mention of Leto. Artemis and Apollo, on the other hand, both looked cheered at the prospect of seeing their mother, who rarely came near Olympus since it was Hera’s domain.
“There are other rules you must know,” Atropos said, eyes fixed on the time travelers. “You will not be able to speak of any future events. The beings of this time must learn as you did, as the story progresses. We will allow you to introduce yourselves, but only your names and ages and – if applicable – your maiden names. You may say who your spouses and children are, and you may speak of your present occupations. You may not speak of your parentage, nor may you perform any actions that would make your parentage obvious, but your parents of this day may claim you as their own.”
“No spoilers, not even about ourselves, but they can,” the Latino man rattled off. “Wait, if they guess what’s going to happen, can we confirm it?”
All three Moirai tilted their heads in unison. There was a moment of silence that Poseidon might have considered unnerving had he not been a god. He was mostly just reminded of why no one liked the Moirai hanging around for very long.
“We had not considered that,” Clotho eventually admitted. “We will allow it, but yes or no answers only. No details.”
“What if they only partially get it?” the man in the speedo asked. “Is ‘sort of’ an allowed answer?”
The Moirai were quiet for another moment.
“Yes, no, or sort of,” Lachesis finally said. “Those are the only answers about the future that you may give.”
“You are allowed to clarify things – and your thought processes – after they happen,” Atropos added.
The Moirai looked past the time travelers for the first time, eyes fixed on the gods.
“Listen to these stories, Gods of Olympus,” Clotho ordered. “For they are not just stories, but the truth of your future. The actions you took and the actions you take would cause great suffering or great joy.”
“Listen well, demigods of the present, for your attention may mean the death or survival of someone you love,” Lachesis warned.
“Heed us, or Fate may alter for the worse!” Atropos finished before the very air around the Fates brightened and they flashed away.
The man in the speedo let out a put-upon sigh.
“I suppose I’ll go first,” he said, moving through the throng of time travelers to stand in front of the gods and demigods of the present. He looked up at them with piercing sea-green eyes…familiar sea-green eyes.
Poseidon knew what he was going to say before he opened his mouth.
“My name is Percy Jackson.”