Chapter Text
Life wasn't the definition of good, but they were surviving. And that was enough.
Luther had returned to the shocked looks of some of his siblings. He noticed that not everyone was there. Nobody seemed too happy- and soon Luther had found out why. Diego was gone- and for good, it seemed. Luther didn't even get the chance to meet him in this new timeline- he had only arrived that morning, and he had worked his way through the streets until he made his way back to the mansion.
"Diego would've joked that someone else had intelligence," Klaus had said miserably.
"Cheer up," Luther had responded, "Maybe we'll find him?"
"Doubt it," Five had countered, "You weren't there to see it. It was the work of the gods or something."
"Gods?"
And thus, Luther was told of the main issue of the reset timeline. First of all, it appeared as if everyone was appearing at different times in the timeline. Secondly, greek mythology was a real thing now, which confused him a bit, but he rolled with it. He learned that Five was claimed by Kronos, Klaus was claimed by Hades, Viktor was claimed by Apollo, and Ben was claimed by Poseidon. Diego was claimed by Zeus, but he was gone now. Luther himself hadn't seen any glowing symbol above his head, so this didn't really apply to him- though the others still believed that he was a demigod of some kind, but Luther didn't know who yet.
It didn't exactly matter to him. What mattered to him was that his siblings were suffering. They all clearly missed Diego. Luther missed him too, but they needed to keep on living for him. Diego would've hated it if they all became depressed loners because of him. That was when Luther learnt of the deal. Apparently, Five had been given an offer to join Luke, who was working to bring back Kronos. That was a bad thing, as far as Luther was concerned, but the others were apparently 'considering the offer'- in other words, they didn't want to pick a side. Luther also found out about the opposing side, the side of Camp Half-Blood, where Five swore he wasn't going to return to. Luther got little stories about what happened, and how in the last quest Diego disappeared. It was clear that Five blamed himself, as usual. And Luther couldn't even help.
That being said, Luther soon settled into a routine, as did everyone else. Five appeared to throw himself into training and became a bit more secretive about his daily adventures. Klaus seemed to spend more time in the Underworld with Hades. Ben started to go to the beach every day. Viktor made sure to go and schedule more violin lessons. And Luther...Luther decided he needed a job. Look, training was fine. He found he was good with all sorts of weapons- they appeared to almost speak to him- but he needed something else to occupy his time. And it wasn't as if it was because of the money- Luther knew that he was a billionaire in this timeline, as were the rest of the siblings- but he needed to do something good. He needed to help people. So he applied for a job at Westover Hall, a military school, and hoped he could make a difference.
And he did. Well, at least he tried to. He immediately got hired by Mr Thorn, and since then he worked as one of the bodyguards and sometimes PE teacher. He had been working the job for a good while, and he watched with relief as his siblings also began to recover. Five began to open up again, Klaus started to spend more time back in the mansion, Viktor cleared more of schedule, and even Ben started to become a bit more like the Ben Luther used to know. They texted more again during the day, and it never failed to make Luther smile. All was good. So of course, like all things, his peace had to be ruined.
The Friday before winter break, Luther arrived early that day to prepare for the school dance.
There was something about Westover Hall that just spoke to him. It was as if something had changed within himself when the timeline reset. Westover Hall looked like a castle of evil- black stone, slit windows, and a big set of double wooden doors- but it felt like home. It felt familiar. It felt like something Luther could understand. The best part was it sat on this cliff overlooking the ocean. There was something so special about this place.
Luther helped set up the decorations especially for the night. He made it look more grand. Well, it always looked grand, but Luther wanted it to look extra special. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays. Luther picked out many of them himself. He just knew what would fit there. He chose the antique rifles, battle axes, and other weapons. He knew what was appropriate, what belonged there. It was a good feeling.
That night, Luther grinned and ate a cinnamon roll that Viktor had prepared for him earlier. He was a bodyguard, but he was also allowed to go inside when he wanted to. He just wanted to make sure the students were safe first. It was unlikely anything would happen, given the look of the school and its location, but you never knew. That's when the doors slid open and three kids emerged. Luther straightened and walked towards them. The three kids froze.
The first one was a boy. He had windswept black hair and sea-green eyes. He looked confident and awkward at the same time, and something in his eyes told Luther that he was being plagued by something. The next was a girl with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. She looked pretty series and worried. The third was an older girl, who looked the most at home. She had spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. Luther didn't recognise anyone in their little trio, but maybe he was mistaken?
"What're you doing here?" Luther asked.
Luther glanced behind him. Dr Thorn stalked out behind him, narrowing his eyes at the kids.
"Um," the boy said, "We're just-"
"Ha!" Dr Thorn snapped, making the poor boy jump, "Visitors are not allowed in this dance!"
That's when the older girl stepped forward and snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Luther could feel a gust of wind ripple from her hand, across the room. It washed over everyone, making the banners rustle.
"We're not visitors, sir," Thalia said, "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. This is Annabeth and Percy. We're in eighth grade,"
Luther frowned. Was that clicking meant to do something? Luther brought his mind back- he didn't remember anyone like them. Dr Thorn also looked suspicious.
"Mr Hargreeves," Dr Thorn turned to Luther, "Do you know them?"
Percy's eyes widened. Annabeth's breath stuttered. Luther suddenly remembered where he heard those names from- these were some of those kids from that camp thing. Great. Was Luther required to cover for them? What were they doing here?
"Um," Luther said, "Uh. Maybe? I teach a lot of students. You know I'm new here,"
Luther could hear his siblings facepalming from the mansion. Thalia frowned, looking a bit confused. That's when another kid opened the door to the gymnasium and hurried out.
"You guys are-" the kid said, before seeing Dr Thorn and Luther. "Sorry sirs!"
The trio quickly apologised and followed the kid.
"Thanks Grover," Luther heard from Percy as the door closed, "You saved our butts."
Grover? That was another name his siblings had mentioned. What was going on? Luther needed answers. Luther turned to see Dr Thorn, but Dr Thorn had already disappeared. He shrugged and turned to the gymnasium. He needed to get answers, fast. But first, he pulled out his phone. There was something his family needed to know.