Chapter Text
Percy’s breath was shaky and staggered as he ran. His legs burned and cried out for a break, a break he knew he didn’t have time for. He just gritted his teeth and pushed, sprinting as fast as he could down the corridor. Just a little further, if he could just get a little further, he’d be back on the Argo II in no time and they could finally say goodbye to this dump.
Next to him, Jason wasn’t faring any better. His skin gleamed with sweat and his purple camp shirt stuck to his body. He wobbled slightly and winced thanks to the gushing wound on his right leg, courtesy of a hellhound that had decided it was in the mood for a Jason Grace-sized snack. Of course, said hellhound ended up eating imperial gold instead but not before getting a good bite in.
Over the thundering sound of their footsteps and ragged breaths, Percy could hear the monsters somewhere in the dark behind them. He hadn’t once looked over his shoulder since he and Jason started running and he wasn’t about to do it now. The last thing he needed was to look behind him and end up tripping over a rock. The monsters were loud enough, he was sure they were close.
“How fucking long is this tunnel?” Percy panted.
“Too long.” Jason wheezed.
Percy wished the tunnel had light, all they had was the light from Riptide and Jason’s sword. Actually, screw that, he wished he was back on the Argo II already. He could already imagine Annabeth and the others sitting around in the galley wondering where in the world they were. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he knew where they were. For all he knew, he and Jason somehow ended up in the Underworld’s version of detention.
He would’ve laughed if this situation wasn’t so infuriating. You see, the plan had been a simple one. Leo needed some sort of cable to fix some electrical issue in the galley and there just so happened to be a stockpile in Virginia. All Percy and Jason had to do was drop down, find the cable, and bring it back to the ship.
Except no one mentioned the horde of ugly ass monsters waiting for them right outside the warehouse they were supposed to raid. What was supposed to be a simple heist turned into a full-on marathon as they tried to escape the monsters, a marathon which led them to a dark maintenance tunnel under the warehouse.
Percy wasn’t sure why the tunnel even existed but he didn’t question it. Instead, he was kind of glad it did exist because it funneled the monsters and slowed them down a little bit as they bumped and tripped over each other during their pursuit.
“We’ve gotta lose them!” Jason said, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up!”
At this point, it felt like someone had tied ten-pound weights to Percy’s ankles. Each step was even more painful than the last and he could straight up feel the micro tears in his quads and calves. He was just waiting for something to snap or fracture and if the pain was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be long.
They rounded a corner and he almost slipped while doing it. As soon as they were around the corner, a yellow light at the end of the tunnel appeared. The first thing that came to mind was daylight but the closer he and Jason got, the more clearly he could see the light. It wasn’t daylight, just some random light fixture in the wall above a doorway.
“There!” Jason gasped, “That’s gotta be the exit!”
Percy didn’t see an exit sign but he didn’t care. He put all his effort into his sprint and nearly crashed into the door. The handle was icy cold against his palm as he nearly yanked the door off its hinges trying to get it open.
“Lock it!” He yelled as Jason slammed the door shut behind them.
Behind the door, he could hear the monsters screeching and growling as they charged the door. Jason had just managed to turn the lock when an almighty thud sounded from the door. The monsters pounded at the door but whoever made the door must’ve built it to withstand a tank because it didn’t budge, that didn’t mean Percy wasn’t fully prepared to fight if the door gave way though.
Percy sat down, his breathing slowly steadying as he stared at the door. His heart pounded against his chest and he was sure he was about to pass out from just how hard he’d been running. He hadn’t run that hard since the time he’d spilled coke on one of Annabeth’s books. Seriously, that girl was terrifying when she was mad.
“Great, we’re trapped.” Jason groaned.
Percy looked around the room and sure enough, he was right. They were trapped. Instead of being the exit, the door had only led them to some sort of weird generator room. Turbines whirled quietly while tubes snaked around the room and disappeared into the ceiling. A control panel sat next to one of the pipes, one of the red lights blinked constantly. Percy really hoped that didn’t mean the place was about to explode.
Jason walked towards the panel, “Let’s see if we can get the lights on.”
Percy followed him and when they got to the panel, he was surprised to find the words were in Ancient Greek, not English. He wore the same frown Jason had though Jason’s face was probably thanks to the fact he had no idea what he was reading.
“This doesn’t make any sense, these letters are Greek.” Jason turned to him, “Can you translate?”
The longer Percy read, the more confused he was. The words above the buttons made absolutely no sense whatsoever. There were words like ‘time skip’ and ‘domain expansion’, what any of those had to do with running a generator was beyond him. “These words don’t make any sense. There’s no button for the lights.”
“Well, how about a button that shows us how to get out of here, is there one like that?” Jason asked.
“No, but there is a Delta symbol.” He said. He wasn’t sure why there was a Delta symbol, only that there was one.
“What good is that? We need to—”
Percy pressed the button.
“Dude!” Jason cried, “Don’t just push random buttons when we don’t know what any of them do!”
Instead of detonating the generators or unleashing a swarm of giant pigeons, the light strips in the ceiling came on. The buzzing was loud and obnoxious but at least there was light. The turbines whirled a little louder and Percy could’ve sworn he heard something that sounded an awful lot like thunder.
Jason relaxed a little bit but he still gave him a disbelieving head shake, “Well, at least we can see now.” He looked around, “Where the hell are we?”
“Leo’s wet dream, I guess.” Percy said. He wasn’t sure what Leo’s wet dreams looked like and he frankly didn’t want to know but if he had to guess, this was it. A room full of turbines and pipes for him to run wild in.
Jason turned back to the panel, “Hey, the light is green.”
Percy followed his eyes and sure enough, the light was bright green. What that meant, he had no clue. He glanced down at the button beneath it. He met Jason’s eyes, “Should we press it?”
Jason looked like he wanted to say no but ultimately, he nodded, “Yeah.”
With that, he pressed the button and the world went white.
Ω
When Percy’s eyes opened, the first thing he was greeted to was the sight of a ceiling fan spinning quietly on an old wooden ceiling. He stared up at the fan for a few fleeting moments, genuinely unsure of what he was even looking at. From what he could remember, he and Jason were in some sort of maintenance room, he was sure he would’ve remembered a ceiling fan if there was one in there.
As he laid there, he couldn’t help but wince at the tightness in his legs. However, that wasn’t the only feeling. There was a heavy weight on him. He glanced down and to his surprise, found a dark brown wool comforter draped over his body. He sat up as he realized he was no longer in the maintenance room with Jason.
It didn’t take long for him to recognize his surroundings. He knew this place. The old chipped paint on the walls, the window frames that looked like they hadn’t been replaced since the invention of the hammer, and the picture frames holding pictures of demigods from different ages.
He was in the Big House, somehow. It didn’t make any sense. There was no way he could’ve ended up back at Camp Half-Blood when he and Jason were stuck in Middle of Nowhere, Virginia. Then he remembered the time he’d somehow ended up on Calypso’s island after blowing up Mount Saint Helens, perhaps it wasn’t impossible but it was still surprising.
It must’ve been cloudy outside because the entire room was gray. Honestly, it made the room feel a little depressing. It was as if he’d been teleported into an advertisement for anti-depressants that didn’t work.
Sliding the comforter off himself, Percy examined himself. He looked alright, save for a few tears in his jeans and shirt from those monsters but no actual wounds. His legs ached but as he moved his ankle around, he figured there was nothing to worry about on that front. He let out a relieved breath, he was okay.
He tried to call out to Jason, who was nowhere in sight, but he shut his mouth the second he felt just how dry his throat was. He felt like he’d just woken up from being asleep for twelve hours. His throat was dry and scratchy, just clearing it felt like someone dragging a piece of sandpaper along his vocal chords.
Clearly, someone must’ve heard him clear his throat because he heard footsteps coming from somewhere behind the door. Instinctively, his hand drifted towards his pocket where he clasped his hand around Riptide. He knew deep down he was safe but you could never be too cautious as a half-blood.
The door to the room flew open. Jason appeared in the entrance with a relieved smile on his face, Percy couldn’t say he wasn’t relieved himself. He was glad Jason was okay, he wouldn’t have known what to do if he’d been teleported away and Jason hadn’t.
Behind Jason, Chiron and Mr. D peered into the room at him. For some strange reason, they weren’t smiling at him or in Mr. D’s case, staring at him like he was the most annoying thing since the invention of pop-up advertising. Instead, they stared at him like he was an undiscovered shade of blue or a new plant previously unknown to man. Their curious eyes definitely didn’t make him feel like he was at home.
“Perce, you’re okay!” Jason nearly ran to his bedside. He knelt down next to him, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. What are we doing back at camp?” He asked, “Where’s the ship? Where’s Annabeth?”
Jason started to answer but before he could, Chiron clopped into the room. Now that Percy got a good look at the old man, he looked like he’d been through hell. His face was covered in more wrinkles and his eyes were full of fatigue. His brown tweed jacket had a few tears that he recognized as cuts from a sword or dagger.
“So, you know where you are.” Chiron said.
Percy gave him a bewildered look, “I mean, unless the name changed this is Camp Half-Blood, right?”
Chiron nodded, “You’re correct. Fascinating.”
Now Percy was really confused. What was so fascinating about him being correct? “Hey, I know I wasn’t the fastest learner but I’m not that dumb. I’m pretty sure I’d recognize my own camp when I see it.”
“Percy—” Jason said.
“It’s fine, Jason.” Chiron laughed, “The boy clearly just needs to be brought up to speed.”
Brought up to speed on what? Percy looked between Jason and Chiron, this was getting weird. If this was some sort of joke, it wasn’t funny anymore, not that it was funny to begin with.
“Let’s start from the beginning. I am Chiron, the camp director here at Camp Half-Blood.” Chiron said like it was supposed to be groundbreaking news. After an awkward silence, he motioned to Jason, “Jason tells me you are Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Is this true?”
“Yeah, why are you asking me this?” Percy asked, “You know me already, sir.”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Jackson.” Chiron shook his head, “You and I have never met.”
“What?” Percy said breathlessly, “Yes, we have! You were my teacher at Yancy Academy like four years ago. You and Grover brought me to camp, remember?”
“I don’t recall ever teaching at a school by the name of Yancy Academy.” Chiron said, “As for Grover Underwood…well, we can talk about him later.”
Percy started to climb out of bed, “Alright, what the hell is going on here? If this is some sort of prank, it’s not funny anymore. Besides, we don’t have time for this, we need to get back to Leo. He’s probably wondering where the hell we’ve been!”
“Percy, calm down, we’re about to tell you what’s going on.” Jason said, grabbing his arm.
Percy squeezed his hands into fists, his brain sufficiently scrambled. Regardless, he nodded to Chiron to get on with whatever he had to tell him.
“Before we continue, I need to evaluate your mental state.” Chiron said, “I assume from what you’ve said, your dimension had its own version of myself and Camp Half-Blood. I also assume you and Jason are both from the same dimension so none of this should be a shock to you.”
“My dimension? What are you—” Percy started.
“Do you have a history of insanity?” Chiron asked.
“No, but what do you mean by dimensi—”
“Do you currently see shadow people?”
“No.” Percy gritted his teeth. Could he perhaps let him fucking speak?
“Chiron, I think we can skip these questions.” Mr. D said as he walked in with a wine glass. Now that was new. As far as Percy knew, Mr. D’s restrictions were still in place, he shouldn’t have been anywhere near alcohol. Mr. D stopped at the foot of his bed, “I sense no insanity in the boy.”
“Very well then.” Chiron took a deep breath before putting a hand on Percy’s shoulder, “I’ve already told Jason this but now I must tell you. This dimension is not your own, you’ve been warped from your home dimension to this one.”
“In other words, the ritual worked.” Mr. D added.
Percy looked over at Jason. He shrugged, “They told me the same thing, I don’t think they’re lying.”
Percy’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. This couldn’t happen, dimensional travel wasn’t possible. How could he possibly survive the travel through the very fabric of space and time?
Nothing is impossible, his mind reminded him. To mortals, his very existence and the world he lived in was impossible. He lived in a world where the Greek gods of old still roamed the world under everyone’s noses, where monsters and demigods fought an eternal battle of survival, where the dead could return to life.
So naturally, the first question out of Percy’s mouth after being confronted with the fact he’d been a victim of an interdimensional kidnapping was, “How do we go back?”
This time, it was Mr. D’s turn to take a deep breath. “You can’t.”
“The fuck do you mean I can’t?” Percy asked sharply, “This isn’t my dimension, I don’t belong here!”
“Watch your tone with me, boy.” Mr. D said with a quiet lethal edge to his voice, “I’m willing to let your disrespect slide for now since you’re in shock but you will learn to respect me. Now as for your question, simply put the ritual we performed could only bring people into this dimension, not send them out.”
“What ritual? What are you talking about?” Percy asked.
“You don’t need to know about the ritual.” Mr. D snapped, “All you need to know is that this dimension is your home now and you’d better start acting like it.”
“No, you don’t get to hide things from me.” Percy stormed out of bed even as Jason and Chiron grabbed him, “You drag me away from the people I love and then expect me to be all happy? You never even asked me if I wanted to be brought here!”
“We wouldn’t have been able to ask you even if we wanted to.” Mr. D said, “When we petitioned the Fates, we asked them to send the most experienced and brightest heroes. Clearly, there’s been some sort of mistake because you clearly are not the brightest.”
Jason clamped a hand over Percy’s mouth before he could reply. “Percy, don’t. He’s still a god.”
Percy didn’t give a shit who Mr. D was. He didn’t care if he got incinerated. He probably would’ve welcomed it. He didn’t want to live in a dimension without the people he loved, without his mom, without Annabeth. He’d be better off dead and lost in the Fields of Asphodel than alive and lost in this dimension.
Percy pulled free, “Let me go.” He walked over to a window and just stared through it, trying to get his wits back about himself.
“Clearly, you need a moment.” Mr. D said, “We’ll be waiting for you on the front porch when you’re ready.”
Percy didn’t answer as he heard Chiron and Mr. D leave the room. He waited until the door was shut before he turned around towards Jason, “How are you taking this so well?”
Jason walked over and joined him at the window. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked out. His voice shook as he spoke, “I’m not. I have no idea how we’re going to get back.”
“Did you hear Mr. D?” He asked, “We can’t go back. We’re stuck here.”
“I don’t believe that. If it’s possible to bring us in here, it’s possible to take us out.” Jason said, “It has to be.”
Percy’s jaw clenched. He genuinely wanted to believe Jason but he had a feeling it wasn’t that simple. Even if they could somehow escape this dimension, there was no guarantee they could both make it back to their dimension. What if something went wrong and they ended up in a dimension where Kronos won? What if they just ended up dissolving into space dust?
“What did they tell you?” He asked.
Jason sighed, “Pretty much the exact same thing they told you. Apparently, the gods performed some sort of ritual because they needed heroes and somehow, you and I got picked.”
Great, the gods fucked something up again and now Percy was stuck cleaning up the mess. What else was new?
“Did they tell you what they needed us for?” Percy asked.
Jason shook his head, “No but I think we’re about to find out.”