Chapter Text
It was the three year anniversary of the Battle of Manhattan. The hunters of Artemis were staying over, and there were some speeches and ceremonies planned during dinner, but other than that, it was just a normal camp day. A few broken legs here, a cut-throat game of capture the flag there, nothing too special. That is, until it happened. There I was, trying my best not to impale someone, when everything stopped. The arrow that had been an inch away from sending a poor Demeter kid to the Big House froze in midair. The swords clashing and the rumble of the climbing wall went silent.
“Hey kid!”
Almost silent. I turned around, already drawing riptide, to face the voice. No way. No freaking way. This is not happening. I’ll close my eyes, count to three, and wake up. This will all have been some weird totally-not-prophetic dream.
I closed my eyes and counted to three. I did not wake up. He smiled.
“Luke.”
“Great, it worked. I wasn’t sure if it would. Anyways, I don’t know how much time I have here, so don’t interrupt me.” He glared at me when I opened my mouth, then continued. “Turns out when our dear relative was sent to Tartarus, his power didn’t go with him. It stayed with me instead. And now I have the power to control time. Another fun fact: the fates can’t deny the dead soul of prophecy’s hero. Soooo, I’m sending you back in time. Well, I’m sending your soul back in time. It will take over the body of your past self.
“Your quest, should you choose to accept it,” he suddenly got very serious, “save them. As many as you can. Save everyone from the war who didn’t deserve to die. Bianca, Ethan, Charlie, Silena. Everyone you can. The only rule,” I was kind of weirded out by how intense he looked, “you can’t let anyone know until I die. Not even Annabeth or Grover. The fates will take away your memories from your future if they find out. Once I die, the events become locked in place, along with your memories. If you don’t accept, then time will restart, and you will forget this ever happened. Can you do this?” He finally stopped and looked at me, waiting for an answer. Out of all the questions I had only one managed to blurt out.
“What about you?”
He looked out to the volleyball courts, where I was pretty sure Annabeth and Thalia were. “I can’t be saved. My death ties it all together and keeps the Fates from interfering. Kronos can’t be defeated without it. It has to happen. Can you do this?” He looked at me, his eyes burning hotter than Ares’.
A chance to save all my friends? No question. “Yes.”
Luke’s shoulders slumped in relief, and and for the first time I could remember, a real smile appeared on his face.
He straightened up, and started chanting in Greek. For once my brain didn’t translate. I started to feel lighter, like gravity had gone and taken a vacation, but my body stayed rooted to the ground. My vision faded out. Just before everything went black, I heard him speak directly into my ears.
“Oh, and I almost forgot. Do me a favor. When you see Luke on the other side, kick his ass for me.”