Chapter Text
—one year after—-
Percy thinks that despite having absolutely no idea what he was doing, they turned out okay. They managed to find a reversal to the accelerated aging fairly quickly. Still, getting a properly trained strill had probably been one of the smartest things he had ever done.
With a few commands the animal could find his kids anywhere in the palace. It had pulled them out of one or two fairly bad situations. And, much to Percy’s amusement and everyone's despair, it was good at snitching on people to Percy. Argo, as she had been dubbed, always found Percy when he needed to be somewhere.
He’s 24. He has kids, a pet, a little brother he would fight a god for, two best friends he would go to war for, Obi-wan’s friends who grew on him like mold, and Jaster. He has a family. It’s not nuclear, but it’s a family.
Eight years ago, Percy couldn’t see tomorrow. Cursed blade shall reap. That was about him. Or at least he thought it had been. Prophecies are never truly what you think they mean. But he hadn’t planed a future because he didn’t see one. Then he had lived.
For a little while he had scrambled together ideas of what a future could be. Because the first time in a while he could see past the war. To storm or fire the world must fall. An oath to keep with final breath. Just like that his hopes for a future had left him.
Percy never saw the possibility of this. Hell, graduation had been a fever dream on the best of days. But he’s 24 now. An infamous political figure fighting for the chance of things getting better. Maybe that’s the difference between him now and years ago.
Back then his dream had been to stop fighting. It’s now that he realizes that he always would be. It was always in his very blood. He would always be fighting, but now Percy has learned that it can be in different ways. It’s a battle, but not for his life anymore.
Argo comes running into Percy’s office and jumps, landing square on his chest. It knocks him back but he had become used to it by this point. The animal stared Percy in the eyes and blinked.
“Alright, alright. I’m coming,” Percy said, pushing the strill off of him.
She leads him out of the room and down the winding halls. Percy finds himself being led to one of the rooms that had been Infamous for Quinlan popping out of when he was planet side. He walks in and sees Quin coaching the kids on how to use the vents in the palace.
Percy let out a sharp cough and all of them turned to face him. The kids looked worried. He still hadn’t managed to fully convince the kids that they were safe here. But this was better than the time they scattered at the sight of him.
Quin, on the other hand, looked like he didn’t have an ounce of care. Probably because he knew the shenanigans he and Obi-wan had pulled in the very same ventilation system. So he wasn’t surprised when Percy said, “Quinlan, while I appreciate you teaching them, can you please tell me first.”
Quinlan tried to put on an innocent face. As if he hadn’t tried to pull the same face before and failed every time. “Why do I need to?”
“Because you and I both know what you and Obi-wan got up too,” Percy said. “I would like to at least get a warning before someone comes to me telling me one of my kids raised hell in the vents.”
“Fine,” Quin said, drawing out the word. You see. Quin says that. But sooner or later, Percy’s going to hear something along the lines of ‘your hellions pranked a New Mandalorian ambassador.’ Cough, Obi-wan.
—
Five years. They had been searching for a way to get Percy back for five years. It hadn’t been until more recently that they had even thought of the multiverse as a possible answer. It had taken a combined effort from Hephaestus and Athena kids. But they had found a way to track him through the universe.
And they had found him. They had found Percy. They had formed a strike team consisting of Annabeth, Nico, and Will. They had gone in the middle of the night. Annabeth didn’t know how they had managed to do it without waking Percy up.
Since the first quest, Percy had been a light sleeper. Most demigods learned to be because if they weren’t, they were killed. But Percy had five years to change many of his habits. That’s the excuse that Annabeth gives herself for the moment.
There's a sort of relief that comes from bringing Percy back. Annabeth missed the way that Hestia stared at her. The goddess sat at the hearth just watching her pass by with the returned demigod. And in the same way, Annabeth missed the glow of the camp's firepit dim ever so slightly. The home and the hearth can’t be separated.
When they set him down in one of the rooms in the big house, Chiron looked like he had seen a ghost. He almost did. Percy had become somewhat of an urban legend among the new campers. Kids that had been there for years loved weaving stories.
Annabeth had taken the first shift. She had to fight Will for that position, but he had relented when she mentioned the fact she had known Percy for the longest. Will told her to wake him up if Percy shows signs of waking. Annabeth lied when she told him she would.
Percy looked different. She knows that she does as well. Time would do that to anybody. But it’s in the lines of his face. The way that this is the least stressed she had ever really seen him. It’s then, Annabeth thinks, they might have messed up.
—-
Echo woke up knowing that something had been wrong. He doesn't have a name for it, and he can’t figure out why there was an itching at the back of his skull. But something had been wrong. And buir had told all of them that if something felt wrong, that’s usually because it is.
Argo nudged the door open. Echo knows that she checks on them in the middle of the night. It changes order, but usually she ends up with Fox. He checks the clock as she curls up on the bed. It’s late. He needs to know why he’s awake.
He forces himself to nudge Argo and give a command. In seconds she is alert and goes to find his buir. Something is wrong. Echo knows that if anyone can help him work through it, it is Percy. Argo comes back without him in tow and pulls insistently on his sleeve.
The feeling goes from an itching to a buzzing. Echo slows down, and Argo pulls him harder. Something is wrong. Something is wrong. Something is wrong. They make it to buir’s room and he’s not there. That’s not right. He would have told them if he left.
Percy had made sure that he was never out of the Palace without letting them and Obi-wan know. Argo wouldn’t be this insistent on bringing him here if his dad were somewhere else in the palace. He doesn't like the tapestry being weaved in front of him.
The left pauldron was on the nightstand. Percy never left the room without it. When Percy had explained armor meanings he had let them each paint a section of it. Percy always had it on him. Especially after he noticed how happy it made them. Even if he didn’t have a reason too.
Across from him, the window was open. The scratches show that it had been from the outside. Echo sneaks back out into halls that feel a little too hollow. Not like they were lacking in items, but they felt sterile. He makes himself move faster than he had been.
Echo doesn't knock on Five's door. He just bursts in like a whirlwind and shakes his brother awake. Fives wasn’t happy about that. He was never a morning person. But he sees the look on Echo’s face and wakes up much quicker than he normally did.
Whatever Fives asked goes ignored. Echo was moving more off of fumes than real processing. Fives trailed after him and Argo confused. They woke up Cody, then Wolf, and everyone stayed behind as Echo woke up Fox. His brother is on alert before Echo can even touch him. Echo can see it in his eyes, he knows something is wrong.
He gets more questions. Echo’s too out of it to try and acknowledge them. They stop whispering when they see that buir’s room was empty. Someone, Echo thinks it was Wolfe, calls someone to go get Jaster. Echo feels like he’s underwater but not in a comforting way.
Jaster doesn't end up being the only one to file into the room. Obi-wan, Arla, and Pre come rushing into the space. Argo’s pawing at Echo. He doesn't know how he finds out, but his hands are shaking. Arla saying that she’ll get the information feels miles away.
Obi-wan picks him up. Echo feels himself be moved and his head hurts. He wanted to go back to bed. This is how nightmares are, right? You have to try and go back to sleep after them because you wake up and you're safer.
The six of them end up piled in Fox’s room. It’s the best way to stay together at the moment. All of them had been shaken. Echo hadn’t clinged to Fives like this since they had been back on Kamino trying to figure out if they should send the message.
“I’m going to kill whoever did this.” That was Fox talking. The same hard edges and angry notes that had lessened over time. “I’m going to find him, or I am going to die trying.”
Echo didn’t like the tone his brother had. It made the situation feel all too real now. It couldn’t be.
—-
The first thing Percy noted was that he was not in his bed. In the same way, he had not been in any of his kid’s rooms. That was the first sign that something had gone horribly wrong. Where was he? He opened his eyes for the first time.
And he saw. In front of him sat one, Will Solace. Someone Percy had not seen for five years. Percy wasn’t in Mandalore anymore, Toto. He was in the big house. Somewhere where even if they could go, Percy would keep his kids a hundred miles away from.
Wait. Shit! His kids. What are they going to think about this? He didn’t mean to disappear. But still. What if they thought he had just abandoned them? Percy would never do that, yet he was still trying to get them used to the difference between home and Kamino. There's no telling how they could take this.
Percy stood up. He didn’t care about whatever was in his system, making him feel off. Where was the pauldron? Will, and holy shit that was Will, was talking to him. And Percy doesn't mean to brush him off. But at the moment Percy had priorities.
“Hold on! Percy. You’re safe,” Will said. “Your in the big house.”
“I know that. But I need to know how to go home.”
“We already contacted Mrs. Sally. She’ll be here to pick you up in an hour. But you need to go back to sleep,” Will said.
That wasn’t right. That wasn’t home. Not anymore, at least. Percy loved his mom with all his heart. But the palace had become home. He had been there for over four years. There was more waiting for him there than just his mother and Paul. That’s just how time has passed.
He hates the idea of having to choose between them. Because Percy, without a doubt, would choose his kids. He knows that his mom would understand. She had spent 19 years trying to choose him every single chance she had gotten. He hopes that she could understand.
Instead of laying back down like Will wanted him too, Percy stepped around him and walked through the camp. It had changed. Camp wasn’t the rigid structure of 12 cabins and then some like it used to be. There were many buildings and statues through the grounds. Everything he had made the gods swear on.
Percy doesn't know if they actually claimed their kids. He says nothing about this to Will, who was trailing after him. Given the gods long standing track record, he isn’t sure that he truly wanted an answer. So he keeps silently moving through the dirt and the leaves.
He spots Hestia sitting at the hearth and gesturing for him to come forward. Percy listened to her. She is, and always would be, the one deity that Percy would ever show respect too. And after everything that had happened, he would like a little advice on how he should keep going.
Will goes to follow, but he must see something in their faces because he backs up. It’s the first time that Percy had felt like he could really breathe since waking up. He wants to go home. Hestia has to know that.
She looks sad when she speaks, “I think you are aware of what my domains are, Perseus.”
“I am,” Percy replied.
“One thing I can do, Perseus, is see where the hearth burns. And I can see when it dims as well,” She said. “I do not know where you went. I think that is for the best. But I do know that you grew the flames.”
“They mean so much,” Percy said, instead of truly acknowledging the statement.
Hestia smiled and said, “I know they do. That’s why I leave you my blessing.”
“What?”
“I do not know how you will go back. But I know that you are stubborn enough to find a way,” She smiled. “And when you do, you will carry a piece of the flame with you. A house isn’t a home unless there is enough love to make a hearth.”
With that, she vanishes. Instinctively, Percy checked over the armor he still had on him. Almost the whole set was on him other than the left shoulder pauldron. The one that his kids had painted. Another thing that made him worry how his kids were going to take this. On the back of his chest plate now had an inscription of a fireplace.
Narine’s going to have a field day when she finds out. Probably suggest he inscribe it somewhere on the outside of his armor. Percy can’t think about that right now. He needed to find out how to get back first. He hears someone tell him that his mom was there.
A child of Demeter if Percy had to guess. The flowers seemed to lean in where they stepped. They looked like they were new to camp. Percy remembered that feeling. He hoped this kid had a better welcome than he had gotten.
Percy walks past the familiar tree and pulls himself into his mom’s car. The sun rises and the car remains quiet throughout the ride. They both know that things have changed. Percy knows that she’s trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. He’s scared to tell her he has a family.
When they step out of the car she pulls him into a hug. The first thing that she said hit Percy like a brick. “You look happier than you used to.” That’s all she said. Of course she did. For years she did everything in her power to make him smile.
It had gotten much harder after the first war. It had been a distant memory after the second one. And she said that because she noticed how much being back in this universe had hurt him. He had been awake for only a few hours and it just kept weighing on him more.
“Come inside. I think you have some stories to tell me,” She said.
She leads him to a blue door. It’s that little bit of familiarity that hits him. Percy had mentioned that he and his mom used to dye food blue. His kids had taken the idea and ran with it.
For the next few hours Percy tells her every detail that comes to mind. Of the man that Jaster was and how he knows they would both be friends. About Obi-wan and how Percy had taken him in after his guardian had left him.
Of Arla and how she’s probably one of the smartest people Percy had ever met. Of Pre who had his back in any situation. How he had been an important figure to Mandalore. And Percy tells her about his kids. He had a lot to say about them.
When he brings up how he was still struggling in certain areas she helps him work through it. Percy knows that there's a chance he won’t have her to help him later. It’s a fact that hurts him when he thinks about it. She seems to know that.
She hands him a small notebook and tells him to ask her any question he has. They go through a few. He asks her how he knows if he’s actually a good parent. She laughed and said, “The fact that you have these worries and are trying to be better is the first sign you’re doing something right.”
When Percy is done and his questions are answered, he asks his mom what she had done in the last five years. Percy learns about all the books she has published. She had gotten copies in Greek in case he ever got the chance to read them.
He takes the books with as much reverence as they deserve. Percy gets to the point where talking any longer is off the table. She shows him to his old room. The moment he sees it he thinks about the term ‘frozen in time.’ His room hadn’t changed since he left.
He still had that blue hoodie thrown over a chair. The schoolwork he had been finishing that morning was still sitting half crumpled on his bed. The drawers were still open just the slightest bit. Tyson's newest gift on the table. Is this what staying stagnant truly means?
—
Every splicer in the palace was working on tracking Percy. They know that it would have had to be someone in a high position of power, but they didn't know who yet. It’s not often that Pre gets worried. He doesn't know what the kids are planning, but he sees their scheming.
Pre can tell that Arla is infuriated. She jokes about being annoyed with Percy for leaving her more paperwork. Yet he sees the way her hands twitch when someone tells her that they hadn’t found any information about Percy’s current whereabouts. He knows that others are just as antsy.
He knows that if they don’t find Percy soon, there will be hell to pay. The only person who seems to have any idea of what is happening is Narine. She said that he has a choice to make and that the Manda will aid him, but not interfere.
If any of the kids had been there to hear that, he’s pretty sure they would have attacked her. Percy had spent so long tearing himself up to find out if he was a good parent. Pre feels that the way they are trying to get him back speaks volumes.
One of the things that truly bothers him about this situation is that he can tell Obi-wan is blaming himself. He had heard glimpses of conversations. For some reason he is convinced that it was something to do with him. He called himself a curse. Pre has no idea why.
Percy would know what to say to him if he were here. Some days they were distorted reflections of each other. Where Percy was a calm sea, Obi-wan was a thrashing river. Both had the ability to be calm and yet could still collapse. Percy could get through to him.
—-
Leo had stopped by Percy’s house. He was the first one to really give him any information on how he had been brought back to this universe. The only thing keeping Percy from fighting some people was the fact that they were not currently in his mom’s apartment.
Percy was told that Leo had no idea about what was happening in the other universe. Just that he had built the machine Annabeth, Nico, and Will had gone through. And Leo told Percy about the fact that the device had obliterated itself after the mission. He still had all the notes it took to build it.
He swore up and down to Percy that he would rebuild it. Percy felt the idea of going home clutched in his palms. Leo told him that it would at least be three weeks before he managed to build anything concrete. That was if it worked the first time.
Others had come that day. Leo seemed to be the only one to understand why he wanted to leave. He didn’t have to tell Leo that he had found a life outside of being pawns for the gods. He seemed to understand that in some way.
—-
The first real thing they had found was the chancellor. Arla had always had a healthy skepticism of republic leaders. It seemed like every year there was some new scandal that someone had gotten away with. And she had grown up in a place where they weren’t under the Senate's thumb.
So it wasn’t a far leap to assume that someone like the chancellor had some back alley dealings. Yet this was weird. That was a new inconsistency that she had to dig deep to even see a hint of it. Follow the money, see where it leads.
Arla had found an interesting amount of money pulled out of Palpatine's account the night before Percy had gone missing. That was suspicious. So she picked up the folder of documents that had been a little too buried and brought it to the meeting table. They would need to hear about this.
They try to keep Percy’s kids out of this. They think it’s what he would want. Keeping them away from the sight of danger. None of them had been happy about that. Quinlan had said they would find out one way or another. That it was safer just to tell them. He had been out voted on that front.
Arla remembers the story of Galadraan. When they had come back with less casualties because Obi-wan had given them a warning. She remembers him talking about wanting to form an alliance with one Mace Windu. That they could help each other.
They contact him. The man looked weighed down. From what she had heard, it was a normal appearance for him. Arla told him that there might have been a diplomatic incident and that Mandalore might have to retaliate if it is not handled properly.
Mace blinks. Then blinks again. His hands are brought up to rub at his temple. He tells her that he will be there as soon as possible. That their situations might have intertwined ever so slightly. It’s a good lead. The possibility of their problems overlapping could lead to finding Percy.
She forms a select team and tells them that they are to be the ones to hide the Jedi’s presence when he comes to Mandalore. Whoever it was, they had to have resources. The chance that they had a web of information on Mandalore, even if they were from the republic, was much too high.
—-
When Mace Windu had received the call, he had already been investigating behind Yoda’s back. There was something off about Palpatine. They were with most politicians. But this was worse. And Mace was damn sure that he would find out what it was. Even if he had to go against Yoda to do it.
He gets the call and he can hear the force whispering into his ears that he needs to listen. A transport is arranged to Mandalore’s capital. He remains undetected the whole way there. He knows that part of the reason he stayed off the holonet was because The royal family had a team on it.
This is the first time that Mace hears anything about one, Perseus Jackson going missing. Say what you do about Mandalorian politics, if they need to keep something under wraps, they do a damn good job of it. There's other things he learns,
Perseus had kids for starters. They were young, and Mace knows why something like that would be kept within the inner circle. All six of them look at him with skepticism but none are outright hostile. That’s really all that Mace can ask for in this situation.
When it comes down to it, the most disorienting thing about being on Mandalore is that the beskar makes the force feel different. Not gone. Not bad. But different. Mace knows that there had been a jedi who was Mand'alore, once. How would the force have felt then?
The moment he had entered the meeting room with everyone staring at him, Mace took the only open seat. Gently he sets down a manilla folder with scribbled handwriting on the cover. He shoves it forward and it’s like watching vultures trying to scavenge something off the road.
Inside was everything Mace could find about the sith and Palpatine's possible involvement. There were occasions of money being taken out of his accounts and yet there wasn’t a trace of where it had gone. It had ties to the trade federation and reasons why that had been a problem even if he wasn’t a sith.
All of them (minus Obi-wan) asked why Mace had kept this a secret from the rest of the order. He tells them that the Jedi were stagnant in their beliefs. That they would never consider the idea that the sith would return. They would tell him not to investigate.
—
None of the adults were telling them anything. Not even when the jedi came. So they had to get smarter about how they listened in. Fox was going to figure out where buir had gone one way or another. Even if he had to bend the rules to do it.
Percy had never said they couldn’t travel through the vents. Just that they had to be careful about not causing problems because of it. And he just happened to know that there was a vent system that went directly above the room he needed to be in. So he and Wolf climbed into the walls.
Cody and Rex were the look out, and Fives and Rex were trying to make sure that suspicions weren’t drawn to them. It wasn’t quick by any means. But travelling that way had been efficient if it kept them from getting caught. They just had to hope neither force sensitive would notice.
They catch bits and pieces of the conversation that they need. Fox hears something about the chancellor. They remember buir having moments of being stressed out and talking to himself because the man interfered with a project he had been working on. That makes enough sense.
It gave a motive at the least. Wolf led them back to his room. Fox took off his now dusty hoodie. Right now was the part that he hated. Researching foreign policies and laws. Buir said that it was good to know if there was a legal way to go about something more dubious.
For the next few days, that’s what they did. Buir had been gone for a week and a half by the time that they had found an old law. One formed in the Reformation. Something that had miraculously survived over a thousand years.
As long as they had tangible proof that the chancellor is a sith, they could take legal action. There was also a chance that they could take over the republic, but that’s not on their minds right now. Once they got Percy back, then they could talk about galaxy domination.
Fox finds himself crawling through the vents again. He knows that they would not let him into the meeting room if they had the chance to stop him. Fortunately, he was quite good at not getting caught. He could hear disagreements in the room this time. Perfect for him to sneak in.
“We can’t just go for the chancellor. Even if he’s a sith that’s still treason,” That was Jaster talking.
“Actually, we can,” Fox said.
“Hold on where did you come from,” Arla asked. And yeah, that was a good question.
“The vents.”
“Quinlan,” Obi-wan hissed.
Fox thinks that the man had no room to talk. Especially not considering all the stories that they had heard from Percy about him and Quinlan’s exploits. He does not say this out loud because he does not want to deal with that instead of giving the information.
“What! You can’t blame me. How else would they get around undetected,” Quinlan said. “And I think the more pressing matter here is the kid saying that we could go after the Chancellor. I would like to know what he means by that.”
At his cue, Fox pulls out the data pad with the obscure laws that they had found. Ones that did, in fact, say they could go after the chancellor if they had good enough reason. Percy would be proud of them. Or he would be appalled at how they had to dig for some information. But he’s more likely to be proud.
—-
Will had heard the term ‘came back wrong’ before. He knows that it’s a common trope in media for one of the characters to get brought back to life but something is different or off about them. It had never really clicked for him before that it could happen to living people.
He had to have known it somewhere in the back of his mind. Will had seen people go on quests and come back changed. He never really thought that it could apply to someone like Percy Jackson. There were flaws in every person's belief at some point or another.
For whatever reason, Percy looked devastated that he had been back in this universe. Sure, he smiled every time his mom walked into the room. He seemed glad that he got to experience things again. But there was a wave of remorse that seemed to surround him.
None of this is how Will remembered him. Maybe it’s because he had spent a few years not knowing him that now certain details had been idolized and others forgotten. Maybe it was their fault. Maybe it had been his. He doesn't think that it should be anybody’s fault if the problem was change.
Will heard that Leo was going to build another portal from the other Hephaestus kids. He would have thought that Percy had told Annabeth. They had seemed so in tune before Percy had gone to the other universe. When he had mentioned it in passing, she had dropped a plate.
That surprised him more than anything. Percy and Annabeth used to be the closest out of all of them. Their ideas always used to build off of each other. And if you couldn’t find one they were usually with the other. He doesn't think they had a real conversation since Percy woke up.
He thinks that Annabeth is scared of change. It came with the partial divinity. The gods had always been hesitant to change. They had tried to recreate the old days, the old stories, the old patterns. And it blew up in their face every time.
Percy had turned down immortality twice. Will knows that it had been because he wanted a chance to experience what life really meant. Will also understood that Percy had seen the damage that the gods had caused them and decided that he didn’t want any part of it.
In a way, Percy was the only one of them to get out from under the gods thumb. It wasn’t always, but there were times that the gods watching had been more evident. They would always find a way to monitor them. And demigods still got hurt seeking glory from their parents.
No one has told him about what happened with the son of Jupiter yet. He hadn’t been Percy’s best friend, but they had still gotten close over the war. If Percy found out that he had died after Percy had gone missing, they might have another war on their hands.
—-
Cody was not ashamed to admit that they may or may not have gone against direct orders. And the specific order might have been to stay put. Mayhaps they also happened to take The Odyssey aka Percy’s ship to do it. No, they would never. It wasn’t like Wolf was currently inputting the course onto the computer.
Okay. So they did actually do all of that. But can they really be blamed? They had been kept out of the loop for so long. They weren’t even truly brought into the fold after Fox brought everyone information that showed how they could act.
So yeah. Cody does think that they made the right decision. Somehow, they ended up making it to Coruscant before the other ship. They stayed on The Odyssey until the tracker Echo put on Jaster’s ship pinged to signal he had entered the planet's atmosphere.
They were noticed almost immediately. Wolf lowered the ship’s ramp. Multiple footsteps reach Cody’s ears as he folded his arms. Obi-wan was the first too meet his eyes. They could try and stop the six of them from going with them, but Obi-wan can’t catch them all.
Obi-wan stares at him. Cody stares back. Obi-wan sighs and waves them out of the scattered rooms in the ship. He seems to know that if they wanted to go on this mission then there would be no stopping them. Cody knows that he must have done the same thing to Percy once or twice.
They walk out of the hangar and see Coruscant’s structure. The buildings are large and imposing. Where Mandalor’s structures were meant to trap and confuse, it felt like the sharp edges and reflective surfaces were meant to make you feel like a bug under a microscope. He wanted to go home.
—-
Despite the many things that made Palpatine one of the worst kinds of people, he didn’t have a hold of Percy. That, among other things, made Pre angry. It had made Fox angry, too. He hadn’t even noticed Fox pulling out one of the nice blades Percy got him before it had been too late.
Mace took the fall for that one. They adults all agreed that the republic would handle it better if a Jedi had done it than if the rest of them had. And they refused to let the kid take the fall for something like this.
Pre knows without a doubt that Percy is going to have many, many questions when they find him. There's a part of him that gets reminded of galadraan. Except this time they didn’t get a warning. Pre hated going into something blind. But they had an idea of what they were doing for that second.
They were back to square one. It’s now that it really hits him that all they can do is wait for Percy to find his way back to them. Palpatine had been the only lead they truly found and even that hadn’t been a good lead.
—-
Percy hadn’t wanted Annabeth to find out that he was going back to that universe until he had already disappeared. He knew that she wouldn’t react well. He knew that there were things he would be abandoning here. So he had tried to keep it a secret from everyone he could.
Leo had still been working on the portal when Annabeth confronted him. Percy had been at Montauk. He wanted one more experience with his mom. It wasn’t about getting away from everything this time. It was about holding onto the memories that had gotten him through his childhood and two wars.
She shows up when his mom is out. Percy feels a little too cornered in the cabin. It’s not her fault. It’s not her problem that he was scared to acknowledge that things were changing. But Percy would not have talked about this if she wasn’t in the room alone with him.
“Why are you so insistent on leaving us,” Annabeth asked.
There were so many reasons that he could give. And so many reasons why he couldn’t give them to her. Percy doesn't think that she would understand any of them no matter how hard she tried.
“I’m not going back because I’m leaving you,” Percy settled on. “Theres so many reasons I can’t stay.”
She doesn't hesitate on saying, “Like what? Because you're leaving everyone here who cares about you.”
“I can’t just tell you Annabeth,” Percy said.
“You're throwing years of friendship away for nothing.”
It’s not for nothing. Percy had to go back. There were more things that he would be leaving behind. It doesn't mean that Percy couldn’t feel everything that he would be leaving back here. He knows, okay. He knows. Yet there's always something that he has to lose. He’s gotten better at making those choices.
“This isn’t about our friendship. It never was. But even if it had the slightest chance of being about that, you can’t fault me. Even before I had gone to the other universe you still never looked at me the same after Tartarus,” Percy said.
Annabeth said, “That’s not true, that can’t be.”
“It is,” Percy said. “I know you used to struggle to look me in the eyes. I can understand why you did. But please don’t try to lie.”
“What would your mom say? About all of this. About you staying behind- and just- abandoning your duties,” She asked.
Percy should have expected her to go for the throat.
“My mother would have wanted me to stay there if I was happy because that’s the kind of person Sally Jackson is. She wants the best for people. I’ve talked to her about this. And she knows that going back is the choice that was best for me,” Percy said.
“And the rest of your family? Of camp?”
That doesn't matter in the way that she needed it too. Leaving camp behind would always hurt. But Percy had things that were worth fighting for back home. Things that camp didn’t have for him.
“Annabeth, I have a family waiting for me in the other universe. I have someone who needs an adult to stay. I have friends who I’d protect with my life because they deserved a chance to get to live theirs. Six adopted kids that look to me as the only family they know. Two kids who aren’t really kids anymore that are chaos incarnate but still ask for guidance when they need help. A man who gives parenting tips because I’m so far out of my depth it isn’t even funny. And goddamn planets relying on me to help create the best outcomes.”
“But-” Annabeth starts but she is cut off.
“I have more people that need me there , Annabeth. And if I stay, I’ll be running missions for the gods until it kills me,” Percy said.
That had been the part that had truly made the decision for him. Home, on Mandalore, he hadn’t had to run missions for the gods. He had spent 7 years going on quest after quest too being free from their involvement. And now that he knew that freedom, he couldn’t lose it again.
“You’re selfish, Perseus,” Annabeth said.
And he was. Not for the reason she thought, though. Percy was selfish. And maybe he didn’t care about how camp took his absence. Percy doesn't want to think of what Chiron would say.
“Get out of my cabin, Annabeth,” Percy said.
He isn’t loud. He doesn't throw things or gesture wildly. Percy just said it in a matter of fact tone. Like there wasn’t really any other option for her. Against Percy’s wishes, he thinks that hurts her more. That’s what Percy felt bad about. But that’s how he goes about this.
Percy doesn't try to stop her as she leaves. Years ago he might have. But he had learned enough to know that it wouldn’t fix things. Not truly, if he wasn’t going to change his mind about going back home. He turns and makes tea. Percy thinks that will be easier.
His mom came back at some point. She doesn't comment on the look on his face. Percy can tell that she was worried. But she wouldn’t mention it if Percy didn’t. He was thankful for that. He could always trust that she would help him in any way she could.
They spend the rest of the day doing random activities. Searching for sand dollars, building sand castles, talking to every fish that Percy came across. It was nice to get a beach day. And most gods know better than to try to mess it up for him.
One of the weirdest things about being in this universe again was the fact that the monsters hadn’t attacked him. He knows they were there. Hell, Percy had seen a few watching him out of the corner of his eye, but none of them tried to attack Percy like he expected any monster too.
—-
Leo calls him and says that he had finished the portal. It had been three weeks and he was finally going home. He finally got to see his family again. The moment Percy heard the news he started packing everything that mattered to him in a different life.
The smell of the ocean was the only thing that warned him of his father's presence. "I hear you intend to leave tonight, Perseus.”
“Don’t,” Percy hissed.
His father responded with a question they both knew the answer to, “Don’t what?”
“This,” Percy waved around them, “The part where you try to convince me to stay.”
Percy had known this would come. That doesn't mean he wanted to have this conversation. He would tell the deity to fuck off if he thought he could get away with it. The god might be his father, but that doesn't wipe away the streak of temperament he had in the myths.
“What do you wish for me to do then,” The god asked.
A lot of things. Percy would like a lot of things that he knows he won’t get. The first time that the man had actually claimed him for a son was when he needed something. Percy never forgot about that. He goes with the thing that sounds achievable, even for someone who’s bar is so low.
“Swear to me that when you have another demigod, you won’t let what happens to me repeat,” Percy said.
“What makes you think I will sire another?”
They both know he will. The gods were not good at keeping their oaths to the river. Of course they don’t, they aren’t the ones who get punished. Percy’s had a long time to learn that.
“Really. The final thing you say to me and you want to make yourself a liar? We both know that it’ll happen again because neither you nor the king of the sky are able to keep it to yourself. But next time you will not make the same mistakes. A child should not be held accountable for your actions.”
“I swear—“
“And don’t you dare use the river's name,” Percy cut in.
“And who would you like me to swear on,” the god asked.
“Luke Castellan and Ethan Nakamura and Silena Beauregard and Charlie and Zoe Nightshade and Bianca DiAngelo and my mother and every other kid that you got killed because you all had children fighting your battles. The river might not hold you accountable but their memory might. For the love of all of them I hope you remember. Because I knew some of them. And I know that at the very least Luke would find a way to hold you to your word.”
Percy calms down when he leaves. One final time he says goodbye to his mom. He doesn't have it in him to draw it out. He thinks that if he does that, it might destroy him. His mom pulled him into the longest hug she had ever given him.
He takes a moment to commit her face to memory. Here was the woman who had given him everything in his first 19 years of life. The one that had defended him against the godly world for so long. The only one that had made him consider staying.
“I love you,” Percy said. She had to know this. “I love you so much. I would stay if I didn’t have people waiting for me in the other universe.”
“I know Percy. I always wanted you to have a happy ending,” She said, finally pulling away. “I will always love you.”
She puts a drachma and a photo in his hand and tells him to go. Percy summons the grey sisters cab. The drive was as chaotic as it always was. Over the radio the song Cold Cold Cold by Cage the Elephant was playing. The gas petal kept getting stomped on the beat.
They pull to a harsh stop and Percy all but falls out of the van. Percy finds himself walking up the hill and into the forest. He knows that’s where Leo said he had built it. Percy stops when he sees a faint glowing.
“Percy! Wait,” Leo called.
“Leo,” Percy turned, surprised.
He hadn’t told anyone that he would be leaving in the early morning. The sun was up but not that high and he was sure Leo used to be a late riser. So, he was surprised to see the boy standing across from him.
“I uhh, made this not too long ago. The Daedalus laptop was great for finding out how to make technology monsters can’t track. When we learned where you were, I wanted to make some modifications so we could communicate during the mission. It didn’t work last time. But I found the bug and tweaked it so I think–”
Percy tried, but once some campers got rambling, it was impossible to keep up with them. “Slow down Leo. What are you trying to say?”
“It should be able to communicate through universes. I already had a few of our numbers and your moms programmed into the phone. Just please pick it up and text all of us once in a while.”
That. Percy hadn’t expected that to be the thing that Leo was telling him. Percy had gotten surprised so many times in the last three weeks that it had thrown him off his rhythm.
Percy pulled the boy into a hug and tried not to cry. Leo had to have known how much this meant to him. The way that there were people who he still cared about. The boy didn’t hesitate to hug him back nor say anything about his crying.
“I will. I promise I will.”
“Good. Or else I’d have to build another portal to kick your ass?”
“In your dreams, Leo von Mcshizzle.” Percy ignores the enraged screeching and attempted punches as he steps through the portal. He had a family to go back to.
Percy hears the sound of sparks and every inch of him feels disoriented. His chest plate was hot to the touch where he knew the mark had been. Percy tries to stand up and falls. Percy grabs the branch off a tree and uses it to pull himself up this time. He feels less like he would fall over.
He pulls the bag tighter over his shoulder. Percy didn’t quite know where he was going. But he would find out. He was good enough at wandering until he found something. And Percy would. He had his family to get back to.
—-
Fox didn’t truly know how the situation had sparked. What he knows is that the man was a New Mandalorian. They had been racing around the market and Fives had accidentally ran into someone. He had apologized but the man whirled around and started tearing into his brother.
It was fine until the man had attacked Fives himself. Fox would have walked away from the situation if it weren’t for that. So instead of grabbing his brothers and pulling him away, Fox freezes and starts to seethe. The man kept talking and ignored the rage bubbling under his skin.
Had Fox been given any less practice in how to handle situations like this, his voice would have shook in his rage. But Fox drops a scathing remark without a single drop of remorse or fear in his voice. And he watched with a little bit of satisfaction as the man stiffened.
The burning on his face had been felt before Fox registered that he had been hit. The only thing that had managed to stop him from clawing the man's eyes was the hold Wolf had around his shoulders. Later Fox thought that was likely for the best. Currently, he thought that made this worse.
The man said something about their father and that he raised them poorly. Wolf’s arm tightened and Fox could tell that he wanted to attack him. Neither of them had moved. There was a familiar clinking of beskar on beskar. It draws the man’s attention but they don’t turn.
The man gets shoved back into a pillar. The vambrace pins them into place as much as the glare does. They look at the new person and it's Percy. Because of course their buir would disappear for weeks and reappear just to protect them.
Percy says something to the man. There's a look of fear that crosses his face. Percy lets up and the man scurries more than runs. Then, he turns to all of them. For a second he scans all of them. Making sure that none of them had been seriously hurt in his absence.
He then lowers himself to his knees and one by one pulls them in. It’s the proof that all of them needed to confirm that he didn’t leave because he wanted to. Most of Fox’s anger faded out of him for the moment. He knew they would be okay.
—-
Percy’s only shared bits and pieces of his life before. When he didn’t think that he would go back to the universe he was from, his backstory wasn’t of much importance. And when they saw that he didn’t want to talk about any of it, they didn’t try to push.
Five years and he had avoided telling the people he cared for about the wars he had fought in. Percy didn’t say every detail because he didn’t think his kids needed to hear that. But he talked about why he had fought and the way he didn’t truly have any other choice.
About the Ichor that shared space with the blood in his veins. The friends he made and lost. And of the three that had come to take him back and hadn’t really thought there would be a need to ask to bring him back.
There was as much good as there was bad. Yet there were more reasons for him to come back here. Percy wanted to stay in this universe. So stay he would. And none of them had even thought to try to stop them. And he silently thanked Hestia for that possibility.
When he get’s to the part of how he found his kids, someone made a joke along the lines of "Of course Percy ‘raised six and a half kids’ Jackson would pop up when his kids are being threatened.” Cough, Arla, cough.
It wasn’t that she had been wrong. But having it spelled out to him that way really seems to engrave the message into him. Percy knew that he would do anything for his kids. No matter where and no matter when. He doesn't hesitate to tell any of them that. It was something that they deserved to know.
Percy will admit that he panicked when he realized that his left shoulder pauldron had gone missing. It hadn't been on him when he woke up in the other universe, but it hadn’t been on his nightstand when he had gone looking for it. Only to discover that it had been held in Echo’s room for the time being.
He finds out that Narine had known something was up and she wouldn’t tell people anything. On one hand, he was mad at her. But on the other he knows that it needed to happen. Percy thinks that he was so much better for the fact.
Percy just about flips his shit when he finds out about the republic looking for a new chancellor and specifically why that was. Is he touched they would do that for him? Absolutely. Does he feel bad for Mace having to deal with that? Of course. Is he deciding that none of that was his problem? Most definitely.
That was a problem for future Percy to deal with. Right now he just wanted to calm down and get back into the motions of being home.
Obi-wan told him that he had thought it was his fault for Percy disappearing. That it had been some curse that was attached to him. Because so many of the adults in Obi-wan’s life had left him. Percy remembers telling himself that his father was lost at sea because it was easier to believe that then the man leaving.
Percy just understood. And he didn’t think Obi-wan deserved to feel like that. So he shuts down those lines of thought fairly quickly. It had never been Obi-wan’s fault for people not trying to stay. Percy would always be there for the people that he took in. Forever, always.
—10 years later—
It was a normal morning. That was when the door to his office creaked open and in walked a gaggle of teenagers. They had just gotten back from their first real mission with less security. The fact that they had come to Percy in his office and hadn’t stolen from his fridge concerned him.
“Um dad?” Fives asked.
So he had been the one sacrificed this time. In front of Percy stood all six of his gremlins. They look a mix of sheepish and absolutely proud of themselves. Then there was Paz who Pre had taken in a few years ago and was the oldest outside of Percy’s kids. He looked like he didn’t care. Boba had been looking thrilled. He had been taken in a few years into Jango being an actual adult. (By that Percy means a responsible one, not just one old enough to drink.) And finally stood Din who Arla had taken in a few months ago and was right around Paz’ age. The poor boy looked so out of his depth that he would put a whale on land to shame.
“What did y’all pull now,” Percy asked. He saw the petrified look and added, “Not you Din. You're great. Them however…”
“Hey,” that was Rex’s indignant squawk.
Fox asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
See they acted all surprised, but they knew exactly what they were talking about. No matter how nice Fives tried to smile, that doesn't remove the fact that Percy hasn’t seen the absurd shit that all of his kids got into.
“Hold on, should we have made Din go up instead,” and yep that was Echo?
Percy’s whistle brings all their attention back to him. “How much paperwork am I going to have? And what did you do?”
Boba’s whisper of, “notice how the paperwork came first,” did not go unheard from Percy.
Of course it did. The paperwork was Percy’s problem. Anything else and Percy could make one or more of his teams deal with it. He also knows exactly who. They’ve had too calm of a month so far.
Percy raised his eyebrow and waited for them to start talking. Of course it had been Din to cave first, “We may have started an uprising on tatooine. And killed Jabba. And took out his empire. And we were declared Mandalorian territory by the people because ‘they didn’t want to be part of a republic that didn’t give a shit. And they will try to take over if we don’t get an ally quickly.’ And- yeah I think that’s it?”
Percy laid his forehead on top of his desk. He needed a moment to just process. Of course they managed to do that. He’s not mad. He never would be. But dam if Percy didn’t want to just sit down and take a nap.
“You know what. I’m putting you all on watch. I’m making Obi-wan for the stress he gave me when he and Quin were left alone for more than an hour,” Percy said exasperated.
“Wait, wait, wait. Obi-wan was there. How come he ain’t in trouble for all of this,” Boba said.
Well. Percy could always trust Boba to throw someone under the bus. The extra information was nice to have. Yet Percy could feel the budding headache in the back of his skull growing. That’s it. Can Percy request his midlife crisis already?
“You're telling me -and correct me if I’m wrong- Obi-wan let you do this,” Percy asked. He hoped he was wrong.”
“Let us! He helped us,” Paz said.
That track. Really, he should have seen that coming.
“And he got a padawan out of it,” Fox said. Everyone snapped to him. “What? Just stating a fact.”
Percy slides out of his chair and lets face down on the floor. He was going to stay there until he could process the situation. He needs to call his mother and apologize. It would be better if he planned out his apology beforehand.
Cody comes around the desk and nudges Percy with his boots. Percy barely moves, “I think you all broke him.”
“Will he be okay,” and that was Din’s concerned voice.
“Nope. He’s never recovering,” Boba said. Thanks for the note of confidence.
Paz slaps him upside the head.
“He’s joking. Buir will be fine in a few hours. This is just how he gets before he calls ba’buir Sally and apologizes for being ‘a hellion with an affinity for ending up on the news’. Those are his words not mine,” Wolf said.
They were his words. And they were perfectly recited with his tone and cadence too. Percy would also be doing that exact thing. First though. First he would be calling Pre, Jango and Arla to come collect their heathens. Oh, and Jaster for good measure.
Arla comes in with the words, “I have arrived.”
Following her was Pre. The first thing he said was, “What happened?”
Both Jaster and Jango come in looking at the sight and pausing. Yeah. That’s how Percy feels right about now.
When Boba tried to make a run for it, Jango grabbed the collar of his shirt and halted the escape. The boy looked like a disgruntled cat at the act. He makes no further attempts at fleeing the room.
“Y’all want to tell your parents of your newest accomplishment,” Percy asked.
When Arla hears of what happened, she thinks it’s the funniest shit she’s heard. So of course she offers the hellions an invitation to ice cream. Din still looked confused at the situation. Poor kid. He would get used to the chaos that came with this family eventually.
For right now, Percy stands up and ruffles his hair before following Arla out the door. Percy calls for Argo and the strill pops up right next to him. He feels bad for whatever store owner has to put up with the lot of them. Right now, though, he listened to Obi-wan’s brand new kid telling him about ‘the cool new ships he had seen and the races he wanted to be in–’