The Eye of Chronos: Prologue

Trust me, if you ever have a chance to be on a romantic date with a perfect girlfriend in any place of possible on Earth - be sure to pick Paris.

After our adventure with retrieving Hermes' caduceus, the messenger of the gods decided to repay us by a two-way trip to a place of our choosing, dinner included, which was a perfect idea for the one-month anniversary. Maybe that was a sign that he and Annabeth are slowly getting to be on good terms? It would be a one of the better news since Kronos' defeat; especially now, with Olympus in ruins, we need everyone - gods, demigods and spirits of nature - to work together. You never know when the next enemy is going to attack. But I digress, let me get back to that night in Paris and the plans I had for our anniversary: dinner, a romantic walk around the city, late-night cinema session and return to Camp Half-Blood before anyone notices. I thought it's going to be a perfect night. Boy, was I wrong.

*

"So, Seaweed Brain..." Annabeth said, after we finished our dinner. She looked so stunning in that sleeveless, dark green satin dress which seemed to perfectly expose her long, blond hair and slim, athletic figure. Honestly, call me a helpless romantic, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Plus, she must've noticed it because I didn't even notice when she was waving her palm in front of me.

"Hey, you okay?" When I realized I spaced out staring at her for at least four minutes, she was holding a glass of water ready to splash me.

"Yes, yes, sorry." I said, grabbing her hand preventing from throwing water at me. "I was just... um... thinking. So, you were saying..."

She sighed and gave me a look. As always, she could read right through me. And I guess she got used to my goofiness.

"I wanted to suggest taking a walk now, before the cinema. There is still a good visibility and we have a chance of sightseeing." She repeated and I have to agree; whether I'd say 'yes' or 'no', Annabeth would talk through entire night about Paris' architecture and cultural influences, and I wasn't exactly eager to listen about eighteenth century's archways, columns and churches more than necessary.

We left the restaurant, the name of which I do not dare pronouncing, and took a walk alongside the river. The evening was warm and very appropriate for a stroll. Being near water and with Annabeth worked like a perfect combination and I've completely let my worries go for a while. Some of the buildings were actually beautiful and my girlfriend was always able to find some facts connecting the architecture to the world of the Greek gods. The sightseeing absorbed us so much that we didn't even realize it went dark and all the street lamps were now on. Ultimately, we lost track of time; Hermes was suppose to pick us up around midnight from the same restaurant he transported us to.

"Hey, actually, what time is it?" Annabeth asked what I was thinking. I looked around the place we were at, but there were no clocks around. Although, we couldn't have a lot of time, since it was getting darker and there was very few people around.

"No idea," I said. "You know I haven't been wearing a watch ever since Tyson's shield was thrown at Kampe."

"Right." She nodded. "So, I guess we should ask someone. Do you know any French?"

I wasn't a child of Aphrodite so the answer was simple. "Nope, let's hope somebody here speaks English."

As we approached one person sitting on the nearby bench I felt something changing in the atmosphere. My ADHD, responsible for my quick thinking and battle reflexes, screamed to my brain: 'Run away! This guy's dangerous!'. I've noticed Annabeth getting the same vibe; she was gripping on my sleeve tighter and, subconsciously, reaching towards her leg where usually she kept her trusty knife. The only strange part was that there was nothing suspicious about this guy. Here he was, a regular man in his early twenties with dusty brown hair and green eyes, wearing a plain, blue shirt, black leather jacket, matching pants and black shoes. He looked nothing special, yet I had a feeling that there was more to him than meets the eye. When he looked at us, shivers went down my spine.

"Um, e-excuse me..." I said slowly. "We wish to know... what time... is it."

I must've look really stupid, speaking so slowly and making hand gestures. Good thing there were no people around, otherwise I'd be as red as Ares' Cabin's wall paint. The guy, hearing my attempt to communicate, tilted his head to the side and smiled.

"Why... are you... talking... so slow?" He mimicked my accent and the tone of speaking perfectly. Great, now I am definitely gonna die of embarrassment!

"Sorry, I was just..." I couldn't actually explain it because what I was going to say? 'Oh, I just thought you couldn't understand me' sounded stupid, although Annabeth would say it's a response in my style.

"No worries." The guy said, still smiling. "It's 10 p.m."

I noticed he didn't even look at his watch. I wasn't sure if he even had one on him.

"Great." I said. "Thanks."

"Oh, just a quick question, if I may." He said. "Why did you said we?"

"What?" I asked but then, realizing a silence behind me, turned around to see I was standing before him in the middle of a dark alley all by myself.

Annabeth disappeared.

*

"Annabeth?!" I yelled again, losing count on exactly how many times I called her now. "Annabeth!"

She couldn't be gone! Why would she wander off like that? I wasn't like her; no building, no architectural marvel would distract her so much that she would go away on her own and got lost! That sounded like something ripped off of a cheap movie! Was she kidnapped? Did she decided to abandon us? It didn't make any sense and my head was hurting already.

"Percy, it's useless." The guy we... I was talking to was awfully calm. "She was never here."

"What?" I asked. There were too many questions, too little answers; how did he knew my name? Why he states Annabeth was never here, when it's clearly was otherwise. "Who are you? What's going on?!"

I didn't intend to shout, but I couldn't help it; Annabeth was gone, just like that -poof- and the guy before me clearly had the answers. Was he a demigod? A god in disguise?

"Calm down, now, will you?" He slowly raised his hands but his serene tone, like we were having an afternoon tea, was getting on my nerves. "Everything's going to be fine."

As soon as he said that, I've noticed our surroundings have changed. The buildings were now more damaged, looking old and abandoned; the plants and flowers in the windows withered, the plaster was crumbling and some walls even had blood on them! The sky was dark and it was difficult to breathe; the air itself was almost suffocative. The river looked polluted and there were no people or animals around.

"Or not so fine." The guy added and grabbed my shoulder. "Run!"

After that, he started to sprint and if I wanted to know what was going on, I had to go after him. We were running towards the Eiffel Tower and, as we were passing by buildings, I've noticed the entire place changing - everything was old, ruined and abandoned at least for months. In this short span of few seconds, Paris has become a dead city.

"What's going on?" I asked again, while catching my breath trying to keep up with him. "Who are you?!"

"John Smith, nice to meet you." Obviously a fake name, even I could recognize that, but I had to address him somehow. "As for your first question, time has changed. Something has been altered in the past and it affects our present time. This is why your precious Annabeth disappeared - somehow, her existence created a paradox and it has to be balanced by disposing of her."

"So, wait, Annabeth's dead, is that what you're saying?" I asked, hoping for it all to be an illusion or a stupid joke. Yet it was too true and I didn't watch enough science-fiction to understand what paradox was.

"No." John answered. "Not really, well, yes... she's dead because she's never been born."

"How do we fix that?" I asked immediately, offering my help even if he didn't ask for it. John must've noticed that because he grinned like it was all according to his plan.

"First," He said, grabbing onto a lamp post and making a sharp turn. "We must discover what happened... and when. Then we can think of a way to fix this. Now, if you please, less questions more running. We should be getting close enough."

"Enough to what?" I asked, when we managed to run into an open area; maybe something that used to be a meeting square? I've noticed John grabbing my shoulder and reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket. He took a small, silver pocket watch with a long, thin fob watch. He opened it and a stream of white-and-blue milky smoke emerged from it and covered both of us.

"To jump!" He answered as the smoke merged with our bodies and the world before me started to melt. Paris disappeared before us and it has been replaced by swirling vortex of cloudy silver-and-blue substance. Being inside this whirlpool was difficult; it was cold and the pressure was immense. I felt heavy, similar to the time where I had to hold the Sky on my shoulders. The images, sounds and smells were flowing into my mind, staying for a while and being replaced by new ones. I had difficulty breathing and was losing a sense of touch; was John Smith still holding my shoulder, or were we separated? I couldn't tell; I couldn't open my eyes either - had to close it right after entering the vortex. It was a horrible experience. Luckily it stopped after couple minutes, when I've felt hard ground under my feet and fresh air in my lungs. After that I couldn't keep my balance for long and collapsed on the grass.

"Well, that was a good reaction, considering it was your first jump." I've heard the voice of John Smith, somewhere above me. As I regained my sense of touch, he helped me to get into a sitting position.

"What... was that?" I panted. "What jump? And who are you?"

"Right, we were off to a bad start, I should've done this earlier." He smiled. "My name is John Smith, I'm the son of Chronos and the current Keeper of Time."

*

Son of Kronos?! Those were the least positive words I've ever wanted to hear! Out of pure instinct I reached to my pocket, grabbing my faithful sword pen - Riptide. I wanted to attack him but the side-effects of jumping through that vortex were still active and I could even make one simple step to slash him.

"Percy..." John tried to approach me but I, like a maniac, started to crawl my way back until I hit the nearest tree.

"Stop! Why did you do it?! To me, to Annabeth?!" I wasn't thinking straight at that point; my girlfriend was gone, the world was on a brink of destruction and now I was saved by a son of the worst enemy of the Olympian gods!

"Percy, I'm not who you think I am!" Now John raised his voice and I've noticed a slight tinge of... offense? " I am not a son of the Titan."

"What?" I blinked. "Explain."

He sighed and sat down before me.

"The Ancient Greeks were really stupid when it comes to homonyms." He said, drawing some letters in the dirt before me. "In mythology, there were two beings bearing the same name."

The first set of letter created a name - Κρόνος - Krónos.

"This is the Big Bad Titan, whom you battled just a couple months ago." John said. "Kronos, The King of Titans, Titan of Harvest et cetera, et cetera..."

He wrote another name right next to the first one - Χρόνος - Chrónos.

"This," He underlined the second name "is the name of my father. Chronos, the primordial god of time. Of course, as the centuries progressed, the Greeks thought: Hey, these guys have the same name, they must be one and the same person! And that's why now everybody confuses them."

"It's just like Helios and Selene!" I said. I knew the story of the former sun and moon deities, who merged with the Divine Twins, Apollo and Artemis, because both couples were very similar in nature. "And is that why Kronos the Titan had time powers when we fought him."

"Yes, you're right." John nodded.

"So, you're a son of the time god?"

"I'm the son of the time god." He corrected me, smiling. "The only one in existence. There can be only one Keeper of Time, but that's a longer story to explain. Anyway, we're safe here for now." He stood up, sweeping dust from his pants. "Anyway, I need new clothes. You want me to fetch you something? I mean, I appreciate the classy look but, honestly, you look like a penguin."

"Yeah. Sure, thanks." I said.

"It won't take long." He added. "In the meantime, calm down, collect your thoughts. This place should help you."

As he dissolved into blue smoke, I looked around the area we got transported into. It was the middle of the day and I was sitting under a tree on a grassy hill. Strangely, this seemed too familiar; lush, green fields, scent of a lake nearby... and there it hit me, when I turned around. I recognized the lake, the volleyball field, twelve cabin put in a semi-circle and the giant house with a patio.

I was in Camp Half-Blood. I was back home.