It's Time

Percy gasped for air in the hot stuffy room. He was sweating horribly, and Annabeth looked no better.
“Why did Chiron want us to clean out the attic again?” He asked, shoveling through a box of messy papers.
Annabeth scooped the papers into a trash bag after looking through them. “Because something up here might be useful, and he wanted you to stop sitting around and doing nothing all the time.”
“I don't sit around and do nothing!” Percy protested. “I practice swordplay and I help the nymphs!”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “The nymphs don't need your help, they only make you think that.”
Percy huffed, and started digging through a box of old artifacts. “Well what else am I supposed to do? You're always busy now.”
“Building Olympus is important to me, you know that Perce,” Annabeth said. “I'm trying to build a future. For us, and everyone else.”
Percy groaned. “But why can't you be done now?”
“Because it takes time!” Annabeth groaned back. She broke out into a smile when he did. “Look, when I'm done, you'll have me all to yourself, for as long as you want.”
Percy broke out in a grin. He reached out and pulled Annabeth to the floor with him. She snuggled up against his side.
“All to myself, huh?” He said quietly. “What will we do?”
Annabeth's fingers traced up his arm slowly, and she dropped her eyelid in an exaggerated wink. “I'll give you a hint. It involves pillow's and blankets.”
Percy played dumb. “We're gonna build a fort?”
Annabeth groaned and fell backwards against a pile of old cushions. “You're impossible!”
Percy dropped back beside her, propping himself up on one elbow. “You love me for it.” He smirked. She punched his shoulder, laughing.
They lay there for what seemed to be hours. Finally Annabeth stood, and they silently got back to work.
Percy's brain was on a happiness high. He hummed absently, stacking boxes in the corner. One in particular caught his eye.
DANGER. KEEP OUT.
Percy grinned and picked up the box. He had it open before Annabeth could turn around, and she shrieked when she did.
“Perseus Jackson! Put that box down!”
Percy had already stuck his hand in the box and lifted out a watch. “It's not dangerous, look,” He said. He tossed the watch from hand to hand, laughing at Annabeth's expression.
“Percy, you don't know what could have been in there! Chiron keeps a lot of really dangerous stuff up here, you can't just go digging around in here!” She fumed. She snatched the watch out of his hand and turned away from him. He was still laughing.
Percy packed the box back up. Annabeth was still studying the watch. He took it back from her.
“C'mon, Wise Girl,” He said. “We've still got a lot to do.”
Annabeth was staring at the watch in his hand, a odd expression on her face. It was the same expression that she wore when she was trying to figure something out, or trying to remember something.
“Hang on,” Annabeth said. “I know that watch. Mom had a book on it that she let be borrow last year. Percy, that's a Time Turner!”
Percy raised an eyebrow. “A what?”
“A Time Turner. In other civilizations they worship other gods, and different cultures, remember?” Annabeth asked. He nodded, not getting what she was going on about.
“Well, this is what ancient mortals used who were blessed by Hecate, or their version of her anyways. It takes you back through time, but I think there's a limit on it of how far you can travel. It's extremely rare, Mom has one in the Olympus Museum but I've never seen one up close before!”
Percy looked down at the watch. It looked ordinary, but on closer inspection he could see the tiny numerals etched around the clock face. The knob for winding it was larger than normal, almost out of proportion with the rest of it.
“What happens if I do this?” Percy asked. He twisted the knob, and Annabeth gasped.
Nothing happened.
“It's stuck,” Percy grumbled. Annabeth gripped his arm as he twisted the knob harder, trying to get it to move. The chain tangled around her fingers as she tried to take it from Percy. He was getting frustrated with it.
“Uh, Percy, I don't think that's good idea-”
The knob twisted finally, and fell off.
Annabeth screamed. The chain was burning her, still wrapped around her fingers. Percy yelled too; the watch was burning his hand. He tried to drop it, but it clung to his skin like it'd been super glued.
Annabeth clawed at the chain, realizing what could happen. The watch was broken, which meant that time was being unleashed... And it could take them with it.
The watch was glowing. Annabeth's hand was blistering, Percy's was red. His burn resistant skin was helping, but not much. This wasn't fire, or a heat burn. It was magic.

A bright light surrounded them, and they were lost in a sea of colors and voices, smells and objects. The attic vanished around them, board by board. They fell through the floor, screaming, and landed on a grassy hill. As they watched the fields disappeared, and everything faded again.
Faster and faster, everything changed.
Annabeth could barely think through the pain of her burning hand, but she managed to get a few words out to Percy.
“Going-through... Time,” She mumbled. “Don't let go of the watch! We'll fade away!”
Percy protectively wrapped his arm around Annabeth's waist, and they gripped each other and closed their eyes. Annabeth knew if they let go of the watch or each other now, they'd be lost forever. They wouldn't be dead, or alive, but stuck in limbo forever.
A gale of wind surrounded them, Annabeth's hair whipped at both of their faces.
The ground shifted from under them, and then they were flying, for what felt like hours. The burning was starting to fade from the watch, and Annabeth was grateful. Percy's hands were blistered and raw from the watch, he had the worst of it.
“I'm sorry,” Percy shouted over the wind. Annabeth nodded, not having it in her to answer.
They had no sense of direction, or of how long it had been since they'd flown into the air. Percy was feeling nauseas, he disliked flying, and flying through times was way worse than the norm.
There was ground under them again. The howling wind started to fade. Percy collapsed on whatever ground it what, Annabeth on top of them. They lay there, breathing hard. Percy felt grass under him, a rock digging into his thigh. The air was warm and muggy.
As one, they opened their eyes.

Notes