Percy never really realised the amount of changes Rhea and him being born as twins bought.
For one, his mother did not get married to Gabe Ugliano in this life, which was a relief.
That led to them not living in the less safe part of New York like they had lived originally, but on a vast two-story beach house on the edge of Montauk, filled with the colour Blue as far as the eye could see and a gorgeous view of the sea right outside of the Balcony.
The second change was the difference in perspectives he had with his sister.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Percy had lived a life before and had been raised in a totally different way than he had been now.
It made him realise the amount of neglect he had suffered, the emotional trauma and the constant low-esteem which made it easy to push a lot of blame on him and guilt trip him in many scenarios.
And wasn't that a bitter pill to swallow.
The third change being that his mom, his dad and his mama all got together.
Another change that he did not see coming.
A change that filled him with bittersweet memories.
While he and Rhea had been shocked and joyous, he was suddenly filled with the images of one Paul Blofis.
A man he had once known.
A man who knew him.
A man his mother had loved in another universe.
A man who would not be a part of his new life.
Which inevitably meant that Estelle would also not exist in this world either.
He had been twelve then when he had been back from Boarding School and Rhea had been back from Camp.
And he had cried in the arms of his sister that day as the reality finally crashed and the floating sensation he had gotten accustomed to finally stopped, like what reality truly felt like reality after a long time.
He had cried for a world he had once known.
For a world in which he had given everything.
For a world where he sacrificed his mind.
For a world where he sacrificed his childhood.
For a world where he sacrificed his innocence.
For a world where he sacrificed his life.
For a world where he sacrificed his SOUL.
He cried for a boy he once knew, a boy he once was.
He cried for the abuse the boy went through.
He cried for the boy who lost everything.
He cried for the lives they lost.
He cried for his mother.
He cried for his dad.
He cried for his mama.
He cried for Triton.
He cried for Paul Blofis.
He cried for Estelle.
And then the next day, he got up and he swore to himself one thing and one thing only.
He was not going to lose his family in this life.
Even if he had to burn the entire world for them.
Even if he had to kill whoever he needed to.
Even if he had to join Kronos himself.
He would not lose his family, or the fates would have to find another champion to fulfill their crocheted clothes.
Rhea hated dreams, but she was thankful for them in a way as well.
Especially since they are Percy's memories from his previous life.
Obviously she had never thought she would get them, but the memories started the moment she set foot in Camp Jupiter and met her best friend, sans Percy, Jason Grace (a story she will get to in a moment).
They had started small, like Percy and mom in an apartment that they had lived in during her mother's pregnancy - if the pictures were anything to go by - and how it was just Percy and her mom.
There was no dad, no mama and no Triton.
Just one pair of mother and son.
It was only when she saw a man that both looked and smelled like a man Percy had described as Gabe Ugliano, did Rhea understand that they were not some random dreams or visions but memories of her twin brother.
So Rhea started paying more attention to the dreams, seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing and feeling everything Percy had in his previous lifetime.
She felt every hit as Gabe beat Percy to pulp, felt the bruises form and disappear as the scenes changed.
She felt years worth of memories and trauma fit into months of dreams, which did wonder's for her mental health if the comments by the children of Bacchus were anything to go by.
The amount of times Rhea had woken up in cold sweat were beyond counting.
When the dreams of Bianca and her death had ended did Rhea finally get to go home for the first time from her first year at Camp and promptly break down in the arms of her older twin brother and blurt everything she had seen.
Percy had been horrified, especially since he had realised the shitshow he had gone through, and had never wanted her to see or feel the things he had gone through.
But Rhea was, and he had hated the Moirai for giving her the visions but a part of him knew that this was one of the consequences after he put forth the ultimatum in front of the three ladies.
Rhea had clung to her brother that night as she slept, being able to do that after months of separation had been a needed relief, and for that one night she slept without any dreams plaguing her sleep.
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