Set in HBP; no non-cannical ships (unless its plausible); and also no Solangelo.

Percy woke up with a throbbing head. He couldn't remember the last few minutes of his life, but he was pretty sure he had fallen asleep in the Poseidon Cabin. His bones ached and his muscles hurt and he was chilled to the marrow. At first he thought he was in the forest, but quickly dismissed it. The trees here were older and taller, the canopy so thick that the moon could barely shine though. Fog swirled around him, clinging to the trees and surrounding him in a white haze. Annabeth lay next to him in a rather awkward position. She was wearing a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jeans, as usual. Her long blonde hair curled around her face. She was still out, but definitely breathing, much to his relief. So she had been transported with him. That made him feel better. His hand slipped into his pocket, closing reassuringly around Riptide.

Percy waited for the pain to recede. He was content just to stare at Annabeth. His ADHD hands fiddled with a twig, rolling it across the ground, bending it, snapping it. He shifted over and nestled against his girlfriend. He could feel her body shivering from the cold, and he did his best to shield her, even if she wouldn't appreciate it. Questions crowded his head. Were were they? How had they not been eaten by something? Without any protection, he was likely to attract creatures from miles away, and in great hordes. He wasn't sure who would do this, with no prophecy, no forewarning, no anything, just BAM! Teleported into the middle of an odd forest he did not trust at all.

The silence was eerie, and Percy did not like it at all, like it was the calm before the storm. He wondered if it was just him and Annabeth, if whoever-it-was bothered to teleport anyone else. The headache had almost receded, surprisingly fast. How long had it been? Two minutes, three? He really didn't know. Besides him, Annabeth shifted. He turned his attention to her as her storm-gray eyes blinked open. She winced, pushing Percy away. "Percy? What- were-"

"I don't know." Percy said helplessly. He had been counting on Annabeth to supply him with information, but apparently she hadn't heard of this place either. "I woke with you besides me. I don't know anything either, except that my head hurts and I don't trust this forest and you're here so the world is a lot better."

Annabeth smiled, her face ghostly in the dim light. Ghostly and beautiful. Her eyes darted around, growing extra thunderstorm-dark as she processed her surroundings while having hundreds of other thoughts. "Do you think anyone else is here?"

Percy shrugged. "Dunno."

At that moment, a bird spiraled down from the treetops, growing into the hulking figure of Frank Zhang. Percy couldn't make out his finer features, but their was no argument. It was definitely the son of Mars. He lumbered towards them, his features becoming more and more distinct. He had black, buzz-cut hair, a rugged face, and a broad body, like a liner back. "Percy!" He said. "Annabeth. What are you guys doing here?"

"Back at you." Percy replied. He pushed himself to a sitting position, Annabeth besides him. "Is Hazel with you?"

He nodded. "Better join us. If your here, the others should be."

"Y'know what this place is? 'Cause I've never seen trees that look this old before."

"We're just as clueless as you," Frank told him. "Come on. I need to check on Hazel."

He turned, and in an instant, he was a barn owl. He fluttered up towards the canopy with a hoot, flying slow enough to follow. Percy uncapped Riptide. The pen expanded into a three feet of celestial bronze, which cast a faint glow over the fog. Annabeth drew her drakon-bone sword and they hurried after barn owl Frank.

Percy felt considerably worse as they trudged after the barn owl. Even with the light if his sword, he kept tripping on roots, snagging on nettles and thorns, and whacking himself in the head with stray branches. He didn't know how long they had been walking (and in the case of Frank, flying)before they finally burst through the thicket and into a clearing with absolutely no one there, until Hazel dropped down from a tree with her spatha. Frank swooped down and changed slight early; he stumbled upon landing. "Frank! You OK?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah."

Hazel sheathed her spatha and turned to offered Percy and Annabeth a hug. "We didn't know if anyone else was here."

Annabth shrugged. "We didn't either. But if their others, we should find them first, then talk later."

Frank nodded. "We can't eave them and just chat." He turned back to an owl, hooted, and spiraled off. Percy, Annabeth, and Hazel followed behind, each with their weapons drawn.

Percy was feeling tired and hungry, but if any of his friends were in danger, he had to search for them first. Next to him, Annabeth slipped her hand into his. Her warmth was comforting. Just her mere presence was comforting. If Percy had to survive Tartarus by himself... well, he would have given up already. Don't think of it. He squeezed her had, and she squeezed back. She looked up, and Percy saw that they had lagged behind. "Come on." Annabeth said, darting ahead.

Percy was about to go after her when a voice behind him said, "Hey."

He whirled before he know what was going on, and his blade clashed with a silvery dagger. Percy stumbled back, surprised and outraged. "Thalia!"

Thalia smirked. "Hey, Percy." She looked the same as ever. Her hair was short and spiky, her eyes piercing electric blue, her build lithe but strong. She had a bow and quiver slung across her back and two daggers at her belt. A silver circlet rested on her forehead, signaling her out as the lieutenant of Artemis. A faint silvery glow enveloped her body, which was something all Hunters got. Percy hugged her as Annabeth, Hazel and Frank (still in barn owl form) joined them. "It's good to see you again." Percy said.

"And you." Thalia turned to Annabeth with a smile, and they had a quick reunion. Finally, she fixed her attention on Frank (who had turned back) and Hazel. "Who are you two?"

"Uh... Frank. And this is Hazel." Frank said.

Thalia nodded politely. She focused on Hazel, noting her stance and the way she stood close to Frank. "Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Nice to meet you." She said to both of them.

"Jason's brother," Hazel said.

Thalia smiled. "Yes."

Their conversation was interrupted by a shape hurtling down from the treetops, barreling into Thalia and knocking them both to the ground. Percy, Annabeth, Frank and Hazel rushed to help, only to realize it was Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. "Gods, Jason! What was that for?"

Thalia flipped them both so her brother ended up on the bottom. Other than the electric blue eyes, they looked completely different. Jason had blonde hair, and Thalia's features were sharper, like a hawk's. No one would have guessed that they were related. Jason smiled, pushing her off. "I don't see you often, do I?"

"It's good to see you too, brother. Were's Piper?"

Jason scrambled to his feet, while Thalia rose in one graceful motion. "Here." A new voice said, right on cue.

The figure of Piper McLean appeared out of the surrounding thicket, and gave Jason a hug. "So we're together again?" She asked, looking at the rest of them.

"Just with Thalia, yeah." Annabeth chimed in. "There may be others, though."

Another round of hasty reunions. Percy looked up at the trees. The moon was setting. He wanted to find everyone and leave this place as soon as possible, he did not trust this forest at all. Nothing had attacked them so far, and it made him uneasy. The sound of footsteps broke the silence. Percy raised Riptide, Annabeth her dragon-bone sword. Everyone else drew weapons, and Thalia nocked her bow faster than Percy could react. A skinny, pale shape appeared out of the forest, the face of Nico di Angelo. "Nico!"

Hazel darted towards him, pulling him into a hug. Nico allowed her to remain that way, then pulled away. He smiled. "Hey, Hazel."

Percy smiled. Ever since the end of the war, Nico had become friendlier, more accepting. He had permanently settled in Camp Half-Blood, though made regular visits to Jupiter. Percy was happy to see him like this. The son of Hades shot an unfriendly look towards Thalia, who held his gaze steadily. He had never really gotten over his sister's death, and still blamed the Hunters, even if he had forgiven Percy.

The group settled down to discuss, trade stories, and catch up to each other's lives. Piper was worried about Leo's absence, and Jason and Frank promised to help find him. As annoying as Leo was sometimes, Percy missed his jokes. They had always counted on him to keep the situation light. They were stuck in an unknown forest, teleported by an unknown force. They were most likely here for a reason, with means more death, loss, and battle. He would always trust the son of Hephaestus to change the mood. No one was sure of anything, and the discussion turned out to be more speculation. At least, until Thalia's head shot up, listening intently. Everyone froze, staring at the huntress and she tipped her head to one side. "Something's here. Something big."

Without further ado, she darted into the trees with relatively no sound. Frank turned into a bear and hover protectively over Hazel, who had her spat drawn. Nico had disappeared. The rest of them were instantly surrounded by horse-men. Centaurs. They had bows drawn, and all of the were pointed at the remaining demigods. They looked nothing like the Party Ponies and a little more like the Roman centaurs. They had unkept hair, wild eyes, and ragged tails. Their horse half was reasonably clean, but held debris. "They are of age," one said in a deep voice. "We will not accept intruders in our land."

"The others are foals. It is a terrible crime, slaughtering them." One argued.

"Then spare them. The rest, we have to deal with."

"Woah," Annabeth said. "We don't mean any trouble, we just got here."

"We do not recognize wizard's laws. We are an ancient race, and we have a right to our land."

"We're not wizards! We know nothing of your rules. Besides, it wasn't our choice. We got transported here. Otherwise, we would have kept out." Annabeth said.

"We mean you no harm. So perhaps you could make an exception? We won't ever trespass again." Piper added, putting charmspeak into her words.

Some looked convinced, but others did not. "Lies." One snarled. "The girl puts magic in her words. Don't listen to her."

The black centaur leading the group regarded them coldly. "Kill them."

"Wait!" Piper shouted. The centaurs froze, and Percy had to fight against the command. "We don't want to hurt you. Just let us pass, and you won't see us again." She put more power that time, and their eyes glazed.

"Let them pass." One said. Many of the others lowered their bows and started retreating, But a black one shouted at them to stand their ground. "Don't listen to her words! They betray your mind!" He turned back to them. "Your ignorance will not aid you. Kill them."

Arrows flew at them. Jason deflected them with the wind, sending the missiles back to the centaurs, and Percy charged, slicing arrows out of the air with his sword. Annabeth fought besides him, and he could tell she was trying not to kill them. Percy didn't either... they didn't seem like the monsters he was accustomed to. They were just defending their home. Frank had turned into a falcon and was swooping in and out, faster than the centaurs could hit him. Silver arrows rained down from the trees, never coming from one spot. Piper shouted in charmspeak, warning them to run. She duel-wielded celestial bronze blades. Lightning slashed through the centaur's ranks. Instead of exploding to dust, blood poured from their wounds, staining them all scarlet. Percy fought the urge to throw up. Why wasn't the celestial bronze and imperial gold working? "Retreat! Retreat!" The black centaur (who seemed to be the leader) shouted. He attempted to kick Frank the eagled out of the sky, who swerved wildly and almost crashed into a tree. Percy rolled away from the stampeding hooves, trying to keep up. Within seconds, the clearing was left in silence. Thalia dropped down from the trees, her expression grim. Nico was studying his stygian iron sword with interest. Percy suddenly realized that there were no puddles of darkness. Apparently his sword didn't work properly either. "Nico?" Annabeth called. "Can you shadow-travel us out?"

She looked slightly ruffled but unhurt but for a few nick and scratches. Nico looked up. "Sure." He said. "Everyone hold hands."

Percy found himself between Annabeth and Jason. Nico closed his eyes and concentrated. Then they collapsed into shadow. Percy had never really like shadow-traveling. It always felt odd. The air was cold and rushed by fast. Voices whispered to him all the way through. He could sense his friend's presences traveling with him. Then the darkness vanished. For a split-second, he could see a sprawling castle with numerous turrets and towers soaring into the clouds. Squares of yellow light sliced through the dark brickwork. Then an invisible force knocked him back and he landed hard on the ground. Percy suppressed a groan and forced himself up, rising with the others. He felt like he had run face-first into a wall, which he supposed he had. "You alright?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah."

Percy turned in a full circle. The forest stretched behind them, casting ominous shadows. To the East, a pale dawn rose behind a hill. "What was that?" Piper asked."The forcefield, I mean."

"I don't know. But I'm guessing it's the work of a sorceress." Jason took her hand.

"We'd better leave." Hazel murmured.

"Agreed. The castle looked ominous." Annabeth said.

"I sense a lot of death," Nico offered.

"That's it." Percy said. "I'm getting out of here."

And that was when someone yelled, "Freeze!"

They did the exact opposite. They whirled around, drawing weapons. Percy attacked before he even thought of what he was doing. His opponent sidestepped and shot a jet of red light from a thin wooden stick he had been holding. It hit Percy in the chest and Riptide flew straight away from his hand, landing in the grass a few yards away. Percy didn't have time to register his shock. He shot another bolt and he rolled under it, backing away. Jason charged and Frank morphed into a dragon. He spread his massive gray wings and lunged at the man. He picked his stick and yelled, "OI! NEED SOME REINFORCEMENTS!" His voice boomed across the hill.

The man turned and fled with a dragon flying after him. Jason darted into the air. Percy found Riptide back in his pocket, and he drew it. Thunder boomed and clouds gathered around the man, who for some reason hadn't changed into his true form. Lightning split the sky and a forcefield flicked around him. The bolt stuck and his shield absorbed it. He then disappeared with a crack and reappeared further ahead. "Behind!" Someone shouted. Percy looked back and cursed. Six more were rapidly approaching, shooting multi-colored bolts. Frank had turned into an elephant, and one the reinforcements yelled "Animagus!" and shot a net out of his wand, binding the pachyderm's feet. Percy had Riptide drawn and was advancing, deflecting a jet of light with his sword with Annabeth at his side. Hazel ran towards Frank, her spatha in hand. Piper shouted in charmspeak, but they were harder to manipulate than the centaurs. Jason darted back and forth through the air while his sister shot silvery arrows. When that didn't work, she traded range for melee and drew a dagger while her Aegis spiraled out from her other hand.

Hazel was now lying in a heap close to a now Frank-free net, with Frank now back as a dragon. Three of the reinforcements were now battling the stony-scaled dragon, jets of light exploding and bouncing off his diamond-hard scales. The other three were in combat with Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Thalia, Piper and Nico, who was brandishing his black sword. They were being slowly pushed into a tight circle as the bolts kept flashing inches away from them. Thalia struck several times with lightning; most of her hits missed or were absorbed, but it kept their attention. Ropes whirled past them. Thalia dodged, but Piper wasn't so lucky. She fell to the ground tightly bound in ropes. Jason yelled and swooped down, hacking at her ropes while Thalia guarded them.

Even more reinforcements came, drawn by the noise of the battle. Five down, even more to go. The cement-gray dragon had fallen with a crash, and about five monsters around him shooting red light. The number of bolts was now overwhelmingly large. Jason had crumpled to the ground after he had been hit in the chest by a red bolt, followed by Annabeth, who had been tripped by an invisible tripwire and was now a harmless iguana. Percy roared in raged and fought with renewed strength, his sword biting into one's leg. He fell with an odd noise. A bolt hurtled towards his face and he sidestepped, finding himself besides Nico di Angelo. He looked tired from the shadow-travel and was having trouble keeping up. They stood back-to-back, deflecting bolts and dodging others when Nico suddenly crumpled with a gasp. Percy whirled and attempted to help him up when something hit him in the back, knocking him out cold.

Attention! This isn't the only story we've written. Others are called Past Circe's attendant, with 7 chapters, and Expedition Tartarus (Currently discontinued because of this one) with 3. If you enjoyed this one, you can try the others. Peace Out.