A/N: I'm baaaack! Sorry about the long wait, guys. I've had a lot on my plate lately. I did warn you that I was going to have a longer time in posting this update...although I wasn't planning on it to take this long. Fair warning this time, It'll probably be at least another week or two before chapter X, since I've still got some stuff to do for my certification, due by the 25th. Anyway, on with the story!

Lil' Line O' Litiguous Lard: I own neither universe...if I did, I wouldn't need to worry about making money and would be able to write more often.

Percy

Percy exchanged a confused look with Annabeth, but she was just as perplexed as he was. A quick look around to his fellow demigods showed similar states of confusion…with the exception of Leo, whose expression was more "where have I seen that before" than "WTF?"

Percy had to admit, Leo hadn't impressed him all that much at first. After all, his first real encounter with the guy had been when the Son of Hephaestus had demonstrated his goodwill to the massively-annoying and suspicious Octavian; showing the older boy around the Argo II and then opening fire on New Rome with its impressive weaponry. Ok, granted, that wasn't the kid's fault. He'd been taken over by an evil spirit at the time and had had no control over his actions. Percy knew exactly what that was like; after all, he and Jason had tried to kill each other for the same reason not long after. He mentally cringed a little at the memory; having no control over his own actions had NOT been a pleasant experience.

Then there was the whole awkwardness around Hazel, since Leo was the spitting image of his great-grandfather, whom Hazel had known—and had a crush on—at that age. This was also not his fault, but Percy couldn't really help that it had stuck with him.

Both of these things, plus his early behavior had given Percy the impression of a mechanically clever, but inept in the normal demigod areas boy who added a new definition to the term ADHD. Seriously, the kid would bounce from one thing to another faster than a superball. Just watching him drive the ship was like watching a Ping-Pong match. He was also an apt fighter, as all demigods kind of had to be, just not a very adept one.

As they'd traveled together, the ADHD impression was only solidified, but he'd begun to see a side of the kid that made him start to think that Leo was smart, not just machine-savant-smart, but seriously smart enough to give Annabeth a run for her money.

The boy in question turned towards Percy, the calculating look still on his face. As soon as the two locked eyes, however, his widened in realization, causing Percy's to narrow in suspicion. A huge guffaw erupted from him and was soon shaking in mirth.

Aaand then again, the kid could be seriously irritating. Percy's annoyance level had been steadily rising over the course of the day. He was on an unfamiliar ocean in an unfamiliar world; a thoroughly-disorienting sensation for the son of the sea god for whom the ocean had always been a source of solace. The fact that he'd figured out they were on a completely different world before Annabeth had only given marginal and temporary satisfaction. It had only lasted until he'd been listing the abilities he had as a Son of Poseidon where a quick and surreptitious poke to the small of his back had served as a firm warning to shut up! It had thrown him enough to lamely end on a pseudo-lie about never having caused an earthquake. Technically it had been an eruption…which wouldn't've happened if his little quake hadn't enabled Typhon to burst out. He had no idea why the little lie-detector girl hadn't called him out on it, which only set him even more on edge.

The rapid exit of the two older boys and the subsequent laughter of the three remaining teens had simply added to the confusion, but hadn't yet pushed him over the edge. No…the real icing on the cake was that he was now apparently at least partially the butt of said joke. He opened his mouth to snap at Leo for an explanation, but never got the chance.

The green lie-detector girl—Top or something like that—beat him to it. "What do you think you're laughing at, tinderbox?" She said sharply, pointing a firm and accusing finger.

Surprise at the outburst effectively silenced the entire circle. Leo blinked for a few seconds and then grinned sheepishly. "Well…I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure those guys' girlfriends are going to kill them."

Everyone froze for a moment in stunned silence, which was broken by a bark of laughter from the girl. "Hah! Got it in one, tinderbox! How'd you know?"

Percy had an inkling of what Leo's response was going to be and just closed his eyes in resignation…at least now it made sense. "I kinda recognized the looks on their faces, since I've seen it before on him." Leo said, jerking his thumb towards the older boy, who started massaging the bridge of his nose.

Come on. I can't be the only one of us who's had that look…crap, I am. Hazel and Piper are both able fighters, but…somehow I can't see either of them judo-flipping Frank or Jason…although the former would be an interesting sight. He mentally shook himself out of that idle train of thought. Stupid ADHD, get back on track. Anyway, that flip was the first time Leo, Piper, and Jason had ever seen him…sigh first impressions and all that. Yup, gotta just suck this one up.

When he opened his eyes again from his musing, he saw that all of the other demigods were in agreement; each one had at least the ghost of a smile on their face, although Frank and Jason's at least had a sympathetic edge.

Percy felt it was high time he changed the subject. "Anyway, we've answered your questions, how about you return the favor? Like, what in Hades is a 'bender'? 'Cause I don't think it's the same thing as it is in our world."

The two sighted teens exchanged a glance and the bald boy—Angle was it?—was the one that ultimately answered. "Well…I've never really had to explain it to someone before, but from what you guys've said, I can see why you wouldn't know. Hmm…do you know what chi is?"

Frank spoke up. "It's an Asian concept. It's essentially the life-force or spiritual energy of a person, right? My grandmother used to like to lecture me about that kind of stuff all the time." He said in explanation.

Angle—that didn't sound quite right—nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's pretty much it, although I don't know what 'Asian' is. Anyway, benders have the ability to direct that chi outside of them to change the flow of a specific element. For Katara, it's Water; for Toph, it's Earth, although she's brilliant and also figured out how to bend metal." The girl in question flashed them with a self-satisfied smirk. "Zuko, as well as most of the other benders on this ship, is a Firebender. I'm…a bit of a special case."

"That's a bit of an understatement, Twinkletoes."

"Stop it, Toph." Interjected Katara, responding to the flush that had grown in the boy's cheeks. "Aang's the Avatar. The Avatar is born once in a generation to one of the four bending nations; Aang, for example, is an Air Nomad, and was therefore born among Airbenders. The next Avatar will be born in one of the Water Tribes, the next to the Earth Kingdom, and the one after that to the Fire Nation. That is the cycle of the Avatar."

"Really?" Said Hazel, clearly fascinated by the concept. "You said once in a Generation…is it a reincarnation kind of thing or can there be more than one Avatar at once?"

Aang looked at her in mild surprise. "Reincarnation. You guys believe in it? Not everyone here does. Even Sokka thinks that I'm a special case."

All seven demigods nodded, and Hazel replied. "Yes, we actually all know someone whose sister chose reincarnation after she died, and…well…I know more about post-death existence than most, considering who my father is."

All three benders looked supremely confused. "Um…did we miss something? What does your father have to do with anything?"

Hazel returned the look. "I said he was the God of the Underworld, I thought that it was obvious."

"Um…sorry, what's 'the Underworld'?" Katara replied.

All seven pairs of eyes bugged out at this question. "Ah…well…um…that explains the confusion." Hazel stammered out. "Simply put, the Underworld is where all souls, both good and bad, go after they die. Some call it the Land of the Dead. Evil souls go to the Fields of Punishment for eternity, neutral souls go to the Fields of Asphodel, and good souls go to the Paradise of Elysium. Souls in Elysium can choose to reincarnate and live again. Those that have earned Elysium three times become permanent residents of the Isle of the Blessed. There's a lot more complicated and unimportant details, but they're not really important right now."

"Indeed." Came the surprising response from the largely-silent Captain. Percy had almost forgotten he was there. "As fascinating and enlightening as this information-exchange has been, there has been one glaring omission on your part." All seven demigods looked back in mild confusion. "You seven weren't the only ones to come through that strange vortex."

Huh? What's he talking about? Katara's face lit up in understanding. "Oh yeah! What was that animal thing that you and Leo were riding, Hazel? And where did it go? I've never seen anything quite like it before."

Realization dawned for Percy. Arion. She's talking about Arion. That's right; Hazel was astride him with Leo flopped in front of her when this whole thing started. But he just looks like a horse. They've never seen anything like a horse before?

"Um…that would be Arion. He's a horse, really the ultimate horse, since the others can't run on water…or at supersonic speeds, for that matter." Said Hazel. "As to where he went…I'm going to guess he ran off to do his own thing. He does that; he's a very free spirit and should not be bound. He's a pretty gentle soul and won't hurt anyone out there."

Percy snorted at that one. Hazel wouldn't say that if she actually heard some of the things that horse said.

"Ok…he won't go out of his way to hurt anyone, but he hates being caged and I can't vouchsafe for anyone who tries."

"I…see." Said the Captain. "Could you possibly make him come here so that we can confirm at least some of what you say?"

She shot a quick glance of askance at Percy. "Um…maybe. He likes me, but there's no guarantee that he'll come, or that he's even close enough to hear." Her face brightened. "Hey Percy…think you could put your New Yorker skills to good use?"

A slow grin spread across Percy's face. Nice cover. "Sure, although the rest of you might want to plug your ears." He raised his right hand to his lips and stuck his finger and thumb into his mouth and let loose with his best eardrum-piercing cab-whistle while simultaneously mentally yelling, Hey, Arion, get your horse's ass back here!

He felt a faint and reluctant mental acknowledgement in response and smiled at the wincing people around him. "That should've done the trick, if anything." Yep, his mood was definitely improving.

A/N: Yep...Percy's still just as bad at names as ever. I'm doing my best to come up with amusing mistakes and/or nicknames. Before any of you ask, no, I'm not planning on narrating every single moment of the events of this fic. There will be time jumps and some episodic mini-arcs, I'm just getting the endless fountain of exposition out of the way first. It just doesn't seem likely to me that either side'd immediately accept the other without knowing a good deal more.

Oh, and to forestall any language-nazis out there, a meaning of vouchsafe that is unused in modern vernacular is "to ensure the safety of." Hazel, however, is not completely modern, and so I decided to have her use the slightly more archaic form of the word.

Review response time!

Gigabyte2598: I'll admit...I had a little eye-twitch when I first read your comment. Grease was first a stage show and then it was adapted into a movie, just like Les Miserables, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, RENT, and a number of others. Leo would only have been familiar with it from the movie version, Percy, like I said, is a New Yorker, and Piper...has probably seen it both ways.

sivanool: Lieutenant Jee was the commander of the ship that Zuko had while he was in exile. My friend Evilnor wrote a fic where...well, pretty much the stuff I have Jee musing over in the prologue, happened. I foreshortened it, of course, but I put in the general gist. I highly recommend you read her fic. The Forgotten Ones: Lieutenant Jee.

Daydreamer: Yes, the prologue was intended to be a little disjointed. Each set of 0-0-0's denotes a break between the two universes. I will, later in the story, explain what was going on on the demigod side, at which point, I recommend you go back and read that part of the prologue. I'll try to give an A/N indicator as to when I think I've provided enough information. Some has already come out in trickles.

jka039: Yeah...I know I sent you a PM about it, but thanks for pointing out that little mistake to me. I honestly had forgotten about Percy blowing up Mt. St. Helens. I made a small reference to it in this chapter, but don't worry, it'll be fully addressed later.

nekoanimegirl: Mmm...confusion. Confusion can be fun...especially when you get the key piece to the puzzle later...then everything just clicks into place.

TurkeyHead: Yes, this is only just beginning, but as I said early on, I have no real idea where I'm going with it. =/ It should be quite long when I'm finished, though.

For all of you that demanded an update...I hope this was to your satisfaction. Mr. Angry Guest Reviewer...I'm sorry! *shrinks away* The Band of Thieves: I do have to say your method of demanding an update amused me greatly.

Thanks to all of you that reviewed and your words of encouragement! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

On that note: Holy Crap! 100 Reviews! SWEET!

Tzapporah signing off!