A/N: VICTORY! Oh god, sorry about the long-ass update delay. This chapter fought me every single step of the way. But here it is! Hopefully the length'll help make up for the delay.

Lil' Line O' Litiguous Lard: I own neither universe...if I did, I'd be going to every convention that I could...

Jason

Ow. Seriously….ow. Jason shook his head in a futile attempt to remove the ringing in his ears. He hadn't caught onto what Hazel and Jackson were planning quite fast enough to plug his ears in time. Great Jupiter! That had been painful. He was only slightly mollified to see that he was far from the only one in that situation. In fact, the only ones besides the perpetrator largely unaffected by the noise seemed to be Leo, Hazel, the Captain, and the Air-Avatar Kid, Aang. Not even Annabeth had escaped it, even though she'd clapped her hands over her ears almost instantly; apparently proximity beat protection this time. Oh, she's gonna make him pay for that later.

"WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT!?"

Then you had the other end of the spectrum. Well, they do say that you're other senses are heightened when you're blind. Jason thought, as the girl Toph leapt to her feet and stood facing Percy with open hostility.

"You've never heard anyone whistle before?" Percy replied, the very picture of innocence.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I MEAN!" She shouted back, stomping her foot angrily. There was a faint rumble from the other side of the large building on deck and the bald boy was at her side in an instant, laying a calming hand on her shoulder. "Stupid wood" she muttered, kicking the deck as she heeded his unspoken warning. The last comment elicited a number of confused looks from the demigods.

Percy, for his part, seemed to have come to the same conclusion about Toph's senses as Jason had and was sheepishly rubbing the back of his shaggy head. "I am sorry. I just thought it would be a bit funny; I didn't take your more sensitive hearing into account. I haven't exactly gotten a lot of sleep lately."

Jason winced a little at that last statement. He'd almost forgotten that Percy and Annabeth had just spent a month in Tartarus—definitely far from restful—and then had come out directly into battle. Hell, the last time the guy'd slept must have been in Tartarus—unconscious and almost dying from a poisoned wound didn't count. Annabeth's exhaustion was obvious in her posture, while only the bags under his eyes supported Percy's claim. Jason suspected Percy was still enjoying the after-effects of the oceanic adrenaline-shot he'd gotten earlier; he'd crash sooner or later, and when he did, he'd crash hard.

Percy's attempt to mollify Toph had little to no effect. She sat on the deck and glowered in his general direction. The silence was decidedly awkward and tense; Aang and Katara were watching the small girl warily. Suddenly Katara's face lit up. "Hey Aang. We haven't really sparred in a while, at least not like we used to. Think these guys would like to see a little bending?"

"Why would—?" the bald kid began, and then realization dawned on his face, "Yeah, sure! That sounds like a great idea, Katara! Toph, ready for a three-way brawl?"

The effect was profound and immediate; the girl's face shone with a sort of manic glee. "You know it!" Jason saw the smile on her face turn conniving as she stood up and began heading around the building in the center of the ship. "C'mon, slowpokes. I don't care what you are, you ain't gonna want to miss this!"

Jason found himself scrambling to get up and follow the small spitfire. A quick glance around showed him the other demigods in a similar state. He, Piper, Frank, and Hazel were the quickest to rise, while Percy lent his supporting shoulder to Annabeth and Leo pulled himself up with the ship's railing, silently refusing offers of assistance. The Captain excused himself and Aang and Katara waited behind for their guests to get themselves together before leading the way in Toph's wake. Jason was painfully aware of the fact that their path gave the demigods' confiscated weapons a wide berth. He missed Ivlivs, his magical spear/sword/coin that always returned to his pocket, much like Percy's Riptide. He hated seeing the gladius that Juno had given him go out of his sight as they rounded the corner. He was also a bit surprised when he notices a surprising number of crewmembers making their way in the opposite direction. It was as if they were escaping the area of the ship the teens were all headed. He didn't know whether to be excited or disconcerted by the exodus.

"Holy crap!" Leo's exclamation broke him out of his musings, "That thing is HUGE. How far down does it go?"

This from the guy who put stables on his giant flying Greek warship and flew us halfway across the country on a bronze dragon? I'm not sure I want to know what's got him so excited. Jason had taken it upon himself to bring up the rear of the group since Percy was busy supporting Annabeth; a decision he was regretting as he heard other incredulous gasps from the demigods ahead of him. When he rounded the corner, it was quite easy to understand their reaction.

In what he now realized must have been the middle of the absolutely massive ship was a huge expanse of stone. It extended the full 70-ish feet from port to starboard on the ship and was about 30 feet across. The railings on the ship's sides around the slab were hastily being removed by a few nervous-looking crewmen; anyone that reached the edge would fall into the ocean.

Toph stood in the middle of the slab with an enormous grin on her face. Suddenly, she brought her arms together in front of her and stomped. Jason couldn't suppress a brief yell of surprise when a slab of rock, six inches thick and a little taller than she shot up out of the ground. "That answer your question, matchstick?"

Jason heard Leo gulp, clearly trying to process what he'd just seen…or so Jason thought. "You mean they put a 300-tonne rock in the middle of their ship? Just for you to play with?" Of course…he's still caught up in the mechanics and design of the damned ship. Sometimes I forget he's a child of Hephaestus.

"Yup!" She replied, happily, returning the summoned rock into the giant slab with a heel flick and no visible seam. He found the girl's "bending" a bit worrying. The only one he'd ever known to have that kind of control over stone was Gaea…and even she hadn't displayed this kind of speed. If all was what it seemed, this girl could truly be formidable.

"This is all solid rock?" Percy asked, gingerly stepping onto the surface. "How'd you get it—?" The rest of his sentence was broken off as a flick of an ankle and a malicious half-smile from Toph caused the ground to move quickly enough out from under his feet to knock him backwards. Only his demigod battle-reflexes kept the wind from getting knocked out of him as he threw his arms backwards to painfully break his fall. "Ow! What in Hades was that for?"

"That," she said, with a self-satisfied smirk, "was payback. Now we're even Fish-for-brains."

Jason snorted and heard several others do the same, Annabeth was openly snickering and giving her boyfriend a look that said, "Oh yeah, totally deserved." Even Aang and Katara were smiling at the exchange, although Katara was also throwing a slightly disapproving look Toph's way.

Percy, for his part, couldn't maintain a glare at the girl for more than a few seconds before sheepishly smiling and agreeing, "Yeah…I guess I did deserve that. So…um, think you could give me a push up? My arms are a little stunned from breaking my fall."

Toph seemed to contemplate this request for a moment before replying, "Eh, sure." and with a smooth gesture of her hand, a section of stone came up between Percy's shoulder blades and gently pushed him upright. Jason winced a little in sympathy at the angry scrapes on the dark-haired boy's forearms.

"Thanks," he said, working the shock out of his joints, "but if it's all the same to you, I'm going to go back to the less solid, but less volatile wood over by my girlfriend. I'm really starting to dislike earth…" The last bit delivered as an annoyed mutter. Jason couldn't really blame him. After all, they'd been in a war with Mother Earth for the better part of a year; a war that had caused him to be torn away from the people that he loved and have his memory wiped. True, Jason's memory had been wiped as well, but he'd had neither family nor love back at Camp Jupiter, no matter Reyna's interest. In point of fact, he'd actually found both as a result.

"Here, let me." Katara said, gracefully floating water out of a skin on her side as she moved towards the grumbling boy. Percy gave her a curious look. "I have healing abilities…remember, I was trying to heal that big gash in your side before your friend there suggested chucking you in the ocean."

Hazel gave an indignant squawk at the same time Percy exclaimed, "She said WHAT?!"

"Hey now," Hazel finding words quickly after the initial surprise, "I said 'put' not 'chuck'. Don't go putting words in my mouth."

"Aww. And here I thought you'd developed a sense of humor." Came Percy's needling reply.

She glared at him half-heartedly for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Anyway, she's not making it up. I'm not sure how, but she was using water to try to heal you before, Polybotes poison was just working against her."

Percy, completely trusting Hazel's judgment nodded to Katara. "Alright, let's see what your healing hands can do."

All seven, even Hazel, watched as she enveloped her hands in the water she'd been floating. Percy tensed a little when the water began to glow with a soft blue light, but relaxed immediately in relief as it made contact with his injured skin. "Ok…screw ambrosia and unicorn draught, I'm going glowy-water healing from now on."

Katara raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Good luck with that…but thanks for the compliment." The glow subsided and she moved her hands away from the now-mended flesh; the watching demigods released a collective breath they hadn't realized they were holding.

"How…how does it feel now?" Leo asked tentatively.

"Great! Just like new!" Percy replied, rolling his shoulders and flexing his elbows to demonstrate. He then turned back towards the benders with an eager grin and said, "Now how about that bending brawl we were promised?"

Katara's eyes took on a mischievous glint, "Oh, I agree. Let's get down to business." On the last word, she executed a pivoted twist that would've made a discus thrower jealous, causing a spout of water to rise from the ocean and rush towards the small girl still standing in the middle of what was now clearly an arena.

At the last second, a wedge of rock shot up, sending the water to either side of the still-dry and manically-grinning Earthbender. "Nice try, Sweetness, but you're gonna need to do a lot better than that!" Within seconds, the arena became a pandemonium of flying rock and splashing water.

"Fair warning," Aang, who'd just materialized in front of the mesmerized demigods, said, "Bending is not the safest thing to be a spectator for." As if on cue, a 2-foot-diameter rock came flying at the boy's head, which he deflected over the side of the ship with a perfectly-executed tornado-kick. "See what I mean? So keep alert—"

"Hey, Twinkletoes, ya gonna jabber all day? Get your airy butt in here!" An earthen hand shot out to grab the boy around his waist, which he neatly evaded with a 10-foot jump…only to be caught full-on in the face by a water jet, effectively knocking him into the mayhem.

Jason didn't know much about this bending stuff, but he knew combat, and it was obvious that these three were very skilled warriors. Thanks to his heritage, he had complete control over wind and air, but he'd never really thought to use it as a primary weapon. He'd never thought to use it to maneuver like the kid Aang was, either. It had always been sort of an on-the-side kind of thing…but to see it used so effectively and creatively…Jason was agog. A glance to the side revealed similar reaction from Percy, whose eyes were almost bugging out of his head as he watched Katara use a stream of water to slice a boulder in half like a piece of cheese. As he watched, Percy's head cocked a little to the side and his eyes seemed to unfocus; he appeared to ponder something for a moment, absently nod once in affirmation, and then wince before returning his attention back to the brawl.

What was that all about? That's that look he gets when he's talking to—OH! Heh…so much for seeing Arion. Looks like he decided he didn't want to come into this carnage…and judging by that wince, he was his usual eloquent self about it. He thought as he turned back to spectating with a small smirk on his face.

He didn't even notice when Zuko and Sokka returned…not until there was suddenly a great deal more fire added to the fray. The combustion served as enough of a surprise that his battle instincts kicked back in and put him immediately on the alert, rapidly checking his surroundings.

"Hmm…Zuko said you guys looked like fighters…guess that proves it." A bored-sounding near-monotone said behind him, causing him to whip around and fall into a defensive crouch. Sokka and a pretty girl about their age were nearly doubled over giggling with Piper was standing right next to them, facepalming at him. A Goth-looking girl in a long flowing pantsuit and a giant hairdo stood in front of the trio and quirked her eyebrow at him. "My, aren't we jumpy?"

He straightened, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, you kind of surprised me. I take it you two ladies are the ones that Sokka and Zuko zipped out of here like a Hellhound on Red Bull was on chasing them to retrieve?"

"Well, I don't know about the other things," The previously-laughing girl with her arm around Sokka's shoulders replied with a grin, "but yep, that's us! I'm Suki, and this is Mai."

Jason shook their proffered hands. "Jason," when they both nodded, he winced and added, "Or did Piper introduce you to all of us while I was absorbed in the free-for-all?"

"Nah, Zuko's just good at descriptions…as long as Sokka doesn't help."

"Hey! That's not fair!" protested the object of the jibe.

She put a placating hand on his chest. "Ok, ok, you're descriptions are fine…as long as you don't try to draw them."

The result was a hurt glare from him and an unabashed grin from her lasting for several seconds. She then took the initiative and broke the standoff by giving him a quick kiss. Ignoring Mai's eyeroll at their antics, she turned to Jason and said. "So, what about that sparring match fascinates you so much, especially so much more than your friends?"

A little surprised, Jason checked on the other demigods to see that she was definitely not exaggerating about their lack of attentiveness. Leo was deep in an avid conversation with the Captain and a man that had the grimy look he'd come to associate with an engineer. Frank looked like he was trying to convince Hazel of something, judging by the gestures, it had something to do with the benders. Percy and Annabeth were leaning together, fast asleep; Jason had been right about him crashing. "Well, can't really speak for the others, but I find you can tell a lot about someone by the way they fight."

Mai's eyebrows rose slightly and Sokka and Suki half-smiled in pleased surprise. "And what does watching them tell you?"

"Well…" Jason said carefully, "I think my companions and I had some phenomenal luck in the first people we encountered in this world."

Sokka's chest puffed out. "Aww, you're just flattering us."

"No, I really do mean it. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that you've all been through a number of battles, both large-scale and skirmishes. Considering your ages and the fact that you're still here tells me you came out on top of those battles."

"But how do you know that's a good thing for you? Those with power are rarely the good guys." Suki challenged.

Jason smiled sourly, thinking of Octavian, "Oh, don't I know it, but I noticed something else. While I'm clearly no expert in your 'bending' disciplines, I can still see that the moves and attacks they are using are brutal, but nonlethal. I realize that this is just a sparring match, but in my experience, you still practice your lethal moves when you spar. Every single potentially lethal move they use is one that can be easily changed into a still-effective nonlethal one. In my experience, that kind of mercy is rarely seen in bad-guy training."

Sokka's face took on a pensive look, "Hmm…well said."

Suddenly Piper chipped in, "Plus, even though Aang warned us that being a spectator to benders was dangerous, nothing more than a little gravel or a light splash has come our way. They're going out of their way to minimize the collateral damage."

"Wow, you guys must be veterans of a lot of battles, too." Said Suki.

"Yeah…I'd say that's an understate—" his word was cut off by a yawn. "I think Percy and Annabeth might have the right idea. It's been a long day for all of us, and I don't know when those two last slept. I hate to impose on you guys, but…"

"Not a problem," responded Mai, "the ship's still pretty undermanned, so there should be plenty of spare bunks. Now we just have to end the knucklehead melee." She gave the melee in question an appraising look as she folded her arms, tucking her arms in her wide sleeves as she did so.

"Do you want the honors, or shall I?" said Suki with a smirk.

"My way's faster and has fewer annoying after-effects." Her arms shot out at lightning speed; four throwing daggers flying from each hand, each landing directly next to a foot of one of the benders. The four froze and Jason had to work hard to not echo the gulp he heard from Piper. "We're tired and going to bed." she stated simply.

Twenty seconds of cleanup, a few orders to crewmen, and a groggy moving of Percy and Annabeth later, the demigods found themselves in a surprisingly well-appointed barracks. Leo initially insisted on staying awake due to his concussion, but a brief round of healing-water later, he joined most of the other demigods in sleep within a few minutes. Jason stared at the ceiling as he drifted off, feeling much better about the situation that they'd found themselves in than he had a few hours ago, and hoping that nothing terrible was happening in their absence.

A/N: That should be the end of the massive exposition-intro. I did listen and had some bending thrown in here. I'm not completely confident in my ability to verbally describe bending, hopefully I'll get better at it as I go.

Review Response time!

Blinded in a Bolthole: Gotta say, the day you zipped through my first chapters and blew my phone up with e-mail alerts was a nice one. Glad you liked it. As to the actual story...yeah, I've got several ideas, but nothing set in stone yet.

I can see you: I know this is what you were going for, but you're signoff is a bit creepy...

Random unnamed guest guy: Annabeth hasn't had a shower in a month. Have you ever seen someone with long blonde hair who hasn't washed it in a while? As a blonde myself, I can attest to the fact that it get's a lot dingier when it's dirty. This would also be why they didn't notice either her nor Percy's gray streak, even though in the books it's largely faded by now.

Verbose guest reviewer: I hope this assuaged your fears about bending balance, along with the surprise factor. Really, the benders were more surprised at the concept of "gods" and the fact that neither Percy nor Leo were affected by their elements at all. Here's a bit better of a reaction to the more practical side of bending.

fluddershy: I actually had cookies today, believe it or not...

Band of Thieves: heh...yeah, sorry again for the lateness...sigh

HPPJOandHG4ever: Heh...heh...um...I wish the plot was thought out...at least the setting is. And I do try with the characters.

Juli Beawr and GreenAwesomeness: Glad you liked that joke. It looks like the ones I don't have to force work well...understandably. Hopefully this helps with the longer chapter issue, too =P.

Sachmis: Yeah, I see what you mean, but the demigods do have a way to relate the concept of an Avatar. The gods have been known to appear as an Avatar of themselves. Plus...these particular demigods have been a bit too busy to go watching any new movies.

Azulabeifong: Um...do I really want to know why you're high? Hopefully nothing illegal.

Everyone else: thanks for reading and reviewing, now ya just have to do it again =P.

Review! Me likes!

Tzapporah signing off!

*Pre-next chapter review response. Erika, you reviewed as a guest, so I couldn't respond directly. Aang does spar plenty, as do all xiaolin monks; it's part of their training. He's supposed to be the defender of the balance of the world, and you don't get that by just doing forms. They showed sparring plenty of times in the show. The use of the word "brawl" was primarily to entice Toph out of her fuming sulk. The idea was to try and forestall a massively violent attack from her on one of the demigods, namely Percy. I don't know about you, but if I had a powerful geokinetic friend and she was mad enough to make the 200-ton slab of rock 300 yards away rumble, I'd want to deflect her quickly.

This will be re-said in the responses with next chapter, but I'm not completely sure how long that'll be, and I wanted to get this out there to help forestall a some confusion.