Hello my wonderful readers! Merry Christmas or... whatever you might celebrate! For an early gift for you I updated for you guys and gave you a nice long chapter with some humour to lighten the atmosphere a bit. I hope you enjoys (;

Disclaimer- For christmas I was given PJO but sadly Rick decided to take it back...:(...So I own NOTHING!

Percy sat in silence as he watched the waves pounded ferociously against his feet. The only sound was the occasional screech of a bird or the crashing of ocean waves.

How could they?

He could see how the option was appealing, titans could he. Ultimate power, control over the entire world, universe even. Who could pass that up? With a sigh he leaned back and closed his eyes. Waiting...Just waiting for something- anything to happen.

How could they?

After everything the Titans had done for them? After all they sacrificed? After everything? Maybe not so much for Tyler but Thalia and himself. His father had stopped Thalia from aging and kept her alive. What would the gods have done in that situation? Killed her? Probably, even if they had Hebe, Goddess of Youth right next to them. She could have kept Thalia from turning sixteen for eons.

Was Thalia not grateful for that? For the chance they gave her when there was none? His family had welcomed her with opened arms and smiles when they had every right to shun her away. Did she just not care?

How could she?

Percy bit his lip and leaned back into the sand behind him. He couldn't put all the blame on her. Not with her fatal flaw. Power. That was her weakness. And here it was, packaged and ready to go. Fluent waves of power just gusting towards her right within her reach. How could she resist that? How could anyone really, resist that delicious temptation put in front of them? Fine. Thalia had a reason for siding with Tyler. But that still didn't explain why Tyler himself had made up this ridiculous side.

How could he?

Percy supposed he could see it slightly. He was new to the Titans after all. He didn't know the goodness inside of their hearts, the warmth, and caring piece in them. Percy strongly suspected that Tyler's flaw was self-importance as well. And here was a chance for him to be admired, looked up to, and respected. What more could anyone really want? With yet another sigh Percy ran his hand over his face and looked straight up into the clouds. For a moment he let himself imagine it.

Power, the thirst that could never be quenched, suddenly it was all his for the taking. No more having anyone telling him what to do or how to do it. No one questioning him or his actions, or opposing him in any way. He would be admired, looked upon for guidance and the world could be peaceful again, no more war god to cause pain, no more pain at all for that matter...Who could say no?

How could he?

How could he think that way? What was wrong with him? Ugh! The very nerve for him to think such! His family was here. Why would he want all that responsibility on his shoulders anyhow? Who would? His father was worthy enough for the position and Titans knows he's waited long enough for it. What kind of son would he be to even attempt to steal that away from him? And the talk about his own father betraying him was just absurd! This man had raised him, cared for him, guided him, and now Thalia is saying that he would simply toss him away once he had done his job? What a bold opinion!

Growling slightly he forced those thoughts away and moved onto another subject in his mind.

Tanya. Katharine. Layla. Which one of his dead friends had brought Annabeth to him and why? The thought had been tugging on him ever since she explained her arrival and Percy needed to know the answers. How could he figure it out? Various plans ran through his head, none of which would work of course. Could he try to talk to them? Summon them? Somehow ask them himself? Of course not. He would need a child of...Wait a second.

Percy hopped to his feet and without a moments delay ran off towards the towering buildings behind him. There stood a door, guarded by no other than, you guessed it, Crius.

"Perseus!" he boomed enthusiastically, more than likely bored with his job. "How are you today solider? Why haven't I had any more training sessions with you eh?" Percy strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Crius." he said respectfully "I am fine and rest assured you will see me training with you soon." Crius beamed at him and Percy continued "If you don't mind though, I would like to see a prisoner of yours. Nico Di Angelo?"

"Eh?" grunted Crius "I supposed, go ahead." he nodded and Percy smiled gratefully and entered the cavern door.

He was greeted with blinding light that almost pained him to look at. When he pictured prison he expected gloomy walls, and creaky doors...Not lights at every corner.

"Like my hell?" a voice asked nonchalantly and Percy jerked his head towards the offender. Nico smiled gruesomely as he sat there attempting to get an ankle shaft off of his leg. "Are you going to be my torturer this time? Or is it the bald guy out there again?"

"I'm not going to torture you." replied Percy "Nor is anyone else here." Nico let out a snort.

"Ha, yeah. Try telling him that. He seems to enjoy throwing rocks at him and coming up with some rather fun things for me to do in my spare time." with a frown Percy shook his head.

"I'll talk to him about that...I have some questions for you though." Nico raised an eyebrow and pushed back some disheveled hair away from his dirt infested face.

"Questions." he mused "Well ask away, though I might now answer them." he said and leaned back against the stone wall, giving up on the shackle all together.

"So...um...Can you tell me about...Well the Underworld's system?" he asked and Nico's eyes reopened and regarded Percy warily.

"The Underworld's system...? What do you mean by that?" he asked in an almost amused voice.

"I mean that when person dies do they go straight to the Underworld?" Nico nodded in understanding.

"Ah, ok then. So when a person dies they just kind of float out of their body. They don't go straight to the Underworld though, no. They have to find their way there."

"What if you are mortal and you don't know about the Underworld?" Nico rolled his eyes.

"Then you are going to have a harder time finding It." he said simply and Percy frowned again.

"So...You could just roam the earth forever?"

"Yeah. When mortals talk about ghost stories and stuff that is what they mean. It's just spirits that can't find their way to the Underworld." Percy nodded.

"Alright then...Once you are in the Underworld then...Can you get back out?"

"Yep. There are very few ways though and the longer you stay in the Underworld then the more you lose yourself and it is harder to escape. Very few people do it." Ok...Just one more question to go.

"Is there any way to transport someone, as a ghost I mean, around earth?" Nico cocked his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if a ghost were to grab someone's hand could they take them somewhere else?" Nico shook his head.

"No, spirits don't get any extra powers just because they died...Well aside from going through solid walls I guess. They can however, keep powers they had as a human."

"Meaning?" Percy asked.

"That if that person was a like, a demigod or something, and they were a child of...Oh, I don't know, Zeus. When they died they would still be able to summon lightning and stuff." Percy's eyes widened. What did that mean? Unless...

"Is there a kind of way children of Erebus can travel? As a power?" Nico considered this one a bit and answered.

"I don't really know." he confessed "but I think they have one of my powers to shadow travel. You know travel from one place to another by shadows."

"That's possible?"

"Why do you think I got put in a room full of lights? There is not one shadow in here that I can escape from."

Percy didn't answer. He was thinking too hard. Tanya must have brought Annabeth here...But...Why?

"If you help me" he suddenly blurted out "I can get you out of here."

Nico raised another eyebrow "Oh yeah?" he asked then paused "What exactly do you need?"

"Patience child...Wait...Calm yourself. Become the air around you...Separate the elements." Thalia gritted her teeth as she focused on the frog in front of her, trying to diffuse the oxygen from its lungs. One...Two...

Done. The frog keeled over, dead. Thalia raised a proud smile on her face and turned to Uranus.

"Hm..." he commented, looking over her work "Progress I see...Perhaps next time we can be a little faster. Let's try another one but try to get the Nitrogen out of its body not Oxygen." Thalia looked at him enraged. That was all she was getting from him? That was all the praise she was going to receive? With a jab of annoyance she turned to her next victim, an injured bird and focused. She imagined the element leaking out of the creature...The molecules slipping away.

"Eeehhh!" a high pitch note was sung from the bird as it toppled to the ground.

"Better." her mentor said more improvingly and Thalia felt another touch of pride. "Now...Perhaps we can start teaching you how to fly today as well."

"Uh..." Thalia spoke her sudden moment of victory gone, replaced with pure panic. "Perhaps we can save that for later...I am rather tired." she said and heaved her breathing for a moment to add to the affect.

"I see..." Uranus said with a hint of surprise and a cocked eye brow. Thalia looked away, redness coloring her cheeks slightly. "Very well." continued Uranus "I'll expect you early here tomorrow though." Thalia nodded and fled from the site, determined to get away from her trainer as fast as possible.

"Whoa Thals! What's the hurry?" Tyler asked as she ran straight into her friend. "Calm down, I think you may be hyperventilating."

"I...I...I'm fine." Thalia said between heaves of breaths. "I just...Wanted to go...for a...run..." she gasped out and Tyler frowned and looked her over.

"Some run." he muttered and led her into his room. He sat her down in a chair and then walked over to his kitchen.

"Have you heard from Perce?" he called over the sound of clanking of glass.

"No" she replied, her breathing a little more controlled. "I don't think I've seen him since our...talk yesterday which played out um...Well." she heard a snort from the kitchen and Tyler reappeared with two steaming glasses.

"Well? It went the furthest from that." he handed her a cup "Try it" he told her "It's actually pretty good."

"I can trust you not to poison me?" Thalia said looking over the steaming drink.

"Ah, I would be wary" Tyler smiled at her and Thalia rolled her eyes and cautiously took a sip.

"Orange juice?" she asked in bewilderment "You heated up orange juice?"

"Yep" Tyler replied "Pretty good isn't it?" Thalia looked at him for a moment before simply shaking her head in complete wariness.

"I'm friends with a freak." she muttered but a small smile graced her lips.

"I'm the freak?" Tyler asked sounding half insulted, half entertained "I think you're the freak." before Thalia had a chance to respond some else had replied.

"I think you are both freaks." with a yelp Thalia spun around and her mouth fell open.

"Miss me?" Nico asked leaning against the doorframe, Percy at his side.

"Well...This wasn't what I had in mind when I said I needed some food to do the ritual Perce." Nico said frowning at the array his...What would he call him? Friend? Ally? No. None of those were right. Percy had just helped him once. That certainly didn't make him worthy of anything but a small part of Nico's respect.

"I was in a hurry alright?" he said glancing at the pile of food in front of them, right beside his two tied up friends.

"A watermelon, lemons, tomatoes, a piece of stale bread-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Percy interrupted "I didn't have a lot of time alright? Not all of us has the time and money to go to McDonalds every time we want to summon the dead."

"Summon the dead?" Tyler said, struggling against his bindings "Percy why the hell are you summoning the dead? Are you insane? Why are we even tied up?"

"I was about to ask the same thing." Thalia muttered, glaring intensely at her friend.

"Oh, come on guys" Percy soothed "I'm going to let you out...Uh...Eventually." at their glares he spoke more "I just need Nico's help and then I'll let you out."

"What are you going to do with him after he helps you?" snapped Tyler.

"I'm going to let him go." Percy said with a shrug "We had a deal." Thalia's mouth dropped open.

"You are...You are...You're going to-? Even if-? When he-? What?" she asked her voice sounding slightly shrill.

"Yep. I'm free." Nico said, smirking at Tyler and then letting a cold gaze fall on Thalia.

"Percy." Tyler said slowly, as if he were a little dumb "If you let him go... He could inform the Gods of our plans or worse yet! The Titans!"

"I'm on the Titans side!" Percy yelled at the same time Nico asked

"Titans? What are you talking about? Aren't you on their side?"

"YES!" Percy screamed.

"No!" Tyler snapped.

"Maybe!" Thalia shrugged.

"Ugh...Nico I need a quick opinion on this." Percy said "Would you consider it crazy if a few trained demigods decided to take over both gods and titans and then decided that they would rule the entire world themselves? All rhetorically of course." Nico stood there for a moment, his mouth hitting the floor for a moment and then slowly finding its way back up.

"Uh...I'm sorry can you repeat that again? Slower this time and with a little less hysteria." Percy glared but repeated the phrase as requested.

"You are going to try to take over the world..."

"I said rhetorically."

"After throwing the gods off of their thrones."

"Did you not just hear me say rhetorically?"

"and the then going and defeating the Titans?"

"Does anyone even listen to me?"

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, and no to the third." Thalia finished "Sorry Perce but no...No one listens to you."

"Nice to know." Percy admonished with a flare of annoyance. The three looked at Nico who seemed to be having an internal struggle.

"Are you ok?" Tyler asked, sounding sincerely concerned. There was a moment of silence before a smile spread across Nico's face.

"Count me in!" There was a moment of shocked silence in which Thalia's eyes widened to the size of plates, Tyler gaped, and Percy chocked on his water he been attempting to drink, expertly spilling the rest of his drink and getting everyone else wet.

"I'm sorry...But what did you just say?" he asked and Nico couldn't help but laugh.

"What? I'm free after this aren't I? I can do what I want. I don't like the gods and I sure as hell don't like the titans so having a side of my own is killer!"

"We don't have our own side! We are on the Titans-"

"What are going to call ourselves?"

"Nothing because-"

"Oh! I haven't thought of that yet Nico! What do you think Tyler?"

"You can't be serious! I mean of all the unjust things in the world you decided to-"

"How about "The Resistance"?"

"How come no one is listening to me?"

"Nah, "The Resistance" sounds too...Formal. I like "Team Awesome"!"

"We aren't having a name!"

"No way! What a cliché!"

"There is no clichés because there is no name!"

"How about..."Team TTPN" it stands for: Tyler, Thalia, Percy, and Nico."

"Why am I included?"

"Hey! Why are you first Tyler? It should be Thalia, Tyler, Percy, and Nico!"

"Ugh, why is my name in that stupid name?"

"I believe if should be known as NPTT: Nico, Percy, Thalia, Tyler."

"Hey! Why is your name first?"

"Why is Thalia's name before mine?"

"Why is my name still in there?"

At this point, Percy had enough. Thalia and Tyler were still tied up and yet somehow were managing to attempt to strangle each other, Nico was still brain storming ideas while Percy just sat there trying to figure a way out of this mess. Within a second of his annoyance turning into anger everyone get drenched, effectively quieting them down.

...

"What was that for?"

"TITANS! Jeez, listen to me ok. All I wanted is for Nico to help me out and then he suddenly decides to join a side, that doesn't exist by the way because it is absolutely insane and there is no way it would work! Where was I? Oh yeah, so he then decided to join a side that doesn't exist and then pick out a name for said side and why in the name of Atlas do you guys keep bringing my name into this? I am not on your stupid side! Now if you can all please be quiet and stop arguing so that Nico can do what I brought him here to do and If you guys don't shut up I swear to Kronos I will kill every single one of you!" No one spoke for a moment and Percy just sat there and gasped for breath after his rather long tirade.

"…So I still think my name should come first."

"Ah! That's it!" With a smack a wave of water came from the window and made a gag like thing around their mouths effectively silencing them. "Thank the Titans!" he muttered and turned to Nico who was now frowning.

"Hmm...Maybe we shouldn't have our initials in it at all."

"Never mind that! Just do the ritual!" Percy snapped at him and he shrugged nonchalantly and snapped his fingers. Three skeletons appeared out of nowhere and turned to Nico with a salute.

"Dig a hole for a rising ritual please." he said surprisingly polite and the skeletons chattered away, beginning their work.

"Uh...Are they supposed to be digging through the carpet?" Percy asked Nico who shrugged.

"Does it really matter?"

"I'm sure to Tyler it does...On second thought...Never mind." Nico just smiled and chuckled lightly as the skeletons finished up their hole which was eight feet deep.

"Alright hand me the tomatoes." Percy did and he dumped it in along with some heated orange juice which was sitting on the counter.

"Stand back" Nico warned and he began to chant "Let the dead rise again...Let the dead taste again...Let the dead hear again...Let the dead see again..I summon Tanya Lynne...Come forth." smoke began to come up in tendrils and slowly a white figure appeared.

"Freaky." Percy commented and a boy came out of the smoke.

"W-where am I?" he coughed and Percy blinked. He reconized the person. Was that...? No.

"Who are you?" Nico asked and Percy was beginning to fear the answer.

"Mark?" the boy said unsured "Um...Marcus?" There. Percy was looking in the face of his dead best friend all over again. He wanted to say something...He needed to but for some reason the words got caught in his throat.

"We are looking for Tanya Lynne." Nico said interrupting his thoughts. "Do you know her?"

"Tanya...Tanya..." he muttered and at last second his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak but his figured disappeared at the very moment.

"Marcus" Percy muttered and almost reached a hand out to where he had disappeared but another voice overthrew his own.

"Nico." a new figure had formed and Percy blinked in surprise. It was girl. She looked about twelve years old yet a silver glow had formed around her aside from the usual ghost radiance. She had a hunting bow over her arm and a green cap covering her face. Black hair fell into charcoal colored eyes and olive toned skin.

"Bianca." Nico said and his voiced had changed. It was softer...and sadder. "What are you doing here?" he asked gently and the girl smiled and reached out as if to touch him.

"You look so grown up" she murmured and her smiled grew melancholy "Nico, what have I told you about summoning the dead? Your power attracts the attention of Kronos."

"I know Bianca. I just need to summon this one person. For my friend here." the girl's eyes wandered carefully over Percy as if deciding on whether or not she could trust him...Which she couldn't.

"Hello." she said cautiously and Percy offered her a warm smile.

"Hello." he said and Thalia's voice echoed in his head again from the past when they were talking at Camp Half-Blood. Nico had a sister once...She was killed though on her first quest to get retrieve Lady Artemis and Annabeth... So this was Nico's sister... Bianca looked at him again and then slowly nodded as if agreeing to some sort of deal.

"Alright, go ahead and summon this person but make it quick." Nico nodded sorrowfully at his older sister and she disappeared.

Then in her place a new girl stood. This one Percy knew without a doubt who it was. She was made entirely of mist but there was still color. Her eyes were still that soft yellow and her hair was that same black color he knew so well.

"Tanya."

Hello again! So I hope I have made your guys day so far with this update! Happy Hannakuh (did I spell that right?), Merry Christmas, and have fun celebrating! If you guys want you can give me a gift too by reviewing ;)

Lots and lots of love!

HuntressofArtemis39