AN: the second half :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights go to Rick Riordan

The first thing that Percy was aware of, was the throbbing pain in his head. It was similar to when Gabe would sometimes crack some glass bottle over his head, just for laughs. It was one of their many inside jokes that he had kept from his mom. The more aware of his body he became, the more he realised that he wasn't in pain. He opened his eyes and jerked back when the first thing he saw was the gaping mouth of a fish. He blinked rapidly to clear the black spots in his eyes. Reminder, don't move suddenly with a concussion.

Sorry lord! I didn't mean to startle you. He looked around wildly, searching for whoever had spoken.

I'm in front of you lord. He stared at the fish that had scared him.

"Are you the one talking in my head?"

Yes lord.

"How come I can hear you? Hold on, how am I even breathing underwater? Why am I underwater?" Wracking his brain, he tried to recall the last thing that he could remember.

You've been floating along the bed of the lake for a while lord. We've been taking turns watching you.

"Who's 'we'?" Still trying to remember, Percy looked up at the fish as he rubbed his head. He looked down at his burned clothes, barely held together by threads. Lifting his arms to his face, he watched in fascination as the red blisters and burns slowly faded to a light pink, before that too faded, leaving just his normal tan skin.

The fish turned to the side and flapped its little fin and he followed its gaze; there was a whole school just staring at him thirty feet away.

He could hear their faint whispers: the lord's awake! Quick, he's looking this way, act natural! He stared at them, incredulous, before cracking a grin. They acted like he did when he was stealing one of his mom's freshly baked, blue chocolate chip cookies.

"So, can someone tell me where I am? And if they know how long I've been here?" He raised his voice, projecting it further in hopes that some fish more helpful than the one currently in front of him would take pity and answer his questions. He instinctively stepped back when the school swam towards him, coming to a halt mere inches from his face.

You're in the lake, lord! We don't know how long you've been here though, you just kind of appeared. You probably washed in from the river.

"River! That's it! I need you guys to take me to the river, please," he snapped his fingers the way his teacher used to when she had an idea and looked at them, eyes pleading. Turns out, they were more than eager to help out and needed no further incentive; purely pleased to help out their "lord".

He figured Thalia and Luke were right about who his father was, otherwise there would've been no way for him to not only survive the fall, but have the ability to breathe underwater and communicate with the fish.

When they finally arrived at the mouth of the river as it emptied into the lake, he turned back around to face them.

"Thank you guys, I think I know how to get back to my friends from here," he said as he smiled gratefully, opening his arms. The little fish all crowded in nuzzling at his face, arms and torso, excited to not only be able to meet their lord, but to touch and embrace him! Oh, the stories they would tell and pass down for generations to come. Calling out goodbyes and farewells, they waved their little fins as they watched him swim to the top of the lake and climb out onto the shore.

Percy looked up at the storm clouds and raised his arms to the sky, catching some raindrops. He touched the part of his head that had ached and throbbed when he first woke up and was pleased to find that it was only mildly sore.

So he could be healed by water. That was useful. At least his powers were good for something. Looking up over the treetops he could make out the big cliffside he had fallen down, and knew that he had to get back before Thalia and Luke left. He studied the river as it flowed into the lake before an idea came to his head. Grinning deviously, he stepped back into the water, concentrating on not sinking down, the water all around him invigorating him and keeping his energy levels constant.

Narrowing his eyes at the river, he focused on the water and thought of the skateboarders he used to sneak out to watch, and imagined his own skateboard, but made of water. A triumphant grin broke out on his face as his feet were suddenly immersed in their own little water skateboard-shaped bubble. His expression shifted again, tongue stuck slightly out as he put his mind to going upstream, against the current. It was a little more difficult, and as he lurched forward, he lost his balance and the water skateboard broke apart as he fell down.

Frowning, he stood up, refusing to be swept away by the current and concentrated. He formed the board again and this time more gently, started moving upstream. It was a little slow at first, but as he got the hang of it, he went faster and faster until he was zooming up the river, occasionally looking up to see where the mountain was. He finally reached the cliffside and looked up, hand raised, shielding his eyes from the constant downpour of rain.

He could do this. He had already gotten this far. It would just be like using the water board, except moving sideways, he would be moving directly up. Just in case, instead of the board, he commanded the water to encompass the entirety of his legs, up to his waist.

Prepared, he then started rising out of the river. Utilising the excessive amounts of rainfall, he added that to his own water tower. The wind buffeted at him, and he almost lost his balance multiple times, but he clenched his fists, calling up more water to support him.

Finally reaching the top, where he had first jumped, he deposited himself down before dismissing the water, sending it back down into the river. He scanned the clearing. Good news, there was no sign of the dragon. Bad news, there was no sign of his friends either. Even the firepit from the night before was missing.

Wondering if he had somehow managed to go to the wrong mountain, he looked around. The ground still had scorch marks where it had tried to flambé the three of them originally, as well where it had launched him off the cliff. No, this was definitely the right mountain. So where were his friends?

A sick feeling coiled around in his gut as a sudden thought hit him. What if the dragon had killed them? No. No. He shook his head, trying to dispel the unpleasant thought. The unpleasant possibility.

They were alive. They had to be. They weren't allowed to die and leave him. They had promised.

Family.

With all the stubbornness of a child, he stretched out his senses, looking for the same thickness that he had felt in Gabe. He ignored the water around him, the rain, the river below. He closed his eyes, imagining that if he looked hard enough he would find it. He had to find it.

There.

There were two pulsing liquids in the cave. The dragon's cave. He ran as fast as he could to the entrance, peering into the mouth. Was that a light? He reached out once more, feeling the two different bodies of liquid in the cave. There was no way he would be able to miss the dragon if it was in there. Nodding to himself, he walked in, heading for the light.

As he approached, he could make out the two figures, one in a sitting position, leaning against the wall, the other lying on the floor. His fears put to rest, he ran the last thirty feet, tackling the figure against the wall in a hug, bowling them both over.

-Line Break-

Luke was woken up at the sound of pattering feet, standing out over the normal soundtrack of the constant rainfall and the various snaps and pops of the fire. He barely had time to look up at the approaching figure before it crashed into him, knocking him over. He was about to brain the intruder with his golf club before he realised exactly who was squeezing the breath out of him. Releasing the club, he wrapped his arms around the boy, dropping his chin down onto his head and pinching his own arm to make sure this wasn't some twisted dream from the Fates.

Percy was alive. He didn't even realise he was crying until he felt the tears dripping down his face into Percy's hair. Neither wanted to let go, so they just stayed like that for a while, happy to see the other alive. Finally, Luke loosened his grip, cupping Percy's face, ignoring the sigh of fond exasperation. He turned his head from side to side, inspecting him for injuries. To his surprise, he found none. Letting go, he just shook his head at Percy's smug grin.

"You can't scare us like that, Perce." The grin fell away, and he turned to the side, gazing at the sleeping form of Thalia.

"I didn't mean to," he replied, and Luke leaned closer. His voice was faint, barely audible above the downpour outside. He watched Percy look around at their belongings. Cocking an eyebrow at the reappearance of the smug grin, his eyes followed Percy as he rose, walking around the campfire to where their sleeping bags had been laid out, slowly drying from the heat of the fire. He sat back, content to let Percy do whatever he wanted to do, an affectionate smile as Percy frowned in concentration. Slowly, water rose out of the three sleeping bags, and Luke's eyes widened. This kid had only found out who his father was yesterday and he had already gained a degree of mastery over his power. He watched, enraptured as Percy moved the water towards the entrance of the cave, seventy feet away, with the occasional wobble, otherwise maintaining perfect control, before flinging it out into the rain. He then repeated this with their bags and Luke and Thalia's halfway dried clothes. When he was finished, he walked back over to Thalia, sitting cross legged next to her. Finally breaking out of his reverie, Luke just gaped at him.

"How? You only found out that Poseidon was your father last night!" He was incredulous, the boy was insane! As Percy opened his mouth to answer, his attention was drawn to their sleeping companion. She had moved around a few times before Percy had shown up and before he himself had fallen asleep, but she was full on thrashing right now.

"What's wrong with her?" The smugness had disappeared, panic clear in Percy's voice, and Luke's own face contorted in concern. Before he could answer, she gasped and shot up, looking around at them, eyes wild.

"Hey, it's me, Luke, and look, Percy! We're here, it's okay," he reached out, rubbing her leg soothingly, whilst she just panted for breath.

"Thalia? What's wrong?" Percy grabbed her hand, tugging slightly to get her attention. Her eyes locked onto him, acknowledging his presence for the first time, and it seemed to break whatever spell she was in. She started taking deep breaths, her heartbeat slowing down as they continued to rub soothing circles, and finally, she seemed calm.

She turned to Percy, her electric gaze piercing his own eyes, hand suddenly gripping his in a vice.

"You died, Percy. You left me, just like he did."