Thanks as always for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows. I had hoped that Chapter 21 would include the battle, but the length got too long, so you will have to wait till the next chapter.

Chapter 21: I Have a Crazy Idea

Since Annabeth did nothing but strategize for two days straight, the final plan for meeting the Gungans was super complicated. I was all for landing our ship near the Gungan hangout and then just introducing the queen to Boss Nass, but apparently that was too risky. "First off, we could be walking right into a trap if the Trade Federation did manage to find and defeat the Gungans because of the Sith's warning, so the queen needs to be farther away when we first approach," she had ranted when I suggested my idea. "Secondly, if the Trade Federation doesn't know where the Gungans are, we don't want to lead them there. And, thirdly, Boss Nass would be very mad at you if you just brought the sovereign of Naboo into his top secret, sacred place."

So that's why the first part of the plan had us landing on the complete opposite side of the planet from our actual destination but near the Gungan city Otoh Mandassa that always had several heyblibbers, the Gungans' larger subs. I swam down to the hidden city and borrowed one of the heyblibbers. It was pretty eerie because the city was completely empty, so I returned to the surface as fast as possible. Then, everyone piled into the sub.

I'm sure me showing off with my powers was not part of Annabeth's plan. But, when Obi-Wan boarded the sub, he asked, "Are you sure you can drive this without it blowing up?" and eyed the controls in front of me almost wistfully.

"Oh no you don't, Jedi boy, this baby is all mine," I said with a smirk. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride of your life." Well, after a statement like that, I really did have to follow through, so I used my powers to take ridiculously sharp turns through the tunnels at impossible speeds and did some pretty crazy evasion moves when a colo claw fish tried to eat us in the planet core.

When we reached the shore of a lake a few miles from the Gungan hangout, Obi-Wan was one of the first to leave the sub. I heard him mutter to Qui-Gon, "I think I prefer flying than that!" His master just chuckled.

I was not a big fan of the next part of the plan, mainly because Annabeth and I would be separated. Obi-Wan, Jar Jar, and I would head to the Gungan's sacred place first to make sure it wasn't a trap and then convince Boss Nass to meet with the queen. Annabeth and Qui-Gon and the rest of our party would stay with the queen. "Are you sure you can't come too?" I begged Annabeth one last time.

"No, Percy, you know we need two Force-users to stay here and protect the queen, and Obi-Wan needs to go with you so that at least one of you has a lightsaber." She said reasonably, "It won't be for long. Just please don't do anything too stupid, Seaweed Brain."

We kissed goodbye, until Obi-Wan did one of his awkward coughs and dragged me away. He called back to Annabeth, "I'll do my best to make sure he comes back in one piece." She had the nerve to laugh.

I couldn't help glancing back as we walked away. "Honestly, Percy, she will be fine," Obi-Wan stated confidently. "I don't see why you are worrying so much."

I just shrugged, "It's just it seems like every time I turn my back on her, she's falling off a cliff."

Obi-Wan smirked, "I'm sure she has far more reason to worry about you falling off a cliff, my friend."

"Hey, I don't fall off of cliffs, maybe huge arches but not cliffs."

Obi-Wan just shook his head, like he'd given up trying to understand me.

Luckily, we didn't run into any droids or Sith Lords. The only hazard was Jar Jar constantly tripping and almost knocking me over. The Gungan scouts found us about a mile out. Both of them insisted on shocking Jar Jar with their spears but then escorted us the rest of the way. They led us to a sort of swampy grove with the remains of statues and an old temple. Boss Nass yelled at Jar Jar, practically ignored Obi-Wan, but was thrilled to see me. He laughed as he said, "Mesa taut yousa caught by da Machineeks!" in his deep voice.

I grinned, "Oh come on, your Bossness, you should know by now that is would take more than a few Machineeks to get me. Oh, by the way I might have borrowed a heyblibber to get here, but don't worry, it didn't get a scratch." He laughed again and patted my back. I guess he was in a pretty good mood, so I decided better now than never to bring up the queen. "I am really glad all of you guys are okay, but I didn't come here just to visit. Queen Amidala of the Naboo wants to form an alliance. I didn't want to break my promise, so she's a good distance from here. But, she would like to speak to you. She hopes the Naboo and Gungans can work together and get all the Machineeks off the planet." In this case, I figured I should use the Gungan word for the droids to remind him I was still on the Gungans' side too even if I was speaking for the queen.

I could tell Boss Nass wasn't too happy about this. He made his tkk-tkk-tkk noise. "Wesa not need da Naboo. Wesa haf a grand army."

"Then why are you hiding here instead of fighting the Machineeks right now?" I questioned. I was starting to get annoyed with the Gungans' pride. Hopefully, it wouldn't get us all killed. Boss Nass looked offended. The exasperated look in Obi-Wan's eyes told me he thought I had clearly insulted the Gungan too much, but before the Jedi could say something, I continued, "Because you are smart, and you know the droid army is much bigger than yours. But, Queen Amidala has a plan to capture the leaders of the Trade Federation. If you want to fight and beat all the Machineeks and reclaim our planet, right now is the best chance you're going to get. And, maybe once we chase those Trade Federation goons off our planet, things between the Naboo and Gungans can change for the better. Show them that you are smart. Queen Amidala wanted an alliance even before the Machineeks came here. Please, just meet her."

Boss Nass thought about it for a moment before he did his signature blubbering. I smiled knowing that meant a yes. "Wesa'll spake witda Naboo."

"Yes! Thank you, Boss Nass. I'll tell Annabeth to bring her right away," I gave him a little bow and stepped away from the Gungan leader. I used my new fancy comm from Anakin to contact Annabeth. "We did it! So, you guys better get here as soon as possible before he changes his mind."

"That's great Seaweed Brain! How did you convince him?" Her voice sounded crystal clear, like she was right next to me.

I winced, "Well I might have called him a smart coward. He didn't like the coward part, but he liked the smart part."

"Sounds like Seaweed Brain negotiation at its finest: part offensive, part complimentary."

"Hey, at least it worked. And can you make sure the queen doesn't come across as snooty or anything like that when she meets with him."

Annabeth groaned, "Percy, our queen is not snooty." I swore I could hear some giggling going on in the background on her end. "However, I will warn her that the Gungans view the Naboo as arrogant." After I confirmed the coordinates, she promised to see me soon and ended the connection.

I saw that look in Obi-Wan's eyes, like he couldn't believe I just did something that stupid, "Should I try to contact the Supreme Chancellor so you can offend him too? It seems as if you are trying to set a record on how many governing leaders you can insult in five minutes. I'm not sure how you got Boss Nass to agree to a meeting after talking to him like that."

I smirked, "What can I say, it's one of my many talents!"

The meeting with Queen Amidala started pretty badly at first, with the queen talking like a politician in her fancy combat outfit. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can fight in a headdress like that, and I'm used to fighting in full Greek armor! Needless to say, Boss Nass wasn't too happy. But, then Padmé stepped forward and claimed that she was the real Queen Amidala and that the girl in the fancy outfit was just her decoy. I'm pretty sure a few bugs flew in my mouth because I was so shocked. Annabeth just looked smug.

"You knew this whole time, didn't you?" I muttered.

"Yep, ever since I heard the name Padmé on the ship. That was her name before the election."

"I guess they switched back on Coruscant?"

Annabeth nodded. Well, now I knew why the queen all of a sudden knew me a lot better. I groaned as I realized something else, "Now, Obi-Wan will never stop teasing me. I actually threw food at my elected ruler."

Annabeth was trying very hard not to laugh. At this point we all started kneeling though, so she was able to duck her head and hide it. I was impressed that Padmé was willing to do something so humbling, but it was exactly what Boss Nass needed to convince him that the Naboo really didn't think they were superior to the Gungans. I was just happy that my two adopted races in this universe had finally formed an alliance. Maybe, things really could change here. It wasn't long after that Boss Nass sent out riders to gather the Gungan Grand Army, and we all started the march to Theed.

In case you were wondering, walking through a swamp is not fun. Between the bugs, bristly vines, and thigh deep mud, I would have almost preferred a stroll through the Labyrinth than the over three-day hike from the Gungan hideout to Theed. At least I was able to keep my socks dry using my powers. More Gungan troops from other evacuated cities joined us along the way. Based on the reports, it seemed like the Trade Federation had sent more droids into the swamp as the Sith ordered, but the Gungans were very good at guerilla warfare.

By the third day, I thought we might actually be able to pull this off. We had 2,000 Gungan soldiers and about a hundred from the Naboo resistance. Annabeth had fallen a bit behind me because she was carrying Anakin piggy back style through the mud and talking about genius stuff with him and Qui-Gon. I was impressed that even marching through a swamp didn't seem to dampen Anakin's spirit. My own mood was even better because I knew this would be out last day marching. I started humming one of my favorite camp songs, "Down by the Aegean."

Obi-Wan groaned beside me, "Not again, I just got the last tune out of my head. What's got you in such a good mood anyways?" I glanced over and saw a very miserable Jedi. Obi-Wan's long brown robe was soaked and caked in mud.

I grinned at him, just to emphasize how not miserable I was with my dry clothes before replying, "I guess it's just because we might actually have a chance at this. I never thought we would be able to rally so many troops. It's way more than I've ever fought beside in the past."

"How many troops did you have in your previous wars then?" he asked.

I shrugged, "It depended on the battle. Most of the time, we were lucky if we had 200, and we were always heavily outnumbered mainly because there are way more monsters than half-bloods. Usually, reinforcements would come at the last minute."

Obi-Wan frowned, "That's not very many at all. How many half-bloods were there back on your world?"

"I guess maybe 400 or so total including a few girls-only clubs. It's sort of hard to tell on the Roman side though because they include legacies, what we call descendants of half-bloods."

"Why does only the Roman side include legacies? Why not the Greek side as well?" Obi-Wan asked.

I sighed, "Honestly, most Greek half-bloods don't live long enough to have kids. From my experience, our average lifespan seems to be fifteen. I've done my best to change that, and hopefully, now that we have an alliance with the Romans, maybe things will be better. I may not like a lot of the Romans' rules and super outdated traditions. I mean really, who insists on wearing bed sheets." I glanced at my friend's dirty robes, "Though, I guess your bathrobe isn't much better. But, the Romans really did an amazing job of building an infrastructure so that half-bloods can grow up and live the rest of their lives in relative safety. Something I could have only dreamed about before."

Obi-Wan was quite for a few steps as he thought about what I had said, "I cannot imagine living in that kind of an environment, where you do not expect to grow old. Do not mistake me, being a Jedi can be very dangerous and some of us do die young, but that is considered unusual."

"Eh, you get used to it. It just really makes you appreciate the time you have." I wanted to change the subject to something less morbid, so I asked, "How many Jedi are there?"

"We have about 10,000 members in the Order."

I was so stunned that I stumbled, "10,000?" It was hard for me to even imagine. And, if they all could do what I'd seen Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon do…

"However, there are nearly 25,000 systems in the Republic, so we are often spread pretty thin," Obi-Wan added. "And, not all Jedi do what Qui-Gon and I do. Many use their connection with the Force to help grow crops for those planets that struggle to feed themselves or provide other services for the Republic." I nodded, as I was once again hit with how far away I was from home, back where we just had to worry about one little planet. I couldn't imagine trying to worry about thousands of planetary systems. "It is interesting that your home has so many Force-users. Four hundred from one planet is rather high. Are all half-bloods as strong in the Force as you and Annabeth?"

"I'm still not sure about all this Force stuff, but no, Annabeth and I are both probably on the stronger end for half-bloods," I admitted. "No one really knows why some half-bloods are stronger than others. I mean one factor is definitely your godly parent. My dad and his two brothers are pretty much the most powerful gods, so their children tend to be a bit more powerful. But, I've also known some half-bloods who have a lot more power than their half-siblings." I thought about Piper and Leo, especially. "Some of my friends think it might be based on how much your godly parent loved your mortal parent." I shrugged, "Or that could just be wishful thinking" I added. I'm sure I wasn't doing a good job of hiding the sadness and hurt in my voice. "After all, what kid doesn't want to think that their parents loved each other."

Obi-Wan shrugged, "I would not know. I never thought too much about my parents." He said that statement the same way I would say 'the sky is blue.' There was no resentment or even longing. It was just a fact that he just now realized.

Curious, I asked "Do you wish you knew them?"

He considered my question before replying, "No, I do not. I suppose I will always be grateful to them for bringing me into this world and allowing me to go to the Temple to be trained as a Jedi. I know you disagree with that particular custom, but honestly, I cannot imagine being anything else. From the pure joy I feel when I immerses myself in the Force and the knowledge that I am part of something larger than myself, something greater, it is all part of being a Jedi. I suppose it is also liberating, knowing that I will never be burdened by the weight of my parents' legacy. Whether they were royalty or slaves, I am free to make my own way in the galaxy just on my own merit."

For the first time, I was a little jealous of Obi-Wan, not because I wished I didn't know my parents but because I had always been burdened by my father's legacy long before I even knew who he was. I knew Obi-Wan didn't mean to, but my good mood was officially ruined.

When we stopped for the evening, we were just a mile of so from the Great Grass Plains, and I knew tomorrow would be the day we fought back. The two Jedi from the Senate commission found us there probably using their strange Force sensing. I was just happy they made it because we could definitely use the extra lightsabers. Annabeth grabbed my hand and rushed over to them. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were already there, talking to the new Jedi in hushed voices.

". . . hacked the multi-troop transport computer and downloaded the log," the female Jedi said. I recognized her as one of the Jedi on the Council. She had extremely blue eyes, dark, almost blue tinted skin, sort of a scaled head, and light-colored tendrils instead of hair which reminded me a little too much of Gorgon snake hair. But, at least her hair tendrils didn't move on their own like the snake hair did. "Just in case, we grabbed a few droid heads as well. I tried to send back a live feed of the troops and the prison camps, but I can not reach the Council or the Senate Committee with the communication block, so I just made a recording."

"That should be sufficient to convince most of the Senate," Qui-Gon approved. He saw us standing there, so he started the introductions. "Annabeth, Percy, this is Master Adi Gallia. As I'm sure you remember, she is a member of the Jedi High Council." Adi nodded her head in greeting at us. Like, most Jedi she seemed to have an amazing poker face, so I had no idea what she was thinking. Her eyes though seemed a little warry but mainly curious. Qui-Gon then turned to the other Jedi who I had never seen before. "And this is Knight Kit Fisto." The new Jedi seemed like a cross between an octopus and our stereotypical alien back on Earth. You know little green men with big heads and huge black eyes. Like those aliens, he was green and had the black eyes, but he was taller than me by almost a head and had long, thick, green tentacles instead of hair. He gave us a little bow, as Qui-Gon continued the introductions, "Knight Fisto meet Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson."

We both shook his hand. Unlike, his Jedi companion Kit grinned at us. I didn't even think that was allowed. "So, you are the two Force-users that have the Council in such a fluster. It is a pleasure to meet you," he said with that huge smile still on his face.

I smiled back, "It's a pleasure to meet a Jedi that can actually smile!"

He laughed, "We are not all as serious as Padawan Kenobi or as enigmatic as Master Jinn. You clearly need to be around more Jedi." I laughed too as Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon both gave Kit almost matching looks of annoyance. I had a feeling I would like this Jedi.

Boss Nass and Padmé or should I say Queen Amidala, sheesh that would be confusing, had set up a sort of command center, so Annabeth and I and the four Jedi headed over there. Panaka, Anakin, and a few of the resistance leaders were also present for our pre-battle meeting. After the new Jedi were introduced, Padmé explained the plan. There would be four groups attacking the Trade Federation at different locations. The largest would be the Gungan army that would draw most of the droids away from Theed. The Naboo Security Forces making up the resistance would fight another front in the city of Theed to distract even more of the droids and try to free some of the citizens. While the droids were busy, a small group including the queen would sneak into the palace and capture the viceroy. The fourth group, made up of pilots, would take the ships from the Royal Hanger and knock out the droid control ship. Annabeth had told me that the last part had been Padmé's idea to try to prevent the droid army from overwhelming the Gungans.

"Do we have an estimate on the droid numbers?" Annabeth asked.

"My scouts reported over 4,000," Panaka answered.

Some of the resistance winced and even Padmé looked a little shocked. I smiled though and elbowed Annabeth, "Wow, that's like two to one. Much better odds than the ten to one we normally start with."

But, Annabeth frowned, "It will not be easy. The droids definitely have the advantage with the long-range weapons. If they get past or disable the shields, a lot of Gungans could die until the droids are deactivated."

"Wesa ready to do our-san part," Boss Nass said proudly.

I didn't like the idea that many Gungans would die, "And Annabeth and I will help too. Maybe, we can come up with something to stop the droids from getting past the shield?"

I glanced at her, but she was biting her lip. "That is another thing," she said. "How do we want to distribute the Jedi and Percy and me? Although we could use everyone we can get, I think it might be best if either Knight Fisto or Master Gallia returns to Coruscant and presents the evidence to the Senate," Annabeth stated. "Hopefully, that will compel the Senate to swiftly act against the Trade Federation and send aid despite whatever allies the Trade Federation may have in the Senate. If things go badly for us, that evidence might be Naboo's best hope."

Qui-Gon nodded his head in agreement, "That would be a wise course of action."

"I will go," Adi volunteered. "I have been a source of intelligence for the Senate in the past, so they should trust me."

"That's even better," Annabeth said, looking pleased. "Very well that leaves the five of us."

"Obi-Wan and I must stay with the queen," Qui-Gon stated. "And Anakin will come with us. Once we reach the palace, he will be able to stay hidden."

"So that leaves you, me, and Kit with the Gungans," I reasoned.

Qui-Gon looked expectantly at Annabeth who was biting her lip again. As soon as she looked at me with her grey eyes, I knew I wouldn't like what she said next, "Percy, that's not the best strategy according to our skills. You should stay with the Gungans. Your particular talents would be better suited for a large-scale battle. Knight Fisto will be able to help in case Darth Maul shows up with the droids. However, with my special cap, I would be better staying with the queen and helping them reach the throne room. Plus, if Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are fighting a Sith, I would still be there to protect the queen."

"I agree with your assessment, Annabeth," Qui-Gon said with a small smile. "It is the best way to distribute the Force-users."

Deep down, I knew they were right, but I hated the idea of being separated from Annabeth during a battle, "But we promised to stay together." I knew it was a low blow reminding her what I said right before I let go of the ledge and dropped into Tartarus with her.

She winced. "This is different Percy. It won't be for long, and we will know exactly where each other will be. Perhaps if the Gungan battle goes well, you can come to the palace and help."

"Percy, would you really endanger countless lives and the freedom of the planet?" Obi-Wan tried to reason with me.

I was about to tell him yes if it meant that Annabeth would be safe, but I didn't get the chance because Annabeth looked me right in the eye and squeezed my hand with hers, "Please, Percy. Trust me to be okay. I can take care of myself just fine, and in this case, I trust you to do the same. This is what I want. It will give us the best chance to win this thing."

Everyone was staring at me: Padmé, Boss Nass, Panaka, all the Jedi, and Anakin. I remembered what I told Ani a few days ago that sometimes the best way to show that you loved someone was to honor her choices even if you didn't want to. I sighed, "Fine, I trust you Wise Girl, but as soon as it looks like the Gungans have control of the fighting, I'm hoping on a sub and getting to that palace."

She beamed and gave me a peck on the cheek, "Thank you, Percy."

After that everyone sort of spread out and did their own thing. Boss Nass asked if I wanted to participate in a Gungan battle ritual so that the gods would bless them, but I turned him down – partly because it would have felt weird praying to other gods that weren't the Olympians, and also, I really didn't want to cover myself in mud which was apparently a key part of the ritual. Instead, I sat on a log with Annabeth as she tried to come up with some strategy that would help the Gungans defeat the droids. After she used Daedalus 2.0 to evaluate the droid command ship's defenses, she didn't think the pilots would have much success. The shields were just too strong and trying to blow it up from the inside would be a suicide mission.

So, that just left me and Kit and the Gungans trying to hold off a massive army until Padmé and Annabeth could capture the viceroy. After watching a few of the battle simulations Annabeth ran on Daedalus in hologram mode, I was beginning to realize exactly how hard that would be. The fight had to be in the open if we wanted to draw out the droid army. This gave them a huge advantage because even though the Gungans were pretty good fighters from what I had seen, they had practically zero long range weapons. I mean we were going against tanks and blasters with basically ancient Roman catapults and slingshots. Even something like bows and arrows would be better. Plus, there was a chance that Kit and I wouldn't be able to help the Gungans if Darth Maul showed up.

Annabeth had tried all different ways of organizing the Gungan army, but in the end, they were always overrun. I stopped paying attention after the fifth one. It was kind of depressing watching all of the hologram Gungans die, and I knew if we didn't think of something, that's what would happen tomorrow.

"Amazing," I heard someone say softly though the speaker was a good bit behind me. "I could not sense anything, and now, their Force presences are impossible to ignore." It was Kit and the rest of the Jedi a few yards away.

"Yes, it does take some getting used to," Qui-Gon admitted.

"I don't understand why their Force presence is so much stronger now than it was in the council chamber," Master Adi wondered. "I mean it changes as you grow in the Force and if you shield your presence, but that is not the case here, is it?"

"You should have felt Percy's when he was piloting the sub," Obi-Wan commented, "It was incredible when I was not concerned that we would crash in a tunnel that is."

"You know we can hear you," I called back over my shoulder though Annabeth just muttered something about optimizing trajectory. "Well, at least one of us can." I turned around on my log and faced them as they joined us. Annabeth just gave them a nod before furiously tapping on Daedalus 2.0 to start up another simulation.

"I imagine their Force presence flares whenever they are around or using their parents' spheres of influence," Qui-Gon answered. "At least that's the only pattern I could find."

"I understand how Miss Chase is clearly using her mother's domain." Adi looked at me curiously, "However, you, young Jackson, do not appear to be doing anything. I also do not see any seas or oceans nearby, yet your Force presence is far stronger than on Coruscant."

I just shrugged, "Don't look at me for answers. I'm still trying to get used to the idea that my powers supposedly come from this Force."

"I imagine on a planet with underground oceans, we are never very far from a water source," Qui-Gon speculated looking at the ground. "Hence, the flare so to speak in Percy's Force presence."

Huh, I had never really thought about it. I mean, I clearly knew the underwater oceans were there, but I had never thought about how they would affect me. Now, that I was thinking about it, I realized that I could always sense the salt water beneath me on Naboo. It was just a comforting sort of feeling in the back of my mind like wearing a favorite hoody that also happened to give you a constant drip of caffeine. And, I guess if Qui-Gon was right then that would explain why I always felt stronger and more alive and just overall better around water. I glanced over at Annabeth who groaned as the hologram Gungan army was once again gunned down by the droids. What we really needed was something to destroy the tanks and split the droids, a sort of second front. I focused on the ocean somewhere beneath me, wondering exactly how far away it was. I didn't know if I would be strong enough to do it, but it might be our best shot.

"Okay, crazy idea time," I told Annabeth. "Can you pull up a map of the plains with how far the underground water is from the surface?" I hesitated, thinking it over some more. "And maybe, add fault lines just to be safe."

Author's Note: Sorry for another setup chapter, but I really needed somethings to get discussed. Also, I can not take credit for the idea that a demigod's power could be related to the love of the godly parent for the mortal parent. I read it in a Harry Potter/Percy Jackson crossover years ago, but I have unfortunately forgotten which one, so kudos to that author.