AN: Chapter 11. Wow, I'm surprised I've gotten this far. :D

Jenyla: Yeah…

aesir21: Yes… And yes.

Le Diablo Blanc2: Thanks. It's definitely not a Percabeth. The pairing is Percy and Zoe.

Child of Kronos: Yeah…

Blitzing: Well, I'm glad it's good. ;D

zsouthwell: Thanks! :)

The Goddamn Dark Knight: Yep.

Starstryker97: I'm actually not sure. You can make me one, but there's no guarantee it'll be in the story. But I'll try to find a place for him/her.

Air Flare: Irrelevant, but really cool. Thank you! :D

L. Lawliet-Rue Ryuzaki: So true. Thanks. :)

Mythology212 (Guest): YEAH, THANKS!

xXDaughterOfAthenaXx: Yes. Yes. Not really. No. Yes!

LyingTruth123: Yes. No, no, yes, yes! :D

Random Person (Guest): Deal. ;)

Disclaimer: I'm no good at making new characters from scratch… So there is no way I own Percy Jackson.

Chapter 11: Shock and Introductions

Percy's POV

"Bianca?" Nico whispered. "Bianca?"

For a moment, everything was still, but then the hooded figure standing in front of Nico threw back her hood. It was Bianca. She was grinning, and her brown eyes were gleaming. That was all I could see before Nico tackled her into a hug, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Hey Nico. Long time, no see," Bianca said.

I looked back at the obvious leader of the group, who still had her hood covering her face. She spoke again, and I couldn't help but recognize her voice. I just couldn't attach a face and name to the voice.

"You do not remember me, Perseus?"

"Um… Well," I stuttered, still trying and failing to figure out who she was.

One of the demigods she had brought with her spoke up. The organized V-formation had turned into an unorganized blob.

"Give him a hint," said a distinct male voice with a hint of laughter.

Somehow I knew she was laughing silently under that hood. "How about if I told you my father was Atlas?"

My eyes widened. "Calypso? How did you get off Ogygia?"

Her laughter rang out, soft and clear. "No, I am not Calypso."

"What? Then who are you?" I wondered out loud.

She stayed silent, and I took that as my cue to start thinking, something I wasn't very good at. Annabeth could probably figure this out in a second.

I tried to think of another daughter of Atlas. I remembered the year I had snuck away from camp to join a quest, at the end of which I had fought Atlas… And one of his daughters had sacrificed herself to save me.

"Z-Zoe?" I stammered.

Instead of replying to me, she simply slipped her hood back. She had long, black hair. There wasn't a silver circlet braided in this time, and it flowed freely over her shoulders. Those brown eyes that I still remembered shone brightly with a silvery tinge. Her lips curled up in a soft smile. She was beautiful.

I would have stood there all day, staring at Zoe with my mouth hung open if it weren't for Nico.

"So who are the rest of you guys?" he asked, still clinging tightly to Bianca.

I closed my mouth and turned my gaze to the other hooded demigods. They were all about the same height as me, except for one who was a couple inches taller. But unfortunately, I couldn't recognize people according to their height, so I was out of luck.

Bianca gently pried Nico's fingers off her arm, but let him clutch her hand like it was his lifeline. "Hoods off, guys," she said.

The shortest one took his off first, grinning at me mischievously under a mop of curly hair that barely covered the tips of his pointy ears.

"Hey guys!" he said cheerfully. "I am Leo Valdez, the, uh… the Likable and Valiant!"

"Shut up, Leo," said another demigod, lowering her hood.

She punched Leo in the arm, laughing when he rubbed it and grimaced in mock pain. Her face was beautiful, with chocolate colored hair framing a perfect mouth, a nose that wasn't too big or too small, and eyes that seemed to change color every second. She could only be a daughter of Aphrodite.

"Hi, I'm Piper McLean," she said, "daughter of Aphrodite. Leo's a son of Hephaestus."

Then, the tallest demigod stepped forwards. He was a good head taller than Piper, and as muscular as any son of Ares. His hood went down to reveal long, dark hair gathered together in a ponytail with bangs over half of his forehead, and a face covered in small scars.

"Oswell Miller, son of Hermes," he said, grinning down at me. He was as easy-going as any son of Hermes, and I knew I could get along with him easily. "Call me Oz."

The demigod in the back of the blob took off her hood, but made no move to come forwards. Her black hair was tied back in a short ponytail, and her dark blue eyes seemed to draw in the shadows. When she looked at you, it felt like she knew when you were going to die. I knew that feeling.

"Lianna Parker, daughter of Thanatos," she said in a soft voice. "Hi Percy. Hi Nico."

"Lia?" Nico and I asked at the same time.

We both knew her. I remembered Lia from meetings in the Big House. She was the senior cabin counselor for the Thanatos cabin. She had left for a quest and never came back.

"How's my brother?" asked Lia.

"Savion? I don't know," said Nico. "I haven't spent that much time in camp this year. I'm mostly in the Underworld."

They both turned to me. I remembered seeing Savion around camp, even talking to him every once in a while, but he would always break off the conversation suddenly and leave.

"I think he's lost hope that you will ever come back," I answered honestly. "He keeps telling me about how he thinks you're dead, but knows you're not."

Like me, Nico was obviously confused, but Lia just nodded sadly. "He hates me now, doesn't he?"

"What? No!" I objected. "He doesn't hate you! He… he just…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Leo was quick to help me. "Why would he hate you? You're freaking awesome!"

"He hates me," Lia said, talking over him, with acceptance in her voice. "He hates me because I left on a quest and never came back. I left him alone at Camp Half-Blood, in an empty cabin. When I left on that quest, the first couple of months, he had hope. He hoped that I could come back, and that everything would go back to normal. But when I didn't come back, he started to despair. But soon, that despair turned into anger. And that anger, strong and hot, developed into hatred, directed towards me. He hates me," she repeated, with a tone of finality. "Am I right?"

Lia knew it was true. There was nothing I could say that would make her think otherwise. But I tried anyways.

"He doesn't hate you at all," I said. "He just hasn't accepted that you aren't coming back."

"Am I right?" she asked again, somehow staring me down.

I relented under her gaze. "Yes."

She looked down and muttered something under her breath.

"What?"

Ignoring me, she turned to talk to Zoe. "We should leave now."

Another demigod still had a hood on.

"Wait! Who are you?" I asked the demigod.

The demigod didn't respond.

Zoe and Lia exchanged glances. Something unspoken passed between them, and Zoe said, "We will be here a while. Go check for monsters in our surroundings and keep watch. And you might as well go see how far the other three demigods have gotten."

Nodding, Lia stepped away from the rest of the group. I started walking towards her, opening my mouth to ask her what she was doing, but she shooed me away. When I didn't budge, Nico came and pulled me away.

"What-?"

My breath caught in my throat as powerful, gray wings snapped out from Lia's back.

As she jumped into the air and flapped her wings, Zoe gave her a small smile. Piper, Bianca, and Oz grinned up at her when her shadow fell over them. Leo pumped his fist in the air and yelled, "Your wings are freaking awesome!"

My mouth hung open in shock, but Nico didn't seem surprised at all, even giving Lia a small thumbs-up and waving as she flew away. There was no way he could've faked not being surprised.

"You knew?" I asked Nico.

He nodded.

"And you didn't tell me?"

He nodded again. Another betrayal.

"Why?" My voice cracked.

"When she showed me, I freaked out, Perce. I wanted to tell you first thing, but I swore on the River Styx," he explained.

"Oh," I said, smiling a little. I could understand that. Unlike a certain daughter of Athena, Nico had a decent excuse for keeping me in the dark about something.

I shifted my attention back to the hooded demigod. "Who are you?"

The demigod didn't answer me.

"Take thy hood off," Zoe growled.

"I'd rather not," the demigod said in a voice too deep to be his normal voice.

Next to the demigod, Oz sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry, but you'll thank me for this later," he muttered.

He reached behind the demigod, grapping the hood and pulling it off. The demigod had no time to react.

My mouth dropped open for the fourth time that day.

The demigod had sandy blond hair and icy blue eyes. There was also a scar on his left cheek. I knew that face.

"Luke?"

"Hey Percy," he said. "Nice to see you again, Nico."

"I couldn't find you in Elysium," Nico said. "Figured you'd already tried for rebirth."

"This is rebirth," Luke answered. "Or at least, for me. I get a second chance, like starting over with a clean slate. You know, Chaos has an entire city, and it's nice to be able to walk through the streets with friends who have your back and always will." His voice turned bitter. "And to hear someone say your name without the word traitor being used in the same sentence."

Oz awkwardly placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, and Piper hesitantly patted Luke on the back.

"So… why didn't you want to show us who you were?" Nico asked.

"I-I'm not sure," he stated truthfully. "I… I guess I was… a little afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?" I questioned.

"That… that you wouldn't… I can't explain," he muttered.

"That I wouldn't accept you?" I supplied.

He nodded. "Kind of. I know most people still think I'm a traitor back at Camp Half-Blood. I guess I just thought some of it might have rubbed off on you…"

"No way, Luke. You're still one of my best friends, man. And you're a good guy now. Even if some people at Camp Half-Blood can't remember that you died a hero, I won't forget."

"Wow," said Nico. "Big words for a son of Poseidon, especially you, Perce."

"Thanks, man," said Luke. "I guess I have to thank you too, Oz. Even though I still don't know why you did it."

Oz grinned. "No problem. It's just that I'd rather face an angry you than an angry Zoe."

Clearing her throat, and glaring at Oz, Zoe stepped in between us. "We should get going now."

No one wanted to object when her eyes were flashing dangerously, daring us to object.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"We are here to help you fulfill the prophecy. That is what we are going to do. We must first find the other three demigods and bring them to the Roman camp. They are not making enough progress."

"We're going to find Annabeth, James, Clarisse, and the Roman camp, just to fulfill a prophecy?"

Zoe confirmed it with a nod of her head, and started walking off in the direction Lia had flown off in.

"I'm not coming."

She stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at me. "You must."

"No, I don't," I protested. "I don't want anything to do with this prophecy. The last Great Prophecy was focused on me. I don't need any more stress."

"Stress has never stopped you," Luke pointed out. "What's the real reason?"

I sighed. "The gods don't need my help."

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked incredulously. "You almost single-handedly defeated Kronos last year. Without you, Olympus wouldn't exist right now."

I shook my head. "They needed me back then, not now. Now, they have James, my half-brother, also a powerful son of Poseidon."

Luke's jaw dropped. "What?"

"And he's fifteen. Apparently he was too lazy to drop by during the Titan war last year and help out."

Luke had recovered from his burst of shock. "Okay. You have a new half-brother. The gods don't need you anymore. But that still doesn't explain why you shouldn't help fulfill a prophecy."

I knew I had to tell him the truth now. "Annabeth," I choked out. "And… Poseidon."

I had never referred to him as anything but my father, and Luke knew that. "Poseidon? And what did Annabeth do?"

"She cheated on me," I muttered. "With my own half-brother. And my own father approved of it. Even Athena."

Luke nodded sadly. "I understand."

"And now you know why I can't help find Annabeth, especially with James nearby."

Unexpectedly, Zoe stepped up to me, gripped my shoulders, and looked into my eyes. "Perseus. I know many people have caused you grief and unhappiness. Those who have do not deserve your help. But can you not help prevent more grief and unhappiness? There are gods and demigods who need you. Luke is right. The Titan war could not have been won without you. Whether you like it or not, you are needed, for the war, and for the prophecy."

I found myself nodding to her words, surprisingly accurate.

"All right," I grumbled.

Zoe nodded calmly, like she knew I would do that.

And then, for the fifth time, shocked flooded through me. I jumped and went cross-eyed, staring at the arrow that flew out of nowhere and embedded itself inches from my nose, in a crack in the wall.

AN: I officially suck at cliffhangers. Not much action in this chapter. Shortest one yet. I hope you liked it anyways!

So, OC makers, how did I do your OCs? And for the rest of you, how'd you like the OCs? Good? Bad? Likes? Dislikes? Review! ;D