AN: Chapter 12! Thanks to my awesome reviewers!

L. Lawliet-Rue Ryuzaki: Yes. Kind of. No. Wow, you guys are so good at guessing. Or maybe I'm just too good at making things obvious.

Haruyuki (Guest): Thank you! I like her a lot. :D

Winter-Buzz: Thanks! Was the cliffhanger actually good? I thought it was terrible…

xXDaughterofAthenaXx: Thanks! I hope you get better. I hate being sick.

OmegaExodus: Thanks! It's the least I can do, since you were one of the few people who actually made me OCs. Most of them actually… :)

LyingTruth123: Thank you! Maybe death is a little too extreme? I don't know. I'm just gonna let the story write itself, see what happens. And I like Clarisse too! :D

Rose Daughter of Euterpe: OKAY! :D

Percy Waterblue: It's not. Percy and Zoe. :)

MysticLion: THANK YOU THANK YOU :D

AnimeXMangaAddict: I'm not sure about Percy taking the Oath of Chaos. And yeah, it was Thalia. :)

Disclaimer: Own Percy Jackson, I do not. Unfortunately.

Chapter 12: Unfinished Business and Story Time

Percy's POV

Immediately, my hand flew to my pocket and drew out a ballpoint pen. Uncapping it, I turned to face the person who had shot the arrow. Thank the gods my reflexes were fast enough to whip Riptide around in front of my face to deflect another silver arrow aimed straight at my head.

As it clanged off, I realized that if it hadn't been stopped, that arrow would have buried itself into my skull. Whoever was shooting was shooting to kill.

I finally caught a glimpse of my assailant when another arrow flew past my ear, but I was still to far away to see who she was. She wore the silver clothing of a Hunter of Artemis, which explained the silver arrows, and her aim with them. Her bow was already nocked with another arrow.

I risked a backwards glance, and saw Oz, Luke, Piper, and Leo staring at my attacker, weapons raised. They were obviously trying to help me, but Zoe had her arm out, stopping them. Bianca was hugging Nico tightly, and even though he had a hand on the hilt of his sword, he couldn't unsheathe it. Zoe and Bianca both had wide grins on their faces, and Zoe made a shooing motion towards me. When I glared at her, she let out a soft laugh.

I turned around just in time to see a small object flying towards me. The Hunter of Artemis had thrown it to me. Caught by surprise, I still managed to catch it.

It was a square of ambrosia.

While I had been looking at the ambrosia at my hand, the Hunter had walked forwards and now stood only a few feet away from me. Now, she was close enough for me to identify her.

"Thalia?" I asked, after I got over my shock.

She nodded, confirmed what I already knew, and I instantly capped Riptide, returning it to my pocket.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with the rest of the Hunters."

She smirked. "I had a little unfinished business with… some people… so I left for a while."

The way she said "unfinished business" made me cringe a little and automatically feel bad for those people, whoever they were. They were extremely unlucky to have an angry daughter of Zeus after them.

"I feel bad for whoever they are. Who are they?" I wondered out loud.

"You're one of them," she answered, a wide grin on her face.

I only had time for a single "huh?" before her fist made contact with my nose.

Thalia can throw a mean punch. That was my only thought as I staggered back under the force of the daughter of Zeus's fist. Not "Why the Hades did Thalia just punch me?"or "Man, I am so glad to see Thalia right now… Did she just punch me in the face?"

"What was that for?" I mumbled through a broken nose.

I must've looked pretty funny, because Thalia started laughing. Soon, Zoe and Bianca were laughing loudly along with her, while the rest of us just stared blankly at them.

It took me a full five seconds after rummaging around in my pockets for anything that could help my broken nose to realize that I had been clutching a square of ambrosia in my hand the entire time. After swallowing it and grimacing as the skin on my nose knitted itself back together, I glared at Thalia.

"What was that for?" I repeated, angrier this time.

"I found your note," she explained. "The part you wrote to Annabeth is exactly what she deserves. I bet Chiron misses you for the part you wrote for him. You told Nico not to come after you, and he's right here." She pointed at Nico, who shrugged. "You know, I'm touched that I'm one of your favorite cousins, Kelp Head, but you've got to be crazy to tell me, even in a note, to forget about you, and that it's best that way." Her voice rose in pitch and volume. "Perce, your head really must be filled with kelp if you think that it's best for you to be forgotten. Don't think I'll do what that stupid daughter of Athena has done. I won't betray you, Kelp Head, and you'd better believe it. And don't you dare leave and write me a note like that again, or I swear on the River Styx I will hunt you down myself."

I had never heard Thalia burst out like that before, so I probably said something like, "Uh… okay, I'm sorry… But you didn't have to break my nose…"

When she remained silent, I thought she was going to shoot another arrow at me, or blast me with lightning. But then, a large grin split her face in half.

"Well, I gave you some ambrosia first, didn't I?"

I sighed. "Yeah. But that doesn't exactly make it any better."

"It healed your nose, Kelp Head," Thalia pointed out.

I sighed again, and Thalia's grin widened.

"So, who were the other people you had… 'unfinished business' with?" I asked.

"Annabeth… and James. Want to come?"

Bianca had let go of Nico, and he came to stand next to me. "I don't personally have a grudge against James, but I should. And Annabeth better watch out, 'cause I'm going to give her what she deserves," he said. "I'm in."

I grinned. "Count me in too."

"Wait!" shouted Zoe. "You… you can't just leave!"

I groaned and mentally face palmed. I had forgotten about Zoe. "Why not?"

"We need you, Perseus," she said. "Whether you-"

"Wait a second," Thalia interrupted, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. "Zoe? Zoe… Nightshade?"

"Yes," Zoe replied. "And you are Thalia Grace."

For once, Thalia didn't complain about someone using her last name, and completely ignored the fact that Zoe had used it. "B-But… you died!" she stammered.

"I am alive now," Zoe replied.

"Well, yeah… But…" she trailed off. "How?"

Bianca gently pushed her way through Nico and I, and went to stand beside Zoe. "Thalia? I'm back too."

Thalia's mouth was moving rapidly, but no sound was coming out. She finally got a hold of her voice again, and pointed angrily at me. "Kelp Head. Death Boy." She moved her finger to Nico. "What is going on?"

"What?" Nico exclaimed. "I have no idea! Perce and I were just standing there, and when we turned around, they… I don't know. They just appeared?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow at me, and I rushed to defend myself. "Look, Pinecone Face, I seriously have no idea how they're alive and all that, but Zoe said they're all part of Chaos's army."

"Chaos?" Thalia asked.

"The first being, father of all, ruler of the universe," Zoe cut in. "He offers us a chance to keep fighting against evil, even after death, instead of partying away day and night in Elysium for eternity."

"So everyone who joins has to die first?"

"Most of them," answered Bianca. "There are a lot of exceptions, though."

"So… is Luke…"

Behind me, Luke shifted nervously. I could tell that he was apprehensive about telling Thalia that he was there.

"Luke," I whispered. "Come on, she'll be happy to see you." Without waiting for an answer, I raised my voice, "Thalia!"

When she turned and looked at me with a question in her eyes, I pushed Luke forwards.

Thalia's eyes widened and she said tentatively, "Luke?"

He grinned. "Hey, Thals."

She grinned back and did something really unexpected. She hugged him. "I missed you."

After some hesitation, Luke hugged her back. "I missed you too."

"So, you joined Chaos's army?" Thalia said, after they broke apart.

"Yeah." Luke smiled. "You know, one of my best friends came here with me." He pointed at Oz. "This is Oz."

"Hey," Oz said.

"Hey… Who else is there?" Thalia asked.

"Leo Valdez!" Leo shouted. "The Likeable and-" The grin on his face was suddenly replaced by a grimace of pain as Piper jabbed her elbow into his side.

"And I'm Piper McLean," she said.

"The Beauty Queen," Leo muttered.

"Shut up, Leo," Piper growled.

"Okay, okay!" Leo said. "Jeez, Beauty Queen."

"Leo-"

"Okay, I'm sorry."

Luke sighed. "Every single day… And there's Lia, who just went to scout the perimeter. Speaking of which, she should be back by now…"

"Lia?" asked Thalia. "I remember her. Isn't she the daughter of Thanatos?"

Luke nodded.

"We are going off topic," Zoe noted. "Perseus, you are, once again, the child of the Great Prophecy, and whether you like it or not, we need you."

"Annabeth's on a quest, right?" Thalia suddenly asked. "With James and Clarisse?" Zoe nodded. "What's their quest?"

"The gods need more heroes for the war," Zoe explained. "James is leading a quest with Annabeth and Clarisse to find the Roman camp and ask for the help of the Roman demigods."

Thalia nodded slowly. "So how about a compromise? She suggested. "We help you get them to the Roman camp and finish our business with them along the way."

Zoe thought for a while. "We get them to the Roman camp first, and when the Roman demigods agree to help, you can 'finish your business' with them."

"Deal," said Thalia.

Nico and I nodded our consent.

Mystery Person's POV

"So… are you saying that you and your army are currently in a war with the gods, who are our parents, and you want us to help you fight them?"

I groaned and raised my eyes to the ceiling. Wred E. Scet, a son of Athena, was too smart for his own good. So were the rest of his half-siblings. Thank the titans there was only one of them.

"Well," I said. "As a matter of fact, yes."

Ruku spoke up. "And why in the world would we fight our own parents?"

Sons of Apollo weren't supposed to be smart.

"Because… I," I gestured to myself, "am a titan. The gods, your parents, are the children of the titans. They have been ruling for a long time. We, the titans, as their parents, think that they have been ruling for too long, and that they are becoming corrupt. We think we could do a better job of ruling. Since the gods, your parents, have refused to step down and surrender the throne, we have gone to war against them," I explained.

"So your justification for war is that they have been ruling and in power for too long, and you want to rule instead?" Wred asked. "And you don't have to talk so slowly and emphasize every word; I'm not stupid."

I still couldn't outsmart a child of Athena, even after centuries of practice.

Mother? A little help here? Please? I asked in my head.

I had to wait a while before there was any reply. Tell them the story of Kronos, when the gods were born, she said.

What? How will that help? Kronos swallows the gods alive!

Tell them the reason he did it. Tell them why.

I tried reasoning with her. Mother, you are a better storyteller. You should tell them the story. I will probably just mess things up.

She sighed. Fine. I'm coming.

I sighed in relief.

The door cracked open, and the same middle-aged woman the demigods all remembered stepped inside.

"Alright, children! Story time!" my mother said enthusiastically with a soft smile on her face.

The demigods all obediently sat down, forming a small circle. "Oh, I love story time!" said the youngest one, Violet.

I will never understand how you do that, I told my mother. But can you tell me?

Son, watch and learn, she said.

I watched as she told the story of Kronos and the birth of the gods, using sound effects and hand gestures to make it seem more real. But I didn't learn.

"Back then, prophecies were very, very important," she said. "And they still are today. So, when Kronos heard the prophecy that one of his children would defeat him and take his place as king, he tried all that he could to prevent that from happening. You see… the gods were very young. They did not have the wisdom and responsibility to take the throne. Kronos knew this, but he couldn't find a solution to the problem. He knew that if he let his children grow up, and if he taught them how to fight, they would fight him, and defeat him. So he swallowed them."

"What?" Wred blurted out. "He… he swallowed them? Like… like food?" My mother nodded. "But there are better solutions. Didn't my mother, Athena, tell him that if he acted more like a father, they wouldn't turn against him?"

"Athena is not one of the oldest gods. She was born long after the other gods," she informed him. "She is the goddess of wisdom, and if she told him that, Kronos would have listened. But Kronos had no goddess of wisdom to help guide him."

"Oh." Wred sat back, nodding.

"You see why he did that now? Where were we?" my mother asked. This is to see if they were paying attention, she said to me.

"Kronos swallowed his children," said Jane, the daughter of Demeter, and one of the oldest demigods we had.

"Ah, yes. Kronos swallowed his children," my mother repeated. "He had no choice. The gods were immortal, and grew up inside his stomach. However, when his youngest child, Zeus, was born, Rhea, his wife, hid Zeus and gave Kronos a stone to swallow instead. Rhea did not know that Kronos was just trying to protect his children, in his own way, from the responsibilities and hardships of handling the throne. Then, when Zeus grew up, he went to defeat Kronos and take his father's throne. Now, normally, when a son wants to challenge his father for the throne, what does he do?"

Wred raised his hand and said, "He fights his father?"

"Yes, but with what?"

"Normally, it's with a sword, but basically any weapon that the son has trained with all his life."

My mother nodded. "You are correct, Wred. But do you know what Zeus did? He poisoned Kronos's drink." The demigods gasped. "Does that sound fair?"

"No," Jane murmured. "Definitely not."

"No, it wasn't fair at all. The poison made Kronos throw up his children, and by then, they were all grown up. They all teamed up together against their father, and fought him. They refused to listen to his reasons. It was six against one, and Kronos was already weakened from the poison, but it still took a long time for the gods to defeat him. And what does that prove?"

"It proves that he's strong?" Wred asked.

"Yes," said my mother. "But more importantly, it proves that he is a strong leader. When Zeus and the other gods finally defeated Kronos, they cut him up into tiny pieces and tossed him into Tartarus, which was like a jail. Remember, Kronos was immortal, and he couldn't die. Just last year, he got strong enough to try to take back his place as the rightful king. But there are many other children just like you, demigods. They fought against him and held him off until the gods came. This time, there were twelve gods, including your mother, Athena." She looked at Wred. "As the goddess of wisdom, Athena outsmarted Kronos, and he simply could not win. And again, they cut him into little pieces and tossed him into Tartarus."

The demigods slowly started to move again. Most of them had sat still the entire time during the story.

Suddenly, the door crashed open.

"What-" the word slid out of my mouth.

"My lord!" an empousa said breathlessly when she saw medis. There was an ugly bruise on her cheek, and she was wincing. "We captured this demigod. Your son helped. She-"

She was cut off when something slammed into her back, and she stumbled forwards. She had been standing in front of a group of dracanae who were guarding the demigod. The demigod had head butted her and was now fighting the dracanae with her hands tied together behind her back.

"We need reinforcements!" the empousa called loudly.

The demigod continued incapacitating the dracanae, but the reinforcements had arrived, and for every dracanae that fell, another would fill in the space. Oddly, the fallen dracanae were still alive. The demigod was obviously just trying to stop them without actually killing them. Why aren't you aiming to kill? I wondered.

As more and more dracanae arrived, the demigod began to tire. But just as she was going to be overwhelmed, something gray shot out of her back. With a start, I realized they were wings.

The demigod used her wings to fight the dracanae off as easily as if she were using her hands and feet. One would dart out, and the other would be held protectively around her, like a shield. Each dracanae she hit would scream in pain, and I realized that the feathers of her wings were lined with thin metal. The screams never cut off, so I knew she still wasn't aiming to kill. Why not?

But as good as she was, she was only one demigod, and the dracanae kept coming. The fact that she either couldn't or wouldn't kill them worked against her, and she was immobilized once more.

This time, the dracanae also looped a chain around her upper back, preventing her wings from coming out, although the metal lacing the feathers on them could be sharp enough to cut through it.

"Next time," I said, "have the demigod restrained or unconscious before you bring her to me."

"Yes, my lord," the empousa wheezed. She had a cut on her cheek now. "What shall we do with her?"

"Just put her in a cell. I will be there shortly to talk with her."

"Yes, my lord."

The dracanae dragged the demigod away, but not before I saw her staring at me. There was nothing in her eyes but annoyance. The captured demigods usually reserved a hateful glare for me, or wore a pleading expression. But never had one looked at me in annoyance.

As soon as the door closed, I turned my back to it. The demigods had varying expressions. Most of them looked surprised. Wred glared at me, and Ruku had a calculating look on his face.

I opened my mouth to try to explain what had just happened, and then closed it when I heard the door creak open behind me. I sighed, but froze when I heard the voice.

"Father?"

AN: Sorry for the late update, guys. I've been busy. Thanksgiving, a headache, a fever, watching movies, and setting up Christmas decorations, which took a long time, and we're still not finished!

Ten reviews last time… Well, another big thanks to the people who reviewed! Let's make it to at least eleven this time, eh? :D