Hi, peoples! This is my VERY FIRST FANFIC EVER, so be nice, k? No flames, just (gah, what's the word…oh yeah*note: sarcasm*) constructive criticism! LMK if you find any typos, or anything that I should improve, ok? Ok.

Please review! :D Thankies. If you review, I'll be very, very happy, so don't be lazy, REVIEW!

I would love it if you just told me how awesome I am! Ok, or my story is.

I MIGHT (key word=might) take requests for stories, or I could just write a certain scene in a certain character's POV for Percy Jackson(that means Point Of View for those who don't know) cuz I LOVE doing stuff like that! It's just really, really fun!

Ok, I'm rambling. I'll stop rambling now!

Thank you for reading.

Enjoy.

(PS sorry I don't have a fancy and sarcastic disclaimer! I wasn't able to do one.)

(PSS If you want to know exactly how much I made up and how much is Rick's, just look it up! It's in PJO book 2: The Sea of Monsters, the very last coupla pages! If it's not in that book, than I made it up. I did not steal ANYTHING from online.)

Dying and Coming to Life

Disclaimer: characters & plot © Rick Riordan

POV of Percy © Rick Riordan

Claimer: POV of Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover © Kenzie

(I didn't put Percy's POV up,

I'm just giving Rick credit for his making it)
:)

Thalia's POV

You ask me what it felt like, being dead? Well, I don't really know. All I know is how it felt dying.

I'm sure you all know the story. I was mortally wounded, and we were almost past the camp boundary line. Monsters were on our tail, and I told Grover to go take Annabeth and Luke to camp and to go on without me, yada, yada, yada.

What you don't know is how I felt, and why things turned out the way they did. Well, I guess I'll be nice and give you the inside scoop.

The Story of How I Became a Pine Tree

We were so close. We were so close. We had been almost across the boundary line when the monsters caught up to us. What monsters were there? Well, let's see. All three furies were on our tail, and the Minotaur. There was also a hydra, five hellhounds, and two Cyclopes. Don't ask me to choose the worst; they were all ruthless.

I was wounded badly. My left arm was in a crude sling, one that Grover had made quickly in-between monster attacks, and my right arm was holding up Aegis, my Medusa shield. I had cuts and bruises covering my body so that I was almost unrecognizable. I was also tired. I was tired of running from monsters. I was physically exhausted from lack of sleep-there really had never been much time for sleeping, what with threatening monsters chasing after us.

I was just tired of everything. I didn't want to live like a hunted animal, always knowing, even if I did make it out alive, they there had been a time where I had just barely escaped with my life. And there were probably more times like this to come, being an illegal daughter of Zeus.

I had a hard decision to make, just then. Should I stay here and fight it out to the end? Or should I act cowardly and take refuge at camp? This decision was literally like the famous Shakespearean line, "To be, or not to be?".

I was not the cowardly type, that was for sure. So I chose the option that was more appealing to me.

I told Grover to take Annabeth and Luke, the two demigods whom I had come across, to camp, and to let me stay here and hold the monsters. He protested, sure, but you see, I had yet to be beaten in an argument. I wouldn't back down, no matter what the satyr said. Grover finally gave up with a feeling of utter helplessness. He grabbed hold of Annabeth and Luke and they fled, leaving me to my death.

I fought as best as I could with one hand, but there were too many monsters. With barely even a fight, I went down as a hellhound leaped onto my chest like a bulldozer.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation, as if I were already dead and my spirit was leaving my body. But it wasn't that. I heard booming thunder. I saw that I was glowing brightly. The hellhound whimpered and galloped away, followed by the rest of the terrified monsters. I looked around, and hovering next to me was a man in a pinstriped suit, holding a lightning bolt. A real, glowing, 1000-voltage lightning bolt!

"D-Dad?" I groaned.

He nodded. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't scowling, either. His features seemed as though they could look as hard as granite, but they were soft at the moment. He had a curious look on his face as he studied me. I realized that the look on his face was admiration.

I was laying on the grass flat on my back, staring up at my father, the man whom I had never met, but had recognized on sight. I wondered how he could admire me, the girl who had always been an outcast, the girl who had never been the prettiest in school. The girl who was not a great leader, the girl so unlike her father.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. When I regained my sight, I saw another man. He was younger than my father, Zeus, and he was wearing a winged hat and shoes. Hermes.

"Should I take her, my lord?" Hermes asked my father.

My eyes widened, realizing that he was going to take me to the Underworld. I'd had nightmares about dying; I knew that the chances of me going to Elysium were slim, and I had always been afraid that Hades would damn me to the Fields of Punishment. I knew that I had never done anything extremely bad; it was just an irrational fear, much like my fear of heights.

I tried to protest, but my voice wouldn't work. I tried to sit up, but an invisible force held me down. No! I thought desperately.

"No," Zeus replied, "I'll not let her die just yet." I sighed with relief.

"I have something else for her," he continued. I raised my eyebrows.

I started glowing more brightly. The thunder was deafening, and everything went black.

So, that's the story of how I sort of died. I didn't exactly die, I was just a pine tree for half a decade. I have no memory of being a pine tree, so I can't tell you what it was like to be one. Sorry about that.

The Story of How I Turned Back Into a Girl

So, I was blacked out because I was a tree, right? Well, I couldn't really tell time very well then because, obviously, I was passed out. So I would never have known how much time had passed since I had first been turned into a tree if no one had told me. Just like I would never have known that I had actually been a tree if no one had filled me in. I know, it's kind of confusing.

But all of a sudden, I could feel again. I could think again. I knew I could feel because I had a splitting headache and I felt nauseous. I knew that I could think because I was thinking about how terrible I felt. I was laying right where I had been when I had met my father for the first time.

I coughed and groaned. My head hurt too much to open my eyes yet. I heard a gasp. Someone said, "T-Thalia?"

I heard sobbing, and the sound of feet pounding the grass, getting further and further away until I couldn't hear it anymore. My breathing was jagged and my mouth was dry.

I felt someone kneel next to me. I wanted to tell the person that I was okay, but I couldn't speak, and I knew that in reality, I wasn't okay.

I heard a familiar voice stutter, "It…she…just suddenly there…" The person sobbed.

I still couldn't open my eyes; I was afraid that doing so would make my headache worse, and I just wasn't ready for that.

I heard more footsteps and a man's voice: "Percy, wait!"

Percy? my subconscious wondered. Who's Percy?

I felt someone kneel next to me.

"It's true," panted another familiar voice, but it was male, whereas the first voice that had struck me as familiar had been female. "I can't believe…"

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," said a deeper voice, right above me. Someone laid their hand across my forehead. The person took me by the shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position, with my head resting on the person's shoulder. It was comfortable, but I was dizzy and disorientated. I didn't want to wake up, I was exhausted.

Now that I think about it, I was kind of asleep for five years. Why was I tired, I wonder?

"Come on!" yelled the person whom I was resting on. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House."

I decided it was time to open my eyes, painful or not. I took a shaky breath, and I coughed involuntarily. I slowly opened my eyes.

A boy was gazing at me with concern. He had messy black hair and startlingly green eyes. I stared at him in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who-" I started to ask in a hoarse voice, but the boy cut me off.

"I'm Percy," the boy said. "You're safe now."

"Strangest dream…"

"It's okay."

"Dying." My eyes were wide and I was scared.

"No," he assured me. "You're okay. What's your name?"

I stared into his friendly and concerned green eyes.

I thought about how Hermes had offered to take me away, and how Zeus had turned him down. I remembered how he had said that he had something else for me. What was it? Had he done something to me? Had he sent me into a coma in order to heal me?

I thought about the familiar voices I had just heard. They sounded a lot like Annabeth and Grover, but there was something different about them. They sounded…older, almost. Little Annabeth had been only seven years old when Luke had found her hiding from monsters. The voice that was like hers had sounded at least thirteen. What was this about?

I decided to trust the Percy boy, and I answered his question.

"I am Thalia," I said, and took a breath. "Daughter of Zeus."

So, does this satisfy your questions about my side of the story? Yes? Good. See you guys at camp.

Looking back on it, I wish I hadn't felt so comfortable in Percy's arms. (Shut up, Percy!) I feel like a traitor to my Lady Artemis and the hunters, now. But then again, I hadn't been a hunter yet, right? So it's okay. Okay?

Annabeth's POV

The Story of When Thalia Turned Back Into a Girl

I was sitting by Thalia's tree with Grover, my legs folded into a pretzel. I had my bronze knife right next to me so that I could get to it easily if I had to.

Grover was standing, staring off into the distance deep in thought. He was fingering the reed pipes that hung from a string on his neck.

I was thinking about Luke. Why did he want to join the Titans' side? I didn't understand. He was such a nice guy when he, Thalia, and I were wandering together, fighting monsters, helping each other, and surviving. We had some pretty tough times once in a while, but over all, we had fun together. It hurt to think that he'd abandon and betray Thalia, Grover, and I, whether or not Thalia was a pine tree. I let out a small cry of despair, forgetting that I wasn't alone.

Grover turned. "Are you okay, Annabeth?" he asked me tenderly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" he asked again, not believing my cheesy lie.

"Yeah, uh-huh, I'm okay."

"Okay…" he said uncertainly, and he turned back to face the horizon.

Enough, Annabeth, I scolded myself. You are not seven years old anymore. You can't lose control over your emotions just because Luke isn't here to take care of you anymore.

Suddenly, I heard a cough and a groan come from behind me. I grabbed my knife by the hilt, stood up, and whirled around. Grover turned, clutching his reed pipes.

At first, I was confused when I saw the girl lying flat on the ground. Then I gasped and knelt by her, tears streaming down my face. Grover's eyes went wide.

"T-Thalia?" he gaped.

I sobbed and nodded. Grover turned and ran on his hooves toward the Big House.

I stared at the girl before me. This was Thalia, the girl who was one of the most accepting people I knew, the girl who was one of the prettiest. The girl who was a great leader, the girl so much like her father, the King of the Gods. She looked so alone, lying there on the ground, her breath jagged and irregular. I sobbed. But you aren't alone, Thalia, I told her silently. You will never be alone. You'll always have me, and Grover, and the gods are watching you, too.

I nonchalantly left Luke out of the silent list that I made. I hoped to voice my thought to her sometime, but right now wasn't the time. I looked up and saw Grover and Chiron coming, with Percy on Chiron's back. I ran toward them.

"It…she…just suddenly there…" My cheeks were streaming with tears.

Percy leaped off Chiron's back and ran toward Thalia, who was still lying there, seemingly blacked out. Chiron shouted after him. "Percy, wait!"

I ran after Percy. He knelt by her side and laid his hand across her forehead.

"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I just can't believe…"

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," Percy said. He didn't seem to know what was going on, or who the girl was.

Percy took Thalia by the shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Come on!" he yelled to us. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House!"

No one moved, not even Chiron. We were all too stunned.

Then Thalia took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes.

Her eyes were just as I remembered-a startling electric blue.

She stared at Percy in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who-" Her voice sounded hoarse.

"I'm Percy," he said. "You're safe now."

"Strangest dream…"

"It's okay."

"Dying."

I let out an involuntary sob.

"No," Percy assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?"

Thalia's blue eyes stared into Percy's deep green ones, and in that moment, all the moments I ever spent with her, good and bad, replayed through my mind. I remembered when I had first met her and Luke; when Luke had first given me my knife, with Thalia smiling at me next to him. I remembered that Cyclops's lair; stabbing the monster in the foot with my knife and cutting Thalia loose. I remembered watching her as her sword flew, and she managed to cut Luke free and defeat the mighty Cyclops at the same time. Those times, and many more, went through my mind at that moment.

I also thought about what it might mean for the future, her being back. This meant that Percy might not be the prophecy kid after all, and that could be good or bad. But Thalia would never use her choice to get rid of the gods…would she?

"I am Thalia," she said. "Daughter of Zeus."