Well, I didn't die, so at least that means one of two things.

A. You can accept something that isn't Percabeth

Or

B. You haven't found my address

A is good, B is not.

Oh well, back to the story. Enjoy Chapter 17. Also, enjoy the new twist. An appearance of old characters! Many of you will be wondering what happens to Annabeth. Well, the answer is in the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, nor do I own the Heroes of Olympus. All rights go to Rick Riordan.

XVII Life in Paradise!

(Luke)

When I went down the River Styx, even with Annabeth's promise, I still wasn't sure that I would go to Elysium. That scared the crap out of me. I really didn't want to go to the Fields of Punishment or Asphodel. Thankfully, the judges ruled that I went to Elysium. That was good. Then, the next part was the Lethe. I didn't want to lose all my memories, especially the ones about Annabeth. I loved her, no matter whether or not she loved me back. I managed to not drink from the Lethe, but it cost me a month in Asphodel, which was super boring as I was drifting in a wheat field for a month. When I finally got to Elysium, I "sort of" greeted some of my "sort of" friends. More like Beckondorf and Silena hated me, Ethan was indifferent, and just said hi, and the rest of the people refused to even talk to me. How welcoming and heart-warming. Most days, I ate the amazing food they had there, laughed with some new friends, and watched the world above. I felt murderous now, and went to calm down, for rage is never a good thing. I couldn't believe Percy was about to dump somebody as good as Annabeth. I tried so many times to make her notice me as someone more than a friend, and Percy can just walk in, go on a couple of quests with her, and BAM she loves him. Life sucks sometimes. As I was walking down to the river, something odd happened. I felt like I was floating. When I looked down, I realized I was actually floating. Nobody was around as I floated through the ceiling and landed on the surface of the real world for the first time in over a year. (A/N Did I get my calculations correct? It was over a year right?) I touched myself gingerly, afraid that I was still a "sort of" ghost. Nope, I was flesh and blood. Wow… That was sudden. I wonder why it happened. Suddenly, afigure made of Earth appeared. I guessed it was Gaea, since I had seen her a few times, trying to mess with other demigods like Leo. She always offered everybody tempting offers. I wonder if it was her that brought me back to the world of the living.

I immediately said, "I don't care what your offer is. I don't care what you say. Leave me alone, I will not join you. I've made a mistake one before already. I won't join the side of evil again."

"Maybe you won't, but I have seen your heart. You still crave power, Luke Castellan, and also the daughter of Athena. I cannot harm either Percy or Annabeth, but I can certainly break you. I control you, Luke Castellan. I brought you back to life."

"Well, you must've made a mistake. You don't control me. I make my own choices."

"There will be a time, when you are most needed, when you are counted upon to save countless lives. And in that moment, you will lose control of yourself. I am sure of this. Prometheus told me. Good luck, young hero."

With that, she faded into the ground. Suddenly, a malign, black, spirit-like figure hovered above me, and then entered me. I felt it, and felt a sense of dread. Nobody could trust me. I would fail when I was needed most. Maybe I should just stop people from needing me. I mean, so far, nobody knows I'm alive.

Just as I was thinking that, somebody came over the hill. Upon a closer look I saw that it was Nico, holding his Stygian Iron blade.

He stumbled back, when he saw me, eyes wide with shock.

"Luke? Is that you?"

Crap, there goes my chance of not being needed by anybody.

"Yes…" I said, drawing the word out long.

"Oh Hades, I never expected to see you again. How did you get out? Why would you even want to get out of Elysium?"

I debated on whether or not I should tell him the truth. I decided that I would, since he would obviously figure it out anyways, him being a son of Hades.

"Gaea somehow pulled me out of the Underworld."

He suddenly looked wary.

"Has she convinced or coerced you onto her side?"

"No!"

"I'm sorry Luke, I know you're a good person, but it's hard to trust you. I hope you understand."

For one moment, I seethed with rage. I was trying to protect them, and they don't trust me. Then I thought back to my history, and I realized that Nico was right. He would be a fool if he was not wary that I was a traitor. I suppose old wounds still take time to heal, even after you killed yourself to defeat a Titan.

"It's fine, I understand. Where are we?"

"Oh, we're in Greece. I'm not sure the exact location; you'd have to ask Annabeth. I don't understand geography very well. We've set up a sort of camp near the battlefields of Greece. We're going to fight the giants on the summer solstice. Hopefully, we can win. There's about 8 giants left I think, but it will still be a hard battle. We've already lost like 15 demigods to monster raids." Nico rambled.

"Am I allowed to join?"

"I'd say yes, but it's up to the gods to decide. I'll ask Percy first, and if he agrees to accept you, which I think he will, then you stand a good chance. Although the gods resent him for showing the up last time, he's still the "savior" of Olympus."

For a moment, jealousy burned. I still couldn't shake off the echoes of my past. Nico helped me shadow-travel back to camp. I could sort of do that. I knew a bit about traveling, and I was a son of Hermes.

Did you expect this?

What will happen at the Camp? Do you think Percy will accept Luke? I know these answers, so asking them are pretty pointless, but still, who cares…

If you enjoyed the new twist, leave a review! If you think that this shouldn't have happened, tell me. I might just change it!

-RAfan2421