How many of you were upset at the cliffhanger I left last chapter?

I own neither IC nor PJO.

Oh well, here's CH8.

Percy's POV – Camp Half-Blood

Alexō! Get up now! We could be in trouble! If they saw Alexō, they would probably attack him in an instant.

I'm up! Why would we be in trouble?

We're in my homeworld. We're in Manhattan. The people here, they're dangerous Alexō. I need you to fly far away from this place for a moment, but don't get to far that I can't send you my thoughts.

Okay. If anyone hurts you, I'll rip them from head to toe!

I smiled. I know you will Alexō. I heard the sounds of shifting armor. And then I saw a group of demigods come over a hill. Go!

Alexō roared (mainly to the people trying to kill him) and took off, putting as much distance between us as we could and still talk.

Annabeth was at the head of the group.

"Percy!" she yelled and started running towards me, but she stopped when she was about a yard away.

"Percy, what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your face, its all weird looking." She turned around. "Do we have any Aphrodite campers with us?" A young girl in the back perked up.

"Here!"

"Do you have a mirror?"

"Yea-"

"Pass it up," Annabeth commanded. The young girl passed her mirror to Annabeth, who passed it to me.

As I looked in the mirror, I gasped. [Warning! Next part taken from Eldest and changed!]

My face was now as smooth and angled as an elf's, with pointed ears tapered like theirs and eyes slanted like theirs.

My skin was without scars or blemishes and seemed to give off a faint glow, as if sheen with magic. I was a bit taller, and my tan skin had been removed of all the scars I had received throughout my life.

I look like an elf. Wait, Gûntera. He said he was giving me the gift of being a true elf. A pang of sadness hit me. I'm no longer human. There's no shred of humanity left him me. I'm a complete elf. My sadness was washed away. But now, I'm stronger than humans, I'm faster and I'm better than them at magic. This couldn't be a better gift.

"Percy?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"What happened to you?"

I lowered the mirror and looked around. I could see farther than I could before. I could smell Annabeth's Coconut lotion on her skin, and I could hear the other demigods breathing. "It's better if we talk about this in private with Chiron."

"Okay." Annabeth watched as I hefted the heavy chest with one arm and placed it on my shoulder with ease. I could feel exactly how many lines and cracks there were in the wood. "Something has definitely happened to you." She turned around and stated walking towards the Big House.

We reached the Big House soon, but not without people looking at me weirdly.

Chiron greeted us in the threshold.

"Percy! How nice it is to see you again. I was beginning to think you had died," he said. When he saw how I looked, he looked shocked, but his face soon because a mask of indifference.

"Hey, Chiron can we go into the house now? I don't want to be out here with all these people looking at me weirdly."

"Of course," he said. He wheeled himself into the kitchen and parked at the table.

"Now, tell us everything."

I set the chest down and rubbed my shoulder. Resting the chest on my shoulder shouldn't have hurt, but it did for some reason.

"You seem to have gotten stronger."

"I've changed in many ways. But before I tell you anything, swear on the River Styx that you will not tell a word to anyone else unless I say so." They both did so.

I quickly cast a spell to shield us from listeners.

"What did you just do, Percy? What language were you speaking?" Annabeth asked.

I pulled off the glove on my right hand, showing them my gedwëy ignasia.

"What is that?"

"It is called a gedwëy ignasia. It shows that I am a… well… I'm a Dragon Rider." I told them everything, excluding the Eldunarí, from me waking up in Alagaësia to Alexō hatching for me, to me going to Ellesméra to killing Galbatorix.

"That's quite an adventure, Percy," Annabeth says.

"Please, Annabeth, call me Perseus." Annabeth was shocked that I wanted to be called that.

"And Percy, why do you look weird?"

"What do I look like Annabeth? You read, you should know."

She thought for a moment. "An elf. So you went to some magical land, got a dragon to hatch for you, learned to speak some magical language, killed an evil king, and then got turned into an elf? How am I supposed to believe this, Perseus? Don't talk to me again." She wiped the tears from her face and stomped outside, crying the whole way.

I looked back at my mentor.

"You believe me don't you?"

"Yes, Perseus, I believe you."

"May I call my dragon?" I released the listening ward from my grasps.

"You may call this dragon named Alexō."

Alexō. I believe it's safe to come now. Land in front of the Big House.

Okay. I'm on my way.

Less the a minute passed until he touched down in front of me, on the grass in front of the Big House. A light vibration was sent through the ground. I ran up to him and hugged his snout.

I missed you. I told him.

I missed you too, we stayed in our mental embrace, just enjoying the feeling of our thoughts being so close.

"Dragon! Attack!" I snapped out of my embrace with my dragon and drew Adurna.

"Back!" I yelled. I stepped in front of the son of Ares with Adurna held in front of me.

"What are you doing? That's a dragon! It'll kill you!" yelled the teenager.

Alexō growled at him. "Don't touch my dragon! Or else I'll let him go at it with you."

The son of Ares sheathed his sword and walked away slowly.

"So your story was true, Perseus. A nice dragon, if I say so myself." Chiron reached out to feel Alexō's scales, but Alexō snarled at him, so he stopped.

Alexō! Don't be so mean!

It's not my fault this place has a bunch of weird people in it.

"What are you going to do now, Perc- Perseus?"

"I don't know, I'll probably just continue my research on magic, maybe try to form an Order here."

Chiron nodded. I walked back in and grabbed the chest again, and then Alexō and I walked to my cabin. It was just as I had left it.

You want to stick your head near the door so you can see what I'm doing?

Sure. I put the chest near my bed and unpacked my things.

I placed the scrolls under my pillow and I take off my armor. I hung it next to the armor I fought in during the Battle for Manhattan, as we demigods liked to call it.

As I was polishing my swords, I heard a roar from Alexō. I rushed outside with Adurna in hand. The green blade glistened dangerously.

"Wait happened here?" There was a gash on Alexō's leg, which was bleeding a little bit. There were several demigods with weapons drawn standing around.

"Nothing, you dragon tried to kill us," one said.

NO! I didn't! They lie! My dragon yelled.

Resorting to magic, I said, "Thorta du ilumëo!"

"I cut your dragon's leg," a son of Ares said.

I ended the spell. I was furious with this demigod. Before I could do anything, a bright golden light shone between my dragon and I and the crowd of demigods before us.

When the light subsided, Zeus stood in front of us.

Everyone bowed, except Alexō.

"I would bow dragon," Zeus said.

As Alexō started to snarl, I yelled, "Don't talk to my dragon like that!"

"Ah, Perseus, you made it back safely. But I'm still King of the gods, and I still have dominion of over, so order your dragon to back down."

"Tell him yourself, he can talk you know. He's not a stupid beast."

Zeus looked at Alexō.

"Dragon, back down." Alexō continued to snarl so I said, Alexō, back down. We're not powerful enough to confront him and win. Alexō backed down. Zeus started to say something, but he thought better of it and kept quiet.

"It would be in your best favor to keep away from Percy's-"

"Perseus," I corrected.

"From Perseus' dragon from now on. Anyone who disobeys this rule will be subject to punishment by me. Clear?" Everyone nodded. "Good, you may be dismissed." Everyone left.

Zeus turned to me. "Gûntera might like you, but I don't." And he left.

/^\

The next few days passed without any more attacks, thankfully.

But instead of attacking my dragon with swords, Clarisse attacked me with words.

"Why don't you eat meat, loser? You can't live forever on fruits and vegetables," she said.

"Leave me alone, Clarisse."

"No, not until you eat some meat like a real man, or are you too much of a wussy for that?" she taunted, leaning over my table, looking at me.

"I already told you, Clarisse, if you had gone through what I went through, you wouldn't be eating meat either."

"Yes I would. You're just too much of a wimp to eat meat like a human. Oh that's right, you're not human anymore! Supposedly you're an elf now!"

My anger was rising, but I tried to keep it under control, to keep from hurting someone.

She pushed me out of my seat and onto the ground.

"You did not just do that," I warned.

"I did, and what are you going to do about it?" she taunted once more.

I stood to my feet, the sides of my vision singed red.

She started to say something else, probably another insult, but I cut her off saying, "Waíse hljödhr!" Her voice failed her. She started to punch me, but I yelled, "Thrautha!" She flew backwards and landed on her butt. I let her speak again.

"What'd you do to me, Prissy?"

"I'd shut up unless you want to be hurt even more!"

"Bring it on, loser!" I reached out with my mind and sent spears of thought into her unprotected mind.

She fell to the ground, grasping her head. "Ahh! Stop it!"

"Say you're sorry!" I commanded. Tears were squeezed out of her clenched eyelids.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just make it stop!" I released the pressure from her mind.

"Slytha," I whispered, and she dropped to the ground, asleep, and promptly started snoring.

I finished my dinner and walked away.

A/N: Ah, conflict. I liked writing that last part. I don't know why though :), oh well. That was chapter eight, the first section with Percy, or Perseus back on Earth, but don't fret the IC characters won't be disappearing any time soon.