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Previously: "In fact, to mix things up a bit, Percy, would you mind sparring with Obi-Wan if you are not too tired from your previous bout."

Chapter 16: I Borrow a Lightsaber

I was never one to say no to a friendly duel even if I was a little tired from practicing with Annabeth, so I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Sure. Just please none of those Force pushes. I really don't like flying backwards."

"It is extremely difficult to perform a Force push against another Force-sensitive during a duel," Obi-Wan explained, like it should be obvious. "Yes, you can push objects towards them and use that to your advantage although even this is difficult in a fight. To actually push them with the Force requires you to overcome their Force defenses which blocks from such direct attacks in the Force. As long as the Force-sensitive is a competent user and maintains his focus, his Force defenses should prevent this from happening unless he is seriously out matched. After witnessing your duel with Annabeth, it seems that both of you have rather strong Force defenses when you fight which should make it rather difficult for any Force using opponent to push you."

"Umm, but then how did that Sith guy do it, and then you did it too?" I pointed a finger accusingly at Qui-Gon. "Plus, back home my grandfather and a great-uncle did it also."

"Sith gain their power from channeling their anger and hatred," Qui-Gon clarified. "I imagine after you wounded him, the Sith's hatred towards you filled him with enough temporary strength to Force push you even with your strong Force defenses. It was after all quite a dirty trick you pulled on him. The fact that he could not sense your intent probably amplified his anger even more." I grimaced at the slight disapproval in Qui-Gon's tone. I guess it wasn't the Jedi way to trick and deceive your opponents, but that was sort of the Greek way. Though I will admit, that particular move was not one of my most honorable moments.

"As for me," Qui-Gon continued his explanation, "as the fight dragged on, your defenses were focused more towards the Sith. You must have subconsciously considered me an ally which allowed me to more easily bypass your defenses and shove you, so you could escape though it did still require tremendous focus on my part. In the case of your relatives, I assume they are on your father's side in which case a pure being of the Force would probably be able to crush through almost any Force defense as long as they didn't try to directly kill you with the Force, though I am sure some are even powerful enough to do that if they choose to."

"I guess that sort of makes sense except that Annabeth and I have never really trained to develop this Force defense."

"I think, given your unique nature, that your Force defenses come naturally when you fight, like your increased strength and reflexes which is fortunate for you," Qui-Gon said thoughtfully. "Many Jedi require years of training to develop their defenses."

I shrugged my shoulders and uncapped Riptide, but Obi-Wan seemed to hesitate, "Master what do you expect us to accomplish with this duel? Percy does not even use one of the forms."

"True, Percy does not use specific stances and techniques taught by the Jedi, but the forms are more than just a learned sequence of moves," Qui-Gon instructed in that all knowing voice of his. "They describe a personality and style of fighting not just the technique. Therefore, which form matches Percy's style of fighting?"

Obi-Wan frowned as a pensive expression appeared on his usually unreadable face. "It has the unpredictability and staccato characteristics of Form VII, and though Percy seems to use his emotions while he fights," his frown deepened at that, "his movements seem to lack the overall viciousness, malice, and rage that I would expect from a true Form VII practitioner, particularly a Juyo user."

"Excellent analysis my young Padawan." Qui-Gon said with pride. It definitely felt weird being part of some Jedi teaching moment and having no idea what they were talking about. "Now do you see what a valuable experience this is, particularly since we will likely have another confrontation with the Juyo practicing Sith?"

"Yes, Master. I am sorry for questioning you," Obi-Wan humbly replied.

Qui-Gon gave one of his signature, wise old-man smiles. "It is difficult to learn without questions, Padawan."

Obi-Wan stepped forward and took off his brown cloak. He removed his lightsaber from his belt and eyed Riptide skeptically.

"Don't worry, we practiced with real weapons all the time back home. Chiron, our mentor, has a very strict no maiming policy," I informed him.

That comment did manage to get a slight smile out of Obi-Wan, "No maiming policies are good, but that was not my primary concern. I've just never dueled against a shorter, metal blade before. I am surprised it lasted so long against the Sith's lightsaber."

"Nevertheless, perhaps it would be best if Percy used a lightsaber instead," Qui-Gon suggested as he pulled out his own and adjusted something at the bottom of the hilt.

"Your lightsabers are safer than Percy's sword?" Annabeth asked doubtfully.

"Nearly all Jedi lightsabers have an adjustable setting that controls the power of the blade," Obi-Wan answered. "We often use the low-power setting for training. It just stings a little on contact and leaves bruises." Then, he focused on his master and frowned. This guy really needed to learn how to loosen up. "But Master, surely you are not going to let a non-Jedi use your saber. The Council would be furious. The rules clearly state–"

"Nothing about a fellow Force-user from another universe not being able to use a lightsaber," Qui-Gon interrupted. "Therefore, until the rules specifically mention extradimensional Force-users, I am not breaking the rules." He extended his lightsaber to me.

I capped Riptide and reached for Qui-Gon's lightsaber when I suddenly thought of something and hesitated. "Umm, no offense, but I'm sort of picky when it comes to blade balance, and frankly, as awesome and super cool as your lightsabers are, they don't seem really balanced."

"No, I am afraid the balance is quite different than what you are used to," Qui-Gon confirmed. "But, I would still like you to try to use it. We will start slow, so you can get a feel for the blade. If you feel like you are having trouble adjusting, then you can use your own sword instead."

"Sounds good." I reached out and grabbed the supper cool laser sword. The hilt was way lighter than Riptide, but the handgrip felt comfortable enough. Once I was sure that I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself by accidentally swinging it into my leg or something, I pressed the red button and the glowing green blade emerged.

I carefully swung the blade a few times trying to get a feel of the reach as it hummed around me. I quickly realized that I couldn't really feel the blade at all since almost all of the weight was in the hilt. The blade itself was pretty much massless. I would have to be very precise with my wrist movement, otherwise I might lose the blade so to speak and miss my intended target or hit myself even. "Wow, this feels weird!" Finally, I faced Obi-Wan who was patiently waiting with his own blade activated. "All right let's give this a go."

"Please start with a slow Shii-Cho sequence, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon instructed.

Obi-Wan nodded his understanding and began with a super slow downward swing. I met his blade with a horizontal block. The blades made a crashing sound on contact that was somehow much more satisfying then the clang of two metal swords.

I would like to say that I was a natural with the lightsaber, but that wasn't the case. Sure, I did pretty well when Obi-Wan moved slow. Unfortunately, when he sped up, my blade would miss his swings because I couldn't tell where my blade was exactly. I have pretty good refluxes, so I've never felt so uncoordinated in my life except maybe trying to dance at a middle school dance with Annabeth. Luckily, since he was still moving relatively slow, I usually managed to dodge Obi-Wan's swings even after I failed at blocking them, so I only got hit a few times. But, each hit from the lightsaber did sting a little.

Obi-Wan must have known I was getting frustrated because in between swings he said, "You are actually doing quite well for using a lightsaber for the first time." I know it was a compliment, but it didn't make me feel any better.

It didn't help that Qui-Gon kept saying things like, "Feel the blade with the Force. Do not rely on your physical senses."

Finally, I stepped back and turned off the blade. "Look," I told the old Jedi, annoyed, "I can't feel anything with this Force of yours since it takes three hours of meditation for me to even reach it."

"Patience, young one," Qui-Gon said with that irritating smile, "I understand you are frustrated. I will admit that I did not anticipate such a steep learning curve since you are clearly trained in combat and have the reflexes of a Jedi. Perhaps, I should phrase it differently, trust in your instincts."

I snorted at that since the only thing my instincts were telling me was that the lightsaber was a freaking unbalanced weapon. Annabeth held out her water bottle towards me and said, "Here, Seaweed Brain."

I turned back towards Obi-Wan, not quite ready to give up yet. "Thanks, but I'm not thirsty right now." I focused on the weapon in my hand, with my finger hovering over the power button. Suddenly, cool water splashed all over me. I was so shocked that I didn't bother willing myself dry. Plus, it sort of felt good after over two hours of working out. An extra burst of energy ran through my body, like if I just drank an espresso, and my senses opened up. I turned to Annabeth, shocked, as she just stood there with her empty water bottle and a grin on her face. "Umm, thanks for the energy boost, I guess, and I'm totally going to get you back for that later. But what were you even thinking?"

She sighed, "Jeez, I don't know? How about your first time ever training with a sword? You told me that you disarmed Luke even with an unbalanced blade after you dumped water on your head."

"Oh," I said realizing where she was headed.

She shrugged, "I just figured it could help with the balance problem and maybe make you more aware of your blade. I know it's just a quick fix, but while you've got the extra kick try and see if you can connect the feeling of using the lightsaber with something water related. I think one reason why you're the most powerful son of Poseidon is because, in that crazy Seaweed Brain of yours, you manage to connect almost anything to water and that taps into you power, so to speak. Like, when you talked about dodging bullets you compared their paths to water currents in the ocean, and you could sense them. And, how Qui-Gon managed to get you to meditate yesterday. Not to mention, your train of thought for the Tartarus incident."

She didn't need to elaborate. I knew she was referring to when I controlled Akhlys' poison after I realized that the poisons flowing towards me resembled streams and thought hey I can control streams, why not streams of poison.

"I don't understand. How can water help with a weapon's balance?" Obi-Wan asked confused. "Though, I did sense a large flare in Percy's Force presence."

"When it comes to Percy, water helps with everything," Annabeth answered. "Although, because he's such a Seaweed Brain, he doesn't always think to use it."

Well, in my defense, sometimes using my powers felt too much like cheating, and I didn't want to become too reliant on them. But, I guess if they really were connected to this Force, and if Obi-Wan was using the Force to wield his lightsaber, then, I could use my powers a little. I ignited the blade. It already seemed less awkward in my hand. I closed my eyes and felt the extra strength coursing through me. Now that my senses were more awake, I could feel the blade. Trust your instincts Qui-Gon had said. I could do that. That was Percy Survival 101. "All right let's go again, but full speed this time."

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan asked skeptically.

"Yes, this time will be different. Trust me," I replied.

He started with a horizontal slash, but I could tell he wasn't going at full speed yet. So, I easily blocked it and pressed forward with a fast, offensive combination of my own. He hastily blocked my swings. I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face at his look of surprise. Then, the fight really started.

Obi-Wan was really good. His moves seemed foreign, but I guess if I had to place his fighting style I would say it was a mix of the physical aspects of Thalia's with the smarts of Annabeth's which was a dangerous combination. The small space was a huge advantage for me though because he couldn't do those fancy acrobatics these Jedi seemed so fond of.

I pushed Obi-Wan hard, as I fought through my growing fatigue. I let my instincts take over, with lots of slashing, some low rolls, a few kicks, and thrown elbows. Eventually, I saw an opening and went for it before I got too tired. I tried to use my favorite disarming move, the one Luke first taught me all those years ago. It involved sliding the flat of your blade against your opponent's sword towards the hilt then twisting it so that your opponent is forced to drop his sword. But, after my lightsaber made contact with Obi-Wan's, the blade would not slide forward. It just remained there. Obi-Wan took advantage of my surprise. I was off balance since I expected my blade to move forward, and it didn't. He quickly moved his arm in a large circular motion keeping the blades locked together and forcing me to drop the lightsaber. "Huh, so that's how you disarm with lightsabers since there's no sliding along the blades," I got out as I caught my breath.

Obi-Wan smiled and said, "It's not impossible to slide the blades along each other, but the electromagnetic fields from the blades do interfere with each other creating a lot of resistance so that it takes a great amount of force to perform that particular maneuver." At least he was breathing heavily as well. "If you had known the proper technique for disarming a lightsaber, I dare say, you would have won the bout."

I shrugged, "Maybe, but if we had more space so that you could do your fancy flips to avoid my attacks, I'm pretty sure you would have won."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, that is a weakness of Ataru." At my confused look, he added, "The specific lightsaber form I use, so this is good practice since I will not always have ideal maneuverability. It forces me to brush up on the more defensive lightsaber form to fend off a more aggressive opponent."

"Yes, it was very good practice for both of you, I would say" Qui-Gon commented. "I am curious Percy, was your improved performance just due to the water Annabeth splashed on you?"

"Initially, yes. It gave me an energy boost and made me aware of the blade, but that boost only lasts for a little bit. During that time, I guess I was able to get a feel for the lightsaber using that trick Annabeth pointed out, connecting it to something I was familiar with that involved water. I realized that using the lightsaber felt like the time I had to use a high-pressure hose on a roof to stop flaming catapults shot by an army of giant cannibals."

"You compared using a lightsaber to using fire extinguishing equipment?" Obi-Wan questioned seeming a little miffed, like I had somehow insulted the lightsaber.

Qui-Gon just looked amused, "I am more interested in how you fended off an army of giant cannibals with a hose."

"Well, actually it was my second time fighting a lot of those guys, and both times my friends did most of the heavy lifting," I told Qui-Gon. "As for the hose/lightsaber similarities, I guess I was thinking relatively heavy nozzle directing beam of water, and relatively heavy hilt directing a beam of light. Made sense to my seaweed brain. I try not to question it when things work."

I picked up the lightsaber to give it back to Qui-Gon. Apparently, the lightsaber had automatically turned off when it left me hand. "Thanks, Qui-Gon, for letting me use this, even if that Jedi Council wouldn't be happy. It's a supper cool weapon though my favorite will always be Riptide."

Qui-Gon chuckled and accepted the lightsaber, clipping it back on his belt. "It truly is a shame that you and Annabeth were not from this universe or maybe came when you were younger. I feel like you both would have made excellent Jedi if given the proper training at a younger age."

I frowned at that, "Umm, in case you haven't noticed, Percy Jackson, rules, and authority don't usually go together, and you guys seem to have a lot of rules." Even Obi-Wan had to suppress a laugh at that. "Speaking about rules, is there some rule that says Shmi has to be on a different planet than Ani? It just seems kind of mean, making them split up."

Obi-Wan quickly got serious again and said, "The Jedi Code forbids attachments."

"What does that mean? Are you guys not allowed to send email attachments or something?" I asked.

"No, Seaweed Brain, he means like personal relationships," Annabeth translated for me.

"Huh, so no romance, like the Hunters of Artemis." I guessed that was why Obi-Wan got uncomfortable when ever Annabeth and I publicly displayed our relief that we were still alive. "But what does that have to do with Ani and Shmi, their family."

"Familial attachments are also forbidden," Obi-Wan clarified. "The Code teaches that personal attachments are dangerous. They can cloud our judgment so that we value one or a few lives over the many. This would compromise our ability to be peacekeepers for the whole galaxy. Also, individual relationships can lead to jealousy and other negative emotions that can cause a Jedi to fall to the dark side." Obi-Wan looked right at me as he said that, like he was hinting at something, but I was too distracted by the first part to really pay attention.

"How can this code of yours forbid family relationships? Like, how is that even possible? Surely, your Jedi-in-training miss their moms and family. Are they never allowed to visit or communicate? I mean, I practically grew up in boarding schools and that was hard enough."

"Anakin's case is unique," Qui-Gon said. "He is far older than most Jedi initiates, so he is more attached–"

"Wait," I interrupted. "Anakin's old? The kid's like nine. Are these Jedi initiates of yours usually in diapers when they start?" I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of a baby in a diaper holding a little lightsaber. However, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan remained serious.

"Jedi initiates typically start their training at the human equivalent of 3 years old, but many arrive at a Jedi temple before they are over a year old," Qui-Gon calmly stated.

I was shocked as my mind slowly processed what he was saying. Suddenly, I didn't feel like laughing either. "You take babies away from their families." My voice didn't sound like mine. It was flat, emotionless, dangerous. I felt a pressure building in my gut as a hissing sound came from the walls. Distantly, I heard an alarm blaring from the cockpit.

"Percy, not the plumbing!" Annabeth desperately warned. "It's too pressurized!" The fear in her voice snapped me out of it. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. Annabeth grabbed my hand, "Think of that beach again Percy, calm the ocean in your mind."

I imagined Montauk, but this time the ocean looked like a hurricane was in full force with waves reaching 100 feet. I gritted my teeth and willed the ocean to be smooth. The pressure in my gut lessened, and I opened my eyes. I leaned my forehead against Annabeth's for a second, soaking in that my amazing girlfriend had helped me avoid another disaster. It was like the exploding toilets on the Argo II all over again, though the consequences of losing control on this ship would be way worse than flooding the lower decks and having an angry Leo yell at you. Who knew what would have happened with the high-pressure, futuristic plumbing or gods forbid the ship's coolant.

I turned back to the Jedi, who were both frowning at me, like I was a naughty kid. Before they could chastise me for losing my Zen or whatever it was, I said, "No wonder you guys can't be bothered to free the slaves in this galaxy. You are too busy stealing infants from their families."

"We do not steal infants," Obi-Wan replied looking offended. "We approach the parents, and they must give us their permission to bring their child to the Jedi Temple. What we do is perfectly legal within the laws of the Republic."

I was too angry to form words, so luckily Annabeth asked my question, "And if the parents refuse to give up their child?" The frigid tone in her voice told me that she wasn't too pleased with the Jedi recruitment method either.

"We respect their wishes of course," Qui-Gon responded calmly. "Though, most agree to give us their child. It is a great honor to be a Jedi, and we make sure the parents understand the full risks of an untrained Force-sensitive who could be a danger to herself and those near her."

"So, no pressure from the government or local authorities?" Annabeth questioned.

Obi-Wan winced slightly at that, but it was Qui-Gon who responded. "We have no control over the actions of the government whether it be at the local level or galactic. We leave that to the politicians."

I snorted at that. Even I could see the respect and political power the Jedi held as law enforcers even if they weren't politicians. "What about the kids?" I asked my voice shaking slightly. I was barely keeping my temper in check. "They don't get a say at all, and a three-year-old wouldn't even understand what's happening. But, that's why you want them so young, so they don't know anything different. I bet it makes brainwashing them into the perfect, obedient, emotionless Jedi a lot easier. My mother married a horrible, abusive man just so she could keep me close to her, and I risked my life, constantly fighting monsters, to have the chance to live with her. If I was born in this backwater universe, we probably would never have gotten that chance to really get to know each other or understand how much we love each other. But, wait, you guys think because of that love, that personal attachment, I'm going to turn into some evil, power-hungry dude that wants to take over the galaxy."

I couldn't take it anymore, so I stormed out of the room. The last thing I wanted to do was lose control again in front of the Jedi. No doubt they would blame my dangerous attachments, or the fact that I wasn't meditating at five. It would only reinforce in their minds that their inhuman recruitment and training was best. I was too worked up to be with Anakin and Shmi without screaming at the boy to stay away from all Jedi. The part of me that sounded like Annabeth knew that would be overreacting just a bit. So, I headed to the tiny medbay. The place I was so eager to escape from a day ago. I barged through the door, and the doc droid said, "What are you doing here Mister Jackson? You are no longer a patient."

"Thought I might need a check-up," I replied, but I walked right past the droid to the refresher and shut the door. I went to the shower with water, hoping I didn't do too much damage to the plumbing. Luckily, the water turned on, just a bit colder than last time. I sank to the floor of the shower, fully clothed, just letting the water run over me. It soothed and calmed me way better than any meditation Qui-Gon could teach me.

The water shut off after 15 minutes again, but I just kept sitting there. Did I overreact? Yeah, probably, I'll admit that to myself. It just seemed like such a slap in the face to everything my mom and I had sacrificed to be together. Like, family wasn't important enough to be cherished and protected. As long as you could get in to a space police cult, who cared that you didn't know your mom was the most amazing person in the world and that she loved you no matter what you did. Plus, for most of my life, I didn't know who my dad was, and it always felt like a piece of me was missing. I couldn't imagine living my whole life without ever knowing who my parents were.

A few minutes after the water shut off, there was a knock on the refresher door. "Percy," Annabeth called out, "we need to talk." I sighed and willed myself dry, but before I could get up, the door to the refresher opened. Annabeth stepped in, and the door closed again.

"Jeez, does this stupid universe not even have locks on the bathroom doors?" I asked sarcastically.

"Nope, they do. I just overrode it," Annabeth said as she placed her laptop on the tiny counter in the bathroom and sat down next to me just outside of the small shower space. She looked at me, smiled, and shook her head. "I swear, only you, Seaweed Brain, would insult the dogma of the very Order that might be our only hope of getting home in this galaxy."

"Well it's a stupid dogma," I said sullenly. Once again, I had let my mouth and temper get the better of me, but I can't say I regretted my actions. "How mad are they?"

She shrugged, "They will still help us get home just so you won't be able to question their traditions any more. Though I'm sure it would help if you apologized when you feel ready. They actually seemed more bothered by your loss of control then your accusation of brainwashing children. And, Obi-Wan in particular was concerned that you were so angry."

Oh well, so much for trying to get the guy to laugh more. "It's not like I'm angry at Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon, individually. They seem like pretty cool guys. It's just all these stupid rules and traditions of the Jedi Order. I mean separating kids from their parents before they really even get to know each other, and everyone in this galaxy is just okay with it."

She sighed, "Yes, Percy I know, and I agree with you. But, this is a different culture, a different universe. They value different things, have different priorities."

"That doesn't mean it's right," I said.

"No, but they also have a very good reason for doing it," she responded. Before I could even open my mouth to argue, she said, "Think about it, Percy. It's not so different from our situation as half-bloods. You and your mom are the exception. We are different than mortals, and because of that, it makes it difficult for us to stay with our mortal families."

"You made that choice at seven, not three," I interrupted. "Plus, you later made up with your dad. Aren't you glad you had that chance?"

"Of course, I am. But when I was younger and had more trouble defeating monsters, my family was at risk. Your own mom would have been killed by the Minotaur if Hades hadn't kidnapped her. A lot of the other year-round campers stay at camp because they don't want to endanger their family. I think the Jedi are over controlling, but by taking the children to the temple for training, they may be protecting the lives of the children's families as well as the children themselves. After the Titan War, you even used your wish to ask for half-bloods to be claimed and brought to camp for training. Is it so different?"

"We don't take babies away from their parents. We let them have a happy, normal childhood, or as normal of a childhood as a half-blood can have. Then when they are old enough, they can choose to spend most of the year with their mortal family if they want," I stated. "Giving them the right to choose makes all of the difference, Annabeth. We don't brainwash them so that they have to be heroes full time when they get older because they don't know anything else. We just give them the tools and skills, so they can live in either the mortal or godly world."

She sighed, "I agree, but I also think more half-bloods would make it to camp if we recruited them earlier, maybe a few years before their scents get strong enough to attract monsters. Is being able to have relatively normal childhoods worth risking their lives?" That did make me pause and think about all the half-bloods that died before they could reach camp. Sure, it happened a lot less since the gods granted my wish, but it still happened.

"We also don't know how Jedi powers manifest and develop," Annabeth continued. "Maybe, they develop earlier than ours, and everyone would be in danger if a Force-sensitive didn't receive proper training. I mean if a seven-year-old can lift stuff in the air, a temper tantrum could be pretty destructive. Plus, we really don't know how this dark side corruption works. But, I do think the Jedi take it to an extreme extent, probably because of that no attachment rule."

I snorted at that, "Yes, what a crime to actually be a human being and care about someone, love someone."

"Again, the Jedi take it to the extreme, but surely, you especially must see why the Jedi would have it," Annabeth stated.

"Nope, it seems more stupid than Terminus' border pat downs," I replied.

"You're not even trying to understand," she complained.

I shrugged. "I just don't get why people would want to isolate themselves so much that they didn't have a relationship with their family or have the chance to find someone to love. I mean the Hunters of Artemis are exceptions. Most of them have been hurt or betrayed by boys and are forever stuck at the age where girls think boys have cooties."

"Percy, your fatal flaw is personal loyalty. Several of your enemies have used that against you, and it nearly ended the world. Would you have to worry about this if you didn't form personal attachments? Just think about it."

I did, and I could see what she was getting at. "I think I'm starting to understand a little though that doesn't make me feel any better." I confessed.

"Well that's a good start," she said with a small smile. "The first step when something is done differently is to try and understand why. Almost everyone has a logical reason for doing something. You just have to see the world from their perspective to figure it out."

A lot was still bugging me about the Jedi council and all their rules. "This Jedi Council is sounding more and more like the gods, completely banning something just because it could possibly cause trouble later. I mean, I'm living proof that particular method never works. Do you think we can convince them to change some of these traditions? Or at least make them less extreme?" I asked. "Like there's no way this no emotions, no attachments approach works for all Force-sensitives."

She just shrugged, "I don't know Seaweed Brain, but I do know if anyone could get them to change, it would be you?"

I laughed at that. "Yeah right, your much better with words and diplomacy and persuading people."

Annabeth shook her head. "Maybe, but change requires more than words. I mean you didn't change Zoe's mind about men just by talking to her. And, when you choose to not insult every being who has the power to kill you, you aren't too bad with words yourself. After all, you did talk the gods out of killing the Ophiotaurus, and you found a way to change how the Olympians treat demigods, breaking a few millennia of tradition. There's a reason Hera sent you to replace Jason at Camp Jupiter. You've always been able to make people see things a little differently than they did before. Sometimes, I don't think you even know that you're doing it. What your persuasion tactics lack in logic, you make up for in passion. Even if half the people in the room want to kill you, you somehow make them see your point of view and change their minds." She paused to let me consider before saying, "Now enough serious talk let's get lunch."

"I've got to do this one thing first," I told her before standing up and quickly turning the water on for the shower. I used my power so that the water curved unnaturally and hit her instead of me.

"Percy!" she shrieked.

I laughed and grabbed her around the waist pulling her in the shower with me and letting the water fall normally. "I told you I would get you back for dumping water on me." Before she could protest any more, I kissed her. The Jedi could ban romantic attachments all they want, but I figured I would take my chances despite whatever danger they thought might happen because Annabeth was worth it.