Percy kept his eyes on the dwindling embers from the campfire, using whatever heat it provided to keep himself from the night cold that prickled the back of his neck. He met this ragtag group of refugees that were now his travel companions to Ba Sing Se, though their meeting started off on the wrong foot.

After he infiltrated to investigate (less successfully) and sunk (overly successful) the large ship to help the small blips on the strip of land he saw was being shot at with catapults, he thought to check on them. Only to be attacked by three teens – one of which accused him to be from Fire Nation – when he mentioned that he came from the red, ugly warship. If it weren't for years of training and heightened battle senses he would have been hit with a gust of wind or the sharp boomerang. Funnily enough, it took him saving the accuser from falling to his death for one of the others in that ragtag group to recognize and vouched he was 'okay'. Quick introductions and the group accepted him as company given all shared the same destination.

Percy still doesn't understand why his gut told him to not introduce himself as Zhang.

The warmth from the fire that they had set up for the night reminded him of a particular Greek Goddess. There was a small glimpse of Hestia smiling kindly at him from the firewood that still glowed red and Percy was certain the air around the night had just become slightly warmer. A small smile crept upon his face though his eyes conveyed a different emotion.

Being a demigod had its perks, he could say that – saviour of the world (twice), cool water abilities (from being the son of Poseidon), quick reflexes, et cetera. But Percy would definitely testify that being the child of a god does have its less appealing qualities – monsters always on the hunt, lost friends, forgetful godly parents, godly grudges, rotten luck.

Oh, and dreams. Percy hated dreams.

He still does.

He had wondered to himself why he thought in the five days – two unconscious and three awake – he spent in this new and weird world that maybe he would get a free pass to "No-Stupid-Dreams-for-Percy-Jackson-Just-Good-Sleep" for at least a day. Even when he was unconscious he didn't get good sleep. Some weird dream that he couldn't remember the details other than two koi fishes swimming in perfect circles and two weird-looking-drakons-with-wings that seemed to fly in circles.

Must everything be circles? And since when do drakons have wings?

Percy really considered adding 'zero-good-luck, just-rotten-luck' back to the list of "Bad-Things-of-Being-a-Demigod". But then Annabeth will kill me. He stiffened himself at the thought of his girlfriend as his mind replayed one of the two dreams he had while trying to rest well.

He found himself in a room of white marble, and he would have widened his eyes if he could do so in his dreams. Percy recognized the room he's looking at – it was home. With Annabeth. In New Rome. They had just moved into the place so there were boxes everywhere, but Percy recognized the blue couch in the small living room and the coffee table which was now housing the aftermath of a storm. Papers were strewn all over it, some sheets threatening to fall to the ground while some gave in to gravity's lure and rested on the ground.

Oh, boy...

"I swear," a voice broke the silence in the room and Percy's vision snapped to the blond figure storming into the room. He recognized his girlfriend anywhere. He recognized her even when he lost his memory. "If this was another ploy by Hera, I –"

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, was a mess. Her hair was dishevelled, cheeks sunk and Percy could see dark crescents forming on her tan skin under her eyes even as she entered – stormed – into the room. And two figures followed.

"Annabeth," The bulkier figured cautioned, and Percy couldn't help but sympathize for Frank Zhang when he saw the Son of Mars wince. Despite being the terrifying and esteemed Co-Praetor in Camp Jupiter, no doubt some fear him for his imposing physique, even the leader among the Roman demigods would thread cautiously when dealing with an angry Annabeth Chase, or when someone cusses a Goddess. Or both.

"Easy, it might not be Juno's doing."

"Frank's right," Hazel Levesque added as she stood next to Frank. Her features showed less signs of being uneased by the daughter of Athena's temper compared to her boyfriend – battling oversized giants, towering automatons and mad Roman Emperors along with few years of being Co-Praetor does add steel to one's nerve. "It's been a week hours since Percy was last seen. The three of us know he's been gone for longer."

Percy winced at that tidbit of information. A judo flip is due for him when he meets Annabeth. If.

Annabeth snapped her head around to face her friends. "What if he's gone missing again like last time? Six months, or worse. Not even IMs work!"

"Annabeth," Hazel calmly placed a reassuring hand on Annabeth's shoulder. Her facial features changed to one filled with concern. "When was the last time you slept?"

Silence befell the room at that question as Annabeth's stormy grey eyes that once were filled with worry and anger now displayed weariness which matched the dark circles under them. Hazel and Frank shared a glance, both their lips forming narrow lines before Hazel spoke again.

"Get some rest," her tone was firm but soft. "It makes sense that you're worried about Percy."

"We promised..." Percy heard Annabeth whisper weakly as she hung her head dejectedly, and his chest clenched. Annabeth almost never showed that she was vulnerable, but that wasn't the only reason he felt like Atlas decided to drop the sky onto him.

The both of them made a promise before they fell into Tartarus, where they travelled the Underworld's darkest and most dangerous place to the Doors of Death.

A promise to never leave each other's side.

"We know, Annabeth," Frank replied. "Camps Jupiter, Half-Blood and I think Fish-Blood are aware of the situation."

Hazel snapped Frank a glare at the mention of the underwater camp for Mer-Heroes. Or maybe for his choice of uncertainty with the phrase 'I think'. Percy thought he imagined Frank meekly add "well, Neptune could be worried for his son..." while Hazel shook her head and turned her attention back to Annabeth.

"The point is: everyone that can be deployed to find Percy is doing everything they can to find him. Demigods, satyrs, fauns, nymphs –"

"Heck, even Apollo is dipping his fingers in whenever he could."

Another glare. The son of Mars raised his hands in surrender.

"We'll update give you daily updates, or when we have any news," Hazel said. "For now, get some rest."

Annabeth could only nod meagrely, and both Praetors watched as their blond friend sat herself down at the couch and drifting off the moment she closed her eyes. She didn't look at ease, but Frank and Hazel decided to leave the Daughter of Athena some time alone. Percy's vision remained on the slumped form of his girlfriend as a soft mutter escaped her mouth while a bright light engulfed his view.

"Promised..."

Percy wanted to pull his hair out. His friends had no idea where he is, he has no means of contacting them. Iris messaging was a possible option but since he 'heard' Annabeth mentioning that IMs couldn't reach him, Percy concluded that he needed an alternative. But what?

The water in the lake around the Serpent's Pass churned, though Percy was too absorbed in his own thoughts for the few seconds to notice. His head started to ache when he couldn't come up with any ideas. If only Wise Girl was here. He shifted his attention to his other dream, which made less sense to him. Then again, being a demigod means dealing with stuff that seldom made sense.

His memories of his second dream when he tried sleeping were fuzzy, and the only things he remembered were a large outline humanoid figure the colour of black space is struck by lightning and falls, followed by the skies and grounds turning red from being lit in flames raging for miles.

Whatever it meant, Percy was certain it pointed to the end of the world. And he seems to have a part in saving it. Or destroying it. Oh wow, the universe just loves me.

Gritting his teeth together, he scanned his surroundings to find the family of three sleeping in their own worn-out sleeping sheets. He was offered a sheet to sleep on, though he politely turned down while watching the shenanigans of one particular dark-skinned teen, Sokka, trying to convince the girl in makeups, Suki, not to sleep near a ledge.

His mind wandered to the ragtag group of teens and the few hours he spent with them crossing the 'Serpent's Pass': Sokka, Suki, Toph, Katara, and Aang.

Sokka looked the oldest among them, though the words that came out of his mouth most of the time gave Percy the impression his mentality may not be that. The boy was goofy, making random remarks which made Percy confident that Leo could get along with this guy, if Leo doesn't compete with him on making unnecessary and inappropriate jokes. Sokka claimed to be a warrior, but clearly lacked the skillset for it, nor did he seem to use any 'bending' to speak of. Percy remembered Sokka's attacks with his boomerang – wild but predictable wide arcs with no precision whatsoever. Percy made a mental note to consider giving the teen tips for melee combat, if said teen could stop glaring holes at the demigod for knowing Suki.

Percy's impression of Suki – or 'Security Girl'/'Makeups' was little. His interactions with her were minimum, though the most compared to the others in the group. She kicked him out of Full Moon Bay but vouched for him to not being Fire Nation after she saw him saving a little girl – much to Sokka's clear annoyance. His only impression of her was that she was a trained warrior, given her stance when she and her security team had confronted him back in the bay.

Then there were Katara and Toph, who he was certain were the ones in his dream when he was in the hut with Zuko and Iroh. Toph – the petite girl in black hair and green-yellow dress asleep on the hard ground, citing she could 'see' better despite being blind. Percy didn't question whatever she meant and let her be, guessing she could probably 'see' using her some kind of enhanced sense. She came off rude, sarcastic and carried her own weight, though the demigod guessed she only acted so to prove she was who she was to someone. Who? He had no idea, and was not interested to find out.

Katara was a waterbender – that he was sure. All the flying tendrils of water she controlled gave him that idea. She cared for everyone in the travelling group, including Percy, who she tried to attack with that weird water-whip earlier when Percy was keeping her brother from falling off the Pass to his doom. She acted as the mother figure of the group, matured and level-headed, unlike her brother. Percy found her trying to catch glimpses at Aang every now and then whenever she had the chance or she thought no one was looking.

Lastly, Aang. When Percy first heard of a legendary figure known as the Avatar, his first impression was someone probably old but definitely wise and all-powerful, or maybe a three-meter tall alien from a faraway planet that he saw in a movie. He did not think that the responsibility of 'saving the world' and 'restoring balance' – the last term just flew over his head – to fall to a twelve-year-old. Then again, I did learn of my "hero's fate" when I was that age.

Rolling his eyes, Percy scanned the area again to see four other bags were empty, giving Percy the impression that they were awake. A huff escaped him as he decided to get onto his feet and do some exploring.

oOo

Katara found Aang standing at a cliff, the moon dimly lighting up the place and the cool breeze sending comforting chills down her skin. But she still feels exhausted. Aang was closing himself from the rest. He's been down since the desert. He's even doing it now when the both of them are alone. His back faced her as he stared into the waters below, like he was unwilling to turn to look her in the eyes. She was determined to find out why.

"What's going on with you?" Aang flinched at Katara's question, turning his head away from her as if trying to create distance between them. "In the desert all you cared about was finding out about Appa, but now you act like you don't care about him at all."

Indeed, during their escape from Wan Shi Tong's Library, Appa – Aang's sky bison – had been kidnapped. And Aang lost his composure when he found out, reacting angrily at the group for two days even at the slightest request to keep the team alive and not die of dehydration. Then he started brushing Appa off, stating the priority is getting to Ba Sing Se and informing the Earth King of their information to win the war. Though Katara was certain he was hiding something.

"You saw what I did out there," Aang sighed. "I was so angry about losing Appa that I couldn't control myself."

Oh.

"I hated feeling like that."

Oh.

Katara remembered it clear as day. Aang almost lost control of the Avatar State when confronting the sandbenders who kidnapped and muzzled Appa, destroying their sailers forcing them to flee on foot from the enraged Avatar. It took Katara's efforts to calm the young airbender down.

Whatever his reasoning was, Katara knew the way Aang acted was not the Aang she knew and cared for.

"But you're not letting yourself feel anything," she tried. Aang turned his head around, face fallen from both exhaustion and lack of emotion.

"I do feel something Katara," Aang replied, filling Katara with some glimmer of hope. Hope that Aang might still be his old self.

"I feel something strong emitting from our new companion."

She did not expect that to be his answer.

"Percy?"

Aang nodded his head slowly. He took a deep breath before continuing. "He's different Katara. You saw how your water whip did no damage to him. You saw how he did nothing to fight back. He's not like Zuko or Azula. I just can't wrap my finger around it."

Katara did not know how to answer that. She thought Aang was going to say he still felt hope, or hurt because he felt hope and care. She was ready to tell him that it was okay to feel hurt when one cares or hopes. She did not prepare for this.

Sure, Aang was right. This 'Percy' is too different. At first glance, Katara thought he was of Earth Kingdom with his green eyes, but his complexion was too... foreign. It gave Katara the impression that he was of mixed heritage. Katara blinked.

It's not possible. Water Tribe settles with Water Tribe; Earth Kingdom settles down with Earth Kingdom; and Fire Nation comes together with... whatever monster that creates Fire Nation.

But what about Aang and I? Could it really be?

She snapped her head out of her wayward thoughts. It wasn't the time to think about other things when the fate of the whole world rests on the Avatar standing in front of her and the information they procured from the Library.

Now Aang needs to be comforted. But Katara's at her wits end. So she just does what her heart tells her to. She spread her arms, inviting Aang for a hug.

"You're tired," she said as Aang looked at the half-warm smile formed on her face. "Come here, you need a hug."

Aang stared at her for a few moments, before he put his hands together in front of his chest and bowed. He refused to look her in the eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Katara."

Katara's smile faltered as Aang straightened himself and walking away, probably back to camp for some sleep. Did he just turn her down? She dropped her arms to her side and turned to look at the moon and the waters, the only sound was the water crashing onto the Pass every now and then.

"I could use a hug."

Katara jumped at the voice, preparing herself for an ambush as she scanned her surroundings for any attackers. She met strange green eyes that glint in the dark, and the figure walked forward revealing her 'ambusher'. She was not amused when she recognized the face under the moonlit glow.

"Percy."

The stranger with a weird name and foreign features whom they met earlier in the Serpent's Pass. He had mysteriously appeared from the waters after the Fire Nation ship had sunk from an even more mysterious wave. At the back of Katara's mind, she had her suspicions that he was a waterbender, though she couldn't understand why he claimed to have come from the same Fire Nation ship. Perhaps he was the one who sunk it, despite Sokka still arguing against Aang's invitation that their mystery guest was a Fire Nation spy.

Despite the dark, the dim lighting from the moon was enough to outline a glow on Percy's face. A smile had formed on it, and Katara could only agree with Suki. His smile was one of a serious delinquent, one which taunted the others about troubles he caused but he could never be caught for. Because he. Could. Get. Away. With. It.

"Easy there," Percy raised his hands to his side, showing he was unarmed and meant no harm. His smile still hadn't faded. "I was just exploring the place."

Katara kept her guard up with Percy. If Aang was correct, Percy is something different, and Katara was also curious how this man was able to render the water whip – her most trusty go-to weapon – useless. She was about to speak when Percy beat her to it.

"Who's Appa?"

"How did you –"

"I overheard some parts of the conversation. I do have ears you know."

Katara resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the remark. Percy's sarcasm reminded her of Toph's. Sharp and witty. And annoying.

She rolled her eyes anyway.

"He's a..." Katara hesitated. What should she tell this stranger? It's not like he will meet them any time after they reach Ba Sing Se. So she kept it short. "He's a friend."

A hum escaped Percy which Katara believed to be the man processing the information provided to him. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed him taking a few steps to join her at the edge.

"I know a thing or two about that. Losing a friend, I mean."

"Do you now?" Katara spat in reply, and immediately she regretted it when she spotted the look on Percy's face. Somehow, he looked different from the young man she and her group encountered earlier. His jaw was clenched so tight and the frown on his face made his foreign-looking features much, much older. At least ten years older. His hair shone under the moonlight, showing waving of messing hair from the wind like waves in the ocean. His eyes turned a darker shade of green, but it still reminded her of the ocean – the ocean that raged with rogue waves that sunk ships. Katara flinched slightly at the sight, though she hoped the man standing next to her did not notice any of it.

Then, the frown vanished and was replaced with the same troublemaker smile he wore. But it was less wide than it was before.

"You know," Percy started. "I expected the Avatar to be an alien."

"Alien?"

"'Alien?'" Percy snapped his head to look at her like she kicked his pet turtle-duck. "Beings from outer space?"

Seeing the blank look on her face, Percy snapped his head around and Katara heard him muttering a question about 'where is 'Gu Ge' when he needs it?'

"I mean I envisioned the Avatar to be a ten feet tall blue being," Percy chuckled after cursing further in a language Katara could not recognize. "Not a twelve year old kid. I shouldn't be surprised, though."

"You're mocking Aang?" if there was proper lighting, Percy would know Katara had an incredulous look on her face. But for now, her tone would suffice to convey her irritation.

"No, no. I didn't mean that," the smile fell off his face once again, and Percy sighed. "I meant I should know better given my own... portfolio."

Katara did not understand what he meant by the last word, but she did pick up on his tone. And from it, Katara realized for the first time the man sounded... tired?

Just who is this guy?

"Oh," was her only response. She wanted to ask about this man. His history. His life. How could the water whip not hurt him? Was he a waterbender? If yes, why didn't she see him at the Northern Water Tribe? Or any of the Water Tribes? Was there another Water Tribe? She formed the questions in her mind, but her mouth was frozen in its place, refusing to utter the words.

Green eyes studied her, causing her to stiffen. It was uncomfortably silent for a long second before Percy's chuckle – albeit a weak one – broke it. He gestured towards the way leading back to camp.

"Perhaps it's time to rest. You'll need the energy for the trip."

Katara let out a breath she did not know she was holding and eyed Percy suspiciously. He's way too tall. "And you don't?"

He merely turned to look at the water. "I like the breeze. I'll stay here a while longer."

Katara felt it was her cue to leave. And leave she did, making her way towards the narrow path but stopping herself as she was about to leave Percy alone. She had a question she needed to ask.

"Percy," said man turned his head to look at Katara who called him. "What were you chasing?"

"What?"

"You repeated that word in your sleep – 'Chase'."

He had mumbled the word in his sleep a few times. "Chase..." He tossed in his sleep, annoying Toph to the point she shouted to 'quit the racket!' and almost tossed him into the air with her earthbending. Sokka tried to use his boomerang to whack Percy properly asleep, only to be stopped by Katara.

Katara watched as Percy's face muscles battled between twist into a frown or remained as stoic as he could. It turned into a frown before changing back to being neutral. Katara thought she saw a glint of tears in his eyes, but she chalked it as the night playing games with her lack of vision in the dark. She did not see how the water turned a darker shade of blue, but her body did alert her of the sudden shaking of the Pass. It wasn't violent, but still she was cautioned by it.

"Perhaps for another time," Percy offered. "Good night, Katara."

The ground stopped shaking.

Katara knew he was hiding something. She just does. Sokka even coined it as 'girls' intuition' once. But exhaustion took over her and she suddenly felt discouraged to push the matter.

Like he said, another time.