A/N: Been a while since my previous update, and for that I apologize. Schoolwork has started piling in, and sadly, my motivation has left me for a few days. Don't worry though; I'll do my best to continue updating regularly.

Thanks for all the reviews and feedback. To be blunt, I'm quite surprised that my first story got as much reviews. Thanks, and happy writing.

An Old Friend

Loyalty, faithfulness, selflessness. Those were the traits a Guardian, a bodyguard should have demonstrated daily. To show undying loyalty to their charge, faithfulness in whatever they do, and selflessness in letting their goals and emotions above yours. Doing this meant risking your life for your master, no matter what may happen. Personal attachments to your charge was frowned upon; becoming too close leads to rash behaviour, endangering him or her.

A Guardian was a protector assigned to be a shield over another, be it a god, demigod, or mortal. To defend against threats, and help them in any way possible. Your master's command would be your law. You would follow and protect your master to the death, if needed.

Few would have given up everything to do what a Guardian would do. Over time, many Guardians who pledged themselves to be a loyal protector did not hold onto their word. They would flee, abandon their charge at desperate situations, or fail to heed warnings resulting in deaths. Small wonder that there were very few Guardians mentioned in olden tales. Actually, in truth, there was only one Guardian in the many centuries since the Age of the Gods began that did not stray and was acknowledged as a Hero.

Perseus Jackson. His name was whispered with awe in the godly world. In the 450 years of service to the Moon Goddess, he followed the code of the Guardian to the very letter. Nymphs, dryads, and goddesses would fawn over his very name. He was the very embodiment of what a Guardian should be. His name was whispered through Olympus, Earth, the Underworld and Tartarus with respect. Monsters would avoid him at all cost. He even saw eye-to-eye with Echidna, Mother of all Monsters.

The goddesses would envy Artemis, as well as be shocked at how she treated her protector. The Moon Goddess had been a harsh, cruel mistress to Perseus, leaving no room for enjoyment, tormenting Perseus every single chance she had. She despised him, because she thought that her father had assigned him to her because she was weak.

The Huntresses, though they did not show it visibly, felt pity for the Guardian. But he would not accept pity, he stood strong, and Artemis' verbal barbs did not affect him. He still followed Artemis as a loyal protector, watching over her and ensuring she did not get wounded. After several years, Artemis eventually showed a grudging respect towards Perseus, which soon developed into a shy affection.

Perhaps it started when Perseus took a deadly wound in his thigh for the goddess when she had been surrounded. Naturally, she was furious, furious that someone defended her. When the battle was over, she ranted and yelled at Perseus, saying that she was not as weak as her father thought her to be. Throughout it all, Perseus just watched his mistress straight in the eye, patting Skia's head. Artemis was inwardly desperate. She knew she was falling for him. She wanted him to yell, to curse, to retort, anything so that it might stop her loving him, but he refused to act out of line and anger the goddess. When her rant finished, Perseus simply nodded, and started bandaging his wound.

Artemis had given up trying to stop the inevitable, and concluded that she did love him. To Perseus' surprise, Artemis laid her hands upon the wound gently, and muttered a small healing incantation to accelerate the healing process. Perseus, needless to say, was shocked, and murmured a short thank you before leaving to process his thoughts.

From that day on, Artemis stopped treating Perseus so harshly, and through the next few decades, they worked together amiably. Perseus, however, was oblivious to Artemis' affections to him, and he would not have been able to return the love, because it would endanger the both of them into rash decisions.

When he died, Artemis felt her heart ripped apart and stomped on by a giant. She mourned his death for years before Hestia counselled Artemis, giving her comfort and guidance. Even though she returned to her duties, every day, before and after her duties for the moon, she would gaze at his warglaives in the sky a last time before the dawn took over. She ached with heartbreak and regret.

But here he was again. Alive and breathing, but still cursed in his form. He was once again charging an enemy who harmed his mistress, and with his new form, he was terrifying.

Hyperion stood his ground, angling his sword to defend himself from Perseus' charge, as well as stab the Guardian in the stomach. However, Perseus with his new tricks was more than what the Titan could handle. Throwing his warglaive in his left hand, Hyperion was forced to step several steps back and quickly change grip to block the flying weapon, but that left him open for Perseus' right warglaive. It sheared through the Titan's armour like paper, cutting his hip to his stomach. The Titan's ichor dripped down sluggishly.

Retreating, Hyperion swung his sword in a large horizontal arc, which would have cleaved Perseus in half if not for his quick reactions and his wings giving him the extra momentum. The left warglaive he threw before returned to his hand once more.

"Don't just stand there, ATTACK HIM!" Hyperion bellowed at his forces, while channelling a few healing magic onto his wound. Hordes of dracanae charged with spears forward, Stymphalian birds dove from the trees, and Laistrygonian giants bent their bows or lifted their clubs.

There's no way that Perseus can win against all of that! Artemis thought, but her thoughts ceased when Perseus once again revealed another trick. Slamming his right fist into the ground, a shockwave of rocks flew forward and smashed into the charging dracanae, as well as block the vision of the giants in the back. Charging forward, he smashed into the phalanx and started a path of destruction. His attacks were wild but precise, every moment used to kill or wound a monster. Spinning around, he released both of his warglaives at once, picked up a spear from a fallen dracanae, and started to sweep it around, once again continuing the path of destruction.

Dr. Thorn, the manticore, who was at the back of the forces, suddenly unleashed a string of spikes. Not batting an eye, the Guardian did one last sweep and threw his spear, intercepting the spikes and forcing the manticore to dodge. His warglaives, which had created its own path of death, returned at the same time to him, and he fought once more. His wings shielded his back from arrows as well as the pecks from the Stymphalian birds, but at the same time, the talons tore open the hearts of the monsters behind him.

"Enough games!" Perseus yelled, and this time slammed both his fist down onto the ground. The earth shook and split, and black, unholy limbs reached up and speared the monsters, turning them all into golden dust, except for several lucky ones.

Hyperion, by now, had healed sufficiently to duel Perseus once more. He stepped in and with his large broadsword, swung it in a vertical arc, forcing Perseus to dodge to the side. Not pausing, the Titan then swung it smoothly into a horizontal swipe, which caught Perseus by surprise. Perseus was blown back by the force of the strike, his armour broken at where the sword had connected, and smashed into several trees, before flipping into a kneeling position. Red blood poured out, by Perseus was merely stood up, and the two warriors charged once again.

Hyperion had the strength and size for his advantage, but Perseus had his speed and cunning to counter the Titan's. For every blow against Perseus, the Titan received three, albeit weaker, but painful nonetheless. They fought for what seemed like hours, but in reality, was only a few minutes.

Finally, Perseus managed to find a hole in Hyperion's guard, and sliced the face of the Titan, from the left eye to the right cheek. The acid on Perseus' warglaive seeped into the wound, burning the immortal flesh.

Hyperion roared, and blasted Perseus back once more, before flashing out in his immortal form. The few remaining monsters fled as well, which unfortunately included Dr. Thorn. The destroyed clearing was levelled. Where trees once stood were burning stumps, and the normally grassy area was covered in ashes and golden dust. All that was left was the Moon Goddess, the Huntresses, the Guardian and the demigod group that was in Westover Hall earlier.

Perseus was wounded and bled almost everywhere, but he still showed a lot of stamina. Ignoring his wounds, he walked over to Artemis and cut the ropes that bound her. Artemis' eyes were shining with love, sympathy and concern, but he didn't seem to notice that, he only had eyes for the many wounds on her body.

"P- Perseus?" Artemis questioned timidly, hoping in her voice as well as concern.

He didn't answer, only looked up once, before focusing on the wounds. Before Artemis could stop what he was doing, he muttered a phrase in Greek: "Mazi dikos dynami kathos ena kidemonas, ego thysiazo dikos yparxi eis pairno tis pligis".*

Wounds on the goddess' body suddenly disappeared, and the goddess no longer felt pain. Instead, Perseus stiffened, turned, and spat out blood into ashes. Artemis gasped at the realization; Perseus had taken all her wounds and placed it on himself! With all the wounds he gained already from the battle, Perseus would be wounded heavily and he could die from blood loss.

Perseus stood up and walked over to the other bound people. His warglaives expertly cut through all the ropes without any of the acid burning the prisoners. The demigod group found themselves flinching when he was walking to them, while the Huntresses remained immobile, just watching the one they called a brother.

Many of the huntresses in the group had lived to see Perseus before he was cursed, but some did not and they found themselves breathing with fear, which was not shameful, since with his new form he towered above the rest of them, and his eyes, or where his eyes were supposed to be, were full of hellfire. The blindfold around them didn't help as well; the fire burned through them, but surprisingly the blindfold was intact.

Artemis, who was still quite confused about the recent turn of events, suddenly assumed her leadership position. "Hunters, set up camp and treat the demigods with hospitality. I need to talk with... Perseus..." The being in question simply looked at her (although how he did, Artemis had no idea) with hellfire orbs and nodded. Standing up, he walked over to his mistress. They left the clearing, but not before hearing the Poseidon camper say "What the hell is going on here?" before getting shushed by the lieutenant Zoe.

The two powerful beings walked in silence, like they once had four and a half centuries ago. They would have made a strange sight to many people. The twelve year old goddess with her silvery outfit and bow, and the huge armour clad warrior with hellfire eyes and black wings that towered above her. Once they reached a distance for from the camp, they stopped and faced each other.

The goddess tenderly stroked her small hand against Perseus' cheek, tears started to form in her eyes. Unexpectedly, she quickly slapped him across the cheek, which took Perseus by surprise. Holding his hand to where it hit, he looked at the goddess and was about to retort before she interrupted.

"How? Why? I thought you were dead! I held you in my arms when you were wounded, bleeding and dying. I saw you take your last breathe and when your body become limp! I..."

For the first time in centuries, Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, Wild and Moon, cried. But this time, there was someone who was willing to be with her in her sorrow. There was a shoulder for her to cry onto. Someone to comfort her.

The Guardian tenderly wrapped his arms around her waist while she sobbed quietly on his shoulder, rubbing circles on her back, calming and relaxing her. His wings spread and formed a barrier around them, protecting the goddess.

This went on for several minutes before Artemis managed to compose herself. Shameful, she tried to wipe away her tears before the Guardian could see it. Perseus raised an eyebrow.

"Milady, tears do not show weakness. They show your courage and strength that you are not afraid to cry and express your emotions. To be without fears and weakness, you must first experience them. You cannot learn if you have no weakness, you cannot be brave without fear."

Artemis chuckled. "You are barely back for two hours and already you are spouting philosophical quotes."

"I am your guardian, am I not? I will help you in your path, as ironic as it seems. A demigod guiding a goddess." He grinned, before quickly turning his head away.

"Tell me, how did you come back? I thought you were gone forever."

Perseus smiled again. "Well, milady, it is a long tale, so you might as well make yourself comfortable. Let me ask you, do you remember the day I was pledged as your Guardian?"

"Like it was yesterday." She murmured.

"But father, I don't need a protector! I am not weak!" Artemis yelled.

"Dear daughter, I know that you think you are strong, but I have to make sure you are safe!"

"But why a Guardian? And out of all the people available, why him? I will not be protected by a boy!"

"Artemis, why do you object to this? I already told you, I want you to be safe, and to do that I have to get a Guardian!"

Off to the side, Perseus was standing awkwardly in the throne room. Thank the gods that there were only a few gods present; Zeus, Artemis, Hestia, and Poseidon. It would have been quite embarrassing if the entire council was there watching the King and his daughter quarrel.

Zeus and Artemis were glaring daggers at each other, and if looks could kill... wow. Hestia was, as usual, tending to the hearth of Olympus, but at the same time watching Perseus. His father, Poseidon, also watched, but his eyes showed boredom. This probably happened on a daily basis.

He shifted uneasily, until Hestia caught his eye and smiled, giving him the confidence and the patience to wait out the argument. Poseidon watched confused at this small interaction, but dismissed it as one of Hestia's powers to comfort people when they needed it. Meanwhile, the argument continued, and the sound of it escalated until both gods were yelling. 'Wonder if a god's voice ever cracks if they yell too loud,' Perseus wondered idly.

Several hours have passed, but the argument had finally finished. 'About time', Perseus thought. Artemis glared daggers at him, and he shifted uneasily and averted his gaze elsewhere, anywhere but her.

Zeus sighed again. "Artemis, quit being a child. If anything you are only making me even more worried about you. And don't interrupt me Artemis. Anyways, Perseus, please, take the Guardian's oath to your new master."

Artemis looked extremely, extremely pissed. Perseus swallowed, and kneeled before the goddess. "I, Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon, pledge to defend Artemis, the Moon Goddess, with all I have to offer. I surrender my body and soul to protect my lady, Artemis, from any threat of danger. I offer my life to protect hers, and will use everything I have to be a Guardian. In front of the Fates, I pledge my eternal service to the safety of Artemis."

"You know what happens from there, my lady. After I pledged myself to you as your Guardian, we set off, and though we did not get along at first, we managed to smooth things out."

"That still doesn't explain how you are here. Your soul was incinerated, and your body burned and buried in the Garden of the Gods." Artemis said quietly.

"As impatient as ever I see. Several centuries and you still have not lost your old traits."

"Old habits die hard, don't they? Now, continue your story."

"Hyperion's curse would have killed a demigod and incinerated the soul. I, however, was different from a normal demigod. I was a Guardian who swore eternal service to you. But, I also had help from my godly patron."

"Patron? Who? You never told me you had one."

"I believe you know. Hestia. Her powers over the flame prevented my soul from being destroyed into oblivion. Furthermore, my pledge to you, of eternal service, meant in life as well as death. I was still injured, however. My soul was sent to the stars to recover. My body was buried in the Garden of the Gods, but Hestia sent it back up as well. When I recovered, which took around 400 years, my soul and body was reunited. My body was still in the form I am in now, but I trained daily so I could one day return to you. However, in the realm of Ouranos, I was not able to leave until you called to me for help. So for fifty years I watched over you from the stars. When you called to me for help when you were being wounded by Hyperion, I was finally able to escape my bonds and return to you."

Artemis was silent for several minutes while pondering on this. Before slapping Perseus hard on the cheeks again.

He flinched. "Has this become a habit to you as well? Slapping your protector every time I talk and explain to you?"

"Why did you hide so many secrets from me? You never told me that Hestia was your patron! It could have explained so much, why she was grieving with me, why she assisted me, and why we had such a close relationship!"

"Are you saying that you don't like her?"

"Nothing like that, but why did you not just tell me?"

"Do you think Zeus would have been pleased to hear that not only has his daughter is associated with his brother's son, a hero, but also his sister, Hestia?"

"Not so much, I guess... but it is good to see you again Perseus."

"You as well. It has been too long since I have talked and seen you."

"But how do you see? Your eyes were burned out, weren't they?"

He sighed. "I can still see... it is just damaged a bit. Instead of seeing, I sense, and after years of training and living like this, I can 'see' much better than I could before. I can count the strands in your hair, the dirt in your nails, and a huntress in the tree, 60 degrees to our left, and is upside down and about to fall."

As if on cue, Zoe dropped out of the tree, flipping gracefully and landing as quiet as a bird. "I see thou still call us as Huntresses. Why not just Hunters? Tis' more simple, and that is what we are named after." She smiled once before stepping up and wrapping her arms around the Guardian. "It has been a long, long time, brother."

"You as well, sister. I still see that you enjoy eavesdropping on conversations and neglecting some of Artemis' orders."

"Surprisingly, I have not disobeyed once since thou left. This is the first time in centuries."

Artemis and Perseus laughed, while Zoe just smiled in embarrassment. "It's true; this has been the first since she disobeyed. There were no pranks, no sudden food fights, and random yells of 'Typhon is back!'She hasn't been this happy since you died." Artemis said.

"Guess I should stay away more often so you can be an angel again, Zoe." Percy replied. "We should be getting back to camp. Your huntresses and the demigods are bound to be curious."

With that, the three figures walked slowly back to camp, enjoying the silence between them.

*Under my power as a guardian, I sacrifice my being to take her wounds. Please note it might not be an accurate translation.

Please note, I will try and update more often, but I am a 'perfect freak', so I normally finish a story in 2-3 days, and 2 days to review and edit my stuff. I'll try and be faster. Anyways, have a good day, Happy Hunting.

Ken