AN: Hey guys, yep, it's another chapter. Special thanks to guest ForsakenInfinity, your review really motivated me to get this chapter out as quickly as possible. As always, review and let me know what you think, and if you guys would want a quick chapter catching up with the camp/Gods/demigods? If so, let me know how long you'd want it to be. Enjoy.

LAST TIME: Almost as if on cue, a knife flew through the air, appearing from behind the trees facing Percy and embedded itself in his chest. Percy lurched forward, having being caught off guard, before his vision dimmed and he slumped to the ground, out cold.

THIS TIME:

A small group of hunters emerged from the trees, seemingly pleased with themselves, as the smug grins on their faces would suggest. Led by Phoebe, they trod with caution, careful not to awaken the unconscious demigod. As Phoebe reached the fallen boy, flanked by Tanya and Atlanta, she knelt down, roughly ripping the knife from Percy's chest, causing the son of Poseidon to twitch involuntarily.

Phoebe froze.

Several agonizing seconds passed, as the hunters stood, frozen in place, waiting for any signs of consciousness from the demigod. When none came, they breathed a collective sigh of relief, walking back to camp, feeling quite pleased with their handiwork. Arriving at the camp after a few minutes, they wordlessly returned to normal activities, ignoring Thalia's curious looks.

Elsewhere…

Artemis sighed, collapsing onto her bed. Yet again, the son of Poseidon had invaded her thoughts. She reflected on the past few days, a pang of regret shooting through her heart when memories of how she had treated Perseus surfaced. Obviously, she had been partly justified in her actions by the fact that he had been "slacking" in his work. However, she wasn't satisfied with that, as she realized that he had been sent here to recover from his… Experiences. His short time thus far had only seemed to drain him further, and she had not exactly helped the situation by treating him as nothing more than a slave recently. Groaning, she buried her head in her hands.

Why did she feel so differently about this man?

Startled, she realized that she had just referred to him as a man, even if it was just mentally. Maybe that was it. Even subconsciously, she knew that he was different, hence her instinct to refer to him as a man, rather than as a boy. He had been nothing but respectful and obedient ever since his arrival, and even prior to that. To her knowledge, he had never exhibited genuine arrogance, selfishness or sexism, the very qualities that she had come to teach her hunters to hate.

Basically, she didn't have any logical reason to dislike him.

Standing determinedly, she resolved to find him immediately, and to at least ask what had caused him to slip in the work she had assigned, as well as apologize (again) for how she had treated him. Firmly, she reminded herself to be as polite as possible and cursed as she caught herself checking her reflection in the mirror on the way out.

Stop it Artemis, he's just a male.

Much to her perplexion, Artemis couldn't find him anywhere in the camp, or even in the kitchen or by the stream. Although it was unlike Perseus to neglect his work, it was extremely uncharacteristic of him to abandon it altogether. She quickly realized, upon a second, closer inspection of all the possible locations he could've been at, that all the chores had been completed. Still, that didn't explain his absence. She would've expected that he would've been training, or collecting/hunting food for lunch. Sighing, she stretched her senses, searching for his presence. Startled, she found it about a mile away, although it was very weak, which meant that either he was intentionally masking it, or… No that couldn't be. Still, she had a horrible feeling in her stomach as she flashed to him.

She appeared in the clearing, spinning wildly, trying to find him. After a few moments, Artemis was horrified to find his limp body, out cold, slumped at the foot of a tree, blood soaking through his shirt. As quickly as she could, she hurried to his side, and checked his pulse. The Goddess of the Moon breathed a sigh of relief as she felt a weak beating beneath her fingers. Though it wasn't much, it was still an indication that he was alive. Gathering him up in her arms, grunting under his weight, she flashed them both into the infirmary tent back at the hunters' camp. Dumping him rather unceremoniously on a bed, she quickly removed his shirt, recoiling in shock at what faced her. His built torso and arms were covered in many more scars and bruises than there had been when she had rescued him. Most notable was the open wound just below his right collarbone, the exact size that her hunting knives would have left. Only her and her most experienced hunters had access to those knives, as the damage they could cause was very difficult to heal. Normally, this would work in her favour, as her foes would succumb to blood loss quickly or infection in the wound. This time, Artemis cursed the effectiveness of the knives as she swiftly began work on treating his wound. First, she fed him a square of ambrosia to help with the pain, followed by coating the wound in nectar, then washing it out with water and covering it with sterile bandages. Sweating profusely from the speed at which she had worked, the Goddess of the Hunt collapsed into a nearby chair.

When Percy awoke, he found himself in the infirmary tent for the second time in less than 2 weeks, with Artemis sitting beside his bed. Clearing his throat, he succeeded in attracting her attention. His questioning look must have been enough as she explained how she had found him. Bowing his head, he thanked her politely, only to be waved away with a casual flick of her wrist. He smiled slightly as he reclined his head and began to close his eyes, only to be abruptly halted by an expectant, "Ahem," from the Goddess beside him. Bemusedly, he opened his eyes and met hers, confused. She gestured to his body. Looking down, he froze as he realized he was shirtless, and realized that Artemis had been referring to the various new marks of torture that had joined the gallery of older ones. Percy refused to meet her eyes as he mumbled,

"Had some trouble with wild animals." Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I've never known squirrels to be particularly good with a throwing knife." At this, she gestured to the bandages on his chest and noticed how he shifted uncomfortably. "Or," she continued, "Bears to be so precise in how their claws tear you apart. Or, for that matter, deer's hooves to leave such large bruises. So, Perseus, what happened?" Once again, the demigod squirmed restlessly. Still, he refused to make eye contact, and her stomach sank as she realized what must have been going on under her nose. Reaching out tenderly, she placed her hand under his chin and lifted his face gently so his eyes met hers.

"Perseus, please, I'm asking you as a friend. Please tell me what's going on?" She spoke softly, hoping he would realize that she was genuinely worried. Sighing, Percy's shoulders fell. He could never resist those eyes.

"You hunters have been… having some fun for a few days." He sighed, hating himself for giving in. He knew they would only hate him even more now.

Artemis' eyes closed slowly. She sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly before opening them again. She had been fearing this, and until now, she had refused that her girls would do such a thing. But hearing how broken he sounded, and seeing the marks covering his body, she knew he wouldn't lie. Plus, the evidence was right in front of her, and she shuddered to think of what kind of scars she couldn't see. Gently, she squeezed his shoulder, prompting him to look at her. She met his eyes reassuringly and spoke softly,

"Perseus, you shouldn't have hid this from me for so long." Suddenly something hit her, and desperately hoping it wasn't true, she asked, "Is that why you…" She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence, still hoping it wasn't true. Looking away, Percy nodded forlornly. Realization hit her. Of course, it made sense. She knew he would never shy away from work, no matter how taxing it was, but she had assumed that there was no underlying reason for his "slacking." Staring at the demigod in horror, she found herself unable to form words, in a state of stunned awe at how much pain he seemed to be able to withstand, unflinchingly, without a word of complaint. He had taken the abuse she had hurled at him, allowed his one friend in the camp to believe he was slacking rather than complain, because that showed weakness, and for other reasons, she presumed. Finally emerging from her stunned stupor, she stuttered out,

"B-but why? You could've told me, y-you just let me…" Again she trailed off, still in shock, staring at him as guilt and pity threatened to spill out of her eyes in liquid form. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke up quietly, still not meeting her eyes.

"I didn't think it was fair. It's me who's coming here, and changing your lives, intruding on your home. Plus, you've raised your hunters to hate men, and I suppose they were only abiding by your teachings. I guess I deserved it." His head still dipped, he looked away, unable to meet her eyes. Artemis hated it, but she wanted nothing more at that moment to just hug him and beg for forgiveness. Still, she managed to control herself.

"Perseus, look at me." She ordered. Slowly, he turned and met her gaze. The Goddess of the Hunt nearly recoiled at the unbridled pain that lay in those sea-green depths gone dark, having lost all joy.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know. If-if you had come to me… Why didn't you tell me? You are here to recover, a-and I can't help you if you don't tell me whats happening. I could've stopped them, I…" She didn't know what to say, and had to stop for fear that she would break down in front of him. What she certainly didn't expect was for the son of Poseidon to smile and say the words he did.

"No, don't apologize. You didn't know, yeah, and it wasn't your fault. Don't worry, your hunters had every right to do what they did, I don't blame them an ounce. Please don't worry about me Lady Artemis, I'll be okay in the end." She smiled back, excitement bubbling in her as she recognized small signs of the old Percy beginning to surface. Quickly, her smile morphed into a firm frown as she processed his words.

"No, Perseus, they didn't. I allowed you to stay with us. I do not know if you are aware, but Zeus asked my permission before sending you here. I accepted, hoping to be able to help you, as some form of repayment for your service to Olympus and how respectful you've been to me and my hunters, as well as women in general. I can see if things continue like this, you'll likely leave in a worse state than that in which you arrived. I definitely do not plan on allowing that to happen. You've done nothing wrong since arriving at this camp. Technically, the tasks which I assigned to you should be the hunters' responsibility, but I thought some work could do you good. Maybe...Maybe I should rethink that." She paused to continue, but Percy took the opportunity to cut in.

"With all due respect my lady, I agree that the work does me good. Also, it seems fair compensation for how you rescued me, as well as providing me with shelter and food." Artemis still seemed doubtful.

"Still, I want to apologize… For how I've treated you over the past week. You didn't deserve any of it and…" She paused, hesitantly reaching out and softly taking his hand, "I missed you."

MEANWHILE: Thalia's tent

Thalia sighed as she took off her lieutenants tiara and placed it on her dressing table. Flopping down on her bed, her thoughts drifted to her cousin. She felt incredibly guilty for not doing anything to stop her sisters, but to be fair, he had been incredibly reckless in leaving camp, his friends and family, behind, without so much as a word. Still, she felt extreme discomfort at just standing idly by as he was brutally tortured and abused. The hunters knew that he had been left by his girlfriend who he loved, and tortured in the Underworld for nearly 7 years, yet they still felt no sympathy or consideration for him. Sighing, she resigned herself to the fact that she had missed her cousin, and was wrong for not helping him. Her guilt only increased as she realized that he had nobody to talk to, nobody to cheer him up, and must've been incredibly depressed. She knew from personal experience that he never let on when he was hurting, but instead chose to bottle it up, preferring "not to burden others" as he so selflessly put it. As her eyes closed and she slowly drifted off to sleep, she vowed to make an effort to comfort and support the son of Poseidon.

After her nap, of course.

BACK AT THE INFIRMARY TENT:

"I missed you too." Came the soft reply. All of a sudden, it was as if a weight had been lifted off both of their shoulders, as they smiled at each other, enjoying each other's presence. Slowly, as time passed, the mood lifted, and their conversation grew more lighthearted. Laughter and jokes filled the tent, and both of them were happier than they'd been in a long time. Much to Artemis' secret joy, a small glint could be spied in Percy's eyes after so long. He seemed to be reverting to the carefree, jovial yet still respectful young free-spirited demigod she had known before tragedy had struck. After what seemed like the best hour of both of their lives, Percy glanced at his watch, suddenly startled.

"Excuse me milady," he turned serious again, "It is nearly lunchtime. I must go prepare your meal." Grunting with effort, he lifted himself from the bed, nearly collapsing. Her brow furrowed with concern, Artemis rushed to his side, hurriedly slinging an arm around his shoulder and attempting to take as much of his weight as possible. Meeting her eyes, he managed a weak smile, but found himself unable to look away. Those silver orbs drew him in and held him captive, yet he found himself not wanting to escape the grasp they held on his heart anyway. Likewise, Artemis found herself drowning in those sea-green depths, knowing they held no ill-will for her, only kindness, respect and love, the same that he tried to treat everyone with.

Eventually, they both managed to break the heavy, intense eye-lock, simultaneously blushing as they made their way out of the infirmary and towards the thick of the woods, Artemis supporting Percy the whole way. Soon, the air grew muggy and the mud beneath their feet gradually became wetter and thicker. At this point, Percy gently removed Artemis' arm from around him, smiling his thanks as he leaned his weight onto one leg. Artemis seemed skeptical, but smiled back, deciding to let him support himself until he showed signs of extreme exertion. Soon enough, they found a trail that looked like a duck's, and cautiously followed it to a nearby lake. Choosing to remain hidden, they took cover behind a clump of bushes. Artemis swatted at a few mosquitoes irritatedly, then glanced over at Percy, expecting him to have a similar reaction. To her surprise, he crouched deadly still, affected by the humidity or the mosquitoes, his face an inch-perfect representation of concentration. She couldn't help but notice that despite the humidity not seeming to affect him, his shirt clung to his muscular frame rather flatteringly, and cursed mentally as she caught herself staring again. Returning her attention to their game, her eyes settled on a group of relatively large ducks, notable plump as well, waddling idly by the side of the stream. Deciding to take command, she leaned slightly towards Perseus and whispered,

"I'll shoot those on the right. How will you deal with the others?" She could've sworn his eyes sparked as he grinned.

"Don't worry my lady. You focus on those ones, I'll take care of the left side." Artemis raised an eyebrow and the mysterious nature in which he spoke, but accepted it nonetheless. She summoned her bow and four arrows, and nocking the first one, she began to count down.

"Three… Two… One…Fire" As soon as the words left her mouth, she fired all four arrows with blinding speed and accuracy, yet the sight in her peripheral vision nearly stunned her to the point of falling over. With speed that rivaled hers, he had drawn five shuriken (or Japanese throwing stars) and with a flick of his wrist, sent them hurtling towards their marks with deadly accuracy and swiftness. Each buried in their target's throat with a quiet Shink, rendering them instantly dead. When she turned to look at him, he looked so comically normal that she nearly laughed, and she most likely would have, had she not witnessed the extreme skill he had just displayed. Percy, glancing sideways, noticed the beautiful goddess staring at him in awe, her mouth slightly open. Connecting the dots himself, he shrugged modestly.

"Surviving alone in the woods taught me a bit. Still missed by a couple millimeters." Dusting himself down, he got up and walked towards the fallen mallards. Artemis rose much slower, still coming to terms with what she had just witnessed.

A few minutes later, the hunters were milling around in the center of the camp, with the exception of Thalia. They were very pleased with themselves, having removed the boy from among their midst. It was almost lunch time now, and they couldn't wait to tell Lady Artemis that the boy was nowhere to be found, and they could go back to how things used to be. Imagine their surprise when their leader walked out of the forest with Percy walking alongside her, both of them carrying what appeared to be ducks. Unaware of their audience, the pair continued walking towards camp, laughing and poking fun at each other. However, as they arrived in the center of camp, they stopped short, noticing the gathering of girls staring disbelievingly. Smiling cheekily, Percy couldn't help but make a wisecrack comment.

"What, you thought lunch would prepare itself?" Artemis couldn't contain herself and burst out laughing, and Percy grinned, pleased that he could be himself around at least one person. Chuckling to himself, Percy took the ducks from Artemis' arms and disappeared into the kitchen tent (which was open roofed for safety reasons). Artemis' smile followed him all the way into the tent, but disappeared and was replaced by a serious expression the instant the flap of the tent closed.

"Now girls," she began, "I came across an interesting discovery in the woods today. Can any of you guess what I'm referring to?" The hunters shifted uncomfortably, clearly knowing what the Goddess was talking about, but uncomfortable to confirm it.
"I cam across the unconscious body of Perseus Jackson, lying at the foot of a tree, blood pouring from his chest. When I brought him here to heal, I found certain newer scars and marks that definitely were not there before. Interestingly, they seemed to have been inflicted by the very weapons I provide you with. Care to explain." None of the hunters spoke up, their mistress' anger assured. There was silence for a few moments, as Artemis stood before her hunters, arms folded and she looked at them with disappointment. Before she could continue, Tanya spoke up.

"My lady, he's a male. We were just doing what you taught us. He is not worthy to be among us, and should be treated like the rest of his vile species." Artemis shook her head sadly.

"No girls, if this is what I've taught you, then I have failed. Not only is Perseus an exception, he is an exception among exceptions. His respect, kindness, caring attitude and unwavering loyalty to his friends is unmatched, as is his respect for women. Unfortunately, it seems that you girls mistakenly have adopted a blinding hatred for all men. While it is certainly true that most males possess the very qualities that I have taught you to hate, there are a few exceptions here and there that should be cherished, for they compensate for the rest of their kind's incompetence. Similarly, there are a few women out there with the qualities that I have taught you to hate in men (AN: Ain't that the truth Artemis) and are a disgrace to women everywhere. Perseus has always been an exception and added to what he has done for everyone else as well as the great deal he has gone through has earned him my respect and friendship," this drew a few shocked gasps among the hunters, "yet I honestly believe he deserves it, and you all should reconsider how you've been treating him. I am convinced that if you properly met him, you would grow to love him, and accept him as a brother." As the hunters mulled over her words, she could see that they still seemed unsure. Noting this, she added reluctantly,

"If you still do not believe me, I can show you all personally what he has been through. If you are still genuinely unconvinced, then it is up to you how you treat him. However, I would urge you to give him the benefit of the doubt until you see for yourselves the great ordeals he has been through in order to reach where he is now." This seemed to persuade the hunters, and they voiced their agreement. As if on cue, Percy emerged, smiling, from the kitchen, as a delicious aroma began to waft towards the hunters. Noticing the drool forming in everyone's mouths, Percy's smile widened.

"It should be ready in a few minutes." Suddenly, he noticed that Thalia was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where's Thalia?" He asked, slightly concerned. A girl named McKenzie replied quickly before any of her sisters could snap at him.

"She's napping in her tent." Was the gentle reply. Turning, Percy smiled at her, grateful for her kindness. McKenzie smiled back, actually having no quarrel with the son of Poseidon. She had reserved judgement from day one, not participating in any of the pranks or treating him harshly, yet not interacting with him either. In that aspect, she was similar to Thalia. When she had heard Lady Artemis' speech moments earlier, she was the only one who seemed 100% convinced that her mistress was correct. Having observed the boy over the past few days, she noticed that he had never once complained about any of the pranks, nor the extensive work. He had not attempted to flirt with them, and rarely spoke, his tone only holding respect when he did. However, unlike Thalia, McKenzie was an incredibly gentle and kind soul, rarely participating in combat. She was the best healer in the Hunt, and before Percy arrived, had been in charge of most meals, as she was a fantastic cook. Her skill with animals was also unrivaled by anyone short of Artemis herself. She was able to communicate with animals in every way short of actually speaking to them, and additionally, she was incredibly intelligent. Her final distinct feature was, despite her fantastic array of skills and traits, she was very shy and reserved outside the hunt, and had a hard time speaking to anyone other than the hunt themselves. A side effect of this was that she had incredible confidence issues, and these had been unfairly exploited early in her life, which was her motive for joining the hunt.

"My lady, with your permission, may I go wake up my cousin?" Percy asked as respectfully as he could, bowing for good measure. Artemis smiled and nodded. He beamed gratefully in return, and turned and jogged off to Thalia's tent. He was glad for an opportunity to see, and maybe talk to, his cousin, alone. Her tent wasn't too hard to find, especially as he had delivered her laundry here only two days ago. Cautious not to intrude unwelcomingly, he cleared his throat and called out,

"Hey Thals? You up? Lunch is almost ready!" When he heard no response, he sighed and unzipped the entrance, stooping to enter. Inside, he found her sound asleep, half-buried beneath her blanket. A picture on her bedside caught his attention, and picking it up, he realized that it was a photo of both of them, laughing on a beach as the photo was taken without either of them knowing. He smiled sadly, remembering when she actually used to laugh and joke with him. As much as he yearned for those days now, he knew they were never coming back, so he quietly set the picture frame down and kneeled beside her bed. Grasping her shoulder, he gently shook her sleeping frame, softly calling into her ear,

"Wake up Thals, it's nearly lunch. Come on Thals, wouldn't want to miss food?" Her lightning blue eyes snapped open as she heard his voice. Instantly, her eyes met his sea-green ones. Smiling warmly, Percy went to stand, but was tackled to the ground in a flash, going down beneath the daughter of Zeus with an oof! as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He cringed, expecting a shock or punch, but was surprised when her arms wrapped around him and her head buried itself in his chest. He was even more surprised when he felt a wetness against his shirt, and realized with a jolt that she was crying. He pulled her closer, one hand rubbing her back, as he whispered to her, attempting to comfort her.

"Hey there, Thals, shhhhh, it's ok, it was just a nightmare, nothing's gonna happen to you, I'm here, shhhh now, don't cry." Shit he thought, as her crying only seemed to intensify. After a few seconds, she seemed to pull herself together long enough to form semi-coherent sentences.

"N-no it's n-not that, I… I was thinking a-about how the hunters w-were t-treating you, a-a-and I realized, th-that if it was me, y-you would have b-been so angry and overprotective, a-and I'm just so-sorry, I'm r-really sorry Perce, I sh-should've stopped them, p-please don't be mad, I love you like a brother Kelp Head, I-I just didn't know what to do…" At this Thalia lost it and dropped her head back onto his chest and resumed her sobbing there, one hand clutching desperately onto his shirt, the other wrapped around his back, holding him tight, as if clinging on for dear life.

Percy's heart wrenched to see his cousin like this. Firmly, he cupped her face, and brought it up so her eyes met his, with one arm still rubbing her back gently.

"No Thals, don't say that. None of what happened was your fault, you did the right thing. At the end of the day, you'll always have these girls, and I… Well, I could go at any time." This just made her cry a bit more. "But don't you ever blame yourself. I love you too Thals, possibly more than I know myself, and I hate to see you like this. I could never be mad at you, even if it was your fault." Finishing his small speech, Percy reacher up with the hand that had formerly been rubbing Thalia's back, and wiped the tears from her face. She punched his chest weakly, instantly apologizing when he winced, only to be waved away with a smile.

"Dammit Perce, why do you have to be so fucking noble." Although it was more of a statement than a question, Percy smiled and shook his head, choosing not to reply. Instead, he rose to his feet and offered Thalia his hand. Beaming gratefully at her cousin, Thalia accepted, and he pulled her up. As the pair exited her tent and strolled towards the dining tent, Percy couldn't help but smile, eternally grateful to have another friend among the hunters. Unknown to him, he was about to make a lot more friends.

About 21 teenage girls, in fact.

AN: These are slowly going to get longer, chapter by chapter. As usual, drop a review letting me know what you thought and any suggestions/ideas you may have for the plot or any characters you'd like to see take on a larger role. To be honest, I love to hear what you guys think, because at the end of the day, it's you guys who decide whether this story is worth your time or now, and I am writing for you, ultimately. I'll try to respond to every review to the best of my ability, providing that it some form of genuine opinion or suggestion, not just "terrible" or "good". Thats it for now, and until next time, take care.

MaverickHunter18