A/N: Trying my best to keep my promise of weekly updates, I might try sooner if things permit me, but with school exams right around the corner, it's not easy. Anyways, thanks for your support, and although I sometimes may not reply to your reviews, I greatly appreciate them. PS, send some opinions on what you would like to happen next. This story will be somewhat related to Titan's Curse, but with noticeable differences. Anyways, to clear up some confusion, Perseus' image is similar to Illidan Stormrage from Warcraft, only without the skin colour, claws and horns difference. Zoe and Perseus have a brother/sister relationship, no intimate romance (Although it's a promising story). Ages: Michael – 14. Annabeth – 14. Thalia – 15. Nico – 10. Bianca – 12.

Welcoming the Hero

"So let me get this straight. Perseus Jackson, the Hero of Heroes, the Guardian of the Moon Goddess, and the most respected demigod in the entire history of the world, is that huge guy with the wings and fire-eyes and acid warglaives?"

Phoebe bashed her head against the tree she was leaning on. "I have told you this so many times already. Yes, he is the hero that you heard about in the stories. Boys." She muttered.

"Just can't believe that the hero is a monster."

A dozen pair of eyes fixed their murderous gaze upon the arrogant sea spawn, Michael Smith. "Another word, or comment like that, we will litter your bodies with arrows, and cut and feed your remains to our wolves and his hellhound Skia!" She threatened venomously.

The large hellhound immediately growled and strolled over to Michael, watching every move. Petrified, Michael could do nothing but stare back in fear. All of a sudden, laughter could be heard approaching the camp. Artemis emerged from the bushes smiling. Zoe came out next, her expression the same. Finally, the tall hero stepped into sight, his face grinning at a story that he heard from Zoe. He shook his head in an attempt to hide his smile, but it only succeeded in making the other two girls laugh more.

"Shame on you Zoe. You went easy on that boy."

"What are you talking about? I only shot and pinned him to the wall after slicing his pretty face a couple of times."

"Exactly. What happened to the warmonger Zoe, who enjoyed fighting so much, that she had to be held back before she would stop attacking?"

"Well, that stopped after the time I saw-"

His eyes widened. "No, no, please don't. Keep that to yourself, I actually want to rest well tonight instead of shudder every few seconds at that mental image."

Artemis laughed, her voice instantly raising the moods of every person in the clearing. Her laughter was rarely heard nowadays. "Barely back, and already the Hunt is returning to what it was centuries ago." She murmured to herself.

Skia launched herself from where she was watching Michael and tackled Perseus to the ground. It was a humorous sight. A canine the size of a truck charging the Guardian, who suddenly had to brace himself for the impact. He slid back several feet, his foot digging into the dirt, while the hellhound's tongue attacked his body.

"Holy crap! When did you get this big Skia?" He managed, between the excessive lickings, while rubbing the head of the hellhound.

The entire Hunt laughed as they watched the Guardian get overrun by his faithful pet. The demigods and satyr, especially the new demigods that were in Westover Hall, watched with wide eyes at the surreal sight. A monstrous hellhound, with an equally monstrous being, joking around while the Hunt watched gleefully.

'If I recall, the two new demigods are Bianca and Nico di Angelo,' Artemis thought. As much as she enjoyed the reunion, she had to remember her duty as a goddess. "Bianca and Nico. Please come with me, we have much to discuss. Satyr, watch over your friends. Hunters, prepare for the evening." She left shortly afterwards into her tent.

Bianca and Nico followed her quickly, while Grover tended to the wounds of Annabeth and Michael. The huntresses began their daily routine of preparing their dinner and feeding the wolves and falcons that followed them. That left Perseus Jackson. He followed his mistress and began to stand guard outside her tent, his wings spread out, covering the front entrance while crossing his arms. His began his silent vigil as he once did long ago.

"How quickly things fall back to routine, don't they, brother?" Elissa and Kate inquired, while they cooked the meat they hunted a day ago. "It seems like they were never gone. Sorry that we cannot make you more welcome."

"Indeed, sisters. And no need for apologies. I prefer this better. No massive celebration or sudden events that would turn the Hunt upside down. Just falling back into a cycle that we did a long time ago. Now tell me, what has happened during the years I was gone. I may have been watching for the past fifty years in the sky, but I feel left out of loop."

"Only if you tell your own stories, brother."

He chuckled. They spent the next half hour conversing and updating each other during their duties. Perseus halted for a few moments when Nico left the tent, extremely confused. Zoe and Michael entered a few seconds later, with Zoe hugging Perseus before entering, while Michael shot a glare at the Guardian.

"Who's him?" Perseus asked Kate. "Oh, don't worry. That's the only son of Poseidon, besides you, since World War II, because of the oath that they swore on the Styx. He's a stubborn, conceited brat who thinks too highly of himself because he recovered the Fleece from Polyphemus' island, as well as the Master Bolt."

He raised an eyebrow (or what was left of them anyways). "How did we lose the Fleece and Bolt? Wait, on second thoughts, never mind. Guess Zeus lost his bolt again. No offense, Lord, Zeus." He said to the sky.

By now, Elissa and Kate had finished their cooking and were eating and sitting on a log near Perseus. Several other hunters also paused in their duties to greet their brother.

Alice and Selena, twin sisters who had lived to see Perseus before he died, had also finished their work and were watching him. "How do you see?" "How did you survive?" "Whoa, those wings are cool!" "Hey, look at the warglaives!" Their questions were shot off in a speed equivalent to a machine gun. This conversation continued for quite a while before Artemis, Bianca and Michael emerged from the tent. "Hunters, welcome our newest sister, Bianca di Angelo."

Immediately hunters crowded around their newest addition and brought her into another nearby tent. Michael and Thalia stared viciously at the group, while Nico looked pained and hurt at her seemingly betrayal. Annabeth and Grover looked uncomfortable with the situation. They were so caught up in their actions, they didn't notice Perseus walking up to them.

The moment Perseus patted Nico on the back, he gave a yelp of surprise, and jumped a meter into the air, causing the rest of the group to draw their weapons. "What ails you, young one?"

Nico's eyes grew wide at the huge being that towered above him. "Um, I- um... I don't... know?" he stuttered.

"If you do not know why you are sad, then why are you sad? A reason there is, for everything."

"He's sad, because that bunch of whiny girls took his sister!" Michael interrupted viciously. He wanted to taunt the greatest hero. 'Surely I can do better than him. I am the greatest hero in this time anyways.' He thought to himself.

The Guardian did not respond to the threat, instead just raised his fiery eyes to glare at his 'brother', before turning his gaze down to Nico. "Young one, the Hunt did not take your sister away. They merely gave her a home, a place where she could fit in."

"But she left me! How could she be so selfish?"

"Selfish? If anything, it is you that is being selfish. Tell me, in all your years together, has she ever been given a time for her own? Most likely not, since she spent her time watching and caring for you. Her freedom was used to take care of you and your own needs. You should be glad that your sister is finally at peace, and can act her age."

Nico seemed taken aback by the sudden realization from a different point of view. It was true. Bianca had always taken care of him first. She was anything but selfish. He felt ashamed that he was too possessive for his sister. "I'm just worried about her and myself. It's the first time that we will be split apart for so long."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, the hunters will visit camp regularly, so you can meet up anyways."

"You mean Camp Half-Blood? So all that stuff was true?"

"Every part of it. If you want more details, just ask your friends here. They'll understand and can explain it better than me. Anyways, get ready for sleep, we'll wake up early next morning for you to get to Camp Half-Blood."

"How?"

"The sun god." He stated, his face not betraying any emotion. Nico's jaw dropped when he said it.

With that, Perseus started walking away. Michael still glared at his back, but the rest of the demigods seem to watch him with a sense of awe. He really was just like the campfire stories. While he was walking, he passed by Bianca, who subconsciously moved a little to the side out of uneasiness. "Welcome to the Hunt, sister." He greeted.

Taken aback, she managed to form and weak reply. "You as well... brother...?"

"You might want to greet your real blood brother about your decision. And do not worry; I assure you that he will not hate you for your decision. If anything, he will be happy for you."

Walking away, he left a stunned Bianca, before she continued on her path, mulling over her thoughts. Perseus grinned. It had been a while since he died, but he still understood how new huntresses would have uncertain thoughts. Many of the huntresses always did, and that resulted in them being cold and harsh, keeping their emotions inside which would eventually lead to their downfall.

By now, the majority of the huntresses had retired to their tent. Lights started to dim, and chatter soon retreated into a blissful silence. Beating his new wings a few times, he jumped straight up and landed upon a lone tree without making a sound. He began his watch for the night, and his eyes roamed left and right. His armour and wings helped him blend into the night sky and trees, and if anyone looked in his direction, they would not have spotted anything out of the ordinary.

Artemis watched him as he stood guard over the Hunt. She smiled, before she too returned to her tent. She pondered over the words of Bianca and Michael during their stay in Westover Hall and what the manticore, Dr. Thorn, had said.

'The Great Stirring. That's what he said. The stirring of monsters, the worst of them, and the most powerful are waking, though I have no idea what he meant.' Bianca said.

"Time to hunt again," Artemis said to herself. It was her duty to put down the most dangerous of monsters with her Hunt, but this time, she feared for her hunters. They had become like a close family, her hunters like the daughters that she could never have. She loathed putting them in danger, which was why she was sending her hunters back to the Camp with the demigods, while she hunted by herself.

But that brought about a new challenge. Perseus would not leave her side, and time after time, he would sacrifice his safety for hers. The fact that the last time Perseus had died when he protected her, and just recently been wounded by Hyperion, made her feel guilty, and the thought of her beloved dying again hurt her more. She would bring the entire Hunt and demigods to the Camp, and during the night, she would slip away from her sisters and Guardian to hunt the elusive beast. "Yes, that would do," Artemis thought.

Next day, early morning

The dawn rose agonizingly slow for the huntresses, while the demigod group had only just started waking up. Looking around, they could find no sign of Perseus. Artemis and Zoe, meanwhile, were impatiently tapping their foot waiting for the Moon Goddess' twin, Apollo.

"Hey, Zoe-whats-your-name, where's the huge Guardian guy?" Thalia yelled from across the clearing, while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Zoe's eyes wandered across the clearing, searching for the being. She blinked. How did a huge person like Perseus disappear?

"I have no idea..." Zoe replied. "My lady, can thou-?"

"Yes, he's here. He's just gotten better at his skills." The goddess grinned. "C'mon Perseus, you can stop your watch, it's almost morning anyways."

Everyone watched the goddess in confusion, and in doing that failed to see an object detach itself from a tree. Perseus leapt several meters into the air, his wings changing his course, and landed right next to the goddess, barely making a sound and surprising the rest. A small scream came out from the demigod group, but the rest just stared wide-eyed.

"You called, mistress?" He inquired, completely unaware of the scene he caused. Artemis shook her head and laughed softly. "Honestly, you couldn't have just climbed down and walked?"

"Now where would the fun be in that?" He replied, while stretching and cracking several bones from not moving for so long.

Before she could reply, Apollo's chariot arrived. Everyone had to avert their eyes to prevent the light from burning their eyes out. Well, except for Perseus and Artemis. Apollo got out of his flashy sports car and was about to greet Artemis with their usual banter when his eyes caught sight of the person next to him. It was a humorous sight actually, to see his jaw drop and stare blankly for half a minute. Perseus shifted uncomfortably. Artemis literally had to wave her hand in front her twin's face for several seconds before he managed to catch himself. The rest of the Hunt grinned at the sight of Apollo being shut up.

"Hello? Brother? Helloooo... Olympus to Apollo, do you read me?" Artemis spoke into his ear.

"Huh? What?" He replied, before focusing his curious gaze upon Perseus. "Wait, how is he here again? I feel like I'm missing something extremely important here..."

"Nice to see you too, Lord Apollo." Perseus said. "I can see you still, unfortunately, have the same personality as you had centuries ago." He said in a sarcastic but humoured tone.

Apollo's face grew into a grin, his white teeth almost blinding everyone. "Damn bro, guess even death can't stop you. But what the Hades you doing here? I swear to the gods you are the most unusual person I've ever come across."

Artemis face-palmed. "I'll explain it when you are driving us to Camp, alright? It's a long story, so please, do your magic with your car and let the hunters in."

"Yeah... sure... One problem, how is Perseus gonna fit? I mean, with his wings and height and all, he's gonna have a hard time getting into the bus, let alone sitting."

"Ah, don't worry about it Apollo, I'll just fly there."

Apollo's grin widened even more (if that was possible). "No way, you gotta let me see how fast you fly. I swear, after this we're gonna have a race round the globe to see how fast you are, and then-"

Artemis kicked Apollo on the shins. Hard. "Brother, we can do this later, now come on, let's go."

"Ow, yea sure whatever sis. I swear you enjoy beating me up. Anyways, let's go." He turned his car into one of those huge tour buses, with forty soft seats and a bathroom. "Alright everyone, load up, time to go. Anyways, which one of you demigods want to drive the bus?"

While Apollo was choosing the driver (or is it a pilot, since it's a flying bus?), Artemis walked up to Perseus, who had started stretching and testing his wings. His wingspan was double his height, but for some reason, when folded, it seemed much more smaller than it was. "Are you sure you can keep up with this, Perseus? You do realize that Apollo has been speeding up his driving since the last century, right?"

"Relax, mistress. I can keep up. The real problem is how you and your huntresses hold your stomach."

"What?"

Artemis followed Perseus' gaze, onto the daughter of Zeus, Thalia. Who was getting paler by the second, while Apollo was giving a crash course on the driving. Annabeth seemed to be doing the same, since she knew Thalia's fear of heights.

"Oh."

"You couldn't have chosen a better word if you have tried." Perseus commented.

"Hey, Arty, let's go, can't keep the sun waiting," Apollo yelled from where he was standing, before entering the bus himself.

"Wish you luck, milady."

"I'll need it." Artemis replied gravely, and then sitting with her hunters at the back.

Apollo popped his head out of the window. "Perseus!" He bellowed. "I'm giving you a head start so you don't whine when me and Thalia beat you!"

Perseus nodded. Not waiting for Apollo's mark, he beat his wings once, before launching himself upwards, powerfully beating his wings while using some unholy fel magic to streamline his body and fly faster. To the audience in the bus, all they would have seen was a black blur, and then the space that was occupied by Perseus was suddenly empty. Apollo's eyes widened. "Thalia, GO!"

Thalia floored the pedal so violently, the clearing was burnt to ashes. She had a death grip on the wheel, and her eyes shown with fear, but her competitive spirit managed to keep her in focus. Narrowing her eyes against the black dot that was Perseus, she shifted gear and the bus moved even faster. Apollo was blown back against and smashed his godly body against the emergency exit at the back of the bus.

"Thalia, calm down!" Annabeth yelled, desperately clinging onto the back of the seat in front of her.

"No way, I gotta beat that guy!" Thalia yelled back, oblivious to the discomforts of her passengers. She turned violently to the right, and the passengers all flew and hit the window. Artemis winced painfully. 'Guess we found an even more crazy driver than you Apollo' She broadcasted to her twin.

'Yea, bad idea, I know.'

'Gee, you think?'

Apollo was about to retort before Thalia turned sharply to the other direction, and once again the passengers held on for dear life.

Perseus was still flying, and glancing behind him, saw the sun god's chariot swerving left and right in an attempt to keep up with him. He grinned, before speeding up. Thalia growled in frustration.

"Hey Thalia, might want to ease up on the pedal? Y'know? 'Cause we do have passengers and stuff so-"

"Shut it Sunny." Thalia yelled back, and somehow managed to make the bus move faster.

To the mortals, all they would have seen was a sudden flash of light, and then everything would be intensely hot, and stuff would start to burn. The group wrecked a path of burning hot temperatures on the way to Camp Half Blood.

Perseus, seeing the camp, suddenly dive-bombed, landing next to the canoes and scaring the crap out of many campers. Thalia, meanwhile, had no chance of doing that, and slammed her foot against the pedal. The bus tilted forward so much, it dove headfirst into the canoe lake, evaporating and creating a fine mist around the camp.

Apollo stepped out of the bus groggily, rubbing his head slightly. "Last time I ever let someone drive in a long while."

The emergency door was suddenly kicked out, and the hunters exited in a single line. Most of them looked slightly dizzy, but were in better shape than the demigods, who were bruised and battered from being in the front. Thalia, surprisingly was just fine, with the emergency airbag and all that.

Perseus laughed when he saw the sorry group stumble around getting their bearings, before helping several of them to their feet. The campers, which now numbered in dozens, were watching Perseus, their hands on their weapons at seeing this monster, but not drawing it out as the hunters and the gods were not attacking him.

Chiron cantered to the front of the group, and upon spotting Perseus, halted and froze, staring at him for a while. "Perseus? Is that really you?"

Campers gasped at that name, not believing that the tall being could be the hero.

"Hello, old friend. Been a while, hasn't it?" Perseus folded his wings behind his back. "You won't believe the stories I have to tell you, and I've only been alive since yesterday night."

Chiron and Perseus, teacher and student, now stood facing each other, eye to eye. "Damn boy, you always were an overachiever before you were a Guardian. But what's with the eyes and wings?" Chiron said, while embracing Perseus. Perseus just chuckled. "All in due time, Chiron."

Chiron turned his attention to the bewildered demigods and hunters, and at the lack of water in the lake. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Perseus. Anyways, campers, return to your duties, all will be explained during dinner. Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo, a pleasure and an honour to see you. Please, make yourself at home. Artemis, your cabin is open for you and your hunters at any time."

Artemis nodded. "My thanks, Chiron. Zoe, will you lead the hunters to the cabin and set up? I have to talk with my brother about his choice of... transportation."

Apollo visibly paled, while Zoe straightened and gave a small salute. "Of course, milady. Hunters, move out." They walked to their cabins, ignoring the glares from the Aphrodite cabin. Bianca stayed with Nico, exchanging a short conversation, before she left with a smile on her face. Nico, although somewhat saddened from their separation, was happy for his sister.

Perseus' hellfire orbs scanned the camp. There had been some changes, but there were still visible landmarks. Zeus' fist, the entrance of the labyrinth, and the hilltop and lake. Or, what was left of it. He sighed contentedly.

'Welcome home,' Hestia, his patron spoke in his mind. 'Welcome home, Perseus.'