Sorry about the weird update issue that didn't actually change anything. I intended to submit a new chapter, but it didn't actually change and submit it, but still marked the story as updated. Now, however, I've actually fully posted the 4th chapter, and i think it's working now. Sorry for the 2 hours of disappointment.
At Artemis' words, the entire group of hunters suddenly wavered, and nearly dropped their bows, but in the end still kept it level at Percy's face. Artemis stepped forwards past Percy, who knew that if he so much as twitched, he would be shot full of arrows, so he kept still, but wanted to see the happy reunion occurring before him.
Zoe looked and saw Artemis, and rushed forwards to embrace her, and Artemis quite literally cried as she realized that her best friend was alive and healthy. But of course, this begged the question, how?
After the initial shock, many of the older hunters all rushed forward to hug Zoe, and welcome her back into the Hunt, and once Artemis got over her shock she asked, "But how? And why is Percy with you?" she frowned, "Don't tell me that my former lieutenant has been charmed by a male as soon as she was released from the hunt."
Zoe flushed, and managed to stutter out, "O-Of course not! You know I would never give up my ch-ch-chastity that easily."
Artemis smiled, and continued to lightly tease her lieutenant, "Oh? Why the stuttering then? And why the red face?"
Zoe was too embarrassed to formulate a response, and after a few attempts instead decided to hastily switch topics. "W-Well, the way I got here was through Percy's help…" And Artemis and the rest of the hunt listened intently, looking at Percy in a new light once she specifically said that he had gone lengths to preserve her modesty. But once she got to a more recent part of the story, she faltered, and quickly glanced at Percy.
"…And once Hades teleported us out with that cryptic message in mind, we saw A-Annabeth…." She trailed off and her heart reached out towards Percy as she saw the pain clear in his eyes, even as it slowly turned to rage, and the Hunters, who had by now put down their bows when realizing he wasn't a threat, watched as he slowly walked away towards the camp.
Artemis noticed the odd behavior, and still pressed further, but in a soft voice, "And what exactly was she doing?" Artemis knew that whatever had happened must've been very serious, as she and the rest of the Hunt could see the obvious pain in his eyes, but also a cold anger that chilled her to the bone.
Zoe took in a deep breath, and turned too somber to even blush as she said it. "She was h-having s-sex with someone else. Eric or something like that."
The Hunt gasped. It was one thing for a guy to cheat on a girl in such a scandalous fashion (They're males after all) but for a girl? Not just any girl, but one who had received such love and devotion from Percy that he would even fall into Tartarus for her? That was beyond incomprehensible. Artemis thought through this, and had deemed Percy one of the few decent males still around on this planet, and even by the harshest standards, Annabeth could've at least kindly rejected him, rather than simply cheating behind his back.
The more Artemis thought about it, the angrier she grew, but her anger was quelled by the thought of what Percy was going through, and decided to investigate how he felt, and whether she could help in any way, or at least offer him her sympathy.
Percy on the other hand, had returned to camp, and left for the forest to bemoan his cheating girlfriend in silence. Once more, however, his sadness gave way to anger, and instead of sobbing, Percy bitterly wiped away the tears that were beginning to form, and then unleashed his powers, and summoned as much water as he could from 60 feet below the ground. Water literally flew out of the ground as it obeyed his summoned. Having his water source ready, Percy then proceeded to exercise his powers as much as he could, hoping that the exhaustion would wipe away his pain.
He channeled his feelings into the water, and it became rigid. It was highly pressurized water kept under pressure only by his control, and with this water forming an armor around him did he charge forwards without caring if he was running into trees as the pressured water would practically melt his way through any of the obstacles that the forest presented.
He moved faster by actually elevating himself within the water, and then sending the water flying faster, with himself inside it. He quite literally carved a path through the forest, only getting faster and faster until he was merely a blur as he emerged from the tree line, leaving a perfectly spherical path from where he had emerged.
Having arrived at his destination, the beach, he then continued to hone his skills, forming all sorts of shapes and sizes, as he was determined to train until he fell into blissful unconsciousness and forgot about the pain. He learned to control several bodies of water at once, sending boulders, arrows, and pebbles of water flying all around him, all hitting the created water dummies with accuracy, and utterly decimating them.
Zoe watched him in awe, as he recreated the army, and the projectiles, each time inserting more troops, and more projectiles to stop them. However, she took one glance at Percy, and realized what he was doing.
"Percy, stop!" she shouted, "You'll kill yourself!" as she rushed over, but slowed once she got closer to the many projectiles flying about.
Percy glanced at Zoe, and smiled, and the waves of artillery stopped, and the targets collapsed, leaving a very wet beach behind. Then he fell to the sand as well.
Zoe rushed over to him, and found herself kneeling down beside his head, as his chest heaved with exhaustion, clearly on the verge of unconsciousness.
"What are you doing?!" she asked, in a rather foul temper.
Percy's face darkened, but continued to breath heavily. "Training." He said with a slight smirk, or at least the best he could give given his current state.
Zoe would've slapped him, if not for his weak state. She instead sighed, and in a quiet voice said, "Annabeth… isn't worth killing yourself over. The hero of Olympus shouldn't throw his life away so easily."
Percy's eyes, which were beginning to droop, snapped open at the mention of that bitch's name. "I lived for Annabeth. In the river Styx, I only anchored myself to the world because of her, and now— "
"You give up on the rest of us? You may have lived for Annabeth, but there are always other things you can grow to live for." She said, getting angrier by the second.
"I have nothing to live for. I don't even care enough for myself to live for myself." He said, insistent in his despair.
"Well, what about the rest of us? Even if you don't care for yourself, I, and many others, do. You're a hero. Killing yourself would only make the world a worse place." She said, desperate now to keep him here.
Percy was silent for a few moments. Then he looked up at Zoe, and said simply "Thank you for that."
Zoe blushed slightly at his statement, and gave him a light hug, then asked, "So you aren't going to commit suicide any second now?"
Percy, slightly surprised, had been brought out of his depression, and teased, "If it gives me more hugs, I might pretend to," smirking as he said so.
Zoe turned redder than she thought possible, and slapped him lightly out of respect for his wounds. "PERCY!" she yelled.
Artemis strolled out of the woods, and said, "Oh, my. Now what is going on here?" she asked in a dangerously calm voice. After she realized that Percy was no longer angry, she decided not to mention or ask about how he was in a better mood, as the reason was clearly kneeling next to him.
Percy looked at Zoe pleadingly, and then said nervously, "N-Nothing at all!"
Zoe remained silent, and raised an eyebrow.
Artemis sighed, "Well then Zoe, if you decide not to complain, I trust your judgement. If I hear that you've lost your virginity, then that's your fault. I should hope that a few thousand years in the Hunt taught you some restraint."
Zoe blushed further, and said in a small voice. "Well, he was flirting…."
Percy, strength returning slowly, immediately begged Artemis for forgiveness. "D-Don't castrate me! She's not even in the Hunt anymore!"
Artemis tried and failed to contain a giggle. "Don't worry, Percy. You're a decent guy. I won't castrate you." She then turned quite serious, and added, "Still, that doesn't give you the right to flirt with any of my hunters, just to be clear."
Percy sighed in relief, and said, "Of course I won't. I'm not the type of person who chases after girls who are off-limits."
Artemis replied, "You're cutting it a bit close though, aren't you? Flirting with a former hunter? That's some thin grounds, considering that I never technically released her…."
They were then interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the Hunt who were searching for their leader, and the newly returned Zoe.
"Ah, so that's where you guys were." Remarked Phoebe.
Having been interrupted, Artemis decided to cut their discussion short, and said, "Let's get back to our camp for the day. Percy, you can head on back to Olympus after the night, seeing as its rather late to make your way over there now. Just don't try anything with my hunters, otherwise there will be consequences."
The hunters nodded, and only a few looked particularly annoyed by the fact that a male would be staying relatively close by, seeing as it was Percy, a rather decent, and moral guy. Seeing that a male staying in their camp was relatively tolerated, they started on their way back to the Hunters' camp.
Thank you for all of your Reviews! They're what keep me motivated to keep on writing! I know this chapter seems rather incomplete, but I was in a hurry to get this posted. Though, testing is coming up, so you should probably expect slower updates, and because I've run out of prewritten material.
-dumbothedumbo