AN: Great news everybody! My copyright finally went through so this mega update is to celebrate! My short story is called 'The Stranger' and you can find it on amazon. There will be a link to it on the Facebook page for my stories. I want to thank everyone for supporting as I write and for anyone who ends up getting my story. This is hopefully the latest step to becoming a full-time writer.

The Silver Hunter

Chapter 11

-Lou-

Frowning, the daughter of Hecate glanced over at Annabeth, grey eyes meeting hers and just as concerned. The reason being the third member of their merry band, Percy, who sat staring out the window of the train as it thundered on towards Denver. After running into Echidna, they had decided to be a little less noticeable with their travel, so they bid farewell to Erabor and got train tickets as far as Denver. The moment the car took off down the tracks Percy had settled into his seat, staring at the passing land and never saying a word over the hours of their journey, his eyes seeing something that wasn't there to her or Annabeth.

Not able to take it anymore, she reached out and gently laid her hand on his shoulder, Percy jumping slightly at the contact as he turned to face them, "Percy, are you alright?" she asked concerned, hating to see a friend in the state he was in.

"I…I don't know." He sighed, thankfully turning to face them and actually talking "I haven't felt that weak since Artemis' hunters tried to kill me when I was a child, either time actually."

"We can't win every battle Percy," Annabeth leaned forward and gave Percy's hand a squeeze, "that's why we train. We'll get stronger and we'll fulfill your promise to them one day."

"It's not just that guys," Percy sighed but gave their hands a squeeze in return "I'm worried I'm going to let my pride get me, and maybe even you two, killed."

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth asked, Lou noting how her voice caught slightly at the mention of pride as she remembered what Annabeth had once said that pride was her fatal flaw.

"When my weapons were stolen by the hunters all those years ago I was angry," Percy looked down, staring at his hands and refusing to meet their eyes "I swore that day that I would never use any sword but the ones that had been stolen from me, along with the whip. Not on the Styx thankfully," he gave a dry humorless chuckle at that "but it was stupid. My guns are useful but there are a lot of areas where a small scythe or a pistol aren't going to cut it. Against the Chimera having swords would have been an invaluable asset. Lou was able to cut off its limb and if we had pressed that before Echidna healed her son maybe we could have won."

"Well know you know, and I don't see how that's enough pride to-" Lou began before Percy held his hand up.

"Then there's how I acted during that fight." He continued, eyes serious as he once more tilted his head up to face them, "When the fire hit me, and I started controlling it…I felt invincible." Wisps of flame danced on his fingers as he spoke "I felt like I could beat anything and anyone. I was an idiot."

Nobody expected the loud slap that filled the train car as Lou struck Percy across the face, Percy's jaw hanging low while Annabeth jumped in her seat. "Don't you dare talk like that again Jackson!" Lou seethed out, eyes narrowed "You saved my life by throwing me away from the fire, was that stupid?"

"That's not what I meant!" Percy protested "I-"

"No!" she snapped, preventing Percy from continuing "You threw me from the blaze and you expected to die. You didn't and found a new power that you thought could have saved us." Her gaze softened as she rubbed the spot she had just slapped "Percy you have pride, but you've done and made amazing things that are worth being proud of. Maybe you should use other swords until you get your first ones back but you're recognizing that, you're not being stubborn and insisting on sticking to an oath you made years ago. And as for the fire, you thought you were going to die and then you didn't, anyone would get caught up in a rush like that."

"I…I…thank you." Percy breathed out, a hollow shaky chuckle escaping past his lips as he pulled her into a hug, Annabeth joining in as they saw the lingering doubts fade at least a little from Percy's eyes, "I needed to hear that."

"That's our job Hotshot," she grinned playfully as Percy summoned some water to heal the rather impressive bruise forming on his cheek "you make us cool toys and we keep your head on straight."

-Sally-

"I like her." Rachel chuckled out with a grin as she saw Percy snap out of the depressing funk he had been slipping into, "It takes talent to keep that loveable oaf in line."

"That was some slap." Alex winced out, rubbing his own cheek in sympathy pain.

"Percy has a thick skull and he's a big boy, I'm sure he'll recover." Rachel snorted dryly "I would have hit him harder if I was there for talking like that. He wouldn't have listened to anything either of them said until they snapped him out of his funk with something."

"So, his fatal flaw isn't pride, but does anyone know what it actually is?" Elizabeth, Alex's twin sister, asked puzzled.

"He has two." She spoke of softly, hating seeing her son looking so broken, "The first is loyalty."

"Um…how is loyalty a flaw?" Alex asked confused, "I always knew the little guy was loyal, but I thought it was a good thing, not a fatal flaw."

"He might be too loyal." Sally explained "I'm not sure what he would do if the choice came down to saving the world or saving someone he loved. Those he cares for mean everything to Percy and I don't know how he would handle having to make a choice between them and saving the lives of many. Hell, I don't think he does either."

"…And the second?" Elizabeth asked softly, the mood in the apartment serious and somber at the thought of the scenario she had just put forth.

"He doesn't handle loss well." Rachel spoke up this time, "He got beaten by two hunters years ago and they took his weapons. He refused to use any other of those types until he reclaimed the stolen ones and had been determined to get them back ever since. Here he took a loss and started second guessing everything. What if he takes a loss where someone he cares for doesn't make it out? Or someone he cares for betrays him? His fatal flaws can feed off each other and I'm terrified of that happening."

"Well that's why he has you." Alex grinned, reaching over and ruffling Rachel's hair "Nobody can be that strong on their own, they need their friends and family and their pretty girlfriends to pick them back off, brush of the dirt, and send them back into the fight swinging away. They helped him when he stumbled Rachel, it's your job to help when he falls."

"Thanks Alex." Rachel gave a shaky smile and hugged the older demigod "Guess you're not as big of a doofus as I thought."

"Hey!" Alex protested but couldn't help the amused smile on his face as everyone laughed, the tense atmosphere fading away.

-Percy-

Groaning, they eased into the leather seats of a small Denver diner, glad to finally be off of the train and its uncomfortable seats after the thirteen hours journey. Flagging down a waitress he saw her raise an eyebrow at their dirty disheveled appearance, "You kids got money?" she asked skeptically, not even attempting to beat around the bush.

"Yeah," he nodded, pulling out his wallet and showing that he had actual cash on hand "a cheeseburger and chocolate shake for me please."

"Grilled chicken sandwich and a malt." Lou groaned hungrily, her stomach growling in eager agreement at the order.

"I'll have the fried catfish and hushpuppies." Annabeth decided, glancing down at the menu.

"Sure thing, it'll be out in a sec." the woman smiled and took their menu, relaxing at the sign that they actually could pay for their meals.

"Alright, we still have over a thousand miles till we get to Los Angeles." He turned towards the girls as the waitress left "There won't be another train leaving there for a day or two and I don't think waiting around is a good idea given who knows what could still be hunting us."

"Erabor?" Lou asked, idly drumming her fingers on the table as they waited. He could tell she and Annabeth were getting twitchy and he was too but couldn't place his finger on the why.

"It would be risky." He frowned "The further east your west you go the more dangerous monsters and magic you'll find thanks to Mount Olympus being on the east coast and the underworld entrance on the west. We could try but the further west we go the more likely Erabor will attract the exact kind of attention we don't need."

"Great," Annabeth sighed, fiddling with a lock of her hair "what about-" Whatever she might have suggested was cut off as a pair of thunderous roars shook the diner, the windows rattling in their frames as two motorcycles pulled up out front. The men astride the bikes were big, burly, and looked strong enough to crush the skull of the Chimera without even breaking a sweat. His eyes locked with those of the first rider and he could tell the man knew exactly who they were.

"We've got company." He hissed out, fingers twitching to his weapons as the two men strode inside the diner and got right to their table, sitting in the empty seats and grinning.

"Good to meet you little cousin," the first rider chuckled out, leaning back in the chair and waving his hand at the waitress who suddenly looked dazed and wrote something new down on the slip of paper with their order "you've been putting on quite the show with this little quest."

"Cousin?" he asked, trying to figure out who these two were from everything he knew of the stories his mother had told him.

"Relax kid," the man snorted, rolling a large bullet between his fingers that none of the mortals seemed to notice "I ain't here to cause any trouble for you three. Your dad would stab me, and your mom would be worse because she's liable to get creative." Both bikers shuddered slightly at that.

"Then who are you?" he asked, eyes flitting about as he took in every detail around him to try and make as many plans as he could if they actually did become a threat.

"Names Ares kid," the first man chuckled, "this here is Polemos. And I'm here because I've got a little deal for ya."