Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus. I don't own anything written by Rick Riordan.

Author's Note: Please review. I really want to know what you all think of my writing. Constructive criticism will be especially appreciated. My sincerest gratitude to everyone that has reviewed my story so far. I've got more than a hundred follows! I'd love to get to a hundred reviews as well within the next couple of chapters. Anyways, here's the first chapter of the week.

Chapter 12

Percy POV

As Percy spoke with Ares, Artemis approached her, glaring at the war god through narrowed silver eyes. "May I speak to you for a moment, Persephone?"

"Of course," replied Percy, looking at Ares apologetically. "And call me Percy, not Persephone."

"I'll just go talk to Hephaestus about a new sword," said Ares, stepping away awkwardly.

"You seem to be close to my half-brother," stated Artemis with no preamble as soon as the war god was out of earshot.

"You mean Ares? I guess so. I mean, we're friends," said Percy, a little confused about why Artemis was asking.

The maiden goddess seemed relieved. "I was wondering if you wanted to join the Hunt."

Percy's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know… Anthony may have betrayed me, but I do still have male friends. I don't want to leave them behind." Percy shook her head.

"Are you sure?" pressed Artemis. "You'd make a wonderful addition to our ranks."

Percy hesitated. She had to admit that after what Gabe had done to her, she wasn't sure that she could ever really trust males. Even when Zeus had been questioning her a the the start of the council meeting, it had taken all she had to refrain from flinching. Maybe she should keep her options open in case she ever decided that she couldn't handle the stress of being surrounded by males all the time.

Percy looked at Artemis. "I might change my mind in the future, but right now, it doesn't seem like being a hunter is the right thing for me. Besides, I can't even shoot an arrow!"

Artemis looked a little upset, but she nodded in acceptance. "You're welcome to join us for our hunts whenever you like. And I'm sure that Thalia would love to teach you archery and how to wield dual hunting knives."

Percy smiled. "That sounds like fun. Thank you."

Artemis smiled back. "On a side note, do you think Lavinia would let me teach that boyfriend of hers how to respect women?"

Percy smirked. "I think that she might even help you."

"In that case, I'll invite you to watch," said Artemis.

"I think I'd really enjoy that!" exclaimed Percy, feeling guilty pleasure at the thought of watching the goddess of hunting beat her ex-boyfriend up.

Apollo suddenly appeared beside Artemis. "Hey, Percy."

"Apollo," Percy returned the greeting.

Artemis waved goodbye and left to find some other Olympian to speak to.

"How do you like being a god?" asked the archer god.

"It feels normal, I guess. I mean, I feel more powerful, but other than that, I still feel like regular demigod... Well, I don't feel hunted every second of the day anymore, which is a plus," said Percy thoughtfully.

"That is definitely a plus," agreed Apollo. "Anyways, how do you feel? Are you dizzy at all?"

Percy had pushed back all feelings of discomfort and ignored them the day before, when she had woken up. Now, she allowed them to flood back. "I'm a little dizzy. I feel a bit nauseous, but that's probably because I haven't eaten since morning. I'm also a little sore, but that's to be expected after fighting Gaea," reported the goddess.

"Hold up." Apollo raised his hand. "You haven't eaten yet?"

Percy shook her head, embarrassed.

Apollo flashed away and then flashed back a few seconds later. He held a plate of ambrosia and a glass of nectar. He offered them to Percy. "Here. Eat this."

Percy eyed the godly food and drink suspiciously. "I won't combust, or something, will I?"

Apollo raised his eyebrows in amusement. "No. You're immortal. It can't harm you."

"But it'll still heal me when I get injured?" questioned the raven-haired goddess.

"Yes," replied Apollo. "However, it won't be as effective as it was before."

Percy groaned. "That's terrible. Considering my luck, I'm going to get injured pretty often."

"Your luck can't be that bad," disagreed the sun god.

"It actually can. Think about it - I've been a part of two great prophecies and have had to face titans, giants, and even a primordial in battle. Additionally, I've been part of several quests. My memory was temporarily stolen. And the guy I fell into Tartarus for cheated on me. I think that qualifies as bad luck," summed up Percy. "And those are just the major events."

"When you put it that way, you definitely have some of the worst luck in the world," conceded Apollo with a grimace.

Percy suddenly realized that Apollo was still holding the ambrosia and nectar out to her and accepted it with a sheepish smile. As she ate, Apollo entertained her with stories of pranks he had pulled with Hermes.

As she finished eating, Hermes came up to the laughing duo. "Hey, guys. Apollo, I need your help with stealing something."

Percy and Apollo bid each other goodbye and Percy was left holding a plate and glass. A pair of wind nymphs suddenly came up to her and blew the utensils away. Percy nodded to the aurae in gratitude as they flew away on breeze, taking the utensils with them.

Dionysus sidled up to Percy as she gazed after the aurae. "Hello, Persephone."

Percy looked at the wine god in surprise. "You got my name right!"

"Yes. Since you've been turned into a goddess, a powerful one at that, I thought I should make an effort to remember it."

Percy, unnerved by how intently Dionysus was looking at her, took a step back. "Should I continue to call you Mr. D, or should I call you Dionysus?"

"Why don't you call me Dionysus," whispered Dionysus. He closed the distance between them again and placed a hand on her arm.

Percy shrugged the god's hand off. It was clear that the wine god was flirting with her. She most definitely didn't want to go out with him - especially since his breath always smelled like wine and alcohol. Not to mention, she didn't want to get her heart broken. "Don't you have a wife?" she asked, pointedly.

Dionysus looked taken aback. "Well, yes. But that doesn't mean that I can't maintain a relationship with you at the same time."

"I'm sure you can find a much more suitable goddess to go out with," suggested Percy.

"I don't see why I would need to. You're one of the most beautiful goddesses around." Dionysus replaced his hand on Percy's arm.

Involuntarily, Percy blushed at the praise. She forced the blush to subside. "Aphrodite's prettier," argued the goddess. She glanced around, hoping to catch her father's eye. She knew that Poseidon was very protective of her, and would probably drive Dionysus off. Unfortunately, Poseidon was engrossed in a conversation with his brothers and wasn't looking her way.

"I disagree," said Dionysus, leaning in close.

Just as Percy was about to resort to slapping Dionysus to get away from him, Ares appeared at her side.

"Take a hint, Dionysus. Jackson's not interested," he growled.

Percy looked up at Ares in gratitude.

Ares gave the goddess a small smile, before glaring at Dionysus.

"Who made you the expert about what Persephone wants and doesn't want?" snarled Dionysus.

"I'm not," replied Ares. "But anyone with eyes can see that Jackson isn't interested in a relationship with you. She's just too nice to say it outright."

"That's not true," denied the wine god.

"Actually," interrupted Percy, biting her lip. The two gods turned towards her. "It's true. I'm not interested."

Dionysus growled. "I'll get you to fall for me, somehow." He flashed out without another word.

"Thanks," said Percy, glancing up at Ares.

"It was my pleasure," replied the war god, smirking. His expression morphed into one of worry. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine - thanks to you," said Percy smiling at the war god.

A/N: What do you guys think? I'm considering using Dionysus a lot more in this story. I don't really want to make this a story where Percy and Ares fall in love with nobody trying to come in between them. Do you think I should use Dionysus? Do you have anybody else in mind? Please review and let me know. I know a lot of you guys wanted me to update again last week, but I really didn't have the time. The only reason I got this out today is because I wrote it during a three hour car ride. Anyways, thanks for all the encouragement I've received. Next chapter will have to do with Poseidon and Atlantis - more Percy POV. And don't forget to review!