Chapter Fourteen

The shrouds were burnt the next day at sunrise. It was done by cabin, and while attendance wasn't mandatory, every camper was present for each of the burnings. Those who had bodies that could be recovered would be returned to their parents if they had any left. Those who weren't… the shroud was the only reminder of them. Zoe had lost four hunters, not horrible losses, especially when compared to the campers. Two hundred had been mobilised to defend their home, and thirty-nine had been killed. Even worse, another thirty had defected to the Titans, though most of them had been killed in the assault. The night after the attack, another sixteen vanished into the night. Things had never been more grim at Camp Half-Blood.

Zoe stayed for several of the burnings but left after some time. Percy stayed for the entire duration, as she suspected he would. When he finished, he walked into the sound, disappearing beneath the water. She wasn't sure if he would return or not, but she hoped he would. She wanted to speak with him again. It had been near on seven months since they had last spoken. She hoped Artemis wouldn't send them away too soon.

She found Chiron on the porch of the Big House, staring at the podium where the shrouds had been burned. In the thousands of years that she had known him, whenever he lost multiple campers, he would always turn melancholic like this. It was why she instructed her Hunters to avoid fights with the campers. The last thing he needed was trouble. She sat down by his side.

"It never gets easier," he said after a moment, "I told myself long ago that I couldn't afford to get attached. It was easier then too, when they were adults, men and women who could take care of themselves, but each year, they die younger, and each year, they are younger. Annabeth was ten when she went on her first quest. Theo was twelve. These are children. When did I become so accepting of using child-soldiers?"

Zoe blinked several times.

"I imagine around the time I did as well," she admitted, "our war has been waged for so long, and we never stop to think about how we are winning it."

"The worst part is that there is nothing I can do," Chiron sighed, "I cannot fight these wars for them, I cannot take all the death upon myself, and I cannot heal the damage that will be done by the end—win or lose. I can only imagine that the death toll would have been far worse if the Hunters and Perseus had not arrived."

"It… did not look good when we arrived," Zoe confessed to him, "but those who were leading? They made the best out of a horrible situation. Theseus, Annabeth, the other counsellors? They knew their jobs, and they did them well."

"And yet we were still caught by surprise," Chiron argued, "Miss Nightshade, let us be realistic, it is only pure and dumb luck that we managed to salvage this situation. Even with your arrival, we'd have only stalled them. Having Perseus show up tipped the scales immensely, but immediately followed by Briares, a contingent of Cyclopes from the sea, and then young Nico leading a ghost army and releasing Daedalus' soul? It's laughable how that lined up."

"If you think that was pure luck, Chiron, then we've truly entered a new age," Percy's tired voice cut in. Zoe looked up to see him approaching from the sound. "I may not be susceptible to the Fate's machinations, but even I can see when they've strongly encouraged me to do something. Besides, my brother is here. Did you really think I would just sit back and let him die?"

"No one has heard from you in months, Perseus, save for a brief encounter in the Labyrinth," Chiron said slowly, "did you expect me to hold out hope?"

"Always, old friend," Percy frowned, "I'd always expect you to hold out for hope, if not for me, then for the gods."

The bark of laughter surprised Zoe in it's bitterness, but Percy was instantly in front of Chiron.

"Whatever you were planning on saying, don't," he warned the Centaur, "I may be allowed to get away with it, but I promise you will not be."

Chiron sighed loudly, before clasping Percy on the shoulder.

"Wise beyond your years, my friend," he said, "come, we should talk in my office. You too, Miss Nightshade."

She rose without word, sniggering when Percy gave her an exaggerated bow with a flowing hand motion towards the door. Chiron's office was lined with Celestial Bronze, which allowed him and some privileged demigods to use the technology inside without sending a flare up to any monsters within a one-hundred mile radius, but it also had he added bonus of cutting off the sight of the gods.

"This camp isn't safe at the moment," Chiron said without preamble, "the gods can't defend it, and most of my campers are under age. I'm in a desperate situation."

"The Hunt will remain," Zoe declared, "unless Lady Artemis orders otherwise, we will assist where we can."

"And you, Perseus?" Chiron asked. Percy was staring out the window at the campers, who were going about and beginning repairs in the camps. The Hephaestus cabin worked while the Athena cabin directed. The Apollo campers weaved in and out of medical tents as the Ares campers gathered weapons and armour.

"The monster army was driven back, but not defeated," he said after a moment, "there'll be outposts on Long Island watching the camp. I'll deal with them first, before tracking down the remnants of the army. I should be able to bloody them enough before they escape the island."

"You could be of use here," Chiron argued.

"And I will be," Percy assured him, "once I am certain that there is no immediate threat. Chin up, Chiron. This was no Troy."

"Is that meant to reassure me? I remember how that ended, just as you do."

Percy just grinned in response.

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He knew that Zoe had followed him out of the camp. The daughter of Atlas had a unique presence, one that he could feel for at least a mile whenever she was nearby. A nymph Zoe may have been, but both her parents were deities, and that blood tried it's best to push through. Still, he didn't give any indication that he knew she was there and continued on.

The first outpost Percy found was manned by two demigods posing as a couple camping in the woods. They smiled warmly at Percy, and he returned it, smothering his scent.

"Do you mind if I rest here a moment?" He asked, "I'm hiking my way across Long Island, and boy is it harder than I expected."

The two spies exchanged glances before nodding at each other.

"Of course," the boy—a man, really—said, "there's a clean stream not too far away if you need water?"

"I'm good, thank you," Percy said sitting down. He was silent for a moment, staring at the sky. He could feel their eyes upon him, as if trying to figure out if he was something he wasn't. They were right, of course, but he didn't want to give anything away yet. He laid on the ground for ten minutes before rising to his feet, stretching exaggeratedly. The movement made his shirt ride up his chest, revealing the large scar on his torso. Both demigods shot to their feet, their eyes narrowing at him. "Oh dear, I've been found out. Very well, let's get this over with."

The girl charged at him, a dagger held in her arms. Percy spun out of the way, reaching out and grasping her chin and head, before jerking violently, the snap resounding in the clearing. He felt a brief prick as a spear was run through his back, and dropped to the ground before stilling. The male demigod approached slowly, the spear levelled at him. It didn't do him any good, and Percy suddenly rolled right into his feet, tripping him up. He drew a dagger from his boot and rammed it into the spy's jaw, the body stilling instantly beneath him the moment the blade reached the top of his skull. He drew it out before sighing and wiping the blade on the corpses' pant leg.

He dragged the bodies into their tent before finding a small can of gasoline, which he used to set the tent alight. He watched it burn for a moment, a morbid twist of the shroud burning he had witnessed that morning. Zoe slipped out of the woods and moved to stand next to him.

"How long did you know I was there?" She asked.

"Since you started following me," he answered, "I may have been gone a long time, Zoe, but I will never forgot what your presence feels like. I spent nearly a hundred years with you, remember?"

"I remember," she said, "Artemis was quite annoyed by your presence."

"She really wasn't," he said, "not back then at least. Most have forgotten that for many, many years I was Artemis' hunting partner. I think she's forgotten it as well."

Zoe blinked beside him. "Truly?"

"Oh yes," he laughed, "we travelled the breadth of the known world, from Spain to Siberia. There were periods where we were gone from Olympus for a decade or more. I was closer to Artemis than any other, even Athena, who didn't like that I was spending so much time with her sister. It's amusing, how possessive gods get when they are jealous."

Thunder boomed above them, but Percy raised a single solitary finger to the sky, an ancient and archaic gesture.

"Where did you go after you left me—the hunt," Zoe corrected herself, but Percy heard the slip.

"I found a plot of land in Macedonia, of all places," he said, "and I built a farm. I was there for the next century. Did Naomi and Celyn not tell you about it?"

"The gods are not the only ones who get jealous, Percy," Zoe laughed softly, "neither liked how much attention you gave me. It was only when I became Lieutenant that they came to know me for who I was, and not as the girl who stole your attention whenever you were with us."

"Ah, mortal feelings," Percy grinned, "I think I lost the capacity for most of them in Tartarus, but I feel… stirrings, occasionally, I suppose."

"Does that make you a sociopath?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted, "sometimes, the ends justifies the means, but others… well, other times, I cannot help but do something. That is a part of me that can never be destroyed, I believe."

"You killed these demigods without hesitation," she said.

"And they would've done the same to any campers that stumbled across them," he replied, "You hunt monsters, Zoe, but you stay different from them. Better. I don't have that luxury. You hunt monsters, yes, but it takes a monster to kill a monster."

"These are demigods," she motioned to the blazing tent. Percy could pick up the sound of sirens in the distance, but they would be long gone by the time they arrived.

"Not in my eyes," he said, looking upwards, "Not all monsters are mythological, Zoe. Sometimes, we make our own monsters. And sometimes, we even become them. That is what you fear, is it not? For me, I mean. You're worried that I'm becoming something dark and twisted, a shadow of the man you knew."

She didn't reply, but he could feel her gaze locked on him.

"The truth is, Zoe, the man you knew is long dead," he continued, "he died within his first decade in Tartarus. I didn't have the luxury of morals, of a conscience. I couldn't be killed, true enough, but I could be hurt. I don't like being hurt, even if it doesn't register anymore. And I am dark now, it's ingrained in me," he tapped his chest, where the raven was branded, "I'm a marked man. I left my mark on the Pit, but the Pit left it's mark on me. Now, we should get going," he said softly, "before the mortals get here. I have more hunting to do."

MMXVIII

So I'm continuing Eternal! I rewrote the first half of this chapter eight times before settling for something that I liked, and the second half took me two days. It seems kinda ridiculous, because I'm only writing 2k words, but man, writing is hard guys. As always, feel free to send me a PM or leave a review! If you PM me, I'll try my best to respond, and I'm going to start answering to some reviews starting next chapter!

Cheers, CombatTombat