Hi guys! *nervous laughter*You all are probably pretty pissed at me for not updating. I'm sorry, I've just been really unmotivated to write this story and I've had one of those few weeks where a chain of bad things have happened. But thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!

P.S. For all you perfectionists, I changed the issue with Hazel being called a son of Pluto in the first chapter. ;)Thanks for pointing that out to me!

Disclaimer: This girl owns nothing.

Hades raised his hand to read. Everyone looked at him curiously. HE glared back in return, which shut everyone up. Nico still looked traumatized from hearing about Bianca again.

The Di Angelo's are captured, and Percy runs after them on his own…

Percy cringed at the mention of his own stupidity. "I got it," He muttered. "Not the best idea I've ever had."

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

"What exactly is Thorn?" Hazel piped up.

"A manticore," Thalia grimaced. There was a collective groan from around the room.

I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

Nico turned the color of Aphrodite's lipstick. "They aren't dolls, they're figurines," He mumbled. To all of the people who didn't know about Mythomagic, they looked confused, while Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover smirked, and Frank just looked pleased that Mythomagic was mentioned.

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.

Athena looked mildly impressed. Percy decided to take that as a high compliment.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts."

The room giggled, but was quickly subdued as they remember that Bianca was dead. Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy, just to feel a solid being.

"We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."

"I do agree with that," Jason interjected. There was a sudden wind from all the fervent head-nodding. Percy just sent a death glare to everyone.

I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into me.

Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant.

"Is it ever not?" Annabeth asked, smirking.

"Well, sometimes-"

"That was a rhetorical question, don't answer that Seaweed Brain,"

Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened.

"Hell yes bitches," Thalia crowed. Suddenly, she was turned into a peacock, and then back again.

"Language," Hera said sternly from her throne. Annabeth buried her head in Percy's chest to stifle her laughter. Needless to stay, they stayed that close as long as they could.

She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread.

"You have the weirdest similes," Hazel was quite confused.

"They sound better in my head," Percy defended.

As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpion-like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to.

Annabeth leaned over and kissed Percy. He figured he probably said something stupid.

Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into us.

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded.

"Just the coolest people you would ever meet," Thalia flipped her very short hair.

"You would have gotten on great with her Hazel," Nico commented sadly.

"And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

"What does that even mean?" Piper asked, confused.

"He was an annoying little brat then," Annabeth commented.

"Still is," Percy murmured.

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

I heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.

Grover cringed. In the heat of the battle, all the couples unconsciously grabbed each other, causing Aphrodite to pull out the camera.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster?

"The mortals got involved?" Leo asked incredulously. "That must have been really bad."

The foursome nodded. The gods were all impresse.

The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. I raised my shield over us, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.

Percy had nail marks on his arm from Annabeth gripping so her.

"You were there!"" He accused.

"I know, it's just…" She faltered. He nodded and kissed her head softly.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.

Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

Artemis smirked, and Thalia grinned.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

"I bet that was Zoe," Artemis commented sadly. There was a moment of silence for the fallen huntress.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.

Apollo and Artemis starts to argue, but were quickly cut off by Hades.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

The goddess of the hunt quirked an eyebrow. "Care to explain?" She asked her lieutenant.

Thalia just gulped. "Um, I was stupid?"

I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not really," and then Annabeth started on one of her rants, with occasional comments from her mother.

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous.

Percy cringed at his description of the goddess. "Sorry,"

"Beautiful, eh?" Annabeth teased.

"Not as beautiful as you," Percy responded smoothly. That earned him a kiss from his girlfriend and a high five from Nico and Grover.

"The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.

"No.'" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.

"Idiot thing to do, save a Seaweed Brain," Athena said snidely. Annabeth just rolled her eyes, and Poseidon clenched his fists.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered.

"No!" I screamed.

"He loves you so much," Aphrodite said dreamily. The couple blushed lightly, but everyone knew it was true.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" I yelled.

Annabeth closed her eyes in pain. Percabeth touched the grey streaks in both of their hair.

I started to run after her, but our enemies weren't done with us. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on us.

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoe scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Annabeth!" I yelled. "You have to let us save her!"

Frank looked worried. "Wait, aren't you yelling at a goddess?

Percy just answered, "Yep."

That did nothing to sooth Frank's nerves.

The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."

I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.

"Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?"

Annabeth smacked Percy.

"What?" He defended. "I wanted to find you," Everyone conceded that point.

Zoe stepped forward as if to smack me.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."

The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."

"Well, that was climatic," Hades said dryly. "Who next?"

Well, thanks for reading! Man that was seriously the worst one I've ever written. ;( Anyway, y'all should follow me on tumblr, I just got one. It's all fandom stuff, promise.

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