A/N: Thanks again to my awesome beta, iscreamdrizzle. She's amazing!

Just so you know, I've taken some liberties with Phoebe. No, not those kinds of liberties; get your minds out of the gutter. I just gave her character some extra oomph. Enjoy, and please review!

Chapter 25

Reyna

Bright sunlight filtered through the barren branches, dappling the snow crusted slope with a delicate spider web of diffuse shadows. Somewhere overhead, a cardinal chirped to his mate, calling her to a newly discovered treasure trove of seeds. The sound of the stampeding sun cattle and their heavy burden had recessed to a dull roar in the distance, returning to the winter forest its tranquility. A squirrel, late to its midwinter's rest, chittered indignantly at the intruders in the midst of his territory.

The peaceful beauty of the chilly morning clashed garishly against Reyna's senses as Percy's limp form hung heavy in her arms. Her mind was alive with a torrent of confusion, terror and indignation. The battle was supposed to be over, the danger gone. Where was the sense in this aggression? Who was the Hunter, and why did she hate Reyna? Why was Percy so willing to put her life above his own?

She'd barely had time to recover from her drain-induced coma. As she awoke, her mother's words still rang in her ears. What was the choice she was going to have to make? The quandary was driven from her mind as she breathlessly watched the battle unfold before her. The arrival of the troop of girls wielding silver bows seemed almost comical in its timing, like a deus ex machina from one of those ancient plays the Bacchus kids were always forcing on the legions.

Despite her brief descent into cuckoo-land, Reyna was not naïve enough to believe the girls' presence was as coincidental or as simple as some random act of divine grace. Trivia had mentioned someone was coming, and she hadn't made it sound all roses and sunshine either. Someone in this group of archers would spell her fate, either lifting her out of the mire or dragging her all the way under.

The inhuman cry that had erupted from Percy's throat as she awoke had sent Phoenix into a frenzy. She remembered the boys telling her the copper unicorn was Starbuck's mate. Actually they'd called her his 'wife' and not being privy to the inner workings of the unicorn mind as they were, the title still didn't sit well with Reyna. Animals mated, they didn't get married.

As the giant fell under the barrage of arrows, Reyna's attention had finally wandered and was immediately overtaken by the frantic unicorn. She was obviously anxious to reunite with the black unicorn, but she wouldn't leave her charge in the face of such imminent danger. Now that Alkyoneus was under control, Phoenix nudged Reyna's shoulder then bolted off through the woods to their right. Reyna, knowing Percy was also likely in that direction, had clambered to her feet and followed briskly.

They didn't have very far to go. Though she'd never been exactly fond of Starbuck, Reyna felt a surge of pity as she approached the spot where Phoenix had stopped and knelt. He was still alive, though his fate seemed inevitable. His flank was crushed and both of his cloven-hoofed forelegs were twisted at impossible angles. Worst of all, his obsidian horn lay broken in half on the ground near his head. As her compassion swelled to the point of tears, her attention was pulled away by a strange sound.

She'd looked around then, remembering Percy must be nearby. Her eyes finally fell on him, realizing he was the source of the peculiar mixture of scratching and croaking sounds. Gingerly, Reyna'd made her way down the slope until she came up behind the prone struggling form of the son of Neptune. As she approached she'd noticed the state of his leg. It was nearly as bad as Starbuck's. He was also crying, and his gaze never wavered away from the broken unicorn.

As she'd bent to help him to his feet…er, foot, he'd looked at her as though she were a stranger. A brief twinge of jealousy rushed through her mind. She knew her face was once again mingled with the girl from his past. She brushed the feeling aside. Now isn't the time. Slowly, they'd begun to trudge up the hill towards the dying animal. As they stumbled, she heard Percy mumbling.

"Now, who's the broken child, eh?" She'd begun to respond, but was glad she didn't when she realized he was talking to Starbuck. It didn't take a genius to know who the 'broken child' was or had been. Well at least her paranoia hadn't been too far off, though the judgment she'd imagined was rather far from the unicorns' actual feelings towards her. They had simply seen through her façade faster than she had herself.

Halfway up the hill, the world had stopped. Now everything waited on her. Dangling from Reyna's arms was her antithesis, as she now recognized Percy. All her life, all she could remember had been selfishness. What could she do to for her? How could she best achieve her goals? Through one single act, Percy had defined himself as her complete and utter opposite. He had no memories, yet despite the void, or perhaps because of it, he was completely selfless. His own life was unimportant if he could use it to benefit another. And now, as he fell against her, silver arrow sprouting from his back, she finally understood how far she had to go.

"Percy…Percy…Percy!" She knelt, gently lowering his body towards the ground while desperately willing him to hold onto life. She could feel his heartbeat flutter against her wrists as she laid him face down on the loamy forest floor. "Bobby! I need your help!" The sight of the arrow that had been meant for her reaching out of Percy's prone form towards the morning's brilliance caught at her throat.

Unthinking, Reyna reached down, adrenaline gripping her body, and ripped his shirt away from the wound. A gasp escaped her unbidden as the gruesome sight met her eyes. Quickly she turned away, bile rising inevitably from her weak stomach. Pushing it down, she forced her gaze back to the wound. Bobby, arrived and knelt on Percy's other side, the big girl in silver who'd shot at Reyna with her venom laced epithet had remained rooted to her spot. Her bow dropped unheeded from her frozen wrists as she stared at Percy in utter shock.

"What the fuck?" Bobby exclaimed in alarm as he looked at Percy's back. Even to Reyna's inexperienced eye, this was no ordinary wound. The arrow was a broad-bladed hunter's arrow that left a long vertical cut just to the right of his spine. At the very bottom edge of the cut, directly behind Percy's navel, the base of the arrow's tip could be seen just above the skin. A network of inky black and green tendrils spiked out from where the blade had barely grazed the skin.

All of Reyna's queasiness vanished in wonder at the implications of what they saw. She and Bobby looked at each other for several moments across Percy's festering back. The wound itself would not have been fatal. It wasn't very deep as it had caught on the boy's ribs. A healthy dose of nectar and ambrosia and a couple weeks' rest would have healed it completely…normally.

"Well, at least it isn't buried deep." Bobby was able to set aside the strangeness quicker than Reyna as he set to work removing the silver weapon. Though she was no medic, she knew it was extremely lucky that the blade had not penetrated beyond the sweep of the arrowhead. "He must drink his milk. The force of that arrow would have broken through most people's bones. This one's just stuck." With all the dignity of a redneck in a strip club, Bobby grasped the shaft of the arrow and yanked. Reyna's bile threatened again with the grinding noise followed by a loud squelch as the arrow dislodged from Percy's ribs. He tossed the arrow over his shoulder as they both returned their attention to the creeping decay spreading across Percy's back.

"It can't be…"

"What else could it be, Rey?" She noticed Bobby's breathing was ragged, voice weak.

"Maybe it's poison."

"Then why is it only emanating from one spot? Why not from the whole wound?" Bobby rationalized. "Besides, I doubt the Hunters would stoop to using poison tipped arrows." Diana's Hunters, well that explained who the girls were at least, though not why the burly mannish one wanted Reyna dead. A brief glance showed her the silver-clad yeti had recovered slightly from her initial shock, but still remained planted where she was.

"I don't know, Bobby! There's got to be a better explanation."

"Why is it so hard for you to believe?"

"Because he's still alive!" The conviction in her voice appeared to startle Bobby. "I still don't think it's possible for a grown person to survive the curse, and even if he did, if that arrow just happened—"

"He did." Reyna looked around for the squeak of a voice that had interrupted her argument. Incredulous, she realized the small sound had come from her large-boned attacker. She turned the full force of her most formidable ice blue gaze on the silver-clad huntress. The girl returned her glare with a look of disgust before she grudgingly continued. "And you're right; he should either be unharmed or dead. That he is anywhere in between should be impossible."

"Oh, thank you," Reyna gushed sarcastically. "It's so nice to be vindicated by a psychopathic she-male." She made a show of looking the girl up and down before continuing, "Not too hard to see why you joined the Hunters."

"Mee-yow!" Bobby interjected. Reyna turned her seething gaze on him and was happy to see at least he still blanched at her stare. "Alright, calm down, Rey. I'm sure Phoebe has a perfectly good—well, at least some sort of explanation about the whole wanting to murder you thing." He eagerly turned away to address this Phoebe girl. "Um, before you guys have your death-match, I don't suppose you have any nectar or ambrosia handy? I doubt it would do anything for whatever's going on with this wound, but at least we can close it up and stop the bleeding. Speaking of which, I could go with a little healing myself."

Reyna's eyes jerked towards Bobby's face as he mentioned healing. Somehow, despite the gory mess that was Percy Jackson lying in front of her, her mother's warnings about her choice and the magic it would entail had retreated. Now they renewed their assault on her mind, driving her to worry and wonder. Could she possibly have the power to heal this wound? It definitely seemed magical in origin, regardless of whether the Hunter was right or not. Maybe she would be able to drive whatever enchantment possessed Percy away allowing him to heal. But that wasn't really healing magic. And where was the life altering decision in that?

As the Hunters produced their godly foods, Reyna's eyes wandered, taking in the wilderness around them. Her gaze eventually fell on Percy's and her original destination. Ten yards up the slope, Phoenix had lain down fully next to the shattered black form of her mate. Starbuck was still alive, his breathing growing ever weaker as he stared into Phoenix' eyes. Was this her choice? Percy or Starbuck?

No, regardless of her personal feelings, Percy was too important to let die just to show that she could be selfless, especially if he really was the person he had boasted he was to Alkyoneus. No, if there were a choice involved in Percy's mortality, it would be no choice. Reyna's jaw tensed with anger as she realized her impotency over Percy's fate. Why should she waste her power healing a stupid unicorn? Why should he live while Percy dies?

"Rey? A-are you alright?" She whipped her eyes back to Bobby Smurf. At least that's what he looked like in the intense glow issuing from her luminescing sapphire eyes. His mouth hung open mid-chew through a bite of ambrosia. How much power did mom give me? Looking back at the broken animal, she knew. Just enough.

"I'm fine."

"And you wondered why I wanted to kill you. Damned traitor's spawn," Phoebe spat from where she was carefully pouring nectar over Percy's open laceration. Despite the threat, Reyna had never had the stomach to watch a wound close magically. It was a revolting process seeing the muscle and sinew knit squelchily back together. When it was done, an angry red scar laced up Percy's back, and the spreading putrescence was unabated. There was nothing she could do about that.

Again, anger at her helplessness overwhelmed her and the light in her eyes surged again. It grew even more intense as her thoughts shifted. This is my choice. Here was truly a test of her determination. All her life she'd put her needs and desires first, and when she could not achieve those goals, she settled for spite. She needed to cure Percy, not because he could save the world, but because she wanted him. But she had no power to do so. Yet not ten yards away lay a broken body she could mend. She could choose to let the unicorn die out of spite against her ineffectiveness, or she could put her needs aside. She could focus on the power she did have and not on the power she wanted.

Deliberately, Reyna pushed herself to her feet. Percy would want this. She shuddered at how difficult it was to walk the ten paces to where Starbuck lay. I really am fucked up. A normal human being wouldn't be like this. She was a monster trying to change her stripes. Well, mom said this wouldn't be easy. Must be tough to know your kid is a selfish, megalomaniacal bitch. As she reached the unicorn, she knelt by his side. Her internal struggle had nearly extinguished the glow of power in her eyes, energy she would need for this task bound up in indecision.

Reaching out, Reyna placed her hand on the unicorn's flank. The instant she made contact, her doubts fled leaving her mind, if only for a moment, at peace with itself. In that moment of tranquility, she saw the path around the obstacle that had always blocked her from the magic of healing. She needed no spell to complete her task; she was using borrowed power after all. Regardless, she knew her mind was now and ever would be open to this magic. At least this time she wouldn't have to drain herself to perform it.

Reyna's eyes blazed as her mother's borrowed energy swelled. She heard Bobby and the Hunters gasp as the azure brilliance engulfed her. Through her touch, the glow began to transfer to the onyx unicorn until he also shimmered intensely. Then he screamed as his bones began to magically realign. She tried to dull the pain, but there was no help for it. Though she could now heal, she was no healer. Trivia dealt in magic not comfort. Magic was raw, unbridled and often painful. She grieved for Starbuck's suffering, but he was strong willed. He would survive.

Through the sorcery, Reyna saw the workings of the unicorn's body in a detached manner, almost like she was building a puzzle. Albeit the most complex puzzle she'd ever seen. Every piece fit together seamlessly such that as she proceeded she began to wonder whether what she had fixed before had ever really been broken.

Eventually, the welling of power receded and Reyna's task was complete. There were damages she could not heal. Several of Starbuck's internal injuries had left scar tissue that would pain him for the rest of his life. And she could not restore his broken horn nor his pride. But he would live. She removed her hand and looked up to the obsidian unicorn's eyes. She couldn't read his thoughts like Bobby, but his refusal to meet Reyna's gaze told her volumes about his injured honor. It was a feeling she understood well.

A humbled woman knelt on the hill next to the prideful unicorn she'd just saved. Reyna shook her head at the thought. She was a little girl again and she'd been given another chance to grow up. In the moment she'd connected with Starbuck's broken body, she'd glimpsed what her life could be like if she let go of her pain, guilt and hatred. Those cares and fears were flooding back into her mind now, but at least she knew there was a way out. The opportunity she received was undeserved. It was a gift and she intended to cherish it dearly. But first there was another matter.

"Yes, actually, I would very much like to know what the death at first sight business is all about." Reyna spoke softly, back still turned on the Hunters, but in the pregnant silence that followed the unicorn's salvation, her voice rang like a gong. Turning slightly so she could just see Phoebe in her peripheral vision, she continued, "When did Lady Diana begin sanctioning the hunt of human flesh?"

"Ugh, not only are you a daughter of that spineless wench, but you're Roman too? This day just cannot get any better." Phoebe threw up her hands helplessly as she pushed herself to her feet. Reyna noticed several of the other Hunter's took on a slight psychotic glint at Phoebe's mention of Romans. The big girl turned to the others, "Go, follow the giant and deal with him once he is outside this valley. Then return the sacred cattle to the Triple G ranch and head to Camp Half-Blood. Now that we have found our quarry, I will escort him and these…people there as well.

"Alright, you two on your feet," Phoebe continued as the Hunters saluted and ran off through the woods to the north following the cattle and Ali. "We need to get Percy home—"

"We are not going anywhere with you," Reyna interrupted, clearly distinguishing herself, Bobby and Percy from Phoebe with a gesture. "Not until we get some answers."

"Girly, let me give you some advice," the beefy girl menaced, stepping closer to Reyna. She poked herself in the chest to emphasize her point, "Don't fuck with Phoebe."

"Or what? You'll sit on me?" Reyna scoffed, looking the brawny Hunter over again. It was a mistake. Phoebe's eyes flashed murderously as she reached down to grab the front of Reyna's jacket. With seemingly no effort, she was lifted off her feet and flung a good twenty yards down the sloping ridgeline. Stars swam in her eyes as Reyna's breath whooshed from her lungs upon impact with the tree. She slumped to the ground on hands and knees trying to clear her head enough to form a retaliatory spell. There was no doubt the Hunter had used magical aid to throw Reyna so far. The incantation died on her lips as a peal of thunder crashed through the sky. Thunder on a sunny morning could mean only one thing. The king of the gods was pissed.

Raising her gaze back up the slope from where she'd been summarily tossed, Reyna saw Phoebe on her knees, head and arms raised in supplication. Her eyes were full of fear. Whatever the girl had done was not sitting well with Jupiter. The thunder god had never shown any interest in Reyna before, why was he intervening on her behalf now?

"Lord Zeus, please— I'm sorry! I didn't—" The hefty Amazon paused her pleading as lighting crackled and struck the ground less than three feet from her face. It left a crater and both Bobby and Percy's limp form were blown back several feet. Phoebe was somehow unaffected by the shockwave other than a change in demeanor. Her head slumped in resignation as her hands dropped to her sides. "Yes, my lord."

Slowly, Reyna lifted herself off the ground. She had no idea what had passed between the Hunter and lord Jupiter, but the immediate threat to her life seemed to have abated. Phoebe remained kneeling in a dejected slump as Reyna trudged gingerly back up to where Percy and Bobby lay. She saw Bobby blinking his eyes and waving a hand in front of them. He must have been looking directly at the lightning. Reyna shook her head and turned back to Phoebe who seemed to be contemplating suicide.

"You just cost me another millennium of servitude." She spoke so quietly, it took Reyna a moment to realize she was being addressed. She had no idea what Phoebe was talking about, but it seemed a pretty unfair accusation. "As if it mattered," she laughed bitterly. "I'm never getting out of this slavery."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but don't blame me for your loose cannon." If Reyna thought the thunder god's punishment had somehow diminished Phoebe's hatred, she was sorely mistaken. The silvery fire burning the Hunter's eyes as she lifted her head spoke of a power Reyna had only seen once before. Her footing faltered as she backed away from those eyes, fear spiking in her gut as she remembered the brutality of last summer's battle on Mt. Othrys. "Wh-who are you?"

Phoebe clenched her fists at her sides, her face tense. Rather than raise further alarms, Reyna understood the girl was trying desperately to quell the power she'd called forth in anger. With effort, she managed to close her eyes. Slowly the energy seemed to recede back into the recesses of her being, whatever her 'being' was.

"No one," she eventually responded doggedly. "Not anymore, at any rate." She paused and fixed her eyes on Reyna again. They were still stern, but now shone with the blackness of a moonless night.

"Not good enough." Reyna's hand had migrated to the hilt of her gladius, her knees bent, ready to move if necessary. This girl was not what she seemed.

"What would it accomplish? Other than even more mistrust, that is." She stood and brushed the dirt from her knees before continuing. "We need to go. Percy will not last long as he is."

"I told you before, there is no way we are going anywhere with you. Not until we know who or what you are," Reyna bristled.

"Rey, calm down." Reyna's world had shrunk to her and Phoebe, and Bobby's intrusion startled her. "She's right about Percy. He needs help."

"So you just want to go with her? She's the one who shot him in the first place!"

"She also saved us from the giant," Bobby pointed out equivocally.

"Bobby, at best she's a psychopath. She tried to kill me! Twice! And I don't even know who the fuck she is." Reyna knew she was prone to paranoia, but she was pretty sure her trepidation was justified this time around. She rounded back on Phoebe, "And how the hell do you know Percy, anyway?" The question caught the Hunter off guard and shocked her into finally giving an answer.

"He is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, " she responded simply. "You must know at least that much from traveling with him."

"Enlighten us," Reyna said flatly.

"He's the savior of Olympus. He defeated Kronos. Personally, I haven't had much interaction with him, but he's a boy, so…" Reyna's hackles rose again as she spoke. Most of the time when people talked about the fall of Saturn last summer it was with relief or glee. Phoebe's voice was filled with regret and sadness as she spoke Kronos' name.

"There were no demigods at Olympus last summer. We were forbidden to go. The gods defeated Typhon and Saturn." At least that's what they'd been told. Something about the matter-of-factness in Phoebe's explanation told Reyna she wasn't lying though. "Lupa would have told us otherwise."

"Ha! That old wolf?" Phoebe's eyes twinkled with amusement. "You're right, she would have told you if she could. That one always did enjoy pain, especially everyone else's. Oh my stars, that would have been an epic battle if she could have sent you all to Olympus." She stared off into the trees wistfully and sighed. "Alas, she's bound by Stygian oaths that keep her from revealing what really happened."

"And you're not?"

"Nope, the gods forgot about little old me 150 years ago. I would have divulged sooner, but I confess, I've grown fond of Artemis during my servitude. She has a wonderful outlook on the subject of men. Informing the demigod factions about each other would have upset her. Plus it didn't really serve much purpose until recently."

"Wait, wait," Bobby interrupted. "What do you mean 'demigod factions'? And why do you keep using Greek names?"

"Look, I've been around a long time, and the Greeks came first," Phoebe explained. "Old habits die hard, but that's not the only reason. And when I say factions, I mean the Greek faction and the Roman faction."

"The Greeks are dead."

"Well, one of them certainly will be if we don't get him some help soon." Phoebe gestured to where Percy lay. This was the second time someone had called Percy a Greek. Somehow it seemed even less believable than him bearing the curse of Achilles. None of this made any sense, except that they were certainly wasting time. She needed straight answers.

"Okay, okay. You're right that Percy needs help," Reyna admitted. But we need to know who you are and why you want me dead before we let you take him or us anywhere. Plus we're kind of on a deadline here. If we don't complete our quest in five days, he's dead anyway." Phoebe's face darkened, all the mirth she'd expressed informing them their ancient enemies still lived vanishing.

"What are you playing at, Trivian? What's your quest? What does Percy's life have to do with it?" For some reason, the Hunter's smug confidence seemed shaken.

"Nuh-uh, you answer my question first."

"Gyahh! It's not that simple!" A glimmer of her former rage shone in her eyes momentarily and she paced in indecision. Suddenly she stopped. "I'm not bound to keep my identity from anyone, but I've never told anyone who didn't already know. I would ask that, if I tell you, you swear by the Styx not to reveal it to anyone else. The offspring of Hekate, or Trivia I suppose, are driven to obtain power, and the knowledge of who I am would grant you much. I won't be used by you." As she spoke, Trivia's warning floated to the front of Reyna's mind. A relation of mine is approaching, she'd said. Looking again at Phoebe, she knew exactly in whose presence she stood.

"Stop, I know who you are." Reyna smirked at the look of horror plastered on the Hunter's face. "Not a very clever disguise though. You didn't even change your name." Phoebe looked crestfallen as her secret was laid bare. "Relax, I won't tell anyone. Neither will Bobby. Right, Bobby?"

"Um, hard to tell what I don't fuckin' know."

"Exactly."

"Will you swear on the Styx?" Phoebe's voice was desperate.

"Yes, I will do that for you, if you will swear not to try to kill me, which by the way still requires some explanation."

"I swear you shall not suffer death at my hands, and furthermore that you will reach Percy's home safely and on time." It was hard to find through the clench-jawed oath, but there might have been some gratitude in Phoebe's voice. "Now what is this quest you are on? Was there a prophecy?"

As Reyna related the prophecy, she was able to check of a few of the items on the list. They'd traveled to the fiery paradise and Bobby, the fertile virgin, had delivered the crucial strike to fell the undying giant. All that was left was to find whatever Nature's Bounty was and something about royal fiends. Hadn't they just faced a giant king? He was pretty damned fiendish. But something told Reyna the line referred to something else.

When she finished with the last couplet, warning Reyna to guard her feelings for Percy, Phoebe saw right through the poetry and sneered. Being a Hunter for so long had obviously rubbed off on her sensibilities. Mid-sneer though, the bulky girl froze. She flicked her gaze back and forth between Reyna and Percy's supine form. A look of incredulity mixed with glee stole over her face as she unexpectedly burst into gales of laughter.

"Oh, this is fantastic!" she cried, clapping her hands excitedly. "Blue Eyes," Phoebe, Titan of the Moon, addressed Reyna with a dazzling smile, "you're gonna wish like hell you'd let me kill you by the time Annabeth's done with you."