-Shattered-

Hey guys!

I decided to delete all of that dude's comments.

Glad to see that most of you seem interested in the pairing I'm going for, but to those who prefer to not be involved in the homosexuality, rest assured because it is mostly going to be a really minor thing and not much is going to be established.

To those who want to get in on some of that girl on girl action just let me know and I'll think about making a Thalia/Bianca spin off...

Before you guys get confused, I decided to cut to the chase and go back to where Percy woke up, didn't feel like sifting through the book to find the council scene.

Lazy Josh is lazy...

Quick note, the chunk of italics is all flashback.

Peas out guys!

BAI!

It took Phoebe the entirety of twenty-three seconds to react to what was presented before her eyes.

The fact that she had been awoken at four in the morning by a loud shriek didn't help her shift away from the confusion.

"Percy!" a familiar voice had awoken her from her slumber, the scene she was presented with caused Phoebe's jaw to fall on the floor. Her groggy mind struggled to comprehend where she was, and what she was seeing.

Maybe she was just hallucinating?

Maybe Zoe wasn't crushing a boy in a hug?

Maybe the centaur blood was relapsing and her mind was playing tricks on her?

That had to be it.

That had to be what was happening.

The was absolutely no possible way that her lieutenant, Zoe Nightshade would be caught hugging anyone – let alone a barely clothed male specimen in the dark.

Her eyes widened as she backpedaled.

Zoe was clad in only her hospital gown, one that was two sizes too big and barely hung onto her lithe frame. The boy, she recalled, Perseus, to his credit seemed awkward enough, not sure how to react to the situation himself. He had a weird constipated look on his face, and Phoebe had to bite her tongue to stop her laughter.

But the boy was also shirtless and was only clad in his bare bloodied boxers.

Phoebe decided to not interrupt the moment like she had planned to; instead, she opted for eyeing them cautiously from her vantage point. Of course, had the boy been anyone who wasn't Percyy, then they would have probably been missing a certain body part that males hold quite dear. (I'm not talking about what you think I'm talking about, pervs)

She held her bow ready for if (when) the boy would try something with the vulnerable hunter.

It was not long, before Zoe realized what she was doing, and untangled herself from the son of Poseidon. "So – Sorry!"

Her crimson flush was almost as dark as the boy's below her. Phoebe almost gasped at how soft the girl's voice was.

"I- That's fine. I guess," Perseus managed to choke out, clearly embarrassed at his near nakedness. He pulled the sheets to cover his bare chest.

Zoe's eyes softened, and a quip of a smile curved from her lips. "I'm glad you're alive."

Phoebe was rather confused; her lieutenant was speaking in modern English!

Yep. Definitely a relapse.

Phoebe mentally scoffed, she must have been dreaming, because she knew for a fact that Zoe Nightshade spoke the English from four hundred years ago. The Hunters as a group had struggled to keep up the times – but their lieutenant was the worse. Zoe Nightshade had been adamant when refusing to continue learning the more modern slang.

Phoebe stepped away, deciding to file the events away as a dream.

Not one of reality, but simply a product of simple deliriousness. She decided to navigate her dream self to Apollo's kitchen to grab something to eat. (B/N: Yep. She's delirious.)

She could barely make out Zoe's voice commanding Perseus to get some rest, as she tuned out everything else and focused on the warm glow that Apollo's kitchen emitted.

'Apollo really needs to make healthier dining choices,' she thought silently as she stared at the contents within the godly fridge.

Two days ago, everything had gone normally enough for Phoebe. She had awoken seventeen minutes early and had thus taken the liberty to have the first bath in the stream. She was glad that she was able to relieve her sore muscles after having to have taken down the Manticore the previous day. Just as she gathered her clothes and made her way back to her tent, Artemis appeared at camp to awaken her hunters and to explain the current situation.

The goddess had practically dragged the half naked Phoebe over to Olympus. She hadn't explained much but said it was an emergency.

When they reached Olympus, Artemis led , a now fully clothed, Phoebe straight to Apollo's temple and took her delving into the heart of the sun god's domain: The Infirmary.

Artemis barraged her with information, out of which she was only able to catch snippets, what she did understand was; Percy is hurt, Zoe is with him, make sure no one gets killed.

Phoebe had shrugged, her job sounded easy enough right?

Phoebe was introduced into the infirmary, but elicited no response.

What Phoebe first noticed was the streak of gray hair that cascaded down Zoe's shoulders. For some reason, Phoebe wasn't led to believe that the colored streak was a fashion statement.

Zoe simply looked up at her with red and puffy eyes, completely uncharacteristic of her normal demeanor and gave her a small tearful smile before shifting her gaze back to the unconscious Percy. She replaced the wet wash cloth on his forehead wordlessly, leading Phoebe to believe that the boy might have had a fever too.

The boy was covered in blood stained bandages, his expression was pained, but he was clearly alive. His chest rose and fell in a harmonic rhythm.

Zoe hadn't spoken, nor left the boy's side since that moment, two days ago, when they had returned from the quest.

Phoebe groggily ambled over to the infirmary, like she had done for the past two days, playing caretaker for an unconscious Perseus and a distraught Zoe.

She expected the same scene to play again; she would grab something from the kitchen, take the food over to Zoe, who seemed to not notice she was next to her. Phoebe had given up on trying to get the girl to speak after the first day. When Phoebe would return to the infirmary after spending a few hours in Apollo's archery range, she would be greeted with an empty plate, but still a completely mute Zoe. She almost began to think that Zoe had lost her voice during the quest.

Instead she was greeted with something that completely broke away from her monotonous routine. Firstly, Percy was awake, which was good news. He was seated on the bed, Zoe seated next to him. They seemed to be sitting far too close to each other in Phoebe's eyes.

Melancholy played on Percy's sea green orbs, "So... Annabeth is... Dead?"

Zoe nodded grimly.

Percy's expression turned sour, he seemed to be holding back tears.

"Th- This is all my fault!"

Zoe placed a comforting arm on his shoulder. "No it isn't."

At least Phoebe's doubts on whether Zoe lost her voice was cleared.

Percy shook his head violently, "Yes it is! Annabeth- she was supposed to be alive!"

Zoe looked at him with sad eyes.

"She was my mortal anchor."

Percy's voice was barely above a whisper, but Phoebe could hear through her impeccable hearing honed through her over four hundred years of being a hunter.

Zoe gained a confused expression, "Mortal anchor?"

Percy nodded, "The curse. You need something to tie you to the realm of the living, or else the Styx will consume you. Anna- Annabeth was mine."

What curse was the boy talking about? Surely the titan's curse mentioned in the prophecy hadn't been the one. The gray streak in both their hairs proved to Phoebe that they had to bear the burden of the sky, at least at some point during their quest.

Zoe gained a dark look on her face, almost bordering on envy, but that couldn't have been right. Phoebe settled with her expression eluding to anger of some sort.

"And you think that because you saved the lives of Bianca and myself, that you condemned Annabeth to death."

Zoe's words weren't a question. Her eyes were narrowed at the boy.

Phoebe's eyes narrowed at Zoe's words, something didn't click right to her. She barely even noticed that Zoe had still been speaking in modern English.

"Not that I regret changing the past and saving your lives! It's just that-"

Phoebe cut the boy off by clearing her throat.

The huntress had been caught off-guard by the boy's words. Did he say, changing the past?

"Phoebe!"

Percy's voice was squeaky, he was flushed a deep red and pushed himself away from the form of the seated Zoe beside him, straightening his gown.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes at him.

"What did you mean by changing the past?"

She was straight at the point.

Percy's eyes darted nervously to Zoe's, who nodded at him mutely, after a brief look of hesitation.

The boy took in a lungful of air.

"Well, you see-"

B/N

Well, you see – it's been quite a while since I've last advertised so here it is:

When you have the time, don't forget to stop by and check out the first book of my series, Time Locked: Pressed, where Phoebe has got to get those Artemis collectibles!

Oh Phoebe… *stares accusingly*

Best Wishes! ~VCRx