"I'm glad to see that you are seeing things my way." Orion said slyly once the gods returned. They had adjourned after Orion's offer to discuss it amongst themselves while the two hunters were watched with barely concealed hostility by the demigods. Several of them seemed like they would have enjoyed nothing more than to take their chances with the monsters outside of the camp if it meant they could bring down Orion and Ryker. One camper had actually taken a step forward and opened his mouth to sound a charge when Ryker sent an arrow through his leg. That had killed any potentially hasty actions from the others.

"You are free to go." Artemis said stiffly. "Only you. You will leave Ryker behind."

The demigod narrowed his eyes and tightened his hold on his bow, readying himself for a fight. Surprisingly, however, Orion laughed and shook his head. "Now, see that is what I would call a deal breaker. Ryker comes with me."

"Do you think you are in a position to argue?" Ares sneered, tapping one finger on his massive broadsword.

"Do you think I am in a position not to?" Orion asked in disbelief. He shrugged and sent the gods a pleasant smile. "Go ahead. Kill us. After the monsters wipe out every single demigod and ally you have here they will go to Camp Jupiter. We will decimate every one of your children without a second thought."

"If you think we will let them die so easily you are sorely mistaken." Artemis told him frankly. "As usual."

"Oh there will be losses." Orion smirked. "There always is. But monsters resurrect. Demigods don't. You gods might make children like it is going out of fashion, but even you won't be able to keep up with the amount that we kill."

The gods exchanged a look and then turned back to Ryker and Orion. "You are free to go." Dionysus said indifferently, drinking from a water bottle. "But know that next time you will not be let go so easily."

"Don't worry, we won't get caught next time." Orion told him sincerely, turning around and glancing at the wall of fire. "Going to do something about this?"

"Before you go, Ryker, would you mind if I had a word?" Artemis asked him, her tone clearly indicating it was more order than request. "Please."

Orion shot him a questioning look and Ryker turned a bored look on the goddess. "I have nothing to say to you." He said coldly.

"Hey!" Thalia said, taking an angry step forward. "Artemis said she wanted to talk to you! Traitor or not you can't diss her like that."

"I swear on the River Styx that I do not intend to do anything to prevent you from leaving." Artemis offered.

Orion clapped one huge hand on Ryker's shoulder and smiled at Artemis. "You know, Artemis, I didn't realize it until just now but this kid and I are far more similar than I had first realized." He patted Ryker fondly on the shoulder until the wild demigod stepped out of reach. "Both of us were pushed away because of the way you meddled in our lives. You might go as far to say that he and I are kindred spirits."

"He is nothing like you, Orion." Artemis shot back. "Your scheming might have turned him away from the right path, but make no mistake. He isn't a killer."

"Oh, I don't know." Orion shrugged good-naturedly. "He seems to be doing a very thorough job. Actually this is the first contract he has failed to complete."

"Contract?" Cybele inquired, speaking up for the first time. "What contract?"

"Oh, didn't you guess?" Orion asked, genuinely surprised. "We have a little deal with Ryker. He kills the people we ask him to kill and we let him go back to the forest, no strings attached."

"Which is going to be much harder to do now that you told them where I will be going." Ryker reminded him quietly. He sighed and hitched his bow over his shoulder. He turned to Artemis and called, "Fine. I'll hear what you have to say."

"Be careful." Orion muttered in a low voice as Ryker strode over to Artemis. The Hunters at her sides stepped around Ryker until he and the goddess were surrounded. He swept his eyes around the Hunters, taking in their looks of hatred and fury with a sneer.

"Speak quickly." Ryker told Artemis, his expression carefully disdainful.

"Why?" Artemis demanded, her sudden anger nearly surprising Ryker. "Why would you betray us like this? Why would you kill those demigods? Does your forest mean that much to you? More than the lives of those who had once called you friend?"

"If they called me friend that was their mistake." Ryker told her, his tone neutral. "It made them so much easier to hunt. You asked me why I killed those demigods. Orion had it right. Their blood is on your hands just as much as mine. You brought a predator amongst them and trapped it there, did you think that my claws and fangs had grown dull because of my confinement? You forgot the first rule of hunting, Artemis. Never take your eyes off of your prey."

"So you betrayed us?" Thalia demanded, her voice nearly a shriek. "You killed Jude, killed Grover, and killed how many others just so that you could be left alone?"

"Well, asking nicely did not seem to be getting the message across." Ryker told her, smiling slightly. It was a dead expression though, his eyes cold and distant. "Evidently corpses are the best way to get your attention."

"You…" Thalia could not seem to find the words horrible enough to describe just how much she loathed Ryker. "You are no hunter."

Ryker's eyes tightened as his face shifted from smirk to scowl. "I am a hunter. I am the best hunter. If you were even half as good as you think you are, catching and killing me would have been simple."

"I can see that you are resolved to follow this path through to the end." Artemis said heavily. "I had hoped to possibly sway you from your course, but I can see that was a hopeless endeavor. Goodbye, Ryker. I fear that the next time we meet it will be under even darker circumstances."

"Probably." Ryker turned around and walked away, the Hunters parting before him rather grudgingly. The ring of fire had disappeared and Orion was waiting for him rather impatiently. Ryker didn't spare Camp Half-Blood another glance as he and the Giant disappeared into the woods, leaving the gods and demigods far behind.

Ryker had no idea how far they would be running, though he had honestly thought it would be much farther when Orion ground to a sudden stop. The hunter skidded to a stop a few paces behind him and reached questioningly for an arrow. When Orion whirled around and aimed a red and black arrow at Ryker the hunter returned the threat and the two stood there with bows drawn, glaring at one another. "I would say that I didn't expect betrayal, but I would be lying." Ryker sneered.

"You and I need to have a little chat." Orion said, ignoring Ryker's statement. "And we need to have it quickly, before they appear."

"They?" Ryker repeated curiously. "To which 'they' are you referring? The demigods? The Hunters?"

"Worse." Orion said, slowly lowering his bow. "Atlas and his cronies."

"What does Atlas have to do with this?" Ryker asked, not following. "My deal was with-."

"Your deal was with me and me alone." Orion finished the thought. "For what it's worth I had not been privy to their actual intentions. I had truly thought that they were going to let you leave after fulfilling your end of the bargain. Thought I would have more time to swing you to my side, but I guess that is out the window now."

"So Atlas is coming to kill me." Ryker lowered his bow as well, though he kept the arrow drawn. "Fine. Why warn me? You two are on the same side."

"We are on the same side out of fear, not out of loyalty or mutual goal." Orion explained. "The one we are working for, Tartarus, he holds the ability to truly kill any and all monsters that comes before him. Since monsters regenerate in his realm, it makes things a bit dicey. That's how he has unified every single monster, Giant, and Titan. Through threat of death, though that is only a stopgap. Once he kills every one of the gods and demigods he will turn his attention on the mortals. Tartarus wants all life on the planet to be killed so that he can start anew."

"Why tell me?" Ryker asked coldly, slowly releasing the tension in his bow. "Wouldn't it have been more prudent to tell this to the gods rather than further alienate ourselves from them?"

"Not quite." Orion took a deep breath and began reciting,

"When the gate swings open,

A son of the Earth will arise,

And fix what has been broken.

He will build the new ties.

Foes once friend shall join again.

From under the earth shall the army campaign,

They will answer the desperate call,

And so shall mountain or end fall."

Orion finished reciting the prophecy and looked expectantly at Ryker. "How did you know that?" Ryker asked slowly. "Not even the Oracle did."

"Probably because this prophecy is really old." Orion laughed. "Centuries at least, millennia at most. That's why she wouldn't have known it. It predates even the Sibylline Books. At least, that's what we were told. Whether that's true or not, your guess is as good as mine."

"So what does it have to do with me?" Ryker demanded, growing more impatient and annoyed by the second. "You think the prophecy has to do with me?"

"Evidently quite a few immortals think so." Orion said noncommittally. "But it doesn't really bother me. What matter to me is making sure that everything on the planet doesn't get wiped out."

"Which brings back the question, why would you not simply tell the gods who they are facing?" Ryker asked again.

"Because I doubt they would have believed me, even if they didn't kill me on sight." Orion smiled mockingly. "I don't know if you know this, but we don't exactly have the best relationship. That's why I needed you. They trusted you, perhaps some even still do."

"They probably don't anymore, now that they know I'm the one who killed all of their friends." Ryker pointed out angrily. "I'm not going back to my forest any time soon, am I?"

"If you don't help us kill Tartarus, you won't have a forest to return to." Orion pointed out. "But, hey, I'm a fair guy. Like I said, if you want to go back and live out the remainder of your days in the forest I won't stop you. But that won't give you much time left, especially now that Tartarus has all the demigods he needs."

"What's he doing with them anyways?" Ryker asked. "The thing I took down wasn't Gina."

"Your right, she wasn't." Orion nodded. "I'm not sure what he does, but that definitely was not your friend. Your friend is still somewhere in Tartarus, chained up. Just like the others."

Ryker blew out a frustrated sigh and eyed Orion angrily. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

"Sure was." Orion nodded. "Well, sort of. I was planning on slowly swinging you over to my side rather than just laying all of this on you at once. But beggars can't be choosers. You need to make a decision, now. Are you going back to your forest or are you going to fight alongside us?"

"Us?" Ryker repeated. "Who else is in on your little scheme to fight Tartarus alongside the gods?"

"Oh, a few." Orion smiled again. "But it is the few that we need. They are taking care of something rather important even as we speak."

"Fine, I'll fight with you." Ryker gave him his most malevolent glare. "But after this I am done. I will help you kill Tartarus, but after that I am leaving for good."

"Deal." Orion extended his hand and Ryker hesitantly shook it. "Now that we are working together there is something that I need you to do. Two things actually."

"Which are?" Ryker asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I need you to kill someone whom you think would be able to sway people to our side." Orion said quickly. He paused and then added. "And I need you to die."

Alright my readers, I would like to apologize for my temporary absence. I have been quite busy of late, and for that I apologize.

-Hallowed