-Shattered-

Hey guys! Sorry for the absolutely behemoth of a delay but what can I say, writer's block can do that to ya.

In fact, half of this chapter is written by VCR, but I was the one who ended it, so you can account the last two and a half thousand or so words to me.

Yep you heard that right, multiple thousand words baby! If you want to figure out what was written by whom, just look for the point where fluff becomes less fluffy xD... Dunno what that says about me though lol. Pretty sure VCR let y'all know when he dropped the reigns.

Another divergence from the usual is that this chapter will be told from multiple points of view, as opposed to my choice of focusing on a single point.

(ALL THE POVZZZ!)

Also, seeing as this is the chapter that was going to break the hundred thousand words mark it felt fitting to go all out, and once VCR sent the chapter back, I was like re-inspired so I decided to make this one a behemoth of a chapter after the behemoth of a hiatus.

"Behemoth?" you might ask, all in doubt and all, not truly realizing how absolutely massive this chapter is for me, and I will reply with, "NAY LADDIE! THIS BE 4800 WORDS LONG!

I could have split this up into three chapters and wracked in the reviews, but oh well. I sure you guys will make it upto me, right?

RIGHT?!

(Pliz review...)

Moving on, the next chapters aren't going to be nearly as long as this one. This is a ONE time thing,so you better go all out on the reviews!

BAI!


"You all are crazy!" Bianca exclaimed, as she stubbornly pushed herself against the bark of a tree. "There is absolutely no way I am going to do this."

Rachel Berry sighed at the daughter of Hades' tenacity. Bianca really did not want to go swim. "Come on, you'll be fine. We're just going for a swim."

"Across Lake Ontario?!" Bianca moaned, as she stared out onto the chilling expanse of navy blue water. Waves walloped and swooshed onto the sands of Mississauga Beach. Despite the clear blue skies and the unusually high sun, the beach was vacant.

Bianca suspected that her lady Artemis had something to do with it.

The air was also notingly frigid. Winds howled across the water like a legion of incoming ghosts. On the horizon, Bianca could barely make out wisps of the Toronto skyline on the horizon.

"Yes, Lake Ontario," Rachel answered, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, we do it every year. At least, that's what the other hunters told me, it's gonna be my first time too."

Artemis' powers gave the hunters enhanced physical abilities, but it was important to stay in tip-top shape. Apparently every year, the Hunters would take part in the Lake Ontario challenge. Swim the 52 km length between Niagara-on-the-Lake all the way to Toronto. To add to the challenge, Artemis instructed the hunters to do it during early Spring, when the water was still near freezing.

Rachel pulled at the daughter of Hades to get up, but Bianca stood her ground.

"I am not going to swim out on the lake! It's like the middle of winter!" Bianca said, shivering in her swimsuit. "It's… Cold!"

"First of all, it's early spring. Second of all, didn't you live in Maine?" Rachel raised an eyebrow in question. "Shouldn't you be used to the cold?"

"I was only there for a semester," Bianca protested, pulling her knees into her chest. "And I never had to swim outside! Much less 52 kilometers into Canada!"

Rachel laughed. "We're already in Canada. Don't worry about it, the swim is easier than it sounds."

"How would you know?" Bianca mumbled, shaking her head.

"Trust me."

Rachel leaned in. She proceeded to point down along the beach towards where the rest of the hunters were preparing to swim. In the midst of them, a certain daughter of Zeus was, with difficulty, trying to wiggle on her swim cap. "Come on… Thalia's going too and she looks awfully cute in that electric blue swimsuit of hers..."

Rachel winked not-so-subtly.

Bianca unwillingly perked at the thought of seeing the said daughter of Zeus in her swim wear, and Rachel smirked.

"Gotcha?" Rachel laughed. Bianca's face reddened in embarrassment at the prospect of anyone else figuring out her crush.

"Who else knows?" Bianca asked.

Rachel smirked. "Just me… for now."

Bianca gulped.

"How about we make a deal," Rachel smiled mischievously, "If you at least try swimming the length with us…"

Bianca gaped, interrupting the shorter brunette, "You wouldn't!"

Rachel only shrugged. "Your fate rests upon your choice."

Bianca's shoulders slumped at the words, in defeat.

"Oh don't be like that. It's actually easier than it sounds," Rachel promised. "Come on, the others are waiting, and Thalia looks absolutely smokin'!"

Bianca's expression reddened even more, before glaring at Rachel. Rachel winked mockingly back.

As they made their way to where the rest of the hunters were at, Percy greeted them with a melancholic smile.

"You two ready?" Percy smiled. "Zoe sent me to see what was taking so long."

"Yeah, we're fine," Rachel answered for them. Rachel gave Bianca a slight wink. "I was just feeling queasy."

"You sure you good?" Percy asked, concerned. "It's a long swim."

Rachel batted her eyes at the son of Poseidon. "I'm fine, this ain't my first rodeo Perce. You don't need to save me."

Percy smile quivered. He looked back to the rest of the hunters. "I doubt any of you need me on lifeguard duty. Yet, here I am."

"The swim would be no challenge for you, Percy," Rachel pointed out. "There'd be no point for you to take the swim."

Percy pouted.

"Come on," Zoe Nightshade yelled at them, "We're about to go."

The three made their way to the rest of the hunters where they assimilated into the crowd. Bianca tried to stay on the fringes of the group, but that only attracted the attention of the one person she had been avoiding: Thalia Grace.

"Di-Angelo," Thalia called out to Bianca, running over across the sand, clad with tight swimwear which nicely complimented her curves. "Want to be swimming buddies?"

Bianca paled and a large set of scenarios played through her head. Most included her absolutely embarrassing and possibly wetting herself in front of Thalia on the beach. She was about to flee, when Thalia caught her by the arm, knocking her out of her reverie.

"Bianca, you with me?" Thalia asked.

"Uh.. sure," Bianca answered, stammering. She was sweating a storm. It had been freezing a few moments ago, why was it suddenly so hot?

Thalia grinned at her answer, punching her playfully on the shoulder. "Great!"

What had she just agreed to?

"Um, what are swimming buddies for again?" Bianca whispered.

"We swim together, keep an eye on each other and help if the other is drowning and whatnot," Thalia frowned, before noticing how anxious Bianca was. Her lightning blue eyes rolled over her. "Hey, you alright? You look a bit feverish."

"I… uh… fine," Bianca stammered. When did it become so hard to talk to her?

Thalia looked concerned, but decided not to comment. "So you missed the meeting and stuff. Nothing much, just some tips on how not to die from Hypothermia or exhaustion. Let's see… keep pace! It's a long ass swim. 32 miles or something, and while that's an easy jog, swimming it I'm told is harder, especially with the wind fighting against us. I volunteered to slow down the winds, but apparently everyone's excited for an extra challenge."

Bianca internally groaned.

"We also have to make sure to always stay moving. If we stop, we'll freeze to death. That's why they're doing swimming buddies. Someone's there to warm up against you if you need it."

Bianca almost fainted. From excitement or embarrassment of the idea of being swimming buddies with Thalia and snuggling up against her during their swim…

"Oh, look, everyone's already gone," Thalia pointed out, as Zoe and Phoebe were the last duo the jump in. Bianca paled, realizing it was too late to back out now.

The daughter of Zeus pulled her along, and they jumped into the water, and the cold consumed them.


Confession time: Thalia did not know how to swim.

Of course, she had been determined not to reveal the fact, but in hindsight, it would've probably been a better to get a quick lesson from Bianca before they jumped in. She hoped it she could go by with just copying Bianca's strokes or this swim was going to be a very short one.

The water was absolutely cold. Bubbles swirled around her, and she surfaced gasping. Bianca followed suit moments later, before turning towards the opposite direction from the shore and started her strokes. Thalia gazed at the daughter of Hades' flowing movements, and she wondered if Bianca swam professionally in her spare time. Realizing she was being left behind, she pushed herself to swim. And swim… Well, she tried her best.

She struggled to keep pace with Bianca, barely keeping her swimming partner within sight. It was almost like Bianca was trying to run away from her.

Thalia pushed forward, her arms clumsily swinging around. She thanked the extra endurance and strength, or else she would've probably sunken by now.

It wasn't for a while until she caught up to Bianca who was waiting for her, swimming in place. She was absolutely red, but Thalia wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from embarrassment of her leaving Thalia behind.

"So-Sorry," Bianca stammered, her teeth shivering as the two floated. "I wasn't paying attention."

Thalia laughed. "No problem. Sorry about being slow. I haven't swam in so long. Probably a bit rusty."

"It's fine. I'm a little rusty as well."

"Rusty? I'd like to see you swim when you're at top performance!"

Bianca grimaced at the praise. "I'm not that good."

Thalia bit her lip. "Do you… you think you could give me lessons? After this, of course."

For a moment, Thalia thought she saw a horrified expression on Bianca's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Uh… yeah. I uh, mean sure." Bianca stumbled.


Did Percy appreciate the fact that the hunters had pretty much sidelined him?

No, he didn't. Not really.

It had been a request from Artemis. The swim was meant to be a challenge to the hunters - to make sure their skills and bodies were honed. But for Percy, the swim would be anything but a challenge. If anything, he'd probably feel more energized AFTER the swim. Artemis had pointed that out, and then told him she'd rather have him watch over the hunters. To keep an eye on them.

Percy sighed. He found his job rather meaningless. The hunters have done this challenge as a routine thing for many years already, and they'd never had the need for a lifeguard before, why now?

He also suspected if any of the hunters did need help, they'd rather drown than have Percy rescue them. Either way, he had to at least pretend he wanted to do his job.

Something cool about being a son of Poseidon: With little practice, you can walk on water. He skipped along the surface of the water, letting the water below him almost carry the weight of his feet forward with each stride. He was running along the swim route, half his attention placed at the pairs of hunters he danced past. The other half, was of course, focused on Horus which continued to squawk in his ear with persistence.

SQUAWK! Horus squawked, pecking at Percy's shoulder.

"I know you're hungry Horus. I am too, but I gotta pay attention to the hunters," Percy told.

SQUAWK!

"I know you don't like them, but you don't have to be so mean about it," Percy laughed.

SQUAWK!

"Horus…"

SQUAWK!

"Dude, don't bring my love life into this. Zoe and I-"

SQUAWK!

"It's not like that! I'm not choosing her over you! There's nothing even there!"

SQUAWK SQUAWK!

"No!"

SQUAWK SQUAWK!

"I'll get you a nice juicy rat once we get back…" Percy tried. "With soy sauce, just how you like it."

SQUAWK!

"No, I am not!

SQUAWK SQUAWK!

"Fine," Percy mumbled. "TWO rats! You happy?"

Horus fluttered his feathers, in obvious contentment.

"Great," Percy sighed, "Now you're going to get spoiled."

Horus shrugged his wings.

"Dude, I-" Percy started before he sensed something. He stopped in his tracks, and did a 180. "Zoe! She's in trouble!"


Swimming was one of Zoe Nightshade's most favorite past times. She rarely had the chance to do it often. The hunters were always on the move, busy hunting and wandering.

As her arms swung in continuing cycles, her feet behind her paddling, she couldn't help feeling high from the adrenaline that pulsed through her. Her lungs gasping for air each time her mouth resurfaced; her heart beating with quickened pace. She absolutely adored the water, a fact that may or may not be attributed to her mother being the water nymph, Pleione.

The chilling, yet comforting waves of Lake Ontario relieved her if her troubles and she felt herself get lost in the cool and comforting embrace of the soft waves.

About three-fourths of the way, she estimated. She and Phoebe were three-fourths of the way…

She stopped immediately when she realized Phoebe was not at her side. Her head resurfaced and she swung her head around looking for her friend.

No one.

They'd must've separated while she was lost in thought. It was not the first time that a pair got separated from each other, but for the over sixty years that they'd been doing the annual event, no one has died. Passed out due to cold or lack of oxygen, sure. But never died.

Zoe frowned. She could already feel her legs begin to tingle - her blood slowing in circulation. She'd have to keep moving…

That's when a dark shadow crossed the periphery of her vision. She immediately turned towards it, and her eyes widened.

Her slow mind was able to come up with three words before everything happened at once.

Big monster, with teeth.

Okay, that was four words, but that shows how paralyzed her mind was.

The lake monster, a fifty foot long serpent-like creature with five eyes and a mouth with dozens rows of teeth loomed above her, casting a shadow. It then surged forward at her, and she immediately regretted not having her weapons with her. (Her swim wear had no pockets.)

She dodged, pushing herself to the side just in time to see the monster crash into the water. It roared in anger.

"Shit," she said. She did not like her chances without being armed, and she doubted she would outswim the thing.

The monster had the same idea, knowing Zoe was vulnerable and swung back around at her, snapping its wide jaws at her.

(*hands over the reins to Josh*)

The hunter was paralyzed with fear. Was this how she was going to end up dying? By some random sea monster in the middle of a lake which wasn't supposed to have a monster in it?

No.

This couldn't be the end. She wasn't one to give up so easy.

She thrust herself forward, swing her arms and kicking her legs wildly in a blind panic to get away from the beast.

"Hey! Bait breath!"

Zoe paused. She knew that voice (and sarcastic undertone).

With a loud squawk, Horus swooped low, pecking and clawing at the monster with his beak and talons.

While the monster was distracted, Percy charged at it, Anaklusmos uncapped.

The sea monster cowered at the sight of the son of the sea god. Percy leapt onto the beast, stabbing at it with his mystical bronze sword.

Zoe could only watch in mute amazement as the son of Poseidon made short work of the beast.

The beast dissolved into a shower of golden dust, but instead of dispersing into the winds, the dust simply vanished.

Percy flipped his moderately long raven black hair, "Pfft. Serves you right for picking on Zoe."

The hunter rolled her eyes at the boy's antics.

Percy approached Zoe, extending an arm for her to take.

"Come on, let's get you outta here."

Zoe smiled up at the boy. Perhaps it was symbolic of something, but Zoe got a certain sense of familiarity when she felt her palm gently enclosed within the larger hands of the son of Poseidon.

"You're safe now." Zoe felt herself get lost within the green orbs of the demigod before her. The moment was rudely interrupted by a loud squawk as Horus was hit out of the sky, landing roughly into the pale waters below.

"HORUS!"

Percy let go of Zoe, rushing towards his fallen falcon.

Picking the bird off the water's surface, the boy checked for any signs of life. He sighed in relief when he felt the faint heartbeat of the bird.

A deep growl made Percy freeze in his tracks.

From the waters below him, a monster, ten times the size of the one before spring out of the water surface, swallowing the boy whole.

Zoe's eyes widened. "Percy!"

The waves around her began to get rougher, lashing out in all directions.

Zoe felt a lurch in her gut, and swiftly overcame her trance-like state. Her body walked forward, her feet still supported by the water despite Percy being eaten. Her body felt like it was a puppet, being controlled by something greater than herself. But that wasn't true, this was all her. It was what she had to do in order to save the one she loved.

She had to do something to save the boy. Her mind was on autopilot, her vision tunneled, the only thing she could observe was the monster that ate her Percy.

Everything after that became fuzzy, she could barely remember what had happened before she blacked out into darkness. What she did remember however, was a scream of pure rage and two hands made of water rising out of the lake, gripping the two sides of the monster, and ripping it in half.


Artemis was nervous, she hadn't expected the events that had transpired to transpire. Her initial plan was to give her lieutenant a little scare so that Percy could come to her rescue. The plan she had set up with Phoebe was perfect, the daughter of Ares would separate from the daughter of Atlas and Artemis would conjure up a little illusion for the two of them.

What the goddess did not expect, was the real thing, which was supposed to be in hibernation, to jump out of the lake and swallowed Percy whole.

What was even more surprising was that Zoe somehow managed to manipulate to water around her to tear the monster in two. Artemis immediately teleported over to her unconscious form and picked her up. Percy swam up to the surface, covered in monster slime and stomach fluids. Horus fluttered away from him, fortunately, having regained consciousness.

"Ugh. What happened?" he moaned, clutching his head. His vision seemed to clear. "Zoe!"

He ran up to the goddess, a worried expression plaguing his features, "Is she okay? What happened?"

Artemis reassured him, "She'll be fine. When you were swallowed, Zoe somehow managed to control the water around her and..." The goddess gestured around her.

Percy swiveled his head around, grimacing at the monster guys that surrounded them, slowly sinking below the surface.

"I didn't know she had hydrokinesis too."

Artemis sighed, "Neither did I, and I think that she didn't know either."

Artemis paused before continuing, "Get cleaned up, let's get back to the rest of the hunters."

Percy nodded, submerging himself into the lake to get the slobber off himself. "Let's go."

Artemis teleported themselves away from the lake, and towards where the rest of the hunters were waiting.


Phoebe was beginning to get worried, Artemis, Percy and Zoe hadn't made it back yet. She had expected them back exactly forty three minutes ago, and she could feel the other hunters grow restless. She could only hope that her little prank with Artemis hadn't gone too far.

Just then, Artemis flashed in, holding an unconscious Zoe and a worried looking Percy. Not to forget, Horus, who perched on the son of Poseidon's shoulder, looking shook but otherwise alright.

"What happened?!"

Phoebe rushed towards them as fast as she could. She couldn't help but feel responsible for the condition of her sister in all but blood.

"I'll explain later. Hunters, set up the infirmary. Pacifica, diagnosis."

Artemis' worried eyes betrayed her calm demeanor, Phoebe knew that the goddess was immensely worried for her surrogate daughter and best friend.

Pacifica placed her palm on Zoe's forehead. The appendage began to glow with a pale, golden light.

"Exhaustion," Pacifica sighed, "She should be up in a couple of hours. The glowing continued, "A slight case of hypothermia, she needs to be kept warm. Any volunteers?"

Percy immediately perked up, "I'll do it."

The hunters stirred at the thought, but before they could comment, Artemis cut them off, "Alright, that's the plan. Hunters, get a move on!"

It took the hunters exactly seventeen minutes and twenty three seconds to set up camp. Horus circled around the girls, squawking at them so that they would hurry up. The infirmary, of course, was first to go up, Percy and the unconscious Zoe were placed in, and the hunters then proceeded to set up the remaining tents. Horus flew into the forest, probably to quench his thirst for juicy rats.

Phoebe approached Artemis' tent after the setup, the Athena quarter of her was dying to know what had happened to Zoe.

"Come in Phoebe." The daughter of Ares was not surprised that Artemis knew she was approaching, the moon goddess seemed to know the sounds of each of her Hunter's footsteps by heart.

"I know why you're here, " she gestured to close the tent, which Phoebe complied with.

"Milady, what happened-"

Artemis cut her off with a motion for her to stop talking. "The plan went fine, Percy defeated the illusion, but then the real thing came up and swallowed Percy whole."

Phoebe gasped.

"Zoe seemed to black out, her eyes had gone white and a pale blue aura began to surround her. She yelled with rage and two fists made of water arise from the lake." Phoebe listened on, too intrigued to interrupt the goddess. "The hands grabbed the two sides of the monster and ripped it in half. Exerting that kind of power for the first time must have drained Zoe completely."

Phoebe's jaw dropped, "But how?"

Artemis shrugged, a look of growing concern growing on her face. "Perhaps it was her mother, who was a water nymph, or perhaps it was Lord Poseidon looking out for his son. Perhaps both…"

Phoebe let the idea sink in.


Rachel was worried for Zoe, after she had completed her swim with Arya as her partner, Zoe was the only one of the hunters that hadn't made it back yet.

Once Artemis had arrived with an unconscious Zoe, Rachel was curious, more than worried as to what had happened to her lieutenant.

Don't get her wrong, she was worried for the well-being of the daughter of Atlas, but her sheer curiosity overcame her sense of empathy.

Initially she had wanted to try and listen in on the conversation between Artemis and Phoebe, but she decided against it. She wasn't one to betray the privacy of her lady.

She, instead went to the infirmary to check up on Percy and Zoe.

The pushed the flap away and stepped into the large tent. Only one bed was set up, with an unconscious Zoe placed in it. Beside her, was Percy, who had her locked in a firm embrace. He was asleep, but a worried expression plagued his sleeping visage.

Horus perched himself on the table beside the two, acting as a makeshift guard for the two.

The falcon, of course was the first to notice Rachel, seeing as the other two occupants of the tent were either knocked out or asleep.

He turned towards her and tilted his head to the left, seemingly trying to analyze her. He clearly recognized her as not being a threat, but didn't seem to be entirely sure.

Rachel did the same, mimicking his moves.

The bird had pointed wings and a long tail, he had a rather distinct look with a blue-gray hood above with barred underparts and a dark head with thick sideburns. His chest was unmarked. His left leg was wrapped up with a bandage, but it didn't seem to impede his movement too much. Rachel could only assume that Percy had been the one to tie the bandage, seeing as the bird wouldn't really let anyone else near by.

Finally deciding that Rachel wasn't a threat, Horus relaxed. The girl approached the bird with tentative steps. The dark eyes of the falcon stared back of her with intensity.

"H-hey."

Horus' eyes narrowed, but kept his gaze affixed on her.

"Is it alright if I sit here with you?"

The falcon nodded.

Rachel sat on the chair, "Do you know what happened to her?"

Horus shrugged, pretending to fall over.

"You were unconscious?"

The bird nodded.

"Oh..."

It was truly bizarre, yet comforting to be talking to a bird who could understand her speech.

"So... You tried to eat Bianca?"

Horus nodded, but mirth was in his eyes.

"But don't peregrines usually eat smaller birds, not squirrels?"

Horus shrugged his wings, the mirthful glint still not leaving his eyes.

The bird suddenly perked up, taking flight, he looked back, asking Rachel to follow him.

The girl did so, following Horus into the woods that surrounded them.

The falcon slowed down so the girl could keep Pace with him.

Horus led her to a a cliff edge, overlooking lake Ontario.

"You aren't going to push me off the cliff right? That would be very unwise because I'm Percy's friend.

The bird gave her a dead-pan expression.

"Nevermind."

The falcon landed near the edge, hopping over to a shallow depression withing the vegetation. Inside the scrape were 4 creamy to brownish eggs dotted with red and brown spots.

The rim around the scrape prevented the eggs from rolling out, also providing insulation and camouflage for the eggs.

Rachel gasped.

"Are they yours?"

Horus nodded, backing into the nest and settling down to incubate the eggs. Rachel assumed that his mate had probably gone hunting, and he had the responsibility of incubating the eggs.

Just then, a bird landed beside Rachel, scaring the crap out of her. The bird was a peregrine falcon too, but larger than Horus. Must have been the mate. She held the corpse if a dead pigeon within her large beak.

The falcon squawked at her threateningly, but did not approach her. Horus squawked in response, making the larger bird stand down.

"Your mate?"

Horus nodded.

"Damn."


A/N: Actual chapter ends here. Just wasn't to add a few omakes here... Totally not to pad out the chapter and increase the word count or anything... Just to showcase a few stupid ideas I got which won't fit into the storyline... Yeah... That's the reason... Whoever gets the reference (all of you) will get a virtual cookie (::)


An adult Zoe cradled a small blue bundle in her arms. Cute gurgles erupted from the babe in her arms.

Zoe cooed down at her daughter, her volcanic eyes staring into the sea green orbs that looked so much like the baby's father.

An equally old Percy snuck up behind Zoe and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hey there Zoe, how's the baby?"

The daughter of Atlas rolled her eyes at her husband.

"She has a name, you know?"

Percy removed one hand from her waist and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, Beth's a real beauty."

He cooed down at his daughter.

"Da- Da"

Percy gasped, "Is she gonna say Daddy?"

"Dam snack bar."

Zoe sweat dropped and Percy burst out laughing, "I'm so proud of you."


"Hey Beth, I love you."

Percy hugged his infant daughter.

"I- lo..."

Zoe gasped, "she's trying to say I love you you!"

"Look I didn't want to be a half blood-"

Percy sweat dropped and Zoe burst out laughing.


Aphrodite: I'm cold.

Ares: Here, Have my jacket.

Hera: I'm cold.

Zeus: Well damn Hera, I don't control the weather.

Hera: 0.0

Zeus: Oh...


B/N

As per-usual, it's VCRx here at the bottom! I think you guys can tell who wrote most of the chapter, just based on how many words it had. Hope my writing style isn't too bad. ^-^

(A/N: I resent that. You wrote like three hundred words more then me... And you're asking if your writing style isn't bad? Pfft... Youse be amazang brah!)

Yay! 100,000 words, guys! In honor, we obviously made this chapter super long! You satisfied? ;)

Advertisement, since I haven't done one in a while: Shout-out to my buddy JFlashandClash! He's a great writer and I highly recommend his PJO fanfic series: 'The Traitors of Olympus.' If you got some spare time, I would appreciate it if you guys check him out! (Just don't tell him I sent you. He doesn't know I'm doing this. Shhhhh!)

Best wishes from da beta!

~VCRx