Note that I will use as many elements similar to canon as possible so that you won't have to read beyond the books much. Please don't treat this as my weakness.

3. Olympians Stink Worse Than Titans.

Chrysaor turned out to be quite a nice servant. Though, in the beginning, he grumbled and cursed and refused to comply with orders, but those came more often than not from the youngest immortal on the island: Apollo was taking more pleasure in commanding the Gold Sword than was suggested for a sane mind id est Zeus' level of pleasure in power or the level of pleasure my nieces took in destroying destinies.

Even being reprimanded by his mother and brother did not help the child, but their concern for his health did better Chrysaor's demeanor by an infinitesimal amount. Only after Perseus threatened to strip him of his Domains when he received them did Apollo allay his actions.

In the second month of the second half of the year, Leto summoned some of the free Titans to train her triplets. The first she called was her brother. She asked him to train the three in advanced survival skills: they were pretty settled here on Delos, but when they would trek to Olympus, they would need quick and efficient methods of procuring food and shelter, a task she guessed was pretty similar to his primary Domain of Hunting.

So he arrived, and so were the godlings thrown out of the so-named comfort of their house, quite literally in the case of Apollo, who absolutely refused to leave to train with his uncle, for who would protect and help (get pampered by) Leto if they all went away?

The siblings left for learning the ways of the wild.

Over a month, for the Titaness of Delos wouldn't allow them more than a month for any specialised activity, the four sprinted across the landmasses of Nilo and Zhong.

Ugh. Sorry, wrong reality... make that 'Africa and Asia.'

Yes, sprinted: Lelantos won't allow them more than a quarter day at non-dash. They had to sleep, eat and to their daily business in those six hours, or do those while running. Since the Titan wanted them graceful and swift, not bulky and ripped, his training was always the same: run the fastest you can maintain for five hours at the very least.

The goddess was the best that he could have asked for as pupil: she rushed ahead of her brothers, ever nimble and sure-footed. Apollo was the polar opposite. He could cover up in short bursts like a cheetah, but was about as graceful as a horse in its Lord's Domain, and thus, trailed far behind the others.

As Lelantos flew in his other Domain, monitoring their progress from above them, to ensure that the troupe wouldn't lose its way into a Nest or a Lair, he noticed that Perseus had taken most of the group's belongings onto his self. It made him lag behind Artemis, just within earshot, and near Apollo, who tumbled through the forests behind him within eyeshot.

It was a very effective way, Perseus' uncle realised, to build up some serious muscle while also fulfilling Leto's goal. Alternatively, it was a nice way to reduce his siblings' burden. Alternatively-alternatively, it was a way to 'cheat' the rule of the run. He had enough weight on him that his body could accept no more than a speed which placed him where he could keep an eye on both of his mother's younger children.

He arranged for their other lessons on the run itself. He sprinted with them, showing them prints of prey and predator, smells of various species, ages and conditions of animals. He taught them to shoot targets that moved at their speed, so they may appear stationary, but so the co-movement may cause a simulation of wind velocity. Next he demonstrated shooting targets that moved with respect to the shooter and indicated weaker areas in animals.

Those lessons were, by far, the toughest part of the job for the Titan of Air and Hunters' Skill. Flying and scolding and training he could handle, but teaching three younglings who could be distracted by the sight of shiny objects and non-shiny objects alike... that much level of unreleased irritation could not be good for his immortality. Therefore he released the godlings from the training halfway through it, and simply inserted the things that remained to be taught in their long term conscious memory, and the techniques and sounds and smells that were left unknown in their bodily, involuntary memory. He was a genius that way, though no one but his sister knew him enough to acknowledge that. And she did not do that, 'cause that's what sisters of awesome brothers are for.

Leto was overjoyed to see her children again: she knew they had to train, but to not live with your fairly loving children, the ones who were going to be with you a limited period, felt like whiling away time when the world was about to be destroyed, like working your ass off for wages when the planet was about to be enslaved. She almost hugged them to death, not minding the awkward Titan behind them.

When she heard his story, she wasn't as angry as Lelantos had expected. She knew about his unsuitable-for-children-to-be-near behavior, and knew that it was all he had that could be called (by a misguided brain) social skills. He knew not how to take care of, or even talk to children without offending their parents. But the redeeming part was that he realised this and therefore, never even tried to pretend to try. Leto respected him for that.

Rising from her knelt position, Leto, finally sensing his discomfort, thanked him and made her triplets follow her. The Titan of the Hunt nodded stiffly and flashed away quicker than if he had finally got to use the men's room after holding it in for over two hours.

Leading the three gods towards the Clearing, Leto proceeded to ask the three of their adventure. All she got was a "Not cool, mom." from Apollo, "For a nature related deity, he smells pretty bad, like a toxic marsh." from his sister and a 'Later.' message from Percy.

The Titaness was quite confused, but decided that it was all right, since at least she could hear a relatively realistic version of the fortnight with their uncle. Hence she walked home without any further speech, though she did think of who else to ask for help in readying them for the world.

She decided that it was time for them to receive actual combat training and not just the self defense and extremely energy-consuming techniques that she could demonstrate. She went through the list of who owed her a favor and who would be willing to do a favor for her. She decided that only three Titans passed those criteria: Iapetus, Selene and Perses.

Realising that they had reached their abode, she turned to her children and ordered them to behave themselves and while away an hour while she prepared the food. Not-quite-satisfied by their nods, she left for the kitchen and summoned a portion of the sacrifice the mortal females had made for her- the Titaness was easy to please: just a few deer or cattle per month was enough. She did not require elaborate feasts in her honor- for she did not have the heart or time to search for meat in the forests or send Perseus to do so.

She snapped her fingers and the animal- a stout goat, apparently- was prepared into fine cuts. Another snap and a fire pit blazing with fire appeared with a pot of water above it. Then she went outside to gather the fresh herbs and spices from the dryads. She could have as well summoned them or ordered the dryads to send their best ones, now that she could, due to her good health, but it was symbolic of the one of the final connections the triplets had with her as a mom beyond a Titan, and besides, it was a great way to act like her Domain. She knew she shouldn't, but Leto always felt that contributing to their lives was like attaching to them a bit of her essence, so they may remember her.

She was conscious of how pathetic her thoughts were and how depressed and that was what was frightening. It was like her subconscious had a premonition of worse times. And she knew that correct instincts were one thing Chaos gave to all.

So she feared. For her life, and for her family.

Her Domains' aura in her was going crazy each moment she was away from the three gods. She dismissed it as most probably the effect of being a first time single mother. And she was mostly right. But interlaced with those were the pangs of the pain she'd feel if they would leave her alone and out of their lives after achieving Olympus.

When she was broken out of her thoughts, it was by an irritated Chrysaor who stopped her from bumping into a tree by pulling at her elbow whilst muttering about blind Titans and a stupid oath. She noticed that and added to her itinerary to add some disgusting and irritating tasks to his list.

What?! She was accustomed to being followed without question and talked to with respect only. She was a Titan for Gaia's sake, not a monster kid.

She also realised that she had enough spices in her basket to enhance every meal they had for a week, which, mind you, was not what she had intended to do. Politely thanking the dryads for lending their herbs in such a large quantity, she went to her pot of boiling water.

Artemis left the Clearing as soon as Perseus started shouting at Apollo for not doing tasks such as sharpening his arrow points on his own, which were meant to increase his patience and endurance. Apollo had assigned Chrysaor to the task of sharpening about fifty arrow tips- fifty four, to be exact- and Perseus had heard this.

The oldest triplet had changed his Form to four years older than her brother, and yelled enough to (according to Artemis) wake up a faded immortal.

Chrysaor and mother were across the island, so she had no one to go to for either stories or entertainment. Hence she left the two boys alone and went to the jungle, intending to practice the hunting skills Lelantos had taught them.

She fared better than she thought she would. She was able to identify ten out of eleven paw prints on average, out of which, the dryads said, more than half were correct in at least species, gender and stage of life. She hadn't been half that accurate when with her tutor, who, in fact, was creeping her out with the way he looked at her.

Before she could react to the rustle of blades of grass behind her, someone had put the tip of an arrow to Artemis' throat and a strong upper limb was wrapped around her waist. Its grip loosened only for a second: to those away the knife it had found at her waist.

"Now, be a very nice girl and change your Form to about my age. We wouldn't want you to not enjoy this, would we?"

"Chr-!"

He cut across her throat. Twice. Shallow cuts, but deep enough to serve their function. She was muted to coherent speech. And in immense pain: depressurised ichor ran down her neck, wetting the front of her dress. He probably had some vile mixture on the arrow to make her immortal healing disappear.

"We also can't have you ordering me to release you, can we?" His breath was cold on her nape, "Also, don't bother with telepathy: there is enough of Hecate's containment potions around us. Also-also, the karpoi- grain and grass spirits are all bought. Now, your age."

Artemis did not know what to do. She was at his mercy, but her brother and their mother had taught her to never go down without a fight. She could have summoned her bow and quiver, but the potions around her were draining her energy. She firmly shook her head, careful not to overdo it to prevent further blood loss, as that would result in her passing out.

"Have it your way, then, goddess. I am not nearly choosy enough."

He slammed her onto the ground, the tall grass bending like vines and tying her down. With a quick slash of his arrow, Chrysaor had opened her dress and a gash on her back, furthering the pain.

There was no way she could escape: karpoi were strong in numbers, and in a third-of-the-island-wide field... She just closed her eyes and tried to rub her wound against the scaly ground, hoping to be sent to reform, or at least stay unconscious through the vile act.

It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Before the monster could do anything to her body, she was already lost to wakefulness.

Percy ran into the kitchen as soon as he heard the utensil crash to the ground. He knew his mom was in there, and from the Ocean Incident knew that that reaction meant something was wrong with one of them. And since Apollo was with him in the Clearing...

"Artemis! No!"

"Where, mother?" He panted.

"T-The grasslands... to the north..."

He didn't stay for more. A quick shout to Apollo to take care of Leto and Perseus was racing against the winds across the forest that lay between him and his sister.

He called out to his sword and it appeared in his hand. He shifted it to rest on both his hands to help with his balance and continued with losing any time in fumbling around. He was taking long strides and almost jumping across the terrain, to minimise any chances of stumbling on roots, which, in fact, the dryads had already taken care of.

As the end of the thick foliage neared him, he prepared to throw his sword ahead of himself to startle the monster into movement, and may be even kill it, for he knew his run had been nothing if not loud.

What he saw made the graceful god stumble. Chrysaor was pushing Artemis' head into his pelvis, and Artemis had been undressed and was blacked out.

His ichor was threatening to vaporise itself. However, as much as he wanted to run the ungrateful demon through with a barbed sword, Artemis' words compelled him to think otherwise.

He threw himself at the other male, lashing out at his head, turned half away from Perseus' direction, with one hand, and stab his sword through one of the beast's knees.

The effect was immediate. Karpoi flung themselves and their plants at him, managing to weigh him down on his knees.

He struggled against them for only a second before he reached out 'O Gaia, O Great Mother, I request your help. I swear on the Fates to fulfill a wish of yours not requiring something I won't regret.'

Perhaps it was the desperation in his thought, or perhaps it was just the Great Mother caring for her great granddaughter, but somehow, she heard his call, and the ground around him turned to selective quicksand: only the karpoi plants and the limp monster were affected by the Earth mother's pull.

As soon as he could, Perseus leapt to beside his sister. He slit his wrist and dripped his blood onto her wounds. They healed up pretty quick: his fresh mortal bodily fluid pushing out her deteriorated godly one. It was one of the techniques Leto had told him that Zeus had used to wound Kronos as his glass-bearer, though that was to drain him of most of his ichor, causing him to vomit out five of the Original Six.

He breathed a thanks to his great grandmother and pulled Artemis closer to himself to inspect her for any blunt force injuries and found none. He requested the dryads to get him water and used it to wash her up, to prevent the others from knowing of her injuries. He ripped her now golden-red-blue chiton apart fully while averting his eyes and asked the nymphs to make her wear a dress he teleported from her room using the last of his godly powers.

When the dryads returned him her, Artemis was awake. She walked to where he was trying to control his emotions near the still bodies of her criminals, her head hung low.

"Are you alright?" The worry in his voice couldn't be increased any further, "Mentally and physically? Or does mother need to call Mnemosyne?"

Artemis looked at him and shook her head.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Another shake.

"Why not? I swear-"

She weakly pointed to her throat.

"I healed it. What did he do?"

"Or-" was all she could say before her body began to shake like Hades. Streams of tears began down her contorted face as she tried to stop a moan of pleasure. But the vile sound did escape, and her rate of dehydration increased further and her head dropped further, if that were possible.

In a moment Percy was next to her, and he met her in a light but never-let-you-go embrace, her head in his chest. He whispered to her that it would be fine, but the larger part of his mind was devising torture methods for the monster.

'Hecate,' he spoke telepathically to the spells around him, 'I know you did this, but I also know that you're a good businesswoman. I offer you a service, one that I won't regret doing, in exchange of your blessing of Magic.'

'You use this method more than is usual for a child of Zeus,' her presence was haughty, 'But yes, for that high a reward: a favor from a future Olympian, I will bless you brother, if you swear on the Fates.'

'I do, if you follow.' The ground rumbled.

'That, I do.'

She blessed him and he quickly erased Artemis' memories and reversed the spell. After confirming that her memory was gone, that she was able to speak and that she was as comfortable as she could be in the dress, he prayed to his mother to bring Artemis home.

After Artemis left in a desperate flash of white that burned his arms and his legs where she lay across them, he stiffly rose to his feet, for he was still hurt by the force of the grain spirits jumping on him. He lumbered to Chrysaor, who had not come to yet.

Perseus felt weak... weak as a ichor-less demigod who was partially immortal: an unaging mortal. If his emotions were under control, he would have pondered upon how was he to get his immortality back. But they weren't, so he didn't.

Instead, he nudged the body of the master swordsman with his left foot. He didn't even groan. So, Percy being the cool headed person he is, stomped on the fallen man's groin.

That caused Chrysaor's breath to stop for a while before he woke up and inhaled consciously, raggedly, and tried to sit up, only to notice the booted foot over his throat, twitching to be set down, hard.

Perseus felt his powers diminish further when he inflicted the pain on the bastard, but hide it well. He'd kill this person as a complete mortal if need arise.

He stepped lightly on Chrysaor's larynx, just enough to cancel any fidgeting and struggling, and said: "Chrysaor, I command you to torture yourself in the worst ways possible. Just don't die. The entire isl-"

And a blinding glow started to envelope him, and by extension, the creature underneath, and they were flashed to Leto knows where, but not before Perseus could complete, "-and, out of our eyeshot, is fair game."

As soon as she could she him, Leto cried, "Perseus, are you okay?"

He looked around and saw that they were in his room, and Chrysaor was nowhere nearby. He relaxed every so slightly, and his rage gave way to worry again.

Apollo, who had come runing into the house at the sight of the flash, was confused, "Why won't he be? 'Twas just Arty. And whatever monster had tormented her."

Perseus' voice was heavy with emotions pent-up, "It was Artemis and Chrysaor."

"That's it," Apollo made to leave to get his weapons, "I am going to flay him."

"NO!" Percy's grip on his brother's arm was painfully tight, as if he were practising chocking someone, "HE IS MINE!" He screamed to Apollo, "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!"

"Perseus," the now mortal turned to his mother, "later." She said firmly.

He complied, not out of decrease of his rage, but due to sensing his mother's pain in her topaz eyes.

"Apollo, I asked your brother if he is all right because he is now a mortal." She looked at the elder questioningly.

"I am not injured. I did not deal with Chrysaor any more than I had to." He said, "How is she?"

"Blacked out. I wish to speak to her alone when she wakes up. Get yourselves busy with chores."

Perseus was hurt by the fact that his mother would consider him an inappropriate audience, but he placed a firm hand on his sibling's right shoulder: "Come on. We are not required here." And walked out.

"But it's not my turn!"

"Then it is mine. Would you bring the laundry from mom to the river bank while I gather branches for the fire? And go teach yourself to sharpen arrows."

Leto had sensed the betrayal evident in her son's tone, but did not speak to clear the misunderstanding. 'It's for her, Percy: she won't want to appear weak in front of you.'

She gave Apollo the clothes he asked for and went inside, where Artemis lay, fully awake and surrounded by a silencing spell, from which Leto now released her.

"How are you feeling, Artemis?" She liked to be addressed as an equal, so Leto didn't let motherly worry seep into her voice, though it was hard.

"Fine... I don't remember... Percy probably made me forget... I don't remember him having that power."

"You should know by now how resourceful your brother is. Too humble for an immortal."

"Yeah. He has had more favors to provide than all gods combined."

"So, do you want any food or drink or your favorite cushion?"

"Just some nectar. Horrible taste: do you know what happened with me?"

"I won't deny that I have conjectures of my own, but don't you think your brother would've had a good reason to steal your recollection?" She paused, "For now, just rest. Then join your brothers in chores. There you can ask him about his new power."

Leto was right, Artemis did need rest. She slept and overslept, and almost overoverslept, but Leto woke her up.

Artemis quickly ran to her brothers' location that Leto fed her and found Percy toiling away under a section of an oak trunk which he was using for overhead presses, while Apollo, leaning against the trunk of an enormous cedar, tormented him with his musings of how language can be 'improved'.

"-like that." The godling was saying, "You see, there is not much need of prepositions after all. Modifiers and abstract nouns are the key to brevity. Punctuations too are simply-"

"Apollo! Don't you have something to actually do? The three of us agreed that you'll not bore us to the Pit."

He grinned a stupid grin that often made his sister beg Leto for one chance at beating him black and blue, "He isn't bored at all, Arty," his expression fell, "He isn't listening at all, like you, and even mom sometimes. I don't think that qualifies as a conversation even."

"I am listening... I simply struggle to hold a conversation with a seemingly previously speech deprived person who allows no comments." Perseus let go of the barbell, and it fell to the ground, "Are you here with any non-casual messages, Artemis?"

"Yes, mother has contacted our grandmother. She is here to give you Othrys' blessing of immortality. She also tried to get Iapetus to train us, but he said we require weapons first. So we are to visit the forge god Hephaestus."

"When do we leave?" Apollo inquired.

"Now, actually." Artemis replied, and then yelled to the skies, "Mom!"

And they were flashed to Leto and Rhea. The latter asked Perseus if he was ready and, on his affirmative, blessed him with immortality by the powers vested in her as Othrys' queen.

Perseus fell to his knees as the blood in his body was replaced by the hotter ichor. It felt like being boiled from the inside. Extremely painful, but he knew he could endure it.

After a full minute of heavy breathing, sweating more than if he was in the Phlegethon, grimacing till his face pained and cursing under his breath, Perseus was able to stand up and say, "I'm ready. Let's go."

"Are you sure?" Rhea asked, "It should be a few hours before the immortality sets in completely."

"No. I'm fine."

Rhea nodded and left after bidding them farewell. Leto began the spell to transport them to the nearest Forge in the Sea of Monsters, and the children began to glow, but just before she could complete it, Apollo, apparently unhappy with his outfit, step inside to change.

And the flash occurred.

They were teleported to a dimly lit cavern with Greek fire glowing in furnaces all around. Artemis and Perseus fell infront of one, while Apollo was flashed on top of the god himself, who flung the godling off himself and straight into the waiting arms of his brother.

Once the three were standing on their feet, each inhaled deeply, satisfied that they hadn't spawned any guard automaton on the way.

The breath they regretted immediately. The air was heavy with humidity and stale and moldy, as if all the bacteria from each monster had made its way to the Forge. Apollo promptly discarded his lunch onto one of the statues nearby, which then turned to him and vomited back on him. Artemis' hands went to her mouth to guard her food, while Perseus waved his hand in Apollo's direction to clean him up. Another gesture that looked like he was signing on the far wall, and the room sported a forest-y smell.

That didn't change the fact that the main source of the smell was now standing right in front of them, though. Hephaestus was nothing if not overly large, smelly and disfigured.

He took Artemis' hand, bowed awkwardly, his left foot of metal clicking across the floor as it slid back, and tried to breathe on the back of her hand, but due to his nonexistent balance, ended up smashing his mouth onto it, and managed to wet her hand beyond the sweat that his Forge had bestowed upon the godlings.

"So..." Apollo, surprising himself, broke the ice, or metal or rock, in this case, "First question: Is Aphrodite really your wife?"

"Yes," Hephaestus rumbled.

"Not a happy marriage?"

"Yes."

"Is she fair game, then?"

Artemis shrieked, "Apollo! You're talking about adultery!"

"Yes. He is. The godly part makes it both legal and non-immoral. Besides, her Domain makes it frequent." The forge god replied, "Yes, Apollo, she is fair game. If you overcome Ares, that is."

"The War dude?"

"The War dude."

"Cool. Now, brother, let me introduce you to the business people. Artemis and Perseus, say hi. Hephaestus, these are the ones that'll state our reason of arrival, while I just hang out in your Forge." He turned, but completed the turn and faced the god again, "Have you got any automatons that'll help my skills?"

"Third table in the room labeled forty and two, straight ahead."

Perseus, who had finally finished sizing the god up and recovering from the drain the magic had on him, said, "I trust our grandaunt informed you already."

"Yes, follow me to your weapons." He whirled to a corridor a quarter turn away from Apollo's direction and started marching, or limping, "But, be warned, these are mere placeholders for your actual godly Weapons, which you will either create yourselves or discover in your immortal lives."

Perseus sighed, "As Apollo would say, 'Why can't things be simple for once?!'"

The burly god grunted, "When you have got great healing and all of eternity to pass, things done the easy way seem a little too boring. So we create complex procedures and rules and games even. We endanger our children and mortals and in general, all fickle things to have a good laugh."

"Let's," Artemis spoke up, "just hope we don't fall to that for entertainment."

And Perseus said, "May it be done."