Once again, Percy was saved by someone tackling him. This time, it was Thalia, who had used her staff to slam him, Annabeth, and the Di Angelo siblings to the ground, as Gohan's blast flew over their heads. A second later, they were nearly deafened by the explosion, sending a typhoon of wind over their heads. Percy looked behind him… and the spike of fear dug even deeper. A long stretch of the forest behind them was completely gone, blasted away, leaving a smoking crater.

"Oh god!" Bianca whimpered. Percy agreed with her, though for different reasons. He had seen exactly what Gohan was capable against his enemies. And, now that pure, raw power… was focused right at him. Horrorstruck, he looked back into the eyes of one his best friends. All of the warmth, humor, and innocence was gone. Now all blotted out by the bright pink glow. Those same eyes narrowed into slits as Gohan raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. A second later, a bright blue glow surrounded his hand, sparking with power. He shot forward, raising his fist high.

"MOVE, YOU IDIOT!" Thalia shoved Percy aside as she raised her spear and thrust it at Gohan, grazing his face. He grunted in surprise, spiraling back out of the way. Thalia grunted as she rolled back and thrust again at Gohan, who ducked beneath her next swing.

"Oh. Perrrrrrcyyyyyy!" Percy swallowed as, suddenly, his whole world slowed. His gaze turned towards Amortentia, who smiled at him and waved. His whole body suddenly felt like lead. She was so… intoxicating.

"Ummmmm." She waved her hand in front of her face and winked.

"Can you do me a favor, Percy? One itti bitti favor? Pllllleeeassseeee? I need you to stab that Athena girl with that big sword of yours! If you do, I'll give you a kiss!" a goofy grin came across Percy's face. He raised his hands, which only now he realized were clutching Riptide.

"Really?" Then, before he could say anything else, the lower half of his body exploded in pain. The warm, fuzzy feeling completely evaporated as Percy fell to his knees, Riptide clattering to the ground next to him. Then, Annabeth appeared in his vision.

"I'm sorry, Percy! I had to! Pain is the only way to break the influence of love magic!" Percy groaned as he realized that Annabeth had kicked him in the groin.

"And… you had to kick me there?"

"Well, I needed to create lingering pain."

Meanwhile, tired of the cat and mouse game, Gohan grabbed the spear, right beneath the spearhead. Thalia smirked.

"I was hoping you'd do that." Then, a blast of lightning came down from the sky and hit her spear like a lightning rod, sending the full electrical force right into Gohan! He let out a grunt of surprise as his body seemed to shake like a massage chair. His hair even shot up in spikes. Percy was horrified. He had a feeling that Thalia was enjoying this WAY more than she should be.

"You're killing him!" Annabeth cried as a smile formed on Thalia's face.

"Oh please, he's taken worse. I'm just… putting him… down for a nap!" But, Gohan was not passing out. Rather, a look of determination came across his face as he gripped the spear… and pulled. Hard. Thalia screamed as she flew forward and right into Gohan's outstretched arm, smacking her clean in the face and knocking her onto the ground. Thalia grunted as she locked her arms in front of her face and rolled, kicking out and hitting Gohan's left knee. A pair of bright red beams shot out of his eyes, which narrowly missed Thalia's head. Gohan grunted as he thrust his fist forward at Thalia. For a brief second, nothing happened. Then, Thalia let out a cry of surprise as a large burst of wind blew her off her feet, sending her flying through the air until she crashed into a tree, slumping to the ground.

"Gohan! STOP!" Annabeth screamed, before grabbing a rock and hurling at him, hitting him in the side. He glared at her, before reaching out and grabbing a nearby tree, ripping the entire thing out of the ground.

"WHAT THE?" Bianca gaped.

"COOL!" Nico gaped with wide eyes.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow at the last second. Not a moment too soon, as the tree flew over their heads.

"You people are crazy!" Bianca grabbed Nico and took off running away from Annabeth, but stopped cold when she found herself facing the tip of a notched arrow.

"And where do you think you're going?" Abigail smiled

"NO!" Percy full on tackled Gohan, leaping onto his back and wrapping his arms around his throat, ignoring the throbbing pain in his lower regions. Not that Gohan budged even an inch.

"Come on, Gohan! Snap out of it!" Percy groaned as another wave of pain washed over him, ignoring the roaring laughter coming from their observing foes.

"You can't pay for this kind of entertainment!" Amortentia giggled. Percy gritted his teeth, ignoring both them and the rolling waves of nausea as he held onto his best friend for dear life. Gohan grunted as he reached back and grabbed Percy in the middle of his back, by the shirt. Then, he ripped Percy off his back and hurled him like a rock, flying straight towards a nearby tree.

"Percy!" Thankfully, Percy had good reflexes, and he remembered his shield. He hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Percy twisted in the air, just in time as he slammed into the tree with a massive CRACK. Thankfully, his shield had taken the brunt of the impact. Though, Percy's shield arm still radiated with pain as he fell to the ground.

"Urrgh…" Percy groaned as he pushed himself to his feet.

"LOOK OUT!" Annabeth's voice screamed. By pure instinct, Percy rolled just as Gohan's fist slammed into the ground where Percy's head had been seconds before, causing it to shake as Percy leaped to his feet and raised his shield, catching Gohan's outstretched right hook, slamming into the shield, causing a loud gong-like noise, sending Percy flying through the air, crash-landing right on the edge of the cliff. Now, his entire arm had gone numb. Percy let out a moan as he looked down at his shield. His beautiful shield, a gift from his brother, was badly damaged. The entire center was badly smashed in, as well as several cracks radiating out. There was no way it was going to survive a second attack from Gohan.

"Come on dude, you're better than this!" Percy pleaded desperately as Gohan looked over at him. Silently. He raised his hand, creating another bright yellow ball. Then, a tree branch bounced off the back of his head. It didn't harm him at all, but it was enough to distract him, making him look away from Percy

"Sorry in advance for this!

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Gohan's legs, entangling him. He let out a grunt of surprise, struggling as the weeds turned into vines.

Annabeth raced over to Thalia, pulling her to her feet.

"You okay?" Thalia nodded.

"He's tough, I'll give him that." She groaned. Annabeth pressed her lips together.

"It's not his fault! That… girl has him under some kinda spell. Love magic, if I had to guess. Maybe she's a sorceress?" Thalia snorted as she wiped her nose, smearing her dried blood across her face.

"I don't care! It's him or us, Annabeth! He's gonna kill us!"

"I know!"

"Then help me!"

"A forward assault isn't going to work! He's too powerful! He beat Ares, Thalia! ARES! We're lucky he hasn't gone super yet!" Thalia cocked her head in confusion at that.

"Okay then. I don't suppose monkey boy told you if he had a weakness, did he?" Annabeth froze, looking at Gohan.

"In fact… he did. Thalia, I have an idea. Follow my lead."

Grover was playing his heart out, making the vines move faster as they reached Gohan's shoulders. But, Gohan wasn't having it. A bright blue aura surrounded him as pebbles began to float off the ground. His eyes narrowed as he clenched his fists. Then, he let out an animalistic roar as he thrust his hands out. The air seemed to explode, briefly blinding everyone with a massive yellow flash. The vines instantly vaporized, instantly freeing Gohan.

As Percy tried to blink the lights out of his eyes, he heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to him with a thud, smoke rising off his clothes.

"Grover, you okay?" Percy groaned. He got a moan as an answer.

"Yield! You cannot win this battle!" Thorn roared from nearby.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged at Gohan, who whirled to face her as he raised his hands and for a second, Percy thought either she would run him through or he would completely vaporize her.

But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, allowing Gohan to fire a ki blast. Percy watched in horror as it exploded on her chest, sending her flying. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" Percy ran out to help her. He reached into his pocket, and sure enough, Riptide was back. He pulled it out and uncapped it.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is, Perseus Jackson? Either you slaughter your best friend or allow him to destroy you! Yield, little heroes." They were trapped between their possessed best friend and a fully armed helicopter.

They had no chance. Then he heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past Percy like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. A second one was snatched out of the air., the tip pointing less than an inch from his face.

Thorn staggered backward, wailing in agony. Amortentia shrieked as she raced away from Thron.

"Oh crap." she cursed.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but that was impossible. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy. The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged his attack and slammed his tail into his shield, knocking Percy aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried. Next to Percy, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

"Shit!" Abigail cursed as she nocked three arrows, turning away from the siblings. The air steamed as she shimmered gold. Several of the girls stepped back in surprise.

"Lord Apollo?" one of the girls asked curiously.

"NO!"

Another girl stepped forward. This one was a little younger than Percy, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made Percy catch his breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous.

"That is NOT Apollo. This… thing is little more than a faint copy. The same could be said for this Aphrodite knockoff. They are all the same. Wild beasts. And hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creatures, are wild beasts." Amortentia turned red with rage.

"KNOCKOFF? WILD BEAST?!" She whirled towards Gohan, her face red with rage. A pink aura shimmered around her, pulsating like an electrical cable.

"SLAUGHTER THEM!" she roared. Gohan whirled, his eyes thinning into slits. A blue aura exploded around him, causing the ground to shake and several of the hunters to step back in surprise.

"Is he…" One of them whispered.

"I think he is! The Otherworlder!" another one added.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

"WAIT! He's not himself! That girl's controlling him with love magic!" Annabeth screamed, waving her arms frantically.

"Then it's his fault for being too weak. Fire!" the girl ordered. "No!" Annabeth screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. Dozens of them. Gohan simply smirked, before vanishing. A second later, he reappeared, his hands full of the Hunters' arrows, He then snapped his hands shut, snapping them all into pieces. Several hunters gaped in awe.

"So, the stories are true." The older archer breathed. Then, Gohan vanished again, reappearing in front of the Hunters. Without stopping, he slammed one in the chest, sending her flying back. He whirled on a second, snatching her bow right out of her hands and slamming her across the head with it. He then head-butted a third, knocking her to the ground. He leaped back as he fired a bright blue ki blast, causing the ground beneath the Hunters to explode, sending them flying.

At the same time, Abigail dived as she fired, taking advantage of the confusion. One shot missed, the second hit a Hunter in the shoulder, but the third struck another Hunter in the chest. She fell with a look of shock on her face, and didn't get up.

"Come on, Amortentia!" Abigail sprinted into the brush with the other girl close behind, vanishing into the brush as the other Hunters fired, to no avail.

"NO!" the older girl yelled in horror as she charged. Gohan whirled and ducked under her knife, catching her arm and twisting. She screamed as Gohan gripped her by the throat, before shooting up in the air, then flipping over and slamming the girl into the ground. Then, a yellow aura surrounded him, shooting straight downwards, ready to finish her off. But before he could, a silver blur smashed into him, sending him skidding into the snow. He looked up to see the smaller girl land in front of him, her silver eyes sparkling as a pair of silver knives glistened in her hands.

"ENOUGH! Now, you fight me, otherworlder! I must admit, I've been curious to see if the stories about your power are true."

"Wait! He's not himself! He's under the influence of that girl's love magic!" Annabeth yelled.

"I know. But pain is the only thing that breaks love magic. Therefore, defeating him will free him from the witch's spell." The girl stated calmly.

"You can't beat him! He beat Ares!" Percy yelled as he stood, supporting Thalia. Gohan rose as he faced the girl, grunting as a yellow aura surrounded him, making the ground shake. The girl looked at Percy, her eyes flashing.

"Do you know who I am, boy?" the girl asked calmly. Percy shook his head.

The young girl looked at Gohan, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt." Then, without either warrior saying a word, they charged at each other.