At the last second, Artemis leaped into the air and flipped over Gohan, slamming her hand on his back. As if repelled by some unknown force, Gohan slammed into the ground while Artemis cleanly landed on her feet. He leaped to his face with a snarl as an orb glowed in his hands, hurling it at Artemis like a dodgeball. She seemed to move like the wind, whirling out of the way as the ground exploded. Gohan snarled as more orbs formed in his hands, before shooting up into the air and firing off dozens at once, cascading into the ground like exploding rain.

The snow was completely gone as the smoke faded, leaving crater-ridden roles. But… no Artemis. He cocked his head in confusion. Then, he let out a roar as a stab of pain exploded on his back, stumbling forward. Artemis smiled, both her knives stained with Gohan's blood. Somehow, she'd gotten behind him and sliced an X across his back. At that moment, the helicopter decided to open fire. There was a snap-snap- snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire. Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, Artemis just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night. While the copter problem was solved, this left Artemis open for the briefest second. She whirled to see Gohan's fist, managing to land a solid hook across her face. She stumbled back in surprise. A tiny silver of golden blood, ichtor, dribbled down the side of her mouth. Slowly, she wiped the side of her mouth.

"Hmph. I expected more." Gohan whirled to face her, letting out an animalistic snarl. Now that Percy noticed, the pink glow seemed to be mixing with a new, almost reddish, tinge. He reached for his wrist and tapped, causing Ascension to appear in his hand, causing the goddess to blink in surprise.

However, as soon as the blade appeared, a flurry of blue electricity sparked across the blade, going down the hilt. Gohan screeched as his body spasmed, before finally dropping the blade, letting it fall onto the ground with a loud THUD.

Gohan snarled as he looked down at his arm. Without flinching, he clenched his fist, causing a bright, shimmering purple blade of energy to form on his sword arm. He gritted his teeth before charging at Artemis, who leaped back as he swung at her. The second swing sliced cleanly through a tree, causing it to fall to the ground. The third swing, Artemis caught his arms, showing incredible strength that one would not expect from a girl of that size. Gohan grunted as the ground shook beneath them.

"My lady!" The older girl cried. Without hesitation, she fired off two arrows. The first flew into Gohan's shoulder, the second in his lower back, causing him to scream.

"Zoë! Do not interfere!" Artemis ordered, snarling as a silver aura pulsed around her. Then, completely abruptly, Gohan froze and let out a scream as he tensed. Artemis stumbled back in surprise before seeing the source: Annabeth was clutching Gohan's tail for dear life, squeezing as hard as she could.

"Thalia! NOW!" Annabeth roared. In perfect synchronization, Thalia slid past Annabeth and pulled out her knife, stabbing Gohan in the middle of his tail. Gohan let out a bloodcurdling scream as his entire body exploded in pain, doubling over.

"AAAAHHHHH! OOOOOWWWWW!" a loud cracking sound filled the air as a blast of pink light exploded from Gohan, sending everyone flying in different directions. Once the light had faded, Gohan slumped onto the ground, propping himself on his elbows. Percy and Annabeth raced over to him, while Artemis was quickly surrounded by the Hunters. Thalia just groaned and sat on the ground. However, her eyes then focused on Ascension, still sitting right where Gohan had dropped it. As if by cue, a spark of blue electricity danced up the blade. Her eyebrows rose as a smile crept onto her face.

"….. Gohan? You with us?" Percy was the first to ask. Gohan groaned as he looked up at Percy… his eyes a solid black.

"I don't feel so good. You guys got any food?" A look of immense relief broke across Percy and Annabeth's faces. She immediately punched him in the arm.

"OW!"

"Really, muscle-head? You idiot! You stupid, idiotic, empty-headed idiot!" she sobbed.

"You said idiot twice." She punched him again.

"Ow!" He tried to sit up, but winched, groaning as he fell on his face.

"Ow! My back feels weird." Percy jumped in there.

"Yeah… I wouldn't move, buddy. Or look back there. You've been a bit… out of it." Gohan nodded, frowning as he reached back to his back, his eyes widening as he felt one of the arrows.

"Huh… there are arrows in my back. Oh my." Then, he slumped unconscious

"Gohan!" Annabeth cried, but she was interrupted by an earsplitting roar. Thorn erupted from the forest, his face red with rage. Surprisingly, he had been completely forgotten amid all the chaos.

"If I cannot have these half-bloods alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Percy, Annabeth and Gohan, knowing they were weak and dazed.

"No!'" Annabeth yelled, shoving Gohan and Percy aside as she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life. Instinctively, several of the hunters opened fire.

The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay! None of you have any idea of the true horrors in store for you! But you will!" And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, tumbled over the cliff and fell into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. The Hunters advanced on them, bows at the ready.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. "You have to let us save her!"

The auburn-haired girl turned toward him. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help. She has been taken."

Percy tried to struggle to his feet, but a couple of the girls held him down.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said. However, they were interrupted by a loud roar of rage. As it turned out, Thalia had tried to grab Ascension. However, the second her hand grabbed the hilt, she let out a screech as a bolt of blue electricity shot off the blade and slammed into her chest, sending her flying. She crashed onto the ground, letting out a moan as smoke rose from her chest.

"WHY?" she howled in rage, slamming her fist onto the ground.

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste. Thalia looked up. Her face turned into an angry one

"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual." A loud wail interrupted them, causing them to turn to see several hunters crowded around the girl who had been shot by Abigail. The golden arrow was sticking out of her chest, and she wasn't moving.

"Aldrina!" Zoe gasped as she raced over to the girl and bent over, followed by Artemis. Zoe swore angrily.

"She's gone, my lady." Artemis nodded solemnly, closing the girl's eyes.

"Yes. She died bravely." Another girl stepped forward.

"My lady. I request permission to take a group out and hunt down her killers." Artemis closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"No point, Phoebe. They are long gone. They used their possessed puppet as a distraction to flee once they realized they were outmatched. No loyalty, it seems, as they left the manticore behind…"

Zoe scanned Percy and the others. "Four half-bloods, a satyr, and an… I'm not sure what exactly that thing is, my lady."

"Yes," Artemis said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see." Grover gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... Wow!"

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"HEY! Help him!" Percy pointed at the unconscious Gohan. However, not a single Hunter moved.

"Seriously?! Help him! He's my friend! It wasn't his fault, that girl was making him do it! Not to mention these are YOUR arrows stuck in his back, after your goddess told you not to attack him! He saved Zeus' Master Bolt, you know! You wanna tell Zeus that you let that hero die?" Percy demanded. Artemis frowned, but finally let out a sigh.

"Phoebe. Tend to him." The girl opened her mouth to protest, but stopped cold when Artemis raised her hand. She quickly shut up and bowed.

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of them in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who... who the hell are you people? What's going on? In the last ten minutes, one of my classmates was going to shoot an arrow in my face, my teacher turned into a giant monster, there was a glowing pink girl, and that guy right there! Shooting laser beams out of his hands, shooting up in the air and hurling trees at me! What is he, Superman?" Percy snorted.

"You're actually not too far off on that last one." He muttered under his breath.

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis and Gohan.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."

She faltered.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian... athlete?" "No," Zoe said. "One of the gods." "Cool!" said Nico. "No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

As anxious as Percy felt about both Gohan and Annabeth—all he wanted to do was search for her and make sure that his best friend was alright—he couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. He remembered what it was like for him when he first learned he was a demigod. Not to mention the whole thing about Gohan being a half-alien from a parallel universe. Boy, did THAT open up a whole new set of questions.

Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell. Like that girl over there who's… dead? Like your friend right there with the arrows sticking out of his back who just tried to murder us?"

"Hey!" Percy snapped

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked, still smarting from Bianca's jab.

"She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

Percy still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but he had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she'd been down there in the sea, he should be able to feel her presence.

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains... Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. Percy thought Bianca was going to faint right there.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"What about him?! Is that a tail? Why does he have a monkey tail?!" Bianca demanded as she pointed at Gohan's unconscious form. Indeed, his tail could be seen lying limply between his legs.

"That's… complicated. Look, Bianca," Percy interrupted "we came here to help you. All of us. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico. "Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't—" "There is another option," Zoe said. "No, there isn't!" Thalia said.

Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. The air was so tense that one could cut through it with a knife.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded, and prepare for Aldrina's farewell. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy, or perhaps watch over that injured warrior. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favor to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp. Phoebe and several others hunters, much to their disgust, carefully picked up Gohan and carried him off.

Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so... Argh!"

"I'm with you," Percy said. "I don't trust—"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on him furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster! Not that Gohan's innocent either, but I can buy that he was stupid enough to fall for that… that… bitch's ruse. And YOU! I can't believe you just took a drink from a complete stranger, just because it looked like a cute girl! Are you that pathetic that you go all goo-goo eyed for any girl that smiles at you?" Percy's face flushed red in embarrassment and shame. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Ignoring him, Thalia continued on her rant.

"If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. You wouldn't have been poisoned, and Gohan wouldn't have gotten whammied and nearly killed us! Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"

Percy's jaw clenched. He thought of some harsh things to say, and he might've said them too, but then Percy looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at his feet. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.

Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off as she wiped her face to get the blood out, leaving him alone with a trampled cap in the snow.

The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but Percy decided he would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched them from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and Percy got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.

Almost... except for the pain in his shoulder and stomach and the guilt weighing him down. He couldn't believe how badly things had gone. Annabeth was gone, and Gohan was still unconscious and wounded. And as angry as he was at Thalia, he had a sinking feeling that she was right. It was his fault. He had let his jealously get the better of him. Trying to show up Gohan and Thalia. And now, one of his best friends was hurt because of him and another missing.

He watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods.

Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree. Though, her temper certainly had issues. The second she had woken up, she had picked a fight with Gohan and tried to kill him. Annabeth had been the only one keeping the peace between the two ever since. Frankly, it was surprising how similar the two were. Thinking of Gohan, he decided to check on him, finding him near the fire. Phoebe had apparently brought out a mat and dumped him on it, also removing his shirt to get better access to the arrows. She gave him a wary glance as he walked over and sat on a nearby stump, but didn't say anything, dabbing at his back with a wet rag. Percy still marveled at Gohan plenty. But, now he was intrigued and shocked by just how many scars the young warrior had, not even counting the shimmering X in his back from Artemis or the arrows, which would likely leave another scar. His breath frosted in the air as he breathed softly, still out cold.

"I hope you're having good dreams, buddy, cause you're not gonna like the nightmare when you wake up."