Artemis was furious. Her dear father, the King, decided to blame Apollo solely for causing the Giant War. And the punishment was to be mortal until he decided it was over.

It was unfair. Ares barely had felt the consequences for wanting and actually trying to start a war, but her brother was punished for a few, absolutely stupid reasons. Apollo was blamed for taking in a new Oracle and issuing the new prophecy. Didn't her father know Apollo had no control outside of selecting one?

He was also blamed for losing control of the prophecy i.e. the Oracle of Delphi. Which was a valid point, Artemis could admit. Except for the fact that he was not allowed to look after it, as per Zeus' own directive.

Regardless, Artemis didn't appreciate that her brother was turned into a scapegoat. The mistake obviously lied in her father for actually listening to that icy bitch, Khione. A hands-off approach never works, no matter how much you want it too. She wondered when her father would learn that.

Artemis even felt a twinge of sympathy for Hera. Yes. Her evil, jealous stepmother. She didn't know what her punishment was, but she was going to get punished. Zeus might favour Hera on most matters, but he was always hard on her in situations like this.

But Artemis wasn't going to complain. She could be punished herself for being in contact with her hunters, and Artemis couldn't risk that even if Apollo was in danger of being sent to reform in this fragile state. Zeus was too stubborn to overturn the decision easily anyways. All she could do was help him in a way that her father couldn't find out. Hopefully.

Months later…

After the Giant War ended, life had come to a standstill for the Saviour of Olympus. The eight month period after the war was pretty boring. Monsters had gone silent except for a few attacks directed his way. All he had was studying, hanging out with his friends (mortal or not), and the occasional date with his girlfriend. One of which he happened to be on at the moment.

His nerd of a girlfriend was talking about architecture, spouting terms he did not understand and leaving him struggling to catch up (no surprise there). Annabeth's enthusiasm for the subject was well-known within the demigod world. And Percy being closest to her was no stranger to it. She was always speaking passionately, and gesturing with her hands to explain; a habit he found endearing.

"You know, my mother offered to personally train me on architecture a while ago. Up on Olympus".

Percy raised an eyebrow as he grinned. "Really? That's great. Are you planning to take her up on it?". If he was honest with himself, Percy was a bit jealous of her. Not because of how far she had come; he was happy to see her dreams of becoming an architect come true. But, everytime Annabeth came back from her visits to Olympus, she had so much to talk about. Her eyes shone as she told him about her plans to redesign 'this marketplace', 'that temple', 'a broader street' and such. Being the Official Architect of Olympus, she was involved in redesigning it. A reward granted by Zeus himself for being an important part of the Second Titan War. She only started after the Giant War, though, since Olympus itself was closed for the duration of that war.

All he had to say about himself were his non-existent studies, his small tales of rescuing some poor little sea creature that was trapped somewhere, or his performances on the swim team. Which wasn't something a son of Poseidon would take pride in, since he had an unfair advantage. He had been completely bored and out of his element since the wars ended.

Annabeth shifted a little, "I don't know, Percy. It's obviously a good offer, probably the best shot I have but… I might have to give up on college in New Rome. It would be impossible to keep up with both at the same time".

Percy kept his grin, albeit it must've lost some of its mischievousness, "Wise Girl, I'm sure you'd be able to do it. You're too smart to fail college, no matter what you are busy with".

Annabeth gave a small smile as her cheeks flushed. "True. But I'll probably never attend anyway. Mum's going to keep me busy for days up there. At the end of the day, with my job as the architect", she was growing nervous by the second, "it's probably better to stay at Olympus if I want to accept mom's offer".

Ohh…

Percy considered the implications of this offer. Annabeth was obviously tempted to take the chance. Redesigning the city under the guidance of Athena was not an opportunity offered to anybody, and she would do what she always wanted to do - build something that would last forever.

Besides… "I think you should accept", Percy said, finally.

Annabeth seemed a little shocked. "But, what about… what about college. College in New Rome. That's… what we wanted. Right?"

Percy looked down towards his finished plate. "I want to go to college. I need to go to college, after all. But, not necessarily New Rome. Not like how I imagined it, anyways", he said, and they sat there in silence for a while.

Annabeth pursed her lips, before sighing. "I think we rushed this. Don't you think?", she asked.

Percy nodded hesitantly. It was true, he had to admit. Sure, somewhere in the middle they had feelings for each other. Strong feelings. They went through that place together. But, in a state of normalcy, they were returning back to their old selves. Except for the lack of 'sexual tension' that had existed before.

Percy was coming to realise that his life as a demigod had always been defined by the two wars he had fought. With that out of the way, everything about his life was kind of… stale. Now that he had no pressure about the war, he was lost. The main reason why he wanted to go to college was to spend a life with Annabeth. But he didn't want to hold her back.

"I guess this is it, then", he said after another pause.

Annabeth bit her lip. "Are you sure, Percy? You don't have to do this for me, you know. I'm perfectly fine going to New Rome".

Percy gave her a thin smile, "No, I'm sure Annabeth. It's not a new thought in my head, really. I've been feeling like it's been off since the war ended".

Annabeth nodded, "Yeah, I've been feeling it too. I think…", she took a deep breath, then exhaled, "I think it's better this way. We haven't been spending that much time together anyway, and we will be spending less time together in the future".

"Guess this is it then", Percy said getting up.

"Maybe. We're still friends, right?", Annabeth asked, with a raised eyebrow. She too got up.

Percy chuckled, "Of course. You'll never stop being my friend".

She smiled at him, then embraced him with her arms wrapped around him.

"Goodbye. For now I guess. Mom will want my answer soon", Annabeth said, after pulling away from the embrace.

"Guess you should get going. Design some cool buildings for me, Wise Girl"

She grinned at him, "Oh, forgot to tell you, Seaweed Brain. Your dad wants me to make a statue of you on Olympus, next to his temple".

Percy gaped at her like a fish, "What?"

"Look at your face! Ha!", Annabeth laughed. She took a few seconds to compose herself, a grin still present, "Don't worry. I won't be making any statues of you anytime soon", she said. It didn't relax Percy when she brought her finger to her chin. "You know, I think it would be better if I design a statue of you as a guinea pig. Give a story of how you defeated Circe".

"No! Definitely not that!", he cried out, as she laughed again. Percy joined her after a while as both of them laughed together. It was fun remembering the good times. When he went out on quests with only his friends. Percy kind of missed those quests, even if the dangers of almost dying were unwelcome and not something he wanted to be a regular in his life.

Annabeth found a taxi on the street, "See you in a few months, Percy!"

"See you!", Percy replied. He then walked away, back home wondering what to do.

Percy lay on his bed thinking of his breakup a few weeks ago, his books scattered after some use. He was a little sad, even if he had accepted that he and Annabeth had broken up. Sure, he was the one to suggest it, and they had parted on good terms. The option to get together again was still there as well. But he had this sinking feeling that they had broken up for good.

On one hand, he was happy to see her go on in life. Chasing her oldest dreams, enjoying life as it was. It was much better than what Percy was doing, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't enjoy life anymore even with his girlfriend by his side. Plus, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if Annabeth ever had to hold herself back for his own aimlessness.

Aimlessness.

Percy got up. He figured out what he should be doing. He needed to get back to his demigod life. A normal life wasn't for him, and he was foolish to believe otherwise. Annabeth, despite her desire to be an architect, had embraced her demigod side. She was staying on Olympus, doing work over there. He should find something to connect with his godly heritage as well. And there was one place that immediately popped up when he thought about it.

Camp looked awfully disturbed once Percy got back. Everyone seemed to be in a rush for something, chatting with each other like some celebrity had shown up. A celebrity who was not Percy Jackson, or they would be focusing on him. He was glad and intrigued at the same time.

"Oh, look. It's Percy Jackson! Fancy seeing you here at this moment", he heard the unmistakable voice of a Stoll.

"Hey Connor. What's up?", Percy said as he approached the mischievous child of Hermes.

"Oh, you'll see, Perce. Let me show you around. You're in for a big surprise, today", he said, grinning from ear to ear in a way that told Percy to be wary. The Stolls were the biggest pranksters in camp, and them 'showing you around' was almost always a bad sign. But Percy's gut told him that this was indeed something big.

Connor slowly led Percy to a bunch of Apollo campers near the Big House. One of them, an older one he did not recognise, looked almost like a clone of the god. The same bright blue eyes, cheerful grin, and cocky posture. Though the grin seemed fake, and overall he looked a little sad and depressed. Even if he was clearly trying not to.

"Ah, Percy Jackson, my dear cuz. I was told you wouldn't be here", he said extending a hand, grinning like a goofball

"Huh?", was the wise reply coming from his mouth. Cousin? Apollo's kids were more like… okay he did not want to go there. But Apollo's children never called him 'cousin'. Correction, nobody greeted him as 'cousin', including his actual cousins (Thalia, Nico and the Demeter cabin). The only people who referred to him with that familial title were his godly 'cousins' like Ares (although he preferred punk) and Apollo...

Percy looked at the kid more closely. He indeed did look almost exactly like Apollo, only a little less… godly.

"I see you are confused, oh great Perseus Jackson. But do not worry, everybody has that reaction when they come face to face with me and my awesomeness". He proceeded to clear his throat, "I am sent to camp-"

"You're Apollo?!", Percy asked, looking quite surprised. Which he was, all things considered.

"Why, yes. I am Apollo, the god of archery and the caretaker of the sun. You wound me, Percy", he said, clutching his chest, "I did not think you would refuse to recognise me, your favourite cousin".

Percy was pretty sure Apollo was not his favourite cousin. He decided not to point it out though, or Apollo might come up with another haiku.

"But why do you feel so…", he wasn't sure what to say without angering the god, "human".

Apollo's face soured a bit, but he recovered back to his faux cheerful expression, "Well, cuz, you can say I have been… temporarily relieved from my duties as the god of archery, poetry, and… prophecy", was the god - no, former god's reply.

Percy looked at him dumbly. Apollo looked down and sighed. He led the son of Poseidon into the Big House.

"Hmm…", the former sun god flailed his arms in resignation, "I have been turned mortal. That is my godhood has been taken away from me, as I see you understand", he relented, his frustration evident.

Percy did understand this. It explained a lot. His mood, the lack of godly aura, and even what he was doing in camp. What he couldn't understand was: Why?

A question that Percy did ask. Apollo looked ready to rant, but composed himself. Percy figured the former god had already ranted about this. A thousand times, as far as he could figure. Apollo could be really annoying if he wanted to be, and Percy could tell in the very few meetings he had with him.

"You see, Perce. My father has decided that I am guilty for causing the Giant War. Me", he said.

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Why would you be guilty?"

"Ha! I knew you would be on my side in this matter. How does finding a new Oracle start a new war? It makes no sense".

"That's what you're being blamed for? It's kind of dumb".

A clap of thunder could be heard in the background.

"Yes. That is what I am supposedly at fault for. You are correct in saying that it is dumb to blame me for this", another booming clap, "I do not control the prophecies that my Oracle recites, and it is most certainly not in the Oracle's domain to start a war on its own. It can only issue a prophecy once the events are fated to actually happen", he paused to take a deep breath.

"Anyways, cuz. There is another reason why I was blamed. Which was also not my fault", he added the last bit a little defensively. "During the, uh, lockdown of Olympus as you may be aware, I lost my control over prophecy".

"Meaning?" Percy asked. Nothing good, I'm sure.

"It means that my Oracle can no longer issue prophecies. There will be no prophecies, no guides for future quests. Can you imagine that? We will be running blind, like all those mortals out in the world that are unaware of everything happening".

"So… it's a bad thing?"

"Of course it is! My domains are - were very important and relevant to all of us", he replied indignantly.

Percy thought about it. To Percy, prophecies were a real pain. His entire life so far had been tough because of two prophecies and he wasn't sure if they were a good thing. But, yes, they could be considered important.

"Do you have any idea if this problem could be fixed? Or what the problem is in the first place?"

Apollo shifted uncomfortably. That's new…

"It could be. And, yes, I have deduced the problem with my excellent logic", Percy was certain the god did not simply 'deduce' anything. "Unfortunately, it appears that the Cave of Delphi has been taken over by my former enemy, Python. The monster is interfering with my, and by extension, my Oracle's connection with prophecy. In order to free the Oracle, we have to… defeat Python". Apollo shuddered, as if reliving a haunting memory.

"Oh".

Apollo looked at him expectantly.

"So that's it, Percy Jackson? 'Oh'. No, 'let us get rid of this monster', or 'let's go and send the mighty Python back to the Pit it belongs to?"

Oh…

"But, can't you, like, fight him yourself. Weren't you the one that killed Python before?" It should not come as a surprise that Percy knew this tiny detail. He was very familiar with the Oracle for many reasons, and the Oracle always made sure to mention that Apollo was the slayer of the Python. The mighty Python, to be exact.

Apollo looked a bit nervous.

"Uhm, yes. But, I was a god back then. The mighty god Apollo, feared by mortals, gods and monsters alike. Now I have been reduced to this puny mortal form, where I carry a meatsack all over my body", he said. "Ah, the injustice, the cruelty that has befallen me! Why father?! Why?!", he exclaimed looking upwards. "My father has always been totally unfair in my case. Look at my sisters Artemis and Athena. Father never punishes his darling daughters, even if they did something wrong. Especially that stuck-up know-it-all Athena. Like in the rebellion. I am turned into a mortal for daring to oppose his unjust rule. But Athena! What happens to her? She gets away scot-free! How is that fair? I swear on the -"

"Um Apollo", Percy said, grabbing his arm, "Maybe we should get back on topic. What are we going to do about Python?"

"Right, right", he replied, relaxing, "In my mortal state, I will not be able to face Python that well. It should be noted that my abilities have also been, uh, toned down to a slightly better than mortal level", he said, looking very conflicted. "I was wondering if someone, like, a great and venerated hero who has killed all sorts of monsters before would be very helpful in taking him down".

"And you want me to go", Percy deadpanned.

"Of course! I cannot think of anyone more worthy to take as an accomplice. In fact, I was hoping to find you when I reached this camp".

"And why would I go on this dangerous quest…?"

"Why do you even need a reason, when you get to go on a quest with Apollo? Your tale will be remembered for centuries to come! Percy Jackson helps the awesome god Apollo in taking down the Python and recovering his gift of prophecy. Imagine the glory! Imagine, just imagine, how much praise you would receive for going on this quest. I would even compose a poem in your honour of your glorious feats. Perhaps even a haiku".

Percy stared at him.

Apollo winced. Then he turned serious. Almost as serious as the time he visited him as 'Fred' to help rescue Artemis. "Well, how about this? I may not be a god anymore, cousin. But I can tell why you came to this camp today, even though you weren't expected to be here"

Percy looked away, a little bothered. Apollo continued, his bright blue eyes boring into him. "You are lost, Percy Jackson. And you came here to find something useful to do. Then why are you so against going on this quest? You know of its importance. You are destined for this".

Percy looked pensive, as he considered this. On one hand, Apollo was right. He was lost, and the main reason Percy came back to Camp was to find something to do. Apollo being here, ready to go on some quest was definitely some suspect timing.

On the other hand, Percy was a bit uneasy at the idea of risking his life again. Especially for a god. Even if the god was Apollo, somebody who was up there among the gods he considered 'okay'. Maybe he was just hesitant to put himself out there for nothing much.

As if sensing his predicament, Apollo continued, "Let's put it this way, man. You go on this quest, and I'll find you something to do. Maybe give you a gift, or assign you to kill some monsters that terrorise demigods all over. I'll reward you for every task completed. You know, like a mercenary. And this will be your first task". Percy looked offended by the idea of being a 'mercenary'. Apollo, noticing this, continued "I'll even give my blessing to you and your family. They will be safe from natural illnesses or plagues of any kind. How's that sound?"

Now that is tempting. That was worth putting himself in danger. It was also a good purpose, something very fitting for someone like him. After a few minutes, Percy agreed.

Apollo grinned, looking very relieved and extremely friendly.

"I knew there was a reason why my sister likes you! Come on, we've got a quest to prepare for".

Percy wasn't sure what he meant, but he didn't think much of it. He had a quest to prepare for after all.

So guys, new chapter and a slight change in the narration that might last another chapter or two.

I had originally planned on just stating that Annabeth and Percy broke up for reasons, but in the end decided to actually add a scene. What do you guys think of it? Was it okay, or a little too unnatural?

Hope you all liked the update. As I've stated before, expect at least a month between updates, although I will always try to update as soon as possible.