Chapter 6

Percy POV

A smile was still glued to my face when I woke up. I couldn't believe what had just happened to me. I'm dating Zoe Nightshade; the hunter who killed every man who looked at her the wrong way, the Lieutenant of Artemis, the girl who sacrificed herself against Atlas…

The house was empty, meaning Zoe was on one of her usual hunts. I stood up before I headed out the door. I was surprised to find the sun was already descending from its spot in the sky.

Percy, you dog! Fenron sounded almost happy. I knew you had it in you! Bagged another werewolf no less, I couldn't be prouder of you.

"Thanks, it kind of just happened though."

You sell yourself short.

I stretched as the smell of flowers filled my nose, the breeze carrying leaves across the air. Everything was so calm, so quiet…

Suddenly, a powerful scent hit my nose, one I had never experienced before.

I licked my lips instinctively before I realized that a scent so powerful could only be of one origin; it was the scent of the divine.

Demigod.

My eyes widened. I followed the scent before reaching a small clearing. There was a trio of demigods sitting around a campfire, trying to cook some meager scraps of what looked like squirrel meat. I cocked my head in confusion. 'What's up with the matching purple shirts with the weird writing? Did Camp Half Blood remodel the shirts? What was going on?'

Billions of questions struck my head and I decided that confrontation was necessary in order for me to get some answers.

I stepped out of the tree line and grinned. "Hello! Welcome to Humboldt Tayyab National Forest! What brings you here?"

One drew a bow while the other drew short yet heavy blades. Interesting. Weapons made out of gold, not Celestial bronze. "Who are you?" a girl demanded. She had dark hair and pretty intense eyes. Something about her looked extremely familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Why, I'm just a guy named Percy. The better question is, who are you three?"

The guy with the sword glared at me. "We aren't answering any questions. We aren't just a few stupid tourists. We're on a quest, and you would do well to stay out of our way."

He had blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Strange...they look just like Thalia's.

I spread my hands with an innocent look on my face. "I'm not here to hurt you, just curious as to what you're doing."

"Like Jason said, we're not answering any questions for you. Now, get out of here before I put an arrow between your eyes."

The archer was a chubby Asian kid with cropped black hair. "Listen, Kung Fu Panda, you aren't exactly in a position to be making the demands here. Your weapons won't exactly harm me."

He glared before releasing the arrow, which splintered to pieces against my forehead. I did my best to keep a neutral look on my face as the pain was almost unbearable.

The demigods backed up, eyeing me cautiously. "Listen, kid, that wasn't the smartest thing to do. Tell you what, you just answer a few questions, and I'll forget that happened."

The girl looked at Jason before turning back to me. "Will you let us go if we answer your stupid questions?"

I nodded before sitting down by their campfire. "A little early in the day to be having a bonfire, no?"

"We needed a way to cook some food."

"Where are y'all headed?"

"Towards Texas. We're trying to find Vulcan's forge." I blinked. "Vulcan? Who's that?"

The girl was looking at me with disbelief. "The god of blacksmiths? Vulcan?"

That's when a conversation with Annabeth I had had a few months ago struck me.

Flashback

I had been sitting around in her cabin reading one of the books on the ground due to sheer boredom. "Who's this Jupiter dude? Isn't the god of lightning Zeus?"

Annabeth was focused on drawing things with her compass. "Centuries ago, after the Greek empire fell, Romans took our gods and made them their own by slightly tweaking their names and personalities. They're like the cheap, knockoff version of our pantheon of gods."

"How come we've never seen any of the Roman gods?"

She took off her glasses and stretched. "Their gods weren't real like ours. It's like a three year old drawing a picture of a cookie and trying to eat it if that makes any sense."

"Our world's kind of magical in the eyes of mortals, so is it possible that there are Roman gods running around too?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Camp has been around for a very long time. We definitely would've encountered them by now."

End of Flashback

I looked up and saw that the demigods had snuck away while I was in thought. I rolled my eyes before I sniffed the air and climbed into the trees.

They hadn't made it very far. I guess my flashback wasn't as long as I had originally thought.

With a graceful dive, I landed right in front of the trio before brushing off my hands.

"Nice try, but you aren't getting away from me that easily," I smirked.

The boys looked ready to soil their pants, but surprisingly, the girl stood her ground and glared at me. "What else do you want to know? Judging from the fact that you don't know Vulcan, you aren't the sharpest dagger in the shed. Why do you care so much?"

I wagged my finger. "I will be asking the questions, or you're not going to enjoy what I plan to do to you."

I knew that I wouldn't harm these demigods but I needed more information and bluffing was working very well for me.

"What else do you want to know?"

"What's up with the purple shirts with the weird letters?"

The girl cocked her head. "It's Latin. We're from Camp Jupiter, you know, the safe haven for demigods?"

Suddenly, everything clicked. Jupiter was the Roman version of Zeus. There was a Roman equivalent of Camp Half Blood that worshipped the Roman gods. Judging from the fact they were looking for Vulcan's forge, they were just as real as the Greek gods.

"You-you're Roman?"

"What else would we be?"

I was about to say Greek when it hit me. They had no idea that Camp Half Blood existed. How had the two sides never run into each other? They both sent demigods on quests, and yet no one had reported seeing Roman demigods with purple shirts?

"Uh, I have no idea."

The girl continued to glare at me and I felt some anger bubble up inside of me. "So, what are you? Some kind of immortal questioner that has so much time on his hands that he just stops demigods for a chat?"

Who does this walking piece of meat think she is? An immortal questioner? Her intestines will be strewn across the bushes for that remark.

"Uh, Reyna?" The Asian kid said. "Probably not a good idea to piss him off."

Reyna snorted. "Or what? He'll kill me with his questions?"

I snarled before morphing into my wolf form. I towered over them and roared, knocking them all off their feet. "I will kill you with my claws if that makes you feel better any better!" I pinned the girl down with one paw.

Jason let out a yell before driving his blade into my skin, which glanced off me like butter.

It was almost comical to see how pale his face got. He began to tug at my foot and I couldn't help but smile. "Let her go!" Jason yelled.

I rolled my eyes before lightly batting him away with my other paw. "Relax, kid. Don't get your panties in a twist." I lifted my paw away and Reyna scrambled back, a look of pure fear in her eyes. "I'm only scaring some sense into your girlfriend, here."

His face reddened. "She's not my-"

"I really don't care what she is to you. To me, she's an irritating brat with a big mouth." I turned towards her and glared. "Consider yourself lucky that I'm not in the whole eating demigods business, or else your guts would've been lovely ornaments gracing the trees."

Reyna looked a little sick. "I-I apologize for-"

I waved it off. "Don't worry about it, you were right to be cautious about me. I'll be making my leave now."

"Wait!" Jason called out. "Can you help us? We don't know how to get to Texas from here!"

I turned around and cocked my head. "Why should I help you?"

"Um…"

I had to snort. "I guess you're not the brains of the group, are you?"

"Please," Frank pleaded. "We're running out of supplies, and we have no place to stay. Please help us!"

I thought about that. The situation they were in was very relatable; sent on a quest with limited supplies, nowhere to go. I remembered all the hard times I went through and all the stories Chiron had of unsuccessful quests.

"Get on my back, I will provide you with a place to rest."

The boys eyed each other with excitement, but Reyna seemed a little skeptical. "How can we trust you? No offense, you seem like a nice guy, but we haven't known you for more than a few minutes."

I eyed her. "To be honest, I think you don't have a choice. Hypothetically, I could kill you right now or leave you to die, so what other options do you have? Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Reyna still looked hesitant but she finally shrugged and climbed onto my back. The boys followed and I noted Jason's hands closing around Reyna's waist.

"Hey, Asian kid, unless you want me to keep calling you Kung Fu Panda, I'm gonna need a name out of you."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Frank."

I snorted. "Frank, let me be frank with you and inform you that you're yanking my fur out. Please loosen your grip on it."

"Sorry!"

I rolled my eyes before dashing back to the house. After a few minutes, I let them climb off before morphing back into my human form. "Just a heads up, I share this house with someone else, but she doesn't sleep there often. There's a rug and a bed for you three to divvy up, so knock yourselves out."

"Thanks, uh...sorry, I never caught your name," Reyna said.

"Percy, nice to meet you."

Her eyes seemed to swirl with confusion. "You seem very...familiar."

I decided not to complicate things by elaborating the reciprocated feeling. "Never seen you in my life, now go rest before I kick you off the property."

The three went inside and I sat by the fire, thinking. A Roman place parallel to Camp Half Blood, with purple shirts instead of orange and gold weaponry instead of bronze. 'How have we never run into any Romans on our quests?'

I saw the bushes stir and Zoe stepped out with a deer clamped firmly in her jaws. She dropped it before morphing into her human form and enveloping me in a hug. "I couldn't get over what happened last night. It still doesn't feel real yet."

I grinned. "Yeah. I can't believe it either."

She suddenly pulled away before locking her eyes on me. "Why did you bring demigods here?"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "They were on a quest, and it looked like they needed some assistance. I was feeling a little sentimental, so I lent a helping hand."

"They are dangerous. We mustn't distract them from their journey."

"Does it have to do with the fact they're Roman?"

Zoe's eye twitched. "Did they tell you everything?"

"I know most of it, but I'm still piecing it all together."

"We must not interfere with their quest. It is best if they leave as soon as possible."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? I think they need as much help as they can get. They were frying up the last of their burger patties, and to be honest, they're looking pretty thin."

"Roman gods are not separate entities from ours, they are merely separate aspects of Greek gods."

"How come I've never heard of any encounters with Roman demigods back at Camp?"

"The gods keep this close to the vest. I'm sure Chiron has informed you about how mortal wars often coincide with ours. Greeks and Romans don't mix, and the last time they did it caused the Civil War."

My eyes widened. "Wasn't that the bloodiest war in history?"

Zoe rolled her eyes. "American history, but yes. The fallout was terrible, and to prevent something like that from happening again, the gods wove the mist to help prevent demigods from remembering their encounters with their Greek and Roman counterparts."

She took a deep breath before looking at me with pleading eyes. "Percy, I know you want to help them, and you have a good heart, but doing so can be very dangerous. We're of Greek origin, and who knows what extended periods of exposure to one another can cause?"

I sighed. "Can we just let them rest for the night? I'm sure they will have to be gone by morning."

Zoe nodded before kissing my forehead. "You're a sweet guy, Percy. I'll prepare some food for them as well."

I grinned and kissed her on the temple. "Thanks for understanding, Zoe."

I could feel the Romans' eyes watching me and I walked over to the house before throwing the door open where I found them innocently playing with a deck of cards. "I'm a werewolf, you really don't think I can sense you peeping in on our conversation?"

The three refused to meet my eyes and I couldn't help shaking my head. "Zoe is making dinner for you all as well. I'll assume you know her name from the conversation you just intruded on."

I walked back out and joined Zoe, helping her to separate the deer into different pieces before grilling it over the fire. She had gathered some wild onions and herbs as well to compliment the meat.

"Percy, would you mind making some plates?"

I cocked my head. "How can I make plates when I don't have a furnace or porcelain or any other building material?"

She grinned. "Use your head. What would you use?"

I looked around before settling on raking pieces of bark off a tree before scraping off the rough edges, leaving a smooth yet flat surface.

"Very good, Percy. I've noticed this yesterday, but you got a lot taller after merging with your wolf form."

I shrugged. "Fenron had a lot to offer."

She grinned at me suggestively. "Did he gift you in the BOYS department as well?"

I blushed. "Uh, I-I...ah…"

Zoe burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding, Percy! You should've seen the look on your face!"

I tried to get the blush out of my cheeks. "I think the deer is done."

Zoe was still giggling as she began to get the pieces of meat off the spit and onto the plates I had made. "Take these to your little friends."

I hurriedly took the plates before running back into the house. I banged the door open with my foot and placed the plates on the table. The three were nearly salivating at all the fresh meat.

"You are free to stay the night, but you must leave by morning. Your scent is strong and will attract all kinds of monsters."

The boys were tearing into their meat but Reyna locked eyes with me. "Thanks, Percy. We owe you big time."

I shrugged. "I'm sure you won't get many breaks like this on your quest, but I'm happy to be one of them."

Reyna stared at me for a few seconds more before digging into her own food.

That's when it hit me. I flashed back to my quest in the Sea of Monsters.

I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats. The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

"Welcome!" The lady with the clipboard said. She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave us, you would've thought we'd just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged up rowboat.

She looked just like the woman who had taken us into Circe's Island, Hylla. However, I knew it couldn't possibly be her since Reyna looked younger than Hylla had a couple of years ago.

"Can I help you?" Reyna had her eyebrow raised.

I didn't even realize I was staring. "Would you happen to be related to Hylla?"

Her eyes widened. "How do you know my sister?"

"Uh, you look a lot like her, and I remember being taken prisoner on Circe's-"

She gasped. "You're Perseus Jackson? The one who ruined our home? The one who let us get taken hostage by Blackbeard and his pirates?"

"Hey, it was self-defense! Circe turned me into a guinea pig!"

She glared at me. "You have no idea what Hylla and I endured under those savages! We barely escaped with our lives on a rowboat attached to their ship!"

Frank and Jason were looking at us curiously. "That's not my fault! Circe kept them as guinea pigs too for centuries! Of course they would want revenge!"

"So you leave a bunch of girls to die? We at least kept you men in a nice cage with plenty of food and water!"

"I was busy trying to escape, and I wasn't exactly the one who poured all the multivitamins into the cage!"

"Oh, it was that dumb blonde's fault?"

Suddenly, I felt rage course through my veins as my hand clamped onto her neck and I slammed her into a wall. "Don't talk about her like that!" I growled.

'Hold on, why do I care about what people say about Annabeth? She sold me to a bunch of telekhines! Why am I defending her?'

Reyna's eyes shone with fear and Jason was trying to tug my hand off of her neck. I dropped her and strode out of the house.

Looking at Zoe, I felt an immense amount of guilt. She looked at me with concern on her face. "Percy, are you ok? I heard some commotion in the house."

I pulled her into a hug. "I love you; I love you so much," I whispered to her.

Zoe didn't say anything as she held onto me.

I slashed down a few more trees, thinking about what the Hades was wrong with me. I punched my claws into a tree and ripped it in half. A terrified squirrel cowered in fear, holding its offspring close to it.

Eat them all.

I scooped them up and raised them towards my mouth. With a sigh, my claws opened and the squirrels fled.

You need to take a chill. I'm all for chaos and destruction, but over some ex-girlfriend?

"You don't understand. I don't want to have feelings for her still! I love Zoe and I want to commit my whole self to her!"

Well, the answer is simple. Kill Annabeth, mate with Zoe, and all is doves and rainbows.

"It's not that easy, Fenron. Even if I wanted to kill her, I have no idea where she is."

Find her. Use her ribcage to create a bouquet for Zoe.

I winced. "That's a little too graphic for my taste."

Better than slashing apart the forest. At least tearing Annabeth apart will give you some closure.

The forest settled as I stopped my rampage. The moon radiated light across the forest floor and the breeze brought a cool draft to my face.

I headed back to camp when my nose caught a foul scent. "That's got to be a monster of some sort. It smells like rotting meat."

Then we rip its spine out and shove it down his throat.

I snuck through the branches of the trees and I saw several large figures standing in the trees near the house. They were all massive, each standing at around 15 feet. They were covered in an assortment of leaves, sticks, and animal hides that served as clothing.

"Gosh, those things smell like ass. I don't even want to get close to them."

They are most likely targeting your little demigod friends, so if you give any fucks, by all means, take on that challenge.

I morphed into my wolf form. The Cyclops still stood a good 5 feet taller, but I liked my chances a lot better. "How we get snacks out of wood box?" one of the Cyclops grunted. "Smash?"

One of his brethren smacked him on the head. "Be quiet, you oaf. They are not for us to eat. Master Krios wants them alive."

I raised an eyebrow. Krios? Apparently, Kronos has more up his sleeve than I thought… "I will lure them out and you two need to grab the boys. I will take the girl."

The three nodded. I decided charging at them wasn't the best idea as despite my strength and size, they had just as much and I was outnumbered 3 to 1.

I felt chills down my spine when the leader of the Cyclops began talking eerily in Hylla's voice. "Help! Reyna, help me!"

The wait wasn't long. Reyna burst through the door with Jason and Frank sleepily stumbling after her.

I lunged through the trees and sank my teeth into the back of one of the Cyclops' necks. It howled in pain but it didn't even have a chance to see me as I clawed his eye out of his head.

It fell to the floor, screaming in agony. I landed in front of the Romans. "That's not your sister, Reyna."

The remaining two Cyclops stepped out of the shadows. "Very clever, werewolf. What are you doing defending these three? Shouldn't you be serving Master Krios?"

I snarled at him. "I don't serve anyone."

It raised its only eyebrow. "Really? Well, I'm sure our Master will be very excited to know about a rogue werewolf disturbing his plans."

I tackled the leader in his midsection, sending us tumbling down the hill. "Get off me, stupid mutt!"

I tried to slash at his chest but he was smarter than his minions and was wearing a celestial bronze chest plate.

He grabbed me by the scruff of my neck before hurling me as hard as he could. I yelped in pain as my body broke through several trees, my ribs cracking in the process. "You think you can take me down? I am Pa Gasket, leader of the Hyperborean Cyclops!"

I slowly got to my paws. The pain in my chest was insurmountable, but I knew the stupid giant wouldn't exactly sit around and wait.

"Well, I'm Percy Jackson, and I'm going to rip your liver out!"

His eyes widened. "You-" I slammed into him before locking my jaws on his throat. Pa Gasket roared in pain and staggered back before he slammed his fist into my side. I lost my grip on his throat and before I could even hit the ground, he punted me like a football.

I flew through the forest, once again crashing into several trees before rolling onto the ground. A shot of pure adrenaline got me to roll out of the way as Pa Gasket smashed into the spot I was lying in a few seconds before.

I lunged onto his back before I slashed off the straps of his chest plate. Using his back as a launchpad, I threw myself backward as he grabbed for my body.

"Percy Jackson, that name is familiar. You are a thorn in Saturn's side, and thus are a target of my master. He was under the assumption you were dead, but now you are a wolf. I shall get a promotion when I bring him your head!"

He lunged at me again, and I quickly lunged into a nearby tree. The minute he hit the ground, I dove onto his back and began slashing furiously with my claws.

Pa Gasket roared as his raw muscles were exposed to the night air. I leaped back into the trees again when he tried to grab me. "Get back here you coward!"

"Ok." I dove out of the tree and bit his eye as hard as I could, ripping it out as I fell to the floor.

The Cyclops screamed as he clasped the gaping, bleeding hole where his only eye had been. I quickly rammed him down before ripping out his jugular. Pa Gasket gurgled before bursting into fine gold dust.

"We get it, you have one eye," I grumbled. My ribs were on fire and I couldn't help but wish that I had a few ambrosia squares to snack on.

I staggered back to the house, where I saw the trio of demigods had cut down the other two Cyclops. They turned towards me and their eyes widened.

"Percy, your chest…" Reyna gasped. I looked down and saw that two of my ribs were protruding from my skin.

"Uh, that doesn't look very good," I mumbled. "Why is there so much blood everywhere?"

I then saw the thick stream flowing out of my chest, dying the leaves below me a dark red.

"Uh, you guys got any Neosporin?" My eyes grew heavy and I collapsed onto the ground.

*peeks out from behind rock*

Here's a chapter for you! I thought I had updated the story last week, but I forgot to upload the chapter after typing it up. Sorry for taking so long. College kinda sucks right now.