Percy POV:

The thing with Olympian parties is that the gods are much worse than teenagers without adult supervision. Instead of just partying to 3:00 am the next morning, the gods continued to sing and dance and drink all through the day, by then which I had already decided at noon that I had had enough. Atalanta and the others agreed with me, and after sneaking out of the Great Hall, not that it was very difficult, as most of the gods were drunk, Atti whistled for Blackjack and his pegasi friends. Moments later, we were up in the sky, with Thalia clinging onto Atalanta in fear of falling off of Blackjack. Bianca rode with Zoe on Porkpie, and I took Guido, who I believed became Reyna's future pegasus.

Speaking of Reyna, as we flew back to camp, I thought about when I should meet the Romans. Since Nico wouldn't go through his "I really want to gut Percy" phase again, as Bianca was alive, he may not be asked by his father to act as an ambassador between both camps this time.

The real reason was because the Romans of this current generation actually worked really well with us in my original timeline, despite the fears the gods assumed would arise from the two of us meeting. As much as I despise Hera, her decision to bring us together ultimately was what won us the war, and since then, life has been rather peaceful, though not as of lately, maybe a year or so before I came here.

I shook my head, my mind buried with too many thoughts. I knew I couldn't go anywhere, the Fates having officially decreed that I was forever forced to remain in this reality, no matter how much I thought about going back. The best I could do was try to steer this reality towards a better future, one without the traumatizing events that occurred in the next and upcoming summers.

Again, I was so lost in my thoughts that I wasn't aware that we had arrived at Camp until the familiar sounds of the campers doing their daily activities reached my ears.

"Percy, PERCY!" Atalanta practically battered my legs to the point where they were sore.

"Geezus!" I yelped, dismounting from Guido and sending a mental message of thanks. "Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."

"What are you thinking about this time?" Zoe asked.

"Well, given how many things have changed," I said, facing the huntress, whose aura shone with much more power than before. "The timeline of this reality has shifted dramatically. Events that happened in my world won't happen here." I sighed. "But you know that already."

"I'm guessing you're pondering future events then," Atalanta surmised. "Wouldn't it be better just to let them happen naturally, if and when they do?"

"I dunno," I said, throwing my hands up in frustration. "I feel like I should, um... speed some things up a bit to give us a bigger advantage for things in the future, but–"

"Bro," Atalanta said, cutting me off. "One thing at a time right? If you're stuck in this reality, you have plenty of time to make your decisions on what to do. Plus, you're forgetting that you have a massive responsibility this time, I'm guessing."

"Uh..." I turned to find Zoe's heated glare staring back. "Oh yah... the whole Hunt business. Sorry, I have a lot on my mind."

"Hmph." Zoe turned and held a hand out to Bianca. "Come on, Bianca. Let's go tell the rest of the Hunt about what's happening so that our forgetful Guardian doesn't get murdered on the spot."

I stood there sort of dumbfounded and watched as the two huntresses marched away, with Zoe tossing back her hair almost as if she was flipping me off.

"Talk about tough love," Thalia commented. "Well, at least there will be entertainment when I join."

I huffed. "More like 'Use the Guardian as Target Practice,'" I said. "With Artemis out of commission, and Zoe and Bianca treating me friendlier than usual, the rest of the Hunt is going to be on my ass for being a 'retarded perverted male.' Seriously though, I've never even heard of this Guardian rule. Did Zeus just make it up?"

"Dunno. Hey, if you ever get tired of them, you can always come back and visit your sister," Atalanta grinned helpfully.

"Well, Zoe seemed to know what she was talking about," Thalia surmised. "Though the whole guardian thing just sounds like an overpowered lieutenant."

"Yah, that's what I'm thinking. Oh and Atti, thanks." I said. "I'll be home for the holidays for sure. So, what are you planning for this year?"

"Well, first I'm gonna go back home and celebrate Christmas with Mom," Atalanta said. "And you're coming with, right?"

"You bet," I answered. "Wouldn't miss a chance to eat some authentic blue food, especially the cookies. God, the things I would do for those..."

Atalanta's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Oooh, this gives me a ton of great ideas. Like, I could have Mom withhold cookies from you until you do something really embarrassing... like kissing Zoe in the middle of the Hunt, or –!"

"Atti," I said stonily, my hand on her shoulder with my eyes shadowed. "You did not just threaten my unalienable access to Mom's blue cookies."

"I think I just DID!" Atalanta giggled despite my face promising pain. "Oh, is the big bad tough brother of mine scared of a little dare?"

I shook my head, split between saving face and protecting my rights to my cookies. I picked the cookies. "YES! I don't want to be killed before I get my Christmas treats!"

"You guys are so weird," Thalia chuckled. "I thought Atalanta's obsession was weird enough, but two of you going at it is just too bewildering."

"BLUE FOOD IS AWESOME!" Atalanta and I both turned on the daughter of Zeus, making her stumble back in surprise.

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Thalia sighed. "I'm sorry for insulting the love of your lives."

Atalanta elbowed my side cheekily. "I think the love of Percy's life is a little more feminine than some cookies."

"Shut it, sis." I said. "We're not like that."

"Not yet," Atalanta grinned almost ferally. "Not yet, but soon..."

I sighed. "What part of the 'no boys' policy that the Hunt has do you not understand?"

"That's a question that you should answer, not me." Atalanta fired back. "You're pretty close with Zoe, maybe too close hmm?"

"I'm the Hunt's Guardian." I said coolly. "With Artemis unable to lead currently, I have to converse with Zoe regularly to figure out the best course of action to run the Hunt."

"Riiiiiight," Thalia muttered.

The three of us headed back to our respective cabins, me mostly to revisit the Poseiden cabin once more before I headed out to the wilderness. While I watched Atalanta gather whatever belongings she had, which was very little, I sat on the edge of one of the bunks and stared at the Minotaur horn that hung above her bed, filled with a strange sense of nostalgia.

"It seems like so long ago," I muttered.

"What does?" Atalanta asked, catching my line of sight. "Oh, my– I mean, our first kill huh?"

"Yah, for you it's only been two years ago." I said. "For me, well, I've fought him more than I can count on two hands now, and let me tell you, he's the same stupid beefnugget every time."

"Nice." Atalanta shrugged. "If only every monster were as easy as the Minotaur."

"Well, you don't want that exactly," I said, thinking of all the monsters I had fought throughout both wars. "You wanna be able to use your training on the battlefield as extensively as possible. Especially when improving your powers, you're gonna need harder and sturdier enemies to test them on. Like, you can wipe out a platoon of cyclops or hellhounds with a wave, but not a drakon. Especially us demigods with more destructive potential, we need to improve them to the best we can so that if fights go sideways, we can turn them around."

Atalanta seemed to be deep in thought. "Could you... help me learn some of those techniques? Like, train me?"

I chuckled. "Of course, but we're gonna need to do it on the ocean at the beginning every time. I doubt you have learned how to pull moisture from the air yet."

"I can!" Atalanta said, summoning a ball of water in her hand.

"I can as well," I said, summoning my own ball of water. "But can you manipulate it as fluid as the water itself?" While I talked, I transformed the ball into a mace, a club, a shield, a sword, then back to the ball, all one second after the one before. "Can you morph it to fit your needs in the heat of battle? Can you use it to replace a weapon or shield if you've been disarmed?"

Atalanta nodded in understanding. "I guess I've never tried using my powers in that way before."

"Honestly, I was the same," I said. "But after one of my buddies sat my friends and I down to watch some movies and cartoons, I couldn't help but wonder if I could do the same with my own water powers, to create constructs to fight, to make a mech suit, to heal and guard myself in battle even without a lake or river nearby. And of course, after some extensive training, I worked out other things my powers could let me do."

"Like...?"

"I can alter the matter of my water," I said. "It's hard to explain exactly how I do it, but I can manipulate the surrounding water into ice and snow. I can even control substances with water in them, such as poison and blood. Haven't really got to use them cause, well, monsters don't really have blood. And also, we tend to forget this, but we're also the children of the Earthshaker, giving us this ability."

I raised my fist in the air, which hummed softly as it gathered energy. I stuck a single finger out and concentrated the energy at the tip, before pressing it against a small vase, which shattered instantly into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Whoa! What was that?!" Atalanta asked. "You just touched it and poof. The vase just... fell apart."

"Our dad gave us the power to create shockwaves, a minor ability that allows him to level islands and stuff." I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I kinda found out after forcing the eruption of a volcano, but that's besides the point. With massive amounts of time put into practice, you can concentrate that power into your hands and deal some epic damage via punch. I've mostly used it to punch the ground really hard to create a wave to knock enemies off their feet, but close quarters combat... not so much."

"I guess I'll have to wait some time before you can train me like that then," Atalanta said thoughtfully. "After all, you have to take care of the Hunt the rest of this year, right?"

I nodded. "Yep. Honestly, I don't mind too much about being given a job to do, since you know, I have already lived my whole life as a demigod from start to finish. Taking care of the Hunt will be a vacation compared to all the shit I've pulled before."

"Okay, I'm almost done," Atalanta said. "I'm gonna Iris message Tyson and mom before we get going, alright?"

"Sure" I replied. While she went to the fountain in the back to do so, I got up to lean up against one of the front windows, staring out into the campgrounds where Mr. D seemed to have let snow bypass the camp's magical borders, covering the sky in a pale colored gray that rained fluffy cotton balls onto the ground. I had decided that I would probably visit the Romans by the end of next summer at the very least, perhaps try a hand at forming an alliance with Jason and Reyna before the whole mind wipe switch heroes fiasco that Hera decided upon. If the timeline worked the same, then Jason would lead the Roman armies against the ruins of Mount Orthys at the same time that we would fight Kronos here.

Though I knew Luke was most likely not dead, which meant that Kronos' still had a host body, I had decimated his entire year's worth of fighters in my fury for what they did to Artemis. Without access to the Doors of Death, Luke would be hard-pressed to find enough support to create another army, if he plans to attack in the same summer as my reality. Monsters would be easy; it's the demigods that he trained that would be hard to replace. I had a sneaking suspicion that Ethan Nakamura was alive somewhere, as I hadn't sensed him during my invasion in their camps.

It was at this moment in which I wondered if I would have any repercussions in killing such a massive amount of half-bloods. I don't remember a time before when I had been so enraged to the point where taking human lives were almost a nonchalant thought. I mean, as a solo hunter back in my reality, I was no stranger to killing demigods or humans for certain missions, but those were exactly as I said: missions because said individual or groups that done something unforgivable in the eyes of the gods. But this, this rage induced firestorm was completely driven by my emotions.

I sighed. Every time I went deep in thought, another problem seems to arise just to bother me. I want to take everyone's advice to just let time run its course, I really do. But there's this nagging feeling, accumulated from all my quests, this feeling keeps prodding my consciousness as if attempting to warn me that something would go horribly wrong the moment I take my focus off of it. And given my experiences, things going sideways is a pretty common outcome.

Another thought that would occasionally pass through my mental awareness would be my immortality. Sure, I was now like what, a minor deity of some sort? But why was I randomly gifted the power to live forever and not die? I knew I wasn't going to get answers from the Fates anytime soon, so like always, I dropped every notion regarding my newly flowing ichor stats and instead settled for some meditating to sort out the rest of the jumbled stuff in my head.

Atalanta's excited voice pulled me back to reality, and I turned just in time to see her finish up.

"Mom's excited to have you join us," Atalanta beamed. "Looks like you're getting some cookies before you go."

"YES!" I cheered. "I'll tell Mom that I'm going to need them to survive, so she'll give me more than you."

"No," Atalanta growled. "That's cheating! This is my world! Therefore, I get first rights to those cookies! In fact, since you're being so rude, you only get three!"

"No way!" I shot back. "Restraining blue food from a member of the Jackson family is a high class crime!"

We ended up bickering nonstop about rights over blue food and whatnot until the insistent sound of knocking on our cabin door managed to stop the two of us from acting like little kids.

I gave Atalanta the evil eye and straightened myself, before walking to the door and opening it. "Oh, hi Zoe."

The huntress tilted her head to the side in almost exasperation. "We've been ready to leave for about 5 minutes now. I came to tell you that we're leaving so that you don't get lost trying to find us here."

I laughed. "Ahahaha, good one. Since I'm the Guardian, can't I find you guys anywhere as long as I think it?"

"You can," Zoe smirked. "Looks like you aren't such a bonehead after all."

My face turned serious. "So, any ideas on what we should do with Artemis?"

"I know that Apollo is very capable of ensuring Milady's wellbeing," Zoe said, "However, like he said before, he has other godly duties to perform. If Artemis were to be cared for within our camp borders, the Hunt would feel... more inclined to your presence."

I almost snorted. "Right, the Hunt would totally feel even more welcoming to a male while the their leader is essentially in a coma. Look, not trying to be negative or anything, but why can't you carry her there or something?" I raised an eyebrow, forming a water construct of Riptide in front of Zoe but out of Atalanta's line of sight. "You have the power now too, don't you?"

Zoe shook her head. "I've been left from my power for such a long time, its magic is foreign to my very being. I can barely summon a droplet of water, let alone draw from that same immortal power. Teleportation and flight is not an option for me."

"You could've just said that you'd rather see me get attacked," I grumbled. "Fine, as the Guardian of the Hunt, it's within my responsibilities to ensure Artemis' arrival to the Hunt, despite my better judgement."

"Well," I turned to Atalanta. "Duty calls, Atti. If I don't do as Zoe says, I'll probably piss off the Hunt even more."

The girl wrapped me into a hug. "Please don't die. Mom would be terribly upset."

"I won't." I grinned. "It'll take a lot more than a couple hundred arrows to take me down."

I left Atalanta to finish up and followed Zoe back towards Cabin Eight, dressed my usual hunters' garb. My katana was sheathed visibly on my back, with my bow crossed diagonally over it.

Zoe tapped the door twice before entering, before coming out with the rest of the Hunt, all of them having already packed their belongings into their travel bags and whatnot, magical of course so they didn't look like a bunch of teenage hitchhikers. Nobody noticed me at first, until Lydia came out.

"What is that male doing here?" She actually hissed, her eyes flaring with instant suspicion.

"Wow, you recognized me." I deadpanned. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Perseus," Zoe said sternly, her voice tinted with warning. "And Lydia. Whatever animosity you have, quit it before I increase your chore hours."

Clearly, chore hours were not something members of the Hunt enjoyed, because the white haired devil shut up immediately and reduced her actions to simple death glares. Most of the other older Hunters it seemed were giving similar reactions, which increased much more once they realized I was following them towards the edge of the campgrounds.

The moment we reached the border, Zoe sidled up next to me. "I suppose you're used to moving quickly?"

"Like sprinting?" I grumbled, happy a bit that I was given a break from the gazes the rest of the Hunt was giving me, save Bianca and Zoe herself. "Yah, I can run just fine. Where we going, Yellowstone or something?"

"Not this time," Zoe gave a slight grin, quickly hiding it when a few Hunters looked back in distaste. "We're going to Minnesota. Chippewa National Forest, I believe you mortals call it."

"Okay," I said. "So when do we start running?" The moment I finished, the first couple hunters in front gave a burst of speed, then seemed to wink out of existence.

"Now," Zoe chuckled cheekily, before speeding away.

"You guys never make this easy huh?" I muttered to myself, before kicking myself into high gear, and following quickly behind.

§§§§§

We ended up running for a few hours before we reached a small outcropping of land near a river, with which the Hunt set up camp in. I pitched my own pitch black tent a little ways away from the Hunt's campground, close enough so that I could watch their activity, but far enough so that I could see every inch of the camp.

It wasn't long before Lydia came marching up to me, her eyes alight with the same suspicious flame she had every time she saw a single individual of the male race.

I sighed. "What do you want now?"

"Why are you here, stalking us like some perverted thing?" She spat, drawing her bow a nice couple feet from me.

"Geez, what is your problem?" I asked, annoyed with her petty behavior. "I mean, I get that the Hunters have a whole no-male policy going on, but why are you so obsessed with hating on me for absolutely no reason?"

"Just because you haven't shown your true colors doesn't mean I should drop my guard," Lydia bit back. "Who knows when you'll just take advantage of us. Our lieutenant may have fallen for your charms, but I won't believe it for a second."

I stood. "Whatever. I'm the Hunt's Guardian, temporarily, because Artemis is out of commission. Does that answer your question?"

Her face seem to pale slightly at the news that Artemis was incapacitated. "Lies!"

I approached her and watched as her fingers tightened around her bow, her face tight only to drop slightly as I walked straight past her. "Believe what you want," I said. "I don't care, to be honest. I've dealt with plenty of people like you before, so you're acting like a gnat to me, not really any danger whatsoever."

I ignored the girl's huff and made my way through the Hunters' camp, unafraid to hide my gender. If I was to work as their Guardian, I had to earn their trust, however long that would take. I heard whispers and plenty of badmouthing comments, but ignored them all, making my way to the main tent.

I lifted up the flaps of the tent and entered, seeing Zoe inside, staring at the massive silver bow in the back wall.

"Huh, it returned," I said in relief. "Well, that means that Artemis is slowly coming back to normality."

"Oh, you're here," Zoe murmured. "How are you holding up?"

I chuckled dryly. "I'm doing fine, as fine as one can get in a camp full of people who hate you for absolutely no reason."

"They'll have to get used to your presence," Zoe said. "Personally, I'm glad that you're here."

"Thanks," I said. "So, does the rest of the Hunt know the situation yet?"

"No," Zoe answered almost nervously. "For some reason, I'm terrified to how they'll respond."

I laughed and patted her on the back. "Wow, the great Zoe Nightshade admitting fear? That's new."

"Shut up."

"Anyways, while you take care of your upcoming speech for the Hunt," I said lightheartedly, "I'm gonna go get Artemis. When I come back, hopefully you've sorted all the confusion out."

Zoe shot me a death glare that seemed half as venomous as usual, but I ignored her, turning to walk out. "Meet back in here, princess?"

A nod later and I was out, preparing myself for the onslaught of insults that would fly my way the moment I was out of the tent. And surprise, surprise, the one leading it all was none other than Lydia herself. Most of the other older generation Hunters I imagined thought the same, but were less vocal. Nevertheless, the storm of angry and stereotypical slander, however quiet or loud blew my way, and it took much of my effort to not lash out.

I knew the Hunt had a severe misunderstanding of the male race, given much of them had terrible backstories and whatnot, but I had never met a member of the Hunt as brutal and malicious as Lydia. Perhaps she had existed in my reality but I never met her because I had been preparing for the Titan War. I don't know, since the Hunt became much more bearable when Thalia was leading it.

Once I reached the edge of camp, I turned into water vapor before teleporting into an Olympus fountain. I climbed out, naturally dry thanks to my powers and walked briskly towards the infirmary wing, entering to find Apollo still working feverishly it seemed over Artemis.

"Hey, I think she's getting better." I said, catching Apollo's half nod towards me.

"I've finalized the base medications," the god said. "At this point, I can't do much more. How do you know she's doing better?"

"Her godly weapon reformed in the main tent," I said. "It seems that at least her consciousness has somewhat returned."

"Oh, that's good," I suddenly noticed how exhausted the god sounded.

"Hey Apollo, why don't you take a break, I'll take it from here." I said reassuringly. "I'm the Guardian now anyways, you can trust your haiku bro right?"

Half an hour later, Artemis and I had safely made it back to camp, the goddess still in her teenage form which I still found extremely strange, since she really hated that form in my reality. I remember once during an Olympian Truth or Dare, I think my dad dared Artemis to spend the rest of the day in her 18 year old form, and she couldn't change until Apollo rode the sun the next day. It was hilarious watching how many minor godlings and whatnot hit on the goddess because they didn't recognize her. I think Apollo, well, a drunk Apollo did too, and that ended with the sun god's face introduced into the deep layers of the dance club floor.

Anyways, the moment I landed on the fringes of camp, I noticed that Zoe or someone had clearly set up the guard schedule already. I really didn't want to be seen holding Artemis' body because I was so done with the growled insults from today. It wasn't that I couldn't just ignore them, it was more like my brain was too exhausted to take any more shit.

I darted under the cover of night into Artemis' tent, only to run into Zoe and nearly drop the goddess herself.

"Oh shit, sorry!" I said.

"You got her," Zoe said, helping me lay the goddess down on her bed in the back.

"How about your mission?" I chuckled. "You look alive, so I'm sure you didn't get smoked too hard for it."

"It was fine," Zoe replied curtly. "Though, obviously, there were much dissenters."

"It can't be helped," I sighed. "I'll be living with you guys until Artemis returns to normal, and who knows how long that'll take. In any case, if I'm done here, I'll go out and join the security force."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then?" Zoe asked, her voice sounding hopeful almost.

"Yah, wouldn't miss seeing you for the world, princess," I chuckled. "I'm not going to disappear."

§§§§§

"Like I said, if you defeat me, I'll let you say whatever you want to me," I said stonily. "However, if you continue to lose, then that rightly proves that I am better than you in combat."

It was noon of the next day about when I had decided on using the terms of combat to settle whatever these girls had with me. I stood in a makeshift fighting ring drawn by the Hunters with Lydia kneeling in front of me, having been downed after the seventh match.

"You aren't better than me," the girl kept insisting, despite the number of times she found her chin an inch from my blade or her face an inch from my arrow.

"I am better than you, in combat at least and respect at the moment." I stated firmly. "You're just too wrapped up in your mind to accept it."

I stood straight up, glancing at the rest of the Hunt, which had gathered to watch. "Any one of you who wishes to continue blatantly insulting me simply because of my gender, step forward. I'll let you do as you wish if you beat me in combat, since that seems to be the only way I can prove myself to you, even though I shouldn't have to as this Hunt's Guardian. You're acting immature for forcing my hand in such a way."

"Immature!" A blue haired Hunter scoffed. "A male, calling us immature!"

"You're male!" An auburn haired one called. "Untrustworthy, perverted, disloyalty, it's all woven into your genes!"

I sneered. "Then come fight! Prove to me that males are so useless as you proclaim." I wanted to say more, but it wouldn't do me any good if I were throwing the same insults back.

One by one, though some seemed reluctant, they came after me, some several times, claiming that every time I won, it was a fluke, or I had tricked them in some way. After one and a half hours, more than half the Hunt lay battered, beaten several times by me, who utilized the tactics and skills I had learned from not only Camp Half Blood, but also from the Romans, the Hunt, the Amazons, Tartarus, and Artemis herself. Like a river, I adapted quickly to my opponent, finding the easiest and fastest route to incapacitate them. Though the Hunters were no slouches themselves, they were angry and frustrated, almost none of them calm, most if not all attacking me with an air of cockiness and arrogance that likely led to them losing focus throughout the fight.

"You don't suck," I said flatly, ignoring the glares sent my way. "I know, because I've fought with and against the Hunters plenty of times to know. You're good fighters, but you forgot one main thing. You were so focused on thrashing me, you lost focus throughout the fight, thus, many of you were fighting without the normal poise and skillfulness you use in battle." I turned to face each Hunter. "I asked to fight not to display my superiority, but to test if you could act decent when placed in real situation." I paused. "Apparently not."

"Act decent?" The blue haired one voiced, followed by the same sheep like nods of the rest of the Hunters. "Towards you?"

"You don't get the point do you?" I asked. "Your mistress is incapacitated. Therefore, it's the responsibility of the Guardian and the Hunt's lieutenant to take care and watch over the rest of the Hunt. I'll continue to treat you with as much respect as possible, however much you grate on my nerves, but if any of your rash actions caused by your assumptions towards me threatens the Hunt, I'll have no choice but to deck out disciplinary action. So damn your immortality and grow the fuck up, because I'm gonna be living here in this camp for however long is needed, whether you like it or not."

I left the ring and the band of pissed off girls, but frankly, I couldn't care less. I hadn't done anything of blame, so now, it was down to them to change. I was about to head back to my tent when an arm came out of nowhere and pulled me aside, making me turn to see Zoe's worried face.

"Hey, princess, what up?" I asked, all frustration evaporated from my voice.

"Did you really have to rile them up like that?" She asked sternly.

"I didn't do anything but provide them an outlet to vent to," I said honestly. "Didn't seem to work though, cause now they're even more pissed off. I swear, if I hadn't already seen it myself, I'd say turning the Hunt around is an impossible mission."

Zoe sighed. "I guess it wouldn't help as much to say that I had already anticipated this would happen."

"Oh yah, just so that I can keep tabs on who keeps hating on me the most," I said. "Who's the blue haired and the auburned hair girls? They're pretty vocal next to Lydia."

Zoe sighed again. "Blue is Alita, she's a daughter of Hecate, I believe. And the auburn one is Hestia, not the goddess obviously, but she's a mix between nymphs I believe."

"Great," I clapped. "More people that hate me for no reason whatsoever. Also, tell Phoebe thanks that she doesn't hate me."

"Why, did she hate your guts last time?" Zoe smirked.

"I dunno, cause you were the one throwing all the flames last time," I said, smiling. "Bianca was the nice and awkward one, while you were the firestorm who kept butting heads with Thalia over the whole Luke incident and whatnot."

"Oh, right." Zoe muttered. "I suppose I hurt her since this... Luke turned on the bad side."

"Look at you, you have empathy now," I said, elbowing the huntress softly. "But don't worry, Thals got over it. She joined the Hunters as the lieutenant after you died and well, she helped make the Hunt less biased towards the male side of the human race. So, she took your advice to not dating for life but still hugs me for being a friend, so that's one difference she has with you."

"Hmph," Zoe huffed, before launching herself at me and wrapping me in her arms. She pulled away and blushed pink. "There, now I've done it too!"

"You didn't have to, Zoe!" I laughed. "Though, color me surprised that you would ever willingly do such a thing."

We ended up inside of Artemis' tent, the goddess still showing no signs of having woken up in any moments prior.

"I hope she recovers soon," I said. "The sooner I leave, the better I think it'll be."

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"You probably can tell I'm not wanted here," I said. "Besides that obvious reason, Zeus should've appointed you as the Guardian, and had Phoebe or someone else become lieutenant. Since you are a partial goddess now, and a trusted member of the Hunt, it would make more sense that you lead said group in Artemis' stead, as you better understand the structure of this group as well as the characteristics of each huntress." I sat on the edge of Artemis' cot and stared out at the tent's opening. "Also, since I've gotten an official message from the Fate's themselves, telling me that I'm stuck here forever, it's best if I help prepare the demigods and Atalanta for future events. I have plans on how to steer this world away from such a bitter journey, which is impeded by the fact that I'm here."

I held my hands up. "Look, the Hunt is perfectly capable of defending themselves. I know that. I've seen them fight like absolute devils. But if I can't offer anything back, what's the point? The most I can do is train the Hunters with the future techniques Artemis and I have worked on together, but they won't even listen, so I'm essentially useless. The only reason I'm here for is to ensure Artemis' safety, so if anything, I'm more of a temporary bodyguard than anything else."

Zoe swallowed as she took my words into consideration. "I-I didn't know you felt that way."

I smiled dryly. "It takes a lot of patience to not lash out as my younger self may have done. But what your Hunters are acting like is over the line. Blatant hatred and distaste shot at my direction the moment I step into camp, it's unnatural. At this point, they're bullying me, I'm just choosing wisely to ignore them as best I can. They seem to be doing so since Artemis isn't here to stop them, and given your warm fuzziness towards me, I'd bet that they wouldn't listen to you instead."

"Warm... fuzziness?"

"Usually, you're super cold," I said. "Actually, I think the nicest you've ever been to me in the other world was one) you called me a man worthy of wielding Riptide as you died, and two) when you gave me the Nemean Lion's coat after you killed it, insisting that my ice creams did the trick."

"Well, it technically got us to the kill," Zoe said.

"Ah, but it looks better on you," I grinned cheekily. "Plus, I already got a suit of bulletproof armor, you don't."

"Whatever the case," I said, "I have a very small purpose here, however important it may be. I'll find a way for us to communicate long distance, but I'm probably going to ask Zeus to let me off this whole Guardian business, because it feels sort of made up and really, do you guys need a guard? Plus, Atalanta recently asked if I could spend the holidays with her and teach her some stuff with her powers, and that'll easily take a week off of me being here, and I'm going to be honest," I leaned forward and whispered into Zoe's ear. "I would stay here if I could get some alone time with you, but that ain't happening with all the others around."

The girl blushed when I pulled away. "Finally, I think that while the Hunt might prefer Artemis being in camp, I think she'll be safer in Apollo's hands. Somehow, I'll have to convince him on not having to check on his sister every second of his life, but after that, we should be more or less back to normal."

"It's most sensible," Zoe concluded. "We didn't even last a day with you here."

"It's not your fault," I said, shaking my head. "The Hunt's hate for males is a part of y'all's character. It's not in my hands to forcibly change that. After all, you literally swear in the oath to turn your back on men entirely."

"It may sound selfish in some regard," I finished. "But if I have the power to change the future for the better, however much I can, I'll do it."

"Wha-what about my training?" Zoe blurted out all of a sudden.

"What training?" I asked. "As far as I'm concerned, you're near flawless in a fight. At least, from what I've seen."

"The return of my immortal source has also returned my ability over water, thanks to my mother." Zoe said, her hand raised as droplets of water collected together from the air onto her palm. "Since I have not tapped into this power for millennia, I was wondering if you could help me practice and learn it back."

"Uh..." I stared at her for a moment. "You want to incorporate your abilities in the fight or something?"

"I've seen what you can do," Zoe said. "The way you fight and heal with it, it's mesmerizing. I noticed before that you said you were going to train Atalanta, your sister, so I wondered if I could take part in such... such a session as well."

"How much do you remember?" I asked. "I know Atalanta has pretty basic knowledge compared to the level I'm at, but do you even remember anything?"

Zoe shook her head. "I've tried replicating what you do just by watching, but so far, my efforts have been mostly futile."

I sighed. "Fine, you've convinced me to stay a little longer. I'll teach you the basics, maybe get you into some combat mechanics before I go on some personal quests. Please don't make me regret staying, because every moment I don't spend with you, I'm out there," I pointed out the direction of the tent. "I'm out there, getting my hide whipped by words and arrows. Now, I could care less, but they're getting really annoying."

The huntress laughed. "I would apologize, but at this point, I think there's really not much we can do."

"Yep," I said. I turned to the fallen goddess beside us. "Hopefully, when Artemis recovers, she won't suffer too much mental backlash. I know she hated males with a fiery passion already, but this might just be the one that takes her over the edge."

"Well, she doesn't hate you," Zoe poked my head. "So you'll have to stay to make sure she doesn't accidentally kill anyone, especially the rest of your fellow comrades."

"Hahaha, very funny," I said. "You're just trying to make me stay right?"

"No?"

"I can see it in your eyes, Zoe." I grinned. "Whatever, you've got me. I'll stay, cause you would find a way to drag me back here otherwise even if I refused."

"So, in like two days," I said. "I'm gonna be visiting Atalanta for the holidays alright? I'll be gone for like five days maybe, so if anything goes to hell," I drew Shade from my belt and pushed the blade into Zoe's hands. "Grip the handle and chant my name in your mind. It doesn't matter where I am, I'll hear you."

"Like we'll need you," Zoe joked. "We fight like devils right? We'll be okay if anything attacks us."

"I don't doubt your ability," I said. "Just in case, and also so that if something does attack, I'll be able to fulfill my duty as a 'Guardian.' Oh by the way, are you sure this whole guardian thing is a real role? I've never even heard of it."

"That's for you to find out... in your free time." Zoe snickered. "Perhaps you can search for the answers by asking Artemis yourself, but you can only do that if you stay."

"I knew it," I said. "You were arguing to make me stay the whole time. What, you're going to miss me?"

"No." Zoe said bluntly, but not saying much more.

"Whatever," I said, standing up. "Anyways, I'm gonna go out and watch the camp. If you want, you can come along."

The huntress shook her head. "Maybe later. I'm going to watch over Artemis and plan for tomorrow's activities. Oh, could you get Phoebe for me?"

"Get her yourself," I said. "I'm not in the mood to get shot in the face, thank you very much."

"Scaredy-cat," Zoe mocked.

I shook my head and stepped out of the tent, instant dematerializing into water to whisk myself back to my tent unseen. Perhaps staying with the Hunt for a few weeks wouldn't be too bad, maybe test my patience a bit. It didn't matter. After Artemis woke, I would begin by meeting up with the Romans first, then the Amazons. And between summers, I would help train Atalanta. It was the start of a plan, a plan that could potentially win us the upcoming battles without so much traumatic pain.

A/N:

A bit of an abrupt ending, but it works.

So, I feel I've expressed my views on the whole aspect of Percy being a Guardian of the Hunt and all through this chapter but if not here's the basics:

- Guardian of the Hunt fanfiction: I like reading a couple, good writing pieces, but there are tons of parts that don't make sense, the main one being, if he's the Guardian, why the heck are people making Percy take care of laundry and sharpening arrows and stuff? I'm pretty sure magic gives the Hunters infinite arrows, which negates any reason for sharpening them in the first place. And laundry? Would the Hunters really trust Percy within a single foot of their clothes? Probably not.

- I'm not dissing the people who write those categories, as some of my favorite stories are Guardian stories, but seriously, the whole "let's make the Guardian of the Hunt a choreboy" is really strange.

This chapter is my Happy New Year gift to you all, along with the promise that I will continue uploading more chapters in this Part I section this year.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm glad 2020 is over. This year was so goddamn awful and trash, I want it gone. So let's look forward to 2021, and hope for a better year. I'm still gonna be publishing chapters, so stay tuned y'all.

Be safe if you're venturing out, or just stay inside like sensible human beings. Stay safe, and peace out you legends!

- Zayden Shade