DISCLAIMER: All the characters except the OC's, belong to Rick Riordan


Chapter 11: I became the target of everyone, especially my pre-algebra teacher.

"WHAT!"

"One year, kid..." she spoke quietly, and Percy had to lean in trying to make out what Artemis had said.

"What?"

"One year!" she screeched, clenching her hands hard till her knuckles turned white. Her expression contorted and her face turned red with anger like she was about to explode. It kind of scared him. She walked back and forth, gesturing wildly with her hands in a self-deprecating way.

"One year I've been watching you like a hawk, and one year you've alluded me!"

"There's no getting out of this one though!" Percy furrowed his brows, and an uneasy feeling filled his stomach.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I know about you, Perseus." The words could've meant anything, but he knew exactly what she was getting at. "You've been able to play dumb for a while now, but I don't care how you try to cover this one up."

Percy rose an eyebrow at that. She kept talking though, and he was forced to put any question on hold.

"You've done a good job of hiding it. My sister back on Olympus said I couldn't move until I'd confirmed the bolt was in your possession, but given the circumstances, I think she'll excuse my forcefulness." Her tedious tone had dropped now, and her expression turned somber.

"You can't hide anymore, kid. You're cornered, and you can't keep on pretending you're innocent. You're not. Now fess up."

The first thing that entered his mind was the tasks assigned to him. Did the entire council know about his blown-out-of-proportions assignments given to him by Poseidon?

He didn't say anything, but his gaze lowered to the ground. Cracks appeared all around him, thanks to the power-show Artemis had put on to display her might.

"Listen, kid. I know it's been rough on you these last couple of years, but it's only because of the severity of your fate." Artemis told him, but it felt like her words were referencing something far outside the general concept. "If we don't get the bolt back soon, well..."

She went quiet and looked at the floor with a deep concentration. Percy suddenly felt as though this conversation wasn't just about getting him to admit the last assignment. From how she was talking, it seemed as though she already knew all about it.

But he refused to believe that Artemis had nothing to do but watch him. If so, he'd have long since turned to dust by her after he went out of control last time. He also refused to believe that the Olympians had already known everything there is to know about him.

Poseidon wouldn't be careless about anything regarding him.

But who were the "We," she'd mentioned, and what situation was she talking about?

Artemis snapped her fingers to get his attention. Her yellowish-silvery eyes dangerously churned with a cold light on a winter night.

"Let's not dwell on a fate we can easily avoid. Now then, Perseus. Where's the bolt?"

That one threw him off. The way she had mentioned the other things, he didn't feel so bad being out of the loop. They were clearly the references he wasn't meant to understand. But now she was directing a question towards him, using the same unknown terms as before, yet still expecting him to answer. Artemis seemed genuine, and he felt bad not being able to help her, but in the end, all he could say was,

"What?"

Artemis sighed, not in disappointment, but more like a parent growing tired of a child's antics.

"Look, I know you're old man put you up to this." If Percy wasn't confused before, he certainly was now. My old man? "Probably told you that stealing the bolt would make him proud. Listen, Percy, I know what it's like, fighting for their favor, doing everything you can to get their acknowledgment. But this is taking it too far. Lives are at risk, and if you don't hand over the bolt soon, the consequences will be dire. Not just for you, but everyone."

Artemis was starting to look tenser. From her tone, he understood the general situation that something bad had happened. So he spoke again, but he could hear the pitch of nervousness within his words this time.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about, m'lady... I'm sorry...I—" Even he could feel the desperation coming off of her now. It was the same kind that he had shown his mom all those years ago, trying desperately to convince her of the existence of monsters. It was hard to believe, but he was starting to empathize with the girl he had wanted to stab only a few minutes before.

He could understand what it was like, to search furiously for answers only to be met with blank stares of confusion.

"Still committed to the bit, eh?" Artemis laughed lightly, but all he could hear was the dark undertone beneath it. "Alright. We'll do this the hard way then."

She stepped forward. An invisible hand locked Percy in his position from moving. His hair stood on the end. He locked eyes with her. He couldn't make out just what her silvery orbs held, but he felt as though he didn't want to know.

"Where's the bolt, kid?"

It was silent for a moment. Percy could feel something bad would happen if he didn't tell her what she wanted to know, something far worse than losing his little life. But there was nothing he could tell her but the truth.

He had no idea what she was even talking about.

"...I'm sorry, but I—"

Before he could finish, Percy felt his body tighten by an invisible hand. In the next, he was flung to the nearby wall, his head slamming painfully off the floor.

Piper let out a shriek. Before she could move, Artemis raised her hand and she stood still. Most probably she was frozen in her place, just like him. "You better not get involved in this, Piper," Artemis warned her and turned to him.

"I'm done being the nice guy." Disoriented, Percy barely managed to gulp when he was reduced to a coughing fit. He coughed another mouthful of blood. "We're running out of time here, kid. Dangers lie ahead, and if I don't get an answer from you now, the council will be sending something far uglier than me your way. Now. Where. Is. The. Bolt?"

Percy struggled to get up. "...What...Bo—"

"ZEUS' BOLT!" Artemis roared, her eyes burning with fury. The pressure on him increased, and he could do nothing but struggle to stand. "Zeus' Master Bolt! The bolt that you stole on the Winter Solstice. The bolt that your father's going to use to destroy Olympus!" her voice turned hysteric at the end.

"M'lady!" Piper called for her, but Percy felt like it came from miles away.

"You may think you're helping your old man here, kid, but look around! Here you are, seconds away from having your life crushed, and your father's nowhere in sight! Is a man like that worth dying for!?"

Percy was confused, sad, angry, and every other emotion he could think of all at the same time.

Creaking sounds came from within his body and he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Just as he thought he was about to die over a bunch of nonsense that he didn't understand, the pressure surrounding him vanished.

Piper arrived at his side and supported him, tears pooled in her eyes. Looking at her, Percy was immediately infuriated.

"γαμώ τη πουτάνα μου" he roared. "Is your brain clogged with water or what! Just what kind of dumb idiot gave you this idea?" Rage poured through his veins, and the reflection he found in Artemis' eyes was the face of a madman. He didn't much mind the look of him.

"You—"

"I'm dying to find out how an abominable tramp like you would arrive at such a nonsensical, stupid, and downright painful notion." he raged at the bewildered goddess.

"Perce—"

He passed Piper, who was shivering in nervous suspense and faced Artemis. Percy only felt a sullen rage stuck in his throat that he could neither swallow nor spit out.

"Let me guess, that pretentious bag of worms failed to safeguard his toothpick." Artemis looked up in surprise at the name drop. A laugh escaped Percy, throaty and full of bark. "And sent his dogs to fetch it for him. You and your slime ball father of yours are something. Does Zeus—"

The unfiltered rage, bluster, and bravado that had flowed through him so easily were halted in an instant when a bolt of thunder boomed above them. The sun had reached its peak, but the sky was still clear. A gust of wind blew throughout the warehouse. To have heard it should've been impossible, and yet the sky rumbled.

The ground shook and stopped Percy in his tracks, stealing the words from his mouth and the thoughts from his mind. Piper trembled behind him in fear and trepidation. They looked up at the clear sky above, Artemis mirroring their movements perfectly.

Her eyes didn't carry any fear though. Instead, they were filled with grim acceptance, as though she had anticipated the sudden phenomenon.

"Names," she started, turning to meet his gaze with a stern expression. "Are powerful things, Perseus. You would do well to offer us our due respect, especially when you intend to make accusations against their holders."

Percy felt speechless. Just who was accusing who!?

Poseidon had always belittled Zeus in front of him by calling him names and from all his 'good' deeds since the ancient Greek empire, Percy had long since lost any reverence for Zeus. Though Poseidon could make fun of him, Percy simply cannot. There's a fundamental difference in their power levels and they weren't on an even ground to compare with.

By trying to intimidate him with his arrogance and majesty, it was Zeus who had lost his prestige and face that day. That was the loudest slap Percy could give the god at the moment.

"Did you reveal my whereabouts to your father, m'lady?" No thunder came, but the name felt sinful on his tongue. Artemis' silence following his claim was all the evidence he needed, and a bitter smirk of victory crept onto his bloody lips.

Piper whimpered beside him, and all thoughts of bloody revenge escaped his mind, period. She was leaning on him while supporting his frame. Though, in reality, he was her mental support.

Percy was a proud person. His pride wasn't displayed as a show but stuck deep within his bones. He would normally never reveal that side of him for others to see, and never to those close to him. To his loved ones, he was even willing to take a step back, forgive and forget, but to humiliate him like this...

To be treated like a street rat and tossed around like a ragdoll as they please... this disgrace was deeply etched into his soul.

"M'lady, can you please tell us more about the situation?" Piper begged.

During the Winter Solstice," Artemis started solemnly. "The gods were having their annual meeting. During the event, Lord Zeus' Master Bolt, his prized possession and mightiest weapon, was stolen. As you might imagine, the Lord of the Skies is quite protective of his property. He immediately sent his fellow Olympians and subjects out in search of the bolt, and you have been found as the most likely suspect."

A heavy sigh escaped him. H had been expecting that answer, but...

He couldn't help but feel as though there was a piece of the puzzle that she was deliberately being tight-lipped about. By this point, however, he was in no mood to continue asking questions that would only leave him even more confused than before.

"There's nothing I can say about this. So, I hereby swear an oath on the sacred river Styx that I neither stole Zeus' master bolt nor have any connection to the theft." he took a solemn oath to clear his name.

Once again thunder rumbled outside, but it didn't carry any ruthlessness. It was sacred and impartial. Artemis waited for a bit before her eyes morphed into a mixture of shock and surprise.

Percy almost snarled at her for that. There wasn't an ounce of repentance on her face.

"You have cleared your name, Perseus. But your father is still under suspicion. You'd do well to refrain from causing more trouble." Percy internally sneered at that. Now that he was under no threat, she started advising like an elder to her junior.

Her face soon turned grim. "My last trace has gone cold...Where do I find the bolt now?" now she started looking pitiful.

Percy rolled his eyes at the imploring Piper to the pitiful Artemis. He sighed, "Did anyone visit Olympus on the Winter solstice?"

Artemis' eyes shined as she thought about it but gradually dulled. "A group of demigods from Camp Half-Blood visited Olympus." she went on with their purpose and everything.

"Did you question them?" he felt speechless at the genuine confusion on her face.

"Why would I question them? What for?"

"M'lady, I apologize, but are you stupid?" he raged and rained a string of curses on her to vent his frustration before going on. He didn't pause to let Artemis incinerate him. Smoke came out of her ears and Artemis looked like she wanted to swallow him whole.

"Since the gods disdain stealing from each other," he lied through his teeth. "why didn't you question the demigods present about the situation before letting them go? Are you that confident in them?"

"They're demigods from the camp. Why would they do such a thing?" he almost scoffed at her intelligence. This chick doesn't know anything about worldly affairs. "Besides, none of them are capable of pulling such a thing under our eyes. To conceal their presence under our senses and vision, there was only one." her eyes landed on him, and Percy unwittingly nodded.

"How pompous of you to accuse me with such level of intelligence. Since you claim to know everything about me, you must also know about Thalia, with whom I've shared the concealing technique. Why isn't she on your hit list? Oh right, her father is Zeus, and he trusts her unilaterally. Is that it?" he scoffed at the wide-eyed goddess.

"You Olympians are a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites who dared to do whatever they felt like without thinking about consequences and repercussions." he felt stifled to be associated with hypocritical fools like them.

Artemis gritted her teeth. "A maiden wouldn't stoop to such a level as to steal her father's symbol of power. You can take my word on it." Although he cursed internally, he took her words for it. Not because of Artemis, but he had spoken to Thalia and his intuition told him that she wasn't such a person.

"Fine, let's forget about her. She could have taught it to others from the camp in these past few years. Any one of them could have mastered it and had stolen the bolt. All the demigods present in the solstice meeting are your prime suspects. You should know what to do now."

"Yes, one of the campers from the group must be the culprit. I will go immediately." she turned around and disappeared in a flash of light.

With Artemis gone, the pressure on him completely disappeared. Percy collapsed and lost consciousness immediately.

oOo

Percy dreamt of himself standing on a precipice, facing a wide expanse of sky. The mist cloaked everything below him. He'd been to a few places with the combat studio for training, but this wasn't one of those.

"You have arrived!" hissed a low, gravelly voice, somewhere beneath the mist. It echoed tauntingly against the cliff. Percy wasn't sure it was speaking to him.

"Who are you?"

Percy shuddered when it laughed. It sounded more like nails grating on a chalkboard. The mist churned below him, swallowing everything, including him. He tried to get a better look at the place, wondering if he'd actually been there, but the scene was already fading into the mist.

It reformed into a familiar place, though it was one he hadn't dared to visit. Empire State Building. The home to the Olympian gods. The sky was downcast, in contrast to the bright snow on the pavement, descended the place into eerie silence. He stood before the main entrance, the usual rush hour traffic absent on this chilly night. His left hand felt warm at the beginning and soon turned scorching hot, though the rest of him begged to differ.

A two-foot-long, jagged, light spear burned brightly in his hand, trying its hardest to escape his clutches, into the building. He had the sudden urge to pitch the javelin at the building and raze it to the ground. For all the taunting and treatment...

"You shall finish the job!" the same gravelly voice sounded pleased from somewhere below him. His desire to seek vengeance seemed to give immense satisfaction to it. It sounded evil, and ancient, finding delight in chaos and destruction.

Percy stepped into the main entrance but emerged instead on a narrow stone pathway surrounded by mist, leading to a mountain peak floating on clouds. He doesn't need an altimeter to know that he was far above the ground level than he was permitted. Zeus would have a field day.

The path wound up the mountainside where an ancient city lay sprawled like glittering stars in a night sky. The palaces in the city were forged in white and silver, a stark contrast to the dark cloudy sky. Thunder rumbled above him.

"Brick by brick!" the low whisper hissed. Percy once again looked around to see if he could find his mysterious stalker. The pathway was cloaked in mist, surrounded by clouds. The disembodied voice came from below the mist, somewhere far below.

"Tear it apart!" it turned beguiling and intoxicating. "Strike the good-for-nothing gods. I shall destroy them," it promised.

Amidst the rumbling thunder, the disembodied voice cackled gleefully. "It begins," whatever 'it' was, Percy didn't want any part of it. The voice sounded old, ancient even, as though it held a millennium's secrets within it.

Thunder rocked the pathway before him, and Percy woke with a start. Pain flared from the sudden movements that he clenched his teeth till they almost bled. He felt a steel hammer land painfully against his chest with every step to the bathroom.

He was soon soaked by the torrents of water from the showerhead, sighing in relief. He stayed in the shower for two hours, until he felt he could move around without much trouble. He quickly searched the house for his mom, only to find a note on the coffee table.

I'm driving Piper to her house. Tristan called after she stayed overnight.—Mom.

He scribbled a message and stepped out of the house and reached their training warehouse to find the mer-hero Bill waiting for him. He sat outside the warehouse with a quiver full of arrows at his side.

They exchanged their stories. Bill was glued to his spot, terror-stricken, about the suspicion on Percy for the master bolt. What surprised Percy was Bill had a vivid story-telling skills. According to him, the news of his divine exploitation had exploded in the mythical world.

Shortly after he had left, the soldiers in Poseidon's army began to whisper of a monstrous existence that fared grim reaper himself. He wore a demon mask, and black clothes and hunted along the eastern coast.

The commander of the legion involved had been informed about Percy, but only as an asset of the gods, and was forced to remain surreptitious. Neither his personal details nor heritage was spread out. This was to keep Percy safe and conspicuous for as long as possible before his eventual reveal to the world.

The monikers The Left Nightmare and The Crimson Calamity became a symbol of fear in the mythical communities. The monsters remembered his aggressiveness and his left-handed sword-wielding while the soldiers from the empire watched him covered in blood, with trepidation. He had neither greeted nor exchanged words with anyone on the battlefield and stood stoically, watching the ocean with a faraway look.

There was nothing in his expression. No signs of victory, savage or triumph. Even murderous intent was absent from his form. His cold and detached expression gave them the feelings of a hardcore cold-blooded killer, waiting to reap more lives.

The name Crimson Calamity was like a tsunami. It began in the state of Florida and crazily spread to every corner of the country.

Originally, the mythical world was extremely well-informed. Even a small matter would have countless people secretly gathering information, let alone such a huge matter. And the rumors weren't just about its legs. They were also about its wings. Furthermore, as it continued to spread word of mouth, people would always describe it in their way.

One person plus one word. After countless disseminations, this news became countless versions, becoming countless stories.

However, two things hadn't changed. One was a young man monikered the left nightmare. He had driven away countless monsters on the shores of Miami city, destroying the stretch of land that the Atlantis empire had been operating in for countless years.

The second. Although he had destroyed countless monsters attacking the docking station of Atlantis, he had also killed the personnel stationed by the empire and beheaded the guard protecting the noblemen. He had even managed to kill a third-level mercenary team and made the remaining squads flee.

That was the foundation of the rumors. The majority of them hadn't changed much, but what changed the most was this person's origins and motives.

Although The Crimson Calamity hadn't been tested yet, his spiritual fluctuations were extremely intense. He was definitely not over twenty years old.

People began to guess Percy's origins, and so they began to guess randomly. To make their guesses sound more reliable, many people had their unique theories.

As a result, there were countless versions of Percy's origins. There were even some mythical figures that had been brought up. Some people said that Percy was the disciple of some almighty expert because that expert would always wear black.

Some people said that Percy had obtained a certain inheritance from ancient times. That his techniques involved slaughter and it was very similar to a certain inheritance.

Some claimed his accomplishments as pure nonsense because such a character would come out in the open and claim his victory and those who claimed the title all proved to be fakes.

In short, there were too many rumors, and they spread like wildfire.

As for the reasons Percy had formed an enmity with the ancient empire Atlantis, quite a few people had believed that he had come for revenge.

Saying that he had wanted to get justice for millions of vengeful souls caused countless people to scoff at the rumor. Some people said The Crimson Calamity was just looking for an excuse to attack others, while others said that since he dared to openly attack the ancient empire, did he need to find an excuse? Perhaps there was some hidden reason.

In short, Percy's moniker rapidly spread. Furthermore, Atlantis had issued an arrest warrant for him. Anyone who provided clues would receive a huge reward from the ancient empire.

As a result, countless people wanted to find Percy. Some wanted rewards, some wanted his fame while others wanted to see just what this mysterious The Left Nightmare looked like.

There may be many who knew of the existence called 'the left nightmare' but none who knew the appearance of this nightmare. What does he look like? What's his character might be? No matter how one searched through, nothing came out.

The only conclusive evidence was that he was fundamentally a typical hot-headed youth since he spared none in his massacre to spread the word about him. As a result, more people became curious about Percy. For a time, the people on the streets, the wine shops, and the teahouses were all talking about him.

As for the person involved in those rumors, he foolishly gawked at the mer-hero before him. "Bro! Isn't this a bit too exaggerated!?" he lamented.

The massacre had nothing to do with him at all. It was Hurricane going on a rampage after being provoked by the taunts from the foolish Atlantean nobles.

Obviously, Percy cared neither about the names nor the commotion he had created. He would never have imagined that many years in the future, the names of the Left nightmare and the Crimson Calamity would resonate throughout the region and become taboo in the entire mythical world!

He tried to recall the sensation from 'that time'... The memory of the battle had carried in a red haze. Excess thoughts had vanished from his oxygen-deprived mind, and the existence called Percy was purified into the blade he had held in his hands.

"Myself, in essence, a warrior; a warrior, in essence, a sword; a sword, in essence, myself. You entered a state where you and the sword became one. You sever any emotions from your being, whose goal was to eliminate the enemies before you." Bill explained his strange state on the battlefield.

"Using it to fight is alright, but with my current strength, I can't control it down to the finest detail." Percy couldn't help but shake his head. This was like having a five-year-old child swing a hundred-pound hammer to smash open a walnut. Even if the child possessed divine strength and could lift the hammer, once it was smashed down, let alone the walnut, even the ground would be smashed to bits.

"Perseus, you should keep the strength of this sword hidden in the future. Don't use it normally. As soon as this sword clashes with another Treasure item, it will instantly expose its power. So be careful. If you don't need to use it, don't. Such a treasure would make countless people greedy. The open spear is easy to dodge, but the hidden arrow is hard to defend against. Do your best not to reveal it. Be cautious, and then be even more cautious," warned Bill.

"Thank you." Since he would face all kinds of troubles because of his treasured sword, he was forced to hide it and use riptide.

[Bill jokes that the entire sounded fishy and it'd have done a lot more if the noble was alive. They'd at least know the enemy.]

"One more thing," Bill said. "The noble you've killed, his family went missing. It's quite certain that his mistress and the heir were used in controlling him. This was all premeditated. There was no way a noble from the empire would betray everything he had worked his entire life for some menial benefits.

Percy looked down, his mood turning sour. "So, I killed someone innocent then?" he asked remorsefully. He couldn't help but think about his scene with Artemis. It was the same scenario, where one was up against someone overwhelmingly powerful and unconvinced of reason.

Though Artemis hadn't been right in her way to deal with him, he hadn't been level-headed to tackle the situation either. He had only escaped his fate because he was lucky Artemis hadn't gone too far. But what about him? He had been heavy-handed and straight out slaughtered everyone on the battlefield that day.

What if he had given them a chance to explain? Would they have survived this tragedy? There aren't so many 'if's in the world.

"What are you talking about? Viscount Garon had betrayed us and stole the secrets of the empire. No matter his reason, he had betrayed the empire he had sworn to protect. The house of Cunitz had apologized and announced they would give sufficient answer to the empire. You did merit." Bill's words did not alleviate Percy's blame. Instead, they deepened it.

"Involving with mortals, recruiting mercenaries, trying to thwart a huge empire all alone. This transcended foolishness and stepped into a realm of insanity. He was not a paragon of virtue either. Viscount Garon, his family, and the mortals he recruited had all been contaminated by huge karma and they had reaped what they've sown. It has nothing to do with you." he consoled.

"I personally think you did him a favor. He couldn't go against the enemy or the empire. He was forced into a corner. From what I've heard, you've given him salvation; a way out. You've revealed his innocence in the coup so that he can face his ancestors in the afterlife." Bill sighed.

Percy nodded glumly. Making his rash action into an act of salvation was stretching it a bit too far, but he was nonetheless grateful for Bill's action. This line of thinking was a bit extreme, but it managed to alleviate his troubles, albeit only a little.

"You've been a huge help to Atlantis this time. I'm here to convey my thanks on behalf of the royal family and the empire." Bill said gratefully.

Then his expression turned grave. "Good things aside, you've laid your hands on mortals this time. The ancient laws prohibit us from interfering in mortal lives. And then you've sworn a sacred oath on Styx. You've been contaminated by a lot of karma. Be careful."

Swearing on the river Styx was not a child's play. It involved a lot of secrets and risks. And Percy had violated an ancient law by interfering in a struggle between an empire and a secret force. The repercussions of his actions are not something he looked forward to.

Percy mutely nodded and shook off the conflicting thoughts in his head. Wracking his brains over this wouldn't help him in the least.

"Bill, I have a few things I want you to pass on to my father." Percy proposed and went on with his conjunctures. Though rumors are rumors, they're not to be trifled with. A single truth could become false after countless rumors.

"If the council or the noble families ever pressures him to reveal the details of the coup, let my father announce that he had created a group of dead warriors for such emergencies. That group of warriors had been wiped out in the coup along with the personnel from the empire and the monsters by a masked warrior."

Bill thought about it and asked. "Did you think this through? All the glory and prestige would vanish in a puff of smoke once this is revealed. You'll gain endless infamy in Atlantis too."

Percy nodded resolutely. Bill sighed and took his leave, leaving the arrows and a small box for Percy to hand it over to Piper. The empire had collected all the viable proofs linked his identity but Poseidon had destroyed it.

oOo

"Lady Artemis," Piper bowed while Percy simply greeted and stood on the side. Artemis didn't seem to notice any changes in his demeanor or she simply couldn't care less about him. He hoped it was the latter.

Piper had called him about her dream in which Artemis had summoned them both to the historical Obelisk behind the Metropolitan Art Museum on 5th Avenue. It was a stone structure inscribed with very strange characters and a scripting style.

"Piper, Perseus." she greeted. "I've found the culprit behind the theft. Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes, has stolen the master Bolt at the Winter Solstice meeting on Olympus. I had confronted him yesterday but before I could apprehend him, he escaped." she shook her head.

"Escaped how?" Percy asked indignantly.

"He vanished before I could lock him. He most likely had a transportation device that made him slip past me. He vanished from the camp thereafter. You.. why are you looking at me like that!?" Artemis raged once she noticed Percy looking at her strangely.

"Let me guess. You've tried to first reveal the truth before apprehending him. Since your previous method backfired on you, you've approached this guy normally and he had numbed your senses. Am I right?" he sneered.

Am I a soft persimmon then? Just you wait! I'm not my father's son if I don't make you pay the price! He grounded his teeth in frustration.

"You..! How did you know this? I didn't even inform Chiron about this." asked the shocked goddess. Since she too appeared as a twelve-year-old girl, her expression would've been comical if not for her frosty aura.

Percy looked at her strangely, speechless at her IQ. This chick either believes the world is a peaceful haven or she hadn't faced any heavy setbacks during her time as a goddess. How dumb can one be while interrogating a suspect to let him manipulate her till he numbed her senses and made his escape path?

Whoever this Luke fellow was, either his guts were too big to play a goddess or he was a scheming fox with a sweet tongue to even trap Artemis to lower her defenses.

An awkward silence enveloped the trio. Percy completely lost any interest to talk to Artemis. He didn't care whether Zeus recovered his master bolt or not.

"M'lady, did he tell you anything before escaping? Can you please tell us?" Piper implored. She had become the unofficial liaison to diffuse any awkward moments between them.

Artemis gave a rundown of her talk with Luke and how he had acted weak in front of her and played dumb for the most part. By the time she had realized he was stalling for time, he had already escaped. Artemis had searched the surrounding areas with no clue. Helpless, she had returned for their advice.

"From what I've inquired from the camp, Luke Castellan was bitter towards the gods for abandoning their children. He had failed a quest and was probably venting his frustration in this way. He might be just using the theft to create a war between gods and make them pay for their neglect. I'll have to warn my father about this." she added the last line to herself.

"What else is new!" Percy muttered under his breath.

"Anything else?" Piper probed, giving him a sharp look.

"Huh? Oh yes. Before disappearing, he muttered 'you won't be persuaded that easily,' something like that. There's a likely chance that he had many under his cause. You.. why aren't saying anything? Aren't you very talkative?" she turned towards Percy and ground her teeth.

"Trying to goad me, how childish!" Percy spat. "I've long since stopped playing with such things. You simply can't make me talk."

"Perce, tell me what do you think?" he stared at Piper, speechless. Just whose side was she on?

He sighed in defeat. "Fine. You win this time. My informant told me about some ancient sea spirits trying to rise and preparing for a drawn-out war with Atlantis. This could be a prelude to it..." he paused and flew into a rage when Artemis looked at him suspiciously. "Get lost, I'm done with you."

"You..!" Before Artemis could blow her top and incinerate him, Piper interfered and pleaded on his behalf. "Percy! Speak properly." she sternly warned him.

"What do you mean, speak properly? She doesn't trust me." he pointed at Artemis, still watching him suspiciously. "She's thinking I'm misleading the theft to some rumors, sidetracking the whole issue and making a big deal out of nothing. Don't roll your eyes. I know you're thinking along those lines." he directed the last words at Artemis.

After a lot of imploring and warnings from Piper, he relented and informed them of everything. Since the sea spirits are awakening and planning a war with Atlantis, there might also be old enemies of Olympus trying to overthrow them. Since Luke had boldly stolen the master bolt, he must be working for some big shots who could prevail even Zeus' wrath.

Listening to his reasoning, even Artemis has agreed with him, but also lamented that her father might not believe her on this. He had always been conceited with his power and position.

"Alright, I shall be on my way. I still have to search for the bolt. Tracking is my specialty, after all." Artemis turned around to leave.

"M'lady, if I may ask, who are the other gods searching for the bolt?" Piper asked. It was Percy, who had urged her to ask Artemis since she might not answer him.

"Including me, there's Athena, Hermes, Apollo, and Ares, and a lot of my father's subjects." Piper thanked her and they both averted their eyes while Artemis assumed her godly form. Even the back of their eyelids felt hot before she vanished.

"Phew! This is beyond bothersome!" Percy sat down on the table near the Obelisk and handed the box to Piper. "Bill left this for you. Your arrows are at the warehouse."

Piper eyed the box suspiciously and slowly opened it. Percy didn't mind her, since it looked like a ring box. Inside the box, there lay an unremarkable ring. It was a plain celestial bronze band, engraved with Atlantean runes on the surface.

"What's this!?" Piper took it out and asked. Before he could respond, she put it on her finger.

The ring morphed into a sword with the hilt covering her hand. It's two-and-a-half feet long and two-fingers wide. It's shorter, heavier, and wider than a conventional rapier but more balanced at the tip. The hilt covered her arm like a flower from any traditional disarming technique.

"Perce, it's a basket-hilted sword. It's shorter than a rapier, but the perfect size for me." Piper exclaimed. Once again, Bill had outdone himself.

Their happiness was short-lived. A low growl rang from behind the Obelisk and a group of large, dark wolves emerged, surrounding them.

Percy had a stomach full of anger with nowhere to vent. Riptide sprung into action and he charged the wolves, Piper in tow.

Their days returned to normal ever since. Other than Percy's fluctuating aura and the increased number of monsters in New York, things remained peaceful. Since there was nothing he could change his aura fluctuations, Percy predicted that a nearby satyr would likely sniff his aura and come searching for him.

It was time to visit camp Half-Blood. He must go to the camp to find out whether he had been framed or was it a fluke.

His night prowls became frequent with the increased monster count. There were a lot of them, but low-level. The only difference was that Percy was a lot more confident than before, with weapons and techniques to dispose of monsters at an incredible speed he couldn't have imagined previously.

As expected, when the duo returned to the school for the new term, a new transfer student joined their class. He was of average height with baggy jeans and a jacket. He had curly brown hair, a goatee, and a heavy case of acne. They were told he was disabled from the waist down and walked with crutches, but the short horns hidden in his curly hair under a Rasta cap cannot be hidden from Percy's eyes.

He's disguised well enough! The camp must have pulled some strings to enroll him here!

The satyr hobbled to the front with his crutches. "Hi, I'm new here. My name is Grover Underwood. Nice to meet you." his eyes roved over everyone and paused on Percy for a split second before moving on. He must've fooled everyone in the class, but his actions cannot escape the demigod's sharp senses.

oOo

For a whole week, Grover managed to stay out of his friend's circle before slowly including himself. Whether he was less confident or a stickler to the rules, he seemed to be an easy target to the bullies at school. His previous suspicions of Grover working for either of his uncles or some unknown proved to be false.

After the last attempt, one can never be careful enough. If he were working for either of his uncles or other enemies, then he's got natural acting skills and a very shrewd mind to fool even him, but that's unlikely. Percy trusted his instincts.

Grover was quite good at his work. He triple-checked everything before proceeding to the next step. He was very cautious with everyone and was always on the lookout for monsters around him. But there was nothing he could do to deal with the monsters.

So, Percy played the innocent while Piper was in charge of dealing with any supernatural surrounding their school. What surprised him was Grover was only focused on him while leaving Piper out of his observation. He thought that satyrs and natural spirits are born with a natural talent for tracking; they were unrivaled with the smell.

Then again, Piper had immediately protested when he planned to visit the camp alone. He tried to convince her to let him check the camp before letting her come along. She had agreed on the surface while releasing the tiniest of the aura she could near Grover to let him know of her existence.

He stared at her, gobsmacked. He had been a fool to believe her straightaway when she agreed with him without any objection. He could only watch as the satyr panicked to handle two demigods all on his own.

"We better escort him safely to the camp then." Piper acknowledged her mistake.

Grover had been nervous for a couple of days before he settled in. The duo thought the satyr had accepted the inevitable, but he slipped up about a new History teacher, which itself raised a lot of questions.

Just as they suspected, barely into the new term, there had been an announcement of a new History professor, Mr. Brunner, replacing their previous teacher, who was supposedly on a trip to his hometown. Mr. Brunner was a middle-aged man with thinning hair, bushy brows, intense brown eyes that twinkled mysteriously, and a scruffy beard. He was dressed in an old-fashioned tweed suit and was disabled from waist-below; he was in a motorized wheelchair.

"Hello class." he greeted casually. "I'm pleased to meet you all. Our stay together might be short, but I'll try to make it an enjoyable one."

At first, Percy had thought of him as just another teacher blowing hot air about wanting to help his students. By the end of the first week, he'd proven himself to be that one-in-a-million kind of teacher, the kind you'd only find in White Savior flicks and Scandinavian schools.

It wasn't just that he'd gone above and beyond for the whole class, however. Since the very first week of term, Percy had felt the crippled teacher had paid extra attention to him and his studies. It had been annoying at first. Over time, that annoyance morphed into slight respect for the man's dedication and charismatic demeanor, and he soon became one of the teachers, whose class Percy had deliberately paid attention in.

It may have also helped that some of what he'd taught had held some real-world application. Though Mr. Brunner might have been a little old school, his bits of advice helped nonetheless. Just about everyone else in his class would've denied that claim, but then they weren't the ones fighting mythological nightmares on a nightly basis.

Grover had called him for backup, because Percy smelled too strong for comfort.

A little snooping around the teacher's office gave him the answers to his unanswered questions. The immortal Centaur, Chiron, A.K.A, Mr. Brunner had been called for backup by Grover, who found Percy's smell too strong for comfort. And Chiron had concluded him as an ignorant and naïve demigod, new to the mythical world. After a little observation, he had presumed that Percy's natural aura was similar in strength to that of an unaware demigod but it's fluctuating due to the unrest in his father's domain. So he had hoped to leave a lot of information to deal with any unexpected attacks. The lack of monsters still had stumped him.

Starting mid-January, the entire mainland felt like injected with crackling bolts of energy and searing heat spells in the middle of the winter. Massive sea storms whipped the waters of Long Island and the faint rumbles of earthquakes erupted on the New York mainland.

Imagine the whole world collectively trying to screw you over when you're learning something wholeheartedly in a peaceful environment. Percy got the front-row ticket for such a show. Halfway through the term, a large disturbance shook the duo and the satyr when a new teacher entered their classroom.

"Settle down!" All the students hastened to their seats, while some of them leaned their heads on the table. Grover looked up at the teacher and his face froze in an expression of horror. Curious, Percy looked at her. She was a reed-thin, short woman in a heavy leather jacket, her lips pursed in a thin line.

She turned to write large letters on the blackboard: ATMSH. Percy squinted a little, for the letters to make sense. Having been hardwired for reading in ancient Greek, deciphering English letters took a while. MATHS.

"I'm Mrs. Dodds," the teacher said. "I will be substituting for Mrs. Kerr this term." her eyes roved up and down the rows of students, as though searching for one in particular. She passed Grover and paused on him and Piper before moving on to the next students.

Percy realized the large disturbance as mist manipulation on a larger scale, sufficient for some high-level supernatural being to disguise as a teacher. He had heard that monsters often pose as teachers in schools, trying to snuff out half-bloods before the satyrs could find them. If not for his caution, and a mist-expert beside him, he might've failed to detect a monster sneaking into his school.

And from Grover's expression, he definitely knew her identity. Even if he had been itching to know about it, Percy held back for the bigger picture. Whoever she was, unless his identity was exposed, unless she was absolutely certain about him, she wouldn't discriminately attack anyone.

For the rest of the term, Percy felt a pair of eyes observing his every move in the school. His studies in class, his performance in the gym, and his interaction with mortals were all under constant scrutiny, making Percy fly into a rage, almost attacking her without much further thought.

He had curbed the idea to reveal himself to Chiron or Grover to let them inform him more about Mrs. Dodds many times. He had had enough attention from the deities and many supernatural beings, much less a monster disguising as his pre-algebra teacher.

Come on!

xXx

A/N: The chapters from now on loosely follow the ones in the book, but will probably be cut in different places. Let me know what you think. Reviews are much appreciated!