Chapter 13: Returning To Camp

(Author's Note)

Hey everyone! I'm not dead! SO SORRY for the two month delay, believe me, I did not mean to be gone for so long. As you know I had to fill in for my boss for a month then I had to finish my costume for Comic-Con and so many other things happened. While I was gone I (mostly)decided the order of my upcoming stories, series and one-shots(you can find them on my newly updated Profile) and did more work for my upcoming PJ SYOC story. Submissions are closed and I'm now picking the roster. But enough about that, you guys are here to read COO, not hear about a future story. So we'll get right into it after a few brief things.

Please follow me on Twitter if you'd like, I post Polls, ask questions, give sneak peaks and talk about nerdy stuff.

I updated my FF Profile so please check it out, especially my upcoming stories so you can vote for them on my Poll.

Lastly, we hit 200k words and 100 Reviews while I was gone! Thank you all SO MUCH for the love this story has gotten since the beginning. It only exists because of your support. But who'll get the honor of being the 101st Review? I can't wait to find out.

Anyway, onto the chapter! I know it's shorter than normal but after the last few we needed to calm down a bit. But don't worry, I plan for the next few to be longer.


Chapter 13: Returning To Camp

[Recap:

The Prophecy has been revealed and Artemis has tasked Percy and the demigods to protect Olympus.

After attempting to arrest Leonidas to gain information about his plans, the Prophecy and the identity of the mysterious Titaness, the War Council was swiftly defeated by the now known son of Heracles. In the battle Leonidas accidentally gravely injured Annabeth, purposely injured several other campers, killed Clovis and Damien before finally killing Peleus the dragon and stealing the coveted and divinely powerful Golden Fleece of legend.

After calling his midnight-black winged steed, Percy took Annabeth to Olympus to beg for them to heal her as well as to alert them of Leonidas and the danger he and the Titaness pose to Olympus and the world.

Now with Annabeth in a healing sleep assisted by Apollo and Hypnos, Percy was told by Hera that Annabeth had been currently eight weeks pregnant and had not told him yet. After adjusting to this life altering information, and suckerpunching his potential one day mother in law in the face, Percy spoke with Artemis about how to best deal with Leonidas. Since Zeus informed him that the Olympians were too weak to leave Olympus and could not stop the now supposedly fully healed Leonidas and Eos theirselves.

So now after working with Artemis and various other gods and goddesses in creating a plan to protect Olympus on the Promised Day this Summer Solstice, only two and a half short weeks away, Percy descended Mount Olympus to head back to camp to tell the others the news with the intent to track the rogue demigod and capture him alive. All the while inwardly cursing himself for leaving the love of his life on Olympus despite not having any choice.] (AN: I'd suggest to reread the past few chapters so you don't forget anything)

(6/4/2011 - Camp Half-Blood)

Several hours later

Percy touched down on Blackjack outside the Big House just after breakfast if the number of campers walking away from the pavilion was any indication.

Percy entering the camp had always been followed with at least some sort of small gathering of campers welcoming him back or wishing to hear of his latest dangerous quest. But this time, this time the entire camp just observed him silently as he descended from the sky, standing still as statues and not running up to him as they did before. It wasn't until he dismounted the pegasus and turned towards the large group when Piper burst from the masses and quickly engulfed him in a deathgrip of an embrace.

"Percy! Oh thank the gods above! How's Anna-" The daughter of Aphrodite cut herself off as she pulled back, looking up to his eyes after seeing he was alone. "...Where's Annabeth?"

Percy took a slight step back, turned slightly and looked over her head to the large group of demigods. "War Council!" He bellowed for everyone to hear, his voice level and restrained to Piper. "Emergency meeting in the Big House. Now. Mandatory attendance."

With that he pivoted around Piper and started up the steps of the Big House before being stopped from behind when a hand clenched his arm and spun him around suddenly. He opened his eyes to find Piper glaring at him. "Where is Annabeth?" She demanded, her ever-changing colored eyes narrowing at Percy.

Percy only easily pulled away and continued to head up the front steps to the porch, looking out to the crowd of demigods that hadn't dared to move or speak since his arrival. "Did I stutter?" His voice was starting to lose his forced calmness. "Emergency War Council meeting. Now." He managed to take another step before Piper called out.

"Percy Jackson, you answer my question or-" She started but was cut off when Jason lightly put his hand on her shoulder.

"Percy obviously doesn't want to talk about it right now," He whispered to her, his eyes falling on the large gathering of demigods. "Let's talk about it inside." To the group of demigods he yelled, "Are you all deaf? War Council members to the Big House!"

In order to not be yelled at again and to hear what Percy had to say, the various members of the War Council followed the son of Jupiter into the Big House and up to the meeting room. Percy spoke as soon as the last person, Thalia, sat down.

"Let's make this short, we don't have much time." He said in lieu of a hello. "As you know, I took Annabeth to Olympus last night, I want to start off by saying that she's…" he paused slightly to search for the word, something that made the others nervous. "...okay." He finally settled on. "I was able to take her to the throne room with Lady Hebe's help. Lady Hera summoned Apollo and Asclepius to heal her." He paused again to look at the gathering of his friends. "But they weren't able to heal her outright, the gods are growing weaker like we suspected, but it is far worse than we thought."

"How do you mean?" Jason asked. "Can't the gods just heal her and stop Leonidas?"

Percy slowly shook his head. "No, they can't." He answered, watching as the others looked at him in surprise. "The reason why the gods have been silent for over a year is because they are growing weaker by the day until we reach the Promised Day."

"Which is the summer solstice, right?" Katie asked.

"That's only seventeen days away," Malcolm stated. "Which is both good and bad, since we only have to worry about defending Olympus for seventeen days but also meaning that we only have seventeen days to prepare."

Percy nodded to the son of Athena, his heart tightening a little. "That's right, Malcolm. I talked it over with Zeus and the gods, they are weakening by the day as the Promised Day grows nearer. And during the Promised Day, they can actually be killed die, Fade into the Void." He paused briefly to look at the eyes of the now fewer head campers. "It happens every few millennia as is natural, so there's no way around it. Artemis claimed that not even the Fate Sisters could stop it if they wanted. Dozens of mostly minor gods are going to Fade in seventeen days. And Leonidas, despite his, admittedly honorable intentions to help the world, will use the Promised Day as an opportunity to destroy the thrones of Olympus, killing all of the Olympians at once."

"That bastard is pure evil." Sherman muttered under his breath just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Is he really?" Katie spoke up from her seat. Sherman immediately narrowed his eyes at her.

"Of course he is!" He challenged the daughter of Demeter. "How else would you call attacking us and killing Clovis and Damien? He almost killed all of us! He's obviously been waiting to kill all of us from the beginning!"

From her seat the daughter of Hecate looked to the now empty seat of Clovis and let out a muffled cry from behind her hand. Katie sent the slightly younger girl a sympathetic look before continuing in a calm voice rather than rising to Sherman's anger. "If he's been really trying to kill all of us the past two months then why didn't he?"

Chiara spoke up next. "Maybe he was just waiting for the right time-"

"Or maybe he just isn't the person we thought he was." Katie cut in kindly, looking to everyone at the large table.

"What do you mean, Katie?" Nico asked in a level voice.

"Well, what do we actually know about him?" Katie asked the group. "At first we thought he was just a kind Monster Hunter wandering the country. Someone who, like us, lost their family, home, someone who didn't know where they fit in this world of gods and was just trying to survive. Then we thought he was sent by Lord Zeus or Ares to kill Percy," At this she looked to the son of Poseidon before looking back to the group. "But he obviously wasn't given that he plans to kill Lord Zeus and the other gods and they didn't even know he existed before yesterday. Maybe he's closer to what we first thought."

"What are you saying, Katie?" Jason asked the question everyone was asking.

"I'm saying that in the two plus months we spent with him, did he ever do anything to threaten us?" She asked the group, before looking to Clarisse. "Who was the one that volunteered to teach combat classes when you and Sherman were busy patrolling the walls?" The children of Ares let their eyes drop slightly as Katie looked to Pollux. "And who helped us find a way to use Nordic nature magic to bring the crops back from wilting so we had food to eat?" She then looked to Will. "And who taught you and the healers how to use Egyptian herbs to medicate our sick and wounded? Even helping bring Sam from Athena back from the brink of death?!" Katie suddenly stood, her voice now just under a yell, something that surprised everyone in the room. "Leonidas has fought besides us for two months, taught the younger campers how to fight and fend for themselves in the wilderness, gave those same children hope and fun that none of us could since the gods disappeared. Helped us rebuild our walls and sole means of protection now numerous times!" Katie paused for a second to retain herself, looking at everyone in the room. When she continued her voice dropped to her usual kind and calm one.

"I won't deny that he lied to us about a few things, namely his father, but think about it, if he wanted to kill all of us, then why didn't he?" She remained standing but relaxed her hands that had once been gesturing animatedly. "Yes, he attacked us, but not outright. He only fought back when we attacked first-"

"Don't try to make it sound like he was defending himself!" Malcolm cut her off, quickly standing up as well. "We gave him the chance to surrender! He didn't have to kill Clovis and Damien!"

"And he gave us the chance to let him walk away. He didn't want to fight." Katie countered calmly, not letting Sherman's anger rile her up. "Look around you, is anyone else dead?"

Sherman threw his chair back and angrily faced the daughter of Demeter sitting right next to him, throwing an accusing finger in her face. "Are two dead campers not enough for you?!" He bellowed in her face. "Perhaps if he killed at least ten of us you'd care!"

Katie's restrained face dropped instantly, her eyes narrowing at the son of Ares next to her. "Don't you dare claim that I don't care for every camper here! Don't forget what I do for the camp! I work to repair the damage done to the campers done by the war, your father's Domain!"

"Why you-" Sherman went to reach for Katie but was stopped but he two closest people, Malcolm and Will, grabbed him from behind and Jason stepped in between the two.

"Calm down, Sherman!" Jason ordered just as Clarisse rose from her seat at the head of the table to stop a fight if it were to break out.

"Get yer hands off me!" Sherman yelled as he struggled to break free from Will and Malcolm's grip. "I'll-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Percy bellowed from his seat, the ground beneath the building shaking. Instantly everyone in the room went deathly silent. "We're all on the same side, why are you fighting?! Did you all forget what happened yesterday? We don't have time for this." After letting out a long breath he sat, motioning for Will and Malcolm to release Sherman as well. After everyone seemed to settle down Clarisse finally sat down as well. Percy rested an elbow on the table and used it to hold his head, gesturing for Katie to continue. "Katie, you were saying?"

The daughter of Demeter was silent for a few seconds after nodding, addressing the group again, her eyes on Will. "How many wounded do we have from last night when Leonidas attacked us?"

"Twentyseven." He said without hesitation.

"And how many of those injuries are fatal?"

Will was slower to respond this time, thinking of his response first. "...None." He finally said, surprising the group. He looked around at the various injuries in the room. Mostly the group only had bruises, joints popped out of place, maybe a tooth knocked out or a few broken ribs or bruised bones. "With the exception of Chiara's lost eye, that once I was able to get it stable wasn't life threatening, ...none." He gestured to the large gaping hole in the wall. "Even Vicky who got thrown through the wall onto the ground only suffered a broken ankle and a few bruised bones."

"I still don't get what yer tryin' to say, Katie." Mika spoke up, her arm in a sling from Leonidas dislocating it. "I admit tha' I was good friends with 'im, but he still stole the Golden Fleece, leavin' us vulnerable to attack."

"Mika's right." Jason agreed. "Without the Golden Fleece strengthening the magical borders around camp, we're without any means of protection. Now we have to defend ourselves and Olympus. What if the other Titans decide to attack Olympus while the gods are weak? They'll be defenseless. "

"Any magical means, yes, but we still have dozens of campers, not to mention my hunters, to protect us." Thalia told her brother. "We've defended camp and the gods before, we can do it again. Even if we have to take on the Titans by ourselves."

Katie spoke up again to answer Mika's previous question. "Look, I'm not trying to defend what Leonidas did, gods know I don't condemn violence, but when he ran through camp and stole the Golden Fleece how many of the young, weak and unsuspecting campers did he kill?"

The entire council was quiet as they looked around the room to each other. Finally, Amethyst spoke up. "None, he didn't harm any of them. I even heard from Esteban that he avoided fighting them when they tried to stop him."

"But why would he do that?" Leo asked. "With his strength and skill he could have easily killed all of them."

"Because he isn't a killer." Piper spoke up.

"What are you talking about, Pips?" Jason asked, more confused than angry. "He killed Clovis and Damien, of course he's a killer."

"Having killed and being a killer are two different things." She defended, her eyes dropping slightly. "Everyone in this room has killed someone or something before, be it a Monster, Titan or enemy demigod during the war. Yes, the Monsters and Titans are, well, what they are but they're still sentient, living, feeling beings. What's the difference between killing a Monster and a mortal?" She looked briefly to Clarisse that told her of the numerous demigods that died that had sided with the Titans. "None of us enjoy killing… and I don't think Leonidas does either."

"Did you see his face before we fought?" Piper asked them, continuing. "When he looked to the ceiling and spoke to it? He must've been talking to Eos, the Titaness that he's working with. He called her his love."

"And you think him being in love with some Titaness justifies him attacking us?" Chiara asked.

"No, of course not." Piper answered. "But I think that he may actually love her and that's why he attacked us. Did you hear what he said? About her calling him and that he needed to go to her? And do you remember what Percy told us about how the gods, and Titans are dying with the Promised Day coming up? What if Eos is dying? And the only way Leonidas thought he'd be able to save her was the Golden Fleece? What if he did it out of love?"

"You can't just justify everything by saying it was for love, Piper." Nico told her. "Being the daughter of Aphrodite or not, you have to admit that murder is still murder."

"I'm not justifying him," She told the group, stressing the words. "But as a daughter of Aphrodite I can read someone's face like you can a book, my mom might not be the goddess of emotions but out of any god she is connected to them the most. And because of that I could read his face right before he attacked us."

"...What did you see?" Jason asked his girlfriend after a few seconds of silence.

"Worry," She told them, her voice growing softer. "Pain, not just physical, but emotional. But most of all? Fear. Fear of what was going to happen."

"Fear of what happening?" Travis asked.

"I don't know," Piper admitted. "But if I had to guess? The Titaness that was calling him, Eos."

"But-"

"Piper's right." Percy spoke up suddenly, gaining the attention of the room. He ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a long, slow breath. "Leonidas told me about Eos, well, he told me about Emily, her fake mortal name. But he told me about her."

"What did he tell you?" Rachel asked.

"She, Eos, is dying, and she'll most likely die this Promised Day. Leonidas is doing everything he can to save her… but he's… dying as well."

"What?" Piper asked.

"What do you mean?" Rachel was next to ask.

"Can we use that to our-" Clarisse was in the middle of asking when Percy stood up and cut her off.

"We can talk about it all day, but it doesn't change what we need to do." He looked to everyone in the room with a serious expression, his face and emotions guarded. "We can debate later on his motives, but right now we need to act. The Promised Day is seventeen days away. Meaning that in seventeen days Leonidas, and possibly other Titans that sided with Kronos, could attack Olympus to try to kill the gods. That means we have seventeen days to come up with a battle plan to defend Olympus." He looked to the son of Athena. "Malcolm, I want your cabin to start coming up with strategies, get them to the council as soon as possible. Leo," he turned quickly to face the son of Hephaestus. "Get your cabin working overtime on the Argo II and weapons, we'll need everything at our disposal to defend Olympus against Leonidas and the other Titans if they attack."

"Do you think that he'll work with them to destroy the gods?" Travis asked.

"No," Percy shook his head. "Leonidas doesn't believe in letting anyone ruling over the world, let alone the Titans that would no doubt destroy all of humanity. He won't side with them."

"Do you think that he'll side with us when fighting the Titans?" Jason asked. "An enemy of my enemy type of thing?"

"Doubt it," Clarisse shrugged. "He seems too hellbent on 'savin' the world' to help us if you ask me."

"But we might be able to work with him." Katie said. "We might be able to reason with him-"

"I am NOT reasoning with that murderer." Sherman yelled, slamming his fist onto the table. "We defend Olympus, plain and simple. And if we have to kill him, or anyone for that matter, we'll do it."

"Watch yourself, Sherman," Jason warned him. " You're sounding like your dad."

"I am not-"

"We don't have time for this." Percy cut in again, giving Sherman a warning glare. "We have to fix up camp and start preparing for another fight, and if my gut and Rachel's prophecy are correct, then it'll be the hardest one we've ever fought." With that he looked at everyone in the eye. "Olympus is on the verge of falling into civil war and they cannot help us, so it's up to us once again to save them and the world. So I expect everyone to think about the odds at steak before they start any foolish fights." He sent another look to Sherman before looking to his sister. "Clarisse, as of now you're acting commander while I'm gone. Defend it until I come back"

Clarisse watched him for a second before rising from her chair and nodding, offering her hand for him to shake. "I will, Prissy. I promise."

"Thanks, Clarisse. I'm counting on you." He nodded to Clarisse before turning to Thalia down the table. "You ready to go, Thals?"

"Wait," Jason cut in. "Where are you going? Back to Olympus?"

Percy shook his head, pushing his chair back under the table and taking a step back towards the door. "No, I'm taking Thalia and a few of her best hunters to go find Leonidas."

Several breaths hitched in the room. "What?" Piper demand. "And do what, kill him?"

"No," Percy shook his head slightly, his eyes lost in thought, not fully there. "We're going to track him down, the hunters of Artemis stand the best and only chance we have at finding him. We'll be taking the eldest hunters and will leave the rest to help defend camp and Olympus before the Promised Day."

"And what will you do once you find him?" Travis. "Show him the errors of his ways and magically turn him back into our friend?"

"No, but we might be able to talk to him." Percy countered. "Look, I'm not saying that I can, or even want to bring him to our side right now,... but Katie's right about one thing, we don't fully understand what he wants. And the only way to stop him is to know how to stop him." He looked to Rachel. "I… have this feeling that I'm supposed to do something, I just don't know what it is, But something feels… off. All I know is that I feel like I'm supposed to find him." He gave a shrug. "If I'm supposed to find him in order to work with him to save Olympus or kill him to save Olympus, I'm not sure. Any thoughts Rach?"

The Oracle shook her head after a few seconds. "...Sorry, but no. All I can see is the painting I saw in my dreams. You two were fighting on Olympus, the earth was shaking, the ocean rising and the sky breaking… I'm sorry, but I don't have any answers."

"Perce," Jason looked to his best friend. " Do you truly think that you can work with him? Can we forgive him after everything he's done?"

The entire gathering of demigods watched Percy as he debated the question in his mind for a full minute, thankful that they weren't in his position. "...Honestly? I'm not sure I can forgive him for what he did to Clovis, Damien and…" His breath caught slightly, biting his lip. "And Annabeth. But I might be able to work with him to at least find a way to stop him from killing the gods." He gave another shrug. "But I honestly don't know what to, or even what I should do. I'll I know is that I need to find him. So I will."

At this Thalia rose from her seat and made her way down the table to stand beside Percy. "I don't know with we should do about Leonidas either, but what I do know is that as long as he plans to kill the gods that he poses a threat to Olympus. So we'll track him down, either to talk, or if we must, kill him."

oooOooo

(AN: Remember to leave a Review)

oooOooo

As Percy and Thalia made their way out of the Big House Piper, Jason and Rachel called out to them. "Percy, wait!" Despite his need to track down Leonidas, Percy stopped and turned to the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Yeah, Piper?" He asked, his voice tired and unfocused.

"What happened to Annabeth? How is she?" Piper asked suddenly. She, and the others, weren't able to miss how his body tensed and his eyes dropped.

"...What I told you earlier, she's okay. Apollo and Hypnos were able to put her in a healing sleep to save her."

Piper's eyes narrowed slightly. "But what aren't you telling us, Percy?" She asked in a softer voice. "I can practically sense the emotions coming off of you, I can read your face, remember?" She paused to reach for his hand. "We all love Annabeth, you know that, so tell us, what happened? What aren't you telling us?"

Percy's free fist clenched and the others could literally feel the waves of energy rolling off of him, but they didn't step back and Piper didn't let go of his hand. Finally the air around him stopped shimmering and the earth below him claimed. He let out a breath and bit his lip. "She… was-is, pregnant."

Jason let out a surprised sound while Piper let go of his hand to bring it to her face. Rachel was silent but she covered her mouth with her hand. Only Thalia didn't seem surprised.

"...She-she's pregnant?" Piper asked with the softest voice Percy ever heard. "B-but she got hit in the stomach, how's the baby-"

"Luckily for us Leonidas hit her high in her stomach, far too high to hit the… baby at it's size." Percy cut her off, his jaw clenched. "Lady Hera said that it's a miracle that the… baby was so young. If she would've been further along…"

"Oh Percy," Rachel stepped up to her friend and enveloped him in a tight embrace. Piper soon followed suit. "We're so sorry, we didn't know. That must have been so terrifying when you saw her get hit."

Piper noticed the look on his face and pulled back slightly. "You… you didn't know, did you?"

Percy's eyes snapped to her. "No, did you?"

"No no, of course not," She slightly shook her head. "I wouldn't keep that from you."

"I knew." Thalia spoke up suddenly. Percy's gaze moved to her.

"What?" He all but demanded.

"Hey, I'm Annabeth's oldest friend, she and I tell each other everything, so when she went to the doctor and found out the news… she told me." Her eyes dropped slightly. "I'm sorry."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"She made me promise not to," Thalia told him, biting her bottom lip. "Besides, it wasn't my place to tell you. But she wasn't trying to keep it from you, Percy, you have to believe me, she was going to tell you after we captured Leonidas. But… you know what happened."

Percy looked to his friend and his angry glare dropped, he couldn't stay mad at her for keeping it from him. After a second he moved to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Thals." He whispered. "I didn't mean to get mad at you, I'm just… angry, tired, confused… I didn't mean to take it out on you."

After wiping her eyes, Thalia hugged him back and let go. "It's okay, Percy. I understand. No one should have to go through what you did. I forgive you."

"Thanks," He smiled at her before looking to the others. "Sorry everyone but we can't stay. I know the camp needs me, but I won't always be here to lead it, if all went differently then Annabeth and I would've already left camp to live a normal life. They need to be able to function without me."

Jason nodded, stepping up to his best friend and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I understand, Perce. I'll admit that camp-all of us, have relied on you and Annabeth too much lately, it's time for the rest of us to step up. Don't worry, we'll protect camp while you're gone."

"Thanks man," Percy returned the nod. "Thalia, the other hunters and I will be back before the Promised Day, we don't plan to be gone for more than a few days. If we can't find Leonidas by then, then we'll come back to camp to help you prepare to defend Olympus." He looked to the small group. "Is there anything else before we go?"

"Oh yeah, there's one thing." Jason said nervously as he reached into his pocket and pulled out four golden coins, showing them to Percy. "We found these under Thalia's tree where Leonidas flew away from."

"Percy's eyes widened. "Are those-"

"Golden Drachma, yeah." Jason nodded slowly. "Nico told us that they were put on the eyes of the deceased in Greece, to pay Charon to allow them entry into Hades." His eyes moved to his sister. "And then Thalia told us that she found Golden Drachma on the bodies of her dead hunters." He paused to look back to Percy, visibly gulping. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"It means that Leonidas was the one that killed a dozen of my sisters." Thalia bit out, her voice dripping with venom. "I tried to contact Lady Artemis to tell her but I couldn't reach her. But I pray to the Fates that we'll find him so I can repay him for killing my sisters."

"But why would Leonidas kill your hunters?" Piper repeated her question from before when they figured this out. "He doesn't seem like the kind of person to kill without cause. He must have had a reason for it."

"Well whatever the reason," Thalia muttered. "I'll be sure to ask him when we find him." Turning to face Percy she asked, "You ready to go, Kelp Head?"

Percy looked to his friends for a few seconds before nodding. "Yeah, call them and we'll get on our-"

"No," she cut him off suddenly, looking at him expectantly. "This is your mission, Percy. And Lady Artemis made you an honorary member of our hunt. The hunters and I will follow you to the ends of the earth if we have to, we'll do anything for family," She gave him a soft smile. "So you call them, Percy. Lady Artemis did give you her silver hunting whistle that can summon us for a reason. Use it and call them, right now, you're in charge."

oooOooo

(AN: Remember to leave a Review)

oooOooo

After gathering a few supplies for the trip and saying his goodbyes to his fellow campers, Percy blew into the silver hunting whistle Artemis gave him so long ago and within a few minutes the hunters of Artemis gathered around him, looking at him expectantly like they were waiting for his orders. So Percy told them as they made their way to where Mika, Clarisse and several Ares campers were busy flipping over a rather large and heavy vehicle. Once Percy and Thalia finished explaining to the mission, the hunters Media, Alexandra and Cleo followed them to the giant royal blue Ford Raptor that had miraculously survived being lifted and thrown overhead by Leonidas. Percy looked to the Hephaestus kids looking it over.

"Is my truck okay? Can it drive?"

Philip gave Percy an astonished look. "I honestly have no idea how my dad did it, but your truck doesn't even have a scratch on it. So yeah, I'd say it's fine to use."

"Perfect," Percy smiled at his truck. Thank the gods Hephaestus made it so durable, it would make their journey to track down Leonidas far faster than if they went on foot. Hr looked to the assembled hunters. "Come on, let's go find Leonidas."


(Author's Note)

Hey everyone, I know it's shorter than normal but this chapter just couldn't be huge after the last few, this is a calming chapter, so to speak. I apologize again for the long delay getting it out, but after the last chapter I just didn't know what to do despite having everything planned out. It was just hard to figure out where to go from here after last time.

Now, I want to stress something before all of you leave Reviews, about what I(Katie said in the chapter), I am not justifying what Leonidas did at all in this chapter. He attacked the campers, albeit after they attacked him first, killed Clovis and Damien and stole the Golden Fleece. I'm just trying to make it clear WHY he did all those things. I just don't want you guys to think of Leonidas as pure evil, because he's not. We'll get the rest of his plans and beliefs a little later on, but I just want you all to remember all we've learned about him in this story. About his mother, Mary and the Johnsons dying, his encounter with the Empousa in Las Vegas, his experience seeing literally entire towns killed by gangs or Monsters and not to mention Eos and the fact that they are both dying and the Golden Fleece and Immortality are literally the only ways to save them. So while it might sound like I'm defending him(which I might, since I created him), I just want all of you to remember everything we've learned about him over the past 200k+ words of this story.

But don't worry, we haven't finished learning about Leonidas, we'll see more of him next chapter and, in fact we'll see him in all the upcoming chapters bar one. So I hope that all of you are still up for learning about him as we go. I know he hurt Annabeth and many of you hated that(hated ME for that) but I stand by my stance that he isn't evil, misguided yes, but not evil. Anyway, you can choose to believe that or not, and if you want(or already have) stopped reading this story after what I did to Annabeth, then all I can say is that you have the right to stop this or any story whenever you want. But I won't go back on what I did and redo that chapter to make her not get hurt just because someone asked, I'm sorry but in order to make it believable a story needs good tension and risks, and something like that separated my story from others in which nothing goes wrong. If you hate me, hate me. If you want to stop reading this, then stop. I can't and won't force you to read this, but I'm sorry that something I wrote had such an accept on you. I honestly didn't think people would get so upset that they'd tell me to die. I know it was big, but she's fine, the baby's fine. It's not like I killed either of them, so those of you who reviewed and PM'd me saying that you hate me for what I wrote in a fictional story, just imagine what would've happened if I went with my original idea that had Annabeth lose the baby.

But to those of you who didn't scream at me, I apologize for that rant. Needed to get it off my chest. But sometimes it's hard to feel motivated to write when people tell me to die.

Anyway, on a happier note, I've gotten some more work done on my future PJ SYOC story, submissions are now closed and I'm picking the roster. I'll start that story up sometime after I finish up with Coo. For those of you who are wondering, we have ten, yes ten, chapters left. We feel so far from the end yet so close at the same time. I can't wait but at the same time I don't want this story to end. We're now 200k+ words in, we might be able to hit 300k words, which would be HUGE for me since COO just beat my old record by hitting 200k words. But I'll make sure to not just stretch it out to meet that goal, don't worry.

Don't forget to leave a review! Who wants the honor of being the 101st Review? Let's see who makes it.

Fun Fact: Annabeth being pregnant is a recent idea of mine. As I was planning this story I didn't plan for her to get pregnant. It wasn't only until the chapter or so before I gave the first hint that I had the idea. Then, as I mentioned above, I actually planned for her to lose the child after getting hurt by Leonidas. But then I came up with another idea. And boy am I glad I didn't do that, I got so much backlash(not from you kind people, but some PM's) for simply hurting her I'm glad I didn't have her baby or her AND the baby die.

Question of the day: 'What do you think Leonidas is going to do based off what was said this chapter? Will he be a foe to the campers or an ally?' I did ask that same question in the summary for this story. I wonder what's gonna happen, I can't wait to find out.

Bonus Question of the day: 'Are there any amazingly kind artists out there willing to help me with a few things that don't mind not being able to be paid? I'll pay you back with dedicated chapters or one-shots or something. Let me know'.

Bonus Bonus Question of the day: 'I need love songs for ch14, preferably sad, but not about breaking up or them being taken, but more like perseverance through things together. Have any suggestions for me?'

Next Time: "No, my injuries-I, don't matter right now! Only she does! Use it to save her!" Have fun figuring that one out. See ya next time.