AN: As many of you are well aware, this is one of Fanofthehunt's books. I do not claim that I own it. Nor am I Uncle Rick, meaning that I do not own PJO/HOO.Since Fanofthehunt's account got deleted, I took the liberty, and the duty, of being the saviour of all the Pertemis fans. Which means that I carefully preserved, and will be republishing several, though not all, of her books.So, read on, and welcome to Vengeance, by Fanofthehunt, TheSonofTartarus77 republished edition. On with it!

Percy PoV

Finally, after all these years of fighting, after two wars, there was peace.

Well, in its own twisted way, but it was peace nonetheless.

Things at the camps were both still hectic, but that was to be expected.

I wasn't needed at either camp for the time being, so I was going to stop by my mom's place.

She probably doesn't even know if I'm alive anymore.

I am the worst son in the history of ever.

Really.

I mean, who runs off to battle without telling their parent, and then doesn't stop by afterwards to let them know their child is still alive?

Was that right? I don't know, I could just ask Annabeth later.

She knows everything!

She even knew when I was going to propose to her! That's, like, impossible!

She said yes though, and that's all that really mattered.

I mounted Blackjack, and soon I was soaring through the clouds on my flying horse. Yeah, being a demigod is weird.

A few minutes later, we descended to the roof of the apartment building my mom and Paul were staying at.

Blackjack flew off to find some doughnuts while I took the steps three at a time to get to my mom's floor.

When I rang the bell, there was no

response.

Mom always got the door.

I knocked on the door, and it swung open.

Mom knew better than to leave the door unlocked in this part of Manhattan.

Something just felt off, so I uncapped Riptide, holding the sword at the ready.

What I saw made me drop it in shock.

My mother and her husband lay in bed.

I would've thought they were sleeping if not for the bullet holes in their foreheads.

Everything became hazy. Red. I don't remember much.

Just screaming myself hoarse, and my fiancé's face.

When I finally awoke from my nightmare ridden sleep, I was in a comfortable bed in a room that was far too bright.

I groaned, sitting up with much effort.

Annabeth walked into the room, a plate of freshly baked blue cookies in her hands.

The love of my life set the plate down before pulling a chair over to sit with me.

"Annabeth," I mumbled weakly. "What happened?"

"Oh, Percy," she sighed. "You don't remember?"

I took a deep breath, feeling myself begin to panic, like that time in Alaska when I stepped in that quicksand type stuff.

"I remember some," I croaked. "Mom and Paul are dead. Murdered. Bullet holes in their foreheads. After that, everything's hazy."

Annabeth nodded, planting a kiss on my forehead. "You lost control of your powers, Percy. You almost died." Her eyes began to water. "I was so scared."

I squeezed her hand. "But I'm here now. We can figure this all out, yeah?"

My girl pecked my cheek. "Yeah. Now that you're awake, though, we have to attend a meeting at the Olympian council."

As we left for the meeting, I grabbed one of the blue cookies.

Fine, two.

Alright, three.

Okay, okay, I took the whole plate.

I didn't quite understand what everyone was saying, but at the end of the meeting, I was a god, and Annabeth was a goddess.

Her mom whisked us off to our palace, and I flopped down on the couch. "I'm tired."

"Too tired for a Finding Nemo marathon?" She questioned.

I shot up. "Never!"

Annabeth laughed her incredible laugh and we curled up on the couch, watching the movies.

As the credits rolled, I felt myself drift off.

When I woke up, Annabeth was asleep in my arms.

I sat up, waking her. "Good morning, beautiful."

"That was cheesy," she remarked.

"It was honest," I replied, pecking her lips.

We had blue pancakes and walked around Olympus, enjoying each other's company.

My fiancé insisted we not return to the apartment where my mother was murdered.

Late that night, of course, I snuck out to take a look anyway.

I made an ice cast of the imprint the gun left on the bullet shells.

I was going to find the killer, no matter what.

As I was sneaking back into the house, I found Annabeth polishing a gun.

I used my powers to make the door open and close again.

She scrambled to hide the gun under the couch before racing back to the bedroom.

I trailed behind her, making sure she didn't see me at first.

Annabeth walked out from behind the door. "Percy, what were you doing out so late?"

"I went to see the apartment," I replied honestly. "I needed closure."

Her eyes softened. "I thought you were with another woman."

I shook my head. "I love you, Annabeth. I would never cheat on you."

She nodded, pecking my cheek. "I'm sorry. Please come back to bed."

I planted a kiss between her eyes and went to shower.

I cleaned up and slipped into bed next to Annabeth, kissing the back of her head as I fell asleep.

I was awoken in the morning by her lips on my forehead.

"Good morning," I mumbled sleepily. My fiancé smiled. "I'm going to look at wedding dresses with Hazel and Piper, okay?"

I nodded. "Be safe."

She pecked my lips, and she was gone.

After she left, I got out of bed and grabbed the gun from under the couch.

I sighed.

The signatures were a match. My flancé killed my mom.

I put the gun back where I found it and thought for a long time.

I didn't know why she would do it, or if she was doing it for someone else.

I needed to tell someone I could trust not to report my findings. Someone that could take care of themselves. Someone that would listen.

Lady Artemis.

I grabbed the gun again and sent a prayer to the Olympian goddess.

I appeared in a palace of silver.

If it was gold, it would have been like Apollo's temple, but probably shiny on a less obnoxious level.

"Yes, well, my twin can be rather obnoxious at times," a voice drawled.

I bowed toward the twelve-year-old. "Lady Artemis. Thank you."

"No need for the formalities, Perseus," Artemis stated bluntly. "You're the one decent male on this planet, and you did help me out from under the sky a few years back. Giving you some closure is the least I can do."

I nodded, handing her the gun and the bullet casings.

Artemis paused. "Is this not your fiancé's gun?"

I gulped, shaking my head.

The goddess's stone face dropped, revealing one of pain and pity.

"I am very sorry, Perseus," she answered quietly.

I took the items back. "Better to find out now than later."

"So what do you plan to do?" Artemis asked.

"Tell her I just need time to grieve, for now. Try to find out more," I replied. "Find out why."

"If there is anything I may do to help..." Artemis offered.

"There is one thing," I responded.

"And what would that be, Perseus?" The silver-eyed goddess inquired.

"Call me Percy. Perseus is too serious," I explained.

Artemis nodded. "She will be home soon, Perseus."

With that, she waved her hand, and I appeared back at the palace.

I sighed, putting the gun back under the couch.

Annabeth opened the door, and I rushed over to help her with all the things she had bought.

"Hey, Annabeth," I started. "We need to talk."

"About what?" She asked.

"I...I think I need more time," I choked.

"You...you're leaving?" Annabeth asked. I shook my head. "No, no, I don't want to leave. I just...need time to think. I don't want to marry you while still grieving, that's all."

"So you want to postpone the wedding," Annabeth concluded. "I understand."

I thanked her, taking the bags to sort out the things she had bought.

Maybe I didn't love her anymore, but I was going to find out as much as I could before I told her.