Vanishing Hero

by gpbumann

Guardian story pulling from others I've read. Camp turns their back on him in their time of peace, tossing him aside like a blunted weapon. He discovers his parents death and subsequently the orphaning of his sister. Vanishes from the Greek world only to return years later, changed. Pertemis pairing, Hestia patroning, and Hera adoption. Will update as views go hopefully I get some

7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: More Reunions

3RD PERSON POV

Percy walked into the Throne Room in Hades' palace to be greeted by his favorite uncle and his wife Persephone. After the Second Giant War, Persephone and Hades' marriage actually got a lot better. With Hades' spot on the Council restored, he gave his wife full reign of when she could come and go to the Underworld. Much to Hades' delight and Demeter's dismay, Persephone remained down in the Underworld with him most of the time.

"Ah, nephew!" Hades spoke, "To what do I have the pleasure?" Percy smiled at this Aunt and Uncle and replied, "What? I can't just come see my favorite Uncle and his wife?" Hades rolled his eyes, but a smile still plastered on his face. "You are always welcome here nephew, but I don't imagine you are here purely for a social visit with us." Percy chuckled at his uncle's remark before asking his request.

"Uncle? Could you summon Nico, Chiron, Clarisse, and Chris? I think it's long overdue that I let them know of my return." Hades smiled and closed his eyes, summoning said people. Percy decided to have a little fun with his friends and used his water powers to change his appearance to look exactly like Nico. Persephone giggled at his antics and Hades let out a small chuckle.

NICO POV

I was summoned by my father, saying it was an emergency. I sighed and shadow traveled to his throne room to see him and Persephone sitting on their thrones. Both of them looked suspicious, which put me on edge. Before I could address my father, 3 other figures flashed in to reveal Chiron, Clarisse, and Chris. I was perplexed as to why they were also summoned, but Chiron beat me to the punch.

"Why have you summoned us Lord Hades?" Chiron inquired, visibly uneasy about being in his brothers domain, and Clarisse and Chris didn't look much better. "You have a visitor," my father said casually before a figure stepped out of the shadows behind the thrones.

'Why couldn't I sense him in the shadows?' I thought, rather confused. As he got closer, I narrowed my eyes cautiously before he was 10 feet in front of me and my eyes widened comically. The other 3 just gasped.

I drew my Stygian Iron sword and went on guard. Standing in front of me, was me. He looked exactly like me, albeit a little taller and with longer hair, but there was no mistaking it. I was too focused on him that I didn't notice Persephone and Father trying not to laugh. "Who are you?" I asked quickly, not sure what to expect.

"I am your brother," he said casually, almost like this was boring to him. Chiron and the others bugged their eyes out and kept looking back and forth between the two of us. "You're lying. I don't have a brother. Now who are you and why do you look exactly like me?!" I yelled, starting to get angry. Father and Persephone were about to lose it at this point, but before they did he spoke again, "Oh Nico! How your words wound my soul!" he said with mock hurt and covered his heart with his hands.

"TELL ME WHO YOU ARE NOW!" I bellowed, beyond pissed at this point. Again he spoke casually with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh come on Death Breath! We're brothers in everything but blood after all." I froze. That voice. The nickname. Only Thalia and he called me that. But it isn't possible. Clarisse and Chris looked confused still, but Chiron had pieced it together as the tears started forming in his eyes.

"I see Chiron pieced it together," he chuckled before continuing, "maybe this will help." His features changed. His skin tanned, his shoulder length hair darkened, highlighted by a silver streak. His eyes swirled sea green with an orange ring and flecks of silver, swirling with power like the oceans they came from. I heard Chris and Clarisse gasp and Chiron's tears started to fall.

"Hey Neeks. I'm back," he said with the big shit-eating grin that I had missed for nearly 5 years now. I took a cautious step forward, before sprinting and tackling him into a hug. He grunted on impact and laughed as I cried into his chest. He began apologizing for being gone as I continued to sob. I mean my brother was back. Who could blame me?

PERCY POV

I held Nico tightly as he cried. I felt a little guilty not telling him when I left, but I was just so relieved to see him again. Then I got a swift punch to the gut and doubled over in pain. "Alright. I probably deserved that one," I said before Nico exploded.

"YOU THINK?! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?! WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU YOU JACKASS?!" Nico screamed at me, the hurt evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry Nico. I needed to get away from it all for awhile and you're right I should've told you. I should've told all of you," I said as I turned to the other three. I gave them each a hug and Chiron spoke, "It's so good to see you again my boy. But please explain." I spent the next hour telling them everything. Camp treating me like an outcast, Annabeth's acceptance of godhood effectively cutting my loyalty to her, my parents deaths and the adoption and patronage.

Chiron looked down and shuffled his hooves at the mention of camp to which I spoke up, "It's not your fault Chiron. You, Clarisse, and Chris were the only ones that treated me the same as before the wars. That's why I wanted you here." All of their spirits lifted at this and I continued to tell them about my travels and training, all 4 of them impressed.

I got to my return and assignment as Guardian of the Hunt and they all stared in disbelief until Chiron finally spoke up, "Only you my boy. You keep doing the unthinkable," he chuckled softly which brought a big grin to my face. "Are you ever gonna come back to camp?" Chris asked hopefully. I smiled sadly and shook my head, "Not unless the Hunt goes there. I have healed a bit from it all, but I still need my space," I added.

After catching up, we said our goodbyes and I promised to stay in touch and visit Nico when I was able to and told the others I would see them if and when the Hunt went to camp. They each gave me one last hug before returning to camp and Nico back to his work. I bid my uncle and his wife farewell and fire traveled back to the hunt for dinner.

ARTEMIS POV

I was beginning to get a little worried for Perseus. It was 10 minutes until dinner and he still hadn't returned. 'Did something happen to him in the Underworld? No, he's Uncle Hades' favorite nephew. Did he just leave his post? No, he made the oath and he wouldn't just leave his sister here without saying anything.' I was broken out of my musings by a column of fire outside of the dining tent.

"Perseus. How was your visit?" I asked him and his eyes lit up. 'Good to know there are still things that make him happy,' I thought as he recounted his meeting with Nico, the joke he played on him, Chiron, and the other two demigods. I chuckled at his antics which made him stop and smile at me. I smiled back at him and we stood there in comfortable silence.

"I should go get dinner started," he said quickly and disappeared into the dinner tent, shortly followed by me and the Hunt. "What would you all like for dinner?" he asked with a smile, happiness from the visit still on his face. 'Cute,' I thought as the hunters placed their orders. Shortly afterwards, he approached me. "And for you Milady?" he asked looking right into my eyes. "I would like a venison steak cooked medium rare, some potatoes and asparagus with a glass of nectar please," I said politely.

"Wow. Never thought I'd hear Lady Artemis say please to a male," he said with a victorious smirk on his face. I blushed from embarrassment and quickly glared, but before I could retort the food appeared in front of me and he held his hands up in mock surrender. I shook my head and began eating.

PERCY POV

'Wow a please from Artemis. I thought I'd never see the day,' I thought to myself as I ate a few slices of pizza off to the side of the hunters. I hadn't tried to eat with them. I figured it'd make them more comfortable that way and allowed me to keep my senses stretched out in case anyone approaches.

I finished eating and was watching over the hunters enjoying their meals. It warmed my heart to see them all smiling and laughing with each other, but with that warmth, I also felt a tinge of jealousy. 'They'll never be that comfortable around me,' I thought sadly and sighed. Then I noticed one of the girls I had rescued wasn't eating. Artemis seemed to notice too, but I beat her to it and crouched down next to her.

Lora looked at me a little afraid at first, then I realized that she didn't know that I was 'Theo'. I smiled softly at her which put her a little at ease and summoned a plate of lasagna for her. She looked at the plate in shock then back to me a couple times like a tennis match which made me chuckle. "H-How did you know I like lasagna?" she asked very innocently. I didn't notice all conversation at the table had ceased and everyone was looking at the two of us.

"Awh. Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already Lora." I said teasingly making her uneasy again. "H-How do you know my name?" She asked and I smiled. "Well that's easy," I said and began shifting my appearance to the dirty blonde hair with honey-gold ends and deep ocean blue eyes that danced like flames. The hunters all gasped as I changed into 'Theo', but before I could laugh at them I was tackled to the ground by 4 small figures.

Lora was the first one on me and was immediately followed by Jessica (Daughter of Demeter), Kiani (Daughter of Aphrodite), and Leah (Daughter of Hecate). I laughed as all of them hugged me, getting weird looks from the other hunters. "Hey girls how have you been? Do you like the Hunt?" They started to answer rapid fire about how everyone was so nice and everyone enjoyed it and they were learning a lot.

I let out a booming laugh and they all giggled before returning to their seats to go eat. I rose from the ground and dusted myself off to see the entire table staring at me. "What?" I asked casually. Thalia spoke up first, "How the Hades did you do that?" gesturing to my looks. I returned my looks to normal getting another gasp from the hunters. "I can manipulate the water in my body to alter my appearance. I figured it'd be useful since I was rescuing demigods around the country and didn't want to be found. Thus, 'Theseus or Theo' was born," I said nonchalantly.

"Perseus, those girls except for Lora have been with us for months and have hardly opened up at all. And you just did it in a matter of minutes," Artemis said in disbelief as the rest of the hunters just stared at me. I used my vast intellect to respond with, "Oh." This made Thalia shake her head and mutter something about 'fish brains' under her breath and Artemis to chuckle.

I quickly did my half-bow, "With your leave Milady, I would like to go to the lake until it is time for you to tend to your chariot." She nodded to me and I made my way to the lake.

3RD PERSON POV

Percy went to the lake to finally relax. He had a long day of chores and an emotionally draining one with the reunion with Nico, Chiron, Clarisse and Chris. So as soon as he got to the lake and didn't sense anyone other than the naiad, he shed his layers of clothing and hopped right in. The water soothing and relaxing his muscles. He heated the water with permission from said naiad, and slowly drifted to the bottom to be alone with his thoughts.

PERCY POV

'What a long day. Estelle seems to be settling into the Hunt quickly though. She'll probably become good friends with Lora and the other girls I rescued. I do worry about the dangers the hunt faces though. I can't afford to lose anyone else, not her or Lora and the others or Thalia, or even Artemis. Artemis. I used to be on edge whenever I was around her but there were several times today that I felt myself relaxing a bit. Maybe I did it subconsciously just being around Thalia again. Maybe it's because of her presence in the forest. Since we're in one of her domains, I feel her presence all around me. I can feel the forest relax when she does and vice versa. She's the epitome of natural beauty too. Silky auburn hair, her piercing silver eyes, her lithe body from centuries upon centuries of hunting. I think she has Annabeth and even Aphrodite beat.'

'Annabeth. It hurts less to think about now. I don't think the pain of betrayal will ever totally be gone, but at least it feels like it's looming over me a little less. Speaking of her I'm gonna have to tell Thalia soon, but I don't even know where to begin. What if she takes Annabeth's side? What if she leaves me too?'

'I need to find a way to get the Hunt comfortable with me too. Sure they respect me, but only per orders of Artemis and Thalia. Maybe I can try to train them in close quarter combat with Artemis's approval. It's pretty clear from what I saw today that's where they're lacking. And I can't shake the feeling that something is brewing. The monsters from yesterday were more organized than they should've been, but the thing that puts me on edge more was the composition of the force. If they wanted to wipe the Hunters out, they would have sent a more formidable force. Sure there were a lot of them, but they were only empousai, dracaenae, hellhounds, and some cyclops. It was almost like they were scouting.'

I was broken out of my thoughts by a mental message from Artemis. "Perseus, come back to camp. It's time for me to tend to my chariot," she said in my head. "On my way," I replied and hopped out of the lake, put on my clothes and waved goodbye to the naiad.

THALIA POV

The hunters had retired to their tents for the night and I waited with Lady Artemis for Percy to return. We were sitting by the campfire when he came into the clearing. Artemis stood up to tell him, "Perseus, you are on first watch tonight. I will return in a few hours, then you may sleep for the night," she said to which he gave his little half-bow and Artemis flashed to her chariot.

Percy turned to me and asked, "Thalia do you mind taking the watch for 5 minutes tops? I want to make sure Estelle brushed her teeth and tuck her in." I smiled at him and said, "Of course Kelp-Head just be quick." He gave me a lopsided smile and went off to check on his sister leaving me alone with my thoughts of how I was going to talk to him.

'He left almost 5 years ago with no notice. I'm sure some of the Olympians know why, Artemis certainly does. And when I mentioned Sally, he physically avoided the conversation. What is going through your head Percy?' I was broke out of my thoughts as he sat with me by the campfire.

There was an awkward silence before he finally spoke up, "I'm guessing you haven't gone to bed because you want to know why I disappeared?" I nodded to him and he took a deep breath as if he wasn't sure where to begin or was debating whether or not he should even tell me.

"After the Second Giant War," he began and had my undivided attention. "Camp… sucked," he said, shocking me. "The month after the war but before the rewards everyone just… forgot about me." I could physically see the pain this was causing him and I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react. He just deadpanned on, "I never asked to be the hero Thals. Part of me was jealous that you had the option to join the Hunt and escape the Great Prophecy. I don't blame you or anything so please don't think anything like that, but… it was thrust upon me without any choice in the matter."

I've never seen Percy look so vulnerable. "That month after the war, well deserved peace came, but because of it no one needed me anymore. They didn't need their invincible soldier, their unbeatable shield around to help fight their battles and keep their hopes up. They didn't need me to lead them anymore." I could see the tears starting to form in his eyes. "So one by one they drifted away from me. The Seven, the Stoll brothers, Katie they all just stopped paying attention to me."

"What about Annabeth?"I asked softly, trying to reassure him that he still had the one person that mattered the most to him. He smiled sadly at the name and continued, "She was still there, but the reward ceremony… She took godhood." I was so shocked that nothing was said for a couple of minutes. "She didn't even talk to me about it. She knew I wouldn't accept it, but she jumped at the chance faster than I jumped into Tartarus for her." The tears were clearly visible in his eyes, but refused to fall. "After the rewards were given, she called me to a balcony to talk and tried to reassure me that we could still have a family and do everything we talked about given that I had partial immortality courtesy of Artemis."

"But we would outlive our children since I was still just a demigod and that broke something in me. I left the party shortly after and went back to camp and cried all night." I got up and gave Percy a hug at this point. "Percy… I can't say I understand what that feels like, but I've known you long enough to know you weren't going to yield on that. I'm proud of you for sticking to that and I'm a little disappointed in her, but that can't be the full reason why you left with no note," I said to him as I pulled out of the hug.

His tears started flowing freely at this point, but he pressed on, " I went to see my mom the next morning. I needed someone to talk to and also needed to let her know I was still alive and to see Paul and Estelle." His voice was cracking and the tears kept flowing. "W-When I got there," he took a shaky breath, "Paul had a spear in his gut and his neck snapped." I gasped, knowing what was coming next as the tears began to form in my own eyes.

"An empousai stood up from my mom's body, telling me Gaea sent her in case she fell." I was openly crying at this point and we held each other as we cried. "I snapped after I killed her and my mom gave me her last words, 'This isn't your fault. I love you.' and began losing control over my powers. But Estelle started crying in the other room, and briefly I felt relief that she was still alive. That I hadn't lost everyone. But the guilt set in as fast as the relief did. It's my fault they died. It's my fault Estelle has to grow up in this world, in our world, that is everything but fair and forgiving," he choked out a sob as I rubbed his back.

"Hera and Hestia showed up quickly after and then Hera adopted us and Hestia named me her Champion. At that point I needed to get away. I needed to train so something like that would never happen again." He finished. I gave him another hug and told him, "Percy this isn't your fault. You know that there was nothing you could've done."

He snapped toward me in more sadness and anger, "Except it is my fault Thals! I wasn't strong enough! I left them alone, knowing good and well the dangers of being related to me, without any form of protection!" I know he was wallowing in his guilt and grief, but I didn't know what to say to him.

"I'm terrified," he whispered. I looked at him in confusion. "I'm terrified that I'm going to lose everyone. You, Nico, the Hunt, Chiron, Estelle." he sobbed. "Estelle. I'm terrified that she blames me for the fact that she never knew her parents. That she can't live a normal life anymore." There he sat, the Mighty Hero of Olympus and Bane of All Monsters, crying his heart out with his head in his hands. My cousin, the invincible Percy Jackson, was broken.

I felt anger well up inside of me hearing him talk like this. I stood up, pulled his head out of his hands and made him look at me. *SMACK*. A red handprint appeared on his cheek, but before he could do anything, I grabbed him and held him tight. Afraid that he might disappear again. In a shaky voice I said, "Stop that Percy. Estelle would never blame you and Sally would be mad if she saw you like this. I can only imagine how scary it must be, but we're not going anywhere. We're all going to be with you until the end. Nothing is going to stop that. So stop wallowing in your grief. You trained for 4 years so this never happens again and I know you won't let it."

I continued to rub circles on his back as he calmed down. After a while he pulled apart from me and I almost missed him speaking, "Thank you Thals. I needed that." I smiled at him and told him, "I'll always be here to smack you around Perce. Family doesn't turn their back on each other." I got a small smile out of him and said, "I'm gonna go to bed. Are you gonna be okay for the first watch?" He wiped his eyes and nodded. I turned to go to my tent but stopped after a couple of paces and turned back.

"Percy?" "Yeah Thals?" he said. "Thank you for telling me," I said quietly. He just gave me a quick nod before vapor traveling into a nearby tree to stand post. 'After going through all that, he still managed to help demigods for months and now even accepted the role as Guardian for a group of girls who want nothing to do with him. He really is different from the rest of them,' I thought as I entered my tent and went to bed.

ARTEMIS POV

I was on my chariot pulling the moon across the sky and I was BORED. I decided to turn my attention back to the camp and saw Thalia and Percy sitting by the campfire talking. Against my better judgement, I decided to be nosy and listened in to their conversation.

"I'm terrified," I heard him say and confused me. 'Why would he be terrified? He's the hero of Olympus who felled Kronos AND Gaea,' I thought and almost missed what he said next. "I'm terrified that I'm going to lose everyone. You, Nico, the Hunt, Chiron, Estelle." he sobbed. "Estelle. I'm terrified that she blames me for the fact that she never knew her parents. That she can't live a normal life anymore."

My heart broke for him upon hearing that. After all that he had been through from the age of 12, everyone including myself thought he was some indestructible warrior. Capable of toppling armies single-handedly, traversing Tartarus, and destroying Primordials. We all forgot that he's still just a kid.

'Why is he afraid of losing the Hunt? We're the biggest man-haters on the planet and he's only been with us for a day,' I thought and couldn't wrap my head around it. 'Just another reason why he's different I suppose,' I mused as I continued my tour in the sky.

After a few hours, I flashed back in by the campfire and sent him a mental message that I had returned. Seconds later, he vapor traveled to the campfire and had nothing to report. He was about to return to his tent when I called out to him. "Perseus?" I said softly. He turned around and replied, "Yes Milady?" "Why did you accept the role of Guardian?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. He blinked at me a few times before answering, "Err. Well, I'm not totally sure. I wanted to help demigods, knowing how much they need it from personal experience." I pondered this, but countered with, "Yes, but were you not already doing that by rescuing the ones Hera and Hestia sent you to?"

He in turn pondered that before answering again, "Well yes, you're right. But your hunters have had some of the worst circumstances and I have a bit of a soft spot for people of their… upbringing. And I know Estelle would like it here as she told me repeatedly that boys have cooties." He chuckled as he said that and I felt a full genuine smile grace my lips. "Smart girl," I said quickly, but wondered what he meant by the "soft spot".

"Goodnight Lady Artemis," he said smiling. "Goodnight Perseus," I replied returning his smile and he left to get some rest before a new day with the Hunt.

PERCY POV

I woke up the next morning with a head rush. Not from lack of sleep, no that was because I woke up to find myself hanging upside down from a rope at my ankles. I sighed deeply before hearing the snickering of hunters to my left. I looked over and saw some of the hunters laughing at my predicament. Even Estelle was trying to stifle a fit of giggles.

"Morning Kelp-Head. How's it hanging?" Thalia asked through fits of laughter, making the hunters laugh harder. "Hardy Har Thals. Care to let me down?" I asked, growing more annoyed by the second. "Ooh. I wish I could, but you know, lieutenant of the Hunt and all. Lots to do," she said with a smirk. "Also, you were supposed to be at Artemis's tent 10 minutes ago."

I grumbled and cursed into a fit making the hunters laugh again, before I set the rope on fire and flipped off the tree. The hunters were disappointed that I had escaped their trap so easily and I just gave them the finger as I stormed off to Artemis's tent. As soon as I got there, she exited her tent and almost ran into me.

"You're late," she said matter-of-factly. "Yeah. Must have overslept. It won't happen again," I said quickly, deciding if I wanted the Hunt to like me, ratting them out wouldn't do me any favors. That or Artemis simply wouldn't care. "It better not," she snapped and sent me off to feed and clean the wolves.

I cautiously stepped into the wolf pen since they were still asleep, but my luck wouldn't be so great. *CRASH*. I whipped around to see Phoebe and Atalanta along with a few other hunters, all with smug looks on their faces. "Oops," Phoebe said though not very apologetically. I was about to say something when I heard a low growl. I gulped and turned around to see a dozen and a half wolves up and stalking toward me.

The commotion drew a crowd and even more hunters joined to watch their Guardian get eaten by wolves. A large wolf with black fur took point as they approached me, undoubtedly the Alpha. He had his fangs bared and a stare that would scare Hades on his face. Thankfully, I had picked up my own glare from Lupa all those years ago, so I closed my eyes and took a breath.

Upon opening my eyes, I flared my aura. The temperature in a 5 meter radius dropped to where you could see mine and the wolves breathing. I looked back at the wolf with my glare and we were at a stand-off. The hunters crept forward in anticipation. The stand-off felt like an eternity, but in reality it was maybe 30 seconds. After which, the Alpha recognized my presence and he bowed to me. The remaining wolves soon followed suit and the hunters stared at us with bug-eyes.

"He tamed Alpha?!" I heard one of them whisper in disbelief. "So you're Alpha, huh?" In response, the wolf approached me before sitting at my feet wagging his tail. "Haha you're just a big softy huh?" He growled playfully at that and I summoned big juicy T-bone steaks for the entire kennel. They all yipped happily and devoured the food.

At this point Artemis, Thalia, and Estelle approached and saw their "big bad Alpha" whining for more belly rubs. I turned and opened the pen and each wolf brushed against my side on their way out to go stretch and play. I turned then to see everyone staring at me. "What?" I asked confused.

Thalia threw her head back in laughter, Estelle ran towards some of the pups squealing "Doggy!" and was soon swarmed by happy yips and a licking frenzy from the wolves. I turned my attention back to Artemis who was waiting for an explanation. I rubbed my neck sheepishly. 'Man I should really kick this habit,' I thought before explaining, "They just needed to know who the top dog was. And they were hungry and tired of being cooped up," I shrugged.

Artemis shook her head and laughed at that. I chuckled as well until she spoke. "We're leaving for a new campsite shortly after breakfast. Make sure you summon the food and help break down the archery range before we leave." I gave my little half-bow and headed to the dining tent.

After breakfast and camp was all packed up, we set out for the Rocky Mountains. Apparently there was a lead in the area of a group of monsters. I shrugged my pack onto my back, which included Estelle's stuff as well, and even offered to carry Lora's and the other girls' but they declined. Saying they wanted to carry their own weight and become strong like me. That warmed my heart and we set out for our destination.

Even with Artemis' blessing, it took us all day and part of the night to reach the new campsite. A river was nearby and camp was set up in no time. We had dinner after everyone settled in, but I ate off to the side like usual. Artemis and Thalia noticed that though and finally spoke up about it. "Perseus, why don't you ever eat with us?" Artemis asked. "I don't mean any disrespect, Milady, but I don't want to make the Hunt any more uncomfortable than they already are with my being here." I stated quickly, which made Artemis frown.

"Nonsense Kelp-Head. There's an open seat at the end next to Estelle and the little ones," she said with a smirk, but I didn't notice. I looked to Artemis who nodded and went to take my seat. We finished eating, but no one got up to move. I tried to get up only to find I was glued to the seat. The hunters burst into an uproar of laughter at this and I just glared at Thalia who feigned innocence.

I noticed the glasses of water on the table and smirked. Out of nowhere they erupted soaking Thalia completely. Utterly shocked, she glared at me and the hunters laughed harder, even Artemis. Before she could move, I took it a step further and froze the water, effectively freezing her to her seat. "T-This i-isn't funny K-Kelp-for-B-Brains," he teeth chattering the whole time.

I turned my head and pretended to whistle a merry tune. Estelle was giggling to my right. "Well, I guess I better do the dishes," I said and set myself ablaze to burn through the glue. The hunters left to go to their tents, except for Thalia. Artemis had enough and told me to unfreeze her, which I did and earned an electric fist to the jaw. Smiling smugly, Thalia left as well and I was left to be on watch for the night.

3RD PERSON POV

The next morning was uneventful for the group. Breakfast went off without a hitch and the Hunt formed up to track the group of monsters. Percy made sure that Estelle was stationed as far away from the danger as possible and kept a constant eye on her. They picked up the tracks quickly and began moving.

After about an hour of tracking, they found them. A large group of about a hundred monsters, but this group was stacked compared to the last. Amongst the usual culprits, a hydra, some Hyperborean giants, telekines, and Percy's favorite beefcake. The Minotaur. The hunters took their positions surrounding the monsters, ready for the attack.

Artemis sent a mental message to Percy. 'Perseus, the hydra is yours. With Hestia's blessing, you're the best option.' Percy mentally nodded and waited for the signal to attack. Artemis loosed an arrow, setting off a domino effect from the hunters. Monsters perished left and right, completely unexpecting of the onslaught. Percy dropped from his perch in a tree and summoned his katana. The battle, if you can even call it that, lasted 2 minutes tops.

Percy slashed, dodged, paried, rolled, and repeated until victory. Each head fell with a satisfying THUNK followed immediately by the hiss cauterization. Once it was down to one head, Percy charged and slid under the body, dragging his katana with him finishing the beast. He quickly regained his wits and surveyed the field.

Artemis was a she-demon, carving through monsters left and right leaving gold dust in her wake. 'Beautiful and deadly,'Percy thought and shuttered. Thalia was slightly less graceful, but just as devastating. Monsters felled by her spear and shield with occasional lightning strikes. The rest of the hunters held their own, ending the monsters by hunting knives or arrows. Percy even saw Estelle drill an unexpecting telekine between the eyes.

Percy smirked at that and heard a familiar roar. "Beefcake!" he yelled. "You don't call, you don't write. I was starting to think you were mad at me!" Percy's ability to irritate monsters being the only skill that didn't need polishing in his years of training. Thalia rolled her eyes at her cousin's sarcastic quips in between blows.

"Jackson! You have bested me the last two times, but I won't allow it to happen a third!" the Minotaur bellowed and charged. "Holy shit you can talk?!" Percy managed to get out before he dodged the beasts wild ax swing. The exchange was boring after the few words and Percy quickly dispatched him, slicing off both horns and his dominant ax hand. The monster bellowed in rage only to receive an arrow between the eyes courtesy of Thalia.

"Don't steal my kills Thals!" Percy huffed in annoyance. "You were toying with him and we were all waiting on you dumbass," she replied, making Percy pout. He then walked over to the horns and collected them as a spoil for the second time. 'I can make some sweet daggers out of these,' he thought when he noticed the ax laying there as well.

What he didn't expect, was for the ax to shrink shortly after. Percy looked at it curiously, but it was too small for him. He looked at the Hunt, all watching him, but Lora's stare stood out to him. He gripped the ax by the blade and walked over to her extending the handle out to her. She hesitantly reached for it, and upon grabbing it, it hummed in agreement to its new owner.

"Well Lora, looks like this ax is yours now," Percy stated with a smile, earning a head shake from Artemis and Thalia and disinterest from the rest of the hunters. "A-Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "Of course!" he exclaimed, "didn't you feel the bond as it hummed in your hand?" She nodded her head and smiled. The ax then turned into a necklace with bull horns as a pendant. She jumped on Percy and gave him a big hug which he gladly returned.

"How am I gonna learn how to use it though?" Lora asked. Percy contemplated for a minute, 'Well I guess now is as good a time as any.' He turned to Artemis. "Milady, with your permission and if the hunters are willing, I would like to train them in close quarters combat." Artemis thought about it for a few moments and spoke, "Only if the hunters would like you to train them." Percy turned back to Lora, "Well that settles that. I'll train you and anyone else who would like me to." The younger hunters got excited at this, and even the older hunters looked interested as they had either fought with him, or heard of his resume in the Greek world.

After all that was decided, camp was immediately set up nearby and they all had lunch. Percy had chores to attend to so he told them all training would start tomorrow. Percy was excited at the prospect of helping them learn to protect themselves. After his usual chores, he had downtime before the night watch, so he headed to the river nearby to train his abilities.

Most of his training with his abilities was meditation. Sensing the presences around him. The feel and flow of the water in everything around him. Manipulating its shape, its state of matter, and finally returning it to where it came.

With his Earthshaker and fire powers, he trained his control due to their destructive nature. The strength and radius of his earthquakes, trying to use the vibrations in the ground as a form of echolocation though a very crude method of it. Controlling the temperature of his flames. Weaker flames being yellow and orange, the stronger ones being blue and contained to his fingers like a blowtorch.

'Not a bad first couple of days with the Hunt. Maybe things are gonna be rather smooth,' he thought. It was far too early to tell for the optimistic demigod.

AN: That's chapter 6! The next chapter or two is gonna time skip a bit to develop his routine with the hunt, training the young ones and himself. A rescue mission with Artemis is gonna happen soon that'll lead to a conversation between her and Percy giving her more insight on why he is the way he is.

I'm going to introduce the enemy soon, as well as a new character in the hunt (she's very minor but its just to add a little flare and differentiate this story from others.

Stay tuned and lemme know what you think!