Percy's New Path

by Charlee56

Annabeth has left Percy to study ancient architecture in Greece. He's been left behind because of her desire to live her own life. She left him a note and then she left him. His heart is broken and he leaves the camp. He travels to his mother's home and there he finds a new path in life that he can take. Will an accidental exposure to this new world give Percy A New Life?

4. Chapter 4

Wow. So many readers! I cannot believe all the interest in this tale. I was asked by one reader if this is going to be a "religion story". Well, yes and no. What we all tend to forget is that the old Greek gods who became the Roman gods were at the heart of a religious belief system that was at least a thousand to two thousand years older than the Christian system. It was a contemporary of the ancient Hebrews and their system of beliefs, and it's also about their heroes and adventures and bravery and love stories and everything else that we love about the Percy Jackson universe. As for which of the competing faiths is stronger or better, I'm not going to try and get that far. It should be sufficient for now that when someone actively chooses to go to a different faith, that faith and its core beliefs takes over and acts as a spiritual 'shield'. Percy is 'shielded' from his old life by the Christian faith that he adopts. And all of the loss that everyone feels at his absence, the losses that the gods are going to go through, are all something that I want to bring out in these chapters. Tyson is going to take a big hit, and so is Poseidon. And what Poseidon goes through is going to change his life, as immortal as that may be.

So please don't get upset at the directions that I'm taking. My last story had a lot more to do with sex, and this one has a lot more to do with religion. But it also has a lot to do with the pain and the anguish that Percy and Annabeth both go through as a result of their terrible time in Tartarus and dealing with all of the gods who were implacable in their hatred for the Olympians and especially for Annabeth and Percy. All of that hatred and all of that anger is too much for any one human to take, but it does have to go SOMEWHERE.

But where?

Annabeth is going to have her problems too. There will be chapters where we deal with just Annabeth. And then there will be chapters that will combine more of these individuals into the story. I can see this one going for a long time! I just hope that a lot of you stay along for the ride!

One more thing, PLEASE do read and REVIEW! The reviews are what I live for. They help me become a better writer. And I have enjoyed reading every one of them from all of my stories so far. So thanks for reading and here we go with the next chapter!

Artemis

The eight-year-old figure of Artemis sat by the Central Hearth in the throne room. She was still in shock over what she had been told by Lady Hecate. So she was no longer a goddess? This other God who she couldn't even see had taken away her powers? How could this possibly be?

Other than the Creator, Chaos, who could possibly be nearly as powerful as the Olympian gods?

She stirred as she felt a presence next to her. It was her Aunt Hestia. Well, it was her Hearth after all. Artemis was still silent, just sitting there and saying nothing, kind of staring at her toes. They were small and pink, a child's toes all tied up in her new sandals. And she wondered how she was ever going to get through life stuck in this eight-year-old body of hers. She had regressed in age. Artemis was getting younger.

"Artemis, what are you thinking right now?"

"Auntie Hestia, I'm just sort of thinking a lot of things at once. Are my Hunters all right? Where are they now?"

"Chiron came with Annabeth Chase and took them back to Camp Half-Blood. There are two who are Roman demigods and they will go to Camp Jupiter tomorrow morning. Jason Grace and Frank Zhang will get them in the morning along with a squad of legionaries from the first cohort".

The little girl thought about this for a moment and said, "Oh."

Then she looked over at her aunt and said, "You know, I would really like to see them before they go. I don't know when I'll ever get to see them again…"; her voice trailed off as she began to shed tears quietly. She had spent hundreds of years with some of them, decades with others and more than a millennia with two of them. They were more than just friends. They felt to her like daughters and she was very proud of them all. In fact, she loved them like a mother would love a daughter, every last one of them.

"Take my hand child, for you are a child now. And you have always been as a child to me, as I am your aunt. I will take you to the hearth at Camp Half-Blood and then I will bring you back up here to Olympus so that you may stay in your palace. But I fear that you will find that many things have changed in just a few hours since you last saw the Hunters. You may find that they don't remember you as well as they once did. You are being written out of Olympian and human history, just as our brothers and sisters from two millennia ago were when they were mortalized as a result of antagonizing the Christian priests. I don't know what's going to happen with you, but I am here for you every step of the way. You are loved my niece, very very much. And your brother very surely does love you and fully remembers you as do the rest of us gods. But for some reason you are fading from human consciousness. And none of us know what that exactly means for the future. I think that you will simply become a normal human and will live your life that way. But again, I am not quite sure".

Artemis took Hestia's hand in hers and all of a sudden they had flashed to Camp Half-Blood. Artemis could hear the singing coming from the amphitheater where the nightly sing-along was taking place. The sounds were happy and kind of jolly. The campers were singing the old standard song, "John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith", and the bonfire was leaping merrily.

The two women walked nearer to the firelight and Artemis was able to pick out her lieutenant, Thalia Grace. Thalia was no longer wearing her tiara denoting her rank, and Artemis didn't see a silvery glow around her.

The former goddess was able to pick out her former Hunters who all sat together as a group, although two seemed to be sitting together at the end of their bench as if apart from the rest. These two were the Romans, Kristara and Bobbi. They were fraternal twins, sisters and daughters of Ceres.

All the others were singing and kind of rocking back and forth to the music, but the Roman twins just sat there, kind of mouthing the words. The Greeks were all laughing and smiling and rocking, and just having a rollicking good time.

Like nothing bad had happened. Nothing at all.

Hestia led Artemis toward the center of the activities. But something inside her caused Artemis to pull back. "No, Hestia, no! I don't want to go near the flames! Something is wrong here!"

Hestia stopped walking forward, but still held Artemis' hand. She was concerned that Artemis felt something wrong or bad in the area and so paid real attention to her misgivings.

"Do you feel something in particular, perhaps something familiar? Does it have anything to do with what happened earlier today?"

"I-I-I don't know! I'm not s-s-sure, Auntie! But I'm getting a feeling that if we step into the center to talk to these demigods everything will change for me and there will be no going back".

Hestia made a decision to wait until the sing-along was over. Then they would follow the group back to their cabin and speak with them there. She expressed this to the childlike ex-goddess who quickly agreed with her.

A half hour later, the sing-along started to break up and groups started going back to their cabins. Hestia had caused them both to become invisible so as not to cause any crowding around them by any of the campers who might recognize either of them. They both saw Chiron coming toward them, a very concerned look on his face.

"My ladies, may I help you? You are here rather late with a new camper for us Lady Hestia". The old Centaur was actually Artemis' uncle. Didn't he recognize her? Had he also forgotten her? Suddenly, Artemis felt an ice cold hand gripping her heart and went into a cold sweat. This was it! This was the acid test. Chiron was not a god, although he was conditionally immortal. If he no longer remembered Artemis then there was no hope for her in this world at all. She could only pray that her mother, Leto would remember her and accept her on the Isle of Delos, the isle of Artemis' birth. Her mother still lived there, although she was free to go wherever she wanted. Perhaps she could live with her mother? Would her mother even remember her?

"Chiron, this is Lady Artemis. She is in her eight-year-old form and because of some great tragedy today has lost her powers as a goddess. It is the same incident that you were told of earlier that occurred to the Hunters who were placed with you this afternoon".

Chiron began to look at Artemis studiously, with a look on his face of concern, but without a look of recognition. The moments began to stretch when he said, "I am sorry my ladies, but I do not recognize this young lady. Lady Hestia, you say that her name is Artemis? I do not know of any goddess named Artemis. I know of the young women that you speak of of course, and they have all been placed in the unnamed cabin as was specified by Lord Zeus. But I recall no "goddess Artemis"; I apologize and I have no idea why this should be so".

Artemis fainted on the spot.

Sunlight began to filter in and the darkness of her sleep receded. She began to awaken slowly, and she could hear someone say, "Wow! You've been out for two days! How are you feeling, sister?"

A cool compress was placed gently across her forehead and she slowly opened up her eyes as she sat up in the bed. It was very comfortable, and she wished that she didn't have to get up. But she felt an extreme urge to use a toilet and a large pair of gentle hands helped her to a standing position. A softer and smaller hand took her by her small hand and began to lead her along a path that ended in a bathroom.

"Niece, use the toilet and wash your face and hands. There are towels by the sink and we will get you anything else that you need. I will bring you clothing so that you have clean things to wear, and we will brush your hair in a little while. I will draw a tub for you soon. Let me know when you are done with the toilet and I will come in and begin to help you."

Artemis recognized the voice as her Aunt Hestia's, and she could hear other voices outside as well. Her brother's was among them along with Athena's calm tones and she could hear her father's murmuring as well. Having just woken up, she still couldn't see well just yet.

…" but Chiron didn't know her either! He is older than we are and he didn't know her! How could he, oldest of all the children of Kronos and Rhea not know my daughter?"

A female voice; "Father, I do not have an answer for you. The only thing that seems to make sense is that this God is virtually all powerful and can enforce any issue that he decides to do damage to us in. Up until now, we thought that we were the "all-powerful Olympians". We have simply ignored the Christians for the most part, and now this has happened close to home because one of our youngest simply forgot to pay attention to her lessons when she was younger. There is no excuse for this. I think that Artemis was simply caught up in her own hubris and she thought that she had Perseus cornered, but forgot her limits. That is the only thing that I can think of, the only explanation that I can come up with. We may have to propitiate this God, and I am not sure how you intend to do something along those lines. And I do not see Him restoring my sister to her status. He has never done it before." A male voice, her brother spoke next.

"I have been doing some reading in the Hebrew Bible and it seems that "I Am" accepts sacrifices of rams and spotless lambs. The remains must be treated in a certain way and must be offered to his priests, so I think we must find a Hebraic priest and offer him the sacrificial meats to be offered to his family and to other priests of his kind.

"The Christians have a different kind of a sacrifice, one involving bread and wine and it seems very simple to do. But you need to have one of their priests for this. A Hebraic priest cannot do it. Something involving their core beliefs and how they are consecrated to their various priesthoods? Not sure about it all just yet, but perhaps we could ask a priest? Or a Jewish scholar of some sort? Or even just a Christian? Do any of us know any Christians?"

Silence reigned supreme as everyone thought without speaking and Artemis opened the door.

"Aunt Hestia? Would you please help me wash and dress?"

'PLEASE'? And 'HELP ME'? ARTEMIS?

All four Olympians looked at each other and passed the thought between them that this kind of speech was completely unlike the Artemis they'd all known for four millenia. She was getting even younger. And they were a little bit frightened…

What if they were next?

Sally and Paul's NYC Townhouse, later that week

A knock on the door brought the beautiful but now older Sally Blofis to her front door. She'd seen on the monitor screen a well-dressed couple whose faces she recognized, but whom she'd never met before.

Sally opened the door and said without preamble,

"Hello, won't you please come in?"

The couple, he well built at 6'3", with a well-groomed black beard and dressed in a three piece navy blue pin-striped suit and she, at 5'9" and in 3" heels and a lovely dark grey Chanel design with appropriate gloves and platinum jewelry, liberally sprinkled with diamonds entered and wordlessy followed Sally inside her front drawing room.

"Tyson, sweetie; we have company. Could you please get some coffee and tea going? Thank you, my love!"

The young Cyclope smiled to go do as he was asked by his adoptive mother. He went right on into the kitchen and called the maid, a middle aged Costa Rican woman named Marina to help with the refreshments. He knew who these "visitors" were. They were expected. And daddy would be there soon as well.

Tyson had made enormous progress in his education over the intervening 15 years, and was currently studying for his baccalaureate degree in economics. His time spent in the mortal world with the Blofis' had been to his great advantage and he had found a true family and all the love that he was missing before. He still missed his big brother though.

In the drawing room, Sally seated the king and the queen in comfortable chairs next to each other. Her series of novels had taken off like cannon shots across the United States and had caught on in Europe and then in Japan. They were political thrillers with a supernatural element, and an amazing cast of heroes that sounded very suspiciously to Hera like a bunch of demigods she knew.

But she had read the books vociferously, enjoying every page and admiring Sally for the amount of work that she was willing to put into such a project. And to her mind, Sally was the perfect wife, balancing both home and family equally along with a writing career that never took her very far from her husband and daughter or their adopted son. She wondered about Sally's first son, and where in the world he could be at this time.

She honestly missed Percy a fair bit these days. Gone were the days when she could simply call and command him to attend the gods for some quest or other chore. He had surprised everybody by suddenly absenting himself from their world on an extremely permanent basis.

And that was his choice. He was free to make it as far as they were concerned, all of them having taken a lesson from Artemis and her misfortune. They were there to see Sally about Artemis this time and not about Percy. Sally had never given them any information about Percy, saying that it was strictly between Percy and his father and the Almighty. Hera had always wondered about that, "Almighty"; it had given her much pause until very recently.

But every Olympian knew what it meant now.

Zeus went first; "Sally, thank you very much for having us in your home today. I hope that we will get a chance to see Paul as well. We know that he's busy but meeting up with a man who is an intellectual on a level with my own daughter is a rare thing among mortals, and the two of you are well respected by us all, especially after helping out in the Battle of Manhattan. None of us have ever forgotten the fact that you both raised arms in our favor and in support of Percy and the demigods.

"We do hope that you can help us out today and we're going to ask you for a very large favor. We are in need of your help in terms of contacting someone because if left to our own devices we would not be able to do this. I would like to wait for my brother for a few minutes; he seems to be running a few minutes behind but he hasn't been well lately".

Sally quietly pursed her lips. She was an extremely handsome woman, a mother of three; Percy, Estelle and Tyson. And competent almost beyond belief. And any request by any god had to be looked at very very carefully, which she very well knew.

"Sure, I don't mind waiting for Poseidon. I haven't seen him in quite a while and it would be very nice. Paul is away right now at a conference of college presidents and he won't be back for about 3 days as the plans stand. My daughter is in school today and Tyson is here; he had a day off and is studying for his final exams at NYU. We are so proud of him!"

Hera smiled and chimed in at this point, "And so are we! Tyson has achieved so much in the last 15 years that I cannot believe he is the same great warrior whom we appointed general of the Cyclope Armies of Olympus. And he still holds that position to this day you know! He has made his father very, very proud as well and we are all extremely grateful to you and Paul for having adopted Tyson into your beautiful family. You have done more than you know for us all, and it actually pains us that we are asking you for yet another favor.

"This one will require your writing to several people perhaps and helping us make a contact in a church. You see, we are in dire need of help and it is on behalf of Lady Artemis, my husband's daughter, his youngest immortal godly daughter. It seems that she has lost her godly status and powers. And this may be a matter that concerns a church".

The doorbell rang again, and this time Marina went to get it. A few minutes later a very tall man with graying hair and a stooped look about him walked quietly into the drawing-room and stopped at the door. His beautiful green eyes shone with tears to see the face of the only woman he'd ever truly loved in his entire immortal life.

He saw her proud and determined face as she sat in the room with his brother and his sister. He was dressed in an off-white button-down shirt, with tan Dockers pants, Oxford shoes and a windbreaker jacket. He held his pork pie hat in his hands and smiled.

It was a kind of a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. He was struck by Sally's incredible beauty and he rued the day that he ever listened to his brother, because he could have defeated him in combat and taken and married Sally and been happy forever. He would have been a true father to Perseus and perhaps he and Sally would have had more children as well.

His life was full of regrets, and what ifs. And he thought about that a lot before coming over. He was so sad and sorry for everything that he missed and he thought to himself how much better a man Paul Blofis was than he, the "god of the oceans and the seas".

There was so much he wanted to say to her but couldn't. The time for that was long since passed and he knew that if he began some sort of an apology now he might never stop. He would end up on his knees a blubbering mess, begging Sally to come back to him. And he knew that she would not.

Poseidon knew Sally had found her happiness and would never give that up even for immortality and for the position of Queen of the oceans. that was one of the last things that his son Percy had said to him, before Percy left for the Church.

He'd told his father exactly what he was going to do and they'd had a long drawn-out talk about everything that Percy regretted and everything that Poseidon had regretted. They both had truly cleared the air between them, but it left a whole lot of stuff, mental junk mostly in the forefront of Poseidon's mind.

And his gray hair now showed the state of his being and his overall state of mind.

The whole process had aged him terribly. It was beginning to look as if Triton was going to have to take over as the new king long before anybody had anticipated it.

"Hello Sally, brother, sister. Sally, are you well? Estelle and Tyson? Paul? Are they here?"

Sally smiled warmly and rose. "Hello, Po! It's been far too long! All are well but only Tyson is here. He's been studying for his upcoming finals; he should have his bachelor's degree very shortly and we are all very happy and proud of him. He's a brilliant student and has been carrying a 4.0 grade level for a long time now.

"And that's as high as it gets without extra credit, and I know that he has some extra credit as well. Annabeth helped him at first, and then Paul tutored him for years. But he began to make strides in the last 5 years that we didn't expect. And he's been able to run with the ball all on his own since then.

"I know that he misses Annabeth and Percy terribly, but he misses you more and I know he's going to want to see you. I hope that you'll stay and have dinner with us tonight because Tyson would love to sit and talk to you for a long time. He's missed you. Please stay?"

Zeus and Hera wisely kept out of this part of the discussion, as they recognized that it was strictly between these two. They had been lovers for a very long time before Sally finally moved on with Paul. She had been a fierce mother for Percy and would have been a worthy mate for Poseidon. They were both very sorry that Poseidon had not been more decisive about it at the time. Zeus would have given way on the whole issue if Poseidon had simply expressed himself. They had never talked about it, and he would have to chalk it up to missed chances in life.

"I'm sorry that I can't stay too long, but you know how it is with my being in charge of the oceans. Nothing ever stops and the oceans never sleep! But I will stay as long as I can. Where is Tyson right now?"

"Here I am dad!"

The very tall (6'8") cyclope, currently covered by mist so that it looked as if he had two eyes for the benefit of Marina, strode into the room carrying a tray full of coffee and cream, and helped Marina by setting everything up on the serving carts so that everyone could reach what they wanted easily.

Poseidon stood and strode over to embrace his son. He was delighted to see his "baby boy" and noted all the many differences he noticed in him.

"Hello son! You look very well! Your lovely mother is taking excellent care of you! All Atlantis is very proud of you, and your eldest brother sends his best also. And so does Amphitrite. We're all very proud of you!".

Tyson smiled, and then turned to uncover the tray of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that Sally made for him regularly, and looked at everybody with a smile and said, "Please do dig in! These are special, made by my mother by her own hands! And they are delicious!"

Poseidon's eyes lit up as he reached for the tray and took a cookie and bit into it, chewing slowly. His eyes closed and a low growl could be heard coming from him. "Sally, you have never lost your touch and if anything these are better than the old style. I like these peanut butter chocolate chips, although the ones that you used to make for Percy were very very good as well. Honestly, these taste better than ambrosia!"

Zeus looked and said, "Are these the chocolate chip cookies that I had heard about so much and so often in years gone by? I think I'll try one".

The king and his queen both picked one up and delicately bit off a little bit and chewed it. Zeus' eyes lit up in his head and Hera looked completely startled.

"Oh my! Sally, dear these are absolutely delicious! You really must give me the recipe! I would love to be able to make these at home! Please do give me the recipe before I leave or perhaps send it up with Tyson when you have time if you are so inclined. I would be forever grateful for it!"

Sally smiled brightly, happy that everybody liked her best efforts. Really, these had been for Tyson and then she had gotten the phone call from Chiron.

The old horse had kept in touch with her by phone for years, making sure that all was well and seeing if there was anything that he could do to help her. He was always cautious for her safety and the safety of her daughter and husband because of Perseus' great feats in the past and his having made terrible enemies.

But there had been no problems, at least none that Tyson couldn't handle and every so often, Tyson would come home with a light spattering of gold dust on him. He never talked about what happened but Sally knew the signs. And he always walked Estelle to school or drove her and brought her home. She was never allowed to go by herself. And Tyson would never let her do it. He had promised Percy. He had promised his big brother, and he would keep his word.

"Certainly I can give you the recipe Lady Hera! I'm absolutely flattered that you like them that much! Please, do help yourself to tea or coffee and there's cream in the pitcher as well as sugar cubes and loose sugar as well".

"Please dear, no ladies or lords or anything else today. It's just us having coffee and cookies and discussing a few matters. Brother, we were waiting for you before beginning the discussion. And that has a lot to do with the fact that you do know Sally much better than we do. But we are concerned for the same thing and we do need the help and there's no better way to impress that than to be down here and make the request ourselves".

Poseidon took it all in quietly keeping his poker face on. And so did Sally. A quick glance between them to each other and they both understood that this had to be one heck of a problem for the king and queen to have come down to talk to a mortal. especially the mother of a demigod who had annoyed the living heck out of the both of them for many years, not to mention the rest of the pantheon.

"So Zeus, please tell me just what the problem is here. It sounds rather important and I will of course help in any way that I may. But I'm not sure that I'm the right person for it if what you need is a high-level contact in a church. I don't have any of those, although I may know someone who does".

"Brother, it's time to tell her what happened. Do you want me to do it or would you like to do it?"

Zeus was chewing his cookie and just nodded at his brother to go ahead. Tyson had taken a seat along with the rest of the group and was listening carefully. He had warned his mother that if Zeus and Hera were asking for an appointment with her, then whatever they needed was going to be a whopper.

He had warned Sally to be very careful in what she agreed to and then what she did for them. But it hadn't really been necessary because Sally was well aware of what could happen. She appreciated Tyson's warnings but she knew well how treacherous dealing with Olympians could be for a mortal.

"A couple of weeks ago, Artemis and her Hunters suffered a defeat of sorts and Artemis wound up without her powers. According to Hecate, Artemis had also lost her godhood. We think we know how and why and we need to talk to a high-level Church person, preferably of the Greek or Eastern Orthodox persuasion.

We would prefer a Patriarch of one of the Churches, as I'm sure you can understand. But we do need to make a contact of some sort through a third party because we cannot go near a church. They are completely out of bounds to us and this is what caused the problem in the first place. Artemis went into such a church, and she and her Hunters and their wolves were ejected forcibly onto the sidewalk and left without any powers or any capabilities other than their human strength.

It seems that even the demigods among them lost their demigod attributes, and all have been reduced to the status of an ordinary mortal. This has not happened to anyone in our pantheon in nearly two thousand years. But the last time it did, three minor gods were stripped of their godhood and powers and wound up dying in an ox cart accident soon thereafter. It was a weird accident too, I will tell you. I don't know when I have ever seen three oxcarts crash together from three different directions, and crush three minor gods made mortal, all at once. And no damage to the carts, their cargoes or the oxen. That one stumped us, I can tell you!"

Sally took it all in very quietly and gave a glance over to Tyson. Tyson was munching on a cookie but he rolled his eyes at his mother signifying there was more to this than met the eye. Sally nodded lightly twice indicating that she got it and she turned her gaze back on to the three gods.

"Better tell me everything Po. I can always tell when you're holding back you know".

Poseidon sighed deeply and looked at his brother and sister. Zeus took a swallow of coffee and continued the story, this time leaving out nothing. the fact that Artemis and her Hunters were tracking down Percy was not left out.

Hera had given Zeus a little mental push to tell the complete truth because she knew that if Sally even thought that they were not telling her everything they would get nowhere with her and that's not what they needed. But they got a little bit more at that point than they anticipated because Sally had an answer for them.

"I have heard of this. I'm talking about the incident 2000 years ago. When Percy came to me originally in agony over Annabeth leaving, I didn't really know what else to do so I called a Greek Catholic priest I know, Papa Stavriou. The good father came over and sat with my son. Percy was full of tears that night, I didn't know where else to turn to unload his story anymore. He had told me, told Paul, told his father, told Chiron and nobody had any answers for him. We were all completely at a loss.

"Now you will need to understand that I was raised in the Greek Church as a girl. My parents were not religious and did not baptize me, and when they died I went to live with my aunt who was religious but also did not baptize me then. But I did learn of the faith and I took a great deal of solace in it, as the death of my parents had left me terribly sad.

"There was this young priest in our local church, and he was very sympathetic to my pain. He had a gift of healing by just listening to people. He would say a few words and usually hit on the right method to get around their pain or to deal with their pain.

It wasn't until a few years later that I met him on the street over in Astoria, in Queens when I was shopping at some Greek stores. I was pushing Percy along in his baby carriage, and there was Papa Stavriou! I was very surprised, and very happy to see him.

"We were just standing there talking when he looked past my shoulder and said," Don't say a word, just start walking in the direction that you're pointed and make a left hand turn at the next corner. I will join you in a minute".

"It was a monster that had been trailing me and Percy, and he saw them. Do you all understand? He SAW them. When he came around the corner, I observed him putting what turned out to be a celestial bronze dagger away in a sheath at his waist, underneath his cassock. My friend the priest was a demigod! The monster couldn't even see Father Stavriou, but Father could see IT!

"He was a son of Apollo who had left Camp Half-Blood years before when he turned seventeen.

His brother George had stayed at camp and was killed on a quest about a year later. It was something to do with wiping out a monster enclave nearby the Greek Orthodox monastery in Roscoe, New York.

"Papa Stavriou was at the monastery when the attack happened, and he went outside to see if he could help. He got there just in time to see his brother take a sword to the chest and saw the blood spurting out arterially. He caught his brother's body before it hit the ground and his brother put his dagger into the priest's hand before he died.

"He was just a novice at the time, but under the seal of the confession, he had to make a clean breast of what happened and who exactly he was. The Elder Monk of the monastery had had his thoughts about this new novice, recognizing some things about him, and prompted him to tell exactly the truth.

"The Elder Monk told him something that he didn't know at the time and I certainly didn't know until he told me, but the Church is very well aware of all of you and there are always a few demigods who have taken refuge in the Greek and Roman Churches, and they have given them both quite an education in the problems attendant to demigods being around the Church in general.

"Telling the truth in the confessional means telling the truth under spiritual seal of complete confidentiality, and what is said is privy only to the confessor, the priest and God. If you gods were trying to listen in directly to a confession, even in an open field you wouldn't be able to do it. Taking your vows as a religious person in the Church seals you against the old religion, against your pantheon.

"It was exactly the out that my son wanted and he took it. That was why Artemis could not see him. And because her Hunters are immortals, it was why they could not see him, either. The wolves are animals, and of course could smell Percy, but since he is sealed against the Hunt and the wolves are a part of the Hunt, they could not see him or touch him either".

Tyson knew all of this, but the expression of shock on the faces of all three gods made him sit up straight. He didn't think that he had ever seen his father look so surprised before at all. But he sure did look it now!

Sally felt the same way. She nervously fingered the small crucifix she always wore, the one that Tyson had made for her years ago and gave to her the day that he and Percy came home from camp together. She loved that crucifix and it always gave her comfort to have and wear such a beautiful piece of jewelry made by her adoptive son. She had had the crucifix blest the day that Percy was baptized.

Poseidon knew all this about his son, but had not disclosed it to the council. It was none of their business as far as he was concerned, and he had had to knuckle under to the council and his brother regarding the so-called "ancient laws" that served only to separate him from his son and the woman who he loved so very much. Zeus damn those laws!

This was the first he'd heard about some of the powers and protections the Church could afford an ordained person. And even simply a baptized person. Especially a demigod.

Zeus turned to his brother; "Poseidon, did you know all about this before? I mean, about Percy and the protection and everything?"

"No brother, I did not. I wasn't aware of the mystical types of protection that the Church could afford an ordained demigod, or even just a baptized demigod. I simply thought that it was a spiritual separation and not a physical separation. Sally warned me that I would not be able to find Percy and told me but it was a consequence of his being baptized. I wasn't aware that the protection was so extreme.

"But hear me on this brother, Percy's choice is Percy's choice and as his father I must support my son. His choice was sanity and clarity and enlightenment. And he has achieved a degree of it at least, I think. He has not returned to us and as a result it leads me to believe that he is happy where he is, wherever that may be.

"So let us enjoy these marvelous cookies and this delicious coffee and tea, and let us ask our beautiful Sally if she will please help us get in touch with an elder of this Church. I do not even know that we need to speak to someone of the Greek Orthodox persuasion; there is always the Roman Catholic Church. They are as steeped in the mysticism part of things, and their leader claims to be the Vicar of Christ on Earth.

"Perhaps this would be a good Church to approach? They have an office building on First Avenue in Manhattan not too far from here, and I'm sure that we could work out a visitation with one of their bishops at a neutral location where we will not be risking the wrath of their God".

Zeus thought this over very closely for a minute or two and looked at his wife. "My queen, what is your opinion on this? Should we approach the Greek Orthodox Church whose physical Church it was that this took place in or should we approach the Roman Catholic Church? And does it make a difference either way?" So saying, he bit into yet another cookie, his fourth Tyson counted. He was being pretty calm for once.

"Husband, I don't think that it would make a big difference either way so it is truly your preference. But I think that you will find that the Greeks are more likely to deal with us on an even playing field as we are in the Greek personae of our identities. While it is true we could just as easily become our Roman selves, I much prefer being who I am this way.

"But you are my husband and you are the king and it is your choice. What say you husband?".

"Milady Sally, would you please be kind enough to speak to your friend the priest and explain the situation to him? We would like to meet with his Bishop first, and then from there we will see where we must go. I will be patient with everyone, as I am simply trying to understand all of this myself.

I have had no contact with this other God, and He has had no contact with me. Such things must be handled carefully and respectfully at all levels, especially since he has, in effect harmed my daughter, although admittedly the primary transgression was hers alone.

"I give you my word that I will not attempt any vengeance on any priests who become involved in this, and I will treat them with respect as will all of the Olympians and all of the minor gods in our Pantheon, and with all honor and decorum. And any god or goddess who does not, or nature spirit or anybody else will suffer an eternity of pain in Tartarus by my hand personally. I swear this on the River Styx."

Thunder boomed in the background, signifying that the oath had been recorded and acknowledged. But all of a sudden, a huge flash of lightning and a thunderclap that split the sky resounded across the New York skyline, stopping traffic and breaking windows, and shocking everybody in that room!

Their house's windows weren't broken, but several windows across the street visibly shattered and everyone heard the glass as it fell to the sidewalk just barely missing several pedestrians. In fact, the glass "miraculously" missed several pedestrians you might say.

Tyson observed rather pithily, "Well Uncle, it would seem as if not only Lady Styx heard you. Seems to me that the God who calls Himself "I Am" has heard you as well. And I think that he will hold you to this oath. Be very careful uncle, we cannot afford to lose you". Zeus was completely taken aback. This was an oath even he couldn't get out of!

Poseidon gave a weak smile and just nodded his head a little. And right about then the maid stuck her head in and made a motion at her wrist watch to Tyson. Tyson smiled and got up and said, "It's time for me to go pick up Estelle at school. Please excuse me everybody, and I'll be home shortly with my sister".

He turned to the king and queen and asked very politely, "Will you both be here when we get back your majesties? It would be nice for me to be able to tease her about very important company. My sister has grown up hearing all of the stories of my brother and the camp, Annabeth, the prophecies and the quests and such. I think that she would be completely flabbergasted to actually meet the two of you".

Tyson turned to Hera and addressed her directly, "Your majesty, you will find that Estelle has impeccable fashion sense and is a great fan of the designs of Coco Chanel. I noticed that you were wearing a Chanel design here and I think my sister would be more attentive to that than to the fact that three gods are sitting at our table tonight for dinner! But she's a very intelligent young lady and I think that you would have a marvelous time talking with her. Please do stay for dinner? And besides that, it will give us all a chance to talk more about this and perhaps make more concrete plans with my mother, if she is indeed willing? Mother?"

Sally gave a reserved smile but nodded her head; there was a bit of a twinkle in her eye as she looked at all three of them and said, "I hope that you all like Italian style roast beef. We usually have it on Fridays, but I fixed it tonight to tempt Po here into staying. It's one of his favorites".

Poseidon looked up with a smile and said, "You remembered? After all these years and you still remembered? Sally, you just made my heart happy!"

Sally looked up and said, "Of course I remembered! After the way you ripped into the last one I made for you, do you think that I could ever forget?"

She turned to everyone else and said, "Honestly, you never saw a grown man eat so much so fast in one sitting! If I hadn't bought a 5 lb roast, there wouldn't have been enough! It was always one of Percy's favorites too. It's just too bad he's not here to enjoy it with us. and I doubt that they're having that wherever he's at!"

St Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Queens, NY

The Deacon was deeply engrossed in a very important conference with his Episkopos, his Bishop right at that moment. And while the Deacon's dinner would not be nearly so fine as what his mother was cooking, it would still be hearty and filling.

The Bishop's name was Theodore, and he had been ordained as a priest some thirty years before back in Greece. He'd listened patiently to this Deacon's tale for nearly an hour. And to say that the story was incredible was actually pushing it a little.

If it hadn't been for the presence of Father Stavriou who had actually baptized the younger man he doubted seriously that he would have believed any of it. An actual son of an Olympian God, in THIS church? In a mystical battle with another Olympian, her retinue and a pack of trained hunting wolves?

Bishop Theodore must have seemed unconvinced, so Percy gave a little demonstration of his innate abilities to control water by swirling the water in the carafe on the desk and from that he progressed it into a flying circus-type of show, and after two entire circuits of the office, Percy made a ball of it and the priests found themselves playing an impromptu game of "catch" until the Bishop called a halt to the 'fun'. And all Percy had done was to stretch his hand over the carafe; he never physically touched it, not even once!

The Bishop couldn't understand why Percy still had any abilities of his father's nature since he was now an ordained person. But Papa Stavriou gently reminded him that he was still active as a healer and still had his 'regular clients'. And he was a son of Apollo. Theodore wondered just "what he'd done to deserve such bounty from the Almighty's left hand".

"Eminence, back before I came to the church, I had a full range of powers the kind of which were accredited to my father. His ability to make earthquakes and generate storms were abilities that I had back then and used in combat many times. I could even direct water inside someone's body. But that was a terrible weapon, never to be used on another human being. I only used it once and that was against a goddess who was intent on killing myself and another demigod. I don't know what powers I still have other than this one, but I used to be able to heal myself and others with water as well. So there are some blessings at play here, after a fashion although I hesitate to try any of these abilities at all. that would mean that I was going back to my old ways and I have sworn away from that, having taking my oaths to the Church. And anyone who knows me knows that I do not ever go back on a oath or a promise".

Theodore and Stavriou both looked at each other. Stavriou smiled and said, "I'm still pretty good with a bow and arrow too! And I meet with parishioners all the time who are in need of healing of one sort or another. These are gifts that are innate to me through my father, just as Deacon Perseus' gifts are innate to him through his father.

The Bishop hadn't understood why all these things had happened now, after fifteen years. The front doors to the church had been repaired already, despite the force with which they had been blasted off their hinges. It had been a surprisingly easy repair job for the men, and they'd finished it up in just a couple of hours. And despite the rest of what had happened during the incident, there wasn't even a trace that anything had occurred in the nave of the church. Even the water had dried up without a stain on the carpets.

Bishop Theodore came to a decision fairly quickly. He would speak with his primate Bishop, the Arch-Episkopos who was in charge of his church in North America as a whole. He could help in the employment of a resolution for poor Perseus. And Theodore truly did sympathize with his Deacon's plight.

These beings obviously were still searching for Perseus, and if even half of what he'd told the bishop had been true as to just some of his feats and accomplishments, it was no wonder he was still wanted back. Something would have to be done, and it was obvious that the Almighty had made His will known by knocking the "goddess" right out on her rump and throwing her out of His church, and the rumps of her entire group with her; even their trained dogs!

If Theodore had to guess, the matter hadn't ended there, either. As a bishop, he had quite a more extensive amount of knowledge on subjects like this. It had been a real shock to him when he first learned as a new bishop of the existence of the pagan pantheon, and the fact that their headquarters was so close across the river in Manhattan. He idly wondered if the Roman Catholics knew about this? After all, they and these dusty old pagans all were coexisting together on the same island together.

But it had actually served to explain a number of things including that incident where everyone in Manhattan fell asleep for several days. That Percy had been at the epicenter of that entire episode absolutely amazed Theodore. They had a true warrior prince on their hands, and it was clear that the Olympians wanted him back.

Well too damn bad for them! This man was now sealed in the service of the Almighty Himself, and he was forever beyond their reach. And the bishop was sure that this was forever so, especially given his knowledge of the history of these things. He too knew all about the three 'minor gods' from two thousand years ago.

"Reverend Deacon Perseus, Father Stavriou, tomorrow it is back to work as usual for you both. It is obvious to me the Will of God here, and that we are all protected from these demons. These ancient pagan deities have no call on any of us, and if I had to guess I would say that the little goddess is no longer much of a goddess anymore.

There is a history of these things from many centuries ago, and this is not the first time that God Himself has made his presence known directly in the defense of His church against these beings. The three who were chastised by the Almighty centuries before were killed almost immediately thereafter.

I do not know if this will happen to her, Percy but I do know that it has happened in the past. You seem troubled by what I just said. What are you thinking right now?"

Percy waited a moment before speaking. He was very thoughtful these days and it was rare when he did not take a moment to gather his thoughts before voicing them.

"Eminence, I know that I do not wish harm on any other person or being. And I had no desire to cause any the other day. Or to be the cause of it. Perhaps the best thing for me would be to retreat from the rest of the world for the rest of my life. I do not know that this would be the best thing for everyone.

"I do have my Ministry to those unfortunate souls imprisoned on Rikers Island whom I visit every day as well as the sick and needy in the city hospitals that I visit every week. I've been able to do a lot of good out there and want to keep on doing it, but not at the price of being a trouble magnet for the church.

"And I don't want to start a war between Heaven and Olympus just because I will to stay here and not go where I should. So I pledge to you again my complete obedience on this matter, and whatever you decide will be for the best. And I will obey and go where I am sent if it is your decision that I should leave".

Stavriou cut in at this point. One thing still bothered him, although Percy's obedience was a welcome thing here.

"Percy, what about your mother? Don't you still visit with her occasionally?"

Percy's still young face broke into a quiet smile, and he answered in the affirmative and his response to his mentors question.

"Yes Father, I do. and it has been a source of great joy to me that I have been able to do so for so very long. It's lent of a lot of stability to me, and in a time in which I did need it. But I spent years away from the "others" before coming back to be ordained. I did spend four years in contemplation upstate after taking the tonsure.

"And if it's necessary and it is for the good of the church, I will go where I am sent. I took an oath on this and can never go back. But you know what my life was like before among them. I do not wish to go back to being their personal errand boy with a sword, go back to having nightmares all the time of hell.

"It's bad enough that these are real places that people can actually wander into. I don't wish ever to risk that again. I have done enough and had enough done to me. I'm not their playtoy anymore. I'm an ordained man in the service of his God, and I'm grateful for the chance to do some good in this world".

Both of the elder priests sat there shaking their heads in wonderment. This incredible younger man had actually gone through his former pantheon's version of Hell! And he did so for the love of a woman who then left him some years later. Marriage was a possibility for priests and deacons in this church, although not for bishops, unless they were married when they became a bishop.

Neither of the men wanted to contemplate what it was like to have your heart emotionally ripped away from you, although that exact thing that happened to this exemplary younger Deacon. And if the truth were to be told, he had not deserved such a thing. Although it was obvious to both of them that the woman had also had problems that she could not surmount, and so had taken the best advice available to her and left the country to follow her art and her first love of architecture.

Annabeth Chase was a celebrated and well-known architect, and had designed a number of great buildings in Europe. She had been offered a number of very large commissions in the United States, but had turned them down. it was a well-known fact that she had no wish to return to the country of her birth. She always claimed that she had simply fallen in love with Europe and "was having too much fun exploring it all and learning it all ever to come home".

Her restoration of the Parthenon had been a tremendous victory for her new mode of reconstruction of ancient ruins to their former glory. Annabeth had really achieved greatness in her craft, and Percy wished her well in his heart. He had made his peace with what Annabeth had done many years before. But what none of the men knew was that there would be a meeting of these two very shortly that would change Percy's life forever.

But in the meantime, the bishop decided to call in his biggest guns and have a chat with them about this incredible young man whom they had to know about long before he was assigned to this diocese. That he had done an amazing amount of very good work did not need to be said, as nothing less could be expected from such a being as Perseus.

A week later…

"Papa Stavriou! I hadn't expected to see you so soon, but it's always a pleasure you know! Things have been quiet over here since the last week, and I hope things have been well for you".

"Yes Reverend Perseus, things have been well. but I just got a letter from your mother today and I think if you have not yet checked your mail you should look because you will probably get one also.

"She explains that she was visited by several individuals of a very unusual nature, including your father. And she goes into how there was a problem regarding a another being with whom I assume you apparently had a run-in.

"It was a good letter, and she is asking me to come over and sit with her and discuss this matter. Apparently, these beings are asking for the church's help in this matter. I don't think that they have a concept of how this church works, not truly. But here; you can read my letter yourself and it will explain things much better to you".

Percy took the letter from his mentor and read it through. It was well-written and concise. He was always happy for news of Tyson, and his younger sister. She'd grown so!

But the news of the visit of the Olympians truly bothered him. The fact that they stayed for dinner was a good indicator of their peaceful intentions, although Percy didn't like any of them being near his family whatsoever, other than his father. He knew Poseidon would never ever harm Percy's mother or sister, or even Paul.

Percy now reached for his mail in his box, and read his letter from his mother which was sitting there right on the top of the pile. He was amused by his mother's description of Zeus' reaction to the cookies that she made for he king of the gods with a sweet tooth; who'd-a thunk it! Hysterical, all those crumbs! It was interesting to Percy to hear about the king and queen's behavior toward each other. They were just like an old married mortal couple, she fussing over the crumbs on his vest and all over his tie!

Lovely!

He handed his letter over to his mentor, chuckling all the while. Stavriou read it through and started chuckling at the description of the "king of the gods" getting cookie crumbs in his beard! What a marvelous writer Sally had turned out to be! He decided to keep up correspondence with Sally; they would need to now, especially with all these goings-on.

Percy asked, "Well? What do you think Papa? Do you think that my mother is in any danger right now? Or my siblings or stepfather?"

The priest sat back and thought for a few minutes before answering. He decided that there was no real reason to worry at that point. Zeus had been very polite and so had Hera. They had taken pains to point out to Sally that they were in dire need of her help and that they felt she could be trusted to aid them simply establishing a contact with the administrative religious body of their faith.

"No Perseus, I don't think so. Not right now at any rate. but I'm seriously thinking of going over to your mother's house and consecrating the house. If we make it holy ground then they will not be able to affect anybody therein. It would be as difficult for them to walk into a church and get out unscathed. I will speak to the Episkopos about that. How do you feel about that? Do you agree that we should think about it but perhaps wait a little?"

Percy now thought about it for a minute, and then said, "I think that we should ask my mother her opinion on it. From her letter it doesn't seem to me that she feels endangered by any of this, although she's on guard and that much is very clear. And that is the correct way for her to feel.

"If it were me alone, I might be more wary about it, but then my relationship with the Olympians had always been more antagonistic than my mother's. They actually do like my mother not least because she and my stepfather fought for Olympus like warriors and killed many enemies in their fight. That they did that more to support me I do understand, but they did do it and THAT is what counts to the Olympians.

"They're a finicky bunch about certain things, but when they respect you they do really respect you. And when they let you know that they need your help politely, then they're really desperate! And while desperate is not always a good thing with them, they still need her for the long term, and as long as they do I think she's safe.

"But I like your idea of consecrating the house. Making it holy ground would make it virtually impervious to them. They wouldn't even be able to get inside the door. But we would have to maintain something of the sacred Eucharistos in form of both bread and wine in the house. And I don't know how that's going to help Tyson. I don't want him left vulnerable to them, and I don't want to put him out on the street.

"I mean, it's bad enough that I can't see my brother anymore, and that he can't come and visit me. And my heart is sore about that. I don't want to hurt him anymore. There must be some other way".

Percy's aging mentor set back and gave it a lot of thought. about 5 minutes passed between both men and they were calm and silent, but comfortably so. both of them were used to long silences and quiet contemplation. But what they really needed here was a brainstorm. And it occurred to the priest that Percy's idea of consulting his mother would be the best idea of all.

"Percy, why don't you call your mother and make a time to go see her. Perhaps the two of you could come to some sort of concept that the rest of us could work with. After all, the two of you know this situation better than anyone of us could. But with your permission I would like to take your mother's letter to you and her letter to me to the bishop and let him read them both through.

"There's a lot here that he might want to think about, and it does put a kind of a personal touch to the relationship with these incredible beings. It could be that this would help us in moving forward to the right people. And once he makes it clear that your mother is corresponding with you and with me about these things, along with his results with his audience with you the other day, I don't think he's going to have trouble finding a superior such as the Ecumenical Primate of North and South America for our Church to support us".

Percy's eyes widened with surprise when he heard this. Calling in Archbishop Georgiou was a really big step! The only other Bishop higher than him was the Patriarch of his Church, Ioannes. He was considered the first among all the Archbishops of the various regions and dioceses. He was the Patriarch of Constantinople, on an equal footing with the Roman Catholic Pope and his office went all the way back to the days of the Eastern Roman Empire, to the days when the church was legitimized as the state religion of the Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine.

Calling in the North American Archbishop was just one step away from that man in Constantinople. This was getting very serious very very quickly. But would this "first among equals" truly understand the problem? And how would he deal with it? This had never been done before and there was no precedence for it in all of history. Perhaps Zeus was mellowing as the millennia marched along? Anything was possible with the Olympians!

"Papa, I think that we need to be able to sit down and make it very clear to the bishop before he reaches out to anyone else just how antagonistic this thing can turn and how quickly it can happen.

"Perhaps you and I should sit in with any meetings, and possibly even go through a middleman such as Chiron or one of the senior campers. Perhaps even one of the Roman leaders at Camp Jupiter?

"Maybe we could reach out to the former praetor, Reyna Arellano? She is exact and accurate and I believe that she would be acceptable to the Olympians as well. The Greek Camp doesn't exactly have leadership like that. it's too bad that Annabeth isn't still there or I would suggest her".

"Really Perseus? That woman that you had all the problems with, the one who left you? She would be acceptable to you?"

"Of course. That's all history now and my feelings for her in that way are gone for many years. I am not angry at her in the least, and she might be able to do a great deal of good here. She is more intimately acquainted with the gods that she helped in redesigning Olympus after the battles that left it in ruins. She was named the Architect of Olympus as a reward for her role in the second Titan War.

"The Olympians all know her and respect her greatly, and she would be perfectly safe doing this as she is the daughter of Athena. If there is anyone who could be an intermediary between the church and the Olympians, it should be someone like her".

"OK Percy, as long as you feel that way about it, then I am with you on this. Can you contact this woman? And her name is what? Annabeth?"

Percy looked up thoughtfully from his lap where he had been contemplating over the last few moments. He'd been deep in thought, memories of him and Annabeth from years before. Most of those memories were very fond.

He felt that he understood why she left, and understood completely that her terrors and experiences of their time together and Tartarus had taken over her life just as they had taken over his. The Deacon had been wrong in depending so much on this sensitive, intelligent and beautiful young woman.

Tartarus had robbed them both of each other, as neither could bear each the other's burden of pain and horror at their mutual experiences. Some things were just not bearable by others; only years of prayer and meditation spent in service to others had helped Percy regain his moral strength and certitude. No one else could have truly helped him.

Only God had helped.

"Percy? Are you still here?" Papa Stavriou laughed as he realized his protege had taken a bit of a jog down 'Memory Lane'!

"Eh? Oh! Sorry! I wasn't ignoring you, just lost in my thoughts for a few minutes. There's a lot back there to remember, and you can never really forget things like these"...

Stavriou understood what Percy was saying. He had no frame of reference to truly understand Percy's experiences, as he had never gone anywhere near the underworld let alone Tartarus. Not too many demigods had; and he had never had his heart ripped out by a woman the way Percy's had been by Annabeth. It was no wonder that PTSD took Percy like this from time to time.

"I think I might be able to get in touch with Annabeth through Chiron. She would never go anywhere and not tell him where she went. She came to the camps when she was 7 years old, brought by two other demigods and a satyr. Chiron has been like a father to her for all these years as her own father has been distant from her for a long time.

"I suppose I should ask my mother to call him. He might not be able to talk to me given circumstances as they are. Although I certainly would like to have a conversation with him, because I do miss him too. It's just that I had to give up so much to be able to enjoy this wonderful peace in my life.

"To be honest, I really want nothing to do with any of this. What happened to Artemis is her own fault, and she had been told not to go into churches eons ago. She knew what happened to those gods, she just forgot about it and chose not to think about it.

"If things didn't normally affect her directly, they just didn't matter to her. It was always kind of a blind spot with Artemis as far as I could see. she didn't mind mutilating and murdering men for eons, as long as she could get away with it. Whatever has affected her now, it is a judgment that she has earned. And I personally don't see the reason for intervening and helping return her to her former station".

The priest took all of this in and nodded his head in agreement. Because he really did agree with Perseus in his heart. But he also realized that such a request coming from the source was a request that he did not have the authority to just ignore on his own.

Even had he been in a remote part of the world with no easy method of his contacting any religious superiors, he still would have had to make the effort anyway. He idly wondered if missionaries in Polynesian islands had ever gone through this with some of those Island gods. Given what they were going through now, he thought he might be able to get away with asking about it. It would be interesting to find out if nothing else!

"Okay my young deacon. Contact your mother and ask her to contact Chiron to ask him to contact Annabeth and put her in touch with you. Perhaps she can help as she is both mortal and well acquainted with them. If Annabeth still has access to Olympus then she can go right up, or even meet with them at your mother's house if your mother is willing".

Percy nodded his head and reached for the phone. He would do this because of the trouble that could result for his mother and his family if he did not. He was not without forethought in matters like these, and after all of his experiences he knew better than to let this sleeping dog lie.

Personally, he hoped that nothing happened to restore Artemis. Even if she was a mortal for 20 or 30 years, she would grow up some and learn about the errors of her ways especially regarding men. Percy knew that some of the men had definitely deserved the treatment that she accorded them, but many did not and that didn't sit well with him, not at all.

But trying to convince someone who considers herself all-powerful that not only was she not all-powerful when she did have it in her power to actually destroy a person by just thinking about it is a terribly difficult thing to do.

Percy had tried to change her mind about him by being both respectful and courtly in his manners towards her. He was always respectful in the way that he treated the Hunters, understanding that many of them had been ill treated by men and some of them very very badly. But castrating men and murdering them for sport, for fun was wrong on a different scale all together. And Zeus had never done anything to rein in his daughter either.

Percy would do this, for the safety and security of his family. That was his true "Achilles Heel". And maybe, just maybe if God was in a merciful mood He might let Percy see Tyson. He would pray on it and hopefully, God would take notice of his prayer.

And God answers all prayers when prayed with a true heart and with faith. Percy would get to see this very closely and personally in the days to come. His life would take turns he couldn't even begin to imagine...