Chapter 2

Hey guys Zayden Voidstorm here and I'm back with another chapter. I'm sorry I couldn't upload this sooner but as I said my time is splintered so much that I began writing this down over almost TWO WEEKS and couldn't get it up until now. I am astounded by the number of people who have viewed and liked my story. I also appreciate the reviews you guys posted. Speaking of which, one guy said I made Percy shorter by making 6'2 instead of 6'3, my mistake and I will rectify it in the future. Anyways lets get rolling.

I don't own Percy Jackson and all rights belong to Rick Riordan

LET'S BEGIN!

And So It Begins Part 2

Percy POV

Do you guys remember the time I saved Artemis and was nearly put to death for being a potential threat? Ah good times. Well do you also remember the crazy party afterwards? Well try multiplying that by a 100 and you would get a pretty good description of THIS party.

It was utter Mayhem! There were minor gods, satyrs, and other immortal beings dancing around like there was no tomorrow, which I guess if we hadn't stopped Gaea then there REALLY wouldn't have been a tomorrow.

Everyone of my friends and the Olympians would be doing something. Clarrise and Chris were simply having a drink, Apollo, Hermes, Ares, and Dionysus were having a drinking competition. Apparently Daddy Zeus let Dionysus off the hook with the whole drinking punishment and he is now making up centuries worth of wine. Anyways Demeter, Hera, and Hestia were talking among each other or it looked more like Demeter was explaining the benefits of eating cereal. At least that's what it says on the chalkboard that magically appeared.

My girlfriend, Annabeth, and Athena were probably talking about architecture or other Athenian stuff. Hades and Nico were talking a few meters away from the party. Same with Hephaestus and Jake. My dad was having and arm-wrestling match with Zeus. As for me I was just having a drink, relishing how things were finally peaceful.

It would have been perfect...if it hadn't have been for a sad daughter of Aphrodite.

I saw Piper in a bench sniffling and sobbing with Frank and Hazel, Thalia, Lucy, and her mother, Aphrodite, beside her trying to comfort her. I would see them direct some glares, the most hateful being Thalia's, to the same direction. I followed their gaze to find to find Jason talking to Hercules. I looked at my once kind and humble friend become the same as the mindless brute of his brother. I guess the river god, Achelous, was right: you really can't trust a son of Zeus or Jupiter.

After giving him a deadly glare, I went over to Piper and the rest. I tried to speak with Piper saying "Hey Piper, I know this may sound redundant but I'm sincerely sorry about what happened. I swear you do not deserve this."

"It's ok Percy." Piper tried to reassure me but her eyes showed the truth. "I just don't know why after everything we've been through, with this war, Leo...I just don't know why he could leave me like this."

Piper hugged her knees and started sobbing harder.

"I can't say for certain why he did it, but that doesn't matter, it's that he did it and I swear that I will make him pay for this!" I said

Piper brought her head out from her knees, her blurry, tear-filled eyes widening in shock.

"Percy please don't make promises you can't keep! You can't do anything with him being a god now and a son of Jupiter. Please don't get in trouble for my sake." Piper said.

"I will make sure he pays Piper! He messed with one of my friends and I swear by the Styx he will get what he deserves!" I said with full certainty. Thunder rumbled sealing the deal.

Piper looked shocked and then she gave out a small smile and hugged me. I hugged her back and she said sobbingly "Thank You Percy. You are a great friend. The best I can ever have."

We stayed that way for a while, me trying to show as much comfort as I can. Then we broke apart and she looked like she getting better already.

Suddenly Aphrodite spoke "Piper, dear, can I borrow Percy for second? I have something important to discuss with him."

Piper looked a little uncertain as though leaving me with her mom, the goddess of love and sex, wasn't a smart idea. Hell with that thought in my head I was a little anxious. She then nodded and said "Ok, I don't see why not."

Aphrodite smiled and she grabbed my hand and led me away from the party. We walked until we were several meters away from the party and stopped by one of the Olympian gardens. I was curious as to why Aphrodite talked. Maybe she will play the overprotective mother card or maybe try to force me to have sex with her. It was fifty-fifty at best.

She then looked at me and her attitude looked serious. Ok maybe it was the overprotective mother card being played out. But then her demeanor went a complete 180, as she smiled brightly and hugged me so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of me.

I was so shocked and confused but I just responded with a hug just playing this out. She then whispered behind me "Thank You. For helping cheer Piper up. I can't thank you enough."

Recovering from the shock of the hug I just responded with "It was no problem. She was my friend and couldn't stand seeing her so sad over that bastard."

The hug broke and Aphrodite then turned back to serious mode. 'Her mood changes as fast her eyes do.' I thought. She then asked "Percy what do I look like?"

"Huh?" was all said as trying to figure out what she meant.

"I mean what do I look like to you?" She explained.

I was still a little confused until I thought she meant how do I see her as, personality wise, what my opinion of her was.

I then responded, stuttering a little, with "We-Well um I think you are kind, caring and loving to your children, uh you are a great Olympian, you are smart and crafty, not an air brain as Athena says and you are stunningly beauti-." I would have continued if Aphrodite was trying to make stop talking and listen.

"No, no, I didn't mean what you thought of me like that." Aphrodite said waving her hands in front of her, her face as red as a cherry. "I meant what do I looked like to you appearance wise."

I swear I felt my own face lit up like a tomato in embarrassed. How can I be so stupid! 'Oh wait Seaweed Brain. Never mind.' I thought.

"Oh! Well you um have long, curly, dark brown hair, you have pearl like skin, you have kaleidoscopic eyes, mostly ocean blue. You have a lovely heart-shaped face, you have little to no makeup, you have a symbol on the right side of your collarbone." I described her.

I only say it now but I noticed it after the ceremony. On her right collarbone she had a symbol that looked like a heart, with a sword going through it, with black angel like wings coming out from the sides. At this Aphrodite looked down, a contemplative look on her face. Meanwhile, her hand, subconsciously I think, covered her mark.

She then faced me and said "Percy you are looking at my true form."

"Someone tell me how many times I have gotten confused or shocked today. I kinda lost track.' I thought feeling confused by what she means by 'true form.'

"Um, what do you mean by 'true form'? I thought that if a demigod looks at a god in their true form they get turned to ashes?" I said confused.

"Yes that is true." Aphrodite said "If a mortal, demigod, or monster looks at a god their true godly form, they would be incinerated. But I'm talking about my true godly form, I'm talking about my true appearance."

"Your true experience?" I asked.

"Yes, let me explain. You see whenever a mortal, demigod, or even a god or immortal would look at me they would look at me they would stare at their vision of perfection. I know that when you first met me in that limo on your quest to save Artemis you saw me as a combination of Annabeth and a supermodel. That was your vision of perfection, at the time. But when others look at me they see their visions of perfection, what they think the perfect woman would look like. The reason for this is because if someone were to look at my true appearance they would be too fixated on me that they would cause problems, on Olympus and in the mortal world. So I made a deal with Hecate and used a combination of my powers and the Mist to hide my true appearance from everyone. But somehow you are seeing me in my truest form, you somehow looked through the Mist and my powers and yet you aren't being affected at all!"

I stood there silently, trying to process this information. I shook myself out of my stupor and asked "But what does this mean? How can I see you in your true state?"

Aphrodite just looked away, uncomfortable, and said "I don't know."

However, when I looked at her eyes before she then turned away, I saw that she knew perfectly well as to what it meant but I decided that I should leave it. Especially since I realized how she was. She looked uncomfortable, as if she thought that I saw as ugly. Ironic considering that was the exact opposite of what she thought.

But she didn't knew that so I steeled my nerves and said "If it counts or means anything, I think you look better this way. Way more beautiful than last time."

She looked at me in complete shock, her face redder than before. She looked at me straight in the eyes to see if I had a hint of dishonesty but she found none. She then smiled and hugged me once again and I hugged back.

After that hug she said thank you and asked if I could visit her more often. I agreed to and she smiled brightly, eyes filling with hope and said OK. We headed back to the party, wondering if Piper was feeling better, her face still wet and puffy from the crying. She then stood up as we came.

"Hey Percy, thanks again for cheering me up, I really needed it." Piper said. "I'm going to go join the party, but first I think I need to freshen up. Hey mom can you help me find the bathroom? I don't know where it is in this place."

"Of course dear, anything."Aphrodite said.

They walked away on their quest to find the Olympian ladies' room. Aphrodite looked over shoulder to see me and mouthed the words 'Thank you' before disappearing into the crowd. After that I decided to go for a walk as my girlfriend was busy having mother-daughter time and my dad was pulling a sibling rivalry stereotype. I was walking through the Olympian gardens, enjoying the silence. To be honest, I'm not much of a party guy.

I stopped by one of the benches and decided to lay down for a second. I looked up at the night sky and saw the moon shining brilliantly. I guess Artemis was in a really happy mood today. I turned away from the moon's magnificence to see The Huntress constellation shining more brightly. I frowned sadly looking at it, my conscience still feeling guilty for her death.

'If only I could have saved you Zoe, I'm sorry I wasn't good enough.' I thought bitterly.

"I see you decided to leave the party too." A voice spoke out behind me.

I turned my head to see who it was and saw that it was Artemis, still in her 18 year old form.

"Lady Artemis!" I said shocked. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at the party?"

Artemis smirked playfully and said in an amused tone "I should say the same to you Mr. Twice Savior of Olympus."

"Touche." I said "I guessed that I wanted to be alone for a while. Lot of stuff happened and I'm not much of the party type."

"To be fair, same here." Artemis replied sitting down beside me and looked up to see the Huntress constellation.

I don't know what was more surprising, Artemis speaking to me so casually or the fact that she is so close to the very thing she despises most: a male.

"Zoe seems to be in a happy mood." Artemis pointed out. Her constellation seems to be glowing more so than usual."

"Uh, Yeah, I guess."I replied trying not to sound uncomfortable speaking to the man-hating goddess.

I decided to steel my nerves and ask her why she was here. "Lady Artemis why are you speaking to me so politely? Not to be rude but you kinda hate me and my entire gender."

Artemis then looked at me, her eyes dazzling in the moonlight, and said "Because Perseus, you are the only man that I respect. Out of all things I hate about men, you seem not to posses any of their traits. You are kind, selfless, extremely loyal to your friends and family, and are kind and respectful towards women. You are by far the only man I've tolerated."

I was shocked that she thought so highly of me. "Thank you for the compliment Lady Artemis."

She just smiled but then looked at the ground her, eyes suddenly turning sad and said "It's nice talking to someone, especially after all that's happened."

When she said that I knew she meant her Hunters. Out of over 30 members, only a dozen survived as most were killed in the war, especially by Orion.

"I never got the chance to say it, but I'm sorry for your Hunters. I'm sure they are in Elysium in peace."

She didn't look at me but nodded, appreciated. She then said "If only I could have been there, if it hadn't have been for Olympus closing because of my father's stupid ego-"

"You could have saved your Hunters from Orion." I finished. She nodded her head sadly.

"I assure it isn't your fault, if anything it is me who is to blame." I said.

She looked at me, confusion and surprise etched in her face. "How could it have been your fault?"

"Zeus closed down Olympus because I turned down immortality." I said as I looked down, unable to face her. "He thought by me choosing to be mortal, I was saying it was better than being a god. He took it as an insult and therefore closed down Olympus, which meany you couldn't save Hunters. Therefore, it is I who you should blame."

"Perseus that wasn't your fault." She said reassuringly. She placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke "Even if Zeus hadn't taken it into offense, he still would have closed Olympus due to fear of Gaea. Besides if anything, it was his pride that kept me from my Hunters so please don't put this on you."

"But I still caused it. I have to face the facts that everyone around me gets punished for my actions." I continued miserably. "It's my fault for your Hunters' death, just as it is for my friends. Beckendorf, Silena, Michael, Lee, Bianca, Reyna, Leo, and Zoe. All their deaths are on me. If only I could have been stronger then maybe they could still be here."

At the end of my rant of self-loathing, a hand reached out and slapped my face so hard I swear I had a red hand-print on my cheek. I touched where the slap connected and looked towards Artemis. Until I was suddenly talked into a hug.

I thought maybe Artemis's slap must have knocked my brain loose because there was no way Artemis, the FREAKING MAN_HATING GODDESS, was hugging me. I was there frozen unable to comply as to what was happening. She then released me but kept her hands firmly gripped onto my shoulders as she looked at me, her eyes filled with fury, sadness, and emotion that I couldn't identify.

She suddenly spoke out angrily "Stop It! Please just stop blaming yourself for their deaths! You are a hero Percy! You can't save everyone, but shouldn't mean that they were your fault!"

I just looked down, my eyes shadowed with grief and sadness, and replied to the angry goddess with "But it is my fault. If I couldn't have been beaten by Kronos on the Princess Andromeda then Beckendorf wouldn't have had to blown himself up. If it hadn't have been for my rage in destroying the Williamsburg Bridge then maybe Michael wouldn't have dead, he must have fell off the bridge in the destruction. If I would have been strong enough to beat Atlas then maybe Zoe wouldn't have had to die!" At this point my voice was trembling and fading in my self-loathing. "I promised Nico to protect Bianca, but I failed. If I hadn't have had a FREAKING NOSEBLEED then Gaea wouldn't have risen! Reyna wouldn't have had been killed by her and Leo wouldn't have needed to sacrifice himself for MY Blunder! Besides I'm not a hero, I never have been. I never have been. I'm just a coward who got lucky, while the real heroes died, because of me." My teeth were clenched in rage and tears were escaping my eyes.

Artemis was silent, her eyes hidden by shadows, her face held a neutral tone, and she was still as stone. Suddenly her hands started to shake, their grip increasing, her opened to show her teeth clenching in rage, and she suddenly shook me making me see her eyes which filled with rage and tears were threatening to escape from her eyes. She then spoke out:

"You stupid idiotic Male! You can't see it can you, it wasn't your fault they died. You are right they were heroes, but you are one as well! You couldn't have beaten Kronos yet because you weren't ready for him yet, and Beckendorf chose to sacrifice himself. What about Silena?! She died to let the Ares cabin join the war, she sacrificed herself to save everyone! Bianca died because of her actions and she let herself die to save you and Zoe. You couldn't have foreseen that nose-bleed that rose Gaea and if it wasn't you then it would have been one of the other Seven. Leo and Reyna chose to die fighting for Olympus, they didn't die because of you! And Zoe knew she was gonna die when she went on this quest, she knew she was going to die by Atlas, the prophecy said so! Besides you couldn't have defeated Atlas but instead of acting like a prideful male and died fighting for glory, you chose to allow me to fight him which led to his defeat. That made you a hero to ME! And if you still don't believe me then what about Zoe's last words, remember what she said?"

I gasped quietly in shock, my sea-green eyes widening in realization. My mind flashed back to Zoe's final words to me. "You spoke the truth Percy Jackson." Zoe said "You are nothing like...like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword." My mind snapped out of my flash back to listen to Artemis yelling at me again.

"Now you see right?!" She said as if she read my mind. "She said she was honored that a real hero held Riptide, her sword! Believe me when I say this Perseus Jackson: You are the bravest, most selfless, most humble, most loyal and greatest hero that I and Olympus have ever seen! Please don't say otherwise. Your friends wouldn't want you to wallow in guilt over them. Don't disregard their sacrifice! Don't disregard Zoe's sacrifice!"

...

...

...

I didn't know what to do or say. I didn't know whether to smack myself with the flat end of Riptide or hug Artemis. I chose the more riskier, more deadly option.

I chose to hug her.

I hugged Artemis, shacking in sadness, as tears flowed through my eyes like a river. Artemis stiffened for a split second and I thought I went to far. I could see my gravestone writing right now: R.I.P Perseus Jackson, Twice Hero of Olympus, Slayer of Kronos and Gaea, Died by hugging Artemis. But that vision turned out to be just my imagination, which broke apart as Artemis hugged me back with as much intensity.

"Thank You Lady Artemis." I said still hugging her. "Thank You for releasing me from a great weight on my shoulders."

"No I should be thanking you."Artemis replied. "For relieving me of my guilt over my Hunter's deaths and for saving me and Olympus. It was he least I could do, and please call me Artemis."

We stayed that way, not letting the other go. I breathed in her scent of the forest and nectar, an intoxicating aroma. At this point I forgotten all about the wars, the loss, the strife, and all the reasons why hugging her was colossally bad idea. All I could think about was me and Artemis, embracing each other, relieving each to her of the pain we held in our hearts.

But sadly, all good things must end eventually, and so it did when we separated and smiled at one another. Unfortunately, my brain had to also notice the dangerous position we were in. We were still on the bench, but with my back resting in the corner of the bench's left armrest and backrest, holding Artemis by the waist as her arms were wrapped around me, our legs tangled together and her laying on my lap, her big breasts pressed against my chest and our faces mere inches away from each other. I was blushing like a mad man and if I could I swear there would be steam flowing out of my ears. Apparently Artemis noticed as well and her face became glowing red and a slight golden. We tangled our way out of our position and awkwardly scooted away from each other, looking away. What in the actual hell I thinking! Why was I thinking about Artemis in that way. 'Annabeth remember! Bad Seaweed Brain!'I thought.

"Um well uh thanks for uh that talk. It was um nice and relieving." I tried saying without blubbering like an idiot. Didn't work.

"Yeah um no problem. Thank you as well for the uh refreshing talk." Artemis stuttered out."Actually Perseus there was something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

That caught my curiosity as to what she meant. I turned to her and asked "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about the partial immortality blessing I gave you at the reward ceremony. I didn't just gave you partial immortality, I gave you my blessing."

Ok someone seriously count me how many times I've been shocked today! I could set a world record! Or should see Apollo immediately to see if I've gone insane. I mean how many men can truly say they were blessed by the man-hating goddess of the Hunt? Anybody? No?Well that answers my question.

My ADHD brain was so shocked that the only logical response that came out was "Huh?" Stupid ADHD Seaweed filled head!

To this Artemis burst out laughing. A sweet melody of a laughter at that. She shook her head in amusement.

"Still the same old Perseus huh? Anyways yes I gave you my blessing. Why you may say I already told you, because you are the greatest demigod of all time and the only male I respect and the only male I can call a friend."

Artemis was seriously breaking the laws of nature left and right. Me, a male, called a friend, by her? Am I sure the world didn't end?

"Thank You Artemis. I consider you a friend as well? I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything more. This is my way of showing thanks for what you have done for me."

"So what kind of blessing did you gave me?" I asked all jittery. "Is it the same as your Hunters."

"Indeed." Artemis replied. "The blessing I gave you is the same as the one I give my Hunters. For one it gives them enhanced strength, speed, agility, stealth, reflexes, and precision. The blessing also allows you to be able to use a bow, something I think you were especially lacking in." She said that last part in an amused tone and had a teasing smile on her face.

"Yeah I have to admit I'm really bad with a bow." I said embarrassed.

"Bad?" Artemis questioned in a slightly surprised, smiling look on her face. She then started roaring in beautiful laughter "You were HORRIBLE! You were probably worst than all of history's worst archer Combined! HAHAHAHA!"

If this was a cartoon or anime, my head would have had a sweat drop on my head. I was at first embarrassed but as they say laughter is contagious as I joined her laughter at my horrible skills with a bow. Finally, someone I can talk about my faults instead of my achievements! After we calmed down, I thanked her again for the blessing and how honored I was. She nodded and we continued to watch the night sky. Although with Artemis around, it hard not to look at her. No wondered satyrs and men everywhere ogle at her, she was beauty incarnate, one that rivaled that of Aphrodite herself.

At one point Artemis said that it was high time for her to return to the party and thanked me for the memorable evening before she left. I looked at the Huntress one more time deciding I should head back too.

'Finally, peace and relaxation here I come!' I thought to myself in pure joy. I then stood up and headed on back to the party, hoping for two important things. One, that Dionysus, Ares, Hermes, and Apollo didn't kill anybody in a drunken state. And second, that for once I could hope for a future of peace.

But as you know, in this life of myths and monsters, peace doesn't last long.

Two weeks later.

It's been two weeks since the party and I'm currently in Camp Half-Blood after more than a year. Even after the war with Gaea, Camp Half-Blood looks just like how it's always been. The big green with Thalia's pine tree at the top. The Golden Fleece laying there keeping the magical borders to the camp secure and Pelus, a big bronze and gold scaled dragon guarding the Fleece. Off to the left of the hill was the path to the Cave of the Oracle, where Rachael, our new Oracle, lives for the summer and gives us prophecies for quests. There is the Arts and crafts, where we go to do activities and study the Greek world. The Amphitheater, where we gather around the magical campfire, that changes color and height due to the mood of the camper, for campfire songs and announcement. To the right of the Arts and crafts there is a climbing wall. Simple, right? Well there is nothing simple about a giant climbing wall that spurts out ACTUAL LAVA. I currently have the high score of reaching the top by 20 minutes. Ahead of the Climbing wall there is the Camp Lake where we learn how to sail, canoe, fish, and where the naiads live.

To the left of the Amphitheater there is the volleyball court followed by the strawberry fields where the satyrs and Demeter kids would tend to. There is then the Big House a big two story, classic red and blue log cabin, where our caretaker Chiron, the centaur, lives, where we have war meetings, and keep souvenirs from past quests, that is the ones that come back alive. To the right of the big House there is the Forge and Armory where the Hephaestus kids and some of the other campers spend making and housing new weapons, armor, and all kinds of junk. Ahead of the Camp Lake there is the Dining Pavilion where gather to eat and give a portion to the gods, it was a normal camp dining pavilion except for the giant scar on the earth that Nico caused. In between the Dining Pavilion and the Armory stood the cabins. At first there were only 12 cabins in a U-shape formation, one for each of the Olympians and the hearth in the middle where Hestia would sometimes go to. But now there our more than 30 cabins for the minor gods, two new cabins along the formation of the other 12 to show Hestia and Hades are now Olympians. There was also the archery field, our Pegasus stables, the infirmary, and the Combat Arena.

Next there is the woods where we have our weekly capture the flag games or monster fighting. In the northern part of the woods there is a massive pile of rocks weirdly shaped like a fist, hence why we call it Zeus's Fist. To the right of said pile of rocks is where the satyrs and dryads live and a grove where the Council of Cloven Elders gathers for meetings. And to the far side of the woods there lays the mysterious Bunker 9. It was apparently a base of operations for the Civil War for the demigods, where cool inventions and amazing blueprints lay waiting. The Hephaestus cabin went crazy trying to look through all of it when Leo found it.

Yep Camp Half-Blood is home sweet home for me, I was currently in a hammock by the Lake and the Poseidon Cabin just relaxing.

But I bet you are wondering 'Percy why aren't you at school or with your family?' That's good question that needs answering.

First off, the day after the party, I went to see my mother and stepfather. When I got there I got a hug from my mother that rivaled that of Tyson. Then a very long earful that would put a banshee to shame. Followed by a lot of waterworks, we were just glad I was safe and sound. Mom and Paul nearly had a couple of heart-attacks from what I told them of my grand quest. And I nearly had a heart-attack of my own when my mom gave me the most shocking news of all: She was PREGNANT!

Apparently a week ago they did the you-know-what and now they are expecting a boy or girl to come. I was extremely happy. I was gonna be a big brother. But I then realized that I would have to stay away from him/her. My scent has become so strong that I might as well have giant billboard sign a top of me and that would put them all at risk. So I would have to stay away from them and in turn, keep the godly world away from the them. I explained this to mom and Paul. At first they thought I was being ridiculous but after a while I managed to convince them that it was for the best. Although I did promise to visit on occasion.

With that I decided to pack the last of my things at the apartment and stay at Camp Half-Blood full time. A favor from Hecate made it so that a Mist replica of me would take my place at my school. So I just spend my time doing camp activities and training campers in swordsmanship. Artemis's blessing has been really useful as my archery skills have improved so much as to rival the Apollo campers. Everyone was shocked at this, but all I cared was that now I can't have the chance to accidentally take someone's head off or put an arrow into Chrion's tail, again.

I send Iris messages to Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and my friends at Camp Jupiter to see what was happening. Apparently with Reyna's death, Hazel became the next co-praetor along with Frank. The Romans also made a memorial for all the heroes that died in the past two wars, especially Leo and Reyna. Nico and Hades were having a but load of work, restoring order int he Underworld and count up the souls that escaped the Fields of Punishment. Though there is a topic of interest that me and everybody where shocked. Leo's soul wasn't in the Underworld. We were all wondering if he had chosen rebirth, but that was impossible as Hades revealed that this life was Leo's third one and he would have gone to Isles of the Blessed and there were no reports of a Leo Valdez crossing Charon's ferry or even entering the DOA Studios. This got us thinking that Leo must still be alive but how can that happen if he actually died, as Nico sensed his death? So far Nico and Hades are trying to locate him as we speak.

Anyways, Thalia and the Hunters are busy hunting the remainder of Gaea's army, especially with their depleted numbers. Annabeth is busy with school in San Francisco and is always Iris Messaging with her mother, talking about designs for Olympus and for Project New Athens as she named the project for making a Greek city for demigods. The gods even made the land of Camp Half-Blood bigger for the sake of the of the project. They would just allowed us to tear down the woods to do it, but after an earful from the Grover and the Council of Cloven elders they just expanded the land. But with Annabeth busy with all this work, which I pity her for it, she has been too busy to call back or a full chat, she was rather distant which was only one of few downsides.

On the upside, Piper was doing better, she has started to seem more happy with me, her siblings, aside from Drew, and her friends helping her get over Jason. Aphrodite would visit on occasion to visit both me and Piper and we would all spend the day together, most of times drawing jealous glares from the guys and envious looks from the girls. Although I didn't know it back then, sometimes when I turned from them they would smile darkly at each other and menacingly stare at each that looked as if sparks were flying only to stop when I turned back around. Artemis was also messaging me and me in return with her to see what was going on in Olympus. So far the usual Zeus ranting and godly annoyance and trivialities.

Everything was going great...until I heard a roar and some yell. Man what is it with something bad happening at a high moment of peace for me.

I got up from my hammock and started and using my new enhanced speed to run to Half-Blood Hill. I arrived to see two demigods running towards me. One was a pale, skinny guy, blonde, messed up hair, wore a light blue shirt and torn jeans, looked around 16 and had blue eyes. The other was also a male, looked around the same age, had black shaggy hair, light tan, green shirt, and brown shorts and had moss green eyes. Both looked tired and had cuts on them. I saw what was chasing them and there was the Minotaur AGAIN! seriously, two times wasn't enough? Looks like I will have to make a third time I kill him.

I drew Riptide and ran to the guys yelling "GO,GO, get up top, hurry!"

The guys flew past me, yelling like little girls,not even thinking twice about me or the dragon at the top of the Hill. I readied myself as the Minotaur came to a halt, sniffed deeply before growling. I guess after all this time he can pick my scent pretty easily.

"Hey Beef-for Brains! Did you miss me? Admit it you miss me. Must be why I always run into you, you just love me killing you right?" I said with my usual snarky, immortal-pissing voice. The Minotaur raised his head and let out an enraged bellow, then scraped his hove on the ground like always and charged straight at me. I waited for a moment before ducking to the side, the usual play against him. The usual part was, almost slow motion like, he hurled his hand backwards and if it wasn't for Artemis's blessing I would have been knocked to kingdom come. I back flipped, my hands landing on his and used it like a spring board as I launched myself out kicked him with my feet. I landed on the ground crouching, feeling like Spider-man for a second, and the Minotaur ended up with his face eating dirt. I readied myself as he came back up. He turned myself towards me and if it wasn't obvious enough that he was pissed, he slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.

"Come one Bull Head is that the best you Got?" I continued to tease him.

(Warning this may get a little graphic)

The Minotaur responded with reaching behind him and pulling out his Omega blade looking axe that I swear wasn't there before. He then charged towards me, axe ready to slice my head off. I charged as well, Riptide ready, and we clashed. I would have been more surprised that me, a 6'2 foot human with a sword, can intercept and block a giant axe from a giant bull monster, but I was more or less trying to not let that axe cut me in two. I slid away away from the axe, it flying behind me and I took the chance to slash at the Minotaur's side. It made a deep cut and the Minotaur bellowed out in pain. I continued sliding and dodging strikes with his fist and axe while slashing at any vulnerable spots. Finally deciding to finish it, I slashed at his hand and it came out like butter. The Minotaur barely let out a roar of pain until I cut off the other, then jabbed the sword into his stomach, and finally yank it up towards the top of his chest. With that the Minotaur let out a choke as his monster guts and golden dust were coming out of his chest like a river and finally he fell over and disintegrated into a pile of dust.

(Graphic violence over.)

I let out a breath of exhaustion and was ready to go up the hill to see the demigods but I saw something the Minotaur left behind: his axe. I knelled down to touch it but when I did it started glowing golden for a second and it shrunk. I now was seeing a dual-bladed axe, black leather grip, the blades silver and black, carvings etched into it. (Just imagine the Minotaur's axe but shorter for Percy and colored silver and black) I reached out to grab it but it instead flew into my hand like Thor's hammer. When it made contact I felt a shiver went through me as if the blade was bonding to me. I try to come up with a name for it and it hit. "Dimios" I whispered. Greek for 'Executioner.' Once I said that the words Dimios blazed into the leather grip. The blade seemed to hum as if it was happy with the name. With all that out of the way, I snapped myself out of my joy over a weapon and decided to head back up the hill to see the two demigods.

When I came up I saw Chiron there with Piper, Clarrise, and Chris looking at me in confusion probably as to what happened. I saw the two demigods being treated by Will and the Apollo campers.

"Percy." Chiron said "What happened?" What was that roar? And what is that weapon you have there?"

"Minotaur, demigods, fought it, killed it, got his axe as a weapon. Meet Dimios." I listed off.

"Executioner? Nice Jackson." Clarrise replied.

"Thanks." I replied back "How are the two kids anyways?"

"Firstly we can hear." Cried out the black haired tanned guy in a sassy way "And secondly we're fine."

"Yea we could have taken the beast. It was no big deal." The blonde haired dude said boastfully. I immediately took a slight dislike in this guy. For me, I already have my full of arrogant immortals, demigods,and monsters, I don't need to add another one to the list.

"Really?" I said in a playful sarcastic tone. "So running away from it and screaming was big game plan huh? Well played."

Some people started snickering at this while the two guys glared at me in loathing. What have ever done to them?

Chiron decided to chirp in "Hello would you two mind telling us who you are?" After the guys got over their shock at seeing the old centaur the black haired gut replied with "Ryan Markus." and blonde replied with "Zane Skye." (Came up with Zane by Han50's Betrayed Son of the Sea, see it its great.)

'Can you tell us as to how you came by here together?" Chiron questioned further.

They the told us there story. Apparently Zane lived with his drunk uncle and aunt, until they were attacked by snaked people, probably dracanea, but they killed them with a bronze shotgun and then told Zane to pack up, get out, and find this place. He said this with malice in his tone, showing how much he hated them. Ryan's story was similar, living with uncle, dracanea, get out, and find this place. They met up a week later, then were attacked by Beef Head, and been running and hiding from it till they got here.

"Tell me, do you know who your mother and father were? Chiron asked to see who there godly parent was.

"Never met my dad, he left me and my mom when I was born." said Zane. "My mom was killed in a drunk driving accident when I was 8, been living with my uncle and aunt ever since."

"My mother died in a fire, as for my father my mother told me he was fisherman lost at sea." Ryan said.

The alarms in my head were ringing the sense of familiarity. My eyes widened and I looked at Chiron who seemed to have the same conclusion. Then something happened almost immediately: they were claimed.

My suspicions were confirmed when I saw the glowing sea-green symbol on top of Ryan's head. A glowing green trident. Poseidon. I was starting feeling happy, I have another brother. But that joy all but vanished when I saw the one on Zane's head. I should have realized it, blonde, blue eyes, arrogant, last name Skye. On top of Zane's hid was a blue lightning bolt. Zeus.

"All Hail Ryan son of Poseidon, God of the Seas. All Hail Zane, son of Zeus, God of Lightning and King of Olympus."

We all did the customary bow whenever a demigod was chosen, but I swear if I had known as to what they would become I would have wished I hadn't done it. I know this would have been upped Zane's ego, but I hoped that this would go well.

Several months Latter

Hey remember what I said about things going well? Well, the Fates just love to screw with me as the exact OPPOSITE happened. I might as well have gone back to Tartarus. Ever since Zane and Marcus came around, the younger demigods flocked to them like sheep. They were loving it. They were hogging the attention like pigs. Of course I never cared for popularity, it was just that Zane and Marcus expected everyone to suck up them. When that didn't happen they didn't happen they didn't like that. Me and the older campers didn't act sheep and that pretty much hurt their pride. I got worse when they heard about my achievements. They started spreading rumors about how I was a fraud and that I never did any of those things. Some believed him like mindless followers, most didn't. The two would always challenge me to duels as to show they were better, but ended with me disarming them or knocking them out. Although they kept saying I was cheating or that they weren't ready and a bunch of other excuses. What made it more insulting to them was that I wasn't even trying, even when they were using their powers I defeated them without using mine. More so insulting when I was using them to teach lessons saying to the demigods their faults in handling the sword, like this was a training session. Their hatred of me grew. That's when they started to frame me for things they did, like destroying the Demeter kid's garden and breaking the Apollo kid's bows. Too bad for them that most people never believed I did it as they say I'm the nicest, loyalist guy around. But I swear that some looked fractured, as if they know I didn't do it and yet wanting to believe that I did it.

In the end before winter break came along, half the camp was on Team Bastard and the other on my side. I never thought much about the name calling, but when they tried framing me for things and drag my friends into this, that's when I full on hated them. I expected Zane to turn out like this, like Jason, but Ryan? I never thought a son of Poseidon could end up like this. My peace at Camp Half-Blood was wearing thin. I couldn't go anywhere without hearing name calling or insults being thrown at me. It wasn't getting to me, but it was getting annoying, fast.

My friends were also having the same reactions about them. Clarrise nearly clobbered them if it hadn't have been for Chris. Katie, Jake, Malcom, Travis, and Connor just thought of them as annoying. Yet some of my friends were acting weird, like whenever I tried talking to Will he would just glare at me and ignore me. Same with Grover, although it was more of the lines of just awkward stuttering and saying he was busy. Whenever the Hunters arrived, Ryan and Zane would start flirting with them. Yea it took a whole day of treatment from the Apollo cabin to fix them up. Ryan and Zane tried to 'influence' Nico into joining their group but he just ignored them. Even Tyson hates Ryan! He says "Ryan is bad brother. He says bad things about good brother Percy." Whenever some Romans came by they would be disgusted of them. What was truly disgusting was watching them flirt with Piper, Thalia, Artemis, and Aphrodite. Like I crushed a piece of metal when I saw Zane flirting with Piper and Ryan with Thalia. Made me smile when the ending results would be launched through a wall and Ryan in a small impact crater, twitching in electricity and pain. The same happened every time they tried anything on Aphrodite and Artemis. Apollo and Hermes had to use their combined max godly power just to hold back just One of them from killing the two demigods.

Good thing about winter break is that Annabeth is coming to camp. She even graduated early from school so she can spend more time at camp. It was great.

Well it would have been great if she hadn't been so distant. She would spend most of her time making plans for Project New Athens as she put it. The designs were amazing and I knew how much this meant to her so I would her some space. But whenever she had some would ditch me saying about having to do something else, I felt more depressed on that, wondering why she was ignoring me. Luckily Piper and Thalia, whenever she would visit, would always cheer me up. Piper would say that she was probably just stressed about the city and trying to make her mother proud, yet Thalia admitted saying Annabeth was acting weirder than usual. That got me thinking about how much Annabeth meant to me and I wanted to show her that so I decided on what to do.

I went to Olympus to see her mother, Athena, and asked for her blessing to marry her daughter. Yea her reaction was just as I expected. She raged and ranted and finally said that if I wanted her blessing, then I would have to do the most ultimate task of loyalty. I shuddered and wondered what she was going to make me do. Fight Ares and Zeus? Do the 12 Labours of Hercules? Spend a whole week being seduced by Aphrodite? Me and her are good friends but I think that I couldn't handle an entire week being seduced by the goddess of love. Instead Athena summoned Artemis and went to another room to talk. It must have been something difficult because I heard the sounds of plates smashing, wood breaking, and more sounds of pandemonium. After an hour of this, they both came out with their hair messed up, clothes filled with claw marks, and cuts on their faces.

"Perseus." Athena stated firmly. "If you wish to marry Annabeth then you will spend the next six months traveling with the Hunters of Artemis."

I was as still as a statue not knowing if Athena was giving me a test or if she wanted to give him a death sentence. I tried reasoning with her that Artemis and her Hunters would kill me before the first week! Hell I'll be lucky to survive the first DAY! Artemis calmed me down, albeit a little bit, that she will keep her Hunters in check. Athena said that I couldn't tell Annabeth the exact reason why I'm going, which was obvious, and that I was going to help the Hunters kill the remainder of Gaea's allies.

I agreed to it, feeling as if I'm walking closer and closer to my shroud doing this, but also knowing I need to prove myself to Athena and Annabeth needed space. So the next day, during breakfast Artemis announced that I would be traveling with the Hunt for over half a year by orders of Olympus. Everyone was shocked at the news. The guys would be giving me looks of pity and comfort, thinking I have been sentenced to death,which I might as well have, and the girls wished me luck. Grover patted me on the back and said he was jealous of me traveling with Artemis, I knew he was joking but something about his hand squeezing my shoulder made me think he was being down right serious. Piper looked sad that I wouldn't be around but I comforted her saying she would be fine. Zane and Ryan, along with their group were teasing me saying that I was just running in fear of them. I just ignored them and went to talk with Annabeth. she said she understood because you can't refuse orders from Olympus. Oh, if only she knew.

After packing my things, saying my goodbyes, and praying to all the gods I liked that they would help me, I went out with the Hunters.

At first the Hunters, besides Thalia, were enraged that a male was going to be traveling with them, but after some coaxing from Artemisand the fact that I was Zoe's only male friend, they were mildly nice to me. But within three months they treated me like a brother. Thalia and me became closer than ever, especially with me telling her the real reason why I was with the Hunt. Though I thought I saw something in her eyes when I told her that, she looked almost sadden, disappointed even. But I she seemed to not want to talk about it so I let it slide. We would at times eradicate small groups of monsters from time to time, sometimes big heavy hitters such as the Manticore, Basilisks, and even a re-formed Lycaon. At one point I defeated the Chimera single-handed while Artemis and the Hunt dealt with Echidna and other monsters. I would also be given chores to do like serve food, thanks to Hestia's blessing, and fixing up arrows and bows. Speaking of which I have perfected Artemis's blessing that I'm at par with the Hunt in terms of speed and stealth, maybe more. I trained with my weapons, fully mastering swordsmanship, mastering Dimios, and mastering archery that I'm just as skilled as Artemis and Apollo.

I would at free time Iris Message my friends, Hestia, and some of the gods to see what was happening. Although when I tried my dad, he would either not respond or say that now isn't really a good time and hanged up. I wondered what was going on and from what I heard from Hestia half of the Olympians want my head on a pike. The think I'm an upstart, disrespectful, and a threat. And when I try messaging Annabeth she would do exactly the same as my father, though most of the times she practically yells at me to stop calling and she would seem flushed or tired, which left me feeling like everyone is doing something behind my back. Every time these things would happen, Gaea's final words would ring inside my head, but being the loyal idiot I am, I never took those words seriously.

Luckily, not everything is looking dark,I messaged my mother and I met my little sister, Andromeda. She was adorable, she had dark brown hair, pale skin, and had warm brown eyes. Whenever she would look at me she would try and reach out and touch me, she would nearly end the Iris Message. I promised my mom to visit when I'm done traveling with the Hunters. Speaking of whom, Artemis and I have gotten closer. She trained me on my Hunter skills and archery, she even helped me learn how to use hunting knives. we would also get occasional visits from Apollo, Hestia, and Leto, the first being nearly turned into a pin cushion. But on the fourth or fifth month Artemis started to act weird around me. She would have a constant blush on her face whenever I smile at her or when she would help fix my pose in archery and almost forget to let go. And to make matters worse her mother would constantly say that we would look cute together as a couple. I would be flattered but I have Annabeth and even if Artemis is amazing I couldn't just leave Annabeth. But somehow I would have this nagging voice in my head saying something is wrong but I would dismiss it. Aphrodite would also visit, at the risk of becoming a shich cabob, but act the same way as Artemis. I really do feel like a Seaweed Brain with all the stuff going on that no one is telling me about. By the way, do you know that Aphrodite's children are brain-children like Athena's?! Yea surprised the heck out of me that the goddess of love was in fact a virgin. Her godly children are even brain-children. She said that she kept her virginity for the right person and that when people though that they had sex with her she just used her powers to make them think they had sex, when it was just in their head. I was confused as to the whole waiting for her true love thing because I thought it was Ares.

So besides all that, the six months with the Hunt was great.

But right now, the sixth month has ended and I'm close to New was time for me to head out.

I turned towards the Hunt and said "Hey you know, I'm gonna miss this, traveling with you gals, it's been fun."

"Aw Seaweed Brain," Thalia said. "We'll miss you too but you got to head out to meet with Athena, after all Annabeth's waiting for you. Besides we will be there shortly to say congratulations alright?"

I smirked and said "Alright."

"Um Thalia may I talk with Perseus alone please?" Artemis asked shyly.

Thalia raised an eyebrow at this but shrugged afterwards. "Ok." Then she and the Hunters gave me a giant group hug.

After the hug ended, Thalia being reluctant to end it and said "See ya later Seaweed Brain."

I smiled and said "See ya later Pinecone Face."

Thalia and The Hunters left leaving me alone with Artemis. At first it was just awkward silence until I decided to break the ice.

"Well I guess this it." I said.

"Yeah I guess it is." Artemis followed up.

"Listen Artemis I just wanted to say thanks."

Artemis tilted her head in curiosity and asked "What for?"

I replied "For helping me get through these six months alright, for helping getting the Hunters to warn up to me, for helping me with archery, and most importantly for being my friend."

Artemis smiled and blushed slightly and said "I should be thanking you. You've seemed to save me and my Hunters from the guilt and sadness of those we lost and show that maybe not all me are scum. I thank you for that." I felt touched and on that I opened my arms, inviting her to a hug which she accepted. We stayed that way for a while, like last time,everything else just zoning out of existence.

We separated and I said "Well I guess I will see you later Arty."

She narrowed her eyes and smirked saying "You too Aqua boy." I smiled at the name and got ready to travel to Olympus before Artemis cried out "Percy wait!"

I stopped and looked back at Artemis. I stopped and looked back at Artemis. I saw her looking conflicted, like at war with herself. I asked out "What is it Artemis?"

"I-I uh well um." Artemis stuttered out. She looked like her head was about explode. She then shook her head and said "Good luck Perseus. I hope you find true love with Annabeth." She smiled with her eyes closed.

I smiled and said "Thank you Artemis."

Iturned around and focused on the shadows. I felt myself sink into the world of darkness and willed myself to Olympus. And as I left, I never noticed Artemis's face, with her sad frown, and the silvery tear that rolled of her cheek.

I don't think I'll ever get used to shadow travel. It felt like going on a roller coaster, only at super sonic speeds and sharp twists and turns.

I found myself on Olympus, steadying myself from the experience. I saw that Athena's palace was a short walk from here, so I walked towards the grey palace. I then saw Aphrodite sitting on a bench, wearing a light pink blouse, blue jeans, her chocolate brown hair flowing like waves. She was looking at the sky, her face unreadable, probably relaxing. She then noticed my presence and looked my way, smiling gently at me. I smiled back.

"Hey Aphy." I called her by the nickname I gave her.

"Hey Percy." She said in her gentle angel-like voice.

"What are doing here?" I asked.

"Oh I'm just sitting here looking at the sky, reviewing my thoughts. I see you are on your way to Athena's for her blessing." She responded.

"Yeah I can't wait." I replied with.

"Hey Percy, may I ask you a question?" Aphrodite asked.

"Sure what it is?" I said.

"Do you know why Athena gave you the task of staying with the Hunters?" Aphrodite asked me.

"Wasn't it so I can prove to her that I can use basic survival skills and to be able to be fast and strong enough for her daughter?" I answered thinking that was the whole point of this.

"Yes well you are half right." She said. Now I was really curious as to what other reason Athena may have had. Aphrodite continued saying "She could have tasked you to do the 12 Labours of Hercules to see if you were strong or clever enough. She could have made you train with Poseidon, Ares, Apollo, or herself. But she chose the Hunters and Artemis. She did so because she wanted to see if your fidelity would last long with a group of adolescent young girls and a beautiful Olympian goddess. She wanted to see if your loyalty to Annabeth would have lasted through that. She even sent me to make things harder. Of course I was going to visit to visit you anyway, but I just indulged her with her thinking I was testing true love. Judging from these six months you proved yourself."

I just sat on the bench, realizing in genius and yet stupidity in her plan. I can respect what she thought, testing me with a plan I had no idea about, but I was kinda insulted that she would think that I could be capable of that. Did see forget about my fatal flaw? I wouldn't leave Annabeth for anything like that. "Wow." I said "Leave it to Athena to put so much thought into something as trivial as my teenage hormones."

Aphrodite laughed at this and after she contained herself she said "I can't wait to shove this in her face. For millennia she has denied the fact that love rules over the mind. Oh I can't wait for her reaction."

"You and me both." I said. "Well thanks for telling me Aphy, it was helpful knowing."

"Any time Percy." She said smiling. She then looked down and asked me again "Percy, what do you if Annabeth doesn't say yes?"

I froze, all my thoughts stopping. I never had asked myself what would happen if she said no. I always figured she say she said yes because she loves me.

"I'm not trying to make you have second thoughts or anything." Aphrodite said quickly. "I'm just worried what you react if it happened."

"Aren't you the goddess of love?" I asked worryingly. "Can't you know if she would say yes?"

"Percy, I may be the goddess of love but I can't tell the future so I don't know what will happen." Aphrodite said solemnly. "Also ever since you helped save Olympus the first time and show us Olympians our wrongs, I've promised myself that I wouldn't mess with people's emotions or tamper with them. I've devoted myself to be merely a watcher and guardian of love, not it's manipulator. So no Percy I don't know what she will say and do, you will have to put your faith in her, I'm sorry."

Even though I know she didn't want to or mean to, but I've been started to get worried. No! I trust Annabeth! I know she loves me as much as I love her. I turned towards Aphrodite and said "Thank you for caring about my well being but I love Annabeth. I trust her."

Aphrodite looked as she wanted to say more, like she was hiding something but relented and just smiled at me and hugged me softly, one which I returned and got the same feeling I felt whenever I hugged Artemis. Like nothing else mattered, like every thing fades away, I try to think of something else but it also goes away.

Aphrodite whispers in my ear "Though it pains me, I hope you are right and you are happy." She then leaned back and kissed my forehead gently and lovingly. I was stumped and didn't know what to do until Aphrodite giggled and said "Are you gonna go to Athena's or are you gonna stay frozen like that?"

I shook myself out of my stupor, blushing like an idiot,stood up and said "Oh uh yeah right. Thanks for the talk Aphrodite, I've gotta go see ya!"

I walked on almost sprinting towards Athena's palace as I didn't want to see an impatient Athena. But I felt the inclination to turn my head back and I saw Aphrodite, her back turned to me, shuddering.

I hesitated but walked away thinking she just had hiccups. But she wasn't hiccuping. She was sobbing.

I arrived at Athena's palace and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Athena came out and looked at me without any emotion or look as if she didn't care I was here.

"I see you have completed the task." Athena said "You managed to survive The Hunters for this long, I must say your loyalty to my daughter is...impressive." I simply nodded. She continued saying "I know that Aphrodite told you of my other reason for this task, so I'm not going to sugar coat it, its true. I tried to see if you would cheat on my daughter. I'm...pleased to say that you passed." The last part she said sounded with as much as someone forced to see acid. "Well I'm a lady of my word, you have my blessing to propose to Annabeth." "Thank you Lady Athena." I said and bowed. She then snapped her fingersand a tiny black case appeared in front of me. I opened it to find a gray ring with sea-green lines carved into it in wave like patterns. It had a green emerald. In the inside of the ring it had an engraving in it. For my Wise Girl, Love your Seaweed Brain.

"This was crafted by Hephaestus himself." Athena said. "Give this to Annabeth and hope she says yes." She said that last part with a smirk. It looked friendly at first but when I saw it, it made me uneasy. It was the kind of smile a villain would have if his plan was coming true.

"Thank You once again Lady Athena. I um I must be going now." I said desperate to leave for a) proposing to Annabeth and b) to get away from Athena and her creepy aura.

"Yes Farewell, Perseus Jackson." Athena said coolly. And with that I left nearly running once I was out of Athena's sight, the weird sense of foreboding growing with every step.

After leaving a creepy Athena and shadow traveling to Long Island, I walked till I made it to Half-Blood Hill. There I saw Pelus the dragon nesting by the Fleece. He looked sound asleep, but when I was within yards from him he started sniffing the air and woke up promptly and looked like a dog waiting for his owner to arrive. I patted is head, him nuzzling and purring in delight. He then went right back to sleep. I turned and looked at Camp Half-Blood, my home, and smiled to every thing just like always. I then noticed two different things: Long Island seemed a bit bigger than usual and a city was being constructed. I looked to see the city's progress to find buildings, roads, marketplaces, and temples being constructed with the so far finished parts looking amazing and well designed. This must have been the beginnings of New Athena. I said said many times before and I will say it again. My Wise Girl is an amazing architect.

After finishing looking at the city, I was going down the familiar path over the arch, ready to greet my friends and find Annabeth...until I heard a familiar voice shout out "PERCY!"

I looked to where the voice was originating and found myself being hugged by a certain cheerful Cherokee girl with such force that I had been knocked to the ground. Jesus Christ! This girl's tackles rival the Minotaur's. I hugged the girl back which she tightened back in response. We then separted and lifted each other up.

"Percy, you're back! How are you?" asked an ecstatic Piper.

"Great." I said. "until I was suddenly ambushed by a certain Beauty Queen." I said that with my usual cheeky voice, to which Piper responded with an eye roll and slight punch to the shoulder. "Shut up Kelp-for-Brains." She said. "So are you gonna tell me the real reason why you went on this six month trip with The Hunters or do I have to charmspeak you to say it?"

Oh Yeah! During some Iris Messages with Piper and the others, I promised to tell them the truth after I came back. "Well Pipes," I said "Its because of this!" I reached into my pocket and pulled out the black case and opened it. Piper gasped and covered her mouth upon seeing it. She looked like she had tears in her eyes. "Yeah, I finally got Athena's blessing to propose to Annabeth! Isn't that great?!" I said with my excitement building up. Unfortunately, Piper seemed not to feel the excitement. When I said those words, her eyes seem to dim and her face changed from one of happiness to one sadness and worry.

"Actually Percy...about that." Piper started say timidly rubbing her arm shyly. "You see um...the thing is that Annabeth is-"

She was interrupted by voice calling out "Percy!"

We looked behind Piper to see Chiron, Clarrise, Chris, Jake, Malcom, Katie, Travis, Connor, and over dozens of demigods stampeding towards us. Me and Piper were quickly swallowed by the wave of demigods. I was greeted with hugs, fist-bumps, high fives, and even some comical tears. I said hello to everybody especially Chiron.

"Welcome back Percy." Chiron said.

"Thanks Chiron, its good to be back."

"How were the Hunters? I hoped they didn't treat you too badly no?" He asked in a worried tone. Many of the male demigods shuddered at the thought of it.

"Nah, they are alright. At first it was a bit rocky, but they ended up being like sisters to me." I said truthfully. This caused mixed reactions from the demigods, ranging fro looks of disbelief and shock to going as far as fainting. especially Travis and Connor.

"You never cease to amaze me Perseus." Chiron said fondly while shacking his head.

"Well I seemed to have a talent for astounding immortals, don't I?" I replied.

"Ha Ah, Indeed you do Percy." Chiron said.

Then I heard a very unpleasant voice came up to ruin everything. "Well well, look who decided to crawl back here. What are you doing here coward?" I looked to see none other than Zane Skye and his group, standing there with a smug expression on his face. I was surprised to see Will standing there right next to Zane, giving me a look of hatred. "You got a lot of nerve to come back to MY camp loser!" Zane said.

"Zane!" Chiron yelled "How many times have I told you?! This isn't your camp and don't start fights you can't win!"

Zane face grew enraged and he shouted back "And how many times have I got to tell you, you old horse?! My father is the KING which does make me boss around here and I'm the greatest demigods to ever live, so but out you old fart!"

I got super enraged hearing that. Who does this guy think he is, saying that just because his dad is Zeus, means that he is the boss here?! Besides, greatest demigod of all time?! I knocked him out one time in 10 seconds flat! "I almost forgot how much of an arrogant asshole you are!" I shouted. "This isn't your camp! If anything its Chiron's, and you think you are the greatest just because of being because of being Zeus's son?! You are pathetic Zane! Always cowering behind your daddy! Sad, weak, and Pathetic!"

Zane's face turned into a new shade of purple. "That's it Jackson! You and me! Mano a Mano! Let's see who is the best!"

I was there silent there for a minute, Zane smirking thinking I was scared. Until I said "Sorry but I don't fight arrogant bastards well besides Ares. Now if you'd excuse me I've got better things to do than bruising your already wounded, sad ego."

I walked past him and his goons without a care, my eyes closed in boredom. Meanwhile Zane was gritting his teeth in rage, electricity crackling on his skin. He then pulled out his sword and started charging at me from behind. People started yelling out warning me. Zane jumped and prepared to do a cliche downward jumping slash like in a cartoon. But at the last second I opened my eyes and within a fraction of a second , I turned and block the sword with my hands on either side of the blade. Zane looked shocked (Eh get it Shocked because he is the...Alright shutting up now) and tried to use his strength to push the blade further and tried to electrocute me with his powers, hate and murder in his eyes. I just held the shaking sword there, not even breaking a sweat, compared to Thalia's and Jason's lightning this was nothing. Instead I pulled the sword to the side and swiftly kneed him in the ribs. Zane groaned, eyes wide in pain, and I heard demigods shouting "Oooooh!" Zane stumbled back and I threw his sword away behind me without a care. Zane then straighten up and charged at me, his fists charged with electricity. Every time he would strike I would simply sidestep and dodge him, it was like he was as slow as a slug. Finally after growing bored, I blocked his fist with my hand electricity doing nothing not even tickling me, then I struck my fist on his chin and let out a flurry of punches and strikes all over his body like Batman does in those Arhkam games. I finished it with a right hook right in the schnoz, knocking him out.

The other campers were silent staring in awe on how I beaten Zane up. Chiron looked unfazed, pride evident in his eyes, and ordered someone to bring Zane to the infirmary. Two of his goons picked Zane up, him looking like he went a few rounds with Mike Tyson. After that Chiron ordered everyone to go do their activities Everyone dispersed, some looking at me with fear, others giving me a final 'Welcome Back' until all that was left was me, Chrion, and Piper.

"Hey anyways guys do you know where Annabeth is? I haven't seen her yet." I asked

Chiron and Piper looked at one another, and judging from how long they looked at each other they were having a mental conversation. But what worried me more is that their eyes seemed to have concern, which added more worry to my already abundant amount.

They finished their mental conversation and Chrion told me "Last we saw of Annabeth today, she went to the beach."

"Thanks Chiron. See ya guys, I got to go." I said running towards the beach, unbeknownst to the verbal conversation that I really should have listened after I left.

Third POV

"Shouldn't we tell him Chiron?" said Piper watching Percy run towards beach. "He has a right to know."

"We don't fully know if Annabeth did do anything of the sort." Chiron replied. "I've known her since she was a little girl, the Annabeth I knew would not be capable of that."

" But Chrion I did see her doing it." Piper persisted. "I've saw her do it multiple times and she looked fully aware and knew what she was doing. Besides, haven't you seen her behavior lately? I know you don't want to believe it, neither did I but...she is not the same Annabeth that we knew."

Chiron sighed. "I pray to the gods everyday that you were wrong and now I pray, if what you say is true, that Percy will be prepared for the most painful thing he has ever encountered."

Percy POV

I ran to my cabin to leave off my things. I must have been finally been lucky because Ryan wasn't there. I dropped off my stuff and ran to the Lake. but decided to walk half way there wanting to surprise Annabeth. I was finally going to see my Wise Girl again after so long, and propose to the girl I love. But with every step I took I felt my instincts telling me to turn back, to go no further. I've always trusted my instincts, as, besides my friends, they have kept me alive all this time and I never found a time when they were wrong. But I just mistook them for the nerves and worry that I have felt, and I continued walking.

I came across a clearing where I saw Half-Blood Lake, the water crystal blue, the boardwalk where me and Annabeth were tossed and shared our first underwater kiss. I remember the day perfectly, it was where my crazy life of quests and world-ending catastrophes would have ended, but the Fates, like always, never gave me the luxury. Six months after that, I was kidnapped by the Royal Bitchy Queen of Olympus and been put into a coma for eight months, to wake up and being trained by wolves with my memories gone, then having been chased by Medusa's gorgon sisters, carry Ms. Royal Pain-in-the-Ass over to the Roman Camp, and go on a quest to free Thanatos. The only thing that kept me going was Annabeth, the desire to find her and remember my past, that kept me from breaking down.

I shook myself out of those memories and decided to not waste anymore time finding Annabeth. I was however interrupted by noises that consisted to that of kissing and giggling. I looked to my left to find two people making out behind some tress, unaware of my presence. I looked closely and found myself in a bad mood when I realized who the boy was: It was Ryan.

I recognized him due to his shaggy black hair, and his giggling obnoxious voice, the voice that would constantly annoy me and boast of him being the best. Sometimes I wonder how he and Zane are friends if they are both think they are the best? Anyways the girl making out with Ryan was obscured by him, but from what I've seen, the girl was blonde, probably some daughter of Aphrodite or Apollo. I decided to leave, before I started to puke, to continue looking for Annabeth. That was until I heard them start talking.

Ryan said "Oh Annie you are amazing."

That stopped me in my tracks, my eyes widening in terror, my very soul gripped with fear and horror. 'No. No' I thought 'Not her. She couldn't. Not her too.' Because of Zane and Ryan, half the camp, people that I fought for, people that were my friends, now hated me for no reason, even Will. They couldn't have got to her too, not after everything we went through!

"Mmnn, Ryan you are such a good kisser. S much better than Percy." said the girl, whose voice was unmistakable.

Clouds started to form without me knowing. Thunder started to rumble and the tides on the lake started to become wild. Tears gathered and flowed through my horror-stricken face. I turned slowly, silently praying to all the gods, even to Zeus and Ares, that this wasn't her. That she was someone else. I turned fully and got a good look at the girl making out with Ryan. I would feel my joy rising, finding out it wasn't her that it was my imagination.

Those thoughts of hope broke within an instant. The tides grew wilder. My heart blew into a million particles. Thunder rumbled and the earth started to shake. In my very soul, all the happiness and joy I had was drained and turned as black as a moonless, starless night. My very world crashed into oblivion. as the girl that was kissing Ryan, was the girl that I thought loved me as I her. The girl that I clung to when everything seemed dark. The girl I turned down godhood for.

It was Annabeth.

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN! Well there you have it. Even Annabeth betrayed Percy, but was probably what you thought would happen. Sorry Percabeth supporters and sorry to everyone if this was too cliche but I promise next chapter will reveal something unexpected. Also sorry if Percy seemed to much of a gullible idiot. By the way in response to a guest review about Percy his harem from the fall Olympus...well lets just say that he isn't protecting Olympus per say. You guys well see soon enough of what I have prepared. Also note that I will have several things coming in from my favorite anime that will progress the story and maybe a sequel to it. I'll let you guys figure it out.

Anyways sorry guys if this chapter seemed too long but I tried to compact all this into one chapter so you guys wouldn't have two separate short chapters. Good news the next one won't be this long. I'm sorry guys that took so long to update this but my computer literally was not working and it would shut down before I could save it or upload it. If it hadn't done this I swear on the Styx I would have uploaded this thing TWO WEEKS AGO! (Thunder Rumbled) See! But anyways thank you guys so much for the likes of the last chapter, I hope you like this one and feel free to comment on anything.

Sayonara! Zayden VoidStorm OUT!