"To Lady Artemis, to give her strength," they each said scrapping some of the rabbit into the fire. Percy was just about to make it to the tent when he fell down in shock. "To Lord Gabriel, that he will return soon." Percy felt power rush through him. His eyes started to glow and he crawled backwards away from the camp. Zoe and Phoebe looked at him in shock. It was the first time they had actually seen his eyes.
Gold! Like molten gold! thought Zoe. There was only one person she knew that had eyes like that. She and Phoebe looked at each other. They slowly realized who was sitting in front of them. Zoe looked back at Percy who looked like he was trying to get as far away as possible. The glow in his eyes began to dim. Soon his was sitting there, panting. Zoe stood up and walked over to him.
"Gabriel?" she asked. Percy gulped. He tried to back away as quickly and quietly as he could, not wanting to wake Thalia and Clarisse. The less they knew the better. Zoe and Phoebe stalked towards Percy. He could see the anger in their eyes. The flickering light from the fire behind them made them look like demons from Tartarus. And he knew from experience not to mess with those. He tried to stand up to defend himself, but in the darkness he didn't see a tree root sticking out of the ground. His ankle tripped and he fell to the ground hard. This time he grew panicked but not about the two hunters looking at him with death in their eyes. He heard Thalia and Clarisse shuffle in their tent. Zoe and Phoebe stopped in their tracks. Percy gave them a pleading look and put a finger up to his mouth. It didn't matter. Thalia and Clarisse climbed out of the tent yawning. The second they saw the food on the fire their eyes lit up and they ran over and started stuffing their faces. Zoe and Phoebe glared one last time at Percy. He flinched and saw the sadistic smiles on their faces.
This is not good, he said. He wanted to smack himself on the head. He had completely forgotten that the hunters would offer up sacrifices to him. They had ever since he left Olympus. Thalia and Clarisse finally seemed to notice the awkward tension.
"What's going on?" asked Thalia. She saw how frightened Percy was and thought that the hunters were about to do something to him.
Thank you, Thalia, thought Percy. Zoe and Phoebe returned to the fire pointedly ignoring Percy. Thalia and Clarisse gave them skeptical looks. Percy sat back down beside Thalia, shaking slightly.
"What happened, Perce?" she asked. Clarisse grabbed another rabbit leg off the fire. Percy grabbed some meat and started picking at it.
"I may or may not have told them that they were ruining the meat. They got mad and tried to beat me up," he said pouting. Thalia expected the hunters to defend themselves or even attack Percy, but she was shocked when they just sat there and ignored them. The rest of the night was incredibly awkward; no one said a word. Percy had no idea what to do. He hadn't planned on confronting the hunters till after the quest, if then. He sighed to himself. It was too late now. Plus, the longer he waited the more painful his conversation would be. After everyone finished eating, Clarisse offered to stay awake and keep watch. The others were really too tired except for Thalia who stayed awake with Clarisse to keep her company.
Percy woke up the next morning as early as ever. Zoe was the only other person awake, Clarrise and Thalia had gone to sleep earlier. Percy sighed at sat down across from her. The fire was still blazing so he huddled near it to keep warm. Zoe made a point of avoiding his eyes completely.
"Zoe, we need to talk," said Percy. She still didn't react. Percy got up and sat next to her. "Zoe, talk to me please." Finally she turned. Her dark eyes penetrated into his own.
"Why?" She rasped out, her voice overcome with emotion. Percy put his head in his hands. He knew she wasn't asking about him leaving Olympus. Artemis and he had told the hunters his reasons. No, she wanted to know why he had never returned in the thousands of years since.
"I had to. I didn't have a choice. There were forces at work that I couldn't prevent. There were times I wasn't even on Earth!" Zoe slapped him hard.
"We searched for centuries for you, Gabriel. Or is it Percy now? I don't even know you," she said. "You were a father to me! There were so many times that the hunt needed you! Milady was heartbroken when we couldn't find you! Where the Hades have you been?" Percy sighed and looked up at her.
"I wandered. I never stayed in one place for too long. I helped out with different things, I helped the hunt as much as I could be I couldn't bring myself to come back. I knew it would be thousands of years before I would be able to reveal myself." Percy felt a tear running down his cheek. Dammit, he thought. I never cry. Why the Hades am I crying? Percy wiped the check away furiously.
"I cou- I just couldn't bring myself to show up and then have to leave again. It would have hurt us all too much." Zoe nodded.
"Does Milady know who you really are?" Percy turned to look at her. At least she doesn't look like she wants to castrate me anymore.
"Yes. During capture the flag I ran into her. Things happened and she found out who I was." Zoe nodded before glaring at him
"So you saw us at camp and just ignored us?" Percy sighed. Suddenly Phoebe came out of her tent. She glared at Percy before noticing how close he was to Zoe. She sat down tentatively beside Zoe.
"What's going on Zoe? Why are you talking to that backstabbing piece of shit?" Percy couldn't help but snort. Phoebe had always been a hard ass. Phoebe glared at him but Zoe put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok, Phoebe. Percy and I were catching up. I understand his reasons for not coming to us," she said looking at Percy again. She stared at him coldly once more with a cruel smirk. "But I don't think we can forgive him till we have had some fun first." Phoebe smiled evilly and pulled out her hunting knife. Percy's eyes widened and he rolled away.
"Woah! Woah!" He yelped, arms held up in surrender. "I'm not done yet!" Zoe and Phoebe narrowed their eyes but sheathed their blades and sat back down. Percy joined them but sat across from them leaving the fire as a median.
"A little over twelve years ago," he said. "I was still fully Gabriel. I received a glimpse into the future and found that I had two options. I could either reveal myself once more and be limited in stopping the war will come, or I could risk everything and be free from the ancient laws." Zoe and Phoebe looked at each other confused then looked back at him. Percy began regaling them his tale. He told them about meeting Sally, about growing up as a mortal, finding camp, meeting Chiron, his quests, and most importantly he told them that he didn't have all of his memories when the hunters had arrived. He honestly hadn't recognized them. It took Artemis to fully break his mind free from mortality and remember his life as a god. When Percy finished his story, the girls walked over to him. Percy flinched but didn't move. They sat down and both hugged him tightly.
"We forgive you, Percy. Just please don't leave us again." Percy smiled and returned their hugs.
"Hestia told me the same thing." Zoe looked at him confused.
"Who all knows about you? Do they?" She asked pointing to Thalia and Clarisse's tent. Percy shook his head.
"No, only you two, Artemis, Hestia, Chiron, and my mother Sally know. And it must remain that way until the time is right is that understood?" The girls nodded. "Swear on the Styx. I trust you but I have to be completely sure my identity won't be revealed. If Zeus finds out I'm still around and haven't faded I'm not sure what he will do."
"I swear on the Styx to never reveal Percy's true self to anybody until the time is right," swore both girls. Thunder boomed in the distance and Percy smiled and hugged both girls.
"I missed you both so much. You were like daughters to me." They smiled and each kissed him on the cheek. Before they could say anything they heard a gasp from the tents.
"What the Hades is going on?"
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Artemis trekked through the trees. She had been hunting down a legendary beast for the last several weeks until she had lost the trail completely. She knew she was in California, very close to San Francisco, but her senses were warped. There was a strong power at work that was slowing her down. She decided to give up the search for the beast until she could locate the new source of power.
For days she searched and found nothing. Finally she felt the power coming from the top of Mount Tamalpais. She climbed the mountain until she reached a small overgrown path. She followed up towards the top when she came to a giant tree. Her eyes widened. The tree was guarded by a giant dragon with a hundred heads. Ladon, she thought. This wasn't good. She was standing outside of Hera's garden, a place that Hera had not revealed the location of after Olympus had moved to New York from Greece. Artemis skirted around the tree of immortality, not waking the sleeping dragon. She finally reached the top of the mountain and nearly fainted from shock. Mount Othrys, the Titan's stronghold from the first Olympian war, was slowly rebuilding itself. She crept closer as quietly as possible, afraid that the Titans were within. Suddenly, she heard a grunt of pain from beside her. She whirled around knives in hand when she immediately sheathed them. A young maiden was trapped beneath the sky. Artemis did not recognize the girl but could sense she was a demigod. She rushed to the girl's side.
"Child! Let me take the sky from you," she said. The girl didn't respond, but grunted with pain, her head nodding marginally. Artemis did not know what she was doing but couldn't leave a poor defenseless maiden trapped under such a terrible fate. She shuffled beside the girl and took hold of the sky. "When I say three, drop the sky. I will hold it for you to get out. One. Two. Three." The girl dropped the sky and it took all of Artemis's strength and willpower not to collapse from the pain. She had no idea how the girl had managed it. She would make an excellent hunter, she thought. She looked up to see where the girl had gone but found nothing.
"Poor, poor Artemis. Trapped beneath the sky," came a voice. "You simply cannot help but aid a poor defenseless maiden, can you?" Artemis looked up again and growled. The girl had returned but it wasn't a defenseless demigod. It was Annabeth Chase, Olympus's betrayer.
[LINEBREAK]
"What the Hades is going on?" Thalia hissed at them. Her face betrayed her complete and utter shock. Percy stood up immediately, Zoe and Phoebe were too embarrassed to do anything.
"It's not what you think, Thals." Thalia glared at him.
"Then what is it?" She kept her voice low not to wake Clarisse but she was pissed and confused. Percy sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"There's something you don't know about me. Well actually a lot you don't know. In fact I didn't even know it until just recently." Thalia narrowed her eyes at him. "My full name is Gabriel Percy Jackson. I am the eldest son of Kronos and Rhea. I am the god of balance." Thalia's eyes flashed, cackling with electricity in her anger.
"I said tell me what's going on. Not lie to me!" Thalia sent a shock into Percy making him squirm and his hair stick up on end.
"I swear on the Styx I'm telling the truth!" Thunder boomed in the distance and Thalia's eyes calmed immediately. She fell to the ground in shock once again.
"Y-you're a god?" Percy nodded. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were friends!" Percy sighed and bent down in front of her.
"I didn't really know who I was until just before this quest, Thalia. We were in camp and I didn't know who I could trust. Can I trust you, Thalia? There are things you should know but I won't know unless I can trust you." Thalia slowly nodded and looked into Percy's eyes. Her eyes widened when Percy's glowed a bright gold.
Percy looked right into Thalia, into her very soul. It was the most powerful gift that the Fleece had returned to him. He looked through Thalia's mind and saw who she really was. Her habits, her hobbies, her likes and dislikes, but most importantly, her character. Percy nodded and stood up offering her a hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet.
"I need you to swear on the Styx to not repeat anything I tell you until I let you know its ok." Thalia nodded and swore. Thunder boomed again. Percy smiled at her and told her all about himself. When he finished Thalia gave him a smile.
"So my best friend is a god?" Percy just smiled. "Well I guess that has its advantages." Percy rolled his eyes but smiled. It was good having his best friend know the truth.
"Remember, Pinecone Face, you can't tell anybody not even Clarisse." She nodded.
"You still haven't explained why I saw the hunters kissing your cheek." Percy blushed as did the hunters who had remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout it all.
"Well you see, I helped Artemis start the hunt. Originally we were both the patrons. I even helped bring a couple of the hunters to Artemis, including Zoe here. Phoebe I helped rescue from the Chimera." Thalia's eyes widened.
"You and Artemis started the hunt together?" she asked incredulously. Percy nodded sheepishly. "But isn't she a maiden goddess?" Zoe and Phoebe roared with laughter. Percy's blush deepened even more.
"Uh, yes she is. We aren't together like that." Zoe and Phoebe had to wipe the tears because they were laughing so hard. Their laughter woke Clarisse who climbed out of the tent giving everyone weird looks. Thalia was staring at Percy confused, Percy was blushing like a school boy, and the hunters were rolling on the floor, clutching their stomachs laughing their heads off.
"What did you do, Prissy?" Percy glared at her.
"I did nothing. These girls are making fun of me." Thalia smirked.
"Oh poor baby Percy." Percy grumbled and walked into the woods to go look for fire wood. When he got back, the camp was all packed up and the fire was doused. The sun was just beginning to rise behind the trees.
"Thanks for getting me and telling me we were leaving. Could have saved me the trouble of getting useless wood." Clarisse smirked at him.
"Where would the fun be in that?" she asked, rhetorically. Percy packed up his tent and put his things in his backpack. The questers soon were back on the road walked west towards where Hestia had told them Sun West line was. It took them hours to arrive in a small city which conveniently had the train they were waiting for. Percy guessed Hestia had convinced Apollo into putting one there. They paid for their tickets and got onto the train. They were all in the last compartment together. The train left after a couple of minutes and soon they were rolling away, watching the American heartland fly by.
The hours flew by quickly. The questers spent the time getting to know each other. Zoe and Phoebe told them of the different monsters they had faced and all the great times they had in the hunt. Clarisse was impressed that Percy had managed to get the hunters to respect him. Must have been battling the Nemean Lion and the skeleton warriors back in D.C., she thought. Soon they arrived in New Mexico. The train stopped to pick up passengers, but that was when things went wrong.
Screams came from the front of the train and the questers could see people running out of the train pushing and shoving in their haste. They pulled out their weapons, careful not to impale each other in the small compartment. Percy uncapped Anaklusmos and stuck his head out into the corridor to see what was going on. Another group of skeleton warriors were marching down the train searching each room. Percy jumped back into the compartment and closed the door shut. The others were about to ask him what was wrong when he put a finger up to his lips.
"Skeleton warriors," he whispered. The other's eyes widened. Percy pointed at the window. It was just big enough for them to crawl out. "I'll hold them off until you guys get out." They tried to protest but Percy shushed them. "Don't worry. I'll be right behind you." Zoe glared at him.
"That's what you said back in the Smithsonian. Just make sure you do come back." Then in an even lower whisper so only Percy could hear, "you don't want me to tell Milady that you came back only to die on the quest to save her do you?" Percy paled and shook his head no. Zoe smirked and patted his face. "Good boy." Percy glared at her but couldn't help but grin.
"Now go!" Clarisse broke the window with the butt of her spear and the girls climbed out of the train. Just as Percy had expected, the warriors were drawn by the sound and suddenly there were five skeleton warriors clawing at the door. Percy locked the door and tried to climb out of the window but it was too small for him. How the Hades did Clarisse get out? He thought. She was easily bigger than he was. Percy turned around to face the skeletons. He had no choice. He had to fight or die. He capped Anaklusmos, putting it in his pocket and took out Isorropia. The skeletons shrieked at the sight but clawed even harder at the door. It didn't take them long at all to break the door down. Percy launched himself off of the side of the train and lunged at a skeleton. Isorropia went right through its ribcage disintegrating it completely. A sword came towards his face and he just barely got his arm up in time to block it. The Nemean pelt kept his body intact but the blow from the sword broke his wrist. Percy screamed in pain. He brought out his shield and backed up into the corner. He crouched low so that the shield would protect most of his body and he kept his sword up to protect his head. The skeleton warriors stabbed and swung their swords to no avail. Percy managed to keep them off of him but his arms were growing tired. In his full god state, he never felt fatigue fighting such simple monsters. However, as a demigod he wasn't used to fighting this many beasts at one time. Even during the battle at Camp Half-Blood he had only fought one monster at a time and the rare times that he fought two, Chiron or the hunters helped him out. This time he was all alone.
"Yeehaw!" came a yell from just outside of the train across from Percy. The skeleton warriors turned and Percy used the distraction to impale another one of them. It collapsed into golden dust. The three remaining skeletons were confused. Two turned back to Percy only to have one be impaled by Isorropia and the other have its head smacked hard off of its body with Percy's shield. Suddenly, the other side of the train was ripped off and there sat Clarisse on a giant Erymanthian boar. Percy stood there gob smacked. The boar charged the last skeleton standing scattering its bones everywhere. Percy saw that the two remaining skeletons were reforming quickly and hauled himself up onto the boar's back using its tusks as leverage. Clarisse smirked at him and smacked the boar's ass causing it to lurch forward crashing through the other side of the train. The boar took them deeper in the New Mexico desert where they eventually came to a stop beside a large metal fence. Percy and Clarisse slid off the boar's back, though Percy had to grit his teeth at the pain in his wrist. They found the others waiting by a gate for them.
"What happened to your wrist, Perce?" asked Thalia. Zoe and Phoebe looked concerned, which confused Clarisse greatly. Percy shrugged, careful not to move his wrist at all.
"I think I broke it. The Nemean pelt may keep me from getting cut but I can sure as Hades feel the blows that people land on me." Zoe and Phoebe smiled evilly. They were happy to know that they could beat him for leaving them without killing him. Percy eyes them worryingly. Thalia didn't seem to notice their looks. She reached into her bag and pulled out an ambrosia square. Percy took it gratefully and soon his wrist was good as new.
"How did you heal so quickly?" asked Clarisse. "Even ambrosia will take a while to heal a broken bone." Percy shrugged.
"Guess I'm just better than you, Larry." Clarisse glared at him and punched his shoulder. Percy pouted much to the girls' amusement. Percy looked up at the gate. "The Junkyard of the Gods," he read off of the sign. "Must be Hephaestus'." The girls nodded they had come to the same conclusion. "Well, Zoe it's your quest. You make the calls." Zoe gave him a haughty look.
"Yes, boy, I will make the calls. I say we go through it. The boar obviously brought us here for a reason." The questers didn't have anything against the plan so they opened the gate and walked into the junkyard.
[LINEBREAK]
Blood poured down Percy's cheek from a large gash above his right eye. Zoe and Phoebe were relentlessly firing arrows at the enemy from behind a broken down truck. Clarisse was laying behind the hunters, a large wound on her side. Thalia was busy trying to keep her heart pumping by sending electric shocks every now and then. Percy shut everything out though and focused on what was in front of them. They had found the truck, and needing a ride to San Francisco, had climbed in. The keys were in the ignition and Zoe had turned the truck on only to trigger the junkyard's defense mechanism. A giant automaton, which Zoe had called Talos, came to life and began attacking them. He had smashed the hood of the truck, reducing the engine to scraps of metal. Clarisse had been impaled by a piece of shrapnel. Zoe and Phoebe had dragged her out of the truck and gave her as much medical attention as they could before they started firing arrows at the automaton. Percy charged the automaton and fought valiantly. However, none of his strike did anything, not even Isorropia. He managed to lure Talos away from the truck to by the girls time. Zoe left Phoebe to keep firing the arrows and knelt down by Thalia. She pulled out her own medical pouch and took a bowl from it. She poured some nectar into the bowl and put an ambrosia square into it. She mashed the holy foods together making a paste. She undid the bandages that she had wrapped around Clarisse and smeared the paste over the wound. Clarisse stopped sweating and Thalia could see the medicine was slowly helping the child of Ares. Zoe nodded to Thalia.
"Go help Percy. Maybe electricity will stop Talos." Thalia nodded and pulled out her spear and shield. She rushed to where Percy was ducking and dodging the automaton. Percy had put his sword away and was just using his shield. There was no point in having a sword out if it wasn't doing anything. Thalia came up from behind Talos and found a small hatch. She climbed up the automaton's leg and entered the hatch. She found the motherboard for the giant chunk of metal and put her hands on the wires. She closed her eyes, praying to Zeus, and unleashed as much electricity as she could into the automaton's mainframe. Talos backed off from its attack on Percy and went rigid. The electricity crashed the computer chip and soon the automaton fell to the ground. Percy put his shield away and wiped the dust and blood out of his eyes and face.
"Thalia!" he screamed. He ran to the automaton's leg where he had seen Thalia climb into a hatch and ripped the door off. He found Thalia lying inside covered in dust and grime. Percy checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he found one. She was still alive. He lifted her up and carried her out of Talos's leg over to the truck where Phoebe, Zoe, and a now conscious Clarisse were sitting catching their breath. He put Thalia on the ground and smacked her face. She lurched up gasping for breath sending a shock into Percy. Percy's eyes widened and he convulsed on the ground. The hunters and Clarisse laughed so hard that Clarisse gasped in pain. Zoe put a new bandage on her. Thalia finally seemed to realize what she was doing and stopped. She glared at Percy who was staring up at the clouds, hair sticking up on end, and his clothes burnt charred except for his leather jacket.
"Don't do that again, Golden Boy." Percy nodded barely still not sure what the Hades had happened. Zoe stood up, helping Clarisse to her feet. Phoebe put Clarisse's arm around her shoulders to support her. Thalia helped Percy up, though he took her hand hesitantly. When he stood up, she sent a small jolt of electricity into his hand making him yelp and spring away from her. She smirked evilly at him. "So what do we do now?" she asked. Zoe looked around.
"Well I'm guessing that Talos was the only defense Hephaestus put in place here. It's not like children of Zeus are very common. I'm sure we can find another car to get us to California." They split up and searched the junkyard. Finally, Thalia found a small van with the keys in the ignition. They hopped in, laying Clarisse down in the back, and took off. A couple hours later they found out why Hephaestus had thrown the van away. It broke down and they had to drag themselves across the desert to the nearest town. By then it was getting late. They decided to get a taxi and head for Hoover Dam which was half way to San Francisco.
It was midnight by the time they got to Hoover Dam. Zoe pulled out some mortal money and payed for two rooms. The girls stayed in one and Percy, much to his enjoyment, got a room to himself. They woke up the next morning and headed out to Hoover Dam. Zoe wanted to ask the information desk what the quickest way to get to San Francisco was. The lady at the front desk was incredibly rude and Phoebe had to pull Zoe away before she did anything to her. Frustrated, they went to the café and ordered some breakfast. They talked about what they planned to do now. Percy tried to see a glimpse into the future but he couldn't see anything. The Fates, it seemed, wanted some things to remain a mystery.
"Excuse me," came a voice from the table beside them. They looked over a found a girl with bright red hair looking at them. "I couldn't help but over hear that you guys needed to get to San Francisco." Zoe looked at her questioningly.
"We might," she said slowly. The redheaded girl smiled at them.
"Well my family is on the way there right now. We only stopped here to do some sight-seeing but we plan on leaving in an hour or so. Would you guys like a ride?" Percy looked confused.
"How can you possibly fit your family and us five in a car?" The girl blushed and looked down at her food.
"Well actually it is just me and my butler," she said embarrassed. Zoe and Phoebe looked confused but the demigods looked at her in awe.
"You have a butler?" asked Clarisse incredulously. The girl nodded.
"My dad is a business man is really rich. They don't spend time with me so my butler decided to take me around the country to see different things. We want to go see the Golden Gate bridge." The questers nodded. "We have more than enough room. We can easily take all of you and your luggage to San Francisco. Are you guys going there for a trip?" They looked at each other uneasily.
"I guess you could say that," said Percy. "We go to school in New York and we have Thanksgiving break this week. We decided to spend it looking at monuments throughout the Southwest." He looked at the others afraid. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. He had no idea what excuse to come up with. He couldn't just say they were demigods and hunters tracking down the lost goddess Artemis who may or may not be captured by the Titans. The girl seemed to accept his explanation and smiled.
"I live in New York too. My name is Rachel," she said holding her hand out. "What's yours?" Percy shook her hand.
"Percy. Percy Jackson."
"Thalia."
"Zoe."
"Clarisse."
"Phoebe." With the introductions out of the way Rachel stood up.
"Nice to meet you guys. Come with me. Our limo is this way." They stood up and followed Rachel. Percy turned to Thalia and Clarisse.
"Did she just say limo?"
A/N: I'm finally back with another chapter. The confrontation between Percy and the hunters was a little challenging so I hope that you all liked it. Please keep on reviewing, they are all very helpful and encouraging. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!