Author's Notes: I was thankfully able to acquire some time to work on my multiple stories, so I was able to get this done. As I said, this one is longer, maybe not entirely more action packed, but what can I say? Either way, you came to read, not listen to me.

Disclaimer: ...Why were Percy Jackson's grades so low in school?

They were below C-level.

Don't like my jokes? My apollo-gees. ;)

Jacob's POV

Over the next couple of days, I settled into my life at camp. I'd never been to a camp before, so it took a little while to adjust.

The hardest thing to get used to was the sleeping arrangement. Hecate's cabin was built from celestial bronze (which, I now know, is what my sword is made from), enchanted with a bunch of wards to keep insects and the like away. The inside was rather spacious, with plenty of bunks for everyone who lived in it. I chose the bunk farthest from everyone, considering the fact that I hadn't slept in the same vicinity of another person in years.

During the day, my schedule was filled up with many different activities, which changed from day to day. There was archery, which I sucked at, canoeing, forging, sculpting, rock wall climbing, and my personal favorite, sword fighting. After three years training by myself with my sword, it was a little odd sparring with other people. I was taught multiple fighting techniques over the few lessons I had. Percy Jackson, the one in charge of the lessons, was surprised at my rapid progress.

Even better, however, were the lessons I had at night. Every night, in the Hecate cabin, the head counselor, Edin Seraphew, with the help of a few other cabin mates, taught us some things about magic. We were separated into groups based on our proficiency with magic. I, being new, was placed in the beginner's group. I was taught the fundamentals about magic. How it was made, its origin, and how to control it were among the topics we covered.

One day, I had another sword fighting lesson scheduled with the rest of the Hecate cabin.

"The object of this move is to disarm your opponent." Percy instructed. He demonstrated the move, then once again slower.

"Here. Uh, Jacob, come here." Percy said.

I stepped forward.

"Now, raise your sword. I figure a visual demonstration of the move will work better than anything else."

I obediently raised my sword, only for it to go flying out of my hand as Percy disarmed me. He had me sit there while he demonstrated it a couple of times, then he broke us up into groups of two for sparring. As he was doing so, I noticed two people enter the arena where we were having our lesson. It was Efialtis and another guy.

"Nico. Efialtis." Percy greeted.

They both nodded to him in greeting, then headed over to one side of the clearing. They both drew their own swords, and began training.

Percy finished grouping us up, and I naturally got the pleasure of sparring with Percy himself.

"You have to be quicker!" Percy scolded as I retrieved my weapon for the umpteenth time.

"Push yourself harder! Up! Good, now Dodge! Parry! No, no, you can't go head to head, you have to think!"

He trained me hard, and when he finally called a halt to the spar, everyone was drenched in sweat. Percy led the way to a cooler sitting at the side of the arena, and everyone gratefully accepted the water bottle passed to them. As I drank, I noticed that Efialtis was still at it. He was almost a blur as he seemed to dance around the clearing, swinging his sword at the dummies that he'd put up. He spun around, lobbing one dummies arm off, then spinning just as quickly to cut another's legs out from under it. He turned once again, and stabbed his sword into the gut of a third.

Nico was standing beside Percy, both of their eyes on Efialtis. Percy's hand twitched as he watched.

"I know that look." Nico commented, taking a small sip of water.

"No idea what you're talking about." Percy answered.

"Oh please. It's plain that you want to test his skill against your own."

"...And?"

"If you want to so badly, then do it."

Percy nodded, and downed the rest of his water. Picking up his sword, he made his way over to Efialtis, who had just decapitated the last dummy. He spotted Percy as he walked over, and they exchanged nods.

For a few seconds, they simply stood there, no words exchanged, simply staring at each other.

The next second, there was a flash, a clang of metal against metal, and sparks flying as they seemed to teleport to each other. They exchanged a few quick slices before separating again, only to rush each other again as soon as they hit the ground.

There was a collective gasp from the entire Hecate cabin as we were party to this magnificent display of prowess with swords.

Once again they met, sparks showering down around them as they continued to exchange blow after blow.

I have no idea who would have won had they been allowed to continue fighting.

Thankfully, or perhaps not, a hunting horn blew in the distance. At first, neither Percy nor Efialtis seemed to hear it. However, after it blew two more times in rapid succession, they turned towards the sound.

"The Hunters!" Percy exclaimed. "They're in trouble!"

Efialtis' POV

The last thing I wanted to do was stop the fight.

Fighting Percy was the first challenge that I'd had since I left Tartarus.

Reluctantly, I followed Percy as he rushed out of the arena and towards Half-Blood Hill.

Chiron was already there, along with a few other campers. He had a bow in his hand, one arrow notched as he stared down the hill. Running up to stand beside him, I looked down the hill and got my first look at the Hunters.

They were a group of about ten to fifteen girls, ranging from about twelve to sixteen. Each held a silver bow in their hand, or were wielding hunting knives. accompanying them were about a dozen silver wolves.

They were not alone, however. An assortment of monsters pursued them as they made their way up the hill. More than one hellhound charged after them. A couple of dracanae were present, as well as some telkines, and even a few cyclops.

It was clear that the hunters were tired. Many bore scars, and a few were limping slightly. They still fought bravely on, and many monsters were reduced to dust in the small amount of time I spent taking in the scene.

Without pausing to think, I charged down the hill, aware of Percy running along side me. He immediately veered towards one particular hunter who had spiky black hair, and was brandishing a shield I recognized as a replica of Aegis, the face of Medusa prevalent on it. It was doing a great job of keeping some of the monsters at bay, but they were getting steadily bolder. Leaving her to Percy, I ran towards another girl. She was in the middle of the fighting, and was the center of the most dust littering the ground. She was dual wielding two long knives, and danced almost like a gymnast around the monsters, her twins weapons flashing as she reduced them to dust. As I neared, I noticed that it wasn't blood dripping from the few wounds that adorned her otherwise flawless skin, but a golden substance I recognized as ichor, the blood of the gods. Which would make this girl...

"Lady Artemis." I said as I reached her. I charged right into a hellhound, making it cry out in pain as it was slashed into dust.

She whipped around to face me, nearly getting impaled on a dracanae's spear as she did so. Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded. She turned her attention back to the monsters.

"Get my hunters up the hill." It wasn't a request.

I turned, but realized quickly that that wouldn't be necessary. Campers were pouring down the hill, meeting the monsters head on. In only a short while, we stood alone in a sea of dust. Chiron quickly ushered everyone into the safety of the magical barrier before anymore monsters could appear.

When we were all safely inside the barrier, Chiron turned to Artemis.

"Lady Artemis." He greeted her.

"Chiron." She nodded to him. Most of her hunters were sprawled on the ground, panting for breath, or tending to their wounds.

"What happened?" He asked.

She sighed. "We were ambushed by a group of monsters."

"Ambushed?" Percy asked.

"Yes," She answered, "ambushed. I was not expecting it, and so I was unprepared."

"Do not blame yourself, My Lady," One of the hunters said, "we were outnumbered. Besides, HE was with them."

"Who was?" Chiron asked.

"Orion." Artemis answered.

"How?" Piper asked.

"I don't know how he escaped death again, but I do know that he's back. Realizing the severity of the situation, I immediately made for here, as a place to escape him."

"Excuse me." I interrupted.

She turned to look at me. A few of the hunters glared at me for interrupting her, but I didn't care.

"I don't mean to be rude, or point out the obvious, but you're a goddess. Last I checked, Orion is mortal. How could he pose that big of a threat to you?" I asked.

"He was...different." She answered after a moment. "Almost as though he had been granted power."

"If he was the one that was hunting you, why wasn't he there at the hill?" Percy asked.

"It would have been suicide for him to stay." I answered. "He knew that he didn't stand a chance against all of us. So he retreated."

Artemis nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, you are obviously allowed to stay here for as long as you need to."Chiron said.

"Thank you. If you don't mind, then, I will take my hunters to my cabin so that they may rest from our long journey." And with that, they were gone. The campers too dispersed, either leaving to talk about what had just happened, or going back to their activities. Soon, I was left standing there with Chiron, Percy, and Nico.

"What do you thinking this could mean?" Percy asked Chiron after a moment.

"Nothing good I'm afraid." Chiron answered. "Nothing good."

End Notes: Done. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited, or just read this fic. Seriously, guys. This fic would have literally no meaning without you. Please don't hesitate to review, and don't forget to submit an OC. Only two more chapters left until I close admissions. Either way, R&R! RayTheZoroark Out!

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