"It's okay Percy, everybody goes through things like this. Especially guys who haven't been with a girl in almost eight months." Apollo's voice was smooth and calming, and the intense urge to punch him in the face took over me once again. I wasn't exactly like Artemis and her whole maiden thing, but I certainly wasn't a man-whore either.

"Apollo!" I exclaimed, and leaned forward so my glare was more intense. "It's not like that! If you would just listen to me, and not be such a Gods be damned idiot-." he cut me off by raising his hand, and shook his head sadly at me.

"Percy, man, bro, it is okay. You obviously came to me for a reason, now just tell Artemis to go, and we can get right to the bedroom. I'll take care of any problems you might have." I opened and closed my mouth several times, I was just so mind-blown.

Since when was Apollo gay?

I looked over at Artemis with wide eyes, and saw she was staring at her brother with a mortified expression. She couldn't even seem to form a proper sentence as her mouth continued opening and closing, just like mine. We probably looked like a pair of fish.

"And just so you know, I'm not gay, just bisexual. Almost everybody is now a days, plus I can't blame guys for wanting to get with this." I wished Apollo would just shut up, because all he was doing was making it worse. I mean, I had no problem with gay people (I didn't have a problem with anybody actually), but this was Apollo we're talking about, and he was a ladies man. I guess he just never struck me as the type.

I blinked, slowly coming out of my daze, and swallowed my urge to punch him. I didn't roll that way. "No, jus-just no. I don't need that kind of help, Apollo. If you would just shut up, and let me explain I'm sure we could get this figured out." I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair. "We really need your help, Apollo." it hurt me to say that.

Apollo sighed, and looked over at his sister, who still seemed sort of mortified, but otherwise looked perfectly fine. "What happened?" he asked defeatedly, and flipped his platinum blond hair so I could clearly see his sky-blue eyes.

"Last night, Percy and I, we found what Zeus was looking for..." and with that, she replayed everything that happened last night. I added a few things here and there, but otherwise, I stayed silent. Thinking about Polybotes and his trident, if he was the cause, I sincerely doubted he would give me the antidote.

Oh how I hoped Apollo would be able to cure it.

Apollo was listening intently, his eyes growing darker and darker by the second, sometimes I wished I had a sibling that cared about me just as much as Apollo cared about Artemis. It would have been refreshing to have someone to tease and talk to, sure I had Artemis, but it just wasn't the same.

"So, you think that his powers are gone because of the poison on the trident?" he asked, and looked up at Artemis, his posture contemplative.

"That's the only thing that makes sense. Nothing else happened that could explain it."I said, cutting in before Artemis could answer, and Apollo looked at me.

"Well, if its anything I've ever cured or seen, then I should be able to get rid of it easy-peasy, but if it's not, then I'll need a sample of the poison before I can even begin to try and get it out of you." for some reason, I felt like I was having a talk with a therapist about very deep and personal things. "You said Lord Zeus wanted you looking for anything new?" he asked, his eyes flashing to Artemis, who nodded. "Artemis, go tell father about this situation so Percy doesn't get in trouble, I'll take care of the rest."

Artemis didn't say anything, but she did flash out, her Godly form showing up for just a second, before she was gone. Apollo turned to me, and for a second I thought he was going to make another advance, but then I noticed how serious his face was.

"Alright, come with me. I'm going to need you to drink something, before I can begin flushing the poison out of you." I nodded, and stood up with him. I followed him through the golden halls of his palace, and tried not to roll my eyes at the amount of statues he had of himself. Nobody needed to stare at themselves that much. Hadn't he ever heard of a mirror?

He pushed through the door, and held it open for me as he stepped in. I followed his lead, and felt sort of surprised when I noticed that we were in the infirmary. It was a hard room to categorize because it was big and small at the same time, small when you saw the size of the people who normally used it, but big when you noticed how many people didn't use it.

Apollo immediately walked over to one of the white cabinets that hung on the wall, and began pulling stuff out-herbs and what not by the looks of it. He put them in a glass, before snapping his fingers, and the solid herbs changed to liquid herbs. Apollo flicked the glass a few times, before bringing it up to eye level, and nodding in a satisfied way.

"Drink this." he said, and held it out to me. I stared at the green-ish brown mixture for a second, before allowing my nose to wrinkle and shaking my head.

"No, that looks disgusting!" I backed away from his hand, and put my hands up to stop him from coming any closer.

"If you want me to be able to cure it you have to drink it." Apollo's voice and face were hard, and I couldn't help but glance at him, he actually looked angry.

"But I thought you didn't know if you could cure it anyways."

"I don't, but I have to send my power through you, and that'll be easier if these herbs are in your system." he looked pointedly at the cup, before looking back up at me, and raising his eyebrows. I sighed, but grabbed the cup from his hand, and slowly pulled it to me.

I sniffed it, but immediately cringed back, and gagged. It smelled better than Ares, but certainly not by a lot.

"Drink it," Apollo commanded, and I looked up at him with a glare, before slowly bringing the glass to my lips. I was sort of happy that I didn't have my normal senses, because the drink smelt seriously bad, and Zeus knows what would have happened if the scent was fifty times stronger.

I tipped the cup, and the mixture drained into my mouth, automatically triggering my gag reflex. I held it back though, deciding to skip doing a spit-take on Apollo, to, instead, finish the drink off.

I tilted my head back, and the last of the disgusting substance washed down my throat. I shivered, and swallowed several times to get rid of the after-taste. Holy Poseidon, that was the grossest thing I had ever tasted.

I handed the cup back to Apollo, and put my hand on my belly as it gurgled. Herbs and my stomach just did not agree, and at the time that wasn't such a good thing. Artemis chose then to flash in, and I flinched as the silver light almost blinded me.

"Father says to hurry up and figure out what's wrong with him." she said, and looked in between Apollo and me, her mouth turning downwards in a frown as she looked at me. "What happened to you?" she asked, and I glared down at her.

"I drank some plants, that's what." her eyebrows shot up, and she glanced at Apollo, her mouth opening to say something, but I stopped her before she could. "Get on with it, Apollo. I need my powers back as soon as possible."

Apollo made a face at me, and mouthed my words in a sarcastic way before walking over to me, and stopping about an arms length away.

"Alright," he said. "I need you to relax, you have to allow my power into your body. I can't cross into your domain, and I also can't cross into your body. Give me permission."

I stared at him, trying to figure out if I should just get up and leave right then and there, or actually allow him access to my body.

"Whatever," I sighed, and lifted my hand. "I, Perseus, God of Tracking and the Senses, give you, Apollo, God of the Sun, permission to enter my body, but only for medical purposes, anything else is off limits." I glared at him as I finished, and crossed my arms with a huff, there was only so many steps down that my pride could take.

Apollo rolled his eyes, but still set his hand on my forehead. He began quietly chanting to himself, and his eyes began glowing a creepy green color. It didn't take Apollo very long, maybe thirty or so seconds, but when he pulled away I felt nautious (?). I can honestly say I felt like I was going to fall over and go unconscious, which has never happened to me before.

I blinked, and rubbed my eyes to get the world to stop spinning, before slowly stepped backwards so I wouldn't fall on my butt.

"Woah," I breathed, and tried not to look at any of the bronze braziers that were lighting the room. I shook my head, and ran a hand through my hair again, before looking up at the Sun God.

"So, what did you find?" I asked, and he quickly looked away, which I didn't take as a good sign.

"I can't cure it, not if I don't know what the poison is and can directly combat it. We'll need to get Polybotes trident or get some poison off of it, which is probably exactly what they planned. I wouldn't doubt it if they changed the poison, you may just be a minor god Perce, but you're powerful, and that's undeniable. With you on our side we could know their every move." Apollo's voice was grim, and I felt fear rush through my body. No powers?

"It wasn't an accident then." Artemis said, "they planned for you to find Polybotes. Everything, it was all a trap, they're one step ahead of us, and they know it." silver eyes stared at me, and the anger and hatred that flooded them made me truly fear for my life.

"So what now?" I asked, and looked between the twin archers, unsure of what one I should look at. One was glaring bloody-murder and the other seemed marginally depressed, now I know the former wasn't angry at me, but that didn't make her eyes any less scary, that didn't make her any less scary for that matter.

Apollo looked down at his hands, and sighed again. "Well Percy, you're powerless, all you have left is your immortality." Apollo paused, but I already knew what he was going to say. "For all intents and purposes, you're a demigod, Percy."

Even though I knew he was going to say that, I was still surprised, I felt like I had been sucker-punched. I couldn't get my breath back, and my eyes probably looked like a pair of discus. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and took a deep breath, I felt so embarrassed.

I was a pretty laid-back God, and I didn't really have a problem with anybody, but even to me it was offensive to be called a demigod. To be mortal, to be powerless, to be a demigod, the thought had always disgusted me. It disgusted every God that had even a speck of pride, and I had been taught since birth that demigods were below us, pawns in a bigger game, tools to be used until we were done with them. Now I didn't always believe in that policy, but I did believe that they were below us-below me. And yet, here I was, not just being compared to one, but being called one.

"So what, I go to that camp full of arrogant children?" I asked, and looked over at my best friend. I needed her help, she would tell me what I needed to do, because she was Artemis, and despite any attachment she had to me, she would tell me what I needed to do to get things done.

"It's your choice, Percy." she said, and I noticed that the anger and hatred had left her eyes, if only for a second. "We can find something for you to do here or I'm sure you could go with your father."

I released a shaky breath, and looked down at the ground again. "No, I should go to Camp, if anything I should help the demigods prepare for war. We will need them in the upcoming events, of that much I am sure." I closed my eyes, and leaned back against the wall, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Artemis, could you please get my father? I would Iris-message him, but-" she cut me off before I could finish, by flashing out, and hopefully to my father's palace. If he let her in, that is. "I'll see you later Apollo." I waved to him, before turning on my heel and leaving.

I automatically tried to flash to my palace since I really didn't feel like walking, but when nothing happened and my Godly form didn't reveal itself, I felt depressed, I felt sad, I felt angry, and I felt helpless. I was use to being able to do something, anything, to get me out of a hard situation, but this time I couldn't do anything. Not a single thing.

I swallowed, finding it almost hard to continue walking. I felt like I had let everybody down, Zeus was depending on me, which meant almost all of Olympus was depending on me. I couldn't do the one small job that Zeus gave me, and the sad part was that it should have been a piece of cake. Tracking was my thing, and I couldn't even do that right.

But I hadn't just failed Olympus, I had failed myself, and that's probably what hurt the most.

I expected a lot out of myself, and when I made goals I fully planned to meet them. But this time I hadn't, and it made me feel as though a thousand pounds had been dropped onto my shoulders. I would have to make it up to myself, make it up to everybody actually. I owed it to them and to myself.

I stepped onto the soft sand of my palace just as my father appeared, bringing with him the usual smell of the sea. I stared into eyes that were so much like mine for a second, before sighing and plastering a smile on my face. I wasn't about to dump my problems onto somebody else, it didn't matter if that person was my dad, he had his own problems to worry about, and I didn't need him getting more stressed out than he already was.

"Hey dad," I said, making sure my voice came out as normal as possible.

"Is it true, Percy?" he asked, and it took me a second to realize that he was talking about my powers. I blew a breath from my mouth, and shrugged, looking down at my feet sadly.

"Yeah." I looked over and into the deep pool of water next to my feet. Only a few fish remained in it, but I still couldn't hear their normally constant chatter. For once in my life, I felt alone when I was around a sea creature. It was weird, and it made my stomach twist painfully.

"And you're absolutely sure that this cannot be cured, there is no antidote, Apollo can't heal you?" I knew Artemis had told him the story, but I also couldn't blame him for grasping for straws, because I would be, too.

"He already tried, but he doesn't know this poison, he's never had to fight it. He said he needs his hand on Polybotes' trident so he can make an antidote, but I doubt that will be happening anytime soon." I looked up at my father then, and was completely surprised to see how hard his face and eyes were.

He truly looked like the Earth Shaker, for once he wasn't my kind father, or the wise Ruler of the Seas. Now he was an angry warrior, ready to take down any opponent that dared to challenge him.

"I will get that trident." he growled, his green eyes flashing with storms and waves, and his hands glowing with a deep, blue light. "You are my son, and I will be damned if I cannot save and protect you." and with that my father disappeared, leaving me, once again, to my thoughts.

I began walking into my palace. I sort of wanted to stay outside and put my feet in the water, but I also didn't want the other Gods to see me wallowing in self-misery and pain. I didn't need this getting anymore out of hand than it already was.

I walked to the center of my palace, and I sat down so my feet were in the water once again. I could no longer feel the push and pull of the tides, nor did the water give me strength and energy, but it still felt good to put my feet in the water, and allow the cool liquid to swirl around my feet and legs.

I looked up as I heard the sound of claws and feet hitting hard marble, and my brow furrowed, before I was suddenly tackled by a small object. I immediately grabbed the soft and fluffy object, wincing as I pulled its claws from my skin.

Great, the stupid little she-demon was back.

Its smooth tongue ran up and down my face, licking every inch of skin it could get to, before it began to naw on my fingers with it's little demon fangs.

"Damn wolf." I growled, and set the gray animal on the ground next to me, glaring down at it as it looked up at me with bright gold eyes.

"Don't be so hard on her." a familiar voice said, and I looked up to see Artemis just walking in. She was smirking at me, and her beautiful silver eyes were sparkling with humor. "She's just a baby, it's in her nature to bite." I snorted and rolled my eyes, completely forgetting about my little predicament.

"Whatever, that wolf bites an abnormal amount of the time. Hades, all she does is bite me!" I exclaimed, and threw my arms up in the air exasperatedly.

"That's how she shows her affection, believe it or not, she loves you." Artemis' voice was smug, and she continued walking forward until she was next to me.

"Yeah, says the Goddess of the Wilderness, she's probably just telling you that so you won't smite her or something. I bet that little thing is smart and manipulative." I looked over at her again, the wolf that is, and rolled my eyes as I saw how she twirled around Artemis' legs like a cat, her gray-black fur became staticy as it brushed up against Artemis' power.

"She's actually a very sweet wolf, she's only known you for a few days, and already she sees you as her master. You cannot change that, she will love you for the rest of her life, even if you force her away. Which, if you do that, I will kick your butt all the way to Hades and back."

"Yeah, okay." I looked back down at the light blue pool of water again, and sighed.

"Oh come one, Seaweed Brain. Cheer up, it's not like losing your powers is the end of the world." I looked over at Artemis with raised eyebrows. A troop of Giants meant to take down the Olympian Gods was coming to Olympus, and she was telling me that that wasn't the end of the world?

"Okay, maybe it sort of is the end of the world, but it's not like you actually have to go to Camp." I snorted, but otherwise I didn't interrupt when she continued. "You could still come hunting with me, or you could go and help your father prepare."

"No, I have to go to Camp, the demigods will not understand this threat. It's something we've never seen before, they need to understand how powerful the Giants are, and that this is not to be taken lightly. We need them for this war, it's not like the Titan War where the six original Gods could do it on their own. This time, the demigods are going to play a bigger part than any of us would like them to. I can feel it." and I could, there was something in my gut that told me I was right.

Artemis didn't say anything for a few minutes, instead opting to stand and stare at me. "If you are right, then I fear how much bigger their egos will get." I couldn't help but smile at that, Artemis always knew how to cheer me up.

"Holy Zeus, that's gonna suck."

"See, Percy for you it isn't the end of the world, you need to make the best of this. Win the demigods over, lead them, give them a reason to question their current leader." Artemis rolled her eyes, and glared at nothing in particular.

"Your brother?" I asked, and looked up at her with twitching lips. She looked down at me, before allowing her nose to wrinkle disgustedly, and frowning.

"Yes, my half-brother." she said 'half-brother' with such disgust that it made me think she was talking about Ares' pet pig. "Arrogant piece of trash, that's all he is. I don't care what he's done, he's a total jerk."

"Oh come on, he cares about his family and his friends, remember what happened when Hera had him kill his wife? He did twelve different labors, very hard labors for a demigod, no matter how strong he is, that must have been hard. I don't like him, but I do respect him."

Artemis snorted, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I won't respect him until he shows me that he deserves my respect, and so far, he hasn't earned it." I wondered what she was talking about. Sure Heracles was arrogant and cocky, but he hadn't done anything to outright disrespect her had he?

"What did he do?" I asked, but she didn't respond, instead she looked to her left, and glared at nothing again.

"Nothing, if you're going to camp, you should get ready." her voice was dismissive, and I stared at her for a second, unsure if I should push the topic or not.

"Whatever you say, My lady."

Yo guys, wazzup?

I'm sorry this took so long, the three chapters before this were really hard for me to write, simply because I had lost the spark for this story. I think I have it back now, sort of, this chapter is the only one I'm truly proud of thus far, and I hope you guys like it even though there's really no action yet.

I would like to thank you all for the reviews, they really helped me get off of my lazy butt and right this. I started writing this chapter at about 1 AM, and now it's almost 2 PM, and I think the sad thing is that it took me almost five hours to write it (I had to sleep at some point within that time).

Anyways, are you guys watching the Olympics? I am, and I'm so happy that the beach volleyball gold medal match is all-American! Yeah, let's go May-Treanor and Jennings!

Haha, if you are watching the Olympics, tell me who you're cheering for and your favorite sport. Personally, my favorite sport in the Olympics is gymnastics sense I think they're routines are so cool.

Loved it, hated it, your choice, just tell me in a review!

-The Produca