A/N: For some reason, I just can't write The Golden-Eyed Swordsman chapter that would've been released two days ago, so instead, you guys get an update.

Thoughts are italic, and emphasized words are as well. If a word is a thought and emphasized, it's normal text.

Chapter 4- The Ruin of the Hunt

Percy's POV

"Both Sasha and Zoe are in Camp Half-Blood." I reported to the three masked Judges in front of me, not knowing exactly what they intended to do.

"Step forward." I did as they asked, walking until I was in front of them and kneeling. Then a pair of hands clamped onto my skull, an intricate plan being implanted in my mind. What'll the Judges get out of this?

"Enact the plan." All three Judges ordered together. I bowed to them, before shadow-traveling somewhere I would never expect to find myself in: the home of Lycaon's Pack.

Immediately, I was ambushed by more then a dozen werewolfs, all in human form, but a growled command stopped them. "What business does the Proctor have here?"

"I propose an attack on the Hunters we both hate." I replied quickly, recognizing Lycaon, "They have been a thorn in my side as well as yours, and I have a plan for them."

"I'm listening."

Time for the first. . . . complication, "I need one of you to bite me."

Lycaon's laughter came out as a growl, "A Proctor would be a fine addition to my Pack, but why do I think you are going to use us for your own ends?"

"Because I will." I stated flatly, "And currently, my ends line up with yours. So you can either bite me, or I leave and go to the Hunters with a similar offer."

Lycaon's laughter was real this time, "You are strong. I can respect that. Arshnok, claim him."

A werewolf leapt out of the shadows, biting me in the forearm and very nearly breaking it. I didn't flinch, or even wince at the pain. If I do, Lycaon might just put an end to me. I cannot appear weak in any way.

"Only the strong survive the process, Proctor." Lycaon growled, "We'll see if you're one of them.

Time Skip: Three Days

Percy's POV

Pain. That was everything I felt. Fire rushed through my veins, boiling my skin. My muscles knotted, strained and stretched as white-hot dagger stabbed into them. But at least I was conscious.

"Hey! 'E's awake!" A werewolf who was sharpening a sword called out.

"Good. Get up." Lycaon ordered. This is gonna hurt like Hades.

I heaved myself to my feet, ignoring the pain and not making a sound. You want to see if I'm strong? I'll beat every single one of you right now if it comes down to that.

Lycaon chuckled, "You are one of the strong. Not many can even achieve consciousness at this stage, much less the ability to move."

I snorted, "Perhaps I could explain the plan?"

Lycaon grunted, and gestured to a table with a map on it. I looked it over, pointing, "The Hunters aren't in Nevada anymore. They've moved to just outside Mt. Pennell, in Utah."

Lycaon muttered something under his breath about crafty bitches, then looked back at me, "So what's the plan you have?"

Reaching into a pocket, I withdrew a folded piece of paper and a pencil, then unfolded the paper, "This is the layout of the Hunter's camp. They put themselves in a ravine here, see?"

Lycaon nodded, "Easily defensible from two sides, and those cliffs are impassable. It wouldn't be a favorable engagement."

"No, it wouldn't." I agreed, "But you can't shadow-travel, and the Hunters are always tired right after dinner. How strong is the Pack?"

"We number seventy now, but more than a fourth of them are children and bearing mates."

"You outnumber the Hunt by a good margin, though." I commented, "So, here's the plan. . . ."

Percy's POV

I was with a group of twenty werewolves, all in human form and wearing armor. Grislek and Arshnok, his second and third in command, were not among them, instead leading their own groups of werewolves. Lycaon was in charge here, but I was the one getting them in. Drawing Shadow, I instructed everyone to link arms and wait for the signal.

Wait. . . wait. . . . wait. . . . now! Shadows engulfed everyone and deposited them in the center of the Hunter's camp, quickly killing the sentry there.

I turned to wolf-form so my human form wouldn't be recognized, then lunged into the nearest tent. Yells began to break out quickly as the Hunt was brought to a very rude awakening and started fighting back.

The tent I jumped into was empty, probably one of the Hunters on sentry, so I tore through the back and kept going. Outside, I could see werewolves, in human form, fighting young woman in silver clothes. The Hunters were fast, graceful, and skillful, but the Pack was just as skilled, brutal, and didn't bother being graceful.

Artemis was fighting Lycaon, and they seemed evenly matched so far, but the Hunters were steadily winning on the ground, injuring more and more werewolves. What are you waiting for, Lycaon? Spring the trap!

I leapt, knocking Artemis over and racking my claws down her side. Lycaon recognized me, glanced around, then howled into the air. Finally. As fifteen more werewolves closed in from each side, the Hunters were badly outnumbered and surrounded, getting massacred in short order.

"Get to me!" Artemis called, burying a fist in my flank, then picking me up and throwing me at Lycaon. Almost simultaneously, the remaining Hunters that could move broke away from there opponents and ran towards Artemis. Maybe ten left out of the forty the Hunt started with.

Artemis flashed away, and I knew the battle was over. The werewolves moved around, finishing off the wounded, but one of them caught my attention.

"Wait." I blocked a slash that was going to take Thalia's head off. "I want this one."

The werewolf, Grishlek, turned to Lycaon, who nodded, "Let'im have that bitch. I'm sure she'll be dead after the Proctor's done with her. Not every day he comes across a virgin, after all."

"I have a feeling I'll . . . enjoy . . . this one for a long time." I replied, trying to make Thalia fear me. I prefer playing Bad Cop, Worse Cop over Bad Cop, Good Cop. No dice, though, as she was already unconscious.

"You held your end of the bargain, Proctor." Lycaon growled, "And as much as I've taken pleasure in doing this, I can't have you as part of my Pack. Leave."

I whipped Shadow out an around, sending spears of darkness through Lycaon, pinning him to the ground, "You do not tell me what to do, Lycaon. You're fortunate that I'm in a hurry, so I'll just leave you with this."

A blade of shadow sliced down vertically on Lycaon's face, making a cut that went from his hairline, nicking his right eye, down to his jaw line, deep enough to make a nice, big scar. Grabbing Thalia roughly, I shadow-traveled us both back down to the Underworld.

Thalia had some vicious claw wounds on her throat and stomach, but she was alive. Now for the next part. Carefully, I plugged her nose until she had to opened her mouth to breathe, then poured some nectar down her throat, making her swallow. Once all the claw marks were gone, I turned into a wolf and bit her in the shoulder. I hope this works. If she dies, no big loss, but it'd be much more useful if she lives.

I traveled up to the Judging Pavilion, where Minos was waiting. All of the Judges had something different about them. Minos' mask curled upwards in the suggestion of horns, Machiavelli's robes had some of his quotes embroidered on it, but that wasn't very noticeable and took me a long time to figure out. The third Judge, George Read, had a very tiny emblem of an eagle embossed on his mask.

"The Hunt is decimated, and I have a captive." I reported, kneeling.

"Who?"

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of the Hunt." I replied, keeping my head lowered as a sign of subservience.

Minos hissed, but I couldn't tell if it was with anger or laughter, "She will do well. Proceed with the next step."

I hesitated, "Is she-"

"The goddess agrees with us.." Minos cut me off, "Ten lashes for questioning, after the appointment."

Should've seen that coming. Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room as a women in all leather -sort of a Micheal Jackson joins the Hell Angels look. I knelt to her as well before meeting her eyes.

Her face seemed to shift, first looking like Drew, then having a startling resemblance to Zeus, before it settled on a completely different countenance, "Hmm. You seem to have an astounding lack of desire for revenge."

"A by-product of the rebirth process." Minos supplied, "But you can provide that, surely."

"I'll see what I can do." Nemesis was circling me, sizing me up, "Good enough."

Her hands clutched at my face, and I felt something shifting there, like my face was re-molding itself.

"It is done, Minos. Now I must reawaken vengeance inside of him." Nemesis' eyes met mine, and suddenly, I felt outrage at Zeus and the Olympians, and at Drew for framing me. Those emotions were clamped down, but I still wanted revenge on them. "Good."

"What, exactly, have you done to me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Altered your natural face, as well as creating several Mist shrouds." Nemesis replied, "Wish your features to change, and they will. Your "natural" face has black eyes and your cheekbones shifted upward. Your other faces, however, are much more exotic."

"Thank you. Rest assured that we will withhold our side of the bargain." I said. Nemesis snorted, and left.

"Proctor, report to the chamber, then proceed." Minos ordered.

Standing and bowing, I traveled down to the "torture chamber" and let the thin man there strap me to the pole.

Percy's POV

The lashes stung, but not as much as before. Maybe I am getting used to them, after all. Or maybe it's just a side effect of being a werewolf now. Who knows, who cares?

Rolling my shoulders sent a ripple of pain through my body, but it kept me alert as I re-entered my room. Thalia was still on the bed, unconscious and shaking. If I got out of it in three days, then I should have some time before she wakes. Should, that is.

Without a second thought, I left Thalia writhing on the bed in pain, shadow-traveling myself up to the hallway outside the Dean's room in Goode. School just got out, if I remembered correctly, so the Dean should still be there.

"Enter." I heard Mrs. Dolores Connors' voice through the door after I knocked. In the mirror behind her desk, I could see my new appearance. My natural appearance, at least. My hair was still black, but my eyes had turned black and my cheekbones were raised a small amount. Pretty cool, and I barely even recognize myself.

"Hello, Mrs. Connors, I'm the transfer student from Norway. You requested that we met so we could shake out the schedule." I snapped my fingers, the Mist making Dolores Connors convinced with everything I was saying, "I was shadowing a Geoffery Wrong, and I was also wonder what classes he has, so we might be together. I believe you allowed me to create my own schedule, and while it's odd for an eighteen year-old to still attend highschool, I wished to learn the language and customs of Americans before entering college, as failure to understand idioms and such could be harmful to my academic knowledge. Since you are currently holding summer lessons for more mentally challenged students, it seems perfect"

Geoffery Wrong was one of the Satyrs posted here, so he was probably the best way to attract attention. Since the Dean was practically bending over backwards to my Mist-bending, it shouldn't be very difficult. And hopefully, no one'll ask me to speak Norwegian. Besides, it's summer right now.

"Here is a schedule sheet, along with a copy of Mr. Wrong's schedule. Please fill it out, Mr. . ?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. Muro. Landon Difabio Muro." I smiled easily at her. Charm never hurt.

Quickly, I copied Geoffery's schedule. He was in the assisted reading class, probably because most demigods ended up there. But, at the same time, most of the meaner people ended up there. And all of them'll be in a bad mood for having to go to classes during the summer.

"Here you are, Mrs. Connors." I handed the sheet back, "Everything's in order, no need to check it. I'll be here tomorrow."

Mrs. Connors nodded, her eyes distant, and slid the paperwork into a desk drawer while I walked out the door, picking up my leather jacket on the way.

Time Skip: One Day

Percy's POV

My first thought when walking into Goode was this: Ugg, school. And the second thought was: I thought dying would let me get out of school. While my third though was: Hey, cute girls at least.

My first class, luckily, was assisted language arts, and after I "convinced" a student to give me all his supplies and locker combination, I went to class. The first thing I noticed was that Geoffery was all alone, which left me to remedy the situation. Right now, I wasn't in the Proctor outfit, instead wearing a tight black t-shirt and loose khaki shorts. Shadow was in the Underworld, but with the eclipse mark still on my hand, I could still use it's powers.

Time to start the ball rolling. I sat down in an open desk right next to Geoffery, "Hi, who're you?"

"Geoffery. Geoffery Wrong." He was a bit shorter then a average Satyr, and a lot shorter than me.

I shook his offered hand, "Perseus. Perseus Ekdíki̱si̱."

I had just told him my last name was Revenge, in Greek of course. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as a couple of big guys walked up, "Hey, Geoff! You know what you are?"

Geoffery sighed, "What?"

"Wrong!" They, and most of the class, thought this was funny and laughed uproariously. Good. This'll be fun.

I ignored the teacher most of the class, instead focusing on the couple of guys who were picking on Geoff.

"Would you, James, tell us what polysyllabic means?" The teacher asked.

James, the bigger of the two guys, looked baffled. I raised a hand, "I doubt James here knows any words with more than one syllable, actually. Probably from his gorilla parents."

The entire class laughed at this, Geoffery included, but the teacher didn't like it, "Then would you mind telling us what it means?"

"Of course not. A polysyllabic word is a word with more than one syllable. I'd expect even a gorilla to get it, but James looks like an exception." I smiled, then imitated him very poorly, "I be James. I can't speak words good. They too smart for my and me ape brain."

Every time I could, I also used a sneaky little tendril of shadow to mess with him. I pulled down his fly, put his pencil on the floor a few times, tickled the back of his neck and generally made him look like a complete fool. Which he was, I guess. Is it just because of Nemesis that I'm enjoying this, getting revenge for Geoffery?

Luckily, soon the class was over. James got up, and for some inexplicable reason, tripped, slamming into his desk. His buddy, who was almost at the door, turned, and for the same inexplicable reason, he tripped as well. Needless to say, this set off a new round of laughter.

I walked out, then Geoffery grabbed my arm, "Do you have any parents?"

Huh. Seemingly innocuous, but a perfect question. I can use this. "No, my dad died when I was young, in Iraq. They said my mom died in childbirth, I never saw her."

"Grandparents?" Geoffery asked, walking in the funny way all Satyrs walked.

"Well, I remember seeing a picture of my grandpa, although I'm pretty sure it was photoshopped. He had black hair, black eyes, and -this is where the photoshop came in- pitch black wings." That was the best description I could really give of Thanatos. Now I could just hope Geoffery took my shadow powers as a product of being a legacy of Thanatos.

"What was his name?" Geoffery pressed, and I could see the light of recognition in his eyes.

"What? Oh, Thanatos Muros. I took my mother's maiden name as my last name." I replied. Going well so far.

"Think we should skip today? I don't have anything important." Geoffery suggested.

"Sure." Time to get to Camp. "I'm from out of town, and I really wanted to go to Long Island. I've heard it has amazing beaches."

"Let's go, then."

Percy's POV

"Where are we? And what is that?" I pointed to Peleus. Geoffery was right next to me, smiling.

"This is your new home, if you're interested." Geoffery took my arm, "Ever heard of the Greek or Roman gods?"

"Yeah, actually." I replied, smiling, "Kinda a personal obsession of mine. The orphanage I grew up in lost my first name, so I just called myself Perseus. Never shorten it to Percy, by the way, or I'll get really annoyed."

Geoffery looked a little surprised, but covered it up quickly, "Well, they're real."

I froze, then burst out laughing, "You're crazy!"

"Then explain why I have goat legs, goat horns, and hooves." Geoffery took off his hat and shoes, making my laughter die off.

"So you're a Satyr?" I asked, "Or a Faun? From what I've found, Roman mythology is a bit. . . . stricter then Greek. Greek mythology tends to be more chaotic."

"Satyr." Geoffery said, "I don't like Fauns. Too lazy. You're taking this pretty well, I think."

"Well, you've probably noticed I can kinda control shadows. That freaked me out a bit, but then I realized it was pretty useful." I shrugged, "It's good to know why."

"How is controlling the shadows useful?"

"Well, if someone insults me or my friends, I can get back at them anonymously. If a bully claims to see shadow-y tentacles, he'd go to an insane asylum." I smirked, "It's almost happened in the past."

"I'd say you were a son of Nemesis, and a legacy of Thanatos." Geoffery stroked his chin, where he was sporting a wispy beard.

"Legacy?"

"Descended from." Geoffery explained, "And yes, I know you're grandfather's name was Thanatos, he was likely the god Thanatos."

"The god of death?" I raised an eyebrow, "How does death or vengeance explain shadows?"

"No idea, but it's more likely then being a son of Hades." Geoffery shrugged, "Hades has had only two children recently, and one of them's dead."

"Why hasn't he?" I inquired, feigning ignorance, "As a god, he could probably have his choice of woman."

"It isn't really like that, Perseus." Geoffery turned, looking at me, "I'll give you an outline. It started in World War Two. Hades' children manipulated Germany to expand, but Zeus' and Poseidon's children opposed it, starting the war. Meanwhile, there was a prophecy that said, if a child of the "Big Three" of gods reached sixteen years old, they may or may not destroy all the gods and goddesses. So, understandably, the Big Three swore not to have children in an attempt to change fate."

Geoffery paused, then spoke again, "Then, a few years ago, a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson, came into Camp. He went on a few quests, finding out that Luke, a senior camper, was going to betray the gods to Kronos, who was trying to rise again. Fortunately, Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, convinced Luke to kill himself rather then let Kronos rule, ending that war."

While we were talking, we were walking up to the tree. Someone in armor noticed us, "Hey, Geoff. New camper? He's a bit old."

"Yeah, he is. Perseus," The camper gave a little jump at that name, "meet Kira. Kira, meet Perseus."

"Nice to meet you." I stuck out my hand, but Kira scowled at hand, not taking. I shrugged it off, and with Geoffery glaring at Kira, I stepped over the boundry. Immediately, I saw a flicker of light over my head, and looked up to see crossed swords floating above my head.

"Nemesis has claimed you as her son." Geoffery said reverently, "I'll take you to the Big House."

"What with all the bigs? Big Three, Big House. I'll be living in the Big Shed, I'm guessing?" I joked.

Geoffery's laughter sounded suspiciously like a bleat, "Come on, I can introduce you to the Big Horse and his Mighty Drunkenness."

"Dionysus?" I guessed, "I though Satyrs worshiped him."

"Others do." Geoffery's eyes darkened, "I don't."

Okay, some history there. Soon, we arrived at the Big House, where Mr. D was losing to Chiron in their daily card game.

"Ah, Geoffery, is this a new demigod?" Chiron asked politely. Half of me wanted to reach out and permanently injure Dionysus, but none of me, strangely, wanted to reveal myself to Chiron.

"Yep. Claimed by Nemesis the second he stepped inside." Geoffery answered, "I think he's also a legacy of Thanatos."

"Really?" Chiron raised an eyebrow at me, "Can you show me your. . . .abilities?"

I shrugged, and sent out a tendril of shadows to roll a pair of dice, keeping the shadows somewhat weak and frail.

"Very good. What is your name?"

"Perseus. Perseus Ekdíki̱si̱." At the mention of Perseus, Chiron seemed to become much older and much sadder.

"Very well. Take him inside, for orientation. It is good to meet you, Percy." Chiron said.

"Can you call me Perseus?" I asked, "I don't like being called Percy."

"Of course. Please, Perseus, follow Geoffery." Chiron gestured to the entrance.

Percy's POV

The orientation video was a bit boring, but it actually told me a lot. Annabeth had posthumously taken my place. After all, who would want a traitor as their hero? Credit for my achievements had gone to Annabeth, the infamous Percy Jackson a mere accomplice, waiting to strike. Well, maybe that's for the better. No one would expect to see him return, so no will. I can't blame them. That evidence was pretty damning, even if it was fake.

When it was done, I walked outside, where Chiron was standing, this time in Centaur form.

"Chiron, who was Percy Jackson?" I asked carefully, "It seems like he was in the center of things, but he was just painted as a traitor, and other then the explosion, it didn't seem like anything else he did was bad."

Chiron's eyes lost their twinkle, "Percy Jackson was a hero, and I do not know why that incident ever occurred. Everyone had a fatal flaw, Perseus. His was loyalty. He would destroy the world if it would save a friend, though, more often then not, he managed both to save the world and his friends. The first year he arrived, he and Annabeth weren't on the best of terms, yet they were thrown on a quest together."

"To get Zeus' bolt."

"Indeed." Chiron smiled, "At the end of the quest, they both still didn't seem like they enjoyed each other's company, but I could tell they did. The second year, I was removed from my position here, replaced by a rather despicable spirit called Tantalus. Thalia's Pine was dying -poison- and Percy took it upon himself, Annabeth Chase, and Tyson the Cyclops to retrieve the Golden Fleece and heal the tree. He succeeded, and the winter of that year, yet another disaster occurred. Annabeth was taken captive by a manticore, Dr. Thorn. Once again, Percy broke the rules and went off to rescue her, following a group of questers. He held up the sky so Lady Artemis could fight Atlas, the Titan of Strength."

"Isn't Artemis the goddess of the Moon and Hunting? Why does she have a group of demigods?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, my boy, Artemis believed that the Hunt could help protect Camp Half-Blood, and Zeus agreed. All of her followers must remain virgins, much like her first nymph entourage. While being both the goddess of Virginity and Childbirth is a bit contradictory, the Hunt has been a tremendous help. Picking up where we left off, Percy, with Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson, traveled into the Labyrinth to find Daedulus. After a harrowing adventure Percy and his friends returned in time to warn us of an invasion, quite possibly saving us all yet again." Chiron sighed, "Then, Percy bathed in the River Styx to defend Olympus from the Titan's army. And while I wish I could tell you more, Perseus, I'm afraid it's time for dinner."

A few seconds later, a conch horn sounded, "See the cabin, gray with black trim and the crossed swords over scales? That's the cabin where your brothers and sisters reside. Please, join them."

I knew exactly what and who I'd be looking for, so I tagged along at the back of the cabin until we reached the Dining Pavilion. Now, after the promise I had the gods make at the end of the Titan War, there were long tables for the big cabins like Ares, Athena, or Hermes, while smaller tables were for Hebe, Nemesis, and others like them.

I got a few glances when I sat down at the Nemesis table, but nothing very hateful. At the head of the round table was Cameron De Alba, an old unclaimed that was claimed right after the Titan War.

"To the gods!" Chiron called, then the wood nymphs came forward with food.

I loaded my plate with brisket and mashed potatoes, then, with the rest of the demigods, got up and went to the braziers, feigning uncertainty. A new Nemesis camper muttered what to do to me, and I nodded thanks, just to keep up appearances.

To Nemesis, thanks. Needless to say, it worked.

Once I, and all the other camper, nymphs, Satyrs, and other creatures -Mr. D and Chiron- ate, Mr. D stood up, "I suppose Zeus wants me to say hello. So hello, brats. We have a Capture-the-Flag game tomorrow night, so please kill each other. That being said, the penalty for maiming stays. Lastly, we have a new camper, Peter Ediki."

Chiron whispered something, making Dionysus lean down, then Mr. D corrected himself, "Perseus Ekdíki̱si̱, son of Nemesis. Now get out of here before I turn you all into wine corks!"

There was a lot of ugly muttering at my name, and more then a few glares were sent my way. Luckily, I arrived just before dinner, and now that it has passed, they couldn't do much.

All of the Nemesis children left together, none of them chatting with other cabins. So, not very popular?

"Hey, Percy, I'm Cameron, your Councilor. Call me Cam." Cam stuck out his hand, and I shook it. His grip was strong, but so was mine.

"Can you call me Perseus, not Percy?" I asked. Cam nodded, and we stepped inside the Nemesis Cabin.

After the first Titan War, everyone -especially me- felt a guilty about Ethan Nakamura, so we all helped make the Nemesis Cabin awesome. As such, it had a bit of an underground area that rivaled Beckendorf's Bedroom.

Once we were all downstairs, we all sat in a ring of couches, "So, Perseus, tell us a bit about yourself."

I shrugged modestly, "Not much to say. Dad died when I was a baby, so I was put in an orphanage. Geoffery found me, and here I am. Oh yeah, and I'm a legacy of Thanatos, so I can do this."

I summoned a dense ball of shadows, and formed it into several shapes, including a blade, as I spoke again, "I don't really know anything about all this, so I'd really appreciate if someone could help me learn."

"I'd be happy to teach you." It was a boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen.

"Nah, he doesn't want any of your idiocy." A girl, seventeen years old at my guess, said, "I'm sure he wants only the best."

Looks like it worked. That wasn't very hard, and now they all want to spend time with me just so that the person next to them can't. Taking advantage of the arguing, I slipped back up ladder that led to the surface.

As soon as I got to the top of the ladder, however, someone grabbed me around my left arm.

"That was pleasing to observe, Perseus." I turned to see the young woman -who looked about ninteen and had my bicep in a firm grasp. She was incredibly beautiful, with dark blonde hair going just under her shoulder blades. Her face was perfectly proportioned and flawless, but I barely noticed. Her eyes, though, her eyes. . . . . startlingly blue, and cold as ice.

Percy's POV

"Now, tell me your real last name, Perseus." As soon as she said those words, a powerful compelling come over me to tell the truth.

What the frak is this? I managed not to say my real name, but instead gave a half-truth, "Proctor. Perseus Proctor."

"Miranda Lytvyn, a pleasure to meet you." Her eyes never changed. They were still cold and inscrutable.

"What the hell was that?" I swore.

"My little secret. We have much in common, Perseus, from what I saw down there." The grip on my bicep never faltered, "That was impressive."

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked, my voice feigning innocence while a smirk graced my lips.

Miranda laughed, exposing very white and even teeth, her hand now dropping from my arm, "You manipulated the entire Nemesis Cabin, but me."

"Thank you, although that is a somewhat dubious compliment."

"It is indeed. You remind me quite a bit of myself, Mr. Proctor. With your unfortunate first name and your parentage, I can see several unfortunate accidents happening in the future. If you would like, I can show you how to overcome such things."

"And what experience do you have with "such things", Miranda?"

Miranda laughed again, a beautiful sound, "Why, Mr. Proctor, in the beginning, most wanted nothing to do with me."

"Now?" I prodded.

"Now they all fear me." Miranda bared her teeth, "I have turned what might have been Tartaurus into a virtual paradise."

I raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent.

"I showed them I was the meanest, most cunning, and toughest bitch here. I think you could possibly be useful, with some time and effort." Our eyes met, mine black, cold and calculating, hers blue and ruthlessly cunning.

Slowly, I bared my teeth the same way she did, "I think this could be the start of a beautiful relationship, Miss Lytvyn."

Miranda elegantly rose from where we had sat down, "Come see me tomorrow, after Archery."

She walked away, every movement graceful, but measured. Even still, her entire body swayed enticingly as she walked. I just entered a deal with the devil. Let's see which of us two can outwit the other.

But, more shockingly to me, I felt something I hadn't since there was an explosion in Camp Half-Blood, and a chat in a certain elevator going to the Underworld.

Percy's POV

I had woken up at four o' clock, purely based on habit, and looked around my room. It was, of course, underground, but you couldn't tell if you ignored the lack of windows. Since I had about three hours to burn before everyone else woke up, I set to business.

First was to summon Shadow into my hand, then hide it under my bed. While I could still use it's powers without touching it, the closer it was, the better. Without holding it or having it on my body, I couldn't wield the levels of power I was used to, but it was still a lot better than my powers before I had the Sword.

With that out of the way, I took out a drachma, and threw it into a screen of mist I had summoned, "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Judge Minos, in the Underworld."

Moments later, Minos' masked face appeared, "Proctor. Report."

"I have been accepted into the Nemesis Cabin, and am building trust. Is there any change in the prisoner?"

"No." With that, Minos broke the call.

Sighing, I sat back down on the bed, thinking about how to treat Miranda. Obviously, she was powerful and somewhat influential. She was feared, which would probably make her more interested in my plan. She was elegant and beautiful, both necessary qualities that I would need once I make contact with Octavian. Lastly, Miranda Lytvyn was ruthless and very cunning, both huge pluses.

Zoe was a good fighter, but wasn't as intelligent in terms of politicking, nor as cold-blooded as I would need her to be. I couldn't rely on her as much as I'd like. Sasha had many of the same qualities as Miranda, but she would be way to protective of me. Anyone who insulted me might be killed, and she -by my estimate- wasn't as well versed in clever speaking. And I couldn't have a servant fulfill the role Miranda might. Yeah, might. Remember, Proctor, she can always refuse. Then you'd have to remove her, wouldn't you? Or would you defy the Judges?

I went to the ring of couches -which was the room from which all the bedrooms came off of- and spent the next hours debating how much I should keep from Miranda. Eventually, I decided to show her most of my abilities and skills, but keep quite about my past. If there was going to be a rumor going around that my last name was Proctor, I was screwed already. Although I won't have any control over her, at least, that was the impression I got.

Naturally, that ended with me leaning back against the wall near her door, ready to ambush her as she came out. I needed to make it clear that I wasn't to be used and cast aside like many she'd probably talked to before.

For my plan, I needed a knife, but getting a Celestial Bronze one would be far too innocent and "easy" sounding. There was only one Deathbreath here that had Stygian Iron weapons, so I shadow-traveled myself into the Hades Cabin, behind a pair of skeleton guards, and stole his entire belt by shadow-traveling it from his body, then I returned the sword.

I could've, of course, just retrieved one of my own, but I needed Miranda to know that I actually stole the blade, and that Nico had no idea who did.

A few others got out of there rooms before Miranda did, and turned to me, but I saw there eyes flick from me to Miranda's door, then they gulped nervously and walked away. Looks like you were right, Machiavelli, fear is a powerful motivator. What are you doing, hiding in the shadows behind Minos?

Miranda walked out at seven o' clock exactly. She didn't look tired, or even drowsy. There wasn't a blond hair out of place on her perfect head. She was wearing a form-fitting black button-down shirt over dark blue jeans. A simple, thin gold necklace graced her neck, completing her blend of elegance and practicality.

Tapping into Shadow, I used the same ability I used the last time I was in camp, -when killing Oliver- making me almost unnoticeable in the dim lighting. Miranda strode out of her room confidently, but the second she passed me by, my knife was pressed into her back.

"Good morning, Miss Lytvyn." I nearly whispered, my lips close to her ear.

"Clever, although sneaking a knife into camp is hardly an accomplishment." Miranda said, "And you lack the right location for this kind of work."

Miranda spun, something glinting in her hand that I didn't notice when she walked out, but I caught the small knife she had on my dagger.

"Ah, but this is no ordinary dagger." I smirked, "I believe this one in unique in the camp."

Miranda let a short laugh escape her full red lips, "One night here, and you have already stolen from one of the most powerful demigods in camp. This could indeed be the start of a fruitful relationship."

To my surprise, the small knife I had blocked turned into a ring that was around her middle finger. I stuck the dagger I had stolen from Nico through my belt. Right now, I was wearing a tight black t-shirt that hid none of my muscles, blue jeans and a black leather belt. I'll just have to do my best to hide it from Nico.

On the way to the Dining Pavilion for breakfast, I walked to the right and very slightly behind Miranda, emphasizing the fact that she had taken me under her wing. I wasn't subservient to her, but neither were we equals yet

I sat at the Nemesis table while Miranda went to serve herself, and while she was gone, the sixteen year-old boy from last week sat down next to me, on the opposite side of the seat I had left for Miranda.

"Hey, I'm Sean. I'll get you up to speed on everything here in a few meetings." He said, holding out his hand.

I shook it, "Nice to meet you."

"How 'bout after Archery for starters?" Sean suggested.

"Sorry, I'm meeting Miranda then." I shrugged apologetically.

Sean frowned, "Miranda?"

"Miranda Lytvyn, a bit taller then me, dark blonde?" I listed.

"Dark is the right word." Sean muttered under his breath, then spoke up, "Miranda has a creepy rep, man. You sure you want to hang with her alone?"

"He's right, Perseus." A girl added, who sat on the other side of Sean, "Once, in CTF, she put half the older Ares campers in the infirmary. No one could prove it was her, but everybody knew. She's bad business."

"They deserved worse, Olivia." A new voice spoke from behind the girl. Miranda, of course, "Did your parents never tell you not to speak poorly of your superiors? It can lead to some . . . . painful conclusions, if you start spreading rumors."

Olivia flinched as Miranda laid a hand on her shoulder, then stepped purposefully next to me and sat down. Miranda smiled at me, but it was the expectant kind of smile, and I picked up on what she wanted me to do. I stood up, turning and striding over to the buffet. Remembering what Miranda had on her plate, I took three slices of French toast, a sunny-side up egg, and a few strips of bacon. Not exactly what she had, but similar tastes.

As I glanced back, I could see Miranda talking to the two of them, undoubtedly instructing them on what they needed to do to remain on her "good" side. I snorted. As if Miranda Lytvyn had a good side.

I stood at the sausages, as if debating whether to have some while watching the Nemesis table out of the corner of my eye. Once I saw Miranda put a hand on each of their shoulders, I knew that conversation was just about over, so I took some sausages, dumped them all in the brazier along with a slice of French Toast as an offering to Nemesis, then returned to the table.

Sean and Olivia were very pale, and Miranda was smirking contentedly. I nodded to her before sitting down, but before we could talk, there was a rather large disturbance.

"Travis, Connor, give it back. Now." There was no mistaking the danger in Nico Di Angelo's voice, but the twin sons of Hermes unfortunately had no idea what he was talking about.

I, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was talking about.

"So, you managed to steal something from a son of Hades without any traces, despite the traps and skeleton guards?" Miranda raised an eyebrow.

Knowing she expected modesty, I smirked back, "Yep. Wasn't that hard."

Miranda was apparently thrown just the tiniest bit off balance with my bold reply, but her features smoothed over after that flicker of motion, "You know he will approach this table soon. We are far from the most trusted of cabins."

I smiled easily, "I know, Lytvyn, but where is that dagger now?"

I had shadow-traveled it back to my room while Miranda was looking at my eyes. To my surprise, however, she didn't even glance down, "Gone, of course. I would not be sitting next to you if I believed you would get caught with that in your possession."

Interesting. Afraid of Nico? Possibly. Most likely is she would look weak if one of the people she associated with -me- was forced to knuckle under. And the way she runs things here, she's anything but weak.

The rest of breakfast passed with little incident, then our first activity was Swordsmanship. Or rather, Whatever-Your-Chosen-Melee-Weapon-Is-Manship.

"Alright, pair off." Cameron shouted was we entered the training arena, then turned to me, "We'll have to get you something."

Cameron lead me outside of, going to what looked like a rather large shed.

"Let's see. Here, try this." Cameron handed me a spear, but it was to short for me, and the balance was off.

"No, no, that won't work." Cameron took it back, then handed me a broadsword. I knew how to use it, of course, but again, the balance was off.

"Could I get one?" I asked.

Cameron shrugged, "Why not?"

Looking carefully at the different swords, I found one that seemed to be the right length. After I took it from the shed, it fit almost perfectly in my hands. This works.

"How's this?" I held it up for Cameron.

"That'll do." Cameron led me back to the arena, where he drew his own sword.

"We'll be attacking each other, just so I can get a feel for what you know and what you don't." Cameron said, "If you feel like you're getting overwhelmed, tell me. I don't want to earn Nemesis any extra chores 'cause you died."

We stood a few feet away from each other, the Cameron started with an overhead blow. Time to make an impression. Dropping my own sword, I used my bare left hand to slap Cameron's blade aside, then threw a cross that connected with his stomach. Cameron was shocked for a moment, which I took advantage of, hitting him in the chest with a jab then on the jaw again with a cross. I caught the demigod as he fell forward, unconscious.

"What'd you do to him?" Olivia asked, apparently not having seen the brief fight.

"We fought. I won." I shrugged like it was no big deal, but I could see Miranda out of the corner of my eye. She was looking at me like my value to her had just increased a small bit.

"He's the second-best fighter in Nemesis!" Olivia protested, "How did you beat him?"

Cameron groaned, making me smirk, "Maybe he can tell you."

"You all right?" I asked, waving my hand over Cameron's face.

"Yeah, yeah, fine." I helped him stand upright, "Perseus, this time, use the sword."

I groaned, "Fine."

This time, when he attacked, I made it look like I could barely hold him off, but I could tell a certain blonde with ice-cold eyes wasn't fooled.

A/N: Miranda's powers, I think, will be explained in the next chapter, so I won't be keeping you in the dark about that. Obviously, Percy doesn't have the Olympian's best interests at heart, and I will be keeping you in the dark about the master plan.

Oh, and I don't suppose any of you would be interested in beta-reading this?

Please review, follow, favorite, whatever. If you don't my ghost will haunt you after I die from starvation.