AN: Sorry about the delay, I was going to inform you but I didn't finish this chapter in time. Full AN(s) and info below.

Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to the PJO universe.

PERCY POV. 937 PM

It did, in fact, hurt more than that lightning bolt.

Right now, Percy was nursing more than a couple new bruises and more than a few new cuts. Oh, the sacrifices he made - but Annabeth was worth it. (And catching up with the naiads got him more than a few new friends on his side).

While he was taping up his cuts, Percy was mentally trying to compose a hit-list. Of friends, duh, not enemies that he didn't have. At least, that he hoped he didn't have. Thank the gods that they didn't publicly voice their hatred, because imagine the effects! Everything would be ripped away in an instant. Everything that he had worked so hard for, for so long, and so hard. And... never mind, it was just the ADHD brain getting away with him again. It was time to stop thinking depressive thoughts and start working.

Hit-list, hit-list, hit-list… Who would give Percy the most strategic advantage? Perhaps Clarisse, as she had the whole Ares cabin on her side, but all of them tend to be volatile. Percy didn't want the campers blaming him if they went on another looting spree. He shuddered as he thought of the last one that they had went on - at least five Apollo kids landed in the infirmary that day. The Ares cabin, however, was about six thousand dollars richer.

Grover and Juniper might work. The nature spirits would make great followers, but Percy's loyalty was to the campers and not the spirits. He would always sacrifice the dryads and satyrs for the sakes of the campers, and if he was placed in that situation, the nature spirits would never forgive him. And, Percy could expect complaints from every single "flowers, frolicking, and fun" deity, turning their children against him. He would be known as an oathbreaker and the campers, whom he would give up anything to protect, would leave him. No, the risk was too great. This temporary advantage would not be worth it.

Percy chewed on his lip. The Hunters, maybe? Sure, if they could get over their hatred of men and their absolutely terrible leader. They would create a great advantage, as the camp's only archers were the ten members of the Apollo cabin. Having twenty or so more would be wonderful. Also, they were okay - not good, not bad - at hand to hand combat, unlike the Apollo cabin, so they could at least defend themselves. As for stealth, they were unmatched. Nobody at camp was very sneaky; they were all kind of ingrained in the "charge and slash" mindset. On a battlefield, okay, go ahead. When carrying out quests, well, Percy would have died twenty times over without the Hunters.

But, hello? Underlying problem here. They would never work with males, much less the camp which they detested so much. Artemis would never allow them to, and they're all just followers who don't dare to think for themselves. The goddess needed to open her damn mind, which she should have a lot of experience with, considering that she's like three millennia old. The whole group is composed of misandrists (which, personally, disgusted Percy). However, he couldn't exactly voice his opinion to the group. First off, they would probably kill him. Second, he would probably become a jackalope. Third, he would make enemies of his cousin and her friends, which definitely would not help his cause. So the Hunters were off the table.

Speaking of the Hunters, Percy decided that it was late enough to sneak into the Artemis cabin without being caught. Even though he didn't agree with the Hunters' cause, he did love his cousin and he was pretty curious. Anyways, if he wasn't, Percy would have to swallow his pride someday. Making friends was essential to his mission, which was keeping the camp safe and his image pristine. But for now, it was time to go meet his cousin and to get his questions answered.

(line break)

Nine on a Saturday night was not curfew, thank the gods. The harpies were gnashing their teeth, looking especially hungry, but Saturday night was party night for the older campers, who would not hesitate to carve up a few chickens. Even Chiron sympathized with the campers - a few millenia of governing kids teaches you a lesson or two. In this case, the lesson was to always let the older kids have fun (or else total anarchy occurs, but that's a story for another time, isn't it?)

To make sure that the maximum amount of admirers were watching him, Percy decided to stroll into the front door. Not even knocking, too. So, he swaggered across the camp, signing a few foreheads and searching for weak links. One person might get him killed, after all - loyalty tends to compel you to jump in front of a blade for a single person.

Five minutes, a karaoke cameo, and a nectar pong game later (ultra high stakes! drink too much and you burn away into dust!), he stood in front of the Artemis cabin. He stared warily at the (much too) lifelike jackalope head mounted by the door, before steeling himself to walk in. And just as he turned the doorknob, Thalia burst out!

"Kelp Head, my cuz! Were you really going to come in without knocking? Tut, tut. Look at that guilty face. Remember that I lead a group of badass man haters who would love to kick some Cabin 3 butt!"
Percy shook his head with a grin. "Thalia, never change. And how could I forget? One of them is the reason why I'm here in the first place".

Her shoulders dropped a bit. "Of course. Come on in. I'll even forgive you just this once".

"Whatever you say, Pinecone Face. I'm betting that you'll take it out on me somehow".

She sent a mini lightning bolt at his cheek. "Don't overstep your boundaries, now".

(line break)

Percy walked into Thalia's room, slamming the door, and flopped down on the queen-size bed. "Gods, you live the life!"
"Perks of being the lieutenant," she smirked. "Water? Tea? Gotta keep that kelp moist, you know. Otherwise, it dies".

"Was that a death threat?"

"What are you talking about?"

The door creaked open, interrupting the two cousins' friendly banter. Percy's head snapped towards the sound, hand already at his pocket, but Thalia simply waved the intruder over.

"Percy, this is my newest Hunter, Joon. Joon, meet my cousin. Introductions are done, try not to kill me with your question-"

"Holy Medusa, Thalia! Since when did you start allowing boys into the hunt?"

"Since it became acceptable for guys to like guys," Joon laughed.

She scowled. "What a friendly greeting, Percy! Where are your manners?"

"I was surprised, okay? And Joon, aren't you a guy yourself? How does that work?"

"This girl-" Joon jerked his thumb at Thalia, "still hangs out with you and Nico, right? To be a Hunter, you do have to hate males at least a little, but it's mainly devotion and virginity. And by the way, I was barely a virgin when Artemis found me. Apparently, even gay bars aren't completely safe. That was what turned me off, I suppose. Plus, I do have to agree that some guys are pretty trash. But some girls are too, right?"

Thalia slapped Joon's hand. "If you value your well-being, don't say that with my Hunters in the next room! But yeah, Joon is about as straight as a rainbow. We thought it was safe to allow Joon in, after a heavy background check and initiation process, of course. Just in case, any complete purists haven't been allowed to meet him yet. We just call him June behind our backs".

"Like Juno? Because I could definitely see Joon in hippie clothes. He would rock it".

The hippie shuddered. "As a certified Korean gay guy, I can say that it would look terrible. My complexion looks terrible with bright colors, and besides, my fashion icons are the members of BTS, and definitely not Jeff Lebowski".

Percy shrugged. "You do you, Joon. But I hope to see you in bell bottoms soon. As for the Hunt, I would definitely be watching my back. Who knows what these girls are capable of?"

"Anything," he replied with a completely straight face.

"He's right!" Thalia chimed in.

"Then good luck. Nice meeting you".

(line break)

Ten minutes later, Percy was slithering away from the Artemis cabin. Turns out that the harpies were staying up unusually late tonight. Even with Chiron's protection, he was feeling a little wary. But he decided to risk it - his friends would bail him out if he got in trouble, and being a troublemaker would have the girls flocking after him. (Percy had already weighed that decision carefully, especially the part about the girls. He wouldn't tell Annabeth, or else she would beat him up worse than she already did. But have no fear, because he was absolutely devoted to her: problem was that the camp was another responsibility that Percy had to focus on.) That brought him to this point, where he was crawling through the bushes behind the cabin.

Suddenly, Percy heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He barely flinched, but that was apparently enough movement for the mystery person to see him. A hand came flashing down and grabbed his collar, yanking him upright and disorienting him.

"Ughhhh," he said. Very wisely, of course.

The person, whose face was obscured by a cloak, clapped a hand over Percy's mouth. "Shut the hell up!" Percy noticed, in some corner of his brain, that the person had a feminine voice. Would that mean anything?

He hissed through his teeth, trying to gather his bearings. "Let me go or I will make you. You don't want to see me get angry. I have places to be and I'm sure that you do too".

"Oh, looks like somebody's feeling like a big boy today. Do you want to try me?"

Percy grinned, whipping his head back and relishing the feel of his skull cracking against his opponent's teeth. As her grip loosened, he jerked away from her and snatched Riptide from his pocket, ready to face anything.

The girl (or boy?) barely giggled, a humorless sound. In a matter of seconds, she cracked her knuckles and sent a punch flying his way. He ducked, cleanly avoiding the blow, and got into a defensive position. But as he uncapped Riptide, she seemed to disappear into thin air, reforming behind him. Percy didn't even get a chance to turn around before she punched him in the head.

"Brass knuckles", he breathed as the world spun in circles. The next thing he saw was a flash of gold, then absolute darkness.

AN: Was not planning to let this chapter end here, but the next chapter benefits from the extra words. The perfect point to end the next chapter happened (and it was already written as well as it was going to get). So, rather than having a 667 word chapter (sorry my goffik satinistz but I don't want to proof the whole thing to get rid of one word) and a 3000 - 4000 word chapter, I just said "screw it", threw in two extra scenes, and cut off a page or three. Also, question of the chapter is my new thang! Down below:

Previously Written AN: The publish date, December 19th, was my birthday. I didn't have a great day. Writing helped me calm down a bit . Thank you to all who read, reviewed, whatever. Also, I'm on (at time of writing) a weeklong cruise without wifi, so sorry about that, but with my life, you should get used to it. Moving on! Any ideas are welcome, especially romance-y ideas. Love and thanks from Aki.

Question of the Chapter: Favorite Christmas cookie?