I FINALLY HAVE THE UPDATE! Gosh, it's been long, hasn't it? Thank you for waiting... I'm sorry. Again. Thankfully, I'll be able to update much more frequently when summer vacation rolls around. YASS! Sorry again, please review...

Oh, and in response to a comment I got:

To Daap

Thanks for the feedback, but next time, could u write in English? I only have a small level of Spanish. But from what I gathered: You're asking if this story has to be Pertemis and if Percy could fall for another girl who isn't Annabeth.

So, in response to your question, when I started this fic, I wanted to see how I could start, then see if a Pertemis could work out. The more I got into the story, the more I intended to make this a Pertemis. And, like, I've already put so many Artemis POVs and all so... Sorry if it disappoints you, but I think I'm going to keep it a Pertemis. Thanks again for the feedback,

Hope you enjoy this chapter! ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, or its characters, except for the OCs. Everything else belongs to Rick Riordan.

Artemis POV

After having a nice laugh at Athena's humiliation (courtesy of Genesis), I walk back to Cabin Eight. Only about three of my Hunters are there, I greet them and softly close the door to my private room (that appeared when I first walked in.) I lay down on my bed after slowly taking my gear off. I get barely five minutes of rest when someone slams the door to the cabin. I hear a little yelling, so I exit my room to see my lieutenant, Thalia, fuming on her bunk, surrounded by Phoebe, Atlanta and Helen (another Hunter.) She seems to be cursing the Annabeth girl and her girlfriend. I sigh a little and head towards them.

"What's the matter, Thalia?" She glances up at me. All I see in her eyes is absolute anger and sadness.

"Annabeth… she and her boyfriend are absolute scoundrels." I look at her in concern.

"Is this about Percy, Thalia?" She looks down, and that's enough for me. I know Thalia and Percy had a close, brother-sister kind of relationship. After a while, she speaks again.

"She… she doesn't seem to really remember what she did. Or she does, but she thinks it's not that important. She killed my brother and she doesn't seem to care." Her voice shakes a little. I try to find the right words to comfort her, but Phoebe gets there first. She pats her friend's back slowly, looking at her sympathetically.

"He's not dead, Thalia. Hades confirmed that." It's a weak argument, but at least it's something. Percy was, by far, the one boy my Hunters could bear to talk with. Thalia puts her head in her hands.

"What's the point of that? He's nowhere. He's completely disappeared off the face of the world. It's been five years, Phoebe. Unless he's in Alaska, which he isn't, he's gone. Dead, disappeared… same thing. I'll never see him again."

I'll never see him again. Her words echo in my head. Never see him again. Why do I have a feeling I already have? We stay there in silence for a moment, when an amused voice splits it.

"What would you do if you did see him again?" Every single Hunter in the cabin spins towards the voice, bows or knives or pillows raised. A tall, hooded figure steps out, hands raised in surrender. I roll my eyes slightly, lowering Thalia's pillow.

"What are you doing here, Genesis? How long have you been here?" It comes out a little more aggressive than I intended, but he only laughs a little and stretches.

"You haven't answered my question. What would you do if you saw him again?" Thalia growls at him. Why is he trying to provoke her?
"Why do you ask, I won't see him again. Why imagine useless things?" Genesis cocks his head and opens his mouth again.

"What if I told you he wasn't dead?" Silence. Then Thalia lunges towards him. Caught off guard or on purpose, Genesis tumbles backwards. He quickly regains his balance, and a lopsided grin is visible under his hood.

"Don't you ever. Make light of this. Or else you'll be sorry." Thalia hisses at him. Genesis replies with a breathy laugh.

"I'm not making light of anything. I've met him. He misses you guys, too." I look at him, stunned. So does everyone else.

"Uh… did I say something?" Thalia looks like she can't stay standing much longer. She slumps on her bed again.

"What- you're serious? Where is he? Is he in your army? How is he?"

"You remind me of Athena. I… haven't seen him in a while. I don't know if he's in the army of not. There are a lot of soldiers; I can't keep track of all of them. As far as I know, he's not in my or any of the Guardians' army. Last time I saw him… he was fine, I guess." Probably unable to take the silence anymore, Genesis turns and exits the cabin. The rest of us stay frozen. I'm the first one to recover. Glancing back at my shocked Hunters, I rush out of the cabin in pursuit of Genesis. Spotting him close to the canoe lake, I run to him as fast as I can, calling out his name.

"Wait! Genesis!" He turns to face me and waves.

"Hullo, Lady Artemis. What's up?" I stare at him. It's like he forgot what just happened.

"Back in the cabin, you said… you said you'd met Percy." He nods slowly.

"Yes…"

"Were you telling the truth?"

"Of course I was! Do I look like the kind of guy to lie?"

"Well, I don't know, do I, since no one knows what you look like under the hood." He grunts in consent. A small smile appears on his lips.

"Would you like to see what I look like?" I nod eagerly. He laughs and runs away from me, shouting over his shoulder.

"Well, you won't!" After processing what just happened, I scream in frustration. I feel tempted to run after him, but that would be childish. Plus, he's heading straight towards his cabin. Rolling my eyes a little and marveling at how Genesis seems to be serious and mysterious one second and childish and playful the next, I stalk back to Cabin Eight. It's strange, like there are two sides of him straining to come out. Whoever or whatever he is, I like him. Not like that. Of course not! …Right? I don't even know anymore. My heart feels like one big wad of confusion.

I change direction and make a beeline to the beach, where the sun will be setting soon enough. Once there, I crouch down at the line where the forest and the beach meet. Breathing in the clear air and enjoying the soft breeze, I let my mind go blank. It can't be impossible to have some peace and quiet in this place, can it? Right on cue, a slight rustling interrupts my meditation of sorts and stops right behind me. A finger pokes my back, none too gently. Recognizing its owner, I groan.

"What do you want?" My brother grins cockily at me and replies instantly.

"Why would I want anything? Maybe I only wanted to watch the setting me and cool down. Why do you automatically assume I'm here just to annoy/bother you?" I glare viciously at him and stand up slowly.

"Don't make me laugh. Seriously, what do you want? You better have a good reason. Or else you're getting another arrow in your head." Still grinning, he ruffles my hair (earning him a punch to the gut).

"Come on, little sis! I'm going to the archery range… are you up for an archery contest?"

"Are you kidding me? You interrupted me for that? And I was born first, you dolt!"

"What's a dolt?"

"Never mind, let's just go."

"Yay!"

Nico POV

"Nico! Wait up, man!" I turn at Jason's voice and stop in my tracks.

"What's up, Grace?" I greet my friend as he catches up to me. He grabs my arm none too gently and practically drags me over to… Bunker 9?!

"Will you stop dragging me?" I yell and struggle out of Jason's grip. I rub my arm. "What the Hades, man?" He ignores me completely and slams his hand on the boulder.

"Leo! Open up! It's me!" Slowly, the boulder rolls away to reveal the entrance. I follow Jason reluctantly, still rubbing my arm. After I get used to the dim light, I'm surprised to see the seven (minus Annabeth, of course), Thalia, Grover and Reyna standing there.

"Frank? Hazel? Reyna? What are you guys doing here? When did you come?" Hazel runs up to me and hugs me.

"Hey, Nico! We just came; the rest of Camp Jupiter will be coming later."

"It's nice to see you and all… but why am I here?" Grover looks at me and replies quietly.

"We needed everyone here, Nico. You're one of his oldest friends."

"Who's oldest friend?" I ask, already dreading the answer. Sure enough, the one word the satyr pronounced nearly shattered me.

"Percy." I let the silence wash over me. Finally, I ask reluctantly,

"What about Percy?" Grover stays silent, but Piper answers me.

"Someone claims to have seen him." My head snaps up so quick I wince.

"What? Who?" Thalia, who was silent until now, looks at me straight in the eye.

"Genesis."

"What?" My eyes nearly pop out of my head.

"You heard me. I was in cabin 8 with Lady Artemis and a few Hunters after a squabble with Annabeth… then Genesis appeared out of nowhere. He said he'd met Percy… and then he left." Frank is the first to respond.

"So… do you think he's telling the truth?" Thalia shrugs.

"Maybe… he didn't seem to be kidding." I stagger back and sit on a big hunk of metal. It creaks under my weight, but I ignore it. I'm too stunned. Leo speaks for me.

"So what do we do about it?" Our thoughts are interrupted by a loud crash. The metal hunk breaks in half and I topple backwards, my backside hitting the floor none too gently. It takes all my willpower not to cry out.

"Ow…" My friends stare at me for a second, and they burst out laughing. I'm pretty sure I'm redder than a tomato, but eventually I let out a small laugh too. Laughter's contagious. But everyone soon gets serious again (except for Leo). Soon enough, we're back on track. As my friends carry on the conversation, I let my thoughts wander. If that cocky general is telling the truth… how could it be? How could it be that the person we've been searching for 5 years hasn't turned up but has met a complete stranger coming from a different galaxy? (Well, I think they come from a different galaxy. Who knows? I sure don't.) It's too much of a coincidence. Something strange is at work here. And if revealing it means coming closer to finding Percy, than I'm all in. Although I don't have a crush on him anymore, and I've also stopped hero-worshipping him, he's still that big brother I never had. He's family. I just hope, wherever he is, he still thinks of us as that. I've imagined reuniting with my friend many times. In every single one of those fantasies, I hurl myself at him (which, needless to say, is quite unlike me) and attempt to kill him (well, if Thalia didn't get to him first) before grinning and embracing him. Of course, every time I wake up from the fantasias, he's not there. I'm so engulfed in my thoughts I only just realize everyone is looking at me. I blink at them, confused.

"Uh, sorry, what?" Leo rolls his eyes and pretends to look annoyed, but he answers me anyways.

"Beauty Queen here just asked you what you think about all this mess. Do you think the Gene dude was telling the truth?"

"I honestly have no idea what to think anymore. He strikes me as an honest person... I guess."

"Well, then, we'll just have to wait and see." Leo jumps up and flails his hands wildly, shooing us out.

"Alright then! Meeting adjourned! Let's go, people! Hurry along! I've got work to do!" sighing at Leo's antics, I shadow-travel to my cabin. Suddenly feeling a wave of exhaust for some unknown reason, I slump unto my bunk. Of course, when you're a demigod, you only get about five minutes of rest before somebody interrupts you. This time, it was Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes. I lift my head from my pillow a little. Raising my eyebrow a little to ask what he wants, I sit up reluctantly and lean against the bedpost.

"Uh, Chiron wants us to get to the arena for another training session with the Chaos soldiers." I groan.

"When?" He scratches his head.

"Like, now." I jump out of bed, quickly put my shoes on, and follow Chris out, not forgetting my Stygian iron sword, of course. When we get there, the campers are already split up into groups. Genesis, in the middle of the crowd as usual, notices me and waves me over.

"You can choose your group, but choose wisely. You don't get to choose twice."

I can't help scowling at him.

"Why? Don't we change groups every day anyways?" He looks at me, or I think he does, and I suddenly feel like I've just asked a dumb question. Sure enough, he smirks a little and opens his mouth again.

"No, the groups now aren't going to change anymore. It's very time consuming. So choose one." Shrugging, I quickly glance at the different groups. After a moment of hesitation, I opt for Hazel, Frank, and Reyna's group. Soon enough, each group has gone their different ways, led by a different Chaos general. Mine is to be taught by Quicksand, Guardian of earth.

After a brief introduction, he tells us we'll be practicing hand-to-hand fighting. Sighing, I discard my sword. I hate wrestling. Quicksand shows us a few techniques (most of which we already know) and pairs us up. Hazel gets paired with a Demeter boy, Frank with another Ares boy and Reyna with a Hypnos boy. I get paired with a one of Eric's 'friends', Mike, a preposterous son of Aphrodite who is, unlike his siblings, quite good at fighting. He's got a pretty face: longish, sandy hair with misty green eyes, and a pointed nose. But his arrogance shows in his eyes and he follows Eric around like a puppy. He's got no brains. Still, he's strong, and although I could beat him with a sword, my chances don't seem that big in hand-to-hand. Groaning inwardly, I go into the small circle to fight. This is so going to be long.

-TIME SKIP- 1 YEAR LATER

I huff in annoyance as my opponent's sword almost gets me. I let my guard down for a second and this is what happens. I quickly retaliate, slamming my blade against his hilt to destabilize him, and then quickly spinning to point the tip of my blade to his chest. He admits defeat, shakes my hand and slinks off to find another opponent.

It's been like this for a year now, this daily routine. We still have fun stuff like Capture the Flag and campfires and such, but the training has gotten so much more intense. Although I must admit everyone has gotten more skilled thanks to the lessons we get from the Chaos soldiers everyday. And our godly parents visit often too to note our progress. I'd like to say we've grown much closer to the soldiers, but in truth, most of us are still kind of scared of them. They keep to themselves, even if I usually see Genesis and his friends hanging out and chilling like normal friends would do. Once, they flew off to who knows where and came back two hours later, splattered with paint and gross-looking slime. I must say, I envied them at that moment.

We haven't gotten many attacks ever since the whole deal with Hyperion, spare a few stray monsters chasing new campers now and then. We haven't gotten as many new campers as we used to for some reason; but not one kid who's tried to come has died… so that's good. Over the year, one daughter of Aphrodite, one daughter of Hypnos, two sons of Hecate, one son of Mars, and two children of Hermes have crossed the boundary line. That son of Mars though; he arrived in Camp Jupiter, and it was deserted, save for the families and a few legionnaires. Poor bloke, he must have been really confused. He eventually found his way here. Most of them, except for two, are under 12, but they still train just as hard as the others. Genesis has everyone, including his own soldiers, pushing themselves to their limit. Sometimes even further. Speaking of Genesis… there he is right now, where I see him often. Near the creek, perched on a tree, gazing at… well, me. In my general direction, anyway. I look around to see if they're here. Yup, they are. The Hunters. For the past year Genesis has been following them with his eyes (if he has any, who knows what's under his hood). I've started to think he has a crush on one of them. I've mentioned it to Thals, but she didn't seem to hear me. She was practicing her archery, so maybe she was just distracted.

Wiping a bead of sweat from my eyebrow, I follow the horn sound to the mess hall. Ever since the Chaos soldiers have come and all the campers have been practically living together, no one really stays in their respective tables anymore. For example, nowadays it's completely normal to see an Apollo camper eating next to a Hypnos camper and facing an Athena camper. Of course, the Chaos soldiers don't mingle. They barely talk to us. After having finished my meal, I yawn and walk back to my cabin. I'm too exhausted for the campfire. I'm just going to sleep. I quickly change into a loose shirt and shorts and let Morpheus take me.

Genesis (Percy) POV

This is so annoying. Annabeth and Eric keep on trying to get me to let my identity slip. They just can't let it go, can they? Just five minutes ago they tried to take my hood off while they thought I was distracted. I had to fling them into the creek to get them to get out of my face. I had to endure one year of this, and it's really starting to bother me. I decide to take a quick swim to cool off. Careful not to be followed by anyone, I sneak off to a more secluded part of the beach and dive in (after changing into swim trunks, of course). I shut my eyes and my thoughts wash over me. Familiar faces float in front of my closed eyes. Grover, Nico, Thals, Jason, Leo, Dad, Mom… Oh Styx! MOM! Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods… I totally forgot to… oh my gods… I'm dead. But should I let mom know I'm back? Of course I should, she's your MOM, kelp head! But no one's supposed to know you're alive! She's your MOM! And she hasn't seen you for SIX YEARS! She's probably heartbroken! I take a few deep breaths and calm myself. Alright. Alright. Alright. I can do this. I can do this.

3rd person POV

Percy zooms out of the water; quickly flashes his clothes and armor back on, spreads his wings, and flies away as fast as he can. Towards Manhattan. Towards his home. He's so flustered he doesn't notice the clear water washing up on the shore, further than it's supposed to, and slowly forming a shape.

What do you think? Feedback is appreciated, and every one of your reviews makes me smile. Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you want will happen next! Thanks again!