(A/N Okay, this and the next are pretty long. Especially in comparison to the other chapters in this fic.

Artemis is a little out of character in this chapter, but I try to explain reasoning for that in text.

Also, I'm really bad at writing attraction! Haha rereading this I just wanted to delete it and find something, anything, better. But no. This is the best I could do lol.

Well, I hope you enjoy!)

7 years after Trials of Apollo

Percy

Percy decided he likes the Egyptians. Sure, they were a little weird, well a different kind of weird, but they treated him well and knew a lot of tricks to keep monsters away.

It was a fun conversation when he learned Rachel lived across the street from them in Brooklyn. She couldn't figure out why he kept laughing.

He and the Kanes had kept in closer contact after Chiron had informed him and Annabeth about the 'joint task force.' Annabeth's connection to Magnus made her the easy center for overlapping quests and Percy would be damned if he wouldn't be by her side every step of the way.

He wasn't visiting on 'business' this time though. Carter needed a breather from his pharoah duties and had Percy come along. They tried to invite Annabeth too, but she was a bit...occupied. Of course simply painting a room wouldn't work, she had to build a whole other addition to their house to accommodate a nursery. Percy and Ryan both thought the spare bedroom would have been fine, but Annabeth already had the blueprints in her head. So when the two got home from their first doctor's appointment Percy was called over to help with manual labor. Truthfully, he was relieved for the break from Annabeth's craziness. She seemed to take 'baby brain,' as they were referring to it, to the extreme.

Ryan was a son of Vulcan and he could hardly keep up with the Wise Girl.

Percy smiled and took a few shots of his surroundings. He would make his friends at home jealous. After monster-proofing his scent the Kane's gave him a ride to ancient Greece. They had to check in at the nome, but everyone thought it was for the best if Percy didn't tag along. So he was sightseeing. And it felt wonderfully mundane. He had no doomsday deadline and there were no immediate threats. He could be any one of the millions of mortals on Earth right then, not the son of Poseidon.

Seeing a nature trail he hiked towards the mountains a bit. Sure, he felt like he was tempting fate, but it was so nice to do something whimsical for once. Not training or fighting.

About a mile into his excursion he heard a voice cursing and grunting in ancient Greek. He sighed heavily and pulled Riptide from his jacket pocket. As he silently approached the source of the noise it changed to an outraged cry, followed by heavy panting and muttering. Stepping around a tree he saw a young woman strung up by her ankle. The glowing gold string that held her seemed to be from a modified hunting trap. There were wooden gears that Percy didn't understand fastened on a nearby tree. They seemed in perfect order and attached to a pulley that was acting as a counterweight to the girl.

The girl had become deathly still and silent when Percy made his presence known. Neither spoke as he analyzed the trap. After his third pass around the tree the girl huffed.

"Are you going to get me down?"

Percy smirked as he faced her. "Well, I could just cut this," he grabbed one of the ropes, "but then you'd fall ten feet onto your head. I'd rather not break your neck, and these gears seem to be in working order…" he trailed off as he faced the system again.

"The release requires a certain lever," said the girl. "The one who sets the trap is to bring it with them to prevent other hunters from messing with their catch."

Percy made an appreciative face, both for the girl's knowledge and the thought behind such an invention.

"Alright, I'm going to try to counter your weight manually then. Obviously I'm only so tall, so you will fall a short distance. Here," he walked over to her, placing his hands behind her back. She tried to squirm away from his touch. "Reach up and grab the rope. That way when you fall you're less likely to get a concussion." After his explanation, she stopped squirming and allowed him to help her into the said position. "Ready?" She nodded. Right as he drew Riptide to the rope she yelled for him to wait.

"Can you sever the rope as close to the end as possible? I want to collect it." He made a face at her, but complied and soon she was on the ground rubbing her hip. Percy offered her a hand to rise. "Oh." She said with an owlish look as she slowly reached for his hand. She dipped her head and spoke as she stood. "Thank you, Perseus."

Hearing his given name, and knowing that they had not exchanged any sort of pleasantries he took a step back and lifted Riptide into an offensive position.

The girl blinked at him with doe eyes again. Color beginning to flood her cheeks as she recovered from her time upside down. She took a few steps back and managed to trip while doing so, barely catching herself on a tree trunk.

"How do you know me?" Percy demanded.

Her brow furrowed as she tried to regain her footing. She was obviously still dizzy from her flip. He slowly realized the color upon her cheeks was closer to a golden flush than simply recovering from vertigo.

"I- You- I'm-" She swallowed dryly, eyes darting around for a weapon or an escape route. There were none. "You don't recognize me?" Percy squinted, but didn't drop his stance. "I'm effectively mortal at the moment. Please." Percy relaxed because she seemed truly frightened, but he kept Riptide drawn, just in case.

After taking a steadying breath she scowled at his sword.

"Would you put that away," she snapped.

"Just who do you think you are?" he asked, incredulous that she would make such a demand.

"I remember when we first met you asked me that very question. I had to keep Zoë from skewering you because she thought you were being disrespectful," she smiled as she recalled the memory. Percy was stunned as she described his first meeting with the goddess of the Hunt. "I am Artemis." The way she spoke her own name, it almost seemed like a question. It likely was. Artemis had been essentially missing-in-action for 8 years. Her hunters saw her, but she rarely accompanied them now. Her brother, Apollo, was the only Olympian who had seen her with any regularity since he defeated the Triumvirate. She hadn't set foot on Olympus, and she hadn't spoken a word to Zeus.

"Lady Artemis?" Percy wondered aloud. He'd never seen her this old. The Auburn locks were the color she favored. And her skin was the extremely fair pale he knew. Her eyes were the luminescent silvery yellow he remembered, too.

How had he managed to stumble upon her by accident? And why was she "effectively mortal?"

Her eyes continued to dart around, as if she was a trapped animal. Sighing, he capped his sword.

"Do you know where you are?" Many emotions flickered over her face. The obvious fear stayed, but it was accompanied by rage, confusion, and hopefulness.

"I was tracking a beast through Greece. Um, ancient Greece. But you're here…"

"Yeah, I'm here. How long have you been stuck?"

She seemed to relax a little, but she stayed a good distance from him. "Just a few days. It's one of Hephaestus's old traps. I got clumsy."

"When is the goddess of the Hunt clumsy?" Percy mused with a raised eyebrow. Artemis's face burst into that golden blush again.

"I've been siphoning off my abilities recently." She refused to meet his eye, and her blush spread down her throat. Percy tried his hardest not to think it was cute; she was the goddess of maidens after all.

"But you'd still be able to call on them, right?" She reached down and grabbed the golden rope.

"I was already weakened by my own will, then I got snared in this." She scowled at it, and Percy waited patiently for a few moments. "It weakens whatever in encircles. The effect is strenuous and will likely take days to wear off." Her scowl deepened.

"Where have you been Artemis?" Percy asked softly. A lot of people had been worried about her.

"I wanted to know what he went through," she whispered. "But I still had my duties. So, I'd choose a hunt and…"

"And get as close to mortal as you were comfortable with?" She nodded, blushing again and staring out at the trees.

"It's been years." He didn't approach her, though he would have offered a comforting touch to anyone else. She was still distressed, and he didn't want to be a threat.

"I don't go often," she shrugged. "When I do, it makes avoiding him a little easier." Percy nodded.

"I try not to listen to rumors, but I heard you weren't...on speaking terms." She shrugged again.

He scowled looking at the rope.

"You said your godliness will be off for a few days?" She looked at him with those doe eyes again. He knew what most immortals thought of him. He was dangerous. He hated to think that one of those he actually respected feared him too. Did she really expect the worst from him? "I can get us a ride home. We'll call the hunters from there." She furrowed her brow as she processed his words.

"Why not call from here?"

"Too many monsters. I'm testing a bit of anti monster scent, but I felt like I was pushing my luck going for a walk. I'm not going to broadcast my position."

She nodded, scowling further.

"And how far are we from 'home?'"

"You said you knew where we were. I'm not about to calculate that distance from Long Island on the fly."

"Oh! When you appeared I assumed I'd somehow transported back to America."

"Nope," he popped the 'p.'

"Alright…"

That fearfulness appeared again. It really grated Percy's nerves. Of all the gods that should fear him she was nearly at the bottom of the list. Probably Hestia was the only one who competed with her.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said briskly as he returned to the path.

"I-I know," she stuttered.

"Then stop being so skittish." He cringed at the obvious edge in his voice, but kept walking with her a few paces behind him.

"I am not skittish." He stopped abruptly and she yelped as she brushed him, barely making contact. He just scoffed, rolled his eyes and continued walking. After a few paces he glanced over his shoulder to see her cheeks were glowing again. Idly he wondered how far the blush reached, then shook his head from such thoughts. They were disrespectful. He'd simply never seen her this...mature before.

"Where are your weapons?" Surely she had to have had some on her.

"Gone. They are to return to me when I drop them, much like your sword, but when I lost my power…"

"They didn't recognize you?"

"They're probably with Thalia," she answered, shaking her head.

"And why are you so old?" He knew how it sounded when he said it, but he didn't care. The other option was to start acting like Grover had when they'd first encountered the goddess.

"Easier to travel among mortals," she shrugged.

He scowled. If she were anyone else he'd offer a mild compliment, just to let her know he had noticed that she looked good, but he would still be respectful of her personal space. But this was Artemis. She would not accept any compliment as anything but objectivity. So he was stuck chasing stray thoughts out of his head. Gods forbid he accidentally flirt with her; he had no intention of becoming a jackalope. He used to banter with Annabeth all the time before she and Ryan began dating. A lot of people believed they were an item because of how they interacted. This was not Annabeth.

His scowl deepened as he considered explaining who his friends were before making it to the nome. They were Egyptian and he was bringing a Greek goddess to meet them. This could end very poorly…

.

Artemis

"Artemis." Perseus spoke in a sharp tone. He wasn't being curt, the firmness seemed to stem from him considering how to continue.

She was still glad his back was turned and he didn't see her jump. He was right, she was skittish. But she couldn't explain why. She knew he was ridiculously powerful, and that she was humbly incapable at the moment. She didn't like the idea of being at his mercy, but also knew that he wouldn't harm her. She trusted him. But how many times in the last millennia had she actually had to interact with a male that she respected? She didn't know how! She would even admit to admiring the son of Poseidon, but this scenario was entirely foreign to her. It was absolute torture. Every atom in her being was vibrating. It was like she had become an ethereal version of herself, or was mid teleportation for an extended period of time.

He'd aged so well too! He stood tall and lean, his tan skin and sea green eyes as prominent as ever. Jet black hair was just long enough to reach his eyes and stood in every direction. There was a single streak of gray near his temple and she recalled her heart breaking as she handed him the sky. She was always waiting for him to be the arrogant male she expected from any guy, but he kept her waiting.

"Artemis," he began again in his deep and brisk voice. She blushed as she was pulled from her musings. "The friends we're going to see...they're...a bit different. From us."

"They're mortal?"

"Yes and no. I don't really understand…. But no, that's not what I'm getting at. They're um…. Well, you'll see. Just," he turned and looked at her with conflicted eyes, "don't...be too Greek…." He finally finished, cringing. She wondered what he meant by that but nodded her head. She would follow his lead, she trusted him after all.

She scowled. If only she could trust herself around him.

When Percy waved to four young adults she stopped in her tracks.

They were Egyptian.

He knew Egyptians?!

How had they met?

The questions were flying through her mind in such a cluttered fashion that she missed the introductions.

They were all looking at her, expecting some sort of response but she was horrified when she opened her mouth and "They're Egyptian!" fell out. She clamped her mouth shut and felt herself blush again. Seeing Percy roll his eyes only pushed her further into her panicky shame.

What was happening to her?

"I'm guessing you don't mean geographically," said one of the dark skinned boys with an American accent. "Sadie isn't too obvious."

"Well, I was going to let her introduce herself and roll with whatever name she gave...but I guess I might as well tell you?" Percy said, eyeing her. He still left her identity in her own hands, even after she had fumbled whatever idea he had set in motion. She gave a quick nod. "This is Artemis." He pursed his lips after stating it, waiting for their reactions.

"You're named for the moon?" asked the same boy.

"No," said the other, eyeing her in a critical manner. "I don't think you could have hidden her from me Percy."

"Well I figured I'd try," he shrugged. "We've all already agreed the less mixing the better."

"With good reason," she breathed out, trying to stem her panic.

The second boy continued staring at her while everyone else seemed to move on in conversation.

"Are you like me and Sadie?"

"That'd be a definite no," chuckled Percy. She wondered what exactly he meant, then remembered her own vows and mentally smacked her forehead.

"But she's different."

"I'm right here," she snapped.

"Are you? I wasn't sure you recovered," he teased.

"Don't assume to be safe from me, mortal," Artemis glared.

"Don't assume I'm mortal," he smirked.

"Can we just keep moving?" Percy groaned.

"I don't know," replied the tanned girl, "will she handle well on our boat?"

"'Effectively mortal' were her words, so I'm hoping."

The girl nodded and the group followed her to a small river and a boat. Artemis knew what was coming, and she knew she didn't like it.

She was surprised when Percy pulled her hand onto his arm. He didn't grab her, but allowed her to use him as a stress ball as needed. It was sweet.

She schooled her features as she made white handprints on his arm.

.

Percy

Percy hated the Duat, and didn't know how his compatriots used it so often. But as bad as he thought it was, Artemis had it worse. She kept her eyes closed but her face was still a sickly shade and he was sure he'd have a bruise on his arm by the time they made it to Manhattan.

"So," started Sadie, "you're the Greek goddess of the moon?" Artemis simply nodded once. "You're not like Amos was though, right? Greeks are different...so why aren't you-you know-godly?" Carter glared at her and seemed about to tell her off, but Artemis beat him to it.

"I've been taking a reprieve from some of my duties. Experiencing semi-mortality. Then, I was further weakened by a snare I got caught in." She kept her eyes shut and blushed at her admittance, but Percy was impressed she was willing to admit the error to strangers like this.

"And how is being semi-mortal?" Walt asked with a smirk. Percy didn't have him quite figured out. He was a nice kid, but every now and then it was like he was someone else entirely. He remembered sharing his mind with Nekhbet and wondered if that was what Walt was doing, and how often he did it? Didn't the Kanes say that was dangerous?

"Not as bad as being entirely mortal, I assume." Percy snorted at Artemis's response.

"What's with the ruby?"

"Pharaohs! Sadie quit bothering her!"

"Just curious. It doesn't exactly go with the 'paler than thou' theme she has going on."

"'Paler than thou?'" Zia commented with a laugh. Artemis joined her in laughing and began twirling the ring around her finger.

"It was a gift from my sister."

"Don't you have like 62 million of those?" asked Sadie as Carter's eyes popped out of his head.

"I have a few, yeah," answered Artemis with a smile. Percy was relieved she was being so lighthearted.

"Which one?" Sadie pressed. Zia, Walt, and Carter were all paying close attention. They didn't meet Greek gods every day.

"Aphrodite."

"What?" interjected Percy. Artemis looked at him with those big eyes again.

"What?"

"I just...didn't expect you two to get along…"

"Small doses only. We disagree on a lot of things, but that doesn't mean we have to be hostile towards one another."

"Yeah, totally agree. Just don't hear of gods being agreeable often."

"I wish that statement offended me, but you are too right Perseus."

"What is it with all of you calling me that?" he asked, more to himself.

"It is your name, is it not?" Looking at her he couldn't help what came from his mouth next.

"Right, Phoebe. Or would you rather I call you Kourotrophos?" Percy asked sarcastically. He really tried not to take pleasure in the angry glare and bright gold blush that adorned her face at his remark. All four Egyptians were trying not to laugh at their exchange.

He smirked and looked out into the Duat. She still had her hand on his arm.

.

Artemis

They were nearing Camp Half-blood. Artemis was extremely grateful for Percy's help. They agreed to part ways at the camp, Artemis calling to the Hunt and Percy heading back to New Rome.

She'd met his family while they were still in the city. His mother and stepfather were extremely kind, and his sister was a spritely little imp. At 8 years old, she had a mischievous smile and a love of pranks. Not to mention her childish frankness.

It was obvious the girl was like her mother and could see through the Mist. Artemis considered trying to recruit her when she was a bit older, but she was so happy with her family, Percy included. It was heartwarming to see the two siblings interact.

But that could only last so long. The unlikely duo had decided to walk to camp and were following the water. Artemis enjoyed watching the water, but had no desire to be in it. She respected her uncle's domain and knew how it should be feared.

Percy had no such qualms of course. Random sea creatures would make their way to the visible shallows and ask questions or favors from him, and he'd speak to them amicably. Artemis didn't mind being left out of the conversations; she enjoyed watching the show and being left to her thoughts.

Obviously, a monster had to attack. Seeing the hydra break threw the treeline she felt entirely useless and vulnerable. She had no weapons or godly strength to speak of. Luckily, she didn't need it. Percy made quick work in engulfing the beast in the ocean water. It never resurfaced.

"As much as I'd rather stay on the beach, we should cut inland here for the easiest path to camp." She nodded her consent, not really wanting to give up her silence. They trudged onto the road and had about two more miles before they crested the camp's border. The silence between them was comfortable and when she saw the Great Pine she was surprised to find she was sad their company was going to end.

She decided she needed to thank him, she'd still be stuck on the wrong side of the world if it weren't for him and his friends, after all. But she would wait. A thank you from a goddess would be more beneficial to a hero than anything she could offer in the state she was in now.

They parted with nothing but a smile as he headed to cabin 3 and she went to the big house.