AN: So a decent response to the last chapter, which in turn prompted me to get this even longer chapter out. Like seriously, I think this is one of my longest chapters yet!
Either way the response to the last chapter was mostly good, though of course things are never quite unanimous, then again that's because everyone has different opinions on things and different tastes.
Still, I'm still going strong on this, even as I update some of my other stories. Do check them out if you've got a bit of time!
Thankfully this story also doesn't have the same issues my other one had, which is to say some very vocal and outraged members of the Naruto fandom, shouting about how my opinions and ideas are not exactly in line with their own.
I'm not going to lie, it is a pet peeve of mine. Or rather I have two main ones, harems are one, as I find massive ones obscenely distasteful and boring, and the antithesis of character developments. I also find smaller ones boring, and unnecessary. The most I'll tolerate in my writing nowadays is a three way relationship which I is difficult enough to manage as it is.
Another one is people's obsession with power levels. It is something which should be completely unimportant in the grand scheme of things. A story, in my mind, should be about character interactions, complex plots, interesting ideas, fast paced fights, drama, romance, etc.
I do admittedly have a load of others, but I won't bore you. Most people tend to have some, and the more and more fanfics you read the more you get, as the cynicism and repetitive boredom of some tropes sink in.
But anyway, on a lighter note here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for reading, please do leave a review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.
Betaed by Arch_Angel in December 2022
( - )
(Last Time)
A shiver past through Alecto's body at the thought of her Master's anger, and the realization that she couldn't just blame it on Jackson either, and expect to escape retribution.
No, for now she would wait until she could get Jackson alone. Only after speaking to him, and discussing how to get the girl, Bianca, out of the clutches of the Hunter's would she return to the Underworld. A slight delay, and inconvenience after all was much more palatable than failure.
With that thought in mind, Alecto vanished into the shadows, calming down as she prepared to wait until she could get Jackson alone. Or at least she would, once the slippery son of a bitch had wormed his way out of the Hunter's clutches of course!
( - )
Chapter 3
( - )
(With Percy)
Looking around at the sheer number of faintly glowing, silver tipped arrows that were pointed at him, Percy let out a tired sigh.
Today was not just his day.
Shifting slightly, a wave of discomfort flooded through him at the proximity of so many armed, and clearly dangerous opponents, all of whom would be more than willing to kill him.
Narrowing his eyes as he looked over the people threatening him, Percy quickly took note of the fact that they were all girls, teenagers or younger. On top of which they were all dressed up in similar looking silver coloured hunting clothing. Then again maybe that was not surprising considering that they were the Hunters of Artemis, the virginal, man hating goddess, Artemis.
Speaking of which, his once again dark eyes quickly came to rest on the most prominent of his assailants. From a first glance, she looked to be normal child who was around twelve or so years old, and who had pale, alabaster skin, long, waist length, auburn hair, and silver glowing eyes.
But for all the innocence of her appearance Percy could recognize her for what she truly was beneath the fleshy shell she wore, she was a goddess, a being of pure unadulterated power, and he could see it in the way she moved and the way she looked at him.
She was beyond human. A being beyond mortal comprehension. A being that merely adopted a human façade to disguise just how truly different, and alien she was.
Just being in such proximity to the goddess, Percy almost cringed. He could sense, and thus feel the boundless, incomprehensible power coming off her, probably more so than most other mortals.
Thankfully though, he didn't cringe. Then again, that was because he had met Hades face to face, and the effects the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt had on him paled in comparison to the Lord of the Dead.
The god seemed to naturally give off a miasma which inspired sheer terror and unadulterated fear in any being within his presence, without even trying.
Honestly, it made Percy very glad when he first met Dark God, that for most of the jobs he did for Hades he dealt with the Fury, Alecto, as a go between, a middle-man/woman so to speak. After all, the Fury was like a warm summer's day in comparison to her Master.
Pulling his thoughts away from the Lord of the Dead, who was no doubt pissed off at the dark haired Demigod at the moment over his failure to bring him both his son and his daughter, Percy instead turned his attention back on the juvenile looking goddess, forcing a cheerful smile across his face as he did so.
"Lady Artemis I take it, an absolute pleasure to meet you!" Percy said almost jubilantly as he gave a half bow to the goddess, not so much bothered about the arrows pointed at him as he was about pissing off the famously temperamental goddess.
The last thing he wanted was to be turned into a jackalope, or something equally demeaning.
"Who are you, and why are you here?!" The goddess demanded instantly, her voice ringing out with an authority that came from thousands of years of experience of commanding those weaker than her. It was a tone that brooked no nonsense, and a demand he do what she said when she said without complaint.
"Me, why I am just a lowly mortal trying to make his way in this big old world of ours." Percy replied, the smile remaining on his face as he once again bowed to the goddess, a slight bit lower this time, just in case she had any ideas of smiting him for his cheek.
Almost at once he could feel her irritation at his answer, as a pressure suddenly settled on his shoulders, one that almost forced him to his knees. With him only being able to remain standing due to his own impressive willpower, as well as through manipulating the internal energy within him, using it to strengthen and reinforce his body, even as he felt like gravity itself was attempting to crush him into the ground like a distinctly inconsequential bug.
Dammit, gods and goddess truly were terrifying!
"A name boy, and a name of your godly parent." Artemis replied, her tone not changing despite the pressure her power was now putting on him.
"Percy milady, Percy Jackson son of not got a clue." Percy responded, half tempted to lie to the goddess, before he quickly bite down on that impulse. He was a crafty fucker but suffice to say lying when put on the spot was not exactly his forte, especially not to a powerful goddess who had spent millennia telling honesty from dishonesty when people tried to lie to her.
From behind him, Percy heard a sharp intake of breath at his last name, even as he saw one or two of the Hunters in front of him blink in surprise, or share odd looks.
"No relation to the other Jackson of course," Percy tagged on as he worked out just why his words might have caused a stir. "We just happen to have the same last name, then again, Jackson, it's just one of those common mortal names that have been around for centuries!
A quiet murmuring from the Hunter's told Percy that they agreed with his comment.
"You are unclaimed." The Goddess of the Hunt suddenly said, not batting an eye at his previous words, as she instead just stated the obvious, a thoughtful look crossing her childish face as she did so. "What was an unclaimed Demigod such as you doing here; why are you not at the Camp, and how have you survived so long outside of the Camp?"
"Would you believe me if I said that I was just passing through?" Percy asked cheekily, scratching the back of his head with his hand as he did so.
The response he received was the pressure on his shoulders doubling, his knee trembling in response as he fought to remain upright. The Huntresses around him also pulling their bowstrings back even further, the tips of the arrows all aim at either his heart, head or neck, as they all shot him death glares.
"No."
"Very well then, I heard of their being other Demigods over here in Maine so I came over to help them, you know, just in case they were attacked by monsters or something. I mean I have been on the run from monster since I first came across them a couple of years ago now, which was also kind of the time that I first, properly, found out that I was part god..." Percy replied, back tracking as he saw the goddess did not look to be in the mood for jokes, so instead he settled for half-truths.
"So you just happened to come across these Demigods when they were being attacked, and then just happened to decide to help them out of the goodness of your heart." The goddess replied cold, her tone holding both suspicion and disbelief.
Her perceptive, molten silver eyes roving over him as she did so, before they then locked onto the Celestial Bronze Khopesh that was still in his hand, the blade pointed down to the ground as he tried to appear nonthreatening.
"If what you say is true, then how did you come by weapons made of divine metal?" Artemis continued, her gaze trailing over the rest of his kit, taking in his Stygian Iron cuirass, and Celestial Bronze gauntlets, all of which looked very well made, and thus very valuable.
"Oh, what these?" Percy said as he looked down at his weapon and armor, his mind racing as he tried to find an answer that would convince the goddess in front of him. "Well… I am not always able to get there on time you know, and it is a dangerous world out there. These weapons of mine, well let's just say I salvaged from other Demigods who have not been as… lucky as me…" "A scavenger!" One of the Huntresses spat in disgust as she glared at Percy.
Looking over to the Huntress in question, Percy was somewhat taken aback by her breathtakingly beautiful appearance.
With the girl in question having flawless, olive skin that matched her intense, dark, almond shaped eyes, and long, silky, black hair that was currently held back in a ponytail.
To Percy she looked like a princess, she certainly had the beauty, grace, and noble bearing of one.
Inspecting the beautiful girl closer, his thoughts were backed up by the thin silver circle she had on her head.
Yep, this girl definitely had the bearing, appearance and grace of one of a princess, or at least his idea of what a princess was.
"Scavenger?" Percy asked in mock horror, even as he fully turned to the Huntress who spoke, his hand coming up and gently moving her drawn arrow away from him, only or her to move it back so it was now aimed at his head. "I am no scavenger; I am just a lowly Demigod trying to make my way in this world. Just because I am willing to take any advantage that I can get does not mean I should be scorned! If I have to re-purpose the weapons of fallen Demigod's to do survive, then that is was I will do. It may not be honourable, but it has allowed me to survive thus far!"
"Thou art still a Scavenger, and no pretty words will not make thee anything else." The girl replied as the dark look didn't leave her face.
Percy instantly noticed her old fashioned way of speaking, and was about to comment on it, or to be more accurate was about to mock it, before he was stopped by the goddess, Artemis, speaking up once again.
"Enough Zoe, he maybe a dishonourable cur, but he is not wrong. People will do anything to survive, and so he should not be judged on his actions." The silver eyed goddess said, gently rebuking her subordinate before her intense eyes once again locked on Percy. "But fortunately for him he will no longer have to scavenge to live, as he will be going to Camp Half Blood with the other Demigods!" "As you say milady." The now named Zoe said as she slowly lowered her bow, the other Hunters of Artemis doing the same.
"Wait, don't I get a choice in this?!" Percy complained, somewhat relieved at not being under the threat of immense death.
Though he was not too pleased about having his future decided for him. Not that he was too bothered by the goddess' suggestion though, after all he had been planning on going to the Camp anyway; he needed to extract Bianca Di Angelo and send her back to her
father after all.
He was a man of his word after all, on top of which he was not too keen on finding out what Hades would do to him if he failed.
But even so, he was going to put up a token objection anyway.
It was the principle of the matter.
( - )
(With Artemis)
"No, you will be going to Camp." Artemis said dismissively, even as she now turned away from the scavenger and instead looked over to the rest of the people in the area.
Her silver eyes taking note of the pale and scared looking Theo Jackson who even now was peering down into the sea, almost as if he were hoping to spot the now missing, and probably dead, blonde daughter of Athena, the one that the Manticore had dragged over the edge with him.
After which she looked over to the nearby Thalia Grace, a stony look having taken over the girl's features as she stood just behind the boy. The daughter of Zeus whispering to the young Son of Poseidon quietly, one hand tightly gripping onto his shoulder. No doubt she was attempting to give him false hope that the Daughter of Athena was still alive.
It was an attempt at kindness, but Artemis had long since come to realize that such false hopes were far more harmful in the long run.
Looking over the rest of the area, the goddess could see multiple piles of dust, most of which were even now dispersing into the air. A number of silver arrows noticeably sticking up from the snowy ground as the remains of the monsters faded from view.
No doubt they were even now beginning to reconstitute and reform themselves in the depths of Tartarus. But unfortunately, such was the way of things.
Looking away at that though, her eyes swept over a nearby, gawping satyr, and instead locked on the form of the slim, dark haired girl, who looked to be in her mid-teens. The girl that was even now being helped up from the ground by one of her Hunters.
Looking closely at the girl, she could see her naturally tanned, skin tone and long, lustrous black hair, which, Artemis noticed, seemed to be styled in such a way that it covered a portion of her face.
This girl must have been one of the Demigods that the Camp had sent the quest to recover. Where her brother was though, Artemis didn't know, her sharp, silver eyes narrowing as she looked around the area, her senses expanding to cover almost four kilometres as she searched for any signs of where the young Demigod could be hiding.
Unfortunately, she didn't find a single sign of the boy.
Alas it was a shame, but then again, the lives of Demigods were never easy. It was why she was glad that she never had any.
Shaking her head at that morbid though, Artemis instead looked over at her Lieutenant, friend of over two millennia, Zoe, instinctively issuing her orders as she did so. "Hunters set up the camp, have a twenty-four-hour guard of at least three Hunters while we are here. Zoe, bring the Bianca girl to me when you've finished setting up camp, I have some unfortunate news for her."
"Yes milady!" Zoe said with a bow, before without another word to Artemis she shouldered her silver bow and started issuing her own orders to the other Huntresses. "Diane, Arianne set up the guard, Alicia, Clementine organize the camp, start with Lady Artemis's tent!" Immediately the Hunters got work, pulling off their packs and setting up their tents and fires.
With some of them having already headed into the woods to hunt for food. Whilst several others set up pickets, a small number of Hunters pulling out their bows as they looked out into the surrounding forest, looking for any hint of a threat. The silver wolves that accompanied the hunt prowling around the perimeter of the impromptu camp, even as their masters went through the, by now, familiar task of setting up their defensible base of operations.
As this was all going on, Artemis turned her attention back towards the other Demigods in the clearing, those who were not a part of the Hunt.
As she did so though, her eyes locked onto the mysterious dark-haired boy, the other Jackson. The suspicious one that had seemingly come out of nowhere, for reasons that didn't quite add up.
Focusing in on him she could see how his gaze was locked onto her Hunters, or to be more precise, it seemed to be locked onto Zoe as she led Bianca to where the goddess's tent was being quickly and efficiently put up.
Seeing this, Artemis was on the verge of making an issue out of his actions, a thunderous expression slowly beginning to cross her face at the thought of this scavenging mongrel's vile gaze resting on the two virginal girls. However, before she said anything, she paused, taking note of the look in his eyes as she did so.
It was not one of lust or desire like she was expecting to see, instead there was something else in his expression something that even she, the Goddess of the Hunt, couldn't quite identify.
It was an odd expression, like a mix of hunger, curiosity, and apprehension, it was oddly ineffable.
Narrowing her eyes even further at this, her curiosity and suspicion rising, Artemis made to approach him.
However, before she could she was distracted when saw Zoe waving to her out of the corner of her eye.
Letting lose a sigh at this, Artemis nodded once, before she walked over to her tent, preparing herself to inform the young Demigod of the likely death of her brother, and to also offer her a chance at a new family in the Hunt.
She would ponder more on Percy Jackson later, for now she had a young, innocent girl to talk to.
( - )
(With Percy)
As the Hunt was setting up their camp, Percy kept his eyes locked on Bianca Di Angelo, even as she was guided through the camp by the dark-haired huntress who had confronted him before.
Narrowing his eyes as he saw the girl, Zoe, leading Bianca to Artemis's tent, Percy couldn't help but bite his lip. This was getting complicated. If Bianca joined the Hunt it would be much, much harder to extract her from it and send her to Hades.
Percy was under no illusions as he saw the shell-shocked girl being taken into the tent that she would join. Gods, Percy knew, could be very convincing when they wanted to be, and he doubted that there were very many who denied Artemis's offer when it was given.
Yes, things had just gotten an awful lot more complicated.
Percy cursed at that.
"H-hey, you!" A shaky voice suddenly called out.
With the voice knocking Percy out of his thoughts, causing him to glance sideways, his eyes narrowing as he saw that Theo Jackson, the Son of Poseidon, was approaching him.
Turning around so he could face the flush boy, Percy could feel the anger, anxiety and the barely contained power flowing off the boy.
It was not quite on the level of Percy's own, but it was close, especially when the younger boy was in such an angered state.
Narrowing his eyes as he saw the boy march angrily up to him, his face red and his nostrils flared, Percy waited patiently for the previously nervous and awkward boy to speak. Percy's arms shifting to his side as the boy continued to approach, hanging limply beside him even as he toyed with the golden ring on his hand, and gripped his Khopesh tighter.
He didn't think the boy would attack him, after all what reason did he have to? But still, he would be ready if he did.
Upon reaching Percy, Theo pulled out what looked like a ballpoint pen from his pocket. Which is something which would normally be unexceptional, except for the fact this pen turned into a three-foot-long sword moments later.
After which the dark-haired boy continued his approach, sweat beading down his face, and his teeth worrying his lips, even as he swung the Celestial Bronze blade in his hand up to Percy's throat. His scared and angry green eyes locking with Percy's own as he did so.
In response to the boy's actions, Percy had to grit his teeth to stop himself from naturally reacting to the threat on his person. His own blade flicking up for a moment, only to freeze as he stopped himself from just disembowelling the boy, and instead decided to take a more peaceful approach.
He, at least, was still conscious of the dozens of trained, aggressive, man hating Huntresses behind him, even if the other boy wasn't. Huntresses that Percy suspected would be more than happy to stick them both full of arrow if a fight suddenly began in the middle of their camp.
"This is your fault! If you had not interfered in the Quest then Annabeth would still be here!" The boy shouted in Percy's face, his green eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and pain. His obvious again, and the upset he was feeling over the girl's death, apparently overriding his naturally nervous and awkward demeanour.
"I think you need to calm down before you do something you might regret." Percy said with forced calm, aware as he did so that the eyes of several of the Hunters were now on them.
"Calm down! Fuck calming down! Annabeth is gone and it is all your fault!" The boy shouted his blade now digging into Percy's skin as he began to lose his composure.
As he felt the blood trickle down his neck, Percy lost his cool. Taking a step back slightly, Percy thrust his hand out and grabbed the hilt of Theo's sword faster than the boy could react, after which he clenched his hand into a fist.
Almost immediately his actions caused a slight cracking sound to come from Theo's hand as Percy crushed it against the hilt of his own sword. Twisting his hand as he did so and removing the blade from his neck, Percy then used both the surprise of his actions, and his own strength to force the boy to drop the sword before he then delivered a knee to his stomach.
The force of the knocking the breath out of the Son of Poseidon's lungs momentarily as was forced to hunch over because of the blow. Deciding to finish him off, Percy's right hand whipped up, his Khopesh still in hand, even as he slammed the pommel of the weapon into the side of the boy's head as hard as he could, instantly knocking him out as he did so.
Taking another step back, Percy received barely any warning as he felt, rather than saw, an attack approaching him.
He was lucky that he did though, as a glance downwards revealed the blade of a spear dug in the ground just where he had been standing.
Looking up Percy was forced to dodge again as the spear was pulled out of the ground and then swung at his feet.
Leaping up he managed to jump over the spear, before landing back on the floor his sword already rising as he blocked another blow.
This time though he twisted his sword, using the curve of the blade to lock the spear in place, his actions creating a brief pause in the assault. Whilst also allowing Percy to look up and finally get the measure of his assailant. Only for him to find himself face to face with the Daughter of Zeus, Thalia, the dark haired girl's blue eyes blazing with anger as they locked onto his own.
"Tell me, is there a reason why you are attacking me?" Percy asked in a voice of forced calm, his arm shaking slightly as he felt Thalia trying to withdraw her spear.
"Is there a reason you attacked Theo?!" The girl replied in an angry tone.
"Well yes, there is, I believe it is called self-defence. Tell me, have you ever heard of it?" Percy asked, getting angry now.
"It was unnecessary." Thalia replied, though fortunately she looked like she was calming down slightly as she spoke. "Yes he shouldn't have come at you like that, but he was angry and not thinking straight, you shouldn't have beaten him down like that!"
"Look, I can understand that he was upset, but I was not exactly happy having a blade shoved against my neck!" The dark haired Demigod retorted, his left hand coming up and gesturing to the trickle of drying blood that was still present on his neck.
Looking at where he was indicating, Thalia's eyes widened slightly as she saw the blood.
After which, after letting loose a sigh, she then channelled lightning through her spear, an act that caused Percy to jolt as the lightning sparked off of the spear, several of the sparks hitting him.
Taking advantage of his reaction Thalia then pulled her spear back, but instead of going in for another attack she instead took a step back and leaned it on her shoulder.
"Look, I am sorry about what my friend did, he's a wet blanket most of the time, but he can also be a bit of a hot head at times too, mainly when he's really angry, or in this case, upset." Thalia said, her eyes on Percy as he carefully stood up straight, the blade in his hand held loosely at his side once again. "Why don't we try again, my name is Thalia Grace the Daughter of Zeus, what's yours?"
"Percy Jackson, it's nice to meet you I suppose." Percy said carefully as he saw Thalia stretching out her hand for a handshake, a frown ghosting across his face at the name, Grace, it felt oddly familiar. "No relation to your friend of course." Percy then tagged on when he saw Thalia's eyes widen a fraction.
Thalia nodded at that, her eyes still locked on him, even as he reached out for her hand warily, cautiously shaking hands with Thalia as he did so.
For all about five seconds, before he felt another jolt of lightning running through him, this one more powerful than the last as Thalia channelled lightning through her hand, and then into Percy.
"Was that really necessary." Percy complained as he pulled back his hand from the girl, shaking it slightly in an attempt to get rid of the numbness, even as he sent her an unamused look.
"Not really, but think of it as pay back for Theo." She replied in amusement, even as she looked over her shoulder at her groaning friend, who even now was getting back to his feet after his small beat down.
"Fine, whatever." Percy grunted, looking away from Thalia now, and instead at some of the surrounding Huntresses, some of whom were darkly fingering weapons as they kept their eyes on the Demigods, Percy and Theo, more so than Thalia, and the as yet still silent and nervous looking satyr.
Thankfully though, none of them had decided to jump in, and even now they were losing interest, especially since Percy and Thalia's confrontation had become somewhat more peaceful.
"So tell me then Percy, why were you here at Westover?" Thalia suddenly asked after a few moments of silence, even as she took a better look at the other teen, her blue eyes gleaming slightly as she eyed him up and down.
Percy let out a shrug as he heard that. A slight smile spread across his face as then began to tell her the same things he told Artemis, embellishing it slightly as he tried to make it sound more legitimate.
While this was going on the Hunters had finished setting up camp, and had already begun to start a number of fires around the camp. Something Percy and the others appreciated as they soon found themselves sitting around the one of the fires, the one that was closest to Lady Artemis's tent.
In fact they had only just sat down around the fire, the satyr and Theo Jackson quietly talking to one another on one side of the fire, whilst Percy and Thalia talked on the other side, when the Huntress, Zoe, approached them.
"You." She said, pointing at the still unhappy looking Theo as she did so. The boy in question looked quite startled, as he looked up nervously and then sent an uncertain glance at Thalia. "Lady Artemis wishes to see you in her tent, you will come!" She continued, not making it a request as she commanded the silent and still upset boy to follow her.
Percy glanced over at Thalia while this was happening, noticing as he did so that she was glaring at Zoe, distaste clear in her blue eyes.
A distaste that Zoe seemed to share, as she sent Thalia the same look the moment their eyes met.
Apparently the two of them have some kind of history. From what he knew of the Hunters, he guessed that Thalia was probably one of those few to reject Artemis's offer. It would certainly explain the animosity.
Without another word, or even a glance at him, Zoe turned on her heels and headed off towards Artemis's tent, the largest tent in the camp, Theo Jackson following slowly behind her.
( - )
Watching as the Son of Poseidon entered the Moon Goddesses tent, Percy soon found his attention drawn back to his companion who was sat by the fire. The girl in question was currently poking moodily at the crackling fire with a stick, muttering uncomplimentary things under her breath as she did so.
"So, I take it you are not a fan of the Hunters then?" Percy finally asked after having spent a few minutes watching her poke about, and grumble irritably about the Hunters, and Zoe in particular.
"Really, I am surprised you noticed…" The girl replied sarcastically as she looked up from the fire and met Percy's gaze.
"Let me rephrase it the question then, why do you hate the Hunters of Artemis so much? I mean yeah they are kind of annoying, and often turn up where they're not welcome, but even so they are not that bad in the grand scheme of things?" Percy replied, he had never really interacted with them before himself, in fact he purposefully avoided them. But he had lost a few monster extermination jobs to the group which admittedly had been quite annoying.
"You wouldn't understand." Was Thalia's response, before she turned away and looked back towards the merrily crackling fire. "They are just so up themselves and arrogant, I met them a few years ago back when Luke, Annabeth and I were on the run. This was before we came to Camp Half Blood."
Percy nodded his head as he listened, surprised that she was sharing with him as honestly the girl seemed like she was about to dismiss his question before.
As she spoke about her old friends though, he quickly noticed that she seemed to light up. He had of course heard about Luke Castellan, he was working for the rapidly growing Titan's faction from Percy had heard, and the girl Annabeth was almost certainly the same one that had just, an hour before, taken a tumble over the cliff.
"Anyway, it was while we were traveling around, avoiding monsters as much as possible that we came across them. We had been corned by a pack of Hellhounds, they were big nasty brutes, and we were all tired, untrained and poorly armed." Thalia clenched her fist at this, her mouth tightening slightly as if she was thinking of something difficult.
Percy nodded at that, he could sympathise. When he had first started out he had gotten himself in a lot of trouble, and he had been alone.
In fact it had only been thanks to his natural talent with his Demigodly abilities that he had survived.
"I thought we were done for, I was just stood there in front of my friend a broken pipe the only weapon I had to use against them." Thalia continued, not even looking at Percy now, though notably the satyr on the other side of the fire shifted uncomfortably at her story. "But then I heard the sound of a horn and saw these silver arrows falling from the sky. We were saved, the Hunters charged in knives, swords and spears in hand, cutting through the Hellhounds with ease, and in that moment I was so happy, happy that we had been saved, happy that maybe, just maybe, we were not as alone as I first thought!"
Here Thalia paused, her gaze still locked on the flames, the soft golden light reflecting in her sky blue eyes.
"So what happened then?" Percy prompted as he shifted closer to Thalia, genuinely interested in hearing the rest of her story. He sometimes forgot that all Demigods tended to start out the same. They were all initially lost, weak, confused, and isolated. All of them abandoned by their Divine parents and left to the mercies of the monsters that roamed the land as they desperately tried to survive.
"They did what they always do when they come across young girls in need, they offered Annabeth and I a position in the Hunt." Thalia continued, now looking back up at Percy.
"Well what's wrong with that? I'm guessing by the fact that you're not wearing silver that you rejected their offer? Did that piss them off or something?" Percy asked, leaning forwards now, his gaze still fixed on the pensive Daughter of Zeus.
Thalia let out a hollow chuckle at that, "We were actually about to accept their offer, Annabeth and I, but before we did I asked what would happen to Luke, after all he was like family to me, to us, and I didn't want to lose him. Do you know what the answer I received was?"
Percy shook his head.
"They said who cares… they weren't even going to bother taking him to safety, they claimed they were in the middle of a hunt and had only stopped because two maidens were in danger." Thalia said bitterly now glaring at the Hunter's camp around them. "They were more than prepared to take us away and leave Luke to just die! Well, I couldn't accept that and so I rejected their offer, with Annabeth who had been with us for just a few weeks by that point, following my lead."
"I am guessing they did not appreciate your refusal, especially since it involved a boy." Percy guessed as he looked over at Thalia sympathetically. It sounded like she had a rough time of it when she started out. Maybe worse than Percy, as although he had often felt isolated and alone, he only had to worry about himself. Thalia though, Thalia it seemed had two other dependents relying on her.
"Appreciate it, they hated it, that Zoe she just sneered and started judging me for my choice! After that they quickly packed up and were gone within the hour, leaving us all alone again, I doubt they even bothered looking back at us after they left!" Thalia spoke, real anger in her voice now as she spoke of how her and her group had been left to fend for themselves by the Hunt, and just because she rejected their offer to join them.
"Damn that's cold." Percy said at a loss for what else he could say. As in his mind the Hunters had abandoned them, and although they might not have been comrades, it was still a shitty thing to do.
Call Percy what you want; cold, callous, and morally bankrupt. But there were two things he believed in; the first was that his word was his bond, once he said he would do something, or made a promise, he would keep it no matter what next. The other thing was that he would never betray those he called friends, not that he had many of those, that is. But still, the very few he had managed to acquire, he would never think of betraying, or turning his back on them!
"Yeah, you're telling me." Thalia replied with a slight smile at Percy's understatement. "So, what's your story then?"
"My story?"
"Well yeah, I am guessing you came from somewhere? I mean, how have you survived out here outside of the Camp for as long as you have? I mean don't get me wrong, you seem pretty tough, or at least that is what Grover said…" Thalia replied before she raised her head and looked for the Satyr, only for her eyes to quickly lock onto Grover as he anxiously hung around outside of Artemis's tent.
It seemed he had left during her story, though whether he was waiting for Theo or for Artemis she truly had no idea.
"How have I survived?" Percy muttered to himself, not bothering to look for the Satyr as he had already taken note of where he was. "Well I guess you could say I got lucky. When I first started out I did run into a couple of monsters, but they were already attacking a group of Demigods. Either way I saw what was going on, and recognized that there were others like me, and so went to help." Percy paused here, his brow furrowing as he gazed into the fire.
"They all died. I never even got their names, or their stories." He then continued after a few minutes, looking up at Thalia now and shrugging. "I survived though, and I managed to salvage some of their weapons, enough to defend myself."
"Sounds rough." Thalia muttered softly. How old were you at the time?"
"Around eleven or so," Percy continued with a shrug, he was over it. As he said before, he never even knew who any of those Demigods were. That said though, he had still learned something from their deaths. Demigods, they lived short and bloody lives. Living for them was a constant battle, you against the world!
"I picked things up pretty fast though. Turns out I am a natural fighter; spears, swords, axes, bows, I picked them all up pretty quickly. I mean don't get me wrong, I was initially pretty clumsy, but the more I fought, the more I practiced, the more experience I got, the better I got." Percy shrugged here, a smile on his face as he remembered his early days.
He never had any official training, everything that he knew he had taught himself. Monsters, other Demigods, mortals, those were his trainers, he would fight anyone who attacked him or got in his way, and with every victory he became that little bit better, that little bit more dangerous.
"Really? I would never have guessed!" Thalia once again interrupted with a strange smile on her face as she looked at Percy. "Demigods at Camp Half Blood train pretty much every day both in combat and in their powers, but even so you could probably beat down most of them with ease!"
A slight grin spread across Thalia's face as she said that, something Percy copied as he looked over at her.
"Yeah, well I suppose you should know. Sometimes you are forced into a situation that forces you to go beyond what you thought yourself capable of. A situation that forces you to grow up quickly, as you lose any naivety you might have had. Experience of the outside world, and the monsters that lurk out there, just waiting to rip you apart, it toughens you up, it makes you harder, faster and crueller!"
Percy's expression became darker as he finished speaking. Even now when he closed his eyes he could still picture the monsters he had fought, the scenes of carnage and death he had witnessed, humanities unending capability for cruelty.
He remembered every monster he had ever killed, and ever Demigod he had ever cut down, either in cold blood, or in a fair fight. He might feel no guilt for his actions, after all life was a never-ending battle for survival, and this world was a dog eat dog one, where only the strong survived.
But even so, he remembered their faces. Maybe it was his way of honouring their memories, or maybe, like with the trophies he took from them, it was his way remembering his victories. He honestly didn't know, all he did know, was that he could remember the face of every monster, mortal and Demigod he had ever killed.
"Life is hard, but it can't let it break you." Thalia said softly, shifting closer to the dark haired Demigod as she did so. "Just look at Theo…"
Thalia then paused, her pale hand coming up to ruffle her short, spiky, black hair, even as she suddenly started biting her lip.
It looked as if she were having an internal debate.
"The Son of Poseidon? The nervous kid?" Percy prompted, his eyes flicking back over to Artemis's tent as he did so, before going back to Thalia.
"Yeah, well, let's just say Theo had a pretty rough childhood too." Thalia nodded, her tone slow, almost as if she were choosing her words carefully. "I won't go into detail, as that's his story to tell. But he's had it rough, he had a pretty nasty and abusive stepfather, and it affected him in a big way. It's why he's always so nervous and unsure, it's also why I think he might be crushed under the responsibility everyone seems to want to put on his shoulders."
Percy frowned at that. "It sounds like you care for him?"
"Well I do in a way, I owe him after all. I mean, believe it or not but I used to be a tree until last summer." Thalia replied, her tone turning dry at the end. "Theo, this girl Clarisse and Annabeth all helped me out."
"You were a tree?" Percy asked slowly, his eyebrow raising, even as a bemused smile played across his face.
"Shut it you." Thalia returned, though her lip did twitch upwards, almost as if she were fighting off a smile. "But yeah, he's a good guy, he just lacks confidence in himself, and is too quick to give up when the going gets tough. He's not really a leader, despite everyone expecting him to be. In fact I don't think he even wants to be a Demigod, not after what it did to his life, and to his mother…" Thalia stopped talking at this point, her eyes flicking over to Percy, even as her mouth snapped shut.
By the sounds of it she had just let slip something that she shouldn't have.
"Don't worry, I won't pry." Percy said softly after a couple of moments, he sighed. "I guess we're all a little fucked up aren't we? The life we live, it forces you to grow up quickly. I suppose you could say, that before we found out what we were, we were just children, we acted like children, and were treated like children. But then we were forced to grow up fast, and so I had to put away childish things..."
"Welcome to life as a Demigod." Thalia tagged on, even as she lightly punched Percy on the shoulder, a slight smile once again on her face. "It's not exactly fun!"
"I don't know, even despite the danger, I don't think I would give up being a Demigod. A normal, mundane life, it just sounds so boring..." Percy replied with amusement, even as he looked over at Thalia.
Before anything else could be said between the two of them, they both were distracted when they saw movement over by Artemis's tent.
The tent flap opening, even as the young looking goddess exited, followed as she did so by Zoe, Percy and Bianca.
Seeing this Percy focused on the Daughter of Hades. Only for him to see, on closer inspection, that Bianca's eyes were red from crying. No doubt because she had been told her brother was missing presumed dead, other than that though she was wearing a silver Hunter's outfit, with a thick silver coloured parka over the top.
So she had joined the Hunt after all.
Watching as the group left the tent, he also noticed how she was sticking quite close to Zoe. She was still probably quite fragile, and thus had started looking to the elder Huntress for support.
Percy's smile faded as he took all this in. He didn't like the idea of Bianca being part of the Hunt, nor was he all that keen on how the goddess had taken advantage of the girl's emotionally vulnerable state when she recruited her. Mainly though he was just irritated that the girl's joining the Hunt, was going to make his job of kidnapping, and then delivering her to her father, that much harder. After all Hades would almost certainly be an absolute dick to him to if he failed to deliver the girl!
"Looks like Bianca joined them, just like the Hunters to prey on a naive girl like that, the vultures." Thalia commented from where she was beside Percy, the two having stood and approached the group as they exited Artemis's tent. "I can't believe she abandoned her brother!"
As she said that a sudden thought came to the girl as she looked around for the younger Di Angelo, with her having forgotten about him in all the confusion. "Actually, where is the brat?
"Missing presumed dead." Zoe said bluntly as she approached, a hostile look on her face as she locked eyes with Thalia. Notably, as Zoe said those words, Bianca, seemed to let out a slight whimper, which in turn caused Zoe to look over to her, give a concerned look on her face as she then put a comforting arm around her. "Though there is a good chance that he is still alive and was in fact just taken like the Daughter of Athena. No signs of a struggle, or remains were found, so that is also a likely probability." "I thought the girl was dead?" Percy spoke up in confusion.
"Her name was Annabeth," ~Theo Jackson snapped back, his nervous demeanour fading as he sent a glare at Percy, before moments later he let out a tired sigh. "Lady Artemis believes she is in fact still alive, and so I am going to ask Chiron for a Quest when we get back so we can find her."
"That's great!" Thalia said with a relieved smile, with her having been quite worried about Annabeth herself, but also cautiously optimistic that she was still alive as well. "I'll come along and help out!"
Theo perked up at that, a grateful look on his face at Thalia's offer of support.
"I am sure you will find her." Percy said as he reached out and gave Thalia's shoulder a squeeze, getting a slight smile from the girl as he did so.
"Thanks Percy." She muttered before she gave him a light punch on the shoulder. The act caused him to let out a chuckle.
"Hey err... Percy was it?" Theo Jackson said awkwardly as he looked over at the dark haired Demigod. "I just wanted to say… sorry… you know about before… I was angry and out of line."
"Nah it is fine man, I understand what it is like to lose people, and have quite a temper myself when I get upset." Percy replied uncomfortably. "Err… sorry about your hand, I hope it is better…"
Looking at his once broken hand the green eyed boy let out an awkward chuckle as he flexed it. "Don't worry about it, it is already healed. One of the bonuses about being a child of Poseidon, all it needs is a bit of water and we can regenerate pretty much anything. How's your neck, I know I cut it with Anaklumous?"
As he said that, Percy, noticed Zoe flinch slightly out of the corner of his eye, with the movement being so small that he was pretty sure that no one except him and Artemis had noticed. Putting it to the back of his mind for now though, he instead looked over to the still awkward looking boy. Inwardly smiling as he saw how he was trying to extend the hand of friendship after their less than stellar introduction.
"Don't worry about it." Percy replied as he wiped the dry blood off of his neck, the wound having already clotted up. "No harm done."
"Aww that's cute, you guys are becoming friends." Thalia cooed as she slung an arm round Percy's shoulder, looking at him inquisitively as she did so. "So you know what, I just realised that I never asked who your godly parent is?" Percy shrugged at that. "No idea, I've never properly met either of my parents." Thalia's grin faltered at that.
"Ahh, don't worry about it. Parents, who needs them eh?" Percy said nudging Thalia as he did so.
"I hear that!" Thalia nodded, a smile on her face.
As for Theo, he just looked uncomfortable.
"Enough chattering, my idiot brother will soon be here to give you all a lift to Camp Half Blood." Artemis cut in, quelling any conversation as she spoke loudly so all those present could hear her, ignoring the groans coming from her Hunters as she said it.
"Do we have to milady, would it not be more preferable for us to accompany thou on thine Hunt?" Zoe asked as she turned to Lady Artemis, a slightly pleading look in her eyes.
"No my old friend, for this Hunt I will have to go alone, it is not safe for you to tread the path I will have to take." Artemis replied softly, raising a hand to Zoe's cheek as she spoke. When it looked like Zoe was going to speak again she cut her off. "I have made my decision Zoe, after all these millennia would you really go against it now?" "No milady." Zoe said grudgingly.
"Good, now start packing up Camp and preparing yourselves, my brother will be coming with the dawn!" Artemis continued speaking, looking out at her Hunter's, some of whom were in the midst of preparing a light supper.
Despite this though, they all nodded their heads and got to work. A chorus of 'Yes Lady Artemis', ringing out from the dozens of young looking, partially immortal girls as they did so.
( - )
Moments later there was a sudden flurry of activity as the Hunters got to work, whilst Artemis turned and walked away, Zoe and Bianca in toe, and Thalia, Theo and Grover all started speaking, Thalia and the satyr no doubt interrogating the Son of Poseidon on what had gone down in Artemis's tent.
Noticing all of this, Percy took this as the opportunity he needed to slip out of the camp, using both his invisibility and the surrounding darkness as he did so. His own eyes easily cutting through the gloomy forest, even as he headed several metres in.
"You did got get the girl!" Alecto's familiar, harsh voice sounded out a few moments later, her sharp, cruel, flinty eyes becoming visible, peeking out from a nearby shadow that was notably darker than the rest.
"Hey now, I got you the boy didn't I? I mean gods how many kids does Hades want?" Percy shot back, not at all surprised by the monster's theatrics, even as he attempted to use humour to rectify the situation.
He had failed, and he knew it.
"Lord Hades wants both of his children, and you will bring him both of his children." Alecto responded angrily.
"I will, I will I did make a promise after all, and if there is one thing Percy Jackson never breaks it is his word!" Percy shot back, looking closely at the shadow Alecto was hiding within. Unlike all the others, this was one that Percy could not see through.
"You had better; Lord Hades does not accept failure."
"I know," Percy replied tiredly, rubbing his eyes, even as he looked around him, once again ensuring that he wasn't be watched. "But I didn't expect the Hunters of Artemis to suddenly arrive. Their being here made getting her out of there impossible!"
"Find a way." Alecto said. "Lord Hades wants both of his children!"
"Yeah I know, and he will get them. But it looks like I may end up having to go to Camp Half Blood if I want to extract her." Percy said, a frown on his face as he did so, before he suddenly brightened up when an idea came to mind. "Hmm, if you want the girl, I am going to need my bow back, preferably with the enchantment on it, and I am going to need a favour!"
"Your bow, like the other weapon you requested, will be given to you once you have returned the last of Lord Hades' children, not before!
As for the favour, well it will depend on what it is?"
As he heard this Percy frowned deeply, he did not like that, he did not like how Hades was holding his weapon hostage. But at the same time he knew that there was absolutely no chance on him changing the Lord of the Dead's mind about it. That still didn't stop him from being pissed though. "It would be a lot easier if I had my main weapon!"
"You will get it back with the enchantments you requested, but only when you have come through with your side of the deal!" Alecto said uncompromisingly, a slight sneer on her face as she looked down at him. "Now what is this favour, scavenger?"
"If I am going to Camp Half Blood I am going to need someone to pretend to be my godly parent, and that god would need to have a connection to the Underworld." Percy replied thinking as he did so that it really would be important, how else could he explain why he has so many enchanted items, or how he had been able to survive outside of the Camp for so long without notice.
He had already spun a couple of tales, some of which were based on truths. At the same time though, Chiron was a lot cannier than Thalia, and would be a lot more interested in the details than Artemis, who merely got the broad strokes and shrugged him off as an inconsequential boy/ scavenger.
More importantly though, he would need to have an explanation for how he is able to use Stygian Iron, as only those Demigods who had a connection to the Underworld were able to use the metal. Which might, thinking about it, mean that one of the Underworld gods could be Percy's father?
"I will tell Lord Hades of your request, and if he agrees you will know when you get to Camp." Alecto said her gaze locked coldly on Percy, her contempt for him clear to see, even as the two cruel orbs rapidly faded from sight.
"Then you should also tell him that if he doesn't grant my request then the likelihood of him getting his daughter back is not good!" Percy called after her, not that the Fury showed any indication that she had heard him.
"Bitch." Percy muttered to himself moments later, even as he turned invisible and headed back to camp.
Not that he was all too concerned about being spotted, after all he had a perfect excuse as to why he had left for a couple of minutes. He had gone for a piss! Grinning at that thought, he could just imagine those stuck up Hunter's response to that crass explanation.
( - )
(Sometime later)
The first those gathered knew of the God of the Sun's arrival, was the loud roaring sound that exploded through the air. Even, as the night seemed to quickly turn into day.
Turning around all of those present, save for Artemis and surprisingly Percy, were forced to look the other way, shielding their eyes as they did so from the blinding light of Apollo's sun-chariot.
With those in the clearing all quickly becoming aware of the presence of another god as the air suddenly became a lot thicker and heavier as the power a god natural exuded became present.
Plus, with their being two gods here at the same time, the background feeling that they had become used to while in Artemis's presence seemed to double, with sweat starting to trickle down some of the watcher's faces.
"Oh this day just gets worse and worse..." Zoe grumbled as she looked back over at the newcomer, only to be greeted by a red-hot Maserati Spyder with heat waves literally rolling off of it sitting some ten metres away from the Hunter's camp. The car notably melting all the snow in a ten foot radius into nothing more than water.
Rolling her eyes at this, Zoe, was conspicuously the only one that was completely unaffected by the presence of both Apollo and Artemis.
She had long since become used to being in the presence of gods over her many millennia of service.
The other newer, and younger, Demigods like Bianca though looked to be really suffering in their presence. With a sigh, Zoe noted how the girl had to now lean upon another Hunter, Phoebe, to remain standing.
Looking over at the Camp Demigods she could see them all standing strong, though she could see beads of sweat running down their heads. Still, she wasn't too surprised by this considering how the two of them were the children of the Big Three. Though the fact that the mysterious Percy Jackson was able to stand so calmly in the presence of two divines was a little surprising.
Taking her eyes off of those three she instead looked over at the Sun Chariot, or more importantly at the man who was just exiting it.
Apollo stepped out of his sun chariot and flashed a huge grin at his sister and the Hunters as he did so, the man was tall, with a slim build and tanned skin, his eyes were a twinkling sky blue colour, and his hair shone like molten gold. "Hello ladies, I hear you need a ride?" He asked as he, even as approached the group, a skip in his step and a twinkle in his eye. The Maserati driver was notably wearing jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt, items most unfitting of a divine being.
"Shut up Apollo. You know the rules; do not flirt, talk, or even look at my Hunters. You are to bring them to Camp Half Blood along with these other Demigods." Artemis said all hints of amusement leaving her face as she looked at her twin brother, her silver eyes gleaming dangerously in the dawn light.
Apollo rolled his eyes as he heard his sisters threats, long used to hearing such from his far more sensible twin, "Relax sis, I was only kidding."
"Wow," Thalia muttered from where she was standing next to Percy. "Apollo is hot."
"He's the sun god?" Theo commented as he and Grover walked over to stand beside Percy and Thalia.
"Also, isn't he technically your brother?" Percy asked in amusement, flashing Thalia a smile as a sickly look crossed her face.
"Did you have to ruin it like that? Don't you know the rules, we don't discuss our weird, incestuous, godly family tree!" Thalia muttered even as she jabbed a set of lightning covered fingers into Percy's side giving him a little jolt as she did so.
"Little sister!" Apollo called out again. A big smile on his face as he approached, the air getting heavier and heavier as his power settled upon the area. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"
Artemis sighed, rubbing her head with her hand as she did so. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."
"Hey, I was born first."
"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue…"
"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"
Artemis grit her teeth at that, even as Zoe absentmindedly gripped her bow a little bit tighter. "I need a favour. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half Blood."
"Sure thing, sis!" Apollo replied, before he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."
The Hunters all groaned as they heard this, one or two of them putting their hands over their ears. They'd met Apollo before.
Ignoring them, the God of the Sun cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.
"Green grass breaks through snow.
Artemis pleads for my help.
I am so cool."
With that done, he grinned at the groups surrounding him, the god clearly waiting for applause that was never going to come.
"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said, a small smirk coming to her face as she saw Apollo send her a petulant scowl.
"Was it?" Apollo muttered, frowning as he looked to be deep in thought.
"Yes. 'What about I am so moronic'?" Artemis continued, her lips curling upwards in a wicked smirk.
"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself as he tried to think of a different line. The rest of the people assembled all looking at each other awkwardly while this was happening.
Zoe took this moment to turn to the other Demigods so that she could try and explain the god's odd behaviour. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, 'There once was a goddess from Sparta…'"
"Hey I have one for you, how about; 'Percy is cool'?" Percy decided to speak up, his actions getting him many unamused looks from both Demigods and Hunters alike.
"I take it you're Percy?" Apollo asked in amusement, turning away from his sister as he instead turned and looked at Percy, his eyes looking him up and down as he did so. "There is something odd about you, you're not one of mine are you?"
"Shouldn't you know that?" Percy asked blandly, his answer getting a slight twitch of the lips from both Zoe and Artemis as he put Apollo on the spot.
"Probably," Apollo replied obliviously as he continued to give Percy an assessing look before he shrugged. "Nah sorry kid you're not lucky enough to have me as a father; mine all tend to have blond hair and blue eyes. That said, I can usually tell whose parent a kid is with a glance…, but you I have to say, are a tricky one, you're definitely familiar though, I just can't place you."
Percy shrugged at that before casually replying, "Maybe I will find out at Camp Half Blood…" "Yeah maybe..." Apollo continued still looking at Percy curiously.
"Speaking of which brother you should get going." Artemis interrupted, her eyes looking off into the distance before she looked back at
Apollo. "The hour is getting late."
Apollo looked surprised at that before an understanding look crossed his face, nodding grimly he turned to the rest of the group and said.
"Come on you lot let's all get on board and let Arty go off frolicking into the woods."
Artemis's eye twitched at that but she made no other comments. The Hunters, however, did and more than one of them 'accidentally' stamped on his foot as they were getting into the Chariot of the Sun, which with a click of his fingers Apollo had turned into a large bus.
( - )
(With Percy)
As the Hunters all filed onto the bus, all of them looking distastefully at Apollo as they did so. Thalia, Theo and Grover followed the Hunters in, even as Percy brought up the rear, grabbing a seat beside Thalia as he did so.
Looking back he could see that the rest of the Hunters had all boarded, though unlike him and the others, they had gone to the back, segregating themselves from the other Demigods.
Narrowing his eyes at this, Percy made sure to keep an eye on Bianca as this was happening just in case he was able to spirit her away before they went to Camp. Unfortunately, no such opportunity would arrive, not that he thought it would, what with both Apollo and Artemis being present.
Apollo soon made his own way onto the bus after receiving a quick lecture from Artemis and smiled back at everyone on board.
"Today you're all in for a special treat. Thalia how would you like to have a go steering the sun?" Apollo asked with a big smile as he looked at a rapidly paling Thalia.
'Well this is going to go well...' Percy thought to himself as she saw Thalia slowly stand up, her already pale skin practically chalk white as she approached the driver's seat, her hands already beginning to shake.
( - )
AN: So what did you all think? Admittedly there was a lot of talking and interaction in this, and not as much action, but still it was important to set the stage for what is to come.
Either way I have the next couple of chapters full planned out and partially written, so hope there won't be that much of a wait for the next chapter.
Other than that, thanks for reading, and reviewing. The support so far has been pretty great. Hope you continue to read and enjoy.
Will see you later, thanks for reading.
Greed720.
