Percy sighed. He was not looking forward to the meeting that was about to happen. He stood in the shore of Delos's southern side. The Argo II bobbed in the water behind him. The rest of the Seven was on board, no doubt watching him.

He had insisted on meeting with Apollo and Artemis alone, since he was, one, the least likely to get blasted, and two, they knew him well enough. But despite this, he had to see Artemis. She had to know what happened to Zoë, and she had to hear it from him. And he couldn't let any of the demigods be within two hundred feet of Artemis when she blew up.

That didn't make him any less nervous to tell her though. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the sand of the island.

The island was deserted. The seas were too choppy for the small tourist boats to make the journey. The windswept hills were barren except for rocks, grass, wildflowers, and of course, crumbling ruins. There had been a lot of those on this quest.

He walked down a beaten path lined with what had once been stone lines, their features lost to time, now just a blob of white concrete in the rough shape of one.

He reached the top of a hill. Below him, an amphitheater had been carved into the hillside. Shrubs grew in the cracks of the worn seats, making it look like a concert for a bunch of plants. He idly wondered what kind of music nymphs liked. Did the stone spirits like rock? Down at the bottom, sat Apollo, hunched over, plucking a sad tune on the ukulele. He was aged to seventeen, with curly blond hair, and a perfect tan. He wore tattered jeans, a black T-shirt, and a white linen jacket with glittering rhinestone lapels.

In the front row, a girl of the same age sat, whittling a piece of wood with a hunting knife. She had auburn hair in a single braid that fell over her shoulder. She wore black leggings and a silver tunic.

He hopped down and walked down the stairs towards the stage. His footsteps echoed in the bowl shaped amphitheater, ringing off the granite. Apollo stopped strumming his ukulele and looked up at him. He watched Percy approach. "Hi, Percy," he said with a hint of depression in his voice.

Artemis looked up from her bow. "Hi, Percy." She repeated, a little happier than Apollo's had been. "How's Zoë? Where is she?"

Shit. He hadn't expected her to ask so soon, which, in immediate hindsight, seemed stupid. Of course she would want to know, she was her best friend for a couple of millenia. Percy's mouth felt uncharacteristically dry. Usually he had the words locked and loaded. Words were his weapons for when he didn't want to use weapons. So many legends about his words, how he manipulates people with his silver tongue. And yet, now he found his tongue to be little more than a barren desert. He could feel the tumbleweeds blowing across it. He looked down, which was the wrong move, because now Artemis had put down her bow and was looking at him intensely.

He let out a breath. "She's… well… indisposed." He said.

"What's wrong?" She tilted her head, like a wolf does when listening for the sound of prey to hunt.

'Oh, nothing, just reforming in the pits of Hell, that's all.' Percy thought. He decided on "She's taken a leave of absence."

"Percy, just tell me what happened to her. Stop beating around the bush."

"She died! She's reforming." He said, instantly looking away.

A deep breath was the only sound Artemis made. When Percy looked back he saw Artemis silently sobbing. And that made him take a step back. He had expected rage, pure and unbridled. He had prepared for an explosion, an arrow aimed at his head, a knife in his chest, something, but not this.

"She's gonna be okay, Artemis. She's reforming in Hell as we speak. As soon as she's done, she'll be back."

"How'd it happen?" She asked, wiping her tears. A futile effort, as more just replaced them.

Percy sat down. "She was stabbed. Run through with a spear by Ephialtes."

"You killed him right?"

"Turned to dust, took the Colosseum with it." He said.

"Good." She sniffed.

That sat in silence. Apollo sat on the stage, obviously uncomfortable.

"Can you do something for me?" She asked.

"What?"

"My hunters have been hunting my bane, Orion. I have lost many of them already. If you could-"

"Kill him so you don't lose anymore of them?"

She nodded. "I'd help them but, well, Apollo and I have kind of been grounded."

"Yeah, I can do that."

Apollo decided that it was time for him to interject into the conversation. "If we're sending Percy on assassination missions, I have one for him."

Percy looked at the Sun god, who was starting to pluck strings on his ukulele again. "What?"

"I have someone that needs killing."

"Who, and why?" Percy asked, confused as to who Apollo would want dead.

"My old nemesis, Python. He's overtaken the Oracle of Delphi."

"He's back?"

Apollo nodded. "The flow of prophecies have stopped. And you know how disastrous that could be to the world."

Percy nodded. "Is he at Delphi now?"

"Should be."

Percy turned to Artemis. "Where's Orion? I probably should've asked earlier."

She looked up. "Last my Hunters said they had tracked him to Pike National Forest, in Colorado."

He nodded again, committing the place to his memory. "I'll be back, with proof of their deaths."

"Thank you, Percy. When you return, I'll give you payment." Apollo said.

Percy was about to say that he didn't need anything in return but stopped himself. "Could you give me the Curse of Delos? We're trying to make the-"

"Physician's cure?" The Sun god finished.

"Yes." Percy nodded.

Apollo sighed. "Poor Asclepius. He's going to get killed again."

Percy reached out and grasped Apollo's hand. "Not if I can stop that from happening."

"Would Zeus let you?"

"Honestly, I don't give a shit what Zeus thinks. Not about what he 'allows' me to do. And if he tries anything, I might conveniently forget he's a god."

Apollo smiled smally. "If you're ever up for it, I can give you archery lessons. From the Sun, too. Ain't nothing like it." He winked.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "He's married, dipshit."

"And, look at father."

"I appreciate the offer, Apollo, but as your sister pointed out, I am married." He brandished the ring on his finger. He stepped away and spread his wings. "I'll be back."

He took off into the air. His wings beat furiously. He soared over Greece, the land beneath him passing by quickly. Ahead of him, Mount Parnassus loomed in the sunset. It cast a shadow on the clouds above, as if splitting them like the Red Sea.

On the southern side of the mountain lay the ancient remains of Delphi. Now turned into a tourist attraction. Despite that, it was empty. There was a thick layer of magic that surrounded the town, a venomous magic, one that would deter even the most hard willed of Gods from entering.

Percy had no such reservations. He passed through the boundary and had to blink when he saw what the magic was hiding. The town had been reduced back to rubble, just like almost everything else he had seen in Greece. Laid in the carnage was a large serpent, a thousand feet long, so large that it intertwined the rubble thrice over. The serpent had purple scales, each one the size of a riot shield. The serpent lifted its head. It had large yellow eyes that shone like spotlights. It opened its mouth, exposing two large fangs, each one as long as a longsword. Its leathery tongue slipped out of its mouth as it smelled the air.

"What are you?" A deep voice rumbled. "You are not Apollo. You are not a God."

Percy stayed silent as he landed on a pillar without a sound. Python's eyes watched him carefully.

"You've come to kill me." Python said. "I can't have that." The snake's eyes changed ever so slightly.

Percy could feel the snake trying to enter his mind, some kind of hypnosis. It was strong, not strong enough for Percy to succumb to it, but it did take some effort on his part to shield his mind.

"Strong mind." Python hissed. Percy was kind of disappointed that Python didn't draw out his 's's, but he guessed that was cliche in of itself.

Percy drew his sword. He was almost sad to kill the snake. Serpents were his favorite animal. The way they slithered, moving without legs or arms. The way they could almost defy gravity was intriguing. He loved the little guys. It was a shame so many viewed them, and him by proxy, as treacherous. But a job was a job, and in the end, what he would gain by killing the snake outweighed his love for them.

Python slithered forward and raised himself above Percy. He looked down at the angel, his large spotlight eyes gazing down at him. He lunged downwards, his mouth opening for a bite. Percy jumped off of the pillar just as Python came down. The snake proceeded to deep throat the pillar, gagging on it as he tried to pull himself off of it. Percy took the opportunity to stab Riptide into Python's ventral scutes, drawing ichor.

Python hissed as he finally pulled himself off of the pillar. "Lucky shot. You won't get another one."

Python began to shift, growing legs and shortening his body, morphing into a komodo dragon. Python crawled quickly towards Percy, who lunged to his right, rolling out of the way. He came out of the roll and slashed his sword, which glanced off of his scales.

Percy flapped his wings, taking off into the air. He dive bombed and landed on Python's head. He stabbed the monster in its eye before taking off again. Python hissed in pain again and turned back into a snake. Two appendages sprouted from his back and gained flesh, turning into leathery wings. He took off into the air, charging straight for Percy, his mouth wide open.

Two claws sprouted from his underbelly and reached out for Percy. They grasped the archangel, who allowed them to. "Got you now." Python said. "A valiant effort."

Python shoved Percy into his mouth. As soon as he left the snake's grasp, he reached up and grasped one of his fangs. He pulled and the fang broke with a snap. Percy turned the fang around and stabbed it upwards into the roof of Python's mouth, breaking through it and penetrating his brain. Ichor sprayed out, flooding the cavern. Percy dropped the fang and flew out of Python's mouth. The snake had frozen in mid air, before falling. It turned into dust as it fell, dust falling on the ruined city like golden snow.

Percy could feel the layer of dark magic lift, dissipating with the death of Python. He landed on the pillar Python had deep throated only minutes before. He stretched his back, hearing a crack. He stretched the rest of his body, getting all of the cricks out.

He took off and flew over to America. Percy was fast. It was said that he could circle the entire Earth and return before his image faded. However, Percy didn't go that fast. He took the scenic route, flying over forests and mountains, enjoying the view that only he and people who could afford to fly on airplanes could see.

But in the end, he arrived in Pike National Park. He spied the Hunter's camp, which meant that they had tracked Orion somewhere close by. He flew over the treetops, using his angelic sight to look through the leaves.

He found the giant quickly and was struck by just how human he seemed. He was very short for a giant, standing at about ten feet. Still too tall to be human though. He was muscular, not like a bodybuilder, but more like he spent all of his time hunting, which he probably did. He was missing the dragon legs the rest of his brethren had. His skin was the color of wheat toast, and his dark hair was cut into an undercut, with spikes on top. He had bronze eyes embedded in his eye sockets. The iris would turn from green to red, depending on what he was looking at. He had a quiver full of arrows on his back, and a black composite bow in his hands. He was stalking through the forest, searching for prey.

And it was that which gave Percy a devilish idea. He cloaked himself and noiselessly touched down on the ground right by Orion. He whispered in his ear, "Run, my prey", before stealing his bow out from his hands. He also took an arrow out of the giant's quiver.

Orion looked around quickly as soon as his bow disappeared, but he found nothing. There was nothing but grass and trees around him. The forest fell quiet. Feeling his heart to start beating a little quicker, he looked around more frantically.

A thwip rang through the air, and an arrow found itself grazing Orion's left ear and embedding itself in the tree next to him.

"I said, RUN!" Percy shouted, growling the word 'run' in a deep voice.

Orion turned around and screamed. There was nothing there, but Orion saw the giant scorpion that had killed him long ago. Its black eyes burned with hatred. He turned heel and ran.

Percy smiled manically and plucked the arrow out from the tree. He turned to Orion and observed him for a second, appreciating the fear emanating off of him.

Orion wished his legs could move faster. The scorpion was gaining, fast. His heart hammered in his chest, he was sweating profusely, and he felt energy running through his entire body. He had never been on the other end before, he had never been the prey. He was always the hunter, the one sitting in the shadows, before going in for the kill. He was terrified.

He took a hard left and risked a look behind him. The scorpion was farther behind him, having had a hard time turning. He had successfully bought himself some time. To do what, exactly, he didn't know. He focused on running, making another turn, right this time. He mentally cheered at the distance he had gained.

Then an arrow struck him in the back of the knee. He fell forward and slammed into the dirt. He turned over and found himself facing the scorpion. The scorpion approached him slowly, its mandibles clicking softly. Orion felt his heart beating out of his chest, His hair was matted with sweat. He closed his eyes briefly, and when they opened, the scorpion was gone.

He looked around frantically, trying to find where the large scorpion had vanished to. He looked back in front of him and saw a figure in a suit standing in the distance. He was too far to make out any other details, except for one thing—the large white wings sprouting from his back.

He disappeared in the blink of an eye. Orion looked to his right, and saw the angel, closer this time. The angel again disappeared, appearing on Orion's left, even closer. He repeated the action, appearing in front of Orion once again. He slowly walked forward, like he had all the time in the world, and he kind of did.

As the angel approached, fire began to consume his body. His wings burned, turning black and leathery. His suit burned away, leaving his body bare. His skin burned, becoming red and leathery, the same texture as his wings. Two large horns protruded from his forehead. His lower half was taken from a goat with shaggy legs and hooves, like a satyr.

Orion crawled backwards, feeling fear flow through his veins once again. His vision blurred as his breaths became short and frequent. Next thing he knew, the Devil was in his face, grinning viciously down at him. He picked out one of Orion's various sheathed hunting knives and twirled it around his fingers before plunging it into Orion's stomach. The giant made a muffled cry.

"Shh." The Devil whispered into Orion's ear. He took another knife and ran the flat of it against Orion's cheek. "It'll all be over soon."

LINE BREAK

Gina had been with the hunters for only two weeks. Having come from an abusive family, she saw a lot of bad things, but none of them compared to seeing a giant, headless man crucified in the bonfire of their camp. She didn't know much, but she knew the large man was Orion, the giant they were hunting. The giant who had claimed the lives of so many of her sisters.

She didn't know who the man who put him up was. He was tall, about six feet even, dressed in an impeccable white suit, and had large white wings in his back. He held the man's head in one hand, holding it by his hair. Blood dripped from the severed neck.

He turned, done admiring his handiwork. He saluted the Lieutenant, Thalia, and took off into the air, his wings beating furiously.

"Who was that man?" Gina asked Thalia later.

She smiled softly. "That was Percy, and he is no man."

LINE BREAK

Percy plopped down next to Artemis's seat in the amphitheater. He placed Orion's head next to him. "Hunting trophy." He said, a lopsided smile plastered on his face.

Artemis shook her head softly, and rolled her eyes. "Good job."

Percy turned to Apollo. "I would've brought back something from Python, but he kind of turned to dust." He paused. "Wait." He closed his eyes and within a moment, he held a large fang the size of a longsword, covered in dried blood. "Here, I used it to kill the snake."

Apollo took it with a disgusted look on his face. "Yay." He said sarcastically. "I'll put it on my wall."

Percy chuckled, standing up. "It was nice to catch up and help out, but I have to get going. More giant's to slay and all." He turned to leave.

"Wait, Percy!" Artemis called.

He turned to see her holding out a yellow flower.

"The Curse of Delos. Your payment."

"Oh shit, I completely forgot." He took the flower from her hand and sniffed it. It smelled like a regular flower. "Thank you." he said, raising the flower in a gesture of thanks.

And with that, he took off once again.

A/N. I'm gonna be honest, all I had planned for this chapter was Percy and Artemis talking about Zoë, and I let that naturally play out, and it ended earlier than I was expecting, so I had to make up some shit. I really enjoyed writing the Orion scene though.

I also wanted to let you know, this might be the last update from me for a couple of months. I'm going to be focusing on a three shot for the Pertemis Discord challenge, and I'm far behind on it.

Thoughts?