Hey hey, fellow humans. I'd like to thank y'all for reading (or at the very least, clicking on) my story, because I did not expect 1000 views within 2 weeks. I'm really grateful for that. Thank you to HellRaiderS and Darth Kyuubi kurama for the kind remarks. Anyway, new week basically, so new chapter! I'm hoping to get 1 chapter out every one or two weeks. Feel free to leave criticism, I can't guarantee I'll follow it. Please do review though, whether you think bad or good of it, I'd like to know if I'm doing at least relatively well. That's all I have to say. On with the work! Peace, and I'll see you all soon!
- PermaEncrypted

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, HOO, or Trials of Apollo. Obviously.

Percy Jackson had been "missing" for 2 and a half years by this point, and Artemis was not happy about it. She had gone off to search on her own to make sure the Hunt didn't attract too many monsters, but now, after 6 months, that venture seemed not only pointless, but useless. They would only find the son of Poseidon if they worked together.

She flashed to the camp, walking up to it. Once she crossed the boundaries, 5 hunters immediately pointed their bows, arrows already drawn, at the place where she stood. Artemis calmly put her hands up, and the hunters lowered their bows when they recognized her. Thalia walked up then. "I apologize, milady. We had to take precautions after… well, we'll discuss that in your tent."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at the end of that sentence. "Let's go then. Evidently there's much to talk about. And by the way, I forgive you all for shoving arrows into my face." A shade of relief seemed to come to their faces. The goddess and her lieutenant walked together to the tent of the former, just pitched by the Hunt as they had seen her return. She nodded her thanks, then stepped in. Artemis gestured to the chair next to the bed. Thalia sat, and Artemis crossed her arms.

"So, what were those… precautions about? They looked to be serious." Thalia sighed.

"A group of 10 or so monsters showed up a few nights ago while we were in Minnesota. We couldn't hear them approach, at least not very well, so the wolves moved first. Two of them died in the fight that happened afterward. The group was made of monsters that I'd never seen before. I don't even know if I'd be able to describe them. They wore… masks, almost like a cult, as well as furs. 2 of them were much, much larger than the rest. The worst part? They didn't dissolve when we shot them with our arrows in non-lethal places. For once, we actually had to aim, multiple times too, which is slightly concerning. Campers and the like might have trouble with these." Artemis had a scowl on her face when Thalia finished.

"They don't dissolve? How in Hades?"

Thalia looked very rattled. "I don't know, and I was kind of hoping you could tell me," she admitted.

Artemis laughed. "I don't know everything about the world. Not yet, anyway." Thalia gave a small chuckle at that little joke. "But after millennia of hunting these, I would have to say they're either modified somehow, or from a completely different realm." The lieutenant nodded her agreement.

"The number of monsters in general that we're encountering has increased dramatically also, not only of normal ones but of this new kind too since our first meeting." The eyebrows on her face knit as she found herself deep in thought.

"Something is making a resurgence, or there's some major happening that I'm not aware of… maybe Tartarus? I can't be sure." Artemis was frustrated with her inability to figure it out. None of it made sense! Why should monsters not dissolve now of all times, after the defeat of Gaea? She tried to think of any other instances of something like this, but she couldn't. It worried Artemis significantly. The Hunt is supposed to be the best fighting force that Olympus has at its disposal, yet now they were unable to kill things in a monster camp? Her mind moved to Percy for a second, and how he was faring against these, a little bit of worry appearing then fading.

"Anyway, in lighter news, we picked up 4 wounded demigods. Don't worry, all females," Thalia said hastily after seeing the look on Artemis' face. "Things aren't exactly looking up either though."

Artemis looked around. "Let's get moving. Staying in one place isn't exactly ideal." Thalia nodded. "Hunters! Pack it up, we're continuing our search!"

Grumbling could be heard in the background from many of the hunters, complaining. Artemis could tell they were confused about the search in general. She overheard on hunter telling another, "Why are we doing this? We joined the Hunt to get away from men, but now we're looking for one?" A shiver of anger went through Artemis at that. After it passed, she passed it off as defending someone who deserved respect. But a lingering inner doubt about that thought took hold, barely noticeable. Thalia, next to her, heard it also. In a second, the goddess heard that same hunter give a shout. Next to Artemis, Thalia was crackling with static. She looked at her lieutenant. "Hey, calm down. I can deal with it."

Thalia took a few deep breaths and the electricity dissipated into nothingness. "They insulted Percy of all people?" Artemis put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to them." She walked over to the two hunters. They shot indignant glares at the daughter of Zeus, then shifted their gaze to Artemis.

"Did we offend her in some way, milady?" A genuine look of confusion was on their faces.

Artemis decided to speak sternly. "Not only did you insult her, you insulted us all, Laura. None of you would be alive if it weren't for Percy. I would be stuck underneath the sky…" Her mind drifted back to that occasion. His behavior then still mystified her to this day. No man was supposed to be like that. Yet Percy let himself suffer for the sake of the battle, so they could win and place Atlas back underneath his burden. One of the few males that she had any sort of respect for was him. "If I respect him, so should you. He saved Olympus twice." Their mouths were agape, jaws having dropped. It was completely understandable that many of Percy's feats were unknown; he wasn't the kind of person to gloat about achievement.

Laura had a look of guilt and remorse in her eyes. "I apologize, Lady Artemis. I didn't know." Artemis merely nodded.

"Don't do it again. You should go apologize to Thalia also. After you do that, we'll get on the move." She went over to the lieutenant and hesitantly began conversing. After a while, they had reconciled, and the group began their search once more.

The Hunt moved quickly, covering as much ground as they could, spread out. Even hints of Percy's location were extremely difficult to decipher, and that was if they managed to find them. He covered his tracks extraordinarily well for not having done this ever before in his life. However, things only became more and more difficult for the Hunt as they moved. More and more monsters began to attack at random times, and always when they expected it the least… Whenever lookouts were posted, they always found the few spots where they couldn't be seen. Artemis mused over this carefully. Everything looked fine, all the Hunters were doing things normally. The 4 demigods in the infirmary looked normal enough, nothing out of the ordinary came from them as they helped with tasks when it was required. The wolves seemed nervous around them, though. The goddess of the moon knew that they were better at seeing things with their sense of smell, but if magic was concealing something, she couldn't find out.

The search continued for another few weeks, with attacks continuing to slowly ramp up in intensity. A few injuries were sustained, but nothing was all that major. After continued failure, the whole Hunt set up camp for a few days. There was an air of disappointment and disbelief around them. Never before had they failed to even find their target, yet here they were. Everyone seemed down, even Artemis herself. But soon enough, the mood turned darker. Reports of monster activity in the immediate vicinity increased, and a few creatures had been killed. The Hunt was on constant watch, but nothing could be spotted. Artemis decided to search the vicinity herself. "Thalia," she called to her lieutenant, who looked over at her. "I'm going to have a look around, call me back if anything happens." Thalia nodded, and Artemis walked out.

Some few minutes passed by. Clues were ever present: broken branches, tracks. The group seemed to be large, and almost… organized. It didn't make any sense, at least, not to Artemis. She eventually reached a clearing in the forest. Remnants of the group were definitely there. Places for fires were there, as well as a few shelters. The tracks seemed to shift direction here, and they were definitely new. The steps led almost backward, the way she had come… back to the Hunt. "Shit!" Artemis cursed audibly, unable to hold in her frustration any longer. She flashed back to the camp borders, where a large battle had broken out. Demons of all kinds were there, some of the type that Thalia described, some normal, and some she had never seen before. They almost looked like dracenae, but they had helmets on covering where their eyes would be, and it looked like they were dealing with magic and illusions. Taking out her bow, she started dealing death blows to many of the demons with one arrow each, and true to Thalia's word, many of them were extremely difficult to kill. Once Artemis spotted her, she called out. "Thalia! What happened?"

Her lieutenant snorted. "What do you think happened? We got ambushed! Shit got bad quick!" Artemis took a quick look around before firing off another volley of arrows. She remembered the four demigods.

"What about the four you rescued?" Thalia swore.

"I forgot about them completely! Go check on them, we'll be fine here!" Artemis nodded, fired 3 more arrows, then ran off, leaving the Hunt to their own devices.

She found them completely unscathed, moving towards the fight, holding… spears? Not any that the goddess had seen before either. They weren't Greek or Roman models. They gave grins when Artemis showed up and stopped. "Well, nice of you to show up, goddess!" one of them said in a snarky tone. Immediate anger at the disrespect shown to her bubbled up into her mind. How dare they talk to her in that way? Not even the slightest ounce of respect! An arrow appeared nocked in her bow.

"I see you're all well. Where are you going?" Artemis asked with strained politeness.

"Oh, just going to help out our friends in the fight." As she talked, the other 3 began to surround the goddess, pointing their spears toward her.

"What… what?" With a start, Artemis realized that they were helping the demons, and had been feeding them the information for attacks. "Why would you do this? Fight for those who want you dead?"

"Oh no, they don't want us dead. We're one of them!" The disguises they wore melted off, leaving the magic-wielding demons. "Hah, weaklings. You couldn't figure out what we were, even in your midst. The wolves had the best shot at it, didn't they?"

The spears began their thrusts, but before they could meet their mark, four loud bangs sounded from the surrounding forests. The heads of the demons all had blood spurt from their heads, and they fell to the ground. Artemis swiveled her head, trying to figure out where the bullets had come from. Behind her, a figure emerged from the forest, clad in dark clothing. It spoke in a man's voice, deeper than she remembered it, but still the same tones. "It's good to see you again, Lady Artemis."

She turned to look at the man. Barely noticeable was a green glow from underneath the hood he wore, shining from where the eyes would be. A small smirk was on his mouth. In his hand, he held what looked to be an old pistol. A ring was present, a silver metal with writings on it that glowed the same color as his eyes. "For fuck's sake, now is when you choose to appear? We've been searching for you for months! Also, what is with all of this new stuff? Why in Hades do you have a gun?" The man took off the hood, revealing what she already expected. The face of Percy Jackson looked back at her.

"I apologize, but I didn't think you all would take too kindly to my appearance until I had a reason to actually show up and help. We can talk about my new choice of weapons later." Artemis just sighed.

"You made things very difficult for all of us. Especially Thalia." Percy laughed.

"Yeah, I know. Speaking of help, I think your hunters might need some assistance. Shall we?" Artemis grimaced, but nodded. Then, to her shock, Percy dissolved into mist. Well, that was interesting. With that thought, she quickly got back to the Hunt.

The monsters had already began to run by the time she got back. The hunters had begun to pursue their enemies, which Artemis joined in. Arrows flew through the air constantly, there was almost never a point in time where there wasn't at least one arrow hitting a target. Monsters disintegrated and demons fell. At multiple points, some of them just stopped running, almost as if they were suddenly incapable of doing it. Percy's sword, which wasn't Riptide for some reason, cut through monsters and demons alike. It was the same type as Riptide, as he's probably used to it, but there was something else. Artemis could sense a great power within that sword, something that almost shouldn't exist on earth. But she put it out of her mind for now, focusing on the fight. It was nearly over anyway. Two or three monsters nearly made it out, but Percy pulled out his pistol and calmly shot all of them. Even Artemis was impressed. Percy was good before, but now his fighting was even more refined than before. His strikes were incredibly precise, and that was what she could see with her eyes. A feeling of curiosity slowly began to build within her about him, why he had disappeared and what he did during that time. He jogged over to one of the demons that was still alive and lifted it up without touching it. Artemis just watched with a kind of stunned expression, seeing him do this. "Send a message to your master. I'm coming for him, and then he will truly experience the definition of pain." His eyes began to glow with an almost inhuman light, the green in his irises physically swirling, and the demon began to emit screams of pain. Its limbs were being contorted, small veins were popping all over, nearly covering it in its own blood. Artemis walked over. "Percy," she called to him in a soft voice. "If you don't leave it alive, it won't be able to deliver your message."

The glow slowly dissipated from his eyes, releasing the demon, and it ran as fast as it could on its damaged legs away from them. Artemis continued to look at him, curiosity in her silver eyes. She wanted to know what changed him. His cruelty astounded her, never did she expect that Percy of all people could be so… terrifying. Percy walked over to Thalia, the hunters pointing their arrows at him. But he didn't seem the slightest bit fazed about it. Percy spread his arms grandly, almost as if he made an introduction. "Miss me?" Thalia shook her head in disbelief, hands sparking. She gave him a shove, Percy quickly ending up on the ground, electricity flowing through him.

"That's the first thing you say? Miss me? After all this time? You've been gone for two and a half years, Percy! TWO AND A HALF YEARS!" Percy grimaced.

"I know, Thals. But after what happened, I needed to figure some things out. I can't say I fully succeeded, but there's definitely some information." Artemis wanted to at least figure out something, as she noted that Percy held himself warily, like a hunter, almost as if he expected to be attacked at any moment. It was a far cry from the original, young boy she initially met in the forest outside of Westover Hall. Thalia's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean by 'what happened'? Did something go wrong?" His shoulders slumped, and his eyes slowly lost the light that they had held, however different it was from his old cheery demeanor. His hands clenched then released, obviously angry about something.

Percy spoke softly, "We can talk about it in private. If Lady Artemis would be kind enough to join us as well, we can talk about it together."

Artemis nodded. "We can do it now, Thalia. My tent. As for the rest of you, reinforce the camp's defenses, we don't know if there's anything else out there." Percy looked at her quizzically.

"Nothing else is out there. I ran a check before I helped you out." Artemis looked back at him, regarding him for a moment. He'd changed significantly, she knew that much, but still couldn't piece everything together. She wanted to know, and couldn't exactly explain why. It was just a gut feeling.

As she opened the flap to her tent, Artemis saw Thalia and Percy already there. Percy looked visibly distraught, tears running down his face. Thalia was crying openly, sobs emitting from her mouth. Artemis opened hers to say something, but just said one word. "Why?"

Percy put his head in his hands for a moment, and took off the ring he wore. He twirled it around a bit, before placing it back on his finger. Something odd happened when he pulled it off of his finger, Artemis had noticed. His aura of power, which had grown significantly, physically diminished. But she decided she'd worry about it later, since Percy had already begun to say his next words. "It was a painful moment, Artemis… and to be entirely truthful, it still is to this day. I really don't feel like explaining all the details of what happened… not right now, anyway. What I can tell you… is that Annabeth is dead."