Upon reading several 200k+ word fics, I have become more sure than ever of the reason why they often degenerate into unreadable nonsense. It's simple. They get too complicated. In the author's quest to come up with something new and unique, they are forced to rely on ever-increasingly convoluted plotlines and rule changes and outrageous new settings that get more and more ridiculous. When it comes down to the heart of the matter, the end all be all reason that long fics degenerate is this: The summary of the story no longer truly applies to it. For example, take Everlasting Promises by Starblade176. The summary is basically this: Percy is betrayed by Annabeth, swears himself by Chaos, and has to deal with the 'consequences.' It goes on to mention eventual Pertemis. So, I have a question for you all, faithful readers: Just what the hell is going on by the end of that story!?

Have no fear, readers, I will write through and describe Titan's Curse in excruciating detail.

So, I plan on ending this with the defeat of Kronos, then I'll make a sequel(I guess). I doubt this story will go on for absurd lengths of words, since my battle scenes tend to be more 'realistic' than most (Before you get your knickers in a twist, allow me to explain. On a real battlefield, one on one clashes are normally determined in one to two hits, unless both fighters are utmost masters[which wasn't likely unless they were a standing army and their country could afford to pay for its soldiers even in peacetime so they could train for battle, think Sparta vs. Athens, soldiers vs. militia, though I suppose if you're unfamiliar with history this is utterly pointless], but even in a fight between masters, one to two hits becomes six to seven hits, watch fencing in the olympics, where matches go to like twenty points because it's so easy to get hit and die. No one is playing around. If the skill is the same, luck ends the battle, and one of them dies. Otherwise, the stronger one wins. Unless the arms and armor give one side a marked advantage, strength and technique will end the conflict in a matter of seconds. Battles take a long time only if there are thousands of troops). The point is, you may have noticed that my battle scenes don't ever take very long (chronologically, remember how Ares was defeated in a single lucky strike? Yeah, Ares spent about a hundred times longer talking about adamantium armor and how cool it is than actually fighting), and if I can, I like to describe each strike, because other fight scenes I've read... I just skip them. They're boring. People go through countless pointless strikes before finally, something happens. Then it doesn't even have the decency to be over, it just keeps on going. I try to avoid that by making everything seem important. If one side is stronger, they will dominate. If they are equal, luck will tip the scales. I hope you will eagerly read to see in what manner the foe is disposed of. When they are equal, what bizarre coincidence will put a stop to the match?

tl;dr: this ends after TLO and I'll make a sequel, this won't go on for five hundred thousand million words like some other people, and my fight scenes are much shorter than others because I like to try to keep it realistic, because when I read other fight scenes I honestly just skip them until I see the aftermath.

But please, for the love of the gods, tell me if you skip my fight scenes. I just want to make the story better. Don't avoid telling me what's wrong with it just because you think it's good. Please 'review' the story if you leave a review. I'm begging you.

Disclaimer: For the sake of the good old days, one of my first stories, I leave you with this disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally nothing. Not even my underwear-that was true at the time, now, not so much. It has been many a year since my first story, two accounts ago. I get better at things just by aging, which sounds fucking stupid, but it seems to be true. I mean, look at my old stories on this account. It hurts me to ask this, but read the stories I've marked as 'garbage, don't read.' See that you too can change from an okay writer to a great one, even if you doubt yourself! Well, perhaps I am not 'great' in comparison to professional authors, but I would have to say, without arrogance, this story is a work of art compared to my younger self's work. Maybe. I want to bury myself six feet underground when I read 'To Ponder a Wall' and 'Percy the Songbird.' I may rewrite the latter, as I've improved both in musical composition and writing efficacy, so maybe it won't be so damn awful. Damn, even my disclaimer has become a wall of text. I will endeavor to fix my habit of monologue-ing.

Percy's mana had risen steadily since his second summer at camp ended, and his conversion rate was also going up, very quickly now that he was at camp with the ocean. Lily had also taught him the second weakest spell she knew, which Percy was luckily able to cast without passing out, though just barely. It was a magic light. The spell was just called 'Light' and it required about ten times as much power, and therefor mana(and in Percy's case also life force) as 'Release.' Percy's conversion rate training efficiency skyrocketed.

Oh, and all this stuff wasn't linear, Percy found out, so all those numbers he thought he understood were wrong. Magic was... very weird. It couldn't truly be compared using numbers. For how much mana someone had and how much power a spell would take, it was pretty much fine, but getting stronger worked very oddly. Lily told him he was about one hundredth of her in terms of overall rating as a mage. It was quite impressive, she told him. Considering how he had started out as the worst mage in the history of the universe. Percy thought it was more impressive she was capable of making jokes at all considering how she talked. It was actually surprising she still had a sense of humor at all, considering she was utterly alone for the first twelve years of her life. He was very proud of her for not being crushed. She would still occasionally look off into the distance for no reason other than loneliness, but it was a small price to pay.

To be clear, she said, it would be simple for her to take out one hundred Percy's, so it was not as though one hundred 1/100's were her equal. Rather, Percy would have to be one hundred times stronger to match her.

At any rate, it was winter break, and Percy was headed to Westover Hall, just like before. But this time, it was with Nancy, Thalia, and Lily.

Another difference was that they were in a Mercedes-Benz. Sally Jackson had used her wits and charm to convince Hades to let her leave with a handful of gold a jewels, which Percy was still utterly unable to explain. Due to the skyrocketing gold prices, the amount she was given, along with the immense gemstones, she became a millionaire. She began writing novels, and had even met a man, an English teacher by the name of Paul. Percy had been shocked to find that even with her life changing so much, she still managed to find Paul. Love had a terrifying power, to be sure.

It was the first time Lily had ever been outside camp before.

They were taking her along because she had learned a few spells that could enhance others effectiveness in battle, not just herself, not to mention her offensive power was nothing to sneeze at.

She was pressed up against the window most of the time, and somehow Percy had been convinced to sit in the middle, between Nancy and Lily.

"I'm the oldest, so obviously I'd be the one to sit up front," Thalia had said, casually calling shotgun.

But being squished was not good for Percy.

Nancy changed from cute, then to pretty, and now she was beautiful.

This was not good for Percy.

It scared Percy half to death. He had realized that he was on a sort of time limit. When would he stop letting himself be attracted to her?

When I'm thirty? Forty? I've got to finish this sooner, rather than later.

Lily was also probably beautiful, scratch that, definitely was, but she was still his 'Lil Sis.' He didn't for a second look at her in any other way. She'd learned a bunch of words, but still not nearly enough to be fluent. And, obviously no one was able to hear her but Percy in the first place.

Thalia had not taken well to hearing about Luke. But she believed it. Annabeth slowly going crazy was much harder for her. Annabeth wanted to leave camp, but she was never allowed. It was like cabin fever. She was finally able to leave to go to school with Thalia this fall, but she hadn't gotten any better. Always muttering to herself, always cooking up theories. She was watched discreetly 24/7 to make sure she didn't defect. She was still the Head of Athena cabin. Her intelligence would not be good if the enemy got her.

Sally Jackson was telling the girls every single embarrassing baby story there was to tell about Percy. Percy was certain she was doing it to punish him for staying year round this year. 'I know the campers need you as their commander, but I need you as my son,' she seemed to be telling him. His heart was breaking from not being able to see her, but he would do anything to rid the world of Kronos. No heartache was too intense, no feeling too strong for the will of Percy to quash in order to complete his training. He practiced dual wielding in his cabin in secret. He wished he could have trained his swordsmanship underwater, using the resistance to strengthen him, but he felt no such resistance underwater. Still, a small price to pay for all the benefits his heritage bestowed.

After the long and, for Percy, uncomfortable car ride, they finally arrived at their destination in Maine.

The quartet of demigods waved goodbye and walked toward the school. As soon as they were a foot in the entrance they were greeted by Thorn and the unbelievable Ms. Gottschalk.

Before Thorn could say a word, Percy drew BO from its sheath with lighting speed, stabbing him through the heart and ripping up towards the head, cutting him in two. He disintegrated. Amazingly though, he had actually started to block, and almost managed to get his hands up in time, which was crazy, because Percy's drawing technique was ridiculously fast. As a surprise attack, most enemies wouldn't even notice it until they were already dead, by Thorn had almost managed to block it. Truly terrifying, thought Percy. I must get even stronger.

Percy sheathed his sword, snapped, put his hands in his pockets, and told Gottschalk there never was a teacher with mismatched eyes. Additionally, the party of four were all students, and they were patrolling. They were headed to the dance. Gottschalk mumbled 'I see' and wandered off.

Percy had learned to manipulate the mist during his time at camp this autumn.

Thalia screeched at Percy.

"Percy! What the Hades is wrong with you!?" she yelled, while pushing him and pulling him by his shoulders. "What were you gonna do if he wasn't a monster, huh!?"

Percy kept his hands in his pockets, and turned his head to the side as Thalia was shaking him. "Jeez, Thals, it's not like it would've hurt him if he'd been mortal. But seriously, those multicolored eyes gave me a bad vibe. Wonder what kind of monster he was? Guess we'll never know, huh. Oh well, let's go find Grover."

Before they could act on that suggestion, the Grover in question ran into the hall, and shouted, "You made it! You guys, I was worried!"

"Yo, G-man, what's the emergency?" Percy asked nonchalantly, hands still in his pockets, still being shaken by Thalia. For some reason, Percy was trying to act all cool, a marked difference from his normal humble-yet-perfect personality. It didn't make any sense to the others, but it was Percy's way of preparing to deal with the hunters. He was trying to get all the 'I'm a cool dude' out now, so it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass later.

"Two demigods."

"Seriously!?"

"Yeah, siblings, 10 and 12. Real strong, but I'm not sure of the parentage. And there's a scary strong monster, too. He's always blocking me when I try to get close to them."

"Did he have mismatched eyes?" Nancy asked flatly.

"Huh? Did you meet Cr. Thorn already?"

Thalia sighed and let go of Percy.

"He's dead."

Grover's face paled.

At the same time, Lily snickered and said, "Percy."

Said Percy halfheartedly karate chopped her on the top of her head and very quietly said, "Oi, don't use my name to mean 'stupid.' But Thorn is a damn stupid name, you are right."

"Perce, did you... already? None of you even look tired. He was like, only a bit under Chimera level."

Thalia looked pained, thought it wasn't obvious if she was faking it or not.

"Grover, why'd you assume it was Percy? It could've been me, right?" she asked, with a faux show of being hurt by Grover's lack of confidence. Ah, faking it, then.

The situation was so different from the first time, Percy felt like shouting 'What the heck is going on!?' but he did not do that. Still, the first time it had been Percy who felt hurt that Grover looked up to Thalia instead of him. Now he was the one getting looked up to, even though Thalia was nearly two years older than him. Well, actually he was two years older. He would've turned eighteen recently, maybe. He had lost track of exactly how many extra days there were because of the two previous deaths.

"Of-of course you could have, Thalia! Totally! But, it was Percy, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, Percy killed him before he even said a word," Nancy answered.

"Well, let's go get them," Percy said, bored as Hades. He'd been feeling that way for years now. After a few months, only new people could make him feel any real emotion. Lily and Nancy were those new people. His heart broke when he thought about the fact they'd forget him when he inevitably had to start over. However, despite that sentiment, in the back of his mind, he was starting to get bored even when talking to people he'd never known before. If he had to guess, he would've said he felt bored because there weren't any stakes anymore. He was basically immortal, as far as he knew. How did gods deal with the boredom? He guessed that's why there were so many demigods.

"We'll sneak out through a gym exit, while Nancy goes and gets their stuff," he continued. "Sound like a plan?"

Everyone nodded.

When Thalia first woke up, she had initially expected that she'd be the one in charge, as a child of Zeus. But, after a month at camp, she knew why everyone called him 'commander.' It felt like it was impossible not to do what he told you. It was only his second year, but he was completely banned from Capture the Flag, even more so now that the Summer was over and there weren't as many campers playing. He wasn't even allowed to give advice. This was all on the grounds that, 'If the commander's on our side, it's impossible to lose. It's not a competition, it's a slaughter.' On top of that, even the Ares cabin followed his orders without question. Clarisse had said she'd never follow him into battle at the end of her quest, and always gave him a hard time, but it was only to save face. She'd do whatever he said if he told her she 'needed to.'

There was just something about the look in his eyes, sort of like Chiron, that told everyone, 'I know it'll go badly if you don't do what I say. I'm doing all this for you.' His sea green eyes were filled with compassion and warmth, yet were cold and calculating at the same time. But above all, they were filled with a sense of unbearable loneliness. The peculiarity of the ever-present conflicting emotions in Percy's eyes had been assimilated with the Seven Mysteries. It was easier to believe his eyes had a mystical power than believe what they saw within them. A certain few campers, Lee Fletcher, Silena, Beckendorf, and Pollux tq, had sworn that what they saw when they looked straight in his eyes was the message, 'I've seen you die.'

Of course, he had seen them die. And the reason his eyes screamed he was lonely was because he was certain these were not the people he would save. He didn't even approach the level of Kronos. These people would surely die at the hands of the Titan Lord. Percy couldn't be sure it was really time that reset. What if he was being sent to a different parallel universe, or something, and when he died, he was leaving all these people to die at the hands of Kronos? Annabeth had tried to explain such a theory to him once, but he only barely remembered. He only knew he had to defeat Kronos as quickly as possible.

After summer ended, Percy 'accidentally' discovered the entrance to the Labyrinth in Zeus's Fist. Chiron had been half delighted and half mortified when Percy explained his discovery. Delighted that they'd found it before any damage was done, mortified when he had to figure out how to seal it off. Investigations were still ongoing.

But all of these things were the furthest from Percy's mind as he walked fearlessly through the dance towards the di Angelos. Girls swarmed around him constantly, the feral beasts attracted to his confidence. Somehow, he seemed to be able to walk right through them. Truly frightening. Percy was focusing his entire being on his footwork, quickly advancing when he saw shifts in the mob's form. It was an incredibly advanced technique, and it had been taught to him by Nancy. Of course, he was not using the second part of the technique: stealing every penny of every person he came in contact with. In less than a minute, he reached the siblings.

"Hey, Bianca and Nico. You don't know me, but I'm a friend of Grover's. Want to follow me outside?" Percy said with a kind smile. Being mentally eighteen, it was extremely hard not to talk to the pair as if they were children. He was only supposed to be two years older than Bianca, after all.

"Uh, what? Who the heck are you!?" Bianca cried.

Percy leaned closer and said, "I know that was creepy, but this is seriously important. At least one of your parents are dead, and you've both seen strange things you tell yourself aren't real. For a random example, a bus driver with goat's horns. I can tell you about one of your parents, and about the strange things you've been seeing. Unless, you don't want to know?"

Nico started bouncing up and down, saying, 'I told you, I told you, I told you he had horns,' and Bianca said, "Umm. Uhhhhh... Oh, umm... alright, I guess. You promise you won't try anything funny?"

"Totally. No funny business from me. I'll give you the information, and then the decisions you make are your own. But I've gotta tell you, and its not exactly public knowledge, so if you don't mind?"

He nodded towards the emergency exit.

"Oh, but that's only for..."

"I can guarantee you this qualifies as an emergency."

The two reluctantly followed Percy outside, where Grover and two unfamiliar girls were waiting.

"Let's go a bit farther. This stuff could probably qualify as top secret."

As they got to the edge of the clearing outside, they noticed three girls in silver uniforms walking towards them, and the group stopped in their tracks. Percy clearly recognized Zoe and Phoebe, but it looked like he'd never met the third one. He quickly cursed under his breath. If Bianca became a camper this time, maybe he could keep her at camp. Nico would certainly cause fewer problems.

"That's wonderful," muttered Thalia, not even bothering to disguise her sarcasm, her tone of voice obviously indicating she was utterly pissed.

When Percy saw Zoe, his breath hitched and he had to keep himself from tearing up. She'd died a few feet away from him, after accepting him, even though she hated men. It would be foolish to say he felt nothing for her. She had become a good friend by the end of the quest, and it was still hard seeing the dead walk. Percy quickly tried to cover his mistake.

"Hmm, say, Thalia, do you think maybe the Hunters are upset we killed whatever that monster was?" Percy asked calmly, knowing they were indeed tracking the Manticore,

"Monster? Killed?" Bianca asked warily.

"I'll explain in a minute. These three are no joke. They belong to an organization with vast military power." Bianca gulped audibly and Nico thought it was the coolest thing ever. "Thalia, I know you should probably be the one to talk to them, as a girl and all, but you're clearly pissed at them for some reason. Forgive me, but I don't want that liability. I'm not belittling you, but with three males here it's no joke to call it a matter of life and death. I don't want my life in the hands of someone visibly upset. Lily can't talk to people besides me, so would you let me handle this? I got some tips from Chiron on how to handle them." He actually had gotten some tips, and not just so there were no loose ends. He became friends with Zoe on the quest, but he didn't really know the best way to avoid arrows to his posterior. Hunters apparently valued humility, so avoiding looking at them and showing clear submission was the best way to steer clear of their wrath.

Thalia bit her lip and nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Then leave all the talking to me. As your commander, I swear I will not let you down."

This was a pretty big deal to people at camp. He always said things like, 'it should be possible,' I think, probably,' 'it seems as if,' and 'I seriously doubt that.' Even getting him to answer 'yes' or 'no' clearly was considered a great vote of confidence. The only two things he ever swore were that he would win the war, and his mother was the greatest living being. So when he swore he wouldn't screw up, it was serious fucking business.

The Hunters. Percy deeply respected Zoe, who had protected her mistress til her dying breath, but he thought the Hunters' overall message was pretty stupid. There were as many horrible women as horrible men, but society had painted women as not being capable of monstrous evil, unlike men. For a horrific example, would you instinctively see a man raping a women or a woman chaining up and raping a man as more inherently horrible? In his heart of hearts, Percy knew he found the man's actions more grotesque and evil, and firmly believed rape should be punished with death, though that was from from the actual law. But for some reason he could not explain why the woman raping the man was not seen by himself as equally bad.

At any rate, he knew it would be bad for him if he disrespected them. He wanted to make a good impression-no, that was impossible. He didn't want to make a terrible impression. That was the best you could hope for with the Hunters.

"Bianca, cover Nico's eyes so he won't see any of this stuff. Unless you want to take care of a jackalope instead of a brother from now on. Grover, start bowing, or something. They're not gonna be nice to you, just cuz you're a satyr."

Bianca tried to ask what he was talking about, but Lily put her finger on her lips and said 'shhhh!,' though Percy wasn't a hundred percent on whether it actually made any noise. Bianca covered Nico's eyes.

Percy looked down at the ground, to show that he wasn't 'witnessing the hunt' or whatever. It also doubled as him 'bowing his head.'

Also, he was perfectly capable of finding them, even with his eyes closed. The sound they made as they walked, combined with being able to sense the water in their bodies, let Percy figure out exactly where they were. Well, the two that weren't Zoe. She wasn't making a sound, so Percy only vaguely knew that she was still somewhere within five feet of the others. Percy had spent even more time after returning to camp honing his water sense, but it wasn't perfect yet.

When the three were right in front of them, it was Phoebe who spoke.

"Where did the Manticore go? You show no signs of battle. Have you hidden it?"

Percy had a third reason for lowering his head- so they wouldn't see him grinding his teeth.

When he gained his composure he said, "No, we have not hidden it from you. It was indeed killed by us. We humbly ask your forgiveness for taking your prize."

He heard Lily yell, "No other! Percy only! Percy, tell!" (It wasn't 'us!' Percy killed it by himself! Percy, tell them that!)

"Lily, please. They'd never believe it in the first place. And since they'd never believe it, it would only serve to make me sound more arrogant than they already assume me to be," Percy said, not loud, but enough for everyone to hear. He didn't want the Hunters thinking he was trying to hide anything, but he was also trying to show defiance. The sea did not like to be restrained. The sea bowed for no man.

Though, they were women.

Percy had assumed they wouldn't be able to understand her, because even though plenty of new demigods had been found (and plenty had defected), Percy remained the only one who could understand her. Even Chiron had no idea what she sounded like.

But he was wrong. As he prepared to explain what had transpired, he heard Zoe say, "Is that true? He hath truly slain the beast without aid?"

Percy was so surprised he brought his head up to look at Zoe, and was so surprised he almost gasped.

Had Zoe really been this pretty the first time around? He mentally shook his head. He shouldn't even think that about a Hunter. That was probably why he had forgotten her beauty in the first place.

"O-Other Percy know!? How!?" (Someone besides Percy can hear me? How's that possible!?)

"Ah, I see. Thou art a child of Hecate. They can only be understood by those with the capacity for magic, such as myself. But 'twould mean this boy can use magic, would it not? This is quite irregular. I cannot recall a single one."

Percy was shocked. Firstly, Zoe could use magic? If she had thousands of years, as an immortal hunter, should she not be an amazing mage by now? Hmm... Secondly...

"Really? If even Zoe cannot recall a male mage..." Percy said. He had stopped looking down, it was too annoying to not be able to see others' facial expressions.

Phoebe suddenly shouted, "Boy! How do you know her name!? Are you spying on the Hunt?"

Percy' face lost its color. Crap! He misspoke! He was so shocked by what she had said that he forgot she hadn't introduced herself. Think fast, Percy! Yes! Some of the campers had told stories of the Lieutenant of the Hunt being as terrifying as he was, and also undefeated in capture the flag.

"Perish the thought! Ignoring that spying on the Hunt would be essentially impossible, it is just that Zoe is very famous in camp as one whose skill in battle is matched only by her hatred of males! As expected of the one who has never lost a match of capture the flag. All those who recalled the, erm, incident that arose, said they wished they were allowed to ban her from the game, as well!"

Good gods, man! Why in Hades am I speaking so formally! And am I trying to sound as arrogant as possible!? Why'd I bring up wanting to ban her, 'as well'!? That'll only invite questions as to what I'm talking about. Aargh, I tried to praise her but only ended up sounding like I was trying to sneak in how strong I am, too! It sounds more like a request to duel than praise!

Despite Percy's worrying, Phoebe and the other one seemed satisfied by his panicked explanation. Zoe herself, not so much. She looked as if she were very wary of him.

"Enough foolishness. Pray tell us how the beast was destroyed with nary a scratch on thy persons?" Zoe asked.

"Er, well, I noticed him before he was prepared for battle. He was still in his human form," Percy said, hoping the truth was acceptable.

Phoebe interrupted, "But, isn't the Manticore just as strong in his human form? How could-"

As she was talking, Percy heard a helicopter closing in on them, fast. Mortal bullets were still deadly to demigods, so he had to act quickly.

He shouted as she was talking, "Airborne mercs, on our three! Prepare to receive fire! Lily, legs!"

When he said that, Thalia activated Aegis, and hid Grover and the kids behind it. Lily cast a spell on Percy, then herself. She had enhanced her own defense, and vastly increased Percy's leg strength.

The hunter he didn't recognize started to move when Percy had given the orders, but stopped herself. His skill to lead troops even caused a total stranger and mortal enemy of men to want to obey his orders.

As soon as Percy stopped giving orders, Zoe gave hers. "Prepare for evasive action. Hold fire until their intent is clear."

No, Zoe! I need those mercs to say the word general! I cannot pretend my spies in the Titan Army know everything!

"Zoe, I respectfully request for you to hold your fire indefinitely. I wish to interrogate them. I will apologize appropriately when the situation returns to normal, and you may do whatever you wish to the occupants of the craft after they have served my purposes."

Zoe thought about this, and seemed just a tiny bit surprised, possibly at Percy's politeness. Boys were not usually so. She had met plenty that were, though, so it was not shocking. Merely... somewhat surprising. Besides, his request seemed reasonable.

"I accept thy request. Hunters, focus solely on evasive actions. Leave discussion for times of peace. These art my orders as Lieutenant."

Percy could not help but admire the way she gave orders. Percy did not ever fully understand why everyone listened to him, so he could freely admire her skill without comparing it to his.

"Thanks a million," he said.

A few seconds later, as the helicopter got closer to the cliff, Percy jumped with all his might. With the boost from Lily, he was able to shoot up right to the chopper. The pilots were so surprised that they didn't have time to speak before he pulled one out, then the other. With seemingly practiced ease, he jumped off the chopper with a pilot in either arm, and slammed back down to the ground. With his superior legs, he was able to cushion his fall perfectly, but that didn't change the fact that his momentum needed somewhere to go. His landing caused a significant noise. The two men passed out from shock, and though they came to immediately, they were still dazed. The helicopter crashed into the cliff below them and fell into the ocean.

"Thanks, Sis. That spell is just so useful! You're so strong! I'm proud of you!"

If Percy wasn't carrying two full grown men, and it wouldn't have ruined her 'do, Percy would have ruffled Lily's hair. He was much taller than her now, so he'd been doing it more and more. He was essentially 18 now, so his brotherly instincts were telling him to shower her with praise and affection.

A strange thing had happened to him recently. Percy was sure that he had not had a growth spurt at this age in his previous life. However, he was certainly experiencing a growth spurt now. He was 5' 8", which was fairly tall for a fourteen year old. No, it was very tall. In contrast, Lily was only 4' 10", and seemed much younger than she was. Plenty of girls didn't get much taller than 5', and they also typically stopped growing by high school, so Percy doubted she was ever going to hit 5'.

But why was he so tall? He was sure he was only somewhere around 5' 5" at this time originally. Annabeth had been taller than him when he first came to Westover. It was extremely unsettling. Was it magic? His mind? His training accelerating it? Whatever the answer, it was very very odd.

"Thanks!" Lily said.

Oddly enough, Zoe found interest in this. Percy had barely remembered, but it was him who'd taught her how to say that word, over a year ago. He couldn't remember what she'd used instead, though.

"Oh? Pray tell, did this boy teach you that word? It is common knowledge that daughters of Hecate use the word 'love' in place of words of gratitude. I would have assumed a boy would have preferred this term. Tell me, is he a eunuch, perchance?" (A/N: A eunuch is a man whose genitals were removed so he could guard a king's harem without fear that he would try anything.)

Lily was flabbergasted by this, but even if she hadn't been, Percy would have spoken first. He had been prepared for a lot of things, but he had definitely not prepared for a question like this.

"I am absolutely not! Ahem. Please forgive me for speaking out of turn. You asked Liliana, not me. However, I can assure you that she could not have known the answer to that question."

Zoe thought for a second before speaking. "Thou art forgiven. Truly, it is a shame. As far as boys go, at first glance thou do seem to be one of the better ones, though that is saying little to nothing. Even so, if thee were to proudly say thee removed thy genitalia by thine own hand, I am sure that at least half of the Hunt would not be openly hostile towards thee."

Percy was certain she had not said this for comedic effect. She was not like that. No, this was her honest opinion.

"I see. I regret to say that I am averse to abandoning anything I have not had the chance to use even once, so I suppose I will remain the enemy of all women in the eyes of the Hunt for many years. At any rate, I think it is time to interrogate these men."

Phoebe had started silently laughing when he made his comment about being a virgin, though he assumed it would be obvious he would be one, since he was only fourteen. Perhaps the Hunters have skewed views of these things, being immortal 10-14 year olds themselves. Percy paused before continuing.

"I will begin at once. Any who do not wish to witness something unpleasant should avert their eyes and cover their ears until further notice."

Something about being around Zoe was making him talk like he was a thousand years old himself. When had he started sounding so mature?

Bianca shut her eyes tight and covered her ears, and said, "Nico, these people are crazy! Cover your ears as well!"

Percy realized he hadn't explained the situation to them, but, luckily, Nancy had just arrived with their things.

Percy called to her, "Ah, Nancy, perfect timing. Can I leave the explanations to you? Of course, I take it the Hunters will definitely want a chance to speak to a new recruit, so please do not hesitate to send Bianca to them after you explain all their options."

"Of course, Perce!"

The girl Percy did not recognize muttered, "Purse? What in gods' names is she talking about?"

Everyone else stayed and watched Percy.

Is it alright if I'm as brutal as I want to be? They're men, and I know for a fact Artemis would have turned them into birds if I hadn't intervened, so I doubt the Hunt will mind. I know Lily has a messed up sense of morality since no one said a word to her for twelve years, and she just hadn't been taught right from wrong appropriately, so she wouldn't mind. That just leaves Thalia. I don't know how she'll react at all. Should I entice them or beat the truth out of them? Ehh, I'll threaten them first. Though even that feels messed up, since I'm certain the Hunters won't just let them walk away from here.

Percy threw the men to the ground. He had been training his muscles nonstop. With the boost from being a demigod, he was easily strong enough to pick up a man with one hand, though he couldn't throw them around like dolls, just yet. Ah, why hadn't he done this the first time? Why had he been so content to remain weak?

Percy took both their pistols, holstered on their sides, made sure they were loaded, disengaged the safety, and then slapped both of them with the handles of the guns. He pressed the barrels to the bridges of their noses, right between their eyes.

"WAKE THE HELL UP, SHITS!" Percy roared.

Though they were already awake, they seemed to have recovered from their state of shock after this shout was directed at them. Oh no. He has our guns. We're so dead.

They nodded vigorously to show they understood. Percy kept the barrels at their heads.

"WHO HIRED YOU! ANSWER ME, OR I'LL BLOW YOUR GODDAMN BRAINS OUT!"

Thalia seemed to be having trouble digesting how the gentle Percy had transformed into this monster in an instant.

Lily seemed to think this was perfectly normal.

Percy couldn't read the Hunters' perfect poker faces.

"It-It was... It was somebody called the general, I think, maybe! They never told us, but it seemed like his most direct subordinates called him that!" shouted the mercenary on the right, in a desperate bid for life.

Hmm, so he thinks Atlas won't be able to find and kill him if he learns he revealed this information. That, or he was just more worried about this terrifying kid.

Percy felt a great deal of dislike for what he was currently doing. Sure, he didn't plan on lying to him, but they were expecting to come out of this alive, if he didn't kill them. They were mercenaries, they had probably killed innocent people for money before. Even if they hadn't, they themselves were prepared to die for the money they so wanted. Percy felt sick to his stomach, but he would do anything to defeat Kronos. Anything, to protect his family.

Percy couldn't help but notice Zoe's pale face as he said, "Yes, that's what my sources have told me as well. You may yet live, merc on the right. What about you, merc on the left? Do you wish to continue living? If so, tell me what your exact orders have been up to this point."

"W-well, we only just got hired, so these are our only orders: Head to this location at this time, and follow the further orders of the one who calls himself 'Thorn.'"

"Fascinating. By the way, I will not censure you, so please tell me what you think of the name 'Thorn.' Do not worry, he is already thoroughly dead."

Percy was not entirely sure what possessed him to ask this, but he'd been thinking about this for four years.

Merc on the Left looked a bit pained, and squirmed, before shouting, as though someone would stop him, "I think it's absolutely fucking stupid! Only a total airhead would call themselves something so blatantly cool! It's too cool to be normal, so much so that it just comes off sounding fucking ridiculous! Why not just call yourself 'Lightning Shadow Knight' or 'Explosive Darkness Emperor!?' It's just lunacy! Totally insane!"

Percy agreed completely.

"Good answer, Merc on the Left. Okay, Merc on the Right! Last question! Give a satisfactory answer, and I swear I shall not harm you in any way. What was to be your payment?"

"It-it was 200, sir! 50 before we got orders, 150 after one full year! Every year after that would be 200 annually as well! It-It was a three year contract! At New Years, they were to pay us the 150!"

"I see. That lines up with what my sources say," Percy said calmly. He was lying through his teeth, though he did have a few spies. "I'll be keeping your weapons. NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT, FILTHY MERCENARIES!"

The two got up immediately, thanked Percy over and over for their benevolence, and ran off.

Almost.

When they were a hundred yards away, a single silver arrow sprouted from the backs of each of their heads.

The Hunt was unforgiving.

Percy registered real surprise. "Oh? Your arrows are not magic silver? I suppose for arrows it is alright, but for bladed weapons... Well, if only the edge.. but then... At any rate, I should thank you for disposing of those two. I did not want to be forced to break my oath."

Zoe had a much sharper tone now than before. He remembered with a chill that Zoe was capable of joking around, if only the smallest bit. It seemed there had been a miscalculation.

"Wherefore did thee mention thy 'sources?' Dost thee hath no regard for the lives of thy spies? What would thee hath done if thy spies had been compromised, filthy man-garbage!?" Zoe said with a look of clear disdain, much more than usual.

But it was Percy's turn to be upset. His eyes glinted darkly.

"It seems there has been an issue in communication. I never for a second had any intention of letting those two mercenaries live. In any case, letting the opposing army know we had spies would not have done anything but help us. They surely already suspect there are spies in their midst. I personally trained the spies we sent, and if I did not have absolute confidence in their ability to remain hidden, I would never have sent them. It is clear that the enemy do not understand espionage very well, as every spy in our camp was comically inept, to the point where it was a chore to deal with all of them. I doubt they would know what to look for in a professional spy, or I would have at least found some trace of professionalism in a single one of their own spies. As such, forcing the enemy to consider which of their troops are spies will only sow seeds of distrust amongst themselves. You, Zoe Nightshade, eternal Lieutenant of the Hunt of Artemis, are far my senior in experience with fighting and managing troops, but deceit based espionage is my absolute specialty. I bow to you in stealth based espionage, as well as group unity and obviously the skill of your long range attacks, but I would ask you to familiarize yourself with the basics of infiltration based espionage before you accuse me of not caring for my troops! I would sacrifice myself one hundred times for every single man and woman under me! I do not care if you insult me, I don't care if you think I'm garbage, but if you doubt my faith in my spies, it is akin to doubting them for trusting me! And that I cannot allow! Drag me through the mud if you wish, but I WILL NOT ALLOW MY LOYALTY TO MY SUBORDINATES TO BE QUESTIONED!" Percy roared at the former member of the Hesperides.

Zoe had a terrifying look in her eye and opened her mouth to retort, when-

"Zoe, I apologize for my shameful display of disrespect. I apologize for my emotional outburst. I have no excuse," Percy said, having lowered himself to the ground, touching the dirt with his head in the ultimate show of subservience. He was not wrong, but he needed to count on the strength of the Hunt to have any chance of keeping his city safe in the final battle. He also needed to see if it was possible to have Zoe forgive him for something like this, but he also, in the heat of the moment, forgot that he would not succeed this lifetime. His untameable nature was roaring in his ears, telling him not to bow to anyone, and his blood boiled to the point of pain, but his loyalty to the ones he loved overruled it. Time to bring out the big guns. Every single ounce of his pride was worthless compared to the safety of even a single one of his friends. To save the life of even a single resident of Manhattan, Percy would bark like a dog, though he would hardly be happy about it. It was time to put Chiron's teachings to good use.

Using every deferential mannerism he knew, he said, "This one has no right to ask anything of one such as yourself, but this one begs you will not transfer your hate for him to the rest of his troops. Your ordinary level of hatred is perfectly tolerable. This one wishes more than anything that his own ineptitude will not affect his subordinates. Though this one could never compare to you, this one is sure you could understand that sentiment."

Fire burned through his veins as his wild nature threatened to overwhelm him, but he would endure endless, limitless pain to save his friends. For even the chance to save his friends. He did not raise his head to see her expression, but he could practically hear the stern look on her regal face when she asked, "Art thou called Perseus Jackson?"

He raised his head out of surprise. He instantly dropped his show of deference, all signs of his former absurdly intense act of submission gone in an instant. For a second he thought about how odd it was that she had made 'called' into two syllables, 'call-ehd', but he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Yeah, that's me. Why do you ask?"

Zoe sighed.

"My Lady wishes to speak to thee."

Lolwut?

Sorry if Zoe sounds stupid, I did the best I could. Everyone else seems to ignore her old time-y speech, but it was one of the original things that drew me to the character. In this story, she will not drop her way of speaking! No matter what!

Because the first A/N was so enormous, I'll make this one short.

How'd you like it? Was it okay?

Even though it's over 8,000 words, it seems like literally nothing happened. But, a lot of it was additional exposition, so there's that.

Please, please, please tell me if there's anything you think could have been done better. It would be a huge help if you could tell me what you liked the most, what you liked the least, and gave a suggestion as to what I could include in the future. I really want this story to be shaped by the people who read it, but I'm really stubborn so just a few reviews won't change my mind. Interesting suggestions are always welcome! In case you're wondering, I do read every word of every review.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I do get an email if you send one, so even if you're reading this in five years and it looks like I've abandoned the site, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

Additionally, reviews telling me to update soon do help a little, but sending a PM as well would also probably motivate me. Mostly because I have no friends~ That sounds like some sort of desperate ploy, doesn't it~ Oh yeah, so you know, ending a sentence with a tilde(~) as punctuation is sort of like it's said with a friendly tone, sort of? I can't really explain it. Oh, well~