Artemis POV

No one was talking. Literally no one. For the first time in as long as I can remember, my brother was muted. Father was pacing up and down frantically. Even Dionysus was awake and alert.

It took a while, but eventually the Revenant came. Perseus Jackson slammed open the doors and marched in, Nico and Calypso helping him walk with the rest not far behind. The young God stood a few feet in front of us. Father walked up to him, and the two stared at each other. The tension could be sliced with a knife.

"Perseus Jackson," Father began, musing.

"Lord Zeus," the god replied. I must give credit where credit is due, because Percy was staring Father in the eye and not backing down. That's no small feat.

"I will save the entire council some time, because we're running out of it, and cut straight to the chase. We fought a battle. We all thought that we were prepared. In case you've forgotten, it was you training us every day, and make no mistake, most of us have improved." Father began pacing again. SIlence engulfed everyone. No one dared to speak a word. It was just watching Percy and Father, waiting to see who was going to shoot their bazooka first. I got my answer quite quickly.

"SO TELL ME WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FIGHT!" Father was practically spitting in Percy's face. Even I winced slightly. Percy on the other hand didn't move a muscle.

"Don't shout at me again," he whispered in an icy voice, again why he had so much respect from me. Again Father glared at him. It was lucky Calypso intervened.

"Look Lord Zeus admittedly it was a lost battle with a bad strategy, but you need to think about what Perseus did. All by himself he stood against half the army, fighting even when his bones were broken, for Olympus." There was just something about Calypso's voice that made me angry. It seemed Zeus felt similarly.

"I didn't say what he did wasn't heroic. It most certainly was and it impressed all of us. What I'm doing is questioning his authority in making decisions."

"Would you like to make them then, Zeus," Percy sneered. For a moment, it seemed like Father was deciding between letting the attitude slide or smashing his head with his master bolt. The only issue was if the second was to happen, there would be another war, and we Olympian's just cannot fight off two battles at once.

"You know what Perseus, I think I will," Father finally said, and Percy's sarcastic smile faltered.

"Wait what-"

"No no, I think it's best if the decision making and the strategizing is left to Athena while this war is ongoing." Athena almost jumped out of her throne in joy when she heard that. Perseus took a deep breath before talking.

"Listens here Zeus, you're making a big mistake-"

"No, the mistake was letting a mere boy play tactics in the first place. By all means you're welcome to continue training us, and I expect to see you fighting alongside us in battle, because admittedly you are somewhat half-decent at that. But tactics, oh no, you're not doing those for a long long time." The young god opened his mouth, but again, for the third time, Father cut him off.

"I'm calling in a vote. Anyone in favour of Athena running tactics, raise your hand." Short of Hestia, Hades and Poseidon, every soul in the room raised their hands. Even Apollo, smiling weakly and getting a "Sorry Perce," out.

"It is settled then!" Father said gleefully. "Perseus Jackson, son of Poesidon, you are excused from tactics. I expect you to command your soldiers to continue teaching all the gods, because a lot of them are still very rusty. As for yourself, I want you to go back with Artemis to the hunt."

"What!?" Percy yelled.

"What!?" Poseidon yelled.

"What!?" Calypso yelled.

"What!?" Hestia yelled.

"What!?" Nico yelled.

"What!?" Hades yelled.

Even I was momentarily in shock. There is no way on earth Father is really sending Percy back to me, especially after what happened not once, not twice, but three times before.

"I'm not in the mood for repeating myself," Father scowled. "As the head of the Olypmians-"

"I don't care, as Percy's mother, I command you to stop my son from going with…. Her."

"Oh no, nothing short of Thanatos appearing in a jesters outfit and doing a tap dance is changing my mind."

"I can arrange that actually," Hades said venomously. Father scowled at everyone who had suddenly jumped out of their seats. Some were even ready to draw out their weapons.

"Percy, you will leave immediately to go with Artemis back to the hunt's camp, while I talk to the rest of the council. NOW!" Glaring at Father, the young god walked over to me, shooting me a dirty look as well. He reluctantly gave me his arm, flinching at my touch. I took a deep breath, and just like that, we were gone, like the way the moonlight disappears at sunrise.

Thalia POV

Of course we all knew about the war. We had even been training, although Lady Artemis forbade us from being in close contact during battles. At the moment, our camp was just outside of New York, close enough so that we could help if needed. Artemis had gone to a meeting earlier today. I knew it would probably be about the most recent battle. We had heard all about the horrors. Fourteen dead, more wounded, and a god soaked in ichor was nothing to be taken lightly. What no one expected was for Perseus Jackson to casually stroll in, with Artemis not far behind.

The god looked… well terrible. Even a child would be able to point out how bruised he was. His body was very… gold? I guess it's from all the ichor. For the first time in a while, he was dressed in more NYC style clothes. He had jeans and a T-shirt on, which said, "Hello America." He was also incredibly, and I mean absolutely, breathtakingly angry. Practically seething.

"Hunters," Artemis yelled as they both walked in. "Perseus Jackson is to be joining us again, under Zeus' orders."

"Hi, bye," he growled, storming past all of us back to his tent. It was a courtesy out of anything for us hunters to still set up Percy' tent whenever we moved camps. Artemis had justified it by saying, "Imagine his reaction if he comes back with no home." It's definitely a good thing that we listened to her.

"Milady, what happened up there?" I was the first to ask, rushing straight to my leader as soon as Percy was in his little tent. She sighed.

"There's been a change in plans. From now on, Athena is leading tactics, the Revenant is continuing to train with the gods, and Percy is training you hunters.

"At least we're in good hands," Charlotte muttered. The two of them still weren't exactly on speaking terms.

"Charlotte, stop holding grudges. Thalia, cook something for all of us to eat." Artemis said, clearly very hungry.

"So you all just assumed Percy isn't going to be eating with us?" Lady Artemis asked. After a bit of preparation, I had laid out something of a meal. I was half tempted to call it cheap gruel, but at the moment gruel sounded appetising. Normally, we have better food, but with the war, no one found any time to go hunting.

"Why would we want him to eat with us?" Sophie snarked This was the first time she had ever spoken about Percy since… well since the fight. "Percy Jackson is a vile male-"

"A male who beat your scrawny ass," Charlotte interjected, banging her first on the table.

"You made a promise to be nice to men from now on," another one of my hunters, Cassandra said.

"Sophie, I want you to go and call Percy for dinner." Her eyes suddenly opened wide.

"But Milady-"

"NOW!" She looked at Artemis irritatedly, but knew better than to answer back. The girl stood up, before walking off to fetch Perseus, stomping her feet like a child.

About three minutes later, Perseus Jackson, the Lord of Time, decided to come to the dining pavilion in nothing but PJs. I mean I guess it fits his name and it was 5PM, but jeez, he really needs to know when to change his clothes.

"Perseus," I said, greeting him with a curt nod, one that he didn't seem to acknowledge.

"What even is this," he said, a gross look on his face.

"If you don't want to eat it then don't," Sophie snapped. "After all, it's not like you could cook anything better because-"

"Because I'm an incompetent male?" Percy suggested innocently. Sophie looked a bit flustered.

"I, I wasn't going to say that," the girl stuttered.

Percy sighed.

"At this point I feel too sorry for y'all. And to answer your question, I can do better Sophie." Percy waved his hand, and all of a sudden an array of exquisite dishes lay in front of us, ranging from chicken to smoked salmon and roast potatoes. Some of the older hunters stared at the God in a mixture of shock and awe, whilst the younger ones wasted no time in ripping a chicken drumstick and tearing it to pieces with their teeth. This caused Percy to give a chuckle, something I'd forgotten he was capable of doing.

Out of nowhere, one of our younger hunters, Serene, ran to Percy, looking a bit hesitant, but after a while giving him a hug and running back to her seat giggling.

"Thank you Lord Percy," she said.

"Oh don't thank me, it's Lady Hestia who deserves it." Ah of course. Hestia had given him that weird food blessing thingy.

"Are you not hungry, Perseus?" I asked him. Percy was someone who I still had regrets about. Admittedly I was tricked, but we treated him too badly. Come to think of it, I don't even know how I listened to Phoebe back then. Her statement was so bad it should've been showcased in a museum. Percy was looking at me with a sort of curiosity.

"If you bothered to remember, you would know that I can't eat Hestia's food. She gave me the ability to summon it for others in times of need. It was not an unlimited food glitch, but of course, why would you remember anything I said. I'm just an incompetent male after all." Percy's sarcasm was without a shadow of doubt infuriating.

"I, I wasn't going to say that," I stuttered, but it was too late. As quick as the time flies, Percy was already gone, my voice lost in the eastern winds.

Nico POV

"Good evening hunters," my voice boomed across their camp. The reaction was beautiful. Immediately hunters were running out of their tents, still half-asleep. Lady Artemis (yes I do still have to call her Lady unfortunately) burst out of her tent in a thin gown. She was holding a bow and arrow, only the arrow was facing the wrong way and she had one of the worst cases of bed hair I've ever seen.

"What are you doing here," she said in a very annoyed voice.

"I'm here to see you, nah joking don't get your hopes up I need to talk to Percy."

"Hello Nico," a sad voice came from behind me. Whipping around, I saw Thalia standing, looking at me with her big eyes. I gave her a curt nod out of respect for when she saved me all those years ago. It was more of a formality.

"Nico, what's happening?" was the first thing Percy said in a chill voice as he exited his tent. Either he hadn't slept at all or he had been awake for a while because he looked amazing. I gave a toothy grin.

"C'mon Percy, let's have some alone time. You spend so much time with girls that you're gonna forget you're a boy," I snickered.

"So what happened after I was evicted?" Percy asked. The two of us had begun walking towards the lake nearby.

"It got pretty ugly actually," Nico said. "Zeus was definitely not thinking straight when he told you to get lost with Artemis. He was 100% having second thoughts." I laughed at that.

"No no honestly, you should've seen how Zeus was getting GRILLED. Hestia was short of slapping him, it was crazy, but you know how Zeus is." I nodded.

"Zeus is too stubborn to take back what he said, so he was practically having a shouting match with Apollo, Hestia, Hades and Poesidon. The deal was you're with Artemis for a week as 'disciplinary action', and then you're invited back to camp." Percy sighed. To him, it was better than permanently staying here, but knowing Percy, he had been hoping Hestia would be able to pull through.

"Don't blame her," I said, reading my mind. "Hestia was ready to go to war against Zeus had Athena and Demeter not stood up." I stifled a laugh. There's no way I'll ever be able to see Percy's mother trying to 1v1 Zeus.

"Percy, I think it's time we get back," I mumbled, yawning loudly.

"C'mon what sucks about skimming stones?" Percy asked, smirking and throwing another one.

"It sucks when you're against the son of the sea," Isaid with a twinge of annoyance. "Besides, I'm sure Artemis is missing you by no." Now it was my turn to smirk, something Percy really didn't like.

"What gave you even the slightest indication that I wanna go back there?" the young god asked. I shrugged.

"I dunno, but hurry up, we're going anyway." Percy groaned, whined and grumbled, but nevertheless he eventually decided to listen to his protege. We slowly started the trek back to camp.

"How's Hestia?" percy asked out of nowhere, although I don't know why I was so surprised.. It was his mother after all.

"I mean she's okay. She tries to take every chance to make me have a cup of tea and talk with her." Percy nodded sadly.

"She's lonely, wants someone to talk to," he said. I did feel bad for Hestia. The most loved goddess, yet the most lonely.

"Keep her happy Nico." I didn't need to reply. Short of the dinosaurs respawning, nothing could make me want to see Hestia miserable.. It's Hestia after all, you sorta had to keep her happy. She had the respect of every single god, was never bitter to anyone (unless they did something personal, then she was oh so scary).

Artemis did seem to be waiting for us back at camp. The goddess was sitting down, leaning on the trunk of a tree right next to what must've been Percy's tent. She seemed to be engaged in conversation with Thalia and another hunter I'd never seen before.

"Afternoon," Percy muttered. Artemis gave him a curt nod.

"Hello Percy," Thalia tried weakly, only to get ignored. It was a sad sight, but I do understand Percy's logic. He had told me the reason he still talks to Artemis and not Thalia.

"Call me petty sure," Percy began one evening as we watched the sunset. It had been a tiring day, one where we had to indirectly save the hunt from a swarm of monsters. I'm sure they could've handled it themselves, but Perseus disagreed. "But look at things from my perspective first. Yeah, Artemis did attempt to kill me, but that can be justified to an extent. She just wasn't comfortable around me, and who can blame her (well, aside from me and half of Olympus). Thalia was different. She knew me. After everything the two of us had done, to think she sacrificed it all when a hunter opened her mouth… I'm still wounded emotionally by her actions."

"Percy, I have to tell you something," Artemis began, letting out a yawn. Gods, what was it with everyone and yawning today? The young god nodded. Artemis looked at me warily, but still continued.

"Your father wants to talk with you." Percy had a puzzled and curious expression on his face. "He came by looking for you. Believe me when I say it's not common for the hunters to meet him. I can't remember the last time Poseidon paid us a visit, and whenever it was, it sure as hell wasn't to give out cookies." I studied Perseus, but I couldn't actually tell what was running through his head. Percy opened his mouth, almost as if to say something.

Just then, there was a bright flash of light. The two of us turned around to see a yawning Lady Demeter making her way towards us.

"Good afternoon Perseus," the goddess said.

"Lady Demeter," Percy bowed. She raised an eyebrow quizzically, before giving a snort of laughter.

"You really are as respectful as they say," she said, a playful smile pulling the corners of her mouth. "But I am here on business. Zeus has told me to inform you all about the latest hunt." Artemis gave a sigh.

"I've told Father quite a few times that I'm not a fan of his hunts," she grumbled. Demeter shrugged.

"I'm just the messenger," she said.

"Why you?" Percy asked, running his hands through his hair. "I mean no offence, Lady Demeter, but we've hardly ever spoken." She gave me a coy smile.

"Well who would be better to send?" she asked. "Perhaps Apollo so he can force himself to hunt with you and get no training? Maybe Poseidon and Hestia so they can grill Artemis for half an hour and then leave, forgetting what they were meant to say. Oh I know, what about Hermes? He'd be great aside from the fact that with an ongoing war, messages are reaching a peak. In the end, everyone just sends Demeter to do everything. Demeter, the forgotten goddess. At this point, I fear only farmers remember me in their prayers." She looked down at the ground, saddened.

"Fair enough," the young god said awkwardly. I don't think anyone knew how to respond to that.

"I have a message for you as well, Nico Di Angelo," Demeter suddenly remembered. I grumbled. Maybe Hades had purposely told her how much I hate that name.

"Hestia is basically forcing you to go with Percy on Zeus' hunt-"
"WHAT!" Artemis exclaimed, sitting upright. "I refuse to comply-"

"You can take it up with Hestia then," Demeter mused, knowing Artemis would be yeeted out of Olympus if she dared. Hestia and Artemis most definitely weren't on speaking terms. The moon goddess shot Demeter an icy look, but didn't complain further.

"When do we leave?" she muttered, her head slumped in despair.

"Zeus said leave tomorrow morning. Oh and Artemis, be careful will you please. Zeus seemed very secretive on who you're hunting, which I'm sure you're aware is never a good sign." She nodded, and Demeter walked away. We heard the sound of a flash not too long after.

"I don't think Lady Demeter liked it here," I snickered. Percy nodded, but seemed distant in his own thoughts.

"Nico, ask her for a tent," Percy muttered, jerking his head towards Thalia.

"We leave at sunrise."

Another chapter done, and this time updating much faster! And, I have even more good news. My new story is being published today, in two hours, so make sure you're tuned in for that! Other than that, don't forget to review, and join my discord all about my stories, with occasional teasers and other good stuff.