Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends, welcome to the next chapter of The God Hunter.

A bit of an early upload, but I'll be busy tomorrow so, here you go.

Hope you enjoy and now to the review.

Guest: No, he is not. Though there are some similarities between them, how else could they be friends, Matt is a lot more flippant and has an almost disinterested attitude towards incredibly dangerous situations. Also Percy is a much nicer person than Matt is.

And now story time.

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself, but she didn't. So Matt and Percy where elected to carry her.

"Watch her head!" Percy warned as they went up the stairs.

The mummified face slammed against the trapdoor frame and dust flew.

"Oh, shit." Percy said.

"Eh, she's fine." Matt said dismissively.

They hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, who knew a mummy could weigh so much.

"Well..." Percy said when they finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut, "That was gross."

"About the gross thing." Matt said, "What will be done about the Prophecy?"

"That's a good one." Percy said, "I wish I knew."

"We should be out there." Matt said, hands deep in his pockets, "Looking for Annabeth."

"Yeah." Percy agreed.

"Hey, love birds."

It was Thalia who came stomping up the stairs, "Get your butts downstairs." she said, "Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy."

"Thalia, don't be jealous." Matt said with a wink, "I would gladly carry a mummified body up the stairs with you."

"I'm going to decline that." she said with a small smile.

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of them were underage.

Mr. D sighed and with a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke.

Nobody drank that either.

Mr. D and Chiron, in wheelchair form, sat at one end of the table. Zoe, Korsica and Bianca, who had kind of become Zoe's personal assistant, took the other end.

Percy, Matt, Thalia and Grover sat along the right, and the other head councilors, Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers, sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note, "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped before he began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk." Zoe continued, "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"No. Please." Matt said emotionlessly, "Don't go."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said.

The girl looked so different in the few days since she had joined the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so her face could actually be seen.

She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely looked familiar. She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight.

It was disgusting.

"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains." Bianca said, "We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes, Artemis is being held hostage!" Zoe agreed, "We must find her and free her."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Korsica said, "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We need to team up."

"Finally!" Thalia said raising a hand, "A Hunter with some sense!"

"No!" Zoe said at once, "The Hunters do not need their help."

"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help." Chiron said, "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet, "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D." Chiron sighed, "With all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows, "Sorry, my dear centaur." he said, "Just trying to be helpful."

"And failing." Matt muttered.

"Korsica is right. We're supposed to work together." Thalia said stubbornly, "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one? I know of only one who can go against one, and I'm pretty sure you aren't him."

Zoe grimaced, seeing that Thalia got a point.

"We must not delay." Chiron warned, "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, come on!" Matt said throwing up his hands, "Why is it always a solstice?"

"You think that's bad?" Dionysus said disinterested, "Try attending another one of those dull annual meetings."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice." Zoe said, "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus." she said.

"Just checking." Mr. D said as he nodded, "You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe." Chiron said, "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three from Camp and two Hunters, seems fair to me." Matt said as everybody looked at him, "The campers are obviously me, Percy and Thalia. I don't care who Nightshade brings."

"I would prefer to take all the Hunters." Zoe grunted, "We will need strength of numbers."

"I think we need quality over quantity." Korsica said diplomatically, "And Matt, Percy and Thalia have shown that they are quality."

Matt turned to looked at the red head, slightly surprised a Hunter would praise him.

"Korsica is right." Chiron said, "You'll be retracing the goddess's path, moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster, the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

"Obviously it isn't Lucifer." Matt said casually. He raised an eyebrow when he heard a few gaps around the table.

"You dare... You dare say his name?" Korsica said shocked, "Not even Artemis dares to speak of him, because legends go that if you speak his name, you draw his attention."

"Oh, don't worry." Matt said as he leaned back, "I already have Old Scratch's attention."

"That's... bad." Korsica said.

"Very elegantly put, Korsica, really." Zoe said holding her head, "Obviously it isn't The Shining One."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, but he was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up, "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron." Percy said, "You don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing." Connor Stoll said, "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."

"As long as it is the two Hunters, it's a loss I can live with." Matt said casually, "Honestly that's a net positive."

"Matt!" Thalia scolded him, "Please be serious."

"What makes you think I'm not?" Matt said.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand." Silena said, "What could that mean?"

Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand." Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls, "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

"There will be death." Chiron decided, "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him while the wine god glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Matt is right." Silena said, "Three campers should go."

"Oh, no. I will not quest with three of you." Zoe said, "Three Hunters and two campers."

"Really?" Matt said, "Your making demands?"

"Yes, I am." Zoe said, turning to Silena, "I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

"I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters." Silena said as she blushed, "Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at." Zoe scoffed, "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

"I have to admit, that one was pretty good." Matt thought.

"Stop it." Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen, "Let's start with the Hunters. If it helps, which three of you will go?"

"I shall go, of course." Zoe said as she stood, "Korsica will go with me."

"I'd have it no other way." Korsica said, exchanging a smile with the dark haired girl.

"As for the third Hunter." Zoe said, "I wish Bianca to go."

"Me? But..." Bianca said as she looked stunned, "I'm so new and..."

"And you suck in general." Matt noted.

"Ignore Hera's spawn." Zoe told her, "You will do fine, there is no better way to prove thyself."

"And for campers?" Chiron said.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap, "Anything to help Artemis!"

"I think not, satyr." Zoe wrinkled her nose, "You are not even a half-blood."

"But he is a camper." Thalia said, "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!"

Apparently Zoe thought it was a good thing. "Very well." she said, "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

"Wait." Percy said, "That's five."

"Oh, goody." Zoe said, "The man-thing can count."

"What about Matt and me?" Percy said.

Thalia said nothing. Chiron was still studying, his eyes sad.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot!" Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem, "Percy and Matt have to go. I didn't mean... I'll stay. But that makes one too many..."

"They cannot." Zoe said, "They are boys. I won't have Hunters traveling with boys. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of boys."

"Oh, how sad for you." Matt said, "But we need to go on this quest."

"Why?" Zoe said, "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"

"Why else!?" Matt said as he stood up, "Because Artemis can burn down in Hades, or Hell, or whatever afterlife gods go to for all I care."

Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave him a look of pity, something she should keep.

"No, I insist upon this." Zoe said flatly, "I will take a satyr if I must, for they do not count as a boy, but not a male hero."

"The quest is for Artemis." Chiron sighed, "The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions."

With a scoff, Matt stormed out of the room while Percy just sat there as Chiron concluded the council. "Thalia and Grover will accompany Zoe, Korsica, and Bianca. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods, present company included, we hope, be with you."

Matt stormed out of the Big House, he needed some time to himself and the voice living inside his head to work on his and Percy's next move.

"Matt!"

Coming to a stop and he turned around to see that it was Korsica, who had a troubled look in her baby blue eyes.

"Hey, I just wanted to say, I'm so sorry." Korsica said, "If it was up to me, we had taken you and Percy with us."

"It's fine." Matt said dismissively.

"I know you have no reason to trust me, but..." Korsica said, "You have my word, I'll look for Annabeth, and I will do everything in my power, to save her in your stead."

Matt looked at the girl, all he could think is that she looked somewhat familiar, maybe it had something to do with the eyes. "Korsica..." he said softly, "I have a growing lack of disgust for you."

"I..." Korsica said unsure, "What?..."

"Just say thank you." Matt said with a roll of his eyes.

"Thank you?" she said confused.

"Your welcome." Matt said as he continued to walk.

"That's not what I meant!"

When Matt fell asleep that evening, he found himself back in the barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her.

"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.

It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. This voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate. Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man.

"She's fading. We must hurry."

"Like you actually care about her." Matt growled.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light, Artemis, her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.

"So much for the almighty patron of the Hunters." Matt scoffed.

Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy." said the man in the shadows, "Decide!"

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. The goddess looked at Annabeth and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"

"She will die soon." Luke said, "You can save her."

Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. "Free my hands." she said.

Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs.

Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks. The man in the shadows chuckled.

"You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."

"You surprised me." the goddess said, straining under her burden, "It will not happen again."

"Indeed it will not, now you are out of the way for good!" the man said, "I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."

"You know nothing of mercy, you swine." Artemis groaned.

"On that, we can agree." the man said, "Luke, you may kill the girl now."

But Luke hesitated, "She... she may yet be useful, sir..." he said, "Further bait."

"You truly believe that?"

"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure."

The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."

Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess.

"You will never find the monster you seek." Artemis said, "Your plan will fail."

"How little you know, my young goddess." the man in the shadows said, "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is... challenging."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.

Matt eyes shot open, expecting to wake up or find himself in his and Asherah's usual meeting place or maybe even the mysterious ocean. Instead he found himself among the cloud, floating high above the Earth.

"Step-Zeus, if your going to murder and rape me..." Matt said as he looked around, "Please do it in that order."

Behind him the cloud whirled before solidifying into a woman, who came walking towards him. He let out a low snarl when he saw her. The last time he had seen her, she had attempted to be motherly, but now her face was a mask of regal formality, no smile on her face when she came near him.

"Mother." Matt said, sounding as if the word caused him to become physically sick.

"You saw it, that what is going on." Hera said, "I don't need to tell you what I want you to do."

"You don't get to tell me to do anything." Matt told her, "Now let me go back to sleep. I need to plan how I'm going west and save Annabeth."

"Why not save Artemis while your at it?" Hera suggested, "She will owe you a favor, and I do not need to remind you how useful it is to have a god be in your debt."

"That sounds like actual good advice, something you have experience with." Matt said annoyed, "Did Lucifer told you that?"

"Be wary of The Light Bringer, Matthew." Hera said earnestly, "You have a long way to go, and he is not the safest of travelling companions."

"Maybe not." Matt said, "But he's the only divine being I know who keeps his promises."

"Yes, it is a point of pride with him." Hera said, "But please, don't mistake it for a virtue."

Matt woke up with a start when he heard loud banging on his door. It was dark outside, no other sounds but the hoot of an owl in the woods and the distant surf on the beach. In the moonlight, on the nightstand was Annabeth's New York Yankees cap.

"Glad to be awake. I only have board enough in my head for one woman." Matt yawned when he heard a second loud knock on the door, "I'm coming, I'm coming. Who is there? If your Nightshade, then please kindly feck off."

Matt flung the door open, and found myself face-to-face with Percy, who behind him was a black Pegasus.

"Percy, it's the middle of the night!" Matt said before looking at the Pegasus, "What's up Blackjack."

Blackjack had been a captive on board Luke's ship last summer, until they caused a little distraction that allowed him to escape. Blackjack credited Percy with saving him, so he kind of adopted Percy. The Pegasus made noises that sounded just like those made by normal horses.

"Oh you know, the usual. Thank you for asking." Matt said turning to Percy, "Okay, who died?"

"Wait, what?" Percy said.

"I mean, why else would you wake me up? That's a very dangerous thing." Matt said as Blackjack made more horse noises, "Yeah, you can say that again."

Percy looked confused between Matt and Blackjack before decided to shake it off, "Matt, I need your help. We've got to help a hippocampi."

"Okay, fine. You wouldn't bother me with it if it wasn't important." Matt said, "Just let me get dressed and gather a few things. We got an old friend waiting for us."

"There is one more thing." Percy said, "I Iris Messaged my mom tonight and..."

"What happened?" Matt said concerned.

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed.

Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.

I have been thinking of doing a story on the Magnus Chase and Kane Chronicles, after The God Hunter Part II. Though that would mean I would need to read them. Though I have some idea's like how with Matt the other two would fill the Warrior, Rogue, Mage arch-types.

My original idea would be for the Magnus Chase OC to be the child of Loki, but from what I know of that series, that might not be possible... Unless..

And the Kane Chronicles OC would be based on Yugi/Atem (Have I ever mentioned I'm a big Yu-Gi-Oh! fan?), though instead of playing cards, he would use magic to create real monsters.

And after those stories wrap up and after the potential The God Hunter Part III, the three of them would team up for The Trials of Apollo.

But those brain farts are a long way off before becoming real ideas or stories.

By now you know the drill, take care of yourself, get some rest, drink plenty of water, and I will see you people next time.