Chapter 7: Relationship Goals & Twist of Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson

A/N: Yall better prep those buttcheeks, yall in for a ride.

LAST TIME:

"Percy, it's so pretty, thank you for showing me." Annabeth said not taking her eyes off the moon.

"I agree. Can we please go back down now?" Thalia said, earning a look from Percy and Annabeth as she looked absolutely terrified she even squeezed Percy's hand so hard that it hurt.

"Please." She begged as Percy suddenly let the power dissipate. Suddenly all three found themselves back by the fire as Thalia slowly opened her eyes and gave a large sigh of relief but then noticed both Annabeth and Percy staring at her.

"W-What?" She asked with a blush on her freckled cheeks.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Annabeth asked as Thalia just stared at them and gave a small nod.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry, I should have asked." Percy said as Thalia shook her head.

"Don't be, you didn't know and neither did Annabeth. I like to keep it a secret. Also if you both tell anyone…" Thalia threatened as both just nodded quickly as the daughter of Zeus' eyes seemed to calm down a bit as she took deep breaths.

"Still… a daughter of Zeus afraid of heights." (• ε •)

"Shut up Percy!" ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

LINEBREAK:

PERCY POV:

Time seemed to fly by faster each day ever since Thalia, Annabeth, and Luke stayed with us. They only stayed 2 days and began on their journey again. I begged them to stay for Christmas but they said they needed to get to camp half blood, a place I've learned is a safe haven for demigods. With my mom being my mom gave them several maps and drachma to use if needed. Still while they did stay, we managed to celebrate Thalia's birthday, against her own will.

She was angry at first, but got over it quickly by the festive nature of us Jacksons. Which increased to 3! No it's not what you're thinking! Unless that thought was of Tracy then you were correct. Tracy had been adopted by my mom making her my legal sister, she had actually been the one to ask Sally if she could be part of our family.

Me and my mom with arms wide open accepted her into our family. She even legally changed her name to Tracy Hellington Jackson now. Though she says she is older than me, I will never recognize such false claims. Artemis says I reminded her of someone when I told her this but I had no idea who.

With the help of my mom a brilliant birthday cake was made that said 'happy birthday, thank you for being here' on the cake. When we sang Thalia her happy birthday song however she nearly burst into tears when we did. It gave me some insight into her that I didn't realize until later. Sometimes it is the little things that we treasure the most. I just hope this was a memory she would treasure.

When they departed all three of them gave me a Christmas gift much to my surprise. It wasn't much, just a simple picture of all of us smiling together that someone had managed to take. I unfortunately didn't have a gift to return but they said they had plenty of pictures and those were enough.

My last words with them were different though, a kiss on the forehead and a 'stay safe kid' by a smirking Thalia. A peck on the cheek and a quick 'thank you' by a blushing Annabeth. Then a bear hug that felt like it was gonna crush my bones by Luke followed by a 'hope to see you in camp one day'. With that they were gone, I just hope the hunters don't bother them on the way out. I felt like Zoë and Thalia might be the type to not get along.

Like that Christmas itself came and the hunters didn't hold back one bit while celebrating. Turns out they didn't really care about Greek holidays all that much and just did the most popular ones with the girls in the hunt. Needless to say I saw a very cute 16 year old Artemis in a Santa outfit complete with a skirt, auburn hair in a braid with the red cap, and a giant bag of presents. Zoë also helped out but only wore an elf costume as she helped pass out gifts.

Also over the course of the years I discovered that there were nearly 140 hunters total, I think there were a total of 6 hunts that ran around the states. Artemis regularly followed each hunt for a time apparently. Rarely did they ever meet in one place, it turns out when they did it was Christmas. Let me tell you the presents never seemed to stop when they were passing them out. Still it was nice to see so many hunters that I had grown close with and meet many that I rarely saw. Apparently I'm known as Sally's Boy throughout the hunt.

Surprisingly I received more than a dozen gifts from the hunters, though 99% of my gifts were shirts, socks, and pants. I did receive some nice ones from a mildly blushing Artemis. Apparently it was her first time giving a gift to a mortal male in over 4 centuries, it was nothing special, just a polaroid camera for me to take photos with.

I still loved it very much and thanked the goddess as her cheeks just turned more gold. Zoë and Tracy's gifts were actually something to go with the camera. Zoë's was a camera film and Tracy's was a lanyard for it. Each gift I enjoyed more than the last but later that night I was in for a surprise gift. A simple knock at the front door when the last hours of Christmas were closing was in all it was in the beginning. Thinking it was Tracy coming back from the party I ran to the door only to find I was completely wrong.

A very, very tall man whose head was more than a few feet above the door frame loomed silently. In one hand he had a massive plain wooden cane with a clock decorating the top and in the other he held a simple black backpack. Covering him was a huge aged and brown wool cloak that hid everything but his slightly wrinkled hands from view. He only stood there silently and didn't say a single word, however I was terrified. Fear gripped me into silence, but all he did was simply set down the backpack next to the door.

He then simply took a few steps back and stood in the snowfall, but only then did I notice the snow was not falling anymore. It was frozen in the sky like a painting and then I noticed I couldn't hear any more sound as the world seemed to go mute. Yet he and I were completely free of this frozen world. Then I finally managed to catch a glimpse of his lower face that only showed a tender and warm smile, then two eyes opened up in the darkness of the cloak.

They sent shivers down my spine a little as they were like beacons of gold as his irises took the strange shape of gears like in a machine. They were filled with infinite wisdom and the gears even seemed to move as I stared at them. As I gazed back at them they disappeared back into the cloak as he finally spoke.

"Take care, youngest. I hope you enjoy the gifts from all of your brothers and sisters as well as mother and father. I wish I could stay longer and talk but the fates are always fickle." His aged voice echoed in my ears as it seemed to shake the very world around it.

The instant the echo ended he was gone, not even footprints in the snow were left. Then all the sound came back and time seemed to resume. I was simply left standing beside a backpack with a dumb look on my face. That is how I met my older brother Chronos.

Apparently mom said that Chronos was one of the few to be able to come to this world undetected by the gods. He also wanted to see me at least once as well, I just told her to tell him it was an interesting encounter. Thankfully the fates allowed them to give me gifts, not the ones they wanted to per say but the ones that wouldn't affect my destiny or whatever.

After that moment my world began to change rapidly, the gifts from my siblings and my mother and stepfather far more than I could have ever asked for. Though there were only 6 gifts total, each was truly amazing. Chronos' was arguably the best for my younger self.

LINEBREAK: 3 years later

TIME: March 2003, Percy age ???? (Question mark will be explained)

Zoë POV:

"Where is he? It's been 4 days!" Phoebe yelled in frustration and punched a tree causing it to shake violently due to her monstrous strength. Tracy and Esra sighed in frustration also as I just rubbed her temples.

"His tracks led to here, it doesn't make any sense." Tracy said as a small sad looking music note sat on her head.

"Maybe he went into the treetops?" Asked Esra as I and Phoebe both shook our heads.

"There would be markings on the tree, however there is none. Tracy I need you to send out a sound to see if you can spook him into making some noise." I said as Tracy nodded as she closed her eyes and focused, suddenly 12 different music notes shot away from her and floated in the forest covering nearly 1000 feet total. About three seconds later from those very notes a very loud burst of music was heard.

"IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA, IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA-A!!!" Like an explosion going off the forest shook startling every animal and hunter in it. Tracy was unaffected, as she shook back and forth with her eyes closed singing the lyrics to herself like nothing happened. The other hunters in the forest just frowned and plugged their ears waiting for it to end.

"Enough." I said and just like that the sound stopped instantly. Only Tracy was left mouthing the words to herself and doing a little dance to it. Even her little music notes joined her in the dancing as they all reappeared around her. I could continue being amazed at her particular use of her sound and light powers later.

The echo of the song repeated for a second as the hunters just listened. The only sound was frightened animals in the forest. Even their excellent hearing couldn't pick up on any person running or falling. There was nothing at all.

"Damn. Where the hell could he be?" I frowned a bit as I thought for a bit. If he wasn't there then…

"Phoebe, go north with a third of the hunters and have them spread like a web for 2 miles. Look for anything suspicious! Tracy and Esra you each take a third as well and do the same in opposite directions." I said as all three nodded and dispersed as I was quickly left alone but remained silent. After a couple minutes I looked around and then faced the tree that Phoebe hand punched not long ago.

"Percy, you can come out now I am all alone." I said in a calm voice and looked around, but my attention was mainly focused on the tree. Nothing seemed off about it but something felt weird. However, even after I spoke there still wasn't so much as a peep.

"Such an easy target and you won't take it?" I huffed in fake annoyance as suddenly a snort of a laugh sounded in the area. I whipped my head towards it but found nothing as the gears turned in my head. A smile still appeared on my face, it seems he was still weak to jokes from me after all.

"I knew it." I said with a smile as I pulled out my dulled hunting knife that was provided for this 'hunt' and got into a ready stance. My body tense ready to strike at any moment as my eyes scanned the area for any movement.

"Easy target, my ass. It is like taking on the main boss itself. Just no minions this time." Percy's voice echoed in the area as I looked around for the source but found none. Percy seemed to be getting smarter and smarter with each 'hunt' of him. A now weekly tradition for all of us hunters at main camp or Huntress Camp some called it.

"Seems like Tracy taught you how to throw your voice. Also, you think I'm the main boss?" I asked with a chuckle, his stupid analogies were the worst sometimes. Admittedly they had rubbed off on me, but they worked nonetheless. I just slowly looked around but found nothing of significance. I couldn't remain in the open like this, slowly I backed into the tree opposite of the one Phoebe punched and rested my back against it.

"She may have taught me a little, but she is so awkward with her explanations. That's a genius for you. Also you totally are." Percy said I couldn't help but agree, that girl was something else when it came to her powers. Truly the most talented demigod when it came to powers I had ever seen in my many years as a huntress.

"Then what does that make Artemis?" I asked looking up and down just in case but still nothing, however Percy stayed silent for a bit as I swore I could hear his brain thinking for a proper stupid analogy for her.

"She is like the hidden boss, but like you can only defeat her if you max out your character and get certain gear and consumables. Basically an impossible opponent." He said as I stayed silent for a bit and let out a genuine laugh that I couldn't suppress if milady was here to hear that she would be furious.

"Haha, Then what about me?" I asked, still laughing as suddenly two arms shot from nowhere. Before I could even react, one quickly wrapped around my neck putting me into a headlock. While the other pressed a dull hunters knife in between my breasts as I felt the cold blade through my clothes.

I could only stand still as in silence as I felt the blade press a bit harder as I frowned. Slowly I dropped both my blades as I swore I heard a small chuckle from him.

"You're an impossible opponent as well, unless caught off guard that is. Also sorry but you're dead now." A soft whisper sounded right behind my ears causing me to shiver slightly, suddenly part of the tree behind me began to morph and deform and then quickly transform into a 5 foot 8 Percy with a 16 year old face with a stupid grin on it. He wore a hoodie that shifted from the natural appearance of bark to simple black color. Apparently it was a gift he had received one Christmas.

From what I could tell it had the ability to shift its color and design to anything and had the ability to change its appearance. Apparently it even had two more features but Percy wouldn't share it with us.

A while ago Percy had discovered a new power of his, he liked to call it tactical camouflage. Basically as long as he wasn't moving he could perfectly blend into any surface seamlessly. It worked together with his hoodie extremely well. Though not invisibility it was a close second in terms of usability and the cause of my current defeat.

"Dammit." I cursed as he chuckled his stupid chuckle. Slowly he let me go as I rubbed my neck in frustration as I turned to see him stepping away from the tree. The black and white in his irises and even the hint of blue seemed to dance in amusement as I gritted my teeth.

"How long have you been hiding there?" I asked picking up my blade and put them in the sheaths as he did the same. He just shrugged in response and began to stretch as I just continued to frown at him.

"Maybe… 36 ish hours? I can't remember for sure. I got the prey I wanted so it's a win-win." Percy said with a smooth smile as I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on Zoë, cheer up! Frowning isn't good for your beautiful face." He said with complete honesty as I felt a blush touch my cheeks.

"Percy!" I mildly yelled at him as he threw his hands up in surrender with a 'I did nothing wrong' face plastered on him.

"What? All I did was compliment you. I even made sure nobody was around." He said as I felt like punching him as my face burned in embarrassment. Ever since that…event, he had been getting more adventurous with his words, comments, and compliments.

"Still, you shouldn't say that to a huntress. Especially the lieutenant of the hunt. You will get in trouble, then Artemis and the hunters will want your ass." I argued as he sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you Zoë? I don't care about that, they can kick my butt all they want. It won't change my feelings for you, I like you. I like you a lot Zoë." He said as I felt my cheeks burn harder at his sincerity as he gave me a soft smile.

"Percy!" I nearly yelled but he just kept smiling. I just felt my emotions stir more just seeing that stupid smile. Why did this boy who I've only known for less than 10 years have such an effect on me? Me, Zoë Nightshade the lieutenant of the hunt!

"I mean-." I quickly cut him off by slamming my hand down on his face effectively shutting him up.

"Listen to me." I said both angry and flustered as he slowly nodded.

"I don't… I dont like you." The words felt sour in my mouth, but he just shook his head as I felt the urge to punch him into a pulp right then and there. I barely managed to restrain myself.

"Mmmh mhhm mhmn mmm hmmm." He suddenly said something but my hand muffled it completely, I just waited for a second but pulled my hand back.

"What?" I asked him angrily with flushed cheeks as he just stared at me for a bit, his eyes seeming to bore into me. I felt almost naked under his gaze as my honey brown eyes met his swirls of black and white.

"Then when you kissed me during our mission, did that mean nothing to you? Because it meant a lot to me." He asked me in a sad voice as a torrent of emotions flooded over me. This is the one conversation I had tried to avoid but it seems I couldn't anymore.

FLASHBACK: a few months ago

LOCATION: Mississippi-ish

"I told you to not take that turn, can't believe you didn't listen to me." Percy said as we both stared at the dead of this part of the labyrinth. I just stood frustrated at the sight as Percy slowly whistled with his hands behind his head as I gave a frustrated sigh.

"Fine, I was wrong. Are you happy now? Because we still need to get out of this dreadful place. The underground is the realm of Hades, it just feels awful here." I said as Percy just shrugged, not one bit affected by being underground.

"I'm a bit happy, I will admit. Not everyday a hunter apologizes to me hehe." Percy chuckled with a smirk on his face as I felt my eyelid twitch, this boy could rile up people's nerves like no other.

"Still we need to turn around before the labyrinth-." He was cut short as a rumbling shook the area we stood. Quickly the tunnel we were just came from closed in but a few seconds creating a dead end. Then a second later a new path formed where the dead end used to be.

"Great." Percy said with a sigh as we both rubbed our temples. This was week 2 of being stuck in the labyrinth with only each other's company, admittedly it was partly my fault. Though I would never admit it to Percy.

"Well, no way but forward." I mumbled as he nodded, soon he began to move forward as the rope holding us together tightened a bit as I followed by his side. It was Tracy's idea to use the rope just in case and it worked wonders. It honestly saved us both a few times, if only that little songbird was here she could sing us a tune to lighten the mood. Unfortunately she was yet again grounded by Sally for sneaking out several dozen cookies from her house. So no quests for her for a while.

"So Miss. Nightshade, devourer of marshmallows." Percy asked as I glanced at him with eyes full of disdain but then he turned forward ignoring my look.

"Yes? Mr. Jackson, tripper of flat surfaces." I played along as a small smile graced his and my lips.

"I remember the last time we left off you mentioned that Landon had a cold, what was it like?" He asked with a slight sparkle in his eyes as I gave a light chuckle. Over the past few years Percy and I had been exchanging stories with one another whenever we talked alone. I talked about my time on Mount Othrys and he talked about his time with his mother, or just events around camp when I was gone. I had far more to talk about than him but he was much more vivid with his stories, explaining to the smallest details.

"Less fire sneezes than you're imagining."

Over the next several hours we talked nonstop. Even when we took breaks to rest and eat. We both kept exchanging stories back and forth. Percy eventually seemed to finally run out of stories. At least the happy ones, I could only stay silent as he told me stories of horrendous events from his childhood. He had mentioned it to me in the past but only in the blandest forms and always chuckled his way through them. Now though, he seemed to finally tell the true stories, this time in much more detail.

I could only ball up my fists and listen, this person Gabe was truly the reason many hunters hated men so much. Still his stories felt similar to my own experiences with Atlas. He was never a good father, in fact one of the worst. Yet Gabe seemed to make Atlas seem like a model parent. I could only wonder how Percy survived through all of it.

"Sorry I didn't mean to get into it like that, I haven't even told Mom or Tracy all that yet. Please… Please don't tell them." Percy said with a small sad chuckle in a slightly begging tone. As I felt my eyes moisten a little, just how much did he have bottled up?

"Why tell me first?" I suddenly asked as he paused as our eyes met for a bit, in that moment I felt something between us. Not an understanding of each other but something… more.

"I just feel like I can tell you anything Zoë, like my darkest secrets and you wont turn away. I feel like I can trust you with anything… Besides, you're the only one who won't break out in tears and cry if I tell them." He tried to joke a bit at the end to lighten the mood, though I felt a little offended at the comment. The first part made my heart stir as I looked away as my cheeks felt warm. When did the boy get so smooth with his words? He was but a child a little bit ago.

Soon the sound of the sea was heard as I smiled, finally a chance to escape this place. We were finally getting close to an exit! Percy seemed to give a stiff face at the sound. Soon we found a rusty door that had the sound of waves and the sea behind it. With one push the door opened revealing quite the sight.

It was outside some old lighthouse that gave off a brilliant light, but the sky above us was nothing but gray clouds and thick mist giving the sea a dead feel to it. We were finally outdoors at least! It felt amazing to be outside for the first time in weeks, that malevolent labyrinth with its twisted personality and its ever changing tunnels never seemed to end.

"Finally! We are free! Now all we have to do is find out where we are and then we can drop this off Iris' pitcher." I said, taking a glance at Percy's backpack. It was one of the magical gifts he had gotten one year along with his hoodie, but this thing had a massive internal space and a wonderful return function. I was honestly jealous, I was tempted to ask Artemis for such a thing to make camping and hunting easier. Percy himself though appeared a full shade paler than usual.

"Hey you gonna be okay?" I asked as he gave me a stiff but nervous look.

"Yeah I will, but can we please go towards land?" He asked, keeping his eyes focused on the ground in front of him as I gave a nod. He told me about his fears of water but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

"Sure just follow me." I said, giving a tug to the rope forcing him to keep my pace. His whole body seemed rigid and each time a wave hit the rocks below us he would seem to subconsciously veer away from it. I just kept walking forward with him in tow. The once smiling, happy, and joking Percy was now nothing but a shadow of himself. I felt a pang in my heart seeing him like this, I even felt the urge to hug him but I quickly pushed that thought away. The only goal in mind was to get inland, but something quickly interrupted us.

"Oh my look sisters, two lonely demigods. What a treat!" Said a voice as I froze and turned to see a dozen stark naked Haliae water nymphs decorating the sea rocks on each side of our path. Their smiles were like that of a clown with their razor sharp teeth as they slowly raked their claws on the hard rocks below them. Clearly all of them were a bit hungry and we looked like a fine meal.

THIRD PERSON POV:

"Percy." Zoë said as he stopped and looked up from the ground. Seeing the dozen water nymphs, slowly Zoë and Percy undid the rope between them. They each felt a sense of danger from the nymphs as they slowly got ready for battle.

"Oh we won't hurt you two, we just want a taste and then be on our way! Just a taste! How about just a few fingers? Or maybe a hand? Pretty please!" One said in a fake begging tone. Several of the dozen savage nymphs slowly climbed the rocks and neared the two. Zoë quickly pulled out a silver sword from the sheath on her back and gave it a twirl ready to defend herself and Percy.

On Percy's side a red and black bracelet melted off his wrist and then in the next second a 25 inch long Kopis with a blood red blade and obsidian black handle appeared in his hand. The blade itself had an ever so slight forward bend to it giving it a deadly look. The sinister looking blade itself hummed for a second in joy as it was released.

This was gift number 3 of 6 that Percy received. Its name waskatakókkinos ouranós or Crimson Sky. It was a very special blade that was so sharp that normal steel could only last a few strikes at most. As the blade was fed energy the sharper it became. It also had the ability to shift into different forms but currently it could only do a spear and a Kopis. Just seeing it made a few nymphs pause as they sensed an extreme danger from it.

"I promise we are not that tasty, haven't bathed in weeks. If smells could kill I would be a monster myself." Percy quipped at them trying to get his mojo back, his hands had a slight tremor to them. All he could do was grip his blade harder as his hand paled from the pressure.

'Percy focus.'

'And breathe, don't forget to breathe.' A male and female voice sounded in his head as Percy did just that.

'Thanks Erebus, Hemera thank you as well.' Percy said Chaos used herself as a bridge for them to communicate with them.

'Hold your blade like I taught you. Now focus, they are coming.' Erebus said as Percy's hand let up a little on the pressure.

"Haha! Then that means you two just need a bath! First the boy, he will take longer to clean!" One said as they all cackled at the joke as Percy felt a presence train itself on him.

"Percy lookout!" Sadly he was too late as he felt a shoulder ram into him as Zoë shoved him out of the way. He could only watch in horror as a massive automobile sized jet of water shot out of the ocean. All Percy saw was two honey brown eyes look into his and then disappear into a torrent of water. Zoë was directly hit by the jet and sent flying like a ragdoll far away from the lighthouse.

"Zoë!" Percy screamed as he got up and ran to the side of the pathway to suddenly find his feet frozen in place. Somehow they wouldn't move another step as he gazed as she crashed into the sea.

"She is mine!" A nymph yelled as she jumped effortlessly into the sea as several yelled at her in anger telling her to share.

"What? Afraid of a little water boy?" Asked one of the nymphs with a deadly smile on her face as she approached him slowly. The other half of the naked nymphs slowly approached behind her. He ignored them, keeping his eyes trained on the sea where Zoë landed.

Finally Zoë broke the surface and took a huge breath of air as relief washed over Percy, but she wasn't safe yet he could see the half dozen nymphs leaping through the water and going right towards her.

"Zoë! I'll be there in a moment!" Percy yelled with all his might as Zoë glanced his way and gave a nod but then turned her head towards the creatures approaching her. It seemed his yell seemed to make the other nymphs angry.

"Hey! Look at me boy! I want to see your eyes when I kill you!" She yelled with anger, taking a swipe at Percy as he dodged to the side as he gritted his teeth.

"Fuck off!" He roared at them but his strike was dodged by the nymph as she jumped back a few steps. He just took another deep breath and readjusted his grip as he focused. The water was too much though as the sound of it seemed to drown out everything. Until a voice shattered the sound of it.

'Focus, don't make me say it again!'

"Maybe a bit more than afraid," She said with a wicked smile as Percy. Just then all 6 nymphs rushed him as Percy was forced to fight. Percy just gritted his teeth harder as his eyes swirled with anger.

His years and years of training with Erebus kicked in as he faced them all at once, besides being the primordial of night Erebus was known for his swordplay being at the pinnacle in the universe. A fine teacher for Percy at the request of Chaos as he instructed him through his connection with Chaos.

Percy striked the closest to him with such ferocity that Crimson Sky sang happily as it landed on the nymphs blade-like fingers causing a few sparks but then the nails broke. The Nymph's eyes went wide but in the next instant the blade found her shoulder and cut into her body until it was caught halfway through. Blue blood spewed like a fountain covering Percy as he kicked the nymph off his blade and jumped back just in time to dodge a strike from another.

"I am focused!" Percy roared to Erebus as he lunged forward and used Crimson Sky to cut the nymphs head in half as his body pushed itself to its limits. Thankfully his body had been through much more than this with Erebus and Hemera and the hunt, trained to his limit for so long he was truly deadly with a blade.

"Kill him!" One Nymph yelled as two of her sisters met their end in an instant. She threw her hands forwards, sea water took to the air shooting right at him. In an instant the Kopis in his hand transformed into a simple greek spear, the body was black obsidian and the spear head was crimson red. A black strip of fabric also was wrapped right before the head, a vertical eye of Sauron or an eye of Chaos was present on the fabric giving it an extra flare.

Percy didn't waste a second as the spear twirled in his hand smashing into the small jets of seawater with each strike forward. It smashed one more jet and then with the momentum of the spear spun around in a full circle. As he did he pulled the spear back into a throwing position and then with one step threw it. The nymph tried to block the strike as water flooded in front of her and formed a shield but it was too slow.

Like a beam of red light the spear penetrated through the lousy water shield and went right through her chest. The force behind it threw her back a dozen feet as Percy stared at the remaining nymphs who froze in place after seeing yet another of their sisters dispatched.

'Your throwing could use some work. You're only using 85% of the power you could be using.' Hemera quipped as Percy's angry face twitched in annoyance.

"I'll kill you!" The one leader nymph roared in fury as more water churned and Percy just stared at her as he raised up his left land. As he did his sleeve fell down revealing another bracelet that was made with twisted gray silver and obsidian black bands. Just seeing it made the nymph freeze in fear of another weapon. It was gift number 4 of 6 that Percy had received, and in an instant a round shield with a small circular cut where his arm reseted appeared on Percy's arm.

The shield was covered with the silver gray metal giving it a dull kind of feel, but the design in the middle of the shield was that of the black chaos star. 8 arrows all stemming from the middle, the ones facing up, down, left, and right were all the longer arrows. Each arrow looked jagged and dangerous and with two circles interlaid in them it looked ever more sinister. The shield had no medusa head but it still had a similar effect as fear grew in the monsters as they stared at it.

The nymph who had froze was slightly relieved it was a shield but Percy had other plans as he dashed towards the remaining three. They attacked without restraint as Percy blocked attacks, knocking them to the side or deflecting them. With training under belt the shield was just as deadly as the sword. The first nymph he reached didn't have a chance to retreat due to his speed. Percy jumped up into the air and slammed the sharp edge of the shield right into her head.

With a sickening crack the edge shattered her skull and killed her as she was thrown back. Percy regained his stance quickly and blocked a claw strike from one that made him slide back due to the force. He didn't stop for a second as he made a fist with his free hand and slammed his shield into her attacking hands blowing them upwards. One quick movement later a fist slammed into her gut forcing her to lurch over.

'Percy.. Zoë.' Erebus said suddenly as Percy brought down his shield into the back of the nymph's head with the sharp edge of it. Blood dripped from the edge as she lay motionless on the ground as Percy's gaze shot towards where Zoë was only in time to see the last of her hand being dragged into the sea. Three nymphs floated dead in the water but it seemed like they had decided another method to kill her.

"Zoë!" Percy yelled as he felt his gut drop and his heart rate increase further as he took deep breaths. He ran away from the last nymph who collapsed to the ground shaking in fear, her sisters had been killed so easily. She should have never picked this fight, but she still gritted her teeth in anger as she glared at the boy.

'She won't last long Percy.' Hemera said as Percy came to a halt by the lands edge just looking down at the water.

"They will drag her to the dark depths of the ocean boy! Ripped apart by them without remorse!" The nymph screamed as Percy flinched a bit as he looked back at her.

'Percy!' Erebus suddenly shouted as Percy just closed his eyes in frustration. Why did he have to be so weak, why couldn't he just jump! All he had to do was jump! He knew he could breathe in water, yet his memories of Gabe just wouldn't go away. A fear of water had been beaten into him since his youth.

'You fool! What a son of Chaos you are! Pathetic! Weak!' Erebus shouted as Percy's eyes snapped open in anger.

"Shut up!" Full of fury and self hate Percy roared at the sky.

'WEAK! You will be the cause of her death, boy! Know you killed Zoë Nightshade!'

"I can save her! I can!"

'THEN DO IT! Stop wallowing in self pity like a fool! Cast your fear aside! You killed Gabe all those years ago! He is no longer here! SO QUIT BITCHING! Go save her! Save the women you have fallen for!' Hermera suddenly screamed at Percy as he felt a new wave of emotion course through him. His emotions for Zoë flaring up as hundreds of scenes flashed before his eyes. From the instant he met her Percy was head over heels for her, infatuation turned to genuine feelings, feelings Percy had hidden deep down in fear for their friendship that had blossomed between the two.

"FUCK!" Percy screamed as she suddenly turned around and ran backwards towards the nymph who had been left alone. He reared back and kicked her right in the face making her head slam into the stone bellow. With his goodbye present gifted he grabbed his spear and then immediately turned around and sprinted for the water.

Percy had one thought on his mind, Zoë Nightshade. The instant his eyes met the water again and his fears surged Percy just let out a beastual roar and jumped over the side. Memories of Percy's abuse shattered one after another, the fear he felt breaking. He had his fear controlling him, he was done!

Zoë herself was still being dragged downwards by a nymph as she held her hands over her mouth and kept kicking the hand that held her ankle. Her weapons were long lost to the sea. Finally the hand let go as Zoë looked up, not finding light piercing through the water. Fear surging in her heart as the three nymphs gathered around her.

"Stupid girl." One hissed as Zoë tried to start swimming upwards, thousands of years of training had given Zoë a fantastic lung capacity. Even with all that she was starting to run out of air. One nymph tried to strike her but another stopped her with an evil grin.

"I wanna see her life leave her eyes as water fills her lungs. After killing our sisters it is the least we can do for them." She said as the other two giggled as Zoë's mind burned with fury, however her lungs burned more as she tried to swim faster.

"She is a fast swimmer isn't she?" One commented as the other two gave her a glance as they looked back at Zoë swimming up for her life.

"Maybe a bit of help is needed." The ring leader said quickly swimming up to Zoë's back quicker than the huntress could react a fist slammed into her back. Zoë stopped swimming but slammed her hands over her mouth as pain nearly forced her to open her mouth. She then turned to the nymph and kicked towards her to only miss. However several bubbles escaped Zoë's mouth, Zoë's eyes teared up in pain as her lungs begged for air.

"That's right, struggle like a little fis-."

BOOM!!

Suddenly the water around them shook causing everyone to pause as they looked around in confusion. They could tell it came from above them but not what it was.

"What-." The nymph speaking suddenly saw something in the distance as her eyes showed pure fear. Racing through the dark waters were two eyes that glowed like two white torches of pure rage. The speed in which they were approaching was truly startling. Not even nymphs were that fast underwater, it was like a rocket itself.

"IT'S THE BOY!" One screamed only to suddenly disappear with a massive torrent of water that threw Zoë and the other two nymphs around in the dark water. Zoë pulled her legs to her chest and focused everything she had on holding her breath as her mind waned from lack of oxygen.

"RUN!" One screamed as the two went in different directions as fast as they could. As they got further away from Zoë one suddenly saw a red glow and in the next instant a spear penetrated her chest. In the next second an incredibly fast moving Percy slammed feet first into her grabbing the spear. Blood gushed out her mouth as pain and fear filled her eyes as she looked into Percy's furious glowing white eyes.

He just kicked off her body with a boom and disappeared into the distance in an instant. His speed was faster than anything she had seen in the sea, his kick breaking even more of her bones as she flew through the sea with one last thought in her head.

'A son of Poseidon…we fucked up.'

Percy quickly returned to Zoë who remained floating in silence as he left the last escaping nymph alone. As he did his body suddenly began to emit a small radiance giving the area a bit of light.

'Who would have guessed my baby boy would have such talent for his water powers, makes me wish you were that talented with your powers from Me and Orders side.' Chaos pouted in his head as Percy nearly tripped, yes, in water. He managed to hold it together as he focused on Zoë.

Percy quickly got rid of his spear and he reached forward and grabbed Zoë as she flinched. Quickly opening her eyes her panic settled as her eyes rested on Percy. Tears tried to escape but they were simply mixed into the water around her. She was so happy to see him again but she couldn't hold on any longer, she was going to drown. Then Percy reached forward and moved her hands and then slammed his lips down on hers.

Zoë's eyes went wide and tried to push him away in panic but then air began to suddenly fill her mouth and lungs. Hungry for air and finally finding a source her body pulled itself closer to his and seemed to suck all of the air out of his lungs. Percy's own eyes went wide a little at her actions, but didn't mind all that much. Zoë's lips were so soft that Percy was more than happy at the moment.

With Zoë's oxygen up a bit Percy threw his hand to the side as bubbles began to gather around the two and soon a huge bubble surrounded the two. Instantly the two dropped to the bottom of it, however Zoë didn't seem to realize it as she lay on Percy still locking lips with him. Patting her side Zoë seemed to come out of her trance and then locked eyes with Percy's.

Slowly she separated from their kiss as Percy finally managed to take in a breath and cough a little as Zoë blushed fiercely at her own actions. Her eyes still locked with his as he slowly regained his breath that had been stolen from him.

"Sorry you wouldn't have lasted long enough for me to form the bubble." Percy said as Zoë only nodded saying nothing. Her eyes locked onto his as she remained sitting on his lap.

"Thank you for saving me." She whispered as Percy just gave her a genuine smile. Zoë was incredibly hard to read at the moment as she just remained silent.

"Also again sorry for kissing you. You must want to punch me to oblivion. That can wait till we get to the surface, holding this bubble is strenuous enough." Percy said with a cough and blush looking away as Zoë suddenly gave a laugh causing his brow to raise up.

"What-." He began, but Zoë suddenly put a finger to his lips, shutting him up.

"Shut up for a while, or I will punch you." She said, suddenly leaning down and kissing him again as Percy's brain seemed to explode. He did as he was told, he stayed silent as the two began to kiss. Like the absolute beginners they were, the two were terrible at kissing for a while. Eventually, they found a tame rhythm.

To Percy, Zoë's lips were softer than anything he had ever felt. They felt amazing on his own lips, honestly he daydreamed about kissing Zoë before but never in this situation. Still they kept at it as Zoë would sometimes pull back and give him a quick peck on the lips then continue moving their lips against one another but nothing more. They kept their eyes closed and just went with the momentum of one another.

Hot breaths coming out their noses as they inhaled each other's scent at the same time, Zoë took deep breaths relishing in his scent of the sea. Not the one surrounding them but like a warm sea breeze. To Percy Zoë's was like the forest with an earthy scent to it. Thankfully the sea had washed the two a little bit and Percy's bubble had dried them off.

Zoë had even gripped Percy's shirt a bit and he just rested his hands on her thighs doing nothing scandalous. He felt like if he did anything of the sort he would soon have a knife in his gut. The tender and sweet kiss lasted for nearly 15 minutes, Percy tried to express his feelings for her the best he could though the kiss. Their lips soon become sore from kissing for so long. Zoë just slowly pulled away as her lips suddenly felt lonely without Percy's on hers.

She just slowly raised up her hand and caressed her lips a little with dazed eyes, she was currently on her own emotional rollercoaster as Percy just laid there silently. Remembering Zoë's promise from earlier Percy kept his mouth shut and just waited until Zoë looked down at Percy with her honey-like eyes and beautiful face.

"First, not a word to anyone." She said as he nodded quickly.

"Second, this kiss… give me time. My emotions are not myself." She said as Percy felt his gut drop a bit but nodded.

"Let's get out of here." She said as Percy just nodded and floated the bubble to the surface.

FLASHBACK END: Some PerZoë for you peoples

Zoë POV:

I just looked at Percy as his eyes remained locked on mine, head hurt just thinking about it. After that kiss I couldn't go to sleep without remembering it and rubbing my lips at least once or twice.

"Of course it meant a lot to me." I said in a small tone as my emotions got the better of me as I felt panic rise up.

"But… I'm scared." I admitted as Percy got a concerned face he slowly reached out and grabbed my hand. I felt like taking it away but I couldn't bring myself to, his hands felt so warm.

"Why?" He asked as I closed my eyes as memories flooded my mind.

"I was betrayed once already, with Heracles. He betrayed my trust and feelings for him and used me. I was then kicked out of my home and he abandoned me, only Artemis was there for me at that time. I shut myself up for several thousand years, the only thing on my mind was hunting Orion to distract myself, Percy. I-I am scared of being hurt like that again. I don't want to feel like that again." I said as tears slowly began to drip down my face as I held in my sobs.

As I did slowly a hand reached up and wiped away my tears as I looked up at Percy who had a face full of concern. As our eyes met he just gave me the sweetest smile that made my lips tremble as the tears fell a bit faster.

"I understand Zoë, I would be scared as well. I want you to know that I wouldn't ever use you or treat you like that. I know promises aren't much and I know swearing on the Styx is binding but almost like a forceful chain in your eyes. You want truth and sincerity and true affection for you. So please, let me show you those. I like you Zoë, more than any woman I've ever met."

"I want to kiss you, hug you, be silly and stupid with you. Talk about nothing of importance or life changing. I just feel such an overwhelming emotion towards you. Let me express it to you first before you go making any decisions. I want to show you just how much you mean to me." Percy gushed in front of me with his cheeks flushed pure red as I just stared at him in surprise.

"That's a…lot Percy." I said as his face turned to a 'oh no' face.

"Dammit I said too much, shiiiittt. I fucked up." Percy said with a panicked face as I felt butterflies in my stomach and then I suddenly began laughing uncontrollably. Percy just looked confused as I wiped the tears from my eyes as I looked up at him with a small blush and smile.

I will admit hearing him say all that made my heart flutter furiously, just the thought of me doing those things with him made my heart race. It just felt right in my mind, I know I had already developed feelings for Percy long ago. I just didn't realize it until that first kiss, it was like a key to all these locked up emotions.

"You're much different from Heracles, in all the best ways. I trust you Percy I really do, I like you too. Also I don't think I would be against any of what you said, but one step at a time alright?" I said as he quickly recovered from his previous state. With that I leaned forward for a quick kiss, but my lips lied to me. Percy's lips were just so soft that I didn't want to retreat, I even kissed him a bit harder for a second. Just as I was about to pull away something happened.

*GASP*

"Oh my gods…" A whisper was heard Percy and I turned to see a smiling Tracy with shining eyes not too far away from us.

"T-Tracy." I managed as me and Percy broke apart from one another blushing as hard as we physically could as her smile just grew wider.

"I knew it, Phoebe owes me some drachmas." She said with a smile as Percy and I nearly stumbled without moving.

"You knew!" Percy whispered as loudly as he could as Tracy gave a confident smile.

"You're my brother of course I knew, besides Zoë, you weren't that secretive with your stares towards him. Ever since a few years ago I've noticed something between you two." She admitted as Me and Percy just blushed harder.

"Then what about Artemis-." Before Percy could finish the sky erupted with booms of thunder and lightning flashed across it as a storm suddenly began to form in the sky. All three of us looked up to the quickly darkening clouds with concern as soon a massive face began to appear in the sky.

Recognizing the face my eyes widened as fear gripped my heart, he wasn't supposed to know about this place. There should be barriers to prevent him from finding this place. How did he KNOW!?

"A HIDDEN SON OF POSEIDON! AN ILLEGAL DEMIGOD CAMP! ARTEMIS!!!!!!" The furious face of Zeus made from thunder clouds roared as the entire world shook.

A/N:So how do you enjoy that chapter? Leave a review so I know or just comment on your favorite part.

E/N: Ugh he didn't have his mythos right.. Hercules is ROMAN not Greek! Jeez Nuts come on. You should know at least your mythos.. What's next? Can't spell Dionysus? Oh WAIT! hehe messing with ya. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! - Dex