CHAPTER [3]
Percy nodded warily.
"Well, I will help you. Thank you for your apology. While I was angry, I understand your reasons." Hera said with a small smile before she snapped her fingers and Percy vanished.
Percy reappeared inside an empty Camp Half- Blood. Percy felt relieved knowing he wouldn't have to deal with anyone seeing him leave.
He quickly went into the Poseidon cabin and gathered clothes, money, drachmas, weapons and supplies.
He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a short letter addressed to Chiron.
Percy left his cabin and walked into the dining pavilion where he convinced a few nymphs to give him some food for travel.
Percy walked over to the brazier and dropped a couple pieces of his food into the fire. "For Lady Hera. Thank you for getting me off Olympus." Percy muttered before jogging off to the big house where he left the note for Chiron.
Percy looked over the camp one last time before he made his way up Half Blood Hill. After petting Peleus, Percy turned his back on his home for the past four years, unsure when or if he would see it again.
Line Break
The next morning when Chiron returned to Camp Half Blood with the demigods, he was greeted with a letter that sent a pang of pain through his heart.
"Dear Chiron,
I am letting you know I won't be staying at camp for a while. After everything that happened yesterday, I have decided to spend some time traveling. I need some time to sort through my emotions. Please don't think I am angry with you or anyone. You are like a father to me, and the campers like my brothers and sisters. I just need some time to myself. Please don't search for me. I will return when I have figured things out. Thank you for everything Chiron, and please tell the campers I am sorry.
Thank you,
Percy Jackson. "
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(Five Years Later)
Five years since anyone had seen the Hero of Olympus. Poseidon was in a deep depression, the seas had been restless for over three years.
Everyone believed Percy would return on his own. They thought he would travel, kill a few monsters to blow off some steam, then return to camp.
But after a year and no word, people began to worry. After two, Zeus sent the Hunters of Artemis to track Percy down, simply to check on him.
Since his disappearance, most of the gods had let go of their grudges toward Percy, realizing his heart and intentions were pure.
After the third year and no luck in tracking him, people began to worry about his safety. Hades assured the council that Percy was still alive, but people still worried.
After the fourth year, people began to think he would never return. He was immortal; but after no contact, it seemed Percy was cutting himself off from the godly world.
Despite losing hope, the hunters continued to search for Percy. It was mostly because Thalia had never been the same after Percy disappeared.
She knew Annabeth's betrayal had hurt Percy the worst but losing him made the loss that much tougher for Thalia.
Artemis was also furious a demigod had managed to evade her hunters for so long. They had never failed a mission.
Until Percy Jackson that is. It was as if he had vanished from the face of the Earth. Close, but not quite.
Two years after Percy's disappearance, demigods began showing up at Camp Half Blood seemingly by themselves.
The demigods said they were found by a man who helped them travel to camp but refused to go into camp with them.
People had hoped it was Percy but when the demigods described the man, they said he had brown hair and brown eyes, crushing the hope that Percy was around.
After the first half dozen demigods showed up at camp accompanied by this mysterious man, the gods began to wonder who he was and why he was rescuing demigods.
The man had even managed to bring girls into the hunter's camp unnoticed, vanishing before the hunters noticed a new girl had entered their camp; something that infuriated Artemis immensely.
When Artemis questioned the girls, they would explain their stories, usually horrific tales of abuse both physical and sexual.
They said the man would show up and rescue them while dealing horrific fates to their abusers. When asked about the man the young girls would smile and say that he was nice and caring, like a big brother who came to their rescue.
When they described the man, the girls gave the same descriptions as the campers, brown hair and brown eyes.
The only clue to his identity was the name Blake. Despite how angry Artemis was that the man managed to sneak into her camp unnoticed, she couldn't help but hold a small amout of respect for the man.
From the young girls' stories, the man dealt with abusive men in a way that was just as, if not more brutally than Artemis did.
Zeus ordered the man be found and brought to Olympus so his identity could be revealed. Despite their best efforts, neither the hunters nor any gods sent could find this man.
He was an enigma.
He appeared when needed by demigods but vanished before his identity or origins could be discovered.
The hunters were currently tracking Echidna and the Chimera and were currently a little ways outside of Chicago.
As they travelled, they were ambushed by a small army of monsters consisting of Cyclops, Dracaena, Empousa and Hellhounds.
A number of hunters were injured when they were caught by surprise. The remaining hunters tried to protect the wounded ones but were starting to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters.
Thalia was firing arrows and fast as she could but the monsters were closing in fast. As she fired, she didn't see a Cyclops sneaking up to her left. Artemis noticed but couldn't reach her in time.
Thalia turned just in time to see the monster's club raised to strike her down. As she braced herself for the impact, she closed her eyes.
The strike never came. She opened her eyes to see and arrow imbedded in the Cyclop's forehead before it crumbled to dust.
What shocked her was that the arrow was not silver, it was black.
Thalia turned to see monsters begin getting picked off by black arrows as soon as they came within ten feet of the hunters.
She looked to her right to see a man firing arrows at speeds and accuracy that rivaled even the best hunters. The monster army finally seemed to notice the man and a sent a wave of monsters toward him.
Instead of defending himself the man strapped his bow to his back. He calmly pulled out two golden hunting knives and when the monsters were ten feet away from him, the blades lit on fire.
Thalia and the hunters watched in awe while they continued to fire arrows as the man charged into the monster ranks.
They were stunned at the speed and grace at which the man fought. His technique was flawless as he sliced from monster to monster, wasting less than a second before moving to the next monster.
The hunters began to think he was a god who had come to their aide.
After decapitating the last Empousa, the man sheathed his knives and turned to the small number of monsters who still fought the hunters.
He lit his hands on fire before sending two massive fireballs into the center of the monsters. The few that survived were quickly picked off by the silver arrows of the hunters.
As the final monster dissolved, the hunters turned their bows toward the man who dropped to a knee bowing.
He knew what was coming. A flash of silver appeared in front of him and the goddess Artemis stood with her hunting knives out.
She was surprised to see the man already bowing.
"Who are you?" She yelled at him.
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