'A friend is not someone who brags about you when things are going great, but someone who stays with you when your life is a mess and a bag of mistakes.'

4

'We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year…'

'Well, it's a little late for Christmas,' Sally laughed, 'but happy New Year it is!' Everyone in the Jackson-Blofis family apartment cheered and raised their glasses for a toast. Percy smiled as he clinked glasses with Paul. He always loved to spend time with his family. Estelle was almost two, and his little chubby sister was already speaking in some semi-coherent phrases. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, given that her parents are both well-versed in English.

It was snowing lightly outside, and despite it being nearly a month after Christmas, Sally and Paul were adamant about having a family dinner, and Percy was all too happy to oblige. Seated around the little table was the entire Jackson-Blofis family - Percy, Paul, and his mother with Estelle in her lap. She would be in a booster seat, but both her and Sally preferred to be close to each other during dinner, even at the (occasional) expense of a little hygiene. They were drinking some decent red wine (except for Stella, obviously), the kind one could get at Walmart for a little over ten bucks and very good for its price. His mother had whipped out some of her vintage cooking skills and managed to conjure a family-sized feast worthy of Hestia herself, with a delicious oven-roasted chicken, sliced beef, some fresh salad, pudding and - best of all - blue chocolate chip cookies, a Sally Jackson special. Percy didn't drink often - a little more over the past year or so, but still barely once a month - but a white Christmas with some of his most loved ones in the world was worth breaking the habit for.

No one from Camp Half-blood was here - in fact, there was absolutely no godly presence in the house except for Percy's demigoddishness, as Paul so eloquently put it. It felt nice to have some time alone with the mortal side of his family - he'd had a little too much of the godly side for the past year and too little vice versa - and seeing his baby sister grow up was always going to be a huge plus. He did consider inviting Poseidon over, but he thought that would be awkward for both Paul and his mom, and his father probably didn't have the time anyway, so he set the idea aside.

Estelle hopped off Sally's lap and waved her tiny spoon around. She shrieked in delight as a glop of mashed potato landed on Percy's freshly washed and pressed jeans.

Fine, perhaps Stella wasn't as big of a plus as Percy had imagined. She might seem innocent, but his little sister had the mind of the devil. He just chuckled it off along with Paul and wiped it off as best as he could.

'Estelle!' Sally scolded her. 'Don't throw your food!'

'Sowwy, mama!' Estelle giggled.

'It's okay, Stella,' Percy assured her, still dabbing at the stain. 'Accidents happen.'

'Yep. Totally an accident,' Paul chuckled. 'Dam - er, dang, this chicken is good!' He shoved a forkful of chicken breast into his mouth. 'Say, Sally, how'd you get this chicken to taste so good?'

Sally regarded him amusedly. 'We have a kid, Paul. We're a little past the 'compliment the cook' stage.'

'It's genuine,' Paul insisted with a mouthful of chicken. 'You're the best cook in the world, Sally.'

Percy rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but agree. Sally pretended to look upset. 'Is that all I'm good for, Paul?'

'Certainly not,' Paul winked at Percy. 'Bedroom never gets cold when you're with me.' Percy pretended to gag. Sally covered Estelle's ears.

'Paul!' she admonished, scandalized. 'We have kids here!'

'Kid,' Percy corrected, grinning. 'I'm way past legal age.'

Sally glared at him. 'You and Paul are going to be the end of me someday.' She stopped covering Estelle's ears. The girl looked up at her mother with big, innocent eyes.

'Mommy?' she asked. 'Why bedroom not cold?'

Sally turned her glare to Paul, who pretended not to notice. 'Now look what you've done.' She patted Estelle's head, her expression softening immediately. 'It's because we always have the heater on, honey.'

Percy was trying to reign in his sniggers when there came a knock at the door. 'Mom, we expecting anyone else?'

Sally frowned. 'I don't think so. I'll get it.'

It was a habit. If a monster was at the door, it wouldn't instantly lash out at a mortal. If it was a monster, Sally would yell 'red'. If the visitor wasn't immediately hostile, she would yell 'blue'. Still, Percy fingered Riptide anxiously as he waited for some noise, some indication of what was happening.

He heard the door open. He didn't hear a 'red' or a 'blue', but instead an exclaimed 'OH!' followed by 'my lady!'

You've got to be kidding me. It wasn't as if he didn't want to see Artemis, but...there goes his time alone with his mortal family.

He hurried to the front door. 'Artemis?'

'Percy.' Artemis's smile was more relieved than happy. 'I need to talk to you.'

He glanced at his mom, who understood immediately. 'I don't know what's going on, Percy, but...okay. It was nice meeting you, Lady Artemis.' She disappeared back into the living room.

They stepped outside into the hallway. Percy gave Artemis a look which he hoped was somewhere between exasperation and delight without being too rude. 'So, what's up?'

Artemis returned the look with an apologetic one. 'Sorry. Is this a bad time?'

Percy shrugged. 'Not...really, but time with family, y'know, is important.'

Artemis nodded in understanding. 'Yes, I know. I would not have come if it was not urgent. The Hunt needs your help, Percy. We've been attacked.'

That got his attention. If the Hunt was already as weak as Thalia had described, an attack would have been catastrophic. 'Bad?'

Artemis hesitated. 'Not...terrible. No deaths, but everyone had some injuries of some sort. Thalia was shot in the chest.'

'Shot in the chest?'

'Yes, it just grazed the right side of her heart. She's bedridden for the foreseeable future, which is why I came in her place. We are barely functional. The young ones are panicking. We need your help.' Artemis sighed tiredly. 'It is my fault. You know I have been slacking, and a month of hard work hasn't paid off enough.'

It was true, so Percy didn't try to sugarcoat. He didn't really like where this was going. 'And you need my help with what, exactly?'

Artemis hesitated. 'You are going to hate me for this.'

Percy rolled his eyes. 'I won't hate you for anything, Artemis.'

'Travel with us.'

'Can I revise my previous statement? There are some things I would hate you for.'

Artemis groaned. 'I truly am sorry, Percy. I know you've been searching for a normal life, but...I cannot ask another god, and there is no other demigod I would rather choose.'

Percy raised his eyebrows. 'Really? Not even a girl?'

'There is no one else as proficient as you,' Artemis said. 'Nor do I trust anyone else.'

'Apollo?'

Artemis scowled. 'He is...I do not know. Somewhere. We have not talked often since the war. But it does not matter, he is a god, and gods do not meddle it the affairs of their peers often.'

Not even when your sister is struggling. Percy hesitated. 'Your Hunters won't like this.'

'And you think they will like Apollo more?'

'...point taken.'

'They will tolerate you. Some might even talk to you.'

That brought a dry smile to his lips. 'Wow. Gee, that's quite warm of them.'

'Perseus.' Artemis grabbed his arm. Percy nearly flinched - he wasn't used to these physical expressions from the goddess. She didn't look strong, but her grip hurt. He doubted she was aware of how much strength she was using. 'It will not be a long period of time - just enough for us to recover and possibly recruit more. Thalia needs you. Do it for her.'

Percy tried to think, but he knew his decision was made. Damn his fatal flaw, it was going to get him killed someday.

'Fine,' he said. 'I'll do it.'

Artemis's hold on his arm slackened. 'Thank you.'

Percy rubbed his throbbing arm. 'It's what friends are for. I just need to tell my family.'

Artemis nodded. 'Don't pack anything unless you want to. We have spare tents. They are quite luxurious.' She pressed the button for the elevator. 'I will wait for you outside. This building is stifling me.'

The elevator chimed, and Artemis stepped in it. Just before the doors closed, Percy put a foot between them. 'Hey, Artemis?'

'Yes?'

'I want you to know that I'm not just doing this for Thalia. I'm doing it for you too.'

The last glance he caught of her before he reentered his apartment was her smile.

He didn't expect a warm welcome, but what greeted him disturbed him even more.

It had been almost midnight when Percy finished explaining what was happening to his family. His mother wasn't pleased, but she understood. She always understood.

As a result, he was tired when Artemis teleported them to wherever the Hunt was camped. They didn't look much better than him. Whatever remained of the once energetic Hunt was like the dying embers in the remnants of a fire. There were a mere ten tents in a circle, including a larger-than-normal one which was clearly Artemis's and one marked with a red cross, which Percy presumed was the medical tent. A small fire burnt in the middle of the ring. Percy could see around two Hunters up and about. One of them was huddled near the 'fire' sipping a cup of something, and the other took one look at him, gave Artemis a stare, and disappeared into the medical bay.

Percy shivered. It was cold on many levels.

'We haven't had much luck with recruiting,' Artemis admitted. 'The past months have been difficult.'

Oh, I know.

They walked past the fire. Percy heard the girl mutter, 'Have we plummeted so low that we seek help from men?' Artemis ignored her.

'Percy, this is Natalia, from Russia. She has been in the Hunt for a few centuries. Natalia, Perseus Jackson.'

'I know,' the girl said. 'I hope he is as good as you say.'

Once they were some distance away, Percy turned towards Artemis. 'You've been talking about me?'

Artemis shrugged. 'Here and there with Thalia. Many of the older ones held some degree of respect for you. I wanted to ensure the new ones had the same.'

'They're probably sick of hearing my name,' Percy muttered. 'An exclusive all-girls club, but with constant mentions of some guy.'

Artemis sighed, exasperated. 'Percy, you will be fine. You have a good heart. If I can have you as a friend, why would my Hunters object?'

For many reasons. But he kept that to himself. Artemis gave him a square piece of silver fabric about the size of a handkerchief.

'Throw it on the ground, and it makes a tent,' she explained. 'I would advise you to stay on me and my lieutenant's side, unless you want tripwires rigged to whipping cream buckets to your face.'

Percy made a mental note to stay very close to Artemis but very far away from the rest of the girls.

'I'll do it later,' he decided. 'I want to see Thalia.'

'She's in the medical tent, most likely asleep. There are others there. Do not wake them up.'

Percy nodded, already off. He passed Natalia again, who gave him an indiscernible look.

'You are friends with Lady Artemis?' she asked. She had a distinctly Eastern European accent which confirmed her heritage.

'Yes,' he replied. 'At least, I like to think so.'

'I find it hard to believe. I remember you from the night on the cliff,' she said. 'You were the one who wanted to jump off it into the sea, after that girl.'

Percy smiled, thinking back. 'Yeah. Good old days.'

Natalia didn't return his sentiments. 'And New York. You were the leader of the camp.'

'Yes, I was.'

Natalia grimaced. 'The girl. She was always beside you. Where is she now? In your bed, I presume?'

Percy winced, not from the implied insult but from the memories. 'She's dead. It's been a year or so. We were dating.'

Natalia didn't seem to know how to respond to that. 'Dating? For how long?'

'Since Kronos,' Percy said. 'It was tough, but we were happy.'

'Artemis told me you fell into Tartarus for her. I did not know whether to believe her or not.'

'Why? You think she would lie to her Hunters?'

Natalia shrugged. 'Artemis does not lie often, but demigods never walk out of Tartarus. They certainly do not fall into it for their girlfriend, expecting to come out alive.'

'I didn't fall into Tartarus for her. We fell into Tartarus with each other.' For some reason, he felt the need to emphasize the difference. 'It wasn't one after the other. It was both at the same time.'

Natalia turned away. 'You would do well to tell that story to the rest of the Hunt. Perhaps they will find it easier to tolerate you then.'

He didn't know what she meant, so he continued on his way. Arriving at the tent with the red cross, he carefully pried the flaps apart and stepped in.

It was spacious, and dimly but warmly lit with a small, smoke-free fireplace. There were at least thirty cots. Five were occupied. Percy spotted Thalia's spiky hair before another girl spotted him. She sat up, looked at him, and flopped back down with a groan.

'She actually did it,' she muttered. She had a broken leg and bruises on her face. 'She brought a man in the Hunt.'

None of the other girls were awake, but Percy made sure his footsteps were quiet anyways. He knelt down beside Thalia's bed. She wasn't wearing a shirt, and had layers upon layers of bandages wrapped around her chest. He reached out to hold her hand.

She stirred, and opened her eyes. 'Percy? What the fuck are you doing here?'

'Helping,' he replied. 'Artemis said you guys were attacked. It looks pretty bad, if your chest is anything to judge by.'

Thalia coughed. 'Ow. Coughing hurts. Don't stare at my chest, pervert. It was just an arrow which nearly pierced my heart. No biggie.' Her eyes widened. 'Wait. 'Helping' for how long?'

Percy shrugged. 'She said a month or so. More if necessary.'

Thalia groaned. 'Well, you're gonna have a fun time here. All the girls are more or less depressed. And I won't be much help for at least a few weeks.'

'Hey.' Percy squeezed her hand. 'It's okay. I'm doing this for you as well as Artemis. If that means getting shot a few times, sure. At least target practice with a live target might cheer them up.'

Thalia chuckled, then winced. 'Ow. That hurt too. You're a good person, Percy. We don't deserve you.'

Percy smiled. 'I'm inclined to agree,' he joked. 'I'm too awesome.'

Thalia smacked him weakly. 'Don't get a big head, Seaweed Brain. Now shoo, I'm meant to be resting.' She closed her eyes and sank back into the bed. 'You know, getting shot isn't so bad. At least I get to sleep more.'

Percy laughed. Thalia smacked him again. 'Hey. Don't make me laugh. You know it hurts.' She turned serious. 'You look tired, Percy. Get some sleep. It must be late.

'Midnight, to be precise. Don't worry, I will. Rest up, Thals.' He let go of her hand and started to tiptoe his way back out.

'Perseus Jackson?' He paused. Someone was calling his name.

He turned around. 'Yes?' He pinpointed the source of the voice. He recognized her. 'You...were the daughter of Hermes who blew up Lincoln Tunnel?'

She didn't smile, or show any expression. It was disconcerting, seeing a daughter of Hermes so lifeless. 'Yeah, I suppose I was. Arianna. Listen, Artemis is your friend. I don't know how or why. Take care of her, because none of us can.'

Her voice had woken up the rest of the girls. Some threw glares at Arianna. Some threw glares at him. They all looked despondently angry. Her words must have hit a sour spot.

'Don't touch Lady Artemis, boy,' one of them warned. 'I don't care if you are Perseus Jackson. You are still a boy.'

Percy turned to face the girl who'd spoken. 'I don't recognize you from New York, but you're right. I'm still just a boy.' He rubbed his forehead tiredly. It was late. 'I understand you all dislike my gender. Some of you probably had terrible male figures in your lives. I understand; I had an abusive stepfather.'

He paused. 'But I came here of my own free will, because Artemis asked me to help. She trusts me, Thalia trusts me, and they're both my friends. Hopefully that's enough to get you guys to give me a chance. If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. I won't intrude. I know this isn't normal, but it's the status quo for the next few weeks. Just don't make it harder for all of us.'

He ran a hand through his hair. 'Okay, I won't intrude any further, as I said. I was just here to visit Thalia.'

He pushed through the flaps of the tent. Someone yelled something which sounded like 'stay gone', but her voice was so weak he barely heard it. He sighed.

He passed Natalia again. He got a better glimpse of her drink this time; it was hot chocolate. She glanced up at him.

'This is the last cup,' she said. 'We are running out of supplies. But with this many injured, we cannot move.'

Percy frowned. 'I thought the attack was, like, yesterday or something.'

Natalia rolled her eyes. 'Do you think Artemis would invite a man into the Hunt so easily? No, we have been toiling for weeks. As soon as she came back from the solstice, the attack happened. Artemis does not have to eat, but there is no game to hunt in the city, and we have little mortal currency. It is so bad now that some girls genuinely supported bringing you here.'

Percy stared at her. For the first time, he noticed the gauntness in her cheeks. 'And the gods? They didn't help at all?'

But he already knew the answer to that question as she shook her head. The gods didn't help.

'Well,' he said. 'Are any of the girls mobile?'

Natalia shrugged. 'Possibly, but we would all walk if Artemis told us to, even with broken legs. Most of them have that. The enemy was seeking to disable, not kill.'

'On my own it is,' Percy decided. 'Tomorrow I'll go buy some food.'

Natalia stared at him. 'Mortal food?'

Percy blinked. 'Uh, I guess?'

Natalia dropped her gaze to the embers. 'Make sure to get hot chocolate, and chewing gum.'

"Uh...okay.' He was expecting something more derisive. 'I'm going to sleep now.' He left before things could get weirder.

He threw the square piece of fabric down on what looked like a nice, open spot and watched with mild satisfaction as it sprung into a huge tent. Instead of being completely silver, his tent had poles which were sea green. He stepped inside cautiously.

The interior was cozy but not extravagant. There was a simple single bed with silver sheets and covers. A small wooden table served as a nightstand, and there were a few hooks to hang clothes upon near the entrance. A small, smokeless fireplace crackled at the foot of the bed. Percy sighed as he let the warmth wash over him, chasing away the coldness in his ears and the tips of his fingers.

'Gods, I'm tired,' he muttered.

The warmth was too inviting. He flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he drifted off.

'Percy, wake up.'

Percy's eyes snapped open. 'Where—oh. Nevermind. Hi.'

Artemis looked apologetic. 'My apologies, but you are scheduled for second watch. I also have to brief you on housekeeping rules.'

Percy yawned. That was a pretty good nap. 'Jeez, it must be way past midnight.'

'You've only slept for thirty minutes,' Artemis said.

'Really?' It felt way longer. Percy sat up. 'Right. Second watch. Who's first watch?'

'I am.'

'Third?'

'Natalia, but she will wake up by herself. Don't go into her tent.'

'As if I was going to do that.' Percy yawned again. 'Cool. Housekeeping rules?'

Artemis nodded. 'Since you're a special situation, I had to modify some things. You don't have to hunt for now, but I will insist on training you with a bow. Usually the girls do laundry together, but I'm sure you understand why you cannot do the same. Of course, with your mastery over your father's element, I'm sure you can get by.'

'I can.' He didn't know if he can. Usually he used water to smash up monsters. He'd never actually tried to wash things gently. 'But you do not want to train me with a bow. I might end up injuring the two uninjured Hunters you have.'

Artemis rolled her eyes. 'I am the goddess of archery. You will be fine. If it makes you feel better, you can join the rest in close combat training.'

'Well, you've never seen me shoot. I'm the only one ever at camp who somehow managed to shoot it backwards. That doesn't make me feel better, by the way. I'm going to get my ass whooped.' Damn, when did he get so comfortable talking to Artemis? He hoped she wasn't offended.

Artemis smirked. 'All the more fun for us. Female dominance will never have been so directly prominent.' She brought out a knife. 'Here. A hunting knife. You will be using this instead of Anaklusmos.'

Percy glanced at it. 'I don't fight with knives.'

'Surely you learned some from…'

'Annabeth? It's fine, you can say her name.' For Poseidon's sake, he was fine. 'A little bit. But I'm much more comfortable with Riptide.'

'We all use knives,' Artemis explained. 'It might help you be assimilated into our group.'

'Gee, thanks.' But he took the knife anyways. 'Anything else?'

'Supplies,' Artemis said. 'You are in charge of shopping as long as we are still unable to secure food consistently.'

'I was going to do that tomorrow,' Percy said. 'But I don't have a lot of money.'

Artemis frowned. 'You will have to prioritize, then. Make sure to get hot chocolate.'

Percy laughed. 'Prioritize. Right. I'll try, but obviously I need to get actual food. Running a low budget here.'

'And chewing gum. Arianna loves these, but I never understood why. They are not actually food.'

'It's stress relieving.' Percy closed his eyes. 'They're very stressed. And feeling very helpless. You must've scraped the bottom of the barrel if you got me to come.'

He didn't see her face, but Artemis snorted derisively, so he assumed she was rolling her eyes or performing some similar gesture of exasperation. 'I wouldn't categorize the savior of the world as the bottom of the barrel.'

'You know what I mean. I didn't even get shot after seeing them asleep. They're too worried about everything else to care about a guy in their tent.' Percy cracked open an eye. 'Any idea who attacked? They didn't want to kill anyone. Everyone has broken legs or similar disabling injuries. They don't want the Hunt on the move.'

He felt Artemis sit down on the bed. 'As you may have noticed, we haven't exactly had time to chase after them. It was a monster horde, but whoever they work for, we are in the dark.' She sounded annoyed.

'Man, both our lives have sucked recently.' Percy yawned. 'I think a good sleep will fix it a little.'

Artemis patted his hand. 'I agree. I will wake you for second watch.'

Percy raised an eyebrow. 'If goddesses don't need sleep, why don't you take first, second, third and last watch?'

Artemis chuckled. 'I'm tired too, Percy.' And he could see that she was only half joking. She still looked like, well, her. A goddess. But there were shadows under her eyes and faint stress lines on her forehead and a ton of other very human imperfections which he didn't even know gods could get.

'I know,' he said, gently. 'Hey, I'll take first watch. You look more dead inside than I do.'

Artemis hesitated. 'I do not die, Percy. I'm a goddess.'

'Metaphorically. Besides, I like uninterrupted sleep.'

She caved. 'Thank you, Percy. You know where my tent is. I will wake up by myself, but if I don't…' she glared at him. 'Don't take my watch as well.'

Percy grinned. 'You got it. Go to bed.'

Artemis nodded, and walked out from his tent. Percy groaned as soon as she was out of earshot. He kind of already regretted his decision.

'Well, here goes hopefully nothing,' he muttered, pulling on his coat again. 'Why do you always do this to yourself, Percy?'

He sat at the fire. With a little help from a lighter he'd packed, he'd managed to restart it. It was small, but provided some warmth nonetheless.

He played with Riptide as he waited for his shift to be over. He roughly estimated that time to be when the moon was a quarter of the way down from its zenith. It was hard to judge, because the moon was wane and partially clouded. The fire sputtered, and he blew on it to keep it going.

He closed his eyes. The air was still for the moment. He could hear some voices from the medical tent. The leaves on the ground behind him crunched as they scraped along the ground.

'Leaves don't move on their own,' he muttered.

Fast as lightning, he uncapped Riptide and stabbed behind him. He felt the blade rip through flesh, heard a grunt and a small thud of something impacting the ground.

He pivoted on his heel and swung again. This time, Riptide hissed through empty air. He saw nothing. There were no abnormally concentrated masses of water which suggested a body. Whoever was there a moment ago, they were gone.

He lowered his blade. There was something on the ground. He bent down to pick it up. He frowned. 'Okay…'

A golden Bank of America credit card. He tucked it into his pocket. Could be useful, but he was still suspicious. Why sneak up on him to deliver a credit card?

He wiped Riptide on his shirt. He was going to wash it tomorrow anyway. His blade was stained with blood.

He squinted. No, it wasn't blood. It was golden ichor. Whoever he had wounded was a god.

Someone was meddling with them. He'd stabbed a soft part of the body, possibly the stomach or thighs. This, at least, gave them a lead.

'This just got a lot more interesting,' he mused. 'A lot more interesting.'

Sorry for the MASSIVE delay (hiatus). But it's back, and I'm back, and I know what direction I'm heading in with this story. Look forward to more!