Hey guys, Arkyz here again with another chapter! I'm soooooo sorry that it's taken so long for this chapter to come out, I've had a bout of Writer's Block and I've also been pummeled by end of semester uni assignments... Hope you guys didn't hate me too much for that last cliff-hanger :P To the people who were asking me to describe to saving scene, don't worry, I was planning to do that at the start of this chapter anyway. And you are going to find out how Zoë is still alive as well :) Anyway on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, SP, AC, or The Tapestry

Last Time:

'I saved her life and dignity!' he retorted. 'She was just about to be raped, and I saved her. All I care about now is making sure my sister heals quickly.'

'Sister?'

'Yes, she is my sister. Got a problem with that?'

'No, I don't,' I replied.

As soon as I finished speaking, the woman's eyes snapped open, revealing volcanic rock black eyes that I would know anywhere. I let out a gasp and my hands flew to my mouth, tears instantly forming in my eyes.

'Zoe.'

Now:

Percy's POV

I ran into the portal I made, and reappeared outside my room in the Rodrubân, and instantly started running towards my sister's room. I ran up to a closed door, with muffled screams coming from the inside, and tried the door handle, finding it locked. I quickly kicked down the door, pushing it right off its hinges, sending it slamming into a person in the room. I looked at the scene in front of me, and my blood started to boil. Four men were trying to force themselves on my sister. Everyone's heads turned towards me when they heard the door crash down in shock, except for my sister, whom I could tell was mentally thanking me.

'What are you doing here?' Thug 1 asked.

'I'm here to stop you from raping my sister you bastard,' I growled.

'We are going to take her, whether you like it or not!' Thug 2 yelled.

'I was hoping you'd say that,' I said, slowly increasing the pressure of my aura.

Two of the thugs drew knives out of their belts, and the third helped the fourth out from underneath the door and to his feet, before both pulling out knives as well. They charged me as one, and I jumped backwards, before sending a heavy punch towards the jaw of one of the thugs. My fist connected with a sickening crack, as the thug's jaw shattered. He roared in pain, teeth flying out of his mouth. I lit my hand on fire, and grabbed his throat, lifting him into the air. He was screaming in pain, so I decided to silence him. Still gripping his burning neck, I lifted my left hand in front of his eye, and extended the hidden blade, stabbing through his eye, and into his brain. I finished of the kill by firing the hidden gun attached the same arm, sending his body flying off the blade. I turned around, and sent a barrage of shadows into the second thug, and literally tore his body into quarters. I froze the blood in the fourth thug, before controlling his body to make him slit his own throat. By this point, the third thug was terrified, and began to run away. I grabbed an axe off the wall in the room, and threw it at the running figure, burying it deeply in his head. I heard a weak cough, and turned back around, inspecting the room. Blood and guts lined the walls, body parts strewn around the room. I ran over to my sister, and picked her up gently, growling under my breath at the number of cuts and bruises she had received. I made another portal and carried her back to Earth.

I reappeared on Earth, right next to Artemis. She looked at me relieved, which was strange, but her expression quickly turned to one of anger when she saw the condition my sister was in.

'What did you do to her?' she screamed.

'I saved her life and dignity! She was just about to be raped, and I saved her. All I care about now is making sure my sister heals quickly!' I retorted.

'Sister?'

'Yes, she is my sister, got a problem with that?'

'No, I don't,' she said.

As soon as Artemis finished speaking, my sister's eyes snapped open, revealing her familiar volcanic black eyes. Artemis let out a gasp, and her hound flew to her mouth, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

'Zoë,' she breathed out.

'Um, I'm sorry milady, but this isn't Zoë. My sister's name is Scathach, the warrior maiden from Scotland,' I said. 'We can find out why she looks like Zoë later, but for now, we need to heal her. Can you call Apollo down please?'

Artemis sighed sadly. 'As you wish. Apo-'

'WAIT!' I yelled. 'Apollo won't work, so don't bother summoning him here. I have another person who can heal her.'

'Why can't Apollo heal her? He is the god of medicine.'

'But Scathach is part of the Celtic pantheon, a Greek god won't be able to do anything.'

Artemis nodded. 'Well, who is it you are going to summon?'

'Someone who you would probably prefer over Apollo any day,' I said. 'Brigid, get your lazy butt down here!' I yelled at the sky.

A flash of blue light descended from the sky, forming into the body of a woman that looked to be about thirty years old, her luscious blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She saw me, a huge smile adorning her face, and ran over to me, crushing me in a hug, which was a bit awkward, because I still had Scathach in my arms.

'Percy, I can't believe you're here! I've been waiting so long to catch up again!' Brigid said enthusiastically.

'Brig, we have time to catch up later, right now, one of your subjects is in urgent need of healing,' I said.

'Why didn't you tell me earlier?' she asked.

'Cause you didn't let me!'

Brigid took a quick look over Scathach's wounds, and looked back at me.

'Where is the infirmary?' she asked.

I looked over at Artemis, who pointed towards a slightly larger tent than the rest.

'It's over there.'

'I'll meet you guys there,' I said. I quickly pulled the shadows to me, wrapping Scathach and I in a cool embrace, depositing us milliseconds later at the door of the infirmary. I ran inside, and placed Scathach on one of the beds, waiting impatiently for the two goddess' to arrive. They arrived together in a flash of silver light, obviously Artemis had transported the two of them here.

Brigid stumbled out of Artemis' grasp. 'Remind me to never use a Greek goddess' method of transportation again!' she cried. 'Now, where is she?'

'She's in on one of the beds inside,' I said. 'I'll explain what happened when we get in there.'

Brigid nodded, and walked quickly inside, striding over to the bed. She raised one of her hands above the wounded maiden's body, scanning it for injuries. She let out a gasp and whirled around to face me.

'How did this happen?' Brigid asked.

'She was, I am presuming, sleeping, mainly because it was midnight when I arrived in Rodrubân. A group of four thugs had broken into her room, and were torturing and about to rape her. I arrived and killed them before they could take her maidenhood, and brought her back here. That is all I know,' I replied.

Brigid nodded, and sent a pulse of blue light into Scathach's body, making the wounds begin to heal. The skin knitted itself back together. A glow began to surround Scathach's body as Brigid sent more pulses of light into her body. The glow slowly died down, revealing Scathach's perfect flawless body.

Artemis' jaw dropped open. 'How are there no scars? Whenever Apollo heals, there are always scars that remain. But there are none on her.'

Brigid and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

'Why are you laughing?' Artemis cried indignantly.

I eventually got my laughter under control to answer her sensibly. 'Quite simply Arty, the Celtic gods and goddesses are far more powerful than their Olympian and Titan counterparts. The only beings of the Greek pantheon that could hold their own against the Celts are the Protogenoi, and even they would only be able to evenly fight the younger generation of Celts. The Celtic pantheon existed far before the Greek one, and they are therefore far more powerful,' I explained.

'If they are so powerful, then why have we never met them?' Artemis asked.

'When the Protogenoi came into existence, they existed comfortably alongside the Tuatha Dé Danann, but when the Titans were born, the Tuatha Dé Danann wanted nothing to do with them; they could sense the evil in the souls of the Titans. So they moved, similarly to the flame of the West, but instead of changing country, they changed realms. Since then, they have resided in the Sidh, with the king, Lugh Lamfhada ruling over Rodrubân, which is where I saved Scathach from. Unlike Zeus, he is an amazing ruler, there are very few arguments in the council meetings, and never any major fights between the gods.'

'Oh,' Artemis said.

Brigid turned to me with a smirk on her face. 'She sounds like you Perce!'

My face turned bright red in embarrassment, and I buried it in my hands. 'Shuddup,' I groaned.

Both Brigid and Artemis laughed at my discomfort, and Brigid looked over at Artemis. 'I have to go now, it's been a pleasure to meet you Artemis.'

'The same to you Brigid. I hope we will meet again sometime,' Artemis said happily.

'Percy, I will see you around. I have three things to say before I go. One, you now have my blessing, so hopefully you won't have to call for me whenever you get hurt,' she said as she fired a bright beam of blue light into me. 'Two, I know what you went through years ago, and you should tell someone like Artemis, someone you trust and who will understand. Finally, can you do the thing again?' she finished, giving me puppy dog eyes.

I sighed and nodded. 'If you say so Brig. You know I'm still not completely comfortable with the second one, but I will try. And yes, I will do 'the thing' as you so bluntly put it. Have fun!' I said.

I touched my brooch, and another blazingly white portal appeared, lying flat on the ground next to Brigid. She smiled at me, and jumped in, letting out a huge cheer as she did. As soon as her body was through, the portal snapped shut.

'What was 'the thing' what Brigid was talking about?' Artemis asked.

'Well, she's a bit of a thrill seeker, so I made the corresponding portal in Rodrubân be high above the castle, so she could free fall for a bit, before flying inside.' I explained. 'Is there any chores you want me to do before I talk to you about what Brigid mentioned? I will need some time to think about what to say, because you will be the first person I have talked to about this.'

She nodded. 'It will be fairly similar to what you did yesterday. You won't have to do the laundry today, that's done three times a week. You will be making the rest of the meals, and can you sharpen all the arrows and knives in the armoury. Do that first, and once you are done, come talk to me. Also, make sure Scathach remains stable.'

'As you wish milady,' I said, bowing to her. I disappeared in a flash of flames, appearing outside the armoury tent, quickly walking inside, intent on completing my task. I looked around the tent, taking in the spears hanging in racks on the wall, the knives lying on benches, and the amount of arrows sitting in tubs on the ground, waiting to be sharpened. I grabbed a whetstone I found lying on one of the benches, and picked up an arrow, and began to sharpen it, sliding the broad-head over the edge of the stone. Once the arrow was sharpened, I placed it into an empty bucket, and mirrored the actions with each arrow afterwards. After a couple of hours, I had sharpened bout half the arrows, but was still trying to come up with wording for the conversation with Artemis. I kept sharpening the arrows, constantly thinking about what to say to Artemis, until I tried to sharpen an arrow that was far blunted than possible. I looked at the bucket I'd picked it up from, and saw it was labeled 'Blunt Arrows'. One of the Hunters had obviously put the bucket in the 'To Be Sharpened' pile as a prank. I quickly looked around, checking to see if there were any other arrows to be sharpened. Fortunately for me and my back, there weren't. I looked around the room to see how many of the knives needed sharpening, and thankfully, there weren't many. The Hunters obviously didn't use their mêlée weapons much, which made sense, seeing as they were mainly archers. I quickly sharpened the knives, and soon came to Thalia's pair of knives, the last ones I had to sharpen. I knew they were hers because of the lightning designs engraved in the blade. I slid the whetstone down the length of the blade a few times, until that side of the blade was sharp. I quickly repeated the actions on the other side of the blade, until the blade was extremely sharp. I was still intrigued by the lightning engravings, and I ran my fingers down on of the designs, making it light up electric blue, and earning myself a small shock. She had embed the blades with a bit of her demigod power, smart girl. I placed the blades back where I had found them, and left the armoury tent, and headed off to try and find Artemis. It was time for the talk that I still didn't feel like I was ready to have.

Line break.

I eventually found Artemis teaching archery to some of the younger Hunters. Taking the opportunity to do some practice, I summoned by bow, and took my stance in front of one of the targets. I drew, sighted and loosed an arrow in the blink of an eye, followed by three more soon afterwards, sending them hurtling towards the target, the first smashing into the bulls-eye, travelling through the target and into the ground behind it. The next few arrows flew through the hole created from the first arrow, before thudding into the arrow in the ground, splitting it. I started to get annoyed about my arrows going through the target, and I turned towards Artemis, to find her, and the young Huntresses looking at me in awe. I immediately blushed and looked at the ground, kicking the dirt.

'Ummmm, Lady Artemis, I was wondering if I might be able to make my own targets to practice archery with, seeing my arrows go completely through yours. Your Huntresses can use them too, but they will be far more difficult than the ones you use.' I asked.

Artemis nodded. 'You may, but what will be using for targets? And why are you even out here, shouldn't you still be sharpening the arrows and knives?'

'To answer the second question, I've already sharpened all of the arrows and knives, and for the first, I normally use a tree, with the growth rings as targets. Also, the reason I came out here wasn't to talk about archery, but to let you know I'm ready to talk to you whenever you are ready.'

'Yes, you may use the trees as targets, but do not cut down too many, I am the goddess of the wilderness, and I don't take kindly to unnecessary removal of trees. If you give me five minutes, I'll be ready to talk to you, I had almost finished training these youngsters anyway.'

I nodded. 'I will see you in five then' I said cheerily.

Artemis just looked at me weirdly, before walking off with the young Huntresses. She came back a short time later, and looked at me inquisitively.

'What is it you are wanting to talk to me about?' she asked.

I shook my head. 'Not here, it is too personal, and I don't want anyone listening in, I'm still feeling uncomfortable with telling you,' I said, then quickly added, 'No offence intended of course.'

She gave me a slight smirk. 'I didn't take offence Perseus, but don't presume to get away with it again.' She said. 'Where would you talk to me then? Your tent?'

I again shook my head. 'No, there is a fair chance of on of the Huntresses coming into the tent while we are talking. Could you possibly tell Thalia to look after the Hunt while we are gone, because I'd like to teleport us to a place I found where there are never people. I will also ask Lúa to patrol the forest to make sure there are no monsters in the area, whilst keeping herself out of the sight of the Hunters.'

'Fine, we can go once I've told Thalia. But what use would Lúa be against monsters, she is so small compared to most monsters.'

'Lúa is an amazing fighter, she fought a minor demon and won once. It would be wise to not insult my friend Lady Artemis,' I said in a warning tone.

'I would watch your tone boy, I am still a goddess, and you are only a demigod. I can turn you into a jackalope whenever I wish. And I wasn't intentionally insulting her, I was actually curious.'

'Then I apologise. I have had many people ask how an animal that small can do anything, and she has a tendency to get quite offended and lash out when she hears people say that.'

'I accept your apology.' Artemis said.

I inclined my head slightly to her. 'Milady, you should let Thalia know we will be leaving temporarily, while I let Lúa know to keep an eye out for monsters in the area.'

She agreed, and called for Thalia while I let out a low warbling whistle, calling Lúa to me. Thalia came running to us, and as soon as she arrived, I was slammed to the ground by a blur of silver. Thalia instantly had her bow out at the Lymrill on my chest, and was about to fire, before Artemis made her lower the bow. Lúa curled into my chest as I stroked her quills, and I looked over at Artemis, sending a thankful glance at her before turning my head to Thalia.

'What is that thing on your chest?' Thalia asked.

Lúa slowly stood up on my chest, her claws digging painfully into my skin. I quickly stroked her back, making her relax, before I lifted her off my chest, grunting at her weight. I glared slightly at Lúa, who had the nerve to look innocent.

'You, my friend, are going on a diet. You have been eating way to much silver. How are you meant to fight when you are so fat?' I said.

She snarled at me, and nipped at my leg, and then looked at me pleadingly. I groaned. 'I wish you had never learned that, you know I can't resist it.'

I turned back to Thalia. 'Thalia, meet Lúa, my Lymrill companion. Lady Artemis and I are going to be leaving temporarily, leaving you in charge of the Hunt. As a precaution, Lúa here is going to be patrolling the forest, making sure that there are no monsters. If she finds some, she will fight as many as she can, but some may still get through to you guys, so be wary. But that depends on how many monsters there are. I can't be bothered to explain what she's done, but Lúa can easily take down Hellhounds and the like, and will be quite helpful taking down stronger monsters,' I said.

Thalia nodded grudgingly, accepting my explanation, but still curious about the Lymrill.

'Here's a compromise, I'll give you a brief run down on Lúa and what she can do when I get back later from my talk with Artemis,' I said.

Thalia instantly smiled, happy with my idea. 'I'll hold you to that, Kelp Head,' she said.

I nodded, and Thalia turned and left to go back to the Hunt. I looked back at Lúa. 'Lúa, go into the forest and hunt, but keep an eye out for anything that shouldn't be there, and do your best to kill any monsters without being killed, hurt, or spotted by the Hunt. I'll be back shortly,' I said the Lymrill. She nipped my chin affectionately, and ran off into the trees, disappearing in the undergrowth.

I turned back to Artemis, and offered her my hand. 'Shall we, milady?' I asked as she took my extended hand.

She blushed slightly at the contact of our hands, but it quickly disappeared. 'We shall,' she replied, and we disappeared in a flash of flames.

Line Break

Artemis and I reappeared in a flash of flames in an abandoned wilderness, with woodland off to the side, and the faint scent of the sea entering our noses. We were standing on top of a small hill, luscious grass flowing around us, and a large group of flowers visible in the distance. (A.N. Just so you know guys, I don't actually know if such a place exists, I've completely made it up. It would be pretty awesome if it does though! Its also pretty hard for me to describe an area like that, I live in suburban Australia, with the sea one minute east, five minutes north, 15 minutes south, and the Outback an hour and a half west. In between that, its all houses for me :(. Just thought you guys should know in case I say anything that doesn't make sense). I quickly let go of her hand, and walked slightly forwards, lying down on the slope of the hill, putting my arms behind me head. Artemis came and sat next to me, looking up into the sky with a slightly dazed expression on her face. I chuckled slightly at it, earning myself a swift glare.

Artemis soon got her surprise under control, and looked at me. 'So Percy, what was it that you were going to tell me, that was so important to not be told back at the Hunt?'

I sighed and used Athena's blessing to quickly think up a way to start. 'Ok, before I start, I just want to know. What do you think my childhood was like?' I asked.

Artemis gained a thoughtful look on her face before responding. 'I believe that you were raised in an apartment with your mother, blissfully unaware of your godly heritage, until you turned 12, when you arrived at camp,' she said.

I groaned. 'How many people believe that?' I asked.

Artemis looked at me weirdly. 'Almost everyone, I believe.'

I groaned even louder, barely able to believe that people thought I was raised that way. 'Why does everyone believe that?' I moaned, before quickly turning back to Artemis. 'That belief couldn't be further from the truth. Well, except living in an apartment with mum, but the rest is complete and utter crap. At a young age, my mother married a man called Gabriel Ugliano, because he smelled so overwhelmingly mortal that it hid my demigod scent. He was nice to us for the first five minutes living together. Whenever I did anything Gabe saw as slightly wrong, he would pretend not to care, but as soon as mum had left the house, he would beat and cut me. So no, I never had a perfect childhood like everyone believed, I was tortured by my stepfather.'

Artemis was looking at me shocked. 'Why did you not tell your mother? Surely she could have done something?' she asked.

'I never told her, because Gabe said that if I took the beatings, that he wouldn't lay a finger on mum, which I foolishly believed. I know he treated her like a slave, but whenever he raised a fist towards her, she would flinch. That right there screamed abuse, but apart from that, I have no evidence that he hurt her.'

Artemis growled menacingly. 'He should pay for hurting a woman,' she hissed.

I chuckled weakly. 'He did eventually pay, but I'll get to that soon.'

'Is that why you aren't like most other males?' Artemis asked.

'It was partially that, and mum teaching me to respect everyone equally. But the deciding factor was what he did to me on my tenth birthday. Mum normally took the day off on my birthday, but this year, she wasn't able to,' I felt tears enter my eyes as I remembered that horrible day. 'I had fallen asleep during the middle of the day, and I woke up a short time later, with a strange feeling on my wrists and legs. I was chained to the bed with my ex-stepfather standing over me. That was the day I - I w-was, the day I was raped,' I said, the last part of my sentence said so softly I was surprised Artemis heard it. I looked over at her, to see her expression morph from one of shock to one of fury.

'Did I just hear that correctly?' Artemis growled with such unbridled rage it sent shivers down my spine. Unable to speak, I nodded my head, tears falling from my face. I was suddenly pulled into an extremely tight embrace, and I felt tears wetting my shirt. I sat there, unable to move, as the moon goddess held me in a crushing embrace.

I felt blood rushing to my head. 'Ar-te-mis, I ca-can't breathe,' I managed to choke out.

She quickly removed her arms, and pulled back from me. One of her hands reached up and cupped my face. 'I'm so sorry you ever had to experience that Percy. I now completely understand why you are so different to every other male there is.'

I smiled shakily at her. 'Milady, may I take off my shirt? I'd like to show you something.'

She glared lightly at me. 'Stop with the formalities Percy. We are both alone, I won't kill you for calling me Artemis. And for taking the shirt off, it depends what it is for.'

'I, I want to show you some of the things my ex-stepfather did to me.'

She nodded, and I slowly removed my shirt, showing her my scars. She gave a small gasp, and ran her hands softly over one of the scars. I turned around, and felt her trace one of the scars that said 'WORTHLESS'.

'When did he do this to you?' she asked.

I gave a light chuckle. 'Fortunately, not all the ones you see are from him. Some are from my two times in Tartarus, but I'll get to that later. He gave me the one you are touching now when I was 8.'

'You went into Tartarus again?' Artemis gasped.

I grimaced. 'Yeah, and it wasn't much better than the other time.'

I put my shirt back on, because I was starting to feel uncomfortable with her looking at my chest. 'Anyway, continuing on with the story, after that happened, that bastard told me never to tell anyone, otherwise he would come and kill both me and my mother. So obviously, no-one has ever known until now. My life continued like normal, being beaten up by Gabe each day, until I eventually came to Camp Half-Blood. I'm presuming you know pretty much all of what happened there, so is it ok if I skip over that?'

Artemis nodded. 'Yes, I am pretty sure I know what happened at camp. The Lightning Bolt quest, the one for the Golden Fleece, the one to save me, thanks for that by the way, the Battle of the Labyrinth, the Battle for Olympus, the quest to free Thanatos and save Camp Jupiter, your first trip to Tartarus, and saving the Earth from Gaia. That's all, correct?'

'Yep, they were the extents of my quests at camp. After the Giant War, I was asked to come down to Atlantis with Dad, where he taught me to use my powers over the sea better, and when I returned I found the daughter of Athena cheating on me the day before I was going to propose to her. In my rage, I almost tore apart camp, and I ran to my cabin to gather the rest of my stuff. As I was about to leave, I was found by Hestia, who offered to make me her champion, and remove my demigod scent, so I could move around the world easier. I went to my mum's apartment, and told her what had happened and that I would be leaving the country. I travelled over to Europe, and began training over there, learning new methods of fighting, archery, and a began forming a new life. A couple of years later, when I was in Ireland, I stumbled across some people being attacked by a Hollow Man, I didn't know what it was at the time, and they began to teach me magic.'

'You can use magic? I thought that was only a power that descendants of Hecate could use?'

'Yes, I can use magic, but not in the way Hecate's children do. They use spells, where my magic controls the elements. With my magic, I can control fire and water, which I could already control, but also greatly increased my control over earth, and gave me control over the air. I was with them for about nine years, and helped them save the world three different times. After the nine years, I left them, and began to wander around the country, a couple of years later running into some people from a school known as Rowan Academy. They sensed my demigod abilities and took me to their school, where I completed the last two years, and helped them stop a pair of demons from destroying Earth. Did you notice that your Roman forms had a power drop for a while?'

'Yeah, I remember that happening. Why did our powers drop?'

'That was my fault sorry. We were fighting in Rome, and I may have accidentally destroyed most of the city. After the war was finished, we did manage to rebuild it like it used to be, restoring your power. I travelled into Tartarus with a deceased friend of mine, trying to find information about the demon-god that was the mastermind behind the attack. However, it was a trap, and I was captured and tortured, but eventually escaped. We eventually managed to defeat the demon-god, saving the world for a seventh time. All that took about seven years, and it was because of them that I found out about the Sidh,' I pulled up the sleeve on my right arm, revealing a red tattoo of a hand with a cord around it. My Red Branch tattoo. 'After a short time with them, I was invited to join the Red Branch, a group of highly trained assassins and warriors, and became their representative in America, and returned here. From there, I continued training, and began to save young demigods, taking them to Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, or the Hunt, depending on their situation. Eventually, I was found by you, and brought back to Olympus. I became the Hunt's guardian, and you know everything from then.'

'One thing you didn't tell me was when you became the champion of Hades.'

'Oh, I completely forgot about that. I became his champion six months after I left, when I saved one of his children from death.'

'I suppose it's fair to tell you some of my back-story, seeing you have told me yours. Before I gained my status as an Olympian, I was walking around Athens, when I was abducted and almost raped by a group of vile males. That was when my hatred for men began, and you are the only one I have found that is different to every other one I have met. For years you baffled me of why you were so humble, never taking any credit for yourself, and blaming yourself for everyone's deaths, and why you were always so humble to women. Now I know. Thank you for telling me what happened, I swear I will not tell anyone. I'm trusting you will do the same for me?'

'Of course Artemis. I completely understand that you wouldn't want anyone to know what happened to you, and I don't go betraying people's trust, unlike one girl I know.'

'Who Percy?' Artemis asked.

'Who do you think? The Athena spawn. Do you know what she told me when I found her cheating?'

Artemis shook her head.

'She told me that she never loved me and only used me to get fame. When she said that it was like someone was cutting off my limbs with Kronos' scythe, which isn't a pleasant experience. Anyway, we should probably be returning to the Hunt.'

Artemis nodded, and I stood up, and offered her my hand, which she took, and pulled her to her feet. Before I could flash us away, she did something completely unexpected. She pulled me into a hug, burying her head in my chest, before pulling away and lightly giving me a kiss on the cheek. I stood there shocked for a second, a blush adorning my face, before gathering my wits, and flashing us back to the Hunt.

Line break

We arrived back in the middle of the Hunters' camp in a flash of flames, scaring the living daylights out of little Jules, who was sitting next to the campfire. She told me she was going to tell Thalia that she was back, and quickly ran off. After having a short conversation with Jules, I decided to head to the infirmary tent to check if Scathach was alright. I got up, and began walking to the tent, but was quickly cornered by Phoebe.

'What were you doing with Lady Artemis boy?' Phoebe growled.

'I was talking to her, am I not allowed to do that?' I replied.

'No, you are not permitted to talk to any of the Huntresses you useless male, especially Lady Artemis.'

'Another goddess ordered me to talk to her, and who am I to disobey the word of deity? Now move aside, I need to go check on my sister.'

'And who is your sister?'

'The woman I rescued this morning, whom is now in the infirmary tent.'

'Zoë Nightshade is not your sister, she is mine. If I here you say that again, I will castrate you.'

I began to softly chuckle under my breath.

'Why do you laugh boy?' Phoebe growled.

'I laugh because you think she is Zoë. She is not. The woman I rescued this morning is called Scathach, despite looking almost identical to Zoë. And she is my sister, so I can say that as much as I want.'

'You lie boy.'

'I swear it on the Styx.'

After I said the oath (that doesn't bind me anyway), I waited a moment before walking straight past the stunned Hunter, continuing my walk to the infirmary tent. I quickly reached said tent, and ducked inside, finding Scathach sitting on the edge of the bed.

She looked up at me as I came in. 'Perce, where are we?' she asked.

'We are with a group of immortal maidens known as the Hunters of Artemis,' I replied. 'It was the safest place to bring you after you were assaulted, and it also helps that I was assignment to protect Artemis and her Hunt. The other reason I decided to bring you here was because you are still a maiden, and to gain the partial immortality the Hunters have, you need to swear of relationships, and I know you don't want another relationship after your husband was assassinated,' I explained.

She nodded. 'I agree. Now, where do I swear the oath?'

'I'll take you to Artemis, and you will be able to recite the oath there. Can you walk?'

She punched me in the arm, hard. 'Of course I can walk Percy, I wasn't hurt too badly for me, I mean, I have died before, so those cuts and bruises were nothing. And with Brigid personally healing me, it made my recovery far quicker. Now, let's go see a goddess!'

With that, she quickly got up and started walking out of the tent. I ran after her, and noticed she was walking away from Artemis, without knowing.

'Um, Scathach? Artemis is the other way.'

Scathach quickly turned on her heel, now walking towards Artemis. 'Right, I knew that, I was just testing you.'

I face palmed, completely seeing through the lie, before following after her. We found Artemis back at the training ground, supervising the older Huntresses sparring. She noticed us looking towards them, and walked over to us.

'Were you looking for me Perseus?' Artemis asked.

'As a matter of fact we were. Scathach here has accepted to join the Hunt. Where do you want her to make the oath?'

'I could have answered for myself Percy,' Scathach said jokingly.

I wisely raised my hands in surrender and said nothing.

'The oath can be sworn in my tent,' Artemis said. 'Would you both like to come with me? I also have a few questions for the two of you.'

Both Scathach and I bowed our heads slightly in acknowledgment, before following after her. When we were inside her tent, she made Scathach recite the oath, before instructing us to sit.

'Scathach, this question is mainly for you, and I need to get it off my back before I explode. Do you know a Zoë Nightshade by any chance?' Artemis asked.

I noticed Scathach's eyes widened slightly at the name. 'Why do you ask Lady Artemis?' she said cautiously.

'Zoë was the lieutenant of my Hunt for millennium before she died, and you look also identical to her, so much so that I initially mistook you for her.' Artemis replied.

Tears appeared in the corner of Scathach's eyes. 'Sh-she's dead?' She managed to stutter out. 'She was my twin sister, but during the Titan War, I was banished from Greece by our father after being caught opposing the Titans. She never found out what happened to me afterwards, nor I her. When did she die?'

'Zoë died on a quest to save Lady Artemis from Atlas' burden. She was killed by your father,' I explained sadly.

Fury quickly became visible in Scathach's volcanic rock eyes. 'I will kill that bastard for what he did to my twin. He is no father of mine.'

Artemis lay a hand on Scathach's shoulder and squeezed slightly to calm her down. 'It's alright Zo-Scathach, we will figure out a way through this. If you ever need someone to talk to, I should be available at any time, unless I am on Olympus. The Hunters and I will try to make the change easy for you. You can carry your sister's legacy on for us, to help us all heal,' Artemis stood up slowly, bringing Scathach with her. 'Welcome to the Hunt, sister.'

Well, that's another chapter done. Again, I am so sorry about the wait. Assignments have been, and still are, killing me... I bet you guys weren't expecting Zoë to not be Zoë! Hahahaha I'm so evil ;) I also apologise for how poor and boring this chapter was, I've been struggling with writers block, and knew I needed to get a chapter out sometime.

Anyway, I hope you all have a nice day/night/whatever wherever you are. Please leave a Follow, Favourite, and a Review! If you see any grammar/spelling mistakes, please let me know what and where the mistake is, and I will fix it.

Just so you guys know, I have a poll up on my profile about a new story I'm thinking of starting. It will be a fair while before it comes out, but I'd like an idea on possible pairings before I start, because I prefer to have them planned out from the start.

Anyways

Arkyz out!