This is way sooner than I had originally planned so I'm pretty happy about that... Also this is actually the most explicit chapter I have ever written for this, in both sexual nature and violence. I don't think it qualifies as M yet though. A lot of this chapter is flashback, but is very important. You get the answers you want of the mysterious girls...

"Artemis!" Percy exclaimed. All signs of his weariness instantly evaporated as he stood strait up. She was the last person he was expecting to visit him at four in the morning. Not that he ever expected visitors that early, but if he did it would probably be Apollo coming off of a bender. Right about now he would have preferred a wasted sun god because the sober moon goddess looked rather annoyed.

"Shhh." She hushed him while motioning to the sleeping figure in her arms. It dawned on him that he had practically shouted her name causing the sleeping girl to stir. Luckily he had not inadvertently woken up the child or he would be in a world of pain from an angry mother.

He nodded in understanding and made a locking motion with his fingers over his mouth. This silly act brought a small smile to the goddess's lips. Taking that as a good sign Percy held out his arms to receive the young girl from her mother. As usual there was a hint of reluctance in Artemis's body language before she passed her precious daughter into a man's grasp. Again he was reminded that he was likely the only person alive that could actually take the child from her without being gruesomely killed. Percy took a moment to cradle the little girl to his chest and then carefully placed her on his bed. Once he had tucked her into the sheets he motioned for the silver eyed goddess to follow him into the living room.

"Luna has grown a lot." He commented once they were far enough to speak without disturbing the young girl's sleep.

Artemis collapsed onto the nearby couch. She slipped off her black hunting boots leaving her feet clad in tight black stockings that disappeared into the legs of her pants. Then she folded her legs underneath her bottom and leaned against the soft couch back in a distinctly undignified pose for a proud goddess. It was another major sign of the trust she held for Percy that she could be so relaxed in his presence.

When she finally became comfortable she responded while a frown marred her pretty face. "Yes, but I am very worried about her. She is almost a year old and still has the body and mind of a child."

The only man in the room laughed for a second. "She looks like she grew three whole years since I last saw her only seven months ago."

Artemis' frown deepened. "Exactly. Luna is a goddess. She should be growing faster. The day after I was born I was mature enough to help my mother give birth to my idiot twin. Within a week I was fully grown, and within a month I had complete mastery of my powers. By now she should have been an adult for months."

Sometimes it was easy to forget that immortals lived their entire childhood in the span of a week or two depending on their level of raw power. For Luna to still be a child was actually unheard of. He could defiantly understand the moon goddess's anxiety over her daughter's abnormal growth. She was probably very afraid something was wrong with her child. Maybe rightfully so because the only other birth using the method she had used was Hephaestus and he had some serious birth defects. The injuries from being thrown off Olympus notwithstanding.

"She seems healthy though," Percy spoke in an attempt to comfort the distressed mother. "It could be a minor side effect of her dual nature."

"Maybe." She sounded unconvinced.

He decided that this was one discussion he would not win. He did not have an answer for the child's slow development and continuing to speak about it would only upset the mother further. In his mind the best course of action was to distract her.

"I'm sure you are here for a reason. Is there something I can help you with?" He asked while simultaneously praying she would not notice his obvious plan.

She nodded her head. "I just got an emergency order from Zeus. The hunters and I are going on a short journey and I need you to watch Luna. I don't want her with us during this hunt."

Noting the air of seriousness in the huntress's voice he decided to forgo the joke he was thinking and directly asked a question that was on his mind. "Should I be worried about the hunters' and your safety?"

Even if he knew they were all very competent, a mission so dangerous she would not bring Luna as she normally did had him nervous. Also he was the only person on earth whom she had confided in so he knew much more about her mentality than anyone else. He knew exactly what she went through recently and he was worried what she would do if she lost a hunter during this mission.

She shook her head causing her hair to partially obscure her face. While tucking the loose strands behind her left ear she answered him. "No. It should not be dangerous. We are traveling down to Mexico City to speak with some important people, but as you know, we will lose much of our power when traveling outside of the United States. I just do not want Luna to go through that while I am still concerned over her development. Also she has been begging me to let spend some more time with her 'father.'"

The last word 'father' she said while using her fingers to make quotation mark gestures with a knowing smile. It was true that Percy was not genetically Luna's father. However, he was the only man besides Apollo that knew about her true origins so she considered him her father. His closeness with her mother also helped quite a bit in that regard as well.

He remembered the last time he saw Luna she had recently begun talking and had started calling him daddy. Originally both he and Artemis had tried to explain to the toddler that he was not her father, but soon were forced to give up trying due to her persistence. Something that secretly made him very happy.

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to babysit, he could not watch over the girl. "Artemis, I can't. You know I would never turn down an opportunity to spend some time with my favorite girl but I have my own crisis to deal with right now."

Instead of being mad like he expected her to be, the moon goddess gave him a look full of concern. "What is wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing I can't handle. Don't worry Arty."

Let it be known that Artemis was not without flaws, but ignorance was not one of them. She could clearly see it was effecting her friend. The moment she asked him his hands had unconsciously clenched. He had refused to meet her eyes during his response. And most importantly he called her Arty. She hated that stupid nickname her brother came up with. Percy had only used it to get her mad at its use so that she would forget about her question. It was a rather clever strategy, especially for someone know for doing things without thinking, but she saw right through it.

"If you do not tell me I will bring Luna to Apollo to watch and you'll never get to visit again." It was a dirty trick and they both knew it. Luna filled in part of the hole in Percy's heart from Zoey's loss. She meant almost as much to him as she did to Artemis herself. Furthermore she would never seriously entertain leaving her daughter with her man-whore of a brother. If Percy really did refuse she would most likely ask Thalia to stay behind to watch her.

Their eyes locked in a standoff for several minutes until the Hero of Olympus crumbled under her gaze. Besides she trusted him to take care of her daughter the least he could do is tell her the truth. He explained everything that had happened to him since they last spoke. He told her every detail of Amphitrite's visit and then Kymopoleia's short stay. He even told her of his conversations with two Titans. It was a risk because she could tell her father he had committed treason, but he wanted to give her the same trust she gave him. Percy finally concluded his explanation with the events of the previous day including Amphitrite's abduction, the letter's contents, Medusa's story, and his second discussion with the titans.

For a long time she was completely silent. He had actually begun to sweat a little. If she decided to tell anyone of his recent actions there was no doubt he would be executed or banished to Tartarus. A man hating goddess literally held his fate in her hands. Finally after what felt like hours to him, she let out a deep sigh.

"Why must you always be so difficult?" She asked him while pinching the bridge of her nose.

He opened his mouth to speak but she raised her hand to cut him off. "I don't have time to deal with this now. We have to leave in half an hour, so I'll make this quick. You are an idiot."

Once again he tried to talk only to be interrupted by her. "But your heart is in the right place. Believe it or not I do not automatically know whenever a maiden has been abused or else I would have vaporized every last man responsible Ancient Laws be damned. I had no reason to doubt the story I was told about Medusa and I suspect you may be the first person she has told in a very long time. If she has told anyone at all. I will try to help them, but I cannot make any promises because it was not my curse. Anyway I will need to hear their story from them myself, and they will need to swear on the Styx it is the truth, before I do anything. Oh don't look so surprised, I am willing to help any maiden that has been wronged. Besides those three have never hurt any of my hunters in the past so I have nothing to hold a grudge for."

She paused for a moment before continuing. "As for Amphitrite, that is much more of a complicated problem I will try to think of something this weekend. Just promise me you will not do anything stupid."

"Thank you so much, and I promise." At last he was able to speak.

The black clad goddess stood from the couch she was sitting on. "One last thing, a lot of what those titans told you was the truth, but not all. Be very careful around them because they may have an ulterior motive."

Artemis gave him a quick hug then proceeded to flash out of his apartment. Leaving Percy alone in the moonlight streaming through the windows that seemed a little brighter than usual.

All at once his exhaustion came back full force. He soon fell asleep in the loveseat he had been sitting on. While he slept his dreams reminded him just how he had gotten into this odd relationship with a manhating virgin goddess.

Percy Jackson, Second Prince of Atlantis, two time Hero of Olympus, Slayer of Giants, Bane of Titans, and Terror of Monsters, was drunk. Tomorrow was August first, the three year anniversary of Gia's defeat and there was a large festival in Olympus that night to celebrate. He would not be there though. He felt he had nothing to celebrate. Just under six months ago the love of his life and his newborn daughter were taken from him. Tomorrow would only serve to remind him of his loss.

Instead he would spend the next night the same as he spent this night and the ones before. In a bar drinking until he could no longer remember his pain. Technically he was under the legal drinking age, but his fake ID was a perfect forgery made by Hermes. Besides he had not started using it until a few days ago and he would be 21 and therefore legal in 19 days anyway so he did not feel very guilty.

His birthday. It would be the first time in almost ten years that he will celebrate it without Annabeth. That thought alone caused him to take another large sip of his beer. A little voice in his head told him if he drank enough than he would not have to suffer through it. He squashed that voice quickly. No matter how upset he was, he could not do that to his mother. He now knew first had how difficult it was to have your child die before you. He would NOT put her through that. So lost in his dark thoughts he did not notice someone joining him in the secluded both. It wasn't until a famine voice spoke that he actually realized he was no longer alone.

"Do you hate me?" A soft voice asked.

For the first time Percy looked up to see there was someone sitting across from him. She had long auburn hair flowing past her shoulders and was wearing a faded grey t-shirt with a yellow Wonder Woman symbol across the chest. Her silver eyes locked onto his green ones as she looked on the verge of tears.

Instinctually he knew who she was and what she was talking about. In his alcohol clouded mind he did not question why she was there. Instead he simply answered truthfully in one word.

"No."

"Because I do." She continued as if she had not heard him. "Tomorrow I have to sit on my throne at the council and pretend I am happy during the festival. Two years ago tomorrow 22 of my hunters were killed."

Slow as he was from his drinking, Percy noticed some of the telltale signs of drinking in the goddess across from him. The edges of her silver eyes were slightly bloodshot, although that could have been from crying as well. Her body had a very slight sway back and forth as she sat there, and lastly there was an almost unnoticed slur in her voice whenever she made an s sound.

"Lady Artemis, are you all right?" He asked politely even if it was obvious she was not.

"It's all just too much for me." She answered with the slight slur making it's sound like ish.

Honestly he was not sure how to handle this situation. Artemis was known to turn men into jakolopes when she was in a bad mood. On the other had he was a little too drunk to really care about the potential furry consequences. "What is?"

Ignoring his second question she asked something of her own. "Can you keep a secret Percy?"

"Yes." At this point he felt it was best to just go along with it.

"I am not really a virgin." She whispered.

That was definitely not something he would have expected her to tell him. Not in a billion years. Not even if, for some ridiculous reason, his life hung in the balance unless she confessed that.

"Well technically I am," she continued in her normal voice. "I have never had sex with a man, or had a penis near me." She paused and then giggled. "Except that fool Actaeon who thought he could covertly pleasure himself while I bathed. I wonder how much he enjoyed being eaten alive by rabid dogs."

Once again she let out a small drunken giggle. Then she leaned in towards Percy and whispered conspiratorially. "But I have had sex with women."

Artemis leaned back to her original position. "My oath was to forgo the company of men so I have never broken it. Besides by our standards, sex with a woman does not count. Even if it is penetrative or breaks the woman's hymen she is still considered a virgin. Your modern American standards are progressive enough to recognize it but the old standards of Olympus do not. It's funny I am a virgin and I am not at the same time. Like that Australian guy's cat." She broke into another fit of giggles.

Suddenly her cheerful laughing devolved into soft sobs. Golden trails began to trace their way down her cheek. "I miss her so much. When if first formed my hunters I thought of them all as my younger sisters and then later as daughters. I was so old compared to them. The closed to my age was Callisto who was eleven houndred years my junior."

Artemis let out a choked sob. At that point Percy was not even sure if she remembered she was talking to him anymore. It sounded to him like she had become lost in her own memories.

Her voice was audibly shaking when she continued. "The poor girl. We never knew she was raped. She never told us, we ju- ju- just thought she had betrayed us. It wasn't until centuries after her death that Zeus mentioned he enjoyed forcing himself on her." Part way through her voice cracked causing a small stutter.

"I always fail my hunters." At this she broke down completely into tears. They cascaded down her face staining the collar of her grey shirt golden.

Something about one of the strongest women he knew weeping like a small child was deeply moving. He wanted nothing more than to help her. To stop her crying. Unfortunately his ADHD chose this moment to rear its ugly head.

"Was she the one you miss?" He questioned stupidly.

"No." She sniffled. Artemis grabbed Percy's beer from across the table. She drank the entire bottle and then spoke again "I do miss her but she was not my lover. It was near the end of the hunts first millennia when I met Zoe. She was different. She knew what it was like to grow up immortal. To have an arrogant dick of a father. Plus she was really close to my age, only about 30 years older than me actually. Both of us were born before the Titanomancy and then lived through it, although she did not leave the Garden during the war."

She had once again begun smiling. Her quick changing moods were starting to give Percy whiplash. He silently vowed to himself that if he ever came out of this crazy meeting alive he was going to make sure Artemis never touched a drop of alcohol again.

"I don't really know how it happened, but we fell in love. We spent thousands of years together. It was amazing. I loved her so much. We weren't the only ones you know. Several of my hunters were together as couples. Then that fucking bastard killed her. She died in my arms. Twice."

That last part caught Percy off guard. What did she mean twice? Was Zoe reincarnated before? He was about to ask about it when she spoke again, answering his unasked question.

"She was reincarnated." Artemis said softly. It seemed that by now she had run dry of tears because she did not cry again. Rather she spoke miserably as if she had given up on her own life. "To you of all people. I would recognize her soul anywhere. She wouldn't have the memories of our love, but I knew with time we could make new ones. I would gladly give up my immortality to spend a mortal lifetime with her. I was prepared to also, even if she never loved me again I wanted to spend the rest of my days near her. Then she was gone. And I was all alone again…" Her voice trailed off at the end.

The young man's eyes widened slightly as his breath hitched in his throat. He realized what she was talking about. She was suffering because of the same even that he was. It had been the final straw that broke her carefully built wall. His baby, his little girl. Zoey wasn't just named after Zoe, she was Zoe. Somehow how the wayward Hesperide turned hunter had been reincarnated into the baby girl Annabeth had given birth to. The baby that had died in Artemis' arms. It must have crushed her to have her hopes rekindled only to be brutally snuffed out minutes later. It was no wonder that she was so drunk. Tomorrow was a reminder of one a terrible loss for her while the reopened wound of another was still fresh.

"There is something I have debated for the past three years," She said sounding surer of herself. "Tomorrow I am disbanding the hunters." Percy gasped in surprise but she continued unhindered. "There are only three of them left anyway. Now Thalia is the oldest."

She paused long enough for Percy to be able to speak for himself. He had been silent for a while now. "You said 22 died in the battle, but you had 26 hunters. Shouldn't there be four not three?"

Artemis gave him a sad smile. Not even her brother ever cared enough to remember exactly how many hunters she had. "The only ones that survived Orion's attack were Atalanta and Thalia. Atalanta killed herself the night after the battle. She could not live without Pheobe whom had been her lover for over 3,000 years. Lou Ellen and Miranda had joined a few days before the battle but neither of them had taken their oaths yet so they were both still at Camp Half-Blood during the war."

"I'm sorry Artemis." He said with as much sympathy as he could.

"It's not your fault." She responded "None of it is."

Percy ordered a few more drinks for the both of them. If he could not cheer her up than at least he could help her forget. They spoke for hours. Moving on from somber topics they talked about happy memories with loved ones. He shared with her how lost he felt and she, in turn, explained that she had not recruited any more hunters in the past three years because she was afraid to lose them.

At some point he had mentioned the apartment building his father had given him as a ridiculous birthday gift. He told her how he had only recently moved in because his old home had too many bitter memories. She had insisted he show her what a prince's apartment was like. Soon after they had taken a taxi to his building. He spent some time showing her around and then went up to his apartment. Both of them talked for several more hours while they enjoyed each other's company. At some point Artemis had opened a bottle of Bacchus Alcoholic Nectar for the two of them.

On his second glass and her third they caught each other's eyes. Slowly they inched closer. Their faces were almost touching. He could feel her warm breath on his lips, it smelled like the sweet wine they were drinking. It was an almost inviting scent. Then they were kissing. Their lips pressed together softly at first but soon became rough. They hungrily explored the other's mouth with their own tongue as their kisses evolved form innocent to passionate. Occasionally they would pause for air, only to immediately plunge their lips together once again. After what felt like hours they both withdrew to catch their panting breaths. Percy drank another glass and that was the last thing her remembered.

When Percy woke up the first thing he noticed was that his head was pounding worse than steel in Hephaestus' forge. The second was that he had somehow made it to his bed last night. The third and most important thing he noticed was he was not alone in his bed. The other figure had their head on his chest while they were cuddled up next to him with their legs intertwined.

He could not remember much of last night. He went to a bar again, that much was obvious. Then he met someone familiar, but he could not quite make out the details. They came back to his apartment and he could remember several heated make out sessions before his memory completely failed him.

Looking down he tried to find a clue to the person's identity. She was smaller than him, perhaps by several inches and much slimmer. That removed some of the women he knew that were his size or bigger. Unfortunately it still left him with too many candidates. The woman's hair obscured her face so that was no help, although something about the reddish brown color reminiscent of autumn leaves was very familiar. Her bare shoulders and upper back were pale and seemed to have a slight ethereal glow in the morning sunlight.

It felt like the person's name was right on the tip of his tongue but his hangover impaired mind could not fit the pieces of this particular puzzle together. He took a deep breath while observing the woman's head rise and fall slightly with his chest. She moaned softly as if annoyed by her impromptu pillows recent movements. Percy noticed her breath smelled sweet with a slight sharpness he immediately recognized as the bottle of BAN he had been saving for his and Annabeth's wedding anniversary. Apparently he and this woman had drunk it last night. At least it covers potential morning breath he thought to himself.

Still the question remained in his mind who this woman was. Deciding that he was not going to find any more clues by observing, he carefully and slowly moved a few strands of hair from her face. Nothing. She looked so damn familiar but he could not think of a name. He moved the last of the auburn hair from the sleeping woman's face. She was beautiful. And for some reason the content smile on her face made him happy, as if he had fulfilled some sort of promise.

For several more minutes he watched her sleep while he racked his mind for answers. Eventually she began to stir. The woman sat up stretching her arms above her head while letting out a cute yawn. Inadvertently her movement had also caused the covers to slip off her shoulder exposing her uncovered breasts to the young man. She then opened her eyes.

The world froze. There was only one person who had bright silver eyes and now those eyes were locked directly onto his green ones. He made carful effort not to look down at her modest B cup sized breasts because he knew it would mean instant death. Instead he tried his best to match her stare if only to pretend to be intimidating. In truth he felt as if he were a mouse before a lioness.

Artemis did not move. Truth be told she was in shock. For the first time ever in her life she woke up in an unfamiliar bed with a man. If the cool air on her skin was any indication she was also topless. She was both furious and scared at the same time. Two emotions she was not used to feeling together. Furious because a man would dare lay his filthy hands on her, but also scared that she had been taken advantage of. She was a maiden goddess, she did not even like men, and to have her virginity stolen from her was horrifying.

After a short moment she calmed down slightly, her domains informed her that she had not been penetrated and she could still feel the fabric of her panties between her legs. Much of the fear turned into boiling rage and she was seconds away from going supernova. She tried to think back to how she got here.

She had recalled being upset. She had cried a lot about the festival, and then nothing. No wait! She remembered sneaking into Apollo's gaudy golden temple on Olympus and stealing his stash of Olympian alcohol. She spent some time in her Temple drinking it all, and then when she finished she flashed to earth to find more. There was a bar called Apollo's Bow. She went there because she had thought she could find her brother. He wasn't, but there was someone she did recognize.

She remembered stumbling over to the booth in the back corner of the bar where a lone man sat alone. Those same sea green eyes that were locked on hers now. It all came back to her. Everything she said, everything she did. She panicked. Artemis was not afraid to admit that after countless millennia facing the most dangerous creatures in existence, she had finally found something she could not handle. She shut her eyes and ran away.

When Artemis closed her eyes and began glowing, Percy thought that was it. His life was over. He expected to feel his skin burning as she assumed her godly form. Or maybe suddenly find himself very small and furry sailing out a 15thstory window. Or even feel a cold blade pierce between his ribs.

None of those things happened. Instead she simply disappeared. She flashed out of his apartment to wherever she went without saying a single word. More importantly to him, she left without punishing him for whatever happened last night. Honestly he was not sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. Was she going to come back to make him pay for his transgressions? It was all rather nerve-wracking for him.

Several hours later Artemis was standing in front of a floor length mirror. She was freshly bathed and still completely naked. Her eyes were drawn to the slight red marks on her upper body. On the left side of her neck was a hickey right at her pulse point. Slightly lower, along her collarbone were several smaller ones as well. She also noticed her breasts were somewhat swollen from stimulation and her left nipple had a slight discoloration around the edge.

She remembered the night before clearly now, probably much better than Percy because of her godly mind. She wanted so much to be angry at him. She wanted to be able to turn him into a human quiver for her arrows. But she knew the truth. She had enjoyed herself. It was her that removed her top not him. It was her that guided his lips to her left nipple. Her gaze shifted lower to a small mass of dark red curly hair and the sweet pink lips hiding beneath. Even many years after her, death Artemis still kept herself trimmed in the way that Zoe found sexy. She could still feel the ghost of fingers teasing her soft nether folds. Were they Zoe's or Percy's? She felt disgusted in herself for not knowing.

She also felt happy. She also remembered how kind he was with her. He listened to her story without complaining that she it was difficult to understand due to her intoxication. He even told her about himself and tried to make her feel better when he was clearly not happy himself. He was there for her when she needed someone, and for the first time since Zoe's death she had told someone how she truly felt.

The moon goddess frowned deeply. It was her insistence that brought them to his apartment. She had spent so very long with someone to love that without Zoe she felt lost. Even if she was intoxicated, she could not just ignore what happened. The truth was she was lonely. She had a hole in her life now that she needed to fill. She needed to have someone to share her love with, but she could never replace her precious Nightshade. Not with another woman and most certainly not with a man.

There was something else she could love. Something the two of them had talked about often. A dream they had always wanted to fulfill together. It was something she was always too afraid to do. She, Artemis the eternal maiden, would have a baby. She would start the family Zoe had always wanted them to have. Her baby would not be a replacement but an honor to the mother it would never know. To do so she would need someone's help.

Percy had convinced himself that his memory of the night with Artemis was nothing more than an extremely vivid dream. A dream that he wisely chose to keep to himself, lest the real Lady Artemis discover he had an erotic dream about her and turn him into a pincushion. He tried to remember the important details of the dream rather than the later hormone fueled sexy parts. One important thing the dream had done was show him he was not all right. He needed to change where his life was heading.

Sure he was still sad. He missed his family every day, but he could not continue drinking away his pain. True he was not entirely sure what some of the things dream-Artemis had said meant, he was convinced the parts where she had opened up about her feelings of loss and loneliness was his subconscious telling him to confront his demons. He could finally admit to himself that he was sad, but he could not let it consume him.

In the weeks since his epiphany Percy had begun taking classes at a community college. After speaking with Paul about his new life decision, Paul had mentioned that the gym teacher at Goodie High School was retiring that upcoming April. Some kind of health problem was causing him to leave before the school year was over. Paul told Percy that if he could get a basic teaching certificate within the next few months he could have the job. Originally he had been apprehensive, but it was his mom that actually reminded him that by teaching he could make a real positive impact on the lives of his students.

Her words convinced him. For the next three months he spent all of his time studying. At his current rate he would earn his certificate in another four months leaving him two extra months to prepare before he began his new job. It filled him with a new sense of purpose. The pain was still there, but it was a dull ache in his chest rather than a gaping hole where his heart once was. For the first time in many months he found himself smiling as he walked home from his latest class. It would not last.

About a quarter mile from his apartment he was suddenly lifted off of his feet with his back colliding painfully with the rough concrete exterior of the building behind him. People around him on the sidewalk began screaming and fleeing in panic. Percy tried to move but felt a searing pain blossom in his chest. Fearful of what he would find he looked down slowly. Sticking out of the center of his chest was a large golden shafted arrow. It had to be at least an inch in diameter with more than a foot protruding from between his pectoral muscles. With horror he realized he was quite literally nailed to a wall because the rest of the arrow had gone through him out his back and imbedded itself several inches into the concrete.

Percy briefly entertained the idea of attempting to force the rest of the arrow through his chest so that he could escape. However that idea was quickly cast aside when he noticed that the fletching's of the arrow were made from three bronze Stymphalian Bird feathers. Those razor sharp feathers would shred his internal organs into ribbons.

The sot was perfect too. It had entered and exited his body without touching his lungs, major arteries, or heart. A fraction of an inch in any direction and he would have been dead now. Whoever had shot him wanted him to suffer. At this rate it could take many minutes for him to fully bleed to death.

He noticed a figure slowly approaching him. His vision had become blurry due to shock, so it was not until the man stood feet away that he recognized him. Apollo. He was dressed in a classic Greek Chiton with gold stitching and a golden laurel resting on his head. In his right hand was a large gold bow almost as tall as the god himself. His face was scrunched up in the angriest expression he had ever seen the man wear, but the thing that scared Percy were the god's eyes. Apollo's eyes burned like liquid fire. As if there were two small suns going supernova within the golden irises. The sun god reached out with his left hand to grasp the arrow shaft before twisting it violently causing Percy to scream with all of the air in his lungs.

"Why?" He gasped after taking several raged breaths.

"You rapped my sister." The sun god hissed before twisting the shaft again.

"What?" Percy choked.

Apollo was unfazed by his relentless torture. "You got her pregnant. Bastard!" He ripped the arrow out of Percy. Bringing several small chunks of concrete with the gold arrowhead along with a large hunk of bloody flesh.

With the only object supporting his body gone, the young demi-god fell to his knees. There was now a hole the size of a baseball strait through his chest. Small shards of bone and pieces of lung that had been torn loose when the arrow came free now accompanied the waterfall of crimson blood that gushed from the wound. He began coughing violently, each spasm sending more blood into the sidewalk, while his lungs collapsed. Just as the world began to fade into dark he thought he heard a voice calling his name.

A pair of sea green eyes fluttered open. Wherever he was it was dark. The Underworld maybe? Why in the name of Tartarus would Apollo think he did something do Artemis? It was just a dream right? And anyway she was the one taking the lead in his dream, at least for a while. He couldn't remember the whole thing. Was it possible it was real? Did he really hurt her without remembering it? Could he have done something so terrible? Nothing made sense to him right now.

"Artemis…" He whispered under his breath. What had really happened?

A voice cut through his thoughts with two words. "I'm here."

He felt a slender hand wrap around his right hand. He tried to sit up, but another soft hand was placed on his collar bone.

"Do not move." The same voice said to him softly.

He tried, but could not suppress the drawn out groan that slipped from his throat at her touch. Slight as it was it still set his body on fire from waves of pain.

"Shhh." The voice told him soothingly. "You are safe now."

"Where…?" He managed to choke out.

"My temple. Apollo was wrong to attack you. I made him heal you and then threw his ass out." The voice sounded growled out. "What did he say to you?" She asked gently.

Percy drew a short breath. "He… He said Artemis was…" once again he tried to get up from where he was lying. "I need to find her. It's my fault."

A gentle face entered his vision. She had burnt orange hair tied back in a long ponytail that extended over her left shoulder just past the swell of her large C cup breasts. She wore a dark blue colored turtleneck with white stiches forming the shape of a doe standing in regal pose. The woman's eyes were the color of liquid gold and seemed to glow slightly in the darkness of the room. She had a tender smile across her rose red lips as she looked down on him.

Her voice sounded familiar to him. "I am right here Percy."

"No, but you're not." He tried to say. She silenced him by placing a single pale finger on his lips.

"My name is Diana. I am Artemis' Roman equivalent. Anything you say to me she will also know."

He realized that Diana did look a lot like Artemis. Her hair was slightly lighter and she had a little more muscle mass along with a larger bust different eyes, but otherwise the same. "Is she all right?"

Diana nodded. "Yes, she and I normally share one body but in her condition we need to be separate."

"Apollo said she was pregnant." Percy stated.

Again Diana nodded. "She is."

A strong sense of dread filled Percy. "Did I?" He could not find the words to finish his question.

This time Diana shook her head. "No. You are not the father. Nor did you two even have sex that night."

Equal amounts of relief and fear washed over him. He was glad he had not taking a virgin goddess' purity, but what Diana said meant that his dream was actually real.

"If I am not than why did Apollo come after me?"

Diana looked down ashamed. "Shortly after Artemis became pregnant I was forced to separate from her. We got into an argument about you and I think Apollo overheard us."

"What was it about?" He asked almost afraid of the answer.

She blushed slightly. "The *ahem* more intimate moments of your time together. She accused me of harboring secret feelings towards you and influencing her actions. It was ridiculous of course but she could not accept that she had done those things with you."

Something was bothering him. "But if we didn't, you know, how did she get pregnant?"

The Roman goddess' blush faded as she spoke. "There are other options for a goddess besides a man. Artemis got help from Hera to self-impregnate, but since Hephaestus had such serious birth defects, Hera suggested using another's essence to help stabilize and form the baby. She used mine. Essentially combining two of our eggs into a single one and then using a portion of our godly souls to fertilize it. For all intents and purpose I am the baby's father, yet it is more like a second mother since only female reproduction methods were used."

"That's incredible." Percy said.

"However," she started uncertainly "No one beside myself, Artemis, and Hera were ever supposed to know. Apollo overheard us by accident and then he dragged you into it in a rather brutal manner. You have been unconscious for almost a week now. She was by your side almost the entire time. She blamed herself for your injuries so she was very worried about you. I told her I would watch you while she slept."

"Can I see her?" He asked the beautiful goddess.

"Not now. She needs her rest, but you can once she is awake again. You should also get some rest."

Percy agreed with her and let his head fall back to the pillow below. Within moments of closing his eyes he had drifted asleep.

Percy had come to the conclusion that Chaos, or whatever ultimate being controlled the universe, hated him. Not even three hours since Artemis left and he fell asleep on the couch he was being woken up again. At least this time he could not be upset because of the adorable cutie trying to get his attention. He cracked his eye open and smiled at her fake pouting face because he was ignoring her.

"Daddyyy." She complained.

Instead of answering her directly he rolled over to his side quickly grabbing her around the waist. Percy stood up while swinging Luna around in an exaggerated manner much to the delight of the little girl. Finally he set her back down while she was giggling heavily. He loved that sound. She may not have been his daughter biologically, but he still loved her with all his heart.

"Come on moonbeam," he said to her. "I'll make you breakfast."

She had a bright smile on her face as she followed him into the kitchen.

Percy made her blue pancakes from his mother's recipe. It was her favorite, something they had incoming because it was his favorite too. While they ate the two of them discussed plans for the rest of the weekend. Artemis had told him that she would be back Monday night so they had all of Saturday and Sunday together. Monday he would bring her with him to Goodie and then that night they will have a family dinner with the two of them along with both of her moms.

After breakfast Luna helped him do the dishes. She stood on her tippy toes to reach the sink while he helped her scrub the pan. Once they were done he told her to go take a shower and get dressed for a day outside. He hadn't told her yet, but he was taking her to visit the Central Park Zoo.

She ran off to his room to get ready while he watched her go with a big grin. Until Artemis came back, Luna would be his only concern. All of his other problems could wait.

Don't hate me Pertimis fans. I know this was somewhat of a tease for you. I do think its kind of a cute ship but its not in this story. As for the rest of their relationship, ill keep hinting back to it as time goes on. Also Artemis is not going Goth, some major changes happened to the hint that will be explained soon. don't worry.

AN:

· The flashback takes place about a year before the start of first chapter.

· Hephaestus was born from Hera impregnating herself as an act of revenge against Zeus impregnating Metis (Athena's mom)

· Some of Greek mythology is weird; in one story Hera got impregnated by a head of lettuce and gave birth to Hebe… I'm not sure where that one came from

· Actaeon was the name of a man who spied on Artemis while she bathed and was turned into a stag before being ripped apart by his hunting dogs. There are a few other stories with different transgressions but the ending is always the same. Dog chow

· Schrödinger's Cat is not about virginity, obviously, but rather a thought experiment about quantum mechanics wherein the cat in question is both alive and dead until it has been observed. Very cool if you are into science. Also he was Austrian not Australian.

· Callisto was a hunter (possibly daughter of Lycan) that was raped and impregnated by Zeus. She hid it until she began to show her pregnancy and was cast out. Later she was turned into a bear by Hera. Eventually she met her son Arcas who was unaware the bear he was hunting was his mother. He killed her. Zeus turned her into Ursa Major and Arcas into Ursa Minor. Then they get cursed by Tethys on request of Hera to never drink water again. It's a classic Greek tale of a poor woman being screwed by immortals over and over

· Atalanta was one of the few female Greek heroines. She was abanded as a baby by her father because he wanted a son. She took Artemis' oath after nearly being raped by two centaurs (she killed them). Many years later during the Calydonian Boar Hunt she became the first to draw its blood. King Iasus wanted her to marry but she refused. There was a contest for her and the winner cheated (big surprise) and she got married. In this story she ran away before the marriage was consummated, saving her virginity.

· I know both Lou Ellen and Miranda are not part of the cannon hunt and that Miranda plays a role in the Hidden Oracle, but for this story the Trials of Apollo hasn't happened (I have not read it anyway)

· It is left ambiguous whether Lou Ellen is her full name or her only given name. For this I am using some of the evidence to assume she has a different surname.

· Until now Percy has never seen Artemis as an adult so even though she looks familiar he doesn't know who she is. The night before he was too drunk to notice she wasn't a little girl.

· Stymphalian Birds were carnivorous birds made of bronze that preyed on human flesh. Their feathers were able to slice through skin easily and could apparently be launched like projectiles at their prey

· Apollo's heart is in the right place but he really should get all the facts before leaping into action

· Obviously that is not everything that happened between percy and arty. Be patient more chapters will fill in those blanks