Wow. This is a surprise. Look, I'm going to be totally honest with this one: this story is pretty much the least of my priorities, because I want to focus my time to my main story. Buuuuuuttt, when I get inspiration I'll keep writing this, and I'll try to get chapters up somewhat frequently... Maybe. We'll see. Either way, enjoy!

When the two hundred foot-long drakon burst from the trees, Annabeth's first thought was one that probably should not be repeated. As were her second and third thoughts also. Her fourth thought, though, was A-okay, and something along the lines of "Well, crap. We're screwed."

Gods, I have a problem.

"Hey, Thalia, remember Manhattan?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Would you happen to have any flying chariots? Or electric spears?"

"I mean, I can make my spear electric… kind of. Fresh out of flying chariots though."

"Ah, that's a shame."

"Ooh yeah, quite unfortunate."

Together, she and Thalia backed away slowly, too shocked to turn and run. When Annabeth started sizing the beast up, looking for potential weaknesses, she made the mistake of looking into its eyes and froze. Very quickly she realized just how big the teeth were and how much venom was oozing from behind those fangs, smoking as it hit the snow. Those sinister eyes brought out every iota of fear that could be held in Annabeth's body, and she almost dropped her bow as she trembled.

The beast lunged and released a spurt of steaming venom at her, but Thalia dove to knock Annabeth out of the way at the last second. Once she hit the snowbank, the spell was broken and Annabeth regained her senses. Her silver bow suddenly appeared in her hands as she stood up, and she started firing a volley of arrows as she backed up, trying to find a chink in the drakon's armor. The other huntresses had emerged from their tents by this time and were doing the same. Soon the air was filled with silver darts whizzing by, but it all proved ineffective as the vast majority of them hit the titanium scales and fell harmlessly to the ground, broken.

Thalia, however, had ditched her bow soon into the battle and brought out both Aegis and her spear and she stood in front of the beast, centering its attention on herself and allowing the huntresses to shoot without too much danger. Thalia rolled and sidestepped, dodging the venom, but she couldn't last forever. Jabbing at the frothing mouth of it, she was able to draw some blood, but the beast roared in rage and Thalia fell backward with wide eyes and a look of panic on her face.

"No!" Annabeth screamed over the crash of the battle, and she sprinted towards her friend. Drawing a silver dagger, she sliced at the beast's snout, trying not to falter in front of the paralyzing gaze, but she was helped when an arrow buried its point in its eye. When it paused momentarily, she dragged Thalia back under the cover of the other hunters. Annabeth watched with hope as more and more arrows found the eyes or exposed mouth of the drakon.

We can win this, Annabeth thought hopefully, watching as it grew more wounded with every damaging arrow that found a soft spot.

Then all Hades broke loose.

Two more two-hundred-feet-long drakons burst through the trees behind the other one, and with them came an army of thirty-feet-tall Hyperborean giants wielding massive clubs, Laistrygonian giants, and other assorted monsters that Annabeth remembered fighting all the time in both the Titan and Giant Wars… monsters that had almost been unheard of the past five centuries.

"I thought there was only one Lydian drakon!" Thalia cried from the side, putting Aegis and her spear away in favor of her bow.

"There was only one," a calm voice said, and Annabeth turned around to see Artemis standing behind them.

Annabeth watched as Artemis stalked forward, her face a deadly calm. She was no longer a thirteen year-old girl, but rather a serious woman of twenty years, a form Annabeth had only seen when conditions were at their most dire. A silver circlet rested on her head, and she wore a chiseled silver breastplate, with white leather-and-silver flaps covering her upper legs. Annabeth had never seen Lady Artemis wear armor before, much less full greek apparel.

"Then how come there are three of them trying to kill us right now!"

Artemis's gaze narrowed. "This should be impossible… Unless… No, there must be some sorcery at work," she murmured. She thrust her hand outwards at the attacking monsters like she did when using her powers, but nothing happened.

Annabeth, still launching arrows, looked on expectantly as the goddess's powers fizzled. Usually, the monster or whatever it was Artemis targeted would dissolve into a swarm of crows or a cloud of fireflies… but there was nothing that occurred. She looked at the goddess in shock. "Why isn't anything happening!"

Artemis frowned at her own hand, obviously frustrated. She held out her hand again, but this time a massive bow as tall as she was appeared in her hands. "We are up against a power greater than we have faced for millennia," she replied before joining her huntresses in the fight against the army that shouldn't have existed.

Annabeth wanted to ask her what she meant, but at that moment a Laistrygonian giant crashed through the lines of the hunters and Annabeth had to devote her attention to dispatching that. He swung at her with a huge, misshapen sword but she ducked under the blade, rolled through the giant's legs and stabbed him through the back with her blade, turning to fight the next monster as the giant dissolved into dust behind her.

Hunters perched in trees, trying to snipe whatever monsters they could while others jumped into the fray with knives, swords, or whatever weapons they preferred drawn and swinging. The lesser monsters weren't hard to slay, but the giants were far tougher, and they couldn't do anything against the drakons.

The fight raged on for what seemed like hours, though it was actually nowhere near an hour, with neither side having the definite advantage. The hunters suffered few losses, but there were too many monsters to keep up with. As Annabeth watched, one of the three drakons swept through the hunters' ranks and a group of girls went flying. Artemis literally flew through the monsters' lines, switching forms between her normal form, a lioness, a gigantic stag with silver antlers, and an eagle that raked its silver claws over the faces of monsters everywhere.

At one point, Artemis in the form of an eagle was able to slay one of the three Lydian drakons, the one that was already injured, but a second drakon reared up and smacked Artemis straight out of the sky. The monsters surged forward, and several more huntresses fell before them. Artemis slowly got up from where she landed close to Annabeth. She was bleeding golden ichor from many places all over her body, but she wearily got up with a terrifying expression on her face and fought with an intensity that none of the hunters could hope to match.

They fought on, but were ever pushed back. Behind them, the clearing gave way to dense pine forests which they could retreat into, but that that turned into steep rocky outcroppings and cliffs quickly that would be hard to traverse. And "retreat" was a word that was not on any girl's mind at that moment, despite the overwhelming force against them.

Looking in the face of death, she could hear her heart beating rapidly in her own ears as she fought for her life. Time slowed down: the monsters seemed to move in slow motion as she leapt once more into the fray, her tempo measured only by the beat of her heart:

Thud

Events of the past five centuries of her life started to resurface in Annabeth's mind, flashing through her consciousness faster than one could blink, yet she saw them all clearly. Glimpsing to her side, she saw Thalia summon lightning and direct it off her spear to disintegrate a cluster of monsters, and she remembered the day she first met Luke and Thalia in the alleyway when she was seven. She remembered her different safehouses the three of them visited on their way to Camp Half-Blood.

Thud

Resurfacing in her mind, she saw the completed version of Mount Olympus after years of work, redesigned with her at the helm of the architecture.

Thud

She saw the ceremony at which her mother personally thanked and congratulated her for her work, a laurel wreath placed on her head in front of all the Olympians. Athena looked on with pride, Artemis with interest and pride, even Zeus seemed not upset, which was a huge honor. It was only when she glanced over at Poseidon that a pit settled in her stomach as she looked away quickly at the calm anger rolling off him like waves.

Thud

She remembered when she joined the Hunters of Artemis. She was twenty, in the midst of redesigning Olympus. She had longed for something, for a closeness with others that she had lost at camp after… well, it happened. Immediately she felt a sense of belonging, and with Thalia there she was so happy.

Thud

She remembered the look on Chiron's face when the hunters visited Camp Half-Blood, the way his face lit up when he saw her for the first time in years, her first time back since joining the Hunters.

Thud

She remembered the the happiness she felt the past five hundred years; and looking death straight in the eye, she felt peace. She slashed, and a monster's head embedded itself in the snow with a low thump, already dissolving into dust.

Thud

But then her thoughts changed against her will once again and her mind turned cold.

No! What's happening?

She saw Percy standing before the gods after the battle of Manhattan, turning down immortality for her.

Thud

She saw the two of them at the bottom of the canoe lake, their arms around each other as they had their first proper kiss.

Thud

She saw them walking on a beach, his raven hair windswept, his eyes matching the sea perfectly. Whenever she saw Percy in the ocean, he barely seemed mortal in her eyes, and she watched as he gazed lovingly at her.

Thud

Then her mind turned icier, and guilt clutched her stomach. She saw the exact scenes that had invaded her mind earlier the night. The sword pommel whirring towards her forehead…

Thud

Footsteps in the sand leading into the churning ocean...

Thud

A pitch black shroud, emblazoned with a sea green trident, burning in cobalt flames. The salty scent as the shroud crumbled to ash…

Thud

A tear managed to slip down her cheek, as she whirled around monsters, bow and knives singing, but Annabeth's eyes narrowed in anger as she forced the thoughts out of her head. He's dead, Annabeth! And you will be too unless you freaking start acting like a Hunter instead of a child!

Instantly, she all but blacked out as her mind was forcefully changed once again. She saw him, but not in any way that had happened before. He sat on a beach, one leg outstretched, the other one slightly bent, his hands loosely clasped around it. A single tear traced its way down his cheek.

Thud

He stood, running his forearm across his eyes then looked at the sky with a determined glare. The ocean turned choppy and gray underneath the sheen of the full moon as he stepped down the surf into the waves. He stopped with the water halfway up his calves and turned around to the familiar-looking trees. "I guess this is goodbye ," he murmured. Then water shot up out of the ocean in the shape of a trident before solidifying in his grasp. He disappeared beneath the waves.

Thud

Get一Out一Of一My一Head!

Annabeth blinked unsurely before realizing her mind was hers once again, just in time to dodge a charging monster. Her head cleared instantly, her heartbeat drowned out. She continued to fire, not knowing which shot would be her last. Stepping backwards, the snow seemed to surge up and grasp her leg and she stumbled and fell to the ground. She laid there, sprawled out in the snow and momentarily stunned as a huge Hyperborean leaned over her, wielding a club made of a massive tree trunk. She looked at her bow, lying out of reach, and she knew it was the end.

Then those same icy blue eyes appeared in her mind again, and with them came the same masculine voice, but this time there was a cold edge to it. Daughter of Athena, it scoffed. When warned of danger, it would be wise to heed it.

And at that moment, the giant in front of her grunted and stood up straight, unmoving. Something had pierced its heart and now poked out of its chest, and it toppled over and dissolved in a dust of ice. All that was left was the object that had pierced it: a two foot-long icicle, sharp as a spear.

She sat up, trying to figure out what in Hades just happened, when a deafening roar shook the battlefield. Her view was blocked by several Hyperborean giants; but when they heard the roar, they stopped charging the hunters. Some even turned on the other monsters and fought them.

What is going on today? Annabeth though, utterly confused.

Then she saw it.

The most massive dragon she had ever seen, soaring low in the sky. It was a huge, pure-white frost dragon with a wingspan that was almost as far across as the drakon was long. It came from behind where the monsters ambushed them, and the dragon just sort of… appeared.

Nothing that huge should be able to sneak up on us!

But the dragon didn't attack them like she thought it would. As she watched, the beast soared over the carnage, breathing a white fire at the monsters. Except, it wasn't fire it was breathing at them, but ice. Monsters were literally being frozen when the dragon attacked before slowly disintegrating into a flurry of snow.

The hunters started to cheer as the dragon completed its first pass. It circled over the girls to make another pass, and Annabeth could only stand speechless as the dark shadow passed came over her then passed just as quickly. She saw Artemis looking up at the drake with an annoyed expression on her face which Annabeth didn't understand.

Not that I've understood much of what's happened today.

She and the other hunters could only watch with shock and awe as it flew towards one of the two Lydian drakons and picked it up in its four sets of claws, its huge talons piercing the armor of the drakon easily. The drakon squirmed and spit poison, but the frost dragon flew over the edge of the cliff and dropped it to the churning ocean far below before turning and charging back towards the last drakon. When it was directly above it, there was a flash of white and light blue and the dragon was gone. In its place was a figure falling fifty feet towards drakon's head.

As the figure fell, a bright flash signaled the appearance of a ten foot-long spear in his hands. The figure, who seemed to be a man based on his build, landed with incredible amounts of force on the last drakon's head and used that force to drive his spear straight through the head, several feet of the spear disappearing in the beast.

The drakon crumbled to dust, armor and all (which surprised Annabeth), leaving the figure standing in the snow. He turned his back to the hunters, as if admiring the opposing army, before lazily raising his right hand. Suddenly, the snow surged up in sharp spikes around every monster except the Hyperboreans, killing them instantly. The Hyperboreans ran off into the woods, leaving Annabeth unsure as to why they were spared. Her train of thought stopped, however, when the man turned around and started walking towards them.

The "daughter of Athena" part of Annabeth went into overdrive in situations like this as she started taking in every detail. No helmet or breastplate anymore. White long-sleeve shirt一sleeves rolled up. Khaki shorts. Obviously the cold didn't affect the man: maybe not surprising considering he had full control over the snow and ice it seemed. A toned, muscular body. Unruly young white hair that grew even messier in the breeze and was actually kinda cute一

Woah, where did that come from?

Annabeth rolled her eyes and cleared her head momentarily, then went back to inspecting the man walking towards them with an angry expression on his face. White moccasins on his feet that tread on the surface of the snow, not sinking in at all. And piercing, ice-blue eyes that一

Those are the eyes!

Annabeth felt like she had been punched in the gut as all the air left her. This was the person who had invaded her mind recently. At first she could only stare, not quite believing what was in front of her. Then her gaze narrowed as she grew angry.

"You!" she shouted, her bow appearing in her hands with a silver arrow drawn and aimed at the man's face.

He halted several feet and turned his full gaze towards her, causing her to stop in her tracks. Instantly, she froze. Not out of nervousness (though that was present also). No, she literally froze—her body started to grow numb and she couldn't move a limb.

The man walked towards her, stopping an inch in front of the arrow that was still drawn and aimed at him in her frozen state. With exaggerated movements, he plucked the arrow from her bow and easily snapped it in half between two fingers. Then took the bow from her frozen hands and cast it aside before staring her in the eyes from eight inches away.

His eyes were both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. They were such a cold, icy blue一much like that of a Siberian Husky. They seemed to morph with streaks of white, as if blizzards raged inside his gaze. And the anger, the pain… Annabeth wanted desperately to turn away and find someplace warm to dispel all the coldness that this man's gaze imparted upon her, but she was frozen in place.

"Be careful, Daughter of Athena," he hissed slowly, "of the words you cast at others. For you do not know to whom you speak."

Annabeth longed to say something, whether to rebuke him for invading her mind (solely because she believed Artemis would protect her from this man's wrath and side with her) or to profusely apologize for ever offending him, but she could not yet move nor talk.

The god, for that was undoubtedly what he was, held her in his icy gaze for several painfully long moments before slowly turning away. With a snap of his fingers, the bonds freezing Annabeth in place were banished so suddenly that she fell face-first into the snow.

Wonderful. As if that hasn't happened enough lately.

Suddenly a new voice spoke. "You may not interfere with my Hunt, nor my Hunters," Artemis called down to their guest.

Looking up from the snow, Annabeth saw her Lady standing on a rocky outcropping higher than the rest of the hastily-made encampment. She still wore her battle regalia and her form flickered silver, as if she was struggling to keep her composure and refrain from bursting into her Divine form. Annabeth wasn't sure whether her anger came from the man… rescuing… them, or whether it was due to the numerous huntresses that were slain in the fight. Either way, it was slightly frightening to behold.

The man lazily glanced up at Artemis. His gaze grew playful for a moment as a smirk replaced his frown. "Oh you're so very welcome, Arty. I'm happy to help anytime."

As Artemis's composure grew even angrier, several thoughts crossed Annabeth's mind. One in particular:

Did he just call her 'Arty'?

She sent a bewildered glance at Thalia who stood several paces to the side, bandaging another wounded Hunter. The daughter of Zeus could do nothing but reflect the confused look and shrug her shoulders hopelessly.

Annabeth turned back to the two immortals as Artemis spoke once more in a voice that left no room for disobedience. "Must I repeat myself? You may not interfere."

At the stern words, the man's icy eyes narrowed and the temperature seemed to drop. Snow started to swirl fitfully around him. "Excuse me?" he retorted dangerously. "I wouldn't have had to interfere if you would've cast your pride aside and returned to Olympus!"

The eyes of the Goddess of the Hunt blazed silver. "We did not need your help!"

Thalia had the courage to raise an eyebrow. "Erm, my Lady? We may have needed一I mean, just a little…"

Both deities ignored her as the man spoke once more. His voice grew louder and more powerful as his form started to flicker. Annabeth noted, however, that the flickering wasn't quite the same as when a god was beginning to summon their divine form. This was far more inconstant, as if he was trying to do that but was not powerful enough to summon his divinity. Despite this, he was still an imposing, threatening figure at the moment as anger was evident on his form and flashes of blue and white flickered around his body.

"If I wouldn't have acted," he began, "your precious hunters would be gracing Charon with their presence一poor Charon, I might add一and you would most likely be in the grasp of those I've told you to run from!"

Thalia's brows scrunched together as she grasped what he had just said. "Hey!" she cried indignantly, which matched Annabeth's own feelings quite well, before Artemis responded.

Her glare deepened. "We would have been fine!"

With an exasperated expression he wheeled around, exaggeratedly waving his arms at the battlefield that was a mess of blood and monster dust. "Fine? I should have just sat by and kept watching with my popcorn! At least then you would have been knocked down a couple pegs! You and that massive, man-hating ego of yours!"

This time, both of Thalia's eyebrows rose. "Popcorn? Really? Impressive."

The goddess literally growled at the man. "I had thought there was an exception to that 'man-hating' preference, but I am quickly reconsidering it."

"Would you really doom your hunters? Just to prove a point?"

Annabeth thought she saw Artemis flinch just a little, but soon the feral glare returned. "I would not have my huntresses harmed, but they were not in any more danger than what we have faced before!"

For a while the god did not respond; he stood silent, watching Artemis coldly as anger radiated off him. When he spoke again, it was with a voice little louder than a whisper. "Heed my warning, Daughter of Leto, lest you meet the same fate I did."

Annabeth's mind couldn't comprehend what he said. This man was a god, and a powerful one at that. What fate could he have possibly met? Especially since he still lived.

Artemis, however, understood the god's words. The goddess paled, and some of the anger faded from her silver eyes though she did not back down entirely. She merely swallowed before speaking again in a more timid voice than previously. "I will not meet your fate; I will not make the mistakes you did."

He exhaled, as if defeated. For a moment, all was silent but the rustle of wind that ruffled the god's snowy hair. "I should hope not," he whispered. "For you could not survive that same fate."

The facial expressions of Artemis softened at that moment, as if in pity or compassion, but she did not speak.

Annabeth was thoroughly perplexed, as was every other huntress it seemed.

"Who are you?" Thalia asked, voicing the thought that was on everyone's mind.

The god regarded her and his face brightened considerably. A knowing smile broke out on his face, and it was shocking how differently he appeared when he and Artemis weren't trying to verbally strangle each other.

Annabeth shared a glance with her best friend, a silent look that could be interpreted easily between the two. "He's hot," Thalia's face said.

"Not an opinion," Annabeth stared back, "an observation. Purely objective."

Thalia nodded wordlessly. "Yeah, that," her expression responded.

"I've been called many names," the god answered to the daughter of Zeus. "But to many, I am Winter."

"Winter?" she asked in confusion, before she was interrupted once again by the god.

"Now we—" he said, nodding at Artemis, "—have matters to take care of."

And, without waiting for any sort of response from the goddess, stepped forward and grasped her upper arm before the two vanished in a flurry of snow.

Thalia sighed. "Di immortales, every time I think I almost understand most of the weird that happens to us, something new pops up."

Annabeth frowned. Something about the figure seemed familiar, yet at the same time so foreign. There was an interesting history to him, she felt; there was something about him she hadn't felt with any other immortal. He was different. They all could have died that day, had he not interfered, yet Artemis was so loath to acknowledge the danger Winter had rescued them from. Nothing made sense.

She looked up at the sky, where Zoë danced in the starry sky. There was a feeling of foreboding, as if the heroes immortalized in the sky could see the danger beyond the horizon and were trying to warn the unlucky souls below.

The world was about to change, and the daughter of Athena knew it.

Hope you enjoyed! If you have any ideas or questions, don't be afraid to leave a review or shoot me a PM. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

~TheDragon12