HEY GUYS! I know it's been a while but phew! I'm glad and proud to present to you guys the next entry to my debut fanfic The pace has slowed down (and so has my submission rate .), but it'll pick up again. I have lots of cool stuff in store, stuff that hasn't been done before (I think)…so stay tuned! Keep up the reviews, favs, and follows (the more the faster the chapters will come) and…Enjoy Chapter 8!

Chapter 8: Homecoming

"Wow…did you set all this up?" Artemis marveled at the neat table for two before her, expertly set against a beautiful sunset backdrop. Someone had prepared a full on dinner serving, complete with an exquisite main course of chicken steak, blue chocolate cake for desert, and a generous amount of blue wine.

Percy nodded his head happily, "I did; do you like it?"

She did, of course, but she didn't want to come off too strongly.

"I do. I never knew you had this side to you to be honest."

As the two immortal beings made their way towards the table, Percy held out Artemis' seat for her. Artemis tilted her head in surprise, not used to having someone care for her like that. As she took her seat and Percy made his way to the other side of the table, Artemis allowed herself a quick smile. She looked towards the ocean and took in the breathtaking vista before her. She traced the winding coastline as far as her eye could see, felt the salty sea breeze on her face, and stared at the bright orange and red sky as the dying rays of the sun illuminated sky and sea alike. She turned to Percy and realized the son of the sea god was gazing at the ocean, a look of remarkable calm and content on his face—he was right at home. She realized this was his element, where he felt most at ease, just as she felt at ease whenever the moon shone brightly.

After a minute of strangely comfortable silence, Percy turned to Artemis and flashed her a warm smile, the slightest nuance of nervousness gleaming through his shining eyes.

"This bay right here is where Rachel and I buried Annabeth, just over there," Percy pointed towards a pleasant spot under some trees, "and, well, we've visited this place many times since."

"I really like coming here…it calms me down," Percy added.

"Oh my…" Artemis began, a bit taken aback that Percy was showing her something so close to his heart. This was where he retreated to from the rest of the world, where he could feel closest to his beloved. How many others knew about this place? Probably very few…

"Percy, this is amazing. I'm really touched that you're showing all this to me…and yes, this place really is quite beautiful."

Percy grinned, "Well I'm glad you like it. Shall we dig in?"

"Let's! Let's see just how good your cooking is. By the way," Artemis narrowed her eyes curiously, "Are you going to tell me why everything's blue?"

The rest of dinner commenced smoothly and without incident, and as Percy and Artemis enjoyed the surprisingly delicious meal, the two godlike individuals made small talk. Percy spoke of his adventures during the two major wars he had fought in, his difficult life as a mortal, and his beloved mother. Artemis told Percy a little bit about godhood, what it was like travelling with the Hunt, and even about her annoying twin brother Apollo. Nothing serious, nothing monumental; just casual chatter between two increasingly friendly souls. Of course, Percy would be lying to himself if he denied the unmistakable and palpable chemistry between him and the youthful goddess of the hunt. For even now, as he walked along the coastline with her, just beyond the reach of the lapping waves, Percy smiled as he recalled the way she grinned, how her silver eyes radiated youth and life and beauty. He went slightly dizzy recalling how Artemis blushed golden when he complimented her, telling her she was "the cutest" among all the goddesses he had ever met…

"…and so, Apollo got into an enormous amount of trouble while I got off pretty much scot free!" Artemis shook her head and grinned.

Percy winced guiltily, having not paid attention to what the goddess was saying. His thoughts raced, and he decided a small laugh would suffice. Suddenly, he felt a small hand slip into his, and he looked down to see two silvery pools nervously staring back at him. For a wrenching moment, Percy felt like he was looking into Annabeth's eyes…and it really didn't help that gray and silver were barely discernable from one another. He felt a sledgehammer pang of guilt, but he hid it well, and he didn't let go of the goddesses' hand.

"Is everything okay?" Artemis mumbled, concern starting to show in her voice.

Percy forced away his guilt with a small smile, "Everything's fine. Don't you worry."

"Uh huh, sure…" Artemis muttered, clearly unconvinced.

"Anyways," she continued nevertheless, "I have a question, if you don't mind me asking. What's stopping you from embracing godhood? It's strange, what you are right now. It's comical, really, because you're so clearly an immortal. And yet, it's obvious you're resisting."

They walked on a while in silence, before Percy answered.

"Freedom, autonomy…independence, so that I can do what's right, no matter what. I don't want to be held back by laws and rules and conventions, just as those who seek to destroy our way of life aren't held back by said laws and rules and conventions," he glanced at her thoughtfully, "You're already a lot better off, having your hunt and all. The other gods and goddesses are far too restricted. I'm a person of action, I'm a fighter; can you imagine me taking such a giant step back from everything?"

Artemis hummed in thought.

"I suppose you do have a point, Percy. You seem to know yourself well at least," she conceded.

"But still—"

"PERCY! I don't believe this."

Artemis looked around to see who had so abruptly interrupted her. She felt the presence of Iris and knew an Iris Image must be very close-by. Percy, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Rachel…"

LINE BREAK

"…Look princess. It's too bad I interrupted your little date with Percy, but what I saw was urgent. We've been waiting for a lead for years and now—"

"Rachel, I wasn't disputing your findings, I was just…"

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to drown out the two arguing ladies before him. He, Artemis, Rachel, and Emily were in his tent discussing their next course of action. Well, Emily was mainly there because she liked hanging out with him whenever he was free. Rachel and Artemis, on the other hand, were getting down to business.

"Okay Rachel," Percy began, "Please tell us what you saw again".

Rachel exhaled in slight annoyance, "Fine. I saw a giant banner, that of Hercules—unmistakable. I saw large contingents of monsters—cyclops, hell hounds, dracanae, empousai, the usual lot, you name it. And I saw Camp Half-Blood. If that isn't a crystal clear sign of our next course of action, I don't know what is!"

"And you think we should go there now because you feel your vision is going to come to pass soon?" Percy inquired.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that. We should go now, help garrison the camp. Getting there is nothing to us, right?" Rachel started pointedly at Artemis.

Artemis bristled slightly, "Getting there is no problem, but the Hunters of Artemis rarely ever venture to Camp Half-Blood. It's something we try to avoid."

"But surely now is a good and appropriate time?" Percy asked.

Artemis stared at the ceiling glumly, "I suppose".

"You don't say…" Rachel muttered.

"Alright then," Percy announced, "Artemis, can you inform your Hunters? I'll contact Chiron and let him know we'll be there by tomorrow evening. We'll garrison there then play by ear. Is that okay with everyone?"

Rachel and Artemis nodded, and when they finally left, Percy let out a sigh of relief.

"Glad to have some peace and quiet?" Emily teased.

Percy pushed her playfully, "You know it! Those two can't agree on anything."

LINE BREAK

"It's…it's beautiful!" Emily gasped, "I can't believe you spent your summers here. It must've been absolutely amazing."

Percy put his arm around the young demititaness. "It sure is. I've made so many amazing memories here, though I haven't been here for like…four years now."

I wonder how everyone's doing, Percy silently thought to himself. He had intentionally stayed away from the camp, to no small part because of how much it reminded him of Annabeth. But now, as he and Emily stood under Thalia's Tree, Percy allowed himself to be lulled back into an overpowering sense of reminiscence as he thought about days gone past. He remembered that terrible night when he and Grover miraculously made it over the camp's boundary, when he had just slain the Minotaur. He now looked fondly at the Golden Fleece and the dragon that protected it and recalled what had happened when it was first brought to this tree. That was, of course, when he first met Thalia, Daughter of Zeus. Speaking of Thalia…Percy smiled in quiet excitement at meeting her again.

"So…are we gonna head off now? To the woods right?" Emily asked. The red-streaked blonde was playing with her celestial bronze dueling knives, eager to jump into battle.

Percy nodded, "Yeah, we're gonna go off now. I should probably explain what we're gonna do. So basically we're gonna introduce ourselves and the Hunt to the warm and hospitable people of Camp Half Blood through a special "Capture the Flag" game. Do you know the rules?"

The Daughter of Rhea gently shook her pretty little head.

"Well…" and as Percy proceeded to explain the rules of the game, Emily began to smile in excitement.

"This is gonna be so fun…"

Percy laughed, "You bet. And it gets better, because it's gonna be the Hunters of Artemis vs. Camp Half-Blood. And since Lady Artemis has decided to join in this time, we'll be on team Camp Half-Blood to even the odds."

Emily looked at Percy in slight disbelief, "You two can't play! It won't be fair."

"Who said anything about fair? Anyways, you ready to go meet our team mates?"

Emily took his hand, and the young immortal flashed them towards the forests in a soft golden flash of light.

"…and Leo and Piper will lead the defense, mainly manned by Hephaestus, Ares, and Athena Campers—what the blazes!"

Jason abruptly ended his rousing battle plan as he took sight of the young man and girl before him. The man looked very familiar, donning a full black combat suit complete with light armor plating. He wore a cowl, so Jason couldn't really see his face, but the celestial bronze blade he held in his hand gave him away almost immediately.

"Percy! Bro, is that you?!" Jason exclaimed, disbelief dawning on his face.

The two old friends embraced, and as the rest of Percy's friends took their turns hugging and kissing him, the son of the sea god felt happier than he had for years. It felt only right that he should return after all these years.

Piper threw her arms around him, and he took in her strong cinnamon scent.

"Heyya Pipes! Long time no see."

Pipes pulled him closer and muttered in his ear, "Got that right, Jackson. Pull another stunt like this and you'll regret it."

Before Percy could react, the pretty daughter of Aphrodite planted a quick kiss on his cheek, officially closing the matter. Percy realized that people were swarming him, totally losing track of the task at hand.

"Guys!" he struggled to make himself heard, "We'll all catch up later, I promise. But right now, we've got a game to win! I know Chiron kept the opponent side a secret all this time, but you're playing against the Hunters of Artemis."

A resounding cacophony of groans and mutters resonated across the clearing, testament to the fact the Campers had lost every single match against the Hunters of Artemis. Percy had to stifle a laugh before continuing,

"But wait, there's more! Lady Artemis will be joining in this time, on the side of the Hunters of course."

The groans and mutters intensified one-hundred fold.

"No way!" Shouted one camper.

"This is pretty ridiculous, Percy. They can't seriously expect us to compete against a goddess. The hunters themselves are a headache, even without my sister," Jason spoke glumly.

Percy put his arm around Jason, "Guys, listen up, don't worry. You've got me, and I intend to win this game."

Leo crossed his arms and smiled his Leo smile, "Bro…we know you're good, but she's a goddess. Nuff' said ma man."

Percy gave him his signature wink, "Oh we'll see about that. You guys carry on with your game plan, take Emily here with you on offense, and leave Artemis to me."

And with that, the seemingly mortal demigod flashed away in a burst of golden light, leaving a bunch of very surprised-looking Campers staring in his wake.

Percy reappeared on the highest branch of a towering oak tree, awaiting his foe. Shortly after, the horn sounded, officially starting the game. He allowed himself a small chill of adrenaline as he prepared himself for action. It had been over a week since he participated in combat, and he now looked forward to feeling the blood rushing through his veins once again.