It was a rather quiet trip back to the camp, and once they arrived, Artemis showed him to an untaken spot in the camp, and waved her hand in the air, and summoned a packed tent bundle, for him to set up.

Percy mentally groaned, but didn't complain (aloud) or silently curse at the retreating form of Artemis, who had merely offered an explanation of "You need something to do, and males with too much time on their hands never do anything good."

So, he got to work on pitching his tent, which indeed, did take him quite a long time. He finished just as the dinner horn was blown, allowing him to go to dinner with quite an amount of sweat on his back, though the other hunters seemed to be in a similar state as it was rather hot, and it appeared that they had been practicing their archery due to the pincushioned targets in the clearing to his right.

And then, there was the hardest thing all day. Choosing where to sit at a table of girls who are all practically allergic to guys, and are sworn virgins. Talk about forbidden fruit. He moaned mentally.

In the end, he ended up sitting between two random, and highly hostile girls (he had wanted to sit next to Zoe, but because she had just come back from the dead and all, the other girls got there first, and it would be really, really awkward for Percy to simply just push through the crowd of girls, most likely offending at least one by accidentally, yes, legitimately an accident, bumping them where they don't want to be bumped).

But in any case, he wound up sitting next to basically no one (they had scooted quite far from him) and ate a rather lonely dinner for the first ten minutes.

Percy wolfed down his food, growing rather uncomfortable under the glare of several hunters, and simply wanted to leave as fast as possible, but to his misfortune (or fortune?) the other non-hunter in the group came up to him.

"You sure like you're having a lot of fun over here. Come sit over here." Zoe said, indicating a seat next to her.

"Um…are you really sure you want me to do that? I'm fine. And besides, I'm not sure how saf-I mean-welcome I'd be over there…." Percy replied rather nervously. At least one or two pairs of eyes were on Zoe, regarding her with a degree of shock.

"You were about to say safe, weren't you? Hmmph. Come onnn, the Hunters won't hurt you if you don't try anything, and you usually don't try- Actually, let me take that back, you did try something this afternoon," glaring as she thought of Percy's comment to her.

"Will you ever let that go? It was just one small statement." Percy groaned, dearly regretting trying to say something like that.

"Well, you know the rest of the hunt won't be so lenient. I'm just warning you." Zoe said.

"Point noted." Percy said, ending the conversation and heading to sit next to her.

"Wow, Zoe's so nice to you. Just letting you know, but before she would've promptly castrated and then slain you if you tried anything," Phoebe remarked.

"Yeah, knowing what she was like before? I never would've done anything like that." Percy said.

The group continued to make small talk, although it was a bit less lively than it had been before Percy came. It did gradually improve, and the conversations returned, most keeping an eye on Percy to make sure he behaved well.

Percy enjoyed the rest of dinner, talking with the Hunt, although most of the conversations were with Zoe. The others were a bit less friendly, and the conversations rather cordial, if brief.

Artemis stood from her seat at the head of the table and clapped her hands to call everyone's attention. "All right, well I do believe it is about time for bed, so Good night! Oh and Percy, restrain any obscene habits of yours for this one night, for your own sake."

Percy, a bit put on the spot rushed quickly to deny it, "Wait, what obscene habits? I don't have any!"

"Are you sure? I suppose I'll take your word for it. Anyways, I want a peaceful night of sleep, one that does not involve being forced to save you from being slaughtered by some of my more vigilant hunters. Good night." Artemis said, her skepticism leaking into her voice before she left for her tent.

The other hunters took this as a cue to go to bed and immediately began finishing up their dinners and clearing away the plates. Zoe said a polite "Good night, Percy." Before leaving, and most of the others simply ignored him, although a few managed a nod.

Percy sighed a little inwardly as he walked towards his tent. It'll be a while before they'll even consider not keeping every interaction with me as short as possible.

Percy smiled fondly as he remembered the light hug Zoe had given him earlier on the beach, even if it was given only out of sympathy. OUT OF SYMPATHY, he was sure to reiterate to himself, not that his mind was going anywhere with that train of thought to begin with. Or so he convinced himself.

He lay in his tent, staring up at the silver ceiling thinking about Annabeth, and the affectionate "Seaweed Brain" she used to call him. A few tears fell when he reminisced upon his numerous memories, and the kisses they'd shared, he thought they'd be together for the rest of their lives. Clearly she didn't agree with that sentiment. He thought bitterly. I guess the times she said she loved me were all lies after all. More tears fell, and soon they came out in an unending stream, because once he started on that path, that inevitably led to more memories, and more memories on top of those. There came a light knock on his door in the middle of his silent tears, and he hurriedly wiped them off and sat up, and called in a false cheerful tone (or at least as best he could), "Give me a second!". The person outside completely ignored his statement and came in anyways, and it was evident that he'd been crying.

"What? I thought I said to give me a moment." He said, tone now free of any pretense as soon as he recognized that it was Thalia who'd come in.

"I just thought I'd let you know that you don't need to hide it by yourself you know? If you need a shoulder to cry on, you could always do so on Zoe's, I'm sure she'd be willing to if she saw it, or mine. We're friends after all, and that's what friends are for." She said, gently but firmly trying to push him so that he wouldn't seclude himself.

"Hmmph." Percy noncommittally grunted.

"Fine, be that way, but stop moping about and get to bed. Some sleep'll help, and you need the extra energy for tomorrow. Oh and I'll have you know you can't hide these things from me. Any person with feelings would be in the same spot you are if they'd lost what you lost. Now good night," She said, closing the tent flap as she saw Percy nod in acknowledgement.

I'm glad I have such a supportive group of friends... Percy thought before slowly drifting off to sleep.

The tent's ceiling had been enchanted to show a mural of the stars. It's been a while since I've had time to enjoy the stars like this. Percy thought, drifting off to sleep.

A loud knock and a glaring stream of sunlight on his face awakened him. Groaning, he turned over, trying to recover his peaceful sleep.

"Get up, Percy." Zoe greeted, stifling a yawn herself.

"Nnngghh" Percy groaned, "You're tired yourself Why don't you just go back to sleep?"

"Percy, it's time to get up" Zoe said patiently.

"No, it's not." Percy said, turning over to avoid the light continuing in.

"Yes, it is." Zoe said, entering the tent and tugging on his arm.

Percy grumbled and refused to let his arm be pulled out, stubbornly trying to keep it at this side. Zoe rolled her eyes and used both arms to pull on him.

"Get up, Percyy!" She said between gritted teeth.

"Only if you say the magic word." Percy said in a sing-song voice.

Zoe sighed and stopped pulling, "Please."

She was then utterly shocked when Percy pulled down on her, bringing her down on top of him, coincidentally landing her so that she looked as though she were straddling him.

Zoe yelled in a strangled shriek as her face heated up crimson and ran out of the tent.

Percy sat up, mind now very awake and alert. Why did I do that!? I'm so stupid! Shaking his head lightly to clear his thoughts, he got pushed the blankets off him and changed, planning on apologizing to Zoe. But while he was changing, shirt half-on, Artemis walked in, getting a good view of Percy's upper body before blushing and promptly making an about face outside.

Percy, blinking a few times to process what just happened before putting on his shirt, exited the tent, finding Artemis waiting just outside, still with her cheeks tinged red.

"Sorry for just barging in like that, I should've knocked. I forgot my manners for a moment." Artemis said.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine." Percy replied. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Artemis took in a deep breath, and then took both of his hands, before quietly saying, "I just wanted to know why Annabeth would do that to you. I was wondering if there was anything I should consider before expressing my opinion on the matter to the other Olympians today when we go to Olympus."

Percy stood in silence for a moment, pain clearly running across his face before it settled down. He replied in a monotone voice, "I was just as surprised as anyone. Hades seemed to know about it before I did, as he teleported us a mile from camp to where the thing was happening. Last time I saw her, or before I left on the mission, she was acting normally. Her behavior never changed, and I didn't even get a vague feeling that she might've changed her mind about me. I would've accepted it if she'd told me, even if it had seemed abrupt, but her deception I could not accept." Percy fell silent, his expression not wavering from cold indifference.

Artemis stepped forward and gave him a light embrace, whispering with barely controlled anger, "I will make sure that she pays for her dishonor."

"No, no, don't bother yourself on my behalf. In fact, just leave her be. I certainly lost my feelings for her, but I still don't want to see her hurt, even after what she did." Percy said with the same forced indifference.

"Are you sure?" Artemis asked incredulously.

Percy nodded. "I consider this to be the last friendly gesture I shall make towards her if she does not attempt to make amends."

"I see how your fatal flaw is loyalty. But if you wish to not punish her, that's your own business and I won't interfere. But, just letting you know, if you ever change your mind, and want me to help, I'd be glad to help." Artemis said seriously.

"Thank you, Artemis." Percy said, a bit of warmth entering his tone.

Artemis nodded and broke away, heading back to the breakfast table, which was slowly being filled by hunters trickling in from their tents.

Percy sighed, his mind a mixture of happiness and pain from having his recent scars be reopened. That was... nice of her.

He found Zoe glaring at him across the table, her cheeks still tinged red from their encounter. She was not the only one of the hunters glaring at him, though most just looked a bit confused as to why Zoe was glaring, some of them clearly asking her about it, glancing between the two.

He sighed, but steeled his resolve and walked over to her. "Sorry. I should've gotten up quicker. I'll make sure to listen to you the first time next time." Percy said.

Zoe raised an eyebrow, but looking around decided to help him out, "Ok. But there shouldn't be a next time in the first place. Get up yourself or you'll just have to skip breakfast." Zoe said, annoyance leaking into her voice.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, heading back for a seat a bit farther from the Hunters, to let her explain to the others in privacy.

After finishing breakfast, they all teleported to Olympus, Artemis leaving to assume her throne, while the Hunters stood beside her, and Percy kneeling before the rest of the Olympians in the center of the room.

"Hades has informed me of the situation, but I would like to understand from your firsthand experience what has happened here. And I see that you found that titan spawn. Why have you brought her here?" Zeus boomed.

"She is no titan spawn. She of all would hate her father, after all, have you forgotten who killed her in the first place? You were also informed by Ouranos that she was allowed to return to the world in spirit form. But what was most atrocious was that you left her to be paralyzed, certainly hoping that something with less than decent intentions would come along and defile her. And indeed, your plan worked, as she was chained up by those who caused the disturbance in the first place. You would be PLEASED to see her be raped, and then forget all about her!" Percy said, getting angrier with every sentence he said.

Zeus was shrinking farther and farther into her chair, with the glares from the other gods intensifying (mostly Artemis). Even Dionysus raised a noncommittal eyebrow at Zeus' stupidity.

"Ah, now that you mention it I do recall something like that being said." Zeus said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"So now you recall?" Artemis asked in a dangerously quiet voice. "Now you recall nearly ruining and killing one of my former hunters, just because of your faulty memory? Interesting." Her cold glare never softened. "You've done many a stupid thing, but this is one too many. You did bring her back, and I suppose I will take that into account when the rest of the Olympians and I make a decision on your fate."

Zeus shrank back into his throne in fear, clearly very subdued. Hera then coughed, and said, "Yes, he will be punished very severely. But in the meantime let us hear this hero's report, and then send him on his way."

Artemis frowned at the dismissive attitude Hera took towards Percy, but tolerated it, looking at Percy expectantly. Apollo sat back in his chair, still looking at his sister appraisingly. Intriguing…Artemis is fonder of him. Maybe sympathetic? Something must've happened.

Percy gave another glare at Zeus, before continuing, "Well, after I ventured into the Underworld, I found a rip in the Underworld. It gave quite an uneasy feeling, but it was peaceful, and not the source of the disturbance. I continued further, and into a room where Zoe was captured. I killed the guards, and allowed her to escape, but as we did, a horde of monsters began chasing us. Fortunately, we managed to return to the Underworld before they caught up, where Hades then dealt with them. And then…" Percy took a deep breath before continuing. "I was teleported back to about a mile outside of the camp, where I happened to meet Artemis and her hunt, where they let me stay the night before coming here today."

Zeus nodded, feeling a bit more confident after being a given slight reprieve as the other Olympians turned their interest to this disturbance in the Underworld. "It seems that we should have Hades be present for this discussion to have his opinion on what exactly this means." He clapped his hands, and a mist portal opened to show Hades yawning on his throne in the Underworld.

"What is it now, brother." Hades greeted curtly, politely covering his mouth with a hand as he stifled his yawn, being made aware of his audience.

"Perseus has noted an ominous rip in the Underworld. I recommend that you examine it closer, as he does not seem to know what it is." Zeus said politely.

"Oh, is that so? I'll send some scouts to observe it." Hades replied lazily.

Zeus nodded and turned back to Percy grimly. "Now, we are left with the dilemma of what to do with the newly resurrected Titan spaw- I mean Zoe. She must be eliminated immediately. The dead should not be allowed to rise."

"After you wronged her so? I do not think that would be wise, Zeus. At the very least, she should be able to decide her own fate after your faulty memory incident." Artemis said sternly.

The other gods once again revisited their wrath on Zeus, who grumbled but acquiesced.

"I choose to stay in this world. I still would like to accompany the Hunt, even if I'm not a formal Hunter." Zoe said immediately.

Artemis smiled happily at her former Hunter. "And you will be very welcome to do that."

"So be it. And if there is no other business…?" Zeus asked expectantly.

"There is. I would like to take a leave of absence from Camp Half-Blood." Percy declared firmly.

Whooo! This chapter was getting way too long (3,000) words, so I decided to cut it short and leave it here, and I'll finish this scene later. Probably. I'm enjoying writing again, so expect (possibly) faster updates. Or at least updates faster than nearly a year-long hiatus. Oh and my other stories should also be updated soon.