[DISCLAIMER]

Do I have to do this every chapter? I'll run out of witty? lines.
*Sighs*
I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

[DISCLAIMER]

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Olympus. Throne room, war council, court, meeting place, hangout, and party spot of the gods. All in one gigantic marble palace. Honestly, for gods, they didn't have much of a sense of variety. Currently, there were only two gods and one demigod present. Thalia felt awkward standing in the center of the huge room, its enormity enhanced by its emptiness. She returned her focus to the argument taking place in front of her.

"Father, I cannot accept this. Hero of Olympus or no, the boy has tainted one of my Hunters — My lieutenant, at that. He must be punished." Artemis was saying, her tone stern, with an angry expression marring her face. Thalia was offended. Tainted? Honestly, they hadn't even done anything. Much…

She recalled the incident earlier that morning, a light blush dotting her cheeks. At least her day had started well. That was about it though. After Percy had left, Thalia — Although she'd never admit it — had spent the next five minutes recovering from the bubbly feeling that he had inflicted. That was when the Hunters broke down her door (Well, they didn't knock, and that was the same thing, in her opinion) and found her in her disheveled state.

She'd been so caught up thinking about the words he'd said before leaving, that she had forgotten entirely about archery practice. Or, for that matter, fixing her clothes. It wouldn't even have mattered if the Hunters who had come to get her hadn't been who they had — Phoebe and Atlanta. Two of her closest (Only) friends in the Hunt. Why? Because anyone else would have knocked.

It must have been an awkward sight for the two: To see their close friend and leader, hugging a pillow while rolling around on her bed, with a huge grin planted on her face. The worst part? Thalia hadn't even noticed them until Phoebe cleared her throat. Twice.

Thalia had quickly returned to her senses, but the damage had been done. No words had been exchanged between the two parties, with Phoebe uttering a soft 'We'll wait outside', before the pair excused themselves. Thalia had wanted to die, her face burning red with shame.

What a mess that had been… And then that had led to the mess she was in currently.

Her father was speaking. Coming back to the present, Thalia listened to what he had to say.

"I understand your feelings, daughter, but you must understand — I cannot simply let you turn him of all people into a… What was it again?" She wondered why her father was defending Percy. The sky god had never been too fond of his nephew.

"So, you would side with the man who violated your daughter over your daughter herself? You disgust me, father." So now she was playing the family card. There wasn't much Thalia could do — It was unhealthy to interrupt gods, and she wasn't Percy — but she'd have liked to voice her opinion. She was still ticked off about how her mistress had just assumed that she had been 'violated'.

Although, that might have been Atlanta's fault.

Archery practice had gone by, followed by breakfast, with no questions asked. After that, however, Thalia had been 'escorted' to her cabin, by the same two Hunters that had fetched her. She hadn't bothered trying to hide anything, telling them whatever they'd wanted to hear. It had felt good, like a huge weight had been taken off her chest.

It turned out that what Thalia had said was what Atlanta hadn't wanted to hear, since she'd fainted.

Artemis had returned from Olympus fifteen minutes later, and had been informed about the unconscious Hunter. Concerned, she had rushed to the infirmary, just as Atlanta came to. It had been so conveniently timed, Thalia had felt like the Fates had been messing with her. Come to think of it, they probably had, since Atlanta had convinced herself that Percy had assaulted Thalia — She shouldn't have told them how things had begun — and had proceeded to convince the moon goddess.

Who hadn't taken it too well. Who'd have guessed? She had been about to 'turn that filthy monster into a jackalope' as she'd put it, when a flash of lightning had enveloped the goddess and her lieutenant, bringing them to the hall of the gods.

Where her father and step-sister had been arguing for the past half hour. Or had it been an hour? Thalia didn't know.

"—seidon will do!" Thalia had zoned out again...

She'd missed what her father had just said. Something about Poseidon?

"Justice is on my side!" Her step-sister was now shouting. "The boy will repent, and his father can do nothing abou—" A loud creak was heard. Thalia turned towards the sound.

…

Percy Jackson was standing at the door, panting.

Silence. Thalia stared at him in disbelief.

"Hey… Thals…"
Those were his last words.

Two seconds later, a streak of silver struck the boy, and where he had been standing, there was a ball of fur with antlers protruding out of its head. An animal Thalia was very familiar with. A jackalope.

"Oops. My finger slipped," she heard a voice behind her say. The owner of said voice sounded extremely satisfied. The same could not be said of a certain daughter of Zeus, who was still recovering from the recent series of events.

"Artemis… Can you turn him back?" Another voice, male, inquired.

"It is unfortunate, but no," the first voice answered. The now-jackalope was hissing.

Thalia finally realized what had just occurred in front of her. And she was angry. Angry at the idiot — Who she loved — who had rushed to his own undoing, and angry at her patron goddess for not even asking her feelings, before jumping to conclusions.

"Wh-Why?" Her voice was shaky. She felt like she could break down at any moment.

The jackalope hissed.

"Thalia?" her father asked, sounding concerned.

She cursed. "Why is the world so unfair!?" She stared at the jackalope that was learning how to hop. "My father was never around, my mother went insane, my brother got taken away, my uncle wanted to kill me for being my father's daughter, and then I got turned into a bloody tree by the father I'd never known!"

She paused, turning around to look at her father, who was wearing a guilty expression. "I come back to life, only to have a prophecy thrown on my shoulders that tells me I will die saving or destroying the world!" She took a breath, continuing, "I find out that the boy I had a crush on has turned to the dark side, and he wants to kill me! Do you know what that feels like!?" Thalia was panting, with her father looking like he had been stabbed.

Artemis looked confused. "But then you understood, yes? That you were better off without men? That is why you joined the Hunt, is it not?" she inquired.

Thalia glared at her, not caring that Artemis was a goddess. "What choice did I have?" she shouted, "'A single choice shall end his days'? I was scared! I didn't want to be the hero, I wanted to live! My birthday was one day away!"

Now the goddess looked surprised. "But surely yo—"

"And then, in the Hunt, I'd thought I'd found my place, but no: I was always different! I didn't think that all men were rapists, that the campers were inferior to us!" Her father's eyes were elsewhere, filled with guilt.

Artemis interrupted, "But why do you speak of this now? Did the so called 'hero' not assault you?"

A chuckle escaped from the Hunter's mouth, humorless and dry. "Assault me?!" She laughed. "He didn't 'assault' me! I wasn't 'violated'! We didn't even do anything!" She paused for breath. "I loved— love him!" The moon goddess looked dumbfounded.
"Did you even ask me how I felt? Any of you! Father, you, the Campers or the Hunters!?" Zeus winced, while Artemis seemed like she was still coming to terms with her lieutenant's words. "I always had to be strong! Because I was a daughter of Zeus, I had to be better than everyone else'! Gods, I…" She cursed. "Then Percy was there, and he knew what it felt like. To always have to be the hero."
Thalia couldn't shout anymore. "I fell for him. Laughable, isn't it? Everyone looked up to us. In the end, we could only fall back on each other…" she trailed off.

Silence enveloped the empty hall. Zeus opened his mouth, but seemed to have nothing to say. Artemis looked like she didn't know what to think.

Finally, the goddess spoke, "That means… You would give up the Hunt — Immortality — for a man?" There was no anger in her tone, only resignation.

Thalia said nothing.

"Was the boy not enamored with the daughter of Athena? What of that?" Artemis inquired.

"They broke up."

"He had claimed to love her, had he not? And, yet, he left her. What would have stopped him from doing the same again?" The jackalope — Percy — hissed. He had managed to make his way over to the daughter of Zeus, and now hopped in front of her, challenging the moon goddess. What an idiot. Even now, he played the hero. Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I speak the truth, boy. I may have been too hasty in passing judgement, but I do not regret it. Besides, it is irreversible."

Zeus broke his silence, "Surely, you do not mean that? Perseus did not assault Thalia, as you now know. My brother will not be happy, and I do not wish to make an enemy of him." So that was why the sky god had been defending Percy. It made a little more sense now.

…Wait. 'As you now know'?

"Father… Were you… Aware?" Artemis did not sound happy.

"Hard to miss when they're in front of your eyes…" Zeus muttered. The statue. Thalia was so glad she didn't sleep in front of that thing. "I did not tell you, because it was not for me to tell. That was to be my daughter's own decision."

Thalia was surprised. Her father had known, yet he hadn't said anything. Did that mean he approved — or at the least, wasn't against it —? Her sister, however, didn't seem to like this. "Very well then! She has decided!" She glared at Thalia. "Thalia Grace: You are no longer a Huntress! I release you from your oath to me, and you are stripped of my blessing!"
Percy gnashed his teeth angrily at the goddess. "You are free to pursue your romance; however, I cannot return him to his original state." She sneered. "Perhaps you will learn your lesson this time. Farewell!"
With that, the goddess vanished in a flash of silver, letting silence settle on the hall again. Except the chittering coming from Percy.

So, she would have to live with a jackalope for a boyfriend… Thalia cursed the Fates, before crumpling to the cold marble floor on her knees.

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[AN]

Ya know, I took cooking class once. I believe it was called… Butchering (characters) 101. Helps a lot.
So, took me a while to write this. Mostly because I couldn't get the chapter flowing, writing in short spurts as opposed to one concentrated burst. The inconsistency throughout this entire fanfic bugs me to no end.

So, turns out Phoebe didn't actually know what happened to Thalia, and Percy was misinformed. Ta-da! Plot twist.
I considered multiple scenarios after Percy's transformation, but this is (unfortunately) not the kind of fanfic where a demigod can go full rage mode and take down a god.
So I ended up settling for an emotional breakdown. Also, Artemis is the villain (of sorts). Tell me what you think.

Thank you for reviewing, hope you liked this chapter. I don't know if I'll be making this lengthy, but I'm glad you think it(the story)'s good. If you followed or favorited, or if you're reading this, thanks.

Will Percy become human again? Who knows…? (I do)

What I'm listening to: Ice Nine Kills - The Nature of the Beast.

[AN]

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