I don't own pjo, all that gab. I posted this chapter a bit too early when I wasn't fully finished with it, but you can re-read it now.

3rd Person POV

The multi colors of the sun setting shone on Artemis, giving her more of a glowing look. Approaching steadily, Percy crouched behind Artemis, waiting for her reaction.

"I know you're there Percy". Artemis sighed. "I'm not a hunter because I shoot a bow and arrow, but sensing hostiles near you slowly becomes a habit".

Percy smirked. "So, I'm a hostile now? What happened to the "guardian", the "friend", or the "male companion?"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Stupid boy, just sit down". She waved her hand beside her.

Artemis had to admit she half expected Percy to boast about his past achievements, but from experience, she knew Percy wouldn't be as arrogant as his kind. Or would he?

She was just about to speak when Percy faced her and spoke.

"Are all goddesses as prideful as you?" Percy blurted out. He knew this was a bold move, speaking of the bad-side of her personality, but he felt the need to set the topic straight before moving on.

For a moment, Artemis's eyes shone silver with anger but she cooled down. All in a millisecond.

Artemis raised her voice slightly, quelling the dark look that shot her in response. She had learned of how great and kind Perseus was, yet there was still an underlying suspicion. After all, he was a male, and he should be glad that he wasn't a jackalope for sitting right next to me already.

"You must know that we gods and goddesses cannot change our personality. Through 3000 years, our personality and nature are the same. Take my father for example, in all 3000 years, not only has he fixed his mistakes, he has become more big-headed and his ego has tripled". She said sourly.

The sky rumbled, and multiple flashes of thunder could be seen.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Artemis shouted. The thunder abruptly stopped.

Facing Percy again, he spoke. "What if you chose to change? What if someone inspired you to change your ways, your personality, to change who you are? Won't this affect the gods of Olympus positively?" Percy pressed.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Very unlikely. You see, us immortals have already been like this for 3000 years. How would one demigod change that?"

"Well, I already changed Zeus and Hera... After defeating Kronos I talked to Hera, changing her ways and solving her disputes and anger towards children of Zeus. She's kinder now, I suppose".

Artemis grumbled. How did this demigod always impress her, even if he didn't know he was?

Percy was an infuriating person as Artemis found out, and she looked slightly to his accusatory green eyes.

"You know just as well what I meant". She stated.

"No, I don't" He sighed.

"Stubborn boy," She thought, and the two sat in silence until the sunset disappeared, darkness replacing it.

Percy left without a word, heading towards his cabin. Artemis sighed, at least she got to spend time with him, even if they didn't speak much. After all, don't the greatest fires start out small?

Percy's POV Morning

I woke up, yesterday night's events replaying in my mind. Oh yes, talking to Artemis. I had to admit I had some feelings for her, but she was a maiden goddess. Emphasis on maiden. My daily schedule for the morning was to take a long swim, workout, and then breakfast. Grabbing my towel, I ran to the beach, eager to swim once more. After all, the hunters didn't have oceans where they camped.

Swimming through the calm currents, I came across the slide shaped rock, and I realized, the rock me and Annabeth had spent when we wanted to talk alone. Deciding to bury my memories deep, I turned and swam back. By now, the sun was rising, the birds were singing, what a wonderful time to be alive, I thought gloomily. If only Annabeth were here...

My 30th push up was done when I noticed all the campers heading for breakfast already. Guess I was a little late, I thought. Normally I would be able to do a full workout, spare 10 minutes until breakfast, I thought, as I headed towards the dining pavilion where an ugly, lanky boy with green eyes was sitting. With a pang, I knew this kid must be a child of Poseidon, my-uh- brother. Why I didn't notice him in my cabin, I did not know. He probably joined camp this morning, I thought.

He was the definition of ugly. Not really, he was average looking, but nothing compared to me. His eyes were a cloudy, murky shade of green, unlike my bright emerald eyes. As I sat down at the Poseidon table, the boy, around 15-16 years old stood up and shouted at me.

"OI, Who do you think YOU are?" He questioned in an absolutely rude tone. The dining pavilion went silent, campers and dryads watching with both fear and fascination at the showdown between two children of Poseidon. The Son of Zeus, Andrew, watched with anticipation seeing his friend shout at the guy he hated with a deep passion.

I remained seated, looking at him through my tousled hair, half-covering my eyes.

"Really? Because I think I own this table any more than you will". I spoke quietly.

I had learnt from Octavian that speaking quietly was great for effect and people tended to listen, better than shouting like a maniac.

"Yeah! I'm the Son of Poseidon, and you're just some stupid boy that dares to sit here".

From the corner of my eye, I could see Chiron shaking his head at the boy's stupidy.

I smirked, and with one quick motion, I flipped him onto the ground, judo style, where he groaned in pain.

Two Apollo campers carried him off where I could hear him complaining about a "broken arm".

Andrew was seething, and he stormed out of the pavilion without another word, but not before coming up to me and saying "You, me and David, who's the other Poseidon guy. Duel in 10 minutes in the arena. This time you're getting destroyed". He smirked.

Figuring the "David" guy was the guy I just judo-flipped, I laughed with no hint humor in it. "Sure".

10 minutes later The Arena

I stood there, in the middle of the arena, waiting for my two opponents. (yeah still Percy POV).

A moment later, the two showed up, fully decked in bronze armor. Without notice, they charged simultaneously at me. Years of reflex training at camp kept me from being skewered. Andrew roared, and a bolt of lightning slammed down from the sky, and I raised my sword to block it, sending it towards David, who slammed into a wall. I smiled, knocking Andrew's blade out of his hand in one swipe, and kicking him back. David stood up and summoned a large wave of water, about to slam it onto me.

"Take this, you d*k head!" He roared. The crowd went silent as I barely had to do anything to stop the wave, and I swiped my hand right sending the water onto David instead.

"I am the son of Poseidon, you idiot". I glared.

The massive wave crashed onto him, and I noticed he didn't even bother to stop it, much less keep dry. Probably too trash to even do so, I grinned mentally.

Both lesser children of the big three's moves became more sluggish as I wore them both down, not even bothering to go full-on. Why would I waste my energy on these weaklings?

Without even finishing them off, they had already collapsed, too tired to even move.

"You both use your powers too much, which obviously depletes your energy". I smirked and strolled out of the arena, the roar of the audience in the background. That's how Jackson does it, I smiled giddily. Of course, people would think I was being big-headed for beating the two children of the most powerful gods ever but I hardly broke a sweat.

A while later, Artemis walked up to me, half-smiling.

"Good job on beating those disrespectful boys". She smirked. "Just letting you know, we're leaving immediately tomorrow, as my girls cannot stand this camp any longer, and we wish to continue hunting monsters like we always do". She finished.

I nodded and left for the beach.

It seemed like the beach was the only place that kept me calm, even if many of my happiest memories were there. The waves would respond according to my emotions, and today there was a soft tide, lightly brushing against the moist sand. Sighing, I found a spot on the sand dune and watched the waves roll by.

A pair of soft hands grasped me from behind and cuddled onto me. I tensed and half-turned around. My mind froze for a moment, it was Aphrodite. I gulped, trying to not show my slight fear at what she would do to me, not physically but emotionally. Hearing stories about how she messed up people's love life was enough to make someone weary of her.

"Aphrodite..." I started.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned.

She gave me her signature seducing smile and traced her finger on my arm, making me shiver.

I frowned. "What do you actually want?" I questioned her again.

"Oh, I have a small job I want you to do. I have a daughter currently in Arizona, but due to the "godly interference" stuff, I can't be involved. Therefore I need you to take her here". She finished.

I nodded. "I'll ask Lady Artemis for permission, but you owe me a favor now, Lady Aphrodite".

"I would happily repay the favor by spending some time at my palace, alone...". She devilishly smirked.

"Nope, nope, I'm good". I stuttered, shuffling back from her.

"Are you sure? A demigod like you can obviously have anyone, including me". She stated.

I sighed. "I'll tell you later when I find your daughter".

She smiled at me and passed me a ring.

"This ring allows you to track her and talk to me. It'll start flashing faster when you get near".

I was about to reply, but she was already gone.

Fitting on the red ring, a note fluttered onto my lap. The note was perfectly written and in fancy cursive. Only Aphrodite's, I rolled my eyes mentally.

Percy,

Good Luck on your quest, beware of her mortal "guardians", but it shouldn't be too hard for you.

P.S: I'm always available! Come find me at my palace anytime :)

I shivered, thinking of actually meeting her at her palace. I doubt she would just invite me to her palace to have lunch. It was always the "extracurricular" activities she had with everyone. Her loyalty was as much as the pay Charon would get, which is not much.

Artemis POV (before the Aphrodite talk)

I walked off towards my cabin after talking to Percy, who knew why my heart-beat always sped up near him. What was wrong with me? I thought as I stormed into my cabin. He always made me happy, no matter if he knew it or not. He just had a sense of power and quietness, a perfect combination of a great hero. He was modest, and that was what mattered, perfect quality of a man she sometimes imagined, and Percy was a great example of the opposite of what she thought a male would be: arrogant, big-headed, disgusting, perverts, literally her brother, she huffed. And every other male.

She looked up after a while to see Percy scratching his neck awkwardly in front of her. I must've zoned out, I thought and gestured him to talk.

"So... Aphrodite came to me to issue me a "quest" as you might call it". "I'm supposed to rescue her daughter from these abusing guardians before she gets tracked by monsters or something". He stated gravely.

"What are you? Some kind of hit-man?" I shouted incredulously.

He rolled his eyes before replying. "Of course not, just doing a favor for Aphrodite, and saving girls and taking them to your hunt is kinda my forte now". He grinned.

"And Aphrodite also owes me one now". He grinned widely.

"Oh, of course, all you males. Probably going to ask the love goddess something explicit, aren't you?" I questioned with spite.

He looked at me with wide eyes. "What! No! That's not what I meant! I meant I could call her for help or something or to assist the hunt". "Never mind!" He said breathlessly and stormed out the tent.

"No, Percy wait! I didn't mean that about you..." I stammered, and I only caught a glimpse of him flying off into the afternoon sun.

Percy's Pov

Yes, the ring was flashing at a faster and faster pace as I neared the state of Arizona. The crime rate and poverty were lower here, but it didn't matter if this state was safer. There were bad people everywhere. I flew around a city a few times and landed on the balcony of a small apartment. The windows were dingy, and the place smelt heavily of alcohol. A girl's screaming could be heard inside, and I feared this was it. The ring was not even flashing now, it literally was lighted up.

Remember Percy, kill the mortals if you must. After all, give them a good beating before you send them to Hades.

Aphrodite? What are you doing in my head? I mentally thought.

Well, the ring allows me to talk to you telepathically, kind of. We also need this when I owe you a favor in the future. I have business to attend to now, tally-ho!, and she was gone before I could reply.

Her "business" was probably messing up the existence of some poor mortal, I sighed.

I smashed through the balcony door, wooden and glass shards showering the ground.

Three people who looked scarily like his ex-stepfather Gabe turned immediately. I relished the look on their shocked faces as I drew a pair of twin silver knives, a gift from Artemis.

Both knives in the drunk woman's shoulder blades and my chokehold on the men were done before they could shout.

"After all, give them a good beating before you send them to Hades". Aphrodite's sentence replayed in my mind as I smiled evilly. Oh yes, this was going to be fun. After all, he had caught the glimpse of the girl on the ground, shivering, about to be sexually harassed by her horrible guardians. He was going to make them pay.

Several minutes later, all three had multiple cuts on their bodies, non-fatal, as I wanted them to truly suffer. "And a pinch of salt!" I laughed, as I dumped salt on their opened wounds, enjoying their screams.

"My uncle hades will make sure you suffer for what you've done" I spat, and ended all three of their lives in one swift flick of Riptide across the necks.

It was now when I finally moved my attention towards the girl, who looked even more terrified of me than a few minutes ago. No one, not even her could stand her so-called "guardians" be tortured alive, even if they were about to sexually harass her. It was a lot to take in. I sighed and crouched in front of her, and gave her my cloak. She looked at me wearily before taking it and giving me a small smile.

"I'm not going to hurt you..." I started.

"I've heard that sentence many times before. Trust is something I can't believe in anymore". She shivered.

"Tell me about yourself". I smiled kindly, trying to make her open up.

She gulped before speaking quietly. "My name is Kathy and My mother disappeared when I was born and left me with my father. My father died when I was 10, in a car crash, and left me with these... abusing people. They claim they were related to me, but they locked me up and were going to do something horrible to me... I don't know what to do!" she sobbed.

I sighed and rubbed her back comfortingly. "They're gone now, you don't have to worry. You're going to have to trust me because the next thing I'm going to tell you will change your life forever".

"Are you sure? What kind of sentence would change my life forever? It's not like my father was secretly a tycoon guy with loads of money or a famous superstar". She laughed sarcastically.

"No, you're mother is a goddess, Aphrodite, in fact". I nodded gravely at her disbelief.

"Come, the mortals will start investigating at the deaths soon enough. We must leave immediately". I beckoned her and gestured her to climb onto my back.

She looked unsure for a second but climbed on as I flew through the sky.

"Let's go".

We arrived at camp almost an hour later, thanks to how fast I flew. I lowered my back as she climbed off and surveyed our surroundings. Many of the campers, both new and old ran up to us, curious to see what had happened. Noticing Artemis and her hunters, I nudged Kathy and she looked towards Artemis in awe. Probably her first time meeting a goddess.

"This is Lady Artemis". I smiled, turning towards her. Kathy nodded and smiled, but looked weary at the goddess as if she was going to blast her to dust.

"Kathy, I am Lady Artemis, the goddess of the moon, hunt, and the wild. I accept young maidens like yourself into my hunt, as the acting role of a family. Would you like yo join?" She asked nicely.

She stuttered. "I'm honored Lady Artemis, but I'd like to stay at camp for a few years since I'm only 14. I have heard stories about never aging in your great hunt and I would prefer to join once I am older". She nodded.

A/N: Didn't expect that, did you?

Artemis looked sad but nodded. "I do hope that you never become astray, the typical love-sick girl, lost in only one view, then betrayed". "Call me when you are ready, young maiden", she finished and left.

"That wasn't the wrong choice, was it?" She questioned me as we walked to the campfire. Happy being claimed by her mother, she was wearing a long sleeveless dress and had light make up on making her resemble Piper, but with lighter skin.

"No, it wasn't Kathy. You chose your own path, not directed by the fates. I hope you join the hunt sooner or later as I'm the guardian of the hunt". Her mouth made an "o" sound and sighed, not bothering to sing along with the Apollo cabin.

"Cheer up, I'll visit!" I smiled, attempting to cheer her up. Her face lit up a bit, but she was obviously disappointed at her choice of joining the hunt.

"It's too late now, isn't it?" She sighed.

"Apparently. But next time we meet, we shall not part". I patted her on the back, Then I was gone, to pack for my journey with the hunt.

Thanks for reviewing guys, I'll try my best to post another chappie soon! I have accumulated over 3k view in a week, and only, like, 1% reviewed. SO, review or this story dies.