Guardian of The Hunt (Chapter 22)

Quote: "You cannot judge a person by their race, gender, preference, or skin color. Every man, woman, child is created equal, something that most of humanity is not ready to embrace."

I yawned loudly as I woke up from my bed. Mrs.O'Leary tells me I drool a lot. I think she is joking, since I checked my pillow for stains, and I didn't find any. People for some odd reason love to invade my dreams a lot.

BlackJack and Mrs.O'Leary were both still sleeping. Those two sleep all day, every day. They are like two Polyphemus, who literally most likely sleeps every day till 4PM, just to do the same the next day. It amazes me how he somehow manages to be awake when people tried to take the golden fleece.

Darn ADHD

Well, I have basically run out of things to do. All the TV shows I have watched have either finished seasons or havent released an episode. I started watching a new anime show called "One Punch Man" and I got an idea the next time I see the Minotaur...

Also, I finished every game I was able to find that was good.

Then I remembered Myth-o-Magic, a game Nico used to play a long time ago. I swear he still plays it in secret. Dionysus gave the game a go, but he quit the moment he saw his card. His stats were 50 health and 75 attack. Lets just say Zeus was 750 health and 550 attack.

I played the game once. Once. I still remember, satyrs were the weakest card in the game, so Grover got mad when he saw it.

All the female characters were shown as.....well you get the point. Aphrodite did look on-point somewhat. All the male gods were buffed, even though Apollo is...well he is not Heracles, but he isnt Tantalus skinny.

I should probably get a few cards and show them to the real deal.Nah, they would probably slap my unbreakable face.

After that project I did with Hepheastus, I thought about getting a sacred weapon. I was definitely more powerful than Zeus, yet he had the Crown of Olympus, The Masterbolt, Ouranos' s Cloud, etc. Bane and Riptide are my signature weapons. Dual Swords. Ares has a two-handed sword as his sacred weapon, Dual blades are different. Its like comparing a pitchfork to a Trident. Dual swords seem like an appropriate choice, but I will confirm that at a later date.

I dont need one, it can wait. These days, monsters are starting to appear. A few giants have been seen injuring campers outside the border. This confused many gods and demigods alike, usually these monsters took years to reform. How could they be back much so soon? Maybe the rumor of the portal that lead out of Tartarus ws real. See, when I was in Tartarus, there were rumors of an escape route, but I never really tried to go for it since Chaos told me I would get out soon regardless.

I have more powers I can count. Chaos's blessing really had no limits at all. I have control of all elements, metals, ice, water, fire, lightning, wind, earth, shadows, and more. I already have each element mastered. I lifted my hand and a orb of water appeared, and I thought of ice, and in the blink of an eye, the orb of water was now a ball of ice.

"Thanks a lot Chaos." I grumble.

You're welcome.

I sigh as I move on from that. I might experiment with my powers when I get the chance, but for now, I kinda want to see what the gods are up to.

I flash to Olympus and see the gods all, for some odd reason, talking to each other. I listen in on the conversation.

"-is too powerful-"

"-rid of him"

"-if he was working with Order"

"-what if-"

"-I think-"

I listened, not fully able to hear them due to them all talking at once. Were they talking about me?I quickly flashed in, near all the gods whom were sitting on their thrones. All the gods jumped when I suddenly appeared.

"HOLY HADES!" Ares shouted.

"Will you please cut that OUT?" Hades yelled at Ares. I think Hades was still doing lots of paperwork, he seemed really angry.

"What were you all talking about?" I ask dangerously calm.

Some gods shifted nervously, and some gods were calm. I noticed Hestia was nowhere to be seen.

"We were discussing Law. The prophecy said a traitor was among us, but since Law's death has been mixed up with hundreds of dead demigods, we don't know who it was. We agreed he is not a demigod since there was no blood, and he was not a god or Titan since no ichor, and he can't be a automaton since he wasn't built." Athena said rather quickly.

Some gods relaxed. I can already tell it was a lie, I would have to bust them on that soon.

"I agree. I have investigated this matter too. However, I gave up after a few months, no evidence was found. You probably should leave that, maybe we can cross that bridge when the time comes." I reply, as if they did not lie to me.

The gods all settled down. I should probably keep an eye out for some of them. Let me see, Athena, Zeus, I dont think Ares still hates me, as much. Demeter and Dionysus are a big no-no since they both just avoid me.

"Where is Hestia?" I ask.

"She left a few minutes ago, she said she wanted some peace." Zeus informed me.

I nodded slowly and I guess I should actually ask the question I came here for.

'So......you guys have anything else to do?" I ask.

The gods seem surprised once again, and I can tell they are talking to each other in their mind. Whatever, it did kind of sound like they were talking about Law, I will ask someone new later on.

I can tell the gods needed something done, as I saw Zeus and Artemis in a full-fledged argument in their minds. It looked kinda funny, as they literally just stare at whatever is in front of them.

I walk towards Artemis and snap my fingers in front of her, as the argument looked really intense, I mean, I swear I saw smoke coming out of both of them.

"Are you two okay? Looks like you two were having WW3 without us." I joked.

Artemis glared at me. "No."

"Umm, okay, what's with the death glare?" I ask. Her eyes were silver as....well, silver, and when she glares, she may as well be throwing a knife at you. Luckily, her stare is far behind the Hesperides.

"I will not have a male in the Hunt." She stated stubbornly to Zeus. I started to question my hearing, since I don't want to be in the Hunt, for obvious reasons.

"What? Who said I was going to the Hunt?" I ask, confused.

Zeus spoke from his throne. "Somehow, Gration the Giant and Python have risen. Both have already been in Tartarus, so they were not warped to the moon. They have built their strength to try and attack while we are still weak from the Doomsday event. They plan to take out the Hunters, Artemis, and Apollo, because once they get rid of them all, that only leaves the campers and us left. So I asked Artemis to instate you as the Guardian, since you clearly show that you are able to beat both of them. You will protect the Hunt as long as Artemis says so."

"Is he serious?" I ask every god around me.

"Yup." Apollo stated.

"Pretty much." Hermes chuckled.

"Absolutely not! While he is a decent male, I will not allow him to flirt with my Hunters, I will not have another male join the hunt, especially another son of Poseiden." Artemis screeches.

"Not you too! Leave the screeching to Athena and her children." I smirk.

Athena starts to blow a casket until Zeus interrupted her before she can speak. The other gods hold in their chuckles.

"No. I am the King of Gods, and while I may not be able to order Perseus, I can order you to allow him into the Hunt if he accepts." Zeus commanded his daughter.

Artemis was infuriated, but knew better than to argue with her father. She angrily sat on her throne.

I scowled. "What makes you think I would accept?"

Apollo stared at me. "Dude! Being the guardian allows you to live with a bunch of hot ladies! Who wouldn't accept? " he stated. I knew he was joking, but I was sure most people would join the Hunt for that reason.

"C'mon Apollo, you and I both know I don't roll that way. I respect all, no matter the person, unless they wrong me, then I have a problem." I roll my eyes.

Artemis raises an eyebrow, as if she found a 100 dollar bill on the floor, but is being suspicious.

"How do I know that isn't a trick?" Artemis questions me.

"Seriously? Do I look like the person who is looking for a relationship? I am 117 years old!" I tell her.

Hermes started laughing really hard. "That sounded so creepy!"

I glare at Hermes for a moment, but then turn back to Artemis. "I will stay loyal to Zoë until I eventually meet someone who I can settle with. But that won't be until a long time." Hermes shuts up, a lot of gods know that Zoë is still a sort of touchy thing for me.

Artemis studies me, as if checking for a lie, and when she didn't find any, she sighed and said...

"Fine. I permit Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseiden to become the Guardian of the Hunt if he accepts." She grumbles out.

"I, Perseus Jackson, Owner of Too Many Titles, accepts Lady Artemis' s permission to guard the Hunters from danger as long as I am treated as an equal." I reply.

Zeus rolls his eyes at my title. "You are now Guardian of the Hunt, if my daughter is harmed, you will face my wrath, Perseus Jackson." He boomed.

"Sure." I said.

The gods all facepalmed.

The gods started to leave the council room to do what I would assume their jobs, but as soon as everyone left, Artemis grabbed my arm and pulled me to a pillar.

"Listen, I know I owe you for what I did, but under no circumstances are you to have an affair with any of my hunters. We will not make it easy for you, male" Artemis warned me.

"Of course, I swear by the styx to not flirt or have any affairs with any of the Hunters, Lady Artemis." I grin slyly.

For a second, she looked satisfied with my reply, but then looked at me oddly.

"Why did you call me Lady?" She looks at me like I have Ebola or something.

"Um, well you are the leader of the Hunt, therefore leader of me. Also technically I rank higher than you in power, but I don't really care about power. In a nutshell, I respect you. And can you please keep Thalia from slapping me, Athena still has a bruise from my cheek." I plead.

Artemis gives me the smallest smirk I have ever seen. "Maybe this wasn't such a bad choice."

"Yeah I know, it is a great choice." I grin.

Artemis facepalms. "Nevermind."

"C'mon, you know I will do great, admit it!" I laugh.

"Just meet me at my Camp near your house, so we can get started later on. Arrive at 3PM, or I will command my hunters to shoot your cabin." She warns me.

"Oh, okay Laaaaaady Arrrrrtemis." I slurred out.

She glares at me until I put my hands up in a surrender.

"Fine, fine, just don't shoot me." I chuckle.

Artemis laughs softly, then flashes out, probably to the Hunters. Well, I should prepare for the worst, I should also get some of those things sports players wear on their crotch to avoid getting hit. However, I may need one of those made out of celestial bronze. I hope not.

Third Person POV

Artemis was mad. No, that was an understatement. She was mad as Typhon. This was the first time since Orion that a man has been allowed to enter the camp. This was unacceptable to her, while she did favor Percy a lot, she didn't know him enough to have him around her eternal maidens. While she did admit Percy is not like other men, he is a man regardless.

How was she going to explain this to her hunters? "Hey! You remember that oath you took when you got here to swear off men? Well the Hero of Olympus is coming to be our guardian, and he was blessed by Aphrodite!"

Artemis sighs as she walks into her tent. The camp had been rebuilt and due to the two Titan wars, Gaea, and now Order, the Hunters went from a staggering 275-ish to about 64. Many burials were given near the camp. The camp was set up like a campsite, but bigger. Some tents were as big as houses, and multiple hunters could occupy it at once, and Artemis's tent was not as big as those, but she had the whole tent to herself only. Next to hers was Thalia's since she is the 2nd in command. There were archery areas, dummy testing areas, bathing areas, ceremony areas where all the hunters gather sometimes, etc.

At the center of camp was a large fire that burned at all times, even daytime. It was used for many purposes, disposing trash and waste easily, cooking meals, melting silver so it can be used for weapons, a light source, and more.

Artemis gathered the Hunters, who were all under 21. Any girl that was say, 1-13 would not be given partial immortality until they were older and matured. Any girl, no matter what, can be accepted, except some. Especially a certain daughter of Athena.

"Girls, I have some rather distraught news." Artemis announced. The hunter listened in, usually when Artemis used negative adjectives is when there is something out of her control.

"We will have to work with a Guardian due to Gration and Python both rising at the same time, bent on fading me and Apollo." Artemis states sadly.

"So? What's the bad news? The Guardian just means more girl power for us!" Thalia exclaimed.

"Thalia, the guardian is a male." Artemis said softly.

The campfire suddenly shrunk down, as every hunter dropped what they were doing and stared at Artemis. Each of them had joined the Hunt for one reason. To leave the company of men, or rather to escape their old lives. To learn that a male was coming to protect them when they were perfectly capable of protecting themselves was like learning Santa isn't real.

"Why? We don't need a male to protect us!" Pheobe screeched.

"Because we have been severely weakened after 4 wars for Zeus' s sake. We need all the help we can get, and Zeus gave me the choice to pick who I wanted. It was either this man or Heracles."

Pheobe shuddered at the name Heracles, but many hunters were surprised Artemis used the word man to describe a male.

"Thalia, you know this person, so I expect you to help him adapt here. He will arrive in about an hour, so we must show our strength and how we do not need a guardian." Artemis said adamantly.

"Who is it?" Thalia asked curiously.

"You will know soon, but you should just wait until he arrives." Artemis replied.

The Hunters all scattered to their tents to prepare. Some older Hunters whom have a deep hatred for the male population are thinking of ways to get rid of the new Guardian, and newer hunters were somewhat scared of what would happen. Many knew the story of Orion, and how he had tried to take advantage of Artemis.

Percy POV

Dear Chaos, please help me. I have to protect a group of over 5 dozen girls who all have a tendency to shoot me. Its gonna be like a shark trying to protect a group of clownfish. Results may vary.

This is gonna be harder than any challenge I have ever had. The one thing worse than facing Ladon for a Golden apple, fighting Law to save Olympus, and fighting Order to save the world: having to deal with 64 teenage girls in one campsite.

I still remember those dreams I had when the Creator showed me those futures. I had defied those fates, at least I think I did. How awkward is this gonna be? Thalia and Artemis, 2 of the 3 people who I have a future with in different timelines. I mean, they don't know, so I assume if I act like it never happened, everything will go smooth.

But that's gonna be hard, like, really hard. How does one act around two other people who they were destined to marry in a different universe? Avoiding them is a last resort I guess. I will just have to move on, I doubt the dreams still hold validation now that Order has been beaten, so I can sleep soundly at night now. I think.

Now to the other huge problem. 64 girls who all hate men that I have to live around for at least the next few days.

I mean, I already know many of them are not as understanding as Thalia and Artemis, so I should expect some fire. Good thing I can control that.

I flash home and see Mrs.O'Leary and Blackjack having a game of.....blackjack. I don't even know how to play so I can't tell who was winning.

Hey boss, what's up!

Hi Percy, what have you been up to?

I tell them my "predicament" and both of them drop their cards and start laughing, or neighing and barking.

"Not helping." I glare at the two.

Well good luck boss.

Yeah, you will need more than luck over there.

"Thanks" I roll my eyes.

No problem boss.

I sigh as I prepare for a fate worse than Tartarus. I don't think I need my armor for this since I only use it for big events, like fighting Order. I don't really wear armor anymore since standard armor is weaker than my skin and anything above that slows me down. And since I ate that golden apple, my skin is basically hard as pure stygian iron.

Well, I already know the story of Orion, another son of Poseiden who joined the hunt, and now know what watch out for.

1: The showering area.

2: Apollo.

3: Artemis.

4: Everything that moves.

I do NOT want to be shot at. Even though the arrows will not pierce my skin, silver arrows are like mini-needles since they sharpen their arrows, like every day. For several millenia too.

Should I wear the cloak? Nah, I don't want to scare the hunters. I should probably find out that "power" I got from Chaos' s blessing. She did say it could be anything as long as it was reasonable. I guess its like a wish that I hold onto until I choose what power I want. Well, I don't really need strength, speed, or stamina, so I think I can use the wish for fun. Wings? Nah, take up too much space and its kinda weird. Invisibility? Maybe. Shapeshifing like Frank? Maybe. Flying? Nah, because if I were to get shapeshifting, I would be able to fly anyways. Claws? Nah.

Regeneration? Maybe.

Well, thats mostly what I would think I want. That leaves me with Regeneration, shapeshifing, and invisibility. I guess Regeneration is kinda not worth it since I can self-heal on my own. Plus, I already have a fast regeneration, cuts that would take days to heal take about an hour for me.

Shapeshifting or Invisibility? Well, to be honest, I like both of them, so I brought out a drachma and flipped it over my table, and Olympian Drachmas often have a picture of Zeus on the front (unsurprisingly), and a picture of Olympus on the back. Basically like a penny. Heads or tails.

Heads would be invisibility, Tails would be shapeshifting.

Flip! (Is that even a sound effect?)

Tails. So shapeshifting it is.

I think in my mind. (Bold= Percy, Italics = Chaos)

Hey Chaos, how do I use the power I chose?

Well, what did you choose? Once I activate it, you can use it.

Shapeshifting, like turnng into animals and stuff.

Really? You got the chance to have any power, and you chose to turn into animals? Its not bad, but its kinda moderate. Why not like, be able to use the force? (Star wars!)

Eh, I think I can already do that by manipulating air, but its really slow.

Fine, I guess shapeshifting isn't bad. Here you go, you can now turn into any animal on Gaea. Also, as a bonus, in any animal form you choose, you will be able to create a temparary mind link with anyone, allowing you to speak with any person when you are in animal form.

Like that? Its that easy?

Yup.

Thanks.

No problem, but if I lose control over earth, I blame you.

I open my eyes, feeling somewhat different. Well, time to test my new power. I think I need to write like a book full of my powers.

I walk outside and start testing. I start thinking of a wolf. I feel a change happening in my body as it morphs into a wolf. It was pretty fast for a transformation. I look and see my own paws, and white fur. Wow, so this is the life of a wolf.

I run around for a bit, testing my control as I move. I found out I still have my powers as an animal, so I can still summon fire as a wolf. Awesome stuff.

I also turned into a bird to fly around, and it was really cool. Having no arms and only wings was quite odd though.

I turned into many different types of animals, and I got used to the ones I would probably use the most. It was really fun, being any animal I wanted.

I was so caught up in my shenanigans, that I noticed it was 2:57 PM. Crap! I better not be late.

I quickly ran to the Hunter's Camp which is like a block near my cabin for some reason. I ran so fast, if there is one thing I don't want, its an Artemis in a bad mood.

Luckily I was prepared, as I wore my earpiece that would turn into either my helmet or my complete set of armor. Or both. I also had Riptide inside my pocket and Bane on my back. If I was missing anything, I could easily flash it to myself. I decided to wear a black hoodie, since it does hide my identity, but isn't as scary-looking.

I walk through the trees and see the camp. Its 2:58. Oh boy, Artemis is gonna pop a vessel when I come almost late.