The Hunt's End (Chapter 27)

Quote: "Questions lead to answers, and answers lead to more questions."

I woke up back at the infirmary,  quickly realizing what happened. I was filled with sadness. Thalia was dead because of me. One of the people who stuck by me was gone, just like the others. Tears fell from my eyes as I lost another person I cared about.

Why are the fates so cruel?

Why must they take everything from me?

I was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, so I summoned a new, clean set of clothes on my body. I laid on the infirmary bed in despair. If only I could see them again. The people who I failed.

I will never forget Thalia's lifeless expression, an expression I have seen too many times. I closed my eyes to rest until...

"Kelp Head!" I heard a voice near me. Am I going insane?

"Percy!" I heard it again. It was Thalia's voice. Oh gods, I've went insane. I shook uncomfortably on the bed, shivering and sobbing.

Until I felt a hand shaking me by my shoulders. My eyes opened and I saw.....Thalia.

"T-Thalia?" I stuttered.  Maybe I was insane.

"Percy! Its alright, I'm fine, now get up." She said.

I got up and saw Thalia. She was in perfect condition, much better than yesterday. Tears flowed freely from my eyes.

"I-i don't..know what's real...anymore." I mumbled in despair.

Thalia's face dropped and she saw my pain. She gave me a hug, a big one. She hugged me tightly, comforting me. I didn't even know if she was real, but I accepted it. We embraced for a few minutes, and she gave me a tissue.

"Percy, its alright. You did fine, now quit crying, you're gonna make me cry too." She smiled.

My bloodshed eyes were in disbelief. Last night I failed, I was certain.

"I-i failed you..you're not real." I whispered. I was losing it.

She sighed as she put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't believe that for a second. I will get Apollo to come help." She said and Apollo flashed in, as well as Artemis too. Both had stoic expressions.

"Percy, I, uh, have some explanations you may want." Apollo said.

I nodded.

"Well, did you happen to see your healing become multi-colored?" He asked seriously.

"Yeah, why? What does it mean?" I asked glumly.

He scratched his chin. "It means you have unlocked Necromancy. "

"Necro-wha?"

"It is the highest form of healing.  I can barely do it myself. What it does is that it heals a person from the verge of death. Her string was almost cut, but you repaired the bond. However, it can only be done once in several years." He informed me, with a straight face.

I sucked in this information. "So I'm not insane? And Thalia is really still alive, standing there with Artemis?" I said hopefully.

"Yes Percy, you are not insane and Thalia is standing right there next to Artemis. Also, just to let you know, I am deeply sorry that I could not have arrived yesterday. Zeus sent me on an errand and y'know how he is. Plus, I doubt I could have done anything." He said plainly.

My face brightened up. Thalia ran up to me and hugged me in a tight bear hug.

"I thought you died." I said.

"I know. I should thank you for I don't know, bringing me back to life twice." She grumbled.

I chuckled a bit.

"Percy, why did you think you were insane?" She asked sadly.

I sighed deeply, the tears erased. "Remember when Zoë died? I was in Tartarus for a year after she left. I was alone in the pit, thinking I would be stuck forever. I began seeing illusions of my family or friends. The seven, you, Nico, Chiron, etc. You all would just be everywhere, ontop of trees, near my house, in the distance, or even out a window. They never came close to me, they simply stared at me, haunting me. I was so scared of them that I locked myself in my room, shut all the windows and such and stayed there. It took me days to start going out, and they were gone."

"I am sure that I lost it forever, until Lady Chaos visited me and gave me hope." I finished sadly.

Apollo and Artemis looked shocked and sad. It did sound horrible.

Thalia had tears in her eyes as she embraced me. I hugged her back. Soon, it got pretty awkward with Apollo and Artemis watching.

"But don't worry, I am better now." I assured her as we pulled away.

"Alright,  but don't scare me like that ever again, seaweed brain." She said.

"Alright Thunder Thighs. "

"Kelp Head!"

"Lightning Bug!"

"Seafood-for-brains!"

"Pinecone face!"

"Fish-Face!"

"Pine Needle!"

I laughed as we continued. I felt much better now, as if the sky was lifted from my shoulders, trust me, I know how that feels. Knowing I didn't fail, its a good feeling.

Apollo and Artemis stared at us, then at each other. Me and Thalia had a brother-sister relationship, yet we were much more connected than Apollo and Artemis. Ever since I was banished, the two had been uneasy, but they have started talking with each other recently.

15 Minutes Later

I was fully recovered, and me and Thalia went out to the rest of the hunt, who all celebrated for the defeat of Gration and Python, as well as no casualties.

The hunters all congratulated me, and I felt happier, being within this huge family. We all started to party, since usually when the Hunters beat a formidable foe, they celebrate. I summoned foods and drinks and music started playing. Apollo joined in, surprisingly, Artemis invited him, but ony if he swore not to flirt with anyone tonight.

Much like Camp, they had sing-a-longs. Which I found amusing. Sometimes, a good singer would pop up, most of the time, yuck.

During the sing-a-long, almost everyone did a song. Thalia did some Green Day song, and Apollo and Artemis both did a song together surprisingly.  I guess they felt the need to bond, and it surprised not only me, but the hunters as well.

"Percy should sing!" Thalia grinned evilly.

"Uh, no, I shouldn't. " I suggested.

Apollo grinned mischievously as well. The hunters also grinned.

They pushed me onto the stage against my will and gave me the microphone. I sighed, but then I got an idea.

"Hey! For the song I want to sing, I need another person!" I smiled.

"Alright, who do you pick?" Apollo asked.

"Thalia Grace." I smirked as she paled nervously and walked up next to me.

"I will get you for this." She whispered.

"I know." I grinned.

The music started playing and we sang. (I won't write lyrics, but I would have chosen "Good Time" by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepson.)

When we finished, people were actually pretty happy and cheered us. Thalia and I blushed as we walked down, people congradulating us.

We partied from day to night, until we all slept. Cake, Sprite, Coke, Cupcakes, Chicken Wings, Ribs, Orange Juice, were few of the many objects everyone indulged in.

The Next Day

I woke up to see a huge mess. Hunters were wasted on the floor. I smirked as I woke up earlier than the others. Apollo and Artemis must have already awoken, and flashed somewhere else.

Soon, everyone was awake, but I had already cleaned up everything, so it was much more organized than last night. Once we were all awake, everyone started talking with one another, and we all were happy. We talked about the victory, and we were basically just normal teenagers. Except I was the only boy amongst 64-ish girls, which was kinda peculiar. But they were my sisters, and I was their brother. We were basically a large family. I knew everyone, and everyone knew me. I wasn't an outcast, but I was their friend.

After a few more hours of talking, Artemis flashed near me and looked a bit timid, which was rare for someone like her.

"Percy, we need you at Olympus." She said.

I nodded as she flashed us to the Olympian council room, where the Olympians were fiddling with some junk.Artemis snapped them out of their hobbies by "getting their attention" or rather screaming like a banshee until each god and goddess received a heart attack.

"Alright, Father, it seems Gration and Python have been faded. Perseus has fulfilled his duty, and he even saved the life of your daughter Thalia Grace." She announced, kinda awkward since Thalia is her half-sister.

Zeus was surprised to say the least.. He sorta did disapprove the friendship between me and Thalia, but to hear I saved her life was a enigma to him. "Hmm. Well, Perseus, I thank you for saving my daughters from Gration and Python. Now that they are gone, we do not have to worry about them for the next few millenia." He grumbled.

I nodded, and the gods were surprised that Zeus would thank a son of Poseiden.

"Now that you have finished your duty as Guardian, you are free to stay with the Hunters, or you may leave the Hunt peacefully." Zeus informed me.

I could tell that Artemis did kind of want me to stay, since I knew she saw me as the son she could never have. While she isn't as a motherly figure as Hestia, she was a figure nonetheless.

I didn't want to stay with the hunt FOREVER, but I do not want to leave them forever.

"I won't stay, but I will not leave. (Does that make sense?) I think I will always be the Guardian, but I will not be with the Hunt 24/7. The Hunters are strong, I am sure they can handle themselves fine, and should they need help, I am always ready to aid them." I answered.

Artemis looked somewhat happy at my response, at least she knew I wasn't abandoning the Hunt.

"That does sound reasonable. I accept this as long as my daughter approves." Zeus said, gesturing to Artemis.

"I approve." She replied.

"Council dismissed!" Zeus roared, ending the meeting. Most gods flashed out, and Artemis and I both flashed back to camp.

When we arrived, she grabbed my arm.

"Listen Percy, I am grateful you did not leave us, unlike most men. You have convinced me that some men may not be evil as I thought. While I am disappointed you will not stay, I will never force you to do what you do not want to do. Thank you Perseus." She said with a smile.

I blushed a bit, hoping that she didn't notice.. "Thank you too Lady Artemis."

"You do realize you don't need to call me Lady right?" She replied. Oh thank gods.

"So?" I smirked.

She sighed dramatically,  before we were bombarded by Hunters. I guess Artemis mind-linked told them about the meeting. The hunters all piled ontop of me, laughing.

"Ha ha, very funn, now please get off, I have a feeling that my spine can't handle this much weight." I grinned slyly.

I got up and Emily, a younger hunter playfully punched my shoulder.

"So, your leaving?" Thalia asked.

"Well, I won't be here nearly as often, but if you need me, I will always be available. I do happen to live next door." I gestured to my house in the distance.

The Hunters said goodbye and made a huge group-hug, it was like an army of Tysons. I chuckled at the thought, and I said goodbye as well before I flashed to my house, which is right near the hunters., so if they need me, they can get me easily.

Inside, was Blackjack and Mrs.O'Leary, both were playing Mario Kart Wii on my TV. I stared in amazement as they were actually able to use the wheel like a normal person.

"How can you not be able to flip a card, but able to play Mario Kart with a wheel?" I asked.

The two noticed me and didn't look up and kept playing on Rainbow Road.

Hold on boss, I almost-NOOOOO

I believe I won.

Stupid Blue shell! I was in first place!

I inwardly chuckled at the scene. A pegasus and a hellhound playing Mario Kart. What a wonderful world we live in.

So boss, how ya doing?

He is obviously doing fine, since he hasn't yelled yet.

Why you little-

"Guys, I am fine, I finished my job with the Hunters for now, so I can do anything I want currently." I say happily.

Yay! More sugar cubes!

And biscuits!

I gave a fake-sigh as I summoned both said treats for them both. After I did that, I headed up to my room, debating on what to do next.

Options: I could visit Poseiden, my dad at Atlantis. I could see Tyson. I could also go to Camp, see the seven, Chiron, Grover. However, I would have to see them.I could visit Nico in the Underworld, see Hades there too.

Hmm, decisions. Well, no wrong choices, so I guess I will visit Dad and Tyson at Atlantis for a while.

I told Blackjack and Mrs.O'Leary that I was going to see my dad, and they nodded and went to play Mortal Kombat X.

Me and Dad were much closer than before. He had fully apologized for what he did and I forgive him. His palace is still damaged from Oceanus's attack back against Kronos. I remember when I had to sit on his throne to get his attention, and how I almost died from it. Ah, those were the days.

Kronos is an odd figure to me. I don't know if I see him as an enemy or an enigma. He did say that he would visit Rhea in paradise, only if I faded him. He caused a lot of pain back in the day, but when I last saw him, he was pretty desperate to see his wife.

I guess I would have felt the same if I could see Zoë again.

Author's note: I personally don't prefer Percy x Artemis stories, not saying they are bad or anything, because I do like some of those stories, but I like having Artemis as more of a teaching or mother figure to Percy.

Because, lets be real, Artemis is probably 2 millenia years old, maiden goddess and has a hatred towards men. To me, she isn't the most compatible person to pair Percy with, unless they are just friends.

Also, I planned on making this the turning point for Percy x Thalia by having her healed by "true love's kiss" but I decided not to, since its a cliche and I want to keep Percy as a loner type at the moment.

I know this little side-plot has been relatively short, but this is NOT the last time Percy will be with the Hunters, he will see them again.

And Percy will eventually meet more and more characters soon. Stay tuned.