Percy Jackson, the New Olympian

The Offer

Iris cut off the images, and for the next few minutes, the only thing to be heard were the cries coming from some of the gods, namely Hestia and Aphrodite. It looked like even Ares was having a hard time trying to hate me. Finally, someone spoke.

"I'll kill her," someone said. My head jumped up from where it lay on my chest as I looked at the floor, trying to escape the emotions threatening to control me. It was Artemis! "I'll kill that bitch! I"ll tear her apart limb from limb before I'll feed her to my wolves! Then I'll-"

"Enough," I said, my tone allowing no argument to be made. "She is who she is. I was a fool not to realize it sooner, but now it is to late. Without her to protect, I have no purpose, no reason to fight. I have lived long enough to see the pain this world holds. It is time I rejoined my true friends in the Underworld."

"But what if another enemy arises? Will you leave us to fight them alone?" Hermes spoke up.

"You've done it before. You'll be able to do it again," I said as my head lay back down on my chest, looking at the floor once again.

"But we're not as strong as we were before! We'll die!" Aphrodite exclaimed.

"You're immortal. You won't die. And if you're worried about being weak, then start training," I suggested.

"Percy, we can't let you die. You're too powerful. You are the only thing stopping others from challenging us!" Apollo said.

"You say you can't let me die. But you seem more than willing to let me suffer as a weapon while you all sit comfortably on your thrones," I said, getting a little angry again before depression settled in again. I sank back down to my knees. "Please. I'm begging you with every ounce of my being. I have nothing to live for, nothing to fight for, no reason to survive. Just grant me this one last request and allow me peace."

"I told you, we can't-" Apollo started.

"What if there was another reason?" Hestia interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Demeter asked. Hestia looked at me.

"You say that you have no reason to fight, no reason to live. What if you had a reason?" She asked.

"What kind of reason?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"As Artemis has already proven with her threats on Annabeth's life in retaliation for what she did to you, she cares for you. Whether she chooses to admit it or not, she does, and so do several of her hunters, including your cousin Thalia. As powerful and ruthless as the hunters are, they are still few in number, and monsters are getting smarter. The more powerful monsters have come out of hiding. I fear that someday soon, the hunters will become the hunted, and they will be used against us. More importantly, they will be used against Artemis, who is our main source of information on the mortal world. I believe that the hunters could use a new guardian. Of course, it would probably take an EXTREMELY long time for the Hunters and Artemis herself to trust another male, so whoever the new guardian was would also have to accept immortality," Hestia explained.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Hestia is right," Artemis reluctantly agreed. "The monster attacks are getting worse, and the hunters will soon be overrun. Though many of the hunters will disagree with this solution, I am sure Thalia will keep them in check... for the most part."

"Well Perce? What do you think? Are you willing to keep fighting for something? Or are you still hell bent on being... well, hell bent?" Hermes asked.

I thought it over. Thalia knew Annabeth better than almost anyone. There was at least a 90% chance that she knew Annabeth was gay, though there was a better chance that she didn't know about Annabeth cheating on me. Especially with the fact that the hunters rarely came to camp. 'But is it worth the pain if I'm wrong? I don't think I can deal with it if i find out that even my own cousin betrayed me.' I thought. 'Your family could be in danger, and you're going to let them face it on their own? What happened to being loyal to a fault?' Another part of me argued. 'But Thalia...' 'Is family. You are a warrior, always have been, always will be. And a warrior protects their family above all. Right now, that family consists of Thalia and Nico. Don't forget about the Romans. Even with how much friendlier the Greeks and Romans have gotten towards each other, they still haven't completely settled down with each other yet. There's also Leo. He rarely comes out of his bunker except for food and materials.' I found myself agreeing with the other me's words, but I was still worried about the immortality. I'd seen what power could do to a person. Did I really want that same corruption to happen to me as well? You've proved countless others wrong about their expectations of your abilities. You'll just have to prove that you can have immortality and NOT be a complete asshole.

"Alright. Though I have one condition," I said, holding up my finger. I turned to Hephaestus, holding up Riptide. "I need a some new weapons. Riptide served me well in the past, but I think that it's time that it was returned to its rightful owner."

Artemis gasped.

"I can get you the weaponry, but what do you mean, 'its rightful owner? Isn't that you?" Hephaestus asked.

I turned to look at Artemis, "I believe Zoe should be whole once again, don't you?" 

She nodded. I took one last look at Riptide, then sheathed it into the marble flooring of Olympus, causing the floor to crack. Then I shoved violently on its side, shattering the blade. A flash of light, a force of wind pushing me back, and a whisper saying, "Thank you..." sounding beside my ear. I quickly looked in that direction to see no one. When I turned back towards Riptide, I found that it was no longer there. In its place was a naked girl with the features of a Persian princess. Copper colored skin, dark brown hair rolling down her back, and her slightly upturned nose as if she were above everyone else. Or at least males.

"Zoe?" I whispered, everyone's mouths open in surprise.