Legends Never Die

Fun With The Hunt: Part One

Percy groaned. He did not want to travel around with a bunch of man-hating, teenage, hormonal females. That wasn't what he'd signed up for. Hades, he hadn't signed up for anything.

More like he was told he would do it, or it would bring calamity to his own future. And calamity sounded like a bad deal to him. Not that his body seemed to care. But still, no one else knew about it. But things were getting worse with his body, and he very well knew it.

His powers might be ten times stronger than normal demigod, and four or five times stronger than a child of the Big Three. He might be strong enough to challenge a god, maybe even a really weak Olympian. But how did that help him if he couldn't even hold his body together? Yes, he was partially immortal now. Actually, that was the only thing keeping him alive right now. The strain on his body was killing him, but because he was partially immortal, it was preventing him from dying from anything but a battle wound. Goodie..he was always back and forth in health.

"Boy, why are you just sitting there? Make us something to eat!" a Hunter snapped.

Percy just snapped his fingers and a ball of water formed over her head and then drenched her. "Don't demand anything from me, girl. If I could beat your mistress in battle, then what chance on this Earth do you have of taking me on?" he asked standing up to tower over her. "Learn your place."

He walked off. Maybe ten steps away, his body swayed to the left and a silver dagger went whistling past him. "Madeline! What did I tell you girls? He is not to be antagonized. His presence alone is radiating a sphere around us. After slaying so many powerful monsters, the rest have realized that attacking him might not be in their best interest, especially when near the Hunt as well. The monsters stay at bay for fear of him.

"If I catch any one of you demanding anything from him or attempting to harm him, you will answer to me. Is that understood?" Artemis asked, her voice raising towards the end so the whole camp could hear her.

The entire Hunt nodded but still sent glares Percy's way. The only two that seemed to tolerate him was Thalia of course, and surprisingly Atalanta. She claimed that since Zoë had thought highly of him, as well as Phoebe, and after his showing in the Battle of Manhattan and as a member of the Seven, he was worthy of her respect. She didn't like him, but she understood he wasn't like the rest of the men.

Thalia walked beside Percy as he headed into the forest. He needed to get away and he figured a good hunt and collecting firewood would help clear his mind. "So cousin, what's with the secret glances at my sister?" she whispered.

Both had their bows out, and fully understood the need to be quiet, but Percy knew she was curious. She knew him all too well. "Nothing. She's just still unhappy about losing to me and I'm making sure I don't get an arrow in the back is all."

"I've known you since we were fourteen, you're like my brother. You can't lie to me."

Percy sighed. There was so much going on in his life now. "How much do you want to know?"

Thalia hesitated. He sounded defeated, and that wasn't like the Percy Jackson she knew. "Tell me everything of course, Kelp Head. You know I'm here for ya."

Percy allowed a small smile. "I know. I guess I should start at the beginning then."

FLASHBACK

He walked back into camp, head held high. He'd finally succeeded in not only forging a ring for Annabeth, but also finish the last of the quests for the gods. He'd been their personal messenger boy while Annabeth did her own work for Olympus.

It'd been hard for them, having so little time for each other, but he figured that shouldn't matter at all, right? He came down the hill, a grin splitting his face. The younger campers looked at him with a mix of fear, anger, and uncertainty. The older ones, his friends and fellow campers he grew up with just looked at him with pity.

Percy was worried, had something happened while he was gone? Was everyone okay? Was Annabeth okay? "Jason! Hey, what's going on? Is everyone alright? Where's Annabeth?"

Jason winced. "Percy...you're my best friend. If I were you, I wouldn't go looking for her, you won't like what you find."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean? It's Annabeth, her and I have a lot to talk about."

Jason just shook his head. "Don't say I didn't warn you. She's in her cabin. But she's not alone."

Percy just grinned. "Of course not. Probably stewing over some design with Malcolm or something. I can never understand what those birdbrains are thinking."

Jason just walked away. Percy approached the Athena cabin and pushed the door open. The box in his hand fell and hit the floor. Two people looked up. One, a blonde haired girl that Percy knew all too well. The other, someone he'd never seen before. "Percy!"

-/-

"I'm going to rip her apart when I see her!" Thalia roared.

"Don't worry about it, Thals...plus. There's something more important."

"Like what? What could be more important than pounding some sense into that brainless airhead!" she asked.

"I'm dying, Sparky."

Thalia was still muttering about lousy children of Athena when she froze. "You're what?"

"I'm dying. I'm partially immortal which is what's keeping me alive. But in reality, I'm dying. I've hit the cap. Demigods are limited to how much power they can wield. Most never experience this. The most common ones to face this are extremely powerful children of the big three. Since we're half human, our mortal sides can only retain so much godly power in them.

"Too much will cause an overflow. You'll start to turn into a god. But almost every time it fails. We only know of one demigod to become a god this way. Heracles. He became a god like this, but since he was your brother, of course he was accepted and given domains. My body is fighting itself. One side will win. If it's the mortal side, I die. The godly side, I'll become a god and then be cast into Tartarus most likely."