Hello, there, my lovely readers! I hope this chapter interests you.

Point of View: Third person

Three Days Later

"Lady Artemis?" Percy asks, they stand in the middle of camp and everybody watches them.

"What is it, Perseus?" Artemis comes over to him.

"May I have permission to go on a quest of my own for a little while?" Percy inquires.

"What for?" Artemis wonders.

"I admit being with you and the Hunt is the best thing that has happened, but I still feel a little edged not being on my own. I figured perhaps a few days on my own might take it away and let me move onto a group for living." Percy says, the first part of the first sentence true, but everything else a total lie.

Artemis nods thoughtfully. "Okay, you may go. But be careful. And get back as soon as possible."

Percy bows and turns as he walks off. "I'll be back." He waves without looking.

He shoulders his bag completely and then takes off. He flashes as he runs and when he lands where he wants to, he enters the DOA studios. He gets a ride from Charon and when he gets off, he walks through the Underworld, finding a concentrated part of the river.

"Lady Styx, may I have a word with you, please?" His voice is soft and it echoes a little.

A woman rises out of the River Styx and walks onto shore, coming right up to him. "Ah, Perseus Jackson. The famed Hunter feared by all monsters and the talk of the mythological world as the mysterious man. Only the Hunt and a select few others knowing who you are. But I see you show your face to me."

"I dare not hide from one who cannot be hidden from." Percy bows his head. "I have no right to ask, but I will anyways. Will you absolve me of my oath, as well as Artemis from hers without disbanding the Hunt?"

Styx giggles and then studies Percy. "The Goddess of the Moon has finally found love and in the most broken of hearts I have ever seen. You warned her about your obliterated heart and yet she will not listen. I will do this for you on a few terms."

"Name them." Percy nods in agreement.

"Save my waters, make me recognized as a being in the world and not just a name to be sworn on so idly, make the gods keep their oaths, especially the ones to you, and save all the souls of those who were dealt injustice by the gods." Styx says. "But, I want to know if you truly love her."

Percy nods and smiles weakly. "It is hard for me, but yes, I love her very much. I don't know why and I don't know when, but I know now. And besides, Annabeth would hate me for being so cold hearted. I think it's time I really moved on, Lady Styx." His tears drop into her river and it begins to purify the waters. He lifts one hand to it and the waters start to glisten as they did once before. Then he makes sure it can never be so polluted again. "I will do the rest and by surprising them, I may just be able to get them to do it without argument, as long as I make a monumental good movement. Will you do it?"

Styx nods and snaps her fingers twice. "Done. The Hunt is now tied to Artemis forever no matter what she does. Just take good care of the child. She's been a little colder every century without love."

I chuckle. "Yet I have all the work to do. Heal and warm."

"Good luck, Perseus." Styx smirks and returns to her river, completely revitalized and energized.

Percy smiles, waving. He pulls up his hood and breathes deeply. He flashes onto Olympus where everyone but Artemis is gathered at a meeting. He knows it isn't official. "Would you please stop bickering like little children already?!" He raises his voice above his normal octave and it sounds commanding. It quiets everyone down and he returns to his quiet manner. "Now, I wish to speak with you all on a very important matter."

"What matter? The war? Do you have information?" Athena fires.

"If you wish to think of it in that way, then yes, I have information. It is about Perseus Jackson. The boy you are so interested in." Percy breathes deeply and then sighs.

"Moonlace, tell me about my son." Poseidon demands.

"Oh, I can tell you all about your son and so much of it is not pretty." Percy admits, puffing out air. "But let me show you why I lied earlier."

"Show?" Demeter asks.

Percy reaches up to his hood and pulls it back. "Yeah, show. My name isn't Moonlace, Lady Demeter. My name is Perseus Jackson and I have been missing for 300 long years."

Before Percy knows it, Poseidon is crushing him in a hug. He hears his bones crack. "Okay..." He pats his dad's back. "I forgot you do that a lot. Still not used to human contact." Percy coughs.

"Poseidon! You're crushing him." Hestia scolds from the hearth.

"No, it's fine." Percy tells her. "Alright, dad, I'm not leaving again or disappearing into thin air. You can seriously let go. I need my ribs."

Poseidon lets go immediately. "Where have you been?" Tears stream down his face.

"Um...hunting?" Percy answers unsure. "I lied about my name not what I was doing. Of course, I rather liked that identity. Anyway, Lord Zeus, please fulfill all wishes you have ever committed to swearing on the Styx and free all imprisoned and unjustly damned souls. And I mean it, the Balance is off. Do you know how hard it is for a soul like mine to walk around the face of this planet knowing the Balance is off? It's very irritating and Nemesis would have your head if you weren't such a cry baby or a Drama Queen. I am sick and tired of fixing up all the screw ups around the planet. I could have hunted down thousands of more monsters by now but I had to fix your stupid and petty and selfish mistakes." Percy huffs for affect.

Zeus, stunned, snaps his fingers and everything happens, all of why it did being downloaded into their brains. Percy's head explodes with gratitude and prayers to his immortal soul.

"Yes, yes, you are welcome." He rubs his forehead. "Oh, finally." He says once they're all gone. "Now, I would like you all to know that Lady Styx very much so exists and I had to console her over every oath that has ever been broken. I even cleaned her river for her. Most of the pollution is your doing, might I add. She will be recognized for being one of the most important deities and nymphs on this world because without her, it would not be running and in functioning order. Especially when she has to deal with all your little disputes." He points an accusing finger at all of them and their jaws are dropped to the floor. "That includes all nature spirits, demigods, minor gods, major gods, monsters, Titans, Giants, Primordials...shall I go on?"

Zeus clears his throat. "N-no...That's...that is quite alright. I see your point. Styx will be recognized."

Percy glares. "Lady Styx, Zeus. She has a proper title and is above you in station. She has enough evidence to send you to Tartarus, sky god. She is not pleased. Do you know how many hours I spent trying to keep her calm from anger and sorrow? Gods, when an ancient nymph cries you feel so bad and then horrible. Don't get me started on what I had to take into my body and soul to clean that river. I'll never be clean again for a long time unless I bathe for like half a millennia." He gives a shudder for show and they all stare. "Hades, I blame you the most. She's right outside your door and you don't even invite her in. Come on! Be chivalrous."

Hades nods. "Alright. Perhaps dinner and tea would be a good start."

"Wonderful." Percy sighs. "Now that that's all settled. Am I forgetting anything..." He mutters down the list and then shrugs. "I think I'm good. Oh! Wait! She said if you don't keep your oaths now you are royally screwed. Well, I'm saying it nicer." He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "She's not too happy with you lot."

"Why did she tell this to you?" Aphrodite asks.

"Hmm? Oh, well, I was in the Underworld hunting a monster, felt sentimental about my apocalyptic sixteenth birthday and visited the river for old times' sake. Ended up talking to Lady Styx forever. Interesting woman, might I say. Has a lot of things to say. I thought she was going to blast my existence to pieces and erase me from everything when I asked her a simple and innocent question." Percy waves it off. "Death ain't so bad, be better than here. Anywho, I suppose I should tell you that your little quest found me a few days ago."

Zeus rumbles. "Well, thank you for the enlightenment."

"Always a pleasure to put the Olympian council in its place as a lowly immortal." Percy chuckles as they all turn red but Poseidon, who doesn't care because he has his son back. "You know I'm joking right?" Percy bursts into laughter. "Oh you guys have so much tension. Lighten up, people. C'mon! I practically come back from the dead and you're all uptight."

"We are at war!" Athena steams.

"Yeah, noted. Doesn't mean I can't relax some. Right now, I feel a little accomplished." Percy grins. "And give me credit on the human act, I'm trying for the Hunt and it's alright, but not being such a beast is killing me. I'm not used to human interaction and they complain constantly about me not being social. I don't socialize. I should be socially inept, in a corner, crying my eyes out. Well, actually I should be dead. But if I was a child, that should be my life."

"Percy, mind telling us how you escaped the notice of even my sister?" Apollo implores.

"Trade secret. Sorry." Percy says. "I've got to get back to the Hunt, so I'll be there if you need me. Cya." He waves and flashes away.

He flashes right in front of Artemis, scaring the life out of her. "Percy!" She screeches.

"Sorry, milady. I didn't know you were going to be right there. Good news though, the council knows I'm alive. But not the demigods." Percy tells her.

"I thought you were-" She begins.

"Yeah, I've got a bad habit of running off on my own when something needs to be done." He chuckles sheepishly.

Artemis huffs in annoyance and anger. "I would have let you go if you would have asked."

"That's actually not where I was for the most part. I went down into the Underworld." He admits.

"Why?" She asks, not looking very happy.

He looks around to see no one is watching and grabs one of her hands. Then flashes into his tent with her since no one is in it. He keeps ahold of Artemis's hand and brings it up to his lips. He kisses her hand and looks into her eyes. "Artemis I didn't want you to know where I was going because you would have stopped me."

"Pers-" Artemis starts.

"No, let me finish." He tells her gently. She nods slowly and his hands make soothing motions on hers. "After you told me you loved me, I sat for days thinking about nothing else and ways to make you happier. I can feel what you want from me Artemis and I don't want to be the cause for the Hunt disbanding. Your domains have worn against you for so long, you help kids who come from horrible lives or need a home. I couldn't let either of our feelings take that away from them. So,-"

"What are you saying?" Artemis asks in a watery voice.

"I'm not done, Artemis. It's not what you think, my Moon. After debating for a long time, I came up with the only solution. I went down into the Underworld and I called on Lady Styx. I..." Percy breathes deeply. "I got our oaths absolved."

Artemis stands there speechless for nearly half an hour before she finds her voice. "What did she ask of you? What did she want in return?! It can't have been that easy!" She uses her other hand to bring him down to her level.

"Artemis, she asked very little of me in my opinion. It wasn't like I gave up my soul." Percy frowns.

"Tell me, Perseus, now." Her eyes are filled up with tears.

Percy searches her eyes and then takes her other hand in his. "She only asked of me five things. Five things to be with you without jeopardizing the Hunt, which is now tied to you forever regardless of what you do."

"What were they?" Artemis presses.

"To save her waters. A great amount of power was what I used to purify every last drop of that water. I'm afraid I'll have to sleep very soon to rest that off. I must purge it from my soul because I cleaned so much of it at once." He smiles weakly and she's listening intently. "Have her recognized in our world, I have Zeus's solemn word or more like scared to death word. Make sure all the gods keep their oaths, especially the ones they make to me. Save the souls the gods unjustly punished and damned."

"That's only four. What else was there?" Artemis says.

"It was the greatest thing she asked of me." Percy whispers and brings Artemis closer.

"Tell me." Artemis demands.

He wraps his arms around her waist and leans his face an inch away from hers. "She said she needed to know if I loved you and I said yes." He kisses her and she's surprised, but responds quickly.

Artemis realizes what Styx had done for both Percy and her. She knows she is normally never that easy on anyone. Once she pulls away, she smiles a little and her hand is tangled in the hair on the back of his head. "Perseus, Styx lessened the severity of your deal because of what you have done in your life. By Ancient Law, she cannot fully do such a thing without a price, but she did make the toll less heavy to pay."

"You mean that debt that can never be paid thing? I never believed that was true. It's paid now, isn't it." He murmurs.

"No, I meant she can't just wipe them away for nothing, she had to ask you for something in return. But that debt is still unable to be paid. Perseus, you lost everything but a very few people. And you never asked for anything. We forced immortality upon you. No one could ask anything more of you. They don't have the right." Artemis tells him.

"There is one person." He whispers.

Artemis blinks. "Who?"

Percy smiles and rests his forehead against hers. "Well, my heart belongs to someone and she can ask me for anything."

Artemis blushes a deep golden color. "Anything?" She murmurs.

Percy nods. "Maybe no one but her has the right to ask more of me, but someone will always ask. I learned a long time ago that the world needed me. I just didn't want to face it. I ran. And you are dragging me back in. I am falling head first into your world and it's moving so fast, but as long as it's with you, I don't care. Whatever you want, it is yours."

Artemis smiles and kisses Percy again, pulling away breathless unlike him.

Percy laughs. "Someone needs to have more air."

She scowls playfully. "How do you have so much?"

"Hmm, three hundred years of mainly mountain hunting makes your lungs expand. Less oxygen, colder air, higher altitude. There's so much air down here, I take it all away." He kisses her cheek. "But I need to sleep if you want me to move in the morning. I won't be too happy because I took the greatest pollution in the world into my soul, but I'll be alright. It'll be a little bit before I wake up."

Artemis nods and makes him lay down. She blushes and he raises an eyebrow. "Can I...can I sleep with you?"

He smiles and holds the cover up, she grins and climbs in next to him. She faces away from him and ends up falling asleep before he does. He watches her in curiosity before laughing quietly and putting his arm around her. He drifts off, completely content and feeling something flaring inside, growing to attach itself to Artemis.