You guys are definitely aggravated at me, I can tell. I'm on the last page in one notebook and opening the other one to type this up. *Sigh* I shall now let you pass into the realm that is Chapter 10. To you, my very beautiful and lovely readers, to you.

 At the campfire, CHB

Point of view: Perseus Jackson

"You idiot!" Clarisse climbs up into the stands and slaps me, hard. She put all her might into that one, my jaw dislocated on impact. I move my jaw around and it sets back in place. "You had us worried to death!" She seethes.

"I highly doubt that with the way things were when I was left with her." I say, staring into Clarisse's eyes.

"We are so sorry, Percy. We shouldn't have listened to that kid." Travis says.

"Save it. The person you speak of is neither living nor dead. He is in between." I reply with an even tone.

"What does that mean?" Connor asks.

"The Percy you know is being rebuilt. The man you see in front of you is but a fraction of who he once was. He holds no love in his cold heart." Artemis speaks.

"I hold love for my patrons, sisters, and mistress, my lady. But that is all." I say and look at her.

"What happened to you?" Clarisse asks.

"Hmm...I could show you. The hunters have seen. I have pledged my life to the Hunt." I answer thoughtfully.

"What was your oath, Perseus." Chiron asks.

"I'm sorry, I thought I was a 'horrible student,' as you so kindly put it, centaur." I reply coldly.

He looks taken aback, but quickly recovers. "I'm sorry, my boy. I-" I cut himm off.

"I am not your boy. You lost the right to call me that when you shunned me. I only return at Zeus's orders and for my family in the Hunt. And I am no boy, I long ago lost all childish acts when I was taken to the depths." I tell him flatly.

"What was your oath?" Clarisse asks shyly.

"I swore on the River Styx to forever protect the Hunt and Lady Arttemis at the extent of my own life if the need should arise. I also swore off the company of women forever on the same river. I no longer feel that way towards any woman. I am a brother, a friend, and a companion. Nothing more." I tell her.

Everyone from camp gasps. "What happened to make you like this?" Katie Gardner asks me.

"Didn't you hear Thalia? Annabeth Chase dragged me down to Tartarus that day. And kept me down there for a very long time. Only then did Athena come for me and saved a man who was already dead." I say with no emotion.

"You died?" Clarisse chokes on her words.

"On the inside yes, but on the outside I was lucky after all that came to be my being to have survived at all. It was quite a spectacle to see myself when I showed the hunters. Shall I show you? You might want to only let the counselors see though. Gruesome, I tell ya." I tell her.

"Why didn't you come back?" Clarisse asks.

"Because no one wanted me. Disowned by my own father. My family was murdered. And I joined my sisters. Did you forget again, Clarisse? I was kicked out of campby Chiron. I was not welcome here and I didn't want to return after you all listened to that idiot and his lies. Every word that comes from between his lips is a lie. I killed the hellhound. I didn't destroy anything. I was loyal to you, even down there. But, only one person and one god cared enough to look for my sorry self. As far as I am concerned, you cut me out of your lives for Derek. Which doesn't bother me because I have my sisters and mothers and patrons. I enjoy my time with them. They are there for me. I am Son of Hera, Son of Hestia, Son of Zeus, reclaimed Son of Poseidon, Champion of Athena, Champion of Hestia, blessed by Hestia, Hera, Aphrodite, Zeus, Athena, Ares, Artemis, Guardian of the Hunt, Savior of Olympus twice and I am a brother to the Hunt." I explained simply.

Clarisse shakes her head. "We were stupid. Sally and Paul? Sisters? Zeus? Hera?" Clarisse sits down in front of me.

"I didn't belong here anymore. Yes, my parents are dead. My sisters are the Hunt. Yes, I am adopted by Zeus, Hera, and Hestia/ Poseidon did reclaim me, whether I wanted him to or not. Lady Artemis herself appointed me Guardian. I know nothing outside of the Hunt at all now. I visit my mothers and fathers when we are not hunting. Otherwose, I stand guard over my family. I turned 20 or 305 yesterday. I was immortalized at 17 or 302 like the hunters when I came before the gods to die. Questions?" I cock my head to the side.

"How long were you down there?" Clarisse asks. By this time, everyone had come closer to hear easier.

"In Earth time or Tartarus time?" I reply.

"Both." Travis decides.

"Seven months in Earth time and near three centuries in Tartarus time." I answer.

"What did they do?" Katie asks next.

"They tortured me." I tell her without hesitation. She pales drastically.

"Who is they?" Connor continues the onslaught of questions.

"Every monster who stopped by my cave did whatever they wished. But mostly it was Annabeth and Polybotes. I imagine they enjoyed my pain immensely from the grins they wore. I believe that they just wanted revenge for the wars and liked their fun and games." I answer.

"How did you survive?" Clarisse asks.

"1: They loved their source of entertainment. 2: They wanted me to be their champion. 3: I never gave in, so they punished me." I tell them.

"Your fatal flaw." Clarisse breathes.

"Indeed. And yet you thought I betrayed you. Please. Yeah, my fatal flaw broke when you all and Annabeth betrayed me. But it prevented me from doing you the same courtesy, so I pleaded with the gods to kill me. Eventually I would've died down there because nothing they did would make me betray the ones I love. So I went to the gods to die in case it finally got to me. They refused, gave me a new purpose, and I love my new family. I absolutely loathe my old one, but I would still do anything for you. If you prove to me that you won't betray someone so close to you again, then maybe I'll gorgive you. There is always a price to pay and I payed dearly for trusting you so completely. I won't make that mistake again. I'll show you tomorrow what they did to me. Good night." I say and lead the hunters to their cabin with Artemis.

"You're a forgiving man, Percy. Deep down, you've already forgiven them all. You just can't wrap your head around it." Artemis pats my back.

"That may be, my lady, but do you blame me?" I ask her.

"No, I do not." The hunters file into the cabin. Artemis stops in the doorway. "You can come in you know." She raises an eyebrow.

"I'll keep watch tonight, my lady." I say and bow to her. I turn and stand in front of the door, looking out over the camp. All the campers are returning to their cabins and some of them are crying.

"You are sleeping and that is final. You've kept watch for the past three days. Rest and watch tomorrow." She grabs my hand and pulls me into the cabin.

"My lady, I do not wish to intrude upon you." I say, trying and failing to pull my hand free. I do not want to hurt her hand.

"Nonsense. There is already a bed for you." Artemis says and points toan empty bed at the front of the cabin. Nearest to the door.

"Are you guys sure? I don't want to have my presence bother you. I can sleep outside or watch the cabin." I offer.

"Nope. You're in here with us." Phoebe states.

"Alright. I'll change in the bathroom while you get ready. Just knock on the door when you're done." I walk into the bathroom. That's the nice thing about this cabin. It's the only one with its own bathroom, so no one tries to peek in on the hunters while they do business and no camper dies in the process.

I close the door behind me and summon clothes with the blessing of Aphrodite. I slip my shirt off and stopwhile I read the words, marking me as hers. I put my hand over them. I hate those words, I hate her. I turn and look at all the brands burned into my back in the full-body mirror. 'P' for Polybotes, another one for Porphyrion, 'K' for Kronos, 'A' for Annabeth, 'G' for Gaea, 'T' for Tartarus, and so on for each Titan and Giant, not to mention all the evil monsters who liked the idea. My back was just an incomplete alphabet. I lean back against the door and slide down until I am sitting on the floor. I lay my head back against the door. I look over my skin. All scratched up and marked. Some scars have disappeared, but a majority of them are still there. On the in side of my left arm is the word 'BROKEN' and on the inside of my right arm was 'HERO.' They have faded, but you can see them if you look for a few seconds. I always wear long sleeves, no matter the weather. The hunters have seen the entire thing, so they know what I hide under my clothes. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion that they watch me to see how they are healing. Like when Apollo made me show him most of my scars, when the hunters should have been hunting, sometimes they were watching. My legs were burned worse than my arms. LAter, Apollo told me I had words on my back in English instead of Ancient Greek. He didn't understand what it meant until I had him read it to me. He phrased it like a question, "Seaweed Brain?" I almost blew up the camp with Hestia's blessing. It looked cool because my body was glowing, but the scars looked menacing. Even Hestia helps to heal me when I visit her. She's the reason my lungs are working better than before and why most of my scars are gone on my legs.

A knock came on the door. "Percy, are you okay?" Thalia asks after a few minutes.

Point of view: Artemis

Percy isn't answering. He is probably looking at his scars. I caught him doing it once when I came into his tent without knocking. He didn't even blush at his bare skin, he just went into the bathroom and changed. When he came back out, he asked what I required and if something was wrong because my skin was red just looking at him. I waved it off and told him to pack up.

He's probably lost in his own world. I walk up to the door and knock again, gently. "Percy? Are you alright?" I ask through the door.

"Yes, just making sure you're all ready." He says, but he's lying. His voice is straining to reassure us. He comes out in a black, long-sleeve sweater and black sweatpants. Then his sweater changes into a silver t-shirt. His pants stay the same.

Shock registers on his face, then anger. "Aphrodite! Stop changing what I wear!" He yells at the ceiling, but it's too late. I can see his arms, what he was trying to hide.

I grab them and I see closer what he's kept from everybody's sight. "I thought these went away." I say looking at the two words on his arms.

He just looks down and away at the floor. "No, they won't fade all the way. She wouldn't allow ie, for me to forget. There is a spell over them and only she can take it off."

I am still holding his arms, which were shaking violently and he isn't pulling away because he doesn't want to offend me.

"Look at me Percy." I say gently.

His beautiful sea green eyes bore into my silver ones. His arms aren;t shaking as much. He won't hurt me. "You don't need to be ashamed of them." I say in a soft tone of voice.

"But they point out who I am. They speak the truth." He whispers and looks down at his scars.

"No, you're not broken. You may be a hero, but you're the best one and your heart is pure. You always make the right decision in an impossible situation. Percy, you didn't kill your loved ones, it's not your fault." I say.

There it is again, that lone tear, but this time, it's accompanied by more and more until it becomes a staedy downpour. I pull him in for a hug. He is quiet about it, but he's shaking with so much emotion he falls to the floor when his knees buckle. I fall with him so I can comfort him. After about an hour of attempting to keep it at bay, the real tears come. He's weeping, he's finally letting it all out. My shirt front is soaked with his salty tears and he starts hugging me back.

"It's all my fault. They're dead. I still get them. I'm sorry I lied to you, my lady. I didn't want you to worry over someone like me. I'm sorry." He kept apologizing and after four hours, his voice went hoarse, he coudn't even make a sound and he still mouthed the words and crying his heart out into my chest. Sobbing racks his body, when all of a sudden, the trembling man in my arms stops shuddering with sorrow and slumps forward, breathing heavily. He fell asleep on me. I smile and rub his back.

"My lady, I think he might be beginning to really mend." Thalia whispers and takes Percy off of me. Phoebe and Atalanta help her put him on his bed. "No nightmares tonight, Kelp Head. Sweet dreams." She places her hand on his forehead and sighs. "He worries me to death, milady. The fool is aging me further than I should be." Thalia admits to me.

"He worries us all. He needs to keep venting until he rarely ever hurts." I say.

"I don't think he could ever forget anything like that. He might be able to cope though." Thalia says.

"Not to mention that the witch hasn't been sighted since he was missing." Phobe adds, hissing.

"Our brother is strong. He is over his fears and is only living for us. We must get stronger so he doesn't worry about us as much." Atalanta chimes in.

"Well, he's great at swordplay. Maybe he could teach us a few techniques and everything he knows. He doesn't get a single scratch in battle. Hasn't since he joined us." I tell them.

"Well, except for when he took that spear in his right shoulder for me." Joslyn recounts her memory.

"Or the dagger in the side for my sake." Crena puts in.

"Good and valid points." I say. "He won't let any one of us get hurt. Keeps an eye on us."

"Just like a big brother should." Phoebe says.

"Lets get some sleep." Thalia says.

We all settle in for the night, Thalia kisses his forehead and the lights go out. For the first time, in a long time, I dream peacefully, without having to worry about my Guardian.

Tada!!!!!!!!!Next chapter. Voila! I shall continue writing at school tomorrow! I do not own PJO/HOO, Rick Riordan does. Night, my lovely readers!