Shattered

Zoe

Déjà vu hit Zoe with a hammer, that was the exact same mission her and her sisters had received before the quest began. Zoe could only thing of one thing... Either she suddenly gained the ability to see predict the future in her dreams... which was highly unlikely... Or she had travelled back in time.

Which was equally, if not more unlikely... But what else could explain what was going on?

"The last sighting of the Manticore was in Bar Harbor, by a Satyr named Grover Underwood." Artemis continued. Zoe could remember the satyr, he was one of the members of her final quest.

Zoe idly wondered if she was fated to die or if fate could spare her... After all, what was the point in traveling in time, if she was only to die a few days later?

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Zoe focussed on repacking her tent, and sharpening her blunt arrows to deadly precision.

Once all of the hunters were stocked, Artemis teleported the whole lot to a forest in Bar Harbor. It was probably for the best, seeing as they were camped all the way over in Colorado when they had been tasked with the capture of the Manticore.

Setting up camp, Artemis commanded the hunters into formation, and thus began their search.

"In all honesty, it didn't take long for the hunters to find the beast they were trailing...

Partially because Zoe already knew where the Manticore was... Not that anyone else knew that she knew, she simpluly sublty led the way straight to the Manticore.

Zoe could see the campers from within the underbrush, they were trapped between the Manticore and an armored helicopter... Just like she remembered.

Zoe signaled for the hunting horn to be blown. A shrill piercing sound that broke the silence of the forest.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," The beast said. "It cannot be-"

His sentence was cut short when Zoe released her knocked arrow like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from the Manticore's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" He cried, unleashing his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. The arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them cleanly in half.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Zoe observed as Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged the denigod's attack and slammed his tail into his shield, knocking him aside.

That was when we decided to make our entrance.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to Percy, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

Zoe stepped forward with her bow drawn.

"Permission to kill, my lady?"

She kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," her Lady, Artemis said, "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and Percy, knowing they were weak and dazed.

"No.'" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" Zoe yelled, "Get out of the line of fire!"

She remembered what happened last time and she didn't want a repeat of what happened, maybe the quest could be avoided? Probably not...

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered. She had to order her sisters to fire at the blonde maiden, but she knew that she would remain unharmed from the arrows.

Surprisingly Percy did not yell at them to stop like he had in the... Past?

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

At least, that was what was supposed to happen, but Percy was standing at the exack place the Manticore had been targeting to jump off of... Which was certainly not according to her memory.

Maybe she was in a parallel reality that altered certain events? But that was about as likely as the time travel scenario she had already created in her head...

Percy tackled the Manticore before the beast could react, and knocked Annabeth off of its back. But want happened next went completely the other way of what was supposed to happen... The Manticore leaped off of the cliff, but had Percy hanging on instead.

Zoe started to run after them to the cliff side, but There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter-the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but her Lady Artemis just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter dissolved into a flock of birds-ravens, which scattered into the night.