Present Tense Percy POV:
"I WILL DESTROY YOU PERSEUS!" Zeus yelled at me.
"Yeah, yeah, Thunderpants. Just gimme the 600 drachmas."
He grumbles and does. Then Hades goes. He rolls the dice, and... three!
"Yes! Just the number I needed!" He says, moving his piece three spaces forward and buying the last piece of property.
"Alright, everyone count your money!" Zeus announces.
We all count. I have 4300, Zeus has 1600, Athena has 8000, Ares and Aphrodite have 800, both Apollo and Hermes have 2200, Artemis has 3000, Hephaestus has 4500, Hades has 3300, Poseidon has 4200, Dionysus has 1500, Demeter has 4100, Hera has 4900, and Hestia has 5000.
"Athena wins again!" I proclaim, throwing my hands in the air.
Apollo laughs and elbows Hermes, who reluctantly hands him 20$.
"You were betting on the game?" Athena asks.
"Heck yeah! And I just made 20 bucks!" Apollo responds, with Hermes grumbling beside him.
"Alright, everyone, that's it for today. You all know the drill, same time next week."
The gods all flash away, other than Poseidon. He puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Percy, I think you know that it's time for you to get back to camp."
"Yeah, dad, I know. I made a deal with Artemis, and I'll be traveling with the Hunters to protect them until they get to Camp Half-Blood."
"Good, good. I love you, Percy."
"Love you to dad," I say as he flashes away. Now it's just me in the Olympian game room. Every week on Friday, the Olympians and I play a couple of rounds of a board game. Today, we played a modified version of Monopoly, so all 15 of us could play.
I stand up , stretch, and walk out of the game room into the throne room. (It connects directly.) I walk out of the throne room, unfold my wings, and take off to fly to the Hunters while reflecting on the past five years.
I went to Hephaestus for weapon upgrades. My dagger is now a throwing knife, just as strong as before, and will always come back to me, the gold sheathe is now a shield, my bow can now fire up to 1000 arrows at once, which will all automatically seek out monsters, and I can grow my wings so big that I can wrap myself in them like a cocoon. It's a nice way to sleep.
Then I made all my weapons tattoos on my body, Riptide became a tattoo of a wave on the back of my right hand, the throwing knife became a tattoo of a throwing knife on the inside of my right hand thumb, the shield became a tattoo of a watch on my left wrist (it tells time as well,) and my bow become a tattoo of the sun on the back of my left hand. My flask is still attached to my belt, and I have a mask that makes my hair and eyes flash multiple colors and covers the top half of my face. It, along with Damasens book, can turn into an earring. My Nemean Lion skin is usually a sweater or a t-shirt, but when I'm "on the job," it's a cloak.
For the past five years, I've scoured the country for demigods, always escorting them to either of the camps, depending on their parent, or to the Hunt if they were a girl hurt by a dude. When they ask my name, I just tell them to call me Pap.
It stands for Perseus Achilles Protector (I changed my last name to Protector when Hestia adopted me), but I don't tell them that. Across five years, I've found upwards of 500 demigods, maybe 550. I don't know, I don't keep count.
After I became a god, I asked the gods not to mention me to the campers or to the Hunt, outside of if I was alive. I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted them to know I was back. Now I know that I will tell them, eventually. Just not yet.
I gave Small Bob to Hestia as a pet. I still see him often, but I'm too busy to care for him. I still miss my parents, and somedays I have to force myself to get up with the idea of a demigod dying while I'm sulking. But it's gotten easier over the years. Hestia adopting me, and me finding a new family in the Olympians really helped.
I finally get near the hunters camp, using death mist to turn invisible and watch from the outskirts. Artemis is explaining the situation to her Hunters.
"Alright, look, I know you don't agree, but it will only be until we reach Camp Half-Blood."
"But it's a male! We don't need a male to protect us!" Whines Pheobe.
"No, we don't, but I made a deal with him. He's a friend and like a brother to me."
"But he's going to try and flirt and hit on us!"
No, he won't. He's very respectful. Besides, I'm giving him all the camp chores."
I step into the camp, dispelling the death mist, making everyone jump.
"Wow, I was going to thank you for calling me a brother, but then I learn you're sicking me with the chores? Not cool, Silver."
Artemis scoffs and says, "That was the deal. You can travel with us for a while if you do the chores."
"I know, I'm just messing with you."
As two girls march up to me, I realize a mistake I made. I never told Thalia and Reyna that I was back.
They reach me, and Thalia electricly slaps me while Reyna punches me in the gut. I bend over, clutching my stomach.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN KELP HEAD?" Thalia yells at me.
"Ooh, uh, hold on, let me catch my breath," I manage to wheeze out.
"Percy, I swear to God, you better explain yourself right now, or you're never gonna breathe again," Reyna threatens.
I catch my breath, look at them, and say "Alright look. A lot of stuff happened. But what if I explain it during dinner, so everyone hears it?"
Thalia growls. "Fine. But you better make a damn good dinner."
"Don't worry, Thals, I will."
"Good." She says before turning and walking away with Reyna and the rest of the Hunt.
I turn to Artemis and say, "I think that went well."
She just laughs, hands me a note, and goes to her tent. I start to read the note before Pheobe walks up to me.
"Alright, male," She spits out, likes it's the worst thing in the world.
"Yes, Pheobe?" I ask calmly.
"I heard what you called Artemis. Now, what are you ACTUALLY doing here?" She asks, trying to be threatening.
"I know you heard what I called Artemis. I'm sure the rest of the Hunt did, too. I call her Silver because it's faster than Artemis, and only Apollo calls her Arty. Now, as to what I am doing here, that's quite simple. I want some time interacting with people who aren't gods before I meet the demigods at Camp. I also like seeing those I brought here. It's good to see them doing well. Thank you for helping them. Now, I must get to chores. Goodbye, Pheobe."
I walk away, leaving her there to do whatever it is she does. Turns out my chores are to sharpen arrows, wash clothing, and cook.
I'm sharpening arrows when a girl no older than 10 comes up to me, tapping me on my shoulder.
I turn around to talk, but I continue my task.
"H-hello." She stammers.
"Hello, Ava." I reply.
"H-how do you know my name?"
"I brought you here."
Her eyes widen, and she gasps. "A-are you Pap?"
"Yes, I am."
She squeals and says, "Ohmygosh, I uh, uh, I need to go tell the others," before scampering off. I finish the arrows and start on the laundry, using my water powers to clean them without touching them. I skip over the undergarments, however. I may be a male, but I have standards I uphold myself to.
When I get back to camp, the Hunters are gathering around a table. I set the clothes next to Artemis's tent and walk to them.
"Pheobe glares at me and asks,"Where is dinner?"
"It's coming right up, Pheobe. Now, what would you like for dinner?"
She smiles cruelly and says, "An omelet, with vanilla pudding on the side."
I snap my fingers, and the dish appears in front of her. I then go to every Hunter and summon food for them as well, eventually coming to Artemis.
"Ah, Silver, do you want the usual?"
"Yes, please, Percy."
I snap my fingers, and Voila! In front of her is a steak and mashed potatoes, both covered in an orange spice blend.
One of the Hunters, Hannah, I think her name was, speaks up. "Lady Artemis? Why do you permit Perseus to call you Silver, and why do you have a "regular" dish from him?"
"Well, you see Hannah, I let him call me Silver for the same reason I permit Apollo to call me Arty. It's because Percy is like a brother to me. As for why I have a regular dish, Percy actually cooks for the Olympians."
The Hunters stop eating and look at me strangely. "You cook for the Olympians?" Ava asks.
"Why, of course. Don't you cook for your family?"
The Hunters look even more stunned, with Reyna quietly asking the question this time. "The Olympians are your family?"
"Yes, the Olympians are my family. However, the MAIN reason I cook for them is simply because I make better food than all of them."
"How?" Thalia asks.
"My time traveling through Tartarus ended up giving me a... "unique" set of extra spices to use while cooking."
The Hunters jaws dropped.
"You. Traveled. Through. Tartarus?" Pheobe asks hesitantly.
"Yes. I did it twice."
"Alone?"
"Not on the first trip."
Everyone just stares at me.
"Alright, look. I'll can tell you guys about what I've been doing over the past few years, but seriously, eat your food before it gets cold."
The Hunters all pick up their utensils and practically inhale their food. Artemis, however, eats slowly, savoring the taste of my cooking.
When she gets done, I snap my fingers, and all the dishes disappear.
"How do you do that?" A hunter asks.
"Do what?"
"Summon the food and get rid of the dishes."
"I am the champion and adopted son of Hestia. Now, is everyone ready?"
"The Hunters all nod their heads, even Pheobe. They all look excited.
"Alright, hold your questions until the end."
I tell them just about everything. I tell them about the first two wars, the rewards ceremony, the treatment at camp after John got there, the fall into Tartarus, the trip through it, escaping it, my talk with the Fates and the Olympians, and me protecting and escorting demigods. The only things lI leave out are family game night and my curse.
By the time I'm done, they're looking upon me with awe and wonder, while Pheobe just looks at me apologetically. I drink from my flask before speaking.
"Alright," I say. "I think it time for us to head to bed, we need to travel to Camp Half-Blood in the morning, right Silver?"
"Yes, Percy." She responds before facing her campers. "Alright, listen up! When we get to Camp, Percy will be disguised. He does not want to show his face to camp yet for reasons you can all probably guess. So you are not to mention he is traveling with us or anything about his adventures. Got it?"
Everyone responds "Yes Lady Artemis."
"Good. Now go get some sleep. Tomorrow, we will be trying a new way to get to camp."
Everyone heads to their tents, yawning, while I turn to Artemis.
"What do you mean by a new way?"
"Tommorow, we will be trying to use the Labyrinth to get to Canp Half-Blood. Now go get some sleep."
I stretch and yawn, saying, "Just for the record, Silver, that's a really bad idea."
"You are the God of finding, are you not? We will be fine. Now, go to sleep. It will be funny to see the campers' reactions in the morning."
"That it will. Goodnight, Silver."
"Goodnight, Percy," Artemis says before walking into her tent.
I find a suitable tree in the camp, take a swig of my flask, hang upside down, and cover myself in my wings to form a cocoon before drifting off to sleep...
(A/N: Alright, my plotline for the hunters changed like 3 times before I ended up with this. I like this. Also, I will have to explain River combinations soon. That will be fun to write. As always, if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes, please comment to bring my attention to it, please. Any other feedback is appreciated as well. Thank you for reading!)