Atalanta stumbled back into camp, only to find that Periplanómenos had already vanished into the night. There was only one option open to her, inform Lady Artemis of what had just transpired and face the consequences.
"M'Lady?" Atalanta questioned from outside the tent.
After a few moments the flap opened, revealing a confused Artemis. "What is it?" she asked, concern in her eyes.
"It's about Periplanómenos. . ." Atalanta trailed off.
"You best come inside," Artemis said, stepping to the side and allowing her hunter to enter.
Once they were situated upon the floor, Atalanta spoke. "He's, he's gone," she said, avoiding her lady's eyes.
"What do you mean 'gone'?"
So, Atalanta explained everything. How she had gone to kill him, but couldn't bring herself to do it once she saw how broken he was. She then finished by sharing who she suspected he was.
Artemis heaved a deep sigh. "I am very disappointed in your actions tonight. However, I am grateful that you showed restraint. We will figure out a punishment later, but for now our focus must be on finding young Perseus."
"Of course M'Lady," Atalanta responded, bowing her head. "So I was right, Periplanómenos is Percy Jackson?"
"He is," Artemis nodded. "However, I expect that this information will be kept within the confines of this tent," she said, giving Atalanta a pointed look. "Very few know that he is still alive, and it is vital that we keep it this way."
"I understand M'Lady," Atalanta responded as she stood up.
"Please send Thalia to me," Artemis requested. "We have much to discuss."
Bowing her head once again, she left the tent. Not even a minute later Thalia walked in, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What is it, M'Lady?" she asked sleepily.
"I believe you should sit down for this," she said, gesturing to the floor. "Perseus is gone," Artemis stated once Thalia was seated.
"What!" Thalia exclaimed loudly, now wide awake.
"He's left Thalia," Artemis said softly, hand on Thalia's leg in an attempt to comfort her. She then explained what Atalanta had relayed to her. The further she got into the story, the more tears could be seen on Thalia's face. By the time she reached the end, Thalia was silently sobbing and pacing in anger.
"He told me he would never leave me again, he promised!" Thalia shouted, while sobbing. "He promised," she whispered, collapsing in a heap on the floor.
Making her way over to her lieutenant Artemis brought her into a tight embrace, holding her to her chest as Thalia wet her shirt with tears. "Do not grieve," she reassured, stroking Thalia's hair. "We shall see him again," tears were now pricking at Artemis' eyes as well. It pained her to see Thalia this way, pained her to think that Percy had broken his promise, pained her to think that Percy would abandon what few people he had, and lastly, it pained her to think that he would abandon her.
# # #
It had been nearly six months since Percy had disappeared again, and clearly he had learned a few tricks from his short time in the Hunt. They couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. The only thing the Hunters knew for certain was that he was not dead, Nico had confirmed as much. In the time since Periplanómenos had disappeared Artemis, Thalia, and Atalanta had all changed. Artemis had grown fanatical, pushing her hunters to the brink in order to find him. Thalia had grown cold and distant, snapping at anyone who talked to her. They hadn't seen her this way since her cousin, and one of her best friends, Percy Jackson, had died. Lastly, Atalanta seemed as if she carried a great guilt upon herself, like she blamed herself for what had happened. The sudden change confused the rest of the Hunters, they didn't understand how one boy could have this kind of effect on the three strongest girls they knew.
# # #
Hazel stood in the war room of Camp Jupiter next to her fellow Centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Dakota. Noticing he was going for his flask of fruit punch Hazel elbowed him and gave him a pointed look. Finally, the Praetors walked in, causing the gathered Centurions to come to attention.
"Report!" Reyna demanded.
A Centurion from the First Cohort stepped forward. "First Cohort is battle ready, and spies report that Camp Half-Blood seems to be operating normally."
The other cohorts reported the same, the legion was prepared for war. Hazel hated the thought of going to war with the Greeks, but justice needed to be served. They had murdered one of her best friends, and a Praetor, they would not stand for this. Gathering around a table with some maps, the officers started discussing the plan.
"Prepare your cohorts to mobilize," Frank ordered at the conclusion of the War Council. "We leave in a month."
# # #
Atop a golden dragon sat two figures. One was a shorter Latino boy with slightly elfish features, while the other was a beautiful young woman.
"There it is," Leo shouted over the sound of wind and the beating of Festus' wings as a shoreline came into view. "Camp Half-Blood!"
Leaning forward, Calypso planted a kiss on his cheek. "I look forward to meeting them."
It was about dinner time, and Leo couldn't resist making a grand entrance. Landing right by the dining pavilion Leo slid off of Festus while the whole camp gawked at him. "Don't worry ladies, Leo has returned!" he said while spreading his arms wide.
"Leo!" Piper squealed while jumping up from a table that was in front of and elevated above the other tables.
Running up to him, Piper tackled Leo in a huge hug. "Nice to see you too, Beauty Queen," he managed to wheeze out.
After a moment she let go, and then slapped him. "Where have you been!" she shouted.
"Oh, you know. Here, there, everywhere. I wanted to show my girlfriend the world," he said as he pulled a Calypso to his side.
This brought in a whole new string of questions from the campers, who had now all joined them. So, Leo explained how he had met her, rescued her, showed her the world, and then proceeded to get lost. At the end, the crowd went back to dinner, leaving on Piper, Jason, Annabeth, and his siblings around him.
"Wait, where's Percy?" Leo asked as he looked around, realizing that one of his best friends was not there.
Annabeth's face hardened for a moment at the mention of the forbidden name, but quickly softened it. "He's dead," she said simply.
This brought a gasp of Leo, and a small cry of anguish from Calypso. "What- How- When-" Leo stammered.
"I'll explain later," Annabeth said. "Now, why don't you come join us? You must be starving."
"No thanks," Leo said sadly. "I think I'll just go get settled back into my cabin. Telling Festus to go to Bunker 9, Leo led Calypso towards the cabins. As they got closer Leo broke the silence between them. "Something isn't right here," he stated. Calypso gave him a questioning look in return. "The aura, it feels different. Nobody seems happy either, like all the happiness of being here is gone," Leo explained
"That's understandable," Calypso said. "Their greatest hero, and friend, is dead."
"There seems to be more than that going on though," Leo argued. "Did you see where my friends were sitting? That's not normal. And how everyone acted around them, it's almost like they were afraid."
"I'm sure there's a good explanation," Calypso reassured as they entered the cabin area. Suddenly, Leo froze. "What's wrong?" Calypso asked.
"The Hearth," he whispered. "It's not lit."
"Well, maybe-"
"No, you don't understand!" Leo interrupted. "The hearth is always lit, at least, it was." Igniting his hand, Leo started towards the pile of wood and coals.
"It won't light, we've tried," a voice said from behind the pair. Turning, Leo and Calypso saw Annabeth, followed by Piper and Jason, walking towards them. "It hasn't since the night Percy died."
"What happened?" Leo asked.
Taking a deep breath, Annabeth strayed her explanation and accusations. She covered how he was a traitor the whole time, how she discovered it while in Tartarus, and how they had hunted down and killed him.
"No!" Leo yelled. "You're lying! Percy would never do that!"
"I wish I was," Annabeth said, faking sadness. "I'll give you some time to process, we'll talk more in the morning," she stated as she turned to leave.
Leo couldn't wrap his head around what had been said. On the one hand it sounded compelling, but in the other it sounded completely ridiculous and impossible. Percy would never, Percy would never, Percy would never, he kept repeating in his head.
"You should talk to my brother," a voice said from the shadows by Cabin 7. "He can tell you what happened that night," Will Solace said as he walked out from the shadows.
A/N: Where could Percy be? Clearly he learned from the last time he was being hunted if the Hunters can't find him. The Romans are going to war, and Leo is finally back! I know that I didn't bring up Percy in this chapter, but some other important events are happening in the world that I felt were important to address.
Votes, reviews, comments, and critiques would be greatly appreciated! As always, have a great day!