256A/N: Hello, Me again. I'm so sorry for deleting Hunters Of The Sun. It was getting hard to manage. To compensate, here's a new story. Don't forget to leave a review!
The boy frowned a bit, and tilted his head, taking in his surroundings. How had he ended up here? A few seconds ago he had fallen asleep...
And then his eyes widened in alarm. A dream.
This was a dream.
His frown deepened. He hated dreams. They were always dark and foreboding and filled with death and despair. And memories.
Memories of the past.
Memories he wanted to forget.
But at the same time, they showed him a bit of what had become of the mortal world after he left it. After he was exiled. He shook those thoughts away and turned around in a slow circle, wondering why and how nobody in the room had noticed him yet. He marveled slightly under his breath, soaking in all the new stuff of the mortal world. There was weird music coming from one corner of the room, where a guy was fiddling with some sort of device. There were weird round red and black floating things, and the name popped into his head. Balloons. And then there were the people.
They were all dressed funny. He didn't see any chitons or robes or tunics. Just a weird assortment of colors and baggy clothes. The world had really evolved. So much that he didn't recognize it.
And then he saw them walk in.
His breath hitched when her blue eyes flickered over to his direction. He was about to speak when he remembered it was just a dream. She probably couldn't see or hear him. She had dark black hair and electric blue eyes which seemed to send sparks shooting through him. And she was dressed in all black.
His gaze flickered over to the others in her group. Two blonds. A boy with blue eyes and a scar on his face, running down to his cheek, and a grey eyed female. And then there was the goat. He knew immediately that it was a satyr. Meaning the kids were demigods. Children of his brother Kronos' spawn. The blue eyed girl didn't look older than he appeared to be. Being stuck in a fourteen year old's body was really annoying. No one took him seriously. Not even his own siblings. He missed the days when he could change his appearance and age. The blond boy looked to be about twenty. He wasn't sure that was accurate though. And grey eyes was fourteen.
"So what's the emergency?" Scar face asked. The goat's eyes flickered across the huge room.
"I found two of them," he spoke, still looking around nervously.
Girl-in-black said something, and his frown deepened. "Two demigods? In one place?"
He scanned her again. Blue eyes. Black hair…Daughter of Zeus. The boy's brow creased in distaste. He had always hated his upstart nephew, the oh so mighty King of The Gods Of Olympus.
He glanced back at the girl. His attention and mind had drifted for a few seconds and he had missed the rest of the conversation, but then the goat spoke. "The monster's the vice principal. Dr. Thorn."
-Line Break-
It had been about thirty minutes now. He couldn't take his eyes of her as she danced with scar face. Blondie had gone off with the goat, and the daughter of Zeus was with the boy with the scar. He didn't know why he felt red hot anger course through him at the close proximity between the two demigods, but he didn't try to act on it. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his head, he listened in on their conversation.
"Did Annie tell you about the problem with her dad?' Scar face asked Girl-In-Black. She nodded.
"I'm worried for her, Luke. I mean, she can't go live in San Francisco. It's right there."
Luke nodded, and sighed. "The titans are regrouping again. It'll be horrible living in San Francisco. I'm just mad the traitor who poisoned your tree hasn't been revealed yet, Thalia."
Titans. He held back a gasp. His siblings were going against the gods again?
That couldn't be possible. They were all in Tartarus. Kronos was dead…
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He would try to find out more information from Hephaestus when he woke up. He turned his attention back to Luke and the girl. Thalia. Nice name. He felt a smile playing on his lips. It suited her.
Thalia chuckled slightly, "Nice to know you care, Lukey. And don't worry. We'll find out soon."
The blue eyed boy rolled his eyes lightheartedly, but smiled back at her.
"By the way-"
Luke was cut off by Thalia turning over to Blondie, who was apparently Annie, and goat boy. "You two do some dancing! You look so stupid just standing there."
The green eyed demi-titan stifled a laugh. She was funny too. His eyes flicked over to the side of the room. The two demigods Thalia, Luke, Annie, and goat boy had come for, were trading some stuff which looked like cards. They were playing a game. He knew what cards were. Playing card games with Hermes were his only source of entertainment on some days.
Thalia turned back to Luke, who was shaking his head. "You're embarrassing them, Thalia. You know Grover can't dance. Now look, he's kicking Annabeth in the shins."
Thalia rolled her eyes at him and said, "Let's just keep dancing. What were you saying earlier?"
The boy turned away. He didn't want to watch teenage mortals flirting all night. A few seconds passed. He was wondering about what Luke had said about the titans. Could it be…He sighed uneasily, and looked around the room.
And then he saw them. The two kids the demigods had come for were being herded away by the man Grover had called The Vice Principal. Apparently, Annabeth had also spotted him, and the boy's eyes narrowed when he saw her push Grover in his direction.
"Hurry! Get Thalia and Luke! I'll go after Thorn."
Grover nodded, eyes wide with fright, and raced towards the other two demigods. The green eyed boy walked forward. His feet made no sounds, and he passed right through the mortals. He went after Annabeth, his heart beating in his chest.
This dream had taken far too long. His dreams normally ended in ten to five minutes. He had several of them each night.
Why hadn't this one ended yet?
Why was he still there? Annabeth disappeared through a small side door. Thorn had taken the kids in that direction.
He broke into a small jog, letting out little huffs of air. He didn't know what was going on. Or who had summoned him to this dream - no, it wasn't just a dream. He was positive this was happening right now - But he was going to get to the bottom of it.
-Line Break-
He could hear Annabeth's footsteps a little ways ahead of him. After walking for a few minutes, he ended up in a large chamber. He scanned the entry hall of the place, alert and on the ready. The green eyed boy spotted a blonde head disappearing through the doorway at the entrance of the chamber. He followed.
Outside, he took in a deep breath. It was chilly, and the ground was covered in white stuff he'd never seen before. But he knew exactly what it was. He sighed. It never snowed on Ogygia.
His head snapped upwards, and he squinted, just in time to see the blonde haired girl chasing after the man and the two demigods, and disappearing into the woods.
His feet moved. Dr. Thorn was a monster. He had to at least try to help Annabeth save the other mortals. He'd never been as heartless as his siblings. Most immortals looked at Prometheus' creation like they were gerbils, which were created just to do their bidding. He had been born during the war with the Olympians. The First Titan War. The war which caused his exile. His mother Gaea had tasked him to help The Titans defeat the Olympians. He had been spawned just for that. He didn't know how Gaea could have had a child without any help from a male, but he didn't question it. He was born with semi-immortality. He didn't have the luxury to live forever. He was closer to the mortals than any of the gods or titans. But then he'd been given Immortality, just to make his punishment eternal and agonizing. Living in solitude forever. He hated it. He would give anything to get off Ogygia.
He snapped out of his thoughts when a loud voice spoke. "Don't talk to my sister like that!' He froze in his steps, and tried to catch his breath. Glancing around, the demi-titan crept forward, cautiously, and into the clearing the monster had stopped at. Annabeth, the grey eyed girl stood next to Thorn, looking like she wanted to bash his head in. She had a small cut on her arm, and it was bleeding. It looked as if the monster had gotten her too. If her could only figure out what Thorn was…
He bit his bottom lip. The two demigods didn't even look like teenagers yet. The girl looked twelve, and the little kid who had spoke, ten. He took in his new surroundings. They were evidently on a cliff. And…his immortal senses kicked in. He felt the sea below them.
Annabeth glared at Thorn. "Let them go!'
His sharp eyes caught a flicker of movement behind the man, and a…tail sprung out behind him. Something sharp shot forward, and sailed so close to the blonde girl that it nicked her ear.
Then he realized what Thorn was.
They were facing a manticore.
"You're lucky you're wanted alive," The manticore spoke darkly. "I would've killed you already if I could."
The younger demigoddess spoke, her voice cracking. "Why are you doing this? Who wants us?"
Annabeth's eyes widened. "Kronos. You work for Kronos."
The green eyed boy took a slight step back. His brother was…alive? The Titans were rallying…that meant…
"Yes, Perseus," The voice broke him out of his thoughts. "We'll be coming to free you soon." He stared up at Thorn, eyes wide.
"Y-you can see me? H-how?"
The manticore laughed in amusement.
"Great, now he's talking to empty air," The black haired girl who'd spoken before Annabeth muttered.
Perseus took another step back. "T-this is real. Kronos brought me here."
Thorn nodded, baring his teeth. "Yes, but it is only temporary. You shall be back in Ogygia in thirty minutes."
"Okay, he's completely nuts," The black haired girl said again.
Perseus frowned in her direction. Annabeth's eyes flickered over to him. He wondered for a brief second if she could see him, and then turned back to the manticore.
Annabeth turned away facing the two demigods, "We have to jump into the sea."
"Now you're completely nuts," The black haired girl took a step away from her. "Can someone tell me what the hell is going-"
A loud yell came from behind Thorn, and Perseus yelped in surprise. Thalia hurled a canister of mace into the air, and it expanded into a large spear with a bronze tip. Her shield sent chills down his spine. He'd never been more frightened in his life. The shield had the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though he'd never seen it himself, he knew of it's reputation. Thorn spun, and winced in fear as Thalia leaped forward, grabbing the spear out of the air
Armed with a replica of The Aegis and her spear, the daughter of Zeus charged the manticore, screaming, "For Zeus!" Luke raced by her side, clutching a bronze sword which looked like it could cleave a boulder in half. Grover pulled off a set of reed pipes from around his neck, and joined the other two demigods, Thalia and Luke.
The shadows took forms around them, and hellhounds leaped out, surrounding the small group of half bloods. Perseus stood, frozen, as Luke and Grover attacked the beasts from Erebos. Annabeth shouted over to the other demigods, "Stay behind me!' And then she drew a dagger, and stabbed the nearest monster in the head.
The boy watched transfixed, as Thalia jabbed at Thorn with her spear. He snarled in annoyance, and his hand shot out, pushing the celestial bronze tip away from himself. Claws grew out of his fingers, and he sliced forward at the blue eyed daughter of Zeus.
Thalia's shield arm shot forward, and blocked his paw, but Thorn was fast. His other hand swept up, turning into a paw, and cut through her jacket arm, slicing her skin, and drawing blood. The daughter of Zeus hissed in pain, and pushed Thorn back with her shield.
The manticore launched another volley of missiles at her, and Perseus moved before he could process what he was doing. He skidded to a stop in front of Thalia, and his hands surged forward. Spires of rock shot out of the earth, and Thorn's missiles slammed into them.
Thalia looked up at him, breathing heavily. "Where the hell did you come from?'
"I was thinking you'd go more on the lines of Thank you for saving my life," He snorted, slipping into a battle stance.
"Wh-" She was cut off by a large roar. His attention snapped to Thorn. The vice principal had began to change form. He cursed under his breath as Thorn grew larger, and larger, until her towered over them. He had a huge lion body, dragon wings, and a scorpion tail dotted with spikes. His human face made him look even more disgusting.
"What the Hades is that?!"
Perseus answered Thalia quickly. "He's a manticore. He's such an ancient monster that a lot of people have forgotten about him."
"How are we supposed to beat him?!" Thalia yelled, stabbing at a random hellhound which had dared to come close.
Perseus clenched his fist and another spire of rock shot of the earth, impaling another hellhound which had gotten too close for comfort. He was about to reply to Thalia when Annabeth's voice resonated throughout the clearing, "GET DOWN!"
He cursed again, and leaped forward, pushing Thalia down into the snow just as Thorn's spikes sailed over them.
Perseus rolled off her, leaping to his feet just as Thorn fired another volley of arrows, The daughter of Zeus launched herself forward, shielding both of them under her Aegis. The missiles pounded on the shield, and Thalia muttered a string of unrepeatable curses. He heard Thorn laugh, as a huge bird-like thing appeared above them.
"He brought a helicopter?! Argh!" The blue eyed demigod yelled in frustration and annoyance.
"You cannot win," Thorn laughed. 'Why do you protect her, Perseus? Hand the girl over. Yield, and I might spare you."
Perseus eyes flickered over to Annabeth, defending the younger demigods from the hellhounds, who just kept coming. Luke was lugging an unconscious Grover away from more of the beasts. They couldn't keep on going. Only a miracle could save them now.
"We can take him. Let's go!"
He glanced at Thalia. She was injured. If he left her alone, she would be overrun by the hellhounds. If he charged into battle with her, Thorn would definitely land a shot.
But he had to keep on fighting. He wasn't heartless. He couldn't let demigods he killed, just like this.
"We charge him. You flank his left, I go right," Perseus spoke under his breath. "On three."
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
And then the call of the hunting horn resounded through the woods.
-Line Break-
Everyone froze. No one moved.
"No," Thorn muttered. 'They can't-"
A whizzing sound filled the air, and something sleek and silver sailed past Perseus. A glowing silver arrow caught Thorn in the shoulder.
The manticore wailed in pain, stumbling back a bit. He unleashed several spikes at once, into the woods, which was where the arrows had come from, but with even greater speed, more silver arrows shot forward. If he hadn't had such good vision, he would have missed it. The silver arrows intercepted the manticore's spikes, cutting through them and cleaving them in half.
Thorn howled as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. And then the archers came from the woods. There were about two dozen of them, in silver parkas, and dark jeans. Each and every one of them was armed with a bow. They advanced on Thorn, arrows nocked in their bows, and all of them aiming for his chest.
"It's The Hunters!' Luke shouted.
Thalia cursed again. "This is just great. Why did it have to be the Hunters?"
Perseus understood her. He hadn't met them before but he'd heard about them. Ruthless Female and badass ladies who hated men.
One of the older archers stepped forward. She had bronze skin, and dark hair, with deep volcanic eyes. Her glare made him sure he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep when he got back to Ogygia.
"Permission To Kill, milady?"
He immediately guessed she was the lieutenant.
Thorn wailed, "This isn't fair!" He whined like a three year old. "Direct interference. It's against the ancient laws!"
One of the younger girls stepped forward. Her silver eyes blazed and she looked at Thorn coldly. Her auburn hair was windswept as she spoke. "The hunting of wild beasts is within my domains. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast. Zoe, permission granted."
Thorn lunged forward. "If I cannot take them to my master, I shall kill them all!" He leaped up for Thalia and Perseus, his eyes crazed and angry. He knocked the shield out of Thalia's hand, and Perseus leaped forward to protect her with his own body.
"No!"
It was Annabeth. She charged the monster.
"Get back, daughter of Athena!" Zoe spoke loudly.
Annabeth didn't seem to hear her. She leaped onto Thorn, and drove her knife through his back.
"Fire!" Zoe ordered.
"No!" Luke screamed, scrambling up and running to Thorn and Annabeth.
The hunters released their arrows rapidly. The first nailed Thorn in the chest. The next caught him in the neck. Another in the gut. "I shall have my revenge. You shall all pay!"
Before anyone could move, the manticore, with Annabeth still hanging on his neck, leaped off the cliffside, and into the darkness below.
"Annabeth!" Thalia pushed Perseus off her, and raced towards the cliff edge. She kept running, even as the helicopter began firing at them.
Perseus could faintly hear Artemis voice, and a huge explosion, but he wasn't paying attention. He raced to the edge of the cliff, after Thalia.
She stood next to Luke, at the edge of the cliff, and he could tell she was trembling in rage.
He stopped beside them, and gave her a sideways glance. "I'm sorry."
Thalia clenched her fist, and looked down. "It's all their fault. Those stupid hunters. They mess up everything." She turned to glare at the silver maidens.
Perseus sighed sadly. His eyes flickered to the younger demigods who were next to the unconscious satyr and a few hunters. And then to Luke, who was being held down by more hunters. He looked ready to jump down the cliff after Annabeth.
Suddenly his vision became hazy. The son of Gaea clutched his head as everything around him turned into ash and white. And the world faded into mist.
He sat up, panting, his forehead beaded with sweat. Perseus glanced around nervously. And then he relaxed. He was back in his cave. He was back on Ogygia. He didn't know how to feel. He'd had his first experience in the mortal world after several millennia. He didn't know how to feel about being back.
Thorn had been with The Titans. Kronos had temporarily gotten him off Ogygia. If what The manticore had said was true, then Olympus and the entire world were in trouble.
-Line Break-
Thalia's head snapped up. The boy who had saved her life. He had disappeared.
But…he'd been there a few seconds ago. She peered off the edge of the cliff worriedly.
"Thalia Grace," She turned to find a hunter behind her. Zoe Nightshade gave her a condescending look. "Lady Artemis wants to see you."
She nodded curtly.
"We have to go after her! We have to save Annabeth! Get your hands off me!" Luke was still arguing with the hunters.
Thalia's mind drifted to the green eyed boy as she followed Zoe. He'd saved her life, and although she didn't even know his name, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd be seeing him again.
Very soon.