Title: Be Careful What You Wish For

Author: E. C. Wood

Genre: Fanfiction/Romance/Hurt&comfort

Length: Single extended chapter, 7,773 words

Start: 21:34 4/7/18

End: 21:52 4/29/18

Song Inspiration: Under the Knife by Icon for Hire

Warnings: Self-harm, Suicidal thoughts and attempts. Do not try at home. Hate of the Male Gender, Character Romance and Nudity, smut references.

Other: Please note that some scenes are taken directly from The Titans Curse. I do not claim them as my own.

Zoë Nightshade was not who she said she was.

She had a secret. No one knew it. She planned to keep it that way, forever.

Zoë was thought to be Artemis's most loyal Huntress, her constant companion, to lead the hunt by her side for eternity. Maybe become immortal one day. Zoë didn't want that. Any of it.

To understand, you need to know her backstory.

Zoë was once a Hesperid. The fifth and youngest Hesperid. Then she helped Heracles and was banished, left to die by her sisters and the very hero she helped. She regretted ever speaking to him now. She regretted helping him. She regretted saving him. She regretted giving her most prized possession to him.

Anaklusmos. Riptide. The current that takes one by surprise. Perhaps her greatest achievement to ever reach in her long life. And she tossed it away by giving it to the bastard of a hero, Heracles.

Then Artemis saved her. She was taken in by the hunters, and at first, she was thrilled. She was happy, truly happy, for the first time in centuries. Then she was suddenly missing her peaceful life.

Hunting was tiring. Physically, no, as she had been hunting for centuries by that time. But she was mentally, emotionally exhausted. She wanted an end to the constant action, a time just settle down and enjoy life as it came. She still had adapted the man-hating tendencies of her adoptive sisters, and wished for no man to be alongside her, but yearned for that life nonetheless.

Zoë managed to make it for a few more decades before she couldn't take it anymore.

She took her dagger, rolled up her sleeve, and slashed.

It wasn't a deep cut, very shallow, and only two or three inches long. Blood leaked out, but Zoë didn't care. She let it trickle down her arm as she rolled her sleeve back down and had finished her daily activities. For the other hunters, nothing changed that moment. Absolutely nothing. For Zoë, everything changed.

This led to a cycle. Every day, right before lunch, Zoë would enter her tent and make a cut. She didn't cut at the wrist as normally done, as people would see. Instead, she opted to slice just above or below the crease of her elbow. The cuts slowly started to get deeper, and Zoë had made some deadly gashes. She never fussed over them, only treated it enough to not get infected, then let it bleed. She always wore two layers of shirts so the blood never soaked through.

Her arm was forever scarred now. Even now, the tradition still carried. She only stayed with the Hunt as repayment to Artemis for saving her and bringing her joy for her first few centuries. She would never have achieved that without Artemis. So, of course, Zoë stayed, as she could not bring herself to abandon her saviour, even if she wished. But that didn't mean Zoë hadn't thought before.

Zoë had contemplated suicide before. She knew it would make her unable to stay with the Hunt and could go to Elysium. Have the life she always wanted. But Zoë's honour and gratefulness and loyalty refused. But sometimes, Zoë went too far.

There was one time, around the eighteenth century, when Zoë was convinced that suicide would be the best option for her. With her dagger pressed to her neck, Zoë had prepared to slit her own throat. She hadn't tried to hide it, as nothing could have killed her out there at the time in that manner. But things didn't go as planned. In fact, they flew right out the door.

Zoë remembered hearing a startled gasp behind her. She lowered her dagger and turned slowly. Another hunter was a few metres behind her, bow out as if she had been hunting for something. The girl was shaking, staring in shock as Zoë's attempt of self-murder.

"You - you just tried to kill yourself," the huntress whispered shakily. Zoë slowly approached the girl and knelt in front of her.

"Please do not speak of what thee saw. I plan to kill myself, and thee may tell only after the deed has been done," Zoë pleaded.

"I must tell Artemis," the girl mumbled quietly to herself, ripping out from Zoë's grip and darting away into the wood. So Zoë did the only thing she could think of to stop her.

Zoë flung her dagger straight into the back of the girl's head.

The girl screeched and collapsed. Zoë immediately rushed forward, ripped her dagger out of the girl's head, and raced away into the forest. She planned to run a bit farther away, clean her dagger, get out her bow, and get back to the scene with the excuse of hunting.

When she got away, Zoë collapsed on the ground sobbing instead. She cried for the harm of a fellow hunter at her hands, cried for even thinking of suicide if it could cause that to happen. But Zoë proceeded with her plan, cleaning her dagger of blood with quivering hands. Zoë cleared her face of tears, put on a worried face (not very hard) and rushed back, summoning her bow and quiver on the way.

Zoë had executed her plan flawlessly, convincing even Artemis that she had heard the scream while hunting and came as quickly as possible. Most hunters agreed with the story instantly, knowing Zoë would never kill a huntress. The girl ended up dead, which only added to Zoë's guilt.

That was the last of her suicidal attempts.

Zoë hadn't had too many incidents after that one, being much more cautious about what she did and where she did it. There was one other major accident that Zoë regretted dearly, and wished had never happened.

This one was around the 1960s, where Zoë had cut a bit too deeply and had to clean out her injury to prevent infection. Zoë was crouched at the mouth of a small stream, letting the water trickle over her arm and wash the blood away. Zoë's mind was elsewhere, so only was she snapped back to the present moment when a voice spoke behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Zoë had leapt up, spinning around to face the girl. She had the normal hunter's uniform, with shoulder-length chestnut hair and chocolate brown eyes. Her name had been Acria, if Zoë remembered correctly, a fifteen-year-old hunter who had been with them for only a few decades. Zoë quickly turned around and dipped her arm back underwater.

"Just cleaning out a scratch I got," Zoë said as calmly as she could, trying to keep her emotionless mask up. Acria had moved towards Zoë as if to help her with it.

"What scratched you? I can't imagine you getting an injury out here with your experience," Acria stated curiously as she slid to Zoë's side. Zoë tried to retract her arm, but Acria lightly grabbed it and examined it. Her jaw dropped and she let Zoë's arm go in shock.

"You cut yourself!" Acria cried as her head whipped up to meet Zoë's eyes, who looked away.

"No! Of course not! I just . . . just . . ." Zoë struggled with an excuse, and Acria frowned, grabbing Zoë's arm once again.

"Zoë, don't deny it. There have to be thousands of cuts here! How long have you been doing this?" Acria asked worriedly.

"A few millennia," Zoë sighed, knowing it was useless trying to deny anything now that she had been caught.

"But why!" Acria protested, taking Zoë's chin and yanking it up to meet her eyes.

"You do not want to know," Zoë responded, swatting Acria's hand away. Acria glared at Zoë, angry that she was resisting her attempts to help her.

"Tell. Me. I can handle it," Acria reassured. Zoë looked doubtful but answered anyway.

"Because I do not want to be here, Acria. I no longer wish to hunt with thee and our sisters. I want peace, not eternal action," Zoë admitted. Acria looked genuinely surprised, just as Zoë had expected.

"You mean that you regret joining?" Acria asked softly.

"Sort of. I am happy I joined, but regret what it has caused," Zoë said, thinking of all the other incidents this certain procedure had caused, specifically the death that had happened a couple centuries back.

"What did it cause, Zoë? What do you regret?" Acria urged, trying to draw answers out of her.

"Joining the Hunt, at one point I wanted it to be over. So I tried to kill myself, but ended up killing one of my sisters," Zoë hesitantly admitted. Acria's jaw dropped again. Fear began to sparkle in her eyes.

"If you hate the Hunt so much, why do you stay?" Acria questioned, wondering why she didn't just quit.

"Repayment. I am in Artemis's debt for her saving me from Heracles, and I am only keeping my part of our unnamed bargain."

Acria's mind was whirring. If Zoë hated the Hunt so much to try and commit suicide, why should she herself stay if it could cause her such misery to want death? It was pointless. Before, Acria had never even dreamed of quitting the Hunt, but now her mind was flipping between both sides. Why stay if she would regret it? But why leave if everyone else loved it so much?

"So you're saying that if you could, you would leave?" Acria said. Zoë only nodded.

"Do you think that everyone else would feel the same after being in the Hunt for as long as you?" Acria asked quietly.

"Some, maybe. But most die before then," Zoë said sadly. Then, as if realizing what Acria was thinking, looked up quickly with wide eyes.

"Do not say that thou are thinking of quitting," Zoë said, looking Acria right in the eyes as if daring her to lie.

"I am. If it causes so much misery and death, why should I stay?" Acria said, getting to her feet. Her mind was set now. She wished to cure Zoë of her misery but knew trying to stop her was helpless and that the best she could do was make it not happen to her.

"Acria, no!" Zoë cried as Acria defiantly strode away. But Acria did not back down. Zoë had caused a sister to leave the family, one of Artemis's maidens to leave her service.

Zoë was even more careful after that. She changed the cycle so that she cut only at night, slipping past whoever was standing guard whenever she sliced too deep, and if she was caught, just said she was going to catch some fresh air. No one ever questioned.

But one day, everything changed for Zoë.

Winter of 2007, at some school up in Maine. Zoë led the hunters alongside Artemis to help a quest of demigods who were sent to pick up some other demigods. And to make it worse, two were male, and one girl despised her. The other two girls and the satyr Zoë had no care of. She may have liked Bianca though, she was a kind girl who gave Zoë no reason to dislike her.

It was one of the males. Zoë hadn't had any idea what he would do for her, and she thought he was just the average male. Maybe a bit more pompous due to his Big Three heritage, but an average horrible male. His name was Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon that had known of his demigod heritage for a mere two in a half years. Zoë had to credit his combat skills, but she knew little of his true persona and could only assume.

When Artemis asked for his presence in her tent when she asked Bianca about joining the hunters, Zoë was surprised. Why would her mistress want the dirty presence of a male in her tent, especially possibly seeing the ritual of an entering sister? So Zoë distastefully left the boy into her Lady's tent, sitting beside Artemis. The male's eyes kept wandering back to her at points in the process, and Zoë just glared at him for being the perverted male he is.

What Zoë hadn't thought of was that he was only looking in confusion at her broken eyes, which he had seen nobody else notices. Not even Artemis. Why would she think that? No one had ever seen past her shield before, so how would he be able to?

Zoë travelling to the wretched Camp with him was even worse for her. His gaze barely left her, which only led Zoë closer to believe he was even worse than the male bastard. Yet Percy himself was unknowingly getting himself so much closer to her secret than he had thought.

Capture the Flag was fun for both half-immortals. Percy's loss angered him a bit, losing so easily to a group of bitchy immortal girls, but Percy thought his fight with his cousin was fun. Zoë enjoyed putting the male back a step and was in a better mood after winning the game. But both of their days were ruined when the oracle gave her prophecy.

Percy because it was a quest, he had to go with hunters (assuming they would let him go), and because he had to take the mummy back.

Zoë because it was a quest, she had to go with campers, her mistress was captured, and because her death was just set in stone.

Zoë made sure that the son of Poseidon couldn't come, since everybody thought his skills would be useful, and apparently every camper was kissing his ass. Percy himself didn't seem to notice, which was typical male ignorance. Zoë would rather have a furry-legged personification of nervousness and a sparking fuse with her than Percy.

Zoë made sure that no one knew of Phoebe's absence from the group when they left, knowing how persistent the male was. Yet running into him at the museum ruined her dreams of somewhat tolerable companions. The male did prove some intelligence with killing the supposedly invincible Nemean Lion, but that didn't change Zoë's view of his character.

When Percy stated that her father himself was there, Zoë was convinced he was lying, as was normal with male honesty. She snapped at him, not caring how offended he was. He would only forget it and try some other idiotic move that only boys would lack the common sense to do. Zoë was thankful for his silence while she drove the group to the nearest train station. They were planning to catch a ride, the one that went the farthest west.

Boarding the train was easier than expected with Thalia's mist tricks. The train would only take them to North Carolina, where they then hoped to find a train going straight west. Zoë sat with Bianca in one seat, with Thalia behind them and Percy in a seat with Grover at the back of the group. Percy couldn't stare at her now, Zoë thought triumphantly. Percy himself took that time to ponder about her, though, her shattered gaze and her tired expression that no one else seemed to notice. Percy wondered if that was what came with immortality, but realized that no god had anything like it. Percy had never seen someone so ready to give up, even if Zoë covered it up expertly.

After switching trains in the Carolinas, they were taken as far as Arkansas, and then Nevada. Nothing major had happened within those few days, only the occuring monster attack and mist tricks. Percy and Grover ended up having to squish Thalia in with them since only two seats were available and Thalia refused to sit with Zoë. It was miserable for all five, dealing with a grumpy Thalia and a snarky Percy.

After Nevada, the group had to stop to figure out where the hell they were going.

"Why didn't we figure this out beforehand, oh-so-smart huntress?" Thalia taunted, sending a triumphant look Zoë's way. Zoë glared at the other female, her mind quickly thinking up a reason.

"Because, Thalia Grace," Zoë said distastefully, knowing the girl hated her surname, "It will be easier to judge our destination when we are closer and know fewer boundaries. Also, there was no need to beforehand, and holding it off would not affect us negatively." Thalia sent a glare at Zoë for daring to speak her full name but did nothing against her.

"Well then, where are we going, if you know so much about it?" Thalia asked, with not a hint of kindness in her voice. Even now, the two couldn't get along even if their lives depended on it.

"That is why we stopped. We are going to figure it out now. So sit, Thalia, and we shall converse." Thalia never broke her gaze with Zoë until she was seated next to the son of Poseidon, then she tore her glare away and pointed it at the ground.

"Now we speak. It is obvious we are going to California, but where?" Zoë asked, waiting expectantly for someone to join in.

"Well, where could something hold a goddess?" Bianca asked softly, still nervous around the other demigods, as well as the satyr. Bianca was more comfortable with her lieutenant, having spent the past few days sitting beside her on a train.

"I don't know, maybe everywhere?" Thalia jumped in, trying to point out what she thought was obvious. Zoë agreed with Bianca though, only so many places could hold a goddess.

"Actually Thalia, you are wrong. Milady would need to be contained somewhere where she could not access her powers, else she would already be free," Zoë explained. Thalia huffed in anger at once again being overruled by the Huntress, her mind whirring trying to think of a remark.

"Is there even anything that can do that?" Percy asked, interrupting Thalia before she could spark another argument. Zoë was thankful for this but showed nothing to express it due to Percy being of the male sex.

"No! That's what I am trying to say!" Thalia yelled in exasperation.

"So you are missing what I am trying to tell," Zoë intervened. "If Artemis could access her power, nothing could contain her. Even titans would need her power contained to be able to hold her prisoner. Meaning, her power is being contained. Can you grasp the concept, Thalia?" Zoë explained, unable to hold herself back from adding in the last remark.

Thalia wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Fine. We'll discuss places where a god's power can be contained." And so the group went on to converse on where would be the best destination. As it ended up, they could not determine a destination and settled on going farther to the west in hopes of running across something. For Zoë, it was just more time to think about whether she should reveal her heritage in order to have a chance. She knew it was a large possibility for Artemis to be at Mount Othrys, but Zoë wasn't sure she was ready to go back.

The group set up tents, courtesy of Zoë, with Thalia sharing with Bianca and Percy sharing with Grover. Zoë kept a tent to herself in order to keep up with her nightly. . . rituals. Percy had volunteered to take first watch, so Zoë wasn't worried about discovery. He was the least likely to hear anything, or check on her if he did.

Zoë had decided it would be best to do this somewhere in the wilderness, as with how many cuts she had missed, it was sure to be bloody. A stream or creek would be best, to wash away all the blood, but Zoë ended up having to do it on the forest floor. Taking out her knife, Zoë prepared to slit her wrist. It was hard to believe this knife had delivered thousands of cuts across her arms, yet could still glisten proudly. Zoë wished she could do that.

Counting up all the nights she had missed, Zoë was ready to make five cuts across her arm. Four miserable days aboard a train, and then tonight. Back in the wilderness, where she could feed a part of herself to the wild. Zoë made her first cut with this thought in mind.

Zoë could feel her blood splatter against her legs as she cut herself. Some were light, some were deep. Zoë paid no mind to them, only using her hands to usher the blood off her legs the best she could. She could do nothing about the red droplets that now covered the grass like a morning dew, only leave them there for some creature to lap up. Turning around to go back to camp, a voice startled her.

"What the fuck did you just do?"

Zoë spun herself back around in surprise. Percy Jackson stood before her, eyes wide in astonishment. His voice was pointed towards her, but his eyes were locked on the blood splashed ground, and then flicked to her bleeding arm.

"I knew something was wrong with you," Percy muttered under his breath, then spoke louder to address her. "Why would you cut yourself? You have a perfect life, forever travelling with your sisters. What could you gain from doing... this?" Percy gestured to her arm, which was leaking even more blood than before, tendrils of blood stringing from her arm to drop onto the earth.

"You do not understand Percy. My life is far from perfect," Zoë said calmly, but the sides of her vision were becoming fuzzy. She knew she had cut too deep. She didn't care. The blood seemed to stain her eyes, turning her gaze a slight red tint.

"You do not understand," Zoë croaked out once more, swaying on her feet. Percy rushed forward, gripping her shoulders to steady her.

"Shit, Zoë, how much do you want to die?" Percy said worriedly. Zoë's breaths came quick and light, her thoughts jumbling up, but she formulated a response.

"My desire for death is strong," Zoë replied. "You do not understand." After that, her legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground. Percy was kneeling beside her instantly, rolling up her sleeves to glimpse the injury. She could faintly make out his startled gasp as he saw her arm, almost white with all the scars that were so populous Zoë had constantly overlapped cut over cut. Zoë lost consciousness, last seeing Percy's horrified eyes filled deep with sympathy.

Waking up again, Zoë was hardly aware of anything other than a slight sting on her arm and an itch on her back. Zoë let out a soft groan, peeling open her eyes to meet them with sea green ones. Zoë, unprepared for this and barely aware after just coming from sleep, let out a shaky yelp and pushed herself further against the tree she figured out she was leaning against.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Just me," Percy said in a soft, comforting voice. Zoë felt her body relax a bit, them stiffen back up as she came to her senses.

"Get away from me, male scum!" Zoë cried weakly, trying to push herself to her feet but failing as her body got adjusted to moving again, as always done in the early mornings after waking.

"Zoë, just sit down and listen to me for a second," Percy commanded. Zoë leaned back against the tree again, looking up at him and giving him the 'go on,' gesture. Percy exhaled, dropping onto the ground in front of her and readying himself for the conversation now at hand.

"Can you please explain to me what you were doing last night?" Zoë's memories suddenly came rushing into her head, slamming into her like someone just threw a sack of bricks at her face. She quickly realized that her cuts had already closed, and immediately pounced on the question brewing in her mind.

"How are my arms healed?" Zoë demanded, a sharp and strong tone taking over what had been before. Percy looked at her, annoyed that she was trying for answers before giving them.

"I healed them. You know, that water voodoo I can do?" Percy said, drawing some water from the air and twirling it around his finger.

"You can use it to heal?" Zoë asked, keeping up with the relentless stream of questions. Whether it was because she just wanted answers or she was stalling, Percy knew it would be useless to fight back and surrendered to her authority.

"Yes." That was the only explanation needed. Zoë nodded, then continued.

"What happened last night?" Percy knew that she was talking about after she passed out, but Zoë was too stubborn to admit her weakness the - how long ago had it been? Percy could only guess, he had just been sitting a few metres away lost in thought after treating her.

"You passed out, I healed your arms, then put you where you are now and waited for you to wake up." Zoë was relieved. Most men she encountered would have been all too happy to take advantage of a defenceless maiden, and Zoë could almost not believe she had come out of it unscathed.

Zoë nodded, satisfied, then waited for his questions to begin.

"What were you doing last night?" Percy repeated. Zoë took a few moments to gather her bearings and began her answer.

"Simple. I cut myself. What else is there to say?" Percy frowned, clearly not pleased with her answer.

"But why? What reason do you have to do this to yourself?" Zoë released a sigh and dropped her head to stare at her legs.

"I do it because I am not happy with my life." Percy gave her a look, and Zoë knew he wanted her to elaborate.

"I do not stay with the Hunt because it is what I wish. The Hunt does not fill me with a thrill of joy like it should. You see, years ago, I had a bit of an accident with a man, and Artemis rescued me. I stay because I feel indebted to her, and this is how I repay my debt." Zoë could feel emotion churning inside her. This was a secret she had never revealed to anyone, not this much. Never this much, especially not to a boy.

"Zoë, you shouldn't put yourself through mental torture just to repay a debt. I'm sure Artemis would release you from your oath, she would not want you to have to go through this."

"But I feel like I must." Zoë raised her head to look Percy in the eye, and Percy was surprised to find her eyes glistening with a coat of tears.

"The pain spurned me to harm myself, as a way to escape reality and just bathe in the pain, let it take over and relieve one of all thoughts. It is quite soothing, yet it has led me to make rash decisions." Zoë's mind wandered to the many incidents with those who had seen her in action, and she just had to let it go.

"I used to, and still do, feel like I do not belong in this world. Feel the need to live. Ever since I realized what this could do for me, my biggest wish was to die." Zoë had tears leaking now, and squeezed her eyes shut. Percy reached forwards to embrace her, to try and give her comfort, but he was pushed back.

"No. Every time anyone discovers this, something horrible happens to them. They either are hurt, physically or mentally, or they end up in hell. I do not want thee to meet the same fate." Percy tried again to embrace her, and this time he wasn't pushed away. Zoë let herself sink into his chest, crying silently into his shirt. Percy didn't mind, he knew she needed this more than he needed a dry shirt. So Percy only held her close, and let her release her emotions.

Percy sat for a long while, waiting. He didn't care how long she needed, he would give her all the time he had. Soon, her cries dwindled down to small sniffles and mewls. She nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck, her eyes still closed. Zoë relaxed further against him, curling her body into his. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but he had helped her in more ways that she thought anyone could, and her body protested furiously against moving away from Percy's warmth. Zoë gave an unconscious sigh, and Percy felt her breath tickle his neck, making his hairs stand on end.

Percy almost couldn't swallow the fact that the Lieutenant of the Hunters was snuggled into his chest, and he almost didn't want to. He might wake up to find it was all a dream, but then again, that would be good as well, because that would mean Zoë hadn't been found bleeding out on the ground. That was always good, to figure out someone wasn't bleeding out on the ground.

"Hey, you good now?" Percy asked softly, hesitantly. He felt Zoë nod, and her lips curved up into a small smile against the skin on his neck. She didn't move away. Percy didn't want her to, he was enjoying this just as much as she was. Now that he wasn't worried out of his mind for Zoë, he could feel the exhaustion of staying up all night catching up with him. Scooting back, Percy dragged himself and Zoë over to the base of an oak tree. Wrapping his arms tighter around the girl in his embrace, Percy leaned his head back against the scratchy bark and finally succumbed to Morpheus.

Waking up to two dark volcanic rocks can send you in one of two directions: happiness, or 'oh no I'm dead.' Percy was feeling the second one at the moment. With Zoë's face a mere inches from his, and her body enveloped in his arms, Percy was prepared to be brutally turned into a girl

"Zoë! I'm so, so sorry, please don't castrate me, I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry, we can just forget this ever happened, don't kill me, please please please have mercy on me, I'm so-"

"Percy, be quiet. I will not kill you," Zoë reassured. Percy still looked frantic though.

"But what about Artemis, and Bianca, and Thalia, and Grover, and-"

"Percy," Zoë groaned in annoyance. "It is fine."

"But it's not! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm very much dead, I'm-" This time Percy wasn't cut off with words. Soft lips were against his, and Percy froze. Zoë drew back, sending an apologetic glance at Percy. She moved to get up, but Percy gripped her hips and drew her back to him. Zoë turned back to him in surprise, only to have her lips connect with Percy's yet again.

The kiss started out soft and passionate, but it grew more intense quickly. Percy slipped one hand onto the small of her back, and the other down to her perfectly shaped ass. Zoë had her hands tangled in Percy's messy black locks, pressing herself as close as she could into him.

A gasp escaped Zoë as she felt Percy squeeze her butt, and Percy took the leap. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth, and Zoë let it. Percy explored every crease and crevice of her mouth before she fought back. A battle broke out in their mouths, and Percy quickly surrendered to let Zoë in. A quick break for an intake of air, then they were back at it again. Hungry, lustful, the two didn't hold anything back.

An eternity later, or what had seemed like it to the duo, both were laying on the grass, bare skin exposed. Clothes were littered across the area, and neither cared. Zoë still had her virginity, as Percy was too dignified to take it, not like Zoë would let him. Only teasing and caressing, yet both had been overwhelmed in pleasure. As the result, both demigods lay completely naked on the earth. Zoë was curled into Percy's side, her head leaning against his shoulder, and Percy found himself running his hands up and down her scarred arms. Neither spoke a word, and there was no problem found in the silence.

At least, until they heard the faint calling of their names.

"Fuck." Not sure which half-immortal muttered the single word, both scurried up to retrieve their clothes. Luckily, nothing was destroyed (much), and the two were able to get fully clothed in just seconds.

"Well, what the hell do we do?" Percy asked Zoë, trusting the female in this situation much more than himself.

"Just follow my lead," Zoë responded, striding away, before turning to face him. "Remember, to anyone else, nothing happened." Percy quickly ran after her as she walked away, her long legs covering much ground in a single step.

The two burst into the campsite, where two demigods and a satyr were panicking about two missing quest members. Bianca seemed convinced that the two were captured, while Thalia seemed bent on the idea that Zoë had snuck away to slaughter the male. Grover had no opinion, only watching from a few metres away. He was the first to spot the two 'missing' questers.

"Found them!" Grover shouted, leaping up onto his hooves. Bianca and Thalia's heads snapped in Percy and Zoë's direction, relief clear on their faces.

"Perseus Jackson, where the hell have you been?" Percy froze, not wanting to be the one to be directly addressed. Thalia's eyes gave out a terrifying aura, and Percy was even more reluctant to answer.

"I decided to join Percy on night watch due to lack of ability to sleep. We heard a suspicious noise, found a monster, and killed it." Thalia narrowed her eyes at the Lieutenant of the Hunters.

"And did I ask you?" Thalia said, eyes narrowing more. Zoë glared back at her, hand hovering over the hilt of her dagger.

"Hey, hey, let's not murder each other, ok?" Bianca interrupted nervously. When neither girl moved, Percy summoned water above their heads and let it drop.

"Perseus Fucking Jackson!" Thalia spluttered, her hair now sopping wet and hanging plastered over her eyes. Zoë didn't look too much better, but she didn't have any hair on her face.

"Fucking is not my middle name Thalia," Percy smirked. He knew what she was implying, but he just wanted to annoy his cousin now. Nothing unusual on his part, nor Thalias.

"Jackson!" Thalia barked, slapping her bracelet and letting her shield pop into view.

"Thalia Grace, back down. Percy Jackson, dry us both. Now." Zoë interfered, locking her emotionless gaze onto Percy. Percy just grinned sheepishly and dried both females. Adding in a clap to make it more dramatic, drawing an exasperated sigh from Zoë.

"Why were you so far away? And why weren't we woken?" Grover asked, prancing in place.

"Neither of us felt the need, it seems. As for why we were so far, some beasts are smarter than one would believe," Zoë answered. Thalia didn't appear convinced, but it was unlikely anything said would be believed, even if the truth was told.

And so they were off once again.

Hoover Dam was quite the sight to behold.

"Hoover Dam," Thalia said, stating the obvious. "It's huge." Zoë rolled her eyes at her comment. The group of five was standing at the edge of the river staring up at the looming concrete wall. People walked along the top, looking so small it was hard to believe they could be just as tall as them. Naiads gurgled in the river, annoyed about the large wall messing with a perfectly good river. Percy had to agree with them.

"Seven hundred feet tall. Built in the Nineteen Thirties," Percy stated.

"Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia added.

"Largest construction project in the United States," Grover finalized.

"How do you know all that?" Bianca asked, staring in astonishment at the trio, Zoë only slightly less stunned at their show of knowledge.

"Annabeth," Percy said, his thoughts trailing back to the captive daughter of Athena. His past crush. "She liked architecture."

"She was nuts about monuments," Thalia agreed.

"Spouted facts all the time," Grover finished again.

"I wish she was here," Percy added after a pause. Zoë was slightly annoyed his thoughts automatically turned to Annabeth. She could feel jealousy rising up, but shoved it back down and mentally cursed at herself. Zoë Nightshade did not feel jealousy. Absolutely not. Absurd.

"We should go up there," Thalia spoke. "Just to say we've been. For her sake." Zoë was very doubtful it was a good idea, but after a careful examination of everywhere else around them, she decided that they would have to go.

"You are mad," Zoë stated, making sure that it was known she didn't want to go. "But that is where the road is." Pointing to the parking garage next to the dam, just to make sure they were absolutely sure she didn't agree. "And so, sightseeing it is."

By the time they actually found a path up the road, an hour had to have passed. It came up on the east side of the river and then winded up to the top entrance. The top was cold and windy, with one side a large lake ringed by barren desert mountains, and the other a drop to the river several hundred metres below.

Thalia strode in the middle of the road, farthest away from the edges. No one seemed to notice, but it was quite clear to Zoë that she hated being so high. How ironic, a daughter of Zeus afraid of heights. She wondered if any of the others knew. Grover was sniffing the wind like he had caught a scent. Being a satyr, he most likely had.

"Sparti are close," he warned. "Be wary. It's coming from several directions." Nobody seemed to like the idea, not wanting to deal with Sparti. With only two days until the solstice, they had a short deadline.

"There's a snack bar in the visitor centre," Thalia said.

"You've been here before?" Percy asked.

"Once. To see the guardians." Thalia pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. Their feet seemed to sparkle a bit, but with all the mortals clustered around them, it was hard to see.

"What are they? What exactly is everyone doing?" Bianca asked.

"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia answered. "A gift from Athena. As for what they are doing, they are rubbing the toes."

"Why?"

"Mortals get crazy ideas," Thalia said, shaking her head. "They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

"When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?" Percy asked. Bianca and Zoë looked at him like he just asked if gerbils could turn in unicorns, but Thalia seemed to darken.

"No. They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues." Percy muttered a quiet 'alright,' and Thalia glared at him. Percy wasn't sure he had seen her smile once since this quest had started.

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoë interrupted. "We should eat while we can."

Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoë blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

Even Thalia grinned at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom." Bianca giggled, and Percy exploded with laughter. None of them seemed sure what was spurning the large emotional response, but soon four of the five were doubled over in laughter. Zoë looked extremely confused.

"I do not understand." Grover just kept going with the jokes, Zoë's confusion being ignored.

"I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.

"And..." Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam t-shirt." The laughter began again, and everyone would have continued for a while until Percy heard an out of place noise.

"Moo." The smile melted off of Percy's face, and he wondered if he was imagining things, but Grover looked confused as well. "Did I just hear a cow?"

"A dam cow?" Bianca laughed.

"No," Grover protested. "I'm serious."

Zoë listened, frowning. "I hear nothing."

"Percy, you ok?" Thalia asked, facing said boy.

"Yeah," Percy half-lied. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."

"What's wrong?" Grover asked.

"Nothing," Percy responded. "I... I just need a minute. To think." The group hesitated, but Percy looked a bit upset about something, so the four went to the visitor's centre. Percy was left alone. He immediately jogged over to the north edge of the dam and looked over.

"Moo."

So as the other four left, Percy stayed and had a conversation with a cow-serpent creature, nicknamed Bessie by himself. Percy couldn't figure out how she got here but didn't have enough time to figure it out as he saw Sparti approaching.

Running inside the dam, Percy saw Zoë sitting alone at a table. Percy darted up to her, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of her seat.

"Perseus Jackson-" she started, but Percy didn't let her finish.

"Sparti, leave, now," Percy panted. Zoë got a look of determination in her eyes and nodded in agreement.

"What about Bianca, Thalia, and Grover? Shall we just leave them?" Zoë questioned.

"We lure them away, then try and kill them. Then we come back and explain. Simple!" Percy said in a fake joyous voice, but the hidden discontent was clearly shown. Zoë turned towards the entrance, just as four Sparti walked in the front door. Zoë bolted, Percy by her side. They could both hear the clattering of skeleton teeth behind them as they chose a corridor.

Percy and Zoë ran, occasionally slowing to let the Sparti catch up, but trying to keep out of the line of fire. Neither half-immortal was accustomed to pistols being fired at them and were continuously diving onto the floor and slamming their bodies into walls in an attempt to escape the onslaught of bullets.

"Elevator, now!" Zoë barked suddenly, grabbing Percy's arm and pulling him towards the side, slamming her fist onto the button. The clattering of bones behind them was pushing their anxiety up to higher levels. When the doors opened, both rushed inside, slamming into the back and turning around. Praying desperately for the doors to close, neither moved until the metal slipped closed, their last sight being the grey bones of a skeleton.

"Holy shit," Percy panted. Zoë nodded in agreement, opting to stay silent instead of replying vocally. "You good?"

"I am fine Percy," Zoë answered smoothly. Turning to look at her companion, Zoë found herself once again tempted to kiss his pink lips, run her hands through his messy, tousled hair. When Percy met her gaze, she was entranced by his sea green eyes. She couldn't believe that she was having these thoughts, but she did nothing to rid herself of them.

"Hey Zoë?" Percy asked softly, startling said girl out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Percy?"

Percy seemed a bit nervous about whatever it was he was going to say but took no time to say it. "Can I kiss you?"

Zoë was surprised, at his bluntness and the question itself. But she had no problem with it, as she had the same temptations as him. "Of course."

Percy took no time slamming Zoë against the elevator wall, immediately pressing his lips against hers. With the force in which he was using, Zoë felt like her lips would be bruised, but Zoë took that in stride. Tangling her hands in his raven locks, Zoë pushed back. Neither held back their passion, desperation, or love as they kissed.

Zoë bit down on Percy's bottom lip, drawing a moan from the male pinning her down. Percy then drew away from her lips and began trailing kisses from her ear, down her neck, and across her collarbone. Zoë dug her nails into Percy's scalp, then moved her arms around his neck and lifted herself up. Wrapping her legs around his torso, she was in quite a vulnerable position, but she didn't care.

Percy nuzzled Zoë's neck, placing his hands on her ass to hold her up. Zoë began to kiss his hairline, skimming her lips over his soft skin. Neither thought about how this was forbidden, only caring about how good it felt. At least until the elevator doors dinged, showing that they were about to open. Percy flew off of Zoë, who landed gracefully on her feet. Smoothing their clothes out, three familiar people entered the elevator.

"What the hell are you two doing here? We've been looking for you," Thalia scolded.

"Sparti chased us in here," Zoë answered, not caring to elaborate or go into details. Luckily for them, Thalia accepted the answer, and they continued down to the basement. There, they found more Sparti and met a clear-sighted mortal named Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She hid them, but they were found again and chased over to the turbines. Only four escaped, Bianca having been pushed over the railing and shredded to pieces.

Then they met Nereus, who told the group that the monster Artemis had been hunting was the Ophiotaurus. Grover was sent back to camp with it after being confronted by Thorn trying to convince Thalia to kill it.

The group continued on to Mt. Othrys, going through the Garden of the Hesperides. There, Zoë was bitten and poisoned by Ladon, but she didn't tell of it.

Fighting Atlas was the hard part. Thalia took on Luke, while Percy and Zoë fought Atlas. Percy ended up taking the sky for Artemis so she could fight Atlas, where Zoë was unfortunate enough to have a javelin thrown into her stomach.

Atlas was put back under the sky, but Zoë was dying. Percy knelt by her side, ignoring the fatigue he was experiencing after holding the sky. Zoë died and was put into the stars by Artemis.

After visiting Olympus, Percy was lying on the beach at Camp. Looking up at a certain constellation, the Huntress, he was much more depressed than he let on. This was his mourning time.

"Oh Zoë," Percy muttered softly. "You should never have hurt yourself. That was why you died." Percy closed his eyes, trying to ignore the tears that welled up. "You told me you wished to die. You shouldn't have Zoë. You should've known not to."

"Be careful what you wish for."

Sequel is up on profile under the name What Shall Now Be Known.