The Hunter

Prologue

A/N: Finally, after three years of absence, I have improved my grammar and other stuff though I still have some mistakes so please bear with me. This idea came to me as I was staring blankly on the TV. As you may have noticed or not, I deleted Atheo and the forgotten child but that doesn't mean I have given up on it. I am currently on the process of rewriting everything, this time with more original ideas and different plot but still the same character. I am currently writing chapter seven of Atheo but the chapters are still messy so I won't post it yet.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

A tall young man around seventeen years old looked below the forest enjoying the feeling it gave him. He was wearing a simple black shirt, a trench coat and jeans. An old bow hung on his shoulder and an empty quiver was strapped on his other shoulder. A sword made from celestial bronze was strapped around his waist. His short brown hair was hidden by a silver bandana wrapped around his head to hide the ugly scar. He was searching for someone. His sea-green eyes brightened as he saw what he was looking for.

She was sitting with her hunters laughing around the camp fire. Her silver eyes glinted in happiness but he knew that deep inside she was still hurting even after all this millennia. His heart broke again at seeing what he could never have.

"Orion!" a deep voice called out behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Yes? Chaos?" he asked politely. He waved his hand and the image dissolved.

"There's another monster I want you to take care of" Chaos said his hooded robe full of stars and planets.

Orion nodded. He knew there was no use complaining. He was used to this ever since he died.

"What is the monster and where is it located?" Orion asked switching to his business tone.

Chaos underneath his hood smiled. He could always count on this boy. Too bad he has to let the boy go when the time comes. "You will hunt Amphisbaena; it is located in the d-"

"Dessert" Orion interrupted. If it was any other God, Orion would have been blasted to pieces but he knew Chaos would want him to prove that he has been studying.

Chaos once again smiled and handed him a scaly skin. "Well then off you go, be back before dawn" then he vanished.

Orion sighed and followed what he was ordered to do. He descended down to earth but not before grabbing a black mask to cover his face.

He arrived on the vast desert of Mojave. He pulled out his a silver whistle and blew. There was no sound escaping it but after a few seconds a ball of silver light came running towards him. Orion planted his feet firmly on the ground and the ball of light pounced on him. He let out a laugh and playfully pushed the six feet dog away.

"Good boy" he patted and climbed on top of the dog leaning over to place the skin in front of his nose. "Laelaps! Find this monster!"

Laelaps let out a bark of happiness and ran. The desert began to blur as he traveled at two-hundred kilometers per hour. The cool night wind whipped against his hair. He had to hold his breath to avoid catching a fly in his mouth. That happened to him once and he never wanted to try that again.

Then suddenly, Laelaps pulled to a stop throwing Orion out of his back. Orion rolled over and stopped on his knees. His jeans ripped in the knee area. Laelaps let out a bark, his tongue sticking out.

"One of these days you're going to stop without hurting me" Orion mumbled patting Laelaps distractedly. He was staring out the desert searching for his prey. He was surrounded by rock formations. He tensed when he saw a cave near two rock formations. A cave big enough to hide a seven feet snake. He took out his bow from his backpack and armed it with an arrow. He pulled back the string and stalked towards the entrance of the cave. It gave him a cold feeling. Shivers ran up his spine. He could hear a hissing sound from inside the cave. Then a pair of red eyes stared at him.

He let loose an arrow targeting between the eyes but the arrow just bounced off. He cursed as another pair of red eyes appeared. They let out an angry hiss and slithered towards Orion. He returned his bow and quiver back to his backpack. He unsheathed his sword and wait which proved to be a mistake as the hard head of the snake head butted his chest. The air rushed out from his lungs and he was thrown back a few feet. Now that the snakes were outside he could see it very clearly.

The snake had two heads that was dripping with venom. Where the tail normally is was the other head. The snake has a chicken like wing but Orion highly doubted that it could fly. Its scale was a sickly green. Both of the heads hissed angrily and charged at Orion. This time he was prepared. One of the heads lunged at him and jumped four feet in the air to avoid it. He brought his sword just as the other head slammed into it. He pushed the tip of his sword downward, the sword scraping against the scaly skin barely making a mark. Suddenly an idea occurred to him. He pushed his foot against the other head and ran down its back. He stood in the middle and waited for both of the heads to recover. Almost simultaneously, both heads looked at him. They pulled back their mouths showing their fangs and lunged.

Orion waited at the last possible seconds and flipped back out of harm's way. Both heads widened in shock but nothing could stop their momentum. Their fangs bit their own body. They immediately pulled back but it was too late. The venom was already rushing through their body. They let out a hiss of pain and burst into dust.

He dusted off the dirt out of his jeans and shirt.

"That was too easy" he mumbled. He tensed as he heard the familiar sound of a hunter's horn. His face widened in shock and fear. He couldn't move he was too surprise and he didn't want to move. He wanted to see her face just this once. Chaos would have a cow if he found out what Orion was about to do. He sheathed his sword and whispered an order to Laelaps, who nodded and disappeared in a ball of silver flash. A second later, dozens of quiet footsteps could be heard. The hunters of Artemis and Artemis herself have arrived. The first person Orion saw was Zoe Nightshade. She assessed the place first before signaling her sisters to follow.

"What is the situation, Zoe?" a familiar voice asked. Then the hunters parted into two lines as a twelve year old girl walked between them. Orion couldn't help himself but dropped down his knees as he saw familiar silvery eyes.

"The monster seemed to have been killed by someone" Zoe answered gesturing towards the pile of yellow dust.

"Indeed" Artemis replied. "Hunters, scout the desert and search for the reason why our prey was killed"

They nodded obediently and ran separately in four directions. He pushed himself up and followed Artemis as she entered the snake's den. Artemis or any other people except Chaos couldn't see him because he was a soul but one of Chaos's gifts was the ability to still kill monsters. The other gifts include faster healing rate, tougher skin, added strength and speed. The downside was once his soul was killed, he wouldn't ever comeback. He couldn't even live in the stars. He would just fade away. Chaos warned him of the consequences but he still took the job because by taking the job he could come down the earth and do what he loved. Hunting.

He stared at her as she bent down and retrieved something. She turned around and he saw what she was holding. It was his arrow. He cursed himself for being stupid just as Artemis gasped in surprise. She was looking at the arrow trailing the carvings with her hand delicately. Her body shook as emotions overcame her. She landed on her knees staring wide-eyed. Disbelief played on her face. He let out a shaky breath and extended a hand towards the arrow. He focused his mind and the arrow burst into dust.

"No! Orion!" she let out a cry of anguish looking at the dust of arrow. His heart broke at seeing her distressed and despaired face. He focused again and a strong wind blew the dust of his arrow away.

Orion walked up to her feeling her skin emitting heat was comforting for him.

He whispered even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "I'm so sorry, Milady"

He was about to walk away when he heard something that made him stop. She sobbed. He couldn't help kneel down in front of her. He brought his hand to her face tried to brush her golden tears away but he couldn't. His hand just passed through her.

"Don't cry, Milady, please don't cry" he pleaded repeatedly his voice breaking with each sentence. Finally she stopped crying. He placed his hand on her cheek wishing just for once to touch her. She stood up and composed herself. She wore an unreadable expression and walked out the cave leaving Orion staring after her. He followed her outside.

"Zoe!" Artemis called out her voice soft.

In an instant, Zoe was in front her kneeling. "Yes? Milady"

"I want you to head to Camp Half-Blood, I have something else to do" Artemis said.

Zoe opened her mouth probably to protest but Artemis gave her a look.

Zoe nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Milady"

"I must go now" Artemis said disappearing in a flash of light.

After a few minutes, Zoe and the hunters took off leaving Orion. He let out a scream of frustration and pain. He vent out his anger on a boulder slashing it with his sword. He picked up a rather large boulder and threw it ten feet away. He could have stayed and vent out his anger more but it was near dawn. He called Laelaps again and they vanished into the sky. The second he had arrived in the palace of Chaos, he immediately went to the training room. The walls of the training room were made from stars with black as its background. He hacked away all the dummies and automatons. He was sweating profusely. He didn't want to stop and think about what happened. Finally, when he was done, he took a shower and went to see Chaos for his report. Orion's office screamed important. It was surrounded by stars and planet. The floors were made from stygian iron to avoid detection and the high ceiling showed the constellations. Where Chaos, who was nowhere to be found, normally sat on was a black chair and in front of him was an expensive mahogany table.

Orion paced back and forth in front of the table waiting for Chaos to appear and tell him what to do. He stopped when in front of him the air sparked. He leapt back unsheathing his sword in the process. The sparks began to grow until it was visible. Then an image appeared. It was his Milady. He let out a cry of shock and anger. His milady was in pain and she seemed to be holding the sky. He reached out but the imaged faded and in front of him was an angry Chaos.

"What was that?" Orion demanded.

"None of your business" Chaos briskly replied and added sternly. "And put down your sword"

"Yes, it is!" Orion, who didn't noticed he was still armed, sheathed. "That's my Milady over there"

"She stopped being your lady the minute she killed you" Chaos snapped. Orion staggered back as if he was hit by a powerful punch. Orion clenched his fists and was shaking angrily.

Chaos seeing what he had done "That's in the pass move on, Orion" he sighed gently.

"I can't" Orion muttered closing his eyes forcing the tears back.

He felt Chaos moved and he opened his eyes to see Chaos seated at the black chair. Chaos waved his hand and another black chair materialized in front of him.

"Seat" Chaos simply said. Orion stared stoically at him before obeying him. No matter how angry he was, it was never wise to disobey a god.

Chaos pinched his sinuses. "Orion, what you saw wasn't meant for you to see" he started.

"Just tell me, Chaos" Orion pleaded. "I want to help her, I would gladly give up my life just to help her, you know that right?"

Chaos looked at him indecision in his eyes. "I sense that no matter how many times I will say no, you will continue to bug me" Chaos muttered before saying. "Fine, it was an image from the future"

"Well, what is it doing here?"

"From time to time, I receive images from the future and it keeps me up to date" Chaos explained.

"What will happen to her?"

Chaos shrugged. "I don't know, I can't generate the future, it's not in my field"

"Then I must save her!" Orion stood up. The force sent the chair flying.

"No, you can't" Chaos argued, his finger twitching and the chair righted itself. "Now sit down!"

"Please Chaos!" Orion pleaded desperation clear in his voice.

"No"

"Chaos, I have not asked nor have I complained since I got here please just let me save Milady that's all I ask" his voice broke slightly. Orion slumped down looking defeated.

Chaos faltered. It was very rare to see the great hunter looking defeated. He sighed tiredly. He knew he was going to regret this but what Hades "Fine" he muttered.

Orion's head snapped up, his eyes beaming happiness at the opportunity of seeing his Milady.

Chaos raised his hand. "But on one condition"

"Anything"

"Don't let her know who you are"

"What?" Orion exploded.

"I am already disrupting the balance by allowing you to go back, it would be suicidal if she finds out who you are" Chaos explained. "Take it or leave it"

Orion sighed. "Anything to save her"

Chaos nodded thoughtfully. "You will leave tomorrow morning, you'll still have your powers and the ones I gave you, you will also freely touch anyone, if she finds out who you are I will pull you back, the minute you save her you will come back here, understood?"

"Yes"

"Good. Now get out of here"

Orion paused. "Thank you" he said sincerely before walking out of Chaos's office. Chaos sighed and pressed a button under his table. An image of a Goddess appeared.

"There, I have agreed on our terms. Orion is going down to earth. You should keep your word" Chaos warned.

"Of course, my lord" Aphrodite replied seductively.

Chaos disgusted waved his hand and the image disappeared.

Snow fell on the busy streets of New York. Orion having packed his things descended on earth. He landed near the Empire State Building. The busy streets of New York ignored the mysterious boy. He travelled to where Camp Half-Blood was now located. He was still wearing his mask which didn't attract mortal. Orion wondered what the mortals were seeing.

He was on top of the hill staring at the camp below. It was night time and the camp was empty. He heard a growl behind him and he turned around unsheathing his sword. There looking at him threateningly was a dragon. It was staring at him face to face. He leapt back and the growling stopped. Orion furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at what the dragon was protecting.

His jaw dropped. It was the Golden Fleece. He heard stories back when he was still alive about Jason and his travels. Judging by how the dragon was wrapping itself around the tree that held the Golden Fleece protectively, he didn't dare to come closer. He sheathed his sword and went down the hill. The snow crunched against his boots. This place was different from his time. In his time, there were no strawberry farm only quests to earn money. He saw Ares' children having a snowball fight and twin brothers, who looked mischievous picking the lock on a store. A muscular boy was in the forge making a new sword. He trudge towards the Big House and was about to knock when someone from behind him pushed past him. He regained his balance and stared after a boy, who burst through the door looking excited. He was followed by Satyr, who took one look at Orion and let out a surprised bleat and passed out.

Orion rubbed his right eyebrow feeling exasperated. He rolled his eyes before taking a hold of the Satyr's leg and pulled him inside. The floor creaked under his weight and all heads snapped at him. A second later, a sword and a crackling spear was pointed at him.

"Who are you?" a beautiful scary girl with long spiky black hair and electric blue eyes demanded holding her crackling spear threateningly.

"Oh my Gods, it's Jason Voorhees" a boy with an untidy black hair and sea-green eyes yelped. "He killed Grover!" This caused Orion's eyebrow to rise up.

"Jason who?" Orion asked clearly perplexed.

"The killer in the movie I watched" the boy replied slightly looking scared.

"Percy! That isn't real" the girl snapped.

"Then who is that? Thalia!" Percy asked.

Thalia let out a frustrated sigh. "That was what I was asking him awhile ago!"

"Kids, you do know I'm right here?" Orion couldn't help but ask.

Both of them blushed lightly. Orion continued. "My name is Or-" he stopped when he realized he couldn't say his name to them.

"Oris" he finally replied.

"Weird name" Percy muttered. Orion shrugged.

"What are you doing here?" a familiar voice asked. Orion tensed as he saw Chiron.

"I'm a new camper"

"Aren't you a little old to be a camper?" a young boy with black hair and dark eyes asked curiously.

Orion frowned. "I am not that old!"

"Yes, you are" the boy argued.

"No, I am not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No!"

"Nico!" Percy snapped immediately shutting the boy.

"By Gods, why are you wearing a mask?" Chiron asked. His face showed worry and concern.

Orion turned away as if he was ashamed but in truth he was just adding an effect. "I have some embarrassing scars"

"Oris, you are amongst friends here. We won't judge you" Chiron replied looking at him sympathetically. Orion swallowed a lump. He deeply missed his old teacher.

"I can't"

"Okay. It's your decision. We're not going to force you"

"Thank you." Orion muttered.

"So, do you have any idea who your Olympian parent is?"

Orion hesitated. He hated to lie but he had to. "I don't know"

"Well, let's get you settled in the Hermes cabin" Chiron said ushering Orion outside with Nico. The overly happy kid skipped all the way to the cabin. "Tomorrow, we will have a Capture of the Flag, one of the cabin members would explain the rules to you if you ask"

Chiron was about to walk away and turned. "Oh! And welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Oris"

Orion smiled politely and waited for Chiron to walk away before muttering, a humorless smile played on his lips. "Welcome back, Orion"