Three Months Later...

*************
As suggested by Freya, I had managed to find the woods that she mentioned. And luckily, I had managed to make myself a home at the near centre of the woods.

It took me forever to build the house that I would be living in. I had to cut a few of the big white birch trees down in order to do so, but for some reason the trees would grow right back in record time as soon as I turned my eyes away for a split second. However, I didn't complain about it since it kept me busy with the house. It took me a while, but I was getting there. As for making sure the thing stayed upright and tough to break, I had to call Freya over to help me move some of the rocks onto the house itself and solidify it in place.

The inside was only enough for me to rest, since it looked completely bare. Only a bed, a roaring fire in the centre like a huge hearth, and finally some shelves for me to store some things. As for the rugs, they were pelts I collected from the animals that I had to hunt for food. As an added bonus, there was an abandoned farm not so far away from where I was, so I was sure to collect as much of the food and crops that I could. I was never one for farming since I wasn't very good at it, but I had to give it a try at least, otherwise I would be a very hungry demigod.

I was getting to finish the left side of the house, when I heard the sound of roaring monsters to the east. By my sense of hearing, the sounds were at least a hundred or so metres away from me. I kept my mouth shut, as to not make a sound or move. When I was absolutely certain that the sounds had died down, I went back to chopping the wood needed for the side of the house, swinging Riptide into the hard wood and slashing it into two. I was about to swing again when the sounds got louder than before.

I stopped completely, noticing that the sounds were closer. As I listened closely, I could hear the sounds of clashing metal, several roars of pain and the sound of a woman yelling out curses, as she was obviously fighting off whatever it was that was trying to kill her.

For a short moment, I wanted to help whoever it was out. But then again, do I risk being discovered? It's been over a year since I had any contact from the Gods and the campers, and I had no evidence that they were after me. Well, obviously there were people after me, but I was hoping that they wouldn't find me since I knew that they would bring me to Olympus to face judgement. Then again, I knew this woman needed help. And knowing how I hated the prospect of leaving people to their doom, I made the decision to help, knowing that it would probably cost me my peace and isolation from the world.

Shaking my head, I rushed towards the sounds of battle to the east. I had to rush pass bushes that were growing blackberries and wildflowers in the midday sun, but I finally managed to burst through into a clearing that was circular and was littered with the bodies of several monsters that I knew from before. The only thing that was left alive were a bunch of other monsters and a girl somewhere in her mid-teen years, firing arrow after arrow at the creatures. And to my surprise, I knew the young woman completely.

Tall, graceful, and gorgeously beautiful: dark brown eyes, a slightly upturned nose, copper-colored skin, and long, dark hair which gave her the impression of a Persian princess. And that proud regal look on her face always was one of the clearest images I remember her by. One of the many people I'd never forget in my entire life.

It was Zoë Nightshade, the Daughter of Atlas and the Former Lieutenant of Artemis.

She continuously fired arrow after arrow at the monsters, which I now recognised as Draugr: undead warriors that were killed in battle but lived again in abject fury towards the gods of Asgard. Now they were just reanimated warriors that looked like they had crawled through hellfire, as their bodies burned with fire. I knew straight away that she wouldn't stand a chance, and my suspicions were correct at this point since one of the Draugr swept his jagged sword underneath Zoë and she tripped onto her back.

I lunged forwards just as the Draugr went to cleave his axe into her skull, swiping my sword upwards to catch the axe blade. The Draugr was surprised at that point, but he didn't have much time to be surprised as I swiped Riptide at his head, slashing it clean off his shoulders as it and its decapitated head exploded into ash.

Zoë looked up at me in surprise, as soon as she registered my face in recognition. "Percy? What-?"

"Stay here," I told her, cutting her sentence short.

The rest of the Draugr now focused their attention on me, as they rushed towards me. I got into what others had called my Warrior-Mode, as I raised Riptide upwards, and slammed the blade into the ground, making the earth rupture around the Draugr, making them stumble about. I then rushed forwards towards them, coming with a roll as I slashed upwards at the first Draugr, slashing it to dust. The next two I caught in one strike - a sideways slash that caught them right through their chests. The last three tried attacking me at the same time, I ducked and slammed one of them backwards, as I dealt with the other two. I stabbed one of them right through the heart which made it explode, as I pulled my sword out and through it towards the other one, impaling it into a nearby tree. As for the last one, I stalked towards it and drove my fists into it as I relentlessly struck it with my fists, before grabbing it by its neck and shoulder and tore it in two down to its stomach. As I watched the one I impaled on the tree flail about hopelessly, it started to freeze on the spot - a little enchantment thanks to Freya.

I turned to Zoë, who watched the whole thing in shock and awe. She looked at me like I was someone else. Technically, she was right in that thought since I had probably changed a lot in her eyes.

"How did you-?" she asked. "Where on earth did thee learn how to-?"

"Save your questions for later," I told her, helping her up to her feet. "We need to get to safety. I've got a house located just beyond this clearing. If you want to get out of danger, then I suggest you follow me."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but kept her mouth closed. She nodded, as she then decided to follow me. I held my hand outwards to the side, as Riptide flew right into my hands, making the frozen Draugr break into shards of ice. Zoë was silent after that, but the silence didn't last forever.

"How are thee here, in Alaska of all places?" she asked. "And what in the name of the Styx happened to this place? How did it get like this?"

I looked at her. "Didn't I say that I would be asking the questions here?"

Zoë glared at me. "I'm not in a good mood, Perseus. I was in the stars above, but then I get sent down here by Lord Ouranos for something that I said. I was actually about to shoot Orion for the thirteenth time in the back, but was pulled out of the heavens for some unknown reason."

I frowned at that statement. "And I'm guessing that's not suppose to happen? Like, at all?"

"No, it is not suppose to happen. I was up there for years until Ouranos laid his eyes on me, and said that I was not suppose to be up there in his domain. He cast me down here back to Earth, and I've been on the run for days on end. I tried contacting Artemis but I had no word from her at all."

I thought on her words. Ouranos, the father of the Titans and the Primordial Ruler of the Sky. Just hearing that name made me conscious of the way the clouds in the skies above were formed like a angry scowl. "He must've thought that you weren't ready. Either that, or Artemis sent you to the skies the wrong way."

Zoë's eyes darkened. "Don't thee dare speak about my Lady like that, Perseus Jackson. I won't have it."

"Yeah, well the Gods aren't on my good list at the moment, Zoë Nightshade," I snarled, which actually surprised Zoë. "So don't you even dare threaten me about them, because I won't have it. As for the Gods, for all I know and care, the Gods of Olympus can piss the fuck off!"

Zoë looked at me and stopped in her tracks, looking at me seriously. "What happened to thee? Thee are not the same Percy Jackson I met all those years ago. Back then, thee were the one male I respected. Kind and brave to the end. But now, all I see is an angry man who lives a life of solitude and cares very little about anything. What happened to thee since I last met thee?"

I just looked at her. After a moment, I thought it best to tell her that the Gods has changed completely. I told her about the Titan and Giant Wars that we're won by the demigods, and how it was that I got framed for a murder that I didn't commit. When she heard about Dionysus's permanent death, she was stunned. After that, my parents death, my service to Ares and the terrible deeds that I had done in his name. I told her that I couldn't take it anymore, that I was tired of doing anything for the Gods or any God in general, but I told her about everything I went through in all honesty.

"Gods," Zoë muttered as I finished talking, leaning back as she took in the information. She then went on to a full on rant. "I can't believe they would actually do that to thee. And to think that Artemis would agree to such accusations! She should know better than that! How could she, without hearing thy side of the story?!"

"I didn't even have the chance to explain it all. I just ran as far as I could before they could even bring me in."

"But why didn't you defend yourself? You could've been able to explain to them that it wasn't your fault!" she berated me, making me notice that she wasn't even speaking in her Old English for that one.

"Even if I did that, Zeus would never believe me at all. He always had it in his head that someone would betray Olympus or even kill one of the Gods, and now by the sounds of it, he's actually right for once. Someone out there, somewhere, has the power to kill a God permanently, and one of those very Gods was right next to me. Zeus shifted the blame onto me Zoë, so what the hell was I suppose to do? Let him kill me for a crime I would never do, or run as far away as possible and live the rest my life without the mention of them ever again?"

Zoë was at a lost for words for a strong few minutes, thinking on what I said. She then nodded. "If I were faced with that, I'd probably run away too."

I nodded, before continuing to walk towards my still-under-construction home. As soon as it came into view, Zoë marvelled at it. She went around the whole thing before coming to a stop at the front door, her hands on her hips.

"You've made a great start on it, I'll give you that," she told me, her hair swaying in the cool breeze.

"Yeah, but I better get it finished," I told her, as I went back to the logs that I was working on before meeting her again. "Winter is coming, and I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood of dying because of the cold."

She turned towards the logs that I was working on, before coming up to the workbench that I made from scratch and picked up an axe. For an axe like the one she picked up, it was pretty awesome to look at: a huge blade on one half of it, with a very small blade on the other side of the wooden staff. The whole thing had several ornate runes inscribed on the hardened metal - obviously some sort of enchantments. But I wasn't particularly sure what they meant. It was a gift from Freya as one of the things that she supplied me with when I was building the house. She called it "Leviathan" if I remembered correctly.

"Well, I might as well help you," Zoë said, as she gripped the handle of the axe in both hands. She shrugged. "I've got nowhere to go right now, so I'll just stick with you."

I nodded, swinging Riptide right through the birch wood. "Well, you can stay as much as you want. It's up to you, if you don't mind hanging around with a guy and all?"

Zoë looked at me. "You are different from all the ones I've met. A lot better than Heracles for sure. Just don't get it in your head."

"Why would I ever do that?"

Zoë smiled for the first time since I first saw her, as she swung the Leviathan Axe at the wood and we just worked in silence.

*************
One Month Later...

Winter hit us pretty hard. The clouds had just completely slammed us with hail force snowstorms, winds of very cold temperatures hitting us and forcing us to retreat inside. We had managed to complete the house in time, but that didn't stop the weather from being brutal.

The insides were all thermal, except that the woods only kept out the cold for only a short time. The hearth in the centre of the house did little to warm Zoë however as she shook from the freezing atmosphere, her teeth chattering. I was perfectly fine, learning a long time ago how to cope with the cold and not let it bother me, but it made me concerned for Zoë.

"I t-t-thought...that as a...former...H—H-Huntress..." she shivered as she wrapped her arms around her chest, "I would...be use to...t-t-the c-c-c-cold. But this is...r-r-ridiculous even for me."

I nodded, walking over to her and sitting down next to her. I knew what I was going to do next was gonna get me killed, but at the moment, all safety about my well-being got chucked out of the window.

I placed an arm around her, and for a scary moment I thought she was gonna kill me. But to my surprise, she didn't argue as she buried her face into my chest and she sighed in relief.

"How did we get like this, Percy?" she asked, her eyes open and obviously thinking hard. "I thought we knew who we were before, but now everything's just changed. And it's all thanks to the Gods."

A long time ago, I wouldn't have even thought about the Gods, but now I couldn't stop thinking about everything I left behind. Heck, my own father didn't even think that I would do such a thing and even came to me before I left. I knew he hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to help, but I just had enough for good and just told him to leave me alone. The look of hurt on his face was seared into my head.

"It'll get better one day," I told her. "When that'll be, I'll never know. For now, we survive. We live. That's all we can do."

"If I am to survive, at least I'm not completely alone," Zoë said softly, looking up at me. "Just promise that you won't leave me alone."

For the first time in a long time, I saw a look of hope in her eyes. I couldn't help but get lost in them. At that moment, I knew that I would do anything for her.

"I swear on the River Styx," I said.