A/N: Hey! Thanks for the support, guys; It means a lot to hear that people are enjoying my story. Also, I was wondering how many people would get the reference of Purgatory's name. Only a few, surprisingly. Now, don't worry, I won't be stealing anything from anyone's story like that, but it was a cool name. If you think it's stealing to just name him that, fine. If enough of you believe that, I'll change it; I already have an alternate name prepared. Just paying a bit of homage to a story I thoroughly enjoy.(But I'm behind, so any spoilers will be ignored... please don't do it.) I'll probably put a link to it in the end of this chapter. Now, ON WITH THE STORY!
It'd been a few hours since Percy was sent to be the cook. Every hunter was wondering where the smell was coming from, but none of them wished to check for themselves. By the time they assembled for breakfast, something they were originally planning to have on the go, they were wondering who made it, as none of them had gone hunting nor had Artemis magicked them a free meal, as rare an occurrence as it was.
A few moments after they assembled, Percy exited the tent with a few plates, none of which were in the tent originally. "Okay, so I got pancakes, waffles, french-toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a few strawberry crepes. Take what you want, but don't rush." A few plates just appeared on the small tables Percy had made, though they had no clue he did that, and Percy asked Artemis, "Would you be so inclined to help distribute this meal, Lady Artemis?" Despite the somewhat playful manner he said this, his eyes said it all; she had little choice in the matter.
Getting up with a small sigh, she was pleasantly surprised by the mixing aromas that assaulted her nose as she got close, enjoying the more concentrated smell compared to what wafted from the tent earlier.
The Hunters seemed rather reluctant to eat the food, as it was obvious he made it, and a few of them even commented, saying it'd "probably taste like shit", but Artemis gave them an ultimatum. "Either you girls eat this, or you go hunt, skin, clean, and cook your own meal." They were blurs after that, getting in front of both her and Percy in moments.
Percy smiled, though they could only tell by the twinkle in his eyes, and began to hand out food to anyone willing. He held bacon, crepes, and waffles while Artemis held french-toast, scrambled eggs, and pancakes, making the girls who still thoroughly hated him need to go to him or deny themselves the meaty goodness that was his bacon; the smell alone was that good.
After they'd all gotten what they wanted, regardless of how they felt about it, they all sat down, sans Percy, who didn't trust them not to booby trap his seat or stab him with a fork the moment he sat down. Leaning against a tree, he conjured a container of syrup on each table, as at least one of them had something that could be eaten with it, as well as blueberries, strawberries, and some orange juice.
For a while, none of them moved, but Zoe just ate as she already trusted him. Seeing one of their own just digging in like that prompted a few other to try, and as their face lit up, other joined in. After a while, all of them were eating happily. Finally seeing her hunters begin, Artemis decided to eat too. While she was eating, she asked him something. "Per- Purge, why aren't you eating anything?" Despite her asking him, she chose to return the favor from earlier, her eyes telling him he had NO choice in the matter.
He sighed, walking up to the platters on an empty table he'd made, making a plate for himself, and getting something for himself to eat. When he finally finished, he hopped into a tree's branch on the edge of the clearing, not really wanting to sit with the hunters for fear of a fight ruining breakfast.
As he sat up there, eating to his hearts content, he noticed Artemis giving him a look. Getting tired of it, he asked, "What is it, Artemis? I don't really like people staring at me." She sighed a moment before answering, "We won't bite you, Purge." He scoffed at that. "YOU wont. Zoe won't either. MAYBE Ms. Grace would refrain as well. But the rest would rather tear me apart; I can tell." As Artemis looked around at her hunters, none of them were able to meet her eyes, yet none of them denied the claim. Sighing once more, as was becoming a habit with Percy around, she shook her head. "Do as you will, guardian."
As time passed, the hunters eventually finished, talking with one another happily and dispersing from the table, not bothering to clear their tables or thank their cook, something he was sure they'd do for Artemis. Grumbling about ungrateful brats when they vacated the area thoroughly enough for them not to see his next actions, he snapped his fingers and the, well, EVERYTHING that they were previously using disappeared, leaving not a spec of food left. Shaking his head, he made his way to Artemis who was looking at him with wide eyes.
Before he could say a word, she asked him something that made him chuckle lightly. "Are you sure you're still a demigod, Perseus?" Shaking his head, he responded. "Of course. Haven't changed to anything else in the last 200 years. Now, Artemis, there are three important things we must address. 1: what's the schedule, as you know I can't be watching around the clock? You know, what time should I begin my lookout, what'll you be doing during those times so I can call you easily, etc." Artemis thought for a moment before responding, her voice sounding somewhat unsure. "Well, I don't really have a schedule. The best I can give are places I'll likely be at a certain time."
Percy chose to just make due with this and urged her on. "Well, in the mornings, I may be training the newer hunters personally or training myself. In the afternoons, I'll either be resting or hunting for dinner. During the night, I'll likely be either on my chariot or feeding the hunting wolves." Percy thought for a moment before asking her something. "Is the layout of this camp generally the same whenever you move?" At her nod, he continued. "Okay then. I'll memorize the layout easily. Now, onto the second thing, and this one is important." When he said that, his face got serious, and Artemis' followed suit.
"Now, Artemis," he began, "this ma come as a shocker to you after so long, but I thought you'd remember this. Don't call me Perseus. I HATE that name!" His serious expression, though it was really only the hardening of his eyes, broke by the end of it, adopting a pleading look. "Sure, Perseus," she deadpanned in response, making his shoulder slump. "Would you like it if I called you a name you hated?" She shook her head. "Then stop it!... Arty." Her eyes burst into flames(metaphorically) and she gave him a look that'd make Hades shiver, but he only smirked under his mask, delighting in the response he elicited. "See?" After thinking a moment, a somewhat devious thought came to mind. "You know what, you can call me Perseus as much as you want if I get to nickname you." He felt triumphant until he felt her glower at him, her godly presence strong enough that he thought she'd lose control of her true form.
Moving his hands in a placating manner, he tried to calm her down. "Now, now, I was just messin' with ya. How about we move on." She nodded stiffly, not wanting to dwell on the fact he'd called her that. "Well, uh, how've the others been? You know, Nico, Grover, and the rest." Artemis' face visibly softened at that. She gestured for him to follow her as she walked towards the treeline. "Things haven't been too good among your friends recently, but somethings have changed for the better. The satyr, Grover, learned respect in the face of my hunters after you left, though he got rather... depressed." She got to the edge of the forest and sat on a log, Percy taking a spot leaning against a tree.
After getting settled in, she continued, Percy's eyes glued to her with rapt attention. "The boy you said had survived, Valdez, has been found. He was travelling around and enjoying a life with Calypso. He was made immortal, and they were allowed to roam as well. Piper McLean has stayed rather humble and grown skilled, as has her husband." The word husband came out a little strained, making Percy take note that her bias was still there, even if she controlled it better in his presence.
Continuing, she moved on to the other child of Zeus. "Thalia took your banishment rather hard. She didn't really eat much and stopped training for a few weeks, but then she got over it. She didn't believe you were guilty for a second, and currently hates my father and uncles with a passion. Frank and Hazel are okay, both unbelieving when they heard you were banished, but they grew to accept it and moved on. Di Angelo took it the hardest, though. He hasn't been seen for a few years now. Last I saw of him, he was pale...er that usual. He didn't believe a bit of it either, but I overheard as he confessed to Thalia that he felt helpless, something she agreed on." She'd left what she thought would be the worst of them for last, not looking forward to his reaction. "Annabeth is actually rather happy. She'd settled down with a Hephaestus camper who was made immortal and currently has two godly children. She was a bit regretful of not supporting you when you were banished, but she's managed to let your memory fade into the background."
Percy was silent for a while, looking down and not enjoying what he was hearing. Looking her in the eyes, he shocked her with his own, both their color and intensity. Both eyes were coal black at that point, dark enough that they seemed to draw light in and showing remorse, presumably for the pain he caused his friends. "Artemis, can I take a few hours to visit Nico? I think I owe it to him." She nodded, and, in an instant, he fell into the shadow of the tree he was standing under.
Underworld- Hades Throne Room
Popping out of a shadow, he looked around, making sure he was where he intended to be. Looking up, he noticed that he was in front of Hades throne as he argued with Demeter and Persephone. "I have lost count how many times I've told you that I CAN'T let her go permanently! Once the food was eaten, that was IT! NOTHING I CAN DO!" Demeter was about to yell right back at him when Persephone cut her off. "Mother! Just let it be; you already know he can't change it now!"
Percy cleared his throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable being the witness of this. "You know, I COULD help that. For a price." All of them looked at him oddly, none of the really recognizing him. Rolling his eyes, he lowered his mask, revealing his face to the gods. Demeter began to beg for his help, though Hades looked a bit conflicted. Persephone herself was neutral; after all, she'd get out for most of the year anyway.
After he managed to convince Demeter that he'd do it after the other agreed to his terms, he looked to Hades and Persephone. Hades conflicted look melted away under Percy's gaze, replaced by a look of eagerness. Take her. It's not as if I care anymore." Percy was getting a serious love reading from Hades, making him smile lightly at the fact that the glum god had a heart. Looking to the subject of all this, he was answered with a shrug.
Taking that as his cue, he walked towards the three gods, his anchor tattoo glowing ominously. Grabbing a hold of Persephone's shoulder, he said a small incantation before pulling back his hand. Floating in front of it were some pomegranate seeds, the same ones she'd eaten to get herself where she was. Demeter began to tear up, overjoyed at her daughter's freedom, and offered him a lifetime supply of free cereal. "Maybe another time, Demeter." As he was the first in a long time to not outright deny her offer, she began to glow happily.
As he refocused on Persephone, he noticed that she didn't share her mother's exuberance. Asking about this, they were all shocked by the answer she gave. "I'm happy that I get a choice now, but I've grown to like it down here during the winter. I think I'll just stick around." Hades face brightened visibly, but he tried to play it off as a sense of victory over Demeter, who was still gaping.
Smiling knowingly at Hades, he made his request. "Can I see Nico?" Hades was a bit surprised, but he hid it in his usual fashion: impassiveness. "I thought you said you didn't want anyone to know you were back, Jackson?" Percy rubbed the back of his neck, his black eyes becoming more intense. "He deserves to know. I heard he was one of those who didn't believe it when the news broke, so he's among those who deserve to know I'm back, at least. It'll get out eventually, but until then, he'll be in the know." Even as he was saying this, Hades already agreed with him, snapping his fingers to summon Nico.
Nico popped out of a shadow, his monotone voice ringing out as he landed on one knee, his face to the floor. "Yes, Father?" Hades shook his head. "I have need of you, son. But HE does." Pointing at Percy, he walked out of the throne room, Persephone and the still shocked Demeter following his example, walking briskly behind him. The doors slammed and Percy could hear Demeter addressing Hades about her daughter. Shaking his head, he turned to Nico, who couldn't suppress a gasp at the sight of him, even with decades of emotion suppressing under his belt.
Getting up on shaky legs, he whispered, "P-Percy?" Percy nodded. "Hey, Ni-" He was cut off as the now grown Nico slammed into him, bawling like a child. Percy wrapped his arms around him in a brotherly embrace, feeling even guiltier at the thought that he caused his brother in all but blood so much pain. When Nico finally calmed down, they both got up, as Percy was thrown into the ground, and he said, "I missed you so much. You don't know how-" Percy cut him off this time with a hand on his head. "I know, Nico. I know, and I'm sorry. But I'm back now..." Nico smiled happily, something he hadn't done in ages. Percy then continued, a somewhat scared look on his face. "... and I'll need your help when I tell Thalia. I'm actually guarding the Hunt right now, so I NEED to calm her down, else she'll get to throw potshots at me while I do my new job. With LIGHTNING!"
Grinning like a madman, which he somewhat resembled, he said, "Sure thing, bro. It's been a while since we've had a reunion." Nodding, Percy grabbed Nico, after his mask returned to cover his face, shocking him as they shadow traveled back to the Hunter's camp, right where Artemis was waiting for him.
Overworld- Hunter's Camp
"I thought you said a few HOURS, not a few minutes. You're not very good with time, are you? And I never said he could enter my camp." Percy brushed her off, only offering a light explanation. "I'm great with time. I'm just crap at predictions. As for Nico here, well, I need some back up against Thalia. Then I'll talk to them BOTH for those hours." As she nodded and brushed off Nico's bowing, they both made their way to Thalia's tent, which she was currently holed up in.
Now, the tents were rather large, each having a personalized solid oak door on the outside. So as they approached, both were a bit intimidated by the sight of the pure black door with silver accents and carvings of lightning. Before Percy could knock and sign their death warrant, Nico grabbed his hand. "Are you sure?" As Percy nodded, Nico resigned to fight for his life, if the need arose. When they knocked on the door, Thalia opened it, music blaring in the background, though she turned it down to open the door without it alerting the whole camp.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Nico and Percy, who lowered his mask, before darkening like a stormy day. Grabbing them both by their necks, she threw them into her cabin and slammed the door, confusing any hunters within earshot.
As the two of them stumbled in, Percy tripped on a stool she was sitting on, almost landing on her spear, which she'd been sharpening. Nico was lucky, he just hit the ground with a thud. When they both looked up at her, sparks were flying all around, threatening to electrocute them. "Explain. Now." Her voice came out deceptively calm, making both boys shiver. While they could just shadow travel away, it'd only make it worse, and they knew it.
Percy got up, making placating gestures with his hands. "Now, Thals..." The sparks began to become stronger, arcing towards him until a few were stinging him. "Okay, okay. Just calm down." That was the wrong thing to say. Thalia got in his face in an instant, grabbing him. "You go to Tartarus for 50 years, get accused of TREASON, then show up again, return Zoe from the fucking DEAD, appear with WINGS and call yourself Purge after flying from Olympus to here in a few minutes, correct our millennia old goddess on her course of action, then make a bunch of shit appear then disappear after cooking, COOKING for us, and you want me to CALM DOWN!" Percy stared at her for a moment before nodding. She growled, ready to fry his ass when Nico interrupted. "He can't explain if you electrocute him, Thals." Looking at him for a moment, as if to consider electrocuting him too, she let him go.
Percy dusted of his shirt, nodding in thanks at Nico who gave him a thumbs up. Looking back to Thalia, he found her tapping her foot with her arms crossed, sparks slowly dying down. "Well?" Percy gulped, trying to hide the small amount of trepidation he was feeling, before beginning. "Well, what do you want to know? I went to Tartarus, conquered Tartarus, then left Tartarus. Details?" The nod that came from both his audience members was enough. "Well, it all began when I fell into the River Lethe, and no, I didn't lose my memory, I dragged myself out and met some Cyclopes' who were in the middle of a game of pinochle..."
He went on for an hour or so, telling them the basic gist of his time in Tartarus, leaving somethings out for the sake of secrecy. They learned that he had domains, yet was still a demigod, a concept that somewhat baffled them. They learned he had minor authority over monsters as well as some control over the mortality of the body a person was inhabiting, along with his power over light, his power over the earth, minor shadow powers due to his domain of Tartarus, increased water powers, and increased earth powers, though he never really used them. The most shocking part of the story was that he had control over time, something they didn't believe until he froze time and appeared on her bed. No blur or high-speed movement, he just appeared there, cementing their belief.
He even told them about being the primordial's power source, of sorts, which was the real reason behind his multicolored eyes, even Gaea, which he had to quell their suspicions on. "I'm not on the gods' side anymore, so I have no reason to deny her power." When he said that, they quickly hounded him for an answer, asking if he wasn't on their side anymore. "I never said that, now did I? I said I'm not on the gods' side. Nor am I on the titans' nor the primordials'. I'm on MY side, and I still have my friends' back if it comes down to it. I've actually been preventing a war for the longest while, you know." He then went on to explain that the primordials were all free, and the same went for the titans, who rebuilt their base, and they could wage war on Olympus at any point. "The only thing stopping the titans is me. The primordials, except Gaea and maybe Tartarus, have no real interest in ruling either, so you guys are fine."
Getting back on topic, he told them of his occasional travels outside of Tartarus, though they questioned him on why he didn't visit, to which his only response was "Would YOU, if the gods thought you were imprisoned in hell, wanted you to stay there, and you wanted to keep them ignorant?" Their silence spoke for itself as he continued. Eventually, he got to the point in his story where all the monsters feared him, so he sought to dispel that by gaining some trust among them. He saved a few groups from death at the hands of demigods, making sure neither side knew who had stopped it until he got rid of the demigods. After a few years of this in between his training, he managed to get well liked in Tartarus, at least half it's citizens giving him something akin to hero worship, as annoying as it was for him.
Moving on from there, his tale progressed to the point where he began fighting in the arena occasionally, clearing the board whenever he was the final competitor. They were never told that the warriors they bet on had to fight Perseus, so it was always an upset when they reached the end, only to get cut down. It was a great money maker for him, though, as he owned part of Tartarus, and thus got some of the income. "Tartarus is more civilized that you think. Well, I trained for the next few decades, doing this on the side whenever I felt like it. I was fighting Iapetus, Koios, Krios, Hyperion, and Kronos in a 5 v. 1, eventually winning, when the Olympians called me up, freeing me. It's been 2 days since then, and I chose to remain in secrecy until I felt it was time to reveal myself. You two are the only ones beside the Olympians to know I'm back."
When he finished his tale, there was a silence that descended over the trio as his audience digested the info, finding it hard to consider Percy so powerful. He already radiated power like that of a god before, but now, they felt like he was on a completely different level. Thalia broke out of her shock first, smirking. "Well then, Lord Seaweed Brain..." It was small, so small she almost didn't notice, but there was a small twitch at the mention of his old pet name. "Are you still not over that?" Nico asked what she was talking about, so she elaborated. "He still has something with Annabitch." Nico gaped at Percy for a moment. "Really, bro?"
Percy shook his head before explaining. "I never really addressed what I felt after she abandoned me. I kinda just... tried to kill the feelings. I hear she's moved on, and so have I; you're just poking at an old wound." Despite talking with his friends, his tone shifted subtly, letting them know that he wasn't dealing with her right now. Leaving the issue, Thalia asked, "Do you plan on hiding for a while? It'll be weird to call you "Purge" for a while." Percy shrugged. "Depends on what happens. People will find out eventually, but I rather they don't for as long as possible. Hero worship gets real old, real quick, you know."
At that moment, Percy checked his perfect internal clock and gasped. "Holy shit, it's almost noon already." Both looked at him oddly, both for the statement and his wording. He rolled his eyes. "A century or two in hell will do that to you. Now, I think it's about time for me to make lunch." Nico was confused at this. "Make lunch?" Thalia laughed. "Yeah. Lady Artemis has him cooking for us!" Percy sighed as he shadow-traveled away, Nico snickering at him. Smirking, he decided to get back at them before he left. Stopping just as his head was about to sink into the ground, he watched as they began to laugh at him, Thalia falling on his shoulder. Taking that as his cue, he began. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Make sure to wear a condom." For good measure, he made one appear in Nico's lap as he let his head sink into the ground. Thalia's foot came down on where his head once was, her face comparable in shade to a tomato, Nico not too much different. They both looked at each other, then the condom currently in Nico's hand, and managed to blush harder.
Laughing as he appeared in the slightly darkened food tent, he stepped out, calling to Artemis in a whisper. "Oi, Arty!" A growl sounded in front of him, causing him to look down. She was in her twelve year old form, so he was a little more than a full head taller than her. "Sorry about that; didn't see you there." Calming herself down, she became 18, the same age he appeared to be at that moment. "Better?" While she did get taller, which is what she intended, she also, well, grew up. Percy was glad he was wearing a mask, because even the rather light blush that came across his face would get him killed in this hostile environment.
Shaking his head, he asked, "Am I cooking lunch, too?" Smirking, she responded. "Well, since you offered... Oh, and lunch is in a few minutes, so I suggest you hurry up." Turning around, she turned back to being twelve, smirking triumphantly. Percy just shrugged. His voice asked, yawning, 'Does she know you can slow down time for such a meager task?' He shook his head and told him to either go back to sleep or help him. Purge decided to stay, taking over the process of slowing down time so he'd be all there mentally for the meal, no MASTERPIECE he was about to create. "Welcome to the grind, Percy," he mumbled to himself as he got started.
A Few Minutes Later
Nico and Thalia were sparring up until Artemis called for lunch, which they raced to, eager to see how Percy fared with only a few minutes to pull something together. When they got there, the hunters were already there and EVERYONE was wondering where the smell was coming from. Percy walked out of the tent with an apron on that read "Kiss the Cook" but he wrote on in sharpie "Or Not". He had a chef's hat on in place of his headphones, tilted at an angle which completed the look. As he walked, he was carefully keeping his balance with a few plates stacked on various parts of his upper body. "Okay, so we have pork short ribs, mashed potatoes, a few different types of wraps for those who're a bit picky, grilled corn salad with Poblano Peppers, though it does have cheese in it, so don't take it if you're allergic, and I have some pizza back in the tent, though I couldn't carry it. Take your pick." Everyone's jaws dropped at the assortment of foods he'd managed to prepare. The real shock was felt by Thalia and Nico, who didn't even think he could cook, Thalia never registering that it was Percy who made breakfast.
After he shared everything with everyone, bringing chairs, a rather long table for everyone, plates, forks, knives, and napkins into existence before their very eyes, he stood behind Nico, who sat next to Thalia and Zoe. The table was a decently big one, seating Artemis, Phoebe, Zoe, Thalia, and Nico with ease. Artemis gave him a look that said "explain" as she dug into the meal, enjoying it thoroughly. "Haha. A few minutes to you could be a few hours for me with a simple, sustained thought." Nico looked up from his pizza. "That's cheating, man!" Percy looked at him with eyes that said "really" before grabbing a piece of pepperoni from his slice and walking away, both his and Thalia's laughter plain to hear. How he ate it through his mask is a mystery to them, but they didn't question it.
As he made his way to the same tree he sat in before, he went to lay in a branch until they were done when Artemis asked, "Where are you going, Per- Purge?" He gestured to the mass of hunters then to his tree, thinking that was enough explanation. "Di Angelo is sitting just fine, isn't he?" Artemis pointed out. "Well, he has Thalia between him and the wolv- er, girls." Said girls glared at him for that, grumbling about how he deserved it.
Gesturing to them in a "See!?" manner, he turned back to his tree before Artemis coughed. "I refuse to exclude the one who cooked the meal from this group as we eat. Get over here. NOW." Sighing in acceptance, he proceeded to stand behind Nico, feeling the safest there. Holding out a hand, he surprised everyone as a pizza slice flew into it. Bringing it to his mouth, he asked, "Happy?" as he went to take a bite... through his mask, somehow. Artemis "hm"ed before responding. "Better, but not quite. It'll do for now." Like that, they had lunch, Percy taking whatever he wanted from the table as he stood behind Nico for protection.
When they were finished, he got, at best, 5 mumbled "thank you"s from the hunters, a "not bad" from Artemis, and actual thanks from Phoebe, Thalia, Zoe, and Nico. When Artemis gave her version of a thank you and left to train a bit, Zoe, after she thanked him, said, "Don't mind milady; she has a hard time admitting a man can do anything well, even one such as yourself." Percy nodded. "I can tell." And with that, proceeded to jump into a tree, going from branch to branch until he stood at the top, resuming his job as a guardian.
Thalia looked to Nico and asked, "Are you gonna go now?" He shook his head. "Nah, I'll stick around. Wanna spar again? You won't the excuse of being hungry this time." She smirked, fully prepared to make him eat those words. Phoebe and Zoe were left. Phoebe shook her head in disbelief of what was happening. "To think the day would come when we DON'T rip boys apart for even being among us." Zoe shook her head in dissent. "No, 'tis not a day such as that, Phoebe. Those males are different." Phoebe cocked an eyebrow at her speech pattern. "You've been speaking better modern English recently. What happened." She smiled as she gave a one word response. "Purge."
An hour or so later, Zoe and Phoebe were sparring with Artemis at the same time. The match only began a little bit before, but the two girls were already losing badly, unable to keep up with her godly abilities, mainly her speed. Once she knocked them both to the ground, standing triumphantly, Zoe gave her an idea. "You should spar with Purge, milady, if you want a real challenge. He's rather strong." The other hunters, who were around to watch the match, mumbled to each other about one of their own calling a man strong. "You think she's broken her oath?" "No, this guy must just be actually strong. She's been around forever; she wouldn't break that oath." Such were the natures of the whispers that went around.
Artemis thought about it for a moment before nodding. Cupping her hands, she shouted, "Purge! Get over here!" Most of the hunters smirked, thinking the male was about to get his ass handed to him. They were all shocked when Percy appeared in the middle of the training area with no sign of arrival until he said, "Yes, Artemis?" After she got her heart back in her chest cavity, she smirked at him. "I want you to spar with me. Don't worry about guarding us; we're all here. Just fight at your best, because I won't be holding back." With that said, she went into the middle of the clearing they used as a training area, waiting for him to ready himself.
Shrugging, he began stretching a bit, warming himself up. Once he nodded, Artemis turned into an 18 year old, making Percy, Zoe, Phoebe, and Thalia raise an eyebrow, oddly in sync. Seeing their faces, she explained. "I was short enough that he lost track of me in my earlier form, so I don't want him to make that excuse when he loses." Percy's eye twitched, but then he decided to get some payback. Retracting his shirt until it was just his face mask, he smirked at her slight blush. "If you're gonna get rid of you're advantage, I'll get rid of mine; nothing you have could've cut through that, so I'll remove it. It's only fair. I doubt you'll scratch me anyway, though." With that, he stood across from her, waiting for her to begin.
Shaking her head to clear it, she told Zoe, "Start the match." They stood a good 30 yards apart, muscles tensed in anticipation of the other's move. Zoe said, "Begin!" but neither of them moved, wanting the other to move first. Artemis was never the most patient outside of hunting, so she moved first, dashing to the side as took out her bow, nocking an arrow and letting it fly. Dodging the arrow, he dashed to the side as well, going in the same direction as her so she wouldn't be able to catch him. He pulled out his own bow and sent an arrow at her speeding form, which she dodged by changing her speed. This was how it went, trading arrows that never hit their mark. But this wasn't because either of them were bad with their aim; far from it. They were speeding around the training ground with speed that made Zoe gape, having never been able to force Artemis to use such speed on her. They just couldn't hit each other.
Soon, they both stopped across from one another and started using their bows like machine guns, arrows cancelling each other out as they met in the middle. They slowly started to walk towards one another, going faster and faster, but neither could gain an advantage. When they were only 10 feet away from one another after loosing hundreds of arrows, the retracted their bows, Artemis' disappearing in a silver flash and his becoming a bracelet, and charged one another, Artemis using her hunting knives and Percy with his dual swords.
Bringing one of his swords in an upwards slash as he ran at her, he prepared to counter her counter to the move. And counter she did, deflecting the strike off one of her knives and sending the other at his chest. With a flick of his wrist, he spun his sword and knocked that hand away, leaving her open. He smashed the pommel of his silver sword, tho one he spun a moment prior, into her stomach, making her go reeling backwards. Not letting up, he began to slowly push her back, pressing his advantage as best her could. It was a blur of silver and gold as he slowly upped his speed, trying to disable her without moving too fast.
Unfortunately for him, she wasn't an Olympian for nothing; in fact, she had the best combat ability of any of the others, beating even Ares. She quickly recovered, matching him blow for blow. Neither actually landed a blow on the other, though, so this continued for a LONG while. After ten minutes of them pushing one another back and forth, feints and taunts being tossed around, Percy managed to knock a knife from her hand, shocking her enough that he could knock the other from her hand.
His triumphant look annoyed her, so she growled and did the only thing she could think to: tackle him. He let go of his swords as the went tumbling to the ground so he wouldn't stab either of them by accident, leaving them laying on the ground as they wrestled for dominance, trying to put the other into a submission hold or knock them out. Off to the side, the hunters were just staring wide-eyed at the display of power. Even Zoe hadn't seen him fight this hard, though that was probably because he was fighting WITH his godly enhancements on. 'Wait a second, he should be destroying her if he's using those...' With wide eyes, she realized that he was holding back, further shocking her. Thalia just smiled, though. When Zoe saw it and asked why, she gave a response that got the attention of the other hunters. "Pay attention to Lady Artemis. She's SMILING!"
True to her words, Artemis, and Percy, for that matter, had face splitting grins on, still trying to gain dominance over the other, though no one could tell for Percy. Artemis finally gained the upper hand this time, her luck winning out, and she sat on his chest, materializing a knife and holding it to his neck. She forgot that she couldn't cut through the "fabric" though, so Percy was actually still in it. He'd simultaneously created an arrow, which he pressed against the open skin at HER neck, making her shiver at the contact. At that exact moment, Apollo came to get Artemis for a meeting, but was stunned silent at the position they were in, her sitting on his chest, him shirtless, and both of them sweating. He then took out his cell phone and started recording. Artemis, careful not to cut herself on the sharp metal point at her neck, said, "Draw?" He smirked under his mask. "Not quite."
With that, in a show of rather decent abdominal strength, he did a sit up with her on his chest, throwing her off and onto her back. With extreme speed, he pinned both her hands above her head, using one of his hands to hold them their as the other held the arrow to her neck once more. He was already leaning over her, but he brought his head down to her ear and whispered, "My win..." They were interrupted, although they'd actually just finished, by Apollo clearing his throat. "Uh, dad wanted to talk to Artemis about something, but if you're busy..."
Percy got off of her like it was nothing, stretching his muscles. "We were just finishing up, actually; You can have her. Oh, and if anyone see that recording, I swear to Khaos..." With that, his face mask flowed back down his body, becoming a shirt once more. He stretched out his hand, lifting the blushing Artemis to her feet before she went back to her twelve year old form. Walking over to Apollo, she turned to Percy. "I'll be back before 8 tonight. Make sure you've HUNTED and cooked before then, because I'm on schedule to rise twenty minutes after 8." Turning back to the smirking Apollo, she said, "If you say a word-" their conversation was cut off as they flashed away.
Percy chuckled at their sibling rivalry before he felt the eyes of the hunters on him, once more trying to kill him with them. "Oh don't get your panties in a bunch; I won fair and square, and I think the victor is entitled to do some teasing." With that, he held out his hands, making his swords fly back to them as he walked into the woods to hunt, leaving the hunters to be angry at his memory and ignoring the smirks from Thalia and Nico.
A Hours Later
Percy wiped his brow with his apron as he felt Artemis appear in camp. After Apollo, APOLLO, managed to sneak up on and record him, he kept his senses on high alert, not letting anything in or out of the camp without his knowledge. Regardless, he just finished making a pretty big meal out of the deer, and stepped out into the open, creating another long table like he used at lunch, though this one had benches. 'Thank you, Khaos!' A small 'Your welcome.' was heard in the back of his head, but he ignored it and chose to set out dinner for the hunters. He put down a platter with cuts of deer steak, fried deer, grilled dear, and even deer-kabobs he made with the left over pieces and some veggies so none was wasted. He also put some rice out, because rice goes with just about everything, and made their plates appear in their respective positions.
Artemis gaped at him, before turning away and calling the hunters for dinner. When they arrived, they saw ANOTHER meal set out for them and a few of them couldn't help but raise their eyebrows. Phoebe spoke for those who were confused, aka most of them. "I thought milady instructed you to hunt for this meal, Purgatory." He smiled under his masks, the only indication being the smiling feeling his eyes gave off. "All that meet there is venison, aka deer, that I hunted, skinned, cleaned, cut, and cooked on my own. Took a while, but it was doable." With that, he took out a triangle and began to ring it, a twinkle in his eyes. "Dinner's ready, girls." As he put it away, they all got seated. He took his time taking off his apron when he noticed a distinct lack of eating noises. Once he couldn't untie the knot behind his back and just made it disappear, he looked up to find Artemis looking at him expectantly, as did Thalia, Zoe, and Nico. Phoebe didn't really care, and the hunters were eager to dig in, unsure as to why their mistress told them to wait.
Percy raised an eyebrow questioningly, conveying his question wordlessly. "You're going to enjoy your own meal this time, Per- Purge. Sit. Now." The tone in her voice left no room for argument, so he made his way to the end of the table with Artemis, about to make a chair for himself when she scooted over, giving him a seat. "Since when were you nice?" She glared at him. "Since when did people reject a gift?" He gave her a deadpan look that said it all. "Oh yeah. Fine then, don't sit." Just as she went to go back to her position, he slid onto the bench. "Never said no, now did I?" At that, Artemis gave the hunters the okay to eat.
After Artemis took a bite, her eyes gained a dark look. As everyone around her ate happily, Nico, the master of dirty looks, noticed the one she was giving Percy as she slowly ate her food. "Uh, Lady Artemis, are you okay?" His comment drew the attention of Zoe, who was right next to Artemis, Phoebe, who was next to Zoe, and Thalia, who was next to him.
She nodded stiffly, still glaring holes into Percy, who dutifully ignore it. Eventually getting fed up with it, he addressed Artemis. "Okay, what did I do? If it's about your brother, I'm sorry, alright?" She shook her head before looking hard at him. "I was fine with you being a better overall cook than I am, but deer is my specialty! How the hell did you do... THIS with deer!?" Percy laughed. "Oh, that? I've been experimenting for over a century with all types of cooking. Makes sense I'm good at it, right? I can give you lessons if you want."
Artemis nodded before sulking in front of her food. Zoe couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing, Nico, Thalia, and Phoebe right behind her. Even Percy chuckled a bit, making her sink further into her mini-depression. Then he resumed eating, finally getting questioned by Nico as to how he ate through his mask. His response was "magic", which was actually completely plausible.
After all the hunters were finished eating, Artemis went to feed the wolves and let them know where to go before she went to get her chariot, leaving Perseus in charge of the hunt. Turning to the hunters, he could practically feel their distaste at following his orders, but he didn't particularly care. "Okay, I don't care what you think of me, as such I won't try to change it. Just go pack your stuff and be ready for Artemis to return with her chariot. You have... 9 minutes 18 seconds and counting. Get to it." After they finished, they had a few seconds before Artemis arrived, which Percy used to call his own ride.
After he put his headphones on, he took out some keys and clicked a button on a remote hanging from the end. The ground began to rumble after that, Artemis appearing just as a slanted hole appeared in the ground. Two lights appeared in the ground as the shaking grew stronger, getting closer and closer. Soon, a black blur flew out of the ground, landing right in front of Percy. He smiled as he walked up to it, though no one could tell, and began talking. "6.2 Liter Supercharged Hemi V8-SRT Hellcat Engine with 700 horsepower. Top speed: 204 mph without my nitrous. 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat." After he was done, he threw himself on the hood. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
The hunters stared at him oddly while Nico had stars in his eyes. "Bro, you HAVE to let me drive this thing." Percy may as well have hissed at him for that. "Oh come on! Don't be like that, man." Percy rolled his eyes and clicked another remote on a different set of keys, another light coming from the still gaping hole in the ground. Once it landed, it was shown to be a black bike with red and gray accents. He tossed the keys to Nico as he spoke. "Suzuki Hayabusa. 1340 cc engine, 197 horse power, and a top speed of 248 mph. You scratch her, I scratch you. Out of existence. Oh, and it can shadow travel if you have a problem with flying. I'll be nice; you can borrow her until tomorrow." Nico all but bowed down to him, making the hunters roll their eyes, a collective thought common among their ranks. 'Boys...'
Artemis looked at her watch, which she created at that exact moment due to the lack of a moon they could see(A/N: They can see through the mist, which would make mortals not notice a thing.). She cursed to herself before transforming her chariot into a 12 seat Dodge Sprinter(A/N: I'm a car geek, okay? Don't judge me.). As she began to load her hunter up, Percy asked her a question which made Thalia's ears perk up. "Why don't you just turn it into a limo?" Artemis shook her head, crushing Thalia's hope. "You've spoiled my hunters enough for one day." As they continued to load up, Percy and Nico putting their tents/bags in the back, she went to tell her hunting wolves that she was ready to go, so they should get moving.
While she was doing that, Percy finished packing the bags, as Nico gave up when he felt how heavy they were, he said, seemingly to no one, "Yo, can I be the dark side of the moon tonight? Makes my job easier." A voice that sent chills down the spine of every hunter that heard it rang out from every dark spot around them, which was pretty much everywhere, as they'd taken down camp and it was night time. "Sure thing. Makes my job easier, too." With that, the voice was gone, leaving everyone to wonder who that was. When Thalia asked, he responded as if it was an everyday occurrence. "Oh, that was just Erebus. I'm taking over as the dark side of the moon tonight, so I just had to get the okay from him." As everyone stared at him, wide eyed, he got in his car and revved the engine, his eyes reflecting the orgasmic bliss that spread through him. "Oh, I missed this SO MUCH!"
A while later, if one was able to see through the mist, you could see a muscle car and sports bike cruising along side a large van... in the sky. Percy made a comment to Nico about it through his open window. "You know, for anyone who can see this through the mist, we probably look ridiculous." Nico thought about it, then chuckled. "I don't even care. You know what, I'm gonna go take this baby for a spin. Have fun, Perce." Just as he was about to shoot off into the night, he stopped, a smirk on his that Percy couldn't see due to the helmet he had on. "Percy! You may want this." He tossed Percy the condom he was given earlier. "Make sure you don't put a bun in that oven during your "cooking lessons" with Lady Artemis." Percy set it on fire and chucked it at the laughing immortal as he rode off. "Fucker..." With a shake of his head, he closed his windows and turned his music all the way up again, enjoying the bass from the speakers he installed in the back and the lack of sound loss due to soundproofing his entire car.
Two Weeks Later- End of the Month
It was approaching midday, and neither Percy nor Artemis were out and about. They were both confined to the food tent in their current camp site, actually. One would find Percy showing her her how to... properly beat eggs. He found that she had no real culinary skill at all, though she never really needed any; he just had to start from scratch. "Okay, now you try. When you're done-" He was cut off by some of the egg flying so far out of the bowl that it managed to hit his face mask. 'She MAY just be worse at this that Atlas. ATLAS!' Sighing, he waved his hands and made a new bowl, as she dropped the previous one when she covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Handing her the last eggs from a carton, he watched her crack them with little trouble, get the small bit of shell out, then go to beat them again.
Seeing her begin to do the same thing she was before, he stopped her. "Do you remember how I held it, Arty?" She glared at him for the name, but nodded; it was kinda fair, since she had gotten eggs on him. "Okay, try to emulate that as best you can. Don't worry if you're not perfect; the most comfortable hold tends to differ from person to person." She adjusted her hold on both the wisk and the bowl, trying to copy Percy as best she could.
Once she began again, and was about to get some on him again(He could tell), he stepped up behind her and gently held her arms, making her freeze up. At that exact moment, Nico popped up in the corner, intent on seeing Percy cook, when he saw them in that position. Clasping his hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a stupid remark, he used his godly abilities to create a camera, set the broadcasting frequency, and quickly stepped back into the shadows.
He appeared on Olympus, ready to prank Percy to no end. 'He's gonna KILL me for this, but it'll be so worth it.' Finding Aphrodite, though it was hard as her house seemed to sparkle in every way possible, extremely limiting the amount of shadows, he told her about what he saw, making her squeal in delight. "Oh, this is gonna be good!" He told her that he had it broadcasting to his own personal surveillance system, so he had the recording ready whenever. When she asked him WHY he had one of those, he just responded in the way he could most easily get her off his case and onto Percy's. "Part of my job. In Hades. Wanna know more?" When she, predictably, declined, she grabbed him and flashed to her husband to set things up.
A few hours later, Hermes came into camp, a pleased look on his face. He asked one of the hunters where Artemis was and when he got the location, and a dirty look, he sped of to the training grounds. He found Artemis and Percy having an archery competition, Zoe and Thalia as the judges. As he called out to them, he got a dirty look from Artemis. "What is it, Hermes? This is important." Hermes put his hands up in surrender. "You can finish first." She nodded in thanks, as did Percy, before they locked eyes, cleared their targets of arrows with divine powers, and started filling them with arrows. Each and every arrow hit the bulls-eye, some of the even splitting a previous arrow down the middle. Their hands were blurs as they shot, both of them having looks of concentration on their faces.
Zoe said, "Time!" after a period of 10 second, cutting both immortals off. Thalia went and counter the arrows, a shocked look coming over her face. Running back the 50 yard distance, she looked at Artemis's smirking face and gave the score. "Lady Artemis, you got 120 in 10 seconds. Percy, you got... 170..." Percy began to jump around joyfully as Artemis shared Hermes' and Zoe's shocked look. "H-how? I'm the GODDESS of archery!?" Percy popped up in front of her, poking her in the nose. "In your face! I get a vacation! WOOO!"
After he calmed himself down, he looked to Hermes, who looked at him, thoroughly amused by what he just witnessed. "Okay then, there's a meeting on Olympus; just a general update one. You can bring the hunters if you want; everyone else is bringing a person or two. Aphrodite said she had something, though. Watch out." With that, he flashed out, leaving Artemis, Percy, Thalia, and Zoe alone in the training area.
A while later, all the hunters were in the throne room, sitting at Artemis's feet, while almost every Olympian had at least one person at theirs. Zeus had Jason and a camper Percy didn't recognize, Poseidon had a camper, apparently a child of his, Hades had Nico, Dionysus had Pollux, Aphrodite had both Drew and Piper, Demeter had Katie, Ares had Clarisse and Frank, Hermes had both his twins, Connor and Travis Stoll, Athena had Annabeth, Apollo had Will Solace, and Hephaestus had Leo and another camper Percy didn't recognize. The only one who didn't have anyone beneath them were Hestia and Hera, for obvious reasons.
Percy, though, was a bit confused. He was in the back of the hunter's group, so he went to the front and nudged Thalia before whispering, "When did the gods get so... open about what happened in their meetings?" Thalia shook her head and whispered back. "They still aren't, at least when it's important. This is a general meeting, though, so every god brings a representative. It's more so that they can be lazy and not have to update the demigods in person. Each person is either a camp director or a cabin leader, so they pass on the info." Percy nodded in thanks as Zeus began to speak.
"Greetings. As usual, anyone who has anything of importance to share may do so now within the Olympian council." At that, Demeter began a little speech on the virtues lost on the youth they bring forth and how they could fix it, a seemingly common occurrence from the looks on the demigods' faces. After she was done, though she was brushed off by Zeus, Dionysus brought forth a plea to get himself a shortened sentence. 'It seems he got that shortened sentence withdrawn from him,' chimed Purge, stating the obvious.
After a few gods brought somewhat trivial matters to the table, Poseidon's camper raised a hand, having a question. Zeus allowed him to speak. "I do not mean to pry, Lady Artemis, but may I know who the man that accompanies your hunters is?" The other non-Olympians,sans the hunters and Nico, nodded, wishing to know why a male was among the hunters.
Artemis looked at Percy for confirmation, but she was surprised when she heard his voice in her head. 'Don't tell them it's me, but let them know of my position.' After the look of surprise left her face, it was replaced with confusion. 'You never did explain why, Perseus.' The hard look he gave her made her roll her eyes as she retracted her words. 'Percy. SO sorry.' As he nodded his head, he responded, leaving his audience in the dark. 'Well, you get tired of hero worship REAL quick when even some monster give it to you.' She looked at him strangely before nodding.
Turning to the one who asked, she responded. "He is the temporary guardian of my hunters, as our numbers are low and I have other duties to attend to at times." The eyes of the demigods and immortals who didn't know about Percy widened at the implications. The first was that, if she left him in her place, he had to be as strong as her. The second: she trusted the well-being of her hunters to a man. All of them stored that as a bit of gossip for later as Aphrodite took the stage.
The initial response to her was the roll of multiple pairs of eyes, but when she looked to her husband for something, they knew she had something to ACTUALLY show them; she never asked her husband for things. Hephaestus snapped his fingers before looking apologetically at Percy, his eyes saying he was sorry, though for what Percy had no clue. A LARGE TV appeared in the middle of the semicircle as Aphrodite got up and, still in her giant for, turned to her audience. "Well, I have big news about the newest couple on Olympus!" While everyone else lost interest at that, believing their hope was misplaced, Percy was wracking his head, trying to think of how he tied into this.
When he finally got it, he said something out loud that made everyone look at him in surprise. "Ah fuck." He waved them off with decent acting skills, pretending to have stubbed his toe against the edge of Artemis' throne. He slowly made his way to the OTHER side of her throne at that point, not wanting to be near the hunters if what he thought was gonna happen was gonna happen. The TV turned on and his face slammed into his palm with enough force that he thought he broke either his hand or his nose. Or both.
On the screen was Percy teaching Artemis how to cook, but it came in at an... inopportune moment. Percy was behind her, correcting her hold on the wisk and bowl in a very... hands on manner. Her hands were grasped by his, his face right next to hers. Her being in her 18 year old form didn't help the matter. Her face had turned beet red, rather similar to her face as she relived the moment in her throne.
In the video, Percy was showing her the correct movements for wisking, and, when she eventually got it, he stepped back, a happy look in his eye. "See! You can do it if you try!" They then moved on to slice strips of chicken and dip them in the eggs before putting them in a mixture. When they set it frying, Artemis managed to burn her hand, so he held it and encircled it in water, both making it feel better and using his powers to heal her. As he healed her hand, she sulked a bit. "Don't worry about it; I almost burned myself my own fair share of times. Fortunately for me, children of Poseidon are somewhat hard to burn, but you have to be a bit more careful than that."
As she nodded, he finished up healing her burn, but then he told her he'd finish making the meal for the hunters. Sending her off, he then noticed the camera on the ground and said, "Oh fuck no you don't. My secrets STAY secret." After that, he snapped his fingers and a thin concentration of water formed in the air, became pointed, and flew at the camera. The recording ended there.
As every one stayed dead silent, Percy cursed to himself. 'FUCK! I didn't think it was broadcasting what it recorded!' Purge laughed at him in his head before being blocked out by Percy, who didn't really need salt poured on his wounds at that moment in time. He looked around the room at the divine and semi-divine beings that were beginning to come out of their shocked stupor and thought to himself, 'I should probably take my vacation right now.' With that, he began to creep towards the shadow behind Artemis' chair, trying not to draw any attention to himself.
It was a futile endeavor, as everyone who snapped out of their shocked state snapped their heads towards Artemis, and him by relation. As he froze like a deer caught in the headlights, the Olympians broke out laughing while the others just stared in shock and, in the hunter's case, anger.
Athena was the first to calm herself, never really being one for laughing. "Well, Artemis, I believe you finally found a suita-" She stopped when she saw the look Artemis was giving her, though it wasn't the most effective when her face was bright red. Athena shook her head as Apollo took up her spot, him lacking much actual fear of Artemis. "Oh, I always thought you'd wear the pants in your relationships, Arty! Hahaha- ow my stomach! Oh, I can't breathe! Ha!"
Artemis shot him in the shin with her bow before she said the first words since the meeting began. "They were JUST cooking lessons!" She didn't look very convincing, which Athena capitalized on, always wnating to be the smartass. "Well, did Perseus teach you how to bake too? Because it looked like he'd tried to put a "bun" in your "oven", Artemis." The other Olympians were laughing too much to care that they just revealed his identity in front of his previous friends.
As they continued laughing, everyone else looked at Perseus in shock. He just sighed, thinking, 'Great. Fan-fucking-tastic.' With show of power, he said, "Enough." with enough force to make the hunters stop trying, for the umpteenth time, to kill him with their eyes. Looking at Athena, he said, "Good job, smart-ass." as he gestured to his friends.
She looked somewhat embarrassed at her slip up, but there was nothing she could do except defend her ruined pride. "Well, I thought it was pretty obvious. Son of Poseidon, has the trust of Artemis, able to walk among the hunters without getting killed." Her halfhearted attempt at defending herself was shut down by Poseidon. "Shut up, wise-ass. You already messed up; don't make it worse." The glaring that went on between the two was ignored as Annabeth asked a question, her voice barely a whisper but it clearly rang out in the room. "Percy?"
He nodded, his eyes slightly hard as he looked at her. His mask flowed into his muscle shirt, before that just flowed back into the sleeves they originally were and exposing his chest, to Aphrodite's joy. "The one and only. And I'll be taking my vacation right about now, Artemis." With that, he walked towards the shadow Artemis' throne made, intent on vacating the area.
A/N: And that's a wrap! So, I wanna, once more, thank all of you guys for your support. Every time I see a review come in for this story, my cold, black heart gains a little color. Just kidding, but for reals, the more I hear you guys enjoy this story, the more I feel like I should update. Now, there's gonna be a deviation from the current path of the story next chapter, if only so this story can stay on track. I feel like I've stayed a bit too long on one side for a story called "Neutrality". Oh, and if anyone has a suggestion for a better name, I'm all ears. The description is about accurate, so try for that. The story is just gaining steam, so give it a chance. Have a great day, good(?) people of the internet. Oh, and here's that link: /s/10784432/1/Purgatory