Chapter 3:
(Artemis)
Laying around in bed was not a natural thing for me. I was feeling very sluggish and weak ever since my bow was shattered. My powers were severely diminished and my hunters were barely able to hold off monster attacks with our reduced numbers And to make matters worse, those damn fates had to remind me of my oath.
"Remember, tormenting can be open to interpretation." the fates cackled while handing me a glass potion bottle. "What's important is the anguish"
I shook my head to get rid of their lingering laugh. Sighing, I got up and stared at the glass bottle on the table. It glistened purple and red in the lamp light. 'The fates are cruel' I muttered to myself. Then again, who was I to call them cruel. I don't know exactly what it does but they told me that if I drank this I would be able to torment him in a way that wouldn't physically hurt him. Knowing the fates sense of humor, it would definitely be painful emotionally. But he is strong, he can overcome whatever happens. Right? I uncapped the bottle as I recalled the plan. Step 1. Drink bottle. Step 2. Invoke Percy to protect the hunt while I recover. Step 3. Be around him as often as possible as my presence will cause him anguish without actually harming him. Hades if I know why, but the fates assured me that this would relieve the oath. "I am truly sorry for this Perseus". I muttered to myself and I downed the potion.
(Percy)
I am. Without a doubt. The BIGGEST idiot. IN THE WORLD. Talk about impulsive decision making. "Stupid, stupid, Stupid!" I swore to myself as I cleaved the last of the hellhounds in half. As I turned around, the satyr and a young Demigod got up.
"Thank you Lord Perseus" the satyr bowed. I didn't even get the chance to breathe, much less respond, before I was invoked elsewhere. BEING INVOKED SUCKS. It's like teleporting but instead of calmly disappearing and reappearing, you get YANKED out of existence and HURLED to the next location. This whole "Call for aid" thing needs to have operating hours or at least be more spread out. I've been invoked nonstop for a whole month! If I weren't a god while doing it, I would die from lack of sleep. As I reappeared, I instinctively grabbed an incoming spear mid thrust. Good thing about my Saviourship domain, I don't need to understand or even be aware of anything to stop a threat to the one who called for aid. Body just does it.
"Who dares interfere with my execution!" a whiney voice squeaked. I turned and saw it was a small built but pudgy man, wearing a tricorn hat.
As I took in the situation, I groaned as I realized I was on another pirate ship. The large sails and masts reminded me of Queen Anne's Revenge, from when I had stolen it from Blackbeard. Behind me were three, very much shaken, half blood campers. A boy and two girls, probably on a quest. I immediately knew I was in the sea of monsters. You would be surprised how many pirates are here nowadays, then again we did accidentally release Blackbeard when Annabeth...
"GET HIM" the whiney pirate yelled, snapping me out of my momentary daze. The pirates drew their swords and pistols and opened fire. I slammed my shield into the floor, conjuring a bubble of protection around me and the tied up trio. The bullets pinged against the bubble harmlessly. I exited the bubble and brandished my sword, and without a word I charged into the fray. Normally that would have been a stupid decision, and I would die, but I was in a state of godhood. And my new weapon 'Undertow' was not to be laughed at.
-Flashback-
"I fashioned it in the same design as ya last blade." Hephaestus explained as I inspected my new weapon. It did have the same shape and feel as Riptide. But it was white with gold edges and detailing. It felt almost… regal. "I've also added a few new.. Features" the god continued, a sly grin breaking out on his face.
"Uhh what do you mean?' I asked, almost afraid to find out.
"Try thinkin bout throwin it lad" Hephaestus hinted as he flicked a lever. To our right, the wall of his forge slid into the ground to reveal a shooting range. In the distance, a few metal dummy targets appeared.
"Hephaestus, those are too far away for me to-"
"Try it" he assured me
I gulped and thought about throwing my sword, and almost dropped it. Just as I raised my hand to throw it, it glowed and morphed into a Javelin. I took aim and threw the weapon. It shot out of my hand faster than I expected and impaled itself directly in the center mass of the target I was aiming at. I suddenly felt something appear in my hand and looked down. It was another Javelin.
"Woah… That's cool.." I muttered in awe. "Aye laddie, that's not the best part." The god snickered. I turned to look at him, "What i-" An explosion erupted behind me, causing me to jump. I whirled around and saw the smoking remains of the three dummies.
"HEPHAESTUS! THAT'S TOO MUCH!" I yelled at him. This wasn't a sword, it was a bomb! He simply waved his hands to dismiss my complain "Don't worry, ya can decide how big or small ya want the explosion tah be." He smiled maniacally with fires dancing in his eyes, and I knew that there was no room for discussion.
"I've also fashioned ya a shield with the help of ya brother." He explained as he tossed me a familiar shield. 4 feet of polished bronze, leather coating on the inside. I felt nostalgic as I recalled how its predecessor had saved me numerous times, and the engravings it had. But this time there was no engravings. "Ya brother insisted on designing it. He said that it would record ya new adventures. I made it able tah grow or shrink. Just think what ya want and it'll do it"
"Thank you Hephaestus." I bowed deeply. He huffed in response. "Least I can do for ya." he muttered.
-Flashback end-
In a flurry on white and arcs of golden light, the pirates around me were decimated. The ones further away started to charge forward, seemingly unfazed by their comrades demise. I would call them brave if they didn't look so stupid. I threw a couple of javelins and shield charged the closest one. I pivoted and crouched behind my enlarged shield as I detonated the javelins, vapourising the other pirates around me. As I stood up, I noticed only the whinny pirate captain was left. I almost broke out laughing as he stumbled over while yelping in fear. He reminded me of a fat Chihuahua. I sighed as I approached him, not really enjoying what was about to happen. The distinct stain in his pants was no help either.
"WAIT WAIT DON'T KILL ME!" The pirate pleaded, "I-I can give you gold! ALL my gold!" I stepped forward ignoring him. Typical pirate bartering. Honestly, it's like they think that I'm fighting them for their gold. "WAIT WAIT! HOW BOUT GIRLS!" I froze. "I-I CAN GIVE YOU ANY NUMBER OF GIRLS YOU WANT! THEY-" I yanked him by his throat.
"Where." I snarled, pushing my blade into a particularly sensitive point.
"Th-the shipment- c-cargo bay." he gurgled out despite me choking him. I felt a red mist descend on me as he called them a shipment. His eyes were bulging and turning very red as I tightened my grip.
"LORD PERSEUS DON'T" a high pitched voice called out. I turned and saw it was the trio. They had gotten free and were now rearmed with the fallen pirates weapons. I blinked to clear my head and dropped the sack of meat, leaving him retching and gasping. One of the girls came forward. "We- we need him alive to lead us to where they have imprisoned the other captives." she explained in as calm a voice as she could muster. "They deliver them to a secret hideout a-and we need to find it." This girl was smart. Her grey eyes were a testament to her lineage. I noticed that the other two were trembling, and even this girl was a bit shaken up. They were probably affected by their near death experience. I willed my aura to grow and I could see them relaxing a bit. Good. I nodded and stepped away from the heaving pirate, allowing them to take him as prisoner. "Thank you Lord Perseus." the girl bowed. "No problem wise gi-" I stopped myself halfway. Before I could register what I just did, I was YANKED OUT OF EXISTENCE YET AGAIN! GOD DAMN INVOCATIONS!
This time I reappeared in a basement. It was dingy and smelled like shit. Confused, I looked around to find for the one who invoked me. Suddenly I heard muffled whimpering and grunting from behind one of the doors. "Wow you're a lot tighter when you're awake." a voice snickered between grunts. My heart sped up as my mind jumped to conclusions. I broke open the door and was greeted with a "WHAT THE FUCK?!". As the dust settled, I saw it was a fat bald man on the floor, unfortunately without pants. Chained to a wall was a young boy and girl. The girl was unconscious and up against the wall with her hands chained up. But the boy had his rear up in the air, facing the man, and was sobbing through a gag. The man's erection filled the gaps and I almost threw up.
"WHO THE FU-" I drove my blade into his throat and kicked him aside. The guttural chokes as he died filled the air. The boy was yelling and straining to turn around and see what was going on. Quickly, I freed the boy who immediately ran to the girl and spread his arms while glaring at me "Don't touch my sister!" he yelled through sobs. He was shaking so badly and had blood running down his legs. By the gods, this kid had one hell of a strong will. I lowered myself and crouched to be shorter than him.
"I won't, I won't." I tried to comfort him, making my voice as soft and gentle as I could. I showed him my empty hands and knelt in front of him. I felt a sharp pain and saw that there was broken glass everywhere on the floor. I saw the boy had numerous cuts on his hands, knees and face. I waved my hand and the small cuts healed near instantaneously. The boy yelped as he felt his body heal and was startled to say the least. "I am only here to save you, I won't hurt you." I assured him. His eyes were wide with fear but held the flame of defiance. I willed a small amount of my aura to appear, not wanting to frighten him. The fear softened, a bit of curiosity was now there, but his defiance held strong.
"Wh- who are you." He asked. I smiled as warmly as I could, before answering him.
"I am just someone who likes helping people. And hurting bad guys." I summoned a large white fluffy towel to offer him. The boy relaxed a bit, taking the towel, but still stood between me and his sister. "Can I go and free your sister?" I asked gently. He hesitated a bit before moving.
"D-don't do anything or I will bite you!" He warned. I nodded in feigned fear. I went over and broke the chains, catching her before she fell. The boy almost lunged at me, but stopped as he saw I hadn't hurt her. I carried her to a, relatively, clean spot on the floor and summoned another towel to wrap her in before gently lowering her. The boy hugged his sister, who was still unconscious, supporting her from lying on the floor.
"What is your name?" I asked the boy.
"Heiro." the boy answered. I couldn't help but laugh. Heiro was definitely the right name for this kid. "Why are you laughing! What's your name huh! Stupid head?" he countered angrily.
"No, but most of my friends call me something like that. My name is Percy." I smiled.
"Percy's a stupid name" the boy grumbled. I liked this kid.
"Yeah, so what's your sister's name?" I asked. He looked at her with concern in his eyes.
"Diana."
I raised my eyebrow. Huh, talk about coincidences. "By any chance do you know who your parents are?" I asked. The boy slumped abit.
"Our dad told us our mom had to leave when we were very little. He died last week, and our uncle took us in." he spat out, while pointing and the lifeless corpse. I made a mental note to follow up with Hades on making his punishment extra special.
"Did your dad say anything else about your mother?" suddenly the boy glared at me.
"Why do you care? Why does it matter?!" he yelled, fire returning to his eyes. I emmited my aura a bit more to calm.
"I'm sorry kid, I was just trying to figure out a safe place to take you." I calmly explained. The boy squinted at me
"What do you mean.."
"Heiro, listen to me. I know this is hard to believe but your mother sent me. I don't know who exactly she is but I promise you, she is the one who called for me to help you. I will explain everything but I want to make sure you and your sister are safe first. Trust me" I explained, letting my aura warm the room.
The boy's face changed from suspicion to confusion. Then all of a sudden he started bawling, his entire body shaking. "I don't care what happens to me, just save my sister!" he wailed as he cried. I pulled him and his sister into a hug.
"Don't worry, you both are going to be ok. I promise". The sobs died down and he went limp as he passed out from exhaustion. I gently picked both of them up and before I flashed away, I snapped my fingers and the sword in the corpse's throat exploded.
As I reappeared in camp half blood, I suddenly felt another invocation tugging at me. It seemed to be waiting for me to ensure the kids safety before taking me away. Must not be a life threatening situation but a urgent one nonetheless. I quickly rushed to the Big House to pass the kids to the healers and brief Chiron on what happened.
"I will ensure their safety. Once again u have saved lives Lord Perseus."
I rolled my eyes "Really Chiron? You too?" The centaur smiled cheekily and let out a mirthful chuckle.
"What are you talking about Lord Perseus?"I sighed, but couldn't help but smile. "They will search for u once they have awoken, so please do drop by to talk to them. And your friends." Chiron placed his hand on my shoulder. "They worry about you." I nodded.
"I know...I will drop by and visit them when I have a chance. These invocations come one after another." I laughed half heartedly. Chiron took his hand off my shoulder "That's another thing. You must find a way to get help with your work. Even with your gifts, you need rest and time to think about all that has happened. Try finding for some helpers"
"I will Chiron. And thank you for everything" I hugged my old teacher, who hugged me back.
I let the invocation take me. I found myself just outside a camp. I instantly recognized the silver details on the camp. "The hunt?" I said out loud.
"Yes Perseus." a voice replied from behind me, almost making me jump. The person was hooded in silver and gave of a godly aura, but felt oddly familiar. Resisting the instinct to draw my blade I asked. "Who are you?"
"Which god is known to be related to the Hunt, Perseus." the figure sighed, shaking its head at my stupid question.
"Oh Lady Artemis." I bowed quickly. "Why have u invoked me and why are u hooded?"
"Perseus, the hunt is in a dire state as many of my hunters fell during the war" she answered with pain in her voice. "With my divine symbol shattered, my powers have been badly affected and I can no longer protect my Hunters." I nodded, understanding the situation.
"So you want me to act as your muscle. I don't mind but what about the others who need my help?" I asked her.
"I have informed father of my situation, and he has agreed to grant you the ability to have multiple presences during invocations." She explained. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least my burden can be reduced somewhat. Not sure how it works but hey, I'm still here and I can have an actual conversation without being yanked away. I'll take it. I can now think about things and visit my friends. Chiron will be happy, not to mention my friends. I smiled gleefully at the idea of a reunion. But that leaves the question, what's up with Artemis' hood?
"Sorry ma'am but you still didn't explain the hood?" She stiffened visibly. Oh damn, maybe I shouldn't have pushed. She must have some kind of scarring damage during a hunt.
"As you know my powers have been reduced. But with my bow being shattered, a sort of… backlash happened to me." Oh no. I shouldn't have asked.
"I am so sorry for asking, I didn-" Artemis held out her hand, stopping me.
"Perseus, its ok. But you need to promise me on the river Styx that you will remain with me while I recover." I felt a cold shiver roll up my spine. Something was off. Waaay off.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"It will be obvious. But I need your oath."
I took a deep breath to calm myself before answering "I swear on the river Styx to stay by Artemis side and defend her and the hunters till she is recovered." Thunder rumbled above us as I finished. Artemis nodded.
"Perseus, do not panic. I need you to know that I did not intend this and I am sorry." She said as she lowered her hood, revealing herself.
I felt my heart stop. The world was still and my brain could only think of one thing, and it escaped my lips
"Annabeth?"
