Thank you so much for all those people who are giving me good reviews. I'm probably not going to be able to update too often, as I'm in my final term of school. Anyway, onto the chapter!
25 years later…
Story POV
25 years had passed since Percy was last seen. Only two people knew of his whereabouts, his patron Hestia, and the Lord of the Dead, Hades, who had found him when Percy rescued one of Hades' children. As reward, Hades blessed Percy with his powers, he could now shadow travel, summon and talk with ghosts, summon riches from the earth, control the shadows, and summon skeletal warriors. Percy had finally named his Atlantean Steel sword, calling it καταιγίδα που φέρνει, or Storm Bringer. During his travels, he had forged another sword, a curved hand a half sword, made out of Celestial Bronze, Mortal Steel, Imperial Gold, and Stygian Iron, which he named σκιά φωτιά, or Shadow Fire (A.N. looks similar to Arwen's sword from Lord of the Rings). On one side of the blade was the inscription for the word Shadow, written in black, and on the other side was the word Fire, written in orange. Whenever he lit the blade on fire, instead of being the normal orangey-red fire he normally created, the fire was a ghostly black. He had made a shield consisting of two joined warglaives, which he could split at will, to give him two warglaives. The warglaives were one of the hardest weapons he learnt how to use, but were one of his favourites. He made two small buckler shields, with sharp edges, and was able to use them as both offensive and defensive weapons. Five years ago, demigods had started appearing at the entrance of Camp Half Blood, with a hooded man, who disappeared as soon as the demigods were safe. The same had been happening with the hunters. All the demigods had the same description for the man, he was tall, had long black hair, and orange flaming eyes. The gods had been hoping it was Percy, but with that description, it couldn't be him. After the first demigods started appearing, the gods tasked the Hunters of Artemis with tracking the man down. They couldn't find any trace of him. Artemis was furious to say the least. No-one ever evaded her or the hunters. Until now. Thalia was driving the Hunters to breaking point. Nothing else was in her mind except finding both the mystery man and Percy. That's why they were never expecting the mass attack from the monsters.
Artemis POV
We had been searching relentlessly for the mystery man that had been avoiding us for five years. There was absolutely no trace of him whatsoever. The hunters and I were walking through a canyon, when a huge horde of monsters completely surrounded us. When I saw how many there were, I instantly knew we were screwed. There was no way we could kill that many monsters. I instantly ordered the hunters to form a circle, and to fire at will. Monsters were soon falling rapidly, but it was obvious it wasn't enough. We started moving to the bottom of a cliff, so our backs were protected. We reached the protection, but I knew we were going to die. There was no way we could compete against that many monsters. Suddenly something flew in front of the hunters. Was that a boomerang? I was broken out of my thoughts when 10 monsters were killed by the strange weapon. The weapon returned back to its owner, who jumped down off the cliff and landed in front of us. He clapped the back of his hands together, and two small shields grew into his fists. What use were they going to be? Then I heard the unmistakable hiss of arrows heading towards him.
Percy POV
I had just received a message from Hestia that there was a young demigod named Juliette, a daughter of Apollo, to be saved in Australia. I quickly teleported close to the house where she lived, and instantly knew where she was. I heard a scream and a crash of glass, then heard someone yell out.
'Juliette get back here right now, you wench!' came a males voice.
I saw a young girl running down the side of the house, her brown hair streaming behind her as she ran. She stumbled over the root of a tree, and I ran over and gently helped her up. She started to struggle in my arms, thinking I was one of the men. I told her I was sent by her father to get her, and to take her to a safe place. She eventually calmed down, and I quickly took her away from her former home. I took her to a park, and we sat down on a bench.
'What's your name little one?' I asked.
'My name is Juliette, and I'm 7 years old,' she replied timidly. 'What's your name?'
'I'm Percy,' I answered. 'Do you believe in the gods?'
'Like the Aztec and Egyptian gods? I guess'
I smiled at her. 'Well, your father is one of the Greek gods, Apollo, god of the sun, music and medicine. He sent me to come and rescue you, and to bring you to a place where other demigods like yourself can be safe. Now, are you hungry?'
She nodded so fast I was worried her head would fall off her shoulders. I asked her what she wanted, and being a daughter of Apollo, she wanted a hot cheese pizza. I clicked my fingers and a warm pizza box appeared in my hands. She stared at it shocked. I explained that just like Apollo was her father, that I had been blessed by Hestia, and was able to summon foods and heal. She accepted my explanation and wolfed down the pizza. I summoned another, and as she ate, I quickly looked over her. She had long scrapes down her legs from the fall, and a few bruises on her face.
I looked her in the eyes and said, 'I'm wanting to do something to you, but it might be scary at first. I promise I'm not going to hurt you.'
She looked at me uncertainly, but eventually let out a sigh. 'I trust you Percy,' she said.
I summoned some water, and sent it through her body, healing any internal injuries. I let it disperse, and summoned fire into my hand. She shied away, but I smiled at her, and the fired dimmed down to a soft glow. I touched her forehead, and the glow flowed from me into her body. The cuts slowly faded and the light disappeared. Juliette looked at herself, stunned, and then jumped up on me, hugging me tightly, whispering 'Thank you' over and over.
She eventually detached herself from me, and I knelt down in front of her. 'Now, there's two places I can take you. The first, where I went, is called Camp Half Blood, and there are both boys,' she visibly shied away when I said boys,' and girls there. You get to train, and go on quests. The other option is the Hunters of Artemis, a group of girls who are immortal and hunt monsters. They all hate males with a passion, and their leader is your father's sister, Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt. The only catch is that you have to swear off love, and remain an eternal maiden. Which one do you want to go to?'
'You are the only boy who has ever been nice to me, so can you take me to the Hunters please?'
I nodded, stood up, and helped her to her feet. 'We are going to need to travel to America. That's where the Hunters are at the moment.'
'How are we going to get there though? It will take forever!'
'Actually, it won't take long at all. I am able to teleport places, and I know where the Hunters are, so we will be able to get there very quickly. Do you trust me?'
She smiled at me. 'I do trust you.'
I took her hand softly. 'Don't let go of my hand. This will tingle a bit, but if you hold on, you'll be fine,' I said softly.
She held on tight, and we disappeared in a flash of flames.
We arrived on top of a rocky outcrop and I heard the sound of fighting nearby. I gently pulled Juliette towards some bushes and told her to hide. She looked scared but did what I told her. I ran to the edge of the outcrop, and pulled out my boomerang. 'Ha, the irony.' I thought. I had just saved a demigod from Australia, and here I am using an Aussie weapon! I quickly surveyed the battle, and threw the boomerang. It shot away, and disintegrated a few monsters before returning to my hands. I caught it and replaced it on my belt, and jumped down in front of the hunters. I quickly looked at the stunned monsters and saw that about 20 dracaena were about to fire. I quickly clapped the back of my hands together, making my two bucklers to appear. I heard one of the hunters gasp, and I knew they would all be looking at me in disbelief. I heard a hiss as the first arrow raced towards me. I acted instinctively, and blocked the incoming arrow. More arrows were fired, and my arms started moving of their own accord, deflecting arrows as they came towards me. As soon as the arrows stopped being fired, I dropped the bucklers, and my warglaive shield formed in my left hand, and Shadow-Fire appeared in my right. Instinctively, I set my sword on fire, the familiar black flames curling up the blade. I lunged forwards, my sword decapitating a stunned dracaena, which instantly dissolved into golden dust. I ran towards the monsters' army and began to fight. Well, more like massacre. I heard an enraged roar, and I found myself facing the minotaur. I smirked at him, and he charged, his huge axe swinging down towards me. I quickly sidestepped the blade, and thrust my sword towards its chest, and he stared at me in shock as he started to disintegrate. At this point, the monsters were getting fearful, and some started to break away, deserting the battle. I heard a scream from the hunters, and as rush of heat flew over me. I turned and saw a drakon looking at me with a quizzical look on its face, wondering how I survived the fire. I grinned at it, before running towards it. It opened its maw and thrust its head downwards. I grinned insanely and jumped in its mouth. I did down towards its throat, and lit myself on fire. The gases inside the drakon's mouth caught fire and the drakon literally exploded. I stumbled out of its burning remains, and the monsters all turned tail and ran. I turned to face the Hunters, and saw them glaring at me. I ran into a shadow, and appeared on the ledge above them. I coaxed Juliette to come out of hiding, and reassured her that everything would be alright. I told her to close her eyes, and took her hand. I fire travelled back down the ridge and walked to the hunters camp. I saw a silver arrow flying toward me, and I quickly sent a small flame towards it, and it turned into ashes. I knelt down as I saw Artemis approach, and felt Juliette do the same.
Artemis growled at me, 'Who are you boy?'
I felt Juliette stiffen beside me, and I laid a comforting hand on her shoulder before replying, 'I am the one who has been bringing you new hunters, on the instruction of my patrons.'
'How old are you?' she asked suspiciously. 'And who is your godly parent?'
'I cannot tell you who my parent is, I have been forbidden from doing so by my patrons. In answer to your first question, I am 18. My patrons made me partially immortal, in a similar way to your Hunters. I won't grow old or get sick, but I can still die in battle. So I have been alive for 43 years.' Wow, that makes me feel really old, I thought to myself. 'Anyway, enough talk about me, I came here to bring you another maiden to add to your ranks.' I said, indicating Juliette. As I moved my hand, Artemis saw the SPQR tattoo on my wrist. She grabbed my arm, shifting into her Roman aspect, Diana, as she did. Her eyebrows raised when she saw it.
'Why do you have the tattoos of Neptune, Vesta and Pluto on your legion tattoo?' Diana asked, visibly surprised.
'I cannot tell you, as my patrons have forbidden me from revealing my identity, and to explain why, I would need to reveal myself to you,' I replied.
'You must come to Olympus with me. My Hunters and I have been tasked with tracking you down and taking you to the council,' Artemis said, reverting back to her Greek form.
'I cannot,' I replied. 'Whilst I am loyal to Olympus, it would be unwise to reveal myself.'
'I could always kill you, and no-one would be any the wiser.'
I shrugged my shoulders. 'Eh, feel free. I've seen enough horrors for one life.'
She gasped in shock. 'You need to come to Olympus, NOW!' She reached her hand out towards me.
I slowly started walking backwards, and ran into a tree. 'Er, no thanks. I need to go now. Bye!' I melted into the shadow of the tree, and reappeared on the outskirts of Manhattan. 'Probably should go see mum and Paul again' I thought. I walked towards their apartment block, watching the occasional car drive past, headlights piercing through the darkness. As I walked through the night, a sense of dread began to settle over my body. I arrived at the apartment, and there was no sound coming from the building which was surprising. I walked to the door, and knocked. When nobody answered, the sense of danger began to overwhelm me. I pulled out the spare key from underneath a pot plant, and walked into the apartment. What I saw brought a chill to my bones. Paul was lying on the floor of the apartment his head crushed by a Cyclops' club, his son lying next to him, his neck and legs at an awkward angle. What made me mad, was seeing my mother lying on the ground, a flaming spear through her chest, Hyperion standing above her. I completely lost it at that. I yelled in rage, pulled out Riptide, and charged at the Titan. He threw a ball of fire at me, expecting me to be instantly vaporised. Giving him an evil smile, I caught it, and threw it back at him. He jumped aside in shock, and I felt a familiar tug in my gut. Rain began to pelt in the room, and I knew I was creating a hurricane. I started slicing Hyperion like a madman, golden ichor flowing from all over his body. I summoned a huge earthquake, and a tear opened in the floor of the apartment, a red glow and a pungent smell emanating from it. It led straight to Tartarus. I jumped up and kicked him into the hole, and quickly sealed it again. I collapsed on the floor, tears pouring from my eyes. I felt a wave of heat rush over me, and a pair of arms wrapped around me, comforting me as I wept. I raised my head, and looked into the warm eyes of Hestia.
'Milady, can we take them to Montauk please? Mum and Paul need a proper burial,' I asked.
Hestia nodded and flashed us to the beach at Montauk. There was a small boat lying on the beach, and I gently laid their bodies inside it. I placed a drachma in each of their mouths, and softly whispered 'You will make it to Elysium, I'm sure.' I pushed the boat into the water, and lit it on fire. Tears began falling down my face again, and I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, warming me in a comforting embrace.
'Percy, I'm sorry, but you have to come to Olympus. Artemis called a council meeting after you disappeared from her, and she told Zeus about Hades and myself. I know you don't want to come back, but please, I need you to come with me,' Hestia said sadly.
I smiled weakly at my patron. 'It's ok, I knew I would have to return there eventually. We may as well get going.'
She placed her hand on my shoulder, and we flashed to Olympus.
Time Change - 30 minutes earlier
Artemis POV
I had just accepted Juliette into the hunt as our newest member. As soon as she accepted, I told the hunters to gather together. When they had all arrived, I explained that I was going to call a council meeting on Olympus about the situation earlier that day, and left Thalia in charge. I flashed away, and appeared in the throne room of Olympus. Raising my bow upwards, I shot an arrow into the air, which exploded in a burst of silver, and walked over to my throne, waiting for the other gods to flash in. Hestia was the first to appear, arriving in a burst of flames. Athena was next, appearing in a flurry of owls, followed by Hephaestus, in a flash of fire. Apollo appeared at the same time as Dionysius and Demeter, with Hades following shortly afterwards. Aphrodite and Ares flashed in together, and a huge bolt of lightning signalled the arrival of Zeus and Hera. Poseidon was the last to arrive, flashing in with a weak sea breeze. He looked terrible, his skin was grey, and his usually mirth filled eyes were filled with sadness. Percy's disappearance hit him hard. Poseidon slumped into his throne, as Zeus opened his mouth to speak.
'Artemis, why have you called this meeting?' Zeus thundered.
'Father as you know, the Hunt and I were hunting the man who had been saving demigods, when we were surrounded by a large group of monsters. I thought we were doomed, especially when I saw the minotaur and a drakon there. We fell back to the underside of a cliff where we could defend better. Suddenly, a man dropped in front of us, small shields forming in his hands. He deflected the arrows that a horde of dracaena were about to fire at us, dropped the shields, and pulled out a huge shield, the likes of which I've never seen before, and a sword, which he set on fire. He set the monsters into retreat, saving the lives of all of us in the Hunt. He disappeared in a flash of flames, and reappeared with a young maiden. When I tried to get him to come to Olympus, he backed into a tree, before melting into the shadows and disappearing,' I said, glaring at Hestia and Hades. 'And I believe that at least two Olympians know of his whereabouts.'
Hades and Hestia shared a look, and Hestia stepped down from her throne. 'Yes, Hades and I have known where our champion is.'
Almost everyone gasped at that revelation. What had this demigod done to be the first person to ever become the champions of both Hades AND Hestia?
Hestia cleared her throat, and the room slowly became quiet. 'I will go and get our champion. It is about time he returned to Olympus.' She looked at Poseidon. 'I'm sorry my brother,' she said, flashing away before anyone could ask what she meant.
As soon as she left, Poseidon and Zeus both fell to the ground paralysed. Something bad was happening in their domains. When they recovered, they started hurling insults at each other, trying to figure out what could have cause such a disturbance. Hades suddenly paled, and ran out of his throne, into the shadows. He returned shortly afterwards, tears falling from his eyes. He slumped down on his throne, and turned to Poseidon.
'Brothers, I'm sorry, but I know what caused your domains to go into uproar. Three souls just arrived in the Underworld that are very dear to you Poseidon. Sally, Paul and their mortal child just died,' he said, his eyes downcast.
Poseidon began to weep when he heard the news, he dearly loved Sally and her family. It was then that Hestia returned with her champion, her arm around him comfortingly. He gave her a hug, shocking everyone except for Hades. He walked towards the centre of the throne room, and bowed to myself, Poseidon, before walking up to Hades and hugging him as well, which shocked us more than when he hugged Hestia! He slowly walked back to the centre of the throne room again, and knelt down in front of Zeus.
Zeus immediately stood up, and bellowed, 'Who are you demigod?'
The boy looked towards Hestia and Hades, who nodded. He lifted his hands towards his hood, began to speak. 'I am the demigod you have been searching for these last 25 years, and I have a request for you,' He began to lower the hood. 'My name is Percy Jackson, and I wish to die,' he finished lowering the hood revealing his long, unruly black hair and his dark sea green eyes, flickering with flames.
Well there you go, chapter 4 is finally up! Sorry about how long it's taken, I've had a lot on, and I'm not going to be able to update much for the next month, cause I'm in my last term of school. I'm not abandoning this story, it will just take a while to update. Seeya at chapter 5!
