I'm so sorry for updating so late! School just finished so, here it is!
Chapter 6: Artemis
I walked to the Andromeda, feeling very proud.
"Do you know what to do?" Luke shouted.
"Yeah!" I replied.
It felt so good experiencing the dark side for a change. I realized that I didn't have to worry about being constantly under attack. After all, we were the one doing the attacking. I went to the fountain and tried to IM Artemis.
"Show me Artemis," I said to the rainbow as the scene shifted to a really large pool.
I saw the huntresses bathing in the water. Thankfully, I didn't see them naked because of the view.
"Artemis!" I yelled after being mesmerized for a couple of seconds.
They immediately whirled around and saw me. They glared at me with the ferocity so great that I would've melted on spot.
"You," Artemis seethed, "You have the nerve to kill my hunters then to watch us bathe?! You males are all the same. Filthy, power hungry, pigs, etc. Have you no shame? No sense of decency?"
"You can shut up Artemis," I replied, bored, ignoring the loathing looks I received, "I just have some news for you. Annabeth has been captured and she is holding the sky right now."
Artemis gasped.
"How dare you?" she growled, "To force such a burden on a maiden?!"
"Relax," I replied, "I'm willing to make you a proposition. How about you in exchange for Annabeth?"
"No!" Zoe cried indignantly, "My lady, I won't let you. If they capture thee, it will be a devastating loss for us."
"Who said I was being captured?" Artemis asked, "Relax Zoe."
She thought for a moment.
"Where do you want me to meet you?" she asked as the huntresses all began pleading with her to not go. Artemis raised her hand as the hunters all fell silent.
"Meet me on Mt. Orthys," I replied, "You alone."
She nodded.
"You will regret this Perseus," she growled, "Once you realize you guys can never win, it will be too late for all of you. I won't hesitate to kill you the next time I see your face."
She severed the connection as I looked on where the mist originally was. I was completely mesmerized by nothing until I felt a hand on my shoulder. My skin felt like it was crawling away from me as I whirled around, instinctively drawing my sword.
"Easy, I'm not going to hurt you," Bianca said while raising both hands.
"You and Nico have to stop doing that!" I gasped as she slowly smirked.
"Sorry about that," she replied, not so apologetically, "After all, Nico and I are children of Hades."
"Right," I said, "Shadows. Death. All that stuff."
Bianca gave me an odd look. "Sure."
"So...how's that problem you had?" I asked awkwardly.
"Problem?" Bianca asked softly, until she realized what I meant. "Oh...right..."
"Yeah," I said.
"I dunno," Bianca said, clamming up a bit. "I mean...I guess it's gotten better...but I don't enjoy people being tortured or something."
"Well...you just need to realize the pain the gods have caused us," I tried, looking at her.
"But the gods haven't caused me any pain!" Bianca cried. I stared at her, aback, and she ducked her head. "Sorry...I just mean that I've never had a...purpose to hate the gods, ya know?"
"I was like that too," I said. "But I reaized that the gods never supported me in any way. I was just a pawn; a piece in the game. I was just fish bait for the gods, they didn't care if I got killed or not."
"But you've seen the gods and all," Bianca struggled to say. "I've never even seen them before, let alone my real father...!'
I thought quietly for a while. "Well...that'll be your fuel to the fire."
"W-what do you mean?" Bianca asked, staring at me with wide eyes. The sun shone in her hair, making it look glossy brown, and her sillouhete was like a painting.
"Has your father ever appeared to you?" I asked sharply, "Has he ever helped you in life; brought you to be who you are?"
"Well...no..." Bianca agreed.
"Didn't you ever feel that missing shadow in your life?" I demanded, pulling on my heartstrings for advice, "I despised Poseidon. He was never there; never there to support us in the darkest times, and he never even called or contacted us! It's like I was just a mistake or something...like I was the "it" that never really mattered!"
Bianca's eyes were sad. "I'm sorry, Percy...I never knew..."
I laughed bitterly. "That's not all they've done to me."
"I've never thought of it that way," Bianca replied. "You know..."- Bianca struggled with her words.
"Bi, let me give you a better understanding of the gods," I told her while fishing out another drachma, "The gods on Mt. Olympus."
The image shimmered as I saw all the gods arguing with each other. Typical. Hades was absent from his throne.
"Hey, you little arguing pieces of crap!" I greeted as they all turned to look at me.
As I expected, the gods exploded.
"You dare show your face here, scum?!" I heard Ares yell.
"I shall blast you with this bolt!"
"You incompetent child!"
"Where is my baby sister?!"
"Is it actually you, my son?"
"SHUT UP!" I yelled as they glared at me.
"Do you guys know her?" I asked as I pointed to Bianca.
Everyone looked confused as Zeus' eyes widened.
"I thought I killed you and your mother!" Zeus yelled, "I will destroy you Hades' spawn!"
"That is enough," Bianca hissed as she swiped through the IM.
She was silent for a moment.
"'Anca, see how it is?" I asked gently, coming closer to her slower. "They despise us because of who we are."
Her chin trembled, and her voice was raw and hurt. "I never knew...All my life, I knew who I was. I was an outcast; I was the loner who only hung out with her brother. I never belonged anywhere, Percy. No one accepted me for who I am. When I...when I learned that the gods were real, and that my father wasn't dead, I had hope. Hope! Hope that I'd be finally accepted because these gods, these demigods because were like me! But no. No. I know now Percy. I know. They don't care about what I've been through or what I've felt. They just look at me as who I came from. I'm from Hades; so what?! They hate me because of who I am; who I was borne of! I don't get it Percy, I just don't get it! Why?! Why us?"
I held her in my arms. Finally. She was stiff, but she tucked her head into the crook of my neck.
"The gods are like that," I whispered, "Unfair. Harsh. Unforgiving. But we have the forgotten, the angry, the avengers. And we're a family like that. And you're beautiful. I want to know about you. There's not only one kind of person in this world; there are blacks and whites and Asians, but never "one of a kind."
Bianca cracked a smile. "I guess you're right. And about the "beautiful" thing-,"
I stared into her eyes. I could see the sun in her eyes. "There are many beautiful girls in the world. But the weird thing is...I only see you."
Bianca stammered, her face red. Gazing into her eyes, I leaned in and-
"Percy, dude-" Luke stumbled in and stared at us. "Uh...um...Percy...?"
"Sorry," I said, clearing my throat and stepping away from Bianca. "Is Artemis here?"
Bianca looked red in the face. "Umm, I'll be out first."
She scampered out of the room like a squirrel and Luke whistled.
"Did I interrupt something?" Luke teased.
"Shut up," I growled, "Let's go."
Walking out of the room and coming off of the ship, I stared at Artemis, who glared at me. She wore a silver armor that cut off in places and she had twin daggers in each hand.
"Perseus," she said coldly, curling her lip. "Oh, and Luke, what a surprise."
"Oh, no," Luke laughed bitterly, "I'm surprised you even came here to start with, Artemis."
"Of course I would," Artemis seethed, before lunging at me. I drew Hellfire in a quick second and slashed at her, only to be met by her dagger.
"I. Will. Not. Let. You. Harm. Me. And. My. Maidens!" Artemis snarled and advanced. Strangely, she didn't attack.
"Aren't you going to attack?" I asked.
Artemis scoffed, "Really? Don't you remember that a hero must challenge a god before she can strike back?"
I lunged at Artemis as she shot me a grin. In a split second, she kicked me in the chest, making me stumble backwards and fall.
I got up in pain and Luke shoved Artemis from behind. She stumbled forward and fell, and I took the time to slam the butt of my sword onto the base of her neck.
She groaned, and backflipped in rage and swung around, sending out small knives everywhere. I deflected them with my sword, but one stuck on my leg, making me hiss in pain. I yanked it out, and threw it at her.
It cut her arm, and golden ichor ran down her armor. She jumped into the air, and silver, metal wings flew out and she flipped, sending out a blow of silver arrows.
Luckily, I deflected the ones at me, but Luke had one in his chest. He shot me an ashen grin, as if saying, Take care of this crap. Artemis stared at Luke, slowly advancing towards him. He gave a quick nod, and before Artemis turned around, I advanced.
I lunged at her, and shoved my sword into her armor. A blast of metal hit my face and Artemis clutched her stomach, golden ichor seeping out. She had a small wound.
"Perseus Jackson," Artemis spit, and she shot to me with inhumane speed and I tried to dodge her, but she held me down. "I will end-"
CLANG! A shield hit Artemis's head, and she slumped onto my body. Shoving her off, I stared at Bianca, who glared at Artemis. When she saw me, she gave me a smile and offered an hand. I gladly took it and rose up.
"Use these chains," Atlas' voice rang out as I saw him walk towards us, "Nice job. I do see promise for Kronos' new army."
I took the chain and bound Artemis with it. I put the last ring around her neck and began forcefully dragging her to the sky. I didn't care as Artemis' head was met with rocks.
"Easy, you wouldn't want to bruise her so much," Bianca said worriedly as I chuckled.
"You weren't this worried when you thunked Artemis on the head," I replied sweetly. She just watched me in silence.
Thankfully, gods wounds healed pretty quickly, so she got up in no time.
"Where am I?" she croaked.
I was silent as her eyes adjusted to the site. She saw Annabeth and she glared at us.
"How dare you hurt a maiden like this?" she growled.
"Quit your talking," I yawned, "Are you going to take her place or not?"
Artemis' eyes landed on Annabeth, as Annabeth's face had turned ashen.
"Cut my chains," Artemis finally said as Luke sliced the chains apart.
Artemis slid over to Annabeth and held the sky. Artemis' face immediately paled as she began shaking. Annabeth lay on the ground limp. I picked Annabeth up and threw her to the floor. Atlas looked at Annabeth distastefully.
"You can end her life now," Atlas said as I raised my sword.
"Wait!" Bianca, Luke, and Thalia spoke up at the same time.
"Don't kill her Percy," Luke pleaded, "She may be of use."
"I know the betrayal hurts, but please, for me, let it go," Bianca begged.
Thalia looked at me with sad eyes as I turned to Atlas.
"You really think she is of use?" Atlas inquired.
The three nodded.
"Withdraw your sword Perseus," Atlas ordered as I reluctantly sheathed Hellfire.
"We should probably head in," Luke said as he slung Annabeth over his shoulders, "We can discuss what to do next while at the table."
Everyone went in the ship as I decided to stay back for a while. I looked at Artemis who was silently struggling with her burden. I strode over to her.
"Having fun Artemis?" I asked.
"You-you," she gasped, "My hunters will find me and they will make your life miserable. Mark my words Perseus."
"You know Artemis," I sneered, "Your pissing me off. Why don't I have a bit fun with Hellfire?"
I took out my sword and twirled it on my hands.
"You can't make me fade," she said.
"I won't make you fade," I replied, "But I will make sure you feel the pain I felt when I was betrayed and all who don't serve Kronos have a special punishment for them."
I dug my sword into Artemis' temple. She groaned. In a flash, I traced down Hellfire from her temple to her cheekbone as ichor bled out.
"Are you too weak to attack?" I taunted, "Has the weight of the sky taken its toll?"
She was shaking either from pure rage or from exhaustion.
"So what have you and the gods been talking about?" I asked. She didn't answer me, but instead glared at me.
I slapped her.
"I asked you a question," I whispered.
She didn't look amused. She just stared at the ground.
"You're a pathetic little goddess," I mused, "A man hating virgin. Look at you females. Some of you aren't better off. I guess I will start by ripping apart your hunters one at a time."
She immeidately recoiled and glared at me.
"You will not hurt my hunters!" she yelled out, but another hard slap silenced her.
"I can do whatever I want," I replied, "Your no in position to tell me what to do. Look at the time. I have to go. In the meanwhile, enjoy the sky."
I gave her one last slap as I made my way to the Andromeda. I felt uneasy, so I decided to skip dinner and instead made my way to my room. I lay Hellfire on my desk as the sword began faintly glowing.
"I am very impressed with your dedication," Kronos spoke into me, "Keep on acting like that and you will enjoy success during my reign. Even now, the camp grows stronger and stronger. Apparently more children are being claimed, even as we speak. The gods are training their new heroes and their force...is a force to be reckoned with, but with all of you and as we recruit more demigods...they will be no match for us. Go join your friends. More trials await you."
In a daze, I got up and made my way upstairs. Things were looking great right now.
