AN: Sorry for the late update, lots of shit went down. Technically, it's still going on, but what the heck. Anyways, this is DeltaWing13, coming in from Atlanta, Georgia! Or at least, it would be, but I forgot the computer at home! XD
Anyways, Percy will be called Percy from now on. Ok? And Orion will be a bit OOC. I dunno why, maybe cuz of the few millenia between now and the Heroes of Olympus?
..
"Are you still unable to capture Perseus Jackson?" Kronos demanded, his voice carrying a dark undertone despite his calm appearance. It had been two weeks since Orion had initially left, and now he had returned, barehanded.
Orion shivered slightly, before lowering his head even further. "Apologies milord. There has been two other Olympians with him nearly all the time."
A loud, resounding crack made the self-acclaimed hunter flinch as the armrest to Kronos's throne practically disintegrated, crushed by the Titan's hand.
"Did I not tell you to eliminate any who get in your way? Surely one or two wouldn't be much trouble, the fools have grown complacent over the years." he demanded, before tilting his head to one side in a thoughtful manner. "Or perhaps I've overestimated you…"
"No! Not at all, milord!" Orion replied hastily, eyes widening in fear. He knew what happened to those who did not live up to… expectations. "It's just… Those two, they're Leto's children. They're half-titans."
Semi-consciously, Kronos nodded in understanding. "Ah, those two…"
Orion's eyes lit up in hope. "So, you see? I couldn't a-"
"What?" Kronos interrupted, his thoughtfulness from earlier replaced with a steely tone. "I don't care if they're my damned relatives, or my own children! If their in the way, KILL THEM!"
"Y-yes, milord."
..
"Ready?" Percy asked, glancing over his surroundings. The young god stood unmoving, in the middle of a darkened clearing, the moon only half-lit overhead.
Hearing nothing, he took it as a yes. Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath and raised Anaklusmos.
On cue, and arrow whizzed into the clearing, aimed for his torso. Unfazed, he swiftly sidestepped the projectile, never leaving his combat position. Another two flew out of the woods, from completely random angles.
Percy's eyes snapped open, and he quickly dodge the first, but found himself unable to evade the second. Frowning slightly, his wrist flicked slightly, a practiced move that brought the blade in a deadly arc. The now useless projectile clattered onto the grass, snapped in half.
"Oops."
As if in response, a customary groan followed his one word, and Apollo and Artemis stepped into view. Based on their positions, it was obvious the destroyed arrow had been the former's.
"Seriously, Percy, stop breaking my arrows!" the blond exclaimed, his laid-back posture betraying the tone he was trying to convey. "Why are we even doing this?"
The raven-haired , sighing. "You were the one who wanted to use me as a training target! And stop complaining about the arrows, it quite literally takes no effort to create them."
"But… still…" he protested, waving his hands around. "It's annoying!"
Eyebrows were raised.
Being the calm one, the other twin- the older one, as she insisted- decided to break the silence. "Anyways, since we already practiced our archery, let's practice close combat."
Don't get her wrong, Artemis hated close combat. She just figured, if she were to ever lose her bow, she'd rather be holding the weapon, not it being pointed at her.
Nodding enthusiastically, Percy grinned widely as he re-summoned Anaklusmos, which he had sheathed once revealed themselves. Apollo and Artemis each pulled out two knives, gold and silver respectively.
Without warning, Percy dashed toward the duo, but Apollo eyed his sister warily. She had the tendency to eliminate him first. While he appreciated the breaks afterwards, she wasn't very… gentle, should he say.
Shrugging, the Goddess of the Hunt sped forwards to meet her fellow Olympian. One of her knives flew towards his face, but Percy easily avoided it again by tilting his head, his eyes never leaving Artemis. Her second knife met his blade at the hilt, using the leverage to force the two to a standstill. She held out her other hand, and summoned another knife into existence. Percy's eyes widened.
Before she could use it, however, she tensed, jumping up. Behind her, Apollo had thrusted both of his knives into the now vacant space. Immediately, Percy took action, knocking one out of Apollo's right hand, leaving him with a knife in his left. Before the Sun God could recover, though, gravity took hold of Artemis.
Her target, of course, was her brother. She knew that he expected her to dodge, but a back attack still pissed her off. Stomping harder than necessary, her foot slammed onto the back of Apollo's head, knocking him out.
Of course, his body did not simply evaporate. Thus, his body collapsed forwards, in the direction of the initial force, and landed on Percy. Startled, the God of Heroes jumped back, allowing the auburn-haired girl to land gracefully on her feet, taking on a combat position again.
Percy cracked a grin. "Doesn't this remind you of something? The spar the day we were made Olympians?"
Artemis tilted her head, a smirk growing across her face as she remembered. Then, she continued to recall the events afterwards…
"What do you think, Arty?"
She couldn't help but let her cheeks grow pink, but only just. At their current distance, it was impossible to tell. At least, she hoped that was the case. Shaking her head out of those thoughts, she turned her attention back to the current Percy.
Said boy was frowning, staring at a cluster of trees right outside the clearing. Following his gaze, Artemis frowned as well. However, being the Goddess of the Hunt, she could see what he couldn't.
"Get down, Percy!"
Without hesitation, the raven-haired boy ducked, just as an arrow whistled above him. Immediately, her nocked arrow righted itself in the direction of the origin, and Artemis narrowed her eyes, reaching out with her senses.
Quickly, Percy sprinted over to Apollo's unconscious body, and shook him awake. Though he may not be the most adept at close combat, he was still powerful in other ways.
"Eh? What's up?" the blond Olympian muttered groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Noticing Percy's stone faced expression, however, instantly made him wake up. "What? Why're you so serious all of a sudden?"
"Someone's attacking." was all that was said in reply, before a grim-faced Percy hurried over to Artemis.
"I can sense him, but… It's vague. I can't pinpoint the attacker." she said, her bow still pointing in the general direction of the trees.
Percy nodded, frowning. "I'll draw it out. When I do, shoot it, Arty."
Before she could reply, he was gone.
In a burst of speed, the Olympian appeared in front of one of the bushes, and promptly ran it through with his blade.
Choosing to ignore his nickname, the auburn-haired archer turned to her twin, and beckoned him to draw his bow as well. "C'mon, this could be dangerous."
Frowning, Apollo nodded, nocking his bow near instantly. However, despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but have one last crack at his sibling. "I got your back, little sis."
"I'm older than you." came the automatic reply.
..
After Percy had confirmed that there were no enemies within the range of his initial assault, he paused, closing his eyes. Soon enough, the tell-tale whistle of an arrow followed, hardly audible against the noise of the forest.
However, this time Percy was ready. Sliding backwards, his eyes snapped open and he poured power into his legs. The jump that followed could be easily mistaken for teleportation, except there was no flash of light. Now in hovering in the air right before the attacker, Percy went for a devastating kick towards the left side of the unknown person's neck.
Grimly, he noted that, instead of being alarmed, the enigma blocked the attack with his bow. He wasn't surprised by Percy's speed, so that meant he knew who Percy was.
This was not an accident, nor a coincidence.
Using the bow as a platform, Percy flipped himself back, throwing Anaklusmos as he fell down to the ground.
The attacker grunted in surprise as the Greek-styled longsword flew towards him, dodging instinctively to his right. Unfortunately for him, the tree was to his left. The figure of the attacker was revealed as he fell into the clearing, clicking his tongue.
"Damn, you're good."he grumbled, tossing his now broken bow aside. "Too bad I have to eliminate you, but it's Lord Kronos's orders."
Immediately, a duo of arrows were flying his way, but the man imitated Percy, simply leaning back to avoid them.
The man only grinned at the two archers, who immediately nocked another set of arrows.
"This is gonna be fun…"
..
So, this was a bit longer than usual. As for who you have to thank for this chapter, zakmccormack70 asked me to write this about a week ago. It was only delayed because of a vacation to Georgia, and my forgetfulness. Sorry!
