I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians , sadly. I do own my own insane ideas however.
This chapter is really long and has Hestia as one of the main characters. Just to help you understand where part of this came from and what is going on; one of the reasons Hestia became one of the maiden goddesses, is because Poseidon and Apollo both courted her in the past and she was afraid there would be a war between those two or at least a lot of trouble.
Hestia was tending to the hearth like always while she listened to one of her brother's speeches with a fond smile on her face. She was in the throne room, there was another meeting and Zeus held another speech, like always.
She didn't agree with what he was saying, but she always enjoyed listening to her brother. It filled her with so much pride to know they had come this far, that the Titans no longer ruled and they had improved the situation on earth. Even though their king held very long, slightly boring speeches that weren't always very significant.
Zeus loved being the leader and his speeches were often similar; going on and on about the greatness of Olympus and the gods and how they should all protect it. Himself was also one of his favourite subjects, his courage and great leadership.
Hestia was always irked he never spoke of family, only of protecting what was theirs and having to cooperate in order to protect it. He just didn't understand what was truly important.
She would often get exasperated with her brother, because he didn't understand the importance of family and unity, but she also loved him for his foibles. He would never admit he had flaws, but she knew that even the gods had them and she loved her family even more for it.
She had the firm belief that imperfection made people a lot more interesting and lovable and only got annoyed by people who were perfect or acted like they were. And Zeus was far from perfect.
Hestia would never offend her brother , but that didn't mean she thought he was perfect. She knew he could be arrogant, bossy, and persistent when he shouldn't be. Which were some of the negative aspects of his character, like his unfaithfulness.
But she also thought he was a good leader- even though he made mistakes every now and then- , kind, intelligent and many more positive things. And she didn't think he was a good person solely because she loved him, she also had proof of it.
It saddened her that he behaved wrong, that he cheated and hurt people, but she couldn't be mad at him for that. He also worked hard to ensure everything went well on earth and thus protected the mortals. That was made him a good person in her eyes.
She admired him for the strength and will he showed, for his hard work and ambition. She admired her entire family for all they did, because she saw the good they all had. Unlike the Titans, they cared.
Maybe her family could be cruel and cold, often hurting people because of silly arguments, but they were still the far better choice. They also could be compassionate and wanted the world to be a better place, something the titans didn't necessarily want. She was proud of them, despite all the mistakes and bad choices they made.
Even when they behaved selfish and arrogant, she couldn't be mad at them. The days that they weren't made up for it. They were always kind to her and she felt happy even when they didn't talk to her. She didn't mind sitting quietly in a corner, she was content just watching her family and not participating in the discussion.
The only times she truly felt hurt by her family, when she wasn't happy, was when they fought. She couldn't stand it. And fight they did, although they never – at least not when she was present- used physical strength.
They used only words, but Hestia knew words cut deeper than anything else and could bring more pain than any weapon. She watched as Athena and Poseidon argued again- Athena calm and composed as ever and Poseidon quickly getting agitated – and sighed. Her family would probably never change; they would never stop hurting each other with words .
She knew that was impossible, but you couldn't blame her she wanted it to stop. She felt nauseous whenever they fought and her heart would break a little when one of them, one of the people she cared so much about, really got hurt by another. And it never changed, they never saw the light and realized how fruitless their arguing was. They didn't listen to her.
Why can't they just desist arguing, cease using words to harm each other? They have been behaving this way for millennia and still they don't comprehend, don't see, how much they are missing and destroying through their destructive behaviour.
We are a family, but we behave as though we are enemies. Life could be so much better without the fighting, but they will probably never understand that.
Hestia glanced at her family again and was surprised when she saw the meeting had already ended and only a few gods remained. She had been so deep in thought she had completely missed the rest of Zeus' speech.
Most gods immediately left when they got the chance, so there were only a few left. She saw Athena talking to her father, probably about some ingenious plan she had. Dionysus remained, probably to ask Zeus to at least lower his sentence even though he knew Zeus wouldn't do it. And Ares was still there, waiting until Aphrodite was finished talking to Poseidon.
Poseidon looked slightly annoyed; he normally practically ran out of the throne room when the meeting ended, but now he couldn't. Aphrodite had him cornered, obviously planning to not allow him to leave until she had what she wanted.
Ares narrowed his eyes and started to look angrier with every passing second while they talked. Hestia feared he would actually attack Poseidon when Aphrodite giggled and took a few steps towards Poseidon.
The fire in Ares' sockets was burning a deep, aggressive red and Hestia could feel his aura of power when Aphrodite took another step towards Poseidon, felt his biceps for some reason and whispered something in his ear. Poseidon looked rather pleased with himself and grinned at her.
Hestia didn't know what Aphrodite had said, but she had the feeling she didn't want to know. It would likely be something crude or at least flirty.
She contemplated walking towards them and separating them , but didn't want to interfere too much. On the other hand, this was a dangerous situation.
It was their own business what they did, but she had two very good reasons for separating them; A- Ares looked so angry, even if he tried to hide it, that she wouldn't have been surprised if his eyes had started to burn a hole in Poseidon and B- Poseidon was married and shouldn't be flirting, because that was what he looked like he was doing- with another woman than his wife. He shouldn't have married Amphitrite if he didn't hold every intention to remain faithful to her was Hestia's opinion.
Before she deemed it necessary to separate them, Aphrodite suddenly took a small step back and started talking rapidly. Hestia couldn't see her face, so she couldn't read her lips either, but whatever she was saying, it made Poseidon look.. strange.
At first, he appeared to snort and roll his eyes, looking very sceptical. He tried to interrupt her, shaking his head and saying " That is ridiculous", but Aphrodite was persistent. She kept talking.
Poseidon protested as first, saying something that either was " She does not want me" or " The shoe god can't see " ( she was pretty sure it was the first one ), but slowly seemed to change his mind. He looked annoyed and frustrated at first, but his expression slowly changed to a happy and confident one the longer Aphrodite talked to him.
Hestia didn't like that. For some reason, she found it strange. She was already slightly nervous- Aphrodite often made plans that disrupted the peace and quiet- , but became even more nervous when both Poseidon and Aphrodite started looking at her.
At first she thought she was imagining things, but Poseidon and Aphrodite interrupted their conversation to look at her numerous times, after which they started talking again. She didn't like that.
Why are they talking about me? That is just peculiar. What do they want from me? I am not able to aid them in any way they might need. They aren't interested in family or the hearth, so why would they be talking about me?
Aphrodite said something again- Hestia really wished she was turned the other way, so she could read Aphrodite's lips, shoved Poseidon and said something after a conspiratorial wink.
Poseidon grinned and went with a hand through his hair. Hestia could easily read what he was saying; "How do I look?". Aphrodite said something back, rolled her eyes and pushed him away.
He started walking away, but Aphrodite stopped him and gave him a kiss on his cheek before whispering something in his ear. That was the moment that Ares couldn't control himself any longer; he left his place and started walking towards Aphrodite, summoning his sword while he did so.
Aphrodite saw him coming and walked towards him, smiling wildly. Before he could charge at Poseidon- as he obviously intended to- Aphrodite reached him and kissed him. Hestia looked away before she could see it properly, but it lasted a long time. Only when it ended, did she look at Aphrodite and Ares again.
Aphrodite pulled back to say something and he grinned, making his sword disappear and allowing her to pull him away from Poseidon. Luckily, he didn't see Aphrodite winked and blew Poseidon a kiss before leaving.
Hestia suspected Aphrodite had used her powers to influence Ares, because Ares would never turn down a fight. He also could be possessive towards Aphrodite and would occasionally get jealous. Hestia knew Ares would have attacked Poseidon if Aphrodite hadn't stopped him. She was thankful for that.
At that moment, Poseidon started walking towards her. She looked around her, wondering if there was a god standing next to her that Poseidon needed to talk to, but she quickly realized he was walking towards her to speak with her. Which was strange, to say the least.
They were on friendly terms, but Poseidon had never quite recovered from her rejection- by becoming a maiden, she had rejected him and Apollo- and didn't talk often to her.
He was always nice and she knew he would help her if she asked, but he didn't seem interested in spending much time with her. So she was very surprised when he said down next to her and smiled at her.
" Hi".
She smiled at him as well before turning her attention to the heart. She simply didn't know what to say to him, although she knew what she wanted to ask. But it would be rude to ask him what he had been talking about.
" Hi" she said.
They sat in silence for some time; the sounds of the fire and their breathing the only sounds that could be heard. It were calming sounds.
He didn't say anything and when she glanced at him, she noticed he was staring at her with a very peculiar look in his eyes. She couldn't quite place that look, but it made her shift a little bit, made her uncomfortable.
She had always liked Poseidon, had liked his calming presence, but he was behaving out of character right now and it made her nervous.
It wasn't like he was acting really strange, but he normally didn't sit down with her and he wouldn't talk to Aphrodite either. She knew he liked Aphrodite a lot- had even had a crush on her- , but as far as she knew, Poseidon and Aphrodite rarely spoke to each other nowadays. It was all very odd.
Hestia focused on the hearth, taking comfort in the way the flames made soft, familiar sounds and warmed her. She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of fire and smoke and wrapped her hands around her knees. She always sat like this whenever she wanted to think or felt insecure about something. The hearth was where she got her best ideas.
She started humming softly, scooting a little closer to the heat of the fire, while making the flames grow a little, using her powers.
She was completely and utterly relaxed and had forgotten all about Poseidon sitting next to her when he suddenly leaned towards her and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and left his hand resting on her shoulder.
She opened her eyes to look at him , startled by the sudden contact, and felt herself be warmed from the inside by the surprisingly tender and loving look in his eyes. His eyes were even more beautiful now they were filled with such strong emotions.
He smiled at her and kissed her forehead gently, catching her by surprise. He pulled back and just stared at her for a moment, smiling again when she didn't say anything just looked at him questioningly, and kissed her cheek.
" You are so beautiful" he said and Hestia was glad the fire was there, because it managed the hide the blush his comment had evoked.
Hestia was a very humble person and never knew how to react when people complimented her. Not only did she believe that she didn't earn compliments- seeing as she didn't think she was beautiful or special in any way-, but she was used to being shoved aside, to being invisible or at least people behaving as though she was. She was, simply put, not used to receiving compliments.
She laughed nervously, glancing at Poseidon from beneath her eyelashes. He looked at her with a sincerity and tenderness she wasn't use to seeing in his sea green eyes.
" Eh thank you, I guess".
His smile widened a little and he took her hand from her knee, turned it and placed a soft kiss on her wrist. She tried to ignore the feelings that evoked in her, nervous excitement.
" Don't thank me. It is the truth, you know".
Hestia tried to look away, finding the emotions in his eyes too dangerous, but found she couldn't. She had no idea how he did it, but he captivated her with those beautiful eyes. She felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.
She tried pulling back her hand, but he tightened his hold and pulled softly on it in return, urging her to scoot closer towards him. She didn't have much of a choice.
He was suddenly very close, still smiling and with that strange look in his eyes, and she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not. She didn't mind people sitting next to her, but Poseidon was making her nervous.
His behaviour seemed off and he was still holding her hand, now rubbing circles on her wrist with his thumb. He was close enough that she could smell his scent – salty, but in a good way- and feel both his godly aura- raw strength that was both gentle and ferocious like the sea- and feel the warmth his body seemed to radiate.
" Poseidon..?" She asked in a small voice, still trying to get her hand back. She didn't think he should be holding her hand. It seemed wrong, too intimate.
" Yes?" he said, but he seemed distracted and wasn't looking into her eyes. When she followed his line of sight, she saw he was looking at her lips. Not just looking, but staring at them like a man lost in the desert would look at water. That was the moment she got really nervous.
She attempted to get up when he finally let go of her hand, but he immediately grabbed her hand again and pulled her down again, but not to the ground.
She landed in his lap and he wrapped his arms around her before kissing her temple and burying his nose in her hair, making a soft mmm sound.
Hestia froze and didn't know what to do. She didn't want to hurt him, but she also didn't want to be stuck in his embrace. It wasn't that she didn't like it- she occasionally hugged family and friends-, but it just felt.. wrong.
It wasn't the kind of friendly hug she shared with friends and family, it was just different. More intimate , more of a romantic kind. And she shouldn't be doing this.
She cleared her throat, hoping to catch Poseidon's attention. He looked up, slowly, and smiled at her. She smiled back, hesitantly.
" Poseidon?" When he nodded, she continued. " Could you let me go? Not that I don't like it that you want to spend time with me, but this is kind of peculiar".
" Why?".
" Well, I am sitting in your lap with your arms around me. I am not supposed to do these kind of things".
" You were not supposed to do these things" he said, leaning in to kiss her. She stopped him by placing her hand on his lips and shaking her head to let him know he didn't have permission. She was shocked he had even tried it.
" Don't do that! And where are you talking about?".
Poseidon chuckled and grabbed her hand, placing kisses on it. On her finger, then her palm. Her wrist. Below that. Her hand again.
He sucked gently on her wrist and she stopped him. She had been too stunned to do anything except stare up until that moment, but decided he was going too far. And she couldn't allow it to get too far or even allow herself to think about if she wanted to let him go too far.
She gently pushed his head away from her wrist, feeling slightly guilty when she saw the hurt expression in his eyes.
" What is it Hestia? Don't you like me, don't you think I am the right man for you?" he asked, his sea green eyes now sad and pleading. Like a kicked puppy.
She felt horrible for hurting him, but she could hardly go along with whatever he was doing. She was a maiden and he was married, there was no way they could do things like this. It was just horribly wrong.
" No man is the right man for me Poseidon, I am a maiden as you know, I cannot pursue any romantic relationship. Besides, you are married to a wonderful woman, so why would you even consider engaging in a relationship with me"?
" Because all these time, after all the women I have had, it was you I wanted. I have never been able to forget you Hestia. I hoped I could, but I couldn't. My beautiful wife can't make me forget you, mistresses can't and no matter how much children I will have, I will only be truly glad when it is you with whom I am having them" he said in a soft voice, his eyes connecting with hers and reflecting the same desire and longing they had all the millennia ago, when he had pursued her. When he and Apollo had fought over her heart and she decided in order to protect them both, she could love neither.
She had never been willing to admit it, not even to herself, but sometimes she regretted that. She knew it had been the right choice, but she couldn't help be envious of all those women who were allowed to be with man and fell in love.
She loved her family, loved her friends and was content with the place in life she head, but there were times when she longed for something more. It could get lonely, just watching and tending heart and rarely talking to anyone.
So it was with great difficulty that she said what she knew she should say. She didn't know what had come over Poseidon, but she realized she still couldn't except his offer. It was just impossible.
" That is very sweet Poseidon, but really, we can't do this. Please release me and forget this insanity".
" I can't. I have tried to forget about you, forget all the things I like in you and move on, but I just can't Hestia. Why won't you give me a chance?".
" I am a maiden Poseidon, I-".
" But you won't be for long anymore!".
" Where are you talking about?!".
" Aphrodite told me all about it. She said you regretted making that decision and was going to ask Zeus to allow you to take it back".
" And you believed her?.
" Poseidon, I have been a maiden for millennia and I do not intend to change this. I have very good reasons for this and although I will admit there have been times it was .. challenging, I would never break my oath. I am sorry, but we can't be together".
" So you choose him then?" Poseidon said, narrowing his eyes and gripping her arms tightly. He didn't look like the calm, kind person she liked so much. He actually reminded her a little of her father and she tried to push the memory of Kronos away, still frightened whenever she thought of him.
" W-who?" she said, trying not to feel intimidated now Poseidon looked really angry and all kindness was forgotten.
" Apollo ". He spat, making the name sound like venom or something disgusting.
Hestia frowned, confused. What had Apollo to do with this? She hadn't seen him for some time. They barely spoke each other nowadays.
" Apollo? I don't under-".
" You have chosen him, haven't you? You have chosen that impish boy instead of me" he said through gritted teeth and Hestia was now starting to feel very alarmed. She still didn't know what to make of this, but it was clear that Poseidon was very angry and Apollo, for some strange reason, was the cause. She had to calm him down before he could do anything rash and foolish, like attacking Apollo.
" I haven't chosen anyone Poseidon. Honestly, just hear me-".
Poseidon suddenly stood and she fell from his lap. She didn't know whether to be relieved she was no longer trapped, and just a bit tempted, or feel horrified because Poseidon was possibly losing his mind or feeling concerned for her own and Apollo's safety. She settled for concerned and horrified.
Poseidon towered over her, his sea green eyes dark and cold like she couldn't remember seeing them before, his mouth a firm line and his trident securely in his left hand, which knuckles were turning white because he was gripping his trident with a lot of force.
She had never quite realized exactly how powerful he was. Right now, his aura burned like the fire in her heart did, the earth was shaking along with him and his trident was glowing as though it was getting ready for a fight.
" I refuse to lose you again, now I finally have to chance to have you. Whatever I have to do, it will end with having you "he growled and transported before Hestia could say or do anything to stop him.
She remained behind, sitting on the floor and looking utterly confused. This was the last time she would appear at a meeting as a woman instead of a young child, she promised herself. There hadn't been any problems the last meetings, when she had shown up looking as always, and this one time she had shown up looking as a grown woman and Poseidon suddenly lost his mind. It couldn't be a coincidence.
Shakily, she got to her feet and looked around, hoping someone might be able to help. She didn't have the illusion she could stop Poseidon all by herself. He was one of the Big Three and would likely not listen to any reasoning right now. She needed help if she wanted to stop him.
Athena, Zeus and Dionysos had already left, so there was no one would do anything. Zeus would have stopped Poseidon a lot earlier if he had been here, but that didn't help her. Or Apollo. She would have to do it herself. She had to find Apollo and warn him.
Think Hestia, think. Where is Apollo right now? He could just be home or- Artemis! Artemis said her brother would visit her today, Apollo is with Artemis!
Before she had even finished the thought, she was already running. Her body had taken over, spurred on by the bust at adrenalin at the idea of a helpless Apollo being destroyed by a furious Poseidon.
The few times she had seen Poseidon really angry, she had felt sorry for his enemies. And she had never seen him this angry, so she was very worried what he might do to Apollo. Poor, sweet, innocent Apollo.
She ran a little faster, fearing what she might see when she had arrived at Artemis' house. She knew Apollo wasn't weak or anything, but Poseidon was one of the Big Three and could beat him in a fight. He would need her help, even if Artemis was there to help.
She arrived at Artemis' house and didn't bother knocking. They weren't inside, she knew.
She could hear screams coming from the massive garden/forest Artemis had and ran towards it. When she arrived, she gasped. The scene before her shocked her, even if she had already feared this would happen.
Poseidon and Apollo were fighting, like she had already feared. Poseidon was throwing enormous boulders at Apollo, made the earth shake and crumble beneath Apollo and used water from the fountains to throw ice spears at him all at the same moment.
Apollo dodged- with difficulty- his attacks, taking advantage of his speed and agility. He often trained with Hermes and that was obviously paying off, because Apollo managed to dodge most things and destroyed the others. He also created a massive light shield around him, that protected him while he shot arrows at Poseidon.
Poseidon dodged the arrows, using pieces of earth as shields as well as shooting them towards Apollo, and created a giant earthquake that destroyed a piece of Artemis' house, as well as various trees.
A rain of stone and trees fell down on Apollo, but his light shield protected him and he easily dodged any pieces that managed to come past his light shield. He used the sunlight to A; send a very luminous ray at Poseidon's eyes and B; throw a fireball at Poseidon ( or actually light ball, but the ball was very, very hot).
Poseidon summoned an enormous wave and made it into a ball that stopped the fireball while at the same time jumping away from the ray of light and creating another earthquake that caught Apollo by surprise and threw him a few metres back, to land against an earthen wall Poseidon had made quickly. Apollo fell to the ground, dizzy and clutching his throbbing head.
Poseidon raised his trident, obviously to end it, but had to use it to stop the arrows Artemis- who had stood by quietly ( okay that is a lie, she had screamed at both of them and called them names) up until now- shot at him. A few hit him, but he managed to stop most by freezing them in the air (air also consists small amounts of water people). By then, Apollo had gotten up again and raised his hands.
Hestia didn't get what he was doing at first, but she got the idea when Poseidon suddenly swore and he sank to his knees. It was like there were insects trapped under his face and they were trying to get out; his face was actually moving and changing.
His ears were moving up his face, getting longer, hairy and pointy as well. Next to his new ears, there started to grow a brown antler, making him grunt softly because it really hurt. His teeth grew and above his teeth, hair grew ( whiskers). His nose shortened.
Artemis seemed just as stunned, staring at Poseidon with wide eyes and lowering her bow for a moment, not longer interest in protecting her 'baby brother' like she sometimes called Apollo. Especially when she wanted to annoy him.
" Apollo stop!" Hestia screamed, unable to stand by and just watch any longer. She knew it would be foolish to come between the fighting gods, but she couldn't watch this any longer. She hated it that they were hurting each other.
He grinned at her, although it wasn't his normal grin. This was a cruel , sadistic grin.
" I will stop when Poseidon is fully changed into my sister's favorite animal and is no longer of any interest to you".
" But you are hurting him!".
Apollo laughed, a hollow laugh that made shivers travel up Hestia's spine. " That only makes it better".
Hestia wanted to run towards Poseidon when he broke free, roared ( Artemis and Hestia covered their ears, because it sounded worse than cat nails scratching a board, crows or anything else ) and changed back to his normal form.
The roar made Apollo fly backwards and land on the ground, covering his bleeding ears and groaning. Poseidon grinned and raised his trident, sending an enormous earth boulder towards Apollo as well as freezing the water in the air and making very sharp ice spears that he send towards Apollo. Then, probably to show off, he created some horses out of mud and earth , and made them run towards Apollo to crush him.
Artemis screamed with rage and sorrow and shot shafts of moonlight at Poseidon, dozens of her normal silver arrows and send a flock of hawks- that were a lot bigger than the average hawks, along with having sharper beaks and claws that could tear about flesh really easily- at him.
Poseidon was hit by a lot of arrows and Artemis laughed when she saw the ichor dripping from his wounds ( Hestia doubted her sanity as well, since it was a very insane and evil laugh that was quite unlike her friend) , but he quickly healed his wounds , killed all the hawks – Artemis screamed again and called him something that would have resulted in having her mouth washed with soap if Leto had heard it- and deflected the arrows by momentarily turning his trident in a sword.
The arrows and hawks might not have killed Poseidon- logically, since he couldn't be killed- but they had distracted him momentarily and had given Apollo to heal the numerous wounds brought on to him by Poseidon, stand up, raise his hands and send a plague of flees, rats and any other small animal that could bite and make someone sick at Poseidon.
Poseidon roared again and killed a lot of them ,but it wasn't enough. They still covered him, biting him and leaving behind a bleeding and pale Poseidon when they left. He was pale and shivering; obviously the small animals had weakened for a moment.
Apollo immediately started shooting arrows at lightning speed towards him. Poseidon seemed momentarily overwhelmed and the ground around him turned gold from all the ichor that was dripping on it.
Hestia took a step forward, but Artemis pulled her back.
"Don't walk towards them , you idiot!" she hissed, but she looked slightly concerned as well. More for her brother- she had actually smiled when Poseidon had been hit by all the arrows and the cloud of vermin-, but still.
Hestia hesitated, looking at Poseidon with teary eyes, but nodded. She couldn't just place herself between them. She would let them fight for a little longer, but she would stop them if they went too far. She would take that risk, even if she couldn't make them stop and would hurt herself.
Poseidon recovered and quickly healed himself, summoning two moving walls of earth to crush Apollo. Apollo jumped over them, but Poseidon summoned another giant wave and let it come down on Apollo. The pressure was so great Apollo was nearly turned into a pancake.
His ribs were broken though and this distracted him long enough for Poseidon to turn him into a jackalope - smirking very un-Poseidon like while doing this- and making a tree move- probably by using the water inside of it- and capture Apollo.
Hestia looked at Artemis. "Ehhm Artemis? Aren't you going to help your brother again?" she asked. No matter what Artemis said or how indifferent she acted towards Apollo, he was one of the people she cared most about. So she was surprised Artemis didn't do anything.
Artemis smirked. " Why would I? I will probably like him a lot more as a jackalope. At least he can't make my ears bleed with his haiku's that way".
She snickered, whistling at her brother and clapping her hands.
" You look great Apollo! " she yelled, wearing one of the biggest smirks Hestia had ever seen. She seemed no longer angry and didn't even glare at Poseidon anymore.
Apollo had healed his ribs by now, returned to normal, and glared at her before somehow managing to escape the tree before Poseidon could make it strangle him. He made an enormous light shield appear, bend the light in a way that Poseidon couldn't avoid it anymore and it hit his eyes- he roared again- and raised his hands again.
Poseidon sunk to his knees again, but Apollo wasn't trying to change his species this time. No, he was trying to break every bone in Poseidon's body.
He started with his feet; breaking every toe of Poseidon's left foot, then of his right. Poseidon swore.
Crack. His Ankles. Poseidon tried gripping his trident, but Apollo's broke all the bones in his hands. Poseidon roared. Apollo ignored it.
Crack. The bones in his leg. Poseidon gasped and swore, still trying to summon his trident or something else but the pain making this very difficult. And Apollo assured he couldn't move for now.
Crack. The bones in his other leg. Poseidon trembled with rage and pain. Artemis had to dig her nails into Hestia's wrist and use all her strength to keep Hestia from running towards them.
Crack. His hip. Poseidon made a strangled noise. Hestia swore for the first in a very long time, looking murderous like Artemis hadn't thought it was possible for her to look.
Crack. A rib. Poseidon's eyes rolled back. His eyes teared up a little. Artemis looked very concerned. Hestia was crying and trembling with rage.
Crack. Another Rib. Poseidon threw up. Artemis started to loosen her grip, now trembling with rage as well. Hestia send a wall of fire towards Apollo. Artemis shot an arrow. Apollo dodged everything and ignored them, focused on Poseidon.
Crack. Another Rib. Poseidon swore softly, his strength leaving him. Artemis shot dozens of arrows at her brother. Hestia created an enormous ball of fire as hot as the sun and shot it towards Apollo. Apollo dodged both. Hestia and Artemis kept hurling fireballs, knives and arrows at him.
Poseidon healed himself, got up and roared louder than ever while creating an earthquake at the same time. Apollo flew through the air, his eardrums exploded and crash-landed against an enormous tree that was frozen into the earth.
Poseidon used the water in the air, froze it around Apollo's throat and forced the water to dig into his skin very painfully.
He froze more water, letting it float in the air and settle on Apollo's face first. Apollo couldn't breathe anymore. His skin started to burn, like it only does when you are actually frozen, the skin developing white, yellow and red patches.
More water appeared on his stomach, the T-shirt he wore was ripped apart and the water attacked his bare skin. Purplish blisters appeared on his stomach, which turned black slowly. Ichor dripped down and his skin seemed to fall off slowly. Both Hestia were frozen in shock before they reacted at the exact same time.
Hestia melted the ice that was covering Apollo – slowly, so it wouldn't do more harm than good- ,made a wall of fire appear so close to Poseidon it singed his eyebrows and started melting his trident.
Artemis ran towards her brother, shot arrows at Poseidon as well as shafts of moonlight and made a hoard of wild boar attack him ( those are seriously scary, if you ask me). The boulders Poseidon send towards her were easily dodged.
Poseidon jumped away from the wall of fire, dropped his trident when it suddenly started to burn, threw water on his trident to stop the melting , got hit by a few arrows, tripled over the boars and landed on his back. The boars turned and attacked him again, but Hestia used fire to scare them away while she ran towards Poseidon.
Artemis had healed and freed her brother and brought him over to Hestia, shaking so badly- with rage, not fear- that Hestia could hear her teeth clattering. The only thing that kept Artemis from attacking Poseidon was Hestia's stern look.
Poseidon got on his feet again, healing himself and making the arrows disappear, and looked more than ready to start fighting again. Apollo looked equally eager to continue fighting, glaring at Poseidon.
Hestia both gave them a look that was so stern, disappointing and angry they frozen and looked down at their feet, the picture of two little boys caught fighting at school.
The only reason Hestia had allowed them to continue their fighting up until now , was because there was some sort of rule you never should interrupt two gods when they were fighting over a goddess. It had something to do with pride, honour and male stupidity.
" What on earth do you two think you are doing?"she hissed, surprising everyone by speaking in a sharp tone, not something people knew she was capable of.
Apollo said " Saving you from a life with that idiot" at the same time Poseidon said " Winning my fair lady's heart". Both men glared at each other.
Hestia sighed. " I am a maiden!".
She turned towards Poseidon. " So you can never win my heart, nor can any men".
She turned towards Apollo, who was grinning triumphantly. " And I do not require to be rescued! Seriously, you are the one who needs to be rescued. From your own stupidity!".
Apollo flinched and Hestia sighed, realizing how harsh that might be. Besides, Apollo was actually really intelligent, so the statement wasn't completely true even if there were times where he behaved like a brainless cretin.
" I apologize, I shouldn't have said that" she said, giving Apollo a small smile. He perked up immediately and tried to escape his sister's – who was still glaring at Poseidon- grip, but was pulled back.
" But you really were behaving in a foolish manner Apollo – she ignored Apollo's sad puppy dog eyes and Poseidon's grin- , and should know better!".
She turned towards Poseidon. " And the same is true for you! You could have seriously hurt each other or at least hurt people in the mortal world or other people on Olympus with this derisory behaviour".
Artemis nodded. "Yes, so basically you were behaving like any impish male. But why?".
Hestia arched an eyebrow. " Why didn't you do anything?".
" There was little I could do, Apollo kept shouting he was defending his honour and I shouldn't help and there is this entire don't interrupt when two gods are fighting rule. Why did Zeus made that up again?".
" He wanted an excuse to fry me or Hades" Poseidon responded, shrugging.
Hestia sighed. "Poseidon, I am convinced king Zeus had his reasons and-".
" He did. He wanted to be able to fry me and Hades without being interrupted. He literally said; I don't want any donkey-heads to keep me from frying my inane brother's".
Hestia frowned, not remembering this. "Where was I when this happened? I don't remember it".
" You were having a small break, tending the heart at camp half-blood. It was some sort of secret meeting- Apollo interrupted to say he had asked Zeus to include Hestia in the meeting and Poseidon called him a lickspittle- and Zeus knew you wouldn't approve, so that was why you weren't informed".
Artemis rolled her eyes. " Typical male behaviour. So disappointing that my father behaved so immature and obnoxious. But that is besides the point. I ask it again, why were those two nitwits fighting?".
"Because Hestia is going to break her oath and I want her" Poseidon and Apollo answered in perfect unison, glaring at each other.
Artemis folded her arms, warning Apollo to not even think about moving, and arched one of her eyebrows at Hestia.
" Really? You want to break you oath to – she pointed at Apollo and Poseidon- be with one of those dimwits? Have you lost your mind ?".
Hestia sighed. "No and No. I don't want to break my oath and I have no idea why they are convinced I do want to".
Artemis shrugged. "They probably both think they are irresistible and you can't live without them". Apollo and Poseidon nodded in agreement.
Hestia sighed. "Listen Poseidon, Apollo, I like you a lot and all but I became a maiden to avoid such a situation. Please don't fight over me. And Poseidon, you are married.".
Apollo grinned. " Does that mean I get to have you".
"No. Neither of you are going to have me!".
" But you are going to break your oath" Poseidon and Apollo protested.
Hestia, getting agitated, glared at them. Or attempted to. She couldn't be really mad at them now they were no longer fighting, she was just too relieved they were okay for that.
" I am not going to break my oath. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. I am never going to break my oath".
Apollo walked towards Hestia and threw his arm around her. " I get it Hestia".
" Good. Please remove your arm Apollo".
Instead of removing his arm, Apollo grinned at her. "You don't want to hurt the old man's - Poseidon gripped his trident a little tighter, but didn't say anything- feelings, so you aren't telling him you choose me".
"No, I choose neither of you. Please Apollo, leave me alone".
" But-".
Artemis stepped forward and pulled her brother back. She looked very annoyed and gave Hestia an apologetic look as to say; sorry for my brother's behaviour.
" She said you had to leave her alone Apollo, so leave her alone".
" Keep out of this little sis".
" No way baby brother".
" Sis... I am warning you".
" And I am refraining from hurting you, but I won't if you don't leave Hestia alone".
"Do not interfere.
Dearest little sister or.
I will get angry".
" Stop with the haiku's.
Or I will kick ass.
My little brother".
" I will never stop sis.
So shut up or leave right now.
Or I will hurt you".
Artemis took a step forward, placing herself between Hestia and Apollo. " You are not able to hurt me baby brother".
" I am!". " You are not and- argh!". Artemis was caught by surprise when Apollo suddenly blinded her. Hestia tried to help , but Poseidon grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. Apollo was too busy dodging Artemis arrows- she didn't necessarily need sight to shoot- to see it.
Poseidon started walking away while Artemis shot numerous arrows at Apollo, dodged his arrows and also summoned deer, squirrels, boars and other animals to attack her brother. He just threw balls of light towards them, blinding them, or shot arrows towards them.
She managed to hit him, but he started shooting arrows at her, as well as balls of lights while his shield protected him from her arrows. She had a hard time dodging everything, but managed to do so by moving extremely fast.
She surprised Apollo by using her blade to send some of his arrows back to him, jumping over him and hitting him on his head with the hilt of one of her daggers. He staggered and she kicked the back of his knees, making him fall on the ground.
She wanted to finish it ( by hitting him unconscious or making him surrender) but he pushed himself up with his hands and kicked her in her face. She staggered back and he grabbed her hair, threw her on the ground, burned all her arrows with light/fireballs and jumped on her.
"Get off me, you jerk!"she hissed, but he easily pushed her down. Artemis would always deny it, but he was stronger. She spat in his face, but he just spat back.
"APOLLO. DO NOT EXPECTORATE IN MY FACE, THAT IS REVOLTING!".
Apollo spat in her face again and Artemis cursed. " Fuck! You are so revolting, stupid MALE!".
He rolled his eyes and pushed her hands together, tearing a piece from his T-shirt to tie her hands up.
"Let me go! And desist using your T-shirt for that! That piece of cloth is wet from your sweat, you big fiery ball of gas! ".
Apollo shrugged and tore another piece of his T-shirt, using this to gag her. Artemis started to mutter something and it might be better that you couldn't hear what she was saying, because she looked beyond herself with anger.
Apollo finished tying her up and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her towards the house. She continued muttering and moved wildly, but he still had no trouble carrying her.
He put her on her own feet again and this turned out to be a horrible mistake, as Artemis had managed to remove her gag and he hadn't tied her legs together. She immediately kneeled him and jumped on him when he law on the ground.
Instead of using her godly powers, she used a very ancient technique often used by younger siblings ( although older siblings obviously could use it as well) ; she bit Apollo. Really hard. So hard in fact she broke the skin.
Apollo immediately grabbed her hair, pulled her away from his neck and threw her on the ground. They rolled over the floor and eventually ended with Apollo on top, keeping Artemis down. She managed to throw him off her and grabbed for him, but he got up and ran away.
"Coward" she screamed and ran after him. Poseidon had stopped running away with Hestia and was watching them, perplexed. The siblings were too busy fighting to notice him anyway.
Artemis reached Apollo and tackled him. He screamed and fell down and Artemis was on him again, trying to push him down. They rolled over the grass, punching and screaming, until Apollo managed to get up again and ran away.
Artemis immediately ran after him, not realizing that was what he wanted. He ran behind a wall and quickly used the light to create a fake Apollo, a hallucination. Artemis saw it and tackled it, not noticing the wall Apollo had hidden- using light as well of course, and mirrors- and running into it at full speed. She collapsed, after Apollo had also hit her with a branch he had gotten.
When she woke up, she was tied up and on the roof, with Apollo grinning at her. Her head hurt and she saw two Apollo's at first, meaning he must have hit her really hard.
" Did you enjoy your little nap little sis?".
Artemis growled at him. "I am older than you and untie me this instant!".
" Or what, you are gonna run to mom?".
"No, I am going to hang you on the rafts of my house by your underwear, you cretin!".
Apollo grinned evilly, making Artemis mutter oh shit. The last time he had grinned like that, she had woken up with a moustache that wouldn't disappear for months. And she hated moustaches.
He helped her to her feet and sighed. He appeared sad and honest, but Artemis knew her brother. He obviously had some stupid plan.
"Fine sis. I will untie you, because I am such a nice person" he said while walking behind her. Artemis tried to take a look at what he was doing, but couldn't.
She didn't have to wait long to discover however; she felt her brother's hands reach into her pants and right when she screamed " You pervert, get your hands out of my pants" he pulled her underwear up, all over her head. And got a giggling fit.
Artemis tried to scream at him, but the underwear muffled her and made it unable to see much.
I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. I am going to rip his balls of or boil him or do something equally painful and humiliating. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him and ouch!.
Artemis couldn't see anything, but she was fairly sure her baby brother hadn't only given her a wedgie, but now also hung her upside down from the rafters off her own house. She would find a way to kill him or at least have him suffer for eternity.
He pulled the underwear from her head and grinned when he saw her expression.
"So sis, just hang around while I get my chick all right? And enjoy ths wonderful opportunity to admire the world from a different angle. Bye bye!".
" Apollo, come back here! I am-".
Apollo, who had been walking away, walked back to her and smiled, which looked really creepy now she was upside down. She let out a small sigh of relief. He was going to let her go. She would hug him for that. And make him suffer for the rest.
He leaned down and.. gave her a wet willie. She wouldn't hug him, she use his own swords to beat him.
"APOLLO, you – STOP THAT". He had walked over towards the other ear and giving her another wet willie.
He laughed loudly and ignored her insults, grinning at her.
"I think we are almost even sis, but not quite yet".
" I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!".
" You did a lot. Mocking my haiku's, keeping me away from my beloved Hestia, biting me! Laughing when Poseidon turned me into a jackalope. Well, now the tables are turned sis. And let's see if you like some of your own medicine".
Artemis snorted. "If you are attempting to scare me, good luck with that".
" Thank you".
When Apollo walked away, he leaved behind a outraged silvery jackalope, cursing. Apollo hadn't taken Artemis' voice, so she could still talk but she sounded like one of the chipmunks.
The jackalope couldn't escape because her brother had used Hephaestus unbreakable chains to bind him-. She couldn't even use her powers, so she was stuck as a jackalope until someone got her. She wasn't just going to make Apollo suffer, she was going to make him suffers so badly he would gladly go to Tartarus to escape her. She was the only one who was allowed to turn people into jackalopes! And she would only do it to disgusting males.
Apollo ignored her and ran towards the still stunned Poseidon, who started running when he saw Apollo. Not because he was afraid, but because he wanted to get away with Hestia. He had tried fighting and that hadn't worked.
Apollo tackled Poseidon ( he and Artemis would have been great rugby players) and they rolled over the floor, wrestling much like Artemis an Apollo had done.
Hestia immediately ran towards Artemis.
"Artemis! Hang on, I am coming up there and-".
" No, you cretin! They are both distracted, leave while you can!".
" But you- ".
" I will be fine. I will IM my hunters and they will help me. Just go, before those two chase after you again".
" I can't-".
" Just do it !".
Hestia sighed and , after giving Artemis a regretful look, ran away. She didn't have much of a choice did she? It was probably the first time in her life that she wanted to hurt someone. How dared Apollo do that to Artemis?
Artemis Pov
It was official. All males existed only to make the lives of females a living terror. And my brother was their psychotic, evil leader.
Seriously, don't get me wrong, I love my brother. I have been to a psychiatrist for it, because I was convinced I was insane, but the nice woman confirmed it is completely normal to love your siblings, no matter how much you want to kill them and how hopeless they are. So I guess I am okay with loving my brother, but right now, I wanted to rip his organs out of his revolting body.
He had done a lot abhorrent things to me, had called me names, tried to seduce my hunters ( seriously, the man doesn't get the word no ) despite me telling him millions of times ( believe me, I am not exaggerating) he shouldn't and had overall annoyed me to the point I wished it was possible to kill him or myself. But he had never, never , done something like this.
The jerk- which is the nicest thing I have to say about him at the moment- had turned me into a jackalope. With the most ridiculous voice. That really crossed the boundaries. Brother or not, immortal or not, he was so dead. As soon as I had escaped and turned into my normal self, of course.
Sighing, I IM'ed my hunters- don't ask me how I managed to do that, it isn't of any significance at the moment. Besides, I am a goddess ( I don't care I was a jackalope at the moment, I was still actually a goddess) I can do practically anything- and they promised to come immediately.
While I waited for them , I entertained myself with watching the two cretins – my ex-brother and uncle- fight ( it is peculiar to see everything upside down, but I still managed to get a good look at the two wrestling weirdo's ) and thinking of ways to make my ex-brother suffer.
My hunters finally arrived and I forgave them their giggles – about the hanging upside down and underwear thing- and was glad for their anger-about the jackalope thing.
I sighed when I saw the mischievous glint in their eyes and knew what they were going to ask long before Thalia took a step forward to ask it.
" Can we-".
" Only a few pictures and don't tell anyone" I said in a stern voice. They knew better than to give those pictures away.
Thalia nodded and – with an evil grin- started taking pictures, giving me instructians as " Give me that special smile" an "Keep in this position" ( like I could take any other position).
Finally, my hunters had decided they had tormented me enough and helped me down. I immediately returned my species and clothes to normal and ran towards my ex-brother to make him pay.
After beating the heck out of Apollo and throwing him into my dungeon – what? Dungeons are fun! – I decided to bring the other idiot to Aphrodite. She probably had something to do with this.
Aphrodite quickly admitted she had charm spoken and used some potion on them when I politely suggested I should burn all her clothes, make-up and put those pictures I had taken from her- she paled when I referred to them, which was funny. Thalia made a picture of her shocked, pale face with make-up running down her cheeks, the dear- on the internet. So now we only had to find Hestia, which we did without too much trouble.
The poor woman had fled to her aunt Themis, Titaness of Divine Law and Justice, and was shivering badly when I arrived.
She looked like she either had a really bad case of the flu- she was pale, sweaty and shivering- or had just returned from war ( The look in her eyes reminded me of a soldier of the second world war who had seen his comrades been blown to bits). She managed a week smile when I arrived though.
" Artemis! You are okay".
" Yeah I am. My hunters aided me. And you no longer have to hide, Aphrodite confirmed she was guilty and has turned Apollo and Poseidon back to normal. Well as normal as they get".
Hestia sighed, looking very relieved. " Oh, you have no idea how relieved I am to here that. Are they okay?".
" They harassed you, fought each other like the bunch of idiots they are, stalked you and forced you to flee and you ask if they are okay?".
Hestia nodded. " Of course. It wasn't their fault they behaved this way after all. And knowing you have quite a temper, I was afraid you might have hurt them".
I decided not to mention what exactly I had in my dungeon right now and accepted the tea Themis offered me with a smile. The woman is almost as nice as Hestia, which is an accomplishment. Because really, Hestia makes a Saint seem mean.
I sat down and shook my head. "Auntie, your selflessness never ceases to amaze me".
Well, I hoped you all liked it!
I also did some research and also put in some of my own experiences. Like the fight between Apollo and Artemis; me and my sister actually did some things. Of course , we didn't shoot arrows at each other ( although I did once ran after my sister, trying to hit her with darts) , but we did roll over the ground, bit each other and wrestle. So yeah, siblings fight a lot and I imagine immortal siblings aren't much different.
And perhaps some people believe Poseidon could have easily beaten Apollo, but that would have been boring and Apollo does have amazing powers. And the ability to be cruel and torture people. And I didn't want to have Artemis and Hestia interrupt them, so that is where the weird rule came from ; )
The species changing thing is because all god scan change their appearances as well as someone else's appearance, so tada.