"K-Kirsten?" Allie whispered, fear in her voice for the first time in days. The girl was crouched over her form, holding a gleaming dagger.
It had been a couple of weeks since the attack on Camp Jupiter. After she had informed the Chaotic Army of their Commander's temporary demise, they had returned to Meriopia with heavy hearts and the thirst for vengeance.
Soon after, it had been decided that it was safer to stick together in groups. Allie and Damien had decided to remain in Camp Jupiter with the Hunters, and the remaining Guardians were sent to shield Camp Half-Blood and the Amazons.
"Artemis said you were missing, why are you here…?" She asked, choking.
"To finish what I started," Kirsten snarled, thrusting the dagger into her left lung. Allie couldn't breathe. Blood filled the tent but instead of flowing out, it simply rose. She was drowning. The red liquid bubbled and oozed, forcing it's way into her broken air pipes.
"K-Kirsten?" Allie pleaded, trying to cough and spit away the salty tang that made its way in her mouth. "Why?"
Kirsten just shot her a nasty look. "Because," she said coldly, holding up her ring. Allie finally recognized the protective rune carved into the base of the amethyst.
"It's a memory rune," she whispered. "Who cast this? Who… nobody..." Realization dawned on her face at the same moment Kirsten slunk out of the tent.
"Order!" She cried as she shot up, trying to grab for the hand that was just out of reach. She quickly brushed the tears from her eyes and looked up at the full moon. Slowly, realization sank in. Besides the vision that Chaos had sent, she hadn't had a prophetic dream in years.
Artemis, she prayed. I need to speak to you immediately. It's about Kirsten.
Her chest ached from where Kristen had struck her with the knife, and she winced slightly at the bruised flesh. Whatever the dream was, it wasn't simply a nightmare. It was a warning.
After a few minutes, a silvery glow caressed the large boulder Allie was perched on. "Allie," the cloud said gently, "I cannot speak to you directly. I have to guide the moon across its cycle, but feel free to talk through this."
"That's alright," Allie responded, feeling a weight settle in her chest.
"Is Kirsten alright?" Artemis asked, and Allie could imagine her frowning worriedly on her chariot.
"That's what I want to talk about. I had a demigod dream, Artemis," Allie confessed unthinkingly. There was a confused silence as both participants of the call digested her words.
"A demigod dream? Impossible, you're not a… Gods… You're a demigod! How did I not see it before?" Artemis's voice was high pitched and angry, as if she was inwardly scolding herself for not reading the subtle signs.
"I'm not a demigod," Allie denied breathily, attempting to keep a cool head even though she was inwardly shooting arrows at herself for being for idiotic. "Don't be foolish. I was just a mortal that Chaos recruited."
There was a deafening silence on the other end, then, "I don't believe you."
"Artemis, I'm not a demigod," Allie repeated, trying to keep her voice firm. "Stop making assumptions. I've come to tell you something important about Kirsten. Do you want to know, or not?"
"This," said Artemis warningly, "Is not over."
Allie hung her head slightly, even though she knew that Artemis couldn't see her expression. "I know. If you tell a single soul, the only person willing to save you from me would be Order. Understood?"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Artemis spluttered, making it suddenly apparent that she was the daughter of Zeus. "I am the Goddess, Artemis - "
"Do you understand?" Allie growled, her voice darkening tremendously. "I thought we were friends. Are you sure you want to make me your enemy by telling the gods?"
There was a silence. "I like your friendship, Atalanta, but that doesn't mean you can boss me around. As you said, friends don't do that to one another."
Allie pondered her words for a bit. "I know," She said finally, trying not to be so rough. "But my secret is too important to be discovered. I need an oath, Artemis. Please think of this logically. Chaos was the one who adopted me. Why would she willing take a being of evil as her daughter?"
Artemis seemed to avoid the question.
"I have one condition, Allie," She said quietly. "I want to know your original name. Then I will give the oath to never tell a soul."
"Why on earth would I do that?" Allie snapped, her temper growing thin. She had just come to talk about Kirsten, and now Chaos's granddaughter was demanding answers!
"Because you won't hurt me," Artemis answered confidently. "You may not love me, but you loved my Grandmamma. And she would never have forgiven you."
Allie's ragged breathing didn't change. "But if I reveal to you my identity, you'll be able to guess Damien's too. I can't betray his trust like that."
Artemis sighed. "Allie, I need to know. I have agreed to make the oath, nobody will know about this, but you have to tell me whom you are. If you don't, I'll automatically go digging. I will find it, that, you and I both know..."
"Are - are you blackmailing me?" Allie demanded, her fists enloped in black flame.
"No," Artemis said. "Believe it or not, I do value your friendship. I won't tell the gods, oath or not. But I will find out what you're hiding and if you can be trusted, for my hunters' sake. And especially for my Lieutenant. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she finally found a friend and it was ripped away from her."
Allie took a deep breath. "Fine," she said quietly. "Just let me check with my fellow Commander." Her voice cracked slightly at the last word. She and Damien had taken up the station of Co-Commanders of the Army in Chaos's place. Her heart shattered a little every time she thought of her mother.
She quickly exited the tent, the cloud of mist following her as she walked outside in her pajamas.
"Damien?" She called, knocking on the cabin door. While she had preferred to sleep in a tent with the hunters (courtesy of her father's love of camping) Damien had been reminded a place his original mother had loved, Montauk, and had asked to sleep there.
"Hello?" She asked again.
"Hey Allie," Damien grumbled sleepily. "Initials of our friend with flaming frizzy hair."
"R.E.D," Allie responded, wondering why he was asking about Rachel now. She propped herself up on the bed next to him and peered across, watching his tired green eyes blink slowly as he tried to focus on her.
"Full name of Order's Lieutenant?" She said, not really in the mood for test questioning.
"Hazel," he yawned again, "Maria Levesque."
"Damien, we need to talk." He seemed to tighten slightly at those words, his wiry muscles stiffening as he turned to face her.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asked curiously, a hint of doubt playing across his expression. He fiddled with his thumbs slightly, looking as if he was a five-year-old boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"No," Allie assured him quickly. "No, not at all. In fact, it's not you, it's me that's the problem."
Damien raised his eyes, looking at least slightly more relaxed. "Wow Allie." He held a hand to his forehead dramatically. "I can't believe you're breaking up with me."
He blew her a fake kiss, smirking. Allie slapped him lightly across his head but couldn't fight the smile that rose upon her face.
"Bleuh," the cloud that was Artemis muttered in the background. "Disgusting."
"Okay, first off," Allie addressed Damien, "If I was going to break up with you it would be: 'It's not me it's you' and second, I think we have to tell Artemis who we are." The last few words rushed quickly out of her mouth, and ended up sounding like, ithinkwehavetotellartemiswhoweare.
"Whoa there," Damien said, looking bewildered. Allie rolled her eyes, almost forgetting his incredibly enhanced senses. Of course he still would have been able to hear her.
"You want to do what?" He asked, just for clarification.
"We need to tell Artemis who we are. She's threatened - " Allie was cut off by Artemis's small silvery cloud.
"I already told you this isn't forced! I won't betray you to the pig I call father. But if you want to oath, you have to give me your name." Allie bit her lip.
"There you have it. She says she won't tell the gods, and while she's my friend, there are other ways to find secrets." Allie murmured.
"Mind possession?" Damien confirmed.
"Yeah," she responded. "The only way to shield her is if she swears on the river Styx, that way even if the gods try to delve into her memories they won't find anything. Lady Styx isn't strong enough to stop Order, of course, but he already knows so it doesn't matter."
Damien cocked his head to the side. "Well, she is my favorite goddess," he said thoughtfully.
There was a sudden silence on the other end. "You know, that's exactly what Orion told me," Artemis said, the cloud quivering in her anger, it's hue tinted red.
"Whoa there, Artemis," Damien said, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that bastard."
The cloud looked slightly pacified, and stopped drifting menacingly towards Damien. Allie almost sighed in relief.
Allie sighed. "Well, what do you say, Damien? Tell her, or not?" Though she felt a great deal of pity towards the maiden goddess after that asshole Orion had shattered her heart - she wasn't in a very sympathetic mood, especially after Artemis had blackmailed her.
He shrugged. "Nothing to lose, right?"
Allie facepalmed at his stupidity. "Wrong. So many things can go wrong here, it's ridiculous that we're even considering it."
He cocked his head to the side, seemingly calculating the situation, then cast a sound ward circling the five meters where he was standing.
"Let's do it. It's also for her protection… How does she know this, anyway?" He asked at the end, looking at her confusedly.
"Erm..." Allie said sheepishly. "I may have let it slip that I was a demigod."
"What?" Damien yelped. "You?" He was staring at her in undisguised horror, astonishment, and even a slight hint of amusement.
Allie started. "Um, yes? Wait, hold it. I don't understand the question." She rolled her eyes at his delighted expression.
"Well," he said, his smirk becoming larger and larger. "I just figured since I was the impulsive, you know, rush-into-danger-without-caring-about-consequences kind of guy, I'd accidentally spill the beans first." Allie chuckled.
"I was sort of hoping we wouldn't have to spill any at all," she admitted. "But at least I've made a new friend: Reyna."
"Reyna? The Praetor of Camp Jupiter?" Artemis asked, breaking into the conversation. Allie had almost forgotten she was still there.
"Yeah," Allie said tiredly.
"So," Artemis said, and if clouds could frown, this one was. "You two aren't… coupling, are you? How is it teens say it these days? Gods, the languages chance so quickly. Now Shakespeare, that was proper English."
"No," Allie said, trying to hide her flaming cheeks. "It's called being a couple. And no, we aren't that. So… yeah," she finished lamely."
She couldn't bring herself to look at Damien, whose face was also flushed with embarrassment. "Yeah," he muttered, and Allie couldn't help but detect a slight note of sadness in his voice.
She touched his arm gently and he turned to look at her with a defeated smile on his face. "Let's wait until Artemis finishes guiding the moon. It'll only be a few - "
"Minutes, I know." The unspoken word 'boy' was left at the end of the sentence as Artemis grumbled the words briskly. "I'm coming around now."
The white cloud dissolved into the atmosphere, leaving a very real, very tired Artemis. "Hey," she said weakly. "Heavens, and Apollo thinks that the sun's horses are hard to control. If he spent one day..." She seemed to shake herself out of the rant.
"Artemis," Allie said, trying not to look irritated. The goddess had royally pissed her off by bringing up her deceased grandmother. "I take it you're here to demand our identities? What else do you want us to do? Bow down? Rub your feet while we're at it?"
"My hunters come first, Atalanta," Artemis said firmly, trying to brush away her guilt as she saw Allie's expression. "I need to be sure that you're on the good side."
Allie scoffed slightly out of the corner of her mouth. If she had any idea how much good Damien had done… And then how much evil she had wrought.
Allie briefly thought of Kirsten and James - the most sinful crime she had ever committed. The murder of a child was not something even the most cold-hearted killers could be proud of.
"I-I..." Allie said quietly, trying to expel the thoughts from her mind.
Damien shot her an encouraging look, putting his large calloused hand on her shoulder and squeezing it slightly. Artemis tried her best not to look disgusted at the show of affection.
"Yes?" She inquired, also prodding Allie on in her own blatantly unsubtle way. Definitely a daughter of Zeus, Allie thought, but was too nervous to roll her eyes.
"I need your oath first. Actually, this might make it easier. I, Allie Chaos swear by the Creator that I will tell Artemis, the Goddess of the Moon, my identity if she swears on the Styx that she will not reveal it to a single soul."
There was a crackle of lightning.
"Very well," Artemis cleared her throat. "I, the Goddess of the Moon, swear by the Styx that I will not reveal Atalanta Chaos's identity should she choose to tell me." Allie shot her a look. "I will also not inform anyone about the rest of the Guardians' personas, should I discover them." Allie glared at her.
"Well," Damien said shrugging. "That was… intense?"
Artemis nodded in agreement, then shivered slightly as she realized she'd just agreed with a male. Alle almost chuckled at her expression, but the smile died on her face as she realized what she was supposed to do.
"Oh, um," she stammered, her usually sharp tongue resting stupidly inside her mouth. "I..." Her voice died, and she had to try again. "I'm..."
For once, Artemis waited patiently, a look of empathy on her face as she watched Allie struggle with her words.
"I'm P-Piper McLean-n." Allie managed shakily, turning away so she wouldn't have to look at Artemis's expression.
There was deadly silence. "Liar," Artemis's voice cut coldly through the quiet, anger beginning to form inside her gaze. "That's impossible."
Damien just winced. "Hello again, Lady Artemis."
She sniffed, but paused for a second. "You? You claim to be Perseus?" She eyed his hood suspiciously.
Reluctantly, Allie drew her hood back. Artemis slowly took in her features, from her tanned skin to her vibrant kaleidoscope eyes.
"Swear it one more time," she said uncertainly, her barriers of defense and denial slowly chipping away.
"I swear by the Styx, on my life, that I am Piper McLean. So mote it be." A minute later, and Allie was still there, looking at Artemis with a slightly more confident expression.
"Are you happy, Artemis?" She asked sternly. "No more poking into business that isn't yours."
Her eyes were slowly filling with tears, and it didn't seem like Artemis was even listening to her. "Perseus, take off your hood," she asked quietly. "Please."
Looking slightly uncomfortable at the suddenly vulnerable goddess, he slowly drew back the cover, just enough for Artemis to see a sliver of his emerald eyes.
"Perseus!" Artemis growled, her anger returning. "How could you not tell Thalia of your existence? She's devastated! Still! After a million years! That's what you get for being the only good male in the world." With that, she slapped him hard, leaving a red handprint across his face.
"What is it with girls and violence," he muttered, shooting a glance at Allie. She tried to hold back the smirk that formed at her lips but failed.
"Don't be an idiot, Damien, you already know how you get with tickling. Remember that time I stole your coco in the morning?" She winced slightly. "Hell, you are not a morning person..."
He chuckled again, but froze when Artemis advanced on him, murder in her eyes.
Artemis readily slapped him again, her lower lip trembling in rage and thankfulness. Then she did something nobody expected: she eagerly embraced Damien, wrapping her tiny twelve-year-old arms around him.
He stiffened, but soon returned the embrace.
"I'm so sorry about Annabeth Perseus," Artemis said after she had withdrawn her arms. "I didn't know… I am so sorry." Her liquid silver eyes were wide and furious, most likely with herself. She didn't quite seem to know what to do, and just noticed she had shrunk into her tiny self.
Allie's mouth was wide open in astonishment as the Goddess of Man-Haters hugged a male.
"Allie, close your mouth," Damien grinned, trying to shake off the shock himself. He offered the tiny girl a fist bump, and grinning toothily, she hit it with ten times the power necessary.
"Nice," Damien said, looking impressed while shaking his hand in pain. "You have to teach me how to do that sometime."
Artemis smirked. "Will do, Perseus. I'm so glad you're not dead."
Damien smirked. "I bet Kronos would disagree," he pointed out. Allie had been watching this exchange with absolute bewilderment.
"You know, you never told my why Artemis doesn't hate you." Allie said, trying and struggling to breathe in her amazement. "And why you aren't a jackalope right now."
Artemis just patted his muscled arm. "He is a virgin, Allie. I can sense it. No male in history has held on to it for more than a hundred years. He is truly special." She studied Allie for a second, ignoring Damien's tomato colored face.
"You are clean too, Allie," she said, smiling. "I didn't want to test you before, because I didn't want to automatically judge you if you weren't as pure as I thought you were. However, you didn't disappoint me. I'm glad you are both untainted."
"Artemis!" Allie squeaked, her face flaming in mortification. "Stop it!"
Artemis just laughed at their expressions. "Honestly, it's as bad as explaining to my hunters what a period is..."
Damien looked as if he would die of embarrassment. "Uh… Artemis..."
"Yes Perseus?" She asked innocently. "You wouldn't, perhaps, like me to continue giving you two the talk?"
"No!" Both of them yelled together, before looking at one another in horror. "No!" They both shrieked again.
"Ahh!" Artemis howled with laughter. "Oh goodness, it's like having a live circus right in front of me!" Allie glared murderously at her.
"You poo," she scowled.
This just sent Artemis into another fit of laughter. "Learning vocabulary from Valdez, I see," she pointed out.
If Allie could have scowled harder, she would have. However, before long, smiles broke out on all of their faces, and they hugged fiercely once more.
"Gods," Allie said, her voice muffled by Damien's sweatshirt. "You smell just like Chaos."
"Me?" Damien asked in surprise, looking at her in slight confusion.
"No, Artemis," Allie responded, tears slipping out of her eyes as she reached across to hug the twelve year old once more. Artemis morphed into her seventeen form so she could embrace her properly.
Artemis just smiled. "I'm older than you, Allie. Honestly, I would be ecstatic to be considered family by you both. It would be my honor to be… something like an Aunt, if you want it. I would already protect you both, seeing as Chaos loved you unconditionally, but I haven't ever had… a niece I could be proud of. And most definitely not a nephew that I liked..." She chuckled, wiping away the salty tears that had gathered on her cheeks.
"Perseus," she murmured, bringing him into another group hug, and fiercely tugged them together.
Allie almost couldn't breathe as she was battling so much emotion. "Yes," she whispered into her ear. "I'd love to be your niece."
Artemis smiled. "Well, Niece, I'm sorry for trying to blackmail you."
"It's okay Aunt, it was for a good cause." Allie responded croakily, her throat once again closing up.
"Well, Auntie Artemis, I accept too," Damien grinned, his entire face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Though I don't think the hunters like me yet, I'm sure they will in time. Maybe like a big brother."
Artemis smiled at the picture. "Just think of it. The first male to join the hunt."
"What about - " Allie swatted Damien before he could finish his sentence, her eyes promising death as she glowered darkly at him. He gave her a sheepish smile, his words falling short. Orion.
The name was left unspoken, but Artemis seemed to guess anyway. "He was the only love I ever had," she said softly, each word coming out of her mouth faster. "But I never accepted him into the hunt. I will never accept any boy into the hunt."
Damien looked slightly hurt, and made to move away from Artemis when she put a hand on her shoulder. He turned back to look at her, his eyes cast towards the ground vulnerably.
"Perseus, you idiot," she muttered. "Haven't I already told you countless times that you aren't a boy?" She tugged him back to sit by her with admirable strength. "You are a man Perseus, despite lacking significant brain capacity."
"Thanks," he said cheerfully, but then seemed to digest her words. "Wait what? Artemis!"
She laughed at his expression, and after a few seconds he joined in. Naturally, Allie had to participate, and this lead to a full out giggling session.
After about an hour of bonding and explaining their adventures, Allie stopped for a second to stare at the sky.
"Shit." She muttered as a thought suddenly struck her. She flipped across the cabin bunk to stare at her friend and aunt, her hair hanging strangely to the floor as she hung upside down.
"Watch your mouth," Artemis scolded playfully. Her auburn hair was splayed across her pillow and her eyes liquid silver as she fixed them on her niece.
"No, really. Shit. This is a problem," Allie answered tiredly. She looked cautiously at Damien. "We have to rune her. Order," she grimaced at her own stupidity, "Slipped my mind. We have to protect Artemis."
Damien looked thoughtful. "Don't freak, Artemis," he said gently. He slowly drew a blade that glowed a mechanical blue.
Artemis didn't move a single muscle, looking at them trustingly. "What is a rune?" She asked calmly.
Damien looked thankful that she hadn't completely flipped out at the sight of a male holding a knife. "It is a symbol. It normally takes a form similar to a mandarin character, and actually originated from China."
"Yes," Allie continued, "It mainly serves a purpose." She showed Artemis the thousands of tiny runes carved into her heel and explained the meaning of a few before looking carefully at her and studying her face.
"Artemis," Allie said quietly. "We need to carve a protection rune into your skin." Artemis frowned slightly, but still responded almost immediately.
"Because Order would take my memories otherwise?" She asked.
"Well - yes," Allie said, looking at her in surprise. "How did you know that?"
"I'm not completely idiotic, Allie," Artemis pointed out dryly. I was there when you had your conversation with Damien. I had expected something similar anyway, it's not like I have experienced enough pain in my life." Her voice was heavily laden with sarcasm.
"Alright," she said firmly, taking off her left sandal and exposing her heel to the cold crisp air. "Rune me then."
Allie bit her lip, taking the knife from Damien but not going any closer to Artemis. "There's something you have to know first," Allie said gently.
"What is it?" Artemis asked patiently.
"This… these runes hurt. They are important, and last forever, but they leave permanent scars. It depends on how much pain you have felt in your life. As you are a goddess, there is no way for you to die, so at least we can be assured you will live."
Artemis tried her best not to gasp, but still inhaled rather sharply. "People have died?"
Damien nodded gravely. "It starts like this: imagine the pain of a rune being something like… I don't know, 200 bunnies."
"Bunnies?" Both Allie and Artemis chorused in unison, staring at him in confusion.
He shrugged. "Hey, I can use other units, can't I?" Allie fought had to physically fight her smirk, and from the look of it, Artemis was doing the same.
"Okay, continue," she said.
"So, there are 2000 bunnies. 50 bunnies would kill an average human," he said, completely unaware of the effect the 'bunnies' were having on the girls.
"Bunnies," Allie finally burst out after a few minutes of hearing him speak useless words. "Bunnies!" Artemis joined in, finally learning what the term 'LMAO' meant.
After a few minutes of Damien pouting, they finally relented and stifled their laughter politely.
"Thank you," he huffed childishly. "As I was saying, the bunnies - "
"AHA!" Artemis roared, slapping the cabin floor with her hand and sending a loud bang through the wood. Allie couldn't help it - bursting into giggles once again, her entire chest heaving as she chortled heartily.
"Stop," Damien said, finally having had enough. He froze them with a wave of his hand. Allie was inwardly laughing too hard to break his temporary spell though her body was still vibrating with chuckles.
"As I was saying, 50 bunnies are enough to kill a normal human. Think of it like 500 watts of power coursing through your body." The smile slowly died off of Artemis's frozen face.
"Damnit," her lips managed to mutter through the spell.
"Damnit is right," Damien agreed. "The good news is that you've probably experienced a lot of pain in your life." He quickly rephrased his statement as a murderous glint appeared in Artemis's eyes.
"I meant," he corrected hastily, "That it fits in with the equation. While I'm no good at math, I get this. And believe me, that's saying something." He cleared his throat slightly.
"It's 2000 bunnies minus the amount of pain you have already experienced in your lifetime. In return, you will get eternal protection that is theoretically unbreakable, which means you will have one of the most advanced mind protections in this galaxy. Order will be unable to read or steal your memories for eternity." Artemis's anger faded slightly.
"Oh," she said, the spell wearing off. "I appreciate you telling me this. I imagine it's like the Styx? I've heard rumors about it being the most painful thing in existence."
Damien raised his hands sheepishly. "As a person who has experienced both, may I just say that this is about a hundred times more painful that the Styx?"
"What?" Artemis demanded, shaking her head as she tried to comprehend the massive amount of agony that was. "I guess Is severely underestimated the bunnies worth in pain..."
Allie tried not to giggle. "I got mine ages ago, Artemis. In mortal age, I was probably only twenty."
Artemis stiffened her features. "Well, if a twenty year old teenager can do it, so can a…" She listed a number so long that Allie was almost afraid to repeat it in fear she'd be speaking for all of eternity.
"Whoa," Damien said, wide eyed. "You are old."
Allie whacked the back of his head. "And you are subtle." Allie laughed openly as the scowl marring Artemis's face evaporated into thin air.
"Well done, Allie. I like you far more than I imagined I would." She patted Allie's shoulder cheerfully.
Damien shrugged. "Artemis, it's going to hurt. Either we could rune you, or we could wipe your memories. We would leave a bit of residue and Order would be able to tell we'd done it, just not the memories we'd taken."
Artemis didn't even hesitate. "As a newly baptized Aunt, I can assure you that I trust you with my life. Even if I wasn't immortal." She raised her heel to Damien instead of Allie, showing a great deal of trust by letting a male mark her.
He dipped his head in respect and carefully readied her heel. Allie grasped both of Artemis's hands, knowing she would need it. Damien quickly carved a couple of slashes into her foot, the rune turning out as tiny as a needle.
Artemis looked at them in confusion. "That wasn't so bad," she said, sounding relieved as she relaxed in Allie's arms.
"No," Damien said carefully. "The pain… it comes after."
"What do you - AAGGHH!" Artemis roared with agony, the excruciation taking hold of her body as she writhed. "Stop it! Stop it, Allie! MAKE IT STOP!"
Allie did nothing, knowing that even if she tried there was nothing she could do. She didn't even flinch as she felt a bone in her hand splinter from Artemis's vice grip.
"Artemis, it's okay," she soothed, patting back the hair that was soaked with sweat. "You are the Goddess of Childbirth. I have heard that it is remarkably similar, just far more intense."
"You - don't - say," Artemis spat, her entire body shaking. "I will - fuck that hurts - kill you later." Allie wasn't even sure if she was serious. Artemis was doing an incredible job of mangling both her hands.
Artemis released another chilling scream, animals automatically coming to her aid at the sound of her pain. Damien waved his hand, creating a forcefield that they couldn't penetrate. They doe's shrill cry of desperation could be heard even over the sound barrier.
"Uggh," Artemis moaned, her pitch slowly raising until she was once again howling. "Oh - oh god that hurts!" Damien nodded sympathetically.
"We know Artemis." he said gently. "We know. It'll get better, I swear. Just another minute." Artemis started to sob from the absolute agony, but it seemed that it was lessening slightly. Her body stopped spasming at every scream, and her heaving chest relaxed slightly.
After a few minutes, she let out a gasp and collapsed. She stared at the ceiling, looking at the strange starfish shaped light hanging from the cabin roof.
"Wow." She turned heavily to Allie, lying in a pool of her own sweat and blood. She took another breath before addressing Damien. "I really hate bunnies."
Allie hugged her, crying in the knowledge that Artemis didn't hate her for putting her through that experience.
"You're okay, right?" Allie asked worriedly as she helped Artemis stand up on shaky legs. The goddess just weakly tried to bat at Allie's face with her hand.
"I'm fine," she said drowsily. "Just need a good rest..."
"Wait," Allie said, her guilt melting her inside. "There's something you need to know. Kirsten." Their auburn haired aunt turned to her curiously.
"What about Kirsten? She's been missing since we got here, she didn't make the teleportation here." Allie bit her lip, knowing that Artemis didn't realize the importance of that information.
"Artemis, my teleportation only transports those whose hearts are overcome with more light than dark. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Damien turned to look at her, concern in his eyes.
"It means, that this… Kirsten, was it? Well, she was not on our side. Can you guess who she was working for?" His voice was soothing, gentle, and Allie felt that it was impossible to love him more than at that moment.
Artemis sniffled slightly, her face falling at the mention of her sister. "Order," she said sadly. "I knew there was something off ever since you wiped her memories. She was more closed off. Spiteful. I'm - I'm s-sorry." Artemis seemed to loathe the word. "Life just hit me in the face... I finally realized how blind I've been all these years."
Allie just hugged her, and not a moment later Damien also wrapped his large arms around both of them. "No need to apologize," he said honestly. "I just hope you're okay. You can get through this."
Artemis gave a watery smile. "I know I can. I lost a sister, but I gained a niece and nephew. And that makes it worth it."
She drew them both in fiercely, morphing into her thirty year old form and hugging them tightly. "You both are so mature, yet so young," she said, her voice filled with hope. "Don't you ever change."
- Linebreak -
"Artemis!" Allie said cheerfully, approaching her happily and with great enjoyment. She pranced around the woman for a second before coming to a halt and watching her eyes spin.
"Allie," Artemis greeted her with equal enthusiasm, if slightly more poised. Her eyes were still slightly unfocused as she tried to center on the Allie in front of her rather than the ones dancing in her vision. "What's going on?"
Allie giggled. "Do I need a reason any time I want to speak with my Aunt?" Artemis rolled her platinum eyes though they were twinkling slightly.
"No, of course not," Artemis chuckled. "But usually, there is a good reason for you wanting to see me."
Allie tried not to look too sheepish. "Well, I wanted to ask you whether you wanted to see a doctor about your aching."
Artemis rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that week, crossing her hands on her hips. "No, Allie, I'm fine. It's basically gone now anyways."
"Well, I think you should go! It would be great for -" Allie was cut off suddenly as somebody cleared their throat behind her.
She spun around, knives unsheathed and pinned him, not recognizing his aura. She stayed there like that for a second, reading his emotions, and finally released him.
"Soldier," Allie said, saluting the man in uniform, the Chaos insignia shining on his chest. "Identification please."
He handed her his ID with a charming smile, his emerald eyes wide and intelligent. He was handsome, in a sort of roguish way, with a crooked smile and features that looked as if they had been carved from marble.
"Captain James Jones," he introduced, and Allie staggered back. Well, isn't fate a bitch.
James Jones.
Kirsten Jones.
Jamie Jones.
Shit.
- Linebreak -
This chapter is mainly dedicated to my biggest supporter: this person has been so nice and encouraging. I probably would have given up from lack of reviews without them. So, thank you so much. CALEFE, everyone! *Crowd Cheers in Background* Also, this is for the people who reviewed, asking the Damien have a larger part in the story. Well, I combined the different stations so that they could work together. 3 Remember, the more reviews, the faster I update (: