So here's another chapter. Some of you may dislike parts of it, and I'm sorry about that, but it's necessary to the development of the story, so… yeah.
A list of symbols (and Riptide) is now on my profile.
I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and, as always, please Review.
—()-()-()—
"I really hate archery," Percy grumbled, as he glared at Epithesi in his hand; it felt like the recurve bow was taunting him. On the other side of the clearing, a tree lay in splinters fifteen feet to the right of the hybrid's target.
"Well... that was the right direction, at least." Thalia tried to find a positive spin on the rather significant failure. "I've seen you mess up worse than that before." The daughter of Zeus shrugged.
"Any help you can give me would be appreciated." Percy hinted heavily, as he drew the string back again; finding ease in that part, at least, and lined up the arrow with the target. It made no sense for him to be so terrible at this; how can an arrow veer off so significantly from its course without prompting? It made no sense whatsoever.
"Well," Thalia began, as she examined Percy's stance. "Your feet seem to be positioned correctly; shoulder width apart. Back's straight, and hand holding the bow steady midway up the body..." She moved to his arms and checked his fingers' positioning on the string. "Three drawing back the bowstring," She nodded to herself. "Loose?" She requested, and the arrow flew at the target again; striking a tree twelve feet to the left of the target.
"What the..." Thalia was confused. "Why on Earth are you so bad?"
"I wish I knew, Thals. I wish I knew." Was Percy's response.
"Hmm... I'm going to go ask Lady Artemis if she can give you any help." Thalia muttered, as she wandered away; she and Zoe had spent a long while attempting to discover the source of Percy's inability. It was time to ask for some greater help, or give up on Percy as a lost cause.
The hybrid immortal, left by himself, hung his head at the need for Artemis to get involved. It was shameful how awful he was at archery; he was gifted in just about all other aspects of fighting, yet this was impossible for him to master, even after Zoe taught him everything he needed to know during their time in the Pit.
'I dunno, Boss,' Purge spoke up, at Percy's statement about being skilled across the board. 'I've never seen you Sumo Wrestle.' He grinned, mentally, at the picture of Percy, in a nappy, facing off against an obese Japanese man. 'And I could beat you in a thumb war.' He stated confidently.
'Right.' Was Percy's simple response; he was in no mood for Purge's banter at the moment.
Forcing himself to be optimistic, Percy drew another silver-tipper arrow from the quiver on his back and placed it on the bowstring. He took a breath in, and drew the string back. And out; he lined up the imagined sight on the arrow. In; he held the bow steady. Out; he let loose, and the arrow sailed through the air, where it quickly dipped and gouged a long trench in the ground below.
"Fuck!" He cursed, as Purgatory snickered in his head.
'Shut it!' Percy snapped. 'There's got to be a reason that you can do archery and I can't!'
Purge, wisely, chose not to reply. It would be ill-advised. He even managed to keep a lid on a portion of his giggling with some great effort.
Again, Percy tried to hit the target. Again, he missed by a significant margin.
"Bastard thing!" He cursed at the target; blaming it for his ire. With another word of anger, Percy sent a bolt of fire into the bullseye, and the target was consumed by orange flames.
"I don't think that is helping, Perseus." Artemis commented, from her place behind Percy; having arrived on the scene just as he lashed out at the target.
"Hm." Percy grunted, as he turned to look at the girl-goddess. "Any chance you can help?" He asked the goddess, as she smirked up at him; amused by the carnage in front of Percy that served as evidence that he was such a terrible shot.
"I'm sure I can." Artemis smiled in return. "Show me what you've got." She told Percy, pointing down the range.
"Fine." Percy huffed, as Artemis conjured up a new target, and drew another arrow.
Artemis watched, with a frown, as Percy shot the arrow; it inexplicably rose in the air, to miss the target completely, and smashed another tree to smithereens.
"Okay," She began. "First things first, use this." She handed him an ordinary bow to avoid any further unnecessary destruction. "Now, do it again." Percy did, and the result was the same. It shot to the left of where he was aiming.
"And again." Artemis said.
"Again." The goddess demanded once more.
"Again."
"Do you honestly think I'll suddenly kick whatever the fuck is doing this?!" Percy asked, as no advice was offered.
"Actually, I was trying to think of what is doing this. I had the answer, as well, but if you do not want my help I can leave you to it." She turned on her heel and made to leave.
"No! Look, I'm sorry," Percy stated, with sincerity. "This is frustrating; I didn't mean to snap at you. Please can you help me with this?"
"Since you asked me so nicely, I suppose I can lend you my aid." She smirked, and raised her hand. As the silver-themed goddess closed her eyes, Percy frowned with no small measure of confusion. That befuddlement increased as he briefly glowed silver.
"What the-" Percy watched the glow subside. "What was that?" He asked Artemis as the girl-goddess opened her silver eyes once more.
"I lifted your curse." Artemis stated, simply.
"Curse? What curse?"
"The curse that stopped you from being able to shoot, of course." The goddess smiled.
"And who cursed me?" Percy asked, baffled; he couldn't remember someone with a domain over archery cursing him.
"Me." Artemis answered.
"You?!" Percy exclaimed. "Why the hell did you curse me?!"
"Well, I didn't curse you, exactly." Artemis confessed. "After the Orion… fiasco, I cursed all sons of Poseidon to be unable to shoot. A few managed to avoid the worst of it, and I was under the impression that it had faded away." The goddess shrugged, and tried to pacify Percy by continuing. "I'm sorry, I would have done it sooner had I known."
"I get that," Percy said, with a scowl. He wasn't happy about it, but he understood that the goddess would forget with all the curses she dealt out. "What annoys me is the fact that you made me apologise for being rude when it was you who cursed me in the first place! How is that fair in any way, shape or form?!"
"I said I was sorry!" Artemis defended herself from Percy's accusations. It was evidence of his irritation both over this and everything else happening lately that he was yelling at the man-hating goddess. "Who are you to judge me?!"
"The guy you lied to!"
"Like you've never lied to me?!" She retorted; swapping the blame to Percy.
"When have I lied to you?!"
"When you said you'd seen nothing during your fight with Phobos and Daimos!" She remembered how obvious he was being at the time, after all.
"Wh- How is that, in any way, the same thing?!" Percy demanded. "That was you asking me what was terrifying to me, and you have no need to know!" He had other reasons for refusing to tell her, but Percy wasn't willing to let them slip even now. He was angry, not seeking death.
"And I put that curse on your kin thousands of year ago! I don't remember every curse I put on males!"
"And I'm not annoyed about the curse! I'm annoyed by the fact that I had to apologise for being a little rude to you when it was you that was responsible for what angered me in the first place!"
"Well, sorry for that as well!"
"Thank you! That's all I wanted!" Percy expected less than that from the stubborn goddess, but wasn't going to be sincere in his thanking Artemis.
"Fine!" The goddess stormed off, and Percy was left fuming, briefly, before he forced himself to be calm once again through force of will; spending so much time in the real world without being able to blow off steam was fraying his nerves very quickly. It would help him a great deal to be able to exert himself, but that was not possible without leaving the hunt and, irritable as he was, he wasn't willing to leave them again without good reason.
Instead, he would go off in search of a quiet place to meditate and put up with Purge's commentary on how boring a habit it was.
'Y'know, Boss, I don't think that was a good idea.' Purgatory supplied.
'No shit.' Was Percy's response. 'I just yelled at Artemis; I'm lucky she didn't start shooting at me then and there.' Later in the week, Percy would wonder why she hadn't started shooting and discount it as not wanting to risk a line of protection for her hunters abandoning her yet again.
'Well... don't you think you should apologise?' Purge asked, reasonably, as he pondered the outcomes if Percy didn't apologise. 'I quite like being in one piece.'
'I'll go later.' The hybrid immortal stated. Percy's anger hadn't faded enough, just yet, to do that. He was fairly certain of why he was so short tempered today; it had only been yesterday that his mind had been tampered with to such a great extent and the fears were still pressing on his mind. But that was a fierce cycle; he looked at the fears, then he saw the way he was acting, and he grew angry with himself. Growing angry, Percy was more prone to lashing out, and that increased the chance of those fears coming true, and he got even angrier; again at himself.
Elsewhere, at the same time, several hunters were discussing what they had just seen in hushed tones.
"Why didn't Artemis put the boy in his place?" One girl; Sophie, asked with confusion. She was one of those that struggled to change her views on Percy, though at least she had not attacked him or even been particularly vocal in her dislike.
"We need Percy here," Thalia shrugged. "Plus, it sounded like she started the whole thing by cursing him. I can understand why that would upset someone, can't you?" The lieutenant crossed her arms and frowned. Something was going on, and she and Zoe were the only ones that seemed able to detect the difference in their goddess. Percy, too, was acting weirdly but she knew he had good reason, at the moment, to be stressed.
"But he's male. Why wouldn't Lady Artemis teach him manners?"
"He already has manners, but there are extenuating circumstances," Thalia pointed out. "And no, I'm not going to tell you what they were; Artemis told me that only those that need to know would."
"Umm, I can tell you." One of the newest recruits, named Shannon, spoke. "I was there yesterday, when Percy fought Phobos and some other gods whose names I can't remember." Thalia shrugged, as long as she didn't say, Artemis and Percy would forgive her. If some of the girls knew what happened, the rest would find out soon enough no matter what their Lieutenant said.
"Phobos?" Another asked. "The god of fear? Would he be able to use powers against Perseus; I would have thought that he was too strong for that."
"There were four of them," She shook her head. "It looked like they managed to overwhelm him." Shannon shrugged.
"So how is he alive?" Sophie asked. "Surely they would have killed him?"
"Yes, but they didn't count on his armour."
"What armour?" Thalia questioned. "I've never seen any armour!" Was that what the hunk of metal Percy gained from the Bitch was? The one that he quickly hid from his friend when he saw something about it he didn't wish to share with her.
"Um…" She wasn't going to answer that; not after Percy's clear… instructions.
-()-()-()-
"Lady Artemis?" Percy asked later that day. The goddess turned to face him, and the hybrid continued. "I'm sorry for my attitude earlier. I was stressed after the events of yesterday. The visions that they gave me were plaguing me during the night, and I couldn't sleep. It is no justification, but I hope it is an explanation of my actions."
"I understand," Artemis nodded, with a frown. "I-I'm sorry, too. I am afraid my… temper is still causing problems." The man nodded, and the two stood in awkward silence for a few moments before, thankfully, there was a distraction provided.
"Lady Artemis?" Phoebe asked, as she knocked on the door to the tent. "Lady Hestia is here with Apollo's triplets, if we could wake them? We're all quite anxious to get on with it before something happens to stop us again..."
"Okay, Phoebe. I will meet you there presently." Artemis replied.
"Okay, then, I'll see you at the Hearth." Percy said. "Uh... I assume that's where Hestia is taking them?"
"That's right." Artemis nodded, and Percy left the tent promptly; heading towards the girls he had saved. It felt like a very long while ago, and it was about time the triplets woke. They really did have rotten luck, and Percy had a dreadful feeling that he would be needed if the pattern continued.
-()-()-()-
"They look... better." Percy commented, needlessly. It was an understatement, quite clearly, to everyone who had caught even a glance of the girls.
It was testimony to Apollo's skills as a healer that the three girls had gone from skeletal figures, with pale, deathly complexions and lank, blonde hair, to as healthy as any of his daughters Percy had seen. Certainly, they would be the bane of a few males in their time as the boys would be tempted to hit on the hunters.
'Short, though.' Purgatory commented.
'Underfed and undernourished is a good excuse for being small, Purge.'
'Hmm.' Purgatory mentally shrugged and stopped paying attention. He'd lost interest in the girls quite a while ago, and was waiting for something interesting to happen that he'd be allowed to take charge for again; the Hellhound hunt was fun, after all. But something told him that would not happen any time soon. 'Hey, Perce?' He asked, as that came to the forefront of his mind.
'Yeah?'
'I feel like this should be obvious, but it... it'll never happen. You know that, right?' He asked his dominant aspect.
'I wish I could know that, Purge, but... no. No, I don't.' Percy said, with a softer tone than Purge was used to hearing in his voice. 'I'm trying to think of a way to stop it but... I don't know how.'
'Well... I know for sure that you won't.' Purgatory whispered, as Percy's attention went back to the outside world.
"How are they?" Artemis arrived, and asked this of the young-looking goddess that had been taking care of the three girls.
"Better." Hestia replied, with a smile. "They're ready to wake, if you'd like me to stop the trance." She was keeping them in a comatose state with her powers; a peaceful, pleasant sleep full of hope for the future.
"Yes, please." Artemis nodded.
Percy drifted away from the crowd as the hunters drew nearer to the three waking girls; crowding around. Both because he was sure that they'd be better off without a man next to them, and because his mind was troubled. He was doing his best to put the terror out of his mind, but the visions were plaguing him. Creeping to the front of his psyche from the recesses of his mind each and every time he looked at the hunters.
There was only one way he could think of to avoid... that, and it was not possible. He was not allowed to leave, lest some threat capitalise on the relative defencelessness of the hunt, and... and he didn't want to. It made him feel... something when he imagined it. Something unpleasant. It was strange for him to think about, but the changes he'd undergone since staying with the hunt had been miraculous. He'd been numb when he exited the Pit and, now, wasn't. Well, wasn't as much. Something about being here made him feel comfortable.
But that brought him back to the beginning again. The idea of that happening was worse because he cared about the hunters. Worse because he was emotionally invested. Worse because it would hurt so much more if it came true. If his... heart was damaged so greatly, he didn't think that he'd ever feel again.
If it came true, he wouldn't deserve to feel again.
As he left; walking in to the woods to stop the hunters from seeing his torment, Percy was unaware of the silver eyes watching him. Unaware of the small frown that creased a goddess' brow as she watched her guardian leave.
Artemis was sure that Perseus had wanted to meet the triplets; he was the one who saved them, after all. So why was he leaving before they woke? Was something wrong?
Any further pondering was interrupted by a gasp coming from the girl lying nearest to her just as blue eyes slowly opened; eyelids fluttering. Artemis looked to Hestia, and her aunt took the girl's hand; calming the girl with her godly powers.
-()-(_)-()-
"Haah! Haah! Haah!" A blonde girl gasped, winded, as she ran through the woods of the hunt. She ignored the scratches she received from low-hanging branches; it was nothing compared to the treatment she'd grown used to through her life.
It was too much for Anna; Artemis, Hestia, gods, goddesses, hunters, monsters. She couldn't deal with it after all she'd been through. She wasn't as confident as her sister Julie. She wasn't silently strong like Dani. She needed to find something normal before she snapped.
Unfortunately, normal was not what she found.
Instead, she found a tall man; in his late teens or early twenties if she had to guess, standing shirtless in front of an unnatural occurrence. Very unnatural; how could science explain this?
The black haired, muscular man had his arms lying against his sides, and seemed utterly focused on the strange liquids floating in front of him as... shapes.
Black water formed the image of a human; roughly the same size as the man in front of her. On his chest, pure white water formed the shape of a Greek letter. Omega, she believed. In the centre of the figure's forehead, an eye made of red fire stared at the real man, and she backed away nervously from the demonic appearance.
A twig snapped under her feet, and the man made of the river styx fell to the floor, and grass died as the water splashed against it. The shirtless man was facing her, and cold, emerald eyes looked at her for a minute.
"You're one of the triplets?" He asked.
"Y-Yes..."
"You should head back." The man stated. "It's not safe in these woods; the hunt tends to attract a handful of monsters wherever they go, and you wouldn't be able to fight a single one of them off."
"W-Who are y-you?" She asked, as the man looked to the ground next to him, and picked up a black t-shirt she had not seen previously.
"Percy Jackson," He began, with a friendly smile that was offset by the iciness of his eyes. "I assume they haven't told you about me yet, then." The girl had shown no hint of recognition, so Percy made the assumption. "I'm the hunt's... protector," He shrugged. "They don't need it, but their safety is paramount at the moment, so here I am." Percy summarised.
"R-Right..." She gulped, and looked at the spot that had contained a demon seconds before.
"No need to fear that. Watch." He raised his left hand, and black water flower out of it; forming a sphere in mid air. Then, it split in to halves, and changed to the form of two cats. "Nothing to worry about; I was just using it as a distraction."
"Distraction from what?" She asked of the stranger.
"Nightmares." Percy stated, with a raised eyebrow. "How are you? Those conditions were..." He didn't know what to call it. "Well, let's just say I don't regret taking the lives of the men who had you there."
"You killed them?" She asked in a strange tone.
"I did." Percy looked at her with contemplation, and continued in a curious tone. "Does that scare you?"
"No. No, I'm glad they're dead." She shook her head, vehemently. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Percy shook his head. "Not only was I happy to do it, I am inclined to apologise on behalf of my gender. Please know that there are males that aren't despicable."
"A-Alright..." She said, in a slightly confused voice.
"What's your name? I didn't ask." Percy realised.
"A-Anna." The girl replied, and Percy reached the conclusion that the conversation was done. She had started answering with single words again, and he did not care for chit-chat at the moment.
"You should head back," He nodded towards the hunters' camp. "I'm sure your sisters are aware your missing by now. I imagine they will be worrying." The girl nodded, and vanished back in to the woods; heading for the familiarity of her sisters. Percy checked the time, and found that it was nearing night.
Maybe his demons would stay away tonight. Maybe.
-()-()-()—
The spectre watched on, helpless, as carnage ran through the hunters' camp. He couldn't interact with their world and, so, it was impossible for him to fight the threat that they were so foolishly provoking.
Abandoned.
Percy Jackson, kneeling in the centre of the camp, had nobody left. No allies, just enemies. He was truly abandoned; he was alone.
The last home he had had; the hunt, where he had finally felt welcome after such a long time, was no longer hospitable, as the hunters, led by the goddess Artemis herself, packed up everything they owned at the same time as berating him with harsh words.
"Monster!" Thalia Grace yelled at Percy; her voice dripping with venom. "You attacked my brother! You killed my friends!" In her hand, the girl clutched an enchanted baseball cap; the spectre recognised it as belonging to Annabeth Chase when Percy was mortal.
"Traitor!" Zoe Nightshade continued, for her sister. "You never belonged with us!" In her hand, Anaklusmos was held in a tight grip; she had taken the sword back from her once-friend. "No wonder your family grew sick of you!"
"I trusted you!" Jasmine, one of the youngest hunters, screamed at the kneeling, defeated form of Percy, as she threw… something at him. A gift, given to her by Percy, that the spectre couldn't recognise.
"Why are you doing this?!" The watcher asked of the hunt. Begged of the hunt. He needed to know. Why were they attacking Percy? What had he done?
"Filthy male!" Phoebe yelled.
"Pig!" Atlanta berated.
"To think I cared for you!" Calypso.
"As bad as the rest of your gender!" Another hunter yelled; the Spectre couldn't be sure which.
He watched as Artemis stepped to Percy, with her symbol of power drawn. As she faced the kneeling man, she drew back the bowstring; a pure, silver arrow forming. Aimed directly at Percy's chest, and poised to kill.
"Weak." She spat, and the bolt fired.
Percy's being lit up in a platinum glow, and the Watcher found himself forced to look away.
When he regained his sight, the Spectre tried to interact. He tried to stop Percy, but he could not.
Percy Jackson was stood; Panikos donned upon his head and grinning at the powerless man stood in front of him. Domi adorned the rest of his body, and the moon had changed. A blood red orb shone in the light of the Hearth as Percy stood still with a golden battle axe hanging in his right hand's grip. On his left arm, a battered shield sat; Enosei had taken the brunt of Artemis' attack, and a crater in the centre, distorting the Alpha letter, was evidence of this fact.
Percy's shield vanished in another burst of light, and he placed his left hand on the body of the axe just under the right.
By this time, the girls around the pair had refocused on the scene in front of them, and several let out gasps as they saw their Lady lying against a broken tree-trunk across from Percy; knocked groggy from the blast of energy her guardian had hit her with.
Percy appeared in front of Zoe; the weapon he had taken from her father's dust raised. As the spectre leapt at him, desperate to stop the act, he passed through Percy and fell to the dirt. The girl didn't have time to react before the axe swung, and embedded itself into her shoulder with a sick squelch. The girl, dragging the axe with her, fell to the floor. Percy placed his foot on her stomach, and wrenched the symbol free. He shook Agon free of crimson liquid, and raised it above his head. He threw the weapon, and it careened end over end before slamming in to the chest of a shocked hunter with a blurred face.
Then Percy was stood in front of his oldest friend, and Thalia took a hasty step back. She was too slow, as Vathos cut through the air. The katana cut the daughter of Zeus from shoulder to hip, and she fell to the floor. She was soon dead.
Percy turned on the spot to face another hunter; the first to draw her bow in an attempt to fight; the others having had no time to do the same. His hand was raised, and a spear, made of jet black water, flew through the air before she could knock an arrow. Percy turned from the girl as the Styx water met its mark, and found another target.
A bunch of girls were stood together, and each was in the process of drawing their bowstring back as the ground beneath their feet erupted in a shower of shrapnel. Percy's irises glowed emerald even through the helm, as the hunters perished.
An arrow stuck in his shoulder; shot by Phoebe while Atlanta's bounced off his chest, and Percy grunted before a throwing knife appeared in his hand, and was tossed at the hunt's best tracker. Phoebe fell with a knife in her throat as a burst of water collided with Atlanta, wrapping around her throat like a Boa Constrictor, and the girl dropped her bow; fingers trying, and failing, to free her windpipe rom the pressure.
The next group of hunters burned. A torrent of fire consumed them and Percy was unaffected by their screams as the spectre desperately attempted to attack their killer. He couldn't. He couldn't touch Percy, let alone stop him.
"No!" The watcher yelled, as he tried to shield Jasmine. Desperately tried to save the small girl's life.
Percy's arm became a Blooded Obsidian claw, and he prepared to impale the girl he had previously saved.
And then Artemis was between him and the girl, and the claws of Mavri Trypa were inside her. The goddess gasped, and stumbled backwards as Ichor poured from the wound. If Percy showed any emotion as Nothos was conjured, the Spectre could not see it.
He raised the bastard blade and prepared to cleave the Virgin goddess in two.
The sword fell.
Percy woke, and found himself wreathed in flames.