Chapter 25: Misunderstanding
Imagine how the sky would start a day if he was a person.
Imagine that the sky actually slept for only about five hours in the night—five hours in the night when it's completely dark. The void would rule those hours instead of the sky.
Now, with those facts along, imagine that the sky woke up in the middle of the night, because of an unfortunately strange dream that his subconscious could no longer shoulder, and so his subconscious told him to shake out of it.
Would the world that the sky hovered over have nightmares too, because he had?
Perhaps. The world is not an easy place. Everything is significant to everything else. Perhaps as one complained to be having bad luck, a friend had otherwise, more often than not. Perhaps, less often but more meaningful, the world will side with them.
So will it be abrupt twilight when the sky was shaken from its dark slumber?
Dude.
Of course not.
Zeus was a less powerful being—he himself admitted for the first time. He knew that there was a more powerful sky deity out there who had more control of the domain than he had, although he'd assumed they'd faded... hmm, anyway, since Chaos was still there, wouldn't Ouranos also be?
But as he recalled, Ouranos was also chopped to pieces, a similar thing that happened to Zeus' own father. It ran in the family, apparently. But Kronos rose, so wouldn't Ouranos do, too..? Ah, yes, he would. He'd probably trained Chaos' son. Maybe.
Speaking of family, he wondered if he'd also get chopped to pieces. Was he foolish of siring too much children? Maybe not. Several millennia had passed and none other than the older generations have threatened to chop him up.
Okay, anyway, maybe Hera would too, now that she would probably be killing him for cutting the whole formal and far third-person up. She'd been pushing him to write a proper essay about himself, after commenting about his 'lack of intelligence on paper', apparently. Why would he need intelligence for that, anyway? All he ever did with the thin things was signing them. You didn't need too much to write a four-letter word.
Z-E-U-S.
All that, truthfully, was what he wrote for his essay. And that one was the last thing he got to write before his wife snatched the pen and paper from his hands in one sweep. She eyed the three hundred-word essay critically.
With that, Zeus stood up slowly, careful not to startle her. He glanced at the clock; it was almost time for the semimonthly council meeting. This was the nineteenth one in the year—hence this meeting was for the first half of October. He wasn't sure when the routine started, but he just found himself calling the other gods at those certain times, and every time they all came.
Over the twenty years, the relationship between the gods had been more free-spirited and unrestrained. Maybe they didn't act like a family any more, but the upside was that they argue less. Grudges were hard to forget, but he was positive that they would get over it.
Anyhow, Zeus slipped out of his palace manually. A flash would alert her, that's for sure. It was when he was outside that he did flash to the throne room and call for the gods.
Well, the absent, anyway. The Olympians might have gotten used to the scheduled meetings that they started going there by themselves. As Zeus raised his bolt, he glanced at his wife's throne, hiding a smirk. Perhaps he could interrupt her reading. He didn't want to hear another remark about his poor 'grades' again. After this, he'd head straight home and pretend to be asleep, or maybe visit his son Jason, or the Romans he trained. Anything that would keep her away.
But alas, after his loud thunderclap, Hera brought the parchment with her when she arrived. She sent him a smirk, as if she knew what he'd attempted.
Zeus sighed and glanced around the throne room. Shortly after Hera arrived, Ares came in, donning his royal scowl. Hephaestus and Aphrodite soon followed, flashing in together. This made Zeus' eyebrows jump. Hermes was the last to come in, predictably. If it wasn't Aphrodite who was late, it was Hermes.
The only one absent was Artemis.
Apparently, the Ancient Laws had grown insignificant for her. Not that Zeus would have the guts to punish her, since he had a hunch that his theory, about Perseus being the one who brought her from the comma, was true. He was only relieved that none of the godlings was following her example.
Zeus cleared his throat. The attention was on him. "Alright. As for Artemis' absence, at this time I suppose they are on their way back. Hopefully they bump into that maniac who jumped off a jet." The gods chuckled. That was also part of the change. The council meetings had been plunged into a lighter atmosphere. "Speaking of which, has anyone found anything?"
Hermes raised his phone. "He's on the news. It's Percy, all right."
They watched as one of the snakes slithered up a few inches above the phone, and then turned into an antenna. The messenger god pointed it in front of him, and the air shimmered into an Iris-message.
Yesterday's news slid front at a rapid pace. The message then stopped to show a close-up picture of what the cops took.
Perseus looked the same. He was probably made immortal by Chaos. His hair was a tad shorter than it had been, suggesting that he'd cut it and it'd almost grown over. As his eyes were closed, Zeus could see a certain raggedness in his features that told them he was older—and wiser—than he looked.
Zeus couldn't figure how he did that. And without a beard, no less!
"Where is he?" he asked.
"Um, he was in the police department for questioning... before he escaped, that is."
For some reason, most of them snorted at this.
"And do you know where he is right now..?"
"I do." Surprised, the gods turned to the Iris-message, which now had an image of a middle-aged woman with olive skin, long black hair fixed into a braid, rimless glasses, and a T-shirt that read: Potato Ninja. She gave a small nod.
"Iris." Zeus nodded back in greeting, as did the others. "What do you mean you do?"
The rainbow goddess blinked and looked away. "Eh. Not really. A spur of the moment thing." Iris laughed softly. "I forgot to ask Fleecy."
"Err, well." The king of the gods cleared his throat awkwardly. "There has to be a reason you called, right?"
"Oh. Oh, yes. I have a message from Percy Jackson."
Poseidon leaned forward eagerly. "Yes?"
Iris lifted a piece of paper to herself, presumably to be able to read whatever's in it better. The watermark 'ROFL' was clearly seen from the back. "Okay.." She murmured and nodded to herself. She turned to the gods. "Please listen carefully because he won't wait for you."
She snapped her fingers, and suddenly, Percy Jackson was in her place, looking nervous and hesitant. He frowned and nodded.
The Olympian gods gripped their armrests tightly. The god of the sea opened his mouth, presumably to say something to his son in the Iris-message, but the aforementioned son began speaking.
"Everyone. I'm pretty sure that.. Um, hi. I'm alive."
"What is it with him having to hide his aliveness anyway?" Ares grumbled, but a quick gesture from Aphrodite made him shut up.
"About that; sorry for hiding out on you. Especially you, Dad. It had to be done. I don't know if you're still... looking for me—and this is for all of you—but if you are, please stop now. I have something to do and I will do it. I wish I could tell you where I am, to assure you, maybe, but uh, I don't know about that either.
"Anyway, this is about the real reason I made this message. Please don't interrupt Iris or whoever tells you this so you won't miss anything."
The Olympians nodded.
"Order is going to attack soon. I don't know where, but I assumed it was on Camp Half-Blood, since it's where the prophecy was issued. Most likely, this is when he's really set to destroy the camp. Maybe at the same time, he'd be going after the two other. Maybe he'd be attacking them one after another. Either way, I need everyone to prepare. The gods as well. You need to support your children because without them, you'd be weaker than, say, Persephone's dandelions."
They stifled laughs, even Demeter. Thank the Fates that Hades wasn't present.
"I figured this from the last line of the prophecy. Also, the fifth to seventh lines sound dangerous. It sounds like your godly power at work. Although fate can't be changed—and it sounds really weird saying this to you gods, since you used to say this to me—but be careful on how you proceed.
"One last thing. When the quest returns, things aren't what they're used to be. Some things are different from what you think they are. Don't jump into conclusions. A friendly tip: Order is more deceitful than Kronos. Or Gaea, for that matter. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.
"That's all. If you could, Dad, tell my mom that was me. Um, bye." The son of Poseidon smiled weakly and gave a little wave, before his image shimmered back into Iris. "That's it."
Zeus and the other Olympians stared at her, dumbfounded. Finally, the god of lightning spoke. "You are dismissed. Thank you for your services."
Iris smiled and severed the connection. The news came back.
It was silent for a few seconds, before Athena voiced what they were all thinking.
"Did Perseus just give us a riddle?"
Oh yeah. How ironic.
"That's nice," Thalia deadpanned, her voice flat. "Tell me something more interesting."
The Angel girl, whom the Hunter had met before with her friend who turned out to be her cousin's son (who was left behind at Order's ruined palace, the poor chap, though Thalia doubted he was dead), told everyone a bunch of stories about the Planet Khaos, which apparently was where Percy had gone.
The girl was a goddess of dark angels, daughter of Nyx. That explained the feathery armor she was wearing when they first met. It also meant that she went against the Ancient Laws to go destroy Order's palace (Thalia didn't think they went for her, because nooo, she was just a second thought.)
Then again, almost all of them went against, except Percy's son, because he wasn't immortal at all. The daughter of Zeus wondered what punishment they would get. Would Zeus do it, or the spirit Styx?
...Okay. Back to what she was originally talking about.
Angel was born around after a decade following the Second Giant War. Arc, her cousin's son, was born around the same time. She said that the time in that planet was twice as slower as on Earth, which meant that if Angel was eighteen years old, she was only nine on Earth; but it didn't matter anyhow since she was a goddess.
She also said that her real name was Enkeli, which she said translated to Angel, so Thalia found no point in changing her nickname for her.
Anyway, while Nico and Artemis (who was still recovering from her stab wound) weren't too surprised, Thalia wasn't as well. Truthfully. She knew she should've been surprised, but after hearing that Percy was still alive and the heir of Chaos and her mistress' lover (which was the most shocking thing), she couldn't possibly know surprise anymore.
But then Angel said, "My uncle's here. Right, Nico?"
He just nodded.
"Oh." The lieutenant of the hunters looked blank for a second, glancing around the area as if to see if anyone was there. "Who?"
"My uncle. Percy."
"Your unc—" Thalia broke off, realization coming over her. "Percy?! PERCY'S HERE?!"
"I did just say that."
"Styx, then why aren't you looking for him?" Thalia demanded, incredulous.
"It'll be useless," Artemis replied, this time. "He's Percy. He could disappear and show up and then back again, not giving any trace as to where and how, if he wants it that way, but as long as he doesn't die," she paused, snorting, "as long as he doesn't die, I won't look for him. I won't suggest it, at least. Even though.." She didn't continue.
Angel grinned, nodding. "Yeah. A real waste of time."
"But I'm wondering..," Nico started quietly, "what Arc meant by, 'I knew since earlier that you knew.'" The son of Hades exhaled slowly and looked to the moon goddess. "What do you know, Lady Artemis? That he knew as well. Do we know?"
But she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't—I don't know."
"What?" Angel asked. "What's it about?"
"After Lady Artemis came to get Thalia," the only boy in their group now began. "Or rather, before she did. Before she went into that porter, I think Arc saw something in one of the computers. I think it's what led him to stay at the palace."
"What do you think it is?"
"I have no idea. But he started acting really weird."
"It's in the computer, huh," the daughter of Zeus mused. "You never know what could be in those metal boxes. They're tons of dangerous, rickety, complicated stuff. Kinda like love." She scoffed. "I suggest you stop thinking about it if you don't want your head done in."
Her mistress gave her a look of approval, and for a brief second, Thalia had the urge to shout, kidding!
"What should we do now?" Nico asked, getting them back to the main topic. "Looking for Percy is out of the way. Maybe for Arc..?"
He trailed off, looking to the younger goddess hesitantly.
It was silent for a long time.
"No," the daughter of Nyx said, reluctantly. "We should keep advancing. That's just a step backward to completing the quest." Coming from her, it was forced, but unsurprising. She didn't seem the type to mope around about what was lost. "We still need to report back to the gods." She grimaced. "I hope they won't misunderstand anything."
"What do you mean?" Thalia frowned. She was gripping the edge of her seat tightly. Oh yeah, if she hadn't mentioned earlier, they were talking in the moon chariot, and Angel was the one driving since Artemis was injured. And because angels, the kiddies with wings, just seem to love to dive-bomb (they already did a couple of times, and a couple of times she almost threw up), she took special care in staying rigid in her seat. "Prophecies? They're always misunderstood." Then she blanked out for a second. "Remind me the prophecy, again?"
"Moon's quartet and rekindled fire shall lead a quest to the house of mimes," Nico recited.
"So who's the quartet?" Thalia asked.
"Arc, Angel, Nico, and the fake Thalia," Artemis listed, wincing at the latter part.
"Who's the rekindled fire?"
Her three companions exchanged glances. "I don't know," the goddess admitted. "I wasn't supposed to choose for it just like that. I wasn't even sure if it was a person." The son of Hades nodded.
"I may know who it is."
They all turned to look at Angel. "Fire has to mean something... metaphorical."
"I could only think of civilization," Artemis mused. "Willpower. Abstracts. None have seriously gone out."
"Not abstract," Nico agreed. "Maybe a person? You know, like a symbol for a person. Like a god, maybe."
"Yeah, maybe an awakened god," Thalia conceded. "Could that be it?"
"Too vague," Artemis said. "Fire could mean something else entirely."
"Nico's right," Angel chimed in. "A symbol for a person. Like a god's title." She fiddled with the reins, and the daughter of Zeus braced herself for the dive, but it didn't come. "For example, my mother is the goddess of the night. Her subjects call her Night." She turned her head just slightly, her face serious. "So when it says fire, it might mean Hestia... or Hephaestus."
Thalia and the others gave her skeptical looks.
"I really want to tell you things, but..." The daughter of Nyx looked back at front. "I feel like you should find out on your own, Artemis." The addressed goddess was surprised. "It could be Arc. We were born around the same time. One of us could be.." She didn't continue.
They didn't pry her.
"Wait, wait, wait." Thalia held her hands up like a surrender, and immediately regretted it. Her hands shot back to gripping her seat. "Born? You mean rekindled is—"
"It obviously means reborn," the girl shot back with a deadpan tone. "Me, I don't know from whom or what I was reborn. It could be a flower in the local Khaos cemetery, or an angel from wherever there is, or some demon hunter in high heels."
"So Arc is the rekindled fire?" Artemis asked.
"Yeah. Probably." Angel glanced back at her with her eyes. "But that's not what I want you to find out. It's something in serious literal terms."
As Thalia glanced back and forth between her mistress the moon goddess and the angel driving the chariot, she wondered if they were talking about something else entirely.
Percy couldn't fight it—so he slept.
Even after becoming immortal and physically invincible, the dreams still wouldn't leave him alone, especially now that the gods' power reached them.
Arc was sitting against a wall. If he wasn't trying to escape, that must mean that he'd tried and failed. Or... he was accepting it.
Yes, he was accepting it, Percy decided. But why?
He couldn't be giving up... could he? That was just not possible. No. Not with him being a Jackson. No. Jacksons weren't like that. He couldn't just give up. There was help coming. Percy was going to make him realize that.
He called out... well, tried to. He realized that his voice doesn't work in the dream. It usually wasn't that way.
But, well.. The Fates were unhelpful old hags as ever.
There was a loud clanging sound from behind. Arc looked up from the ground, miserable. Percy tried to turn to see who it was, but he didn't need to.
"Arc Jackson."
The boy glared at him. "What do you want now?"
Order stood inside the room where Arc was confined in, his head inclined down to the boy. "Reconsider my offer?"
Percy stiffened. That bastard had to pressure the boy into joining him, hadn't he?
"No."
"You know you want to."
"There is no way I would," Arc said firmly. "I'll stay here and rot for the rest of my life if that's what has to happen before I even think of joining you."
"Hmm," the primal mused, pacing around at the room. The teen eyed the open door in front of him, but made no move to get out. "Tell me, what have they done for you?"
"Many things," he spat, snapping his gaze back to the other occupant of the room. "None of which you could ever live up to."
"Oh, but what have they not done for you?"
Arc hesitated, but replied none too slower. "Nothing."
Order stopped and turned his head to him, like he was staring. "Really? Let me ask you this." He spun to face him fully, but the boy continued glaring. "Did they ever get around at telling you the truth? No, you had to use your curiosity with my computers. Did Chaos ever think about your feelings? No, she did not and chose to do the logical, yet somehow, at the same time, the stupid thing. Would they have taken care of you if Perseus wasn't the one who found you? I don't think so."
The grandson of Chaos faltered.
"Perseus is not to blame. You are on the same boat. If you are truly her grandson, and him her son, she would have cared to tell both of you the truth, right?" Order continued pacing then. "Even something as simple as your full name, Archimedes Orion."
Arc winced and looked down.
"They would have told you the truth and given you the more opportunity to harness your abilities and what you are good at. You could have lived knowing that you are living with your real parent—and that the other one is there, loving you, supporting you."
Percy stepped back and almost hit the wall. How had he not known this? Chaos had to hide all this? It was all so... basic. Knowing this might have changed the way Arc felt about his whole life.
"Would they have found you on that moon if not for my help?"
It was silent for a long time.
"You... you let them find me?"
Order made an odd snorting noise. "Yes. I foresaw this moment, you know."
Arc was silent.
Percy felt his voice return, but he couldn't protest. He couldn't. Order had a point.
"Could you... could you leave me to think about it?"
Order didn't say anything, turning to the side, away from him. He inclined his head in a half-bow of respect. Percy couldn't believe how someone like him was so courteous. "Very well."
Percy didn't know whether to cry or laugh at his leniency. Damn, he's really into taking him in. Arc wouldn't even consider—wait, if the god knew that, then why would he bother...—could his son be the turning point in this war?
Percy noticed his son edging towards the door. He wanted to cheer him on, but he had a sinking feeling that Arc wouldn't be the one to hear it. That Arc would never hear it.
And then Order turned his head and looked directly at the dreaming son of Chaos, if only he had eyes that would prove so. Everyone froze.
"I'd prefer if you make your decision before escaping," he said calmly, which threw the two others off guard. "There are armies of my monsters hidden in the city, blending in with the mortals, surrounding both your camp and Olympus. Best to not send them into a panic when they find out their future commander has ditched them, is it not?"
He said 'panic' like it was his favorite food.
Order passed a stunned grandson of Chaos on the way out, closed the door, and left it unlocked, which pissed both watching teens off to no end.
Archimedes Orion Jackson... Arc.., Percy mused as he gazed with a new light at his son, who stared at the unlocked door like it was mocking him, which in a way it was. Could it be that..
His eyes widened. Of course! How had he not seen it before? The skills, the wits! It all made sense now. He was so stupid. If only they had known this..
He saw Arc climbing to his feet. He called out, "Arc, no! He'll do worse things if you escape. Scout then attack, that's what you're good at, right?" He was desperate.
The boy's head shot up, hearing him. He turned to Percy's general direction, but not quite looking at him, and opened his mouth to speak.
The world around Percy swirled, dizzying him. And suddenly he was standing at a different scene, his voice robbed from him a second time.
Nico jumped off the silver chariot, dropping to the marble floor with the grace of a cat. Being a son of Hades made him unconsciously mind his stealth.
It was quiet in the middle of the temple courtyard where they landed. The moon goddess's palace was across from them.
Nico helped Thalia off the chariot. Angel leaped out and scanned the area briefly, before turning back to help the wounded goddess off her chariot. Nico didn't understand why she, a goddess who recovered from flesh wounds twice or even thrice faster than mortals, was healing so slowly.
"Come on," Angel urged, putting her arm around the other goddess's waist to support her. "As much as I would like to stay here, the gods would finish the prophecy for us."
Nico led the way with his Hunter cousin, while the two goddesses were a few paces behind them.
He glanced around warily, even though there was no one else in sight. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Don't we always?" Thalia replied in a low tone. He gave her a sideways look. He'd grown a few inches in spite of his immortality, and that made him just slightly taller than Thalia's spiky hair.
"For certain?"
She let out a soft puff of breath, her electric eyes flitting a tad apprehensively to the doors, which they could now see ahead. "I've been thinking about that prophecy."
Nico averted his eyes and swallowed. Oh yes. Prophecies do always include the ruining of lives. The Fates were terrible old women.
"The hunted will perish.. Since I don't think that's a monster, it must be..," she trailed off. The son of Hades knew what she was going to say even before she finished her sentence.
"The hunter will be punished. There're two of you."
The lieutenant cringed. "I don't know which of us is the leader. We both do lead the Hunters. Which would be bad if either one of us will be banished." She blinked, and then lowered her voice, glancing over her shoulder to the two goddesses. "Then again, we could both be the hunter and the leader."
"Which means that both of you will be.." Nico cut himself off. He glanced at his cousin cautiously. "On the bright side, anyone could be the hunter. As long as they're looking for someone. And the leader— "
Thalia gave a slightly hysterical laugh, interrupting him. "You, looking on the bright side. The world must be ending."
Nico didn't say anything as they stopped in front of the massive doors. He sighed and put his hands against them. "Perhaps."
The daughter of Zeus put her hands beside his, and together, they pushed the doors open.
At the sight of them, the gods stood, all of them in full gleaming battle armor. Helmets were either tucked under arms, cushioned by smaller tables, or worn by armrests of thrones.
"Whoa," Angel remarked from behind them, which was probably a bit unwise. "You going to war with my dad or something?"
The ADHD part of Nico's brain reminded him that she had no dad, but the uninfected part told the ADHD part to shut up.
Zeus merely beckoned them forward as he and the gods sat back down. Artemis moved further forward from the others. "Perseus told us this morning that Order would come attacking somewhere, most likely at Camp Half-Blood, and that we should 'prepare'," he said that, complete with air quotes. "So we did."
Artemis' mouth popped open audibly.
"CHB in clear, CJ in clear, CP in clear," Hermes cited, moving his hand in a pattern in front of a bunch of Iris-messages. Then he looked up. "At least for now."
"Alright." The king of the gods sighed, leaning back on his throne. "Now, what exactly was this quest about?" His eyes swept through the four, until it settled on one. "Artemis?"
She regained her composure. "To destroy Order's palace, which was successfully done."
The god's eyes narrowed, sweeping through them once again. "Where is that boy Jackson?"
No one responded.
"Retell the story."
Angel stepped forward and began to tell them about the whole quest. Nico was silent the whole time, looking around at the more powerful beings warily. He really felt that something right here, right now, would go wrong. At least one of the gods acted suspiciously.
When she got to the part where she murdered the fake Thalia, Zeus raised an eyebrow, glancing at the present one in silent question. She, in turn, said, "She was a traitor, Dad. She took up my place while I was held captive so that people won't look for me. It backfired on her."
The god of lightning slyly slid his hand next to his bolt. Nico tensed. "And how do I know you are not this traitor?"
"She has proof for it, Lord Zeus," Nico answered for her, his voice dangerously soft. "We found her with a bracelet that Order used so that she will appear as the traitor, and when she takes it off, she becomes her real self."
"So she would be my daughter if she doesn't wear a bracelet of the sort?"
"Yes."
All eyes turned to the daughter of Zeus, who raised her hands up at the same time as she looked at her arms, as if she wasn't sure what to find there in the first place.
Nico's eyes widened as he found a silver bracelet, bare and gleaming alongside Aegis.
…
This time, Zeus did grab his bolt and pointed it at her. The other gods stood in alarm.
"You lie."
"No," she denied, almost ready to burst into tears. "No, I swear! I'll take it off, and you'll see I'm still myself!" She did, and her form shimmered. She could see it, and put the bracelet back, in fear of being blasted on sight.
It wasn't that way earlier. Magic was at work, and was completing the prophecy. But whose?
For a moment, everything stopped in time.
"Artemis," Zeus then said somberly, not taking his eyes off the girl. He sighed. "For years, I worked on changing my ways. I hope you know what to do, as a daughter of Justice." He closed his eyes. "I trust your judgment, my daughter."
Reluctantly, he lowered his bolt.
The goddess was so still she could've been a statue. Finally, she looked up at her lieutenant, her silver eyes harder than marble. "Thalia," she began. "I know you are Thalia, and I know you don't lie. But," she paused, and at that minute, she looked just like when Nico held her back from going after Arc. "Proof is proof."
They stared at each other for more than just a second, and Nico was sure that some kind of unspoken conversation went through them.
He clenched his fists. He would definitely screw Order for doing this to his cousin.
"Thalia Grace," Artemis said, and the girl tensed, preparing herself for whatever was to come. Everything paused, waiting.
"RUN!"
…
Shocked, the gods didn't do anything as Thalia ran like hell to the throne room doors. Nico was too stunned to move, as was Angel.
Then, Zeus jolted to action. "Seize them!"
Celestial bronze manacles materialized on Nico's wrists, joined by a chain of the same metal. Hermes appeared behind him. The same happened to Angel as Athena appeared behind her. The daughter of Nyx sent him a glance, and he understood what she was trying to say. She could escape from the celestial bronze, but with his help.
He glanced back, and saw that Thalia was at the brink of the doors, but it wouldn't work. She wouldn't be able to escape, not with gods at her tail.
But there were no chains at Artemis' wrists. She held it off with her godly power. She reached out and punched Ares in the face as he appeared behind her, making the god stagger back. Then, with little of her strength left, she sent a beam of moonlight at Thalia, and the lieutenant of the hunters disappeared, with the color silver glittering.
Ares came back up and held the goddess's small twelve-year old arms as she slouched, her strength only enough for her to stand up, but he was careful to stay away in case she tried anything.
"Treachery," Zeus growled through his gritted teeth, pointing his bolt at his daughter. The war god used her body to shield himself. "First the Ancient Laws, now this. Right now, I won't care if this son of Chaos blasted me for blasting you."
Artemis glared at her father. "No. It was Order. He did something with that bracelet... it was supposed to be in her pocket.."
"It isn't treason." Nico stepped forward, subtly sidling with Angel. His god-captive didn't move, but with Athena, it would be hard for them to sneak it. "She was saving her lieutenant from your wrath."
"My daughter is dead," Zeus said, his voice cracking. "And my other daughter let the killer escape. Isn't that treason?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw the daughter of Nyx smile.
"It—it is," the Ghost King said, conceding. "But we want to let you know that we had no idea this would happen."
Angel spoke up. "We swear on the River Styx."
Thunder shook the room. Nothing happened.
"Hermes. Athena. Release them."
They stepped forward and made the chains disappear, and then returned to their thrones.
"I'm leaving you with one more chance to go back, and defend Olympus," Zeus warned, before turning to his goddess daughter. "As for you, you must be punished severely for your actions."
Nico's head throbbed. The hunter will be punished.
"These demigods vouched for you. Since they are particularly strong in their beliefs, I am letting you off into the mortal world."
Apollo sighed in relief.
"As a mortal."
Percy was angry.
Oh no, he was beyond livid.
Zeus at least took his advice and proceeded with caution, but at the moment where it was needed most, the advice was thrown out to the wind like some sort of faded photograph.
How was Artemis supposed to fight as a mortal? She would be, obviously, considerably weaker. And being a powerful goddess, the loss of power would shock her into unconsciousness.
He had to do something about that. She would be pissed. But how could he restore..?
Hmm.. Oh..! OH!
It could be the only way, unless there was a sort of spell to return her immortality to her. Obviously, there was no convincing Zeus, so he had to do this. It would jeopardize his future plans though, making him initiate it too early..
Oh, she needed to be there when it happened. Where could they meet..?
Meanwhile, Zeus zapped Artemis with his bolt. Her eyes shot wide open, and her body glowed silver, which disappeared abruptly after a few seconds. She sagged, her body limp like a rag doll. Ares looked like he wanted to let go.
"Lay her down in a bed." Grateful, the war god conjured a bed and laid her down, before flashing to his throne.
"Are you crazy? What about her hunters?!" Enkeli shouted at the king.
"It will be decided in time," the god replied, looking unconcerned "For now, Apollo, lead them to Camp Half-Blood for the attack, but do not tell them about this."
The god of the sun looked like he wanted to protest, but with a worried glance to his sister, he flashed out.
"Tell me the rest of the quest," Zeus demanded. "And truthfully. We'll have Apo—" He glanced at the empty throne of the sun god. "Uh, just don't lie."
Nico launched into this short tale at what happened after they fled from the cemetery. As he did, Percy gazed at his weakened girlfriend intently, still thinking.
AH! That's it!
Zeus sent them away, and Nico and Enkeli left dejectedly, both supporting the now mortal goddess to walk out of the doors.
Percy wanted to speak up and tell the suppressed truth while they were still there, but his voice came up inaudible. It was frustrating.
Just after the three exited the throne room, the son of Chaos' voice came back to him, annoying him once again. With no one else but the gods, who wouldn't likely be powerful enough to hear him, listening to a dream apparition, Percy found no point in speaking and followed the remaining quest members out.
As the three (four) of them glumly walked through the thick, tense atmosphere, Percy felt a menacing presence behind the elevator doors.
He opened his mouth and shouted to Nico, his voice sounding like from behind a tunnel, "Don't!"
But before he even touched the down button, the doors opened, and suddenly he felt vertigo when he saw the occupants of the contraption.
The world around him swirled like a camera effect again, making him even woozier. His vision turned round, dark at the edges. He squinted and clutched his head.
…
When the wave of dizziness passed, Percy regained his bearings and saw that he was in the room Arc was in, earlier.
But no one was there.
That moron. Why'd he have to leave without notice like that?
Zoë thought this as she leaned over the fence at the observatory with more gusto than usual. Just where could he be?
"Roman camp," a voice came from behind. "He's going to the Roman camp."
"Oh?" She concentrated, and the swirling stopped to show a fort, sentries towering over her. Roman guards patrolled at the top of the walls, checking crossbows and binoculars. Her constellation shone overhead, the dawn just dark enough to let her stars light the place up.
"He's going to," the other said. The person stepped up beside her, now identified as the creator, Chaos. "The boy's still gathering his bearings that were scattered everywhere."
"I hope he hurries it up, then," the former lieutenant muttered to herself. "He causes quite a bit of chaos even when he's gone." She glanced at her companion, unsmiling at her own pun.
"I believe so," the goddess replied, unfazed. "He does have that tendency."
Pausing, Zoë looked over her curiously. "Aren't you angry? Or even apprehensive?"
She raised an eyebrow. "About what?"
"Him escaping," she said. "Disobeying you."
Chaos snorted. "It was bound to happen eventually," she said, looking down at Katoptris with an unconcerned eye. "It's expected of him. He's claustrophobic. You should've seen him escape that police station before he ended up at California." The Huntress blinked at this, even though she found it understandably unsurprising. "Besides, I highly doubt it was his idea to escape."
"Right," Zoë muttered. "Damn right."
The woman next to her glanced over at her use of language, which she rarely ever did use, but didn't comment about it.
Instead, Chaos said, "You want to do something about it."
It wasn't a question.
The idiot could die, for all she cared. It was his fault anyway, putting himself in danger like that. What even drove him to do so? Perhaps Chaos was right, that he was just being his claustrophobic self, but it couldn't be all that. He'd managed to stay put for four decades, and she was sure he was strong enough to escape at halfway of it, so why do it later than that?
He was being nice... to avoid breaking two hearts all at once. Maybe more. He was always so nice, so thoughtful of others. Never himself.
If that was how he wanted it, then maybe Zoë would just stop caring. If that was what he wanted, then Zoë would do just that. It was easier than having to cry over his stupid soul.
But she couldn't, she wouldn't, because she didn't want to. Because not caring was just as hard as killing him, which was practically impossible. Because she..
Because she..
...Well, it wasn't that important. He could avoid receiving flesh wounds, as long as Artemis didn't get hurt. At least Zoë thought it was Artemis.
It had to be Artemis.
She wasn't sure when it started, but hearing, speaking, or even thinking about her mistress and even just her name filled her with an unpleasant vibe. Pain shot her in the chest, like the wicked poison that led her here in the first place. Like when she reminisced times in the Hunt with her, most likely knowing that it would never happen again, because the goddess was an undying goddess, and she was just a lowly handmaiden, who had her soul shattered under the very stars she's now living with.
It was scary.
It shouldn't be that way.
If one would ask her whom to choose if she loves two people, she'd choose the first one. No one would be too much of a nutjob to stay with her up to that day unless they really cared. Then again, there was this annoying little detail that you would never love the second if you truly loved the first.
Why choose to love two people in the first place? Human generosity.
Enter the first person. The first person was the one who noticed her first. The person who killed time for her, on occasion quite literally. The one who defined her meaning of life. Ironically, that person was also the one who defined her meaning of death.
Why love her, still? Human stupidity.
Enter the second person. The person came late into her life, many a year later than the first. Yet even the smallest moments were worthwhile, and the years spent together with the first seemed microscopic in comparison, despite it being the other way around. If ever the first came up to her and asked, she could easily say, he and I go way back, because it was true. And if she would find out that this second person had his heart set elsewhere, particularly one that sent that same painful stab through her heart, she wouldn't care. At least she'd pretend to look like it, like she had not just lost the most important thing on Khaos.
Why bother? Human persistence.
"Zoë?" the woman called, her voice somewhat subdued. "Would you?"
"No." Human arrogance.
The sun was slowly rising from the Californian horizon. She looked into the other entrance. No dark-haired boy had made himself known.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the creator take an intrigued glance at her, before looking down at Katoptris. Her wistful smile was wide enough for the Huntress to see the corner of her mouth from the side of her face. She wondered what the goddess saw.
"I understand," Chaos said, her voice no louder than a whisper. "I've been in your place. Much more times than I could count."
Zoë leaned forward, almost falling over when a mop of black hair finally made it to view at the tunnel entrance. The Roman guards started panicking for one reason or another.
"I was young," Chaos continued. "I thought that no one, and no one, would be better than my brother. 'My brother is the best. The best of the best.'"
"And then he changed. And Percy came."
"Yes," the creator whispered. "And then the Fates sent Percy. Yes, the Fates sent him to me, his destiny on the horizon. I have never been so conflicted my entire life.
"I kept thinking, my son, or my brother?"
The Huntress perfectly knew how that felt. She had, twice.
"Despite seeming to have made my decision at Olympus, I hadn't. He was still my brother, and family... family was the most important thing for me."
The goddess's grip tightened on the fence.
"More than once, I felt bad about having to stop my brother, the other creator. By creator, I know he has more a privilege to be a destroyer too. More than once, I thought about not participating in this... war." The last word was forced out. "This quarrel was worse than that. Family against family... it isn't the most correct thing in the universe. Especially when you use another family member to do so."
"The Fates. They predicted—they knew this coming, and—"
"Yes. They predicted their own end. That's why from the day the gods existed, the Fates favored Poseidon. Poseidon, Poseidon, Poseidon. They torment his children most, because they knew only they would be strong enough to handle it. They torment as a test. Percy... he passed that test."
Zoë watched as the brunette was let in the gates, receiving a suspicious welcome. "He had to pass the stupid test."
"Fate—it was something older than the ones threading it. Before the Three Sisters, there was Ananke, and before Ananke, there was me. Before me.." Chaos closed her eyes, turning away with a bittersweet smile. "Fate was something you could call.."
"A current," the former lieutenant finished with her own opinion. "A dissolute tide that pushed and pulled anything and everything without restraint."
"Percy was something else," Chaos responded, not agreeing but not disagreeing. She transformed to a humanoid figure, which resembled vaguely of both sexes. Her neutral form. "He could go against this tide, at the same time ride it. He was a salmon."
Zoë exhaled, with relief, as the dark-haired boy was invited into New Rome, at the Senate House. He was walking with his shoulders hunched, clutching his stomach. Other than that, he looked fine, but it wasn't enough to convince her since she'd seen him like this more than once after he dipped himself in the Order.
"I wouldn't worry about him," Chaos said empathetically. Then, her (or his, she couldn't decide) eyes twinkled. "It's easier than to cry over his stupid soul, yes?"
Zoë's face colored, and she stepped back from the fence to glare as the shine of her constellation died down. She didn't notice a boy looking up at it as the image in the mirror swirled. "No."
The creator chortled softly, turning back into a female. "He would recognize fate as his friend. Or a frenemy, for that matter. As I told, he's a salmon."
"Delicious salmons," the Huntress muttered impulsively.
She walked away from the observatory, her face red as her best friend's mother laughed at her quietly.
So maybe fate would be his frenemy. Maybe he would be able to get over this one last test by the Fates. Maybe he would be able to get over this test that he put upon himself. Or he will.
Why believe so? Human faith.
AN: Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~SmartzyFan