A/N Sorry if there is too much cursing, but it really matches the personality of... some characters in this chapter.
Smallville
October 17, 5:16
Zoe slowly opened her eyes. The ringing in her ears passed and world around her stopped spinning enough for her to stand up. To her right, she noticed Percy also standing up. She could only hope that Alpha squad was okay. But Percy's reaction suggested otherwise. She started to run toward him, but a wave of pure, unbridled energy enveloped her. Air all around her was suddenly filled with sea scent. The earth split and consumed the other alien ship. The tremor knocked her down. With utter fear she watched as Percy, barely able to move after the strain, tries to walk toward her only to stumble and fall into the crack. Almost immediately, it closed behind him, leaving her alone in the empty field devastated by invasion. They won. But now, she was all alone again. The only person in this whole world who could even partially understand her and who she dared to call a friend was gone. The sea scent in the air kept reminding her of him. Slowly, the aura of power began to fade. A single tear went down her face, followed by another. Suddenly, the reality started to shimmer before her eyes. It was as if she was constantly blinking, except instead of darkness she saw a dungeon cell. It was made of rocks and she could see the rusted bars in front. She could barely make out anything, but she managed to see the someone. He was really tall, about 6'8". She couldn't make out his face, but dark hair could reach down to his shoulders. His black full plate armor was decorated with thin lines reasembling withered tree branches and from between separate plates there was malicious red glow. In his hand was long black sword decorated with greek leters forming the word Dread.
"Another one is waking. You promised us that with our help the serum would be permanent." That voice... She already heard it before. But it couldn't be. It was two centuries ago when she was still lieutenant of Artemis. Back in her world. But at the same time she would never mistake it again. When he and his brother came to 'play' with the hunters, it was only thanks to Phoebe that they fended them off. Having a daughter of the god of Fear does have it's benefits when fighting said god. Slowly, as she realized who this was, the reality began to stop shimmering and she got grounding on the truth. The empty field disappeared and she was now fully in the cell. She was in civilan clothes, but her twin bracelets firmly on her forearms.
"Deimos and Phobos!" She screamed. Her mind was still clouded and recent memories of all of her friends dying still fresh. She crossed her bracelets and immediately her armor appeared, transforming her. The bow materialized in her hand and she drew an arrow with it's head glowing red.
"Look brother. Little huntress is awake." Another voice, this one belonging to Phobos, came from the corridor to the right. She was still in the cell, but she could tell that there were other rooms down the line. The god's of fear voice was a bit higher and he seemed like he mocked her. At the same time, he was sending involuntary chills down her spine.
Deimos laughed at her. "Indeed brother. I am sure we can take a break from our work and have some fun. On look. She already changed for us. Well... Let's see what the little huntress can do, shall we?" His voice was lower and more coarse. He was also mocking, but for some reason while Phobos was more crazy, Deimos sounded like some nobleman from late XVIII century. He had this accent that she could place to somewhere around Northern Balkans. He sounded like his son, the legendary Count Dracula, at least before this abomination met his end at the tip of her mistress arrow, but not before he managed to forge his legend. To this day it wakes dread in the hearts of some people. Talk about making your father proud.
"I give you one chance to return my teammates to me, else you shall face my wrath." To settle her point she fired the arrow in front of the bars and the explosion practically disintegrated them.
"Ah! Stupid Bitch." It was Deimos who screamed. The flames of explosion reached him and put his hair on fire. "I will cut you to pieces and use your blood to bring my son back! The very one your mistress killed!" The anger came from him in waves and almost pushed her into the wall, but she managed to withstand the attack. He pointed his sword at her. "Come and face your death like a man!" He gave an earthly chuckle at this, but his demeanor was still grim and she could tell he took pleasure in taunting him.
Okay. This is not perfect. They have numbers advantage and appear to drain strength from the others. PERCY! The realization dawned upon her. If they managed to drain the son of Poseidon of his power, they would be unbeatable for any mortal. As if he read her mind, Phobos answered.
"Yes. Yes." And another wave of chuckle. "We have the power of your precious sea-spawn at our grasp. He is now living through his greatest personal fear." She wanted to attack, but decided to let him gloat. Maybe they would reveal some weakness of their plan, whatever it was. "The beauty of our friendly doctor's invention is that it did most of the work for us. We just linked your minds and you created the most dreadful scenario yourselves. Of course we manipulated it a little so you all could also experience your own personal horror, but that was mostly on me." He finally came into the view. Phobos wore armor almost identical to his brother, except his glowed dark orange. His face was also lit by same orange light. the burnt-blond hair reached over his shoulder, but she couldn't tell the exact length as he had it all pulled behind his back. In his hands were two broad-axes with image of skull on them. "I only regret that we did not have more time. I wanted to see how far your feelings would go before out of fear you would kill the sea-spawn. Or would you?" A sudden wave of emotions crushed her. Before her eyes she saw herself kissing Perseus. Their bodies worked in perfect harmony. She closed her eyes, but vision only intensified. Sudden fear engulfed her.
"NO! Thou lascivious tickle-brained baggage! I... I..." The feeling of dread and visions took away her power to think clearly. She tried to fight it, but she was barely holding them at bay.
"I admire your spirit, child, but you cannot hope to fight the fear itself. We are stronger than any mortal could ever be. The spirit of the son of Poseidon is already our and so is yours." Deimos laughed at her attempt.
It was then that she understood. They fed off not only Percy, but her as well. Just because she woke up didn't mean she stopped their influence. The fear was still there and they used her like a well from which they drank to gain more power. But they didn't really understand. They thought of her as a mere mortal, a huntress who lost her mistress and broke her oath.
Instead of fighting the fear, she decided to embrace the visions. She accepted what they showed her and let go of her fear. She was standing straight and silver light started to surround her. Her eyes glowed brightly. "Thou art mistaken. I am nay m're m'rtal."She instinctively reverted to the old English. The light started to spread from her and travel to all the other cells, waking the rest of the team. " I shall bringeth thee down and maketh thee regreteth yond thee did dare to playeth with mine own feelings. I shall showeth thee true feareth. F'r i am the mistress of the hunteth, the queen of the moon, the mistress of f'rests. I am zoe nightshade, the heiress of artemis. And thee did dare to attacketh me and mine own cater-cousins" [1]
Her body emitted a large, silver explosion, shattering the walls surrounding them and turning the dungeon into one big hall. In the far end she noticed the lab table with multiple vials and items, most of them being not that modern. The others were there, unharmed by the silver light. The bow in her hand also glowed and another arrow appeared. This one was formed of pure silver light and had jagged tip. The small symbol of the moon on her gloves glowed and once she released the arrow at Deimos it passed through him. Another such arrow traveled through the heart of Phobos all before either of them managed to actually comprehend what was happening. Dark tendrils materialized, connecting them to all the other young heroes in the room. Slowly, the silver light traveled through them and they glimmered and disappeared, severing their connection with twin gods. The only tendril that resisted was Percy's. Two gods roared in pain as parts of their strength left them one by one.
"You stupid bitch. You think that just because that cursed mistress of yours made you her heir you can oppose us?" Deimos roared and launched himself at her. Almost instantly another arrow hit him square in the chest and silver explosion pushed him back. Zoe was standing unfazed by the god of dread.
"Thou art still mistaken yet again. Mine own mistress is nay m're and anon i holdeth the pow'r the lady bestow'd upon me. I am the new goddess of the moon and hunteth in this w'rld" [2] To prove her point, she created a symbol of crescent moon over her head. Her bow glowed silver and arrow formed. This time, both gods were ready for battle. Neither noticed a small figure of scarecrow sneaking at the edge of battlefield to the stairs. He closely held to a vial of gold-and-red liquid.
Percy's eyes opened suddenly. He grasped for air, but his lungs started to burn with sulfur and his body felt as if he was laying on crushed glass. Most of his suit was torn apart. The poisonous air burned his wound and made it hard to even stand up. When he tried, his legs gave up under him and he fell down yet again, creating more wounds. The pain slowly overcame him and clouded his thoughts. With last ditch effort, he pulled out the vial of nectar and drunk it in one gulp. Then another four. Some of his strength returned, but the very aura of Tartarus dampened his natural regeneration.
A vicious roar came to his ears. Immediately, his head snapped into that direction. There, he saw thousands upon thousands of monsters, all walking toward him. In the front, there was a demigod, Ethan Nakamura. But at the same time, he was deformed and twisted. His arms were now longer and each ended with clawed hand. His legs were now also elongated and shaped like with wolf. Probably the most prominent feature was his head. While he still had his eyepatch and general shape of Ethan, many remaining features were very wolf-like. His mouth was full of sharp claws and his nose was that of a wolf. His chest was naked if one did not count the fur that covered him. In his hands there were two swords. The weapons were made of black metal with slight dark-purple glow.
"Perseus!" The twisted demigod roared. "You promised us that we will not be shunned and forgotten! And yet, instead of enforcing this you chose to run away to different world."
"No... That's not true. I made a difference! The gods promised..." Percy found his voice breaking. The memory of his visit to Calypso's island and how he made the gods promise to let her out. But did they? He didn't bother to check on her. Same with Bob. Did the minor gods receive thrones on Olympus? He made a wish and thought it would be all.
"The gods promised nothing. Their word is useless!" His voice changed. It was now more rough and coarse. His words came more like a bark than actual sentence. "After you defeated Gaia they gave you an option to become a god. Then you could make a difference. Instead, you chose to run away. You selfishly avoided responsibility and jumped at the chance of supposed happiness. Tell me Perseus Jackson. Did the happiness was worth leaving the whole world to suffer under Zeus rule? Multiple worlds? You are in one of the few in which he can't mess things up. The rest suffer while you have fun. It's time to bring some balance!" With that Ethan and the army charged at Percy. He tried to summon his trident, but it didn't come to him. Panicking, he tried harder but it still didn't work. The first monsters, a pack of werewolves led by Ethan, began to close at him. In last desperate attempt he formed a trident from water in his gauntlets and froze it. It would not last too long, but it bought him time. One of the monsters was faster and leaped at Percy, but he impaled him with his trident. The beast turned into golden dust that showered the son of Poseidon. More werewolves came and he was forced to focus. His mind accelerated and everything slowed down, but to lesser extend than usually. Either the monsters were faster or his abilities were being dampened here. A small hurricane formed around him. The army of monsters came down at him, but he cut through them like a hot knife through butter. While he was winning, the monsters kept coming. After he killed several dracane he picked a sword similar to what Annabeth used to carry after they escaped Tartarus. That memory caused him almost physical pain, but he managed to suppress it and continue his dance of death.
A small cut there, another bruse there. For every hit he took Percy killed two hundred monsters. But their legions seemed to be limitless. Some of them seemed to regenerate on the spot. Already he suffered several curses from Arai and some monster managed to give him a deep cut through his face, forcing one of his eyes to close. Step by step he was being pushed to his limit. there was no time to eat ambrosia or drink nectar. Already countless weapons shattered and he had to replace them. He tried to alter between different arms, sometimes using spears, other times battle hammers. Once he killed a telkhine he even got his hand on a trident, but while it was a very good quality he shattered it on Nemean lion. He had to choke him to kill the beast and this time he did not get another golden fur. But the greatest pain wasn't really physical, but mental. Many Demigods that followed Kronos were now here, turned into monstrous beasts. He had to kill them to survive. They all fell. Behind him there was an ocean of golden dust. Percy himself could accompany Rachel during one of her fundraising stunts as a golden statue (that is if not for his ADHD).
Finally, he noticed a clearing in the distance. On the field with almost infinite monsters seeing an empty space was a blessing. He doubled his efforts to get there. Whatever was there scared even the most resilent monsters. He was ready to face it if it meant he would get even few seconds of rest. As he closed by, it seemed that some of the smarter monsters almost let him pass. Some even had a wicked grin on their face. finally, he reached to the place.
The clearing was surrounded by monsters, but none dared to close on lone young woman with golden hair reaching up to her waist. She wore a classic Greek chiton in her hand she held a drakon-bone sword. Near her laid a crumpled Yankee hat. Her face was ridden with tears. Once Percy entered, his heart froze. He would recognize this princess curls anywhere. In front of him stood Annabeth.
Zoe fired another set of arrows which were all deflected by a bloody red sword. The dungeon they were in was already full of arrows and so were the armors of two gods. The new goddess proven to be a worthy opponent, but her enemies were much better than they used too. She suspected that somehow they are draining the skills from Percy. She had to push her limits to fight the two of them. It didn't help that her friends were now mostly awake and trying to help Percy. The entrance was sealed by the rocks she knocked with stray arrows so they couldn't escape. The hit and run tactic was not really working and she had to resolve to something new. Her bow morphed into two lean scimitars with curved handle, mostly straight blade that ended with curved tip. Both blades had slight bluish-silver glow to them. The gods laughed together until started to run around the walls, taking down all the remaining torches and bringing the room into darkness.
"You pathetic girl. Do you honestly expect us to fall for the darkness? We do not need the light to fight you. You are still too afraid of us to actually do us any damage!" Their demeanor changed once the light returned. Except they were no longer in the dungeon. Instead, the ground under them was a silver sand and on the sky among multiple stars floated earth. The sun was shining at them.
"Mistaking feareth f'r tactic shall beest thy demise. I did avoid hurting mine own comrades, but anon th're is nay one to beest did hurt but the two of thee. And thou art on mine own home turf anon" [3] Suddenly, a rain of silver arrows came at them and each exploded the moment it made contact with the ground. The silver sand rose behind Deimos and formed into her general body shape. She emerged from it and cut him in between the plating, only to sink back into the ground. Phobos tried to flash away, but when his light died he realized that he was still in the same spot. The lean figure of the new Goddess came at him out of nowhere and she made a deep gush on his shoulder, right when the breastplate meets with arm guard. He turned to follow her trail, but she was nowhere to be found. A voice came from seemingly all around them. "Th're shall beest nay escapeth from mine own wrath. Thee madeth a misprision and anon thee shall suff'r f'r t" [4] She continued to appear, strike and disappear. Before they had time to do anything, she was already gone. Two brothers met back to back, trying to form a defensive circle, but then she started to fire arrows at them from all over the place. The moon was completely her to control and she could do with them whatever she wanted.
Only thing that saved the two gods from dying was her single mistake. Feeling too bold, Zoe appeared right in front of Deimos, planning to plunge her sword into his gut. He saw her a second too soon and grabbed her by the neck, taking away her ability to breath or speak. She tried to escape, but the god of dread was too strong. "Now let's see if the 'New Goddess' need functioning airwaves to breathe, shall we?" The pressure on her windpipe increased and she could feel herself slipping away. In last ditch attempt she banished all three back to earth. Almost immediately they appeared in what used to be the dungeon. The torches immediately lit and heroes grasped seeing the Huntress hanging by her neck, trying desperately to breath. He punched her few times to get all the air from her lungs. Normally new gods could go a long time without air, but now she started to get desperate. The team wanted to rush and help her, but Phobos blocked their way.
"Now now... We wouldn't want to stop my brother from conducting his experiment, right? It's not every day that we get a chance to play with the New Gods and she is in brand new condition." His voice sent chills down their spines. Especially to robin it sounded all too familiar. It was like a mixture of Joker and Scarecrow put under the helmet of Ares. It took all his willpower to actually stand and not run away.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" M'gann screamed. She was still shaken from whatever happened to them, but she was also worried for Zoe.
"It's simple. We want power. We do not want to be shunned as third grade gods. And this" He moved his hand to show the whole dungeon. "This was supposed to be our way to power. We would be as strong as our father. Then, we would take our rightful place at the new Olympus, safe from the fate that awaits old Gods."
"Kaldur? What is he talking about?" Wally asked unsure.
"I don't know KF. I know who he is. This are Deimos and Phobos, twin sons of Ares who drive his chariot to battle."
"Very good Atlantean. But sadly this knowledge will not sufice you to survive." His twin axes lit with orange flames and he attacked them.
"A-Ann... Annabeth? B-but... You are a goddess now... What are you doing here?" Percy couldn't gather his words.
"What I am doing here?"Something was wrong. His voice sounded too high-pitched and deformed. It wasn't how he remembered it. "Because of you Zeus cast me down here as a punishment. He blamed me for the fact that you rejected godhood. He forever lost his best weapon and I was punished. I lost everything all because you chose to run from the responsibilities!" Suddenly, She jumped at him with her sword, now burning with golden flames. Instinctively, he blocked and countered.
"Annabeth... I am sorry. I didn't know." She continued to attack him and he could barely find strength to fight back. The guilt was crushing him. His wise girl's face twisted into scary grimace and her once-blonde curls were now all sticking together and covered in blood.
"Spare me this Perseus Jackson. You never know anything. You are just useless," at that she suddenly swiped her legs under him, knocking him down and disarming him at the same time. "stupid," She then punched him in the face and twice in the gut. "worthless and most pathetic boyfriend I could ever have. If it wasn't for you I would have a happy life at camp half-blood. You brought me only sadness and tears." She plunged her sword deep into his stomach, pinning him to the ground like a butterfly to the wall. He started to choke on his own blood.
"that's the rage... the anger... this isn't you speaking..." He could feel his consciousness slipping. That was his end. He killed several thousands of monsters, only to die to the person he loved. "Please know that I... I am sorry for leaving you... I couldn't... I..."
Zoe felt her consciousness escape her slowly. She had to do something. Her twin swords laid on the ground below her, but she had no way of reaching them. Her mind clouded, but in last ditch attempt she grabbed her diadem and plunged it into Deimos eyes. The ear-piercing scream that followed got attention of everyone in the room. He let her go to pull the diadem from his eye. Zoe immediately exploited this. Before her legs even touched the ground she grabbed her blades and plunged both between plates in the armor of the god of dread. He slowly turned to golden dust, cursing at her in Ancient Greek.
Phobos roared when he saw his brother fall in battle. For the first time, true fear entered his heart. Never before they fought for such a high stakes and never before they lost so much. Zoe rose from the ground spinning her blades menacingly. She turned to the god of fear. her eyes were glowing with silver light and her whole posture was just screaming bad-ass warrior. "Surrend'r anon 'r thee shall shareth the fate of thy broth'r" [5] Her voice was loud and enhanced by the aura of power that surrounded her.
"You stupid bitch. You ruined everything. And for that, I will ruin the only thing you hold dear." With that, he extended his hand toward Percy and son of Poseidon was engulfed with orange flames. The dark, barely visible tether between him and Phobos was separated, but he didn't wake up. "Now he will suffer for all eternity for what you did. You will know the pain you bes..." He was interrupted when two blades were suddenly plunged in his stomach. The last thing he saw before turning into golden dust was Zoe's face, full of anger. It sent chill down his spine.
When Phobos disappeared, Zoe immediately dropped her swords and rushed to still unconscious Percy. The orange flames died, but they left a barely visible orange-tinted aura. She knelt by him and tried to wake him up. She pulled out some nectar from his belt and poured it down his throat. It had no real effect. While physically okay, Percy was trapped in the prison of his own mind.
"It's prudent." Her voice returned to normal and she now spoke in plain English. "Whatever curse Phobos put on him, I can't break it."
"I could... I could maybe enter his mind and break it from within..." M'gann offered. She was uncomfortable with the idea of going into Percy's mind, but that was maybe their last option.
"No. Don't you dare!" Zoe almost screamed at her. This caused Miss M. to recoil. "I am sorry. It's just that if it's what I think it is, he is now experiencing his worst nightmares. And you know what is his worst nightmare..." She didn't finish, but Kaldur did it for her.
"Tartarus... So no telepathy. That leaves Zatara as our only option of breaking the curse. We need to move..." He was interrupted when Percy started to voilently trash around. A large hole appeared on his stomach and blood slowly poured outside. "what's going on!?"
"It's worse than I thought. Whatever happens to Percy inside the dream will happen to his body here. Our only hope is for him to wake up on his own." Zoe almost broke down, but she managed to get a hold of herself. She leaned to his face and poured more nectar, trying to at least slow down his bleeding. She whispered to his ear. "I believe you can do it Perce. Please don't leave me alone..."
Percy was laying on the ground, bleeding heavily from his stomach. There was blood in his throat and he could feel some going into his lungs. Already he was hanging on the last strand of his consciousness. It was so tempting to just give up and be free, but he forced his hand. When he pulled out the blade more blood sprouted, but he poured water over his wounds. They closed, but he was still weak from the blood lose. He stood up, but his legs almost gave up and he would fall on his face if not for the enhanced reflexes all demigods had. Using drakon-bone sword as a cane he supported himself. Annabeth laughed and pulled her dagger. "So you still want to fight? I must say I admire your stupidity. But there is no way you win with me. I am a goddess. You are just a mortal." She took a battle stance and held her knife backward.
"I will not fight you Annabeth. I understand while you are angry at me. I was angry too. But please promise me that once I die you will move on. It pains me to see you twisted with anger..." He tried to walk to her but he fell on his stomach. Pain like no before coursed through him.
"Look around. We are in Tartarus. There is nothing here but despair and death. We are both lost cause. All. Because. Of YOU!" She lunged at him, but there was a flash of golden light and when Percy finally opened his eyes, he saw Annabeth's dagger being stopped by... Annabeth. She held the identical dagger, but that's where the similarities ended. She was wearing full Greek armor and her hair was perfect as always.
"You will leave this Seaweed brain alone you cursed beast. I command so in the name of Dionysus, the god of Madness." At her words the twisted Annabeth disappeared. She then walked to Percy and helped him sit down. The mosnters around them considered closing on them and taking advantage of the situation, but one look of the stormy grey eyes scared them away even farther than they stood before. "It's okay Percy. I banished her."
"Annabeth?"
"I am here. This was just a wraith. She exploited your emotions. I am sorry I cannot help more, but I am here as a favor from Mr. D. The pill of his essence will be gone... I am so sorry Percy. I can't stay long. My time is short and if Zeus finds out I am here I will be in much trouble." He wanted to interrupt her, but she kept going. "Please Percy, forgive me for what I did. I wasn't thinking clearly. Also, move on. Don't hold onto the memories of me. You have whole life in front of you and you can't waste it on a memory. I am the past and you should look at the future. Find new friends and hold to them. Don't play the lone wolf..." She started to fade away into golden light. "And don't be angry at Artemis for what she did." with that last sentence she was gone. Percy stood up with the last of his strength. His mind was clearing a bit, but he was still in Tartarus. He called his trident, but it still didn't respond. With resignation he picked a drakon-bone sword and taunted the monsters. "Come at me! Show me what you are made of! try and kill the son of Poseidon." The hurricane surrounded him once again and he went into battle.
Zoe was frantically trying to wake him up. Nectar, water, not even the slap on the face worked. It did leave a large red imprint of her hand though. She was barely keeping herself together. The longer he stayed that way the greater the chance of another injury. It was a miracle a wound this large closed, but it was still long way from being well. Hundreds of small cuts and bruises littered his body. She had to pour nectar on each and every one to close it. Death by a thousand cuts was not the most pleasant one. The problem was that she was curing the symptoms not the problem. He was still buried in his dream. She could hear him whisper taunts at the monsters. It pained her to see him that way.
"I called the league. They will be here as soon as possible." Kaldur returned to the room. Together with the others they managed to remove the rubble blocking the doors. It would go faster if Zoe helped, but she was too busy with helping Percy. "Should we move him outside?"
"No. I don't want to risk making things worse." She responded not even for a moment breaking the contact with him.
"I am no expert, but if the curse was created to put him through his worst nightmare, maybe the opposite could actually wake him up?" Tula suggested. They were all pretty shaken from their experience, but Tula, Garth and Kaldur did not reveal to the others what they saw. While the others left, they traveled to Atlantis only to find it in ruin. Tula and Garth's parents hid in the palace among other survivors. They joined them and tried to defend the palace from overwhelming forces, but ultimately they watched them die like everyone else that they knew.
"So what are you exactly suggesting?" Zoe beamed at hope.
"In the stories I read here on earth it was said that the kiss can break the curse." M'gann suggested. Zoe only frowned.
"That's just a fairy tale. It doesn't really work that way. Magic is much more complex than that." Garth explained to M'gann.
"Actually, this might work." Robin opened his gauntlet computer and started to run some tests. "In theory during kissing brain release endorphins at accelerated rate. Right now his body lacks crucial hormones to feel happiness. This might in turn lead to depression, apathy and... this." He waved over Percy.
"So someone just need to kiss him? That can't be that simple." Wally questioned the Boy Wonder.
"It isn't. I don't know the whole science behind it, but it must be someone with whom he actually shares the deep emotional connection else it won't work." At that everyone's gaze turned to Zoe. Her expression was actually full of fear. Sure, Percy was her friend, but that was it, right? Everything more was just some manipulation by Deimos and Phobos. But the manipulation mus have some basis... The memory of her talk with Lady Artemis came back to her.
"You like him, do you?" Artemis asked, earning a confused look from Zoe
"He is my friends if that is what you are asking. He is not like the other males. You said so yourself." Former lieutenant said.
"Yes, yes he is. Before we get to other things I want you to know this: You died in battle, effectively leaving the hunt. The oath no longer binds you to me."
Zoe was confused. Her mistress started to speak in mysteries and she couldn't figure this out. "I don't understand milady."
"You will when the time is right. Now to the other matters..."
The oath no longer binds you... Was that the way her lady tried to tell her that she allowed him to date Perseus? And why she did not inherit the domain of Chastity? That would be ridiculous. The goddess of maidens playing matchmaker... She looked at Percy and she saw the grimace on his face. He was in great pain, but there was also this determination of his. This was the hero ready to sacrifice the world to save a friend, but also to sacrifice himself to save the world. All the happy memories of them spending time together flooded her mind. How they fell asleep together watching Disney and woke up hugging, how he catered her to health when he first woke up. He even took her to the mall so she could get some of her own stuff. He was there for her when she needed him. He didn't laugh or try to take advantage of her weakness, but helped her find the strength she needed. He was also willing to open himself for her. Then his mind traveled further back, to the memories of before her death. He was willing to sacrifice the glory and swallow his pride, taking the sky so that her mistress had time to try and safe her. He gave up the nemean lion skin, his rightful trophy to protect the innocent Ophitaurus. He didn't even want it in the first place, arguing that he didn't deserve it. Perseus sure was something special. Someone special. Someone she could actually picture having feelings for.
With that in mind, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips. At first it was normal peck on the lips, but it quickly turned into passionate full blown kiss. Slowly, Percy's eyes fluttered open. At first he was surprised to see Zoe kissing him, but he ignored the questions that started to pop up in his head and kissed her back.
Scarecrow was running through the labyrinth of corridors in the castle. He hoped to escape with the vial of the blood of supposed New Goddess. He collected samples from every participant of the experiment, but she's proven the most resistant. If he could crack her secret, his toxin could be unstoppable. Somewhere ahead of him he heard a quick steps. A group of people was running this way. He understood that they would get him and take away everything he achieved. He couldn't have that. Looking around, he couldn't find any exit. The destroyed portrait at the wall glared at him. Even when it was cut and discolored, it retained the sense. The person on the picture was very similar to his co-worker. His face was almost identical and he wore very similar armor, only it wasn't black but burnt red. He held the very same sword in his hand and in the other there was a helmet that resembled Dragon's Head. Hoping for the best he pulled the torch next to the painting. The steps were almost there and his time was running out. To his relief the secret entrance opened.
He jumped and closed the painting behind himself. Through the eyeholes he could actually watch as the whole Justice League run next to him. Doctor Crane held his breath, hoping that the leaguers wouldn't pick up on him. But luckily they had other business to attend to and even if they noticed him the let him be for now. Scarecrow turned around to see where he ended. There were stairs leading down. He noticed a lever on the wall. Deciding to take a risk he pulled the lever. One by one, the torches along the stairs lit. Now feeling encouraged, Crane walked down. He entered a square chamber with elevation in the middle. On said elevation there was a single, richly decorated coffin. It was sealed, but it wouldn't stop him.
"Fascinating!"
Still gripping the vial tightly, he used his clawed hand to remove the seals and move the lid. Once it fell on the ground dust rose in the air causing him to cough. Once he got a hold of himself he looked down. For the first time in decades Doctor Johnathan Crane, also known as Scarecrow, felt fear. Inside the coffin was a man from the picture. It was obvious that they were the same person, but at the same time completely different. His skin was pale as paper. His hands almost empty of any muscles. Fingers, long and thin, ended with sharp nails that were more like claws. His face was the most scary part. It retained the human look except for his mouth. Two fangs shoot out. It was irrational from Crane, who was supposedly unable to fear anything to dread from a corpses, but the aura surrounding this body evoked an attack of panic.
In this state of utter dread, Scarecrow accidentally let go of the vial, which shattered on the face of this man in the coffin. Some of it got inside his mouth. Whoever it was, he opened his eyes. They were bloody red and black with no trace of any white. He leaped at Crane and bit his neck. Slowly, he drained his blood but stopped before crane could die.
"Thank you, child of Fear. I needed it. The blood of my slayer brought me back. But I will need to regain my strength before I can go after her. To do that, I will need help. You will do nicely for now." He had a thick accent and he held himself like an aristocracy. "You will help me, right?"
Crane was trembling now. His suspicions were just proven correct. "Of course, Count Dracula... I will serve you..." He bowed. "Whatever you wish..."
A/N Surprise. You wanted to know what Artemis and Zoe talked about? Welp. Maybe next chapter... Or maybe next story... Oh Who am I kidding just read and review. I will get to this when the time is right.
Perzoe is sailing and nothing can stop it now... Well, maybe except for the ice berg. If someone decides to write a review saying that it's too soon... I say go and write your own story instead, because this one is mine. :) Have a nice day everyone and enjoy the life.
[1] You are mistaken. I am no mere mortal. I will bring you down and make you regret that you dared to play with my feelings. I will show you true fear. For I am The lady of the hunt, the queen of the moon, the mistress of forests. I am Zoe Nightshade, the heiress of Artemis. And you dared to attack me and my friends. (translated using English to Shakespeare translator found in google. Sorry for butchering the language.)
[2] You are still mistaken yet again. My lady is no more and now I hold the power she bestowed upon me. I am the new goddess of the moon and hunt in this world.
[3] Mistaking fear for tactic will be your demise. I avoided hurting my comrades, but now there is no one to be hurt but the two of you. And you are on my home turf now.
[4] There will be no escape from my wrath. You made a mistake and now you will suffer for it.
[5] Surrender now or you will share the fate of your brother