Hey guys!

So this is the last chapter of Part Two. I've got plans for part three, and don't worry: it will be a fun one, but plans aren't finalized yet.

So yeah.

Buckle up, children. This chapter is heavy.

Do leave a review for me, thank you, as you should know by now that I love reviews.

Thanks.

Enjoy!

Numb.

Artemis had sensed a disturbance in the forest, what with all the wild animals in the area crying out for help. She had arrived as fast as she could, bow at the ready to deal out some serious divine retribution. Who would dare deface her domain like this?

When she arrived, the rampage had already stopped. A giant scorpion was standing over the nearly-dead body of…

Without thinking, she took out her hunting knives, each wickedly sharp and as long as her arm. With two precise strikes, she decapitated the scorpion. It fell to the ground, dead.

She ran over to Orion.

The giant met her eyes, trying to convey an apology. Then the light faded from his eyes. Literally, as his eyes were mechanical.

No...she thought desperately. There was no way that he…

But denial and self-delusion were never her strong suit. Some of the dead animals still had arrows in them. Arrows from Orion's quiver. And he had been trying to apologize.

Why?

She turned to the forest. Tell me what happened, she commanded.

So they did. Orion's rampage. His madness. The arrival of the scorpion and the Earth goddess.

She took a deep breath, cupping her hand over his mouth. She could honor her friend, at least.

She said the required blessings and watched the silvery dust fly into the sky.

Orion the Constellation...yes, that does have a nice ring to it.

"It's done," Dionysus said. "Are you sure-"

"No problem," Apollo assured him, grinning cheerfully. "If my plan works out, Artemis wouldn't even be mad. Orion was dangerous. We would help her see that. It's for her own good!"

Dionysus frowned, "Don't you think that a decision like that should be up to her?"

"Nah," Apollo wrapped his arm around the wine god's shoulders. "You worry too much. Thanks for the help, bro."

With that, he practically skipped off. Perhaps he should compose a poem in celebration.

So when that night, a new constellation rose above the horizon, bearing the image of a man carrying a bow, Apollo scowled.

The giant still hadn't lost his sister's favor, then.

He trudged back to the site where Orion had fallen. Orion's body was gone: turned into a constellation by his sister. The scorpion, however, laid where it had died.

Apollo spoke the required blessings and watched the golden dust fly into the sky.

Scorpio took its place in the night sky. Always chasing Orion, so he would never have peace, even in the stars.

A risky move, to be sure. A petty one, too. But Apollo wasn't a rational god, was he?

Artemis watched the sky that night.

Usually, Zoe was the one who liked stargazing, but Artemis made an exception to honor her fallen friend. Orion rose up in the sky, bow still at the ready. She hoped he was content.

She blinked.

Is that-?

Another constellation had appeared. One that looked awfully like a certain arachnid she had seen earlier that day.

No…

There was only one way to make sure. She ran.

At the spot the scorpion had fallen, the body was gone. In its place was a slight shimmering of gold.

Apollo had been there.

Why would Apollo-?

Her eyes widened. The mistrust, the distance as of late...Apollo had always deemed it his duty to "protect" her out of some misplaced sense of chivalry.

He wouldn't, would he?

Then why would he put the scorpion in the sky to torment her friend?

She gripped her bow tighter. She had a brother to hunt down.

Orion blinked his mechanical eyes open and immediately closed them again.

Tartarus.

The realm of his father.

And he was the disobedient son, trapped there with him.

Surely one could see why this situation was not ideal.

Even if his father was too asleep to be aware of his presence, his brethren wouldn't be. And he knew for a fact that a good majority of them were after his blood after his refusal to participate in their rebellion.

He was, in short, quite screwed.

Speaking of brethren…

Damasen was here, too, wasn't he? He was one of the nice ones. They hadn't been extremely close back when they were both on Earth, but surely he had the decency to help out a kindred spirit. Sacred hospitality was still a thing down here, was it not?

A bubble of hope started to rise in him.

So all he had to do was find Damasen, explain his situation, and dodge his other brethren in the meantime while traversing the unfamiliar terrain without a map or any semblance of knowledge of what lay ahead.

Yep, that sounded easy.

Assuming he's not in hiding too, because the other giants were also after his blood, his brain supplied.

Orion kindly told his brain to shut up.

He counted his arrows, checked the condition of his bow, and took inventory. Then he began trudging into an uncertain future.

Apollo should have known better.

He really should have known better.

It was somewhat regrettable, then, that he was having second thoughts about his part in Orion's death while staring down the operational end of his sister's bow.

He held up his arms in surrender, "Look, sis, I can explain-"

"Can you? Can you?" Forgoing the bow, Artemis sent her brother skidding backwards several cubits with a roundhouse kick to the stomach.

He hit the ground with an audible crack, tasting ichor in his mouth. Without missing a beat, Artemis dragged him up again and headbutted him.

Something else cracked.

"Why?" she demanded finally, voice shaking with primal rage.

Apollo took a deep breath to steady himself, "He wasn't good for you, sis. He was going to lure you into forgetting your vows, and-" he was cut off as she shoved him to the ground.

"You have no right," she aimed a kick at him. "No right to take what is mine, what is precious to me!" She pummeled him. "Why can't any of you just LEAVE ME BE?"

The last bit was a primal scream.

She withdrew, suddenly calm. "I believe you promised, brother, that you would respect my decisions. I see that making other people's decisions for them has become your trademark."

It was off putting, how devoid of emotion her voice was.

"I," Apollo coughed, "I didn't want to lose you."

Artemis's voice was cold, "Then you really should have thought this through before killing my friend, brother. You already did."

She left him there, covered in his own ichor.

In the end, everyone lost.

So yeah.

End of part two.

I do have plans for part 3, and I do have ideas, but the issue is that there's way too many ideas, and I really do want to continue that pattern of ten chapters per part.

And then there was the issue of whether I should tack it on to the end of this fic, or just mark this one as complete and start a sequel.

I'm leaning towards tacking it on, but...*shrugs*

Leave a review if you have a specific preference, I guess.

So thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!