AN: Lost power… so yay. Posting this with a hotspot using the last of my phone's battery life.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Several days after introducing Apollo to Rachel, Percy found himself in the Olympus throne room once more, this time standing before just Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Artemis. Thalia was also present, standing somewhere off to the side.
"So, Perseus," Zeus opened, "You say you have a plan to combine the Greek and Roman camps without bloodshed between our children?"
"I do." Percy nodded. "What has been the cause of the largest lasting grudge between Greece and Rome?"
Athena's eyes widened in realization. "The Athena Parthenos."
"Indeed," Percy confirmed.
Hera cocked her head. "Are you saying that the Greeks would forgive the Romans if the Athena Parthenos was returned to Camp Half-Blood?"
In response, Percy raised an eyebrow at Athena. "Would you, Lady Athena?"
She considered for a moment before nodding confidently. "I suppose I would. I can live with the way they desecrated my name if they return my symbol to Greece."
Percy smiled. "Then I suggest sending a quest made of Athena and Minerva children to find and retrieve the Athena Parthenos."
"Multiple?" Athena asked.
"Yes," Percy confirmed. "Have you ever sent more than one at once to follow the Mark?"
"I haven't." Athena shook her head. "There hasn't ever been more than one capable at any given time."
"Sister, would it not be more strategic to send a team of slightly less capable demigods than a single capable one? It is how we operate in the Hunt," Artemis piped up.
Percy smiled gratefully at her. He knew that Athena would take suggestions better from not only a fellow Olympian, but another woman and her favorite sister to boot. Artemis smiled back gently in response– a fact that went unnoticed by the other gods.
Athena pondered Artemis' point for a moment before inclining her head. "I suppose it does make sense. Perseus, do you think they could succeed?"
"Yes," Percy stated confidently. "Annabeth did it alone before in what would be three years from now. However, she just barely succeeded and she and I fell into Tartarus during her rescue."
The gods' faces all paled at the mention of the Pit, but Artemis also felt a foreign pang in her heart at the mention of the daughter of Athena. She had seen how Percy had reacted when the girl had been kidnapped by Thorn back at Westover Hall. But then again, since he had come back from the future, he seemed to pay far less attention to her than he did before. Artemis was certain that Annabeth was not the wife that Percy had so lovingly spoke of on the battlefield at Mount Tam.
"Very well," Athena nodded. "I will inform my children of their task."
Zeus, however satisfied with the current plan, saw another issue. "While this is all well and good, Perseus, we still have a problem with the Romans. Although they do not share the same level of hatred that is held by the Greeks, they have always seen them as inferior. How do you suppose we address that issue?"
Percy donned a mischievous grin. "I know the exact location of the lost Eagle of the 12th Legion. Would it not be an ample peace offering if it were to be recaptured and returned to the legion by the Greeks?"
"Hmm. An interesting plan, Perseus."
"Thank you, Lord Zeus."
"And who do you suggest will go to retrieve the Standard?"
"Well," Percy began carefully. "Thalia and I are by far the strongest Greeks."
Percy saw Zeus' eyebrows furrow in anger.
"That are not bound by the Ancient Laws," he hastily followed up.
Zeus's posture relaxed as he nodded.
"I suppose that is true. You are the only god unbound by the Laws, and Thalia is my daughter, after all."
"Exactly, Lord Zeus." Percy nodded with mock obedience that it seemed everybody but Zeus could pick up on.
"So you and Thalia?"
Percy was struck by sudden inspiration. "Lord Zeus, the place where we are going is in the land beyond the gods."
"Alaska?"
"Indeed." Percy nodded. "And as such, I am not confident in my ability to safely protect your daughter."
Artemis, having seen Percy in action first hand, knew this was a lie, but she was curious as to what his angle was with this line of argument.
Percy, knowing that he could basically get Zeus to do exactly what he wanted to do by playing his cards right and putting himself down just the right amount and in the right places, continued on. "After all, despite being a god, I am only a son of Poseidon."
Zeus nodded seriously, as if following along with Percy's flawless logic.
"What do you suggest then, Perseus?"
The tips of the fingers of Percy's left hand twitched minutely from their place at his side in nervousness. What would she think of this? Well, here goes nothing.
"Might I suggest that Artemis joins our quest? Three is a powerful number in our pantheon, and who better than another daughter of the most powerful god? In addition, Artemis is a powerful and skilled fighter in her own right, and has a considerable amount of leeway when it comes to the Ancient Laws, giving her nearly as much freedom as I when it comes to direct interference."
Artemis blushed at his praise. All this political maneuvering to get her on the quest? The only question was why…
The truth was, Percy just wanted to spend more time with the woman that he loved. But she had no way of knowing that, and neither did Zeus, who was nodding thoughtfully.
"Very well. Artemis, you can leave the Hunt in the hands of your lieutenant. Athena, go inform your children of their mission. Thalia, you may leave for Alaska with Perseus and Artemis whenever all three of you are ready. The camps have not interacted yet, so there is no urgent time constraint."
After giving sharp nods to their father, Artemis and Athena flashed out of the throne room, leaving Zeus, Hera, Percy, and Thalia.
Hera chose this moment to speak.
"Perseus. Was there a specific reason that you requested that I be here for this meeting?"
Percy smiled kindly. "Well, they say that behind every powerful man is a powerful woman. I thought that you might want to be aware of the plan and assist in informing the rest of the council. The idea to combine the camps was ultimately yours to begin with, after all."
Hera smiled back at his reasoning and nodded. "Thank you, Perseus. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. We will inform the council at the next meeting."
Percy nodded. "We will take our leave, then."
"Good luck, Perseus." Zeus said.
With a final slight incline of his head that somewhat resembled a bow, Percy placed his hand on Thalia's shoulder and flashed them out of the throne room. Percy was well practiced at instinctively sensing the location of and teleporting to the Hunt due to how regularly he stayed with them in his previous life. So without a second thought, he brought them to the Hunters' camp that was somewhere in… somewhere. New Jersey maybe? He always went by feel more than actual geographic location.
/
"Hunters, gather around!" Artemis called.
Girls dressed in silver parkas, camo pants, and combat boots began trickling out of tents and making their way through the camp.
"I'd like to introduce you to your newest sister, Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."
Thalia was greeted with whoops of welcome as she waved nervously at the group of girls.
"Unfortunately, she won't be staying for long. Thalia will be accompanying Perseus and I," she gestured at Percy, who was standing slightly away from the crowd, "On a mission for Olympus."
Some suspicious and somewhat disgusted sneers were thrown Percy's way, but were easily brushed off as he was already quite used to them. Though they had lessened significantly as he had become almost like a surrogate father– like Artemis was a surrogate mother– to the Hunters in his previous life, there were still occasional sneers from those who could not see past their hatred for men, or more frequently, the newer Hunters who had not gotten a chance to know him yet.
Artemis, though, was impressed by the confidence shown by the handsome man in the face of such hostility.
Whoa! Handsome?!
Artemis mentally shrugged. It was an objective fact. It didn't mean anything.
She refocused her attention on her hunters. "While we are gone, Zoë will lead the Hunt, as usual. I will not force you girls to go to Camp Half-Blood, but do attempt to avoid dangerous situations as I will be unable to aid you."
Delighted cheers erupted from the Hunters, who had… less than favorable opinions of the verm– Campers.
Artemis, meanwhile, turned to Zoë. "You may inform them of our situation with Perseus, your quest, and the battle with the titans."
Zoë nodded, knowing it was more of an order than a possible suggestion. "Yes, milady."
/
Artemis pulled Percy to the side, away from the campfire, after dinner with the Hunters.
"Where exactly in Alaska will we be going, Perseus?"
"Percy," Percy corrected automatically in a rather petulant manner.
Artemis gave a small, fond smile at his antics but raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.
"Hubbard Glacier. Last time, we went to free Thanatos, who was being guarded by Alcyoneus."
Artemis' eyes widened. "Alcyoneus… the Gigantes? That's the threat?"
Percy nodded grimly and considered how much he should tell her, before deciding that if he were to tell anyone everything, it would be Artemis. "Yes. And they will be aided by the Earth Mother."
"Gae–" She cut herself off abruptly. Names have power, after all. "You had better have a plan, Percy."
Percy placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry. I do. I doubt Alcyoneus has reformed by now, but Mother Earth will surely accelerate her plans, as she was planning to strike when Olympus was still recovering from the war with the titans."
Artemis' eyebrows furrowed. "There is not much to recover from, though."
"This time around, there isn't," Percy said. "But that's because we were able to stop things early on. And plus, last time, Typhon was freed from his prison. The fight with him is what had actually drained most of the gods' energy."
Artemis gasped. "How was Typhon freed?!"
Percy's cheeks blushed golden. "I don't wanna talk about it."
Artemis' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Okay… so back to the quest?"
"Right." Percy nodded. "I should warn you– last time, we passed through the headquarters of the Amazons. Although it's not necessary to do so this time, they could be valuable allies in the future."
"Hera's little band of bitches," Artemis seethed.
Percy raised an eyebrow and gazed over the Hunters' camp. He had always found his wife's rivalry with Hera's group of warrior women rather amusing.
Artemis caught on to where he was looking and flushed, half in embarrassment and half in anger.
"Shut up." Artemis pouted cutely and Percy laughed.
"Come on, Arty. Even you have to admit that they're a force to be reckoned with." Percy rubbed her head and mussed up her hair before freezing abruptly. He had forgotten that he was definitely not in his own time, this was definitely not his Artemis, and she was definitely liable to kill him for even touching her, let alone in a manner so casual and intimate.
Surprisingly, she didn't. In fact, she didn't even comment on it. They would later both reflect on the event and ponder the motivations for her lack of reaction, but for the time being, were both content to enjoy the comfortingly familiar contact that they shared with a small smile.
/
AN: Pertemis is starting to pick up, hold onto your seat belts… belt buckles? How does the saying go? Hat? Buckle your seat belts! That's what it was!
Also, I won't be following the Athena Parthenos quest; it'll just happen in the background. Not as interesting in my opinion and it'll end up being a waste of space.