"So, how have you been, Perseus?"
"Better than you may think," the man replied. He pulled his mask off, and with a flex of his fingers, crushed it to dust. The white particles faded out of existence. Despite how odd it was, Poseidon paid no attention to that. He was much more concerned with his son's eyes. They were the complete wrong color; black sclera, where it should have been white, and a sickly yellow instead of sea-green pupils. However, as he watched, the color bled out of Percy's eyes, until they were back to normal.
"How'd you know it was me?" Percy asked, head tilted in curiosity.
"Hades' comment caused me to reach with my divine essence. When it resonated with you, I knew that you were a child of mine, and considering how all the others have been dead since a hundred years ago…"
Percy grimaced at the mention of his long-gone half-siblings. He often wondered what it would have been like if World War 2 hadn't happened, and the pact of the Big Three hadn't been made. Would he have had company in Cabin Three? Someone to guide him, teach him about his heritage? That had always been a point of contention with Percy. Even though he had help during battles, everyone seemed to assume he knew all that he needed to, and never spent the time to just tell him about life as a demigod. He'd had to figure that out the hard way, both through his perilous quests, and just some good-old fashioned research.
"Well, ya got me," Percy said, spreading his hands. "What do ya wanna talk about?"
"What do I want to talk about? How about everything!? You were in a coma for two years, then suddenly, I receive a sacrifice from you- and don't think I didn't know it was you- and it's the Minotaur's skull! And now, you show up on Olympus uninvited, somehow able to Shadow Travel-!"
"Shadow Walk. There's a difference."
Poseidon rolled his eyes, then clapped a hand on Percy's shoulder, who twitched imperceptibly. "The point is, my son, so much about you has changed. And I would like to know- if you'll tell me."
It was Percy's turn to roll his eyes. "Dad, relax. Seriously, do you want high blood pressure like Zeus?"
"I think it's a bit too late for that. Now, explain."
Percy sighed, a bit annoyed at the demanding nature of his father. "Alright, so it goes like this; yes, I was in a coma for like two years. I woke up, Apollo put me through some physical therapy- 'cause my body was fucked up after lying down for that long- and then I went on a little vacation. I just got back, and I was bored, so I came here, and you know what happens from there."
Poseidon was silent for a moment, face screwed up in confusion. Finally, the Sea God exploded. "That explains nothing! Where did you go during that month!? Why in Hades's name were you in a coma!?"
"Nunya."
Poseidon blinked. Was that actually and answer? "I've never heard of it. Where is this nunya?"
"It ain't a place."
"Then… What is it?"
"It means, nunya damn business. Seriously, if it's something important, I would've told you. So, are we done here?"
The god glared at his son, not very pleased with the dismissal. He was an Olympian, dammit!
"Fine, we are done. For now. You will be explaining this to me one day," Poseidon threatened.
"Sure," Percy muttered, waving his hand dismissively. "Ah, wait one second." Much to the god's surprise, black flames sprung from his offspring's hand. Even more shocking was when Percy brought the hand up to his face, and covered it in the fire. When the son of the Sea God lowered his hand, the bone-white mask he had been wearing earlier was once more in place.
"Wha…?" Poseidon whispered.
Percy raised his left index finger over where his mouth would have been, had the mask not been hiding it. "This is one of those things I'll explain when we have that little sit-down you mentioned earlier. Anyways, I'm ready."
The father nodded mutely, too startled to say anything. He grabbed his son's shoulder, and flashed them to Artemis' camp in California. Once there, Poseidon nodded to the masked demigod, and teleported to his palace in Atlantis. He had much thinking to do.
Meanwhile, Percy had over a dozen bows pointed at him. He casually raised his hands in surrender.
"I come in peace, mortals," he said, flashing a peace sign. It didn't seem to work- in fact, his attempt at lightening the mood seemed to backfire, and the ladies tensed up more.
"Alright, that didn't work… Artemis is expecting me, so if someone could go get her, that'd be nice."
The Huntresses had a quick, quiet discussion, before one of them, Thalia, scampered off to find the goddess. The remaining Huntresses did not move from their positions.
"...Nice weather we're having."
No reaction from the Hunters.
"Yeesh, tough crowd."
Thankfully, the standoff ended when Thalia returned with Artemis, who gestured at her handmaidens to lower their weapons. They did so warily, but not willing to disobey their mistress.
"So, spy, it seems you've not tried to escape," Artemis said disdainfully.
"Yeah, kinda hard to do without becoming a pincushion," Percy retorted. Artemis smirked, and gestured at her ladies again, telling them to return to their business. Then, she turned her full attention on Perseus.
"What were you doing on Olympus, spy?" she asked, curious.
"I told you, I was bored."
"So you decided that risking death was the best way to alleviate your boredom?"
"Well… I didn't really decide anything. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, ya know?
"I know that you seem to be as stupid as other males."
Percy laid a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt. That hurts. Right here," Percy said, poking his chest for emphasis.
"Weak as other men, too."
Percy rolled his eyes, not that Artemis could see. "Whatever. By the way, why am I here?"
"You are here so I can keep an eye on you, determine your loyalties, and put you down if you are a threat to Olympus."
"Aw, c'mon, you can't really think lil' ol' me can actually threaten you all-powerful deities. After all, I am just a weak male," Percy said mockingly.
"We shall see. For now, we shall lay down some ground rules. First, no bothering my Hunters. Second, no escaping. Third, if I tell you to do something, you do it. That is all."
"Hold up, who says I'm gonna work for you?"
"I did. Just now. Are you deaf?"
"No, I heard you. I'm just saying that you have no authority over me. Sure, I'll stay away from your girl scouts, but otherwise I'll do as I damn well please. Like escaping, for instance!" With that, Percy jumped away from Artemis' swing, then sprinted over to a shadow. He dove for it… And ended up face planting in the dirt.
"What!?" he cried, shocked. He didn't have time to utter the various swears running through his head, because a swift kick from Artemis connected with his prone form, sending him a few dozen feet through the forest, until he hit a tree.
"Ugh…" the demigod groaned. He was disoriented, and he was sure something broke on impact. He sat up unsteadily, and was met with an arrow bare inches from his face.
"Uh… Hi. What the fuck did you do to me?" he asked.
"I did nothing. I asked Hades to help me by preventing you from using Shadow Travel."
"Shadow Walking," Percy corrected, as if by reflex. His response was for the arrow to inch closer to his face. "Okay, shutting up."
Artemis smirked. When all else failed, pure violence worked wonders in getting people to cooperate. Maye Ares was on to something…
"Up!" the goddess commanded. Percy obeyed, not really seeing much of a way out of this mess. "And while you're at it, take off the mask!"
"... What mask?" Percy asked. Artemis' eye twitched in annoyance.
"The mask on your face, you fool!"
"Oh, this?" Percy asked, tapping on the bone-white substance.
"Yes, you simpleton!"
"No can do."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Ya see, this isn't really a mask- it's actually my face."
Artemis' lip curled into a sneer. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that!?" she cried, infuriated.
"Well, there was this accident when I was younger involving acid. A lot of acid, and-"
"Alright, fine! Keep the stupid mask on, you insect!" Artemis interrupted, getting more and more pissed off.
"Hey, you're the one who asked!"
"I asked for the truth, not some fictitious story! Now, move!"
Artemis shoved the demigod back through the woods, and stopped in a clearing a fair distance away from the rest of her Hunters.
"You will be staying here, and if you try to escape, I will track you down and eviscerate you," Artemis told him.
"Woah. Aren't you supposed to, I dunno, keep me alive?"
"If you try to escape, I will be forced to assume it is to get to your master, to report on your findings. Olympus does not take kindly to spies."
"Alright, I guess," Percy conceded, seeing the logic behind the decision, rude though it was. He looked around the clearing, noticing that it was bare. "So, I guess I don't get a tent or anything?"
Artemis smirked at him, enjoying the power she held over this spy. "Of course not. If you wish to sleep well, then you must procure your own accommodations."
"...How pissed would you be if I stole a tent from you?"
"You would lose every single one of your fingers- and your toes, for good measure."
"Ugh, fine. You can go now, I guess."
Artemis nodded, and walked back in the direction of her camp. She stopped at the edge of the clearing, and turned her head to speak to Percy once more. "And remember, stay away from my Hunters."
"You got it, captain," Percy replied, saluting cheekily. Artemis clenched her fists in irritation, but let it drop, and went on her way.
Alone in the clearing, Percy sat down on the ground. "So… No tent… And I'm sleeping outside... This is some bullshit." After a few minutes of cloud watching, Percy had an idea. He closed his eyes, and prayed to his father. 'Hey, Dad, Artemis is being mean and won't give me a tent. Think you can hook me up?'
When nothing came after five minutes of waiting, Percy rolled his eyes and closed them once more. 'If you help me out, I'll tell you everything sooner.'
That got the Sea God's attention, and a sea green tent suddenly appeared next to the demigod. "Thanks, Dad," he said out loud.
It took a little while to set up his tent, since he couldn't clearly remember his lessons from Camp Half-Blood, but he managed. Percy had just hammered in the last peg to hold the tent up when he noticed something strange; the zipper on the front was now a door. Confused, the son of Poseidon opened it, peering inside wearily. It looked exactly like his mom's apartment, the one she moved into after Gabe got stoned. A brilliant smile lit up the man's face.
Percy explored the apartment, to make sure it was truly the same. The only difference was that there was one room less, probably because Percy was going to be the only person staying there. On the kitchen counter, he found an envelope. It had a border of sea shells, as well as a picture of a sand dollar in the center. Obviously, it was a letter from Poseidon.
It read, 'I will hold you to that promise. I expect a full explanation within a year.'
Percy smirked. A year was more than enough time to get his shit together. He could even prepare a whole powerpoint (not that he actually would)!
For now, though, Percy would simply kick back and relax. It was nice to be back on Gaia.
Percy's good mood lasted about a week, before he got sick of everything. Artemis was just so annoying, with her constant demands, and it was like she was always on her period, with how her mood shifted so suddenly. One minute, she was having fun with her handmaidens, then the next she was all ready to castrate him.
"Seriously," Percy muttered to himself one day, while resting on a tree stump in the forest, "Can anyone be more bipolar?" He was currently a ways away from the Hunter's camp, in an effort to get some alone time.
It had been a long day of avoiding Artemis and her Hunters, while at the same time staying close enough to not be considered escaping, but Percy knew he toed the line excessively. He got his warning when Artemis herself teleported in front of him, and he nearly pissed himself. She had looked ready to skin him!
Instead, all she did was inform him that she had turned his avoidance of her into a hunting exercise for her Hunters. Apparently, whoever found him first would get first pick at dinner time, which meant picking the best piece of meat, which Percy thought was a pretty damned good idea.
"Can I get first pick if I find myself?" he asked the goddess.
The baleful look she gave him sent shivers down his spine, and he felt the need to defend himself.
"Obviously not physically. Like, I'm right here," he clarified, pointing at himself for emphasis, "I meant if I do some soul-searching and find out something new about myself."
The glare did not diminish- if anything, it increased in intensity.
"Can you maybe stop looking at me like? Seriously, you're friggin scary."
Artemis took a few steps forward, fingering the hunting knife at her side. She kept approaching, and Percy walked backwards, until he hit a tree. With nowhere to go, he was left sweating as Artemis stood mere inches away, her silver eyes boring into his yellow pupils.
"I may reward you with first pick, if you… Take your mask off."
Percy gasped, astounded at the cruelty of his captor. "You bitch!" he cried, earning himself a swift kick to the shin. "Ow, fuck! How could you give me such an impossible choice!?"
"It is quite a bit simpler than you believe," Artemis replied, "Either you do it, or you don't."
"Didn't I already tell you that this isn't a mask!? Are you deaf or something!?"
In hindsight, that was not the best thing to say, not when he was kneeling down on the ground, massaging his abused shin. This time, Percy's reward for his insolence was another kick, but to the head this time. The point of Artemis' metal-toed boot slammed into the upper-left corner of Percy's mask, cracking the bone-white substance.
"Oh shit."
Artemis was just as stunned as the demigod, but she recovered much quicker- probably because she didn't just get kicked in the face. Her shock morphed into malicious glee, and she lashed out with another kick. This blow had much more force, and caused Percy's head to snap to the right. This time, an entire section of his mask crumbled; the portion which covered his forehead. The bottoms of his eyebrows were visible- any lower, and Artemis may have seen his eyes, as opposed to the yellow glow which emanated from the mask's eyeholes.
"Fuck!" Percy shouted, panicking. He dove away from another kick, and began scrambling on all fours away from her. Once he was a few feet away, he pushed himself to his feet, and began full out sprinting.
"Hades! If you can hear me, don't fuck me over now!" Percy yelled. With that, he dove into the shadows of the nearest tree, praying to every god he knew- except Artemis, of course- that this worked. Much to his eternal relief, it did, and Percy silently cheered as he felt himself sink into the darkness. Much to his eternal displeasure, however, he also felt a hand wrap around his ankle, and he panicked.
The shadows were much stronger than Artemis, so this could end in two ways. Either Artemis ripped his leg off, and he spent the better part of a day growing it back, or the goddess would be pulled in with him.
Right now, he wished he had just lost the limb. The grip on his ankle did not relent, and remained steady as Percy sunk deeper and deeper into the shadows. He turned to look at his leg, and watched as a foreign hand passed into the realm of darkness, followed by an arm, a shoulder, and the rest of the goddess.
Percy saw the shock on Artemis' face as the biting cold hit her, and watched as she steadily grew purple, the void pulling all the air out of her lungs. Acting quickly, he grabbed the goddess, moments before her weakening body let go of his leg. That would have been especially bad, because she did not have the ability to traverse the shadows, and without an anchor, she could have gotten lost in the blackness, never to be seen again. Imagine trying to explain that to Zeus.
Instinct took over, and Percy lunged for the nearest opening out of the realm between worlds, dragging the Moon Goddess with him. They burst out of the shadow of a tree near where they entered, since Percy had not been there long enough to really get any distance.
Percy immediately laid Artemis down on the forest floor, watching worriedly as she gasped and spluttered for air, her eyebrows covered in white frost, and eyelids weighed down by frozen eyelashes. Slowly, the purple coloring in her face receded, allowing the pale tone of her natural skin to show once more. The ice melted, allowing her silver eyes to open once more. She remained gasping for another minute, while her body rested after being exposed to the void. Eventually though, she sat up, shivering and exhausted.
Percy heaved a heavy sigh of relief. "Artemis? Can you hear me?" he asked quietly. When there was no response, he slowly laid a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the way her parka was stiff from the chill. He shook her a bit, lightly so as not to startle her. FInally, the goddess looked at him.
"Can you hear me?" he asked once more. She didn't respond, and then the demigod noticed the golden ichor leaking from her ears. It seemed that the sudden, extreme drop in ear pressure had demolished her eardrums.
"Shit…" Percy muttered. He stood up, intent on going to get Thalia or one of the other Hunters, when he was stopped by a light tugging on the leg of his jeans. He looked down, and was surprised it was Artemis who had grabbed onto him.
"N-n-no… Esc-c-caping…" she muttered, through chattering teeth and frozen lips.
Percy rolled his eyes. This was not the time for this. He tried to move again, only for Artemis' grip to remain strong, and she murmured the same warning. Percy knew he had to get her some help, but if she refused to let him go get help, then there was only one thing left to do; take her to help.
Percy quickly gathered the goddess up in his arms- one under her knees, the other behind her back- and stood. She didn't fight, but then again, she was probably far too exhausted for such a thing.
Now, the only issue was getting her back to the camp. He had no clue where it was, and wasted a few precious moments turning around and about in an attempt to reorient himself. Unfortunately, all that succeeded in doing was making him even more hopelessly confused.
"Dammit…" Percy muttered, before getting frustrated enough to start running in a random direction. It was better than standing there like a dumbass.
After about a minute of his directionless dash, Percy noticed something tugging on the front of his black t-shirt. He stopped running, lest he trip, and looked down. It was Artemis, who was feebly pointing off to Percy's left. Was that where the Hunter's camp was?
Considering it was his only lead, Percy took off in the direction Artemis pointed, doing his best to move quickly while also not jostling Artemis. He knew how painful it was to move while you were nearly frozen; the stiffness of your joint caused you to feel like you were going to shatter into a thousand pieces with every twitch.
It took a good five minutes before Percy broke out of the tree line, and stumbled across a collection of silver tents.
"Hey!" the demigod called out to the nearest hunter- he thought her name was Allie or something- who looked immensely shocked to see him and her mistress. "Get Thalia, tell her Artemis needs help! And grab some ambrosia and nectar while you're at it- I'm going to put her near the fire!"
Thankfully, the girl ran off without question. He did not need her to make a scene right now. Percy jogged toward the center of the tents, approaching the pile of logs in the center. He set Artemis down on the log closest to the fireplace.
He was relieved to see that the Moon Goddess was feeling the heat from the fire. He watched as she inched forward a little it, to be closer to the flames, then glanced up when he heard footsteps. It was Thalia, carrying a bag of ambrosia and a canteen of what Percy assumed to be nectar.
She was astounded at how vulnerable Artemis looked, and immediately went to work feeding the goddess the healing food and drink. She spared a moment to glare at Percy, only to have her eyes widen when she noticed the way the top of his mask was gone. The remaining edges were jagged and uneven, indicating that the damage was caused by brute force.
Percy caught her staring, and scolded her for taking her attention off Artemis. The daughter of Zeus turned back to her mistress, feeding the goddess some more nectar and ambrosia, before sitting next to her on the log. She turned to Percy, who was standing off to Artemis' right.
"What happened?" she asked, voice full of accusation.
Percy sighed, having figured he would be blamed immediately. "Let's wait until Artemis recovers, so she can clear this up."
Thalia's glare intensified, but Percy ignored it. She was nowhere near as intimidating as her half-sister, who currently trembling like a leaf in a hurricane, so Percy had a feeling he wouldn't be cowering anytime soon.
It was a very tense ten minutes, waiting for Artemis to get her wits about her, but it finally happened. Percy silently sighed in relief, while Thalia, and the rest of the Hunters who had gathered at some point, fussed over the goddess.
"Well, boy? Lady Artemis has recovered- speak!" Thalia demanded.
Percy crossed his arms, and stared directly in Thalia's eyes. The sickly yellow color unnerved her, but she stubbornly refused to turn away.
"Ask her," Percy said, nodding to Artemis, "It's her own damned fault, anyways. Honestly, doin' some stupid shit like that…" He trailed off, grumbling angrily to himself.
Thalia, along with the majority of the Hunters, were just about to jump to their feet and charge the arrogant male, when Artemis spoke up. "Ladies, stand down. He speaks the truth. It was my own fault. I tried to follow him when he Shadow Traveled-"
"Shadow Walked," Percy corrected petulantly.
"...Shadow Walked, but I was… unprepared for the experience."
"So why is his mask broken?" A blonde Huntress asked.
"That would be my fault, again. I was trying to make him remove the mask, and resorted to kicking him in the head until the entire thing shattered. He only Shadow… Walked, in an attempt to escape. I must admit, I was being unusually cruel, and for that I apologize," she finished, directing the last bit at Percy. His eyes widened, though none of the ladies could see it.
"...I'm still not takin' off the mask," he replied, averting his gaze from Artemis' silver eyes. To emphasize his point, he summoned red-tinged black flames to his hand, and covered his face with them. When the fire faded, his mask was revealed to be in pristine condition. He heard a few of the Hunters gasp, which he ignored.
"Well, I think that's enough excitement for today- I'm goin' to bed."
Without so much as a wave farewell, Percy turned on his heel, and walked away from the girl scouts. He shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, to hide how much they were trembling. Though he would never admit it, that mess had shaken him up, and he needed some solitude to regain his equilibrium.
At his apartment/tent, Percy kicked off his shoes, tossed his purple hoodie onto the couch, and retreated to his room. He was suddenly exhausted, and figured a nap would do him some good.
As the Hunters watched the unnamed man walk away, they turned to their mistress. Thalia was the first to speak.
"Lady Artemis, why is that male here in the first place? We've respected your demand to not ask, but after this…"
Artemis sighed, and readjusted herself on the log. "Yes, I suppose I should have told you on the first day. He is here because it is my responsibility to contain him."
"Contain him?" Phoebe asked, "Is he dangerous?"
"Well, that is another one of my responsibilities; to figure out where his loyalties lie." Many of the Hunters were confused by that, which Artemis noticed. "Perhaps I should start from the beginning. During the Winter Solstice Assembly, Hades revealed that there was a spy in the throne room, then pulled that man out of the shadows. We have no clue who or what he is, since he refuses to take off his mask, but he insists he is not a threat to Olympus, and was only there because he was bored. My father was not satisfied by that, of course, and demanded that someone watch over him, to make sure he does not become a threat to Olympus. I volunteered, because you girls need practice with live targets. The moving ones we have cannot account for the unpredictability of a living creature, so I took the opportunity. That is about it."
The Hunter's were silent, and Artemis knew they were examining her words.
"Wait," said a daughter of Athena, who analyzed the story quickly, "Does that mean we're actually allowed to shoot at him?"
Artemis laughed. "Yes, Lily, you can shoot at him."
A collective cheer went up throughout the group, and Artemis laughed more, before calming down. "Well, I think that's enough resting for you ladies. Back to work!"
The goddess' followers obeyed, getting up and going to do whatever they were doing before disaster struck.
Artemis, meanwhile, remained seated. She still felt a bit chilly, so she basked in the heat of the campfire, thoughts wandering to the conundrum that was the spy. He saved her, despite the fact that he could have left her to die in that lightless realm, and then escaped before anyone knew. But he didn't. Instead, he saved her life, even helped her recover...
That man was a puzzle. An infuriating one, with a bad mouth. But Artemis was determined to figure him out.
