Artemis was getting worried. The spy hadn't been out of his tent in a week, and even the Hunters, who rarely saw him, were getting curious. They might figure out soon that he was the reason the Hunt hadn't packed up and moved on like they normally did. Their stay here in California had been extended quite a bit.
The Moon Goddess remembered the state he had been in the last time she had seen him; weak, shaky, and perhaps even scared. If not scared, then at the very least, worried. Did she make the right choice, abandoning him when he so obviously needed help? What if he only wanted her gone to save his pride?
For some reason, Artemis didn't think that was the case, despite the fact that he was a male. The fear in his voice had been palpable, and he even sounded worried for Artemis, as if she had been the one shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Was her seeing him in that position truly such a terrible thing? And was she a terrible person for running away so readily?
"Why am I so worried about a male? Especially one whose name I don't even know?" Artemis wondered suddenly. She didn't know where the thought came from, but it sure got her mind working. Why was she worried about a male? The normal Artemis would've just dismissed the suffering of a man, thinking he deserved it somehow. And she definitely would have struck down any male who spoke to her like the spy did… So why didn't she?
It had something to do with those memories of a far away place. They were hers, no doubt, but at the same time...Not. They blended seamlessly with the rest of her mind, save for a few glaring differences, which were all that notified her of the alien presence now in her head. She had tried to isolate and analyze those memories a few times since getting them, but every attempt simply left her with a raging headache, which gods weren't even supposed to get.
Now, though, she had a feeling the answers to her questions were hidden within those foreign, familiar memories.
Sitting in a clearing in the forest, Artemis assumed a standard meditation pose, shut off her other senses, and did nothing but feel. She felt the gentle breeze, changing direction more than Aphrodite changed clothes. The sunlight was warm, fighting with the trees to cover Artemis completely in the light. Apollo was too overprotective, sometimes, and he had quite the irrational fear of their Uncle Hades. The tree stump she sat on was solid, unmoving like the earth. The earth, which no longer pulsated with power- not since Gaia was laid to rest once more.
The thought of Gaia led to thoughts of the most recent war, and the heroes of said war; Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Annabeth Chase, and Perseus Jackson. That seemed to be the trigger, because suddenly, Artemis was no longer sitting on a tree stump in the middle of the forest. Now, she was standing in Camp Half-Blood, in the dead of night. The moon shone brightly in the clear sky, and it seemed as if all of Long Island was silent. There were no birds chirping, no insects buzzing, and the monsters which roamed the woods laid quiet- either sleeping or stalking prey. The ocean was calm, no waves lapping against the beach. The air was still, no breezes rustling leaves, or shifting the grass. The campers were all sleeping like the dead, so quiet that Artemis feared they actually were dead... Until she realized the position she was in, and the worry for the campers faded.
She stood there, bow in hand, arrow nocked and aimed at… Perseus Jackson?
"Lady Artemis!?" he cried, shocked by her presence.
"It is indeed I, boy. Now, would you care to explain to me exactly why you are walking amongst the living, when you should, in fact, be dead?" Artemis replied. She felt her lips moving, heard the sounds coming out, but Artemis knew she wasn't the one actually talking. This was the memory speaking.
"Oh. Um, about that… Would you believe me if I said I was just taking a casual stroll? You know, just a little walk down memory lane, so I could visit Camp again-" Perseus was saying, but stopped when Memory-Artemis adjusted her bow.
"The same camp you tried to destroy? Try again, Jackson. And this time, at least make it plausible. If I do not like the next words to come out your mouth, I will drag you in chains before the Olympian Council, which, may I remind you, did not take kindly to your allegiance with the Titans?," she said, none-too-kindly.
"Woah, woah, there's no need for all that! Y-you see, I didn't actually plan on being here, okay? It just, sorta… Happened? Wait, I'm being serious! It seriously wasn't my idea! The Fates, they just up and abducted me from- from…" Perseus said, then trailed off. It was if he was unsure what to say next.
"From Elysium?" Memory-Artemis finished for him. The man nodded hesitantly, almost as if that was not what he was going to say.
"Y-Yeah! From Elysium! No clue why, I was just minding my own business, ya know? And then, then I'm in Camp Half-Blood, like, wow! Blast from the past, am I right?" Perseus said. Memory-Artemis was not convinced, and they both knew it. "Ah, well, would ya look at how late it is!? Time sure flies when you're having fun, right, Lady Artemis!?"
"What are you-?" she began, confused by his skittish behavior. However, the boy cut her off.
"Anywaysgottagobye!" Then, as if this situation was not surprising enough, Perseus turned on his heel, leapt into the sky, and flew away.
Both Artemis and Memory-Artemis knew that, as a son of Poseidon, that should have been impossible. Somehow, Memory-Artemis was less surprised than Artemis, but that did not stop the memory from being too astounded to fire any arrows. They watched the man speed out of sight, then stared at where he had been for a good minute. Memory-Artemis shook her head, slinging her bow over her shoulder. She walked over to Cabin Eight, entered, and sat down on the silver-sheeted bed.
She sat there for what must have been a half-hour, so very confused. Artemis listened to Memory-Artemis' thoughts for a while. Apparently, in this far away place, Perseus had been the one to help Kronos rise, rather than Luke Castellan, who was the one that actually saved Olympus. It seemed that the two had switched places, so where Luke Castellan had died in Artemis' world, Perseus Jackson was the one that died in Memory-Artemis' world. The Elysium comment made sense now, barely.
It seemed that Memory-Artemis was not excessively shocked when Perseus' feet left the ground, since it was not unheard of for spirits to float, but outright flying? That was what got her.
Meanwhile, Artemis felt like her mind was going to collapse into a black hole of confusion. Since when were alternate worlds actually a thing!? She had heard the theories of the mortals, but she thought that those specific mortals had been touched by Dionysus, so she ignored them. To find out they were right, even if they themselves didn't know it…
It was trippy, to say the least. Artemis was glad when she exited the memory, because she actually did have a headache now. At the very least, she learned something new, so the consequences weren't as bad. They still sucked, though, so Artemis went back to the Hunter's camp to get some nectar.
For the rest of the day, Artemis sifted through some more memories, taking a sip of nectar whenever she exited one to stave off each new headache. With every memory, she learned a new thing, and she wasn't sure if she liked that or not.
Some things were nice, such as the celebration of each Hunter's birthday (it helped give her some ideas for presents). Some things were… Less than pleasant, such as watching a Hunter die, or arriving too late to help a maiden in need, and only being able to clean up the aftermath.
Many memories just outright confused her. Those were the ones involving Perseus Jackson, the supposed dead traitor/hero who had somehow become a constant fixture in her other self's life. Sometimes she was shooting him with arrows, threatening to chain him and bring him before Zeus to be punished. Other times, they were much calmer, having philosophical discussions. They even had some moments of companionable silence! One thing was for sure, though; their 'friendship' did not start out as a friendship- more like a truce between enemies. Other-Artemis agreed not to turn him in to Olympus or Hades, and Perseus kept her entertained with stories, and discussions. This was where things got trickier once a truth was revealed; apparently, the Perseus her other self was hanging around was the Perseus from this world, the one who fought against Kronos. He told Memory-Artemis about being transported to another world, and told her about the things he had done back home. Apparently, she was the only person he told- not even Other-Poseidon knew! He had said it was because Other-Artemis was the person least likely to try and use the information against him, that he had come to trust her after all their time together. That made Artemis feel oddly warm. She had no clue why, so she just ignored it for now.
That was as far as she got, because the moon had replaced the sun in the sky at some point. She trekked back to the Hunter's camp, which was not actually that far, and turned in for the night. She was slightly annoyed that she hadn't found her answer yet, but she knew it was somewhere in her head, just waiting for her to find it. She went to sleep that night, thinking of sea-green eyes and bone-white masks.
In her dreams, Artemis finally got her answers. Her last thoughts had been of sea-green eyes and bone-white masks, but the two had been completely separate. After all, the eyes had been embedded in a face, while the mask had glowing yellow sockets. For some odd reason, however, her subconscious decided to merge them, resulting in a bone-white mask hiding sea-green eyes. It made sense, though the goddess didn't know why.
Then, it clicked. The reason she was so comfortable around the masked man was because his mannerisms were extremely similar to that of someone she trusted- or rather, someone her alternate self trusted; Perseus Jackson. In fact, they were so similar, she almost wouldn't hesitate to call them the same person. Almost.
The Perseus she knew didn't have all these powers, and it seemed like he trusted her enough to have told her alternate self. Sure, she had yet to sift through all those memories, but nothing he had showed particularly jumped out at her. The mask, the black flames, the Shadow Walking- none of it seemed familiar.
However, she simply could not ignore the way they both acted. Once upon a time, Perseus had been a shy, awkward teen, but in some of the later memories that Artemis had examined, Perseus was quite different. He was not afraid to speak his mind, whether it offended someone off or not, and he swore a lot more, even doing so in casual conversation, like the spy. The way he carried himself spoke of someone who had no worries, like the spy. He even acted as childish as the spy, which was hard, because sometimes Artemis was convinced that the masked man was secretly a newborn somehow operating a much older body.
Their hair was the exact same color, though that didn't really mean anything. Many people had the same hair color, or dyed it. They seemed to be about the same height, just over six feet tall, and had similar builds, but that could also be a coincidence.
Unfortunately, Artemis' subconscious seemed to have become obsessed with the notion, playing memories of the spy and Perseus side-by-side, as if she were watching on a screen that was split down the half. They acted so similar, looked so similar, that Artemis could no longer tell the difference. The figures of the masked man and Perseus soon became interchangeable, with either appearing in a scene in place of the other.
Suddenly, she woke, flipped over, and frustratedly screamed into her pillow. Once she realized what she was doing, she summoned the knife she had been given by Zoe, and stabbed it hilt-deep into the pillow, ripping through a good portion of the mattress. She was furious now; she was the Olympian Goddess Artemis, not some love-sick teen! And she would prove it (not that anyone doubted her)!
She would start by treating this filthy spy like the vile male he was, which included paying him back for all his disrespect. Then, she would prove who was truly in charge by forcing him to take his mask off, whether it be by yanking the accursed thing off, or simply slamming his face into the ground until it shattered! She would show her traitorous mind that this masked bastard was not Perseus Jackson!
What was she doing, getting bewitched by him, anyways!? He could actually be a spy, and this was all an elaborate plan to get her to let him go! Saving her, playing nice with her huntresses, spending the morning with her a week ago (despite the fact that it wasn't actually optional for him)- it could all be a ruse!
This train of thought was the fuel feeding Artemis' ever-growing fire of rage, but she let it happen. She needed something to prevent her from falling back into that pathetic mindset, and anger was the perfect motivator. After all, how could she be in… No, not in, anything! How could she be comfortable around someone she hated?
Artemis stormed through the collection of silver tents, scaring away many of huntresses with the intensity of her aimless glare, and causing all of them to look away due to the way she was glowing. They thought their mistress was so enraged she was about to accidentally reveal her true form, and that would've been messy. Thalia was the only one with enough courage- or maybe the only one fool enough- to stop the goddess from continuing on her warpath.
"Lady Artemis, may I ask why you are so… Angry?"
"No!" Artemis barked, then walked around Thalia and went along her way. Thalia blinked; normally, moments like that end up with the angry person insulting the obstacle- Thalia, in this case- and then breaking down and admitting everything. She was not ready to be ignored like that.
Another Hunter, a daughter of Ares named Louise, grabbed Thalia by the shoulder, shaking her head at the daughter of Zeus. It was a bit strange, getting told by a child of war that you should back down from a battle, but Thalia listened. If anything, Louise being the one to deliver the warning made it more effective; she was, after all, a very unexpected source.
Meanwhile, Artemis had finally made her way to the spy's tent, which for some reason that she didn't care to think about, had a door and the interior of an apartment. She was more concerned with the person inside. Artemis slammed her fist on the wooden door multiple times, causing it to shake on its hinges with every blow.
"Spy! Open this door, now!" she yelled, emphasising her command with several more hard knocks. The door did open, revealing the masked man himself, but he seemed a bit different. For one, his mask now had a single horn, attached to his left temple, which seemed to weigh his head down to that side. It had a jagged base, but then transitioned into a long spike, ending in a sharp point. Some parts of the mask were cracked, and a few small chips were missing. He was also leaning heavily against the doorframe, and Artemis could hear his heavy, exhausted breathing.
"What?" he growled, then began to breathe noticeably harder. It was as if the words took an extreme amount of energy to form.
Artemis was tempted to ask him what was wrong, but then she remembered why she was here. Steeling herself, Artemis threw a fist into the spy's masked face. She had tapped into her godly strength, causing the man to go flying backwards. He landed on the living room coffee table, breaking the furniture under his weight. A piece of his mask had broken off, which wasn't too surprising, considering the mask's fragile state and the power behind that blow. The spy's right cheek was now mostly exposed.
He laid there for a second, then struggled to sit up. After a few shaky moments, he had managed to crawl to one knee, where he remained, nearly gasping for air. "You… Do not… Want to do this… RIght now…" he wheezed out, and Artemis nearly laughed. Did this foolish male really think he had any room to bargain, especially when he was in such a pathetic state!?
Anger driving her, Artemis bolted forward and lashed out with a kick to the spy's right temple, where there was no horn. She was completely unprepared for this panting, seemingly exhausted man to grab her outstretched foot with lightning-fast reflexes. She nearly gasped, but was unable to when the spy surged to his own feet, then crushed the goddess' throat with his free hand. He had not let go of her leg, leaving Artemis in an awkward position, but the spy paid no mind to that, instead lifting the immortal in his hand and moving forward so that her back was up against the wall. He held her there for a few seconds, staring into her silver eyes with those sickly yellow lights. In that instant, Artemis knew she had made a mistake with her random crusade.
"I'm… Only going to… Ask you… Once… What… Are you… Doing!?" the spy growled, shouting the last words right into her ears. His hold on her throat tightened, and Artemis suddenly found herself unable to breathe, much less answer his question. She was grabbing his wrist with both her hands, exerting as much godly strength as she could on the limb to push it away, but to no avail. He had a grip stronger than diamond, and the goddess was sure that if his hand was coming off anytime soon, it would be accompanied by her ripped-out esophagus. Artemis was truly regretting her rash decisions now.
Just as her sight began to fade, and the edges of her vision grew fuzzy, the vice-grip on her throat was released. The spy collapsed to his knees so suddenly that Artemis, not expecting such a thing, fell to the floor with him, landing on her rear end. She stared at the masked man, watched as he took in huge lungfuls of air, as if he couldn't get enough. He was hunched over, staring at his hands, which were curled into claws- whether out of anger or pain, she had no clue. Artemis crawled forward, hesitantly, forgetting about just what she came to do. In hindsight, this also proved to be a foolish decision.
She laid a gentle hand on the spy's shoulder. "Are you-?" she got out, before the spy's head snapped up, and he roared at her. It was a bestial roar, more like something you hear out of a drakon or a dragon than a much smaller human-shaped creature, and the suddenness shocked her. Startled greatly, Artemis threw herself backwards, slamming into the wall. She didn't stay there for long, though; she had gotten the message, and scrambled to her feet. Without even a second glance at the spy, the goddess rushed out the apartment, slamming the door behind her so hard it cracked. She ran all the way back to her tent, once more ignoring her hunters.
Inside her tent, Artemis collapsed to the ground, the adrenaline leaving her once her body finally realized the danger was gone. She was panting almost as hard as the spy, purely out of fear. She had no clue what she was dealing with, since she had never encountered anything with a mask like that, so she didn't know how dangerous that… Thing, was. Had the spy become a monster? Was he going to burst out of that sea-green tent and slaughter her Hunters? Would she even be able to stop it? After all, that beast had had her up against the wall in seconds, when she thought it had been exhausted and unable to stand. Clearly, it was not something to underestimate.
The thought of the beast rampaging scared her, and she burst back out of her tent, nearly barreling into Thalia, who had once more moved to check up on her mistress. As the Lieutenant of the Hunt, that was sort of her job.
Thalia jumped back. "Lady Artemis!?" she cried, surprised by the panicked look on her sister's face.
"I think I've made things worse!" Artemis shouted, much to Thalia's confusion.
"Woah, slow down, my Lady. What are you talking about?"
Now was when Artemis broke down and told Thalia everything. Well, almost everything. Even in her agitated state, she decided that the daughter of Zeus didn't really need to know about alternate dimensions and random memories, or her possible crush on the spy, who she thought may have been Perseus Jackson, Thalia's cousin… That was a mess and a half.
"Wait… So, that man turned into a monster?" Thalia asked slowly, her concern growing rapidly. Artemis nodded fast enough that Thalia thought her head would pop right off. Thankfully, It did not, because the Lieutenant of the Hunt would not have known how to handle that.
"I'm worried about what'll happen if he goes on a rampage! He was able to subdue me!" Artemis shrieked, not caring much about grace and decorum at the moment.
Thalia was too shocked to comment on her mistress' lack of composure. "W-what do we do, then? If we can't fight him, then the only choice is to make sure we're not around if he comes outside."
"Where are you guys going?" a voice asked from behind Thalia. Both Hunters recognized the speaker as a male, because the voice was much deeper than any female's could (or should) be. Thalia froze up, and Artemis had to peer around the statue of her taller half-sister to confirm her fears.
It was, indeed, the masked man, though he looked a bit better than earlier. The horn on his left temple had vanished, and his mask was no longer riddled with cracks. He also did not seem to be breathing heavily at all.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Artemis asked cautiously.
"Just came to chat," the spy replied, waving his hand dismissively. "Hey, what's up with Thalia? She hasn't moved in, like, a minute."
The daughter of Zeus jolted once she registered that her name had been said, whirling around to face the spy. Fear was evident on her face, though it quickly morphed into confusion upon seeing that the man was not in the state Artemis had just described. "Uh, nothing! I just had to make my daily report to Lady Artemis- I think I'll go… Take care of business. Yeah, bye!" Thalia rushed off, walking away as quickly as she could without seeming afraid. She failed, but an attempt was made.
Normally, Thalia Grace wasn't scared of anything. She had survived on the streets of America, taken on monsters twice, or even thrice, her size. She had even fought Titans! But, when she finds herself face-to-face with something that subdued Lady Artemis, who is one of the most combat-proficient Olympians- or god in general- like the goddess was nothing, she tends to get a bit nervous. Especially when she was caught so flat-footed, she didn't even have a weapon out. Besides, tactical retreats were not cowardly!
Artemis glared at her fleeing sister, wishing she could throw something at the girl for a moment, before getting over it. She turned back to the spy, to find him watching Thalia as well.
"Uh… Okay?" he mutters, then looks at Artemis. "Can we go inside? I don't really want anyone overhearing this," he said, gesturing at the tent behind her.
She glanced at it, unsure if she should actually agree with his request. After all, being in close-quarters with him if he freaked out was not a pleasant thought. Then again, it would be better if she was the only one nearby, so he focused on her as opposed to one of her Hunters. With a sigh, she turned around and opened the zipper on her tent. She walked through, the spy only moments behind her.
The inside of Artemis' tent was rather simple; a bed in the corner, with a nightstand next to it. A small chest of drawers stood at the foot of the bed, leaving only a plush armchair at the back of the tent.
This layout was the same used for all the Hunters' tents, and they were free to decorate the remaining space however they saw fit, whether it be with trophies from a hunt, comfort items, or other furniture that they managed to acquire through means Artemis did not question. Due to the magic of the tent, the contents remained the same, even if the tent was packed up and set up elsewhere.
Artemis walked toward the armchair, sitting down heavily. With a wave of her hand, a silverwood chair appeared about five feet in front of her seat.
The spy, for some reason, plopped down on the ground next to the chair, draping the left half of his body over the seat. He sighed heavily, then surprised Artemis by grabbing his mask. She thought he was going to take it off, but instead he merely lifted it slightly, so that his mouth was exposed. He took in a few large mouthfuls of air, before calming down and breathing normally.
"Well? Speak," Artemis commanded, once she got sick of watching the man lounge around on the floor of her tent.
It took a moment, but he finally opened his mouth to do something other than breathe. "Right. Don't take this the wrong way, but what the fuck were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?" he asked, astoundingly calm despite the content of his question.
Artemis was reluctant to approach the topic, so she danced around it instead. "What, exactly, are you talking about?"
"Don't bullshit me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"I'm afraid I do not," Artemis replied, continuing to avoid the subject.
With a heavy sigh, the spy stood up, causing Artemis to tense her muscles. She relaxed a bit, however, when he dropped in the wooden chair she had conjured.
"Listen- are you listening?" he asked, as if he were speaking to a child.
When Artemis simply glared at him, he continued, pretending she had nodded. "What you did was bad. Really bad."
"Is there a reason you're treating me like a child!?" Artemis snapped, crossing her arms while strengthening her glare.
"Yes," the masked man replied calmly, "You very nearly made a huge mistake, and you need to know that. And since you wanna act stupid, then that's how I'm gonna treat you. Ya get it?"
Artemis, feeling oddly chastised, let out a sigh. "I suppose. So, you wish to talk about what I did earlier?"
"Yeah. First off, why, exactly, did you walk up in my apartment and start beating on me, when I was so obviously in a bad state?" he asked.
"I…" Artemis began, but hesitated. The spy urged her on with a wave of his hand. The Moon goddess sighed before she continued, "I wanted to put you in your place; pay you back for all your disrespect. I had planned on tearing that mask off, to finally learn your identity."
She could feel the man's piercing gaze, even though his eyes were hidden and the sockets of the mask were dark, for the first time ever. She was an instant away from snapping at him again when he spoke. "Well, as you can see, that didn't work very well. Although… With the state I was in, ripping the mask off would have probably helped," he admitted quietly, causing Artemis to stiffen.
"What is that mask, then, for it to cause such a thing?" Artemis asked, leaning forward slightly.
A long period of silence ensued, in which the spy replaced his mask over his face, and simply stared at the goddess. She could feel those sickly yellow lights peering into her divine essence, rifling through her being, as if judging her.
"Some things are better left secret," the spy finally said, which apparently meant that she was found lacking and he couldn't trust her with the answer. For some reason, the notion made her heart drop.
"Well, will you at least tell me what that was about?" Artemis asked desperately.
"That, was me losing control. Owning this mask comes with some drawbacks- you know that American saying, about no such thing as a free lunch?" The immortal nodded. "Well, it's like that. Normally, it doesn't matter, but what happened last week really threw me off balance, so I wasn't in any position to stop it."
Artemis remembered what he was talking about; it was when he had abruptly kicked her out of his tent, and was shaking like he had hypothermia. It had hurt the goddess, to have it reconfirmed for the thousandth time that the masked man didn't trust her. She didn't bother asking about what had happened. She had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't trust her with the answer to that, either.
Artemis lowered her gaze, not wanting to see those yellow eyes anymore. The two stayed in silence for a long while, the spy slumping backwards to stare at the cloth ceiling of the tent, while Artemis watched the floor.
"Are you upset?"
Artemis jumped, having been lost in aimless thought. She stared at the spy in shock, completely caught off-guard by the question.
"Are you upset?" he asked again, taking her wide eyes as a silent request to repeat the question. He watched as her eyes returned to normal size, then lowered to the floor once more. She seemed to have taken an unusual interest in his shoes- a simple pair of black Timberlands.
When Artemis nodded slowly, almost ashamedly, the spy sighed. He scooted his chair forward, startling Artemis with the noise. The Moon Goddess whipped her head up, only to come face-to-mask with the man, who had gotten extremely close. She yelped, but didn't pull away much.
"Listen," the man began, gently placing a hand on hers, "I'm sorry I have to keep all this secret. Seriously, it sucks, not being able to have a conversation that doesn't involve masks and lies, but there's a reason I do it. The information I hold can't get out to just anyone, or it would end in the death of everyone involved- even an Olympian," the spy added, to stave off Artemis' token protest. "I would love to tell you, but this is honestly for your own safety. I am playing a dangerous game, Artemis, and I don't want to drag anyone down with me when it all goes to Tartarus."
The goddess nodded slowly, but then stopped halfway. "What do you mean, when!?" she asked sharply, fear lacing her voice. The spy squeezed her hand, in a bid to make her calm down. It did not work very well.
"I've caught the attention of some powerful people," the masked man said grimly, "And they are not happy with me. It was inevitable, I suppose… I just wished it hadn't happened so quickly."
"Who-?" Artemis went to ask, but was cut off.
"I can't tell you that. Not yet… One day, everything shall be made clear, and you'll hopefully understand just why I have to deceive everyone around me," the man told her. When Artemis didn't seem completely convinced, he squeezed her hand again, with a bit more pressure than before.
"I swear it on the River Styx."
