Ghost was staring blankly at his television when Artemis burst into his apartment. Luckily, he hadn't bothered to take his mask off earlier, so he allowed himself to sink deep into his thoughts- deep enough that he didn't hear the click of the closing door.

Artemis walked in and sat down next to him on the couch. She watched him curiously for a minute, then got worried when he hadn't done anything. The man was simply sitting there, controller resting in unmoving hands, head tilted back slightly to view the wall-mounted screen. He was once more playing Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Aloy was fidgeting, as all game characters did when the player was not playing. It was unnerving, how silent and still he was- Artemis wasn't even sure if he was breathing.

"Ghost?" she asked, but got no response. Cautiously, she reached out to grab his shoulder, only to gasp when his hand moved faster than she could see, catching her wrist. His head snapped to the side, the yellow glow of his eyes burning a hole into her.

"Artemis. What are you doing here?" he asked, quietly. He let go of her wrist as quickly as he caught it, returning his hand to the Dualshock controller. His head turned so he was once more facing forward, but this time he actually began to play the game.

"Nothing, really…" Artemis muttered, rubbing at her wrist. Even though he only had a hold of her for a short time, his grip was strong enough to leave a rapidly-darkening bruise. Ghost didn't seem to notice what he had done, instead focusing on his game.

"Are you… Okay?" the goddess asked hesitantly, unnerved by his silence.

"Well enough. Why?"

"You didn't even notice when I came in…"

"I was simply... Thinking."

Artemis was silent for a moment, debating on whether she should ask or not, before she decided there was nothing to lose. "What were you thinking about?"

Ghost froze, as if astounded that she would ask. In the game, Aloy was mauled to death by a massive robot feline, because Ghost had stopped controlling her. He was quiet for a while, causing Artemis to regret her decision.

Just when she was about to apologize, the masked man surprised her by speaking up. "I am… Restless."

Artemis was slightly confused. "Why? Don't you always have something to do?"

"Not as often as you may think. The video games help, but they are… Not enough. I wish to fight."

"Well," Artemis began hesitantly, "You could always spar with me or one of the Hunters. They might enjoy the opportunity to hurt you," she joked. Her smile faded when Ghost did not laugh.

"I am not… Confident, in my ability to control my strength."

Indignation clawed at Artemis. "Are you saying me and my girls aren't skilled enough to take you on? You truly are as arrogant as a typical male," she jabbed, hoping to elicit a humorous response from him. He was very rarely this serious.

"I think that came out wrong. Tell me, Artemis, how long have I been here?"

Startled by the sudden topic change, the Moon Goddess was a bit slow in responding. "Um… Just over two months, I think?"

"Yes. And in that time, have you ever had reason to suspect me of being an enemy of Olympus?" he asked, finally turning away from the TV to look at her. He set his controller on the couch, off to his side. Artemis was growing more confused and worried the longer this conversation continued.

"Well, no. You never tried to escape, or hurt me or my Hunters… Why?"

"Do you think Zeus will allow me to roam freely now?"

Artemis' eyes widened. "W-well, if I vouched for your innocence, and if you swore an oath to never turn against Olympus… I believe he would. Why? Do you… Wish to leave?" she asked, saddened by the thought.

Ghost was quiet for another moment, simply staring at the Moon Goddess. "Is there an issue with that?"

"…No. You can do as you please," Artemis murmured.

"Then we can go to Olympus now," Ghost declared, standing up.

Artemis' eyes widened in shock, and her mouth fell open. "Y-you want to go now!?" she cried, taken completely by surprise.

"You said there was no issue with it, did you not? Besides, I want to irritate Zeus by dropping in randomly. It'll be fun."

Artemis stood up slowly. She watched in numb disbelief as Ghost walked around his apartment's living room with new energy, straightening up the place. After the last video game was on the shelf, he turned around and surveyed his work with a simple nod. That done, he walked towards Artemis, who seemed lost in thought.

"Alright, I'm ready," he told her. His voice was laced with eagerness, like he couldn't wait to be gone. Artemis couldn't ignore the pain that particular thought caused her, but she at least didn't show it on her face.

"...Can I at least know why you're leaving?" Artemis asked, unsure if she would receive an answer or not.

"Didn't I just say I'm restless?" he replied, amused. He turned serious an instant later. "But, I misspoke when I said I want to fight. I'm not talking about sparring, or training, or whatever you wanna call it. I want to kill."

The way he said it sent a chill down Artemis' spine, and the goddess couldn't help but take a step back. The sheer amount of bloodlust put into that one word nearly overcame her, and she once more shuddered violently. The effect had been amplified by the echo of his voice, which he mostly did not use.

"Where will you go, then?" Artemis asked hesitantly.

"The mortal world, obviously," Ghost replied casually, causing Artemis to gasp. He barked out a harsh laugh. "Your face! Ha! That was a joke, by the way."

The Moon Goddess heaved a sigh of relief. "It was a horrible joke! If you had done that, Olympus would be forced to hunt you down- is that what you want!?"

"No, no. That sounds like it'd be a pain in the ass, to be honest. Tempting, but annoying."

"Where are you actually going, then?"

"Tartarus, of course," the man said, instantly killing the barely-humorous mood. A cold gust of wind blew through the apartment, ruffling Artemis' clothes. Ghost shivered a bit, rubbing his arms. "That rat bastard…" the maiden heard him mutter, but it was ignored in the face of her astonishment.

"Why would you go back to that… That… That hellhole!?" she shrieked, outraged by the very notion.

"Why not? I said I wanted to kill things, and there's plenty of things to kill down there. Come on, you're supposed to be at least halfway smart! Maybe not Athena smart, but still, this is like putting two and two together," he teased.

"B-but what if you die!?"

"Calculated risk," Ghost replied, waving his hand dismissively.

At this point, Artemis was grasping at straws. She didn't want him to go, but she didn't exactly have a reason to make him stay, either. She didn't want to lie to the man's face, and tell him that her father wouldn't let him go, and he didn't seem to care much if he died. She obviously couldn't reveal her feelings to him, since he might leave her heartbroken anyways. The only thing left was…

"What about the oath you swore, to tell me everything?"

"I won't be gone forever. I'll come back at some point," he replied, instantly. It was as if he expected her to say that.

"But if you die, then how are you supposed to keep your word!?"

"Alright, now you're just complicating things. I'm not gonna die in some shitty hole, and you thinking that I might is straight-up insulting. So~, stop."

"...I really can't change your mind?" she asked sadly, staring at the floor now.

"I mean, I would stay if you told me you were pregnant and that it was my kid…"

Artemis' head snapped up. "What!?" A golden blush lit up her face.

Ghost continued on as is if he didn't hear her. "...But that's obviously not going to happen, since we never had sex. Don't sound so surprised, that's some shit mortal women do all the time- have you never watched Maury?"

"N-no! I have better things to do!"

"That's a shame, it's a good show… Anyways, are we heading to Olympus or what?"

"Fine!" Artemis shouted, thoroughly annoyed with the masked man. Her face was still flushed, though more out of indignation that embarrassment

"Wait!" Ghost cried suddenly, but Artemis had already grabbed his arm. In a flash of light, the two were in the throne room of Olympus. He groaned loudly once he noticed the shift in location.

"Wait for what?" Artemis asked smugly, glad that the tables had turned for once.

"I just remembered that I still don't know which of your Hunters shot me that one time. That bitch owes me money," he said hotly.

"What are you, part of the mafia?" Artemis reached up and slapped him on the back of the head. "And don't talk about my girls like that," she said threateningly.

Ghost thumped her on the head in return, pissing the goddess off. She swung back, narrowly missing his ribs when he leaned to the side. Irritated further, she began to chase the man around the throne room, tapping into her godly strength to force her legs to carry her further, and make up for the size difference between the two. Ghost had some pretty long legs.

She was moments away from grabbing the man by the hood of his jacket, which was flopping around madly, when he suddenly ducked.

At least, she thought he ducked. He seemed to drop about a foot in height, but in the next instant he was gone. Artemis hit the brakes a moment later, just barely avoiding crashing into the side of her own throne. That would have been embarrassing. Then, she noticed the lack of light on the marble floor, where the throne blocked the artificial sun that hung in the middle of the room.

Artemis groaned, then turned to walk out of the shadows. Unfortunately for her, she was moving far too slow, and was therefore unprepared for when Ghost burst from the darkness. She shrieked, taking a quick step back, but Ghost's arms were still long enough to grab her. He wrapped an arm around the goddess' waist, pulling her close to him. She didn't even have time to blush at their proximity because, before she knew it, the maiden was horizontal. Ghost was holding her in the loop between his right arm and his hip.

There was a flash of light in the throne room, startling the pair. Ghost walked over to check it out, and locked eyes with the King of Olympus himself. Zeus' eyes wandered down to the struggling auburn-haired person that the masked man was holding, then back to the man's sickly yellow eyes.

"I came because I felt a presence in the throne room… But I don't think I want to know," Zeus muttered, loud enough that Artemis and Ghost could hear him.

"Can I get off house-arrest now?" Ghost asked bluntly. Zeus raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised by the audacity.

"What say you, daughter? You are the one who has watched over him," the King asked, completely ignoring the position his daughter was in.

Artemis sighed, once she realized she would get no help from her father. "He has not tried to escape, nor has he harmed me or my hunters. Other than that, he mostly stayed out of the way. I don't believe he is a threat to Olympus."

Zeus eyed the maiden for a moment, deciding whether to believe her or not. When she held his gaze without wavering, he nodded approvingly

"Very well. Simply swear an oath on the Styx to never turn against Olympus, and I believe that shall be all."

Ghost did so, and Zeus left, satisfied. Artemis was slightly stunned that her father had not shown his volatile temper even the slightest bit. It was a rare occasion, meaning that something- or perhaps someone- had put him in a good mood. His clothes didn't look ruffled, and there were no lipstick smears on his skin, but he was a god; it was easy to get rid of things like that. Or to hide them, at the very least.

"Are you going to put me down?" Artemis asked Ghost, irritated, but also slightly giddy at the contact.

"Dunno… Maybe I should just take you to Tartarus with me, since you seem so worried."

The man felt the goddess stiffen in his arm, and he flicked her on the forehead with his free hand. "Don't worry, I wouldn't actually." With that reassurance, he dropped the goddess like a sack of potatoes.

Not expecting to be left to the mercy of gravity, Artemis narrowly avoided slamming face-first into the marble floor by sticking her hands out below her, stopping her mere inches from the ground. She growled, and shot to her feet, only to find that Ghost was walking away.

"Where do you think you're going!?" she shouted after him, ready to give chase and pay him back.

"Bye," the man said, before he dropped into the shadows at the side of Artemis' throne. She gaped at the spot where he had been just a moment ago, feeling slightly hurt that he had simply… Left, like that.

"Well… At least he said bye," Artemis murmured to herself, trying to ignore the pain in her heart. She sighed, before teleporting back to her camp. Ghost hadn't said when he would be back- just that he would be- but Artemis hoped it would be soon. For some reason, she had a feeling things were about to get very lonely in the Hunters' camp.