"Man, I'm so bored," Percy whined to nobody in particular. He was playing video games with Horse and, embarrassingly enough, was getting his ass handed to him in Mortal Kombat X.
"Maybe it's just 'cause ya suck ass at this game, King. I know I'm not bored- kinda wish I had a better opponent, though. Heh."
"Fuck you," Percy growled, rolling his eyes.
"Is that an offer?" Horse asked saucily, tossing his controller aside to spread out on the couch in a seductive manner.
"Nasty bitch. I'm outta here. Do what you want- just don't trash the place."
"No problem, King. Don't be mad if I beat all your games, though."
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Ghost closed his eyes behind his mask, praying to the Fates for strength. "Yes, Ashley?" he asked, tone flat. He was less than amused that Ashley had made calling him that a habit.
"Thalia said she's gonna take me hunting! Can I go? Please please please?"
Ghost sighed raspily. "Did Artemis allow this?"
"...Yes?"
"I'm going to talk to her."
"Wait! No, she didn't, but Thalia's the second-in-command, so isn't that the same thing?"
"No, it's not. Let's go," he said, grasping Ashley's hand in a firm, but gentle grip, tugging her along. The girl began whining, but Percy just ignored her. It took a few minutes- an uncooperative toddler was surprisingly difficult- but Percy eventually reached the Moon Goddess's tent.
"Artemis?" he called, since there wasn't exactly a door he could knock on.
"Yes, Ghost?" The voice came from behind him, so he turned around. Apparently, Artemis had just gotten back from whatever she was doing.
"Just had a question. Thalia's going on a hunting trip, and she asked Ashley if she wants to go. Is that okay with you?"
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking me? Is she not your child?" the goddess asked frigidly, sounding oddly bitter.
Ghost rolled his eyes, and his head along with it, making the gesture obvious to those who could not see his eyes. "Whatever. If she gets hurt, though…" He left the silent threat hanging in the air, daring Artemis to retort. The goddess bristled, but said nothing. She could at least respect his concern for Ashley's well-being.
"And what will you be doing?"
"Ah… Good question. I think I'll go check up on some old friends."
With that, he sunk into the shadows, leaving Artemis in silence, and Ashley running to find Thalia, to tell her the good news.
Akhyls was having too much fun to even be wary about the way the amulet around her neck was affecting her behavior. Sure, she was beginning to think like an actual six-year-old, but what was the harm? They saw the world in such a great way! Every five steps was an adventure, and a full day of exploring would be rewarded by deep sleep at night. Time moved so fast- much faster than in the Pit, which was starting to become nothing more than a fading memory. The sight of all the new colors and things that Gaia had to offer overwrote the stale scene of looking out over her father's domain.
The hunting trip was no different, other than the fact that it was the most fun Ashley had literally ever had in her entire life. She'd learned a bit about the forest from Percy, but it seemed like the Hunters had been born here, with how much they knew. There were so many different kinds of birds, insects, and plants, each with numerous uses that Thalia explained to her, all of which went in one ear and out through the other.
The Daughter of Zeus wanted to teach Ashley how to use a bow, but the ranged weapon was far too large for the toddler. She had the strength to hold it, along with the hunting knives, but she was just too small. It would be awkward to try and fight like that, and would more than likely get her killed. Well, she wouldn't die, but it would definitely be inconvenient to be sent back to Tartarus the hard way.
As a six-year-old, she wasn't exactly graceful, but she was light enough that her chaotic trampling didn't do more than break the occasional stick. Still, whenever they spotted potential prey, Thalia or Phoebe would pick the girl up to prevent her from startling the animals. Thankfully, she knew to stay quiet, because neither Hunter really wanted to cover her mouth. It was just plain rude.
Eventually, though, the hunt came to an end, as all good things do. Ashley was exhausted after five straight hours of romping. Unfortunately, Thalia had not accounted for the small reserves of energy that children had, but she was not exactly upset that she had to carry the adorable child back to camp.
The hunt had been fairly successful. Two large bucks, a doe, and a handful of rabbits. It would feed the hunters well, maybe even for a few days. There were only slightly more than a dozen of them, after all. A small group was best for mobility and stealth, which is what the Hunters of Artemis specialized in.
Unfortunately, they were not as stealthy as they thought they were, if a legion of monsters had been able to find them.
He hated this place. Hated it with a burning, fiery passion. He wished it would just vanish, disappear, cease to exist. Wrenching Riptide out of the insane man's skull, he swiped the blade to the side, flinging the gore to the cobbled street. Percy scoffed.
"Fucking disgusting," he growled, then spun to avoid a bullet. It ricocheted off the stone, slamming into the forehead of a man with a pitchfork that was trying to sneak up on him, who fell to the ground, dead. He rushed the rifleman, sticking Riptide through his ribcage. The man had been using a musket or something, which required a very long reload time.
Barking caught his attention. It was getting louder, and sounded off in intervals too short for there to be only one dog. Just as he predicted, a pack of diseased mutts rounded the corner, snapping their jaws at the empty air as they ran at him. Centering himself, Percy met the charge head-on.
The first dog lunged with its maw wide open, and Percy slashed horizontally at its mouth, separating the jaw from the head. He sidestepped the flying corpse, and lopped off the next dog's head. Spinning around a leap from the third dog, he slashed at its side, cutting deep. The beast fell to the ground with a pathetic whimper. The fourth dog managed to bury its teeth in his calf, causing Percy to hiss in irritation. He slammed the hilt of Riptide into the animal's head, heedless of the way it caused the serrated incisors to dig deeper. Eventually, the dog's skull gave way. He pried the corpse off his leg, dumping it unceremoniously to the ground.
Whining drew his eyes to the dog he hadn't killed with one swing. It was still alive, laying on the cobblestones as blood pooled underneath it. Its legs were twitching, claws skittering against the street, disturbingly long tongue hanging limply out of its mouth. Percy walked over and knelt beside the dying animal. With surprisingly gentle hands, he stroked its head, running his fingers through the matted, patchy fur, ignoring the rot that tried to cling to him. The dog's milky white eyes flickered to him, but there was no rage. Only pain. Then, the head fell to the ground, bounced once, and was still.
With a sigh, Percy stood, wiping his soiled hand on his jeans. He capped Riptide, pushing it in his pocket, and continued on his way. He'd made it all the way to the graveyard last time, but that crazy bastard managed to fill him with buckshot before Percy could really grasp what was going on. He'd been forced to retreat and lick his wounds. Today, it would be different.
Starting from the staircase on the outskirts of the town, Percy rushed through the square, through the sewers, up the ladder, across the bridge (being careful to avoid the ball of flaming garbage that the fat bastard standing at the other side hurled at him), and up two more flights of stairs. Along the way, he made sure to cut down everything in his path; the rabid dogs, the insane huntsmen, the occasional troll, the damned beasts, and even the ravens. Nothing was spared in his rampage, and by the time he reached the graveyard, Percy was heaving. He sat down on the staircase leading to the curtain of mist, and gathered his thoughts.
This place was, in a word, hell. It was worse than Tartarus. At least, in the Pit, things made sense! However, so far as he could tell, there was no rhyme or reason for the madness in this gothic mountain city. He had come across scraps of paper referencing obscure rituals and events, but none of it was coherent. It was like trying to figure out the image on a thousand-piece puzzle, when you were only given the corners. Or, more accurately, when you were given pieces from another puzzle. It was mind-boggling.
If there was one thing Percy knew, though, it was that only one thing mattered in this place; blood. Not the quality of it, no. There were no blue-blood snobs, no pricks who wanted to keep the blood "pure" by marrying within the family. No, the quality did not matter. Instead, it was the source.
What those sources were, he also had no clue. Unfortunately, Percy had a sinking feeling that he would find out sooner, rather than later. He would have much preferred never, thank you very much. Still, he had a job to do, and the more he knew, the faster he would be able to finish it, and get the hell up out of this place.
Climbing to his feet, Percy ascended the final few stairs. He reached out, hooking his fingers deep into the Nightmare Fog, pulling it back like a veil, then stepping through. Standing in the center of the graveyard was a large man, possibly around seven feet tall. He had shoulder-length gray hair, with a shaggy beard that covered most of his neck. He wore a wide-brimmed hat, and beneath it, a layer of bandages, covering his eyes. The man was sniffing, ears twitching- relying on his other senses to observe the world around him.
"So, you've returned, you damned beast?"
"You bet your ass I did. Bitch."
Percy rolled out of the way of a shotgun blast. Leaping to his feet, he rushed the man, taking a swing with Riptide. Despite being near blind, the man hopped backward, just out of reach. He retaliated with the weapon in his right hand; a massive, unwieldy axe, with a long blade, a bandage-wrapped shaft, and a spike at the end. The spike caught Percy's purple hoodie, tearing a gash in it. The demigod hissed in shock, still unable to match the incredible speed and precision with the image of a blind elderly man in front of him. It was if this madman hadn't gotten the memo that humans were supposed to slow down as they aged.
Then again… Maybe he had. Wasn't that a scary thought? Pushing it to the side, Percy lunged forward again, but was forced to jump to the side and take cover behind a gravestone. He could not afford to get hit once in front of this monster of a man, or it would all be over. It had happened the last; he'd taken a full shotgun shot to the chest, and he ended up on one knee. The malicious grin on the bastard's face when he shoved his hand deep into Percy's chest…
Growling, Percy vaulted over the gravestone. His hammer-swing was blocked by the axe, but Riptide was much more agile. Sidestepping the retaliation shot, he stabbed forward with the lithe blade, burying it in the man's shoulder, then yanking it out horizontally, leaving the limb half-severed. Rumbling in pain, the man yanked a syringe out of his pocket. Without formality, he stabbed it into his leg, straight through his tattered trousers.
A red haze coalesced around the wound, and within seconds, it was completely healed. However, it seemed that the magical form of healing had not done anything for the man's stamina, as he was still breathing rather heavily- not that Percy was much better. He had to end this quickly.
Unfortunately, it seemed this old man would not go down easily. He hooked the strap on his shotgun to his belt, then grasped his axe with both hands. Pulling it in both directions, the haft extended with a flash of silver mist. Brandishing the massive polearm, he leapt forward with a roar, slamming the axe into the ground where Percy had been standing just moments ago. The demigod had barely managed to sidestep, his opponent's ferocity so great, but he shook off the foreboding feeling creeping over him. Instead, he chose to get in close, counting on the fact that such a top-heavy weapon would be difficult to wield with precision.
Thankfully, his prediction seemed to be true. The old man could no longer swing the weapon around with impunity, and spent a precious moment hefting it back into the air, during which Percy cut clean through his left arm, separating the forearm from the elbow. Taking another step forward, Percy intended to do the same to the bastard's neck, but was knocked back by an explosion of yellow light and black liquid.
His head slammed into a gravestone, causing his vision to flash, dangerously close to unconsciousness. However, his regeneration kicked in, and the crack in his skull healed, along with his battered brain. Percy was just able to climb to his feet in order to have his eardrums blasted by a beastly howl.
For a moment, blood trickled down the side of his head, his inner ear shattered, and along with it his balance. He stumbled, and was barely able to comprehend the huge, gnarled, clawed hand swinging towards him, before it collided with his chest. His ribcage shattered like glass, and the demigod was sent flying, slamming into the brick wall surrounding the graveyard. The monster roared again, but Percy could only feel the vibrations carried by air; his high-speed regeneration was prioritizing his ribs, since a few bone shards had pierced his organs.
With his blurry vision, Percy could not see through the dust cloud his impact had kicked up, but he knew that the old man could probably still smell him. Forcing himself to move, Percy summoned the red-tinged black flames to his hand, layering his face in the cold heat. The invocation of his mask drastically sped up his healing, making it near-instant, and Percy could finally breathe again. Behind his mask, his eyes itched, sickly-yellow pupils spinning into the red of the Sharingan. The glow emitted by the eyeholes changed as well.
The world slowed down, every dust particle swirling around him coming into focus. His vision zoomed in and out a few times, before he got it under control. In that time, the old man had moved, and he moved fast. Bursting through the haze, he swiped, but Percy saw where the blow would land. In that split-second, was able to examine his opponent's new appearance. He gained a good foot in height, his hair now extending down his back like fur. The front of his boots had burst open to reveal his crusty toes, similarly to his enlarged nails. His teeth were still yellow as piss, but they were larger than a dog's, and no doubt even sharper.
Percy took a step back, dodging by a hair's width, then jabbed forward with Riptide, burying the Celestial Bronze blade into the man-turned-monster's right eye. He ripped it out just as fast, and jumped back while the beast fumbled, scratching at his face, bellowing in rage. Finally, he seemed to decide to ignore the pain, and launched into the air. It was irritating, Percy mused, that this bastard relied on his smell. Had it been sight, then maybe his depth perception would have been lost along with his eye, making this much easier. Unfortunately, life didn't work like that, because life was a bitch.
That's why, even after decapitating the beast with a lightning-quick strike, Percy would find no rest.
