AN:
So... I'm a few days late. Oops.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
CHAPTER 3
The Olympians sat in silence as Zeus disappeared with Perseus, Hephaestus, and Ares. Most were shocked at what had just occurred. A couple were happy, but most were sad and angry. Two were mad at themselves.
Perseus had just been branded a traitor and sentenced to eternity in a prison over the Void. Nobody knew the exact location of the prison, save for Zeus.
When Hephaestus flashed back in, he looked a little dazed and disoriented, but before anyone could say anything, Zeus and Ares flashed in.
Ares and Hephaestus took seats in their thrones, but before Zeus could, Poseidon furiously got up and pointed his trident at Zeus' throat.
"The only reason I will not officially declare war on you is because the Council voted on this decision and we do not need more fighting after Gaea and the giants. But know that you have been made an enemy of Atlantis." Poseidon spat at Zeus before flashing away with a sobbing Amphitrite.
Zeus looked around the room. Artemis and Athena were both crying and glaring at him angrily before flashing out with Zoe. Apollo, Hermes, Hades, and Hestia were all shaking with rage before they, too, flashed out. Only Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, and Dionysus were left in the room.
Hera and Demeter both looked at each other in sadness and in shame, before they quietly flashed out, both of their eyes lacking the purple that was in them earlier.
Zeus looked at the remaining Olympians.
"Gather all the gods on Olympus. It doesn't matter how major or minor they are. Gather them at the front of this building." He said to Ares. Ares nodded and flashed out to do his task.
An hour later, all the gods on Olympus were gathered in front of the Council building. Zeus, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Dionysus all stood on the steps of the building.
"Minor gods! There has been an urgent development within the Council. The Council members that are not here right now disagree with what was done, despite two of them voting in favor of it. Perseus has been branded as a traitor to Olympus and is currently in a cage over the Void, where he will spend the rest of his time before he fades. He had betrayed us to Gaea and allowed her to escape! The Council's decision is final!" Zeus boomed before flashing away. The rest of the Olympians followed.
The gods of Olympus were shocked. Lord Perseus was always kind to them and was an excellent fighter. He was also very loyal. These thoughts just served to anger the gods. He had been faking his personality to them all along and had betrayed Olympus for Gaea! All of them were happy that he would spend the rest of his immortal life in a cage over the Void. It also made them happy, for the two maiden goddesses were 'available' again. The gods were always jealous that Perseus got three sworn maidens as his girlfriends, but now that he was locked away, they could go and try to get the goddesses' and Hunter's attention. Some even smirked in anticipation.
It had been almost three and a half millennia since Perseus was sentenced to a prison over the Void. No mortal remembered Perseus and no god or immortal spoke his name. Except for a few.
The seas had been restless and unforgiving for a while. The sun hadn't shone as bright, but was overly warm. The moon was dim. The hearth on Olympus hadn't been strong.
Everything had returned to normal, or as normal as it could be, after the first two millennia. But nothing was the same as it had been when he was around.
Poseidon and Amphitrite had a son who they loved just as much as Percy, but they still missed him. The Atlanteans adored their Prince, but they still missed Percy.
Poseidon also had a few demigod children, some of whom were excellent and honored heroes. He had been very conservative with having demigod children, as he did not like the idea of betraying her or making her angry. Sometimes, though, he found a woman with a perfect personality that he just couldn't resist. However, he had not had any new demigod children since the oath he made with his brothers towards the end of World War II.
Apollo and Hermes went out drinking together every week and had lots of demigod children. But their get-together nights were never the same without Percy.
Hades had a few demigod children, but like Poseidon, he hadn't had any since the oath he had made and had been conservative before the oath. He and Persephone both missed their nephew dearly.
Hestia was quiet and was rarely noticed by anyone while she tended to the hearth. She sorely missed her nephew and was lonely when she wasn't with Poseidon, Hades, or the others that favored Percy.
Artemis became cold and distant toward anyone that didn't support Percy. She was only nice to her Hunters and those that supported Percy, and even then, she only really confided in Zoe and Athena.
Athena was alone most of the time, and when she wasn't, she could often be seen with Artemis and the Hunt or talking with the others that supported Percy. She was often cold and distant with others, and turned to reading lots of books. Sometimes she would go out in the mortal world and find a nice man that reminded her of Percy, and have a brain child with them. She still remained a virgin, though, wanting only one person to take her virginity from her.
Demeter and Hera surprised everyone, though. They could only be seen with each other and rarely spoke to anyone else. A few gods had even caught them crying before. Hera hadn't been nice to Zeus or his kids, angry with him and herself for what happened to Percy. Demeter acted coldly towards him, too. On top of that, she only had a few demigod children every once in a while.
Currently, Artemis was returning to her Hunters from Olympus. She had just gotten 'orders' from Zeus to hunt down two children of Hades and bring them back to Olympus. Of course, she wouldn't be doing that last part. Instead, she had talked to Hades and planned on bringing them to the entrance of the Underworld.
It was just a bonus that the manticore the Hunters had been tracking for some time was near where the two demigods were. What worried her, though, was that the manticore might be tracking the two children.
She flashed to her Hunter's camp in Virginia. She went straight to the dining tent, where she knew her Hunters were eating lunch.
When she entered, she saw all of her Hunters sitting at two long tables which were each filled with food. She quickly caught her Hunters' attention by whistling loudly.
"Listen up! We have a new assignment from Zeus." Artemis said, saying the word 'assignment' distastefully. All of her Hunters knew of her dislike for her father, Zeus, but no one really knew why she hated him, save for Zoe and two older Hunters. Besides the fact that he was a male, of course. "We will be going to Maine where there are two demigod children of Hades. The manticore we have also been tracking seems to be heading in that direction. I'm worried that the manticore will go after the children, so we need to hurry. We will be bringing the children to the Door of Orpheus." All the Hunters nodded, a little confused at why Zeus wanted the children to go back to the Underworld instead of Olympus, but they did not dare question their Mistress. Only Zoe and the older Hunters knew why the kids were going to the Door, but they did not voice them.
"I must warn you, however, that one of the children will be male, while the other is female. You will not harm the boy, nor are you to try to get the girl to join the Hunt. It is not her time yet. Do you understand?" Artemis asked with sternness. All the Hunters nodded again, a little confused. It was strange for their Mistress to prohibit them from torturing or killing a boy. It was also strange for her to forbid them from asking a maiden to join the Hunt, but again, they did not dare question her.
"Good. Go get ready and pack up camp. We leave in thirty minutes." Artemis said before walking to her own tent.
Thirty minutes later and the Hunter's camp was all packed up, and they started heading to Maine.
It took three days, but they finally made it to the school where the two demigods were at. Everything around them was covered in snow, and the trees shook in the winter breeze. The moon was shining brightly and clouds could be seen all across the night sky.
The Hunters stuck to the woods outside of the large school, waiting and observing. A few minutes later, an angry-looking teacher walked out holding two children by the arms. Artemis recognized the two children as the ones they were after, so she motioned to her Hunters that those were the children of Hades. The Hunters nodded, but grew tense as they observed the teacher. He was definitely a monster, probably the manticore they were hunting.
The children that the manticore was holding both had olive skin and onyx eyes. The boy had unruly black hair while the girl had wavy black hair.
The teacher dragged the two helpless children towards a cliff. The Hunters were moving and getting into position when the doors that the teacher and kids had walked out of opened again. Four other children ran out of the doors holding weapons.
The boy in front looked about 13 and had blonde hair and blue eyes. The next person, a girl, looked to be about 15 years old, with choppy black hair and the same blue eyes as the first boy. The other girl looked the same age as the boy, with flowing blonde hair and grey eyes. The last boy had curly brown hair and seemed to have goat's legs - a satyr. The two girls looked to be angry at the blonde-haired boy over something, yet they still followed him.
The three teens and the satyr stopped in front of the manticore, who was now holding the two children of Hades close to the edge of the cliff.
Artemis nodded to her Hunters, and they shot arrows at the open areas of the manticore. The manticore let go of the children and they were quickly pushed out of the way by Zoe.
The manticore wailed and collapsed as it felt the pain of a dozen arrows all over him.
"You are not allowed to interfere! It's against the Ancient Laws!" The manticore yelled a little fearfully.
"You are wrong, monster." Artemis said coldly as she and her Hunters stepped out of type forest in her twelve-year-old form. "Hunting wild beasts is within my domain and you are a wild beast."
Another Hunter, Phoebe, stepped up to the manticore and aimed her notched arrow at its head. "Permission to kill, Lieutenant?"
Zoe looked at Artemis, who nodded, then turned back to Phoebe and said, "Permission granted."
Just as Phoebe released her arrow, the manticore rolled to the slide, knocking over the Hunter. The manticore stood up and grabbed Phoebe, before jumping off of the cliff and into the darkness below.
Everybody stared in shock at where the manticore had jumped off the cliff with Phoebe. Artemis ran over and looked down the cliffside before returning to her Hunters.
"She is not dead. I would have been notified if she were dead. She is also not at the bottom of the cliff. I assume that whoever sent the manticore after the children of Hades has her. We cannot search for her until we know more about the enemy we face." The Hunters all started shouting and protesting at this, but Artemis just simply raised a hand, her eyes showing sadness and determination.
"We will get her back alive. That I promise you all. She is just as important to me as she is to you. I won't rest until she is safely returned. But we cannot go jumping into a battle, especially against the enemy that we currently face. That will only lead to death." Artemis looked at her Hunters critically before they reluctantly nodded.
"We will discuss this later. For now, let us go set up camp. Bring the two children of Hades and the other demigods and the satyr. I need to speak to some of them." The Hunters nodded and went to guide the demigods.
The two children of Hades, Bianca and Nico Di Angelo, were guided peacefully to the Hunters' camp.
"Who are you people?" Bianca asked, as Nico just looked around in awe.
"We are the Hunters of Artemis, eternal maidens and immortal monster hunters. Artemis is the Goddess of the Moon, Hunt, and Virginity. You two are demigod children of Hades." A Hunter, Atalanta, said to them.
"Cool!" said Nico.
"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"
Nico got all excited and started asking all sorts of questions about the gods. Bianca was quiet and didn't talk much, still trying to process the information given to her and listen to what the others had to say to discern if they were telling the truth.
Meanwhile, Zoe and some other Hunters were guiding the other demigods and the satyr, 'accidentally' hitting or shoving the blonde male along the way.
"What do you want with us, Nightshade?" growled the girl with choppy, black hair.
"If it were up to me, Grace, you wouldn't be anywhere near us. But it is not up to me, and for some reason, milady wants to speak with you." Zoe said back with clenched teeth as she walked ahead and started talking with some other Hunters.
"What was that about, Thalia?" asked the blonde girl, who put a hand on the other girl's shoulder while the satyr looked at her in confusion.
"When me, you, and Luke were on the run, Zoe tried to convince me to join the Hunters. She said some things that didn't sit well with me. Needless to say, I rejected her offer. We haven't gotten along since then." The satyr and the blonde-haired girl both opened their mouths before Thalia put a hand up to stop them. "Not now, Annabeth, Grover." She snapped. Annabeth and Grover immediately closed their mouths and continued walking.
The blonde-haired boy, Zane, spoke up.
"Why would you turn down the opportunity to be immortal and become a badass?" Thalia glared at him, but Zane remained oblivious. "Besides, they're all super hot." Now, Annabeth and Thalia were both glaring at Zane. "I wonder…. Even though they are sworn maidens, I bet I could get them to break their oaths for me. I am a son of Zeus aft-" He never got to finish as he was kicked in the back of the knees and kneed in the groin. He fell to the ground as multiple notched arrows were pointed at him.
"Shut up pig. It doesn't matter if you are a son of Zeus, we will still torture and kill you if you try anything." One of the Hunters growled at him. Zane was smart enough to keep quiet the rest of the way.
When the large group made it to a suitable campsite, the Hunters set up all of their tents in a matter of minutes.
After telling Zoe to gather the children of Hades, Thalia, and the male, Artemis set up and entered her tent. She loved how nice her tent was. The inside was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor, and a fire burned in the middle. There were various pelts of different animals hung all along the walls, and on a polished oak display was her silver hunting bow. A silver deer, her sacred animal, appeared in a flash and came up to her. It rested its head contently in her lap as she stroked its head.
She had been observing the demigods during their walk to the campsite.
Nico seemed like an excitable child, but she was sure Hades would turn him into a fine warrior. Bianco was quiet and struggled a little to grasp the concept of the gods existing. But, like Nico, she was sure that Hades would turn her into a fine warrior. Artemis could easily see her being one of her best Hunters, but she had promised Hades that she wouldn't ask or let her join the Hunt. At least not yet.
Thalia, one of the children that Zeus wasn't supposed to have, appeared to be the leader of the little group of demigods. From observing her during the battle and during the walk to the campsite, Artemis could tell that she was an exceptionally good fighter, that she was brave, and that she could be a little prideful and easy to anger, like her father. She had noticed the harshness between Thalia and her lieutenant, and she knew the reasons for it, but she chose not to interfere. Zoe could handle herself, and she wanted to observe how Thalia would act.
The other girl, Annabeth, looked to be a brain daughter of her sister. She had the grey eyes and blonde hair that all mind-children of Athena had. In fact, besides some of her facial structures and the grey in her eyes, Annabeth didn't look like her mother at all. None of Athena's mind-children did. Artemis knew the reasons why. While Athena did have brain-children with some mortals, she didn't want her mind-children to look as her birth children would. She wanted to have birth children with one man only, Perseus, and she didn't want her mind-children to try to replace that dream. Much like Thalia, Artemis could see that Annabeth was brave and a good warrior, but she could also see that she was prideful. Maybe overly so.
The blonde male in their group, however, the son of Zeus, seemed like an arrogant pig-headed brat. Artemis had heard the way he had talked about her Hunters and seen how the two girls seemed to despise him. She could already tell he was very much like his father, which also meant that he had at least some of the traits that made her despise men in the first place. It would be fun to see what her Hunters would do with him.
The other male in their group, Grover, was just like any other satyr. He bowed and worshipped her as much as he could, acting like a love-struck fool and annoying the hell out of her. She really hated male satyrs sometimes, but she tried to refrain from turning them into jackalopes as they were protectors of nature.
She was brought out of her thoughts when the three demigods and the male she had asked for entered her tent, led by her lieutenant. The silver deer that was previously laying its head in her lap looked up and disappeared in a flash of silver.
"Join us demigods." The goddess said.
Artemis motioned for them to sit down on the tent floor, just as she was doing. The demigods sat across from her while Zoe sat beside her. The two children of Hades looked at her strangely until she realized that she was still in her twelve-year-old form.
"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Bianca said, while Nico just nodded, still in awe that he was in front of a Greek goddess.
Artemis smiled slightly. "I am able to change form as I please. I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want. But I prefer to appear this way, as it makes me feel more connected to my Hunters when I am with them. I only really change my appearance when I go to Olympus or when I am with my sister." What she didn't tell them was that she didn't always prefer to be in the form of a twelve-year-old. She used to prefer to be in the form of a woman in her early twenties. Especially when Perseus was around. But now that Perseus wasn't around, she didn't see the point of being in that form. Especially when it was painful to think about all those times.
The kids just nodded to what she said.
"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you, son of Hades." Artemis said to Nico. "It is very rare that boys are allowed in this camp. The last boy that we came across was…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"
"The boy in Colorado." Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."
"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I do love making jackalopes. Anyway, son of Hades, just mind your own business and try not to anger my Hunters and you should be fine." Nico just nodded his head shakily.
Of course, Zane chose this time to voice his thoughts. "Hey! What about me?" He said indignantly.
Artemis turned her head and glared at him. "You. You are lucky I haven't turned you into a jackalope yet. You are exactly like the pigs we hate. The only reason you haven't grown fur yet is because your daddy is Zeus. But that will not stop me should you aggravate me or my Hunters any more than you already have. Do you understand me?" Zane just nodded, afraid of getting turned into a small animal. "Good. Now get out." Zane was about to protest when Artemis snapped her fingers and he sprouted fur out of his arms. "Now." Zane ran out of the tent in fear, probably to search out Annabeth in the mass of man-hating teenage girls.
"Please excuse me, milady, but why are you being so nice to Nico, even though he is a boy?" Bianca asked.
Artemis looked at Bianca for a moment before answering. "I have a great respect for Hades, and I try to extend the same courtesy to his children. However, if I deem them unworthy of my respect, then they shall be treated like every other male I have come across. The same can be said for the male children of Poseidon, Apollo, and Hermes. My Hunters though, besides Zoe, Atalanta, and Phoebe, do not share my courtesy, as they do not know the reasons as to why I do so." Bianca nodded, still slightly confused.
"Now that that has been dealt with, I must tell you the reason why I have asked you all here. But before that, you must tell me everything that the monster told you." She said, talking to Thalia at the end.
Thalia nodded. "It said that something called the Great Stirring was underway. It said that monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years will reawaken and that they will cause death and destruction like never before. It… It also said that they will soon have the most important monster of all - the one that will bring the downfall of Olympus."
Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her bow. "I feared this was the answer."
"The scent milady?" Zoe asked as she sat forward.
"Yes"
"What scent?" Thalia asked.
"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia." Artemis murmured. "Prey so old that I have nearly forgotten. Some so old that I was not actually born yet." She stared at Thalia intently. "We came here tonight for the children of Hades and the manticore, but they were not the only thing we were seeking. Tell me again what the manticore said about explaining things to you."
"It said that somebody called the General was going to explain things to us." Thalia said. Zoe paled and Artemis looked at her a little worriedly before turning back to the demigods.
"Now, for the reason I have asked you all here." She looked at Bianca and Nico first. "Zeus has asked me to bring you both to Olympus, since you technically aren't supposed to exist." Both Nico and Bianca paled and were about to protest when Artemis spoke up again. "Relax, children. I will not be bringing you to Olympus. Instead, I am going to bring you to the Door of Orpheus, an entrance to the Underworld in New York. Your father will meet us there and will take you to his palace. There, he will train you and teach you about the gods."
"Cool!" Nico shouted as a wide grin appeared on his face. Bianca, however, didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, she was supposed to go to literal hell and meet and live with the father that abandoned her and her brother. On the other hand, she was going to finally meet her father and see more of the strange world she was just introduced to. Bianca was conflicted, to say the least.
"Excuse me, milady, but why are you not following Zeus' orders? Isn't he the King of the Gods?" Thalia asked in confusion.
"Yes, technically he is King of the Gods." Artemis said distastefully. "But most of the Council actually hates him. He and some of the other members did something many millennia ago that caused a division among the Olympians. Something that can never be forgiven or forgotten." As she said this, the demigods noticed that her eyes took on a saddened look and that Zoe looked down. The demigods could have sworn they saw a tear or two on each of their faces. However, before they could be sure, Artemis was back to speaking in a serious tone and Zoe looked up with a serious expression.
"Anyway, after we drop Bianca and Nico off with Hades, you will escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood." She said, looking at Thalia.
"What?" Zoe blurted out. "But, milady, we hate that place. The last time we were there -"
"Yes, I know." Artemis said. "But I'm sure that Dionysus will not hold a grudge, otherwise he will have to deal with me. It is your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you please. I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."
Artemis looked at Zoe with a small smile while Zoe muttered something about stupid campers and disgusting males under her breath.
"As I was saying, daughter of Zeus, you will escort the Hunters to Camp Half-Blood, while I, along with my sister, will hunt down this monster that the manticore spoke of. I will need her knowledge and wisdom for this hunt, as I wasn't actually born when it was last around. In fact, neither was she, but the knowledge she has gained from reading countless books will be useful." Thalia just nodded.
Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. I shall get my brother to get us all to Central Park, where the Door of Orpheus is located. Zoe, go get the Hunters and pack up camp. Tell them where we are going and that Apollo will be getting us there." Zoe nodded and walked out of the tent.
Artemis opened her eyes and looked at Thalia, Bianca, and Nico. "It is time for you to meet my twin brother, Apollo." She said, her eyes gleaming.
AN:
I wanted to get this chapter out Saturday, but it wasn't at a point where I felt like I could post it.
I also wanted to end this chapter a little later, but I didn't want to keep y'all waiting. The next chapter will include what I wanted to end this chapter with, and some more.
Hopefully, I can be on time with the next chapter, but no promises.
See you next time!