A/N: This chapter has sensitive content. This includes explicit torture scenes and mature themes and heavy gore. Those who are underage are requested not to read, but I know you'll end reading anyway so enjoy.
I'm not an angel, I'm not a saint
I've been a closed book full of mistakes
But when you're broken, when you're in pain
I'll walk through fire with you
3rd Person POV
Zoe woke up with a jolt in Artemis's palace. Her head was killing her. It was a dream, right? She thought to herself. They were safe, right? That was until she tried to feel her body. Looking down she was covered in a net meant to capture demigods and immortals. Her heart sank as she knew what happened was true. She tried to reach for her knife strapped to her thigh. It seemed that reaching it was possible but cried out in pain the moment she extended her hand. She realized that her hand was broken, and now that she was aware, it looked like she had taken quite a beating. The taste of blood attacked her tongue as she felt her lips had been split. Grunting in pain and trying over and over, Zoe managed to free herself from the net.
One look around, it was confirmed that it indeed was not a dream. The Hunt was strewn across the hall, each wrapped in a net similar to hers and had various injuries. Losing any thoughts she had, Zoe rushed to the aid of her sisters in arms. All were unconscious so Zoe tried to wake them in the most sensible order. She woke Atlanta up first who winced in pain, holding her ribs. "What hap-" Atlanta asked but Zoe cut her off. "Not now Atlanta. We need to help our sisters. You are the senior medic, check for life-threatening injuries, and treat them" she said. Within 10 minutes all the hunters were up. Some were sporting slings and crutches for broken bones or internal injuries while most had bandages wrapped around various parts of the body.
"Zoe, wh-where is Percy and Milady?" Phoebe asked the million drachma question in a panic-stricken voice. The hunters were overwhelmed by fear, fear for their patron and the boy they had grown to love as their brother. Nobody answered as a wave of anxiety hit the hunters like a 100 feet high tidal wave. Everybody was rooted to their spots. "Zoe, why aren't you telling us? Where are they? Who rescued us?" Atlanta was the one to ask this time. As they continued to search the palace turning everything over, their dread started rising tenfold at each passing minute and each empty room. By the time they met after a fruitless search, everybody had been reduced to tears.
"It can't be. No no, they seriously didn't do it. No, NOOOO!" Palena screamed. She started sobbing hysterically. Repeated attempts to calm her down failed miserably as they tried to ask what it was about. Finally, when she did stop bawling, she just collapsed on the sofa. "I was the last one to lose consciousness. I heard Orion saying it but I dismissed it as delirious thoughts" she said, tears leaking again. "What ar-are you talking about?" Naomi asked, her voice quivering in raw fear.
"They were holding us as b-bait. They would ask Percy and Milady to surrender themselves in exchange for letting us go. From what it seems they did that. Percy and Lady Artemis have been captured" she whispered. The united gasp and the subsequent sobbing by the whole Hunt showcased how grave the situation was. They had no idea what those savages might do to the duo. Artemis especially was in danger. The Giants weren't known to be kind to humans, especially women and Artemis was a virgin. A shudder ran through the hunters' spines as they thought more about the things Percy and Artemis would have to go through after saving the hunters.
Shakily, Zoe stood up. Crying right now was of no use, she had to let the Gods know of what had come to pass. The hunters could do nothing to rescue them, so the best alternative would be the Gods. They had the right to know anyway. Gritting her teeth as pain engulfed her body from the previous wounds, hand in a sling, she walked to the doors and opened them. "Atlanta, with me. Sisters, there is no point in sitting and ruing. We will tell the Gods and help them in any way possible. All of you heal up and wait until we come back" she commanded. Atlanta too was having difficulty walking. She winced at every step she took, clutching her midsection as the broken ribs made even breathing a tough task. Together, Zoe and Atlanta literally dragged themselves towards the throne room, leaning on each other for assurance that one would not collapse before reaching their destination. The passersby gawked at them, no doubt thinking what could possibly have happened to them.
The door to the Throne room opened to reveal Athena, Demeter, and Hestia as the only Olympians present. When the two huntresses, once fierce and invincible, now broken and battered, entered through the door, the Goddesses' eyes expanded comically until they resembled dinner plates. Before any of them could rush to their aid, Zoe collapsed and blacked out. She had been letting on more than her wrecked body could keep up with. Not being able to keep up with her weight against her shattered ribs, Atlanta fell on her knees and cried out in immense pain.
Hestia was the first to reach them, closely followed by Athena and Demeter. They knew it was not the time to ask them about what happened. Wasting no time, Athena helped Atlanta up the best she could without disturbing the latter's midsection while Hestia quickly summoned a bed as Demeter picked Zoe and set her down on the bed. Another chair was summoned where Atlanta was gently lowered on. Hestia was a great healer, maybe even better than Apollo but still there was a limit. It wasn't like a click of fingers and boom, you are healed. And the damage, no carnage, these huntresses had suffered would take days to heal. Hestia still managed to heal them enough to reduce their pain and for Zoe to regain consciousness.
"My Lady, please call a meeting, fast" Zoe croaked out. Athena hearing that shot a grey beam from her spear, signaling a meeting. As one by one, all the deities flashed in, the tension in the air grew. The condition of the huntresses was proof enough that something went horribly wrong. When all of the Gods were on their thrones, the absence of a major deity and the sole mortal Olympian was duly noted.
"Daughter, why did you call this meeting?" Zeus asked, arriving last. He looked at the huntresses in front of him and grew concerned. His daughter, his favorite daughter, was the leader of the Hunt and his favorite nephew was there too, so if something happened to these two huntresses then by extension... That was when he noticed the two empty seats on the council. A lump of panic appeared in his throat.
Poseidon was faring no better, but he accumulated enough courage to ask. "Huntress, where are Percy and Artemis?" he asked in a shaking voice. The whole throne room was quiet. Zoe was visibly having difficulty speaking yet managed it. "Ambush, My Lord" she said before her voice faltered. "WHAT!?" Poseidon and Zeus screamed. "Th-they gave themselves up to let us be free" Atlanta who had said nothing till now spoke up as tears fell from her eyes. Dread set in the room like fog in the morning sea. Seeing that these huntresses were too distraught, another measure had to be taken to know what had transpired.
"Hermes, summon Iris right now" Zeus said solemnly. Said god disappeared in a flash, returning a few minutes later with a Goddess covered in rainbow-colored clothing. "Yes, My Lord?" she asked, confused as to the panicked state of the throne room and the missing boy she had started seeing as a friend. Heck, he was the only one who even paid attention to the minor gods. "Iris, I need you to read these huntresses' memory and display it for us. Something grave has happened" Zeus said in a very non-Zeus, prideless voice. She thought this was shocking but it was nothing compared to what she saw in their memories, with their permission of course. The screen she opened to display the memories was a deep shade of blue, her color for a depressing state.
FLASHBACK
"Alright girls, we will camp here and wait till Milady and Percy return" Zoe told her fellow hunters. "You two go and patrol the perimeter and call us if you spot anything out of order" the 2 hunters in question nodded, shouldered their bows, and walked away. Being a huntress for a long time had its advantages. Zoe's sensory skills were very fine-tuned. She could tell something was wrong. Not a single monster had attacked them in the forest where they expected to fight hordes of them.
Nevertheless, they set up their tents, built their fire, and did what they were told, to wait. After sitting in nonchalant silence for an hour, Zoe realized something, the two huntresses had still not returned. Giving them the benefit of doubt, she sent two more hunters to call them back. Meanwhile, the Hunt ate a quick dinner of dried bread and a canteen of soup, not the best of taste but best in practicality.
"I wonder why Percy and Milady are taking so much time? I wish they return fast so we can leave this wretched place as fast as we can" a young huntress said, sighing deeply. "Ah don't worry about that. We are here to help you with that. Once they come you will be free to go...possibly" a foreign voice came from behind the trees, a male voice. At once the hunters had their bows trained to the spot the voice came from. "Are you sure you want to do that?" another voice came, mocking them all. "Show yourselves cowards" Zoe said but faltered. Laughing, 3 figures came out into the clearing. Orion, Gration, and Enceladus. "YOU! You will die" Zoe raised her bow but that was when she noticed the 4 hunters in nets, beaten up pretty bad. Fuelled by anger, they all charged right ahead.
Now they learnt that they should never let take rage take over. The Hunt was being decimated in mere minutes. They were absolutely no match for 2 giants and a skilled hunter. Yet they struggled harder. Zoe herself was locked in battle with Orion while the others fought the 2 giants who had grown to their true heights of 35 feet. Zoe couldn't see how the others were doing but had a sinking feeling they were losing fast. Orion and Zoe were neck to neck, neither relenting. She could have beaten him any other time but that bastard was now immortal and had much more stamina. A sole mistake of over-extending a thrust resulted in Orion grabbing her arm and throwing her with much force. An audible crack was heard as she landed on her arm.
"A perfect bait and a win-win situation. Either Artemis and that brat surrender themselves for you people or you all are mine. Did you think you were the only ones with spies? Those operatives sure demanded a lot of gold, but oh well" Zoe heard Orion chuckle before she lost consciousness from the pain in her arm. The display showed the fight with the giants for a little longer before it went completely dark, meaning Atlanta too had passed out.
FLASHBACK END
The Olympians were in deep shock. The Hunt was one of the, if not the most fiercest fighting unit the Gods had. To think of them being destroyed like this was something unimaginable. They had faced large groups of monsters and had come out victorious. But now, they were toyed with like flies around food. Apollo broke the deathly silence that had overtaken the room, his face gaunt with visible concern for his sister.
"So this means they are being held by the giants?" he asked in a small voice. Oh, how Athena wanted to retort with 'I thought we established that, didn't we God of Knowledge?', but nothing came out of her mouth but a crestfallen sigh and a defeated nod. They still couldn't grasp the fact that their 2 most skilled combatants were in their enemy's captivity. "Bring the traitor operatives now" Zeus screamed. Hermes scampered off but returned empty-handed. "They have fled to the lands beyond gods, father" he said dejectedly. "Everyone hear me! Search for Artemis and Perseus the best you can. Search every nook and cranny and if you find any information, however small, report immediately" Zeus ordered, slumping back into his throne, cursing himself for letting them go on this doomed mission.
With Artemis and Percy
Artemis woke up to a throbbing pain in her head. She looked around for a while and found out she was in a stone cell that was fairly large and had no windows, no beds, and no water source. The only light source was a single torch burning right outside the heavy steel doors of the cell that were locked with chains big enough to restrain drakons. As soon as she remembered what happened to them she started to panic? What happened to her hunters? Where was she? Where was Percy? Her mind was racing with various questions. The last question was answered fairly quickly when she noticed Percy lying unconscious on the floor on the opposite side of the cell.
She tried to move towards him and that's when she found out she was chained. Celestial bronze chains wrapped around her in a way she had almost no mobility. Her legs were free so she could move around but a smaller shackle near her ankle attached to the floor restricted her from moving much. From what she calculated, she could move to where Percy was. But her upper body had almost no movement space her, hands were chained across her back and her head and shoulders were held into place by more chains. Her clothes were ripped in many places.
She remembered the amulet Percy had given her, the one that would allow her to use her powers even though she was in chains. But a sense of dread overcame her when she couldn't find the only ornament she was happy to wear. "Is something missing, my dear?" A voice asked her mockingly from outside the cell. She squinted in the dark and saw Gration standing there with the amulet in his hands, glowing blue. Rage overtook her. "Give that back" she said through gritted teeth. "Still defiant, arent we? Well oops" he mocked before crumbling the amulet with his bare hands.
"What did you do to Percy?" Artemis asked, thrashing in her chains, trying to break free. "Oh, we didn't anything to him except knock him out, yet. You being immortal recovered earlier. Now let us not talk about him. You need to be punished for your pride" he said before unlocking the cell door and walking inside. Artemis could do nothing as Gration stalked up to her. He started stroking up her down her body, his hands lingering especially on her chest and back. "Whatever you do, I. Will. Not. Yield" she said before spitting right on his face. Gration slapped her right across the face, splitting her lips. "Impudent goddess! Your punishment will be public humiliation, in front of all our forces. I will make sure your pride is murdered. And just so you know no power is going to work here" he growled out. Even with the stinging on her cheek she still glared at the giant.
Gration unlocked the shackles around her ankles but before she could try to run, he swept her legs from underneath her. He then proceeded to grab her waist-long hair and started dragging her away. Being grabbed and dragged by the hair for a woman was actually very humiliating. She yelped in pain and thrashed around but couldn't do anything with her being still chained up. Artemis was dragged around for Chaos knows for how long until they reached a big a very big gathering hall with a stage making up one end of it. There were again no windows, confirming that they were underground. A large army of monsters of various types stood in the hall. Orion and Enceladus were already on the stage, looking at her and smiling cruelly.
Gration suddenly lifted her off the ground, still holding her hair, and carried her on stage, and dumped her on the floor. "Ah! Artemis, the woman of the moment" Enceladus smirked but before she could respond a gag was forced into her mouth by Orion. Gration turned towards his army. "Do you think Artemis, an Olympian goddess should be punished right here!?" he yelled and a large roar of approval was heard. Artemis started squirming but to no avail. "Now starts the death of your pride" Enceladus coldly said as Gration moved towards a chair and brought it right to the edge of the stage before sitting down on it.
Once again against her wishes, she was picked off the ground and unceremoniously dumped on Gration's lap. Horrified, she realized what he intended to do and started kicking with her legs. Gration on the other hand simply held her legs and brought her on his knee such that the whole gathering could see her backside. Artemis started screaming in her gag but the only response she got was Gration roughly pulling off her hunting skirt, as she was left only in her underwear.
A loud chorus of laughter was heard from the army. Without waiting for a second, he pulled down her underwear to her knees, leaving her exposed for the whole army to see. Tears welled up in her eyes as she heard catcalls and wolf whistles. "Ah Artemis, such a beautiful asset you have here but too late to admire. You need to be punished" Gration said as he rubbed her butt. Without warning, he brought his hand down as hard as he could on her bare butt.
She cried into her gag as the stinging pain hurt her, leaving a handprint. Before she could recuperate another slap hit her on the other side of her butt. She again cried in pain while the crowd roared in approval. Ruthlessly, Gration continued, he hit her again and again until her backside was completely swollen and golden from the blood that had ichor accumulated there. He spanked her continuously without a break until Artemis felt numb, welts appearing on her soft skin. For one hour this continued, Orion and Enceladus laughed all the time at the cost of Artemis's pain.
But it didn't stop there. Once Gration was satisfied at seeing her bottom to be golden and covered in handprints, Artemis was hanged from a beam such that she was a few inches off the ground. That was when Orion took out a whip. By this time, Artemis was long gone. The once fierce goddess was now openly crying at the pain and humiliation. Her 3 captors gave her an evil grin before cracking the whip, the monsters shouting their approval. As the first lash hit her on the back, she screamed in immense pain, realizing that the end of the whip was spiked as it bit into her skin. Lash after lash hit her, the spikes tearing into her clothes little by little. Soon she was devoid of any clothes, fully naked in the view of an entire monster battalion. But she couldn't comprehend being naked since her mind was still trying to cope with the pain of getting hit by a spiked whip.
The first hit that came to her front side hit her right on her breasts. The spikes at once embedded themselves into her sensitive flesh and drew ichor. Artemis felt pain unlike any she had ever experienced. It seemed like someone had set her breasts on fire. This one hit was quickly followed by many others and now her chest and abdomen were covered in her warm ichor. Artemis tried everything to get away but nothing worked. They whipped her as long as they wanted, taking turns in doing so.
"And now this will only be part of the pain felt by those who you castrated, you bitch, and oh don't worry, none of us is going to dirty themselves by using your filthy body" Orion spat at her. He placed the whip right between her legs as Artemis watched in horror and in one quick move, swung the whip upwards as hard as he could. The moment it made contact, an ungodly amount of pain surged through her body, originating from her nether regions, as the demonic whip bit into her untouched super sensitive skin. She screamed so loud that everyone could hear her even through her gag and continued until her breath ran out. Her head swam as her body finally gave in to the torture she was subjected to. She briefly remembered being dragged back into her cell, shackled again, and a piece of ambrosia being thrown at her before she passed out for good.
Percy woke up to a massive headache and a painful kick to his stomach. The first thing he noticed was Artemis. His blood boiled at the sight of her sprawled across the floor of what seemed like a cell with no windows. As his eyes adjusted to the light in there, he saw her clearly, naked, bleeding from several wounds and unconscious. He tried to move towards her but found it impossible as he was wrapped up heavily in chains which would otherwise let him reach her but were being held back. He growled and tugged at them but nothing budged. Another kick to his back brought him to reality. Standing above him was Orion, grinning evilly.
"What did you do to her?" Percy snarled. "You know that's exactly what she asked. We just taught her a lesson. Besides, we have no interest whatsoever in bedding a bitch like her" Orion said casually making Percy thrash in his holdings. Suddenly, Orion's laughter stopped and a cold look replaced it. "And now it's time for your punishment" he said before dragging him out to the same place where Artemis was tortured.
Once again the crowd roared in approval as Orion literally threw Percy across the stage to where Gration and Enceladus were standing. He landed on his foot with an audible crack but made no sound except a grunt. No matter what, Percy was not going to surrender to these heartless bastards. To him, making any sound of pain would be a sign of letting them win and he had no intention of doing such a thing.
Percy was chained and hanged the same way as Artemis except for this time they used thorned chains which dug into his flesh. "Your pathetic girlfriend took an hour to break. Let's see how far your resolve goes. And we do have unfinished business from what you did all those years ago" Gration said as he heated a knife. Enceladus meanwhile brought out a whip, the same one they used on Artemis. Percy knew what they intended to do and inside he was quite scared too.
Yet even if he was scared inside, he didn't show it as he continued to glare at them, his eyes a poisonous green with immense pent-up rage. When the first hit landed on his back, he didn't even flinch, something that made everyone falter for a second. They continued hitting him the same way they did with Artemis. But unlike her who gave a vocal reaction to each hit, Percy merely breathed sharply when each strike landed but his eyes started to grow colder and piercing, like the calm before a storm.
After two hours, his upper body was bloody as every inch of his skin had taken at least one strike from that godamned whip. His shirt had been ripped but his trousers were still hanging around his waist. Percy was breathing heavily but that was the only thing he had as a reaction to a brutal whipping that even the worst criminals didn't receive. Yet, Percy still held his head up, not a single pained yelp had left his bloodied lips.
Gration now moved in with a heated knife about 9 inches in length and brandished it right in front of Percy. Without warning, Gration stabbed the hot knife right into his shoulder, cutting through tissue and bone like they were wet clay. A flicker of grimace was seen on Percy's face but that was it, vanishing almost as soon as it appeared. Gration gritted his teeth in frustration before twisting the blade and agonizingly slowly pulling it out. Another grunt left Percy but he still didn't yield.
Over the next hour, his torture constantly shifted between whipping or being stabbed with a hot knife. By the time it finished, Percy was in great pain, every body part of his felt like liquid fire still he met his captor's eyes with pride, proud of not breaking down. The torturers though were losing their minds, no one had suffered this much and certainly did not keep their sanity afterward. As a final, desperate measure, they dumped a gallon of rubbing alcohol right on his body, the water present in it healing him but not before engulfing him in excruciating, mind-shattering pain. Percy hissed in pain, the farthest reaction he had given till now but otherwise kept his mouth shut.
"Maybe not today but you will break eventually Perseus" Enceladus snarled before Gration dagged him back to his cell and shackled him again, threw him a piece of ambrosia, and left. Unlike Artemis, Percy still had the strength and determination to not pass out. Even though his sore body protested against his every movement, he dragged himself towards the comatose body of his goddess. Her wounds were still bleeding so Percy broke a piece of ambrosia and crumbled it into powder. Gently, he applied it to her wounds, eyes closed as he applied it to her naked body, and sighed in relief when the bleeding stopped and the skin began healing itself. He caressed her cheek, maintaining his sight on her face and never looking down at her body. Cupping her chin, he forced some more ambrosia into her mouth and watched as color returned to her face.
A moment later, Artemis regained consciousness, groaning as she sat up. She tried covering herself with her hands to protect her modesty and shivered as the cold floor sent chills up her unclothed self. The moment she noticed Percy, all thoughts about being naked in front of him vanished as she literally jumped into his awaiting arms. She sobbed hard into his shoulder as she continued hugging him like he might disappear any instant, well the best she could while still chained, and felt the scars their captors had left on Percy. Percy wrapped his arms around her form and let her stay there, embraced in his warmth. Sometime later she pulled back gently.
"You look so beautiful even in this condition Missy. Nothing could be compared to you" Percy said proudly. Artemis chuckled, only Percy would try to lighten the mood in the given situation. "I hoped I could reveal myself to you in better conditions. Never thought you would have to look upon me in these unfortunate circumstances " she motioned at her body, giving Percy a small, sad smile. Percy just looked at her for one moment before his eyes met hers. "Don't worry Missy. You and your whole being is the most mesmerizing thing ever. I will gladly wait for the right time to look upon you and even then it would have the same effect as seeing you for the first time" Percy said, tilting her head up her head and kissing her softly. "Stay strong Missy. We will get out of here and when we do, I will wreak havoc on them. I promise" he vowed as he stroked her hair and felt her fall asleep in his arms.
Over the next week, they were subjected to intense torture and will-breaking humiliation, and while Artemis would scream in agony, Percy wouldn't even let out a single pained sound. It almost became a sadistic routine. In the morning, or that was what they assumed it was, they would wake up to a hard kick to their abdomen. Then they would be unshackled and dragged to the gathering hall and onto the stage. Not only they were tortured publicly, they also had to endure the trauma of watching their significant other get tortured. Artemis would be bent over the knee of one or the other captor and spanked on her bare ass until the punisher was satisfied. Meanwhile, Percy would be beaten up badly with sticks, rods, punches, and kicks. This would be followed by hard whipping for both of them, though thankfully, the spiked whip had been dropped, instead, using a bullwhip, which still was painful. The sadistic captors would laugh maniacally each time a lash landed on their private parts, which resulted in an anguished cry from Artemis and a grimace from Percy. This would go on for hours before the Giants and Orion would be satisfied but instead of putting them back into their cell, they were hanged from a pole right in the middle of the gathering hall. All the monsters walking by would take time in assaulting both. Artemis's butt and breasts would be liberally groped and she could do nothing but squirm under the defiling touch as they pinched her nipples and slapped her ass. Percy on the other hand would face much worse, stabbed and cut by the monsters by a stygian iron dagger. Once satisfied, Styx water or rubbing alcohol would be dumped on him and the monsters would watch in fascination as the liquids completely healed Percy, not even leaving a scar behind, yet delivering excruciating pain. Only after these activities were they thrown back into their cell, along with a piece of ambrosia for them to heal and no other food or drink.
That changed the night they were visited by the most unexpected rescuer. That night, exactly 2 weeks after their capture, Percy was still awake. His mind was buzzing with action, trying to plan an escape as he absent-mindedly stroked the waist-long auburn hair of a sleeping Artemis curled up in his arms. He was brought out of his thoughts by the clicking of a lock as a hooded figure walked in. "Quick, we don't have much time" the figure whispered throwing a hand-sown tunic towards Artemis who had woken up from the sound of the figure opening their shackles. "Wh-who are you? Why are you helping us?" Percy asked as the man now started working on their chains. "Damasen, the peaceful Gigante, against my wish born to oppose Ares, what my brothers did to you is unacceptable. I stole your weapons from them and hid them under the biggest tree outside this stronghold. We are in Crete right now. Even without your chains, this place has been spelled to make your powers useless. Wear these clothes and run while I hold them back" he said as he finally managed to free both of them. Without question, Artemis quickly put on the tunic and got ready to run, same with Percy. Damasen summoned a spatha and as soon as he gave them a nod, all three started sprinting as fast as they could.
As they ran past the gathering hall and into a corridor, turning a corner, the darkness of the night sky was visible at the far end of the staircase. Seeing that it was night, the army was still sleeping. All would have gone well if not for the javelin that suddenly sprouted from Damasen's chest the moment he turned around to say something. "I am sorry. Should have been faster..." he managed before slowly crumbling into dust. As his body dissolved, Enceladus, Gration, and Orion were found guarding the gap between Percy and Artemis and the exit. "Should have known Damasen would betray us. That bastard!" Enceladus exclaimed putting away a quiver of javelins. Percy and Artemis were still rooted in their spot, not able to comprehend what happened in mere moments, their hopes of escape shattering. With a snap of Gration's fingers, earthern restraints rose from the ground and caught the pair inside it. "So near yet so far. Poor things" Orion said in mock-disappointment, clicking his tongue. Then he glared, "Now you shall face punishment, you pathetic creatures." Sporting identical evil smirks, the 3 stalked up to the restrained couple.
They grabbed Percy and Artemis and threw them into the gathering hall. Before they could stand up, celestial bronze chains wrapped around their body. The giants summoned steel rods and mercilessly started beating the 2. Percy was being whacked like a pinata (just go with it, I know pinata didn't exist) as he coughed up blood from a particular hit into his gut. His vision blurred as his head swam, his body numb. Bruises formed in abundance as steel connected with flesh and bones. Artemis too was being beaten senseless. Ichor fell like a waterfall from a deep cut on her forehead where the rod connected taking her to the edge of unconsciousness. Several hits to soft spots made her want to die rather than experience this. She was pretty sure her shin bones along with 3-4 ribs had been completely shattered. But that one hit was too much. Orion swung his rod so hard that the connection with her pelvis instantly broke her spine and hip bone as she let out a horrifying shriek of pain before passing out from pain and heavy internal bleeding.
The agonized sound of a loved one is nothing one ever wants to hear. How Percy wished he could take her pain onto himself rather than watch her suffer but due to this cursed anti-spell stronghold, Artemis had to endure it all by herself. But the limit was crossed when a horrible crack of bone was heard and Percy saw Artemis scream and pass out. 2 weeks of pent-up rage and resentment along with the will of bloody revenge took their course inside Percy as he finally snapped. The 3 sadistic maniacs who were laughing abruptly stopped and stepped back as the whole stronghold shook right to its foundations. Their smiles were wiped off their face when they saw Percy.
Glowing a poisonous sea green, Percy had managed to stand up by himself even though he was heavily chained in strength-sapping chains and had been almost beaten to death. His eyes were the things that made the 3 wet their pants. Long gone were the bright emerald colors as a venomous murky green filled his irises. The tridents in his eyes seemed to glow and pulsate with his heartbeat, opening a peephole to his soul, giving the captors a glance at the raw power that knew no bounds, generating much more than the chains could ever drain.
"B-But the ch-chains were m-made to restrain im-immortals. Ho-how did y-you not get a-affected d-demigod? Anyway, you need a god and demigod to kill Gigantes, we shall b-be able to overpower y-you, right?" Enceladus stammered. Percy was beyond lost in his state of pure rage. As monsters started pouring in through the halls, Percy let out a humorless laugh as everyone faltered at its coldness. Huge stone-melting hot geysers shot out the ground surrounding them in a 30-feet radius, right in front of the approaching monsters, separating the 3 captors plus Percy and Artemis from the rest of the army. A few monsters unlucky enough to be near it vaporized instantly. The geysers though didn't stop there, it rose up until with a thunderous boom it broke the roof that had to be at least 50 feet high. Large debris of the broken roof fell around the 5 and the monsters on the other side as a night sky full of stars was revealed. With water blasting out the torches lighting the area, the stronghold was plunged into darkness. The only light came from the stars above and the ghostly green glow that was being emitted by Percy.
As water from underground seeped out of the ground, it curled onto his body, wrapping around the chains, and instantly froze into ice. With a small tug, the chains, known to restrain gods, were broken like vines on a tree. More water came out of the ground and formed a protective bubble around a motionless Artemis, healing her the best it could and breaking her chains. The 3 were frozen in place, having lost the motor abilities of their bodies due to excessive shock. "To put it in simple terms, both of your assumptions are wrong. Yes, I am a demigod but I am also the true son of a Primordial, born from the very essence of Pontus. Your chains may restrict gods and demigods, but you are very mistaken if you ever thought that these could stop primordial offsprings. Also yes to your other question, I may not be able to kill you, but I can take you down. Never. Underestimate. Your. Opponent" Percy growled out. With a quick snap of his fingers, the water around them crawled up the body of the 3 captors and instantly encased them in ice, leaving out major parts but incapacitating them.
The 3's eyes widened as water curled around Percy's body and onto his knuckles before extending outwards and solidifying into a serrated ice dagger. "You may have gotten away with torturing me, but the moment you touched Artemis, your dooms were sealed" Percy snarled before approaching Enceladus, melting some of the ice to expose his abdomen, upper legs, and arms. Without even a warning, Percy swiped up and cut both of his legs. Two more thuds followed as Enceladus's arms joined his other two appendages on the floor below, ichor spurting out like a fountain. Enceladus didn't even have the time to scream as water was forced into his gullet which formed an ice rod and spikes emerged from it while still being in his throat, piercing his whole body from inside as he writhed in pain but very much alive and responding.
Turning to Orion, who now reeked of urine, he promptly spat in his space. "You know Artemis loved you once. Yet you took advantage of such an innocent and deserving goddess's love just to fulfill your self-centered and greedy aims. You are a shame and disgrace to our father Poseidon's name. I won't even waste time on you or eternally dirty my hands from touching you" he coldly stated before taking back a few steps. Percy closed his eyes, concentrating on Orion's ichor, as he raised his hand, and quickly clamped his fingers into a fist. Orion got the chance to scream once as his ichor was superheated but a puke-worthy squelching sound silenced all others coming from Orion. The mass of muscles, organs, and ichor could no longer be identified as Orion. His whole body, using the pressure of the ichor flowing through him, had been turned inside out, quite literally, the skin inside his body while other things outside. Disgustingly and painfully still visible was his beating heart on the outside along with the working lungs.
Percy just left Orion there to rot and suffer much like Enceladus as he descended upon Gration. The Gigante of the Hunt whimpered and struggled in his ice restraint. As Percy studied the Giant in front of him, he smirked at the burn marks on Gration's neck and face from their confrontation all those years ago. Though Percy had almost died defeating Gration at that first, he had improved heavily with time, he was beyond powerful at this time, his powers almost surpassing even the Big Three. Percy could wield almost any weapon and along with his powers was nearly invincible and a one-on-one with him would be heavily one-sided for Percy.
"I see you didn't learn your lesson the last time, did you? Maybe I should burn it right into your eyes" Percy growled out, lighting his other hand which was not holding the ice dagger on fire. Fear danced on Gration's face as his mouth had been closed by a strip of ice covering it, pleading Percy to stop. "On second thoughts, I think you have seen too much. And I have decided you don't need eyes anymore" he stated plainly. Forming another ice dagger, he plunged them right into Gration's eyes and slowly gouged them out. "And I remember you having fun whipping us didn't you?" Percy said summoning a whip made purely out of water, with 4 inch long spikes at the end. From there on, Percy would switch between whipping Gration and boiling his blood from inside until the first rays of dawn broke into the night sky. By the time Percy was done, Gration had been left to be nothing but a blob of ichor and muscles, his body features long unrecognizable.
Once finished he looked around to see the geysers still shooting out of the ground, though he knew the monsters had long fled. Orion was still in his gruesome state while Enceladus was writhing in agony, spike bulges visible from inside his body. Artemis had regained consciousness but was evidently paralyzed from the broken pelvis and spine, yet her pain-filled eyes were moving around and set on Percy and gave him the look saying please end them. Without further ado, he plunged his dagger through Orion's exposed heart as he crumpled to dust and slowly approached Artemis. Percy took her arm and pointed it towards Gration. Artemis winced in pain from moving an injured body part but gathered enough strength to fire a weak silver blast of energy towards Gration who seemed relieved to die after the terrifying torture, confirming that powers were working again.
The moment Gration was killed, Artemis passed out again, not being able to endure the pain her body was in. But this left Enceladus alive, well if you call being impaled by an ice rod down the throat with spikes ripping the body from insides alive that is. Using the water to carry Artemis gently, not making sudden movements to rest her broken body, he walked towards the Gigante of planning. "I leave you here for now scum. Do me a favor, go back to your brothers and sisters, and tell them their doom has been sealed. Tell them that war has been declared by Percy Jackson and the moment Artemis recovers, he will attack and kill them even if it means he has to die" Percy said and withdrew the ice rod.
The geysers stopped and fell back as Percy walked through them, carrying Artemis's broken form in a water stretcher. Once out of the compound of the stronghold, Percy turned around to face the ruins and stomped his foot down, summoning a colossal 8 magnitude earthquake as the whole underground facility crumpled and got destroyed. Trudging forward, the events of the night started taxing his body. The adrenaline that was coursing through his body died down and pain from the beating began to appear. He found it hard to move his left ankle, which no doubt was broken and must have been damaged further from what he just did. A concussion had formed on his forehead as he started swaying, finding it hard to keep up the water stretcher with Artemis and walking straight. As Apollo's chariot, probably on auto-pilot, rose up in the sky, Percy realized he had reached his body's physical limits and would collapse anytime, making flashing away impossible.
Seeking shelter under the tree Damasen mentioned, he pulled out their weapons from underneath and sat down on the ground, gently setting Artemis beside her. It was obvious they both needed treatment very soon. None of them had eaten in two weeks except for the piece of ambrosia thrown every night and had some serious external and internal wounds from the tortures and beatings. Artemis, after her humiliating ordeal, would no doubt be uncomfortable around every male lest she triggered unfortunate flashbacks. Sadly the group of men also included Apollo and she needed medical attention immediately. His mind instantly gave him the perfect answer, Hestia. A goddess who was probably even better than Apollo at healing. Using Hera's blessing to strengthen mental communications with whatever little power he had left, he prayed to Hestia. He laid down next to Artemis as he saw a flash of fire before everything went dark.
Percy woke up in a room that seemed like a makeshift infirmary but in no aspect looked like one of Apollo's. His would be very flashy and disorienting to look at but this felt much more homely and cozy and didn't even have to think to know this was Hestia's palace. His head still throbbed from the concussion but otherwise, he felt much better. He looked down to see his ankle completely healed and felt that his internal wounds were gone too. Percy still realized that for a few days, it would impossible to use his powers because of the toll on his body.
He sat up and swung his leg over the side of his bed and found himself dressed in his usual clothes. On the other side of the room was the bed on which lay Artemis. It hurt him to even look at her in that condition. A huge plaster was across her hips, no doubt to fix her pelvis and a brace kept her spine straight as it healed slowly. Bandages were wrapped around her body in many places as a food pipe was forced through her nose.
Percy closed his eyes as a lone tear fell but shook his head and stood up. Stumbling a bit, he regained balance, a little wobbly, nothing he couldn't handle though. The noise from his movement must have alerted Hestia as she burst into the room. She was quite shocked to see him standing and was about to say something if not for the fiery determination in his eyes. "How many days was I out?" he asked. "Three. And it will be a week before your powers return" Hestia replied. "How is Artemis?" he asked, with much concern. "She was critical when I brought you two here but is in stable condition right now. I am sorry Perseus, it will be at least a month before she even wakes up and three before she can get up from bed" Hestia said sadly. Percy nodded in acceptance. He slowly approached Artemis and kissed her forehead before speaking out again. "Aunt Hestia, I need you to take me to the Throne room right now and call the council." Hestia was shocked but another look into his eyes and she obeyed at once, disappearing with him in a flash of flames and reappearing in the Throne room.
She sent her signal as the council members started flashing in one by one, their mouths and eyes formed identical 'O's when they saw Percy. Once everyone was there, Zeus opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by Percy raising his hand. Clearing his throat, Percy said something that plunged the council into chaos afterward.
"We are not waiting. We are declaring war on the Gigantes"
A/N: Wraps guys!
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-KK42069
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