Interlude II

"Have you found something?" the Lady of the House of the Moon asked her hunters. They were on a mission given to them by Zeus, and while many of her girls were excited about the opportunity to impress the powerful man, Artemis was growing both tired and concerned of the paranoia that seemed to be growing in him.

"Nothing, my lady, but we shall keep working." Phoebe, one of her trusted Hunters said.

"Very well, inform Zoe that I wish to speak to her." Artemis said.

"Yes, my lady." Phoebe said, walking towards where they had begun to set up camp.

Artemis sighed. She had thought that the Hunt for Poseidon had ended years ago, but with the resurgence of his ghost in the form of a son, Zeus had eagerly taken the first opportunity to get his hands on the boy. For what, Artemis didn't know, but to her it seemed like Zeus knew something she and the rest of the Pantheon didn't. Yet since his own laws prohibited him from laying a hand on the boy so long as he was within Olympus, pointed out by Dionysus of all people, he had near commanded Artemis to restart her hunt on Poseidon thinking that he had to be around if the boy had come out to the light.

Hence why they were on the outskirts of Long Island. They had set camp for a night, as Artemis planned to stay in Olympus the next day, and she gave a moment to herself to feel proud of her girls.

The House of the Moon was not like the other houses. While houses like the House of War looked for strength, or the House of the Sun looked for people with a tendency towards Archery, Medicine or Music, the House of the Moon was a safe haven for girls who had been abused, abandoned, or even worse.

She had taken in countless of girls, victims of Monsters she had been eager to slay. They had been scarred, scared of everything even. The braver ones took the chance and stayed in Olympus, either learning or looking for other ways to move forward from their trauma, usually joining the House of the Sun after her twin brother of all people offered them a place in his House when he became their head, yet a good number of girls were too scarred for that. Hence why the House of the Moon was, in a way, a Hunter Academy onto itself. It provided training, housing in the form of tents and camps, and a family where the girls could heal.

It had even become an unspoken rule to swear off men, and with how much damage had been done to these girls, Artemis was not surprised that they didn't want to see another male in their lives. She was okay with that, having suffered at the hands of the patriarchy more than once.

Seeing these girls, some who couldn't even talk when they had been taken in, laughing and joking or even pranking each other…Artemis felt proud indeed.

"You wanted to see me, my lady?" Artemis heard Zoe say near her. He stared at her old friend and Lieutenant with a smile. Zoe was tall, taller than Artemis herself by a pinch, and she was also graceful in her movements. When she walked, Artemis had to really concentrate to hear her steps or feel her aura.

She also admitted that she was indeed a beautiful girl. She had brown eyes, a slightly upturned nose, copper-coloured skin, and a silver circlet braided into the top of her long, dark hair that marked her as Artemis' second in command.

"Zoe, yes." Artemis said, "Walk with me."

Artemis walked towards her own tent, looking around approvingly as the camp began to settle for the night.

"What bothers you, my lady?" Zoe asked. Artemis smiled, Zoe had always been able to read her moods.

"This hunt." Artemis said, "It feels…wrong. Zeus knows that we won't find anything we haven't already found. My predecessor failed in finding Poseidon, and I fear, nay, know we won't succeed where she failed."

"Don't put yourself down, Artemis. You are the most capable tracker out of all the living Hunters, and also one of the most powerful. Not to disrespect the memory of the Lady Leto, but she wasn't nearly as capable as you."

Artemis looked at Zoe, and she had to remind herself that the girl was not only older than her, but also had been a member of the house since her childhood.

"I sometimes forget your age, Zoe, you don't look older than myself." Artemis smiled.

"I'm an old girl, My Lady, but you on the other hand are not. You're powerful, you just don't know how much." Zoe smiled, and Artemis returned.

"Still," Artemis sighed, "I don't believe that we will find much. Tomorrow I will go towards Olympus, I wish to see the boy that has the Pantheon in such an uproar myself, perhaps it will aid us in our mission."

"You wish me to be elsewhere?" Zoe asked.

"Yes." Artemis said, "There's rumours of Monsters in the west. The Cyclops and Dracanea are moving, and apparently they are being led by the Lady Medusa. Take as many hunters as you need and figure out what they're planning."

"It shall be done." Zoe turned, but Artemis was quick to grab her wrist. "Don't engage them unless completely necessary." Artemis strained, "I only wish to know what's going on and if we need to get more people involved."

Zoe stared blankly at Artemis.

"I'm not stupid, Artemis." Zoe said, "I know how to take care of myself."

"It's not you I'm worried about." Artemis said, "But we need to remain hidden. We do not know what's going on, and that disturbs me. The Pantheon is blind too. Our only advantage is that they do not know we're onto them, I want to keep that as long as possible."

They shared another long look, but Zoe eventually sighed.

"Very well." She said, "I'll take some of the newer girls, this will serve them as good practice. We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Send me daily messages, and do not hesitate to call for backup. I know that the Amazons are working around that area. If you need help give them a call, I'll deal with Hera."

"Goodnight, my lady." Zoe bowed, and walked away from Artemis to assemble a team.

Artemis sighed, and entered her tent.

It was hard to keep up with so much stress, she thought as she began to undress. Things were changing, and the one thing she could say with certainty about the Pantheon was that they abhorred change.

Inside her tent, she found herself relaxing. She undid her braided hair, letting it loose as the day called for it. She unclothed, enjoying the chill on her skin, and laid down on her bed thinking on how dangerous things had suddenly become.

"Never took you to enjoy nudity."

Artemis's eyes shot open, her hand went to the side, summoning her Bow.

She saw her twin brother Apollo, sipping on a boxed juice, one leg over the other and staring at her through innocent eyes.

"Put that down, I've had enough of things stabbed into me today. Sitting is a nightmare, I tell you."

"I…I do not need to know about the indecent things you've been up to, I—what the fuck are you doing here!" Artemis yelled in fury.

"Can't a bro see her sister?" Apollo smiled, and Artemis nocked an arrow.

Apollo sighed, standing up with some difficulty and a slight tension in his step. He rubbed his ass cheeks a few times as he sighed again.

"Things aren't good in the Pantheon. Apparently Tartarus was broken into last night, old Charon took down a hundred of the bastards but in the end they killed him. May he never be forgotten."

Artemis stumbled.

Tartarus? Broken into? She thought. Tartarus was a prison built entirely out of Enlightened power, a prison for monsters named after a monster itself. The House of Fires had worked several generations on it, basically creating a giant Symbol of Power of the great underground tower. Only the most vile monsters, monsters who's death was too good for them, were imprisoned there.

She then stringed the thoughts that Charon was dead. Charon, an elderly man who had taught her and Apollo about poisons, Charon, who had taken care of them once when they had lived in the street. Charon, the only person Artemis had ever called father.

"W-what?" She asked in a small voice, "Charon…Charon's dead?"

"I'm sorry sis. I know you two were close. Remember when he threw you in the water because you were too afraid of it? Or when he tried to do your hair? Oh, that was so funny!" Apollo chuckled, and Artermis' face flushed.

"Shut up!" She growled, pointing a knife at Apollo. After Apollo finished laughing, it finally hit her. Charon was dead. She wouldn't cry, Artermis never cried, but gods did it hurt.

"Hades has gone down there to assess the situation. He says they couldn't have gotten too far if they escaped last night, they should still be in Underworld."

"Hades did—wait, who's with him?" Artemis panicked.

"He left with Thanatos this morning, asking not to be aided, but Ares and Hermes are getting together a group of hunters too, and the Lady Persephone has bullied them onto letting her go. I think she feels guilty about leaving Hades because of her mother's wishes. Hestia however feels that we may be too late. She was right in her assessment…we may very well be at war." Apollo sighed, his cheerful self no way near to his current state. "They say that Chimera, Hyperion and…and Typhoon escaped."

Artemis, for the third time, stumbled.

"No…please…not Typhoon…" She said in fear. Few monsters scared Artemis more than the one who had killed her predecessor Leto. Not only that, the man had also gotten rid of the House of Sun's previous leader, Helios, and several other hunters that were once considered powerhouses. The man was brutal, a true monster that left only devastation where he walked. She remembered when he was captured, when young Zeus, Hades and Poseidon had worked together for the first time. What a sight it was to behold. She had been present at the raid, with Apollo and the majority of the current Pantheon. Even Aphrodite had been present, furious that the monster had abused one of her friends. The man had collected trophies from the hunters he slayed, and Artemis remembered how she had nearly lost herself when she saw the head of the Lady Leto atop a pike in the monster's cove.

"Who would want to free that monster?" Artemis asked, swallowing hard.

"It's not all. Apparently who led the raid was a Hunter…someone who knew the outline of Tartarus well enough to know where each prisoner was imprisoned…."

Artermis growled, an angry, animalistic growl of anger and loathing.

That man…Orion had been adopted into the House of Seas by Lord Oceanus after he had disowned Poseidon, but had been left to the side when Triton was born. He had gone to work for Lord Hades after, as jailer of Tartarus, yet he had done horrible things since… Artemis thought him dead after what he had done to her.

"We need to hunt them down, we need to—"

"Zeus has requested that we stay clear. Hades and the rest should be able to handle it, instead he wants us, well, you to do something else." Apollo said, "Apparently, inside Olympus there's a small notebook that Poseidon used to write in. He has instructed Ares and Aphrodite to bring it to him, but they've both failed. He now thinks that you may have a better chance at it. Apparently it may hold information on how to defeat these monsters."

"Why haven't we found it earlier! That book must be found and analysed!"

"Exactly, so he wants you to find it in Olympus whenever you go." Apollo said.

"I was planning on going tomorrow." Artemis said, but Apollo shook his head.

"No. I'm asking you, as your brother, to do something else first. There's a girl, her name is Rachel, and…" Apollo looked down in shame.

"You fucked her, didn't you?" Artemis said with disgust, and Apollo didn't meet her eyes.

"She…she's completely mortal, but I think she may be pregnant, Artemis, you know I have always taken care, always tried not to…I fucked up, I was careless. If something happens to her, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Please, I know you've taken mortal girls into the Hunters, I'm begging you Artemis…protect her, please."

"You disgust me." Artemis said in anger. Truth be told, it wasn't the first time Apollo had gotten involved with mortals, he was rather promiscuous with boys and girls alike, but it was the first time something like this had happened. While it was true, that she had taken mortal girls into the Hunters, none of them had been pregnant. She could refuse, force Apollo to take responsibility, but seeing her brother begging at her feet, seeing him so weak and afraid…with all that was coming, it was for the best.

"Fine." Artemis said, "But this makes us even. Next time you stick your dick somewhere take responsibility. I will see the girl cared for, but not her child, that is on you. You will raise the creature. Clear?"

"Crystal." Apollo said, sighing in relief. "Thank you, Artemis, thank you so much."

"Leave now. I have to plan a new trip. Where is the girl?"

Apollo gave her the directions, and quickly left her tent.

Artemis sighed, leaning in her bed once more. Everything was falling apart.

Charon dead and Tartarus broken into, dangerous prisoners free. A book that could contain secrets that could help them in the hands of the Hunters who didn't understand what they had. Monsters getting together when they had never done so before. There was so much to do, so much. Yet first, she had to take care of her unborn niece or nephew.

Artemis cursed Apollo once more.

Yellow!

Not my best chapter, but I wanted to introduce a few seeds that I want to explore going forward. Artemis and her Hunt will be important in some time, and we have a few more noteworthy mentions! I have no plans for Artemis and others oustide of the main group to be POV chapters tbf, so these interludes give me the freedom to escape that bubble and start some worlbuilding in other places. Perhaps some characters will join the others and will become POVs, but as of now the main POVs are Percy, Annabeth, Bianca, Nico and...well, the last one you will find out when it happens.

To answer some people's thoughts; yes, Annabeth and Luke are in a relationship in this fic, and I honestly don't understand the backlash from it. Everything I do I try to do it for a purpose, if I introduce a couple like Annabeth/Luke its for a particular purpose that will be explored as the story goes on, its not because I just want to add it for the sake of adding it. Likewise is most of the things I add. There are themes I want to explore that I need to flesh out, and if they make you uncomfortable then it means that I'm doing it right. I haven't forgotten about Percy's implied addiction, just as I haven't forgotten that most of the fandom associates Luke/Annabeth with toxic relationships. To that, all I can say is 'wait'.

Annabeth and Luke's relationship serves a purpose that will become more clear as the story goes on. If by the end of the story it is still not clear, it means I failed and I will owe you an apology. Just remember what I have already said; by the end of book 3, Percy and Annabeth will be together. The question you should be asking is not 'Why is Annabeth with Luke', but 'How will Annabeth end up with Percy by the end of book 3?'. Journey before destination my people, and sometimes for the journey to work it must be unpleasant.

On another note, I am incredibly grateful for all the supportive comments. I am still looking for someone to serve as something akin to a 'beta reader', meaning that you will receive the chapters one week in advance and it will be your job to read them and say 'You know what, CML, I think this thing you wrote doesn't fit, or this thing right here is supposed to be this other thing'. I am human, I make mistakes, and as such I need help. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.

What's coming next? Well, next week will be the last interlude of this part, Interlude III from the perspective of Poseidon. After that, Part II will begin, which is a bit shorter than part I but quite heavy in exposition. I'm working on plotting out Part III and rewriting some Part II chapters, and one of my characters came to life and changed some aspects of the story which were...surprising and welcome, so i'm trying to find a way to make it fit.

Oh, I also wrote down a stray chapter this week which is one of the three chapters that I have always wanted to write, and one of the scenes I imagined when I started writing this story. When it is published, I will tell you but until then, you're welcome to theorize on what it is. The only hint I will give you is 'They are more powerful than we thought'.

With that, I bid you adeu. Be kind, be caring, and happy reading.

Until next week.

~CML