Chapter 35
Percy POV
The hunt and I were sat around the roaring campfire discussing Artemis's recent behaviour when the goddess in question arrived looking uncharacteristically uncomposed.
"Hello Lady Artemis, where did you go?" Thalia asked her mistress as she stood from the log she was sat on.
"Hello girls, I uhm had some business to attend to on Olympus," Artemis said and received a number of confused looks however she didn't elaborate.
"Is everything ok, milady?" asked Maddy, probing for more information. Artemis took a second to respond.
"Yes, everything is fine," although there was obviously something troubling her. She kept looking around the group yet refused to look at me in the eyes.
I heard something rustle in the woods off to my left, I looked around at the trees yet I couldn't see anything in the forest that was darkening in the evening light. The hunters were all preoccupied with their goddess and didn't seem to have heard anything so I brushed it off as a deer or some other woodland creature.
"Are you sure milady?" Thalia asked. "You don't seem yourself."
"I'm fine thank you Thalia," Artemis responded sharply in a tone suggesting that my cousin should stop her questioning.
I heard another rustle this time off to my right. Yet again I couldn't see what had disturbed the forest. Must be a herd of deer or something, I thought trying to reassure myself, something in my stomach felt wrong and I slipped a hand into my pocket and closed my fingers around riptide. The cool touch of my pen helped calm my nerves and I focused again on Artemis.
"Lady Artemis you've been acting differently recently and personally I would like to know if there's something wrong with you." Phoebe asked bluntly, clearly fed up with Artemis keeping them in the dark about what was troubling her. For a second I thought that Phoebe had overstepped her boundary and Artemis was going explode at her like most gods would do if they were spoken to like that. However Artemis took a deep breath before she spoke.
"Girls, I appreciate your concern, I admit that lately I haven't been quite myself. This has been because of our reduced numbers and being thrust into a new war, Diana hasn't exactly been helping the situation." Artemis explained however I could tell that I wasn't the only one unconvinced by her explanation. Before any of the hunters could question Artemis there was a third, larger rustle, this time directly behind me.
"You're finally back, Lady Artemis," a voice said from behind me, putting mocking emphasis on the title. The voice was familiar yet it had been years since I had heard it so I couldn't remember who it belonged to. I felt that I was just about to remember when the question was answered for me.
"Zoe." Breathed Artemis, so quietly it was barely audible.
AN/: Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think.
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I thought about leaving it there but I'm not that cruel.
Percy POV
A number of gasps from the hunters and I spun around. Sure enough I was facing the tall, former lieutenant of the hunt. She was standing around 20 feet away, and had the same regal expression that she wore when I met her at Westover hall. Unlike the last time she no longer wore the silver circlet that was now on Thalia's head and her clothes were plain black rather than silver. The most obvious difference between now and the last time I saw the daughter of Atlas (aside from her not being dead) was her eyes were no longer brown, now they were swirling orbs of pitch black.
Phoebe started to rush forwards to greet her old friend but Artemis grabbed her by the wrist stopping her.
"Zoe," Artemis repeated louder than last time. "How are you here? You died, I put you in the stars." Zoe grimaced and rubbed her stomach at the mention of her death.
"Yes I died. Saving you, as I remember." She said with hatred and it became clear that there was something very different and wrong with her, this was not the same girl who trekked across the length of the US to save her mistress. My hand was still in my pocket and I closed my fingers around riptide, just in case.
"Yes I remember, it was the worst day of my life," Artemis said with tears beginning to form in her eyes, the older hunters also looked emotional. "But how are you here?" she repeated.
"I suppose there's no harm in a short explanation," Zoe said, leaning back against a tree and folding her arms. "After you put me in the stars I watched the world below, until I was saved."
"Saved?"
"Yes, saved. Lord Tartarus came to me and saved me; in return I get to have my revenge on you." I tightened my grip on riptide, ready to uncap it at any moment, I could feel a fight was brewing.
"Lord Tartarus? You work for him?" Artemis sounded heartbroken at the thought of having her best friend betray her.
"Yes." She put her hand in pocket and pulled out a circlet, identical to the hunters one only this one was blood red. She nestled the hairpiece atop her head.
"I thought Primordials couldn't enter each other's domains without permission?" Artemis questioned. It was clear Zoe wasn't here for friendly reasons but Artemis was delaying the inevitable fight.
"That's normally the rules, however since Ouranos has faded Lord Tartarus was free to enter the sky," she explained while stretching her arms. "Now, enough talking, let's get to why I'm here." She put her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle and the noise erupted around the woods.
Within a matter of seconds various monsters surrounded us on every side. In response each of the hunters immediately drew their weapons and I uncapped riptide and my trusty bronze blade filled my hands. Zoe tapped her circlet and a bow of the same color appeared in her hands.
"Please Zoe, don't do this," Artemis begged, nonetheless holding her bow.
"Pleading doesn't suit you little goddess," a familiar scar-faced man walked out of the mass of monsters.
"Pallas," I said remembering the titan from the last time he attacked the hunt. "Going to run away again?" I mocked the titan of warcraft. I could see Pallas bristle with rage at my words, he summoned his red plumed helmet and hid is disfigured face behind it.
"A mere demi-god like you wouldn't understand the meaning of a tactical retreat."
"'Tactical retreat'? that's what you're calling it? Personally I just think you're a coward," I said, my famous knack of pissing off immortals obviously working as the titan growled.
"Lord Tartarus wants you alive but for calling me a coward I'm going to kill you, painfully." His threat meant nothing to me as death would probably be preferable to whatever Tartarus has planned for me.
"No Pallas, Jackson must be kept alive." Zoe ordered the titan. "The others however will die."
"Wow Zoe I'm hurt, after all the time I spent trying to get you to call me Percy not Perseus and now I'm only Jackson. I thought we were friends," I joked with her.
"Quiet boy," Zoe snapped at me so quickly it seemed automatic.
"That's more like the Zoe I knew," I grinned. I hoped that somewhere deep down that the real Zoe was somewhere inside the black-eyed girl that stood before me.
"Enough talking, we're not here for a chat," said Pallas and the monsters around him nodded, a few bared their teeth.
"Very well, the goddess is mine." Zoe said pulling back on the string of her bow, a red arrow appearing as she drew it back. She let the arrow fly towards Artemis who managed to dodge out of the way. The monsters and Pallas followed Zoe's lead and began to charge towards us.
The hunters and I formed a defensive circle with our backs towards the campfire. Chloe and Heather were on the inside of the circle as neither of them had any combat experience.
"I need to be the one to fight Zoe," Artemis said as she dodged another arrow from the legendary ex-huntress. "I'm the only one who can match her skill." After she spoke she broke rank in the circle and sprinted off towards Zoe, summoning her knives as she ran.
"Whose Zoe?" asked Chloe as I ducked beneath a cyclops's club and slashed riptide up towards it.
"Never mind that, why's she trying to kill us?" Heather questioned. I spotted Pallas closing in on our little circle.
"Long story," replied Thalia. "We'll tell you if we live through this," she promised morbidly.
Pallas was now only a few yards away, which the 10 foot tall titan could cover in a second. I decided to take the initiative stepped forwards to meet him. Unlike last time Pallas didn't have a shield, now he was gripping his sword with both hands for extra strength. I copied him and added my left hand to riptide's grip. As he approached, Pallas swung his sword down in a deadly arc which nearly decapitated a nearby telekhine, I blocked his swing but the power behind it forced me to take a step backwards. I traded blows with Pallas as I tried to get close to my much larger foe. The trouble with fighting larger being was that their larger weapon can keep you far away, where riptide can't reach them.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the silver blur that was Artemis fighting against Zoe who had traded her bow for a pair of knives. I knew that normally Artemis would be able to beat Zoe so either Zoe had gotten better since her death or Artemis was holding back, with as strange as today was either was possible. They continued to attack each other viciously yet neither appeared to have landed a blow on the other. Thunder crashed through the air as Thalia prepared to evaporate some poor monster.
My attention was brought back to Pallas when he launched a kick at me that took me by surprise. His boot connected with my sternum sending shockwaves of pain throughout my chest. I flew backwards and slammed into a hunter and sent us both into the dirt. I tried to untangle myself from the hunter as quickly as I could, her long brown hair giving me an idea of who I'd crashed into.
"Sorry Rebecca," I apologized as we both got to our feet.
"No worries," she groaned as she rubbed her shoulder before raising the gladius she was wielding.
I looked back at Pallas who was rapidly charging towards me and I ran forwards to meet him yet again. I winced slightly as raised my sword, I'd probably broken or bruised a couple ribs, nothing a little ambrosia wouldn't heal later.
Artemis POV
I couldn't help but cry as I fought my former lieutenant and best friend for over 2 millennia, when Greece was still in it's early stages. The tears stained my cheeks as our blades met each other, I looked into Zoe's swirling black eyes and saw no emotion whatsoever as she attacked me relentlessly. Why Zoe? Why would you do this? I kept repeating to myself as I blocked her strikes. I slashed my knives towards Zoe's legs however she jumped back just in time to avoid them. I sent another flurry of strikes towards her however I was determined not to try and seriously injure her; I knew deep down that the Zoe I knew was somewhere inside. Zoe however had no such reservations and stabbed both blades at my chest. The strikes would've killed me had I not dropped to the floor in a press up position. I sprung back up, avoiding a kick aimed at my head as I stood.
"Zoe please stop this." I begged her as she attacked me yet again. The centuries she spent in my hunt had made her a formidable fighter. "Stop fighting for Tartarus."
"What and fight for you Olympians instead?" she sneered at me. "Thanks but I'd rather die, again."
"Why? You were happy for millennia." I ducked under a blade and thrust the hilts of my knives into her stomach. She groaned as my the knives made contact and knocked the wind out of her.
"Until I died saving you," she wheezed as she regained her breath. Am I at fault for this? Is all this because of me? I had felt guilty for Zoe's death every day since her father killed her, if I hadn't been captured then she would never had been on mount Tam facing Atlas. I could feel the tears start to flow stronger as I remembered the pain of losing her and my guilt. Let me fight her, I'm less emotional, Diana reasoned with me. While Diana was fond of Zoe I knew she wouldn't be the same teary mess that I was. Fine, I responded as I blocked another wave of attacks from my best friend. But please, don't hurt her too badly, I pleaded.
Diana POV
Of course not, I replied. While I wasn't as close to Zoe as Artemis was, she still felt like the closest either of us had to a daughter. When Zoe's attacks paused for a second I felt Artemis relinquish control of our body and immediately I jumped into control.
It had been years since I had fought anybody on the caliber of Zoe so it was a bit of a shock to the system to be suddenly thrust into such an intense battle. I was a little slow and Zoe's blade caught my left forearm, opening up a short yet deep gash. I winced in pain but didn't let it distract me. I blocked her next attacks and tried to sneak a glance at the rest of the battle to see how the hunters were doing.
Percy POV
To say Pallas was a good swordsman would be an understatement. He was without a doubt one of the best swordsmen I'd ever fought, right up there with Luke and Kronos. The power he had behind each strike was staggering yet he was still able to attack with blinding speed, although he hadn't fought in the past two wars he was far from out of practice. I stayed on the defensive, only occasionally attacking when Pallas made a rare overextension. Sweat dripped down my brow as I tried to occupy the titan's attention, I had a single light wound to my right shoulder. Normally it would have been protected by my armor but due to the ambush I didn't have it on.
I could tell that Pallas was going for a high swing so I rushed inside his guard and punched him in the gut which on the 10 foot tall titan was about eye-level with me. He let out a grunt and dropped his sword. For a second I thought I had the advantage until he grabbed me in a bearhug crushing the wind out of me. I could feel the pressure in my chest as my ribcage was slowly crushed by his immense strength. I panicked for a second, wondering how I'd get out of the situation I'd got myself in. I remembered the last time I'd fought Pallas and how I had set myself on fire, something the titan had evidently forgotten.
"Hey Pallas," I wheezed with the last of my breath, "You forgot my new trick."
I closed my eyes and focused on the powers of Hestia, I felt the hunts hearth reach out to me, sending waves of warm hope flowing through my body.
"Ah Γαμώ!" Pallas cursed in Greek as my plan worked and flames erupted along my body, burning the titan nastily. "You little bastard! I'm going to destroy you!" He yelled as he patted out the flames that had caught on his clothes and picked up his sword.
"Yeah, yeah you've threatened me already," I said lazily. I was feeling much more confident with the strength of the hunt's hearth flowing with my, although I knew I couldn't keep the flames up forever. I stabbed riptide towards Pallas's left leg which he barely managed to deflect, my sword still grazed the inside of his thigh and golden ichor began to leak out. Pallas was now more injured than I was so I pressed my advantage and slashed towards him which he parried with ease.
We continued back and forth, this time I was on the offensive although I didn't manage to land anymore blows on my opponent. I could feel myself tiring and the flames around my body beginning to flicker out . Evidently Pallas noticed this too as he attacked with renewed vigor sending me stumbling backwards onto the dirt. Pallas stood above me with his sword raised as I tried to think of a way out. Suddenly he let out a scream and fell to a knee. He turned as he fell and I saw a small head of blonde hair behind him. With one hand he raised his sword to strike down the person who had attacked him.
"Chloe!" I yelled knowing the identity of who had stabbed the titan. I scrambled up from the dirt and stabbed riptide down into Pallas's back just above where is armor started before he could attack the daughter of Apollo. Pallas screamed again before crumbling slowly to fine golden dust beneath me.
As the dust fell I saw Chloe standing with a bronze dagger she had picked up somewhere. She coughed as Pallas's gold dust covered us both.
"Eugh that's gross!" she said disgustedly.
"Chloe what are you doing away from the others?" I half yelled, I didn't want any harm to come to her and it was dangerous straying away from the hunters.
"You needed help," she defended herself.
"But you could have been hurt," I said as I looked around at the battle surrounding us. "Come on lets get back to the others." With one hand on riptide and the other holding Chloe's hand I guided us back to the hunters who were still in their defensive formation.
"Please stay here," I told her, still holding her hand. "I don't want anything to happen to you, you don't know how to fight."
"Will you teach me?" she asked taking me off guard a little.
"Another time sure," I promised her. The hunters will teach her how to shoot and use knives but there was no harm in me teaching her some sword skills. "Now I need to go help the others." I turned to Heather who was shakily holding a spear in case she needed it. "Keep an eye on her for me please?" I asked her, Heather nodded.
Diana POV
Artemis and I always said Zoe was our greatest huntress and she was certainly living up to it as we fought. I stayed on the defensive blocking each of her strikes, something which infuriated her immensely. I heard a scream and managed to sneak a glance behind me. I saw Percy and Chloe standing together surrounded by golden dust, Pallas was nowhere in sight so I assumed he was the pile of dust.
"Pallas is dead, Zoe," I told her as I looked back at her. "The hunt will kill the rest of the monsters so please stop this," I begged of her.
"No," she snarled back at me. She leaped at me and I was forced to continue to defend myself.
"Percy," I telepathically reached out to the son of Poseidon. It took as second for him to reply, he'd probably forgotten how to do it.
"Yes?"
"Are you busy?" I asked him.
"Aside from fighting all the monsters trying to kill us then yeah." I blocked another of Zoe's attacks as he spoke to me.
"No need to be sarcastic," I told him. "There's celestial bronze chains in the armory tent. Can you get them for me?" I requested putting my plan into motion, all I had to do was keep avoiding Zoe's knives.
"Sure," Percy replied to me as I kept ducking and weaving with the blades passing dangerously close to my pale skin. "Uhm which ones the armory tent?" Of course he doesn't know, I thought to myself.
"The one with two arrows crossed above the door, usually near Phoebe's tent," I told him.
"On it,"
I kept Zoe's attention focused on me for a minute until Percy spoke to me again.
"Got them," Percy told me as I jumped to the side of yet another attack by my former lieutenant.
"Good, now get ready and stay out of her sight." now I was ready for the next, and hardest stage of my plan: incapacitate but not seriously injure Zoe.
For the first time I went on the offensive, pushing Zoe back to the edge of the tree-line. I kept using wide slashes forcing her to step backwards. When her back was nearly at a tree, I feinted a stab with my right knife which Zoe fell for. As she moved her blades to counter mine I threw the knife in my left hand. My heart wrenched at the scream my best friend let out as the knife pieced through her shoulder and pinned her against the tree. Zoe pulled the knife free and let out a sharp gasp as she did so. While she was distracted freeing herself I pounced forwards and tackled her to the ground.
"Percy, now!" I shouted hoping that he was ready. I wrestled with Zoe on the floor, her injured shoulder and my godly strength giving me an easy advantage. A shadow loomed over me as Percy appeared with the chains in hand. "Get her wrists," I told him as I tried to pin Zoe's hands above her head. Soon my best friend was bound with her wrists, arms and ankles all bound in Hephaestus made bronze chains that were near inescapable.
The battle around us was coming to a close as the hunters picked off the few remaining dracaena that were the only ones to survive this long. I was relieved to see that none of the hunters seemed seriously injured, the worst injured seemed to be Lola who was limping slightly.
"What's the plan with her?" asked Percy from beside me as he gestured to the bound girl.
"Find out whatever Tartarus has done to her and fix it," I said determinedly, I was going to get Zoe back no matter what.
"Don't worry," Percy said placing a hand on my shoulder that sent shivers down my spine. "If there's one thing I understand it's doing anything for a friend."
An/: This is the real end, I hope you enjoyed. Who knows what's instore for Zoe and the hunt, I hope you're excited. We're so close to 500 favs, thank you all for the support it means so much!
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