Percy
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The questers returned the day after the solstice. I was relieved to see that all of them made it back. Perhaps not all in one piece, though.
They were dropped off by Artemis herself the morning after the solstice. Every demigod incamp, which wasn't that much at the moment, had flocked to the ampitheatre when Artemis had sounded her horn.
"Greetings, demigods," Artemis had said cordially. She was in her twelve year old form, bright and silver. "I am here to return to you your heroes."
She gestured to my friends and everyone cheered.
They weren't without injury, though. Zoe was on a crutch, her leg wrapped in a cast, and her hands were wrapped in bandages. Michael's head was bandaged and it looked like he had a black eye. Thalia had several bandages wrapped around her arms and she had a haunted look on her face. Killian looked the most fine, though he did show that he had his back wrapped up. He had a streak of gray hair, right above his left eye. Bianca, it seemed, had the worst of the injuries.
"What happened to you all?" Silena asked.
"That is why we are here," Artemis said, gesturing to the theater. "I thought it appropriate to tell a story here."
"Who knew she had a sense of humor," Travis muttered.
"Your heroes braved many dangers," Artemis began, ignoring Travis, which I thought was a mercy in itself. "They crossed the country in order to save me and prevent Atlas from roaming free. Atlas had tricked me into taking his burden by placing this young girl in his stead." She pointed to the green eyed girl who had been hiding in the back. "I bore the sky upon my back for several days until your questers arrived. They battled Atlas and Lace Wheat for several minutes. Your warrior, Michaela Triest, battled Atlas for several minutes on his own while my lieutenant peppered him with arrows."
Michael raised his hand when some of the demigods sounded confused. Zoe seemed embarrassed by the praise Artemis had given her.
"Then, your hero, Killian Vixon, took my burden from me and held the sky in my stead. He allowed me to battle Atlas and force him back beneath the sky. He is a true hero. Never have I seen anyone, mortal or immortal, stand with the sky upon their back."
There was an air of awe as everyone stared at Killian. He looked down in embarrassment at all the attention.
"It is because of this act of saving me that he is allowed to live," Artemis continued, surprising us all. "Your hero is the son of the Titan Hyperion. But he sided with Olympus, and with my sway, I was able to have him pardoned, along with your friends Michaela Triest and Bianca di Angelo, both of whom my father would've killed. I am sure you are aware of Michaela parentage, but if you are not, they are a child of Selene, the Titaness of the Moon. My predecessor. It is because of this that they are favored by me, so I hope you show them the same respect you would show me."
"My lady," Michael said, awkwardly. "Please, do not elevate me to your level. I am fine where I am. I'd miss it if Luke and Clarisse stopped bullying me."
Behind me, Luke snorted.
Artemis looked surprised, but she quickly collected herself. "As you wish."
"What about Bianca, though?" one of the Hunters called out. "Why would Lord Zeus want to have her killed?"
"Come forward, Miss di Angelo," Artemis beckoned. Bianca peered out from where she was hiding behind Michael and Zoe. She seemed nervous. Artemis gave her a reassuring smile.
Slowly, she stepped forward, and we all gasped.
Her left arm was gone.
"Miss Bianca di Angelo is a daughter of Hades," Artemis announced. "While in one of Hephaestus's junkyards in Arizona, they came across a defective prototype of Talos. In order to defeat him, she volunteered to climb inside the metal giant and destroy him from the inside. As he fell apart, in order to save her, Michaela froze the entire junkyard. It is still frozen now. But in the process, she lost one of her arms. But as she lay dying amongst the frozen wreckage, a power of hers rose to the surface. A power that belongs to my uncle; the power to become invisible. It is a miracle that your friends were able to find her, and it is thanks to my lieutenant's quick thinking and Killian's power that they were able to keep her alive.
"My brother, Apollo, kept them in his infirmary on Olympus all night to heal them, but even he cannot regrow missing limbs. That is why, it is my greatest pleasure to bestow this gift to one of my saviors."
She turned to Bianca. She placed her hand where Bianca's shoulder was. From the stump came a silvery glow. The glow began to take form until it was shaped like an arm. Artemis grabbed Michael's hand and placed it with hers on Bianca's shoulder. Michael didn't look like he knew what he was doing, but he went along with it as an ice blue glow joined the silver.
Ice began to grow, following the silver outline until Bianca had a new left arm, this one made from the power of Artemis and Michael.
Bianca's jaw dropped. The fingers on her new arm wiggled. She raised it up and did a little wave with it.
"Tha...Thank you, my lady," Bianca finally managed to say.
Artemis smiled at her. She turned back to face the crowd.
"It is imperative that you begin training your hardest," she said. "The final battle against Kronos draws closer, much closer than we once thought. With Kronos's previous puppet now dead, we do not know what he will do next. The Fates themselves said that the future has been changed. Be careful who you trust, for they may not be the friend you believed."
With that positive note, she vanished in a silver light.
As the questers came down from the stage, the demigods rushed them. Nico immediately wrapped his arms around his sister, already bawling.
I ran up to Zoe. "How're you alive?"
She faltered in her smile. "I didn't mean to, but instinct often overrides thought. We were able to pass my sisters without much issue, except for your friend threatening them, and when my father threw me, my body twisted so that I didn't smash my head against some rocks. Without the poison flowing through me, I was able to survive."
"It was your dumbass who woke him in the first place," I said with a roll of my eyes.
She grabbed me by the ear.
"Ow! Ow! Sorry!"
"Hm." She smirked and let go. "Never call me a dumbass again."
"Yes, ma'am." I rubbed my ear. "So what's going to happen now?"
"Well, Lace is dead," Luke said, turning from his conversation with Thalia, "so Kronos will need a new host. Who knows how long that'll take him? A year, two weeks?" He frowned. "What Artemis said makes me uneasy."
"Which part?" Michael asked.
"That we don't have as much time as we thought," Luke answered. "A lot has been changed."
"How did Lace die?" Lee asked.
I frowned. When did he walk up? I took a quick look around to see that most of the demigods that didn't previously know me had left. Oddly, Katie had left, too.
"She killed him," Zoe said, gesturing to Thalia. "Electrocuted him to death. And stabbed him with her spear."
"You weren't able to stop yourself," I guessed, seeing the upset look on Thalia's face. "Without Annabeth to stop you this time, you killed him."
"It's because of him Annabeth isn't around now," Thalia said. She rubbed her arms. "He pushed her away while we were traveling. When we were younger. Made her feel unwanted. So she ran away again. We have no idea where she is, or if she's even alive."
"That's why she isn't here," I said quietly. I shook my head. "That bastard."
"How did Alex get through his quests, then?" Michael asked, confused.
"He had Grover and Malcolm," Luke said. "Another Athena child."
"Hm."
"We're doomed if he's the prophecy child," I muttered. "He'll pick himself over anything else."
"I don't think it's going to be him," Zoe said. "Lady Artemis told me much of what happened during the Solstice meeting. She said the Fates showed up, but not what they said. They..." She faltered for a second. "They said that Bianca and I were supposed to die, but fate was changed, allowing us to live. They said that Thalia was supposed to lead the Hunters during the rise of Kronos. She isn't the child of the prophecy. They forced my lady to strip me of my blessing and banish me from the Hunt."
She didn't cry, but I could see how much it hurt her to be forced out of the Hunt, away from her sisters.
"I'm sorry, Zoe," I told her. I laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it pained Artemis to release you from the Hunt."
"If Thalia isn't the prophecy child," Michael said, "and Alex isn't, who is?" He glanced at Killian. "Could it be you? How old are you?"
"14," he said. "It's not me."
"How does the prophecy go again?" Michael continued. "Half blood of the eldest gods, reaches sixteen against all odds. A Titan can be considered a god, right? So, Hyperion can be considered an elder god. Erego, you can be the prophecy child."
Killian shook his head. "I told you, it's not me. I won't reach sixteen on time."
"Who is it then?"
"The 'eldest gods' refers to the Big Three, right?" Killian asked. "Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades? If Thalia is a daughter of Zeus, and Alex is a son of Poseidon, then the last possible one is Hades." He pointed at Bianca. "Her father."
Everyone turned to her.
"Bianca, how old are you?" Silena asked.
"14," she said nervously. She tapped her fingers together. "I turn fifteen in January. On the 28th."
"Shit," I breathed. "That means...That means you're the child of the prophecy, Bianca. And we've only got 1 year to prepare."
None of us were happy to receive this news. Bianca didn't want to be the prophecy child, Nico didn't want her to be the prophecy child, and Luke was adamant about training her.
Bianca wasn't good with swords like her brother. She was better with a bow and arrow and knives, so Zoe took up her training.
Zoe, along with Michael and Killian, was to stay in the Artemis cabin, though Killian would be kicked out if the Hunters ever showed up. Bianca, Nico, and the girl they rescued from Lace and Atlas joined the rest of us in the Hermes cabin.
The girl, like Killian, had a gray streak in her hair. She was quiet and spent most of her time with Zoe, Bianca, and Michael. Zoe told Luke and I that she was the daughter of Akhlys, the goddess of Misery and Poisons. That was a goddess I knew well. She tried to kill me once, and I tried to kill her in return. Fond memories. (Not really.)
I didn't know what to make of her. She rarely ever said a word to me, and everything I heard from Michael and Zoe made her seem like a really nice person, if a bit traumatized. Couldn't really blame her for that. Captured by a Titan and forced to hold the sky for two whole days? That would traumatize even the most battle-hardened demigod.
The oddest thing was Katie's reaction to their success on the quest. She would avoid Michael and glare at him whenever he was with Bianca. She'd glare at Bianca when she was by herself, too. I tried talking to her about it but she just told me to fuck off and mind my own business.
One day, Michael walked up to me and asked if I knew a place that sold cotton candy.
"Just humor me," he said when I asked why.
"Alright," I said, scratching my hand. "Cotton candy? I'd try Sweet Melissa's Candy Shoppe in Wading River. They might have some. Wait, we don't sell any in the store here at camp?"
He shook his head. "I asked Travis about it, but he told me that Chiron didn't want something made of pure sugar being sold to already hyperactive half-bloods."
"Fair enough, I guess. Yeah, I'd try Melissa's. If not there's Sheila's Sweet Shoppe south, by Schultz Road and North Street, 'kay?"
He nodded. "Be back in the next hour or something." He patted me on the arm and walked away, leaving me wondering how he was going to get there.
