We landed roughly, somewhere just outside of camp. Armani dropped to her knees gasping for air, clawing at her chest as she struggled to get in huge gulps of air. She had been teleporting us in quick succession, in very short bursts, to points she had left behind us the entire journey.
Thalia immediately knelt at Armani's side, I would have done the same if I wasn't the one holding Zoe in my arms. Her heartbeat was steady, and her colour had returned, but she still hadn't woken up yet. I couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing, but I would take my blessings where I could get them.
The faint glow that always surrounded her had faded completely, although that wasn't that surprising if what Armani had said was true.
"She's no longer bound to the Hunters."
Artemis had said nothing since then, she had sent Armani a few unreadable looks, but Armani hadn't seen a single one of them.
"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said, suddenly. "I will not be able to take you."
The goddess set her hand on my shoulder briefly, "You did well, for a male," She looked down at Zoe, "Take care of her, or I will kill you."
She began to glow, not unlike Armani except much brighter. We averted our eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.
"Well," I sighed. "That was dramatic, eh, Armani?" I smirked.
Armani just chuckled humorously from her spot on the ground, she was pointedly avoiding looking at Thalia, which didn't go unnoticed and I'd have to ask what that was about later. I'd have to ask about a lot of things later.
But we needed to get to Olympus, fast, and Zoe would probably need to be with us when we went.
"I hate to ask," Armani shuddered, she likely already knew what I was going to ask, "But do you have one more jump in you?"
Armani sighed, "The closest spot I have to Olympus is the empire state building."
I was about to make a joke about that being exactly where we needed to go when, I realized, she would have no way of knowing that.
"Well, that's good then," I said, adjusting my grip on Zoe, who had begun to stir slightly, "Because that's where we're going."
She looked at me like I was crazy, but said nothing. She stood up and put a hand on mine and Thalia's shoulder.
"Hold on tight,"
And just like that, we were gone again.
—
This time, upon arrival, Armani vomited. Right into some planters lining the outside of the building, luckily with the time of night, not many people were around and no one saw it. Thalia helped her inside the empty lobby, and one look from me to the 'man' who stood behind the desk, had a key thrown in our direction, which Thalia caught with her free hand.
We went into the elevator, Thalia slotted the key in and we began the long ride upwards.
"Luke's not dead," Thalia said, "we'll see him again. We'll have to fight him, and I don't know if…"
"Hey, we'll figure it out," I said, Armani was strangely quiet, no longer leaning on Thalia, "in the meantime-"
I didn't get to finish as Zoe stirred in my arms, her eyes snapped open and she took in everything before thrashing in my grip, "Whoa, Zoe! Calm down, it's us!"
She slowed down, her eyes tracing the room again. Her face was flushed, probably in realization of the people who were in here with her, "Please put me down, Percy," She said.
I didn't feel like arguing, so I complied and set her down gently, letting her stand on her own. I had a feeling she wouldn't like any more help than necessary.
"I feel… strange." She mumbled.
We all exchanged a look, minus Zoe, and the silent debate of how to phrase what needed to be said passed between us.
I tried to speak first, but the elevator doors opened at the same time, and we all had to step out.
"Go ahead, we'll catch up." Armani said as she looked around Olympus.
"Are you sure about that?" Thalia asked, probably reluctant to leave Armani right now, who looked like she was a breath away from toppling over.
"Yeah, I need to talk to Zoe. We'll be right there, if you need me…" She took a knife out of her pouch and tossed it to me, which I caught easily.
"Don't be too long, wouldn't want you to get lost, yeah?" I smiled at Armani, who just scoffed in response.
"I'm not the one who got lost in their own school, Perseus." Armani smiled, sending a shiver down my back. Later, I would freely admit that I saw a flash of black flow through her eyes briefly before it disappeared.
Thalia and I looked back one final time before making our way down the path to the council of the gods.
It was just Zoe and I outside the elevator doors now, Percy and Thalia were long gone by now. I looked over at Zoe, she still looked rather tired, her glow was definitely gone now. I guess that's what happens when you lose the blessing of the hunt.
'Are you going to say something, or are you going to continue to stand there like an emotionally constipated lesbian?'
I would like to say that I kept a very straight, and not embarrassed face at the mental comment from my… passenger.
"Fuck you, Ren."
A dark chuckle was all I heard in response.
I sighed, "Zoe, look," I rubbed the back of my head, "I'm not gonna sugar coat this, so here we go…"
"You died, and in return, you lost the blessing of the hunt."
Zoe looked like a deer in headlights, an apt description for the hunter- er, girl. I winced, gonna have to get used to that.
'It's not like you like the hunters anyway.' Ren added.
"I don't mind the hunters, it's their leader I'm not fond of…"
"You're lying."
My eyes snapped to Zoe's, they were cold and hard, but beneath that they were tinged with the slightest bit of fear. The fear that I was right, that saying it would make it real. The fear that she might not be of use anymore.
It hurt to see.
"Zoe, you have to understand," I said, "You were dead. I don't gain anything by lying to you, I wouldn't lie to you."
For once I wish I was, Went unsaid in the back of my mind.
"I- I can't believe that," Zoe stuttered out, a far cry from the usual stoicness, and fearlessness she presented her with.
She faced her sisters, a dragon she used to call a friend, her father and then she died, my mind whispered to me, you think she wouldn't be affected?
"Zoe, can I tell you something?"
Zoe looked at me, her posture was stiff with distrust, but she nodded anyway.
"I- When I first met you, I was… jealous, I think," I mumbled, "I still don't know, emotions are never that easy," A chuckle escaped my lips.
"But you, you, were so close to Artemis. Did you know that I already figured she was my mom?"
Zoe shook her head, her posture loose, but she still seemed rather hesitant to listen.
I huffed, "Yeah, it seemed fairly obvious. Anyway, during the quest when I talked to Aphrodite, she told me I still wanted a connection with her, deep down I guess."
I laughed then, a painful laugh that felt like it was wrenched from my lungs with searing hot hands.
"Ironic, isn't it? I denied it then, but I think it's not just me who wants a connection with her."
For once my passenger was completely silent, not a peep, not a hint of emotions seeping through the bond, nothing. He had completely cut himself off from the connection. I didn't know whether to be grateful or concerned by it.
I heard a small sniffle, and it certainly wasn't made by me. I chose not to comment on it.
"You know, Zoe, if you're afraid of not being useful anymore, well, that's not defined by the ones you serve, but by actions you take. If it's about that bond, then… well, I'm not the best to give relationship advice on that front."
"I don't know how to feel about that," Zoe mumbled.
I shrugged, "You get to decide that, Zoe, what you want out of life. You can do anything with your life, you have no more allegiances."
Zoe let a small sob escape her lips, I didn't judge her for it. I didn't have the right, and in all honesty, I didn't need to. I gave her the opportunity to think about it, I didn't hide it from her. She didn't need to be coddled, that's not the kind of person she is.
I reached out, to let her join me.
"So what do you say?" I smirked, "Wanna join the craziness?"
A clearer invitation had never been extended by me, it was weird, to just invite people to join my circle of trust, to have more friends, to be family. We weren't quite there yet, but a feeling told me that Zoe and I would become good friends.
I almost expected her not to take it, but after a moment, she did.
What I definitely didn't expect was for her to pull me into a hug, a surprising action from the girl.
It felt good.
We caught up with Thalia and Percy not too long after that, they had decided to wait outside of the throne room for the time being. Probably a smart decision, but it probably wasn't a smart idea to make them wait forever. So then, side by side, we walked into the throne room.
—
As someone who had never seen the Olympian throne room, it was extremely beautiful, but something nagged at the back of my mind. Like I had seen something similar before, and maybe I had.
Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations, a beautiful view to compliment an amazing design.
All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and when I tell you, having a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once… it's jarring, but not the worst thing I'd seen recently.
"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.
"Mooo!"
That's when I noticed Bessie and Bianca.
A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble.
Bianca was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if she was retelling our story, or something along those lines, but when she saw us, she cried, "You made it!"
She started to run toward me, I faintly remembered that the last time she had seen me, I had died in front of her, then remembered she was turning her back on Zeus, and looked for permission.
"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Bianca. The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia, and me, it was unnerving.
Bianca walked quickly to reach us, no one spoke, the room felt stifled, and the hearth blazed off in the corner.
I watched as Percy looked nervously at who I assumed to be his father, Poseidon, based on the smell and aura he gave off. He was dressed very casually for a meeting with the gods: beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes.
I watched him glance at me briefly, his eyes giving the biggest look of thank you I had ever seen.
But why?
Bianca gave Zoe and Thalia big hugs. Then she grasped my arms. "Armani, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"
"Do what, exactly?" I asked.
"Heroes," Artemis called.
The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn haired girl, somewhat stressed looking in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.
"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."
There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.
"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"
She seemed on edge, like there was something she wasn't telling us.
She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"
She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. Hera, his wife, most likely.
On Zeus's right, Percy's father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.
Hermes winked at Percy. He was wearing a business suit for some reason, checking messages on a… mobile phone? Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave a thumbs-up.
Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at Percy while he sharpened a knife.
On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be one person, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly and made me blush in spite of myself.
"Stupid, damn goddesses."
All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.
"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"
"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"
A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.
"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Percy. "These two are dangerous." He eyed me, his scowl deepening, "And that one-"
"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."
"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."
Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. I couldn't say I understood it, honestly, it seemed more annoying than anything to get praise for doing a task.
Artemis said nothing, her eyes pointedly not meeting my own. I scowled, I would be a fool to believe anything had changed.
The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I must admit, for once I agree with Ares, there is a security risk here with the other two, and that doesn't even begin to talk about the girl."
"Wait a minute-" Percy started to speak.
Athena cut him off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, and others," Her pointed look at Artemis did not go unnoticed, and the childlike goddess shifted in her throne, "chose to break their oath not to have children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods… such as Thalia and Percy… are dangerous. As thick headed as he is, Ares has a point."
"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"
He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.
"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."
Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"
Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly
think it safest to destroy them?"
"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."
"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."
"I'm not sure if you're quite impartial to the situation here," Ares sneered at the hunter goddess.
"If it was Clarisse, you would do the same." She snapped back.
The room was silent at the proclamation, and I realized it was probably the closest I would ever get to hearing her acknowledge me.
"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."
"Don't call me sis! I will reward he- them."
"Well," Zeus grumbled. "But, I do not like you."
His eyes were aimed directly at me, the force of his very gaze felt like it was impressed onto my very soul.
I didn't like it.
When no one else spoke, I took it as my queue to do so, "Look, I'm not going to lie," I breathed in, "Yeah, I'm a threat."
All heads in the room snapped to me like I had just declared war on them, Percy looked like he was going to have a heart attack, and the others looked like they wanted to drag me from the room as fast as possible.
"So you freely admit that you are a danger to all those present?" Athena asked me. Her eyes lacked malice, but were full of intrigue.
"I admit that I have the potential to be dangerous," I shook my head, "Everyone here does. However, I don't think it would be wise to actually try and dispose of me."
"And why would that be?" Zeus asked, the air around him becoming more charged by the second.
"You let Percy and Thalia live, why? Because even a weapon of mass destruction can be an asset. I teleported a replica Talos to the bottom of the Marianas trench, you don't just throw away that kind of power." I rationalized, Zeus and Ares may want to kill me, but if there was one thing I knew, it was that most gods would jump at the chance to have that much power on their side.
"And your loyalty? How do we know we have it?" Athena asked from her throne, the storm in her eyes swirled around uncontrollably.
"I'll be honest, I don't have the best impression of most of you Olympians. My loyalty lies with people who don't want to kill my family."
I could feel the eyes of the others on me at that moment, I didn't dare meet their eyes, I didn't know if I would like what I saw if I did.
"You're saying your loyalties align with ours then? As long as we don't make any moves against you, or your family?" It was Poseidon who spoke this time, his eyes locked completely onto my own.
"I would have no reason to go against you." I answered simply, I wanted to make my answer be as open ended as possible.
'They're not going to like that.'
I sighed internally, "They won't have a choice, they can't risk me going anywhere else, it was the same deal with Percy."
Oh yes, Percy had told me all about his first encounter with the Olympian council, and it still made me bitter to think about to this day.
Zeus growled then, cutting off any other lines of questioning the council of gods could have had, thunder rumbled across the sky, "this meeting is adjourned."
"Wait," three voices said simultaneously, I wanted to groan, nothing wanted to be settled quietly today. I, along with the rest of the occupants of the room, turned to the source of the voices. It was The Fates, looking at me with such a look of fury that it almost made me shiver.
Almost.
"We have news," One of them spoke, Zeus gestured for them to continue, "events did not play out as they were foretold, because of her."
The Fates pointed at me, I looked behind me. There was a brief shuddering sensation, followed by a full body spasm that didn't go unnoticed by others. Ren had reacted violently to the appearance of the Fates.
Why?
"Oh, me? What can I say, I have a knack for changing outcomes." I smirked.
They ignored me and pointed to Bianca, "This one was supposed to have died in that junkyard," then they pointed at Thalia, "and she was supposed to become the lieutenant of the hunt."
There were many quick intakes of breath around the room, including my own, judging by Thalia's scowl, that definitely wasn't something she was considering, and Bianca was very, very pale.
"What does this mean for us?" Artemis asked The Fates, they exchanged looks with each other and spoke.
"We do not know, the spool of fate has been unwound, it is completely out of our hands now" they looked pointedly at me, "we have delivered our news, excuse us."
The Fates disappeared in a burst of flames, Zeus immediately followed, his face darkened by every bit of news piled on him. Only Poseidon stayed behind to talk to Percy, and Artemis apparently, Armani noticed as she saw her and Bianca talking in quiet tones.
I turned to talk to Thalia, but she was already walking away. I went to follow her but felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Let go," I growled, recognizing the presence of Artemis.
"Is that anyway to talk to a goddess?" She asked, but I could tell her heart wasn't really in it.
"I have some other choice words if you'd like to hear them," I snarked back, "This is a waste of time, just go back to forgetting I exist and we can both move on with our lives."
"We need to talk."
"Funny, I was thinking the exact opposite-" I said, cutting myself off when there was a sudden flash and we were standing in a much different place.
"So that's what that feels like…" I mumbled.
The room we were in now seemed to be a bedroom of some kind, not dissimilar to the tent I had been in at the beginning of all of this. In fact it was mostly laid out the same way, the only difference being that this was clearly a room and not some kind of magic tent.
I sighed, better to just get it over with.
"What do you want?"
"Is it too much to just want to talk with you?" Artemis asked calmly as she watched Armani pace the room before coming to a halt, eyes flashing from blue, to lavender, to obsidian black, before settling down again.
"It is," I hissed, "The way I see it, you don't give two shits about me. The only reason I'm probably here is so you can 'assess' me or something."
"Language," Artemis chided, but did not refute any of her other statements.
I felt it then, the slight snap that occurred somewhere deep in my mind, a memory- something that wasn't mine.
…
"Those damn villagers…" a much younger version of Ren muttered as he walked alongside his mother, they had just dropped into the local village for their months worth of supplies, and even with how much she helped around, there were some who still spit venomous words at the two.
"Language." His mother said pointedly as she tousled his hair.
"Sorry, mom, I just hate it when they talk about you like that…" Ren pouted.
She chuckled, "Well, I'm used to it, besides, they may find the wheels on their carts don't work very well the next time they go to transport any goods."
Ren stared up at her, his eyes widened, "I thought you said we were supposed to act better than them? That it wasn't worth rising to their bait?"
She hummed, "You're very perceptive for your age, Ren, but I never said to let anyone walk all over you. Did I?"
Ren's jaw fell as he realized what she was saying, "So-"
"That does not mean you can resume tricking all the locals with your shenanigans." She cut him off before he could finish.
"How did you know that I was gonna say that?"
"Call it motherly intuition, dear."
…
I clutched my head as the memory began to subside, Ren's words from just hours ago came to my mind then.
'"I can't wait for the distaste you'll feel once the memories come flooding back in."'
My body felt… strange for a lack of better words. It felt unbalanced, foreign, the feeling was already beginning to subside but I hoped that this was a one off event and not something larger. Artemis was watching with a mix of intrigue and something else I couldn't quite make out. It may have been concerning, but the events leading up to this point, point to absolutely anything other than that.
"Don't try to act like a parent to me now." I spat, "You didn't even know I existed until a few days ago, and when you did find out, you denied my existence."
The goddess just continued to sit there with a neutral expression on her face, it was beyond annoying. It also made me wonder if that's why all statues of the gods, had the same expression, not that it really mattered right now but-
"I never had a daughter, I would know." She answered finally.
I spread my arms out wide, "Well, clearly I exist! I have abilities that I don't even know how to use, I can see things other people can't! And here's the real kicker, I can use energy that only you should have access to! I'm even stronger underneath the moonlight! And the claiming?!"
I was fuming, and the goddess was still not changing her expression, I couldn't take it anymore. The silence was pounding like bells in a church, my skin was itching and I wanted to be anywhere else but here. None of my friends were here, Ren was silent, and I couldn't leave.
"Say something! Are you really just going to sit there and deny my existence?!"
Looking back on it, I could tell I was leaking and channeling pure Nature Energy at that point, which in my condition at the time, should have been impossible. It's a wonder that no one else had felt it, but I guess the room must have been sealed, or we were just that far away.
"Calm down, Armani Caelum."
"Calm down? Calm down?!" I shuddered, it took every bit of energy I had not to lash out here and now, even now I could still focus enough to realize that. So I took a breath, and let the excess energy seep back into my body.
"What. Do. You. Want." I was barely able to get my words out without blowing up again.
"You already guessed it yourself." She said.
I racked my brain, extending my senses to more than just the physical, there was… something there. A connection that was connecting me to something- no, someone.
I blinked, "You," I hissed, pointing at the goddess with a shaking hand, "You're enhancing my emotions, you're using our connection to- to- What? See what I'll do when I'm angry? If I can control myself?"
"I must say, that took you much longer than I assumed it would for you to find out," Artemis said with a slightly condescending tone, "I figured you would sense it almost immediately."
I growled, "Stay out of my head."
"Or what, demigod?"
That's it.
"Or this."
The first thing to say about these mental connections, they can only be forged between people who share some type of bond, family, close friends, sworn enemies, anything that would count as a bond. Like mine with Percy, or a descendant bond with Artemis. However, it wasn't just thoughts that could be exchanged, but energy, emotions.
Or in this case, memories.
I fished through my memories, and Ren's taking bits of mine and his, and just like you would shove chemicals in a container, I shoved the mixture of memories through her side of the connection. If she wouldn't acknowledge it, I'd make her.
It felt like the room around us was stripped away, whether it was a conscious or subconscious act, I could feel her fight back. It didn't last long however, she just wasn't prepared for me to reverse the connection. Most people, of those who could utilize bonds, wouldn't try such a thing with any gods. Luckily, I wasn't just anyone.
After I was satisfied with what I had sent into her mind, I cut the connection, almost immediately I fell to the ground, the hard marble beneath my knees made them ache, and I could feel a warm liquid trickle down from both of my eyes. Blood, probably, based on the smell at least. Sometimes I hated the enhanced senses that came with these mutations.
I stood slowly, looking over at Artemis I saw that her eyes had glazed over.
"We're done here." I said shakily as I turned and walked away, letting the energy overcome me again as I transported myself to my nearest marker.
…
It would be hours later that Artemis would get out of the loop of memories Armani had shown her. She had seen many, many atrocities over the many years of her life. This, however, felt different, some of those memories were just… terrible. If she could, she was sure she would vomit then and there, she knew she would eventually have to thank Sally Jackson, and her son, for their involvement in Armani's life.
She was not sure she would be the same if they hadn't.
After she was able to gather herself more, she realized the complete oddity that was the child's memories. Some were easy to understand, if terrible, while the others were not.
The memories of the boy with black hair, a kingdom, a prodigy with weapons and magic, other gods. But what struck her more, was that she herself was in those memories. There was no doubt about that. It only made her more confused when she saw her own attitude towards the boy. Motherly, there was no other way to describe it, none at all.
And yet, she could not fathom when, or even where, this had happened. Or how this boy had come to be, someone she herself called her son multiple times in some of these memories. The places they visited certainly did not exist… here…
A thought, a terrible one yes, but the only one that made sense entered her mind. It was chiling to think about, yet, she couldn't think of another reason for what she was seeing. Even so, it still left the problem of the boy, and Armani herself, who was still an enigma in her own right.
"Rygis…" She muttered quietly as she continued to think, the looming discussion of her breaking her oath, for it was truly undeniable now, and these new revelations caused a soft pang of sadness to echo through the air around her.
If Armani was still there, she might have felt bad for her, maybe.
-At the time of Armani leaving-
Armani stumbled as she appeared next to me, instinctively, I reached out my hand for her to latch onto. She grabbed it and righted herself.
"You're just in time, I was about to call mom." I told her as I dug my last golden drachma out of my pocket, she only nodded numblyl as she stood up straight by my side. I could feel it, something was off with her, hopefully talking to mom would make her feel better.
"Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."
The mist shimmered, and there was mom at our kitchen table, laughing and holding hands with her friend Mr. Blowfish. Armani snorted, and I punched her in the shoulder, it was already embarrassing enough. I was about to wave my hand through the mist and cut the connection, but before I could, my mom saw me. Her eyes got wide. She let go of Mr. Blowfish's hand real quick.
"Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"
"Sure, Sally. No problem."
He left the room, and instantly my mom leaned toward the Iris-message. "Percy! Armani! Are you all right?"
Armani just shrugged.
"I'm, uh, fine. How's that writing seminar going?"
She pursed her lips. "It's fine. But that's not important. Tell me what's happened!"
I filled her in as quickly as I could, leaving out any parts about Armani and her… experiences. She sighed with relief when she heard that we were safe.
"Dear," Mom pursed her lips, "Is there any reason you have animal ears and a tail now?"
Armani blinked, seemingly forgetting they existed at that moment, "Uh, long story, godly parent?"
Mom's eyes widened, "So you-?"
"Can we talk about something else please?" Armani said quietly, cutting her off from finishing, whatever she thought about it wasn't going to be voiced now. Mom, thankfully, took that with grace and changed the subject.
"Well, regardless, I knew you two could do it!" she said. "I'm so proud."
"Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your homework."
"Percy, Armani, I… Paul and I—"
"Are you happy?" Armani and I asked at the same time, the timing of it earned a snort from mom, who always said we seemed to share a brain.
The question seemed to take her by surprise. She thought for a moment. "Yes. I really am. Being around him makes me happy."
"Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me." The funny thing was, I meant it.
"If he makes you happy, then I have no reason to stand in your way, but if he hurts you…" Armani let it hang in the air, her animalistic grin didn't leave much to imagination.
Considering the quest we'd just had, maybe I should have been worried for my mom. I'd seen just how mean people could be to each other, like Hercules was to Zoe, like Luke was to Thalia. Armani and I met Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, in person, and her powers had scared me worse than Ares. But seeing my mother laughing and smiling, after all the years she'd suffered with my nasty ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, I couldn't help feeling happy for her. I think Armani would say the same.
"You promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she asked.
I shrugged. "Well, maybe not to his face, anyway."
"What he said," Armani said.
"Sally?" Mr. Blofis called from our living room. "You need the green binder or the red one?"
"I'd better go," she told me. "See you for Christmas?"
"We should be back in a few days," Armani answered.
"As long as there's blue candy in my stocking."
Armani snorted.
Mom smiled. "If you're not too old for that."
"I'm never too old for candy."
"I'll see you two in a few days then."
She waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared, and I thought to myself that Thalia had been right, so many days ago at Westover Hall: my mom really was pretty cool.
Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked Zoe, Thalia, Armani and I up at the Empire State Building. Bianca had gone with the hunters. He ferried us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.
As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, it was peaceful, something that I was grateful for after these last few days. Armani and Zoe, however, looked like they needed the peace the most. Both looked dead on their feet, Armani, for obvious reasons, and Zoe was probably still drained after her resurrection. First order of business would be to get them some rest, and then, I could figure out what we were all doing next.
Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Thalia and I dug in, Zoe ate slowly, while Armani just sipped lightly on the hot chocolate. She didn't say much as we caught Chiron up on what had happened, once again, Thalia and I left anything about Armani out of the story. I could tell he knew there was more, but he didn't push it.
"And you, my dear?" He gazed at Zoe, "Why have you returned to camp? Surely your business here is done?"
Zoe froze, she technically didn't have to be allowed to stay here, Artemis may have thought of her as family, but that did not make it true. At least, it might not in his eyes. Before I could speak, Armani jumped in for her.
"She lost her immortality, and she's no longer bound to Artemis, so she came back here. There's nowhere else for her to go." Armani put down her now empty mug, "and I intend to let her stay in the Artemis cabin with me."
"I'm not sure if-" Chiron started, but was cut off by Armani speaking again.
"Chiron, I am very tired, it's been a rough few days. I've learned more in these days alone than I have in my entire life so far, and Zoe was dead. I'm not budging on this, so please, just let it happen."
Chiron looked at me, still treating me as the 'leader' even though any of my friends beside me could kick my ass with relative ease, I just shrugged. It wasn't my decision, Thalia just continued to eat her food, avoiding eye contact with Chiron, and Zoe was busy staring at Armani like she was brand new to her.
He sighed and rubbed his temples, "I suppose that will be fine. Will you be staying in the camp year round, Armani?"
Armani sighed, "I have some things I need to do soon, but for now, I just need rest. My only immediate plans are to go home for christmas."
Chiron just hummed in acknowledgment and looked like he was about to say something else, when suddenly, Clarisse burst into the room, she stopped momentarily when she saw us. Armani raised an eyebrow at her sudden interruption, but she spoke anyway after a moment.
"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."
"I see," Chiron said gravely, "We shall speak of this in a moment." Clarisse stepped out, and he turned to us, "For now, you should get some rest, you must be very tired."
"Too right there, Chiron," Thalia chuckled.
I sighed, I was extremely tired too, and as Chiron left the room, I found myself thinking of something my dad had told me while Armani was talking to Artemis.
"Luke is alive," I said.
Everyone else straightened up, "I knew it." Armani said.
"How did you 'know'?" Thalia asked her, she had thought he was dead, so it made sense that this would distress her the most.
"When he fell, and he hit the rocks, his energy did not dissipate from his body. Everyone has a small bit of Nature energy running through them, but his did not disperse, I could still feel it."
"And you didn't say anything then because?" Thalia seemed a bit irked by Armani's words.
"We were a bit busy keeping this one alive," Armani jerked a thumb at Zoe, who flushed slightly.
I tried not to feel annoyed by their banter. I told them what my dad had said about the Princess Andromeda.
"Well," Thalia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the prophecy is about either of us, then we'll figure something out."
"Are you still going to try and get him to 'change his ways'?" Armani asked, the annoyance in her tone was extremely obvious.
"Oh no," Thalia scowled, "Annabeth might, but I'm way past that now. He made a decision, and I intend to hold him to its consequences."
Armani nodded, but something else dawned on me.
"Oh my gods, Annabeth, what do we tell her?"
Armani said nothing, neither did Zoe.
"Nothing," Thalia finally said, "to her, nothing has changed, and she won't just suddenly change her mind. So for now, we leave it."
I wanted to refute that, but it did seem like the best choice at the moment.
Or just the easiest one.
Thinking about Annabeth was complicated at the moment, I had thought of her during the quest, but the further in we went the less I began to. Now, a lot of people would call me dense, and sure, I could be. But even I could tell that I might have been feeling something for her, and now I just… didn't. Now it was gone, and I didn't know why, it wasn't really my biggest concern at the moment.
Zoe's expression was gloomy. She stared into the crackling fireplace that had been lit by Chiron. She looked tired, her eyes haunted.
"Two years," she said. "That's not a lot of time, and if one of you," she gestured between Thalia and I, "Are the child of prophecy, then you should be ready. Kronos will come here first."
"How do you know?" I asked. "Why would he care about camp?"
"It's what I would do." Armani said quietly, all eyes turned to her, "You take out the army and then what do the leaders do? Nothing would be able to stop them then."
"And gods use heroes as their tools," Zoe added. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. All of them, and we might not stand a chance."
Armani coughed, "Actually-"
There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.
He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's… where's my sister?"
"Hey, Nico." Armani stood up from her chair, "Walk with me, there's some things I should tell you."
I watched them walk out the door, and I could only wonder what she was going to tell him, and why she didn't let me do it.
-Armani P.O.V.-
"She wanted you to have this." I brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it.
We were standing at the dining pavilion, just where we'd last spoken before I went on the quest. The wind was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps. I figured outside the camp borders, there must be a blizzard happening.
"Percy promised he would protect her," Nico said.
I snorted, "Wait, I think there's been a misunderstanding, she's not dead, Nico."
"What?" He asked, suddenly very confused.
"She went with the hunters, she wanted to come back here first, but she didn't have time to. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you, and that she'd try to visit as soon as possible."
He looked saddened by the news, "I'm- I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I just, I had these nightmares and-"
"Hold on, nightmares?"
Nico shivered, like remembering them was an ordeal on its own, "Yeah, that she was going to die. There was this constant voice, and I was drawn to it, but… I never went towards it, or even answered it. It just felt wrong."
I nodded, it sounded awfully familiar to what Percy had told me about when he had visions of Kronos in the pit, and his voice.
"Good, you did well, make sure you never answer that voice." I tousled his hair, he whined indignantly at the action.
"Was there something else you wanted to tell me?" He asked while he tilted his head, and I was reminded of just how young he was.
I nodded, "After the holidays, I'll be going on a… training trip, of sorts."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I was getting to that, shortstack." I snickered, "I want to train you, I think you'll pick up my style really well, and you're gonna need the training."
Nico's eyes widened, "Really?! Yeah absolutely-"
He froze, his eyes focused on something behind me, I whirled around just in time to meet another sword with my own. The Jade Sword materializing in my hand as one of the skeletons that had plagued us on our quest tried to strike me, with three more close behind.
They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. I wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, I couldn't kill them, not even if I went 'berserk', but I could sure as hell stall them until help got here.
"Nico, run. They can't be destroyed."
The first skeleton charged. I knocked aside its blade, but the other three kept coming. I reached out with my empty hand and grabbed another one's head, ripping it clean off and throwing it as far away as I could from us. I threw out a shockwave of silver energy that dismantled them, even the one I was blocking, but immediately they began to knit back together. I could feel the energy seeping into my eyes, my perception picking up as I continued to hold my ground. I was still tired, and I couldn't just continually throw out shockwaves like before.
"Nico!" I yelled. "Go! Get help! Now!"
"No!" He exclaimed, "Let me help you!"
I couldn't fight four at once, not if they wouldn't die, and certainly not with this little energy. I slashed, whirled, blocked, jabbed, but they just kept advancing. I would come back, but I didn't want Nico to have to witness it, not now, and not ever.
So I fought on, but determination could only get me so far.
"No!" Nico shouted louder. "Get away from her!"
The ground rumbled beneath me. The skeletons froze. I rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth. Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!
Silence.
In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise there was no sign of the warriors.
Impressed, I looked at Nico. "So I was right…"
"W-What?" He asked, he was very clearly confused, luckily, I had the answer for once.
"You're a child of Hades, I could smell death on you and Bianca when we first met, but I assumed it was due to some other factors. But with what you just did, and what Bianca was able to do, there's no other explanation."
"I-Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily," I hummed, letting my sword disappear into the air, "Hades is a pretty neutral god, and is definitely one of the most helpful towards demigods, it's the other gods I would worry about when they find out."
Nico visibly gulped, his hands shook.
"What are we gonna do?"
"For now?" I asked rhetorically, "Only tell a select few, no one needs to know right now, and that's how it will stay until you can defend yourself."
"So until you're done training me." Nico said simply.
I walked forward and put my hand on his shoulder, "Yes, but for the moment, I need rest and recovery. After Christmas, we'll make a more concrete plan."
His eyes became slightly downcast when I mentioned Christmas, it took me a moment to realize that he would have no family to celebrate it with.
"Hey, Nico, I have a question for you."
-Later-
After my conversation with Nico, and his acceptance of both my offers, I headed back to the Artemis cabin for some much needed rest. I could already feel Zoe inside, so when I walked in to find her in one of the bunks in the corner of the room, I wasn't surprised.
"Hey, Zoe." I said tiredly as I shrugged off my jacket and threw it on the end of one of the beds. Even with its magic enhancements, it was still tattered and torn, like the rest of my current clothes. Sadly, I hadn't brought any more with me when I left home, since I had assumed it would just be the one night.
"Armani." She mumbled in greeting.
I was going to leave it there, just let her sleep. But the profound confusion and sadness I felt from her was just too strong to leave alone.
"You okay?"
"...I will be." She answered a moment later, her voice was slightly louder than it was before.
I didn't voice my opinions on that, instead opting to make an offer instead.
"I'm heading home with Percy for Christmas in a few days. Nico is joining us, since he has no other family."
"What's your point?" Zoe asked while she rolled over to look at me.
"Would you like to join us? So you won't be lonely on the holidays?"
Zoe was silent for a moment, she sighed, "I don't celebrate the holidays."
"That's not what I asked, and that's not the only reason I'm inviting you. I'd rather you be able to enjoy some company, instead of holing up in this cabin while I'm gone." I said, I wanted her to understand.
"What about Thalia? You seemed much closer with her than you are with me."
Zoe asked it so plainly that it made me want to laugh, nothing held back, that was for sure. Then again, Zoe was never one to be blunt.
"I… I need some time away from Thalia. Don't ask me why, I don't fully understand it myself, but there are some things I need to think about."
Zoe gave me a disbelieving look, I couldn't help but think of the words I had answered Ren with at the junkyard.
'Even if it was fabricated, it's not anymore.'
I was… unsure, after the adventure, that that was what they truly were. I had been emotional, on the verge of dying again, and I would have said anything to get him to lend me power. With Thalia, it was just different, like a burning sensation, it was unexplainable, and any time I tried to think on it. I felt like I was steered away from it.
"So," I shook myself from my thoughts, it would do nothing for me to dwell on it now, "You wanna come?"
She turned to face the wall, away from me, and I thought that she wasn't going to give me an answer. Just as I was about to lay my head down on my pillow, she spoke, "I suppose someone has to make sure you don't get into any trouble."
I laughed, it felt good, even if it hurt my ribs somewhat.
I let myself lay back on the bed. I hadn't taken in much of the cabin at this point, but now, I could see the ceiling. That sounds unimpressive, but I could see all of the constellations on it, like I was peering up at the night sky itself. It was… soothing in a way. Even if my connections to it pained me, I would probably always find solace in it.
-At the same time-
She shivered as she stepped into the city of New York, or at least, she was pretty sure she was in New York. Her mind still wasn't fully put together and the only way she knew how to identify it was by the very tall building. The place where she felt all of that sickly godly energy.
She shook her head and tugged her coat tighter, it was warmer here than in those godforsaken mountains, but it still wasn't warm enough for her. At least her target wasn't Olympus, she actually wasn't sure what her target was. Yet she was still marching in a straight direction, her inner compass was pointing and she just followed it. Anything had to be better than that stupid lab, with all it's chemicals and tests.
The originator.
She knew what she was, and had an idea of what she had been made for, and she certainly wasn't going to comply with becoming a mad titans vessel.
But that didn't mean she could ignore her programming. She was so close she could feel it, she wasn't sure if her originator knew it or not, but her energy rang beautifully in the energy around all of them. Like a big beacon in the sky, and only those connected could see it.
She wanted it, that light, that all-encompassing bliss. She wanted to fix herself, replace the very thing that made her incomplete, and if she wouldn't give it to her, she would take it. She wanted nothing more, she'd lived through too much, and she wouldn't stop.
Tomorrow, she decided she would arrive there tomorrow.
When she did, she would ask nicely, after that… well, she couldn't promise anything.