Percy POV
Slowly, me and Artemis walked through the hunt's base. They could feel my presence. I made sure they would feel my presence. As we walked down the path, towards the main pavilion, hunter's crawled out of their tents, staring in amazement at me. They whispered behind my back.
"That's him."
"He's the one who did it."
"We thought he died."
"Not again."
These brought a slight smile to my face. I must've become a legend to the hunt. Perseus Jackson, the one who did it. The only guardian the hunt ever had.
"Hunter's," Artemis's voice rang loudly across the base. Not too long after, there was a massive crowd of hunters all around us. I studied all of their faces. Some had shock, others had awe. Only one had a look of pride on her face.
"Perseus Jackson has returned to our camp, once again as our guardian. He was appointed to us due to his sheer power and fighting skills. During his stay, I want him to be treated with the utmost respect and kindness. He is not a slave, so no one should be giving him orders to clean or wash the clothes or anything. And if anyone so much as thinks about pranking him, they're gonna have to deal with me."
"What Artemis means," I interjected, "is that if anyone wants to play games with me, or attempts to prank me, two things are gonna happen. Firstly, I'm going to respect the fact that they had the audacity and courage to do anything like that. Then, I'm going to play my games, and assuming you're still mentally sane, then Artemis will deal with you. Any questions?" Some glared at me, but most just hung their heads low.
"Splendid! In that case, you are all dis-"
"Percy!" A voice whooped from the side. Turning, I looked to see who it was, before being crashed, yes crashed into. Body slammed would sum it up quite better. Charlotte literally leapt into my arms, giving me a massive hug. I smiled. At least there was someone in this cursed camp who I could trust with my life.
"Charlotte!" I exclaimed. "Bear with me, I can't exactly breathe with you at the moment." She leapt off me, laughing slightly. I grumbled.
"Calypso is gonna think I'm cheating if you keep this up." Charlotte beamed at me, but someone, some hunter suddenly choked.
"You… have a girlfriend?" It was a hunter I had never seen before. She said the word 'girlfriend' as if it were a swear word.
This hunter had short, wavy brown hair that reached her shoulders. She was tall, with hazel eyes that seemed to pierce me. Definitely pretty, which got me wondering, why she even joined the hunt.
"I do indeed," I replied cautiously. Her face began to turn red.
"What's your name, if I may ask?"
"You may not!" she snapped, but Artemis was beside me.
"Her name is Sophie," she answered. I looked at her hard, studying her with intent. What was such a pretty girl doing here? Men would've been chasing her.
"I don't think you like me much, do you?" I asked with a wry smile. She glared at me in response.
"For a show of hands, does anyone here like me?" Two, no three hands go up, in reluctance. Well, I suppose that's two more than I was expecting.
"Alright, how do you feel about a good wager?" I asked, pacing down the pavilion. Many hunters shifted uneasily on their feet, shooting each other weird looks. This hunter was not like that. She was confident and immediately agreed, nodding her head.
"What is it?" she asked. I smiled. How easy they fell for tricks.
"So you all hate males right?" The hunters quickly shook their heads, but I raised my hands. "Relax, let's all be honest, you hate them. You all think you're better than then, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong." Not a single person said anything. Instead, they all just looked at me as if that was the obvious… which… it kinda was.
"How about this then. Seeing as you each think you're better than us men, why don't we have a battle?" Many hunter's looked up in joy, mischief and excitement. Even Sophie couldn't hide it.
"Who are we against?" she giggled, rubbing her hands together.. I smirked.
"Me." The tone suddenly shifted.
"Well you can't expect me to beat a God can you?" she asked, frustrated. I raised an eyebrow. In what parallel universe were they living in?
"You do know that only at the age of 12, I single handedly defeated Ares, the God of War, right?" Her face became flushed, as already, I had proved I was better than her. Nevertheless, we still had a wage.
"I'll make it fair for you, Sophie," I told her. "A 1V1 would be cruel, so why don't we do the whole entire hunt, versus Perseus Jackson and Charlotte?" For a brief moment, they all stared at me. Only after did they erupt in laughter. I couldn't believe it! What was so funny?
"Please," another hunter said between wheezes of breath. "We would wipe the horse stables with you if we ever got into a fight." I shrugged.
"So what's your side of the wager?" I asked. They stared at me, unsure if I was being serious. I most certainly was.
"If we win, you'll be our slave for the next century, no you'll be our slave forever," a hunter blurted out. I nodded.
"Anything else?"
"Food whenever we want!" One of the old hunters yelled, and was accompanied by loud cheering and whoops. She obviously remembered the stunt I pulled with Hestia's little trick back when I was their old guardian.
"And the power to order you to do whatever we please!" Sophie grinned. The hunters were looking very pleased, high fiving each other. Artemis on the other hand was uneasy.
"Perseus," she began, looking down at the floor. "Didn't you command that no one was allowed to order you be their slave." I nodded.
"Yup!" I said. "And I don't like changing my rules." She looked at me quizzically. Perhaps I had finally lost my marbles, but either way Artemis asked.
"How isn't this changing the rules?" I sighed. Explaining my ideas was the worst.
"I said no one can order me to do anything. What I didn't say was that they couldn't earn the privilege of ordering me around in a fair wager."
"Well what do you want then?" the hunt asked me. I smiled.
"All I want is for each and every hunter here to respect me, and listen to my orders." They looked hesitant at each other, but I wasn't having any of it.
"That is extremely fair. Just think about it. If I beat you in a battle that you think I have no chance of winning, surely I deserve respect? Surely that shows that I am better than the entire hunt." Eventually they agreed in union.
"The only rule I'm saying is that in the end, I am your protector, and I don't want any serious injuries. Let's refrain from any near death stunts, and only shallow maiming."
"Oh, and might I add that Artemis will also be on your side." That was it. They weren't even acting civil. Just yelling like crazy.
"You are dead Jackson!" they screamed, running to probably plan for this battle which they had in the bag.
"Come to my tent now, Percy!" Charlotte growled, grabbing me by my ear and dragging me.
"Oh wait ow, ooh, stop bullying me." She glared.
"I get that you think you can overpower them all, but I can't! She said with an exasperated sigh. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Do what you've always done for me, Charlotte. I need you to have my back. Make sure that no surprise attacks come flying my way." For a moment, I thought she was about to have a full panic attack, but she just hugged me again.
"Just make sure you win," she mumbled in my ear. "I don't want you to go back to being a depressive slave." I laughed. "Now let's make something of a plan!" Charlotte grabbed some papers, plopping them down onto her bed. We both sat down, and I took a pencil from the floor. It was so ironic, this whole thing. Most people would begin by sitting down and apologising to the other party. I was starting a fight, with an enormous wager on top of it.
Pulling my head down, I began drawing a map with Charlotte. One map is all I'd need.
One map, one fierce hunter, and one gold plated staff.
Artemis POV
This was obviously the time to plan for a battle. Unfortunately, my hunters didn't look at it that way. They were running left, right and center, grabbing food, joking, and laughing like maniacs. Most likely, they were full of joy, not understanding what a fight against Perseus meant. Then again, the battle would be tipping in our favour anyway. God or no god, my hunters were strong. By themselves, Percy would have a tough time beating them. Throw me into the frenzy and he might as well sign his life away as a slave. Nevertheless, if Perseus was declaring this fight, I knew that we had to all be as prepared as possible.
"Okay, that's enough!" I yelled. "Everyone needs to be by my table in the next 10 seconds!" I breathed. While Perseus and Charlotte had decided to plan at their tents, I had chosen to plan in the dining pavilion. It was wide, spacious, and full of snacks.
"Listen closely. No matter who the fight is against, we hunters plan everything thoroughly." Murmurs of agreement chorused around the room.
"Perseus is extremely powerful, and I want to make sure we all win this battle. Believe me, you are not gonna like taking orders from him all day." They nodded.
"If I may, millady," Thalia began, before being quickly interrupted by the rustling sound of paper. Sophie and two other hunters walked in carrying papers and rulers and pens and pencils. They dumped them on the table we were sitting on. Taking a quick glance, I could see that they had taken the courtesy of drafting the beginning of what appeared to be battle plans. I smiled with pride. Clearly, she had been trained properly, and was taking this all seriously.
"Battle plan number one, attack formation: sequential," Thalia read from some papers. "This is stunning work, Sophie!"
"Or there's battle plan two, attack formation: 360," Sophie added, pointing towards other plans she had made.
"Alright then," I said after studying both plans. Making room, I brought the blueprints for battle plan two closer. Each of my hunters automatically grabbed a pencil.
"We have a plan now," I announced.
"Let's get this finished and win this battle!" Cheers rang around, before everyone began thinking intently on how we could win this battle. Thirty or so versus two. Let's do this!
Percy POV
Slowly, I hiked towards the arena. We hadn't specifically arranged a place to fight, but it was probably presumed that the battle would take place near the hunter's training arena. My cloak fluttered as I walked. For the time being, I had decided to tuck my pen away in my pocket. It suddenly made me feel strange. I was reminded how I still had no riptide, only some copycat version Hephaestus crafted in a miniscule time. It's not that I wasn't ungrateful; I was so glad that someone took the time out to make it for me, just that I missed my old one…
Charlotte walked slightly behind me. She too had a furious look in her eyes, ready to annihilate whatever needed it. I knew I could always count on her to keep me safe. Her bow rested on her back. I also knew from experience that she had two lethal daggers stowed away in her jacked. Both of us were confident. We had a plan, and it was a good one. They could make it a thousand hunters, and it wouldn't change the fact that I could annihilate them.
As I had expected, the hunt were already waiting at the arena. How predictable. Slightly picking up the pace, I walked towards them. Artemis was standing in the middle of it, having a discussion with Thalia and the other hunter, Sophie. Other hunters sat down on the sides, reading blueprints and playing rock paper scissors. They were dressed for war, with bows strapped to their backs, thousands of arrows, and sharp daggers in both hands. Some even had miscellaneous items, including grenade-like objects and ambrosia.
Well they came prepared.
"Perseus," Sophie said as I came closer. I nodded at her.
"Are we all ready?" I asked. They all nodded without hesitation.
"It's you I'm worried about," Thalia smirked. For a moment, I wasn't sure what to do. Thalia had humiliated me. She had tortured me, but she was my cousin. How much longer could I hate on her?
"Everyone, take your stand," Artemis yelled, saving me from my uncomfortable position. Head hung, I walked next to Charlotte.
"Hey, is everything good?" she asked, concerned. I shrugged it off. We needed each other at our full potential for the next five minutes.
"The rules are as followed," I began. "Firstly, no killing. However, maim all you like, because I'm definitely going to! Also, no hard feelings, eh?" I winked at Sophie, before bellowing, "Let the games begin."
This was gonna be really fun, I thought to myself.
Sophie POV
"Hunters, follow battle plans!" Artemis yelled, as everyone charged. Percy Jackson only closed his eyes, while Charlotte stared at us, slightly smirking. That was probably when I started to feel something was wrong. The young god began mumbling something… Young god… God!
I was one too many seconds late. In a rising hand motion. Perseus suddenly shut time off. Everyone… everything froze as the god opened his eyes. One shone with such brilliant gold that I was momentarily blinded.
"I think," Percy began, walking towards me and smiling widely, "that I have already won." It was obvious he had, but he began panting slightly, almost as if he were out of breath. I wasn't surprised. It must take so much energy to freeze a bunch of hunters and an Olympian goddess.
Time suddenly unfroze, and all us hunters quickly fell down. Most of us tried getting up again, but it was a failure. Our weapons were scattered everywhere. Everyone began running around, gathering their equipment. I just sat down, staring at the god, anger pulsing through me. Most people looked like their heads were splitting, massive bruises showing up. Without a doubt, we could not regroup. The god would only pick us off one by one. Glaring at Percy, I thought if there was any way he broke the rules. It was futile of me. I was only trying to delay the fact that the entire hunt lost to that… male. I wasn't sure what the worst part was. How fast he won, or how little we did…
"I want a rematch!" I yelled, getting to my feet and marching towards Perseus. The God glared at me, or maybe he was smirking… It was hard to tell since he had his hood up.
Charlotte got to me before I could move any further.
"Sophie, you lost fair and square," she began. "Leave it now." I fought against her, but again, Perseus had decided to freeze me in time. It kinda rendered me useless.
"You know what Percy, don't fight me, because you know that deep down, you're a coward who can't beat the hunt without his puny powers." It had the exact reaction I had expected. The young god froze in his steps, as did Charlotte, clasping her mouth almost as if she couldn't believe I had just said that.
"Be very careful of your next words," he said quietly.
"Or what?" I asked, throwing up my hands. "You know you can't kill me. Are you gonna just run off again like a baby? Whatever you do, you're not going to try and fight us again, because you are useless without your powers. I could name hundreds of fighter's better than you."
Perseus Jackson walked up until he was in my face. I could feel his warm breath on my face, yet still, I stood strong.
"Have it your way, Sophie," he hissed. "But this time, if I win, not only will you respect me like one of your own, but you all will respect every single male." I nodded quickly, breathing in relief that he had agreed to a rematch and that he hadn't castrated me on the spot. The god shook his head at me.
"You think you've seen a battle…" he muttered, walking over to his side of the arena.
While most of the other hunters were whooping that I had managed to gain us a rematch, Artemis wasn't having any of it. She barged between all the hunters, and nearly yelled at me.
"What do you think you're doing?" she growled. I looked quizzically at her.
"I was getting us a rematch…" I replied slowly. Knowing how prideful Artemis was, I expected her to be happy that there was going to be a second round, but no. Instead, her hair was flying everywhere and her red face all but told me she was mad.
"I don't think you understand that Perseus Jackson wouldn't ever call a rematch unless he was certain he would win."
"Or," I interjected, "he was too proud of himself and his ability to fight," I said smugly. The hunter's cheered me, but Artemis didn't. My mistress studied me carefully with her calculating eyes.
"I pray you're right," she finally said, gripping both her knives tensely.
Charlotte POV
"Be normal," I hissed into Perseus' ear as we walked to our side. The god didn't speak, simply continuing his walk. Irritated, I stopped, grabbing him by the shoulders and subtly shaking him.
"You can say whatever you want, but I know you're feeling emotional, and we both know that whenever your emotions get caught in the fray, you don't exactly fight well. Percy turned and looked at me.
"Until you see my true form in battle, and I mean my true form, you cannot comment on my fighting." I glared at him. If only Percy knew how egotistical he sounded.
"Hunters," the god roared, taking his little pen out. "If you are under fifteen, then as the lord of time, I command you to stand down and wait at the side. If anyone wishes to forfeit, then forfeit now, because I will refuse to spare anyone until everyone admits defeat.
Close to a third of the hunters went out. Most of them were clutching their heads, muttering something about a severe headache. I wasn't shocked. After all, they did fall when Percy resumed time, some hitting their heads badly. That kinda happens when time immobilises you for a short period.
One last thing…" From his pocket, Percy brought out a tiny orb. He placed it down in the middle of the arena, burying it into the mud. All of a sudden, Artemis let out a yelp.
"No one can have any godly powers while we fight, and that includes Artemis. Now without further adieu, let the fight commence." He let out a light chuckle, smirking ever so slightly.
It's a parasite eve," he whispered, yet everyone could hear. As soon as he said that, he pulled his hood up before moving with stealth, speed and agility.
He was already halfway towards the hunters before they reacted. Confused, they sprang into action. Two charged to meet Percy. Without breaking his stride, the young god sidestepped, dodging her attack before pushing her to the floor and knocking the wind out of the other hunter. Both fell to the floor, pausing slightly.
Still sprinting, five more hunters approached him. They were each wickedly armed and had wicked smiles as they ran towards him. This time, Perseus stopped running. When the first girl swung a mace, the young god ducked and punched her in the left leg. At the same time, he grabbed another girl's hand, squeezing it forcefully. She cried out in pain, dropping on her knees to the floor. He quickly kicked one of the other girls in the face while grabbing the other two and lifting them into the air, dropping them into the air.
As he worked, I was awed at how careful Perseus was being. He was making sure to not harm any of the hunters badly. In fact, he hadn't even cut one of them yet, only delivering hard blows to slow them down.
"Hunters!" Sophie yelled. Perseus slowed down, looking at the rows of maidens lined up neatly, their bows raised. Each one of them had a quiver full of celestial bronze arrows. Sophie looked at the god and smirked at him.
"Open fire!" she giggled. Percy growled as the sky was suddenly lit. Brimstone and fire rained down everywhere. My mind was telling me that there was no way anyone would survive, but my heart was rooting for Perseus. I was just itching to know what magic trick he had up his sleeve.
I was right. As the arrows began falling down to the Earth, the young god finally uncapped his pen, a staff of fury springing out. Clicking a button, suddenly, a shield extension came out of the butt of the stick. Percy raised his staff, blocking all of the arrows. Harmlessly, they bounced off, spiralling in all directions. The hunter's stopped firing, glaring at him.
"Hunters!" Artemis yelled this time. "Open fire, randomly…" My heart froze. There was no way Perseus could survive this. Sophie could tell this, because she smirked before shooting her shot. Arrows rained from the sky as well as sailing straight towards him. Diving to the floor, the god raised his staff at a forty five degree angle. Helplessly, he crouched behind his shield, praying for the best. I watched from behind as slowly, all the arrows dented Percy's shield, one by one.
When the hunters ran out of arrows, both sides took a deep breath. Percy retracted his shield, and finally stood up. He didn't look the best. Despite all his attempts, there was no hiding that he wasn't safe. The shield couldn't block arrows from every angle. No less than seven arrows were deeply embedded into his side. Blood slowly trickled down, pooling near his feet. It seems that his little orb completely took away any powers he had, hence his red blood instead of ichor. This would mean that Percy could not heal at his usual pace either.
"It's one verus thirty now, Perseus," Sophie yelled. "I'd advise that you forfeit now." The god looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Am…" Percy almost hesitated, real curiosity in his voice. "Am I alive?" His voice had crept to a whisper, almost like he was scared of himself.
"Yes…" Sophie replied edgily. Percy raised his head. With all eyes on him, he held his staff out in front of him, giving it a slight spin.
"Then you're the ones who need to forfeit," he said. Just the confidence in his voice was enough to cause wavering looks on the hunters.
Taking his hood off and exposing his face, the god smirked. After that, the roots of probability were broken as this god did the impossible.
I'd like to say that I helped. The truth is that I was mostly glancing from the sidelines, shooting words of encouragement here and there. Percy didn't need it. Like a hawk, he moved with agility, and like a lion, he struck with power. I could feel the tremors of his staff from the side whenever he plunged it into the earth. His fingers were doing mad stuff, twirling the staff so effortlessly. It looked as if he was manipulating metal with his mind.
The battle was hard to explain, because of how blurred it was. The hunters attacked in rows of seven. Five rows of seven charged Percy, and he ran towards them, a glint in his eye. When the first row approached him, the god swung his staff three times in circles through the air. Some fell backwards into the second row. The remainders were either kicked or headbutted, crumpling down.
The second row was already at a disadvantage, having collided with the first. Percy laughed wickedly, striking his staff downwards, and jabbing it into the hunters. He lifted his leg to avoid whoever threw the knife and swiped one last time at the crowd of hunters. Most just fell down, grabbing the sides of their heads in irritation. A few went stone cold, dropping like wingless flies. The rest ran back to where the third, fourth and fifth rows were waiting. They looked… well pretty angry. Sophie was glaring at all the fallen hunters. With a few hand signals, the remaining hunters created a circle around the young god. Right in the middle, Artemis was holding two lethal knives, each the size of my forearm. She grinned with madness, as if she was about to enjoy what was going to happen.
"Hunter's, finish this!" she yelled, lunging towards Perseus, knives brandished.
What happened next was unexplainable, but it explained a lot of things. Percy Jackson: betrayed and left to die, living with depression and on the verge of suicide fought against the hunters. As Artemis lunged towards him, he stepped back, before swinging his staff backwards. Then, ducking a blow from three hunters, sidestepping from another hunter, rolling across the floor and jumping in the nick of time, Perseus jabbed his staff three times, being blocked each time. He faltered, nearly getting stabbed in the neck, and quickly maneuvering around twenty or so simultaneous blows. He swung his staff again, this time vertically, but was again blocked by Sophie. With another army of blows surging towards him, Percy leapt forward into the air, twisting as he did and diving down. Upon impact, he quickly rotated and sidestepped, grabbing his staff, and spinning it so fast that the remaining blows bounced off. Diving again, Percy tried for his third jab, being blocked yet again.
It was clear that Percy had met his match. I wasn't surprised. He was only human after all… well at least he was only human right now. Battling the hunt all at once without his powers was a big thing to ask. Most would already be finished. It was only his five years of isolated experience and near death moments that enabled him to fight on. You could see that no matter what he tried, with every move, he stepped closer to being severely harmed. Of course, it didn't help that he still had multiple arrow punctures and was half gold. As I watched, he went down to his knees, rolling like a tennis ball and helplessly blocking whatever blows he could. Only thirty seconds into the fray, someone, I think Sophie, finally landed a successful blow in his shoulder. He grunted, biting his lips to prevent any screams of weakness. I think it was now when I asked myself, "What am I doing here?"
Adrenal seeping through my arteries, I leapt towards my mentor. Jumping onto Sophie, I pulled her to the ground, flailing my arms and legs, kicking whoever I could. This was exactly what Percy needed, struggling to his feet, one hand clasping his staff, and the other futilely grabbing his shoulder.
"Wow, when did you come here, Charlotte?" Percy asked. "I didn't see you five minutes ago when I was battling the hunters all by myself."
"Shut up," I muttered, embarrassed that I had stayed on the sidelines for that long. Percy smirked.
"Unless you've got something else to stare at, let's finish this."
First the hunters went down. One by one, Percy chases the scattered army, picking them off. I… Well, I did nothing, but I had done my job. My slight distraction had confused them, and now Percy was in power, meticulously swinging his massive stick into them. They were all spread out now, and Percy was fighting them one on one, which was much easier. Doubling over, they all fell down. Next, he took care of Artemis and Sophie. They ran towards him. Both knives were gripped tightly, and Artemis swung like a lumberjack. Firstly, Percy sidestepped and brought his leg around for a roundhouse kick. Anticipating this, Artemis grabbed his leg and prepared to stab him. However, Percy was too quick. He leapt into the air, and his weight forced Artemis to let go, stumbling slightly forwards. Next, Sophie threw a knife at him. In a split second, he ducked, and it sailed into Artemis' forearm, skimming it. She hissed. Percy seized this opportunity to battle Sophie by himself. This was… far from a fair fight. A joke, as Percy would call it. Sophie was nothing compared to the god. Enjoying himself, thrust after thrust, jab after jab, kick after kick, Sophie began falling to the ground. She was slipping up, and couldn't fight back.
Artemis came in clutch. As Percy was wrapping up, she threw one of her knives into him. I noticed, and rushed to block it, but Artemis pushed me with force. It may sound like nothing, but when Artemis pushes you, god or no god, you better brace yourself. I rolled across the floor, hitting my head on a small rock. My body drained, I stayed down, having faith in Perseus. He dodged the knife… barely, stopping fighting Sophie and turned around. Wiping the blood from his gaping shoulder, the god brandished his staff, before charging for the last time. He was angry now. Each blow was nearly impossible to predict. Artemis was getting struck over and over again. Both of them bruising in more than one area, Percy eventually finished with her, turning back to Sophie.
"It's me or you," she hissed with a furious glare. The young god nodded sadly. Sophie ran into him, her hands a fury of blows. Finally, after countless blows given and taken, Perseus was finished. He had produced enough ichor to bathe Olympus gold and was breathing heavily. Soon enough, the grunting of Sophie and Percy came to an end. The fight had finally ended. Pushing him, Percy went stumbling down onto the ground, pulling Sophie down with him. The god smacked his head hard on the earth, letting out an involuntary groan. From the side of him, Ichor tricked out, creating a pool beside his head.
Percy's staff was lying, wasted, on the floor.
And Sophie's knife was pointed against her own throat.
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