Disclaimer - I do not own PJO or HOO
hey- I am back...? So sorry I haven't update in like... umm... what is it? 6 months?! ahhh! I'm so so sorry for the long wait. But now I'm back!
hopefully I didn't lose any of my writing skills or anything... and I want to say thank you to those of you who still stick with me through this long time period! I encourage you guys to re-read the last few chapters but it's okay if you just want to come here straight away.
Happy reading!
- Kathy
Anger. Burning in red.
Sadness. Flickering in blue.
Confusion. Fading into gray.
Another tear slid down her cheek and Artemis was quick to wipe it away. She couldn't believe she was here again at the end of the day. She was supposed to be shutting him out, not letting him deeper into her heart.
But he'll always be there.
"Fuck off," Artemis muttered, hoping that voice in her mind would just go away. She doesn't want to deal with this, she doesn't want to deal with love. Love brings you nothing but pain. Why couldn't she get him out of her mind?
The familiar cliff. The familiar smell of the ocean. The familiar sound of the wave splashing onto the rock. But nothing could get his haunting sea-green eyes out of her mind. Artemis gripped her hair, swearing her hair was turning gray out of frustration.
A sense of deja vu washed over her when she heard the leaves rustling behind her. But Thalia walked out this time instead of Percy.
Percy. The name brings back too many memories and moments she wasn't ready to deal with. She pushed it to the further corner of her mind, hoping she'll never have to deal with it again. Artemis looked up at Thalia before she dropped down beside her, her feet dangling by the cliff.
"Hey," Thalia greeted softly, her eyes soft. Artemis had told Thalia everything yesterday, trusting her judgment and needing someone to talk to. Thalia had been understanding and supportive, and that was exactly what Artemis had needed. "How are you doing?"
"I've been better," Artemis admitted, staring at the sun and watching it drop below the horizon. The stars are fully in view, no light pollution to ruin the night sky.
Thalia wrapped her arms around Artemis without another word, and Artemis closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth and comfort. "I heard about what happened."
"Yeah…" Artemis sighed. "I didn't know he would be here. And now he's all I can think about."
"Need me to beat him up for you?" Thalia asked, a dangerous glint in her eyes. As tempting as that sound, Artemis knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something bad happened to him. So she just shook her head, earning a disappointed look from Thalia. "But he hurt you, I'm simply getting even with him."
Artemis gave Thalia a pointed look, earning an eye roll. "Getting even with him won't solve anything."
"It solves everything in my book," Thalia hummed innocently. "Let them feel the pain they inflicted on me. Teach them that they shouldn't mess with me."
A small chuckle was heard as Artemis shook her head amusingly. Sure, there are many times when Artemis would solve her problems with violence, finding it easier then to talk it out, but the thought of hurting him made her feel an unfamiliar feeling.
"What about-" Thalia tried to suggest but Artemis cut her off, staring off into the distance as she looked up at the star for the familiar constellation.
"We're not talking about him, end of discussion," Artemis pleaded, her tone final. "We can talk about anything else."
Thalia sighed but started an easy conversation. "How's the war preparation going?"
Artemis was glad for this topic change, the thought of war was enough to distract her from her own personal problems. "The training is going quite well, but I heard reports of many missing campers from Camp Half-Blood before turning up at camp suddenly and dying the next day. Chiron has been keeping a close watch on the demigods. If we're going to win the war, we need as much help as possible."
"What are they doing out of the borders?" Thalia wondered, her curiosity taking over. Artemis could only shrug as she made her own guess.
"Possibly a scouting mission, searching for monsters, looking for demigods."
The gear in Thalia's mind started turning as she pondered to herself. "Maybe the monsters they encounter are poisonous, and their poison takes a full day to take effect."
"But the demigods that returned show no signs of injuries or being poisoned," Artemis pointed out. "Chiron has watched over some of them, many died in their sleep. Usually after a scream of agony, as if they will be killed in a dream."
Thalia thought over that. "What I don't get is why target those demigods?"
Artemis could only shake her head, having no answer. "But not all demigods that go out of the border and die afterwards. Some that never left are reportedly dying the same way."
"Is the same thing happening in Camp Jupiter?"
"Yes, not as often though," Artemis explained. "I feel like there's something I'm missing… Athena had been gathering the data and comparing what each demigod had in common. She hasn't got anything though."
Thalia shuddered, knowing that she's selfish but she hopes no one she cares about is in the 'kill list' of the enemy. Artemis looked up at the sky once more, smiling sadly when she saw The Huntress. She still misses Zoe, but she knew that she died an honorable death.
"Artemis?" Thalia suddenly asked, making Artemis look over, a look of confusion on her face at the softness of her voice.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you'll ever forgive him?" She asked quietly. Thalia wanted to know the truth about it, why Percy would lead her on, he's still her brother and she doesn't want to hate him.
Artemis' expression fell, thinking over the question. "Maybe…"
Athena flipped through her notes, organizing them for the meeting that was happening in a few hours. The encounter with the mysterious girl still confuses her. There was a feeling that she knew her, but even her photographic memory couldn't grasp it. She closed her eyes, the image of the girl appearing clearly in her mind. Dark brown hair, with strikes of blonde. Warm brown eyes. A look in her eyes that tells Athena that there's more to her than she let on.
El. The name sounds familiar, as if a memory was buried deep under her mind but there's no key to finding it. It's frustrating. Athena grumbled as she flipped through a book, trying to find the answer to this situation she found herself in.
The girl's last words stick to her brain. "I know you're smart enough to figure this out."
But what is there to figure out? The girl puzzles her. She has the scent of a mortal, but a veil of darkness surrounds her. But even with the darkness, there was a small light burning, but not enough. The only conclusion Athena could come up with is a god or goddess blessed her, which explains the power. Maybe Hecate due to her excellent control over the mist. And it'll also explain the darkness. But there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind that tells her it's not Hecate.
"A penny of your thought?" A familiar voice asked, and Athena looked up only to be met with the familiar face of El. Athena looked up curiously, wondering how on Earth the girl got past her security. She was wearing the same hoodie as yesterday. Her lips were curled into a smile as she pulled out the chair beside Athena, sitting down. "Need some help?"
Instead of answering her question, Athena asked bluntly. "How did you get past security?"
Athena studied her face carefully, but no emotion slipped through. El smiled at her brightly. "If I tell you I'll have to kill you."
"This is no time for jokes," Athena growled, glaring at El, who looked unfazed. There was something about the girl that she couldn't figure out and it's driving her insane. She wanted to know the answer, why there was a feeling of warmth whenever she's around this girl. But Athena knows she can't get any answer if she doesn't compose herself. Maybe she'll be able to trick it out of her somehow… "I'm curious, how did you get past security? I need to know the problem so I can prevent others from coming in."
El narrowed her eyes, her smile becoming more forced. "I would prefer if I kept that to myself."
"How do I know you're not here to kill me?" Athena wondered, glancing at El briefly. She only shrugged.
"You don't."
She laid back on the chair casually, as if had done this multiple times. Athena sighed, knowing El is as guarded as she is, if not more. El leaned forward in her seat, studying her with a calculating stare. "How about a deal?"
"What kind of deal?" Athena wondered. Now they're getting somewhere.
"I'll tell you how I got past security," El started, a plan forming in her head. "But in exchange, you'll tell me a secret. A secret for another."
Athena ran over El's deal in her mind, looking for any sort of loophole. But it seems good enough for her, a secret for a secret. "Dea-"
"I wasn't done," El added on, making Athena pause mid-sentence, wondering what else this girl had in her mind. "I get to ask you a question. Any question, and you'll need to answer honestly. That would count as the secret."
Answer honestly… Athena pondered over this in her head. El could ask about anything and she'll have to answer it. But she was really curious about how the girl got past security. She had blocked out flashing except for hers. She'd block out all forms of traveling, shadow travel, mist travel, etc. And there were many invisible traps that could be sprung. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?
"Deal," Athena shook El's outstretched hand. Her hands were soft, and a part of her doesn't want to let go. What Athena noticed was the ring on her other hand, and a weird feeling washed over her. She refused to acknowledge it though. "You're married?"
El frowned. "It's that your question? I thought you're going to ask about the security."
Athena blinked before shaking the feeling away. "Yeah… about the security. How did you get in?"
"I walked in," El said simply. Seeing Athena's face, she quickly added. "I swear on the river Styx everything I said was true."
"So you just… walk in?" Athena asked, confusion laced in her voice.
"You used up your question already," El smirked. "But yes, I walked in."
Athena stared at El in disbelief, half expecting a lightning to strike her down. They sat in silence for a while before El broke it, clapping her hands together. "My turn."
"What happened between you and Poseidon?" El leaned forward and whispered in her ears. Athena simply stared at El, unsure of what she should be feeling. Poseidon? What does he have to do with anything?
"He's an idiot," Athena replied, trying to suppress every other emotion this talk will probably bring up. "Why?"
"You didn't answer my question," El pointed out. Athena sighed, rubbing her temple. But in reality, she doesn't even know what happened between the two of them. One moment they're fine, the next moment they're fighting. So she packed a bag and left.
"I guess we just lost the sparks," Athena tried, knowing full well there was more to it.
"You're not telling the whole story," El pushed, a look in her eyes that Athena couldn't decipher. "Were you and Poseidon together?"
Athena swallowed nervously. Those were the questions she was afraid to answer. No one knows of their history, not even Aphrodite. And Athena wasn't about to let it slip up to a girl she barely knew. "You used up your questions already."
"I guess you're right," El hummed in agreement before staring down at her ring. "Yes, I am married. But now the ring it's more like a promise ring, promising that no matter where we are we'll always find a way to be together."
"Who's the lucky guy?" Athena asked.
"Girl," El corrected but didn't explain anything else, signaling the discussion is over. She gestured toward Athena once more. "I answered your question, now you better answer mine."
Athena sighed, preparing herself mentally. "Yes, we were together. Now please go, you're not welcome here."
"But-" El protested. Athena just points to the door, shaking her head, refusing to let her tears fall.
"Please, I need some space."
"Okay," El answered quietly, walking back toward the door. She never looked back, but a part of her still wished she had stayed.
Camp Half-Blood was in a rush, like it was every day now. More and more campers were going missing and Chiron still couldn't find the cause for the sudden death in the dead of the night. Clarisse, eldest demigod daughter of Ares, stood at the border with her siblings, shield and spear in hand. The borders shimmered in the light as the Athena Parthenos added magic to the barrier, strengthening it. But with the attacks, there was no telling what's coming next.
Clarisse could feel it in her bones, the unsettling feeling in the air as she glanced at her siblings. After the war, no one came out unstretched, many having nightmares and even the tough daughter of Ares didn't escape this fate. The war made her more paranoid than she would admit and as she glanced into the empty forest, her eyes picked up on small movements in the distance.
"Incoming!" Clarisse called out to the other demigods protroling the barrier. Everyone stood up straighter, the archers in the trees readying their crossbow or bow. But nothing prepared them for what was to come.
The monster, fangs out and covered in black coat and blood, was the scariest beast Clarisse had ever seen. And she had seen many monsters in her life. They charged without a care in the world and everyone braced for the hit when they hit the barrier. But there was none, because they charged right through as if there wasn't a barrier in the first place.
"Fire!"
The command was shouted before Clarisse's brain had caught up with her mouth. But this was a dire situation. The beast had just gone through without any sort of resistance. Screams from the campers rang out behind her as the monsters charged through, tearing through the camp mercilessly, blood painted the green grass.
Older campers will lead the younger campers away and toward the portals to Camp Olympus, which was protected by an even stronger magic. Clarisse growled when the monster leaped toward one of her half brothers, bringing the spear down on the monster's back before rolling away just as a fang came towards her.
The Apollo campers were firing arrows, through many bounced off besides those rare silver ones they have. Clarisse watched as more campers were torn apart. Unable to watch, she focused her attention on the monster in front of her, anger flaring. "You would pay for killing my family!"
Without another thought, she slid under the monster, stabbing it's exposed stomach as it growled in pain, a sound that made Clarrise's ear ring. The monster was down, but not dead. Maybe slightly injured but never dead.
This was the first group of them that managed to charge through the barriers, many of the group before had bounced off the barrier, unable to proceed. There was something about this battle that made Clarisse know it might be her last. Too many of the fighters are dying. Taking a moment of calm, she shouted toward the rest of the campers. "GO TO THE PORTALS! We can't save Camp Half-Blood…"
Although the thought saddens her, she knew that was what was going to happen in the end. With the wars in their hands, not everyone would get out unstretched. And they need all the fighters they can get if they were to win the war. For Olympus, Clarisse knew she would sacrifice herself.
Nico, who Clarisse hadn't noticed until this moment, appeared beside her as he used a wall of shadow to push the monsters back, watching as Clarisse took a crossbow from the falling campers, firing it at the monsters and drawing their attention away from the others.
"Go back to the other, Nico," Clarisse grunted as she took a slash from the monster's claw. She pushed back though, a new sense of determination. Many campers had gone through the portals now beside a few older campers. "Go through the portals with the others."
"I'm not leaving you," Nico's voice was firm but Clarisse was having none of it, backing up with Nico as Will stared at the two of them from the edge of the portal, not exactly crossing through. By now, all remaining campers had managed to cross through, but Clarisse knew the barrier won't be enough to prevent the monsters from crossing into Camp Olympus as well.
"Go with your boyfriend, death boy," Clarisse growled, shoving Nico toward Will. "It was an honor fighting with you."
"Wha-"
Clarisse could only offer them a smile as she shoved the two of them through the portal, her spear striking the magical outlet that was keeping the portal open. The wall of darkness faded when Nico went through and the monsters charged Clarisse the second it fell. But she was ready, because her friends are safe, her family are safe.
She let them take her with a smile on her face. Maybe one day, this could be the story of the ages. No heroes have a happy ending after all.
"I like Ella," Thalia commented from the far side of the room, as far away from Percy as she could get. And Percy didn't dare move, still unsure of the reason for the anger directed toward him. He couldn't remember anything he did wrong that could make Artemis so angry. And he knew Thalia would take Artemis' side, but he still wants to know what it is that made her so angry.
Paul nodded from his spot in his armchair. "I like it. I like Clara too. I think it would fit."
"How about Estelle?" Percy pitched in, watching Sally give him a soft smile, knowing why he would choose that name. It was the name of the grandmother he has never met, but he knew his mother cared a lot about her, and it seems fitting.
Before Thalia could disagree with the name, Sally spoke up quietly. "I think that's a beautiful name, Percy."
There was a tense silence in the air as Thalia glared at Percy from her spot in the room. Percy tried to offer her a smile, but she just smiled back sarcastically in return. At least it's some progress, up until a few hours ago, Thalia had refused to acknowledge Percy in any way and as much as he hates to admit it, it annoys him. It hurts that his own sister doesn't want to acknowledge him.
He tried Iris Messaging Artemis a few times but she never accepted his call. He really wanted to fix this though, whatever problem that had occurred because he hated the fact that Artemis was mad at him, and wanted to see her smile again. He just needs to know what happened…
"Maybe I should drop out of school to help you with the baby," Percy thought out loud. But Paul and Sally were quick to protest against it.
"You only have one semester left, Percy. I know you got this, don't give up now." Paul gave him an encouraging smile. "I'll be happy to help you if you have any trouble or problem."
Sally nodded along as she leaned against her husband, their hands interlocked. "It's not that… It's just there's a war looming over our head and I don't want to be that one selfish jerk that is off finishing school while my friends are fighting for their life."
Thalia spoke up again, for the first time, not an insult thrown toward Percy. "You're not a selfish jerk, Perce. I know you, and I know you'll do everything in your power to protect your friends."
Percy sighed and shook his head, pulling a pillow close to his chest. "I just want to finish school, and then figure out what I did wrong that made Artemis hate me so much…"
"So you're telling me you don't know?" Thalia questioned. "For real? That you actually don't know what you did wrong?"
"If I do, I would have tried to fix it by now!" Percy exclaimed before hugging the pillow close to his chest again. Sally glanced at Paul before the two of them excused themselves, allowing the two siblings to talk out their differences. In a quieter voice, Percy added. "I just want my Artemis back…"
Thalia sighed before sitting down on the armchair Paul had previously occupied. "Talk to Artemis. Maybe she'll be willing to listen."
"I hope so…" Percy sighed, closing his eyes with the pillow still hugged close to his chest. He just wanted a break from it all, to forget his worries for a while and live in his imaginary world where everything is alright.
"Good night, Perce," Thalia whispered quietly as she got up and walked toward the guest room, which had now become her room. "I want to believe you, but I honestly don't know what to believe anymore."
Percy could only sigh as he walked back toward his room, flopping down onto his bed and feeling the sleep pull her in the second his eyes closed.
The dream was weird.
It started out when Percy was getting chased by giant blue cookies his mother made. And maybe they were getting revenge on him after all those blue cookies he had eaten in the past. But it was a welcome change from the nightmares he was long used to getting.
Then the dream shifted and he was standing on the cliff with Artemis once more. Her back was to him and he was pleading desperately for her to listen. "Please Artemis, just tell me what's wrong."
"Go away Percy." Her voice was small, broken, and Percy knew it was him who did this. He caused her pain. He never wanted to hurt her, he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. "You have done enough, I don't want you in my life."
"I want to fix it," he pleaded. "Please let me fix this…"
Artemis sighed, taking a breath before taking a step toward Percy. "Nothing can fix this, Percy. You broke me. You hurt me. You made me believe that there is love in this world when there is nothing but heartbreak and pain. You did this. I loved you, I thought you loved me too."
"I do love you!" Admitting it to himself was surprisingly easy. But it was true, he was in love with Artemis. The girl who had befriended him during kindergarten. Even if it was required by his father, she had stuck with him through the rest of his life as well. And after everything they have been through, Percy was in no hurry to let her go. "Please…"
"Goodbye, Perseus," she said coldly before disappearing in a flashed of silver light.
Then the dream changed again. This time he stood on Half-blood hill, glancing down at the strawberry farm and camp. Or what used to be camp. Now everything was ruined and bodies laid in the ground, blood splattered everywhere.
The camp was empty, freed of any living soul. And the strangest thing was that he could still make out the outline of the barrier, but it was as if someone inside the camp had allowed those monsters in. That thought made Percy clenched his jaw.
The portal that connected the camp to Camp Olympus was destroyed, and on the ground lay the body of Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares. With a shout, Percy found himself awake again, in his own bed, drenched in sweat.
"Olympians… those worthless, no good, little things?" Achlys questioned as she glanced at her nails, painting it a dark shade of blood red. Her lips were covered in black lipsticks and dark eyeliners outlined her eyes. Nyx stood kneeling in front of Achlys' throne.
"Yes, milady," Nyx spoke loudly. Her voice was empty, lacking any sort of emotions or thought. Her face was blank. "They are preparing their armies as we speak."
Achlys crackled, glancing up from her nails. "And they think their little armies can defeat me?"
"No, milady. They want to believe that."
"Hmm… they had grown over the years," Achlys mused. She glanced back down at her nails as she started painting her left hands, no care in the world. "Do what you must to prepare my army, Nyx. I expect you and your husband to start preparing your armies as well. I expect nothing but the best from you, understood?"
"Yes, milady," Nyx bowed before standing up, waiting for Achlys' dismissal.
Achlys glanced up a few moments later with a bored expression. "You're still here? Go do as you were told you stupid fool!"
"Yes, milady," Nyx bowed again before hurrying away. There was nothing more entertaining than watching Achlys play right into her trap.
Also, I was listening to State of Grace (Acoustic Version) (Taylor's Version) if that tells you why Clarisse died- I listened to my head when I wrote that scene...
anyways, I hope it was okay for you guys! Hopefully, I can update again soon (as in less than six months; maybe at least once a month) but no promises! Have a good day/night!
- Kathy