Chapter 3: Council and Threat Identified
A/N: This will be in every chapter from now on, so you can ignore this first paragraph of the author note if you want. I would just like to thank those who read my story as this is the first one I am doing. I am quite nervous as writing is more of something I do to pass the time, so I am not the best. I try my best with grammar and spelling, so before I post a chapter, I put it through Grammarly, but even that is not perfect. A thing that I will say is that every chapter won't be the same length. The chapters will range from 3,000 words to possibly 6,000 words, but I will try to stay consistent with the lengths. I will state this in every chapter, but I am going to use information from every current Assassin's Creed game there is. I have never played Assassin's Creed personally, but I have watched others play the game on Youtube, so my information will most likely come from the Assassin's Creed Fandom Wiki.
Thanks for the reviews that you left for me; they are much appreciated. I saw some questions about the relationship between Percy and the other females in his life; I will try to clarify it for you without giving too much away. They stated how someone like Percy would never have more than one wife and or girlfriend because of his fatal flaw of loyalty. You would be correct if I went for a more cannon-like approach on his life, but I wanted to change it up a little bit. As I stated in the first author's note in chapter one, this Percy is taking on a Desmond Miles type role, so he will be slightly different. This Percy was forced to question his loyalty to people after Annabeth and thus became a little like a recluse, and then other events happened that affected him. It will be described in the story later, but I will say that not every copes the same way, and the women in his life helped him get through the experiences, and they became close. I think that what I am doing is giving my story a little bit of uniqueness. I hope that I didn't give too much away and if I did, I am sorry.
Another question was if Percy and Artemis were still married and that Percy would know that Artemis couldn't stay with him forever. They are still married; they have not seen each other in person in a long time. As in PJO, they have Iris Messages. Who is to say that they didn't keep in contact that way or in some type of empathy link like he had with Grover. Yes, he knew that she would have to leave, but everyone knows that Percy isn't one for rules and that pissing off other gods such as Zeus is his specialty.
The final question was if Percy and Reyna had any children, thus making them legacies as well. To be honest, I didn't even think about that as I was focused on Percy and Artemis's children, but it does give me some ideas. In my opinion, even though Reyna is very strict and likes to keep appearances in character, she would be the type of mother that wouldn't like to be separated from her children for extended periods. This is mainly due to her rough childhood, and she wouldn't want her children to grow up without her in their lives. The idea that I am thinking of and would like your input on is this, they are younger than Zoë and Andromeda, but they are still training in the ways of the Assassin's Order. They are training somewhere in the world with either Percy or a close friend of Percy and Reyna. If I do this, they will make an appearance, but I just don't know when I would do this.
This is a question that I have for you readers. Should I give Zoë and Andromeda weapons from the Assassin's Creed saga besides the standard throwing knives and hidden blades, and if so, which ones? Also, when should I introduce the first Piece of Eden, and which one should it be? I will have Percy wield one as it will be part of the cool entrance that I want him to make.
"It is a road that will not always take me where I wish to go - and I doubt I will live to see it end. But I will travel down it nonetheless."
- Ratonhhaké:ton (Connor Kenway)
- Long Island - Camp Half-Blood -
That was not how she imagined meeting her daughters again for the first time in eight years. She didn't know what to do at the moment. She wanted to go and see them. Just to hold them again to soothe her worries of them rejecting her as their mother. Artemis knew that she had to hide her true emotions for now as she couldn't let anyone have even a sliver of a clue that they were her children. It hurt her doing this, but it was needed for the safety of her children, or that was what she kept telling herself at least.
When she got to her cabin, Artemis just wanted to tell her hunters that she needed to leave for a council meeting, but alas, the fates were against her on this night. She entered the door and was met by a bombardment of questions, mostly about if the two girls they saw-Zoë and Andromeda-would be joining the Hunt. Knowing she needed to stop this, she raised her voice. "Silence!" that got them to stop, "Now I know that you have questions so one at a time."
No one spoke for a few seconds before one of her elder hunters, Phoebe, spoke up. "My lady, do you think that those two girls would join the hunt? They looked strong and gave out an aura of a dominant force."
Artemis decided to gauge the reactions of her hunters to Phoebe's question. Most looked hopeful that the two would join, while older hunters like Atalanta, Naomi, and Celyn wore stoic masks of indifference, and Thalia looked doubtful. After getting a good look at everyone, she spoke, "While I would like for them to join the Hunt, I doubt that they would."
This time, Atalanta spoke, "Why do you doubt that they would join my lady? Have you already asked them, and they told you no?" Artemis thought about how she should answer this question. On the one hand, this could work for her and get them off of her back for a while. On the other hand, when her husband comes to camp, they could very well try to kill him.
"The reason I doubt that they would join is because of their father. If they are anything like him, then that means that they are extremely loyal to him and most likely won't leave him to join the Hunt." Yep, they were going to kill her husband based on the looks on the girls' faces. Most of them had looks of disgust or loathing, while others like Thalia just had looks of acceptance. She heard a few asking if they could just secretly kill their father and convince them to join. Now this made her mad, she wouldn't let anyone she cared for if she had anything to say about it, but Artemis knew that she needed to warn them before they did something stupid. "I would advise against attacking their father if you meet him. The first reason is that they would find out about it and probably kill more than half of you before they were stopped. The second reason, their father is Perseus Jackson, the Hero of Olympus, and he alone could take on half of you before he could even be stopped." The girls stopped their plans for murder the moment I said Perseus, so that was good.
It was good until Phoebe stood back up to talk. "I mean no disrespect, my lady, but do you think that those two new girls could take us on. It would be the two of them against the 25 of us. And just because their father is that male doesn't mean they can be as good as you make them seem to be." Artemis knew that she would need to release some information to get her hunters to stop before they got too full of themselves and hurt.
Taking a deep breath, she decided that she would give them just enough information to satisfy them. "The reason I say this is because of the training that they have gone through thanks to their father." This caused some confused reactions from them. "Their father, Perseus, has trained them to be able to take on most threats that come their way. Even though I shouldn't say this until later, he has effectively trained them to be assassins. Now before you ask anymore, I must leave for a council meeting, and you will get your answers at a later date." With that said, she flashed out of there and towards Mount Olympus.
- 300 feet above Empire State Building - Olympus - Throne Room -
Artemis was one of the only ones there besides her uncles Hades and Poseidon, with the latter giving her a mocking grin and the former giving her a slight wave. Slowly the other Olympians flashed into their thrones. Everyone was making idle talk, waiting for the King and Queen of Olympus. Hermes was on his phone/caduceus while joking around with Apollo, Hestia was calmly talking to Demeter, Demeter was trying to convince Hestia that cereal was the best food, Hephaestus was tinkering with some parts in his hands, Aphrodite was looking in a mirror doing her makeup, Ares was cleaning his sword, Athena was insulting Poseidon about his intelligence with him acting like he can't hear her, and Dionysus was sleeping away. In a flash of lightning, Zeus and Hera appeared, she heard Hades mutter drama queen under his breath.
"Now that everyone is here let us get down to business," Zeus said, raising his voice even though everyone could hear him perfectly fine. He then turned to Artemis, "Ok then. Daughter, what news have you brought us about the recent monster gatherings? Is there a new threat upon us?"
She pondered what to say for a small moment then began speaking. "The monsters are still gathering, but the gatherings are getting larger. I would not doubt if they mounted an attack on Camp Half-Blood soon. This is why myself, Uncle Poseidon, and Uncle Hades had you move the Legion to camp."
"You have not answered the question, daughter. Is there a new threat upon us?" her father said more seriously.
She shared a look with both Poseidon and Hades-which did not go unnoticed by the others-before sighing. "Yes, there is a new threat upon us, father. I have heard whispers among the monsters that the Titans are rising again, and this time Kronos won't need a mortal host." This brought an uproar of yelling and arguing between everyone. She was about to start shooting arrows until the entire ground started shaking.
Everyone was surprised to see Poseidon caused it as he never cared if others were fighting. He raised his voice, "Stop arguing like children! You can act however you want once Artemis is done with her report." He then sat down with a huff and nodded towards her.
She was grateful as she knew that if that didn't happen, then they would have gotten nowhere. "As I was saying, there are whispers of the Titans rising again. I say that we have around a few months before they have all risen. Poseidon, Hades, and I have been speaking, and we believe that if we are to win the war, then we need to bring back Uncle's son Perseus."
This brought some confused looks from some of the other Olympians. It was Apollo who voiced what was on everyone's minds. "Umm, no offense, guys. But wouldn't Percy be like 50 years old? How would he be able to help us?" There was a mutter of 48 from Poseidon, which she slightly smiled at-which no one saw thankfully-she still had a reputation to uphold.
This is where Uncle Hades finally entered the conversation. "He might be chronologically 48 years old. He is physically only 25 years old." He saw that everyone was confused, so he continued. "Let me elaborate. Percy was able to obtain immortality when he was 25, along with his friend Reyna. Don't ask me how. I have been sworn to secrecy."
Everybody considered this, but Artemis could tell that some-Zeus and Hera-didn't like that someone was able to gain immortality without them knowing. She knew something based on the look on her father's face. "Then bring him here so that he can help us with the upcoming war and to answer some questions."
Artemis knew she needed to speak up if their plan was going to work. "There is still more, father. The Titans are not the only issue we are facing, though, and this ties into why if we are to win this war that Perseus is so crucial." She took a few breaths to calm down from having to overtalk her father. "We are also facing humans. The war will be fought on two fronts. The three of us, myself, Poseidon, and Hades, already have a plan to fight the human front. But to do this, we are going to have to make the demigods aware of some things that even we gods don't know about completely."
This worried some of the gods, mainly the other four elder Olympians. "Niece, what secrets are you talking about?" Everyone turned their heads towards the voice and saw that it was Hestia that spoke. "There are many secrets, and what you are saying is worrying."
Poseidon saw that someone needed to take control, so he did. "What we mean is that we need to notify them of the First Civilization and their treasures." This made the four elder Olympians freeze, and the second-generation Olympians look confused. "I know that you think this is unnecessary, but it is needed. If we are to win this war, they must know," he said in a grave tone.
Being the knowledge seeker she is, Athena decided to find out more about the so-called 'First Civilization.' "What is this First Civilization that you speak of? I have never heard of it, and I have no information about it in my library. And are these treasures something that we should be wary of?"
Poseidon turned to her and sighed, "The First Civilization is pretty self-explanatory owl-head. They are the first civilization in recorded history, created before the Titans by the Primordials and Chaos themselves. They were supposed to be the perfect race and pretty much were. They are the smartest beings you would ever meet; unlike humans who only have five senses, these beings, known as the Isu, had six. They are also the true creators of humanity. And these treasures that they created are like anything else. Some of them are weapons that when used to their full potential could rival or surpass godly weapons, but others were created for the sole purpose of enslaving humanity."
This scared everyone in the room and sent shivers down the spines of those who already knew. Then just as she was about to speak up, Hades decided to cut in. "You can ask your questions later Athena, let's get back on track. The reason that we brought this up is that these treasures still exist in the world. We have seen them even if we did not realize this. Also, since the end of the Isu, there has been a secret war going on behind the scenes of society over these treasures that they named the Pieces of Eden. And we are about to enter this war whether we like it or not. One side of this war wishes for humanity to be free and never to be enslaved again, while the other side believes that as long as humanity has free will, there can never be peace." he sighed from talking for so long, so Poseidon once again spoke.
"The side that wishes to enslave humanity has sided with the Titans. This side is known throughout history as the Templars. I know that it sounds ridiculous, but it is true. This is where my son comes in. Percy is the current leader of the side fighting for humanity and is willing to side with us in the war." Artemis could see the confusion on everyone's faces. She saw her father's face turn red in rage and could tell what is about to happen.
"Do you mean to say that mere mortals are in possession of items that could topple us, gods, and you allowed this! This is treason against Olympus!" Zeus bellowed. He stood up, preparing to fire his master bolt at Poseidon while the others were frozen in shock. He would have fired his bolt to if he wasn't stopped by a silver arrow flying past him and cutting his cheek. He stopped, and everyone turned to the perpetrator of the fired arrow. "You dare betray Olympus as well, Artemis!"
"No, but I am stopping you from making a stupid decision." she shot back. "These 'mere mortals' as you say have taken care of the Pieces of Eden for millennia. They have kept the world safe from the misuse of them from people who would use them for evil. You are paranoid and foolish. Its actions like the one you are about to take that will be our downfall!" Everyone was surprised by her words. No one expected Artemis, the most famous man-hater in history, to say that they needed help from a male. They were also shocked because she was usually the most composed out of all of them besides Hestia.
Through all of this yelling, Dionysus woke up; not then anyone cared for the weakest of the Olympians. Surprisingly he was the one to speak next. "I think we just need to calm down and accept this aid in the war." Everyone turned to him, surprised. "What? They have already made all the valid points we need to have reason to ask for help. Plus, Perseus has already sent some help in advance to accentuate further his proposal to help," he said while reading a wine magazine.
Everyone was shocked. Hermes spoke up as he got out of his shock the fastest. "Yo, D. Are you good. You just agreed that we should accept the help from Perce. Since when have you ever liked him? And what do you mean that he already sent help." Dionysus gave a barely noticeable glance to Artemis that only she caught, and she didn't know what it could have meant.
He smirked and answered, "Oh, I don't like the kid at all. It's just been so dull at that backward camp since he left. And what I meant by he sent help is a little self-explanatory." Dionysus waved his hand an image of two girls showed. The only gods who recognized the girls were Artemis, Poseidon, and Hades. The other gods were confused but had to admit some things, such as the girls looked like the perfect warriors and held a natural beauty that you would rarely see on a mortal, nonetheless two mortals who were only teenagers. The gods could only guess that the two girls were children of Poseidon. "This is the help I am talking about. These two girls are demigods, but not just demigods, but also legacies. They are Andromeda and Zoë Jackson, the twin daughters of Perseus Jackson."
Everyone was quiet until Apollo let out a wolf whistle. "Dammmnn, Perce. Who was the mother of your children to give you two beauties like those?" 'Thwip' "Hey! Little sis, why'd you shoot an arrow at me? I did nothing wrong!" He cried out in fear of almost losing what makes him a man.
Artemis was pissed. Her brother was being a pervert about her daughters! She would not let that stand no matter what. "I did it because you are being a pervert. Those two girls are only 16, for Hades sake." She could hear her uncle ask why his name was still being used as a curse word but didn't care at the moment. "And be lucky that it was me and not Uncle Poseidon. Right now, he looks like he wants to kill you." She finished with a smirk on her face. And she was right. Everyone turned to see Poseidon giving Apollo the nastiest glare that promised death. His face was contorted into rage, and he was gripping his trident so hard his hand was almost entirely white.
Thankfully, Hestia was able to defuse the situation. "Let's all just calm down and make a decision." Everybody seemed to bring themselves in, which Apollo was thankful for. "Should we accept the help of young Perseus or not. All For?" Poseidon, Hades, Artemis, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hestia, Hermes, Apollo, Ares, and Aphrodite raised their hands. The others were surprised that Ares voted for Percy's help.
"Ares, why would you want the help of Percy? We all thought that you hated him with a burning passion." Athena said with a slight frown. She was still slightly mad over Percy breaking up with her daughter, even if his reasons were sound.
Ares just smirked at her. "I never said that I liked the kid. But he has earned my respect as a warrior. I know some of this group that Percy is the leader of, and I have what they can do. While I am more of an upfront fighter and they are the exact opposite. They are the reason that the world still has a sense of peace." Everyone just looked at him, shocked, not expecting that kind of thing from him at all. And the ever-growing smirk on his face just showed how much he was enjoying this.
Hestia once again took control. "Ok, then all against accepting help?" Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Demeter raised their hands. They knew that Athena didn't want the help because of her pride and didn't like Percy. The other three just didn't trust or like Percy. "Then I think that we can call this meeting to an end." Everyone agreed and was about to leave when one last question was asked.
"If you don't mind me asking? You said that the humans we are going against call themselves the Templars. So what is the name of the group that Perseus leads?" It was Hermes who asked this. Deciding that it would be best if he spoke, Hades answered.
"The name of the group that Perseus leads, it is called by two names. The first and lesser-known name is the Brotherhood. The better-known name, its called the…. Assassin's Order."
A/N: This one was not the best written as I have been working on a lot of scholarships lately, so it wasn't my main priority. I would appreciate constructive criticism, but don't flame as there is a difference. I will also try my best to answer your questions that you leave in the comments. If I post a chapter and there are random mistakes in it, the reason is that I am uploading this on my phone. I will also write other stories as well aside from this one. You might think that my stories are similar to others; well, that is because I take inspiration from other stories. Another reason for this is that I hate it when I am reading a story and the author leaves it unfinished and doesn't even give a reason why they stopped. I will sometimes just take an unfinished story and try to continue it or add my own twist. I do this because I think that it is fun and I can get bored pretty easily. When I do this I will mention the story title and name of the author that I took inspiration/used material from. Remember, if you don't like it. Then why are you reading it?
Chapter Word Count Without Authors Note: 3,114
