It is I, and the unannounced hiatus is broken! What Ill just call stress induced writers block. So yeah. You also have a sliver of my apologies, last chapter was unanimously decided to be confusing, I rushed and pushed it a bit so yall wouldnt have to wait. We can see how that turned out. I have an official presence / channel on Emerald Library now! Ill have a link down at the bottom of this chap so if you wanna tell me how shit my writing is or have questions or anything you can find me there!
ChangeMe4574 - Thanks on both accounts! Im tryin to get it out, hope you enjoy!
SilentBug - Thank you, Enjoy!
LB - They are new, yeah, think I hinted at it in an earlier chapter, but not much, my b. Enjoy!
HRS - Thanks, and Enjoy!
Rayga - Hes fun to write. Enjoy! and lets just say I had a bit of a block
Stella - There is a bit of that, ill give it to you. maybe he'll get his desserts, but a lot of the stuff he tries is just a bit destructive. Hope you enjoy!
H.I.M - Thats fair, and my fault. The voices thing does get resolved fairly quickly, and hopefully this chap helps clear things up. Enjoy!
RAN - thanks chief
herohero - Percy might be a bit better off not killing errybody, actions have consequenses and the like. Hope you enjoy
Ash - So Ive been told, hope this one helps clear it up. Enjoy!
TM - We shall see on that one, and Phoebe is actually the closest to being in Percys corner, excluding Thalia. Hope you enjoy!
Le Connoisseur - So, first thing, I am impressed by the sheer willingness to write these blocks, and I genuinely appreciate it. Im glad you find the characterization and writing good. As ive said with a few other reviews, Ill admit the last chap was a bit shit, rushed and the like. There is a reason Percy was a bit... intense I suppose, yet to be elaborated on. Hope you enjoy!
Xerzo - Cause thats boring, and makes sense. Percy is a bit of a spaz rn, as seen by the past couple chapters, there is a plot reason for that. He's not gonna be super logical. Voices were admittidley shit, but yet to be elaborated on.
Anon - And yet you still read it, lol. Why is it getting worse? Actual criticism Ill take, but you just need to touch grass.
TGOW - Thanks Chief, its here!
MMAI - Thats fair, I kinda staged it poorly, my bad. hopefully this chapter clears some stuff up.
RandMantear - Id assume youre talking about Artemis? or Lelantos? Sleeping is a way for a god to deepen their connection to their domain.
Guest234 - Hopefully this helps, enjoy!
OK - Elaborated in here, but Artemis left while Percy was asleep
LW - Right Here, Hope you enjoy!
ZDHoover - Idk chief the whole thing would be a bit soul crushing, no? and lets just admit that everything felt underpowered in canon, or he felt OP AF. and regardless, as has been drilled into his head, the Trio are more at fault than Arty, so making her miserable would just keep him close to her and punish a 'less guilty' party. Maybe im downplaying trauma, thats fair, and Ill work to change that, but theres a whole lot goin on and this is my first story. So gimme wiggle room or fornicate yourself with a wire brush.
Trife - Thanks! Im tryin to keep it fresh. I wonder what could happen to his mortal family? nothing bad Im sure. Enjoy!
PLPanda - Rifhr here, thank you
Artemis was quick to release her hold on Percy when the redwoods surrounded them, with one final check to make sure the area was devoid of anything but trees. Not that she particularly cared for the surroundings, beyond the fact that Percy couldn't seriously harm anything around here. As far as she knew, anyhow.
"Well?" She crossed her arms across her chest, slightly frowning moments later. Was it getting… bigger? The thought was forcefully banished from her mind, replaced with the man before her.
He had been fast asleep when she left, and that alone had led her on a fruitless search because from everything she knew, that didn't happen. Shouldn't happen. Not with Percy, and certainly not when he was around her.
So that had brought her to an oddly standoffish Athena, who had taken mere moments after hearing Artemis' vexation to confirm that 'yes, such a thing is irregular', and 'no, none of the books in her library would be helpful in her pursuit of knowledge'.
The whole thing had taken no more than half an hour, but sent her on a goose chase to find Hecate. That had brought her through several parts of the world, including the entirety of Olympus, several areas far too close to the ocean for her comfort, and a large portion of the Underworld.
Artemis had found Hecate, obviously, but where Athena was oddly standoffish, she was evasive entirely. The goddess whirled and weaved around the room, writing various notes from machines she had no hope of explaining.
From there, it had practically been pulling teeth to even get a vague answer for her questions, and even they barely reached beyond 'The will of Fate' and 'The power of a bond'.
The whole ordeal irritated her long before she finally turned to Aphrodite. That was a bitter pill to swallow, but just about any information she could get would help.
Not that she actually ended up getting any information, with the way Aphrodite wouldn't stop cooing over every little detail until Artemis finally had enough and stormed out. With luck, and the silent threat of Zeus' wrath, her failed attempt wouldn't become Olympian gossip.
That was when Thalia had sent her a desperate plea that brought her to the heart of chaos. Her huntresses flung about the clearing, either bound or seemingly injured. Amanda, one of the youngest among her ranks, missing one of her legs scrabbling to put distance between herself and her attacker. And last, but far from least, Percy.
He was practically feral, madness gleaming in his eyes, blood spattering his frame, and his power thick in the air.
The visage had only lasted for a brief clash before the fight drained from him, luckily enough, and gave Apollo the chance to save Amanda, as well as her leg.
And now she was here, with a dazed, bloody Percy and the silent woods around them.
"Are you going to explain yourself, or must I involve Mnemosyne to get my answers?" She threatened, a twinge echoing in the back of her mind when he flinched.
"She was the one who let Lelantos in." He finally responded, with a forced quality in his tone, not unlike he'd been charmspoken, "I was taking care of a rat."
"And how, exactly, did you find that out?"
"He told me." He responded simply, the same hollow tone in his voice. She twitched, irritation burned on her tongue, but the vicious response remained in her throat.
"Okay. Assuming he did, you just trusted the being that tried to kill you? One that would have every reason to lie if it meant he could cause you harm?" His lips slipped into a frown at her remark, and the slightest venom she couldn't keep out of it.
"She lied about what happened, that's why he attacked us. Said he would leave us alone."
"Ah, so my huntress, one of my youngest and most recent recruits, just so happened to know how to not only summon a Titan, but let him past the camp barrier?" She drawled back, "How do you figure she learned all that by her lonesome?"
"Who cares?" He hissed, "A traitor is a traitor!"
"It is not for you to decide her fate, even if she was one!" With her words, his palm pressed to his forehead, and his jaw clenched tight.
"We were doing what is best for camp, there is no room for rats among demigods!"
She paused to mull over the words, one hand slipping to the dagger against her lower back. He certainly kept her on her toes.
"Perseu— Percy, who is we?"
He seemed caught off guard by the question. His eyebrows pinched, forehead wrinkled, and lips pulled into a thoughtful frown.
"Me… there is no we, just me." The response floated in the air like a lame duck, her mind running a million miles a second until her only response came to mind. In the form of two whispered names.
With a flash of blinding light, they were no longer alone in the clearing. Hecate and Dionysus stood, both pairs of eyes firmly locked on Percy.
"That is… interesting. Any reason for trying to killing him, Artemis?" Hecate hummed, sliding from her position to circle around Percy. The action vividly reminded her of a shark, honestly, even with her fingers attempting to sneak past his guard.
"What are you taking about?" She replied. Kill him? She was angry, sure, and she would have done it to other males, sure, but Percy?
"With all the energy packed in his body, it's a surprise he hasn't erupted yet."
"Perry is going mad," Dionysus added, faux nonchalance clear in his tone, "from power, if she is to be believed."
"Do you doubt my candor, wine god?" Hecate responded sweetly, only briefly casting a venomous glare his way before returning focus to her 'target'
"Should I?" He responded, one brow arched in challenge.
"Enough, both of you. Why is he absorbing so much energy?" She tried to flex what little intimidation she held over the duo, but even that was lost with the incessant and unstoppable drumming of her fingers against her arm.
"That would be the question, wouldn't it?" Hecate hummed, finally slipping one finger through an opening in his guard and into his side. Both recoiled as a loud snap rang through the clearing.
"Cut that shit out!" Percy hissed, his hand finally drifting to his pocket in silent threat.
"Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for you. Not one beyond you trying to overload him with energy, anyhow. While I figure it, and a solution, out it would be wise to keep him from any stress. Wouldn't want a repeat of what just happened, would we?" The question of how Hecate knew what happened almost came out, before she stopped herself. The domain of magic could come up with a litany of answers, none of which Artemis cared enough to learn about.
"How're you gonna do that one, kill me?" Percy snarked, "I'm a demigod, stress finds me."
"Not murdering my huntresses would be a good start." Artemis murmured dryly, fully ready to match the glare that came her way.
"As I said, she is a traitor." He gritted back, with one step towards her. She met it with one of her own.
"If I recall, you championed Castellan as a hero, despite his status."
"I wasn't gonna start calling all of Luke's shit with Annabeth around! She still cared about him, even with everything he caused." They were about a pace away from eachother when Hecate intervened, appearing between the two in a puff of smoke.
"This would be a good example of what not to do, unless you want to unleash a veritable bomb of godly energy on everything within twenty miles of here." The flat, vaguely amused tone she held made Artemis bubble with irritation, "Why is Artemis' little huntress girl a traitor, Percy?"
"She let Lelantos into Camp."
"How did you figure that out?"
"He visited me in a dream, told me he was lied to and apologized."
"Really? Does not sound like something Lelantos would do, especially around something like this. He's always been as stubborn as an ass when it comes to admitting his wrongs." Hecate hummed. A duplicate of herself, save for the clothing she wore, casually peeled from the original's back and wrote away on her notepad. Artemis had almost forgotten Hecate did that on occasion.
"Well he did." Percy snapped, folding his arms in a mirror of how she had.
"Hm. Well Calypso's island is unoccupied, is it not? Gives me plenty of time to run my tests, with even more space void of life."
Sending Percy to Ogygia was certainly an idea. Good or not, Artemis couldn't quite decide. A good area to experiment, like she said, while keeping him far from her hunters. Yet, discomfort sat heavy in her gut at the thought.
"Or I could just, y'know, hang out at my mom's place, instead of sending me off to a deserted island for who knows how long." Percy added, "But then I'd actually get to see my mom and Paul, so that's always a downside."
"Would that really be a good idea, Perseus?" Hecate countered, quick to ignore the sarcasm in his words, "Not only because that would be exposing them to a rather large amount of godly energy."
Artemis stiffened slightly, and Percy mirrored it, understanding the implication in seconds.
"We would need to go to the council regardless, using Ogygia without permission is unwise." Artemis shifted with the topic, happy to come up with anything to avoid it.
"Oh please, like any of them would rather have Perceval anywhere near their kids." In a flash of purple, Percy was gone, and Dionysus was walking away. She stared as he sauntered, until only herself and Hecate were in sight.
"It is far safer for any living beings that Perseus remains on Ogygia until his problem is solved. Do not fret, Artemis, you can visit him all you please." She teased, dragging a heated blush to Artemis' cheeks in seconds.
"That's not- I wasn't-" She floundered, forcing herself to stop with Hecate's chuckling.
"Perhaps that facade of yours has finally cracked? The stoic goddess of the hunt has been reduced to a little girl that blushes and sputters at mere implication." Her blush only grew deeper, despite herself, "I will inform the council of our decision. Your brother is searching for you, you know, I would recommend humoring him."
In a puff of green smoke, Hecate vanished, leaving Artemis blushing and huffing.
The nerve to go accusing Artemis of such things! Much less so brazenly! With a huff, she turned and burst into silver light.
Apollo better not be annoying, she felt like stabbing something.
Piper was on a mission, one that she'd be damned to fail. It seemed that the entirety of the Apollo cabin could tell, with the complete lack of resistance as she waded through camper and injured hunter alike. The barbed wire-like brambles biting into their skin caught her eye, if only for a moment.
She still pushed past them, as cries and protests sounded out around her. The younger of the bunch couldn't suppress their yelps and whimpers, almost blocking out the grunts of their elders. No matter how much she tried to suppress the age old grudge the Aphrodite Cabin held, some piece of satisfaction burrowed into her heart at the sound.
Not what she was here for though. That lay solely behind the only door in the infirmary, the one guarded by two of the few non-injured hunters. Words flew from her lips the second she was close enough for them to hear.
"Let me through."
"Not happening." One responded. She twitched with irritation.
"I can make you let me through," She threatened, "and you'll like it a hell of a lot less than if you just cooperate."
Both reached for their daggers in unison, only stopped by the door swinging open, revealing Apollo.
She had never really seen him, or any god for that matter, like this. Sweaty, in the simple scrubs that they had at camp, and with a remarkable lack of blood she would expect from a surgery.
"She'll be fine, limbs are an easy thing to fix. Just lost a lot of blood before we got it back on." He addressed the duo, oblivious to Piper till he damn near ran into her, "And hello to you too. Don't think there's anyone you want to see in there, my baby bro is probably still in the arena."
"Where is Percy?"
"That is the million dollar question, isn't it?" He responded, fully shucking off his scrubs and shoving them into the hands of one of his children, "Be a dear and make sure those get washed, Sophia? I'll show you some tricks with your bow if you do."
He slid around her and practically beelined you the nearest huntress, one of the youngest looking that seemed to be particularly struggling with the pain.
"Alright sweetheart, I want you to squeeze my hand as hard as you can. Don't worry, I can take it. Or I can't, if it'll make you feel better." He paused for her to comply, "Good, now I want you to-"
"Where is Percy, Apollo?" She commanded, a closed fist resting on her cocked hip. The girl winced at mere mention of his name, drawing only a hint of sympathy from Piper. Whatever happened had to have been rough, for sure.
"If I knew that, do you think I wouldn't tell you? That I enjoy you breathing down my neck?" He snipped, "Don't worry, sweetie, Miss Arty's taking care of it I'm sure."
Piper glared at the back of his head, barely resisting the urge to smack it if only to avoid causing the girl more pain.
He probably wasn't lying, at least it was probable enough that she wouldn't try charmspeaking him over it.
An idea popped in her head, one far more likely to work than bugging Apollo of all people. She whirled on her heel, briefly scanned the crowd of Hunters, and made her way to the door. If anyone knew where Artemis had ran off to, it would be her lieutenant, right?
It was fairly easy to find Thalia, actually, and Jason with her. Simply following the practical thunderstorm that rang out from the arena, and being met with the siblings sparring with all they had. How she hadn't heard this even in the Big House was beyond her, but that hardly mattered now.
"Thalia! Jase!" She shouted at the first opening between the claps of thunder. They turned to face her in eery sync, and silence settled for the first time in a half hour.
"What's up Pipes?" Jason huffed, haphazardly brushing the sweat from his forehead and the hair from his eyes. She cast him a brief, warm smile before turning to Thalia.
"Just looking for your sister. Where's Artemis?"
"Hell if I know," Thalia snorted, "She vanished with Jackson after they got Amanda's leg back on. Are we done?"
"Thal-"
"Got a problem, Grace?" Piper interrupted, completely ignoring the look Jason sent her way.
"Well we were in the middle of something, before we were rudely interrupted."
"Don't start this, guys, not right now." He pleaded, taking a few steps to put himself between herself and Thalia.
"I'm just trying to figure out where Artemis took Percy. Being a bitch about me actually doing something-"
"What are you gonna do, McLean? Put on your big girl pants and fight Artemis? Stand up to Olympus and my fucking dad, the King of the Gods, so Percy and Annabeth can walk off into the sunset? We're like bugs to them, you know that right?" Thalia mocked viciously, sparks arcing between her skin and her shield.
Piper's hand found Katropis far too easily, a white-knuckled grip around the hilt as she started stomping towards the girl. Jason was quick to intercept though, wrapping his arms around her in a steely grip.
"Well at least I'll be doing something instead of hanging Percy out to dry!" She barked back, futilely struggling against his hold. Thalia opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a deafening crack of thunder.
"ENOUGH!" Jason finally shouted, loud enough to be clear through the ringing in her ears, "Fighting eachother won't do anything to help Percy. Piper, go wait in your cabin, I'll get you in a minute."
She almost spat something back at him, only holding it in under the force of the downright militaristic look in his eye. Instead, she forced her way from his grasp and stomped out of the arena, reluctantly making her way to the obnoxious pink cabin that had become her home.
"Piper McLean? A moment of your time." Her head jerked to the source of the voice, finding just who she had thought it sounded like.
Hecate all but loomed over her, an almost expectant look on her face and one hand clamped around the wrist of a nervous looking son of Hermes.
"What do you want?" She asked tersely.
"If you could charmspeak this lovely volunteer for me, that would be all." The goddess offered cheerfully, yanking the boy forward to face Piper. She almost asked why, but the irritation was far from fading and getting in unnecessary fights wasn't such a good idea at the moment.
"Slap yourself." She commanded, watching as his eyes glazed over and he complied. Hecate watched with interest, already writing away on her clipboard, "Happy?"
"I appreciate your compliance, that will be all."
Piper turned, set to continue her path, until a thought flashed in her mind brighter than any lightning Jason could muster.
"Hecate!" Her head whipped upwards at Piper's call, eyes intent as ever, "Do you know where Percy is?""
The goddess paused, a thoughtful look on her face replaced by a mischievous grin.
"He was sent to Ogygia."
Hopefully less shit than the last one? Lmk, and heres Emerald Library link!
/WJpxUa58ca
Maybe see you on there! And should I move the review responses down here? I cant decide...