Author's Note: Yo! Everyone back and excited for this chapter? Good. I took to heart about not entirely focusing on just fighting for a single chapter so hopefully more enjoy it as a whole.

Note: I know some people have asked what's going to be Annabeth's punishment and the thing is, what punishment? She hasn't actually committed any sort of crime. Yeah, she cheated and didn't own up to it, not cool, but at the moment she is simply an Olympian affiliated goddess and therefore enemy but not someone getting some carefully thought out punishment or even at risk of losing her immortality.

Disclaimer: I own plot.


Later That Evening

"Are we descending soon?"

Annabeth took her eyes of the darkening horizons as she glanced to address Artemis, the goddess keeping her gaze due north.

"Mother said it would be best to land as soon as possible," she agreed as she looked to the same direction as Artemis.

With every mile they moved and the closer they got she could literally feel the pulse of power emanating from the north. Like a massive heart beating a steady rhythm that almost felt like the impending war drum to the young goddess' ear. Both goddesses remained silent from there on as the approached a large forest clearing with the view of several splotches of lakes beneath.

"Superior National Forest," Artemis commented with a hint of approval in her voice.

"Visit frequently?" Annabeth asked as she looked across to the two other ships.

"Game is low but monsters seem to be plentiful in the area on occasion. Mostly a few fraction packs left by Lycaon to manage the territory, sometimes a cyclops or two, and a few run-ins with the Namean Lion. We shouldn't have any worries though, no monster is dumb enough to attack with so many gods nearby."

As to prove her point she tilted her head around them and Annabeth had to agree. Floating to their sides and above where the chariots of the minor gods and such fighting with them. Though they didn't seem as tense as before with their departure many still kept eyes peeled to their surroundings as the light began to fall with Apollo's chariot. Already the overhead sky was a dark crimson and slowly pushing into the realms of purple as night was setting in.

She glanced across the deck to see some demigod sentries moving about, some huddled around the railings or simply on deck to avoid getting stir-crazy. Several hundred ADHD demigods in one relatively snug space with little to do at the moment tended to increase agitation but the open spaces of the decks worked well for that. There had even been some spars and such to the function of entertainment and keeping everyone in decently high spirits. Lunch in the skies had been interesting with the demigods having gotten used to dinning with the gods in recent weeks.

It brought a small sense of nostalgia to Annabeth. Over the last decade most of her social meals had been limited to her temple of residence with her husband, visiting mother, or on occasion meetings with Leo and Calypso whenever they visited the mountain. Over the last few weeks she'd actually gotten to know all the newest additions to her mother's cabin during the decade she was gone and she managed to reconnect with several of her siblings. It also made her a little sad with the slightest hint of guilt for not visiting the camp more often but she resolved to do that when this was all said and over.

But then that brought her to the present and the admittedly daunting task ahead. They were going to war with apparent demons of some sort, as incredulous as she initially was, and without any form of guidance. Never before had she truly realized how dependent they had grown on prophecies to even try to decipher what to do. Any and all attempts at communications with the Fates had been met with failure and neither Apollo nor Rachel had been able to get anything cohesive whatsoever.

That lead to some private thoughts on the possibility that the Fates may have been cut off and captured or had simply left Olympus to its-pun not intended-fate. The question is which option was more terrifying? It also left it in a somewhat novel experience, trying to create genuine plans of their own, without any set factors to consider and such. Of course, that still lead the dilemma of what exactly were they facing or how could they defeat them?

Every time she wondered on the subject she was pulled back to the image presented when Artemis was recovered. The view of Umbra, his icy blue eyes within the writhing black flames and face hidden in darkness set all kinds of alarms off in her head. But there was also something … more. Like a very vague sense of familiarity within or around Umbra that she simply could not place. She couldn't recall anyone that had such an imposing presence even in a second hand image and she certainly didn't know anyone that carried such a sense of danger to them and yet she felt like she should! She knew gods had several forms of non-traditional senses, being able to feel the world through their elevated consciousness, and sometimes they just 'knew' something that they themselves couldn't really explain.

And this Umbra set that sense off to the point it was messing with her sleep! And it didn't seem like it was only limited to her either. Sure, she knew several gods had been getting restless nights as they could all feel the shift in the world around them, like a balance that just got tipped just barely enough for them to notice but not really tell where it was going or if it could be stopped. She even been shocked to feel a marginal increase in the strength of prayers she'd been receiving, mainly from anyone engaged in the formation and construction of architecture and hoping things would been seen through.

She didn't even know regular mortal prayers actually came to them and it seemed like a pleasant surprise to some of the gods who'd thought their power had been waning and only just starting to increase with the increases in demigods. At least that had been some positive result with the fall-out that angel created in Cordoba, causing even the most stoic of non-believers to have the occasional wish or silent thought that could count as prayer.

She shook her head of those thoughts as she felt the shift of the ship as it began a more noticeable decline. She glanced back to see her mother at the steering panel, listening to Festus Omega's report of stability and location as the other ships. She breathed slowly as she adjusted against the railing, her breath misting over as she rubbed her arms to stave off the incoming cold.

Wait … cold?

She suddenly straightened as she noticed the wind picking up and shared a look with Artemis, the goddess having also noticed the change in temperature.

Crack!

Both goddesses jumped with the flash of lighting that just barely missed the ship as the gentle breezes turned into a roaring blast of air. Annabeth hunkered down as she felt the pelting of freezing rain, looking around as Artemis and any demigod on the deck made grabs for ropes along the railings. Soon an alarm sounded all along the Argo V and Annabeth could hear the other ships following as the calls of the minor gods on their chariots followed.

"What's happening?" Artemis' lieutenant, Aria, asked as she ran up to them with her bow drawn and pony-tail flapping wildly in the wind.

"Not sure," Artemis replied as she flagged down one of the chariots hanging off their starboard side.

"My lady," the accompanying god saluted while the driver tried to reign in the oxen currently kicking at the front.

"Have the chariots set down quickly, we need someone on the ground to help pull the Argos down while the drivers focus on keeping the ships stable," Artemis instructed while gesturing to Athena as the goddess went wild with the controls and Festus Omega adding his own mayhem and just to prove her point, the ship suddenly listed to the side with a sudden blast of wind.

Annabeth saw other chariots pulling in closer to the Argo III and IV as well with commands being barked by Leo and Hephaestus and demigods running around on the decks. Another crack of lightning flashed as some ducked, the bolt having gone dangerously close to taking the main mast of the Argo III but it seemed that Zeus managed to deflect it away in time. She squinted as she wiped away the stinging rain and keep her footing on the slippery deck, her helm not helping at all in these conditions.

Suddenly there was a scream of pure terror and nearly everyone stopped to look at the head of the Argo V with one of Artemis' remaining hunters shaking like a leaf and pointing ahead of them. They all turned and stopped cold at the sight. Just before them, as if completely ignoring the sudden storm, was Umbra. His wings extended and literally radiating a miasma of darkness, a couple hundred or so feet in front of the three vessels and their escorts with his hood pulled up and those damned eyes glowing within the shadows.

At that moment Annabeth really had to give it to Artemis for not breaking down the first time she was in the demon's presence. Even from the distance Annabeth could tell that several gods and demigods were shaking just from being in the presence of that being. Every instinct in Annabeth was telling her to turn tail, to run as quickly as she could because before Umbra she was little more than prey, that he was the most dangerous thing here by a long shot.

"Umbra," Artemis growled beside her with so much venom that Annabeth flinched but still willed her sword to appear in hand as she focused on Umbra.

A silence seemed to have fallen over the entire area as all three ships loaded with demigods on deck and the chariots with their drivers focused on the source of all their current troubles. Umbra just looked back at them impassively, his arms crossed as the temperature seemed to get colder with the sun finally setting. She could practically taste the fear and tension in the air as all looked up Umbra for the first time.

"You would do well to remember," Umbra began, his voice carrying low and husky with an underlying growl that made many shudder for varying reasons. "That we offered neutrality to those that didn't try to fight us. For demigods, this offer stands until you've already been cut down. Turn back, go home to your families, and leave a war that has nothing to do with you. Only your remaining Olympians need fear us."

There was a tense murmur going throughout the demigods at his words and Annabeth could see some seriously considering it judging by their faces. The fear of death in this battle, the wish to remain at peace, and the very sight of Umbra was shaking their resolve.

"Lies!" Zeus boomed aboard the Argo III, his master bolt crackling within his grip as he glowed golden in his rage. "You are nothing more than the next monsters needing to be destroyed and banished to Tartarus! Not only do you go against the throne but you've even revealed us to the mortals. To follow you is to bring chaos itself to this world!"

Zeus's words got some agreeing murmurs as more demigods leveled their weapons and gazes on Umbra, even though the demon didn't look bothered at all, instead his attention focused on Zeus with his eyes become more frigid if that was possible. The stare off continued until Umbra shifted, his right hand almost lazily setting on the left of the two hilts at his hips. Somehow they could all hear the sword being drawn, another icy chill going down Annabeth's spine as a katana of all things came into view. It radiated the very same darkness as his wings but there was more, almost like a hunger coming from the sword as well.

"I hope each of you comes to terms with your choice," Umbra said almost softly as he held the sword at his side.

"Begone!" Zeus nearly roared as he thrust his master bolt forward.

An explosion of lighting raced from the tip towards Umbra, covering the space so quickly that even with her godly eyes she barely tracked it but just before it could hit Umbra there was another blur. Annabeth's jaw dropped as another angel or whatever they were suddenly appeared before Umbra and caught the bolt almost lazily. The yellow bolt then condensed into an orb within the hand of this new one before it crushed the attack with little more than a spark of fanfare.

Everyone was at a loss again as they took in the sight of this new angel. At first glance it was obviously female with the sort of curves to put most goddesses to shame. Dressed in a dark grey chiton that cut off at the mid-thigh, a sleeved coat with the hood drawn up also hiding her face in shadows aside from the glowing dark blue eyes and long braided, black hair reaching near her waist. 'Is that grey lightning in her eyes!?' Annabeth thought in shock as she narrowed her eyes to try and see better. What's more her legs were covered in some sort of knee-high boots that seemed to be made of oddly colored wind and blue lightning soles.

During her observations the angel gently glided to Umbra's side as a bow made of some sort of glowing white metal appeared in her hands with a draw string made of lightning as well. Just looking at that bow gave Annabeth all kinds of warning signs but that didn't seem to be all of it as another one appeared and this one Annabeth could definitely call demonic.

While Umbra had raven-like wings of darkness and the female had grey ones with blue lighting crackling through it, this new one looked like he came from the Pit. Large black trench with hood pulled up to display glowing red eyes and mostly black leather clothes. However, it was the wings made of black-charred bone and red torn membranes with purple fire that really got the attention. Oh, and he had a huge claymore held over his shoulders made of a purely black metal and red runes running the length.

"Are you truly sure you want to fight?" Umbra asked as he leaned forward and all got into position, the angel holding her bow at the ready with a bolt of lightning already drawn and the hellish angel hefting his claymore.

"We have no reason to believe you!" a minor god shouted from his chariot, his bronzed helm hiding his face so Annabeth couldn't identify him.

"Really now?" Umbra asked as his free hand went up to his hood. "Not even if I used to be one myself?" he asked, his voice still retaining the depth and growl but now far more … human.

Several shocked gasps followed as Umbra raised his head again, this time without the hood to reveal a face she once knew. Wild raven hair nearly reaching the back of his neck with new, icy blue tips. A lighter tan and well-set jaw. And the new eyes formed of writhing black flames with icy blue pupils looking at them with an otherworldly air but at the base it was someone she recognized.

"P-Percy?" she asked, her voice carrying unusually well for all to hear as the younger demigods came up short at the sight.

His eyes found hers and she suddenly felt as if she'd been slugged in the gut. His eyes looked at her with a resigned sadness and hint of anger. It made her feel both dejected and guilty so she turned her gaze away, unable to meet his eyes and the feelings they brought to her even as she took a shuddering breath. She instead looked at the other angels only to have her throat catch.

They had changed just like Percy but she recognized them. Thalia and Nico were also looking down on them and she could hear Artemis actually stumble back as if she'd been struck by the acidic look directed at her from her former lieutenant while Nico almost looked bored with them.

"I guess a reintroduction is in order," Percy said in a near amused voice as his cold eyes drifted over the shocked demigods and gods alike. "Hello, my name is Perseus Jackson, Primordial God of Darkness, Shadows, Night, and Cold, the Lord of Wolves, as well as king of the new Primordial Council," he stated while radiating a near sinister darkness around him, his sword in hand pointed at Zeus as he pinned the Olympian king under a frigid glare. "And I am the executioner of the Olympians."

As he said that Annabeth could only shake her head, unable to match what she was seeing with what she knew. This wasn't Percy. Her unfortunately ex-boyfriend, the savior of Olympus twice over, greatest demigod in near millennia, the hero that set the precedent for an entirely new generation. Yet that once warm and familiar aura around him was gone as well as that near naïve kindness with just a bit of temper was missing. Now was a steely sight, with a cold anger and palpable bloodlust in it when looking at Zeus or Artemis. And that was without adding his claim to be a primordial god off all things. Just that alone brought up dozens of questions and he didn't seem to be in the mood to answer any of them.

"Just to clear things up," Thalia spoke up as she keep a level glare on the god that she once called father. "I'm Thalia Grace, former lieutenant of the Hunt and now Primordial Goddess of the Sky and Storms."

"Nico di Angelo," Nico picked up as his dark crimson eyes scanned the demigods. "Primordial God of the Pit, Evil, and Judgement," he said, the aura of sheer malevolence causing demigods to back up with just a look at him.

'B-but that isn't possible!' she screamed as she kept switching her gaze between the three, unable to add up their claims or how it could be true. She knew of the other primordial beings, the elder siblings of Gaea and Uranus, beings that were stronger than them. To be brazen enough to make such claims, it was nothing short of blasphemy and practically suicide. Hell, she'd met Nyx, and she didn't even want to think what would happen if that particular goddess appeared on this plain rather than stay in the Pit. A quick glance around showed her that she wasn't the only one having a mild breakdown as the reality they knew was hit with the metaphorical sledgehammer.

Tense silence then filled the skies again as the rain buffeted them, seemingly ignoring the three winged beings. Then, another crack of lightning passed right between the former demigods and the ships before all three blasted into motion. Annabeth could barely gasp before the three were on top of them, each rapidly attacking what was in their vicinity. Annabeth blinked just as Percy appeared between two chariots and spun around, cutting the actual chariots themselves in half as his wings struck out, knocking over the six minor gods that had been on them before he dived under the arrow fire of the closest ship.

Thalia raced over the Argo III, easily weaving past any lightning bolts tossed at her by her enraged father. The rest of the chariots and demigods got into motion, firing at the three beings as they moved about. Nico landed on the Argo IV, lashing out with a kick at Apollo that the god managed to block. That did nothing for the actual hit though as her husband was sent flying into a crowd of demigods while Nico spun around, his massive claymore moving with surprising speed to swipe away some volleys of arrows.

"Hunters on Port side!" Artemis ordered as her new hunt set up quickly, ignoring the worsening storm around them as lightning crackled all around and the temperature dropped even more.

Annabeth wasn't sure what to do while being stuck in the air though so she quickly ran towards a ballista and got in, dropping her sword to the floor at her side as she took the controls. The sight was misted with the cold but she had to make due, even adjusting as the ships tilted in and out in the wind. She watched as some chariots gave chase but were ineffective at catching up. Percy moved like a living shadow, slipping in and out of reach while taking turns too sharp for the chariots to have any hope of following.

Boom!

Annabeth jumped as she looked back to see a smoking crater on the deck with flecks of green fire and a burning corpse while other demigods shouted in alarm or grief. She looked across from them and saw a smoking ballista aimed their way as it tried to follow Percy.

"Hold, friendly fire!" she shouted, hoping whatever fool was in the other ballista would hear her. Sadly it seemed that whoever it was, was too panicked to hear or think on it.

She watched as another bolt of Greek fire was shot at them, this time coming towards a cluster of hunters trying to shoot at Percy overhead between the two ships.

"Watch out!" she shouted as the bolt closed in.

Suddenly in a blur of motion her mother appeared before the bolt, her shield already primed. The bolt exploded against the shield as Athena grunted from the hit but suddenly she stopped as if her feet had found solid purchase in mid-air.

"What the Hades," she muttered to herself, having never seen her mother simply stand in mid-air.

A few other demigods seemed to notice and stare as well but Artemis didn't look surprised at all, instead launching pure silver light arrows at Percy. It didn't seem to bother him though as he either dodged or cut the arrows with his black katana, his second sword still sheathed away. Annabeth turned her sight away from him and instead focused on Thalia, the former huntress reigning havoc on the Argo III as she spun and weaved on the deck with several gods and demigods surrounding her.

She simply ignored the demigods though, using her wings to block any arrows or occasional spear thrusts as she moved between Hera of all gods and another two minor ones attacking her in tandem. Zeus was preoccupied at the steering panel with Hephaestus, swinging his hands at each new bolt that kept raining down from the storm clouds above them and just barely managing to divert them away from the ships. The chariots weren't so lucky though as several got shot right out of the skies and plummeted in heaps of smoke and unconscious gods.

The Argo IV wasn't having a much better time as Hermes and Apollo were tag-teaming Nico but the former demigod was deceptively fast and skilled with such a large sword and working in tandem with his hellish wings, using them for both defense and offense. She jerked her head up though as another loud crash of metal turned her attention above only to see both Artemis and Athena stepping on plain air as they crossed swords with Percy having forced him to draw his second blade.

It was almost like a lethal dance as the three moved against each other, Percy flying as if he was born in the skies as Athena and Artemis seamlessly used their apparent ability to walk on any surface to maneuver around him in ways ground combat simply wouldn't allow. Athena moved with swift thrusts of her spears, using the added length to make up for every time she was forced to block one of Percy's blows that would force her back several meters. Artemis for her part was on a near savage offensive, her snarl clear on her face as she tried to rend apart Percy, the one who killed so many of her Hunt.

The chariots were hanging over the decks with minor gods waiting for openings to either jump in or shoot from a distance while trying to resist the vicious winds around them and the random bolts that would rain down.

"Spears at the ready!" she heard called overhead and she looked up in time to see nearly ten chariots lined up with each of the two minor gods aside from the drivers with bronze or golden spears held in throwing positions.

Not a moment later both Artemis and Athena attacked in tandem, forcing Percy higher as he blocked several stabs.

"Release!" came the order from Phobos in his bloody red armor.

With supernatural strength the gods let loose, each spear flying as if fired from canons rather than thrown. Much to her surprise and shock Percy was ready, both swords blurring in motion as he blocked, deflected and spun around each and every spear without a single change in his face. Then, without pause, he slashed at the air in front of him and with each swing launched an arc of pitch black fire at the chariots. They moved just as fast as the spears but the chariots were far less agile as several of the black fire blades cut and exploded on impact to the screams of the minor gods.

Many fell off their chariots, some onto the deck of the Argo V as other fell to the earth below and coated in the black fire. Several of those that fell onto the ship started spreading the black fire and catching the unfortunate demigods closest to them erupting in more screams like Deimos had back when he cut himself with Riptide. However it seemed that Percy noticed and looked their way, the black fires on the ships snuffing out but leaving the gods that had fallen to burn.

"Damn you Jackson!" Artemis roared as she charged again, this time in her godly form and standing at fifteen feet.

"Huntress," Percy spat as he blocked both of her knives, his attention now focused solely on her. He then spun around as he backed up with Artemis lurching forward from the sudden absence of resistance.

However she wasn't quick enough to block his back kick that caught her straight in the gut and launched her back until she plowed into the side of the Argo IV. The demigods on board shouted in alarm as the ship listed from the blow, part of the hull crumpling under the oversized goddess as she shook her head and started to pry herself out of it. Annabeth had been about to try and summon her own spears to throw given that the ballista might chance and hit her mother that was currently also in her godly form and fighting Percy above them.

However she was stopped as she almost tripped from another rough gale and Festus Omega going hysterical as he beeped and clicked. Her Morse Code was a little off but the general gist was the ship's engine was being overworked between the storm pushing it in every direction and trying to remain stable enough to maintain combat. Clicking her teeth she ran to the control panel, jumping over a few demigods trying to assist a badly burned god, his arm having broken off at shoulder and part of his face rapidly losing the black, flaking skin.

Ignoring the grisly sight she arrived at the controls and tried to see how to stabilize it but what she found didn't look good. The storm they were in was all kinds of wrong, the random winds being too strong and sudden while pulling at the ship in every direction. It was a miracle that their oars hadn't been torn off yet but it wasn't looking good. She knew she had to override the last command Athena left and begin the ships descent rather than try and maintain their positon, otherwise they would risk a burnout and fall regardless.

"Omega, override last command and give me control! Try to keep the deck stable," she ordered as she began the descent while ignoring how the rain kept stinging at her eyes.

She heard the groaning of the main mast and looked up to see part of the sails beginning to tear in the violent storm, making her curse under her breath as she looked to the nearest group of demigods which happened to include Clarisse and several Ares campers.

"Clarisse, the sails!" she called, getting her attention just long enough for her to take hate-filled eyes off Percy as he continued to fight Athena and Artemis.

"Move!" Clarisse ordered with a sharp nod, the squad moving together as vets and closing the distance to the mast.

She returned her attention to the controls, monitoring their height and stability as they dropped under the thousand foot mark.

"Lady Athena, watch out!" someone shouted making Annabeth look again.

She saw her mother some meters back and above Artemis and Percy, sporting a busted lip and long cut down her left thigh. Just behind her there was a blur of purple and Annabeth's eyes widened as yet another angel or apparently god like Percy was coming in. Athena turned in time to see said being slam feet first into her gut making her cough ichor as the pair stuck together, plummeting at an angle. They clipped the edge of the ship's deck, tearing clean through the reinforced bronze plating, and continued on towards the ground and out of view.

"Mother!" Annabeth called, momentarily forgetting about the controls as she ran to the side but couldn't see past the darkness.

She was trying to sense the location of her mother in order to flash towards her but felt an abrupt barrier come up around them, completely erasing Athena's signature. The ship then shook under her as Omega started even more alarming sirens and she looked to see that Artemis had crashed dead center of the ship's deck though miraculously not crushing any demigods underneath her. She looked up to see Percy scowling down at the goddess, his swords at the ready.

She felt anger bubble up within her as she looked at him, questioning why he was doing this. Why had he disappeared, how had he gotten so powerful, and what was his goal? All those questions boiled within her as Percy landed at the very tip of the ship, right on Festus Omega's head much to the automaton's indignation. She summoned her sword and shield to her after leaving the panel with the order to continue the descent and one of her siblings to keep watch.

She stalked forward, rising to her godly height, a mere ten feet to Artemis' fifteen, both armed and looked at Percy wearily as he hopped down from the dragon head and landed on the deck. The closest demigods backed up with weapons ready, all looking at him nervously but he didn't take his eyes off Artemis, the blatant hatred in his eyes giving her pause for a moment. He didn't say anything, only bending his knees slightly as he snarled, his fangs and glowing eyes giving him quite the fearsome image before he rushed forward in a burst of speed, his swords at the ready…


Athena

Pain and disorientation was all she knew at the moment. She felt as the feet slammed into her gut with enough force to turn a tank into a pancake, grunted as her back clipped the edge of the Argo V and continued on for who knows how long, only to make a rather close impression of the Cordoba incident as she plowed through trees, hills, and finally ended at the edge of a small lake. At some point the feet has left contact but even then she was numbly aware that her breastplate was crumpled against her gut, making it harder to breathe.

She tried to straighten her vision out, idly noting the lake was almost completely evaporate and the smell of burnt fish and soil filled her nose. She groaned as she rolled over and slowly stood on shaky legs, noting the feeling the barrier around her. It took her a moment but she identified the purpose, mainly being that to hide her presence and to prevent flashing, otherwise it was rather simple with no apparent anchor meaning a god was maintaining it somewhere.

She looked around herself, not seeing anything out of place but still kept her wits about her. The breastplate was bugging her but she couldn't risk removing it without exposing herself, either in the process or simply being more vulnerable without the token protection of the damaged armor. At least she'd managed to retain her spear and shield if barely in her grip, though the fall had seriously jarred her shield arm.

She slowly walked as she scanned around, her eyes narrowing as she started to notice slight similarities, vague as they were, to her recurring visions and she could just barely make out the sound of falling water. Also there was a lingering presence of sorts, one that felt oddly familiar but at the same time distorted that kept nagging at the back of her head. Aside from the water and the retreating steam of the lake she'd landed in there was no noise. It was as if the forest around was very aware of the dangerous beings present and had decided to play as dead as possible in hopes of avoiding attention.

She walked alone for a few minutes, her grip tightened on her spear as she loomed over the terrain, having decided that staying at godly form was the best bet. Honestly it stung that she wasn't even able to so much as push back Percy with Artemis assisting her and both having gone to godly size. She swore his reflexes and speed to make use of it was utterly ridiculous. Where she would see an opening she would attack only for him to move to the point of near blurring and guard before countering. His offensive was something else too, each hit making her bones start to scream in protest at even the thought of blocking. And when that blade cut … if she didn't have so much discipline she would have cried and screamed to high heaven in pain.

It was so cold, yet it utterly burned as well. She could only say her thanks that the blades didn't seem to carry the freezing curse Riptide did, or he didn't consider them dangerous enough to use it which stung her pride more. At least her numerous small cuts and the large one running the length of her left thigh didn't bleed much at all and it numbed out after a while. Just thinking about that short but vicious exchange had her hands trembling and he was only one of them. She'd only caught glimpses at the other ships but it seemed that she wasn't the only one being smacked around with contemptuous ease.

And yet, she was surprised, if a little relieved as ironic as it was, that she could tell he had been holding back as were Artemis and herself. She'd seen how he carefully noted just where were the demigods whenever he kicked them closer to a ship and luckily Artemis had kept enough presence of mind to restrict herself to. Otherwise the Argo's would have been crushed in the proximity if any god went up to divine level. She was broken out of her thoughts however as she heard the clear sound of a small waterfall and the presence she been closing in on became more defined.

Images from her visions started to overlap, certain and seemingly random paths through the trees as she noticed a small river to her right. She even glanced up and noticed that the storm wasn't around her immediate area but localized a significant distance away to the south. Just how hard had she been hit? Still she pressed on to find the presence, her senses recalling where she'd felt this before. The smoky smell of a campfire, the gentle, if weak, warmth that seemed to hang low in air itself but also what was entirely new in the mix. Something bestial was here as well, and powerful at that giving her a slight impression of the missing dragon, Ladon.

She raised her guard more as she slowed to a near stalk, pushing aside the low hung trees with her shield as she came into a slight clearing and gasped. There, directly under the small waterfall, if it could be called that considering the small hill with the smaller channel spilling from it and into the larger river, was Hestia. She looked miserable, her hair and ripped up chiton hugging her trembling body. Her lips were about as blue as a god's could get and her aura seemed weak, constantly being drained with the waters that even now gave off a cool mist, counteracting the warmth of Hestia. Suspended above her head, her wrists were shackled in celestial bronze and connected to a pike driven directly into the rock around behind her.

"Hestia!" Athena shouted in alarm, almost dropping her spear as she ran forward towards the captured goddess, shrinking back down to mortal form as she did so.

Said goddess looked up weakly, her usually bright amber eyes dimming even now as her chattering mouth formed a thin smile.

"A-Athe-na …" Hestia mumbled as she tried to move slightly only to wince and Athena could see the shackles biting into her skin.

"Hold on," Athena muttered as she threw down her shield and with precision, thrust her spear at the joining point between the chains of the shackles and the pike, completely ignoring as the near freezing waters splashed on her as well.

The spear edge scrapped the divine metal but it held firm making Athena growl lowly.

"I'm getting you out of here," Athena grit out as she thrust again and again, at times making bigger grooves and slowly wearing away at the metal.

"G-get … out. R-r-run," Hestia replied as she blinked away the chilling water constantly running over her head and face.

"Not without you," Athena bit back as she glanced around for a moment.

Last thing she needed was another so called primordial god or angel or what have you getting the drop on her. Seeing nothing she returned to trying to liberate her aunt. Honestly it had been weighing heavily on her mind ever since Hestia had been taken a few months back. It left Athena with too much time on her hands thinking about everything that had happened between Hestia and several members of the council. The damn day that she did nothing to try and understand Hestia, and then remained, though admittedly shocked, in silence after Poseidon struck her.

They'd always had points that they simply agreed to disagree on, mostly centered on how they viewed the mortals and what to expect of them. How couldn't they, especially when from time to time she and Hestia contemplated the changes of the eras and the demigods progressed or more like survived for millennia until this turn of the century with the strongest generation since the great Roman Empire or Greece. But then again, it also boiled down to simply missing one of her closest friends, someone she once spent a great deal of time with simply sharing in each other's presence.

With Hestia gone all it had done was make Athena feel guiltier about every instance of forgetting her, usually to the background during times of stress and change. Then, watching as the aunt she loved as she was pulled away in the shadows, after a decade of deliberately withdrawing from the goings of the council, had struck Athena hard. But now, having the chance to finally rescue her, to bring her home. Athena wasn't going to let this moment slip by.

With that thought she drove the spear forward one last time, watching in satisfaction as the chain link snapped. Like a string-less puppet Hestia fell into Athena's waiting arms. The goddess flinched at how cold her aunt felt, still shivering as she hugged Athena back weakly. Athena couldn't help the small smile that formed on her face as she pulled the elder goddess up. However, before she could get a good grip to properly carry the weak goddess Athena heard a twig snap behind her.

She managed to moved Hestia to her side and out of the cold puddle they'd been standing in, away from the chilling waterfall as Athena's eyes locked on to the approaching figure. It was the same one that had slammed into her, a rather busty woman with long, deep brown hair and lavender tips. Her eyes, also a bright lavender turning to near pink at the ring of the pupils, fair skin and dressed in a provocative corset and plaid skirt with knee-high leather boots, her dark purple wings folded closely behind her. However, what Athena focused on most were the twin, foot-long knives held in her hands that carried an aura of power similar in scale to the likes of Percy's swords.

"Great, another one," Athena nearly growled as she gently set Hestia down to grip her spear with both hands. "And who or what are you?" she asked, wondering if yet another stranger was going to claim the place of a god.

"Introductions will have to wait until later," she replied in a soft, near musical voice even as it held a slight edge to it. "I'm sorry about this, but I can't let you get away with her," the god (?) continued with a gesture towards the nearly unresponsive Hestia.

"You can try," Athena countered as she readied her spear. "But I will get pa—"

Whatever she was going to say was cut off as the angel woman closed the distance in a split second, both knives slamming down viciously on the shaft of Athena's spear to the point the goddess' knees almost gave out. She grit her teeth as she glared at the neutral face of the woman, tried to draw in more of her power to add strength. It was slow going though, even as her skin gained a golden hue as she felt only a marginal increase in power but her body seemed to respond less than usual.

It was in fact getting numb, the cold… Her eyes widened as she glanced back to the waterfall, the mist coming off it still churning around them. Only now did Athena truly realize how cold she was, her teeth trying to chatter as her fingers and toes gave a dull ache, barely being countered by the divine aura coursing through her. Even the tip of her spear was sporting frost

"Noticed the effects of the fall have you," the woman commented just before Athena felt her increase the pressure to the point her odd knives were in fact biting into the metal of the shaft.

Athena's mind went into overdrive as she thought a way to get out of this. Hestia was too weak and barely conscious behind her meaning that if Athena gave any opening, it was possibly this angel woman could possibly get to her, to either strike her down or take her again. Athena also considered assuming divine form but with her body already weakening from the cold, she would be a sitting duck for a precious few seconds which could again be used to attack her or Hestia, not to mention the force of the release would knock Hestia's body away, again leaving the weak goddess exposed.

Even if she managed to knock the angel back and grab Hestia, she'd need to run out of the boundary of the simple yet severely powered barrier, knowing that she currently didn't even have the strength to consider forcing her way through it after assuming godly form and accumulating injuries while fighting Percy, least of all considering the draining effects of the freezing waterfall. All her thoughts were running so rampant she barely heard the clinking of metal links behind her.

She noticed as the angel woman glanced past her, a faint and grim smile on her face that confused Athena joined with a sudden spike in heat behind her. Against her better judgment she took her eyes of the current opponent dead-locking her, she glanced back to see eyes filled with crimson fire and narrowed pupils before a fist encrusted in scaled patterned like rubies appeared. Athena couldn't even utter a sound as the fist slammed into her at the same moment that the force in front of her suddenly gave out.

She sworn she heard part of her skull fracturing as she was blown off her feet. Her body limply plowed through trees and skipped along the ground before she finally stopped, crashing into another hill. Her body was plastered into the hillside, blowing away the soft layers of dirt and grass to meet unforgiving rock as she felt her consciousness slipping. In the darkening haze she looked back, just barely making out the form of Hestia … with crimson wings…


And getting blindsided, yay! Next chapter wraps up the attack and begins the next phase of sorts in relation to the mortals and a few godly interactions. Hope everyone enjoyed and is excited for next week!

A pleasure, Jbubu