Update 06/20/17: Here's the second revised chapter! Please refer to the chapter 6 A/N for more info concerning these reposts! I really recommend rereading this chapter b/c it changes some character development. Thanks!

Hey hey! I'm back with another chapter of The Love of Destruction! I got a lot of kind reviews for the last chapter, or more specifically the prophecy. So a huge thank you for that! I'm glad you guys liked it. Someone also mentioned that Aphrodite was born after Zeus and the other gods were born, which is a good point to make. I sort of twist the facts a little to suit the plotline of the story, so, please don't assume the background presented in this fic is comparable to that of a mythology textbook or something because it's not. Also, I realized in my last AN that I accidentally called the Protestant Reformation the Puritan Reformation. That error's been bothering me, so I thought I'd correct it. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Please read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO. All rights go to the great Rick Riordan.

The Mirroring Worlds

June 30, 1863: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

The luminescent moon hovered serenely in the clear night sky, shining brilliantly among the jewel-like stars, seemingly ignorant of all the misfortune that was to come. Yet the Moon herself was anything but ignorant as she peered through the darkness in the wake of her domain's gentle glow. Concern washed over her face as she spoke to her loyal companion, their hushed tones melding evenly with nature's lullaby.

The moon chariot glided along its path, guided by the silver reindeer in their celestial bronze harnesses. As Artemis voiced her thoughts to Perseus, the latter's mind was obviously elsewhere as the hum of the night began to lull him to sleep.

As the god slowly drifted to the land of Morpheus, an amused - if exasperated - voice cut through the midnight tranquility and jerked him back unceremoniously to the physical world.

"Did you listen to a word I just said?" Artemis asked.

Perseus opened his mouth, paused, and grinned sheepishly, "No. I'm very sorry, Milady."

The goddess snorted and rolled her eyes, "I was saying that we had passed a group of Confederate soldiers. They must be planning to attack Gettysburg."

"As much as I loathe warfare, this Civil War is a necessary evil. Without it, the United States will never move forward," Perseus nodded thoughtfully, looking down from the chariot and managing to make out a campfire with his godly vision. Suddenly, he heard Artemis let out a shuddering gasp. The God of Destruction whirled around to find her hunched over, clutching her head in agony. Perseus immediately jumped up to support her, nervously watching her sway precariously. "Artemis?" he called, draping her arm across his shoulders, "Hey, please say something, Milady."

Artemis stayed silent for about five minutes before she slowly removed her hand from her head and released a long, ragged breath. "Are you okay?" Perseus asked tentatively, knowing that he must proceed with caution from this point onward.

The auburn-haired woman raised her head and glared menacingly at the god, who paled at the sight. "Let go of my arm, you nefarious Greek god."

Perseus paled and released the goddess immediately and stepped as far away from her as he could before sweeping low into a respectful bow. "Lady Diana, a pleasure as always."

"Shut up, minor god," Diana growled, narrowing her steely eyes in hatred, "Just how do I deal with you every day?"

"You don't," Perseus muttered snidely, slapping a hand over his mouth a moment later, mentally cursing his sharp tongue.

Diana was practically trembling in fury as her metallic silver eyes glowed with a threatening yellow tint, "Would you like to repeat for me what you just said?"

The God of Destruction paled even more and stuttered, "N-No, Milady."

"Cowards, the lot of you!" the goddess roared in response, pulling out her hunting knife, "See, this is why war is necessary. The Romans, the true leaders, will finally dominate the land, and you sniveling Greeks will learn your place at last!" She leveled the silver blade toward Perseus' neck.

The god stared, wide-eyed at the weapon, knowing that he would have to pull his own weapon against his best friend's other aspect if he didn't want to end up in Tartarus. Suddenly, Diana snarled and slashed at the god. Perseus had his sword out in a flash, ready to block the attack when Diana suddenly froze, her knife mere millimeters away from blade contact. Her weapon clattered to the bottom of the chariot as her eyes screwed shut in pain. Perseus sheathed his sword and walked forward to help her, but with a wave of her hand, Perseus was knocked backward by a blast of godly power.

He felt himself get pitched out the back of the chariot, and his eyes widened. If he got thrown off, he would not be able to teleport back in because of an enchantment on the vehicle, and Diana was in no state to be driving. Flailing his arms, Perseus managed to grab onto the ledge and hang on for dear immortal life. Calming down, he tried to pull himself up. He had gotten a leg back onto the chariot when the deer chose that moment to barrel through a patch of turbulence, which tossed Perseus like a ragdoll back over the edge.

The rough air drafts continued, and Perseus found himself clinging on with one hand, almost unable to climb back up. He had managed to get two hands onto the chariot when, suddenly, something silver flew out, narrowly missing Perseus' head. Looking back, he noticed that it was Artemis' favorite hunting knife, the one that Diana had dropped once Artemis tried fighting to regain control.

Knowing how attached Artemis was to that knife, Perseus released a hand and lunged for the weapon. He felt his hand clamp down on the blade and winced as he felt the sharp metal slice through his flesh. However, he kept a firm grip on the knife and quickly tossed it back onto the chariot.

"Perseus?" he heard Artemis' voice as she recovered from her battle of wills with her Roman counterpart.

Perseus grunted as he tried to pull himself up once more. Artemis gasped as she noticed him hanging off the ledge. Dropping to her knees, she grabbed his hand and pulled, allowing him to finally clamber back into the chariot.

Perseus sighed in relief as soon as his feet touched a solid surface. Grabbing Artemis' knife, he held it out to her and said, "A token of my appreciation, Milady."

Artemis took it from him gratefully before the ichor on the blade caught her eye. She looked over at Perseus and noticed the bleeding gash on his hand. "Perseus!" she gasped worriedly, coming to a conclusion about what happened and startling Perseus out of his own thoughts.

"I didn't do it!" he answered immediately before glancing at the goddess in confusion, "What?"

"Why would you stop her attack with your bare hands? You have your own weapon to defend yourself with," she said incredulously, remembering Diana slashing at him with the knife. In her desperation, Artemis had redoubled her efforts to regain control. She thought she had stopped Diana before she hurt Perseus, but it didn't appear that way now.

Perseus looked at her blankly before he registered her meaning and started laughing, "Oh, that wasn't Lady Diana. I am solely responsible for my condition."

Artemis stared at him strangely, obviously confused.

"Your knife got thrown out of the chariot, and I…" Perseus trailed off nervously, "I, uh, I caught it."

"By the blade," Artemis scoffed, shoving a piece of ambrosia into the god's mouth, "Why would you bother to go after it?"

Perseus choked down the godly food and blushed, "Well, you really love that knife… I couldn't let it just fall out without trying to save it." He looked away, his heart pounding weirdly in his chest. After a moment of silence, Artemis threw a light punch at his shoulder. Turning back to her, Perseus whined in mock pain, "Hey! How could––?"

Artemis cut him off, feeling a blush rising as she leaned forward. Trying to be as fast as possible, she pecked him lightly on the cheek, turning even redder. Perseus was staring at her like she grew a second head before he realized what just happened. His face reddened to the shade of a ripe tomato, and he spluttered indistinctly.

"Th-Thanks," she mumbled as she stepped back. Afraid of what he would say once he vocalized his thoughts, Artemis promptly about-faced and went back to the reins, pretending to watch over her deer. From the corner of her eye, she could see her companion staring vaguely into space, mouth gaping open. Artemis slouched over the front of the chariot, silently berating herself for her actions.

What have I done? She thought as she watched the ground fly by beneath her feet. But before she could wallow in her regret any longer, a figure flashed across the corner of her vision field. Focusing on the flying object, Artemis gasped and yelled, "Hermes?"

The god drew a little closer to the chariot and shouted back over the whistling wind, "Artemis, Perseus, we have a dire situation at Camp Half-Blood! Head to Long Island immediately!" Artemis noticed the worry and fear etched in every line on the messenger god's face and paled, wondering what could possibly be so bad.

"What happened?" Perseus asked, taking the words right out of Artemis' mouth.

"The Romans are attacking!" Hermes wailed, "We need to help in any way we can!"

"What!" Artemis said uneasily, knowing that the casualties would be extensive if the demigods unleashed their true powers upon each other.

"Please hurr––," Suddenly, the flying god grunted in pain, clutching his head in his hands. Artemis knew what was happening in an instant and tried to make a grab for her half-brother, but he was just outside of her reach. She tried to figure out a safe way to get Hermes safely to the ground, but Perseus cut right to the chase. Leaping over the side of the chariot, he plummeted down after the other god, trying to overtake him.

Artemis stared wide-eyed at the falling figures before taking the reins and spurring the deer to go faster. A minute later, a hovering image of Perseus materialized in front of her. Recognizing it as an Iris Message, Artemis carefully avoided disturbing the picture and asked frantically, "Perseus, are you okay? How's Hermes?"

The image lagged a little, but the god's voice emanated through a moment later, "Yeah, you don't need to worry about me. I caught up to him and teleported us to the ground, but Hermes is in quite a bit of pain."

As Artemis listened, she could clearly make out her half-brother's groaning in the background, "He hasn't changed yet, I'm guessing."

Perseus shook his head, "No, not yet. But I'm scared about what will happen once he does. It's quite well-known that the Romans don't quite like the Greeks right now."

Artemis frowned, "Maybe if you switch to your Roman form, you'd be safe?"

The god grimaced, "I can't risk it. With how strong the Roman influence has gotten recently, I don't think I'd be able to get back in control in time to help anything. I'll just try to fight him off if he attacks. Just get to Camp as quickly as possible. I'll meet you there."

Suddenly, there was a shout from behind Perseus, "You filthy Greek!" Mercury loomed up from the shadows, swinging his caduceus at the older god. Perseus sensed the blow and ducked out of the way. The staff sliced through the Iris Message, prematurely ending the conversation. As the projection ended, Artemis bit her lip worriedly and refocused on steering her chariot. Praying that Perseus would be all right, she continued toward New York with renewed haste.

June 30, 1863: Camp Half-Blood

"Chiron!" Artemis called as she landed her chariot beside the abandoned archery range. Inspecting the area, she noticed all the demigods rushing around, frantically gathering weapons and armor to defend their home. Several children of Apollo rushed to the supply shed and emerged with armfuls of bows and arrows. A son of Zeus burst out of his cabin, gripping a long sword nervously as he donned his war helmet.

Despite the hectic atmosphere, the centaur emerged from the Big House dutifully, trotting over to Artemis and bowing, "Lady Artemis. It is wonderful to have you here. We humbly beseech you to help us defend the camp. I am assuming Lord Hermes brought you up-to-date on what is happening. Although, where is Perseus? He should be here with you."

"He and Hermes got sidetracked," Artemis said, trying not to betray the worry she really felt in the situation, "He will meet up with us once he handles the situation." Chiron frowned, sensing there was more to the story, but he chose not to pry. Artemis thought for a moment and said, "Would you like me to call the Hunt to aid the campers?"

"No need. We are here already," a very familiar voice called.

"Zoe," Artemis said, "How did you know to come here?"

"Lord Hermes is very efficient," Zoe complimented grudgingly, inspecting her hunting knife nonchalantly.

Artemis nodded in agreement and told her lieutenant, "Rally and arm the Hunters. I have business I need to attend to."

"Yes Milady," the girl curtsied and ran off to her cabin.

"Chiron, I need to speak with you in the Big House. Follow me," Artemis commanded, walking briskly toward the wooden building.

She led the centaur to the meeting room, only to find a team composed of Athena's demigods and Ares' demigods engaging in a heated debate over their go-to battle strategy. Scowling, Artemis scoured the rooms until she found the empty kitchens. Closing the doors and turning to Chiron, she said regretfully, "I am very sorry to say that us gods will be of little use in this battle," at the centaur's confused expression, Artemis continued, "Tell me, do you remember when the Roman Empire conquered Greece?"

Chiron furrowed his bushy eyebrows, "Yes, how could I forget?"

"Then you must recall how the gods became incapacitated and were of no help in the war."

Chiron paled, "Your Roman forms were beginning to overtake your Greek ones. Is that happening again?"

"Unfortunately," Artemis sighed, feeling a familiar headache blossoming once more as if to add insult to injury, "I can feel it already. Diana is attempting to fight to become the dominant aspect. This means the gods are at war with themselves and are becoming incapacitated by pain as a result. With the battle looming ever closer, the conflicting sides will clash even more. Unfortunately, it will be up to the demigods alone to decide this war."

The centaur's eyes dulled, and he seemed to age several hundred years in an instant. The worry that had been wearing at him for months finally began to show. He frowned, massaging his temples in a vain attempt to relieve the stress. "The Romans will have arrived by morning. I can only pray that we will emerge from this victorious."

"I would not dwell on that too much," Perseus suddenly appeared in the doorway of the kitchens with Hermes slumped against his shoulder. Setting the messenger god into a chair, he walked over to the conversing duo with a tired grin, "The Romans won't be doing much for a while."

Artemis stared at him suspiciously, "Are you okay? What did you do?"

Perseus looked highly offended as he glanced back at her innocently, "By the gods! Why do you always assume I did something?"

"Because you normally do," Artemis deadpanned, "So, what happened?"

"Believe it or not, I didn't have to do anything this time," Perseus sniffed with exaggerated dignity, forcing Artemis to hold back a snort, "You have the monsters to thank for that."

"What do you mean, Lord Perseus?" Chiron asked curiously, wondering how monsters could have contributed to their wonderful stroke of luck.

"Well, I teleported Hermes to some woods in northern New Jersey so we would be closer to home, but wouldn't make a scene. As soon as we got to solid ground, Mercury took over and attacked me. Thankfully, Hermes managed to get back in control, but he passed out," Perseus pointed to the unconscious god in the chair and continued, "Long story short, I heard the Roman demigods making a ruckus. It turns out they were attacked by a large horde of monsters, which thoroughly decimated their ranks. It will be a while before they recover fully."

Chiron let out a sigh of relief and cantered off to inform the Greeks of their great luck. Artemis then turned to Hermes, who had started stirring. Gently shaking him, she muttered, "Hey, Hermes. Wake up."

The god blinked blearily up at her and shot up, "Camp is under attack! Why are you guys standing around…? Where are we?"

Artemis rolled her eyes, "We're in the Big House's kitchen. Calm down. The Romans got stopped by some monsters. No battle today."

Hermes still looked confused as though he didn't believe that to be true, "But…"

"Be happy. I'm not lying," Artemis said exasperatedly, beginning to walk toward the door, "We should go, Perseus."

Perseus clapped Hermes on the back as he went after the moon goddess, enjoying the younger god's lost expression, "Don't worry. You'll figure it out eventually."

"I'll take your word for it," Hermes sighed and teleported away.

Artemis led Perseus out to the archery range, where her chariot was still nicely parked. Climbing in, she looked at the god, "Zeus is calling a meeting. Would you like to come with me back to Olympus or stay here at Camp?"

"I'll go with you," Perseus said with a teasing grin, turning around and declaring arrogantly, "After all, I can't leave the great Lady Artemis all alone, can I?"

The goddess' silver eyes flashed in mock irritation, and she said, "Fine, you are staying here."

"Oh, come on! Take a joke, Milady!" he said amusedly, looking back at Artemis only to find her chariot soaring away into the distance.

June 30, 1863: Olympus

Perseus teleported into the half-empty throne room with the majority of the Olympians present bickering amongst themselves. He glanced around and saw Artemis sitting in her throne, looking annoyed, but otherwise showing no indication that she even acknowledged the familial chaos happening before her. She noticed Perseus immediately and smiled cheekily. Perseus snorted and turned around to examine the rest of the gods. The only other divinity there who was not engaged in some form of conflict was Aphrodite, who had chosen instead to observe Perseus' and Artemis' exchange curiously. Once she noticed him looking, Aphrodite gave her brother a smug grin and beckoned him over.

The god shuffled over cautiously and asked emotionlessly, "What is it, Sister?"

"A lover's quarrel?" she asked innocently, smirking deviously.

"I don't have time to deal with this right now," Perseus sighed exasperatedly, preparing to go back to Artemis' throne, "So, if you'll excuse me."

Aphrodite fiddled with the ribbon on her bonnet and whispered suddenly, "Hey Perseus, have you ever wanted to meet Father?"

Perseus had to strain to hear the question, and once he registered her words, he whirled back toward his sister, asking sharply, "What?"

The goddess rearranged her frilly skirts across her lap, seemingly unsure whether to continue, "I-I think… It's just…"

"Well? Spit it out already," Perseus said irritably, "And once you do, never mention Father to me again." He stood there impatiently, praying that it was simply Aphrodite's curiosity that prompted her to ask. If there was some hidden meaning behind it, it would not end well.

Aphrodite paused, gathering her thoughts. In the meantime, several more gods had appeared. Noticing the meeting about to begin, the Goddess of Love looked Perseus in the eye and said, "Meet me in my palace once we dismiss."

Perseus frowned but nodded resignedly and retreated back to Artemis' side. Zeus arrived a moment later in a dramatic burst of lightning. The moment his eyes landed on Perseus, he thundered, "What is that minor god doing here?"

Artemis looked over at Perseus and sighed, "I invited him here. Please allow him to stay, Father." Perseus shot her a grateful smile. Artemis' cheeks reddened slightly, and she looked away.

Zeus watched the exchange, completely livid, but he granted his daughter her request and simply ignored Perseus. Continuing in his usual booming voice, he declared, "I, King of the Gods, call this meeting to order!" He pointed his Master Bolt toward the ceiling and fired it. The resounding crash grabbed the attention of all the bickering gods, who fell into silence immediately.

"As you may have heard, the Greeks have avoided conflict with the Romans today. However, we are now left with a new problem," he said darkly, leaning back into his throne, "You all know well that the mortal and mythical worlds mirror one another. While our world evaded a major catastrophe, the mortal world had nothing to interfere. Now starts a major battle in the American Civil War. The Union may not win this one either. We cannot let the Confederate States and their Roman supporters win. Also, from what I have seen of the battle thus far, it has the potential to be one of the most destructive in American history. We must intervene."

Zeus glared over at Perseus as though he were blaming him for the disaster of war. Perseus stared back levelly, daring the arrogant king to give voice to his thoughts. "Meeting dismissed!" Zeus shouted suddenly, withdrawing from the stare-down angrily and disappearing in a crack of thunder. Athena sputtered in frustration as the discussion ended before anybody even had a chance to speak. The other gods and goddesses simply left happily, despite Zeus' orders to interfere in mortal matters, thankful for the first short council meeting in over a century.

Perseus smirked at his victory and began to walk away. However, before he even went two steps, a hand on his wrist forced him to turn around. Artemis lifted an eyebrow curiously, "Where are you sneaking off to, Perseus?"

Knowing he was caught, Perseus sighed, "Aphrodite asked me to meet her in her palace. She was going to tell me something, and I think it's important."

"Then I'm coming too," Artemis made up her mind, getting up with Perseus despite his protests, "It's not every day that she has something important to say."

June 30, 1863: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

As the sun broke over the horizon, casting its brilliant rays over the land, the Civil War finally reached its turning point. The simple skirmish started as any other would have. However, the fighting soon escalated beyond anyone's control. The first of three days of vicious battle had finally begun.

As the Romans retreated from their failed invasion of the Greek camp, the Battle of Gettysburg erupted extravagantly, and Confederate troops clashed with those of the Union.

Tada! I hope you enjoyed the Pertemis finally coming into the story a bit more. If you're dying to say something about the story (or you just want to say hi to me ;) ) just write down your comment and send me a review! I love you guys' feedback, and it makes me a better writer, so please don't be shy. Catch ya later!