Hello again after like half a year! Yeah, I know. I got really busy and I have the worst case of writer's block imaginable. I am really sorry. I was also debating whether to wait even longer until I could write a longer chapter to update again, but I felt like I left y'all hanging for too long. This is a shorter chapter, but it's better than nothing, right? Also, please read the AN at the end, it's got some important info. On that note... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO. Those belong to Rick Riordan.

The Real Threat Emerges

June 30, 1863: Aphrodite's Temple, Olympus

"Why did you bring her here?" Aphrodite asked snidely, glaring daggers at Artemis, who stared right back. The goddess of love sniffed and returned her attention back to the mirror in her hand, gently dabbing at her face with a wad of cotton.

Perseus shifted uncomfortably in the gaudy pink chair he was sitting on, "That is irrelevant. Now, what did you wish to talk to me about?"

Aphrodite glanced over arrogantly at her brother, scrutinizing him critically, "I will not talk with one of Zeus' little minions spying on us." She threw a pointed look at Artemis, disposing of her cotton ball deftly. "I cannot risk her running back and blabbing to anyone about what she witnessed here today."

Artemis gasped indignantly, but Perseus cut off her protests with a sigh, "Must you always make life difficult, Aphrodite?"

"Yes," she answered coyly, beginning to powder her nose.

Perseus sighed again and turned to Artemis, "Milady, if you would."

The moon goddess seemed ready to protest, but she found herself unable to object under Perseus' pleading gaze. Artemis huffed irritably and sat back into her seat, crossing her arms. "I swear on the River Styx to not breathe a word I hear in this room to anybody.'" She sneered derisively at Aphrodite at the end of the oath as a crack of thunder was heard to seal the deal.

Aphrodite seemed satisfied with Artemis' response and turned to Perseus, "You too, Perseus."

The god's blood ran cold. He hesitated for a moment, loath to make such a binding oath, but he realized he would get nowhere if he objected. "I swear on the Styx to not breathe a word I hear in this room to the gods," he muttered, hearing the characteristic crash of thunder.

Aphrodite frowned slightly and shook her head, pointing her newly-acquired lipstick at him like she would a sword. "That's not good enough!" she sang childishly, "Say the oath exactly as Artemis said hers."

"Since when did you get so cunning?" Perseus hissed, narrowing his eyes at his sister, "That is quite uncharacteristic of you."

"I must do so to protect Father," the goddess said as she began to smear on her lipstick, "Now redo the vow."

Perseus growled lowly and rephrased his oath to mimic Artemis'. Once he finished, he clamped his jaw shut and stared levelly at his sister until she began squirming uncomfortably. She cleared her throat and said, "Good. Now shall we begin?"

"Yes, Sister, get on with it," Perseus forced through his teeth, tired of the excessive ceremony behind the entire ordeal.

At this point, the love goddess adopted a somewhat nervous demeanor as she tapped her impeccably shaped nails on the surface of her vanity. Opening and closing her mouth a few times, Aphrodite finally blurted out, "Father is waking!"

The words seeped sluggishly into Perseus' brain, and an unpleasant sensation began gnawing at his stomach. The words of the prophecy from that fateful day rang in his ears deafeningly. "Yes, and?" he said, trying to uphold his nonchalant attitude.

"I-I'm helping him," Aphrodite declared resolutely, staring Perseus straight in the eye in an attempt to convey the conviction in her words, "He will rise again and exact the vengeance he truly deserves."

Neither Perseus nor Artemis could find the words to respond to that as they gaped openly at the goddess. Aphrodite flushed a little as she continued, "Father Ouranos has spoken to me and reached out to me. He promised me that no harm would come to the gods. He promised…"

"He promised what?" Perseus demanded urgently, glaring at his sister sternly.

"He-He promised he only wishes to eradicate the Titans and Gaea, who dared to defy him."

Perseus was beginning to feel anger and fear course through him, but Artemis beat him to the punch. "You idiot!" she snapped, pointing toward the other goddess, "Do you know what will happen if any of the Titans and Primordials were truly destroyed? Do you understand the repercussions to nature? The universe?"

"Of course I do, but I don't care!" Aphrodite shrieked, driving herself into a frenzy, "I don't care because helping Father is the right thing to do!"

"His motives are not pure!" Perseus yelled, clenching his fists, "What could possibly prompt you to support this? Is destruction what you really want? I thought you cannot stand for anything that I represent, yet here you are, working against all your own beliefs. And for what purpose?"

"It is for my own beliefs that I do what I do!" the goddess cried, "I am the Goddess of Love! No matter the fact I had never known him until recently, Father Ouranos is still my father, our father! His ichor runs through our veins; therefore, I love him, and you should too."

"I hold no love for a person who is shallow enough to imprison his children in Tartarus simply for having undesirable facial features," the God of Destruction stated, "Even though his blood is my blood, I will not let that define me. I will work for my own beliefs, and you may do what you feel is right in the pursuit of yours."

"What are you saying, Brother?" Aphrodite whispered, tears beginning to pool in her eyes.

Perseus stared vacantly into her eyes and elaborated, "I am saying that we should pursue our own goals, and since those goals conflict, I hereby declare you my enemy. This is goodbye, Aphrodite." He stood up from his seat and strode to the door, grasping onto the handle that would grant him his freedom from the present nightmare.

Before he could leave, however, Aphrodite sniffled with tears coating her voice thickly, "P-Perseus, I might not show it, but you are s-still my brother. I al-always have and always w-will love you."

The god struggled to contain the emotions boiling in his own heart as he responded, "As do I." He pushed open the door and prepared to exit, but stopped one last time, tears threatening to fall at any given moment, "Answer me this, Aphrodite: How long have you been working with Ouranos?"

"Immediately after the issuing of that prophecy," Aphrodite sobbed, "I have been searching for a way to revive him ever since."

"Then I hope many centuries pass before you succeed," Perseus muttered, stepping out into the world and holding the door open for Artemis. The moon goddess glanced back and forth between the sibling deities and somberly followed Perseus back outside. As the two walked down the road to the gates of Olympus, the tears of Destruction finally descended upon the earth.

November 15, 1864: Atlanta, Georgia

Deep in the forests surrounding the city of Atlanta, Perseus and Artemis sprawled upon beds of pine needles, examining what little light that managed to pierce through the dense foliage of the forest. The only noise to be heard for miles was the chirrup of crickets and the soft rustling of leaves as the wind whistled softly by. Occasionally, the howl of a wolf or the scurrying of diminutive paws disrupted the tranquility infinitesimally. Nevertheless, the world was at peace.

Or so it wished.

As nature's concerto slowly lulled Perseus to sleep, Artemis released an almost imperceptible sigh and sat up, gazing down at her friend. "Perseus," she whispered, gently tapping his shoulder, "I need to talk to you."

With a mighty yawn, Perseus roused and pushed himself up as well. "Yes, Artemis?" he asked expectantly, devoting what small amount of attention he still maintained to whatever the goddess hoped to say. As he examined her face, Perseus noted the creased brow and worried glimmer in her eye, "What's wrong?"

"I can't take this anymore. We, we have to warn them," Artemis whispered, fiddling with her hunting knife nervously, "about the thing."

Perseus immediately caught onto the meaning of the goddess' vague words, but he feigned ignorance, "Warn who about what?"

The moon goddess' almost luminescent silver eyes glowered over at him and she huffed irritatedly, "You know what I mean. What will we do about it?"

Perseus glanced over at a nearby tree guiltily, "We swore an oath. There is nothing we can do."

Artemis' brow furrowed a little more, "Yes, we swore an oath, but all oaths have loopholes. We just have to locate the ones in ours."

Perseus closed his eyes in distress and shook his head, "No, no. It's no use. Our oaths were perfect. There is no loophole at all, or none that I can find in the past few months anyway."

"Precisely, so that means there is a loophole, right?" Artemis asked urgently, on the verge of panic. She was unable to even imagine what would happen if the gods became embroiled in a battle of such caliber unprepared.

Perseus scoffed bitterly, "No, I have still had enough experience and tutoring from the Fates to know that in this case, there is not. We will abide by this oath for eternity, lest we wish to take a pleasant trip to Tartarus."

To Artemis, the world seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Never in her long life had she ever felt so much like a cornered animal, so helpless to the whims of the Fates. The oath had reduced her to nothing more than a trembling mouse under their oppression. The hunter had become the hunted, and Artemis would not allow that. Turning her steely gaze onto Perseus, she snapped, "Well, if you wish to give up, fine. I, for one, will not!"

Perseus dragged a hand over his face tiredly, "There is nothing we can do. I've tried every-,"

Suddenly, a loud slap echoed through the clearing. Several birds startled out of a nearby tree, squabbling in panic. As the noise faded away, the area was plunged into an icy silence. Artemis seemed to almost exude a frigid wind as she stood cradling her hand against her chest and glaring at Perseus fiercely.

Perseus simply sat there, stunned. He could feel the smarting handprint begin to blossom upon his face. Bringing a hand up to touch his sensitive cheek, he directed his own indignant gaze upon Artemis, "Why did you do that?"

Artemis scowled, "What happened to you?"

The God of Destruction's brow furrowed as he pointed to his face, "You happened, what else?"

"Don't sass me, Perseus! You aren't acting like yourself. The Perseus I know would not have given up so easily, if at all. Yet you're here giving up without trying anything! What is wrong with you?"

Perseus sighed resignedly, "I don't know myself. But life is the way it is. There is nothing we can do. These are powers greater than the gods."

"Your grief is speaking, not the real Perseus. I know losing Aphrodite hurts. I remember being angry with Apollo when he overloaded your powers in our first meeting. I didn't look or talk to him in weeks. Even that hurt the both of us. But we got through it with our heads held high. I know you can do the same."

Perseus turned his head away in shame. He sensed the truth in Artemis' words, but he could not ascribe to them. "I know you are right, but the world is just crumbling around me. I do not know what to do anymore. I could never have expected Aphrodite, of all people, to betray the gods like that. I feel that there must be a reason for her to be doing this."

"You heard her, Perseus. Her love for your father is greater than her love for the gods. I know it is a lot to take in, but it is the truth. I see no other reason why Aphrodite would suddenly change like that, unless…" Artemis' eyes widened as a possibility dawned upon her and she slowly trailed off, "Unless somebody else was influencing her."

She glanced over pointedly to see Perseus with her own look of horrified shock masking his features. "Ares," he breathed, looking like the puzzle pieces of life suddenly fell into place. Slowly, a humorless smile began forming on his face as he began laughing bitterly, "Ha, he's in Atlanta. This is great. If you'll excuse me, Milady, I'm going to go destroy that snivelling war god!" He stood up shakily and began to glow in preparation to teleport.

Artemis jumped up in alarm as she realized his intent, "No, no, no. Perseus! Don't you dare…"

The god levelled vivid blood red eyes at her, and her breath hitched in mild fear. She had never seen the god quite so angry in her entire life. It was as if the knowledge that Ares had influenced his sister to betray them had caused something in him to snap. And as Artemis thought about it, it made sense. The Civil War had taken a great toll on Perseus as he was continuously assaulted by the hatred and tensions of both the mythical and mortal worlds. It was time he released all the pent-up power.

Swallowing her hesitation, Artemis whispered, "Please stop, Perseus. Think of the consequences. You will be banished to Tartarus! Stop this."

His steely gaze softened slightly, but Perseus shook his head, "I cannot. I cannot forgive Ares for his disloyalty and corrupting my sister. For that, he will pay." The glow intensified, and in a burst of red light, he was gone.

Artemis stood glued to her spot in shocked. Shaking herself out of her daze, she uttered a foul curse and followed her reckless companion. "If you do something stupid, Perseus, you will be wishing for Tartarus once I get my hands on you," she muttered darkly, teleporting away as well in pursuit of the other immortal.

She reappeared in the middle of a warzone, quite literally. There were Union soldiers streaming through the streets, locked in battle with the Confederates. Scanning the area closely, Artemis managed to find Perseus perched on the roof of a nearby house. She caught his eye, and he shook his head stubbornly. Waving her fist angrily, Artemis gathered her powers and teleported to where he sitting.

"Perseus, stop!" She yelled the moment she materialized next to him, "The mortals are in the middle of a battle. You remember what happened last time you lost control during a war?"

Perseus' eyes widened infinitesimally, seemingly remembering the Trojan War fiasco, but he set his lips into a stubborn frown a minute later. "Ares needs to face his punishment. And speak of the devil…" he scowled, pointing to a point in the streets.

Artemis peered around his finger to find the war god strolling leisurely through the throngs of soldiers. He was carrying a pistol and casually gunning down random soldiers as he passed. Seeing that, Artemis felt an intense hatred rear up in her heart. Thoughts of consequence disappeared entirely from her mind and she stared at Perseus. He looked back pointedly and, with a vicious nod, teleported away. Artemis followed suit readily, drawing her hunting knives.

"Ares!" Perseus roared as he appeared behind the war god.

Ares whirled around wildly and pointed his gun at his opponents. Noticing that it was Perseus, he lowered the weapon again and laughed, "Hello again, punk."

Perseus gritted his teeth and hissed, "You're calling me the punk? Who's the one who coerced my sister into betraying Olympus?"

"Betraying?" Ares sneered, "Am I really? We simply teamed up with the Primordials to defeat the gods' greatest enemies."

"Save it for daddy," Perseus growled, pulling out his sword, "Did you even consider the consequences?"

Ares snorted in disbelief, "What consequences? Becoming a hero for arranging an alliance to defeat some enemies?"

"The whole world will be destroyed with a war like that!" Artemis interjected angrily, brandishing her knife, "I didn't realize even you could be that stupid."

Ares snarled and loaded his gun threateningly, "What'd you call me?"

"Stupid," Artemis repeated slowly, as if she were talking to a dense child, "And you'll look even more stupid once the gods find out about this."

The war god sneered, "Oh, I would be scared... but the gods didn't already know about my plan."

"What?" Artemis' eyes widened, "What are you talking about?"

"When was the last time you went to a council meeting?" Ares asked snarkily, swinging his gun around his calloused finger, "I told the gods at the last one, and Zeus supports the idea completely. He's already put Athena on the job of figuring out how to revive Ouranos."

In that instant, Artemis' world stopped turning. She turned away in shock and teleported away to Olympus.

Well, I can't say anything more than sorry. That was a lot shorter than I thought it would be, but I sorta realized I have no idea where this story is going. I definitely need a little break from updating to continue planning this out. There is no way I'm ditching this story, but I don't think I will be updating for another long while. Again, I'm super sorry, but I would rather write a good story that we can all enjoy over a half-hearted one that I can't be proud of. I hope you guys understand, and thank you so much for bearing with me on this little literary journey. Hope to see you soon (-ish).