Hello again, guys! Wow, it's been a year. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for leaving you hanging like that. Thank you so much for sticking with me through all this time. It truly means so much to me. And here we go, our next installment! I finally have this story planned out, and it gets extremely complex. I'm considering breaking it up into multiple stories, but I don't really like that idea. The chapters are, unfortunately, not prewritten, so updates still depend on my schedule (which sadly isn't looking light anytime soon) and level of motivation to write. I'll still do my best to update whenever possible, though. Anyway, enough of this, on with the story! Enjoy! Reviews are always welcome! *hint, hint*
Disclaimer: I don't own the plots or characters of PJO and HoO. All rights go to Rick Riordan.
Previously:
"Betraying Olympus?" Ares sneered, "Are we 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... if 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."
An End and a New Beginning
November 15, 1864: Olympus
"Athena! Athena!" Artemis called, knocking frantically on the goddess' door, "Athena, open the door!" There was no answer. Deciding to forego civility, Artemis teleported herself into her half sister's palace. She was greeted by the sight of an enormous library. It seemed the entire place served no other purpose than to hold books. Shelves upon shelves of ancient and modern literature lined the walls. A comfortable armchair and couch furnished the center of the living room area. But there was no sign of Athena.
Artemis scowled. She had come all the way out here to find the goddess' palace deserted. Wracking her brains as to where else her sister could be, the moon goddess arrived at the only other logical location: the Olympian Library. Artemis herself had only ever set foot in there a handful of times, but with its hundreds of thousands of gilded shelves and writings dating all the way back to the beginning of written language, it surpassed even Athena's impressive collection. Picturing the library in her mind's eye, Artemis disappeared in a flash of light.
She reappeared on a tabletop amidst a large pile of books. Artemis clambered quickly to her feet, causing a column of precariously-set books to collapse upon itself. Artemis winced, apologizing profusely to whoever those books belonged to without looking up. Jumping down lightly to the floor, Artemis finally lifted her gaze, only to meet the stormy grey stare of the Goddess of Wisdom herself. "Athena!" Artemis gasped. She waved her hand, and the books returned to their original positions. Clearing her throat and trying to recover what was left of her dignity, Artemis said sternly, "We need to talk."
"Can this not wait? I'm very busy at the moment," Athena replied, focusing her eyes back on the book cradled in her hand. She said nothing more as she flipped through the pages at inhuman speeds. Artemis clenched her teeth in fury as the other goddess blatantly ignored her. Artemis reminded herself exactly what she had to talk about before snatching Athena's book out of her hands. Artemis snapped it shut, watching as a small cloud of dust spewed forth from the pages. Glaring hard at Athena, Artemis growled, "This is serious, Athena."
"Yes, yes, I know what you're going to tell me already," Athena waved the moon goddess off, "You're going to give me a lecture about how reviving Ouranos will destroy the world." Athena picked up her book and flipped back to the page she was stopped at. Fixing her grey eyes on Artemis, she asked knowingly, "Am I right?"
"Precisely," Artemis frowned, "If you knew all that already, why are you still following through with your insane plan? Do you know how delicate the balance of nature is? Do you understand the repercussions of doing anything to the powers that maintain that balance?"
"Of course I do," Athena remarked, returning her attention to her book.
"Well, it doesn't seem like you care!" Artemis exclaimed in frustration, "I'm sorry, Athena. But you are hellbent on desecrating something very dear to me, and I will not stand for it. I'm sure you already know that one of my domains is the natural environment?"
"Certainly," Athena replied curtly with a tinge of boredom coloring her voice. Artemis resisted the urge to draw her bow and shoot the goddess to Greece and back. "If that is all you wished to say, may I go back to researching in peace?" The Goddess of Wisdom drawled.
"Athena, open your eyes! Why are you doing this?" Artemis cried, clenching her fists until her knuckles turned white. She rounded her sharpest glare on Athena, who sighed and set down her book again.
"Sister, the answer is simple. I doubt you are dull, but anyone with half a brain can see that the benefits of eliminating Gaea and the Titans far outweigh the risks to nature," Athena explained, "You see, by gaining the help of the Protogenoi to destroy them, we will have defeated the gods' greatest enemies: the Titans, Gaea, and by extent the Giants." Artemis was loath to admit it, but her sister's reasoning was sound. However, in her heart, she knew that what the gods sought was not the correct course of action.
"What will you do about the natural elements that will suddenly be uncontrolled if the Titans are eradicated? What about the Giants if Gaea is killed? They will not simply sit there in depression if that were to happen. Rather, they would be snapping at our throats for blood. Think, Sister, isn't that what you are supposedly good at?" Artemis retorted hotly, not willing to back down until she had changed the mind of possibly the most stubborn goddesses to walk the earth.
"Another set of minor details," Athena shrugged, "We can simply assign the uncontrolled elements to other gods and goddesses before any harm to nature can occur. Anyway, with Gaea gone, the Giants will not be a problem since they wouldn't be half as smart without her."
Artemis breathed out impatiently from her nose, "That is not how domains work. The Fates grant the domains to whomever they deem fit to control them. You cannot simply pluck a stray deity from the streets of Olympus and grant one to him."
"I can make it work," Athena said nonchalantly before adding quietly, "And besides, I have to. Zeus's will affords me no other option." Artemis knew she had touched on something the goddess had not thought up a solution for yet. The moon goddess could tell how troubled Athena was by the matter by the small crease between her brows, but Artemis chose not to comment. Instead, she stood up with a stony-faced expression and strode out of the library without a word.
She had heard enough.
November 15, 1864: Atlanta, Georgia
"What did you say?" Perseus growled dangerously, "You told the gods…"
"And they were in full support!" Ares gloated, swinging his sword around leisurely. The blade clipped one of the soldiers around them in the shoulder, and the mortal clamped a hand over the wound with a shout. He glared up at Ares, probably seeing the god as an opponent due to the Mist, and grabbed his pistol. Ares sneered in contempt and swung his sword at the man. Perseus turned around, not wishing to witness the heartless kill.
"You are despicable," Perseus hissed.
Ares simply laughed idiotically, "So I've been told." He stabbed his bloodstained sword into the ground and leaned on it like a cane, "So are we gonna chit-chat, or are we gonna fight, Lord Perseus?"
Perseus drew his sword and sheathe and snarled, "Oh, we'll be fighting for sure. Don't think I haven't forgotten why I came here in the first place. Destroying the gods' futures is one thing, brainwashing my sister is an entirely different matter." The two gods lowered themselves into fighting stances, slowly beginning to circle one another. Ares, always the impatient one, struck first. He slashed at Perseus with a powerful blow, but for all the power behind the attack, it was still too slow. Perseus evaded easily, responding with his own crippling counter-offensive when he noticed Ares over balance. Smacking the war god with his sheath, Perseus watched in satisfaction as his opponent flinched, giving Perseus an opening to throw a series of slashes and stabs. Perseus saw the ichor flowing from Ares' wounds, and it only added fuel to the fire. All the animosity Perseus felt for the god came pouring out. The voice of reason told Perseus that he was going too far, that maybe he should stop, but he brushed it off. He needed to vent.
But as the hate slowly took over, Perseus' judgement clouded over. His attacks became more volatile and unpredictable, but also much sloppier. Ares saw his chance for a counterattack. Parrying one of Perseus' wild slashes, he deftly cut Perseus on the shoulder. The God of Destruction hissed in pain, but the injury cleared his head a little. Cleaning up his messy moves, Perseus bore back down on Ares. The war god shrunk back in fear as he saw the dark figure with narrowed red eyes regain the upper hand. Perseus lifted his sword, making like he was going to slash at Ares. However, he stopped, muttering darkly to himself, "No, as fun as beating a war god at his own game would be, I need to make this fast." Perseus put away his weapon, much to Ares' confusion.
With a snap of his fingers, Perseus summoned a vicious tornado, which swallowed Ares whole. Perseus could hear his opponent's shouts as the knife-like winds sliced at their victim's flesh. The cyclone whirled faster and faster before subsiding a moment later to reveal an unconscious Ares. Perseus smirked, "How'd you like it, Ares? Beaten by this old god." He quickly bound the god's hands and feet in celestial bronze chains and dragged the war god to a nearby ally.
Taking a deep breath, Perseus shoved a chunk of ambrosia into Ares' mouth and waited for him to regain consciousness. The adrenaline and uncontrolled power in Perseus' veins was slowly dissipating. He could feel himself slowly reverting back to his normal state, but he decided to keep the glowing red eyes for the time being. They were good for intimidation purposes, he reasoned. A gravelly groan drew Perseus' attention back to the present. Ares slowly blinked, still groggy from his unconsciousness. Suddenly, the god realized the position he was in and began thrashing around wildly, cursing.
"Oh, shut up!" Perseus barked, getting quite fed up with the god before him, "I won't hurt you without reason. That's your job."
"What're you saying, scum?" Ares sneered.
"Ah, nevermind," Perseus waved the question off, "You are going to tell me how far your insane plan has progressed. Or else…"
"What happened to that 'I won't hurt you' crap, Prissy?"
Perseus clucked his tongue, "I said I wouldn't hurt you without reason. Not answering my question is classified as a reason for me to hurt you. I'm sure you wouldn't like to get on my bad side, now would you?" Perseus channeled more power, making his eyes glow brighter. Definitely a good method of intimidation, he decided, giving himself a mental pat on the back.
Ares talked right then and there, "I don't know!"
"Excuse me?" Perseus asked incredulously.
"Father took over the operation immediately after I revealed it to him. Only he knows all the details of it, and he hasn't shared any of it with us yet," Ares said rather bitterly, "There's a council meeting tonight. If you and your little moon goddess girlfriend stopped traipsing through the wilderness long enough to actually attend one, you might learn something."
"It would do you good to show more respect when speaking of Lady Artemis. But thanks for the heads up. See you tonight, old boy!" Perseus smirked, clapping the other god on the shoulder much harder than was necessary. With a slight wave, Perseus teleported away, ignoring Ares' shouts when he realized he wouldn't be released from his chains.
November 15, 1864: Mount Olympus
Artemis sat idly on her throne, watching the rest of the Olympians. She could see the war taking its toll on all of them. It seemed there wasn't anyone present, aside from Aphrodite, who didn't suffer from near-constant conflicts with their Roman counterparts. Artemis herself could feel Diana always at the ready, preparing to take control when the time was right. Still, this didn't stop them from doing what they were best at: arguing. Artemis glanced around the throne room to find Poseidon bickering with Athena, Hephaestus scowling at Aphrodite, and Hera nagging at Zeus. The remaining gods were obviously nursing headaches (Artemis wasn't sure whether they were from their Roman aspects or the many arguments taking place around them.). As her eyes roamed slowly over the faces in the room, Artemis noticed that Ares was absent. Usually, she would be worried, but she remembered Perseus' fight with him earlier and smirked. It was obvious who won.
As Artemis trained her eyes on her father, her earlier conversation with Perseus came to mind. After his fight with Ares, Perseus had returned to the Hunters' camp and found her to update her on the situation. She in turn had told him what she had learned from Athena, and they had constructed a plan. Obviously, it was important to attend the council meetings whenever possible to keep up with the insanity occurring on Olympus. Since Artemis was on the council, it was her job to attend meetings and gather as much information as possible. Hence, Artemis found herself in her current situation. The more she heard her family and their petty arguments, the more resentment she felt course through her. Not only were they jeopardizing the world with their inane plan to aid Ouranos, but they were also failing to handle the more immediate matter of the wars.
Artemis was about to begin pounding some sense into her family, when Zeus' booming voice echoed through the throne room, "Order!" The chatter slowly hushed as all eyes turned to the King of the Gods. "We have many things to discuss tonight. First things first," Zeus thundered, "I have decided to postpone the operation Ares proposed at the last meeting. Athena has discovered through her research that we must recover all the pieces of Ouranos that have been scattered through the world's oceans before we can hope to revive him. I have spoken to Poseidon, and he has assured me that this task may take centuries at best. Also, it seems Ouranos' awakening, like that of all ancient deities, will cause slight imbalances in nature and the number of monsters roaming the earth. The monsters may have inadvertently aided us in the last Greco-Roman skirmish, but we and our children are currently unable to handle these side effects in our current conditions. Thus, it is in our best interests to put this project aside for the moment. There will be no room for argument." He stared sternly at Aphrodite, who had opened her mouth to object. Artemis sighed inwardly. There was at least one problem that they could avoid for the time being.
Zeus continued, "Instead, we must focus our attention on the wars currently being fought in the mortal and mythological worlds. As you all know, today marked the beginning of Sherman's March to the Sea. This will surely turn the tide of the mortal war in favor of the Union. In this respect, the Greeks have managed to win something over the Romans. However, Camp Half-Blood still is in grave danger. The Romans shall surely attack soon, and we must be ready to defend our stronghold!"
Poseidon scoffed from his throne, "What makes you think we can do anything? Do you remember what happened last time the Romans attacked? Half of us were so crippled by our warring aspects that we could do nothing but watch our children slaughter each other. It's like the Roman Empire's conquest of Greece all over again." A sad murmur of agreement rippled through the assembly of gods.
Zeus looked murderous, "What are you proposing, Brother? That we simply sit back and allow the Romans to win?"
"I like the idea even less than you do," Poseidon snapped, "But it is all we can do in the condition we are in. Look around you. How many of us do you see currently grimacing in pain and massaging our temples? The demigods are not currently engaged in a battle, yet here we are, using most of our energy to wrestle our other aspects into submission. Listen to me when I say that we are useless. Besides, you seem to be forgetting about the Divine Laws. We should not be involved in mortal affairs in the first place. Do you still doubt my advice, Brother?"
Zeus looked furious, but he couldn't seem to argue. "What do you propose we do then?" He demanded harshly.
"We must sit this war out," Poseidon said.
Athena scowled, "You really do have kelp for brains. How many of us actually adhere to all the Divine Laws? It would be much more logical to send the gods who are unaffected by their Roman personalities out to aid the Greeks. There are plenty who can do it."
"Plenty? Who?" Poseidon sneered, "Care to elaborate, Athena?"
Athena shot a withering glare at him and ground out from between her teeth, "There are Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Heracles."
One look at Aphrodite's panic-stricken face easily conveyed her thoughts on Athena's idea.
"Nemesis has declared neutrality," Poseidon moved on to the next god listed.
"And I will not stand for that swine of a man, Heracles, to be within a mile of my Hunters!" Artemis snarled, thinking of Zoe.
"Artemis, be reasonable," Zeus said, "Athena's plan is not bad."
"Father, if you insist on sending Heracles, I will withdraw the aid of my Hunters."
Zeus' brow furrowed, "I believe a god is a much more valuable asset on the battlefield than a band of girls."
Artemis' eyes hardened, "Is that what you really think, Father?" She spat out her last word like it was poison in her mouth. "I would choose your next words very carefully."
Zeus seemed to realize his mistake and muttered, "I apologize for my presumption. I would greatly appreciate if the Hunt would contribute their aid." Artemis snorted haughtily and turned away without an answer.
"What about Perseus? Artemis, your Hunters tolerate him, and he has a better grasp on his two aspects than most other gods," Athena suggested, trying to diffuse the building tension.
"I will not answer for Perseus and drag him into a war that has hurt him more than it has hurt any of us combined. If you wish to enlist his aid, you must ask him yourself."
"So be it," Zeus grumbled unhappily, "Lord Perseus, you are called before the Court of Olympus!" He lifted his Master Bolt and fired a shot to the heavens. Within moments, there was a flash of light, and Perseus appeared before Zeus.
Bowing to Artemis with a lopsided grin and giving Zeus no more acknowledgement than a quick dip of the head, the god asked rather lazily, "You called, Milord?"
"Your insolence will not be tolerated!" Zeus thundered angrily. His face was turning a nasty shade of purple as he struggled to hold in his fury.
"Insolence, sir? Whatsoever do you mean?" Perseus asked innocently. He winked discretely to Artemis who couldn't decide whether to smile or glare in disapproval.
Zeus looked like he was about to begin a tirade, but he was cut off by Athena. "Perseus, we called you to request you to aid Camp Half-Blood. When the time comes, help our children to prevail against the Romans."
"And why should I do this?" Perseus snorted, "Is my neutrality not assumed?"
"How are you neutral? You were prepared to defend the camp at the last skirmish all those months ago," Athena accused.
"Was I? I remember going to the Romans to prevent the war in the first place. But that plan obviously failed. Then, I remember bringing Lord Hermes to camp to recover from his struggle with his Roman aspect. I did no fighting, and I did not ever intend to fight."
Athena opened her mouth to continue arguing, but a flash of red suddenly appeared in Ares' throne, gathering the gods' attention. The light faded to reveal a murderous Ares, who immediately stood up and stalked toward Perseus at the center of the room.
"Ares, what is the meaning of this?" Zeus asked, frustrated that their meeting was interrupted.
Ares gestured wildly to Perseus and roared for the world to hear, "Father, this god has committed treason against Olympus!"
The silence that followed was suffocating as each god attempted to process what Ares had just declared. Finally, Zeus gathered his wits enough to say, "Ares, that is a serious accusation. Explain yourself."
"This minor god attacked me today. A minor god attacked an Olympian. He also refused to comply with our alliance with Ouranos, threatening war with Olympus if we follow through. Then, he attacked me. Father, Perseus' actions must be punished!" Ares caught Perseus' eye discretely and smiled smugly.
Artemis stood up in the blink of an eye, "Idiot! Why would Perseus-?"
"Ares, is that true?" Zeus interrupted, electricity crackling dangerously in the air around him. Ares nodded solemnly.
Perseus' eyes flashed red, "I did no such thing! I would never betray the gods!"
"Then explain why you attacked me for no reason, chained me, then refused to release me?" Ares shouted.
Zeus' face darkened as his anger rolled off him in waves, "Forget speaking of waging war against the gods. You, a minor god, dared to attack an Olympian. Perseus, you are hereby banished from Olympus! Hermes, take him to Delos. He is to remain there for all eternity!"
Hermes moved to get up, but Perseus snarled, "I think not! First you accuse me of nonexistent treason. Then you fail to offer an unbiased and complete trial! Now, you expect me to go quietly to spend eternity on some island! I will not accept this. You Olympians have ever only used others for your personal gain. I refuse to bend to your whims any longer. From this day onward, I am finished with you and your foolishness. If you wish to destroy yourselves, be my guest. I am done. I will no longer associate myself with you. This is goodbye." Perseus' eyes roved darkly around the room, finally stopping to rest on Artemis. His gaze softened, and he attempted to convey all his regrets and sadness in that one look. Before Artemis could so much as blink, Perseus was gone, and the throne room was plunged into silence once more.
Artemis stood briskly, attempting to suppress the tears of anger that threaten to spill forth, and glared upon each and every god assembled there. "You have no idea what you have just done. You may well have condemned us all." With that ominous message, Artemis followed Perseus out in a flash of silver.
Boom! There it is! Hopefully it's not too much of a cliff-hanger to end you guys on. Hope you liked it, and thank you again for all the support!