Four and a half months had passed since the son of Artemis finally reunited with his parents and grandmother, and those four months had been spent entirely on training. There had been no time for happy relaxing times between the newfound family. It was no secret that the Titan Army had been growing in both strength and size, meaning that a bloody war was inevitable. Having this in mind, Hector trained as hard as he could, wanting to help his demigod friends. The son of Artemis and his patron knew that the big battle in New York was going to happen no mater how much they tried to stop it.
While demigods at Camp Half-Blood battled against the monsters that came out of the labyrinth, the son of Perseus kept on training. While demigods were blowing up the Princess Andromeda, Hector was studying, trying to find a way to get rid of Kronos once and for all.
Apollo and Artemis knew that they couldn't keep the secret of the prophecy much longer. The truth would come out soon, as the prophecy would be completed in the following month. August 7th, the birthday of Hector would be when the prophecy would be completed. If only he had been born a day later, then they could've just passed the prophecy as referring to the Son of Poseidon. But there was no way now, the secret would be out, and everyone would know what the prophecy really said.
The Letoids talked it over for a while, reaching to the conclusion that they should tell Hector of his fate. It was only fair that he knew of his end.
The twins knocked on the door of Hera's house in Massachusetts. Around twenty seconds passed without and answer, making the Goddess of the moon grow in desperation. Artemis knocked the door again, hearing some noice coming from the inside and reaching to the conclusion that whoever was inside would be quick to open the door.
"Who is it and what do you want?" A boy asked from inside
"We're Artemis and Apollo, and we came here to talk to Hector" The moon goddess replied.
Shuffling was heard from outside the house, and soon enough the door was open. Grabbing the door was Hector, who had grown around four inches in those four months. His smile still held a slight mirth, which was very unusual to see in the past few months in the face of any member of the Greek Pantheon.
"Why are you here mom?" Hector asked. Apollo looked sternly at his nephew, "...and Uncle Apollo"
"We need to talk about something extremely important, but nobody aside from us three can know about it, alright?" Artemis said hurriedly
Hector looked back to the inside of the house, "Grandma is here and I can't leave without her permission."
"Then let us speak with her. This conversation cannot be delayed any longer" Artemis said, stepping forward and into the house. Apollo followed his sister, leaving Hector to close the door and run after them.
"Wait! She's taking a nap" Hector tried to stop his mother and uncle from disturbing his patron's sleep.
Artemis looked into Hector's eyes, "Then we're going to wake her up"
"What? No!" the son of Artemis said loudly as Artemis continued her way into the master bedroom.
Apollo put a hand on Hector's shoulder "Dude, this is really important. Let your mom do what she needs to do"
The two males entered the master room, watching as Artemis approached the sleeping Queen of Olympus.
"Hera" Artemis shook the goddess, earning a groan in return. "Heraaa"
The Queen of Olympus didn't move. Instead, the goddess of marriage began to snore loudly, making the god of the sun chuckle from behind his sister.
"You wanna laugh? Fine, you wake her up"
Apollo smirked, "I don't think my methods would be considered PG-13" he said looking at Hector
"I'm fifteen"
"That may be true, but under my sister's eyes, you are still a little fetus. So, sorry to disappoint Artemis, but I can't help you wake her up" Apollo shrugged his shoulders
The moon goddess glared at her twin, but when she saw that her glare held no effect on him, Artemis continued her attempts to wake the Queen of Gods. The pushed her, pulled her hair, poured water over her (which made her smile, much to everyones displeasure), and even hit her.
"Fuck, we really need to hurry up." Artemis muttered, "How do you usually wake up Hector?"
"Huh? Why are you asking me?"
"Because along with Hermes, Apollo and I are the gods who get the least amount of sleep, so strategies to wake someone up aren't things we have a lot of knowledge on"
"Which is ironic since I'm the god of knowledge" Apollo grinned
"Your whole life is ironic" Artemis told, "ok, so Hector, how do you normally wake up?"
"I don't know...I'm a light sleeper" Hector replied
Suddenly, Apollo clapped his hands together, "I got it! It was so obvious and cliche, how could I not see it before?"
"See what?" Artemis asked her twin
"You'll see" was the only thing that Apollo said before conjuring an iPod. The god of music browsed his device for a while, until he grinned and put the iPod besides Hera's resting head.
As soon as Apollo pressed the play button, the song Never Gonna Give you Up by Rick Ashley began to play at full volume. The Queen of Olympus, as in act of magic, quickly opened her eyes and threw the iPod across the room.
"Who did that?" The goddess of marriage asked in a growl. Apollo paled and brought his arms up asserting his innocence.
"Hey...Artemis wanted to ask you something very important so I'll be waiting in the living room" The sun god said in fear, flashing out in an instant and living the queen of Olympus, the moon goddess and her son alone in the master bedroom.
"Artemis, why did you have to interrupt my sleep?" Hera asked her daughter-in-law
Artemis cleared her throat, "My brother and I need to tell Hector something with utmost urgency."
"And why did you have to wake me up for that?"
"We need to go to one of Apollo's places, so that way nobody will hear us. It is very confidencial information"
Hera nodded, sitting up on her bed, "Is there any reason why I can't know about this secret?"
Artemis tilted her head, "It is just an extremely touchy subject that only Hector, my brother and I should be aware of. That being said, will you let Hector come with us?"
Hera looked directly at Artemis silver eyes, trying to see any trace of an idea of what she would tell Hector. As much as she tried, the goddess of marriage could not find anything on the eyes of, Artemis, and so she nodded in disappointment.
"Great. Let's go Hector" Artemis grabbed Hectors wrist, pulling him with her as she left the room. "Apollo come on, we're leaving"
"Finally! Wait till you see my house Hector, you are going to explode from awesomeness. I tell you, where we're going is legend-wait for it-" Apollo grabbed his sister's and nephew's hand, flashing with them to another location.
The trio appeared inside of a beach house, a very big one at that. There were paintings that looked like they cost a fortune hanging on the wall, with a white marble floor and sculptures all around the place. The swimming pool was fairly big, but it's biggest perk was that it looked right to the ocean, as if it were part of it.
"-dary! Legendary!" Apollo finished his idea
Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother, "let's do what we came here to do and then you can behave like Barney Stinson"
Apollo sighed, "alright, but only 'cause I know that it's important"
Hector looked around the house, fascinated by its beauty and class. "What is this place?" He asked with curiosity
"This is my beach house! Located in an island 18 North and 66ยบ West, the perfect place because we're not technically on the United States, but we still reign over it." Apollo said smiling
Hector raised an eyebrow, "How is that possible?"
"You see, long ago there lived these people called the Tainos. They lived peacefully on this island, until the white spaniards came and killed them all. Well, not all of them, they raped a few women and other fled to the mountains. Anyways, then came the africans to do manual labor as slaves. From 1500's to 1815, the population of africans here began to grow, being the majority. The kingdom of Spain, being afraid that a black revolution would happen just like it did in neighboring Haiti, created the Royal Decree of Graces, which made so any Catholic and white European could come to the island and receive a bunch of benefits. Then-"
"Apollo we didn't come here for a history lesson" Artemis interrupted
"Right. Long story short, there was a war between Spain and United States, United States won and got Cuba, the Philippines, Guam and this island. The people from this island became citizens of the US in 1917 just so they could could fight in WWI and the following wars. Then Philippines got independence, but because of some weird reason, this island did not. After that, in the 50's when the United Nations was doing the de-colonizing thing, this nation was mysteriously taken off the list of colonies a week earlier. And to this day, this place is one of the last colonies in the world, and the largest one, with a population greater than some US states. Oh! That's another thing! The population of this island-"
"Apollo! Focus on the prophecy for gods sake!" Artemis yelled, tired of her brother's randomly showing off his knowledge
"Right! Hector, sit down." Apollo pointed at a couch. The teen walked slowly and sat down on the furniture. The moon goddess followed and sat besides her son while the sun god stood infant of his nephew.
"What's going on? What's this prophecy you're talking about?" Hector asked looking at his mother
Artemis sighed, "Hector, do you know about the Great Prophecy?"
"I know what it is, not what it says. Chiron always told me it wasn't my place to know about it" the teenager replied
"Considering he doesn't know the truth, I suppose he did the best he could" Apollo told
"What truth? Is there something you aren't telling me?" Hector asked scared
"Hector," Artemis put her arm around her son, "the prophecy that Apollo told the Olympians isn't the correct one"
"How is that possible? I thought Apollo couldn't lie"
Apollo raised his hand, "Technically, I didn't lie. I just hid some key words which resulted in the prophecy being taken the wrong way"
"Well, what did you say?"
"The prophecy I told the Olympians was:
A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And see the world in endless sleep
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze" Apollo said dramatically
"That means that Alex is the child of the prophecy" Hector muttered
"Yes, that's what it means." Artemis agreed
"The thing is, like we said, that's not the true prophecy" Apollo added
Hector made eye contact with his uncle, "What's the real prophecy?"
"It's basically the same thing, except for the first verse. It says..."
"A child of the eldest full-blooded god" Artemis finished the sentence, looking with pity at her son
Hector looked right back at his mother, "What does that have to do with me?"
"Hector...Perseus is the eldest full-blooded god"
The boy's jaw dropped as the words of his mother settled on his mind. After all those year he thought that he was just an irrelevant camper, it turns out that he is the child of the prophecy. He was supposed to save Olympus, or maybe even destroy it. With a single choice, his family and friends could die. But the part that shocked him the most was when it said that he could perish.
"I'm going to die?" Was the first thing that came out of Hector's mouth.
Artemis hugged her son with both arms, making him bury his head on her neck. "You're not going to die. You're my son and Perseus', so you're not a mortal"
"But I'm not a god. I bleed red blood, I grow at a normal rate, and am no different from other demigods. I'm a mortal mom" Hector began to cry.
No matter how hard she tried, Artemis eyes also began to tear up. The possibility of losing her son was very high, and as much as she wanted to avoid it, there were only a few days left until the prophecy was fulfilled. She had not spent all the time she could with her son. The total moments they had spent alone as mother and son be counted with the fingers in one hand, and it was something she could not change.
Artemis had noticed how her son lacked the traits of normal gods, but having nobody to ask, she just forgot about it. Was it possible that her son was a mortal? It did not make sense. After all, both of his parents were gods, yet he did not emit the strong aura of a god.
"Don't worry nephew, prophecies often have double meanings" Apollo tried to comfort his nephew without fully trusting his words. Something deep inside of him told him that this might actually be the end of Hector, and for good or for worse, it would also be the end of this version of Artemis.
The trio stayed quiet in the house a little longer, letting the news sink and the emotions settle. After five minutes of hugging his mother, Hector released himself from the hug and sniffled.
"I'm going to save Olympus right? Hector Carib Troy, son of Artemis and Perseus, defeater of Kronos, fugitive and savior of Olympus...it has a nice ring to it" Hector joked trying to lighten up the mood.
"It sure does" Apollo ruffled his nephews hair
"Why couldn't you guys tell the real prophecy to the Olympians?" Hector asked
Artemis wiped her wet eyes, "you saw how badly the Lord of the sky reacted to your existence. Imagine if he knew you could possibly destroy Olympus"
Hector nodded as he understood what his mother had said. His grandfather was very paranoid, and even the slightest possibility of Olympus going to crumble would result in him doing everything in his power to stop it.
"This prophecy will come true on-" Artemis began to say before stiffening. Apollo did the same, as they both looked at each other with worried looks.
"Come true on..."
"Sorry Hector, but we have to go right now" Apollo said
"Huh?! Where will I go then?!"
"You can stay here, there's everything you''ll ever need. Plus, I have a library where you can find out how to defeat your great-grandfather. So study hard, and we'll be back in a couple of days" Apollo said before flashing
Artemis hugged her son one last time, "I love you my son. Stay safe"
The goddess of the moon flashed out of the house, leaving Hector all alone in a strange house.
"So the secret to defeating Kronos lies in his library...eh, I'll check it out later" Hector said as he walked around the house.
The term 'house' was an understatement for this absolute mansion. It was just like a museum, except it had everything else that the museum lacks, including a mini movie theater.
After walking all around the house, Hector decided to take a walk outside and maybe finally guess where the Hades he was. Even after Apollo made a huge thesis about the history of this place, the son of Artemis still had no clue what the island was. Although the Public education system of the United States was bad, at least it was better than not receiving a formal education at all.
To his luck, the keys for Apollo's beach house were hanging on the wall right next to the front door. Taking the keys, Hector opened the door and stepped outside.
The first thing he felt was extreme heat and humidity. His pores seemed to have opened up at 500% their normal capacity as the teen began to sweat tremendously, even in places he did not know a human could sweat through. Feeling a long drop of sweat fall from his head, leaving a trail in his face, Hector entered the house again.
"Okay, I can't go out in a hoodie or I'll die before I can save anyone" the teen muttered to himself. He looked at himself, how his hoodie and long pants weren't suited for this environment. "Maybe there's some clothes on the bedroom closet"
Hector walked to master bedroom, not paying attention to anything except the closet.
"Thank gods I'm the same size as my uncle" the son of Artemis muttered as he saw some short pants and a Hurley T-shirt. He changed his clothes, and once feeling mentally prepared to face the heat of the tropical August, went outside to take a walk.
The longer he walked, the more Hector realized that this wasn't an island made for walking. Besides the extreme heat and humidity, there weren't many good sidewalks. There were no people walking besides him, only cars that passed at fifty miles an hour.
"Who in their right mind would live here?"
"Pssst, hey you!" a voice said from above
Hector looked up and saw a swan flying. "What the Hades?"
"I'm not Hades, I'm not even a guy" the swan said landing besides the teenager.
"What are you?"
"I'm a swan, and mind your manners"
"Sorry, what are you doing here Mrs. Swan?" Hector asked the bird
"Well I live here. But enough chit chat, you need to follow me"
"Why do I need to follow you?"
The swan looked into Hector's eyes, a look weirdly human passing through its face, "Because it's an order from a goddess. Now come on, we don't have much time"
Hector looked around him, trying to see if anyone had noticed the swan talking to him. Not to his surprise, the cars just kept on going, nobody seemed to stop to ask if the kid had any mental problems. Deciding that there was nothing to lose, the young man followed the swan deep into the rain forest.
"Hey, umm, if you don't mind me asking, where are we exactly?" Hector asked as he dodged a tree branch.
"Aren't you supposed to know all the forests?"
"Not really, that would be my mom."
"We are in El Yunque Rainforest, located in Rio Grande" the swan said opening its wings
Hector. furrowed his eyebrows, "We're inTexas?"
"...Let's just walk and the goddess will tell you everything"
"Who are we meeting here?" the teen asked
The swan didn't reply. It just kept walking forward between the branches and wet leaves that had fallen on the ground. Hector noticed that the soil was very slippery, so much so that if he wasn't a son of Artemis, he probably would've fallen and hit his head on one of the numerous rocks.
The boy and the swan walked for around fifteen minutes, going up hills and going down them again. Thankfully, the tall trees covered them from the sun, making the temperature much more cooler than outside the rainforest.
"How much longer?" Hector asked the swan
"We're here" The swan replied.
The son of Perseus stood in front of a waterfall, watching the cold water splash on the numerous rocks. The water calmed him, although not as much as the tides did, but it still held some sort of effect. The sound, the coolness, the peacefulness that the waterfall reflected was enough to make Hector smile albeit his close destiny.
"Hello Son of Artemis" a woman stood besides the teenager. She had very tanned skin, straight brunette hair, and red-ish eyes. The woman held a stern face, a face that would make any demigod want to cry just by looking at it. She wore a red tank top along with a leather short skirt.
"Umm, who are you?" Hector asked cautiously
The woman smirked, "Well, it seems my dear mother did not teach you all of the gods. I am Enyo, goddess of War, Destruction, bloodlust and carnage"
Hector's eyes widened comically as all the blood fell from his face. "I-I'm s-so-sorry for n-not r-recognizing you Lady Enyo"
"Don't worry sweetie, you can make it up to me later on" the goddess winked as she bit her bottom lip.
The son of Perseus blushed a deep red. "Why did you ask me to come all the way here?"
"Well, it wasn't my idea, it was actually Bellona who wanted to talk to you, but she's Roman and you're Greek, so here I am. She wanted to give you something which you will need when you battle against the Titan King."
"How did she know I was the one who would battle the Titan King?" Hector asked
Enyo shrugged her shoulders, "I think it has something to do with the Son of Poseidon not having what it takes to end the devastation that the battle would cause. Or maybe it was a feeling that turned out to be correct."
Hector nodded, feeling uneasy being with such a goddess besides him, "What was it that Bellona wanted to give me?"
Enyo smiled and waved the son of Artemis to get closer to her. Slowly and with caution, Hector stepped closer to the goddess of bloodlust.
Once he was close enough, the goddess put and arm around the teen, making him automatically stiffen, "Relax, I'm not going to do anything with you yet. My Roman counterpart wanted to give you a blade"
Out of nowhere, a one handed three-foot long blade appeared on the ground. Hector looked at the goddess who simply nodded, letting the young man know that he was free to take the blade.
The sword felt very weird on his hand, but at the same time it felt natural. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to having a blade so light, but that same element made the young son of Artemis to grin at the weapon.
"Wow thanks for this blade! What's the reason for a goddess such as yourself to grant me this gift?" Hector asked as he swung the blade through the tree branches, cutting them effortlessly
"It belonged to a pirate named Roberto Cofresi y Ramirez de Arellano. That blade helped him win many battles, but ultimately betrayed its owner in his final one. In other words, this is a very powerful sword, but it is also cursed"
Hector dropped the sword immediately, "Cursed?"
"Yes, but Bellona enchanted it so that it would be of extra help to you. It also turns into a Swatch Watch when you're not using it"
"No but you don't understand. It's cursed, and it's gonna be mine. This sword will kill me" Hector said hurriedly
"I'm the one who's going to kill you if you don't graciously accept this gift!" Enyo told sternly, making the son of Artemis to pick up the sword and bow his head. "Great, now one more piece of advice. Use your skills to your advantage when you're battling the Titan Lord. Remember that you share his power, along with your father. If the Titan Lord were to fade, the balance of the universe would prevail because your father would maintain the domain of time. Think about how to use that"
Hector stared at the goddess, slowly losing the fear he held and instead it being turned into some sort of excitement for the war. He couldn't help but feel anxious, not wanting to wait any longer for the battle. Just imagining it made his heart race, cutting through people, launching arrows at the enemy, destroying the spirit of hundred of deserters...he wanted it all to be now.
"Hold your horses Hector, there's still some days left until the battle. Train with your blade these days and, when your mother and uncle come for you, you will be ready to defeat the traitors."
The son of Artemis smiled from ear to ear, happy about his new blade and the possibility of killing people. "Thank you Lady Enyo"
"Don't call me Lady Enyo. Call me Enyo, and after this is war is over, call me yours" The goddess touched Hector's chin before flashing out, leaving Hector confused about everything that had just happened.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please take the time to review if you think something did not make sense or didn't like a part...I'll read all of your reviews! Thank you so much for reading!
Gracias mil!
-MCD