YEOOOOO I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THIS NIGGA JASON DIED TO SAVE PIPER AND ITS CANON! I just updated chapter eight to include that info.
The real Naomi was sitting in the Big House, wanting to call her aunt and see if she can be picked up from Long Island, New York somehow. She knew why Artemis temporarily kicked her from the hunters, but she didn't understand why she couldn't stay in the goddess' cabin at Camp. Her mistress stopped her on the way to Isaiah's ship and said that this war was too dangerous and she wanted her to stay back because she's one of the newer hunters but hasn't gotten as much attention as someone like Pearl. It's okay though because the prospect of a big war and being trained by a male for the war seemed terrible. It would be far more beneficial to be a mortal for the time being. However, every time she picked up the phone, something within stopped her... as if her body was trying to tell her something that her mind couldn't.
Suddenly, there was a strong presence all around her before she fell through a hole in the floor that wasn't there before. It led to a dirt slide that muddied her clothes and gave her a few bruises on her body. When she finally stopped falling and screaming, Naomi landed on a solid floor. Actually, it was a decorated white floor. She looked around, confused to find herself in a shopping mall suddenly.
After walking around all the closed stores in the mall, she finally found an open one. Naomi peered into it to see half of it covered in unassorted weapons and armor and the other half covered in unlabeled potions and pill bottles. In the middle of them both, sat a woman with shadow-dark hair that tumbles over her shoulders, evil blue eyes, a detached facial expression as if she didn't know or care about what was happening around her, and a burnt silk dress that suggested she had recently gone down in flames.
New hunter or not, Naomi was not naive enough to approach the creepy woman. Before she could walk away, however, the woman spoke.
"I almost made it you know. Just like every other 'evil' sorceress, I almost fucking made it! For the past decade or so it has always been Percy Jackson or Annabeth Chase,, but no, they weren't the reason I failed. Hell, I even got the mighty Jason Grace killed. It just had to be the only girl that naturally looked better than me besides Aphrodite. Piper Mclean. I'm sure you heard of the Heroines of Olympus. She's the pretty one. If she weren't born, the world would be Gaia's right now. If she died fighting Gaia, the world would be Caligula's right now, and this dress wouldn't be burnt onto my skin!"
The woman's voice got more and more aggressive, and though Naomi should have been hidden from view, the lady seemed to be staring directly at her eyes.
"But you, child? You're beautiful just like her! It was difficult to find a girl to match up to you, and even then I had to use my best potions to make it real. I don't think you understand how hard it is to find things when my amazing mall has been reduced to just this store of unwanted items." The woman's voice began to shook, and Naomi started to feel sorry for her.
Wait... did she just say she was looking for a girl to match her?
Naomi rushed to the front door of the shop, only to be trapped in a sudden beam of light. It made her rise into the air but kept her frozen in an uncomfortable position.
"I'm sorry child, but Tartarus needs to know what that assassin will be teaching your sisters. I told him that I gave up on trying to be the evil Medea that everyone hates and wants dead. I won't use magic or charmspeak on anyone ever again! But unlike my grandfather's flames, it is impossible to come back from the black flames that this monster threatened me with. I will try not to harm you if I don't have to, but you must remain here until she dies or finishes her job."
The girl couldn't speak, but tears did fall from her eyes as she realized she was tricked and doomed her mistress. She had the hunter's blessing but not the hunter's will. There was no way that she could get out of this one...
Line Break (Just peeped that I called Isaiah "Abyss" in a few of the early chapters... his name is supposed to be Void)
The girl with golden eyes and a brown dress stood up from Zoë's arms and checked her surrounding with an expertise that only a trained person could know. She seemed to figure out where she was, and she looked at Isaiah before bowing her head to him. It seemed more out of natural respect rather than the worshiping bow that people do for gods.
"I apologize Master Void. I was forced to allow that magic to wash over me. I am now finding myself on your ship. Though I am no longer enlisted, I understand if you'd like to report me to Commander Frost." The girl knew Isaiah and Percy? What's going on here?
"Wait, you were in the army? Under Percy's warriors?" Isaiah pulled up the screen from his arm and started typing and flicking through files.
"I honestly don't care about any of that! Where is my hunter?!" Zoë put her hand on Artemis' shoulder, knowing that the goddess was on the verge of bringing out her bow.
"Hold on. Her name is Belinda Mirabelle, she's from Jt- 3, the daughter of King Cason. She was recruited after her family was overthrown by a new evil king. After regaining order on her planet with Percy's help, she fully enlisted into the Warriors of Chaos. She left for familial purposes five years ago."
"Yes sir, I did leave to support my family. What I didn't tell Commander Frost was that I was pregnant. I didn't want to remain on Chaotica and not have my child know their home planet, so I wanted to raise him there before returning to the army. Unfortunately..." Belinda's voice turned shaky, "my son was taken from me a month ago. I found a note saying to come to this planet if I wanted him back. Tartarus met me the second I entered the system and made me do this."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that your son is fine and we will do anything we can to make sure that he is fine even though you've been caught. Isaiah has a strict policy about saving children, you should know that already. However, we're going to need all the info you have about who put this magic on you and where the real Naomi is to save her and your son."
Artemis listened closely as Belinda explained that a sorceress was brought back to life and forced to place the spells that created the memory and appearance of Artemis' weakest huntress. Everyone in the room instantly knew that it had to be Medea. No one else, not even Circe could create a spell this strong to keep the victim from knowing what's going on around them.
"Isaiah, remember Percy told us that Piper and the two males got stuck in an underground mall belonging to Medea? That's likely where they are because that place is supposed to have been destroyed and Medea was supposed to be permanently killed!"
"Nice one Zoë, now let's go already! I'm guessing that Isaiah can't go because he's the leader, right?"
"I mean, it is risky, but when I agreed to train the hunters, I placed them under my protection! So both of you stay here," while talking, Isaiah grabbed Belinda by the arm, "while she and I get the kid and Naomi back." Before either of the women could react, the two were already gone.
Line Break
Percy had a great time with his family and was more than happy to spend time with his little sister. He promised Estelle that when she became a teenager, he would show her an entirely new world. She giggled as if he was silly, but she will be pleasantly surprised when he actually does it.
Percy wished he never left because now he was stuck with Leo, who was on his fifth story. The hyperactive Latino elf just would not stop talking, and everyone was now just staring at him, amused because the commander was seconds away from killing him. The table sighed in relief when the boy finished... until he opened his mouth to tell another one. Suddenly, water shot up to Leo's face and froze over his mouth so that he couldn't speak.
Everyone started laughing while he glared at Percy who had a smirk on his face. At this point, Leo wasn't even mad that they wanted him to shut up, he was pissed that he couldn't finish his food. He tried to melt the ice, but all he could do was set his hair on fire, causing even more laughter for his peers.
"While he struggles with that, we need to address the schedule that I gave all of you upon entry to the room. While it isn't as bad as what the rest of your peers are going to be dealing with, the time in the training room has been dilated so that we can do more within less time. You have permission to stay up all night and talk, play games, frolic along like pansies but at 09:00, you will have had to already showered, brushed your teeth and eaten breakfast. Precisely at this time, you will be teleported into my training chambers, and we will begin the day of training. From this moment on, the only people you take orders from and listen to are Esmeralda and me. Understood?"
Everyone quietly nodded.
"I said, am I understood?!"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone but Leo stated this strongly, the Latino could only muffle his response due to the icy muzzle on his face. This marked the dismissal from dinner time, and Percy sat back and started typing things into his arm. Esmeralda walked over to him and began discussing something quietly. The specialists didn't really know what to do because there wasn't a tour of the building or instructions on how to work the elevator that had no buttons...
Without looking up from her conversation, Esmeralda snapped her fingers and one by one, each of the specialists disappeared, leaving only purple dust behind. They all found themselves in a private bedroom that naturally adhered to their preferences (Basically the same as the huntresses). The schedule for specialist training with Percy was displayed above their doors, so they knew what to expect for the next day and a tentative schedule that Percy recommended they use but didn't require.
Of course, Kevin, Annabeth, and Hazel collapsed in their bed and slept. Being Warriors of Chaos and exercising the abilities they didn't know they had taken a lot out of them and they desperately needed rest. The other specialists took time to admire their rooms, play games, watch television, or bathe in the first personal shower they've had in a while. Derrick, Will, and Amy decided to adhere to the tentative schedule provided and slept by 23:00.
Leo couldn't sleep after the excitement of the day. His idol returned stronger than ever and wanted to train him to be just as strong personally. Leo got to meet a beautiful alien and felt like he put the works on her well. He was able to avoid Annabeth as he's been doing since Percy's death. And to top it all off, he is first on tomorrow's list for specialist training with the big man himself! Leo's mind was moving a million thoughts per second, and he couldn't keep up with it, so he kept his hands busy by dismantling the consoles provided by the room and recreating them to be a joint cross-platform console that also gave him all games for free.
Calypso came to mind several times, and he didn't know if he had permission to contact her while in the Chaotic building. He may play around and flirt with every girl he runs into but his heart ultimately belongs to her and Leo wants nothing more than to make her happy. She keeps him sane, good-hearted, and positive all at the same time by simply being in the same room as him.
However, due to her lacking presence, Leo's mind couldn't move fast enough to keep his mind as upbeat as he portrayed himself. He started thinking about Percy and how the man had changed so much. Letting campers die, speaking to them with a stoic face, and not allowing any of the ice that grown around over the years to melt. Sure Hazel and Annabeth left the training room with smiles on their faces, but Percy didn't, his face never changed! And to contrast the happiness of those two girls, Kevin came out looking determined but also weak-willed, as if he felt he wasn't good enough. These thoughts drastically weakened Leo's morale and energy for tomorrow morning. Wait a minute... is it really 02:00? He's been thinking and tinkering for hours without realizing as if he had once again arrived at Camp for the first time. And worse, Leo knew he definitely wouldn't be able to sleep because now he was nervous!
He put down his new contraption and flopped on his bed face first. A poof sound projected through the room and a sweet red wine smell permeated the room. Leo flipped over to look and saw Esmeralda looking down at him concerned... as if he was the one with a tail for legs and was floating in the air.
Line Break (Get it, cause her mom is a genie... teehee)
"Sir, I was a warrior, not an assassin. You're asking me to focus my powers on one person and still keep the structure standing. My ability to control the natural vibrations of everything around me has been used to destroy buildings and send waves of enemies flying. There is no way I can use it on the sorceress without destroying everything."
"The best part about hostage rescue is being willing to do anything for the person you want to rescue. You may surprise yourself! Now, it's definitely unorthodox, but here's the plan..."
Line Break
Belinda knew that her every move would be identified and tracked the moment she stepped into the underground mall. She didn't know that she was also being watched. The former warrior made her way to the only open store and saw a girl in glowing restraints floating in the air, then used her warrior's sense to locate the enemy. With the Chaotic Warrior's Blessing comes this ability to freeze everything around you and sense out disturbing presences in the area and mentally mark them as enemies. She could not find any. The sorceress is either with Tartarus getting new orders or is completing a job herself. They didn't anticipate that the girl would get found out that fast!
Belinda visually located the restraints and saw that it was magic holding the girl in mid-air. She used her powers to disturb the magic long enough to release the girl. Naomi scrambled backward from the shop and jumped up, ready to sprint away. She stopped short at seeing the person who freed her.
Before the huntress could say anything, the assassin whose supposed to train the hunters came out of a portal with a sleeping young boy in his arms. The lady that freed her ran to the boy immediately and picked him up, hugging him as if she hasn't seen him a long time. Void smiled and turned to make a new portal... but for some reason, it didn't work. His smile disappeared, and he tried again, but it didn't work. The assassin looked around before conjuring a sword.
Belinda looked at Isaiah, fearful of his reaction, but slowly backed away from him with her son in hand. He didn't know that while they had a plan between each other, Tartarus also had a failsafe plan with the former warrior and she had to go with that for her son's safety.
"Okay, I brought him here! Let my son, the girl, and I leave without any harm done to us!" Belinda whispered this but knew that everyone could still hear her.
"Thank you, Belinda! It's always beautiful to see what a mother will do for her child. While Perseus would have been better, this is the next best thing. I am a man of my word, so I won't harm any of you unless you cross my path again." A dark red portal opened under Naomi and Belinda's feet, causing them to fall through and out into a public park.
The mother looked at her son, grateful that he was okay and sleeping still. She then looked up into the sky, smiled and nodded. Naomi was confused about the recent events but knew that she and this random lady just ruined the war. Now it was all up to Percy, and though his legend is impressive, the huntress couldn't help but be nervous about their chances.
A beam from a large cloud suddenly shot out and surrounded the trio, transporting them from their current location. Naomi found herself on a ship rather than a cloud, with the mother and son, Lady Artemis, and Zoë. She primed an apology and was ready to expose what the mother did to Void but was cut off by her mistress.
"Oh thank Zeus you're okay!" Artemis hugged Naomi, fairly uncharacteristic for her introverted nature. Of course, the girl didn't know about her mistress before Orion killed most of the hunters. She slowly hugged the goddess back and smiled at the sudden sign of affection.
"Wait a minute," Artemis pulled back and angrily turned to the lady and her son, "you sold out one of the most important people in our war effort! Go back and save him!"
Zoë put her hand on the moon goddess' shoulder, instantly placating her. Naomi never saw anyone have such an immediate effect on her mistress before.
"Hold on, everything will work itself out. Let's resume watching before we miss anything." Void's right-hand woman gestured to a screen in the room that Naomi didn't notice before and saw the master assassin surrounded by three beings she never saw prior.
Line Break
Leo was visibly uncomfortable. The only time he had a one on one with this Captain of the Chaotic Army, he unabashedly flirted with her. Not only that but when she responded in the same way, he couldn't keep up. Leo still loves Calypso, but he had to admit that this alien-genie-magic girl was the first to make him have second thoughts.
Then she appears in his room, half-human, half-genie. Leo's mind immediately associated the floaty bottom half as Esmeralda not wearing anything from the waist down. This did not help his case at all... Luckily, he won every camp drama contest since he arrived, so he knew how to mask his anxiety and discomfort.
"Look who couldn't stay away. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that a certain all-powerful captain of the all-powerful Warriors of Chaos was developing a thing for a certain all-awesome Bad Boy Supreme!" Leo put a teasing smirk on his face and wiggled his eyebrows at the genie-woman.
However, Esmeralda never stopped giving him that concerned look. In fact, she looked even more troubled at him trying to hide it.
"While you look insanely cute with that face, why don't you drop it and come sit next to the Slayer of Gaea... or float? Whichever keeps your beautiful self comfortable." Leo tried again with his annoying signature smirk but was panicking inside because this girl wasn't falling for it.
Esmeralda learned from Percy that Leo was insanely powerful and couldn't wait to train him the next day but his locked up emotions would hold him back. As everyone could guess, the guy codenamed Frost wasn't that good with people's feelings. While he didn't order her to do it, he implied that he wanted Esmeralda to work her magic.
She just didn't expect to see how well Leo locked his emotions. The boy did it so plainly that people who are trained to see if a person his hiding something won't see it. He flirts, jokes, and exaggerates his way through every conversation or situation he doesn't want to be in. The captain conjured her legs back under herself, to her discomfort and Leo's surprise and walked forward until she was right in front of the son of Hephaestus.
Leo never noticed Esmeralda's age on her face until now. The girl was a little shorter than him, and either had a friendly or stern look on her face, but now it was motherly concern. She grabbed his hands softly and crouched to his head height.
Don't tell anybody unless you wanna be set on fire but... seconds later he was balling like a baby in her arms.
Line Break
Leo had just spent the last hour explaining things he had never told anyone before, not even Calypso but couldn't stop. He didn't realize that he had a genuine dam holding everything within. The Hero of Olympus spilled a lot during this time. The way he went from fearing Percy, to hating Percy, to being jealous of Percy, to being friends with Percy, to admiring and idolizing Percy. The way he went from fearing Annabeth, to respecting Annabeth, to feeling guilty for getting her tossed in Tartarus, to being happy for Annabeth, to hating Annabeth. The pain he felt in realizing that Piper and Hazel were the only constants in his life and they had their own lives to live without him in it.
A lot came out during this time while Esmeralda absorbed and memorized every word he said to her, understanding why it would be ten times easier to keep it in and not confront these demons. They have been developing for a while, and he simply could not deal with it all. After Leo had nothing left to say, he looked up expecting to see the genie-girl laughing, sleeping or being apathetic. Instead, he saw her internalizing his words while maintaining eye contact with him. Let's reiterate that Leo is with Calypso and Calypso only! Right? Right?!
"It's clear why you keep this bottled up, but at the same time, you need to work each of these kinks out while you can. If you were to die right now, the only solace you'd have was that you don't have to suffer these thoughts anymore. That's no happy ending. A few thousand years ago, I was in the same predicament as you with my family and fellow soldiers. Believe it or not, there was a time where I tried to kill Percy in his sleep! Everyone has their personal demons but need actually to deal with them. If you don't, you'll end up standing over your captain with a sword over his throat."
"We're gonna have to talk about that at some point you know..."
"Yes we will, but first we need to tackle your demons."
"I don't think I-"
"It's okay because we'll do it together, okay? Night by night, I'll visit you, and we will tackle one topic at a time." She grabbed his hands again and looked into his brown eyes. "Okay?"
Leo knew that any sane boyfriend would say no so he wouldn't get in trouble. Leo knew that any person hurting on the inside would say yes. Leo knew that no other offer could match up to this one and that this was his best chance to get healed. He looked back into her glowing purple eyes.
"Okay."
Line Break
"Thirty seconds into the war and you're already in a very compromising position. I wonder, are you the best assassin because you're good? Or is it that you've never gone up against tough adversaries? You can't be too smart if you came here rather than send the pesky goddess. Even the second in command would have been better."
"Well... I mean... I am smart enough to know that you're not a talker so this is a chance to distract me with disrespect. What you don't know is that I know real disrespect. All this crap you're talking, not good enough to hurt meeeeeee!" With the last word, Isaiah jumped up while doing a 360 spin. During that move, a void black blade shot from his arm and entered the forehead of one out of four shadows moving towards him. The others stopped abruptly and revealed themselves.
It's so funny to see some of the toughest enemies Percy had were now cannon fodder for Tartarus. Isaiah had Hyperion, Ephialtes, and Otis wary of engaging him, probably because of the dead Cacus hanging from the wall by a blade in his head. He couldn't wait to tell his brother about this one!
"Subdue him as best as you can. Have fun assassin," the primordial's voice dissipated from the room and along with the dark energy it brought.
The only explanation for Tartarus sending these weaklings after him is that he is sending a better player out soon. These three are to waste time! Isaiah sprung into action, crouching and using his cloak power to be invisible as long as he doesn't go above the height of 4 feet. The titan and twin giants looked around frantically trying to find him. They knew that they were meant to waste time, but who really wants to die?
Otis saw an empty vial to his left move slightly and conjured his spear immediately before throwing it. However, it didn't hit anything. What it did do was make Otis turn his head to reveal an angle in his helmet for his ears to the opposing side of the room. The resounding sound of a bullet firing was all Ephialtes heard before his brother's head shot off its body. Isaiah knew that the twins had great regeneration when the other was alive so while the living giant stared in horror, Isaiah rushed forward with a halberd in hand. The short weapon easily sliced open the giants neck and he fell onto his back, grasping for his throat and choking on his blood.
Now if you see two beings that are way stronger than you die so quickly, you have to question who you're working for. Hyperion blindly followed Kronos once and got killed by Zeus. Followed him a second time and got killed by a bunch of little goats. Followed Gaea and had his reformation process impeded by his own brother! Excuse this titan for throwing down his spear and renouncing his allegiance to Tartarus.
If only Isaiah were the type to take prisoners. The assassin quickly sliced the man's throat and smiled victoriously because only a minute had passed. He stepped back to prime himself for the next battle when the room started to glow golden. The gold flowed from every corner towards the corpse of Hyperion and swirled around him in a counter-clockwise motion. Soon after, his throat wound closed, and he was back on his knees with his head down and spear to his side.
"How dare you give up so easily brother? Rise so we can destroy this filth. We know you never fight one on one assassin! You rely on your brother for that, don't you! Perseus couldn't even defeat me without the weak host I had fighting back during my transformation. Zeus needed his siblings to defeat me. My father, a primordial, died by my hand! When revived by Tartarus, my titans and I put the giants in submission almost immediately through wit. You canno-"
During his little speech, Lady Chaos spoke to Isaiah about the usefulness of capturing people rather than killing them and using this opportunity to knock Hyperion into the portal she was going to conjure behind the titan. It's not often nowadays that the creator has time to focus solely on one spot in her chaotic universe, but she always has one eye on her favorite assassin!
Isaiah rushed towards Hyperion and kicked him back right on cue to fall into the portal. The assassin then quickly ran behind Kronos, ready to impale his back with one of his Void swords. However, he underestimated the power over time that this titan had. Kronos was cut off when he witnessed his brother disappear but immediately slowed down time to prevent anything else from happening. He had time to spin around and see Isaiah about to strike him. Kronos laughed as he looked at the Master Assassin move in slow-motion. What's the point of being one of the strongest men in the universe if you can't prevent death at the hands of a simple titan?
"Well isn't this perfect. I wanted to see if you feel the same effect from my scythe as everyone else, to see if the merciless disciple of Chaos has a soul." He slowly slid his blade across Isaiah's hand, that was still in a striking motion, and was impressed to see the skin unharmed.
"Ah, your skin isn't susceptible to the light touch of my legendary weapon. Let's see how you fare against a true strike!" Kronos raised his scythe above his head, ready to slice the assassin with all his might.
Meanwhile, Isaiah was annoyed. He could overpower this Titan but needed to hide all of his actual abilities from Tartarus, who no doubt is watching this exchange. The primordial likely knew that Kronos caught him by surprise and that the titan would be dead otherwise. If Isaiah broke free, Tartarus would quickly pull Kronos out, preventing the loss of a powerful deity he has.
The smartest move would be to gather his strength to power past this time spell and hit when the idiot makes himself open for an attack-
Just as that crossed Isaiah's mind, Kronos raised his blade. The Master Assassin of Chaos pushed past the time spell and struck Kronos in the chest with his Void Blade.
"May your soul be banished to the depths of the Void!" With that utterance, the Titan of Time was sucked into the blade, causing it to pulse several times before resuming it's pitch black color. The mall shook with Tartarus' anger, and Isaiah knew it was time to get out. While his ability to create portals was inhibited, he could still flash out like any other god, it just took way more energy. The assassin flashed out to the city above, Chicago. There he was able to conjure a portal and leap through, coming out into Lady Chaos' chambers.
Line Break
"What do you mean he improvised!? First, he meant to get betrayed by Belinda, then he simply made it work afterward?" Artemis could definitely see the similarities between this assassin and Percy, they're both reckless.
"Master Void told me to act as if I used him to get my son, then let him get captured. He intended to see if Tartarus would be able to hold him back in any way or send a high powered enemy that could be taken out right now. It's a common strategy for assassins to use, but Master Void believes that this is the best time to go for the simplest techniques."
"And it worked Artemis! Isaiah may have had to improvise, but we captured Hyperion, killed two titans and giants, and killed Kronos. Percy is powerful, but Kronos would have brought back dark memories from the past and impeded him from doing well during that battle." Zoë didn't understand why her former mistress was acting as if she didn't rush and take matters into her own hands before. The goddess is able to help on quests and inadvertently interfere with mortal matters because of her domains. This incited multiple instances where Artemis did whatever she wanted without being told to or carefully planning it out.
The moon goddess couldn't find a suitable reason for why she could be upset but didn't want to admit the real reason. The truth was, Isaiah just risked his safety for one of her huntresses. He didn't even think about it, just sprung into action to save Naomi as soon as possible. While it's true that the assassin wasn't truly in danger, if Tartarus would have shown up there himself with a considerable force, the war would fall to Percy because of her! Zoë can see through her anyway, so Artemis let the conversation drop, not wanting her former lieutenant to get the satisfaction of knowing she was right.
Naomi's head was swimming with everything that just happened. It had to have been two or three AM and she couldn't mentally function. Zoë noticed this and realized that the girl never ate Chaotic food before, she probably hasn't eaten in hours actually.
"Belinda, a temporary room will hold you until Percy can come to get you and dismiss you based on his terms. Please follow Artemis to the main bedroom hall and take any room that doesn't have a name on the door." She gave a look to Artemis to get it done before grabbing Naomi by the arm and disappearing in the same lunar ball everyone saw her first arrive in.
The goddess couldn't tell how to feel about that. The girl that she found and brought into her hunters has grown past her and is now giving Artemis orders. This also meant that Zoë trusted her more than a former Chaotic warrior and clearly gave her more authority on this ship than the woman. Regardless, she led Belinda and her son to the hallway that held all of the bedrooms. However, as she bid the two good night, Artemis got a better look at the child. He had dark black hair, same skin complexion as his mother, but most importantly, his eyes were a beautiful bright green. Belinda has brown hair and golden eyes. She also said that she got pregnant while in the army. Worse of all, the only time Artemis ever saw a green that innocent and full of mirth was when she first Percy.
Line Break
"I hope you had a grand time with Thalia, do you know what Isaiah and I have been going through for the past few hours!?"
"Isaiah was spending time with Percy after I went to lengths to persuade him to do so. You had a chance to catch up with Artemis. Why shouldn't I be able to make a new friend to play games and exchange stories with?"
"Isaiah was reckless and could've gotten captured if Tartarus really wanted him instead of Percy."
"I was talking to Isaiah while he was making his plans with Belinda. I also just spoke to him when he went to meet with Chaos. Trust me I can keep track of what's going on with Isaiah because I care about him. I'll see you in the morning Zoë." Bianca walked to her room before the daughter of Atlas could respond. Zoë was understandably miffed at that response. It basically said that she doesn't care about Isaiah, meaning Bianca still hasn't gotten over Zoë breaking up with Isaiah for Percy.
The two were close enough to be best friends, but that was prevented by Bianca being in love with Isaiah and Zoë having the chance to get with him. And ultimately squandering that chance. The daughter of Atlas can't help it though, something about Percy just makes her smile and drift in his direction whenever they are in the same room. She has tried several times to speak with him about what happened on Td - 02, but Percy is codenamed Frost for a reason. If he freezes you out, it's gonna take some work to get past that.
Zoë walked to her room, annoyed with Bianca for holding a grudge but understood that she messed up and hasn't exactly atoned for her mistakes. Luckily for her, Isaiah came to the ship right before the mini-fight and witnessed the whole thing. He knew just what to do after he finished training the girls the next day.
Line Break
Leo didn't remember going to sleep. In fact, he remembered not being able to sleep, especially after Esmeralda made him confess all his issues to her. Wait. He wasn't alone in his bed, and the last person he remembers seeing was the genie girl. Leo shot up out of his bed, hair on fire and flailing about because the covers came with him. He stumbled into several items in the room before falling with the sheets covering him and somehow putting out his hair.
Great, not only did he sleep with another woman, he just embarrassed himself in front of her. Wait. He recognized that fragrance, the calming smell of beautiful flowers that grow in the night. Calypso was the one in his bed! Right on cue, the sheets were pulled off of his head, and he saw the gorgeous face of his girlfriend. At first, she was concerned but saw that he was okay and giving her that cute lost expression he has whenever he sees her. That quickly changed into a goofy smile and Calypso couldn't help but kiss her stupid boyfriend.
"What are you doing here? I didn't think that Percy would let anyone else in here."
"It wasn't Percy that let me in. It was Esmeralda, the purple-eyed girl. She explained the war and that you got recruited as a specialist for the war. They are tracking your vitals somehow, and she knew that you were awake, so she brought me here to help you sleep. According to Percy, I'm likely the only person who could help you actually get some rest." She gave him a light peck on the cheek before attempting to get up. Calypso yelped when she was pulled back onto the floor in her boyfriend's lap.
"Well, of course, I can't sleep without you. There's something about your natural smell that soothes me. You interpret my cuddling as something romantic, but it's more like a body pillow. Thank you my sweet inanimate object!" Calypso elbowed him and pushed him away after that.
"Now that you mention it when I came in and laid next to you, you immediately curled around me, breathed in near my neck, and fell into a night of better sleep. I don't appreciate being used you know. I'm gonna tell Festus he's not the only one you see as another tool and we can start dating instead-" Leo pulled her in for another kiss and her current thought melted from her mind soon after.
There was a knock on the door. "Hey, Leo! I think this would be a good time to eat breakfast if you want to come with us." It was Hazel's voice, the girl that had a past with Leo's past. Calypso never felt too comfortable around her because of her cursed jewels and her connection to the love of her life, but Leo saw a sister the girl so those uneasy feelings would have to be suppressed.
"Don't you need to shower first?"
"We are in a building with several powerful beings! I'm sure if I ask nicely, they can clean me with the snap of their fingers. Come on, the food is great here!" Calypso pulled back from him sadly.
"I can't leave this room. I'm not Chaotic material, so I won't be able to interact with most of the things in this room. I'm only gonna be coming here at night to be with you."
"That sucks but at least we get that. I doubt Will gets to have Nico in his room, and Nico used to be close with Percy!"
"Yeah, but I wish I could-"
"Wait! Wish! I wish I were clean for the day!" Leo shouted at the ceiling of his room for some reason. Suddenly he was covered in a purple dust cloud. When that dissipated, his skin not only was clean but also lost its grimy natural color that all children of Hephaestus had from tinkering with machines all day. Calypso's squinted at Leo after it happened. That purple-eyed girl appeared before her in the same purple cloud that just enveloped her boyfriend... how did she hear him ask for that? Before she could question Leo, he jumped up and looked around for clothes.
There was another knock on the door, rushing the guy to get ready for breakfast. He amusingly ran past his dresser several times, unable to find it for some reason. At least Calypso knew this part about her boyfriend. She was about to tell him that he was an idiot, but he then looked up and wished that he was dressed to go. Another purple cloud enveloped him, and he was wearing black skinny jeans, a white button-up shirt, and a black foamposites. The shirt had the top two buttons undone, and the sleeves rolled up. The jeans had shallow rips in them for design, and the sneakers completed the outfit and Leo looked more attractive than he ever has. Skin clean, new outfit, disheveled curly hair, and his natural smile? Calypso didn't know if she wanted to jump his bones or be jealous that some random alien was doing all this for her man.
Leo interrupted her thoughts again with a quick kiss and a hug. "I'll see you tonight beautiful. Have a great day!" He ran out the room straight into Will, who was about to knock on the door angrily. Leo found Hazel, Annabeth, Derrick and the guy he just knocked over looking at him in awe. He was confused until he realized the outfit that Esmeralda gave him was hot!
"Didn't know I had style? Come on guys, I'm hungry, and when that happens, everything in a close radius to me gets set on fire." Leo helped a still miffed Will get off the floor and giddily walked to breakfast.
Line Break
Isaiah and Zoë appeared in Percy's command center soon after morning came to inform of Belinda's plight and temporary betrayal. They noticed that the commander was dozing off at his desk, but his hands were still typing away. Isaiah also does the same but seeing it from a third person perspective, he wasn't too happy to see his brother overworking himself.
"Yo! Wake yo ass up bro! Why you ain't get some sleep?"
Percy jerked himself up and finished the mission report he was working on. He spun around in his chair to see his brother and... Zoë. Percy still didn't know what to make of the girl kissing him all those years ago, but as he did with everything, he compartmentalized it and pushed it away.
"I had things to do that prevented it. Now, what is this about a rogue warrior?"
Isaiah gestured for Zoë to speak. She was still nervous about talking to him as if she was a prepubescent teen in love. She shook it off and told Percy everything that took place the day prior.
"We have her in a room on our ship. We wanted to know if we should send her back to her planet, or bring her to you."
"Well, as long as she didn't purposefully do anything terrible, I don't see why Belinda can't just go back to her home planet."
"There is another thing... I remember Lady Chaos teasing you about a warrior in your unit being in love with you. There is a strong resemblance between you and her son."
Percy blinked several times before jumping up and teleporting to Belinda's room. Isaiah told Zoë to stay there and wait while he went to help address the situation. He went back to his ship and found Percy frozen, staring at the sleeping child.
"She did it, she really did!"
"Did what?"
"We stuck on Cj - 08, and to get the clearance to access my ship, I needed sign in myself, and also be there to help her fight off anyone who tried to stop us. The best solution was to split into a duplicate."
"But we just mastered that ability a few years ago..."
"Exactly, but I had to try it so we could get off the planet. I did it, but the duplicate was really weak. I used that to access my ship while I fought off enemy forces. Once the ship was ready for liftoff, we rushed back in and made it away safely. She asked why I didn't merge back together, but I didn't want to admit that I didn't know how to. I told her that it doesn't limit my power to have him out so it would be helpful to have him around. The duplicate was basically my demigod equivalent of me, so when we got back to Chaotica, Chaos told me to wait till I know how to merge back together. Belinda said that she could keep an eye on him if he weren't as strong as me."
"And she must have been harboring some sort of attraction to you and decided to let it out on your duplicate!"
"That's what I fear."
Belinda stirred and awoke to see her former commander looking at her with a mix of anger and disappointment. He knows...
Line Break
Zoë looked around Percy's room, not surprised to see it doesn't have much design. The man was mostly professional without a fault. She did notice that there were photo frames on his desk, some with a picture but others without. The ones that did have a picture were really nice. One was of him and his mother when he couldn't have been more than 12. The next was of Percy and a cyclops for some reason, but he looked happy so they must've been good friends. After that was Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth but it was severely faded, almost blank. Next three frames were completely empty, and the third looked cracked in fact.
The last two made her smile. It was of Percy, Isaiah, and Chaos having what looked like a family dinner soon after the legendary demigod was resurrected. The last one was the Commander and his lieutenants, with Percy and Luke in the middle, Esmeralda and Acura on their outskirts, Charles and Silena on the outside. Percy had just formed this group and was ready to change the universe.
Zoë backed up and picked up the picture of Percy and his mom. She couldn't help but wonder how amazing this woman could be to create and raise someone as perfect as Percy.
"That was my last innocent memory I think. Soon after, I had to go back to school where I was attacked by Alecto for the first time." Percy had come back to the room without Isaiah. Zoë thought about leaving so she wouldn't bother the commander with her presence but also knew she couldn't pass up an opportunity to finally talk to him.
"I think we both know what my last innocent memory was. Before one stupid male shattered my world."
"Ah, all things considered, I don't either of us could imagine a life where none of that happened, and we were 'normal.'"
"That word sounds weird to say, doesn't it? And after everything that happened here, we surpassed the limits of this planet and have been around the universe and back. Not exactly what I dreamt about while growing up but it happened."
"Yeah... a lot has happened since we left Earth." Percy gave Zoë a pointed look before turning to leave the room. She grabbed his arm to stop him from going.
"I was hoping we could address that at some point actually."
"I have specialists to train, maybe it could happen another time." As an assassin, Zoë uses this power more often than others who also have the ability so she knew she could hold it for a while. Her eyes glowed gold as she stopped time.
"Why not just knock it out of the way right now?"
"*Sigh* We both know what happened and its effect on my brother. I don't know what made you act that way, but I don't when things like this hurt those close to me. The easiest solution is to limit one on one contact with each other. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go-"
"What was the last thing I saw when I died? The face of the first man to ever make me question my beliefs about males. What was the first thing I did when I got to Ouranos' realm? Make sure that you were alive and well. What was the first thing you did when you saw me again? Ran up and hugged me, then let go because you remembered that I hated men. Those are just a few of the little things that you have inadvertently done to make me do what I did that day. Isaiah is a great person with a humorous personality, a positive view on most things and a great ability to put a smile on anyone's face. But you changed my life, made me a better person, a happier person. You put a smile on my face just by being near me. When you're upset, I'm a mess. When you're happy, I'm happy. And because you're angry with me, I hate myself! I don't know why you have such an effect on me and my life, but I learned not to question it and just happily allow myself to feel it. If this is what love feels like, then maybe I do love you. If it's not that, then its the level under that. I care deeply for you, and it hurts to know that you don't feel the same, but even worse to know that your mood sours and becomes sternly professional when I enter the room. I hate myself for crying right now because this is nothing like me but my heart is taking over right now, and I just wanted you to know this before I lost the courage to say it." Zoë let time resume before quickly teleporting out of Percy's room before he could react. The last thing he saw from her was a tear falling from where she was, that being the one thing left behind. He watched as it fell, almost as if it was in slow motion.
Percy couldn't help but think to how he felt when Artemis stomped on his heart for pride and felt terrible that Zoë was dealing with that feeling whenever he was around. Then he remembered that Isaiah was strangely okay with what Zoë did to him. It occurred to Percy that his brother purposefully brought her with him and left her here during the Belinda situation. Isaiah must know of her feelings and is trying to help her get to Percy!
It's not that Zoë isn't good-looking, she's fucking gorgeous actually. Beautiful face, curvy body, and assets that aren't too ample for her slim body-type? The girl was perfect! But Percy hasn't committed to any relationship since he died. Whenever he's questioned about it, the commander will just say that there's too much going on for him to focus on romance. The truth is, Percy is scared to get hurt again. Rachel had to swear off love, he abandoned Calypso, Annabeth didn't trust him, and Artemis didn't care enough to put him over her pride. Nothing romantic has worked out for Percy when he's ready to put his all into the relationship. Is he ready to risk his heart again or is it better to keep it frozen?
The commander heard his favorite captain in his head, asking him if he was ready to train the specialists. Percy realized that there were seconds until 09:00. He straightened up, compartmentalized all his thoughts and feelings, then proceeded to teleport to the training rooms.
It's been a while huh. College sucks, that's all I gotta say. Percy and Zoë are gonna pair up before he even speaks to Artemis for the first time. Percy's romances are gonna lock in before Isaiah's and are gonna have more focus than the assassin's. I wanted to add some sexy fucky fun time to this one but it didn't really fit here. I promise it'll be in the next one, featuring Isaiah and one of his romances. Any conversation that seemed skipped over or ignored will be addressed as a flashback when the time is right. Have fun kids!