Chapter 13: Ambush
3RD PERSON POV
Percy decided to head out for the West Coast at first light. Since it was before breakfast, he fire traveled to Seattle to stop and have breakfast at his and Estelle's apartment. After a quick bite to eat and a shower, he proceeded to swing by to see an old mentor.
THEO POV
I decided to mess with Lupa since I haven't seen her in several years, so I changed my appearance to 'Theo'. I fire traveled a mile from Wolf House and began to leisurely stroll toward it. I knew the pack smelt me out as soon as I appeared in the area, but I didn't let it stop me. I finally arrived at Wolf House and Lupa strode out in her wolf form.
"A wolf?" I said aloud without the usual sarcasm in my voice. Lupa stalked closer to me and growled and I pretended to be frozen in fear. After a minute-long standoff, she charged me and tackled me to the ground. With a grunt, I was sprawled onto my back with Lupa on my chest, fangs bared. Then the laughter started. I couldn't help it.
"Good to see you too, Lupa," I said and she backed off in confusion. "Who are you?" she asked still on guard as the pack came into the clearing to observe. I chuckled and said, "Don't be like that! I'm just an old pup who wanted to pay a visit." I rose from the ground and dusted myself off and changed my appearance back to normal. The pack howled in joy to see me again and Lupa shifted to her human form.
"Perseus?" she asked. I nodded and she smiled and brought me back into Wolf House. We spent a little time catching her up with my travels and changes. "You should've stayed with the Romans, pup. They always respected you as their praetor," she told me. I sighed heavily and replied, "I needed a break is all, but I'm back now. Unfortunately, it's not good news."
"Tartarus," Lupa spat and I nodded. I told her about my dream and how I was going to scout out and see if I could find their encampment and confirm that Kampe and Perses were amongst them. I also told her that Diana and the Hunt should be coming in a couple days as well, though I'm not sure exactly where they will be. "Confirm your suspicions, pup. Send me an IM of what you find and the pack will do what we can," she said and I bid her farewell.
3RD PERSON POV
Theo fire traveled to the tunnel outside of Camp Jupiter and climbed a tree to push his senses in hopes of finding Tartarus' forces. 'There's nobody here,' he thought which made him uneasy. 'A force big enough to take the camp would attract a lot of attention. Was it a ploy? No, Tartarus is the type of immortal to show me the cards and dare me to stop him. He wants me hopeless, but he is likely clever.'
Theo flashed to surrounding areas to try and sense them, thinking that they may still be on the move. He found no traces of the forces in the 10 mile area around the camp. 'Where the fuck are they?,' he grumbled internally. With no luck in finding them but surveying likely areas to house what he presumed to be a large force, Theo set up his camp for the evening. It was close enough to Camp Jupiter should anything happen, but far enough to remain right out of their detection.
He quickly messaged Lupa and informed her that he would stay in the area for five days and notify her of any changes. She promised to do the same. After some quick training and dinner, Theo relaxed perched in a tree to ensure his safety before going to sleep.
The next day brought similar results. He IMed Artemis in the morning and informed her that he had yet to find anything and gave her the location of his makeshift camp. She agreed and told him that they would reside in Camp Jupiter upon their arrival. She had decided that she would flash the Hunt part of the way there, then travel during the day and should be in the area in two days' time.
Much like when he was carrying out missions for his mother and aunt, Theo spent his days surveying, hunting, and training. It felt nice to the demigod and reminded him of all the good he had done on his own before his life got complicated again. He told Estelle and the girls to be safe and he would see them in a couple days.
Just as he was going to retire for the second night, he collapsed to the ground with a splitting headache. Clutching the sides of his head and groaning in pain, images flashed into his mind. The Hunt was in trouble. He sprang to his feet, chomped down a chunk of ambrosia, and fire traveled to them. He did not like what he found.
ARTEMIS POV
After Percy had IMed me this morning, the Hunt and I ate a quick breakfast and departed from Camp Half-Blood. It was concerning that Percy had not found anything of the forces he had seen in his dream. I quickly pushed that aside and gathered the girls to flash most of the journey. We appeared in Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri and set out northwest to Nebraska.
The entire day was spent on the move with nothing of interest, so nightfall came and camp was immediately set up in Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Our normal camp duties were all carried out to the T, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.
'If Percy were here, I'd feel a lot better,' I thought and stiffened slightly at the thought. I had realized though, that I had become comforted by his presence. No means dependent, that would be a ludicrous idea. 'Me? Dependent on a male?,' I thought bitterly, but couldn't help the smile make its way to my face. 'Definitely not dependent, but I can certainly depend on him IF I need to.'
And then everything went to shit.
A horn blared out. The camp was under attack. I sprinted toward the sound of fighting with my bow and hand and the sight chilled me to the bone. An ambush had been set using the various bodies of water around the refuge. I didn't have time to think about whether or not they knew we were without our Guardian, but we were at a clear disadvantage because of it.
I loosed arrow after arrow as I pressed forward toward the brunt of the assault, turning numerous hellhounds to dust with each arrow. Regardless of how many my hunters and I slayed, more took their place and we were being quickly overrun. The force they prepared was quick and built for speed and stealth. 'A countermeasure to Percy, but they can't be acting independently,' I mused as I fired through a hellhound's skull without turning around.
The battle raged for what felt like hours and a dozen or more hunters were unconscious, being pulled back toward the younger hunters to get them out of the fray. I had switched to my knives and continued the defense, when I peeked to see Lora and Kiani standing protectively in front of Rebecca, Estelle, Jessica, Leah, and the unconscious hunters.
Lora and Kiani were cutting down anything that got too close to the group or turning them on their allies with Kiani's charmspeak. The remaining four used Jessica's vines or were firing arrows repeatedly to pick them off before they got to the prior two. I felt a sense of pride rise within me at the sight of my girls, 'No, those are definitely his girls', coordinated defense and protection of their older sisters.
Unfortunately for me, that peek and sense of pride would be my downfall. I was batted to the side and slammed into a tree. I picked my head out of the mud and watched the hunters continue to be pushed back. Terror. Unrelenting terror rose up with every fiber of my immortal existence. And it only increased. I was pulled up forcefully by my hair and whipped around to face the one man I had hoped to never see again.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen, my little huntress," the giant spoke and terror was soon replaced by rage. "Orion," I spat. Dribbles of spit actually hitting his decrepit face. "Now, now. That isn't how you treat an old friend, Artermis," he said with all of the loathing in his being. Before I could retort, I was slung into another tree and the sickening crack of my ribs reverberated in my ears. A sharp pain immediately entered my shoulder and I hissed. He had launched an arrow, pinning me to the tree.
'Percy… ambush… help,' I thought as the pain pulsated through my body; it's epicenter being my shoulder. I tenderly raised up my head to see Orion with a horrifying smirk on his lips, and that was all he needed to drown out the screams of my hunters.
THALIA POV
I was not having a great day. We left camp, so I had to say goodbye to Nico. We flashed to Missouri of all places. 'Misery doesn't do the name of this place justice,' I thought as we traveled to our destination in Nebraska. Then we got there and set up camp in the marshlands.
Percy was admittedly still weighing on my mind. After talking with Annabeth before the meeting, and then having to sit through the meeting itself watching their reactions. I didn't hate them by any means, but was still disappointed in them like I was with Annabeth. I could tell a lot of them wished I was angry rather than disappointed. But the real reason I was worried about the Kelp-Head was because I knew Annabeth stayed to talk to him afterward.
I couldn't find her later that day, and Percy was moody, but put on a fake smile for the little ones. It pained me to see him like that, but I knew if the roles were reversed, I would have been the exact same way. Oh, and then we got ambushed by more of Tartarus' forces. Like I said, not a great day.
I didn't bother with my bow and charged immediately into the fray with my spear and Aegis and cut any and all monsters I could. They were mostly hellhounds and while we had taken larger forces the last couple of times, they were fast and came out of nowhere. A strategic move certainly, but I hadn't the time to dwell on it then.
Then the day turned from shit to Gorgon shit. Orion. Giant Bane of the Twin Archers showed up and had Lady Artemis in a compromising spot. We were getting pushed back further and the little ones were protecting the unconscious hunters. I couldn't really utilize my lightning abilities due to the moisture of the marshlands and risk frying the other hunters. Things were not looking good.
THEO POV
Anger. Unadulterated, unfiltered anger. My emotions and my mind were one-track when I flashed to see the ambush. I lost myself. Throwing caution to the wind, I drew both Riptide and Frostbite and set them ablaze with Greek fire and became a demon. Slash, dodge, stab, parry, roll, block. My mind went on autopilot for what felt like the millionth time since I was 12 and I decimated everything in my path.
I fought my way to Thalia. "Where's Artemis?!" I yelled to her over the carnage. She perked up at my voice, the relief clear as day across her face that I had arrived. "Orion!" was all she had to yell and my temper flared up further, burning hounds to a crisp without even looking or gesturing to them. I sprinted quickly as I could to Artemis's position and found her pinned to a tree by an arrow through her shoulder with Orion hovering over her.
I vapor traveled between them and threw a devastating uppercut with my Earthshaker abilities into the Giant's chin, sending him flying back 30 feet into a tree. I turned to see Artemis. She had tears threatening to spill from her eyes, but whether they were of fear or relief I did not know. I gave her a dry smile as I yanked the arrow out of her shoulder and handed her some ambrosia and nectar.
"Ah. I was wondering when you'd get here, Jackson. Or is it Theseus in that form? Fairly bold of you to take up the mantle of another disgrace of Poseidon," he started calmly, but was spitting venom by the end of his statement. "Leave, Orion. Before I send you back to your daddy with your tail between your legs," I stated in the cold emotionless voice that had become too commonplace for someone of my age.
"I think not, brother. I will kill you and all the little hunters. Then I'll get what I have been chasing for millennia," he said while licking his lips and looking at Artemis. Artemis was equal parts horrified and angered beyond reason. I was livid. I was so livid that he would dare speak that in both mine and Artemis' presence that I was shaking. "Lay one measly finger upon her head, and no being alive will be able to fix what I will have done to you," I hissed.
"Arty, hang back and fire your arrows. Orion and I need to have a brotherly talk," I told her quietly and she nodded. Orion took that time to pull his bow off of his back and fire an endless stream of arrows. Artemis sprinted away from him, notching and firing her own with blinding speed as I dodged and blocked Orion's, creeping toward him ever so slowly. 'I can see why Artemis admired his skill,' I thought dryly as I pressed forward.
The fight didn't last long, thank the Fates. Artemis found several spots on his limbs to abuse as I kept him distracted. His bow was remarkable as he managed to parry my blows with his bow alone, and create enough separation to fire some at both myself and Artemis before I was pressuring him again. Arrows littered his legs and arms, but they hardly slowed him down. I didn't know how much longer I or Artemis could manage, but I had a plan.
'Arty. He's slowing down slightly. Fire an arrow at his left eye, while I keep him from returning it,' I thought to her and she replied, 'He won't be hit so easily, Sea Sponge!' Her temper and frustration still haven't reigned in. 'I'll obscure it from his vision long enough that it'll catch him by surprise, then with the arrow through his brain, I'll finish it,' I said mentally. 'You better not do anything stupid,' she thought and I cut the connection.
I rushed in as Artemis kept firing, waiting for my signal. I blocked his bow with an "X" position overhead and kicked his bow hand upward. 'Now!' I yelled mentally and Artemis fired an arrow faster than a bullet. I dropped my swords and jumped into the air in front of Orion's face, Artemis's arrow flying right toward the two of us and on course to pierce my back. 'Percy!,' she yelled, but as the arrow was centimeters away from puncturing me and likely a lung, I vapor traveled to Orion's feet below.
I could sense Orion's eyes widen as I vanished. 'Dumbass,' I mused and heard a sickening *SQUELCH*. Orion roared in pain as Artemis' arrow was lodged into his left eye and blood and grey matter adorned the arrowhead through the back side of his skull. As he stumbled back, I ripped another of Artemis' arrows out of his leg and spun, driving the arrowhead straight up through his neck. He let out a gasp and I could see the shaft of the arrow as it had pierced both his chin and the roof of his mouth, striking his brain a second time.
"Farewell, brother," escaped my lips as he collapsed into a pile of gold dust. I whipped around and grabbed my swords to help finish the ambush off, but found no one. Thalia, Phoebe, and Atalanta had led the remaining hunters in successfully defending them. Then Artemis came charging toward me.
"You FUCKING IDIOT! That was your plan?! To have me almost impale you with an arrow?! YOU COULD'VE DIED!" she screamed at me, but I could tell it was out of concern rather than anger. "Relax, Arty. I knew what I was doing. I had it all under control," I said with a hand on her shoulder which she immediately grabbed, twisted and threw me on the ground.
I could hear the hunters snicker at me. "That was more than reckless, Percy! What if you didn't get out of the way in time?" She yelled, but her heart was no longer in it and it grew progressively quieter with each word. "I can't - no, WE can't lose you. The Hunt needs you. Don't be so careless," she said, both catching her mistake and nearly whispering.
I took a gamble and laid both hands on her shoulders to get her to look at me. My soft sea-green eyes meeting her worried, but commanding silver. "I'm not going anywhere, Artemis," I said with care to calm her down. I then left her to survey the casualties. About a dozen or so were unconscious with severe injuries. Everyone else was battered and shaken, but otherwise they'd be fine. 'We got lucky with no deaths,' I thought somberly.
3RD PERSON POV
The injured were taken to the infirmary tent and Artemis called Apollo to take the more severely injured to his temple on Olympus to heal. Not after threatening castration amongst other things, should he even dare to touch them other than treating them. Artemis failed to see the hurt in his eyes when she accused him of it, but it didn't go unnoticed.
Percy quickly healed any of the minor cuts and scrapes for the hunters, who offered a small smile and a thank you in return, earning a full grin from the Guardian. He summoned dinner for them and gave Estelle and the others a hug and a kiss on the forehead before turning to leave, but was stopped by Thalia and Artemis.
"You're not staying?" Thalia asked sadly. Percy just shook his head, "This could've been a distraction for the assault on Camp Jupiter. I haven't heard anything from Lupa, but I can't be too careful." Thalia chuckled at him, "Kelp-Head, actually thinking things through. What is the world coming to?" He gave her a playful punch on the shoulder and teased, "Hopefully bigger and better things, Sparky. I'll see you the morning after tomorrow." She gave him a quick hug and whispered, "I wanna talk about Annabeth when we have time," before shocking him lightly.
"You'll let me know if they show up sooner?" Artemis asked him and he nodded. "Make sure to notify the Olympians that the Giants are involved as well as the Titans," he told her and she nodded hesitantly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll be fine, Arty. We'll be in contact at all times." Artemis nodded at the sentiment he expressed and told him to be careful. He told her the same and vanished in a column of fire with a smirk on his face. Artemis smiled softly at that and retired to her tent.
Percy appeared back in his makeshift camp in California, sensing for any presences in the area. He relaxed for a split second after finding none, but in the blink of an eye, he had someone pinned to a tree with his katana at their throat.
APOLLO POV
"Easy, Perce!" I said with the katana at my throat. "Sorry, Cuz. Long night," he said and I chuckled lightly. "I can tell," I said as he gestured for us to sit at his small campfire. Before I could ask him a question, he had some of his own.
"How are the hunters you took?" I gazed into the fire, Artemis' comment still fresh in my mind. "They're stable and sleeping now. Should be right as rain in a day or two tops," I told him and could see the tension leave his shoulders. There was a pregnant silence before he spoke again. "And how are you? I saw the look in your eyes when Artemis threatened castration."
I released a sigh I hadn't realized I was holding in and turned my attention back to the fire. "I'm… okay. That one just kinda hurt, y'know?" He nodded with a look of contemplation on his face. After a sigh from him he said, "Well, I don't know what else to tell you other than to take your own advice. Granted from living with Artemis and the Hunt for the last three months, I would recommend leading with an apology for 'shamelessly' flirting with her hunters. It'll at least give her a pause so she would listen to you fully. And even with the coping mechanism, as you so eloquently put it, I would imagine an apology is a bit fitting for the harassment."
I looked at him for a while and then back to the fire. "Yeah… I guess that makes sense. Just with Tartarus on the rise and everything. It should wait until after all of this is over," I said, though quiet and half-heartedly. He must have noticed because he said, "Can't argue with that. But is there ever a right time for this shit?" I looked at him again in disbelief. 'When did Perce get so… wise?' I thought.
He chuckled like he heard my thoughts, "All I'm saying, is that the conversation you're bound to have is going to be messy either way. And you don't know what will happen. Err, maybe you do, but either way I think the sooner you address it the better and let's just leave it at that." A small smile contorted my lips and I gave him a swift nod.
"What about you? How are you? I saw you talked to Annabeth again," I told him and he stared at me, silently asking how I could possibly know that. "God of Prophecy and Truth, remember?" I told him and he shook his head. 'Maybe he's not so wise,' I mused. "I'm alright I guess. I appreciate the distractions of Guardian and my mission…" he trailed off clearly something more on his mind. I waited patiently for him to continue. "It still hurts like Hades," he whispered.
"She wanted to make it work still. But… things are… too complicated for me now. Even if she's a goddess, I couldn't ask her to do the distance and dangerous missions, I couldn't ask that of myself either. Nor my children, should we have ever gotten there." I took all of his words in and gazed upon the flickering flames as I thought. Finally I spoke, "I understand what you mean, cousin. Just make sure you actively seek out your happiness. You can't expect the Fates to just deliver it on a silver platter for you."
He sat there and pondered my words for a long, but comfortable silence. "Besides, maybe you'll meet someone else whose life is just as 'fucked up', as you say, as yours," I added with finality and he chuckled. "I don't wish that on anyone. But thank you, Cousin," he said.
I stood up to leave, but not with one last gift. I summoned a guitar out of thin air and handed it to him. "Here. Music is one of my domains too and it's a good outlet that I use. This bad boy will be magically tuned to whatever song you want to play and so long as you know the lyrics, you'll know how to play it. It won't help your singing abilities though, so if you're atrocious like Hermes, find a partner."
He looked at me and at the guitar and met my own genuine smile with one of his. I patted him on the back, and flashed out, but kept my mind's eye on the domain of music to see what he's got.
3RD PERSON POV
Percy sat at his campfire with the guitar in his hand thinking about that to play. 'Something that resonates with the mood I'm in,' he thought hard before coming to a choice. He began to strum the guitar and the chords and notes came second nature to him, bringing a small smile to his face. Percy hadn't sung much, but his mother always told him he had a beautiful voice. Whether or not that was true, Percy never knew, but he played and sang anyways. He sang soulfully of longing.
"Shake the Frost" by Tyler Childers
You remind me of a Sunday
Back home in ole' Kentucky
With the church choirs just beltin' through the pines
And I love you like the mountains
Love's the way the mornin' opens
To a soft and bright greetin' from the sun
So if it'd make you stay
I wouldn't act so angry all the time
I wouldn't keep it all inside
And I'd let you know how much I loved you every day
So darlin' will ya stay right here
And shake this frost off of my bones
Well I used to ride a Mustang
And I'd run that thing on high hopes
Til' they raised the price of dreams so high I couldn't pay
So I let that car just sit there
When I should've took you driving
With the windows down while the music played
So if it'd make you stay
I wouldn't act so angry all the time
I wouldn't keep it all inside
And I'd let you know how much I loved you every day
So darlin' will ya stay right here
And shake this frost off of my bones
Darlin' will ya stay right here
And shake this frost off of my bones
APOLLO POV
So much pain, longing, and soul in his voice. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he's one of my kids. I chuckled to myself lightly. 'Honor, loyalty, trust, good looks, heroic, AND he can sing. This kid could've easily broken more hearts than me,' I thought jokingly and went back to tending to the hunters.
PERCY POV
Apollo was right. Again. Music is a good outlet.
AN: There's chapter 13! I liked the music idea from Hans50 story and thought I'd implement it more as an outlet and to further the Pertemis relationship eventually. Speaking of Pertemis, someone commented that since Percy doesn't want to be full immortal how would he be with Artemis and the Hunt and should they ever have kids? Well, Percy will never be full immortal. He would never, plain and simple. But I think he will come to terms that so long as he is Guardian, it is possible. Besides, relationships are about compromise and communicating to reach a common ground. Maybe he'll find that with Artemis? Wink wink. Until next time!
Also when I saw THEO POV I mean to imply that he's in his Theo form and same for Percy POV.