TO THE SEVEN AND NICO: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU DISCOVERED NOBODY REMEMBERED YOU?
Percy: Oh no...
Annabeth: We already had this conversation
Frank: I'm not looking forward to this...
Leo: NO ONE WILL FORGET ABOUT THIS LEO MCSHIZZLE-
Frank: Leo...
Leo: THEY MIGHT FORGET ABOUT CHINESE BABY MAN OVER THERE-
Frank: I'm standing 3 feet away, Leo...
Leo: BUT NO ONE WILL FORGET ABOUT YOURS TRULY!
Annabeth: With that attitude, everyone will remember you-
Leo: See!
Annabeth: Just not in a good way.
Jason: Moving on...
Hazel: Yes...
Percy: I'd confine myself to my cabin and rock back and forth while munching on blue cookies
Annabeth Rolling her eyes Of course, you would, seaweed brain
Percy: Yep, but really, I couldn't stand it if my own mom ignored me. I mean dad did that so I don't care-
Poseidon: Hey!
Percy: Just shut up dad!
Leo: HASHTAG PERSASSY
Poseidon: ...
Annabeth: That wasn't the nicest thing to say to your dad, Percy. I would give anything to have my mother's attention for something more than a quest.
Percy: Sorry... I would also miss you, wise girl. Anyway, my turn has been going on for a little too long. Jason, go!
Jason: I would probably hurl myself over a cliff if no one remembered me. Because then Thalia would just avoid me like the flu, and Leo would also forget me-
Leo: See! People love the flaming Valdez!
Piper: Of course we do, Leo! But can we let Jason finish first?
Leo: Wait... Are you using charmspeak?
Piper: Maybe...
Leo: Ok.
Jason: I mean. I don't really care that my dad will forget about me-
Zeus: WHAT DID YOU SAY?!
Jason: Umm... That I'll feel really bad that my dad will forget about me?
Zeus: Thinking
Leo: Whispering to Jason Dude. You're dead. Your dad isn't THAT stupid!
Jason: Wanna bet on it?
Leo: Deal
Jason: Deal
Zeus: Jason...
Jason: Yes?
Zeus: I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! IMMA GO NOW SO YEAH, BYE STUPID SON WHO SHOULD HATE ME BUT LOVES ME!
Jason: Smirking Hey Leo...
Leo: Groaning Who knew the ruler of the world was such an idiot?
Annabeth: So I shouldn't mention the Egyptian and Norse gods?
Jason: Wait... WHAT!?
Annabeth: Nevermind! Moving on... PIPER GO!
Piper: Umm... I guess it wouldn't affect me.
Jason: Wait... Why?
Piper: Because, Jason dear, I have charmspeak. So I can just charmspeak someone into regaining their memories.
Jason: So why didn't you do that to me?
Leo: Oooh... Piper your dead!
Piper: Nope.
Leo: Wanna bet?
Piper: You're on
Piper: Turning back to Jason Because Jason, I thought you already regained all your memories by the time I learned how to fully control my powers.
Jason: Contemplating excuse
Leo: Jason isn't THAT stupid!
Jason: Ok, Piper. I believe you!
Leo: Groaning and facepalming Of course! Like father, like son!
Piper: Smirking Pay up, Leo!
Frank: I would just stop working altogether. Hazel and you guys are all I have
Frank: Whispering Leo a little less
Leo: What?
Frank: Nothing!
Frank: Hazel, go!
Hazel: Umm... Ok. I guess I would react the same way as Frank since I don't really have any other family other than Hecate and Nico. Yeah. I could never live without Nico. Literally.
Nico: Well I could manage, for the most part.
Jason: Teasingly What about if Solace forgot about you?
Nico: Umm...
Nico: Hey! Would ya look at the time! I gotta go to the... Infirmary! Bye!
Percy: What was that all about?
Annabeth: If only you knew, Seaweed brain...
Percy: Well that's all of them, right?
Leo: Nope. We forgot about the radio finish!
Percy: NOPE! WE AIN'T HAVING THAT STUFF HAPPENING AGAIN!
Percy: Smashes Radio and runs around, frenzied
Annabeth: LEO, RUN! SOMEONE GET THE BLUE COOKIES! GIVE ME THE DRACHMA JASON, WE NEED TO CALL SALLY!
Percy's POV
I grinned madly as I pulled Artemis into the muck heap.
"Ahhhh!" Artemis shrieked indignantly as she flew into the pile, flailing around even though she knew it wasn't real.
I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs for about a quarter (1/4) of a second; I felt extremely queasy. Artemis was definitely going to kill me after this.
Once I felt solid ground beneath my feet, I bolted. I could hear the sound of soft footsteps padding rapidly through the ground. I could even feel the vibrations through my skin (Hello... Son of the earthshaker present).
Slam! I felt the wind being knocked out of me by an unknown force (Unknown... Please! Unknown my butt! It was obviously Artemis).
I groaned and winced, clamping my eyes shut as if it would lessen the pain," I'm sorry! Ok? I had to."
She slapped me harshly," That's for pulling me into a pile of dung without letting me process what just happened." She hit me again," And that's for bringing me into this..."
She trailed off and I opened my eyes. Artemis looked around, spellbound and I took the moment as a chance to survey the area properly.
We were in a giant hangar of sorts. It was as if we went through a portal.
Hundreds upon hundreds of people were bustling around, some holding blueprints, others carrying weaponry.
The people themselves were dressed in normal, mundane clothing that made them blend together. The perfect disguise in the outside world.
Artemis caught me gaping at the sight but I didn't care.
She waved a hand in front of me; I could feel her smirk as she commented," Better close your mouth before you catch any mosquitoes."
I closed my mouth shortly afterwards and turned away, hoping to cover my embarrassed blush (because if she tells the others I blushed after just one Smart-Alek comment, I'll be a major target for the rest of the Smart-Aleks out there).
"We better go get the Delphians before they slaughter Apollo." I reasoned looking over my shoulder before turning back to the entrance/exit of the base, sprinting forward, and leaping into the wall.
And just like that, my head popped out of the pile and startled a majority of the Delphians.
Once everyone overcame their shock, a familiar voice shouted indignantly," Hey Percy, a little help here!"
Looking up, I nearly fell over and died laughing (not really... I'm a god so I can't die... Right?).
Tied up on a wooden plank each (which was safely secured to a pile of Faeces), were Apollo and Xechasiáris.
I would have just sat there and made fun of them, but the planks were quickly sinking into the muck heap. Gross.
I asked them heatedly," Why are Apollo and Xechasiáris tied up. Also, why are you guys trying to slowly and painfully suffocate them in poo? You know what? Nevermind. Just untie them and once we get back, we're going to talk about subjecting your enemies to death via suffocation in dung."
They nodded but I caught a couple smirking demonically while a few of the younger men trying to stifle laughter.
However, none of them budged and I sighed in exasperation," Well come on! Get them out of there!"
About seven (7) of them ran towards the dung duo (I was never going to let them live this down) while I made my way towards Artemis, who looked like she was exploding with questions," What do you want to know?"
"What was that? How did mortals manipulate the mist? What is going on?" She paused for a bit before continuing," Did you have to pull me through that?"
I answered almost immediately," I'll answer those in order. That was the base of operations of the rebels. I'm going to guess one or two of the people in there are children of Hecate and maybe Hecate herself helped them. We are planning our invasion of Sparta to overthrow the king. And no, I didn't have to pull you through the mist... But it was fun."
She seemed pleased (sort of) with all but the last response and responded sarcastically," Well that's nice!"
Apollo, who had been rescued from the dung trap, jogged towards us and asked," I assume you found the rebel base? And I'm going to assume that Artemis also attacked you after you got in there. Then, you started gaping, right?"
I nodded and turned to point at the mound before freezing and asking sceptically," Wait... How did you know?"
He shrugged indifferently as if it wasn't a big deal," It was a hunch".
"What do you mean a hunch?" I asked heatedly.
He waved me off and explained," It was a sort of intuition. An educated guess, you could say."
I groaned and was about to collapse on the ground when Artemis put a reassuring hand on my shoulder as if it would distribute the stress we carried equally.
"C'mon. Let's go get the Delphians and show them the rebel base." She suggested before walking towards them.
I nodded in agreement and followed, an annoying Apollo in tow.
Artemis' POV
As I trudged calmly towards the Delphians, I couldn't help but let my mind wander.
I made a short yet detailed plan of action for the battle since I wasn't going to be following anyone's orders (plus I was a goddess, and a daughter of Zeus, so I had special privileges).
Basically, the battle would go down as follows (hopefully):
The archers (including myself) would shoot a few volleys of arrows to distract the main defences and hopefully destroy a couple.
Meanwhile, the close-quarters fighters would be split. Half would enter the city disguised (these would be our most skilled fighters and masters of stealth - including Percy) while the other half would stay with us.
While our half (Team B or 'The Distraction Team') would slowly charge onwards, distracting most of Sparta's defences and hopefully (read: definitely) Ares.
When this happened, Percy's team (Team A or 'The Extraction Team') would take the city itself by force, finding the king and taking him hostage.
Even if he was wicked, he should have the chance to plead his innocence (since I wasn't that cruel).
If (read: when) Ares arrives, I'll take him down a notch and put him in his place, likely and preferably with the help of Apollo and the rest of the archers.
I was about to muse about the awards ceremony when a loud, gravelly voice spoke commandingly," Come, Delphians. We shall discuss the plans for the raid."
I turned towards the voice of the speaker and was met with an eye. It was cold and unforgiving. I stumbled backwards a bit and studied him. He had broad shoulders and a massive scar running through one (1) of his eyes, blinding him in that one.
If this was the guy who was leading the operations, I didn't want to get on his bad side.
However, I was a strong goddess, who could hold her own, so I just glared back, twice as hard.
He wasn't impressed, to be frank. Instead of stumbling back, or shrinking under my gaze, he seemed to grow substantially.
The man growled menacingly and stumbled forwards, limping slightly.
I frowned substantially at that. Why was he limping?
Slowly and cautiously, I lowered my gaze until I was looking directing at the behemoth that was his mutilated leg.
(GROSS ALERT: DO NOT SKIP 'CAUSE THIS TOOK ME ABOUT FIVE (5) MINUTES OF MY PRECIOUS LIFE (YES I'M KIND OF SELF-ABSORBED))
It was like Apollo's face on a good day (let alone a bad one).
I'll elaborate on Apollo's hideous excuse of a face (Sorry if I'm kind of biased but doing this comes with the job description).
What was it like? Well, just picture a bulldog. Done? Now picture that very bulldog covered in honey, feathers, and ducktape. Done?
See how ugly it looks? Well, Apollo was even more revolting.
Not to be rude, but Apollo spends WAY too much time tanning in the sun. He looks like an overcooked potato with a mop of blonde curls.
Anyway, the intimidating guy's leg was worse. I saw shards of glass along with a bone or two (2) sticking out.
I shivered. Something happened to him, and I didn't want to find out what.
I'm going to stop now because describing it any more than I just did would break the PG rule.
(GROSS ALERT IS OVER: YOU ARE FREE TO NOT BE CAUTIOUS)
As stumbled backwards towards Apollo, I tripped over and fell on my back.
Before I knew what was happening, I was on my feet again, this time because someone had carried me onto my feet. I snarled to myself. I could hold my own.
I had a growing suspicion that the culprit was the monster man.
Knowing I had to converse with him sometimes, I initiated the start to an awkward conversation.
"Hi?" I spoke timidly, more of a question than a greeting.
Luckily, he wasn't completely silent like those other guys. On the other hand, all he did was grunt in reply.
I took that as a reply and steeled myself," So... What's your name?"
Do you know what he did? Guess! Yes! He grunted! Congratulations!
Moving on... I cursed myself. I was having an awkward conversation along with a one-sided one too!
Deciding to resume our Q/A (Question and Answer) session later, I turned and bounced towards Percy (Apollo was nowhere to be found), awaiting a normal conversation.
"Hey, guys," I called out childishly.
"Hi," Percy answered before stopping dead in his tracks," Ok... Who are you, and what have you done with Artemis?"
I was about to chuckle when I realised he was dead serious.
I waved my hand in front of his face to see what was the problem," What do you mean? I'm right here."
If he understood what I just said, he didn't show it.
He watched me sceptically, a blank expression on his face, for a few more moments before ramming into me, full throttle.
He pulled out what looked like a dagger, and held it against my head.
Feeling apprehensive, I winced and tried to reason with him," Percy... It's me."
"No, it's not. Where's Artemis and what have you done to her?" He growled murderously.
I gulped at that and shut my eyes, bracing for impact.
I knew someone was going to save me, just like all those tales that mother used to tell us.
The dashing hero would charge in, slamming into the crazed betrayer (who was Percy, but it looked like he was misled) and saving the girl. I didn't wish to be the one who needed saving, but in this scenario, it was probably the best choice.
I kept my eyes shut, hoping against all odds, that I would come out of this unscathed.
It was too much to hope for, but it was my best shot.
I felt something sharp slam into my back and I flew forwards, crashing into endless waves of sand. I couldn't stop myself from letting out one last desperate scream before losing the battle against fatigue.
Apollo's POV
All I had to do was check on the mediocre disturbance somewhere along the river and see if there were any spies, and I even managed to screw that up.
While Percy went to check on Artemis, I trudged towards the body of water, whistling random tunes and all.
Once I arrived there, I couldn't help but notice how much trash was in the water. I had just picked up one broken sword when someone growled," Put Your hands over on your head, now."
I froze. My hands instinctively moved towards my head before I abruptly stopped, strange visions flashing in my mind.
I saw one where I put my hands on my head. The mysterious entity shot me afterwards and I disappeared (Something I'd rather avoid); they headed towards the camp and I saw them shoot Artemis (she also dissolved).
I saw another one where I threw the sword piece but they caught it, killing me afterwards. The same things happened.
A majority of the scenarios ended with either Artemis dissolving or something else equally bad happening.
I grimaced. There was only one scenario that was bearable. In the end, the entity just disappeared, so I stuck to that.
I tried to make my voice loud and proud, arrogant even," And why should I do that?"
The entity didn't respond for a while and I was just about to collapse from exhaustion when they growled," Because I have a knife, and what do you have? A broken sword?"
The voice was definitely male. I briefly pondered why all of the bad guys were well... Guys.
I taunted him recklessly," Well if I only have a broken sword, then come and get me, Eidolon."
He growled and it was then I knew, I had messed up.
I slowly turned to face him and winced when I saw him. It was like a ghost, but creepier.
Wheezing, I felt something travel through my gut, and I keeled over and barfed.
Afterwards, I shot back as fast as I could. I had to warn the others. I had to.
By the time I had just reached the border of the camp. I felt something was off.
"Ahh!" I heard a voice scream.
I knew that voice anywhere.
I sped up incredibly, hoping that I wasn't too late.
Hope you all enjoyed.
I've been a bit busy but I managed to make time for you guys. All of my tests far from done but I have a little free time on my hands now. So yeah...
'Till then,
~MasterOvGravity