A.N: So, for the poll, the first choice won. I will be using this in my story but altering it slightly. Don't worry, it will have the same concept, just different "ingredients" to activate the key to make it a little more interesting and realistic.
Percy POV:
Over the next couple hours, the gods worked their butts off trying to find something, anything, on Apollyon and how to activate this key. I had to admit, it was a little funny watching them scramble around the library looking for books. I had never expected to see Zeus so interested as he flipped his way through an old book that looked worn on the cover.
Athena and Hestia were by far the most into it. Athena, probably because she loved finding new books to read, and Hestia because she was extremely determined to do anything she could to help our chances of success, no matter how small it was. Both had been working at a furious pace, skimming through book after book without any sign of stopping.
I was sitting at a desk in the library with large stacks of books surrounding me like mountains. It was almost daunting how many books there were. So far, nobody had found anything, but we had only gone through less than a quarter of the books in this library.
The library we were in was the biggest and most ancient one ever created. There were numerous books dating back to the beginning of the Primordials and many of them were written in a language that I couldn't understand. Luckily, Athena came to the rescue there. The library had apparently been sealed off many years ago by the gods in fear that somebody would find something written there that would give them immense power. Enough power to overthrow them. Athena had reopened it but had warned us not to even think about stealing a single book from the selection.
Artemis sat beside me, humming merely. She didn't seem to mind sitting here for so long, but I was becoming restless. My ADHD must have been kicking in because I couldn't seem to sit still for more than ten seconds.
I soon grew tired of it and stood up abruptly. Artemis looked up at me questioningly with her eyebrow raised.
"Sorry, I just need to get up and move around a bit. I was thinking that I would go an see my mom and Ashley. I haven't talked to them since I got back and I miss them quite a bit. Want to come with me? We'll get straight back to work once we're done," I whispered to her as to not distract the other gods.
She looked at me skeptically before sighing, "I guess we can do that. It's been getting a little agitating when you shift around every couple seconds. Frankly, I was ready to hit you upside the head."
"Great! Let's go!" I said a little too enthusiastically. I got smacked upside the head anyways.
Artemis had flashed us both to the front door of my mother's house.
"Well, here we are. I hope they're not too mad at me for not coming to see them," I said a little nervously. Artemis seemed to notice my discomfort and placed her hand on my shoulder, instantly making me feel better.
"Don't worry. Even if they are angry, it will only be for a second before they're all over you with hugs and kisses," She said reassuringly. I smiled down at her and decided to make a bold move. I leaned down and pressed my lips lightly to her lips (I was contemplating cheek, but nah. PERTEMIS!). I felt her stiffen in surprise, but she didn't slap me, so that was a good sign. As I pulled my head back, noticed a slight red gracing her cheeks and I could tell that my own were a similar shade.
"Thanks for being there for me, Arty. I don't know what I would do without you." I hadn't been very comfortable being intimate with the maiden goddess, but this was a big step up for me. If she accepted this, then our relationship would definitely be moving in the right direction. I was a little bit bummed that I wouldn't be able to choose the person that I loved, but I knew that we could make this work. There was also the impending problem of revealing this to everyone. Shit
"You do not need to thank me. If it weren't for you, then I wouldn't be here either, Seaweed Brain," She said, her cheeks still flaming, before stiffening and looking at me warily. I knew that she was expecting me to react to the nickname, but I didn't so much as flinch. Only a sad look came into my eyes for only a second, but it disappeared when I realized who still had their hand on my shoulder.
Although Annabeth would always have a special place in my heart, the original place that she had been in was being filled by a certain someone standing in front of me.
"Don't worry, I'm over her death by now, just a little bit saddened when I hear her name, but otherwise I'm fine," I reassured her.
She gave me one last worried glance before nodding her head and turning back to the door, motioning for me to knock, grabbing my hand and squeezing. She sent soothing feelings through our bond and instantly I felt a lot better. I slowly raised my hand and tapped my knuckles on the door. I heard footsteps pounding to the door and I took a deep breath before the door swung open.
My mom stood there in all her glory, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white blouse. Her face was haggard and tired, although she had done a good job covering it up with makeup. As she opened the door and peeked her head out, she looked at us warily. Suddenly, the look lifted from her face replaced by joy and happiness. Tears welled up in her eyes almost immediately and rushed out into the hallway to give me a bone-crushing hug, not even saying a word. I could smell the scent of blue cookies and lavender on her, a smell the I had become well accustomed to.
By now, tears had already begun pouring out of both our eyes and before long, we were sobbing into each other's shoulders. Artemis just stood back to give us space with a small smile on her face. She did not really know the feeling of coming home after not seeing her family for a long time, because for a god, no amount of time was a long time, but she was contented that she could see Percy finally, truly happy.
My mother and I separated from our embrace and looked at each other in the eyes. Finally, she spoke to me in a soft tone.
"I'm so glad you're back, Percy. When Paul and I found out where you were, I almost had a mental break down. I've been so worried about you. Oh, my baby!" She said, pulling me back into another embrace, which I gladly accepted.
"Hey, Mom. You didn't need to worry. You know me, I always come back to you. Plus, I had her to keep me alive," I said, gesturing to Artemis. My mother finally seemed to notice the other presence and turned to Artemis.
"And who might you be?" She asked, "I guess it doesn't matter if you helped keep my baby alive. I can never thank you enough!" She apparently did not sense the godly aura around Artemis, because she then dragged her into a hug to express her gratitude.
Artemis stood there slightly awkwardly with her hands flailing around and looked extremely relieved when my mom released her. I inwardly snickered at her uncomfortableness towards physical contact.
"Uh, My name is Artemis," She said, introducing herself.
My mom suddenly gasped and shot into a bow almost as quickly as I could eat a blue cookie, which was saying a lot.
"M-my Lady, I'm so sorry! I d-didn't know it was you!" She said with as much respect as she could manage to put into her voice.
Artemis just chuckled, "The mother of my bond mate does not need to bow to me." She took my hand again. I was really starting to like the feeling of her soft hand on my own. It gave me a warm feeling that spread throughout my entire body. I shuddered thinking about our few kisses. Even though we had only shared a couple, every single one of them had been enjoyed thoroughly by both parties and it made both of us feel like we were floating in heaven. Focus, Percy.
I tuned back into the conversation just in time to see my mom freeze up.
"B-b-bond mate?" She squeaked out.
"Um... I think we should go inside before talking about this," I said.
She nodded, still a little dazed, leading them inside the house.
"Honey? Who is it?" Asked a voice. Paul walked out of the kitchen with little Ashley holding his hand, looking a little confused. He abruptly stopped and looked at me for a second. He let go of Ashley and ran at me, embracing me almost as tightly as my mother had.
"Percy! You're back! Wow, it's so good to see you!" Paul said. His reaction was considerably less emotional then my mother's had been, but that was to be expected. Paul had never been one who showed too much emotion to anybody except my mother.
"Yeah, you too, Paul," I said, letting go of him. I turned to the little girl standing near the kitchen entrance, looking up at me with tears in her eyes.
"Percy!" She screeched. She rushed forward and wrapped her body around my waist as tightly as she could, tears falling down her face as she sobbed into my shirt. I smiled gently, kneeling down to meet her at eye level as I pulled her away from my body slightly.
"Your big brother is back, Ashley. I hope you haven't been too much trouble for my mother," I said chuckling. She cried even harder and buried her head into my shoulder. I looked over her small body at Artemis, who was currently smirking at me with a warm twinkle in her eyes. I gave her a grin worthy of Apollo's praise and watched as her face reddened a little. I just shook my head lightly at her reaction.
My true family surrounded me as I hugged my favorite little sister. Everything was as it should have been, even if just for a day or two. It's good to be home.
Artemis and I spent the next hour at my mother's apartment recounting every little detail about our vacation to Tartarus. My mother all but fainted about ten times throughout the entire story. She had frozen for about five minutes after we got to the part about the key inside my body. Luckily, she seemed fine with the fact that Artemis and I were in a soul bond and the only thing she really did was act a little shocked. I was pretty surprised with her reaction but was glad that I didn't have to explain to her in too much detail, as that would have made for a pretty embarrassing story.
Ashley had sat in my lap the entire time, listening to me retell the story alongside Artemis. Ashley really adored the goddess of the moon and ever since Artemis had taught her how to use a bow and arrow, she had been extremely friendly with the goddess, to say the least. Ashley had interjected ever five seconds asking for more detail on a specific part. The story should have really only taken about fifteen minutes to explain, but I had ended up repeating more than half of it three times.
Artemis and I had already said our goodbyes and had been preparing to leave my mother's house, but as we were about to walk out the door, Ashley had come barreling into me, begging to come along with us.
"I'm sorry, Ashley. We are doing something that cannot be revealed to you. I swear that I will take you to get ice cream when everything is over, alright?"
That was enough for Ashley and she nodded enthusiastically at the thought of ice cream.
I laughed and mist traveled the two of us into the library where we were greeted with the sight of the gods jumping around in joy.
Artemis looked at me with a confused face, one that was reciprocated on my own, before shouting at the top of her lungs, "What the hell are you doing?!" Man, I knew she could be scary, but not this scary.
The effect was immediate and every single one of the gods stopped what they were doing an looked over to see the three of us standing there.
Finally, Zeus broke the silence, "Artemis! You're going to like what we found!"
"And what might that be?"
"While I was looking through a book written in a runic alphabet, I noticed a picture of something that looked exactly like the key we have. It was a depiction of a tree trunk and many golden orbs lying around it on the ground. This key is an extremely powerful object, powerful enough to destroy all of the Olympian council, I daresay. It would take something almost or even as powerful as it to activate it and send Apollyon to the Void. I believe that this power lies in the trunk of the tree of the golden apples, guarded by Ladon himself," Athena explained.
Artemis and I gasped softly. The tree of the golden apples was protected fiercely by the Hesperides and it would be almost impossible to steal an apple, let alone the entire tree.
"Are you sure about this? I'm not trying to say that you are lying, but if you have misinterpreted the meaning of this picture, then there will be dire consequences," Artemis asked.
"Yes, sister, I am almost certain that this is what we need to do. Based on the runes that are inscribed within the pages of the book, I was able to interpret some of it. The Primordials needed something very strong to hold the power to activate this key. They did complete the key, but they wanted to wait until the right time to use it because if they had used it too early, then it could disrupt the balance of the entire universe from its power. They created the tree of the golden apples and infused a piece of the key inside its bark, meaning that the moment the power is transferred from the bark to the key, it will complete the key and banish Apollyon to the Void. This may be our one shot and we don't have long to act upon it. In fact, I think it is best if we go right now, better safe than sorry."
Artemis and I looked uncertainly at each other. Was it really the best idea to go now?
What do you think, Percy?, Artemis' voice rang in my head.
I thought about it for a second before answering, Honestly, I think we should just get this over with and activate this stupid key. I'm sick and tired of Apollyon and the sooner he's gone the better.
"I think this is the best idea," Artemis said, addressing the rest of the gods and making sure not to mention the fact that we both agreed on it. They still didn't know about our bond and I hoped that it stayed that way until all this crap was over with.
"Yes, I second that," I said.
"Then we will all flash there right now. Have your weapons ready because it might get ugly," Zeus said.
"No, I don't think we should all go. If you were the Hesperides, would you be more willing to help one or two unarmed people, or a whole group of powerful gods ready for a full out battle?" I said.
The gods seemed to rethink their decision.
"Fine, we will listen to what you have to say. What do you propose?" Asked Zeus.
"Artemis and I will go alone, without weapons. I think the fact that we both knew Zoe will help, especially because she was Artemis' lieutenant." I looked over at Artemis to gauge her reaction and saw a tint of sadness on her face. I knew that she was still attached to her former hunters and that she was still mourning for them, rightfully so. However, after a moment, any sorrow that I had originally seen was pushed out by a mask of hard determination.
"What? You can't hope to accomplish this with only two people!" Ares cried.
"Hey Ares, not everything is about fighting and war. Sometimes if you actually talk to someone, then you can get what you want," I said, putting my arm around Artemis' waist and mist traveling us to the Garden of the Hesperides. Before we disappeared, I made sure to drop all my weapons on the floor, Artemis doing to same.
We appeared in a clearing with trees surrounding us, but I could sense the power coming from the area around us. I removed my arm from around Artemis' waist but slid my hand down her arm until it reached her own hand, slipping it inside with a comforting squeeze. I was about to start walking in the direction where I thought the tree was, but suddenly, six women walked out of the trees around us, forming a hexagon. They each brandished a spear, the tips dripping in some liquid that hissed when it dripped to the ground.
I drew Artemis behind me and dropped into a defensive stance. We didn't have our weapons, but nevertheless, I wouldn't go down without a fight.
"What is a little demigod and a goddess doing in the Garden of the Hesperides?" Said one, who I assumed was the leader, in a mocking tone.
"My name is Percy Jackson an-," I said before I was cut off the same Hesperide.
"I know who you are, Perseus Jackson. But I asked you what you are doing here," She growled.
"We swear on the Styx that we come in peace. We have no ill intentions towards you, "Artemis said. The Hesperides seemed to relax and this, but still held onto their spears as if they were worried that we would go back on our word.
"There is something extremely important that we must explain to you, before we say anything about why we are here," Artemis continued. The lead Hesperide looked at us suspiciously but nodded for her to continue.
"You see, there was a being stronger than every single immortal. He is powerful enough to wipe all life on planet earth and maybe even alter the entire universe. His name is Apollyon. You are probably all thinking why you haven't heard about him before, but this is because Apollyon was created at the time of the original Primordials. Every single immortal being had to fight against him and almost every single one of them died in the battle. They managed to contain him within the Void, the only place that would keep him trapped for any period of time. They made sure not to have any information on him released because they did not want any chance of somebody freeing him. They created a key that would strengthen his prison to the point where he would never be able to break free, but this key was not activated by the time the primordials had faded," Artemis said.
The Hesperides guffawed at this.
"You expect us to believe this?" Asked one of them.
"I swear on the Styx that everything we have said so far and will say in this conversation is the truth," Artemis said. The Hesperides immediately stopped laughing and became serious.
"Please go on," Said the leader, who now had a new interest in what Artemis was saying.
"As I was saying, The Primordials created a key to trap him in the Void forever, but it wasn't finished. We have recently discovered that Apollyon has, in fact, escaped his prison, something that the Primordials had expected, but not for much longer than it has been since they trapped him. He visited me in my dreams and told us that we have two months of peace before he would attack. Percy and I were down in Tartarus to recover this key as it's the only way to stop Apollyon. Long story short, we have the key, but we didn't know how to activate it. Up until about twenty minutes ago," Artemis said.
The Hesperides all looked skeptical, but a few actually looked a little bit scared.
"So you're telling us an omnipotent being from the time of the Primordials has escaped his eternal prison and is now coming to destroy the world," One of the Hesperides said skeptically.
"That is exactly what we are saying," I said.
"And say this is actually happening, you said that you figured out how to activate this key, so how do you activate it? And how do we come into play in all this," Asked the leader.
"First of all, it is happening because we swore on the Styx and we were not struck down. Second of all, this concerns you because there is something extremely important that you must consent to. Otherwise, our world or even universe is doomed," Artemis said.
The Hesperides gestured for her to continue.
"In one of our ancient books, we found a picture of the key next to a tree trunk with golden orbs on the ground surrounding it...," Artemis said, trailing off. The Hesperides looked confused, but the leader got what it meant right away.
"No! Absolutely not! I should strike you both down right now for even asking such a thing from us!" She roared. I sighed. This was the expected reaction that I had anticipated.
"Please, this is the only way we can even have a chance against Apollyon. If you don't let us take it, then it will not matter, for it will be destroyed in his reign on Earth," Artemis pleaded.
"I will not allow you to uproot the most sacred thing here. If you wish to take the tree of the golden apples, then you will find better luck fighting this so-called Apollyon with your bare hands," She said dismissively.
The Hesperides, now knowing what we were asking from them, closed in on us snarling.
"You are foolish to come here and ask for something like this!," One of the growled
"Kill them," The leader ordered before walking back towards the treeline. The Hesperides hefted their spears once more and began circling us, getting closer and closer with each step they took.
"Please! You do not understand the importance of this," Artemis yelled frantically. The leader didn't so much as pause and kept walking. I looked around and saw that the Hesperides had almost feral looks on their faces as they slowly raised their spears towards our chests, ready to thrust it into our hearts and kill us instantly. I felt Artemis' back pressed against mine and grabbed her hand tightly. If we were going to die here, then we were going to die together.
I started to become desperate when an idea popped into my head.
"Do it for Zoe!"
Every single Hesperides stiffened when I shouted her name. The lead Hesperide wheeled around and stalked towards me, seething with rage.
"What did you say?!"
"I said, do it for Zoe," I repeated softly. Zoe Nightshade had been one of the bravest and smartest people that I had ever had the honor to know. Her death was one of the many that I had blamed myself for in the past and in a way, I still did. I felt immensely guilty for using her name to persuade the Hesperides, but it seemed like that was our only chance.
"How do you know Zoe?" The lead Hesperide barked.
"She was one of my hunters, but she sadly died while fighting your father Atlas," Artemis said mournfully. The Hesperides stumbled back in shock.
"Zoe is dead?" whispered one to my right disbelief clear in her voice.
"I'm sorry. Your sister died bravely and fought well. She had a death worthy of a hero. She was a hero," I said.
"Tell me. How did this happen? We all loved our sister dearly and were sad when she was exiled, but there was nothing we could do," The leader said with sorrow. The Hesperides all nodded in agreement.
And so we did. Everything that Artemis and I could remember about Zoe came spilling out of our mouths and we told them of the quest that would eventually result in the death of their sister. The whole time, the Hesperides listened without interrupting, as they had to much respect for their fallen sister to do so, respect that was growing more and more with every word that they heard. By the end of the story, they had completely shed their facades of indifference and were openly crying, tears flowing down each of their cheeks.
Finally, the leader seemed to come to a decision.
"You have sworn on the Styx that everything you said is true and I am in no position to question the Styx. Based on your story, I can tell that you are a very honorable and selfless boy. If Zoe was ok with being friends with you, then you must be an exceptional person. And you," She said, turning to Artemis," were one of the closest people to our sister. You helped her get over the pain of the exile. I thank you for that."
We both nodded.
"I will consent to your request on the condition that when you seal that being in the Void, you bring it back if it is possible, as we have the power to regrow it as long as it stays intact."
"You cannot possibly be allowing them to uproot our sacred tree!" Yelled a Hesperide, "Even after they told us about Zoe."
"Erytheis, as they said, if we do not give it to them, then it will be destroyed anyway."
The Hesperides looked like they wanted to argue, but they couldn't argue with the logic.
"Thank you so much, ...," I said pausing.
"It's Khrysothemis."
"Thank you so much, Khrysothemis. We will try our best to bring the tree back so you can regrow it. I am not like Hercules and I won't cheat you like he did Zoe," I assured them. Artemis nodded along with my statement.
"I can already sense that, young one," Said Khrysothemis. She led us through the forest until we entered a beautiful garden with fountains and flower beds laying scattered in intricate patterns and designs. What caught my eye was the tree in the middle of the garden with many coils of rope around the base of it. Suddenly, the rope started to move until I could make out a sleek body and many many heads. I realized that this wasn't rope at all. It was Ladon. Instinctively, I backed away a little, but I felt Artemis place a hand on my arm to stop me. I could feel her own fear through the bond, but it was mixed with confidence as well.
Khrysothemis strolled towards Ladon, who brought his heads closer to hear with a snort from each. She raised her hand and rubbed the many heads of Ladon, whispering in an ancient language to him. She carefully unwound his body from around the tree and continued whispering to the dragon who started to look tired. Soon, the dragon could barely stand and its legs gave way as it fell into a deep slumber. Khrysothemis brought out a sword from a sheath on her side and in one clean cut, slashed through the trunk of the tree of the golden apples. It slowly fell to the ground, but she caught it before it could make any sort of noise that might wake Ladon.
Khrysothemis dragged the tree over to where we were standing. She made a weird motion with her hand and started chanting out loud. I was about to ask her what she was doing when the tree suddenly shrunk down to the size of a miniature figure that could be kept in one's pocket.
"Here is the tree. Now go back to Olympus and banish Apollyon so we can have it back," Khrysothemis.
"Thank you again, Khrysothemis," Artemis said, "We wouldn't be able to do this without your help."
Khrysothemis nodded at us in acknowledgment, "You are welcome. Just do not abuse the power of this tree or the apples it holds. I trust that you will so to it though."
We bowed one last time at the Hesperides, some of which were still looking at us with disdain, and grabbed Artemis' hand, mist traveling us back to Olympus.
We appeared back in the throne room of Olympus and saw that the gods were already seated there with anxious. When they saw us, their faces lit up.
"Did you get it?" Asked my father excitedly. Artemis and I grinned at him as I brought the miniature tree of the golden apples out of my pocket. The gods looked at it with awe.
"Well? How do we activate this stupid thing? Let's do it quickly so we can get this whole problem off our hands," Apollo said, holding up the glowing cube.
"If the book was correct, then all we need to do is transfer the power inside the bark to the key and then it should work," Athena said.
"Then what are we waiting for? I want to party!" Yelled Dionysus enthusiastically. The gods chuckled at his cheerfulness, but couldn't keep their own excitement at bay. Once we got this over with, then they didn't have to worry about an all-powerful being threatening to overthrow their rule! How great was that?
I gave the tree to Artemis who flashed to her throne and handed it to Zeus.
"The transfer should be pretty easy. We'll just need a lot of power because this thing has way more power than any one of us," Athena said. She snapped her fingers and the key and the tree (heh, it rhymes) floated towards the center of the room so that they were almost touching.
"Now for the hard part," she said. The gods all focused their power on the two objects and I watched as they slowly merged together. But just as they were about to make contact, an explosion blasted throughout the throne room, obliterating the walls and throwing everybody backward.
I looked around, my ears ringing, and my eyes set on a figure walking towards us, cloaked in shadows. I jerked back as I realized who it was.
"Did you really think that those wards would hold me away. I just had to snap my fingers and they disappeared," Apollyon said with a sick grin on his face. No no no, this can't be happening.
"Now, where is that key...," He said. His eyes set on the cube in the center of the room. His tongue flicked out of his mouth and licked his lips a snake would.
"Ah, yes. The only object capable of holding me captive for eternity is now mine. That mere tree will not save you now. You're only hope would be for your little hero to run in and save your sorry asses, but I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen."
He casually walked towards me and I scrambled away. I would never admit it, but I was scared enough that I almost thought I would wet my pants. He stopped right in front of me and smiled as he saw me crawling to get away from him. I felt him grab onto the back of my shirt and spin me around to face the gods.
"Yes, he won't be there to save you anymore," He said addressing the gods. They had terrified expressions on their faces and Artemis looked like she was ready to charge down towards Apollyon in a feeble attempt to free me.
Do not, my love. Do not risk your life for me.
She looked at me in despair but saw the conviction in my eyes. She seemed to make up her mind and charge Apollyon, knives out. I looked sadly at her and the last thing I saw before we disappeared was her beautiful face filled with desperation and anguish.
(End of Chapter 21)
*I'm sorry, I won't be responding to the reviews that told me which option they preferred. If you want me to respond to one of your reviews, then you can leave a real one and I will be sure to write back!
Gohanfan123: I did have a plan for that and it wouldn't have been all the gods that had to give up their immortality. If the other option had won, then I would have had Artemis give up her immortality as most of you probably would have guessed already.
Guest: I know that there is a cure for nightshade, but I did not really want to come up with a new plant, so I just used nightshade.
ghostchilli666 #1: I'm glad that you thought it wasn't boring. And thank you for the compliment. I'm not sure if I would be able to continue this story without people like you giving me inspiration.
ghostchilli666 #2: Yeah, that's actually what I would have preferred, but I knew that my viewers would have wanted a happy ending so...
Guest #2: That is actually a really good idea, but I don't really want to write her losing her maidenhood. Otherwise, I definitely would have considered that idea.
Guest #3: Really, that's super cool. I wish I could move faster than the speed of light. I was actually leaning towards the second option because I wanted a sort of sad ending xD
MasterTrident: Yeah... I should have expected that when I put out the poll, huh.
A.N: Phew! That was a long chapter! I hope that this isn't taking the Pertemis too fast. I know I say that too much, but I'm just paranoid that Artemis is accepting this too quickly. I don't know, I'm probably harping on this way too much. I also feel like the writing in this chapter is quite crude compared to many of the others because I wasn't really sure how to word some of the things. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried to add a little bit of action in it to make it more interesting than the last one. A bit of a snooze fest if you ask me xD.
P.S: Thanks to everybody who responded to my poll so quickly after I posted it. I really appreciate it and I hope that in future chapters I can incorporate more of your decisions into the story. I'll try to add another part that you guys can vote on. Maybe a proposal, who knows... ;)