Normal P.O.V
The morning was quiet in Camp Half-blood. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining brightly, campers just beginning to wake up and get ready for the day. It was peaceful. That peace was broken however as the sound of a hunting horn rang throughout the valley that was the camp. Those campers who weren't awake yet were now. All of the campers as well as Chiron rushed to the mighty pine tree acting as their border to find a sight not often seen at the camp.
Hiking up Half-blood Hill was a band of semi-immortal, silver clad, pre-teenage girls carrying bows and knives and whatever else they might need. Leading the group of about fifteen was a small, thirteen year old girl with beautiful auburn hair and striking silver eyes. The moment she stopped in front of the old centaur, Chiron bowed deeply as did the campers, except three. Artemis took note of them, she couldn't see their faces well but she would find them eventually.
"Lady Artemis, what an honor it is for you to visit this humble camp of ours." Chiron said as respectively as possible. Artemis laughed. "Stand up, Chiron. We're friends aren't we? No need to bow." Chiron stood with a smile on his face. The campers took this as their queue to do the same and dispersed to do what they needed to do for the morning. Artemis tried to find the three who refused to bow to an Olympian but lost them in the crowd. She cursed in ancient Greek at losing them so easily.
Artemis led her hunters to her silver cabin in the main omega of cabins at the center of camp. They had 3 hours to kill before capture the flag so she let her hunters settle into the cabin while she went to go find the three demigods. She'd normally give up on it by now but she had a feeling they were more than what they displayed themselves as.
After 2 and a half hours of not finding them, Artemis was growing agitated, very agitated. She was walking towards the cabins when the horn sounded, signaling preparation time for the game. She hid behind one of the cabins to try and spot them as they left their cabin. She didn't, of all the people to leave the cabins, not one of them was amongst them. She was ready to explode when she had an idea. She'd join the game itself and hunt them down. She ran off to find Chiron not aware of the trio of 'demigods' watching from afar, chuckling to themselves.
L-L-L-LINE BREAK-K-K-K
The campers stood in a large group in front of Chiron. The hunters were standing by themselves but still in front of Chiron. He was explaining the rules about no maiming or killing and all that jazz. "Excuse me campers!" Chiron announced after the campers got rowdy. "But I'm not finished. Today is more occasion than normal for Lady Artemis has decided to join the game!" he finished with a clap.
There was a whole round of groans from the campers and a round of laughs from the hunters. Artemis stood in her 13 year old form, smug smile on her face, arms crossed. Her eyes were still scanning the campers for the trio that refused to bow. As her eyes passed over the crowd a second time, she found them! Near the back, wearing no armor whatsoever. She laughed to herself, 'That will be their fatal mistake.' She thought.
"Alright! Get to your positions! At the sound of the horn you may begin." Chiron yelled above the crowd.
The campers dispersed to their assigned spots. Artemis spied one of the trio, the one with dark hair and pale skin, grab the camper's flag and take it with them. 'So they're flag defense, huh?'
She smiled as she ran off with her hunters to the right side of the battlefield. She set all of her hunters as flag defense, she wanted the trio to herself. She was met with resistance but promised them that they could get all the campers except those three. The hunters cheered, ready to play. The flag was in plain sight in the middle of a clearing 200 yards from the creek border.
Artemis stood in a ready position, waiting on the horn. When it sounded she took off to where she guessed the flag was. She took down any camper she came across with little effort, leaving a clear trail of her progress. Since she had yet to meet any of the three she assumed they were guarding the flag.
She found the flag mounted atop Zeus' Fist. The mound of rubble being a very logical position, the pile was hard to climb for any normal person. That is, if your normal.
Artemis leaped up into a tree to get a better view but found a view that disappointed her deeply. Only one of the people she was looking for was there, sitting at the base of Zeus' Fist. The tanned one with green eyes. He sat, back leaned against the rocks with his legs out in front of him. He picked his fingernails with a common bronze knife, looking bored. Artemis laughed quietly. Despite there only being one she would still have fun. She quietly took off her bow and knocked an arrow, aiming for his right shoulder. She fired but what happened next was the complete opposite of what she expected to happen.
BROKEN LINE
Percy's P.O.V
I knew she was there, she was good at hiding but she was arrogant, because of that she revealed herself too easily. I could sense the arrow coming so I picked up the pace a little. Faster than she could register, I caught the arrow and planted it in the stone above my shoulder to make it look like she missed. To her I didn't even move, she just missed. I laughed at her frustration. I could easily take her alone, so that's why I sent Nico and Jason after the flag. Speaking of which, I could feel the winds pick up a notch and the shadows grow a little longer, they must be having fun.
The goddess was about to release another arrow when a bolt of lightning struck as she let go releasing a loud clap of thunder and causing her to miss by herself this time. The arrow planted itself next to my right elbow. I just looked at it with disinterest causing more anger to bubble up within the goddess. 'That strike wasn't Jason's, Thalia must be having fun too.' I thought as I planted my knife in the ground and stood up. I looked Artemis right in the eye, surprising her.
"Come on out little deer! I'd like to play!" I shouted, spreading my arms out, palms up trying to goad her into attacking. It worked, she launched herself from her branch at godly speed, a pair of hunting knives ready to kill. I pulled out a ballpoint pen and uncapped it. The pen sprang into the form of a 3 foot long xiphos sword in my right hand. It was made of celestial bronze with the word ANAKLUSMOS, Riptide in english, printed across the guard on both sides. I turned to the left and blocked both knives with the flat of the blade. I pushed her back with little effort and gained 5 feet between us.
I found the magic sword in the tool shed this camp calls an armory. It was at the back of a high shelf, no one would've found it but it called to me. It felt as natural as my trident like an extension of my arm. I'm so glad I mastered any weapon I could get my hands on when I was young or I would've actually died from that strike.
As soon as she backed up she finally got a good look at my face and gasped. Then her face turned to pure rage. "YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" she bellowed as she struck again with her knives. I blocked and held.
"None of your business, at least not yet." She growled and tried to sweep my feet from out underneath me but I jumped and easily avoided it. "Come on young doe, I'm barely trying here." I mocked as I slashed horizontally, aimed at her neck. She blocked, barely. The force of my blow sent her flying through the air. She managed to recover mid fall and land on her feet 15 feet from me. She sheathed her knives, much to my surprise, and retreated backwards, pulling out her bow in the process. The moment her foot touched the ground I was instantly bombarded with arrows. I legitimately had to try to block them all.
For one minute this went on. One minute. Do you know how many arrows she got off in one minute? Let me tell you, an even 10,050, yes, I was counting. Let me just say, after a minute of blocking and dodging each arrow with nothing but a sword, I'm surprised my sword withstood it. The sword was glowing red from the friction of having to block that many arrows so quickly. By the time she stopped I was thoroughly sweating. 'Damn mortal body.' I thought, mildly exhausted.
I stood back up, ran my hand through my hair and honest to goodness laughed between breaths. She growled at my laughter, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, just haven't had this much fun in a long time." I said as I readied my sword again. This time I struck first. I closed the 15 foot gap in an instant, striking down in a large vertical swipe. She used her bow to block the strike but was driven to a knee. The ground cracked around us as did her bow as I finally began using my real strength. "I have the ability to apply the weight of the ocean to anything in any way I want, it can be quite handy sometimes." I said as I continue to push down on her, causing a small crater to form around us. She was visibly struggling, her face sweaty and her arms shaking as the opposed the weight of my strike.
With a yell, she managed to push my sword back enough to redirect it into the ground by tilting her bow and letting the blade slide off of it. I lost my balance and fell forward as the sword went into the ground all the way up to the guard. She took this opportunity to kick me scare in the ribs with all her strength to send me flying into the trees. I crashed through trees, bushes, campers, and even Nico as I flew through the forest. To say Nico was surprised would be an understatement. We crashed to the ground with such grace a falling moose would've looked like a professional dancer. I groaned as I disentangled myself from Nico. I stood up to find the silver goddess stomping her way to us. I panicked a small bit because Riptide had not returned to me yet but then my feet felt wet. I looked down to find the creek that ran through the middle of the forest. I grinned as I took some water and splashed the unconscious Nico in the face. He woke up with a start and looked up at me.
"Dude, what the fuck?" He asked in his usual monotone voice but his eyes showed annoyance.
My hands went into the air, "Hey! Don't look at me! She's the one who sent me flying." I pointed at the still approaching Artemis. "Where's Jason?" I asked him as I helped him stand up.
"Don't worry about him, he's got the flag and is heading this way but the hunters keep redirecting him via ambushes." I nodded and turned back to my adversary. "Need some help?" Nico asked, looking over my shoulder at the raging 13 year old.
"Pfft, nah. Just having some fun." I said with a shrug. Nico sighed and shook his head. I laughed at his response a little. "Oh ye of little faith." I said as I cracked my knuckles and neck. Artemis was just 12 feet from me now. I stood ankle deep in the creek, ready to intercept. Around us both campers and some of the hunters gathered to watch. I didn't care if they did, they were about to learn the truth anyway.
I waited till her foot touched the water. The moment it did the whole creek, and I do mean the whole creek, erupted. A 40 foot pillar of water shot into the air, dragging Artemis by the foot with it. She screamed a very girly scream as she rocketed upwards. I just stood back with my hands on my hips laughing. Eventually the pillar stopped, holding an upside down Artemis 40 feet in the air. She kept struggling, slashing at the water, but it was no use.
"I swear to all things devine, if you don't get me down right now Jackson I will castrate you with a rusty spoon!" she yelled from the top of the tower. I just sighed and stepped onto my own pillar and rose up to her.
By the time I was eye level with her she was instantly trying to reach me with her knife. She even grew into a 16 year old form to try and get a better reach. I just moved outside of that reach. I stood there, looking at her with an eyebrow cocked and my arms folded. She kept slashing for about a minute but eventually gave up. She flopped back down, her arms hanging below her head.
"You done?" I asked with a smirk. She just growled. "Good. Listen, we need you to get the campers to follow us."
"What do you mean?" she said crossing her arms.
"Nyx has escaped Tartarus but she is being slowed down by our parents." Her eyes widened and she paled a little. "We have 2 years to get the campers ready. With Tartarus out of the way, Nyx has complete control over every monster, she will be bringing her A game. We need to do the same so we need you to make sure the campers follow us without question since you are an Olympian."
She nodded quickly, "Of course, anything you guys need." Her tone was softer now, not as angry. But then her eyes narrowed. "Don't think I'm going to forget this humiliation! Now get me down!" I just laughed and nodded as I turned her right side up on the pillar…. then dropped the water.
She screamed as she fell but she didn't fall far as I caught her in my arms bridal style. "Of course, M'lady." She blushed brightly but that didn't last long before her eyes narrowed and she drew a knife, keeping it close to my neck.
"I swear on the styx Percy if you don't put me down right now I will stab you." She said in a very serious tone, ominous thunder punctuating her point. I quickly put her down on her own feet and made the pillar wide enough for us to both stand on our own. In less than a minute we were back on the ground just in time to see Jason bound over the stream, flag in hand, giving the campers their first win in decades. The horn sounded ending the game causing the campers to erupt in cheer. The hunters came out of the forest soon after looking exhausted and out of breath, they all glared daggers at Jason while he just smiled and waved back at them.
Chiron came trotting forward, trying and failing to hide the smile on his face. "Good game everyone! Thank you lady Artemis for giving us the honor to play against you and your hunters." Artemis just huffed and turned away, arms folded.
Chiron continued his speech, turning to the campers, "I am proud of you but celebrating will come later, right now I…. would…. like…." Chiron faded out as he stepped away from the frizzy haired teen that just showed up. She walked stiffly and her eyes glowed an erie green, green fog spilled from her slightly agape mouth. She kept walking until she stood in front of Percy, Jason, and Nico. Then she spoke in voice that sounded like three people speaking at once.
"The Earth, Sea, and Sky unite against the Night. Mortals scamper below, in terror and fright.
The seas will dry, the skies will fall, and the earth will crumble. Only then will night tumble.
Greek and Roman together show the way, a path straight and true into the day."
Everyone was silent, just standing there staring at the now collapsed girl. "Well fuck." Jason said, breaking the stressful silence.
LIIIIIIIIIIINE BREEAAAK
HOWDY PARTNERS! IT'S REAL GOOD TO SEE Y'ALL IN THESE HERE PARTS! Sorry, that hurt me as much as it probably hurt you. Well, thanks for reading and I'm begging you, review! No flames though. I'll accept helpful and constructive criticism but none of that bullshit feeling crap. Sorry, that was a lie. To be honest I love reading your reviews so give me lots, knowing y'all love this story helps me write new chapters so please review.