Ch. 5

"We have arrived!" Perseus announced. He was super excited: soon they would be crossing the sea and landing in Anatolia. Byzantion was the farthest Perseus had ever gone before so the wanderer within him was going nuts at the prospect of exploring new things and places.

It was now autumn and the temperature was becoming lower: especially since they were now more north than before.

"Set up camp here, and make it a good one!" Artemis shouted. "Perseus and Zoe, follow me."

Perseus walked over to Artemis along with Zoe. Artemis was standing on a hill overlooking the city and the crossing.

"We'll have to wait here for a while," Artemis said immediately as they arrived.

Perseus frowned. "Why?"

Artemis pointed at the sea. "The seas are not safe now; storms are brewing. We have to wait before we cross or we will all die while we are crossing the sea."

"We don't have that time!" Perseus said. "The seas will probably not calm down until spring. That will give Echidna a chance to form a bigger army."

Zoe agreed. "There has to be another way."

Artemis shook her head. "I won't risk it. That decision is final."

She walked away leaving a disgruntled Perseus and Zoe.

"I have to do something," Perseus said.

Zoe raised her eyebrows. "You have a knack for disobeying Lady Artemis."

Perseus smirked. "What can I say, it's becoming a talent of mine."

"Not a healthy one," Zoe said shrugging.

She walked away to set up her tent leaving Perseus alone to make up a plan.

Perseus gave up after five minutes of plan making and decided to just set up his camp; maybe something would pop into his head.

When Perseus had finished he still had no idea what to do. He decided on just lying down for a while and concentrating.

A few minutes passed. Still, nothing. Perseus now really gave up. He stood up and walked to the Hunters' camp.

He walked into the camp and was as usual greeted by some cold and unimpressed stares. Perseus ignored them and walked over to Zoe's tent.

He poked his head in. "Is anyone home?"

Perseus saw Zoe standing up, looking annoyed.

She walked over to him. "What do you want?"

Perseus shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just here to say hello, and maybeee ask a question."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Just spit it out."

"Okay, if you insist," Perseus said. "So, how would one stop the storms?"

Zoe raised her eyebrows at him. "Really?"

"Not that I would, just asking this out of... curiosity, yeah, curiosity..." Perseus explained.

"Well, that person could try to sort things out with the Goddess that rules over these storms," Zoe said.

Perseus looked thoughtful. "Hmm, very interesting."

Zoe sighed annoyed. "Are you done?"

"Actually, no. So, if that person happens to not know which Goddess that rules the storms is, what would that one do?"

Zoe sighed loudly again. "She is named Ceto, Perseus. Now get out of here."

"Okay, thank you," Perseus said grinning. He walked away with a good plan firmly in his mind.

Perseus dragged the massive deer with him over his shoulder. It reminded him of all the times he had to carry his and his father's supplies. He missed his father so much...

Perseus bit his lip to focus himself: he couldn't be thinking about these things now. Perseus needed to focus: revenge for his parents' dead would come later.

Perseus finally reached the coastline. The waves were smashing into the stones; the weather hadn't got any better.

Perseus began building a campfire with all the wood he could find. It took very long and the day crawled by. Eventually he had a massive one. Perseus set the whole thing on fire; it gave off enormous amounts of heat.

Perseus grabbed the deer he had hunted and threw it into the fire whispering an apology to Artemis for hurting one of her sacred animals.

Then he said his words that would hopefully summon the one he was looking for. "Great Goddess Ceto, Goddess of Sea Monsters and Deadly Storms, I am Perseus and I offer you this large deer! In return, I ask nothing but a small visit by you, so I can see you in all your glory!"

The fire kept burning. The deer slowly burned away. The waves kept hitting the coast harshly. But nothing happened.

Perseus was about to curse the goddess when a brightening flash of light forced him to close his eyes. He slowly opened them. Before him stood a woman who radiated power. She was incredibly beautiful, in a wild way. Her dark, black hair streamed down her back like a waterfall and her dark blue eyes showed a wild, although powerful look.

Perseus grinned: she had shown up. Now he had to be careful: he had to watch his words or this meeting could end up with him being fed to the Kraken.

He bowed to the goddess. She motioned for him to stand up.

"So, mortal, what do you wish of me? I know you didn't summon me without a good reason to do so," Ceto said.

"Yeah, you see, I want to cross the strait here and the storms are making it real hard and since you are the one controlling them I thought you maybe could help out," Perseus explained.

Cato smiled evilly. "And why would I do that? It's storm season and my time to wreack havoc upon you mortals."

"Could you not make an exception? You know, just one ship crossing?" Perseus asked.

Cato looked doubtful. "I would be willing to do that, if you'd do me a favor..."

Perseus sighed. Of course there had to be a catch. He listened to her request though.

She smiled. "There are rumors that the Nemean Lion is roaming around these parts. Kill it and bring its pelt to me. Then I will grant you save passage."

"Are you sure we can't do anything else?" Perseus said.

Ceto shook her head. "This is the only way. Unless you want to do something else...," she said looking at Perseus seductively.

Perseus gulped. "I think I will stick to the first option."

Ceto smiled. "Fine, Perseus. Remember, if you don't bring me the pelt within three days I will not let you cross for even longer."

Perseus wanted to protest but Ceto had already disappeared to her home on the seabed.

"This will be fun to explain," Perseus grumbled.

"Artemis! Arty! Moon girl!" Perseus said knocking on Artemis' tent.

"What is the matter Perseus?"

Perseus looked to the side to see Zoe walking over to him. "Well, I found a way to cross the strait within a few days."

"How?" Zoe asked.

"I will tell you when Artemis finally opens up," Perseus answered.

He kept knocking on her door. 'Artemis! Arty! Moon girl! Man hater!"

The tent flap finally opened. A very annoyed Artemis came outside. "What do you want to say Perseus?" She said slowly.

Perseus didn't seem to notice her anger. "Okay, I have good news and bad news that I want to tell you."

Artemis frowned. "Explain."

"Well, the good news is that I found a way to cross the strait in, like, a few days," Perseus said.

Artemis raised his eyebrows at him. "How would we do this then?"

"Well, that's the bad news. I sort of summoned Ceto, who is causing the storms by the way, and asked what I could do to get safe passage. She said we had to get the pelt of the Nemean Lion. So not that bad news is it?"

Artemis narrowed his eyes at him. "You did what?"

Perseus looked thoughtfully up. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention that if we don't do this in three days Ceto is going to prolong the storms."

Artemis eye twitched. "YOU ARE SO STUPID! WITH THIS YOU MAY HAVE SABOTAGED THE ENTIRE MISSION!"

Zoe flinched from her lady's outburst but Perseus just shrugged. "No worries, I have got a good plan."

Artemis composed herself a little. "Okay, explain your plan."

Perseus rubbed his head sheepishly. "That was actually a lie. I don't have a plan. Don't worry though: I will make one up."

All composure from Artemis was gone again. "YOU DON'T HAVE A PLAN?"

"As I said, I will make one up. Improvising is my specialty," Perseus said.

Artemis looked like she was going to slap Perseus. To Zoe's surprise Artemis actually composed herself.

"Okay, this isn't entirely bad. This could be turn out to be a advantage," Artemis said.

She looked over to Perseus. "You and I are going to hunt this lion."

Then she looked over to Zoe. "You take control of the camp; make sure that the hunters keep training."

Zoe nodded. "It will be done, milady." She walked away to her job as second in command of the Hunt.

"Grab your weapons and armor, Perseus. We two are going hunting."

"This is so fun, Arty! You and me going hunting!" Perseus said enthusiastic.

"Firstly, stop calling me that. Secondly, the entire mission is at risk. So I wouldn't call this fun," Artemis said.

Perseus pouted. "Oh come on moon girl, I know you find this as fun as I do!"

Artemis smiled slightly out of the sight of Perseus. Yes, although the entire mission was at risk she couldn't turn down a good hunt and challenge, and hunting the Nemean Lion was certainly that.

They had been walking all day trying to reach the place where sightings of a big lion had been. It was already becoming nighttime and when the soon it was dark all around.

"We should set up camp here," Artemis said when they reached a good spot.

Perseus agreed. Soon they had both lay down their sleeping rolls on the ground; Perseus had made a campfire. Now they were sitting near it.

Perseus shuffled over to Artemis. "Okay, I have come up with a plan. So, it's quite simple actually. We are going to find a big open place. You are going to sit somewhere high. I will bait the kitty and distract him while you aim for its eyes and mouth and shoot him full of arrows."

"And?" Artemis asked.

"That's it actually," Perseus said.

"Are you sure you aren't a son of Athena? With your amazing strategic abilities?" Artemis asked.

Perseus pretended to look offended which made Artemis actually laugh. Perseus loved how it sounded like music; he realized that this was the first time he had heard her laugh despite him traveling together with the Hunters for almost three months.

"It's actually a pretty good plan," Artemis said after she had stopped laughing. "The simple ones are often best."

Perseus shrugged. "What can I say, I am a brilliant strategist."

This made Artemis smile again; her eyes even twinkled with amusement.

Some time in silence passed. "Artemis?" Perseus asked.

"What?"

"I am now sort of a temporary member of the Hunt, right?" Perseus asked.

"I guess you could say that," Artemis replied.

"Does that mean I can't date girls? Because I saw this really hot girl and I thought, you know, maybe I can hook up with her or..."

Artemis actually jumped up and narrowed her eyes at him. "You will do no such thing."

Perseus laughed out loud.

Artemis looked at him even angrier. "You think this is funny?"

Perseus shook his head. "It was just a joke, chill."

Artemis slowly sat down again. Her face was still a little red from her burst of anger. Perseus thought it looked really cute, but he quickly banished those thoughts. That was really dangerous territory.

"We should rest now," Perseus said.

Artemis nodded. "Indeed: tomorrow will be a long day.

They both stood up. Perseus threw some sand over the fire to extinguish it. They both settled into their respective bedroll.

"Good night Arty," Perseus said.

Artemis sighed loudly but eventually also replied. "You too, Perseus."

"I think this is a good spot," Perseus said. He and Artemis were standing in a rather large clearing in the middle of the forest. There were a lot of high trees from which Artemis could shoot her arrows.

"I agree," Artemis said looking at all the vantage points up in the trees.

"Now, Perseus, show me how you intend to lure the Nemean Lion to here," Artemis said looking at him skeptically.

Perseus grinned. He grabbed his sack of his belongings and pulled a large lion pelt out. He draped it around his neck. Perseus also grabbed a huge branch from the ground that looked like a club. "This is my ultimate bait!"

Artemis looked at him in disgust. "You look like my pathetic half brother."

Perseus grinned again. "That is exactly the point; I know that the Nemean Lion is pretty smart so if he sees me as the man who killed him then he surely will show up."

Artemis frowned at him. "Where did you even get that pelt?"

"I may or may not have stolen it from your tent," Perseus said nonchalantly. "Don't worry, I will hang it again when we get back."

Artemis slowly nodded. "There is one issue with your plan: how will it hear or see you? This forest is really big."

"Oh silly Arty, you underestimate my strategic genius!" Perseus dramatically exclaimed.

Artemis just glared at him.

Perseus got serious again. "That's where you come in: you need to make my voice very, very loud. Then I can lure it to our location and when it sees me dressed as Herakles it will definitely attack."

Artemis nodded. "I can do that."

She waved her hand at Perseus. After that she athletically climbed into a tree; a silver bow appeared in her hand. "Fire away Perseus!"

Perseus nodded and put his hands to his mouth. "I am Herakles, the strongest man ever, with the smarts of a rock!"

Perseus' voice resounded all across the forest. "I have beaten many foes but the one I am the most proud of is the Nemean Lion! I beat that Kitty Cat with my bare hands! And now I hear that that cat has reformed again; I am ready for round two, so bring it little kitty!"

Artemis almost had to laugh at Perseus' speech, but she kept her laugh in: right now she needed to be concentrated.

Perseus gripped his club and waited. The Lion would surely show up soon. He would have to distract it by dodging and hitting the lion with force.

He was right: suddenly out of the bushes came the biggest creature that Perseus had ever seen. It looked like a lion, but way bigger. It's teeth were massive and his claws razor sharp. It saw Perseus wearing the lion pelt and it roared angrily: he did recognize him, or at least who Perseus was trying to imitate.

"Begin shooting now!" Pereus said when the Nemean Lion charged at him. Silver arrows started being shot at the Lion but it was smart: it narrowed his eyes so that they were narrow slits so that Artemis couldn't shoot him in the eyes.

"Shit," Perseus whispered.

Now he had to take the initiative. He grabbed the club with two hands and charged the Nemean Lion. Perseus hit the Lion with all of his power; it hadn't seen coming because of his narrowed eyes. The head of the Lion snapped back from the force of the blow but it quickly recovered. With one swoop of his tail Perseus launched backwards. Luckily Perseus was able to roll out his fall but his breath was still knocked out of him. His still weak spot that were his ribs hurt from the sheer force behind the blow.

Perseus cursed; his blow had almost done nothing. The Lion only looked angrier and more determined to kill him. Silver arrows started raining down on the Lion again so it had to close his eyes, granting time to Perseus to make up a plan. The Nemean Lion didn't have many weaknesses: basically the only things that could be damaged were the eyes and mouth...

Perseus almost facepalmed. "Of course! I just have to let it open its mouth," he said to himself.

Perseus grabbed his club again. "Artemis! Watch his eyes!" Perseus exclaimed before charging again.

This time he took care not to put all his power into one swing so that he could keep up the pressure. He swung his club around and hit the Nemean Lion everywhere he could. This slowly forced the Lion back; all the blunt attacks were starting to have an impact. And soon it was forced to open his eyes to defend itself.

Finally, Artemis could do her thing right. She drew an arrow back and fired it at one of the eyes of the lion. It hit him square in the eye. The Lion roared out in pain: a silver arrow now stuck out of his eye.

Perseus felt elated that Artemis had landed a shot but due to this and his exhaustion from his earlier offensive he didn't notice the paw from the Lion coming up and hitting him back. Perseus flew through the air again and couldn't roll the force behind it this time: he smashed into the ground with a massive smack.

Perseus head spun from the blow to his body and head. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't, dazed as he was.

The Nemean Lion slowly neared his defeated opponent. Perseus scrambled to get away from him but he was still too hurt from the massive smack he had just gotten. The Lion bore his teeth at him and got ready for the final blow.

Then everything suddenly went in slow motion, at least from Perseus' perspective: he saw a flash of silver: he first thought it was because of his dazed state but soon he saw a silver hunting knife stick out of the other eye of the Nemean Lion. It roared out in pain again and this time Perseus wasted no time: from his belt he grabbed the hair pin that was Riptide and threw it at the Nemean Lion. During it's flight Riptide slowly changed into a celestial bronze sword and hit the Nemean Lion in the top of his mouth: the point of the sword actually stuck out from the Lion's snout. Slowly the Nemean Lion disintegrated into golden dust which was blown away by the wind, leaving behind a golden colored pelt.

Perseus sighed relieved: that had been way too close. He would have to sharpen his training up; lately he had slacked a bit because of all the walking that he had to do with the Hunters. Perseus now realized that there could be no more slacking now: things would only get more dangerous from here if they were to face Echidna and her minions. While he was pondering on that Perseus saw a hand stuck out to him. He gratefully grabbed it and was helped up by Artemis who had come out of her hiding place.

"Thanks, Moon Girl, I owe you one," Perseus said.

"No problem: it's what hunting companions do for each other."

Despite the fight they just had Perseus smiled. "Did I hear your right? Do you consider me, a mere male, a friend?"

"I only said hunting companion," Artemis countered.

Perseus' eyes showed his amusement. "Yeah, right."

Artemis rolled her eyes at him so Perseus let it rest.

"An unorthodox way to kill it, but effective for sure," Artemis commented after she looked at what was left of the mighty Nemean Lion.

"Yeah, remember, improvising master" Perseus said jokingly pointing at himself.

"I did have to save you, remember?" Artemis said.

Perseus waved his hand dismissively at her. "Yeah, whatever, let me just get this pelt to Ceto."

They walked over to the remains of the once mighty Lion. Perseus grabbed the pelt and threw it over his shoulder and picked Riptide up from the ground, turning it into a hair pin again; Artemis grabbed her hunting knife from the ground and put it back in its sheath.

"I'll flash us back to the camp, we have no time to lose," Artemis said.

Before Perseus could even protest Artemis grabbed his shoulder and with a bright silver flash they disappeared. Perseus felt a weird sensation before they arrived at the camp of the Hunters. He immediatley felt very dizzy again and almost had to throw up.

After a few seconds Perseus composed himself. "That feels really weird."

Artemis shrugged. "You get used to it. Now, bring the pelt to Ceto so that we can finally cross the strait."

Perseus nodded and began walking over to the seacoast as he did before. When he reached the coast he set the pelt of the Nemean Lion down: it was really heavy and Perseus' shoulders hurt from the effort.

"Lady Ceto, I have the pelt!" Perseus shouted.

In a bright flash Ceto appeared. "Ah, mortal, it seems you have actually managed to do what I told you. Most impressive indeed."

Perseus nodded. "Now, you have to follow up on your side of the deal."

"Of course, of course," Ceto said smiling. "The storms will subside for the entire day, giving you and your companions the chance of crossing the strait."

Perseus bowed his head a little. "Thank you, Lady Ceto."

Ceto also bowed her head slightly to Perseus' surprise. "You have earned my respect mortal; getting the Nemean Lion's pelt is no small feat, especially since you have done it without any powers and only battle wit. Although you admittedly had a little help..."

Perseus nodded. "I thank you for your kind words, lady."

"As you should do," Ceto said. "I am sure we will meet again someday, Perseus."

She then flashed away and Perseus was left alone once again standing on the beach. He stared at the clouds who slowly began to part to show the sun, albeit slightly. This would be good enough weather to make a crossing. Perseus walked back to the camp happy over his and Artemis' accomplishment.

When Artemis saw Perseus approaching the camp she walked over to him. "Did it work?" she asked.

Perseus nodded. "Look up; the storms have stopped for one day, allowing us to go to Anatolia."

"I'll announce it to the Hunters," Artemis said.

She turned around to face the camp again. "Girls!"

Everyone in the camp quickly walked to their lady to listen to what she had to say.

When everyone was present Artemis continued. "I have an announcement to make! We won't have to camp here for a few months! Instead, we will be leaving now."

This caused a relieved sigh to resound through the ranks of the Hunters.

"How can we suddenly cross now?" one of the Hunters, Phoebe asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Perseus and I have hunted the Nemean Lion and killed it, to give it's pelt to Ceto as payment for her letting the storms stop for a day," Artemis said.

All Hunters looked over to Perseus. Perseus was surprised what he saw: instead of the cold, unimpressed look he normally expected to see Perseus now saw a grudging good job kind of look, maybe even a little respect? Perseus noted this for himself: if he wanted the Hunters to like him he had to earn their respect through actions and deeds.

He was shaken out of his musings by Artemis ending her little speech and making him move.

"Pack your stuff as quick as you can! We are leaving right now!"

Author's Note: For anyone wondering why Artemis and the Hunters are 'friendlier' than normal: there are two reasons in my mind. The Hunters and Artemis haven't existed for too long, so they don't have that thousands years hatred of men, coupled with the fact that they at least have a little respect for Perseus' skills. I just don't really enjoy that Perseus getting basically tortured by the Hunters thing. So, yeah, that's why. On another note I also wanted to say sorry for the break I had. I just lacked a little inspiration, and I was also on vacation for four weeks, so I couldn't really write anything. My inspiration is back though now so hopefully I update more now. X