Percy smiled as he looked out to the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying the warm summer breeze wash over his face. Both he and Thalia had just made it to Corpus Christi; the rest of the trip after their fight with the eidolon in New Orleans had been fairly uneventful, and now they were ready to rendezvous with their informant with plenty of time to spare. Beside him, Thalia lounged on the railing, staring out to the horizon with a soft smile on her face as her summer dress fluttered. He readjusted his sunglasses.
They were, of course, going 'incognito' – a flowery dress and sun hat for Thalia, and a pair of khaki shorts and sunglasses for Percy, in case someone on the Princess Andromeda, like Luke, was on shore and saw them. They were just a few blocks down from the USS Lexington, and given that they gone through a trying tribulation on their journey, both were content to relax for a few moments before carrying on with their task.
Percy checked his digital watch – 4:35 PM. "It's getting somewhat late," he spoke up. "Should we go?"
Thalia pursed her lips slightly as she looked out to the sea.
"I suppose so," she finally said, pulling back from the metal railing and joining Percy, hand in hand. For their act, they were playing the part of a couple sight-seeing, which, Percy thought as he walked down the sidewalk with Thalia's hand in his, was not all too far from the truth. Certainly, their main reason for being down in Corpus Christi, Texas was not to sight-see, but they were a couple, and now they were walking to a local sight.
The summer sun still shone highly and brightly as they neared the old warship, and like many others walking past them, the two demigods basked in the southern summer warmth, moderated by a cool breeze. There was a small crowd of people gathered at the base of the aircraft carrier, waiting in a tour group to board the vessel and explore it. Percy and Thalia discreetly inserted themselves into the crowd.
"The blue flower," Percy whispered, looking around. "Do you see it?" They nudged around a little.
"Yes!" Thalia sharply whispered, patting Percy on the shoulder. She pointed. He saw a discreet-looking figure, half-turned, wearing a cap and a white cardigan that had a small blue flower pinned to its right side. The two moved through the crowd, intent on reaching the figure, and when they finally burst out of the crowd, the figure had both hands on the railing, looking at the hull of the USS Lexington.
"Um," Percy started, unsure of how to address the figure, "hi."
The figure turned around, long black hair spilling out of the cap as she pulled it off.
There was a brief silence.
"Hello, my friends," Zoë Nightshade said, smiling.
Percy and Thalia quietly sipped on their iced coffees, while Zoë just sat cross-legged, a small smile playing on her lips as she looked at the two surprised demigods. They sat under the shade of an outside table, watching the traffic and groups of people go by.
Finally, Thalia put down her coffee. "So you're the informant that Artemis sent?"
Zoë nodded. "Indeed. Lady Artemis has tasked me with this duty since the end of the Atlas incident. I have been stationed here for months, building my position on the ship in order to prepare for the arrival of friendly demigods that I could safely escort onboard." She paused to take a sip of her own iced coffee. "I was delighted to learn from Chiron that it was you two that were assigned to this task."
Percy nodded. "Well, that makes sense. I was just surprised that the Artemis would send her Lieutenant to do this kind of task."
Zoë froze at that statement, and she quickly turned away, looking to the street.
"I am no longer my Lady's Lieutenant," she said, her voice shakier than it had been. "In fact, I am no longer a Hunter."
"What?" Thalia exclaimed, her eyes wide. "How could Artemis do that to you?"
"Do not besmirch my Lady," Zoë quickly replied. "It was not her fault. There was no choice."
6 Months Earlier
"Store these documents for me," Artemis said, still writing on a piece of parchment. They all stood in a tent fit for a king – or in this case, a goddess. The floors were clothed with fine animal furs, and dim burning candles lit the tent. Artemis herself sat at a large wooden desk. The Hunter nodded, backing out of the tent as she held onto a stack of papers. The tent flap closed behind the Hunter, leaving just Artemis and Zoë in the luxurious tent.
Artemis sighed, putting her pen down as she rested her head on her intertwined hands, her shining silver eyes piercing into Zoë's soul. The Lieutenant of Artemis fidgeted nervously in place, her eyes downcast as she tried to keep a straight back with her hands grasped behind her back.
"Come now, Zoë. We should not delude ourselves any further," Artemis spoke, standing up as she did so. "We must face reality."
Zoë slowly nodded, even as she still avoided her Lady's gaze. Artemis began circling around the Hunter.
"Are you sure that you have lost my Blessing?"
"… Yes, my Lady."
Artemis stopped circling, breathing out slowly. "I did not think the wording would be so… literal. Fall in battle, indeed." She turned her head to face her Lieutenant. "You know what this means, Zoë."
"Yes, my Lady," Zoë said, her voice wavering and her eyes watering. "I must resign my position as your Lieutenant, and as a Hunter of Artemis. I am no longer fit to fulfill those roles."
Artemis' face looked ashen, but she still nodded. "I know. And I cannot bend these rules, even for a single instance. Still," she continued, revolving around her desk, "I may yet have things for you to do, even outside the capacity of a Hunter." Zoë looked up at this.
The Goddess of the Hunt held up a piece of paper, reading it under the dim candle light. "Chiron requires a spy." The goddess looked up. "I daresay a spy need not be a Hunter. Wouldn't you, Zoë?"
"It seems that the prophecy was correct. Without my immortality, I have been perished by my father's hand – however, it will be a long and bitter ending. Not quite what any of us expected from that prophecy," Zoë muttered mirthlessly. "I have come to terms with it over the past few months, but it will still be a painful experience. After all, I never expected to die after two-thousand years of life."
"But enough of this from me," Zoë suddenly said, collecting her cup and napkin. "We should get going. After all, time waits for no one, and especially not us." Percy and Thalia nodded, standing up as well. After throwing away their trash, they followed Zoë to the street, where she turned to look at them.
"I have prepared armor for the two of you. While most onboard the Princess Andromeda will not recognize either of you, it is not safe to walk around without a disguise. The possibility remains that someone that will recognize you may see you." The two demigods nodded in agreement, and with a turn, she led them to a small car, parked beside the pier. Quickly looking around to ensure that no bystanders could see anything, Zoë opened the trunk of her car, stepping aside to let Percy and Thalia peer inside.
Two sets of armor, complete with face-covering helmets and swords, sat disassembled in the trunk of the car. Both sets of armor were in well-worn condition, scratches and what appeared to, from Percy's perspective, be stained blood littering the metal surface. One set was somewhat larger than the other. Percy hoisted the helmet of the larger set out of the trunk, staring at its face before looking back to Zoë.
"What's this for?" he asked, gesturing at the oppressive-looking armor that could have passed as Lord of the Rings cosplay.
"Armor," Zoë replied, her tone short and brief. "You'll need it to get past the guards on the Princess Andromeda, and to blend in without suspicion. There are many other demigods that have defected to the Titans' side that wear similar armor."
Percy's stomach felt a little queasy at that, especially when he rubbed his thumb on a blood stain, which was still moist. Beside him, Thalia looked down at the concrete floor of the parking lot, her expression somewhere between resolve and prayer for the fallen, enemies or not.
"Zoë…" Percy started, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"Do not lecture me, Perseus," Zoë spoke softly, her voice quiet but steady. "They were assigned to be my guard today. I was unsure of how to take their armor, but my mind was made when I found them torturing a naiad.
Earlier That Day
Zoë's eyes widened as she heard the yelps of pain from further down the alleyway. As she came to a stop, she saw the form of one of her guards standing, while the other was on the ground, his scabbard held in his hand like a baton. Both of their helmets lay abandoned by the wall.
"Stop struggling," the guard on the ground murmured as his form hovered over the squirming figure. There was the soft sound of metal clinging as the guard fumbled with something. "It'll be easier for you too."
"Damn, Herod," the other guard laughed, "just do it already. We don't have all day."
"What is going on here?" Zoë yelled, her voice carrying down the alleyway. The yelps turned into quiet whimpers as the guard kneeling on the ground quickly stopped and stood up to her right, holding the scabbard in one hand behind his back, with the other gripping his pants, as both guards flashed hurried smiles.
"Nothing, captain. Just a miscreant that tried to pickpocket us," the demigod guard on her left smoothly explained, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Zoë's eyes narrowed, and she, almost imperceptibly, leaned to the side, viewing the scene past the standing guards' imposing forms.
Her hands began shaking as she viewed the deplorable scene in front of her. The naiad on the ground was softly crying, her skin scratched and bloodied. Her hair was a matted mess, and her clothes – simple garments to protect her modesty – were torn. Zoë's rage reached a fever pitch as she eyed the right guard's belt, the buckle of which was loose.
Seeing only red, she slowly walked forward, a stoic expression etched into her face even as the guards still continued their charade. With a swift motion, she drew a dagger and sliced opened the left guard's throat, not caring as his face contorted in pain and surprise even as he clasped both hands to his fatal gash in a futile attempt to stop the life from leaving his body. Even as he fell to the ground, his blood spraying onto the concrete ground, Zoë, and the other guard, she continued walking forward.
The other guard, now with a panicked look, backed away, his efforts to pick up his sword, which lay on the ground, hindered by the loose pants. As Zoë neared him, he waved his scabbard at her. Zoë quickly knocked it out of his hands as she advanced. He tumbled to the ground as he tripped on the hem of his pants, falling to the ground. Struggling to crawl away, he was stopped as Zoë kicked him in the face.
She lowered herself to straddle his torso, deftly pulling out an arrow from the quiver on her back as she did so. Turning his face to see hers, she took in the sight of his broken and bloody nose even as he whimpered in fear and pain, his tears mixed with blood and mucus.
"W-why?" he asked, confused and terrified.
She gave no response as she slammed the arrow into his right shoulder. With her other hand, she stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth, muffling his screams. Within a blink of the eye, she pulled the arrow out and skewered his other shoulder, rendering both arms useless and ruined.
"Pl-please… I beg of you," the guard pleaded. "I'll do anything."
"Was that an option you gave her," Zoë asked, her voice hard as diamond as she nodded toward the naiad, who lay fearfully on the ground looking at the scene. The guard paled.
"I only require one thing of you," Zoë whispered into his ear as she leaned down, her breath hot as her lips came close to his face. "Your life."
She plunged the arrow into his throat, feeling the concrete pavement on the metal arrowhead as the guard coughed and choked on his own blood. His chest heaved for air once, then twice, and then with a last bloody gasp, fell silent. His eyes, open, knew no more.
Zoë picked herself off the dead guard's body, brushing off the dust and dirt even though blood stains abounded on her armor. She turned to the naiad, sighing as she took one of the guard's cloaks to wrap around the scared water spirit.
"Go. Return to your water, but speak of this to no one," Zoë sternly ordered. The naiad quickly nodded, running off down the alley. She stopped a few paces away, turning as she bowed.
"Thank you," the naiad said, her lyrical voice slightly hoarse, and then she was gone.
Zoë looked back to the bloody bodies that greeted her on the concrete ground. Closing her eyes, and sighing, she began to strip both bodies of their armor.
"There was nothing lost from the deaths of those two despicable people," Zoë said, her voice heavy with emotion. "Especially not now, in a war such as this. Whether they had died in a dark alley or a battle, by my hand or yours, does not matter."
Percy grimaced at the thought, but slowly, he slid on the helmet, obscuring his expression.
"Now," Zoë whispered, "you must act naturally. You two are far from the only demigods to join Kronos' cause, so that will not be a factor in this. Rather, you must learn to ignore many of the things that happen onboard. If you act like the people you two truly are, you will be found out and I will not be able to save you."
"Fly casual," Thalia murmured under her own breath. Percy glanced at her but didn't say anything as the three ascended the plank that would lead them into the Princess Andromeda. After unlocking and opening the side-hatch, Zoë stepped aside and let the two young demigods step through, taking extra care to not snag the horns of their helmets on the short clearance of the entryway.
Inside, it was dark and warm – the underbelly of the ship that Percy didn't see on his first "visit". The walls were exposed with wiring and piping, and there was another hatch near the end of the corridor. However, Percy wasn't looking at those parts of the ship.
Rather, he was looking at the two Scythian dracanae, similar to the snake-women he had seen nearly two years prior. They weren't particularly imposing or frightening – in fact, one of them held a clipboard while pushing up her glasses, which made her look more like a librarian than a monster – but it meant that this was to be the first test for Percy and Thalia, to see whether or not they could pass as demigods in Kronos' Titan Army and succeed in their infiltration of the enemy base.
Percy swallowed as quietly as he could and began to slowly walk forward, as did Thalia. Zoë, in front of them, came to a stop in front of the small wooden booth that the dracanae stood behind.
"Ah, Aerisss," the dracaena with the clipboard hissed, looking down at her list, "and your two guardsss, Fenrir and …" she looked down the list, "Fangorn. Welcome back." The other dracaena nodded and motioned for the group of three to follow them, while the first dracaena put down the clipboard and picked up her book, which Percy eyed to be titled "Sensual and Seductive Scales: How to maintain them".
The second dracaena stopped at the hatch, and out of a pouch slung over her shoulder, she pulled out a ring of keys. Picking at the keys, during which she sometimes muttered "no" or "I really need to get rid of this one", she finally found the one she was searching for, and placed it into the keyhole.
Thalia sighed, but even as she did, the dracaena quickly looked up, her nose – or, considering her snake-like features, lack thereof – sniffing. Her eyes widened as she did so. Percy stiffened. Thalia held her breath. Zoë's hand crept toward her dagger.
"Sssally!" the dracaena finally yelled, causing the one back at the wooden booth to yelp and drop her book. "Did you eat that burrito today?"
The dracaena looked back at the "librarian" dracaena, who somehow, imposing ancient Greek monster she was, had the ability to look sheepish from behind her wooden booth.
"Sssorry, Sssarah," the "librarian" dracaena whispered. "I was very hungry thisss morning."
The dracaena at the front rolled her eyes, before unlocking the hatch and swinging it open. Zoë stepped forward, as did the two demigods behind her, and the hatch swung closed. Still, Percy could hear the dracaena that had unlocked the hatch for them admonishing the other.
The corridor they were in led to a flight of stairs which had a closed door at the dracaena. Zoë led them to the top of stairs before stopping and turning around.
"Remember what you are here for. Do not jeopardize our mission for anything," the former Hunter whispered. Thalia and Percy nodded, and Zoë swung the door open. They all stepped out.
Percy stared at the sheer number of monsters that greeted his eyes, from telekhines to dracaena to even the occasional drakon. Intermixed with them were a number of demigods, most of them wearing armor and baring scars. There were also other humans, some that looked like ancient soldiers wielding spears and others that looked like modern mercenaries holding rifles. A number of groups streamed to and fro, oftentimes carrying some mechanism or another item as couriers of some sort. It all seemed more organized and – more importantly – considerably larger than Percy remembered it being.
"There's so many…" Thalia whispered, spelling out what they had both been thinking out loud.
"Kronos' army," Zoë nodded, her voice also low. "This could be the harbinger of doom for our way of life."
She looked wistfully at her companions.
"We are in a brave new world, that has such monsters in it. Prepare yourselves, and let us not dither."
A/N: School has been busy for the last few months, so I apologize for such a belated update. At any rate, Spring break has given me a lot of time to rest and recover as well as write, so I have already gotten a good start on the chapter after this one. In addition, I have not forgotten about revising my earlier chapter, so barring any delays, the second chapter should receive a hefty revision to its structure when this chapter is posted.
I have question: do you all like Monday morning (9:50 AM EST) updates, or would you prefer a different day and/or time? Let me know.
Don't forget to review, follow, favorite, and stay tuned for the next chapter!