Well, hello. Here's your eleventh chapter. I would like to thank you guys for 11000+ views, alongside the milestone of 100 favorites. I appreciate it a lot. Also, I was wondering if you would like this to be T instead of M, as I decided for it to be M so I wouldn't have to limit myself, but anyway, onto reviews:
SDIVAD: I agree, this chapter was technically finished two days ago but I waited for it to be one week since the last one. I haven't started the twelfth yer, but it's coming eventually, not too soon, not to far from now.
skotos07: that's true, I think some things needed to be realized and I think a forced kiss from someone who is, by all accounts at this moment a servant or Percy, just helps even more.
Death Fury: thank you!
Guest(s): sorry, I will try not to mess that up again.
Things used to be more exciting for Camp Half-Blood.
Of course, Rachel had barely known anything but adventure and war for a time. But this was left in the past. Peace only came after blood was spilled, and it was enjoyable enough. She was a person eager for adventure, perhaps that's why she was chosen to host Delphi, hell, the only reason that she even became the Oracle in the first place was that because she agreed to a crazy adventure with someone who tried to slice her with a bronze sword in their first meeting, but in the last years all she had experienced was calm, without a storm to follow it.
Part of her, however, was glad that she had not delivered any new prophecies after Apollo had killed Python and restored the Oracle of Delphi.
She missed Percy. Sure, they were almost lovers at one point, but that wasn't the reason. He had become a truly good friend for her, before his death. So had Annabeth, despite the whole love triangle thing that plagued their early relations. But after a while, things were finally normal. They had learned to coexist together, at the very least.
And then they were both struck dead.
His body wasn't found. Ever. It had always intrigued Rachel. She tried to dive into the Oracle, search for answers, but there were none for a while. Both Percy and Annabeth were remembered vividly by those who knew them. Malcolm Pace had announced a year after their deaths that he had discovered plans to make a city similar to New Rome, inside Camp Half-Blood. It was nicknamed "Annabeth's Testament", because, or course, she had planned it. The construction hadn't started, but more plans were being drafted by the camp's ingenious minds. There was even a small movement to call it Chase City, but Rachel thought that Annabeth wouldn't agree to that. Even if her fatal flaw was hubris.
And as for Percy… well, his tales were told to the campers like the heroes of old. He was treated as a mythical figure by both Greeks and Romans, but more in Long Island than in San Francisco, as most expected. Either way, Rachel was skeptical of this. Percy without a doubt wouldn't want anyone venerating him. And some people almost spoke of him like a god. Savior of Olympus, sure, but he did reject godhood for a reason.
Apart from that tragedy, things were running as usual, until… they weren't.
Many more demigods were reaching Camp. This wasn't unheard of from time to time, but the journey seemed safer by what was told. Less casualties. Satyrs were actually embracing the job of searcher.
But Rachel knew that this wasn't a coincidence. Something was going on. And that's when the visions started.
At first, Rachel could see glimpses of a man, a masked man, killing monsters in the dozens. Never without his mask, the man would bring chaos to the beasts that had terrorized demigods for years.
After a while, she could hear a name being whispered in her ear. Butcher. How the monsters knew the terrorizing figure. The one who brought fear.
And recently, what Rachel could see was the figure revealing himself to the Olympian Council itself. The vision that Delphi had brought to her was that the man had raven black hair, and his presence could threaten even the gods themselves. She never got to take a look at his face, and this could either mean two things.
One, it was some type of assassin, murdering everyone he came into contact with, perhaps even demigods, satyrs, and other nature spirits, one that not even the gods could do anything about. Not that they would probably do something anyway.
The second option was simple: it was Percy. Rachel wasn't a fool. If there was one man that could fake his death for three years without putting too much effort into it, become a highly dangerous killer of monsters and intimidate the gods in their own turf, it would be Percy Jackson.
And that's why, in this early and frosty morning, she was on her way to the Big House, after spending the night replicating her visions onto frames, painting the images of this Butcher. Funnily enough, she couldn't ever replicate how uncomfortable the gods looked in her visions. Maybe it was just that unimaginable.
As Rachel walked, she could feel the prelude to something. She did not know if this was simply an intuition, or the Oracle trying to warn her. Despite the temperature this morning, the sun was still visible, the rays of light shining down into the Earth, illuminating Camp Half-Blood. But because of the cold, Rachel couldn't feel any warmth from them. It was like Apollo was looking but couldn't do anything.
She did not like this line of thought.
She reached the Big House shortly, with most of the camp empty. Of the few demigods present, since it was the last days of winter, most were having breakfast at the moment, making it so that Rachel did not meet anyone until reaching the main camp building.
She walked inside with caution, starting to hear a conversation coming from the inside, where Mr. D and Chiron usually stayed, but the door was closed. Rachel wasn't one to gossip, but these circumstances were different.
"...he just threatened you all?" The centaur questioned, his voice enlaced with worry.
"Not exactly." The god responded, a sour tone in his voice. "All of us are probably wondering why in the world would we let that happen. Especially coming from that one."
Chiron seemed to ponder for a moment before answering. "I'm glad that he is, indeed, alive. His death always seemed… too doubtful to believe."
Rachel could imagine Dionysus shrugging at that. "Whatever. As long as Artemis keeps him in check, there will be no problems."
A silence just as chilly as the current morning established itself after the god of wine finished speaking. Rachel didn't know what to really think about this newly sunk information. It had to be Percy, for Chiron to speak like that of whoever Dionysus was talking about. And of course, it only complemented Rachel's visions.
She intended to knock on the door, there wasn't any reason for anyone to keep the Oracle, of all people, in the dark, but she never had the chance. Because in the distance, a horn was heard, startling the redhead.
Immediately, Rachel heard movement inside the room. She tried to make her best poker face, as if she had just arrived. In time too, since the door just opened, revealing a visibly worried Chiron, still in his wheelchair.
"Oh, Rachel." Chiron noticed her. "I believe I am in a hurry at the moment."
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to talk about a certain subject, but that can be left for later."
The centaur stared at her for a few seconds, probably contemplating whether or not Rachel knew about Percy, before he signaled for them to leave the Big House.
As soon as they reached outside, Chiron went back to his mix of human and equine form. He had a bow in his belt, ready for use. There was already a commotion, with almost every camper now outside. Some holding weapons, some not.
Suddenly, someone screamed. Rachel, along with Chiron, rushed to the origin of the screams, one camper who was for some reason pointing at the top of Half-Blood Hill. Rachel just needed to glance over there to get the explanation as to why.
Two figures were present, right next to Thalia's tree. Peleus was eyeing the two with suspicion, but not aggression. The figure on the right was a girl, who had long brown hair, pale skin, and was dressed with a dark green shirt and jeans.
And on the left… It was him. The Butcher. Percy. But there wasn't anything that denounced to anyone but Rachel (and Chiron, obviously) that this was the old hero of Olympus. The man who was revered inside this very camp, by the people who were now holding weapons at him, the people who were prepared to defend themselves from him. He had that mask on, along with a dark jacket and pants. Only his hands weren't covered, giving the campers a good look of him apparently speaking to the girl while pointing downwards to the assembled group.
The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, but began marching forward. The disguised Percy turned, and started walking away.
"We should get someone to follow him!" One boy from the Ares cabin suggested.
"No!" The approaching girl yelled in response. "Don't follow him. He requests to be left alone."
Chiron eyed the girl with his millennia old globes. "And what is your name, young one?"
"I'm Natalie, Natalie Lawrence, sir." She responded in a respectful tone, her eyes having an intrigued look as she glanced around the demigods, Chiron, Rachel, and the rest of Camp.
Right after she presented herself, something started to appear above Natalie's head. A book, of all things, was present, along with an unusual faint glow, compared to how it normally shone. Rachel was puzzled, but Chiron, as always, knew what this meant.
"All hail Natalie Lawrence, legacy of Mnemosyne, Titaness of Memory, Inventress of Languages and Words." He proclaimed.
The shock was very much present in the crowd of demigods. Never before in recent history a direct descendant of the twelve original titans had arrived at Camp. And especially a legacy, seeing just how rare Greek legacies were.
Above them in the partially cloudy sky, unnatural thunder rumbled. A reminder that the gods were watching.
Rachel glanced over to the top of the hill, only to find out that Percy wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"It feels refreshing not to use the mask, now that I think about it."
Artemis agreed with that. She couldn't really say why. She did prefer to see his face instead of the emptiness that the mask provided. It really unnerved her. More than his eyes, which Artemis was getting more accustomed to more and more as time went by.
"I can't deny that it suits you better, Percy."
She voiced out her thoughts, at least part of it. They were now at a beach in Montauk, where Percy had asked for them to go. Apparently her mother and Poseidon had been here before, and Sally brought Percy here lots of times before. It was a special place for her companion.
The waves were calm this morning. The weather was cold, but nothing that Artemis wasn't used to, even if she wasn't a goddess and naturally had more resilience. And Percy didn't seem to be affected at all as he looked into the ocean.
Artemis wasn't sure of how she really felt about Percy. Seeing Kelli kissing him made her insides boil in anger. Was it because she considered him a friend now? Because of morality, considering that he was drunk and Kelli took advantage of it? Both? Or…
No, no, it couldn't be that. She was better than this. Almost five thousand years, for crying out loud! She would not start having such thoughts now.
But… despite what her mind cried, her feelings said otherwise. She really was worried about Percy. Speaking of which, she only noticed now that instead of gazing into the seas, he was now staring at her with a curious look.
"A penny for your thoughts?" He said with a smirk. Thankfully, the Fates had a bit of mercy on her, or perhaps they were even more sadistic than she thought. She heard thunder, thunder that shouldn't happen with weather like this.
"They are calling a meeting." Artemis said. Percy widened his eyes slightly.
"Oh. We didn't notify them of our success."
Artemis opened her mouth, only to close it again. That was true. They did not.
"You can come then." Artemis sighed. "Just close your eyes."
He immediately obeyed, shutting off his eyelids. At least he wasn't being as defiant as before. In hindsight, maybe that's why Artemis was liking him.
No, not liking him, just appreciating his company! She really had to choose her words better. At least it was all inside her mind and not spoken out loud.
Artemis finally flashed out of the beach, deciding not to start rambling mentally again. The next thing she knew was that she was right in the middle of the throne room, all other gods already present, to her surprise. It was rare for her to be late.
Incredibly rare, in fact. The last time it happened was during the sixteenth century, when they were still in Spain. And that was because there had been an… incident, involving Zöe and a member of the Spanish royal family.
"Hi." Percy greeted them, giving the best devilish smile that he could make. Artemis had to contain some laughter at some of her fellow Olympians' reactions. Percy really had a trait for showing off effectively, even when outmatched.
"Follow me." Artemis whispered to him, while already walking to her throne. With each step she took, she could feel her size growing, until she matched the size of her throne. She noticed that she was still in her adult form. Just for that, she could feel the suspicious gazes of a lot of gods. Apollo in particular. She decided to pretend like she hadn't noticed anything. Percy joined her at the base of her throne, leaning at it like he tended to do. At least no defensive mechanisms were activated.
Zeus cleared his throat. "Since we're all here, let's begin." He glanced over to Artemis. "How did your mission go?"
"It went as planned. We rescued the captured demigod, and the threat has been neutralized." Artemis explained.
To her mild surprise, her father did not seem too pleased by her report.
"And… what happened to the Titan?" The king questioned.
"I drank a few shots with her." Percy before Artemis could answer. "She said she was blackmailed by Kronos into leading an insurgency. And went away. Pretty much."
He heard some gods like Apollo, Aphrodite and Hermes snickering. Even Poseidon chuckled. If Zeus was annoyed by Percy's interruption and sarcasm, he did not demonstrate it. "Very well…" He once more locked his eyes on Artemis. "And this Titanide was, by any chance, Mnemosyne?"
Artemis blinked. "Yes. How do you know?"
"Apparently a legacy of Mnemosyne has just arrived at Camp Half-Blood." He announced like it was news. Granted, it was, for most gods. But not for her, and not for Percy.
"We brought her to Camp. She was the one kidnapped. What's the big deal?" The Butcher said. Zeus thankfully ignored him. He was already getting on Artemis's nerves. Couldn't he play it safe?
"Hermes, bring her here." Zeus ordered to the God of Thieves, who quickly flashed away, only to return moments later with Natalie. He returned to his throne, leaving the legacy to look around the throne room in awe until setting her eyes on Percy and Artemis, to which she gave a weak smile.
Artemis was quite confused by what she was witnessing. "Father, what is the meaning of this?"
"We are simply going to… interrogate this legacy to see where her allegiances lie." Zeus announced. Artemis was getting angry already. If something happened to Natalie after all of that trouble to rescue her… And not only that, but the poor girl had just gotten to safety for good, and was already being cornered by the gods. This was worse than Percy and Thalia almost being killed after rescuing her in Othrys.
"Father, she has been running for years at this point. She didn't even know about the gods, only about monsters who tried to kill her. Just because she is a legacy of someone who plotted against us, doesn't mean she is a criminal herself!" Artemis argued, and she saw many approving looks around the room.
"Not only that," Percy started speaking again, to Artemis's annoyance, prefering that he would stay quiet and let her handle it. He walked close to Natalie, standing by her side. "But she is fifteen. I assume you know what this means, Lord Zeus."
And they all knew. Another time, a promise was broken. Natalie should have reached Camp much earlier than just now. Even if she wasn't technically a demigod, or even a child of the Olympians, or minor gods for that matter. A whole different family branch, you could say.
"Son, you know that this is something that we can't really control." Poseidon tried to reason.
"Perhaps." Percy admitted. "But what you can do is be merciful to those who once opposed you. Mnemosyne was coerced into doing what she did without her consent. It's a better excuse than Hecate, Morpheus, or any other minor gods could have presented to you, but I didn't see them or their children being persecuted after the Titan War."
"Much in thanks to you." Apollo said, causing Percy to shrugg. And it was true. If Percy hadn't forced the Olympians to make all of those promises, it's very likely that there would be a very, very big purge of the minor gods.
"And are you really sure that Mnemosyne was, in fact, telling the truth, Percy Jackson?" Athena asked the son of her rival in her characteristic cold voice.
"I do. I swear it on the River Styx." She looked straight into Athena's grey eyes as he made his oath, thunder rumbling to signify it. Artemis was ready to shrink down and slap him painfully. The Titaness of Memory herself didn't swear on the Styx, from what Percy had told her, so why, by Zeus's lightning bolts, was he doing it now? Does he have a death wish?
The other gods seemed puzzled by Percy risking so much by swearing on the River of Hatred, just to defend a legacy and its ancestor who had plotted against Olympus. An uncomfortable silence took over the Throne Room.
"I think that's enough, nephew, thank you." Zeus finally broke the silence after a while. His tone wasn't exactly threatening, but Artemis knew better. Percy on the other hand…
"I will not leave Natalie on her own." Guess he could still be just that defiant when he truly wanted to.
"Percy." Artemis finally called. It was time for him to step down from his little show. "Come here, now."
"But-" He started, but Artemis gave him the best "it's for your own good" look that she had learned from her mother, Leto. His gaze softened a bit compared to the steel-like look that he had while making his speech, and he finally moved back next to Artemis's throne. The goddess tried to ignore the faces that the other Olympians were making after that interaction.
To her luck, Zeus once again decided to talk. "Let's call a vote." He decided.
"All in favour of not disintegrating this legacy?" Hermes spoke before Zeus could suggest something other than that. The king glared at him, but soon twelve hands would be raised into the air, some more willing than others.
"It is decided then." The God of the Skies announced. "Be mindful, legacy, be sure that eyes will be kept on you.
"I… wouldn't expect less." Natalie answered with a familiar sarcasm in her voice. She then bowed her head respectfully.
"Council dismissed." Zeus finally announced sourly, causing almost everyone to quickly flash out of the throne room. However, Artemis knew that she was in most gods' minds after this meeting. The way she acted and interacted with Percy wasn't like anything that she had shown to them in… a long time. Artemis wondered in particular about what Apollo was thinking of her.
"You are sure getting to places." Hermes commented to Natalie, who in response smiled. She then looked at Percy and winked. Artemis for a second felt somewhat of a burn in her throat, only to remember that this was Natalie, not Kelli. Soon, the God of Thieves also flashed away with the legacy of Mnemosyne, at last leaving Percy and Artemis alone.
Actually alone. Not even Hestia could be seen at the Hearth.
"You are incredibly reckless." Artemis said, shrinking down into her human form, looking straight into Percy's stunning eyes, that were now just as calm as the sea at Montauk. She noticed that his beard was starting to grow, making him look a bit older.
"I'm just standing for my morals, Milady." He answered in that calm tone of his, that only infuriated her further after all that recklessness that could have realistically made him be vaporized at the spot by her father.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, why am I getting attached to you, I wonder."
Percy cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, nice to know that." He said sincerely, only a small amount of amusement present in his voice.
Artemis sighed, slightly cursing herself for speaking out loud. She remembered how much Zöe had changed after spending a week with Percy Jackson. How he had truly healed the millennia old lieutenant of her anger. In one week, she went from the perfect man-hating individual to accepting that not all men were, in fact, trash.
And all because of him.
Could the same thing be happening to her, but in a different way? Then it wouldn't be the same thing, of course, but she couldn't decipher her inner feelings and thoughts. She truly did not know, and wasn't sure if she wanted to.
"Whatever. How about… we go hunting tonight?" Artemis suggested, half hoping that he had another thing in mind to do that didn't involve them being all by themselves again.
Surprisingly, he gave her a genuine smile, one not meant to intimidate or cause fear. That didn't happen very often. It made her feel more comfortable. "It would be a pleasure hunting with you, Lady Artemis."
By Gaia, something was wrong with her.
And we reach the end. I hope you guys liked how I portrayed Artemis here. She isn't a teenager, she isn't gonna start having butterflies in her stomach and blush a lot, but she will be confused about what is she feeling because she is the virgin goddess. Also, there are already a good amount of chapters, but they cover a very short amount of time. Some small time skips will be made, such as the next chapter who is gonna skip this entire day. Works for character development, I'm learning that not everything has to be on screen. Anyway, later!