VIII

ARTEMIS

Artemis really didn't know what to say. She stared at the ground, shifting uncomfortably under Percy's watchful gaze as he waited. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Percy. Artemis just didn't know how to answer his question, because she didn't know who possessed him either…

"I…" She looked up, staring into Percy's eyes, and faltered. There was definitely something wrong here—the Fates were always turning from one direction to another but this…

Something was wrong with everything that was going on. "I don't know, Percy…"

"But you have some kind of idea of what's going on, right?" Percy pressed, urgently. He clenched her hand in his a little. His eyes seemed to flicker gold for the slightest of an instant as if the sunlight was caught captured within his pupils.

Artemis frowned, shaking her head. It could've been any of the primordial gods that had disappeared millennia ago. Why they would help save Rome? The goddess didn't know. Or maybe it was one of the Faded. It could've been Helios or Selene or Summanus—any of the weakened gods that gave up their form for pure ethereal spirits.

Or Erebus. Or any of the Dark gods that were able to take control of mortals and use them as vessels.

Or it could've been something far more dangerous…

Something ancient—something older than even the Primordial gods. Something much more unpredictable.

"No, I don't want to think about the possibilities." Was it her imagination that Percy's eyes seemed to glow the color of amber, losing his natural sea-green shade? It must have been a trick of the light…When she looked again, that shadow of golden light had vanished. "May the Fates be kind…"

Yes, the trick of the light. That was it. Percy was still in control. The goddess shifted her gaze to the skies—the Skyscape was beginning to darken as dusk became night. The dark clouds were covering the place now like converging battle lines. Yes, the Son of Neptune was still in control. But for how long?

A flicker of unease. A flicker of apprehension. Anxiety pushing to the limits. And dread…

"Never mind," Percy put a hand over his eyes as if taking off an invisible mask. "Sorry." He stared at her with concern through his fingers. "I'm just confused…" He rubbed his temple irritated, his forehead creased, eyebrows furrowed. His eyes seemed to flicker again as he seemed to go through a myriad of thoughts and emotions.

Artemis shook her head again. "Yeah, let's talk about something else." She clenched her hand as Percy released his hold of her. For some reason her hand felt so cold…She missed his warmth. She missed it like it was the last trace of light and heat that would ever touch her.

She sighed, and then gasped in surprise as someone tackled her from behind. "Hey, what's up, my Lady?" Thalia peered over the goddess' shoulders, looking sideways at Artemis and forward at Percy, her hands still on both the goddess' shoulders. "Didn't see me coming, did you?" she grinned.

"Thalia," Artemis nearly shouted—her hand half way to her chest. "Stop trying to surprise me!"

"I thought I did surprise you," Thalia half-asked, half-stated, cocking her head to the side, blinking. She laughed, wrapping an arm around the goddess, and turned to Percy. "We've been scouring the entire place for the two of you. Where were y'all?" she paused. "On second thought, never mind that. I don't want to know."

Percy cleared his throat. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow, questioningly. He had taken a step back at the sudden arrival of Thalia and the crew as he surveyed them all.

"Nothing." Artemis made a mental note to talk to her lieutenant about some things when they were alone.

Percy frowned but seemed to think nothing of it. "Um, maybe we should head for dinner now," he pointed toward the direction where everyone was heading. "I think the feast is about to start." His eyes had returned once again to its familiar sea-green.

Artemis glared daggers at Thalia, still a little pink at her outburst. Putting Percy between her second-in-command and herself, she rang her hands. "Good idea." She looked over at her Hunt.

They were looking at her with growing wariness as if she had caught some disease. Phoebe nodded her head pointedly at Percy then at her with an accusatory gaze, the other hunters looking uneasy. What was going with them?

Artemis tilted her head slightly, eyes looking up, thinking furiously. What? She turned her attention to her hand which was clutching at Percy's sleeve. She let go slowly, feeling awkward at the no contact thing her Hunt was trying to communicate to her. Guilt was being to take root deep inside. What was she doing? Why was she acting like this? Being dependent on some Son of Neptune.

She shook her head, confused. Wait—that wasn't it. It wasn't fair to look at it like that. Percy had needed her as much as she needed him. The goddess looked back at her Hunt and gave them a talk-to-you-later look. Her look was resolute and she'd made up her mind but it was still hard to look at her girl's looks of betrayal—she wanted to tell them that it wasn't the case. But no matter how she looked at it, it was what it was.

She was breaking her vow.

Percy looked her, puzzled, before shrugging and taking her hand, pulling the moon goddess with him as he fought a path through the bustling crowd. Artemis stumbled after him, regaining her grace as she jogged to keep up, the others following behind. "Did something happen? She heard Dakota ask the rest of them.

"It's just Percy—I mean 'Noctis'," Thalia exclaimed. "He's always clueless and innocent like that."

Artemis smiled softly at that. She glanced sidelong at Percy—he didn't seem to pick that up as he went with the crowd toward the Mess Hall. Suddenly he stopped. She came crashing toward him, hitting him in a body slam from the back. Percy though stood firm, staring up.

Following his gaze, Artemis traced the trail of a shooting star—falling down to earth in a streak of blue. His eyes were half-closed in disconcerting and confusing sadness—as if he himself didn't know why he was sad at the sight of a falling star.

The others caught up to them then. "What's going on?" Thalia asked. She looked up and saw the star. "Oh…stargazing?"

"Let's just hang out at Venus' Café," Gwendolyn suggested, looking over at the mentioned coffee shop with yearning. "The feast lasts like forever anyway. No one will notice if we're a little late. Besides, the coffee and snacks at Venus' are so good." She pretended to swoon slightly with ecstasy.

"Yeah, whatever." Bobby walked toward the shop. "I could use a PowerAde or something." The others followed him.

"Yeah, it'll be easier to get over to the dining area, anyway." Hazel added, helpfully as she looked into the café's windows with interest. "In any case, it's hard to catch up with the two of you." She gestured to Artemis and Percy without turning around. Her actions seemed to take her friends back because they fell silent.

"Someone's jealous…" Dakota muttered under his breath, opening the coffee shop door with its bells jingling pleasantly. Artemis paused at that, flushing. What?

"What's going on?"

Percy looked oblivious. He seemed to have given up on understanding half of the conversations they were having.

Nothing, let's get in." Thalia walked briskly through the door. "No point standing around here in the middle of everybody else's path."

Artemis stood at the doorway, unsure of herself. Her other hunters stood there, unmoving like her, looking a little sick to the stomach. The millennia long phobia of love and Venus was hard to break. She glanced at Percy, looking for something in his eyes or expression. Reassurance? Encouragement?

Percy shrugged, looking at the sign—oblivious as ever. He walked in, glancing back as if beckoning her and the rest outside to come in.

"C'mon, it's just a coffee shop," Thalia said, dismissively, though she tensed.

"They have pizza," Percy added, encouraging, gesturing inside at a couple sharing a slice—that only made her hunters cringe more. Artemis herself flushed at the sight. "I don't think I've eaten in ages."

"Let's just go. It's not like Venus will bother us in there," the moon goddess walked briskly into the love goddess' espresso bar. The Inside was decorated all in red and pink and white and blue and purple, all the colors of the sunset. There were draperies everywhere and a mini all-you can eat buffet within the shop. Artemis sat at the far end of the café at a table in the corner. The others joined her.

"I'll get the food," Percy offered, breaking the awkward silence, and then paused as he caught sight of one of the customers paying the cashier in Roman Denarii, "As long as someone lends me the money." Dakota gave him a bag of coins and Percy hurried off to the counter before any more customers lined up.

"So, what's up with you and Seaweed Brain over there?" Gwendolyn asked Artemis. "You his patron or something?"

The hunters leaned in to hear what Artemis had to say. The goddess on the other hand was having a hard time answering that question. What was Percy supposed to be to her? She considered him something more of a friend but she'd never really gotten the whole item thing. Millennia of shunning love and all really left one inexperienced in the romance department. "I don't know."

"You're asking Diana here," Dakota pointed out to Gwendolyn. "A maiden goddess, vowed to never love. And you expect her to know what you're hinting at or talking about?" he looked over at Percy who seemed to be having a very serious conversation with the girl at the counter. Artemis followed his gaze.

Percy looked a little irritated—maybe the food was just taking too long or worse maybe they were out of pepperoni. Artemis returned to look at the others who were silent and staring around. Gwendolyn was gazing interestedly at the goddess, which was creeping her out. Dakota was spinning a silver denarius on the table, watching it roll about. Reyna was sharpening her knife with a quiet air of dangerousness. Bobby was nowhere to be seen—probably off to loot the nearest convenience store which was right across the street. Thalia and the rest of the hunt were talking amongst themselves, debating. And Artemis… she was unsure of what she should be doing.

"You have to have some idea of what Noctis is to you," Gwendolyn said, almost encouragingly. "You healed him after our battle with the undead and then you came to him at the Entrance Exam." She produced a vial of red liquid—like fruit punch—and twisted it open, letting out a perfume of strawberries.

"Close it." Reyna uttered, without looking up. "You know better than to try and create love." Gwendolyn pouted but put the vial away. But the slight yet distinct scent of strawberries still hung in the air like the aftermath of a make-up session.

"He's a friend—I know that," Artemis replied to Gwendolyn's indirect question. The demigod nodded her head enthusiastically as if urging the goddess to continue. The hunters were looking a little scandalized and hurt. "He saved me from the Curse of the Sky. That was something." Artemis thought furiously, what was this girl trying to make her say? She was growing more uncomfortable by the second as she looked down at her hands on her lap.

"Here's the pizza," Percy appeared between Artemis and Hazel, settling the food and Cokes and coffee down. "And the drinks. I got some ice cream, too, if anyone wants any." He sat down and began to dig in. "So, what's my training going to be tomorrow?" Artemis sighed, relieved for the distraction.

"Probably swordsmanship, your sword style is outdated—too Greek. Roman Legion training will toughen you up just fine," Reyna replied, sheathing her wickedly sharp dagger. "You'll probably be doing that all day." Artemis noticed Percy looking a little uneasy at that.

"Next will be Latin, you need Latin to understand the signs—the omens. It does a lot more than that, too, but you'll get it once you've seen it." Dakota supplied, scratching his head.

"Weapons training, too," Reyna added. "The Roman soldier was proficient in a number of weapons and so will you be." She paused. "Though, I'm really wondering if you are going to get trained tomorrow." She looked uncertain as she glanced, calculatingly at Percy.

"Why not?"

"There's still the point of knowing who was in control of you that time." Reyna remarked. Artemis shifted uneasily. Not this again. "This being whatever it may be helped us a great deal but we still don't know why it did so. It might have been protecting its vessel and just that. We need to know where its allegiance is but also if we can extract it from you."

Artemis stared at her bowl of ice cream sundae. "What happens if we can't extract it from Noctis?"

"We have to extract it from him or else," Reyna looked at the others darkly as if sharing a dark understanding of what that 'else' was. "There isn't much of choice in the matter. We have to take it out of you." She told Percy.

"What's so bad about keeping a being like this inside me if it's good?" Percy asked. "I mean we could win this war if we could get it to cooperate." He stared at his new friends who were looking at him sadly as if he was missing out on something. Artemis herself was beginning to realize what they were hinting at but she kept the thought from her mind.

"Mortal vessels aren't exactly the best kind for powerful beings," Thalia spoke, carefully. "Like during the last Titan War, Luke was the vessel for Kronos except he had to undergo the Styx to make his body invincible. It wasn't just to make himself impervious to steel. It also kept him from decomposing."

"Kronos? You mean Saturn?" Dakota asked. "You were heading the defense of Olympus after you helped us with the beginning phases of our siege against Mount Othyrs, weren't you?"

"Yes." Thalia replied. "But I knew Luke was the vessel before that. We used to be friends." She looked stiff then as if the grief of her friend's fate was still fresh. "After the War I did some research on containment and mortal vessels are ways for faded or ethereal gods and other things to reincarnate and 'come back'."

"Exactly" Reyna exclaimed. "Mortals who are the vessels of spirit gods or other spirit-like beings have a very short life span. Because there is so much power that they have contained within them and not as innate powers but completely godlike powers, they start to rot from the inside and disintegrate."

Percy looked at his hands. "That's not cool." He looked up, opening his mouth to say more except he was interrupted by the pleasant jingling of bells as the doors to the café opened.

Octavian stepped in. he was wearing casual clothes underneath his purple-lined toga this time. "There you are, Noctis. And Lady Diana? In a café like this?" he looked a little incredulous before staring intently at Percy. "I need you to come with me." He looked serious—almost grave. Artemis had a bad feeling about what he wanted Percy for.

"Is this about who was in control of my body when the Camp got attacked?" Percy stood up, finishing his ice cream. Even in the direst situations always finish the sundae. He wasn't looking well, Artemis noted. His pale complexions looked almost gray in the dim lighting of the shop.

"Yes." Octavian replied and opened the door. Percy followed him out, Artemis following behind. The others followed behind, too, hurriedly emptying their plates and cleaning up after themselves as they exited the shop.

"You'll be able to get the thing out of him, right?" the goddess asked, dreading the answer.

"We might be able to. It all depends…" Octavian trailed off, as he stared forward. "We don't know who it is that marked Noctis as the vessel. Some of the old beings would destroy the body with their extraction and others might not." He paused, before looking back Percy, "we will try though."

They came to the temple of the gods—a huge circular building with twelve arches and pillars around with each statue of the Olympians sitting on their thrones under each arch. In the center of the room was an altar where sacrifices were placed.

'Now, let the gods examine you.' Lupa came prowling out, from the shadows. The wolf stared at Percy then at Artemis, her golden eyes glowing with irrepressible power and potential disintegration of victims. The son of Neptune walked forward as Octavian directed him to the altars.

There was knife lying on the dais—it hadn't been there before but now it just appeared. Percy took it up, staring at it, wonderingly as if enraptured by the designs on it. It was golden and had the symbol of all the gods on them, swirling around its blade and its pommel and its hilt, guard, everything.

"We must know if this being is friend or foe." Octavian spoke. He looked at the altars then at Percy.

'But first we're going to have to know just who possessed you.'

I know this one was short but i felt that cutting it off right there was appropriate. I know not a lot happened but the quest is about to start, very soon. And also, there will be more clues on just who possessed our hero Percy—if you haven't found out who he is yet. I gave a lot of hints on just who/what this being is. Hope to surprise you all! Anyway, review! No flames plz!