I made this extra- long because i haven't updated in AGES.

Disclaimer: I do not own Greek Mythology ....:(

cobweb185 has written a very funny, very awesome spin-off of "A Session With Artemis" called "A Session With Demeter" ---so watch out for that :)

Anyway I was armed with the Penguin Classic "The Iliad" by Homer for this chapter to make it as 'accurate' as possible ....if i had it my way i would have Apollo and Poseidon fight...oh well.

Reviews are always appreciated :)

Excuse the many spelling and grammar mistakes - i was rushing this through to get this fanfic finished already! - another chapter and i think im done :) but i might publish the alternate ending as well :)

RedFluffyBanana

Harvey opened his eyes gradually; his head pounding from the brutal assault it had received. It took him several moments to realize that he was no longer sitting on his chair but rather lying on the floor, his limbs splayed out as if he had fell from a great height. Harvey pushed himself up, his body on the other hand had other plans- as blood rushed to his head, causing Harvey to fall back to the ground.

Harvey became conscious of the fact that somebody was standing over him.

"How are you feeling?"

Harvey replied groggily "Wha...What just happened?"

"It was entirely my fault, in my anger, I accidently forced some of my memories to enter your head..." she trailed off, obviously embarrassed by her momentarily lapse in control.

"Did all that really happen?" Harvey said, with Artemis' mind reading gift he assumed she had seen everything he had just experienced.

"Yes" Artemis replied, hesitantly

"How long was I unconscious for?" Harvey inquired, changing the subject – feeling the growing tension in the air.

"Only a few seconds."

"Wow..." To Harvey the visions had felt like they had lasted hours.

As he looked up at Artemis, his eyes blurred out, and Harvey felt like he was again about to fall into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

"Let me help you up..." As if Harvey weighed little more than an infant, Artemis picked him up and placed him back onto the chair.

Harvey had flinched at the contact; the Goddess' touch was ice cold, in complete contrast to his almost feverish skin. If Artemis noticed she didn't make a comment.

Once the headache had passed, Harvey recalled the newspaper lying on his desk. And in particular the article on the incident in Greece. Reaching back, he grabbed the newspaper and turned to the page.

The headline read, "Freak Storms over Athens", not completely unexpected, but Harvey had a sudden impulse that this incident in particular was not entirely natural.

"That was Athena; she found out that the Parthenon is due for reconstruction and was insulted nobody asked her opinion on her preferences to the design." Artemis explained. Harvey noted that she had muttered in a barely audible whisper something along the lines of "- father never lets me use his thunderbolts-"

Harvey placed the newspaper back onto his desk, and glanced back down to his notebook, which at this stage had 5 pages worth of notes.

"Could I ask you about …If it's possible ...can I ask you about some of the myths surrounding yourself? I'm just curious .."

"Of course."

Harvey paused, deciding what to ask Artemis first, The Trojan War? Or perhaps, the truth behind the Actaeon myth?

Artemis laughed, "Actaeon and his hounds, that's a myth which has changed over time. In present day, you mortals have made it so Actaeon stumbled upon myself by coincidence. Indeed he did see me bathe, but it was hardly accidental. Actaeon was being rather….avarice in his hunting of the creatures in that particular region. So I merely planned Actaeon to find the glade where my hunters and I were situated. Upon turning Actaeon into a stag, I sent his hounds to chase their master- ironic that in his last hunt he would be the prey."

Harvey frantically wrote into his notepad, 'Punishes harshly, even those who have been shown her favour -Extreme emotions – Gods either hate or love ,no 'middle ground'.

Harvey tried to block out his thoughts, knowing that if Artemis saw what he had been writing – well he rather not dwell on the consequences. However Harvey could not hide all of his thoughts from the Olympian deity sitting mere feet from him.

"Extreme emotions… well that would be a fair comment. We do try to suppress our more intense feelings, such as grief, around mortals otherwise we risk revealing our true forms. An event which we found out very quickly, was deadly to mortals.

Harvey gulped, imagining the experience.

Eager to change the subject, much to Artemis' amusement, "Did the Trojan War actually happen?"

Artemis frowned ,her eyes narrowing slightly, "Yes, of course- do you really believe Homer could actually invent an incident like that?"

"Well, no..I guess he couldn't have. Did Hera really …."

"Yes, she did", she said quickly, Artemis did not seem pleased at the reminder of her defeat at the hands of the Queen of the Gods. She held the air of one who wished that event had been forgotten.

Artemis continued, "I guess it was foolish to believe that I could stand a chance against Hera. The only reason I supported the Trojans was because Apollo was, and I thought it wrong to fight against my brother. If that was not the case I would have supported the Greeks- I did not relish the fact I was fighting on the same side as Aphrodite. However, Hera did not defeat me as easily as Homer described , 'white armed Hera grabbed Artemis, who delights in arrows and boxed her ears until her arrows fell out of her quiver. Dropping her bow she ran to Olympus crying, like a pigeon fleeing a hawk to Zeus, her almighty father.'" Artemis slowly shook her head, smiling to herself.

"Hera took amusement in that description of the incident."

Harvey hesitated, "..What actually happened?"

Artemis answered, seeming herself to hesitate "I could show you …if you feel you can handle it"

"I can handle it.." Harvey muttered, remembering his last experience.

"Very Well."

Once again Harvey's vision melted, turning into blackness. However much more slowly than before, the colours merged, forming into an almost barren landscape.

Harvey was standing outside the walls of ancient Troy, the sun beating down upon him. The great gate loomed over the psychiatrist, completely indestructible, impenetrable. Archers in their thousands stood atop the walls ,firing arrows down upon the invading Greeks, who were against all odds advancing towards the walls- albeit with heavy casualties. The sand was soaked with the blood of hundreds. Harvey gagged, the scent of decay heavy in the air. All of this death for one woman…

All of a sudden, thunder rumbled overhead, and clouds gathered- blocking out the sun. The Greeks and Trojans stopped, the last arrows falling short of the frightened opposition, gazing at the sky.

Everyone present could sense it…the Gods were coming.

The ground shook, enormous cracks meandering from the Trojan Walls towards the frontline of the Greek army, splitting the soldiers in half. A gigantic figure rose from the ocean, trident in hand. Poseidon, his eyes ablaze- so different from the laughing being Harvey had seen previously.

Harvey noticed that small groups were still fighting around the battlefield, seemingly oblivious to the incoming terror.

The ground continued to shake, small tremors, knocking Harvey off his feet. The vibrations continued, were they footfalls?

An immense shadow covered Harvey, who seeing most of the Greek army flee in horror, looked up.

He was at least 40 metres tall, his blood red aura almost blinding- he was in his element here, in the midst of battle. He climbed over the Trojan Wall with ease- laughing at the sight of the Greek Army.

Fire licked at his armour, as Ares, God of War lifted his golden sword- stained in crimson blood, above his head.

"Ares, surely you are above attacking mortals- it's hardly fair."

"Athena," Ares boomed, laughing, "Surely you do not think it wise to attack the God of War..."

A pure white light appeared in front of Ares, illuminating the area, Harvey meanwhile averted his eyes.

The light pulsed, swelling in size. Until, suddenly a woman in full battle armour appeared, the same height as Ares. Her golden breastplate adorned the face of Medusa, Harvey cowered at the terrifying sight. As did the other mortals watching in awe and anticipation. Ares, on the other hand looked at the glinting armour in disgust.

"If you remember Ares, I also am a God of War." Athena sneered. Her grey eyes emitting a light of their own.

Ares roared a battle cry which shook the very battlements of Troy. Athena looked amused as the savage God lunged at her. As the two swords clashed, thunder and lightning raged in the sky.

"Father isn't happy that two .." the weapons again collided "..of his children are fighting.." Crash… "…perhaps you should submit Ares.." Crash.

"To you, Athena?" Athena blocked another of Ares' feral blows. "NEVER!"

Brain against Brawn, Harvey thought

The two gods seemed equal in their fighting skills, Ares; relentlessly attacking Athena with brute force , Athena; neatly blocking the assault whilst simultaneously attacking Ares who was displaying several gashes, to his face and forearms -which were dripping golden blood.

Without warning Athena made a spear materialise into her hand, and used it to knock Ares off his feet. The ground shook violently at the impact. Athena held the spear at Ares throat, laughing at his murderous expression. Lifting the spear the Goddess strode over to a pile of enormous boulders and effortlessly picked one up. Ares (who had as soon as Athena had turned her back on him, hauled himself to his feet,) realised what his opponent was doing too late, as he prepared to dodge the incoming projectile it had already hit him – square in the chest. Making him lose his balance and with an almighty crash- Ares landed mere metres from the Trojan Wall.

The God of War groaned as his red aura engulfed him entirely, the light intensifying. Until, finally Ares had faded completely.

Poseidon, who had watched the entire episode from the ocean, laughed at his nephew's downfall at the hands of his niece.

The Greeks cheered, visibly joyous over the defeat of the God of War. The Trojans looked at Athena in fear; after all she could easily wage war upon them herself. Athena was however, gazing down at a gathering of soldiers, about a mile away from the Trojan Wall.

"Aphrodite." the Goddess muttered, walking towards the group. Harvey, realising that Athena had a much greater stride – and would make it to the group before him, ran after the Goddess. Luckily Athena returned to normal height after a couple of steps, allowing Harvey to catch up with her. The soldiers aware that the enraged Athena was walking towards them, ran away, a smart move as a couple of the soldiers who were still gathered around the Goddess of Love were reduced to little more than dust. Leaving the terrified Goddess cowering under the fury Athena was radiating.

"Aphrodite, where did you send Ares?" Athena said trembling with pure rage.

The Goddess of Love, who was currently in disguise as a Greek soldier, revealed her true form briefly,( luckily Harvey recognised the faint glow before it became a brilliant golden light and closed his eyes) before returning to the form Harvey had seen at the party. It took all Harvey's will power to concentrate on the conversation and not on Aphrodite and her beautiful , gorgeous …Harvey managed to snap himself out of his reverie.

"I sent him to Olympus Athena, to heal his wounds. His pride has been hurt enough without you humiliating him further."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Athena continued her questioning- somewhat calmer than before.

"Why are you here, Aphrodite? A battlefield is no place for the Goddess of Love to be."

"You mean besides making sure Ares doesn't get humiliated by your …" Aphrodite trailed off at the expression on Athena's face, deeming it wise not to anger her further. Instead of giving the Goddess of wisdom an answer she turned her face to the side looking at a Trojan soldier protected by a group of foot soldiers. Harvey's eyes strained; upon closer inspection it became clear that the Trojan soldier in the middle was wearing golden armour, clearly distinguishing himself from the ordinary soldiers he was surrounded by.

The two Goddesses obviously had much better sight than Harvey, as they again faced each other- understanding on Athena's face.

"He is your son"

"Yes, his father is a mortal, Anchises. His name is Aeneas. The Fates have predicted a great destiny awaits him – he cannot die in this war. It's my fault this war started in the first place; I would never forgive myself if he perished here."

"Go Aphrodite, he will not die here." Athena stated.

Aphrodite seemed unwilling to go, "Swear upon it, Athena. Give me your word."

Athena sighed "I swear by the River Styx that Aeneas will not die in this war."

Aphrodite nodded, satisfied that Athena had made the unbreakable oath, and without another word disappeared in a flash of radiant light.

Athena turned around, gazing around at the two armies, then Poseidon, who nodded his head, and finally at the sky, where she herself faded into white light- sending a shockwave across the battlefield, knocking Harvey and the soldiers onto the floor.

Harvey slowly pulled himself back up to his feet, groaning, well that didn't do my back any good.

Without warning a woman's laughter filled the air; it seemed to come from the clouds themselves. Poseidon looked up, narrowing his eyes.

"Go Poseidon, the son of Leto approaches." The voice boomed, Harvey realised he had heard the voice before, it belonged to Lady Hera.

Poseidon bowed his head for a moment before he strode towards the beach, gradually getting larger- even larger than Ares or Athena had been when they engaged in battle. Until he stood at a height of 50 metres, dominating the Trojan landscape.

His face was grim, clearly saddened at the prospect of the fight against his nephew. Like before the Trojan foot soldiers fled in terror from the pro- Greek god, who however, was paying little to no attention to the mortals below , instead his eyes were on a point just above the Trojan outer wall.

After a few moments the clouds parted, allowing a ray of pure sunlight to filter through – to the point Poseidon had been looking at. Gradually a figure appeared in the raw light, standing behind the Trojan Wall at exactly the same height of Poseidon. The Trojan army cheered at the sight of the Sun God.

The figure smiled, "Hello Uncle."

"Hello Apollo." Poseidon answered.

With a wave of his hand, Apollo once again covered the sun with the clouds, allowing his features to be seen. Apollo was wearing a chiton, pinned at one side revealing a chest plate with the sun emblazoned on the front and golden braces. He held his golden bow in his hands, his expression made it clear he was debating on whether to attack Poseidon or not.

"Go ahead Apollo, if you wish to attack me. You are my junior, and with my greater age and experience, it would not be honourable for me to start. However, do you truly want to defend the Trojans? Do you remember Laomeden? Do you remember the hardships we encountered because of him? He was a Trojan! Why don't you join us and together we can ensure that these insolent Trojans are utterly destroyed, together with their children and honoured wives." Poseidon spoke, his voice echoing around Troy.

Apollo replied "Uncle, you are mistaken if you think I would fight you for the sake of mortals who, like the leaves, flourish in fiery brilliance for a short time before they droop and fade away. No, Uncle I will not fight you, let's leave these mortals to do their own fighting."

Apollo turned his face to the sky, where again the sun shone through the clouds. Within seconds, the Sun God was gone.

Poseidon clearly happy at how events concluded, walked towards the sea, where he disappeared beneath the waves.

Harvey watched as the Trojan soldiers and the Greek hoplites regained their composure, and charged towards each other, spurred on by the Gods fighting for their causes.

Harvey realised however, something was not right. As the Trojan arrows demolished the Greek attack, one of the archers- who Harvey noticed in particular fired with deadly accuracy- lowered his bow.

The archer yelled towards the Greek army, "Hera!" Somehow his voice carried over the entire battlefield, heard by everyone.

The Greek army froze, as the soldiers glanced along the flanks and then back up to the archer. The Trojan Army had stopped too, confusion and apprehension on their faces.

To Harvey's utter amazement, the archer climbed onto the top of the wall, jumped off and fell to the ground where with ease; he landed on the balls of his feet, behind the Trojan soldiers who hastily divided.

The archer straightened up, "Hera!"

A soldier from the front line strode forward a couple of paces, removing his helmet. But otherwise stood in silence.

"So you decided to join the battle yourself." The Trojan Archer stated.

"Indeed, I wasn't going to allow Ares and Athena to have all the fun." The Greek soldier mocked.

With an unseen signal, the Greek soldier was enveloped in golden light; its radiant glow blinding the rival armies, who hastily bowed in reverence.

In the Greek soldiers place, dressed in a red and gold tunic (under which was a gold and silver breastplate ) was Hera, Queen of the Gods.

"Do you really think you can best me Artemis?"

A column of moonlight penetrated the clouds, bathing the disguised Artemis in its light. Artemis seemed to absorb the rays until she appeared as the 19 year old Harvey was accustomed to. The Goddess of the Hunt was wearing her battle armour; a silver breastplate ( a crescent moon adorned in the centre)with matching braces and a silver helm rested on her head.

Artemis strode until she was within 25 metres of Hera- who was looking conceited at the approach of the huntress.

At this point, the Greek and Trojan armies were subtlety backing away from the two goddesses- throwing wary glances to their comrades. It was clear that they did not want to be near them if they decided to engage in battle.

Artemis made 3 silver arrows materialize in the palm of her hand, and with practiced deftness placed them in her raised bow.

Hera smiled, "Very Well."

Artemis pulled the bowstring, aiming it directly at Hera. Her expression was one of pure determination. The lady of the hunt released the bowstring and the arrows soared through the air.

With inhuman speed Hera lifted her hand, disintegrating two of the arrows. The third she caught and after bending the shaft, let it drop to the floor.

Laughing, Hera opened her palm where a sphere of crackling electrical energy was forming. Artemis narrowed her eyes, seeming to prepare to dodge the projectile.

When the ball of energy was as big as a basketball, Hera threw it. As it raced through the air it seemed to gain momentum, striking the air with bolts of lightning.

Harvey watched in amazement as Artemis (the projectile inches from her) faster than thought dodged the projectile; a silver blur as she ran towards Hera. As she ran she fired arrows from her bow. The huntress was so unbelievably fast, Harvey was unable to discern her movements- but rather only saw the consequences of her actions. Hera destroyed every one of the arrows with a wave of her hand, and it was clear she had been humouring Artemis –now however, she was unleashing the elements upon the young goddess.

"Artemis, I do not want to hurt you! But you will force my hand.." Hera said, lightning bolts flared from her hand as she tried to hit Artemis, who was now literally running circles around the Queen.

Hera let out a groan of pain as an arrow penetrated from her shoulder.

"Enough Artemis!" shouted Hera, pulling out the arrow where it disintegrated in her palm. The wound dripped ichor, but after a few moments it was healed.

Time literally slowed down , and Harvey was able to see Artemis as she skidded to a halt, her eyes momentarily displaying guilt at the wound she had inflicted. Using Artemis' confliction to her advantage ,Hera thrust her hand towards the startled goddess where she was thrown backwards into the Trojan outer wall, the impact causing cracks to appear in the formerly indestructible defences.

Her hand still raised, Hera advanced upon the wall, enlarging with each step. Until she stood at 15 metres tall, her eyes level to Artemis -who was still pinned to the wall.

Artemis had several long gashes along her arms and legs from the impact- some of which were quite deep, ichor oozing out of the wounds. The huntress winced as Hera clenched her fist.

"Artemis, you have no hope of defeating me- so please would you stop trying to resist my hold."

"Hera …let ...me …go!" Artemis hissed.

"Only if you go to Olympus and stay there." Hera said defiantly.

It was clear Hera was causing Artemis great pain , as golden tears welled in Artemis' sapphire eyes.

Hera sighed, "Stubborn as always…so like your father." It seemed Artemis was voicing her objections into Hera's mind.

Hera dropped her arm, releasing Artemis from her telekinetic grip. Artemis landed and without another word, disappeared as silver light engulfed her.

Hera returned to normal height, where she herself faded with the wind.

Harvey wandered over to a lone tree on the edge of the beach , watching the battle commence. A soft rustling above his head alerted Harvey to the presence of a tawny owl sitting on a branch. It's eyes scanning the battlefield – seeming to understand what was occurring. Harvey sat there, with the owl for some time watching the enemies slaughter each other. The owl eventually flew away, leaving Harvey to ponder the destruction alone.

The psychiatrist was pulled out of his reverie by a battle cry. A man in gold armour was single-handedly fighting several Trojans at once. Mercilessly slashing at his rivals, with an almost demonic ferocity. One of his comrades who was also surrounded shouted his name, "ACHILLES!"

Harvey stood up, and scrambled towards this man of legend. His legs buckled before he took two steps. No.

The floor fell from under him, as the image disappeared, melting from view.

Next Chapter Coming Soon

:)