Chapter 18
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Artemis's morning just went to Tartarus. After spending a wonderful day and night on Asgard her soon to be mother-in-law told the hunters about catching her and Thalia naked with Percy in his room. To say she was overwhelmed and unprepared for the questions and accusations being thrown at her was the ultimate understatement.
"How could you?" one hunter hissed, as another yelled, "you're acting worse than a whore!"
Each word was like a stab to her heart, as golden tears began to run down her face. "I…I'm…sorry." She mumbled out as she fell to her knees and flashed away from the room.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!" Shouted an irate Thalia.
"Us!" Zoe screamed in reply "You and your man whore is what is wrong with us! Ever since the two of you came into the hunts life everything has changed, Lady Artemis is behaving like a whore and what's worse is, that she has consented to marry that good for nothing man whore! And now she has run off probably to fuck some other god like the rest of her kind!"
"Watch…what…you…say… about…Perseus and Artemis…hunter…or I'm gonna…kick…your ass!" Thalia hissed in a threatening tone.
"Ha! We have no fear of thee daughter of Zeus! Without your vaunted man whore, there is little you will be able to do against us!" Boasted the confident Lieutenant.
"Make no mistake hunter, whether it is one of you or all of you, I'm gonna kick your ass's, however, it won't be Thalia Grace daughter of Zeus doing it, oh no the person kicking all of your asses will be Thalia Grace fiancé of Perseus and Artemis! And believe me, when I say it will be an ass whipping you will never…ever…forget!" Thalia stated in a loud and proud tone.
At this, the hunters lined up behind Zoe in support. Thalia just smiled as she began to walk towards the hunters. Unknown to Thalia with each step she took her aura began to flare an electric blue with a black outline as energy sparked around her. Seeing this the hunters gulped and slowly backed away not knowing or understanding what they were seeing.
"What's wrong hunters?! Surely, you are not afraid of me!" Thalia bellowed out as a bolt of energy from her aura struck the table and destroyed it. "How dare you treat Artemis in such a way, she has given you everything and you turn on her like this! For the first time in her immortal life she has found that she loves, a man worthy of her love, and then you bitches come along and ruin it for her and us by calling her names and trying to shame her for finding love! And you!" Thalia shouted at Zoe "this same man saved you, by bringing you back to life and then threatened the fates so that you could live and this is how you repay him! Enough talking it's time for some ass kicking!"
"Hunters open fire!" An angry Zoe ordered. Unfortunately, for the hunters, this just pissed Thalia off even more as her aura flared and the energy produced from it destroyed all of the incoming arrows. The hunter's stood in awe as each arrow disintegrated as it approached the daughter of Zeu…no the fiancé of Perseus and Artemis.
"Cowards! Hiding behind your pathetic bows and arrows, not wanting to get your hands dirty, well two can play at this game!" Thalia hissed as she summoned her spear and pointed it towards a small group of hunters. At this an arc of electric blue tinged with black, lightning shot forth from the spear scorching the very air as it made its way towards the scared shitless hunters.
"NNNNOOOO!" suddenly echoed throughout the room as Perseus appeared in front of the group of hunters with his hand extended. Using his power over time Perseus was able to stop the deadly lightning before it hit the hunters. "Thalia, why are you doing this?!"
"She's crazy" a hunter yelled.
"Let go of the bolt Perseus! You weren't here to see how they viciously attacked and shamed Artemis, to hear how they talked about us! I warned them but they kept pushing now it's time to show them how wrong they are!" Thalia screamed out in anger as she put more power behind the arc of lightning causing Perseus to slide back some.
"Thalia! Please, this is not you! It's the power, your anger is feeding the power and the power is feeding your anger! You have to calm down before someone dies!" Perseus pleaded.
"I…I…can't!" Thalia bellowed in fear "i…it…won't…shut off."
At this, a voice came yelling into the dining room "what is going on in here?!"
"Mother! Take the hunters and leave! Please, I must help Thalia." Perseus pleaded.
Frigga accessed the situation quickly and ordered "to your rooms now! Do not leave them until someone comes for you! May the presence itself help you if you disobey my orders!"
As Frigga left the dining hall a servant came towards her and asked: "my queen what is happening?!"
"We…have…a situation… one that we must entrust the prince to take care of." Frigga replied to the servant. "Astrid I need for you to summon the Valkyries and place them as guards around those damn Greek hunters!"
"At once my queen" Astrid responded as she bowed and quickly left to summon the Valkyries.
Meanwhile, back in the dining hall, "Thalia you must calm down!" Perseus ordered.
"I…I…can't! I…it…wo…won't stop!" replied a frightened Thalia as the black and blue lightning continued to flow from her.
"Please, I do not want to have to hurt you!" Perseus begged as he slowly started to make his way towards his future wife.
"Kill me if you have to, just do it before I hurt anyone!" Thalia pleaded with tears in her eyes.
"No! We can do this! Close your eyes and concentrate!" Ordered Perseus "Focus on happy memories, and then hold on to them!"
"I…can't…it hurts!" Thalia cried.
"Remember, when we were on the train when we were going to save Artemis? Perseus asked as Thalia just nodded in reply "that was one of the happiest moments of my life and you know why? Because I was with you! You took care of me and bandaged my wounds, you still wanted me even after I had seen you naked without your permission, and then how you helped me with Aphrodite's curse. I knew then that you would be one of my wives and that made me the happiest man in all of the ten realms. I love you Sparkles." Perseus said pouring his heart out to his lover, fiancé, and future wife.
At this, the power coming from Thalia began to decrease as she smiled and began to cry tears of joy before finally saying "I've known since the quest where you saved me that I loved you. Just being around and with you has been the happiest time of my life and when you asked me to marry you I thought I had died and gone to Elysium. I love you too seaweed brain."
At this Perseus chuckled as he was finally able to make his way over to Thalia and embraced her in a hug, before kissing her passionately.
Thalia returned the kiss with the same passion as the rest of the energy finally stopped. Once they broke the kiss Thalia looked up into Perseus's eyes and smiled, when suddenly her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out in Perseus's arms.
"Thalia!" Perseus screamed as she lay limp in his arms "Wake up! Sparkles please wake up! Alva, you are needed!"
"Yes Lord Perseus! Oh my what has happened?!" Alva asked in shock.
"Alva I need you to fetch a physician and bring them to my room where I will be with Lady Thalia. And Alva make haste!" Perseus ordered as he teleported Thalia to his chambers.
"Yes, Milord!" Alva yelled back as she had already left to perform the task set for her.
Back to Frigga
"Lady Frigga, the Valkyries have arrived and are guarding the hunters," Astrid informed the Queen of Asgard.
"Very good Astrid, I do need you to perform one more task. I am afraid it may be a bit difficult than the one you just performed" Frigga said to Astrid.
"At your will Milady, if you order it will be done." Replied Astrid.
"Thank you, Astrid. Here take this." Frigga instructed Astrid as she took a gemstone from out of one of her pockets. "You are to go to Lady Freyja's palace and summon her and the Greek goddess Aphrodite to me at all haste. Let no one interfere in this if they do take care of them quickly. It will not be easy to convince them to come since they have had a prank played on them recently. This is what you say to Freyja 'the relationship is in Omega status' then throw the gem to the ground and it will open a portal to me. Please hurry Astrid, the fate of the 10 realms depends on your success."
Back to Perseus
Perseus hurriedly kicked the door to his bedroom open and gently lay Thalia on the bed and made sure she was as comfortable as possible. Perseus then kneeled next to the bed and took Thalia's hand and pleaded "please be okay Sparkles, I do not know what I would do if I lost you."
Not a moment later a loud knock came from the door. "Enter!" Perseus bellowed as the physician quickly entered the room. "Thank the Presence it is you, please help her!" Perseus exclaimed with tears in his eyes.
"I shall do my best Milord. However, I do need to know what happened to Lady Thalia if I am to be of any help." The physician stated as started to examine Thalia.
"Yes of course, here is what I know," Perseus said as he told the physician everything he knew about the situation.
"That is indeed frightening and disturbing." The physician said.
"The two of you have only just started to bond and it seems her emotional state allowed her to access some of the powers she will gain once the bond is complete. It is a miracle she survived." The physician said in awe of the demigoddess.
"Wh…why…do yo…you say that." Asked a concerned Perseus.
"If Lady Thalia were already a goddess her body would be able to handle and contain the power, as well as have a significantly higher energy output. But as she is a demigoddess and part human, her body is not meant to survive possessing such energy or the releasing of so much of her energy." The physician replied.
"So…this…is…my…fault?" Questioned a despondent Perseus.
"Of course, not Milord, it was an unfortunate situation that caused this. I am confident Lady Thalia will be fine once she gets some rest and recovers her energy." The physician said trying to lighten the prince's mood.
"Ca… can I give…he…her a part…of my…energy?" Perseus stuttered out.
"Unfortunately, not Milord as she is still of Greek heritage I am afraid it would do more harm than good. However, if what I have heard is correct the Lady Artemis is also on Asgard and as she is a Greek goddess she should be able to transfer some of her energy to Lady Thalia without any ill after effects." The physician stated.
At this Perseus's expression perked up as he said: "Thank the Presence, I shall go and get her." Perseus closed his eyes and concentrated on Artemis, after few moments he able to see Artemis standing in his training area just staring out into space (although their bond was just forming Perseus could find her because of it). "I found her I shall return momentarily," Perseus said to the physician as he teleported to the training arena.
Artemis stood at the edge of the arena staring off into space as she cried. She doesn't know how long she has been here nor does she care, all she can think about is how much she fucked her life up. "I swore to be an eternal maiden to never marry or be with a man and what have I done, I have gone against everything that I represented. It is no wonder the hunters hate me." Artemis thought to herself as she continued to cry.
Suddenly as if from out of nowhere a voice asked: "Artemis are alright?"
Artemis quickly turned around and found Perseus standing there with a look of concern on his face. Artemis rushed forward and enveloped him in a hug as she continued to cry.
Perseus became worried as he has never seen Artemis in such a state and decided to inquire "what's wrong Artemis? You know you can tell me anything."
At this Artemis turned her head to the side and mumbled: "I…I…can't do…this."
"You cannot do what little moon?" Perseus asked he stroked her beautiful auburn hair.
"Thi…this." She replied "I…I am…sorry…Perseus but…I…I cannot…marry…you." Artemis sobbed out.
At this Perseus's eyes started to tear up as he asked: "is this really how you feel?"
"Ye…yes. I am… swo…sworn…to be an eternal…eternal maiden and refuse the company of men. I made my hunters swear the same oath, how can I marry a man when I swore I never would! I am a hypocrite!" Artemis exclaimed.
"I…I…see. I apol…apologize for put…putting you in…in such a position, I nev…never meant… to hurt you or your hun…hunters. If you so wish it, I will release you from our bond and you may return to as you were before." Perseus said with tears now visibly falling.
"That is the thing I don't wish it. By the gods I do love you and I want to be your wife but I swore oaths and had others swear oaths to me based on the same principles, how can I be so disloyal to them?" Asked a conflicted Artemis.
"I…und…understand. However, before I release you I need to ask a favor of you. Thalia has been injured and the physician believes if you share some of your energy with her it will help her recover faster."
"Thalia's hurt! How did it happen?!" Artemis asked loudly.
"I…I…do not know. All I know is when I arrived back on Asgard she had gotten so mad that she tapped into her developing powers and could not control them. She used almost all of her energy which is why she needs some of yours." Perseus responded.
"I will go to her immediately" Artemis replied.
"While you do that I will gather what we need to dissolve the bond." Said a still stunned Perseus.
"I…I…am…sorry…Perseus." Replied a solemn Artemis.
"I know little moon, I know. Do not worry yourself I will take care of everything." Perseus whispered loudly as he teleported away.
At that Artemis flashed to Perseus's chambers where she found Thalia and the physician and began the transfer of energy.
Lady Frigga
Frigga paced back and forth in front of the door where the hunters were being kept with a worried look upon her brow. "Hurry Astrid we do not have much time left," Frigga thought to herself.
"Milady" a voice called out as Frigga turned to find Brunnhilde kneeling before her.
"Rise Brunnhilde," Frigga said as the leader of the Valkyries rose up from her kneeling position.
"Milady, what has happened? Why are the hunters being confined to their room?" Brunnhilde asked.
"During breakfast, I may have mentioned that I caught Perseus, Artemis, and Thalia canoodling naked together yesterday evening. The hunters did not take this to well and verbally assaulted Artemis and tried to physically assault Thalia who actually had to be stopped by Perseus. She is currently being tended to be a physician." Frigga replied.
"If it pleases you Milady but that does not sound right," Brunnhilde responded.
"Are you saying I fabricated the story?!" Frigga hissed.
"No Milady I meant no such disrespect, what I was trying to say was that during the hunters training with us yesterday almost all of them were happy for Artemis and seem to like Perseus. For them to become like this so soon almost sounds as if the hunters have been bewitched." Brunnhilde explained.
"My apologies Brunnhilde, I did not mean to snap at you and thank you for the valuable information. I too believe that they may have been bewitched with sorcery." Frigga responded.
"No apologies needed Milady it is a stressful time. If I may ask why are you still out here in the hallway?" Brunnhilde asked.
"As I just said I agree with your assumption that the hunters have been bewitched by sorcery, so I have sent Astrid to fetch me the two love goddesses. I believe they are the only ones who can undo the spell." Frigga answered.
"Um…La…Lady Frigga, there might be…." Brunnhilde started to say before Frigga said "it is alright Brunnhilde Artemis told me all about the prank played on them. I agree it was deserved, however, prank aside the fate of the ten realms rest on those two arriving here soon."
At that, a portal formed in front of Frigga as two women covered head to toe in clothes walked forth followed by Astrid. "Lady Frigga we are here as requested. What has happened." Asked the one Frigga believed to be Freyja.
Frigga explained what had occurred and that Brunnhilde and herself believe the hunters to be under a spell. "I see this is grave news indeed. What do you need from us Milady?" Inquired Freyja.
"If possible I would like Aphrodite to cast a spell of concealment on the two of you and then follow me into the room where I will show the hunters the ramifications of their actions. While I do this I want you to try and identify the magic and spell and whether or not you can undo it." Frigga instructed.
At that, Aphrodite cast the spell of concealment as they silently followed Frigga into the room. Once inside Frigga dropped to her knees and began to pray "Milord Presence I beseech thee to help us in this dire time."
"Frigga you know that I cannot interfere in what is happening." A voice said in her mind.
"Yes, Milord I am aware, however, I do not want you to interfere I need you to merely delay someone." Replied Frigga.
"You clever, clever girl. I believe I can delay a certain someone for you, but know this it will not last for very long so I implore you to make haste and complete your plan." Ordered The Presence.
"Yes Milord, I thank thee for thy help." Responded a thankful Frigga.
"Hunters come forth and sit," Frigga ordered.
"Lady Frigga why are we being kept here against our will?" Zoe asked.
"I will answer your questions but first, I must tell you a story, a story whose ending depends on a group of girls much like yourselves." Frigga responded "A long time ago a prince was adopted into a royal family, as he had been abandoned by his real family. The royal family learned that the baby prince had a truly glorious destiny awaiting him as long as the path the Norns set forth were followed. Many years passed as the baby prince grew and became powerful, but a gentle and loyal warrior who was loved throughout the kingdom. A few millennia's pass and the apex of the warrior prince's path approaches as he accepts a difficult mission that no one but he can do. It is one this mission that the prince meets and falls in love with the women who are intended to be his brides. No one saves, the Norns, the Presence, the King and Queen of the Kingdom were aware of how important this action was to the safety of the ten realms. Unfortunately, the forces of evil became aware of the union and set out to stop it. They used their most desperate ploy and that was to bewitch the one of the brides group of friends and turned them against her when she needed them the most. After a while, the young bride came to a decision and told the prince that she could not marry him. The prince was devastated but granted her request because he loves her enough to let her go. Unfortunately, for this to happen a price must be paid so the prince acquired a potion that when ingested would safeguard those who drank it against the consequences of the breakup. The prince instructed the soon to be a former bride to drink the potion and make sure that the other bride did as well as the prince did not want her to be in any pain. Once the two had drunk the potion the prince called upon his domain and physically broke the bonds between the two women and himself. The potion worked as the two former brides did not feel any pain, however, the prince did feel pain. He felt all of the pain from the breaking of the bond to both women. The prince fell to the ground screaming in pain as the heavens shook, the stars turned red as their master was dying from the pain and suffering caused by the bond being broken. Depending on your point of view it was fortunate or unfortunate that the king arrived and found his son about to die. The king so loved his son that he placed him in an eternal sleep never to wake, never to die. Nothing was ever the same for the kingdom or universe again. The king tried to help defeat the oncoming evil but the fate of his son lay heavily on his shoulders and eventually he failed and the universe and the 10 realms fell." At this Frigga waved her hand and a picture of a peaceful paradise and universe appeared in the air "this is what the future would have been like if the prince had married his two intended brides. This is what it will be when their bond is broken." Frigga said as she waved her hand once again and all that could be seen was an eternal burning pit."
"What has that story got to do with us?" Asked a hunter.
"I had hoped you would understand that the story is about Perseus, Artemis, and Thalia, these are futures that await us depending on whether they are married or not," Frigga explained.
At this, the hunters erupted into chaos with everyone yelling and screaming until Frigga bellowed out "QUIET!" as she flared her power causing the group of hunters to fearfully keep quiet while sitting back down. "Freyja have you been able to identify the magic and spell used on them?"
"Yes Milady," Freyja said as she appeared from out of nowhere. "The magic is easily identifiable it is that of Amora and her sister Lorelai. The spell that was used is extremely potent but I am certain that with Aphrodite's help we will be able to free them, however, since the spell is so potent we must free them one at a time."
"Very well Freyja please get right on it, time is of the essence," Frigga ordered.
"At once Milady, but who should we start with?" Freyja asked.
"Start with Zoe, she's is Artemis's best friend that way once she is free she can go and stop Artemis from breaking up with Perseus," Aphrodite interjected.
"Excellent suggestion, thank you, Aphrodite, now please hurry." Frigga said, "Brunnhilde watch the hunters make sure that none of them interfere with Freyja and Aphrodite."
"By your will Milady," Brunnhilde replied as she bowed to her queen.
Percy and Artemis
Perseus stepped out of a portal that he had opened in his training arena with a look of sadness on his face. As he stood there thinking about what is to happen tears began to form in his eyes once again. "I should have known better," he thought to himself when suddenly he heard from behind.
"Perseus you are back so soon?" Artemis asked as she approached him.
"I would have been back sooner but I kept being delayed for some reason," Perseus replied as he looked at the ground.
"It is fine, I only just finished up with Thalia. According to the physician, she will be fine after some rest." Artemis said with a sad smile.
"That is great news." Perseus responded back "are you ready to do this?"
"I…I…suppose that I am," Artemis answered back.
At that, Perseus pulled a flask from out of his pocket and said: "this is a potion you and Thalia must drink so that the two of you will be safe."
"Safe? Safe from what?" Artemis asked.
"Once I…I break our bonds of loyalty there will be a backlash of tremendous power. This potion will safeguard you and Thalia from the effects of the backlash." Perseus answered.
"Bu…but what will happen to you?" inquired a concerned Artemis.
"I…I will bear the full brunt of the backlash." Replied a solemn Perseus.
"Bu…but that cou…could kill…you!" Artemis exclaimed.
"It…will be…unpleasant and hurt ,but I will be fine." Perseus tried to say in a reassuring tone.
"I…I do not want to cause you such pain," Artemis said tearfully.
"Oh little moon, I have felt pain in the past and I will experience it again in the future. It matters very little where the pain comes from. However, I must ask a favor of you. Once you, Thalia, and the hunters have returned to Midgard run and hide. Go back to Greece if you must but stay away from America." Perseus said as he turned his back to her.
"Why should we hide and will Thalia not be safe with you?" Asked a confused Artemis.
"I am afraid that Thalia will not be with me so no she will not be safe." Replied Perseus.
"But why! It will kill her!" Artemis hissed.
"No! I am saving her! Once she drinks the potion I will have to break my bonds with her as well. I am asking you to keep her safe by hiding in Greece." Perseus bellowed.
"Why must you break her bond with you?" Artemis questioned.
"If Thalia does not drink that potion she will be affected by the backlash from our bonds being broken. In her current condition, it will kill her. I would rather let her go than seeing her dead. So please just do this…for me." Perseus said as tears fell from his eyes.
"As you wish Perseus. For what it's worth I am very sorry I was looking forward to a life with you." Artemis said sadly as she approached him for one last hug but was stopped as Perseus shook his head and said: "please no, I could not take that."
"I…I understand," Artemis said as tears rolled down her cheeks before she took the flask and unscrewed the top and went to take a drink. As the flask approached her mouth the flask was ripped from her hand by a silver arrow as someone yelled: "Milady no!"
"What the fuck!" Perseus yelled as he summoned Storm-breaker to his hand and assumed attack position.
Just as quickly Artemis summoned her bow and hissed "who dares!" as she turns to look in the direction the arrow came from to find a frantic Zoe running towards her.
"Milady please do not drink that!' Zoe yelled out.
"No Zoe, you and the hunters were right, I never should have gone back on my oath." Replied a sullen Artemis.
"Milady let me explain!" Zoe hissed
"Very well Zoe if your explanation is not good enough you will be punished," Artemis responded.
"It is all still a bit fuzzy but from what I know is that Brunnhilde and Lady Frigga figured out that the hunt had been placed under a spell designed to enhance our…ill will towards men. Lady Frigga summoned Ladies Freyja and Aphrodite to study us while Lady Frigga talked with us. After the talk, Lady Freyja said that a spell had been placed on the hunt and that the magic used belonged to someone named Amora and her sister Lorelai. Due to the potency of the spell, Freyja and Aphrodite are having to free us one at a time. I was freed first because they believed I had the best chance at finding you and stopping you from drinking the potion." Zoe explained.
"Is…is…this true?" Artemis asked with tears of happiness in her eyes.
"Yes, Milady. I swear on the river Styx that everything I just told you is true." Zoe swore.
At that, Artemis rushed forth and hugged Zoe saying thank you over and over again.
"I am sorry Milady; we would never willingly cause you such heartache and distress," Zoe said apologetically.
"I should have known better Zoe, I am sorry for not realizing that you and the others were under a spell," Artemis responded.
As the two women embraced they both turned their heads to Perseus walking away. At that sight, Artemis called out "Perseus where are you going? Did you not hear Zoe we can be together now is that not wonderful?"
Perseus turned to look at Artemis and replied: "I am sorry Artemis but that does not mean we can be together."
"Wh…what do you mean?" asked a stunned Artemis.
"I understand that the hunt was under a spell, however, you were not. And yet I found you here having a crisis of faith about us being together. Evidently you still have some issues about marrying me, which is not good. What would happen if we are married and you have another crisis? There is no breaking that bond. Only death can do that and I refuse to lose you or Thalia to death if I can help it. Nothing would make me happier than you becoming my wife but I cannot go through something like this again, it would destroy me." Perseus whispered loudly.
"And how do you think Milady and Thalia would have felt once they found out what had happened to you?!" bellowed Zoe.
"Nothing would have happened to me" Perseus replied.
"Do not lie to me Perseus, Lady Frigga told us what would happen!" Zoe hissed.
"Damn it, mother! Why did you have to say anything?" Perseus said as he pulled at his hair.
"What would have happened?! Tell me now!" Artemis exclaimed.
Perseus shook his head but Zoe just smiled and said: "if you and Thalia had of drunk the potion then once Perseus broke the bonds between you, he would have died, which more than likely would have doomed the entire universe to destruction."
A resounding SLAP! Echoed throughout the arena as Artemis yelled "you lied?! You said there would only be some pain!"
"That part was true." Perseus said as he hung his head "I just did not tell you that the pain would have ended when I died."
"Why? Why would you want to die?" Artemis asked.
"I do not wish to die, but you have never seen what happens to someone when the bond is broken and I could not and would not put you through that and it would have killed Thalia. I would die a thousand deaths if it meant you and Thalia lived." Perseus answered.
"It would have killed me if I knew you had died because of me," Artemis said as fresh tears rolled down her face.
"Oh little moon please do not cry, it ruins such a beautiful face," Perseus replied as he pulled her in for a hug.
"Wh…what…do we do now?" Artemis asked.
"I do not know but we will think of something," Perseus responded.
"I have an idea," a voice said from behind them.
The two gods turned as one as they beheld Frigga Queen of Asgard.
"Mother, what do you mean you have an idea?" Perseus inquired.
"Yes as a married woman of longer than I can remember, I assure you that situations will occur between you where one or the other will become angry at the other or one will hurt the others feelings. What I want you to do is say I'm sorry, and then kiss and make up. After that, you learn how to talk to each other and learn to share your feelings and insecurities." Frigga instructed.
"Our mother is a very wise woman," Artemis said laughingly.
"Yes she is, maybe we should call her the All-Mother." Perseus laughed as he leaned in to kiss Artemis.
"Yes, All-Mother I like that. I wonder what Odin would say?" Frigga asked laughingly as she, Zoe, Perseus, and Artemis made their way back to check on Thalia.
/\/\/\/\/\.
Camp Half-Blood
"John watch out!" shouted Clarisse who was clad in her armor, as she dodged a massive club from a strange blue giant that seemed to cover in ice. However, her warning was too late as John was struck in the head from behind by a mace, completely ripping his head clean of his shoulders, his body took a few steps before collapsing onto the blood stained ground. "Damn" Clarisse angry muttered "how did these sons a bitches get into camp" she wondered.
Quickly spinning around to avoid a sword to her back, Clarisse thrust her spear skywards catching the monster in the face causing it to crumble into dust. Retreating slightly, Clarisse observed the battlefield and looked on glumly as she saw a large number of monsters that were surging forwards from the forest. 'Where are they all coming from?' she wondered. However, she was interrupted from her musings when she heard Chiron shouting for her to look out. As she turned around time seemed to slow to a hundredth of its usual pace, as there before her was one of those ice giant thingy's looming over her its weapon poised ready to strike her down. This was it, death was coming for her. Clarisse knew she wouldn't be able to block in time, so she just watched as the weapon made its way closer and closer to her, when all of a sudden the giant's chest was obliterated due to a hammer flying through it. Time resumed to its normal pace and Clarisse watched as the hammer stopped midair and returned in the direction it flew from, she watched as the lights of the rainbow bridge slammed into the ground and the hammer penetrated the colors and was caught by Perseus. Reinforcements have arrived.
Clarisse would never admit it, but she let out a sigh of relief as she watched the prince of Asgard slam his hammer into the ground creating tremors that knocked the monsters off their feet while allowing the campers a bit of time to recover. Thankfully, Thalia and Lady Artemis also emerged from the Bifrost ready to join the fight. Thalia using her signature lightning bolts and spear while the moon goddess was shooting arrows everywhere she could find a monster.
Thalia was surprised at the number of monsters and what appeared to be, no she was positive where frost giants. Thanks to her recent training sessions and learning more about her newly developing powers, Thalia was itching for a good fight to test herself. Clicking her can of mace to reveal her spear, she summoned some lightning and caught it with her spear before diving into the fray, she would block oncoming attacks and attacked with her spear as she knocked her opponent off balance. Unfortunately, she witnessed three demigods being crushed when a Cyclops threw a boulder that landed on them, and there was an ice giant just about to step on a demigod from behind, fortunately before that could happen something that appeared to be a slightly glowing golden arrow flew through the air and into the giant's eye, the glow from the arrow seemed to be melting the frost giant's head. Thalia looked back and observed Artemis her eyes wide in astonishment; however, she quickly recovered and started firing arrows once again.
Artemis was bewildered; she did not think her new abilities would manifest so soon. Although the feel of warmth from the sun seemed to supply her with energy just like light from the moon did. She could feel the heat cover her smooth pale skin and seep into her bones and it seemed to form into her arrow not so different when she shot arrows made of moonlight. She couldn't help but think how pissed Apollo was going to be when he found out, however, she knew the time for thinking about a pissed off Apollo was for later and continued shooting arrows with accuracy that only the goddess of archery could achieve.
Perseus was pissed when he arrived looking around at the dead bodies of children that did not deserve this. Spotting Chiron he made his way over demolishing monster after monster. He was not surprised when he saw some ice giants in the fray. It appears Laufey was upping his game with Kronos. No matter the Jotun King would pay soon enough.
"Chiron!" shouted Perseus "where are they coming from?!"
"There… is an…entrance to the labyrinth in the forest. It is in Zeus's fist by all accounts." Answered Chiron.
"Are you sure, how do you know?" asked Perseus.
"During the game earlier, the children of Hades where atop of Zeus' fist, I don't know what transpired but Nico fell between the rocks into what appeared to be some sort of underground cave. However, when we rescued him, we could hear what I assume was marching, then not long after young Nico was taken to the infirmary, monsters started to pour from out of the forest. Now it doesn't take a genius to work out where they came from" informed Chiron.
"How do you know it is an entrance to the labyrinth?" Perseus inquired.
"There was a Delta symbol near the entrance, which indicates it is a Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth." Responded Chiron.
"I see. Well we need to start pushing them back…where is Clarisse?" asked Perseus.
"I'm afraid I do not know I lost track of her in the fray" answered the ancient centaur releasing an arrow and catching a Cyclops in its eye.
"Alright here is what I need for you to do, have all the archers line up in the back and wait for Artemis's command" Perseus ordered leaving no room for arguing.
"Very well Perseus, please be quick with whatever you're planning." Begged Chiron.
Returning to the battle, Perseus made his way through the fight that raged on until he came to Artemis. "Artemis, Chiron is lining up the archers, take command of them once he has them ready and wait for my signal."
"Be careful Perseus" a worried Artemis started to say.
"Do not worry my love, I will always return to you." responded Perseus with a loving smile before spotting Clarisse and started barking orders, going fully into command mode.
"Clarisse, have the frontline form a phalanx, I want shields interlocked and in the frontline defense in 30 seconds!" Perseus barked knocking aside a spear that was thrown at him.
Even though she is a daughter of the war god, Clarisse knew when she was outranked and followed the orders straight away, having her brothers and sisters who were old enough form a line of shields covering themselves and their partner to the left, with their spears poised ready to strike. The monsters were confused at how sudden the demigods regained their formation but quickly regained their bearings and rushed at the phalanx.
"FIRE!" shouted Perseus resulting Artemis and the demigod archers to unleash a hail of arrows upon the charging monsters causing most of the monsters in front to collapse into golden dust. However, the ice giants proved more resilient having been at war with Asgardians, they were stronger than the average monsters and could take more punishment. However, what the arrows did do was cause them to stumble due to the injuries they inflicted, which forced them to correct their footing before they could continue to charge forward towards the demigods.
With a smirk adorn his face, Perseus used his powers of spatial displacement and moved the area the frost giants were occupying and relocated them to somewhere on Muspelheim, they were going to have one hell of a sunburn where they had gone.
"Clarisse, take command of the phalanx, start advancing forward!" ordered Perseus.
"Aye sir!" the respectful answer rolling off the lips of the war god's daughter.
"Thalia! Go and join Clarisse on the frontline. Artemis keep them covered" Perseus ordered as he received a nod of acceptance from both girls.
"Now let me go and see the leader." Perseus thought to himself as with a twirl of his hammer he shot off into the air flying over the forest until he saw the pile of rocks that the demigods referred to as Zeus's fist. Slamming down into the clearing, Perseus announced his arrival to the group of ice giants that were lying in wait, not that he was worried.
"This camp is under my protection and thus under the protection of Asgard, surrender now and you will be treated to a fair trial," Perseus stated as he changed Storm-breaker into his spear.
"Ha! Foolish Asgardian, do you think we will surrender to a pathetic worm like you!?" shouted one of the frost giants.
"As you wish" muttered the prince as he fired three consecutive golden beams of light from his spear disintegrating the giants where they stood.
"PERSEUS LOOK OUT!" a voice who he believed was Artemis shouted out before he heard the whizz of an arrow fly past his head, quickly turning he saw an ice giant crumble as a golden glowing arrow started to melt into his chest. The arrow looked like it was made of fire or solar energy. Artemis new powers were already manifesting. Turning back around he sent a quick salute to Artemis who breathed a sigh of relief as Perseus was unharmed, before resuming her earlier task of providing support to the demigods.
Making his way over to Thalia he lay a hand on her shoulder sending gentle waves of his energy into her and told her to call lightning down, which she did however when combined with the energy from Perseus, her power was amplified as sparks of blue lightening surrounded by a black aura seemed to cover the daughter of Zeus, and then with a loud scream bright bolts of lightning danced from the heavens striking cyclops's, hellhounds, empousa's and any other monster that was in the vicinity leaving behind only the golden dust of their remains.
"Are you ok?" Perseus asked with concern at Thalia's heavy breathing.
"Ye…yeah, ju…just need… to catch m…my breath" Thalia said with a smile. "That was awesome wasn't it?"
"Yes, I agree, it was awesome," Perseus said chuckling as he waited for Thalia to recover her breath. While he ensured no harm would come to Thalia Perseus studied the battlefield and smiled as he watched the demigods work together and systematically push back the monsters who were now on the defense. To ensure true victory Perseus knew that he had to cut off the monsters' escape route as well as make sure that no more monsters came through the labyrinth. Tapping into his powers once again the Asgardian prince created a temporal loop so that when the monsters tried to retreat they came straight back to where they were and were quickly destroyed by a sky full of gleaming arrows.
"Thank you for coming Perseus, I cannot imagine what would have happened if Thalia, Artemis and yourself had not shown up," said a grateful Chiron.
"No thanks are necessary Chiron like I said to the frost giants. The camp is under my protection and thus the protection of Asgard. An attack on this camp is an attack on Asgard itself, which is why I have had Heimdall watching over the camp. Once he saw the monsters attacking he immediately notified me and we came to help. Soon both Kronos and Laufey will pay the price for their evil deeds and the innocent lives they have taken." replied Perseus.
"Laufey? Who is this Laufey you speak of?" asked a confused Chiron.
"Yes, Laufey. He is the king of Jotunheim and thus the frost giants. He has hated Asgard for as long as I can remember, we have an uneasy sort of truce between him and my father but it appears that truce is broken as he has aligned himself with Kronos. This is probably how Kronos has acquired some of the forbidden objects that he has come into possession of, objects that I will soon take from him" stated a determined Perseus before taking a breath and surveying the damage caused by the recent battle. "But enough talk, come let us help with the wounded and then call a war meeting to discuss some tactics and what to do next." Receiving a firm nod from the ancient centaur, they both walked off to help although Perseus did check up on his fiancé's first, just to ease his nerves.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Nico, are you alright?" asked a worried Perseus.
"M'head hurts" grumbled the young child of Hades.
Chuckling slightly, Perseus put his head on the young boy's head and sped time up to heal the wound. "Better?" inquired the prince.
"Yes" smiled Nico before being wrapped up in a hug from Bianca. "Thank you for healing him Perseus."
"No thanks are needed, I made a promise to your father, and I don't break my promises" declared Perseus before standing up "Come let us go to the big house, we need to know how you found the entrance to the labyrinth."
Receiving a nod in response the children of Hades and Perseus walked off to join the camp councilors as well as Perseus's fiancés in the big house. On their way to the big house, Perseus surveyed the destruction from the recent attack and could only hope that they could end this war before too many lives were lost. Perseus was interrupted from his musings when Chiron greeted them at the steps leading into the big house and ushered the trio inside.
"Now that we're all here, let us get started," Chiron said "Bianca could you please explain in a bit more detail about how you and Nico found the entrance to the labyrinth," Chiron asked politely.
Bianca swallowed nervously as all eyes turned to her, but a look of reassurance from Perseus calmed her and she said: "during the game, some of the sons of Ares corned us." At this, Clarisse rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation at her brothers. "However before they could do anything to us, some of those scorpion things showed up, so I and Nico retreated to the top of Zeus's fist. The sons of Ares said they were going to fight the scorpions but ran off. Then the next thing I can remember is something hit Nico on his head and he fell down a crevice. I climbed down as quickly as I could and found him lying there in the darkness. The place was cold and looked like a long corridor. I swear that I could hear marching in the distance, but I grabbed Nico and somehow the darkness covered us and we were on the grass in front of Zeus's fist. From there Chiron came and helped Nico, taking him to the infirmary, then as you all know the monsters started attacking" Bianca explained as she tried to regain her breath after the long explanation.
Shouting broke out at what to do amongst the campers until Chiron took charge and demanded silence. "Quiet! The first thing we must do is schedule regular patrols in case there is another attack, Clarisse you will be in charge of organizing squads and patrols, understood?"
"Yes, Chiron" accepted the daughter of Ares.
"Next, we must prepare defenses and set traps in preparation, Charles I'm sure the Hephaestus cabin has some rather inventive and deadly surprises for them?" Chiron smiled as he looked at Charles.
"Naturally, we'll start straight away" Beckendorf answered as he smiled back.
"Perseus, Lady Artemis, I take it that you will be informing the Olympian council of what transpired here?" asked Chiron.
"Of course Chiron, Perseus do you have anything to add before we leave?" asked Artemis.
In response to Artemis question Perseus seemingly pulled out a golden pocket watch from nowhere and clicked open its cover, everyone stared at the noise of the ticking hands sounded around the room ominously. After about five seconds Perseus clicked it shut again and turned to Annabeth and said: "perhaps you should go and see the Oracle daughter of Athena." At his statement, everyone looked from him to Annabeth whose complexion had turned pale.
"Why me?" Annabeth asked as she gulped, even though it sounded stupid to her own ears she couldn't help it when it slipped past her lips.
"A quest concerning the labyrinth is about to be given and the Oracle has chosen you to receive it." answered Perseus.
"Ho…how do… you know…that?" quizzed the visibly shaken daughter of Athena.
Smiling slightly Perseus responded "I know" before holding out his arm in an off you go gesture.
Silence reigned whilst Annabeth was speaking with the Oracle, once the daughter of Athena finally returned she was paler than before she left.
"Sit down my dear and tell us what happened," said Chiron gesturing to Annabeth's seat."
"Sh…she said…
You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,
The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.
You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,
The Child of Athena's final stand.
Destroy with a hero's final breath,
And lose a love to worse than death.
…then she returned back to her usual place"
"Demigods just a reminder, prophecies have double meanings, do not just assume the first thing that comes to mind is the correct interpretation of the prophecy even if it sounds obvious," said Perseus seriously. "Now, Artemis and I must report to Olympus about what has transpired here. Thalia are you coming or would you prefer to stay here?" asked Perseus.
"I'll stay here; I need to rest some. I'll catch up with you two later" answered Thalia.
"Very well. Artemis shall we?" asked Perseus to which Artemis nodded and left the big house alongside Perseus leaving the demigods to ponder the prophecy. He knew what some of the prophecy meant but Perseus knew that he had to let the demigods figure it out for themselves.
Artemis took her fiancé's hand and using her divine power which all gods and goddesses have flashed Perseus and herself to the Olympian throne room and fired and silvery gold arrow into the air and watched as it exploded with the power of a bomb, signaling a need for a council meeting. It didn't take long for the gods and goddesses of Olympus to arrive.
"I am sure you are all aware of why I have called this meeting," asked Artemis receiving nods of confirmation in response.
But before she could continue Apollo interrupted and demanded: "how were you able to draw from upon my domain dear sister?!"
"Whatever do you mean dear brother?" asked Artemis innocently.
"You damn well know what I mean!" said Apollo a pointed look.
Before Artemis could continue trying to deny Apollos accusations Perseus interrupted. "Those are some of her new powers that she is developing due to her bonding with myself. She is drawing off my domain of space and just like the moon is a celestial body, so is the sun and thus under my command which allows Artemis to not only draw power from the moon but also the sun" explained Perseus.
Grumbling slightly at having to share his domain with his sister, Apollo just sulked like a child allowing the meeting to commence.
"As you are most likely aware, the camp was attacked earlier today by an army of monsters along with some frost giants as well. They used the labyrinth which has an entrance in camp to successfully bypass the magical border that protects the camp. Fortunately, the demigods banded together under the leadership of Clarisse La Rue and successfully defended the camp and pushed the invading army back to the Labyrinth entrance until they were defeated. They have already organized patrols and are setting up traps and other siege equipment in the event of another attack before the labyrinth entrance can be successfully closed" taking a breath Perseus glanced at Apollo and continued. "As Apollo is already aware, a prophecy has been given to Annabeth Chase the daughter of Athena, of which they are currently discussing and trying to decipher when Artemis and I came to Olympus to give this report."
"Apollo what is the prophecy?" asked Zeus.
"It is…
You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,
The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.
You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,
The Child of Athena's final stand.
Destroy with a hero's final breath,
And lose a love to worse than death.
…but remember as always they have double meanings" said Apollo.
"Perseus do you know how or why there were frost giants there?" asked Hera.
"It would appear that Laufey is stepping up his game with Kronos" answered Perseus.
"Laufey? Who or what is a Laufey?" asked a puzzled Hades.
"Yes, Laufey is the King and leader of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Eons ago seeking to give his people a new home, he led his army to Midgard and invaded the northern parts of the planet. He used the Casket of Ancient Winters to slaughter the innocent lives there. The attack was treated as a declaration of war against Asgard, because as you know Asgard is the protector of the nine realms and thus began a war. The battle was long but eventually, my father and his armies pushed the Jotuns back to their home planet Jotunheim. Laufey and my father engaged in one on one combat until my father was eventually victorious and Laufey was forced to surrender. Instead of killing Laufey, my father agreed to a peace treaty with the condition that they never leave their home planet again and their power source the Casket of Ancient Winters was taken from them. But it appears that Laufey is no longer concerned about the peace treaty and has taken up arms with Kronos."
"What is the Casket of Ancient Winters?" Hades continued.
"The Casket of Ancient Winters is a relic, an ancient weapon that once belonged to the Frost Giants, who used it to vanquish enemy armies and conquer various realms. It is capable of projecting an infinite icy wind that will freeze their enemies and plunge a realm into an Ice Age. It was captured by my father and the Einherjar of Asgard during the war between Asgard and Jotunheim, and currently resides in my father's vault."
"This is indeed troubling news" concluded Zeus before he turned to Hephaestus. "Ensure that the demigods have as much material as they need to build their defences, should you happen to drop any new designs to your children, it would be overlooked by the council" Zeus said sending a sly smile to his son who smiled back and flashed away to send some material and plans to his children. "Athena start developing battle strategies, we need both defensive and offensive strategies for when the time comes" to which he received a yes in response from his daughter and turned to the rest of the council. "The rest of us must keep careful watch on our domains, report any unusual activity to the council so we can take appropriate action. If there's nothing else, council dismissed."
Perseus and Artemis waited until they were the only ones left before Perseus turned to Artemis and said: "Ares was looking at you rather strangely as if he did something."
"Ares was looking at me strangely; Athena was looking at you like she owns you now…my family is confusing" laughed Artemis.
"I am sure it is nothing, come let us leave and see how Thalia is doing," said Perseus grabbing Artemis's hand and teleported away.
/\/\/\/\/\