Pre Story AN:
I am back as promised with another chapter of Hellhound on my Trail. Read, Review, and Revel in the magical wonder that is my mediocre writing style.
As the breaks of the underground train gripped against it's guiding rail, a squeal emitted from the bottom which caused Zoë to jerk awake in her seat, her eyes wide in surprise. Looking around, she quickly remembered where she was and she blinked the sleep from her eyes.
The few other people that were on the train all grabbed their luggage and started to disembark. Slowly, Zoë straightened herself out, wincing as pain shot through her leg. When it stopped, she reached down to grab her bag and stood up, walking out of the train car.
A dim light greeted her eyes, shining from only a couple ceiling lights. The Olympian controlled train deposited its passengers underground and to get up she needed to take an elevator. Walking over to it, she managed to slip inside before the doors shut on her.
Inside with here was an elderly man, his eyes fixed firmly on the door, and a teenage girl, who looked like she should still be at Camp Half Blood.
The elevator quickly jumped the two floors required to let them exit. The door opened and revealed a private room, the sort of which that usually only security is allowed to get into.
Zoë got a couple of tired waves and greetings as she walked through the room, and she responded to them as such. At the opposite end, she opened the door and held it for the old man and the young girl.
Neither one of them acknowledged her.
When they walked past, her eyes followed them for a moment before she shrugged and stepped out into the mortal part of the airport.
A half dozen familiar smells hit her all at once, strongly enough that she could swear that she had been punched in the face.. She blinked a few times and waited for it to get passed her, and began walking toward the bathroom for the bathroom.
Inside, she grabbed a stall and hurriedly took her partially finished bottle of nectar from the suitcase. The thick, honey like liquid washed over her lips and she sighed in relief as she quickly tested her leg. The usual pain when she put her weight on it was unnoticeable.
She left the room and looked around the airport, looking for the familiar desk that was private to Olympian flyers. It was located at the far south end of the building, and labeled with a large sign that read:
Olympic Private Travel
Gold Card Members only
Follow Instructions Given to Reach Your Flight
The usual woman sat at the desk, staring with intent into a computer as her fingers clacked furiously against the keyboard. She didn't seem to notice Zoë as she approached, so to get her attention, she politely cleared her throat.
The woman looked up. "Oh, hello Miss Nightshade. How can I help you?" Her voice held the politely upbeat tone of desk workers everywhere. Happy, yet a little forced.
"I was told that there was a flight here that was waiting for me." Zoë responded, and the woman turned back to the computer.
"Hmm," she clicked around a few times. "Ah, yes. Here it is. Private Jet, for Zoë Nightshade. Destination of London, England. Scheduled to leave upon arrival of passenger." She turned back to Zoë. "Do you have everything you require, Miss Nightshade?"
"Yes, I do." She answered.
There was a mechanical noise as a slip of paper began to work it's way out of a small printer on the woman's desk. She reached for it and tore it off, handing it to the former huntress. "Here you are, Miss. Now, if you would follow Andrew here, he'll take you to the flight. Have a good day."
"You as well." Zoë dipped her head slightly in goodbye, and turned to walk over to the man that the woman had called Andrew.
People like him were a signature part of all Olympian controlled areas of business in the mortal world. They served as guides and/or security. And while working in the airport, considering all they had to do was guide people through a few hallways, they weren't particularly needed. But it was a job that demigods tok when they finished their training, and the demand for it sometimes made it so that there were more of them than was necessary. However, it wasn't as if Olympus had a limited budget so it wasn't actually a problem.
He was tall, young, and dressed in a black suit. The picture of the Olympian employees in the mortal world. As she reached him, he turned and she followed him through a doorway and down a long corridor. At the end, the took an elevator down a floor and past the security system via a private hidden pathway behind the wall. Out of which they could see, but into which no one could see.
Unlike the mortals, who in order to reach the terminals were forced to take an underground train. They simply walked to an extra wing of the building, that the mortals just knew as the wing where the rich took their private jets from.
Andrew gave Zoë the location and information regarding her flight and left her in the terminal, returning to his post back at the other end of the airport. Now alone, Zoë continued on her way, stopping only to grab an apple from one of the vendors between her and her flight,
Through the window of the gate that bore the number of her flight, she could see the plane stopped and connected to the extendable hallway. Simply waiting for her to arrive and get on board.
There was no check in counter for the private plane. Simply someone waiting for the V.I.P. to get on so they could close the door. That was it. So there was not length process that Zoë had to go through before stepping onto the plane. So that's what she did.
The private plane was small, consisting of a single main room, the cockpit, a bathroom, and a small back room. In other words, it was shaped exactly like a regular lane, just scaled down.
There was a large screen attached to one of the walls at the front of the plane. It was used for communication on the Olympic private jets but could also be used to ease boredom on long flights. As Zoë discovered one day while traveling to Romania with a fellow agent, who was a huge fan of Firefly, and had managed to get Zoë on board as well.
When Zoë got in the plane, the door was closed behind her and the pilots entered the cockpit and prepared to take off. Aside from those necessary to operate the plane, there was no other staff on board. If Zoë wanted to, she'd have to get her own mini bottles.
She put her bags on one of the mildly uncomfortable armless couches that were attached to the wall of the plane. Than she took a seat in the considerably more comfortable chair that faced the large screen. Though she knew it wasn't the smartest thing she ever did, Zoë did not bother to buckle herself to the seat. She had flown enough times and gotten used to the turbulence that came with it, that she felt perfectly safe at any point on the plane. Plus she knew she'd probably get up as soon as they were somewhat level to grab something to drink. Her throat was nearly parched.
The plane began to rumble as the two twin engines on the wings roared to life and the plane began to slowly move backwards. It then turned, straightened out, hit the runway, and took off.
Once in the air, Zoë stood up from the seat and went to the back of the plane. In the back section there was a small refrigerator, several cabinets, a freezer, and some dishes. Uninterested in food, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
She twisted open the top and took a long sip. Only now realizing how long it had been since she remembered to drink anything except the ambrosia. Using the water to wet her lips, she relieved them from the feeling of dryness that the cold New York air had brought to them. She took the bottle back to her seat and waited for contact from Olympus.
Not long passed before the familiar jingle of an incoming contact came from the screen. Jerking back up from the state of half sleep that she had fallen into, she grabbed a remote that was attached to the bottom of her seat and accepted the call.
The screen flashed to life and a face appeared on the monitor.
Artemis smiled lightly at her over the call. "Zoë."
Zoë bowed her head slightly. "Hello, Lady Artemis."
The goddess shook her head. "Honestly Zoë, you don't have to bother with the formalities. We've been friends for years and years."
Thalia's words from earlier bobbed back up in her mind and she scrambled to kick them back down relentlessly. "Of course, Artemis." She inwardly praised herself by not doing the timeless mistake of forgetting to address someone differently after they ask you to.
"Another thing, Zoë. When we told you about your next mission, we didn't mean you had to leave the hospital that instant. You're still hurt."
"I can manage. I just got sick of lying, strapped to the damn bed."
Artemis chuckled. "Yes, I can see you you would. Thalia came to see you earlier, after you had left."
Zoë noded. "I know, I talked to her on the way here. She seems to be doing well. Probably because you gave her a break?"
"I thought that she could use one," sair Artemis. "She's been getting anxious really easily lately, because of...well, because of Perseus."
"Yeah. They were really close, weren't they." Despite the fact that Thalia had told her such many times, she still felt the need to confirm.
"Yes." Artemis voice turned melancholy. "Close as brother and sister. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that they were such. They hardly left each other's side towards the end. Especially after what happened to Annabeth."
Zoë's eyes widened. She hadn't heard anything about this before. Thalia had never mentioned anything about Annabeth whenever they had talked. And looking back, she was amazed and ashamed at herself that she never noticed that. "Annabeth? What happened with Annabeth?" She never really saw or knew the girl, but she knew that she was close to both Thalia and Perseus. Especially Perseus.
It was Artemis' turn to look surprised. "You didn't ever know?"
"No." Zoë shook her head. "No, I just assumed when Perseus left that she had gone to search for him. Thalia never told me anything, and neither did anyone else." The last part was somewhat accusatory.
Artemis sighed. Suddenly she looked different. Older, more tired. It was a transformation that only immortals ever experienced. When they truly wore their hearts on their sleeves. "I...well… I should probably tell you everything."
-Line Break-
The second Giant war ended in the year 2010. Percy Jackson was seventeen years old, as were some of his fellow combatants. However, age aside, the Olympians won. A son of Hephaestus named Leo Valdez was forced to sacrifice himself to defeat Gaea, but however later returned to the mortal world. Bringing back Zoë's half sister, Calypso, with him.
The seven heroes as well as the other demigods who fought in the war, returned to their respective camps to live out life. Percy and Annabeth went to the mortal world to finish high school and then to attend college in New Rome. Among them were many of their friends, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, etc.
The first couple of years were normal enough. They completed their first few two of college. Achieving the level of degree that allowed them to get many decent jobs, though not the best in the world.
Eventually things began to change. Ever so slightly though, not majorly. Though Annabeth was lucky enough to get through Tartarus without any major permanent effects, Percy was not so lucky. He began to experience insomnia first, than it was depression. He became more reserved, more angry. He would lash out at people over the smallest things and adopted several strange O.C.D.-esque traits.
His friends remained supportive to him, and Percy was smart enough to realize what was going on. He would try his best to keep himself in line and apologize whenever he wasn't able to. But that didn't mean anything was improving. Eventually it got worse and Percy began to become more withdrawn. Then he started making some stupid choices. Really, really, stupid choices.
To escape from himself, he turned to another source. He began getting involved with drugs. Specifics are hazy, but from what Olympus could tell it was about as bad as one could imagine. He started to bring shady people into his life, people that put those he knew in danger. people that put his own life in danger as well.
At first he was able to keep it a secret. No one knew, he set up secret meetings. No one knew with who, where, or when. And until much later, people didn't even know it was happening.
Annabeth eventually caught on. And when she found out, she began to try and find out what was going on. Eventually, she was so concerned for his life that she threw herself in the middle of it and tried to break off all connections that he had with those people. Figuring out who they were and asking them to meet her so she could confront them. Perhaps she even wanted to kill them.
All that Olympus ever knew was that when Percy found her, she was lying on the floor of their apartment, strangled to death and beaten.
Some people turned their backs on him, some people blamed him for the death, but most stood by him. Insults were thrown and Percy in public and many of his possessions were vandalized, but he was defended by the rest of those he knew. They tried to cheer him up, tried to get him back to normal, tried to assure him that it wasn't his fault. But no matter what others did, he blamed and hated himself
He cut off all connections with the mortal world. Few people saw him after that. Most of his time was spent with Thalia, who was granted temporary leave from the hunt in order to grieve. Eventually it must have been to much, because one day when his cousin Nico went to see him at his home, he found that it had been cleared out and Percy was gone. He didn't leave anything, not even a note.
No one saw him after that. Search parties were sent. The hunt got involved after a while. But after a year with no results, and an increase in average monster population in the U.S., people were recalled and though it was hard to do, the search was temporarily terminated.
The monster population boom, now know as the Summer Rising, was short and minor. It was caused by an incorrect procedure in the closing of the doors of death. Leaving a small gap in the protected closure that allowed some monsters to get out. However, due to the lack of any leader or organization in the rising, after a month, the monsters were quelled and the doors were shut. It wasn't a big deal and the re were little to no casualties, so the incident was just brushed aside.
However, the opening allowed for some good to happen. A small number of people in the mythological world who died too soon in recent years made their way out. Some on purpose, and some accidentally were swept along in the current from the afterlife. Zoë Nightshade was one of the first t escape, seeing the opportunity immediately and taking advantage of it. Others included Michael Yew as well as, to Nico's utter joy, Bianca Di Angelo. Who Hades helped escape in the confusion during the final battle.
Since then, Olympus did it's best to return things to normal after the disappearance of one of the most notable and popular Demigods in the past several centuries. They spread their power into the mortal world. Not taking over, simply giving themselves a stronger base and a more powerful center. Agents were a creation in this time. Powerful demigods and other members of mythology who were the top level operatives in the Olympic structure.
Zoë Nightshade was a member of the first trained to be one. Her squad were now at the top of the ladder, with only one of the dying a few years into professional work. They were popular people among all levels, the job not only trained them to be lethal, it trained them to be diplomatic, charismatic, and easy to like as well.
It was boring for number of years, without any major events happening until 2017. Two major things happened on this year. First, in early January, a monster attack in Buffalo, New York spurred Olympus into action. Preparing for another monster uprising, which hit them in more fully two months later. They are still dealing with in full force two years later. This one, which has not been dubbed with a name, was more organized than the previous one, and so far has been kept a secret with few people knowing of it's severity to decrease any possibility of worry or panic. The Doors of Death were not the problem, and Olympus is now worrying that they are on the brink of another war. This time with an unknown enemy.
But that wasn't all. The second event occurred months after that, when agent Kim Philby struck gold, and saw Percy Jackson while on holiday in England.
The picture he took was kept secret by the gods for two years, while they traced Percy's location to an exact point. They checked his history and were able to build at least a rough timeline of events up until that point. Then, once they were satisfied, they crafted the mission, readied the dossier, and went to one of the few people who Percy was known to not have any negative emotion towards. Zoë Nightshade. The former huntress who he respected, and mourned.
She was then given a mission, and sent to England to retrieve the most powerful demigod alive. And now, the necessity of it made it a priority that could not wait.
AN:
OK. I'm going to go ahead and apologize now for this chapter. Zoë was supposed to confront Percy at the end of it, but I decided that it was way to long to be a legitimate chapter so I turned it into two. I'll try to update the next one soon so that part will be out there, but until then enjoy this chapter.
I hope you all are satisfied with my back story, which is mostly what this chapter ended up being for. I knew the 'Percy get's betrayed' stries are popular, yet usually tiresome and poorly written so I didn't take that approach. This time, Percy is unable to stay due to his grief and leave because of that. Which isn't entirely original in it's own right but is more so , plus the story will get fairly different as it goes on. Maybe I'll even make a sequel afterwords. Who knows, I'm liking this one.
I'll try to update The Picture of Perseus Gray sometime soon, but like i have said I'm still unsure of where exactly I want to go with that one so it may wait awhile. And for that, I apologize.
Until next time, this is Hemlock Stones signing off.