So sorry for the long wait. There were quite a few problems, as my dear friend had so kindly announced to the world. But I'm back! And I've decided to reward you all with... 2 chapters!
V
Artemis was the first to wake, only to find herself in a plane, the droning of the airplane seeming deafening now that she's awake.
To her shock, she found herself tied up, with Apollo next to her, still drooling in his sleep.
"Apollo!" Artemis hissed.
No reaction.
"Apollo!" Artemis hissed again, this time louder, leaning forward to shout next to his ear.
"Wha-?" her younger twin cracked opens an eye and drowsily took in their surroundings. "Okay, that's nice. Wake me up later, Arte- Wait a second, where the hell are we?"
If Artemis's hands were free, she would've face-palmed.
"Somewhere," she replied, looking around one more time.
"What happened?"
"I don't know…" And suddenly, the memories flooded back to her.
στριμμένα
Artemis had gone hunting after she stormed out, since hunting always seems to calm her down. She had caught two squirrels and a rabbit and is currently tracking a deer when she heard Apollo's voice shout, "Artemis!"
Still pissed off at him, she decided to ignored him.
"Artemis, wait up!"
To Artemis's annoyance, his voice had scared away the deer.
"What is it?" she snapped.
Apollo flinched and stopped in front of her, withering under her sharp glare. He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
"Um, I just want to say that I'm sorry…" he mumbled sheepishly.
"What?"
"I'm sorry?" he said louder this time.
"Pardon but I can't hear you," Artemis said loudly, leaning forward as if trying to listen to him, "Can you repeat that one more time?"
"I'm sorry, okay? Geez," Apollo scowled at her.
Artemis tutted. "That wasn't very sincere, my dear. Let's try that one more time, shall we?"
Apollo turned red as he opened his mouth to say, "I'm-"
The world blacked out.
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"So we're kidnapped?" Apollo asked.
Artemis thought about it, then agreed, since that seems like the only answer right now.
"I feel so stiff, how long have we been here like this?" the younger twin whined.
Artemis shrugged.
"You know what," Apollo huffed, annoyed, "I'm just going to go back to sleep. That should distract me from my pain." And he promptly fell asleep.
Artemis rolled her eyes, then leaned back against a wooden crate. She thought about her family and how they might be panicking right now. Maybe they had even called the police already.
But somehow, she knew that it's useless. She has a feeling that they'll never find her, and they'll never see each other again.
The mere thought makes her want to cry, but against the steady droning of the plane, her eyelids slid shut, and once again, she fell asleep.
στριμμένα
It was hate at first sight.
The moment Nemesis and Tyche saw each other, they knew that they would hate each other completely, right down to the hairs of their arms.
Nemesis was a pale, skinny girl with short, curly black hair and black eyes.
Tyche was tall and healthy-looking, with mesmerizing, wavy, reddish blondish brown hair and eyes the color of new-grown leaves in the spring.
Nemesis was cold and short-tempered and extremely negative.
Tyche was quiet and cheerful and so positive it's annoying.
Ever since they were taken by Firestorm 7 years ago, they had been competing. Both of them were the top of their year, tying every time with full marks and not to mention the bonus points. Both of them had managed to beat up somebody twice their size, age, and experience two years after they were taken. Both of them had gone on exactly 86 missions, each completing their task swiftly and dutifully.
Their hatred for each other was so obvious and intense that Firestorm codenamed them Revenge and Luck. Not exactly opposites but they clash well enough.
Then, to their utter disgust, Scorch had decided to let the two of them go escort the newbies and show them around.
So now the two of them were walking towards the private plane of Firestorm's, with a large gap between them so they could walk as far away from each other as possible. The gap was exactly 7 meters, 1 foot, and 7 inches. The only trait the two of them share is that they're both perfectionists.
To their displeasure, they had to come closer to each other to fit in the plane.
"Stand up!" Nemesis barked the moment she entered the plane.
"Don't be so harsh!" Tyche snapped at her. Tyche could be nice but she had forever been cold to Nemesis.
"Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"You-"
"Weirdoes!" a loud voice shouted from the back of the plane where the shadows shielded everything from sight. "You just told us to stand up but how are we supposed to do that when we are tied up?"
Nemesis narrowed her eyes at the corner where the voice had come from. "Stand up."
"As I said before," the voice sounded thoroughly annoyed, "I can't. I'm tied up."
"Um, Artemis?" A boy's voice said nervously, "I don't think it's wise to anger them…"
"I don't care!" Artemis shouted. "They could be our kidnappers for all we know!"
"Which is why you shouldn't anger them," the boy muttered, though everyone still heard him.
"What?"
"Hey, did you ever notice that there are other people here?" the second voice asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
"Of course I did!" snapped Artemis. "It's your own fault you're not as observant!"
The boy's patience cracked so loudly you could almost hear it. "Well, I'm sorry for not being as dumbass as you!"
"What did you just call me?"
"Calm down!" Tyche shouted desperately while Nemesis cackled.
"Those two have guts," she chuckled.
Suddenly, there were a few loud thuds and a girl walked out of the shadows. She was tall and lean with auburn hair pulled back into a braid and cold, silvery gray eyes.
"What the heck, Arty? At least get me up as well!" the boy shouted.
"Get up yourself!" Artemis shouted over her shoulder. Then, to Tyche and Nemesis, she asked coldly, "So you're our kidnappers?"
Tyche shook her head frantically. "No, no. That's not us. I mean, we're here to bring you all to… a training center! And so… anyways, can you wait here? I have to get everybody up."
A few loud thuds later, the boy also walked out of the shadows. He must be siblings with Artemis, since they both have the tall and lean structure and similar jaw lines, though he had golden blonde hair and sky blue eyes.
Tyche began helping kids up while Nemesis stood usefully by the side, watching each kid intensely.
"So… where to?" Artemis's assumed brother asked.
"Somewhere," Nemesis answered. "Follow me."
The kids shuffled behind her, looking around. The airport was big, and the plane had landed in the most isolated part, almost completely out of sight. And worst of all, every camera they pass seem to be already disabled, hanging on a single strand of half-cut wire.
After walking around for some time, Nemesis suddenly halted in the middle of a patch of yellowing grass. The kidnapped children looked around in confusion.
Then, the dark haired teenager whipped out a knife and stabbed it into the ground, twisting it violently. There was a loud click like a lock and the ground began rumbling.
"What the hell?" Artemis asked before the ground suddenly seemingly disappeared and the kids fell screaming, while Nemesis and Tyche turned gracefully in the air. Artemis and Apollo seem to be the only calm ones other than archenemies and had curled into a ball, just in case.
Then, suddenly, there was a very loud Boing! as everybody slammed into a trampoline like thing. When everybody climbed out, Nemesis and Tyche freed everybody and they began walking down a long dark tunnel.
The tunnel ended at a large, heavy-looking, metal door, which Nemesis swiped a card at the card slot. The metal door swung open as if it weighs nothing.
They had arrived at a huge room with white tiles and weapons hanging off the walls. A single white light lit the room and there was a coffee maker and a little refrigerator at the corner.
Nemesis and Tyche didn't stop, however. They crossed the room and opened the wooden door on the other side, leading to a dimly lit room with a wrestling ring in the center and weapons lining the walls and perched on shelves.
Smiling at the children's shocked looks, Nemesis and Tyche did something they had sworn they would never do. They spoke in unison, "Welcome to Firestorm!"