I am so sorry I've been gone for so long! I was going through some long and grueling stages of grief and then I had to do a lot of travelling. I know I only left you with a bit of a filler but hey, all stories have to have them, it can't all be action action action the entire time. This one is pretty short too but as I said, all stories need bits like these. School is starting soon so most likely I won't be able to post as often as I used to but trust me when I say I'm trying! Stay lovely!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor do I own anything affiliated with it. Percy Jackson and all his friends (as well as his enemies) belong to the brilliant mind of Rick Riordan.

Chapter 12

Hermes flew like his life depended on it, and he knew that probably wasn't far off from the situation. He could hear George and Martha's protests coming from his pocket.

"You're going so fast! Doesn't the sky have speed limits or something?" hissed Martha's voice.

"I want rats!" was all he could catch of George's shouts.

Hermes ignored the serpents and hurried to his destination. He finally arrived outside the hut, banging so hard on the door he worried he would break through it. "Apollo! Apollo it's Hermes! Come out it's really important!" Apollo opened the door, clearly having been woken up, wearing a gold robe with matching bunny slippers. He looked at Hermes with tired eyes and sighed quietly.

"What is it Hermes? You know I have to get up early to drive the sun."

"Helios is taking over tomorrow." Hermes was out of breath, but seemed very determined to speak. "Apollo," he put his hands on Apollo's shoulders, and Apollo could tell by the lack of mockery of his slippers that this was serious. Hermes spoke cautiously, "Artemis has gone missing."

Apollo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What? What do you mean missing?"

"No one's seen her for two days. Not even those stalkerish satyrs that are all obsessed with her." Hermes removed his hands from Apollo's shoulders. Apollo slumped against the door frame.

"Hermes," he turned his gaze straight to the messenger god, "tell me exactly what happened."

Hermes gave a sigh before speaking. "She was given a hunting task to be carried out alone. She left and that's the last time anyone's seen her."

Apollo put a hand to his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Hermes could barely hear him whisper "Not again."

Hermes swallowed. "Helios is going to take over the sun until you return."

Apollo dropped his hand and strode back in to his hut. "I'm going to find her." Hermes saw him shoving things in to a bag. "I'm going to find her this time." His voice was fierce. Hermes' brow furrowed.

"What do you mean this time?" he asked.

"I let her down when she was taken by Atlas. I didn't do everything I could have or should have. I should have rescued her. I should have been there for her but I wasn't. Not this time." He shouldered his bag and turned to Hermes. "This time, I will stop at nothing until I see her safe. This time, I will not let her down. I will be the brother she deserves." His body shimmered and he was now wearing his golden armor. "I will save her."

He walked past Hermes and out to his gold chariot. Hermes scampered after him. "You know, we don't even know if she's in danger."

Apollo mounted his chariot. "Artemis doesn't just lose track of time, especially while on a hunt." The chariot lifted. "Give Helios my thanks." He called back to Hermes before whipping the reins, causing the chariot to disappear in a runway of golden light. Hermes stood, satisfied with his job well done. He knew if anyone would see Artemis safely returned it was Apollo. What he didn't know was that he had just sent Apollo to something much worse.