I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles or Percy Jackson& Olympians.

Lamia looked down at her legs, a little shocked. She had never been able to change this fast, unless she was really, really angry. And after the change, she was often disorientated for some time.

But now, she felt great and the change hadn't even been painful. It had always been painful. It had always felt like needles, hot needles, were being stick into her flesh. Like she was first burned and then frozen again. Like her bones were breaking.

It had been part of her punishment, part of the reason she had hated her form so much. The gods had made sure that even when she had all that power, the claws and everything, she still had something to remind her of her mistakes. Whenever she changed, she remembered. She remembered the reason why she felt that pain. Except, she didn't feel any pain now. She felt fine, great even. And she hadn't even been trying to change.

That was another thing that was odd; she had changed without intending to do so. In the past, she had always needed to concentrate in order to change and it had always been a slow, painful process that demanded a lot of concentration.

Lamia didn't understood why it was suddenly so different. It has something to do with this place, I'm sure. It has never happened like this before. What can be the cause of this? Why am I suddenly changing whenever I'm angry or some other strong emotion is involved? And this time, I wasn't even angry or very upset.

Lamia's thoughts were interrupted when Athena suddenly spoke. Or actually thought out loud. "That hasn't happened before, has it? It isn't ordinary, if the look on your face is a good indication of my suspicions. Tell me Lamia, why did you change"? she asked, sounding both interested and slightly wary.

Lamia swallowed, a little nervous. Athena and Artemis didn't really make her nervous, but this rather unexpected change did. Lamia didn't like it. It made her feel uncomfortable. Her greatest fear was going back to being the Lamia, that monster, again. And if she lost self-control, it might happen. Only the idea of going back to being a monster, made Lamia feel ill. She felt horrible thinking about all she had done. All the people she had hurt with her actions. All the lives she had taken.

And felt really uncomfortable when she thought what could happen if she couldn't control herself. She would go back to being that monster again. She would forget her humanity again. She might not be human, but that didn't mean she didn't have their morals. She had. As long as she was herself and not it.

The presence of Athena and Artemis didn't make her feel more comfortable. Quite the opposite. It made her feel very wary and nervous. Like something very dangerous was coming. It triggered her instincts, which were screaming to either flee or fight.

Lamia knew she had to answer Athena's question. She normally avoided every conversation about her past, but she understood she didn't really have a choice this time. It was too important. Her experiences might help to understand what she was doing here. And if anyone could help her find out what all this meant, it was Athena.

"I-I don't know" Lamia admitted. She really didn't know. She didn't know why she was here. She didn't know what consequences her presence here had. She didn't even know how she had gotten here. Well, she knew it had something to do with what had happened back at home, but she didn't know what exactly had happened. All she knew, was that one moment she was ground, and the next she was lifted into the air. And when she woke up, she was at an entirely different place, in another universe for god's sake!

Athena sighed. " I already feared that would be the case. Without any information, there is little to do. It will take some time before we decipher what exactly is going on here".

Artemis, looking grim, nodded. " Whatever it is, I have a feeling it isn't anything good" she said, looking at Lamia again. Lamia sighed. They probably believed it was her fault. And why wouldn't they? She had caused so many misery and pain in her existence. She had hurt even those whom she had love. And could never forget or forgive herself for it.

" My apologies" she muttered. Artemis and Athena looked surprised. Lamia smiled, a smile full of self-mockery, when she saw that. " You hadn't contemplated I would apologize, had you?" she asked. Artemis smiled. " Not really. Why did you?".

Lamia shrugged. " If it is your fault, it is the logical thing to do. I know-". " Wait a minute" Artemis interrupted her. She looked at Lamia, eyebrows raised. " Why would you believe this is your fault? You had nothing to do with it, did you?". " No, but-".

" If you had nothing to do with it, you have no responsibility whatsoever. You aren't able to do anything about it Lamia. And since it isn't your miscue, it is illogical to apologize" Athena cut in.

Artemis rolled her eyes, but nodded. She wasn't smiling or looking even a bit friendly , but Lamia knew Artemis was on her side and not against her. They were allies. Maybe they would even be friends.

Lamia smiled, relieved beyond belief. " Thank you. I'm glad you offer me this attainableness to make up for my mistakes. Thank you".

Artemis smiled, a small smile but a smile nonetheless. " You're welcome. I don't believe you are really evil. You just make a mistake. And I'm sure you and Athena are going to have a lot of fun together. Well, your idea of fun that is. Seriously Lamia? Attainableness? You could have said chance, you know". Lamia smiled. " Well, you contemplated what I meant, didn't you?".

Artemis shrugged. " Sure, but it wasn't necessary to use that word". Lamia raised her eyebrows. " And do you have any valuable reason as to why it wasn't imperative?". " Yes. It is completely futile to use such language since you don't have to impress anyone and there is no need to use such formal language" Artemis responded. She sounded stern and slightly annoyed, but Lamia saw a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

" Artemis, I can simply not acquiesce to your statement. Formal language is required this time, because I'm speaking to two deities. And what is higher than you two?". Artemis raised her eyebrows. "Easy. My father. There is a reason he is king of the gods. And we have already given you permission to relax and speak to us like you would speak to friends or relatives".

Lamia smiled. " Technically, you haven't. You have never said such a thing or anything referring to it. You might have expressed yourself in a way that made it clear, but I didn't notice and I'm aware of the fact you deserve my respect. I should be polite, shouldn't I?". " Of course you should, but that doesn't mean you have to be overly polite, use such formal language and act like we are going to punish you if you use different language".

Lamia shrugged. " Maybe you are. I don't have any desire to insult you, but both of you don't tolerate disrespect, so you might punish me". " Using simpler vocabulary is definitely no justification to punish you. Really, just talk normal, will you?". " I suppose that would be possible, except-".

Athena, who had remained silent until now, sighed. " Enough the two of you". She looked at Artemis. " Artemis, you and I have had this verbal fight before. If someone, in this case Lamia, chooses to use herculean vocabulary, let her and-". " Athena! You know I don't like that phrase. Hercules was an insufferable man. You know what he has done to Zoë".

Athena sighed. " I am aware of the consequences of his actions and I'm sorry. Let's just forget this discussion and move on to more important matters. Like the question what exactly Lamia's purpose here is".

Lamia frowned. " My purpose?". Athena nodded. " Yes. There must be a reason you were brought here. And we have to discover that reason". Artemis nodded. " After all that has happened, we can't be too careful".

Lamia was still frowning and looked at her. " What happened? Annabeth said something alike. What exactly has happened in this universe?". Artemis and Athena exchanged glances. " Well, there have been some fights, and a lot of problems. Kronos tried to rise and we needed one brave demi-god to save us. Without him, we would probably have lost and the world would have been reduced to chaos. Kronos has been defeated and destroyed, but maybe it is another of our old enemies?".

Athena nodded. " Something very powerful must have sent you here. Something even more powerful than the gods".

This time, Lamia nodded. " I thought the same. But what? Or who?". She wanted to know who was behind this. Who was their enemy. If there was an enemy. Which there likely was.

Artemis sighed. " I'm afraid we don't know. But whatever it is, I am convinced hunting it won't be easy. It would probably be disastrous". The three woman remained silent for a while, all lost in their own thoughts. Athena was the first to look up. " I despise the idea greatly, but I don't know. Normally I would like to gain some new knowledge, but in this situation it is a great disadvantage. I contemplate we can better put it aside for now. We will just have to be careful and keep our eyes open. Especially you will need to be careful Lamia. Even Olympus isn't always safe".

Lamia nodded. " I will. But if we won't talk about the problems at hand, were are we going to talk about?".

Athena smiled, her face lighting up. " We can talk about science or other fields in which great improvements have been made. A lot has happened those past centuries and I'm sure you will be enthralled and befuddled Lamia. Neuroscience, for example, is- Ah! By me!"

Athena's fascinating ( hmm. No sarcasm. Yes sarcasm! Of course it is sarcasm!) speech was interrupted when Artemis threw a pillow in her face. " Artemis! Why did you do that? I was trying to elucidate to Lamia what neuroscience is and- Ah! Stop that!".

Artemis, laughing, had hit Athena with a pillow. Again. Athena looked at her, both irritated and interested. Every chance of gaining new knowledge piqued her interest after all.

Artemis laughed. " Because The, you're so damn serious. You should learn to have some fun sometimes. Besides, I believe the mortals call this situation a sleepover. Apollo forced me to watch some movies with him about it. And this is a pillow fight".

The next moment, she hit Athena with the pillow. Hard. Athena froze for a minute, but quickly picked up a pillow when Artemis continued hitting her. " You're going to lose this Artemis! I'm the goddess of strategy. I know how to win this and AU!".

Artemis laughed like crazy when she hit Athena so hard she fell on the ground. " Less talking, more fighting The. Not all fights are won with words". Before Athena could respond, or get up, Artemis already ran away.

Lamia stared at her for a second, before running to Athena and helping her up. Athena looked at her. " Interested in defeating my naive sister?". Lamia grinned. " I sure am". She took a pillow and run towards Artemis.

In no time, feathers were flying everywhere. Battle cries were heard. And some swearing, when someone got hit really hard. Or slipped, which happened to Artemis when she tried to escape Lamia, who was running after her, screaming. With the pillow above her head, she ran towards Artemis, getting ready to hit her merciless. Artemis seemed defeated, but this time Lamia slipped.

The next moment, she attacked Artemis and stole her pillow, running away with it. Only to be tackled by Athena, who had been awaiting her. Athena had just time to let out a cry of victory before Lamia jumped on her and tried to retrieve her pillow.

" Give me! It's mine!". " NO! I took it from you. Finders keepers!". "You didn't find it! You stole it! Gimme!". " NO!". "YES"!. The two were rolling over the floor, wrestling, trying everything to get the other to lose their grip on the pillow. Neither was going to give up any time soon though. Both of them were intelligent, serious women. Both didn't enjoy mindless games. Both were centuries old. And yet, they were rolling over the floor, holding a resemblance with toddlers instead of two centuries old, wise women.

It took her some time, but Athena remembered who she was. And decided just wrestling wasn't going to help her. So she thought about it and did the logical thing. She tried tickling.

In no time, Lamia lay on her back, tears streaming down her face. " N-no! S-stop! P-p-please!" she cried. Athena was on top of her, tickling her and smirking. She looked rather evil. " Hah! I have found your foible! The pillow is mine!" she shouted.

Lamia shook her head, still laughing. She tried to escape, but Athena grabbed her again. " N-no! I-it's m-mine!" she said. Athena smirked and kept tickling. " I won't stop until you say it's mine!". " N-never!". " Say it!". "N-nooooo"!. " Say it!". " A-allright. I-I c-can't take it anymore. Y-you w-win".

Athena smirked. " Say it!". " The pillow is yours"! Lamia screamed, unable to keep up with the torture any longer.

Athena, with a triumphant look on her face, climbed of Lamia. She sat down, breathless and still laughing softly. " That was fun!" she said, her eyes shining. Her hair was messed up, her clothes rumbled and she looked more like a mischievous child than the wisdom goddess, but her eyes were sparkling.

Lamia only nodded, trying to catch her breath. She punched Athena. " Cheater!" she managed. Athena shook her head. " I am not a cheater. What I did, was fair".

Lamia shook her head. " No way! You used torture to retrieve your stolen pillow". Athena shook her head. " What I did was equitable. I
t was only tickling. You weren't harmed, not physically or mentally and-". " Where is the pillow?" Lamia interrupted her, looking around her.

Athena frowned. " It should be right there and- It isn't. Why...?". Athena and Lamia understood at the same moment, their eyes widening. They looked at each other. " Artemis!".

At the exact moment they said it, they were both hit with about twenty pillows. More kept coming, burying them in a gargantuan pillow mountain.

Lamia fought to get out of it, needing the air. And revenge. Artemis would pay for this. She could hear her laugh, enjoying what she no doubt believed was victory. This isn't over yet. I am going to make her pay for this she thought, smiling.

The next moment, she was pulled out of the pillow mountain. She saw Athena laying on the floor, breathless and laughing softly. And no doubt planning her revenge. Artemis was smiling, her eyes sparkling.

And then Lamia looked up and saw the face of the last person she wanted to see. Zeus. He was holding her close to his body, their hips touching. He raised his hand, stroking her cheek. And smiled. " Lamia. How glad I am to see you again" he whispered.

Yeah. This wasn't really like Athena or Artemis, who both seem very serious, but I felt like it. So... JUST ACCEPT IT WILL YOU? Nah. I'm kidding. You can think whatever you want. I personally liked the pillow fight:)