Hey everyone,

I'd like to announce that although some myths contradict with others, I may need to change the order in which historical myths took place to be able to fit the characters I want into the story.

Although the setting is ancient Greece, I will make the characters talk in English and informally, as if they were regular boys/men or girls/women in the modern world. It makes writing this a little bit easier, and the characters more relaxed than if they talked formally all the time.

Ugh, sorry for not updating in a while, but I have been busy and well... yeah. Anyways, sorry for updating so late after, even though this is probably the normal updating rate of some authors on the site. Either way, enjoy the chapter.

Just a note about copying and pasting author's notes...in the past, I have had readers who did not read the author's notes until later chapters. I just want to keep reminding. If you have already seen the author's notes, you can just skip them and go straight to reading the story. Thank you.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719

Chapter 16

A Fine Maiden

The Argonauts would have starved had it not been for the green, "foresty" areas that they had found on their path to the ocean. Percy hoped, since the land was getting greener, that they would find the ocean soon.

He remembered what the map looked like, and it seemed as though the land was going on longer than what the map had said. It felt like they had been travelling right around the world. The only benefit was that these fresh, green lands were full of animals. The Argonauts no longer starved, though the summer seemed to be dying away from the trees. There didn't seem to be any let up from the desert, though; it was still dry and hot (or cold at night).

Percy wondered if the giant horse was actually going to lead them somewhere useful, to a place with a nice cool, temperate climate. The arid and barren was so... different. There was no other way to describe it. It must have been hard for those carrying the Argo, the huge ship on their shoulders. At least Percy was able to roam free.

Storms had stopped, though. They were lucky and the horse prints that streaked across the sands of Libya stayed there, no matter how far behind they seemed to be. Percy sometimes caught a glimpse of the horse, running back toward them as if wanting them to hurry up, but then it turned right around and kept galloping onward.

There was another thing...

Percy thought it was probably a malfunctioning power, but the smell of the ocean seemed to grow distant; the further they followed the horse, the weaker the smell of the ocean was. He could only hope that it wasn't true.

As a counter to all of the dangers and hardships, they found villages as they ventured deeper into the unknown world of Libya. Villages in complete random places like at the edge of the desert for example.

Percy was just glad that they gave them some food and supplies. They said that the rivers and waters were far away but not too far away when asked about the ocean. It was apparently a labour for them to go such distances every day, but their ancestral tribes had made living in drier areas decently easy.

It was two weeks past crashing into the coast when they came across the first monsters.

"Stupid snakes," Atalanta muttered. At that moment, they were scouting just a little further forward, close enough to be able to see the Argo behind them, but far enough so that they couldn't hear what the Argonauts were talking (more like complaining) about.

"At least they aren't that hard to kill," Percy replied. He nocked an arrow and shot a camouflaged snake. He heard a faint hiss before is dissipated into the stale, dull air.

"Nice shot," Atalanta complimented.

"Thanks."

Percy nocked another arrow and approached the animal. Just to make sure it was dead, he shot another arrow at its head. He crouched beside the creature before pulling the arrows out of it and patting its scaly body. "I hate putting such cool creatures 'to sleep.' Why must they feel the need to attack our crew when they get near?"

"I don't know the answers to many questions you have, Percy," Atalanta said. She walked up beside him and patted his shoulder. "Come on. We'd better report back to Jason saying we've cleared the path. No more desert creatures will come hunting after us."

"Right."

The two slowly walked back toward the approaching Argonauts. It wasn't long before they met in the middle. Percy and Atalanta felt no need to waste their energy running when they would inevitably meet up somewhere in the middle anyways.

Jason stepped out from under the bow and brushed his pants. "Cleared the path?"

Atalanta nodded. "Yeah. It shouldn't be filled with anything but sand, maybe some cacti, and barren, dry air."

"Great," he nodded. "Stay near us just in case something attacks out of the blue, all right? Anything can happen." He looked around before whispering. "Even though the nymphs helped us and the horse looks godly, this could be a trap set by Zeus to blackmail Poseidon into leading us to our deaths. Either way, one at the front, one at the back."

Atalanta looked at Percy. "I'll take the back. I have more experience hunting than you do, so I should be able to track and see whether something is following us. Just scout ahead to make sure nothing is hiding, ready to pounce."

Percy nodded. He gave a small grin to Jason before lightly jogging ahead through the desert. It seemed like forever, but Percy knew that barely half a day had passed when they crossed another grassy, "foresty" area.

Percy heaved a big sigh before delving into the thin forest. There were dangers around this place, he felt it. He just didn't know what they were.

After killing a couple of desert snakes that had slithered into the forest, he emerged on the other side, no serious dangers to the Argonauts evident. He looked back to the Argonauts, who were carrying the Argo, looking like slaves: wearing torn clothing and slimmed from the lesser amounts of food they'd had over the past two years and a half or so.

He glanced to the back where Atalanta was supposed to be trailing behind, but he didn't see her. He frowned and thought, She must have just gone on to recheck the forest, just in case I missed something.

When the Argo passed, he said, "Periclymenus! Take point! I'll be waiting for Atalanta here."

A man appeared out of the bunched group of Argonauts and nodded his assent. Periclymenus closed his eyes and ran forward. Slowly, he turned into an eagle and began soaring overhead, screeching happily.

Percy got worried when the Argonauts got further and further away. His heart was beating quickly in his chest, anxiety and worry engulfing him. He peered into the forest before something about his size crashed into him, sending him stumbling. It was Atalanta.

"Atalanta!" Percy cried. "Where were you?"

"Run," she said in a hoarse voice. "Come on!"

Instinctively, he ran. Trailing Atalanta, he realized that some of her clothes were torn, her lower abdomen now visible. Looking at her now, Percy suddenly became aware of how fit she was. He didn't have any more time to admire her abdomen as a loud howl came from back in the forest.

"What was in there?" Percy shouted. The sand was slowing him down.

"Cynoscephalae," she called over her shoulder.

"What are those?" he yelled.

She didn't answer, instead, keeping her arms pumping and legs stretching. They ran as fast as they could to the Argonauts, who were unknowing of what was happening behind them. By the time they reached the back of the crew, they were sweating buckets, almost twice as many as the men carrying the ship.

A snake suddenly hissed from the ground in front of them, and Atalanta pulled out her bow.

"Wait!" Percy said, pushing Atalanta's bow away as the snake began changing form. Periclymenus stood where the snake was.

"I could have killed you!" Atalanta shouted angrily. "Don't do that!"

"It was just a joke," he said rolling his eyes. "What's got your bow in a knot?"

"Cynoscephalae," she said simply.

Periclymenus blanched. In a voice full of fear, and with wide eyes, he said, "They're not supposed to be here. This is a desert. Are you messing with me?"

"Wait, what's a Cynoscephalae?" Percy asked.

"Cynoscephalae is a jackal-headed or dog-headed person," Atalanta explained quickly. "They may sound less harmful being part-human, but their dog-side, the beast-side of them is very cruel. The legends say they feast on anything that is made of meat. But they're supposed to live in the—"

Then a sound that could not have been written down with letters was made. It was a guttural sound, something that came out of a creature's throat.

"Duck!"

A hand pushed Percy to the side, and he collapsed to the sand. It got into his mouth, but he didn't complain. He was far more afraid of the beasts that were coming to eat him. He immediately pulled out his bow as he got up and pointed it at the nearest dog-headed man.

He growled at Percy, making the thirteen-year-old back up a step. Percy glanced at Atalanta and Periclymenus who were both contending with their own Cynoscephalae.

Suddenly, a large shadow leaped at Percy, making Percy resort to the weapon he preferred: Anaklusmos.

As he grabbed the hair clip, it immediately glimmered and elongated in his hands. He swiped upwards dissolving one of the Cynoscephalae into sand. It had been a different beast who'd attacked him, not the one he was facing.

Percy quickly slung his bow on his shoulder and stabbed the Cynoscephalae right in front of him. It, too, dissolved without a single noise.

Then, before he knew what was happening, something slammed into him from behind and he was sent sprawling forward. Knowing what hit him wasn't friendly, he elbowed it and spun around in the sand. He brought his knee up to his chest and pushed forward, trying to send the Cynoscephalae flopping backwards. It didn't work, though, the creature too strong to push over. Percy could see muscles rippling on the creature's human arms, more muscles than anyone he'd ever seen aside from Heracles.

Percy grabbed the Cynoscephalae's throat and pushed backwards to keep the dog from eating his face off. He did that with his left hand. With his right hand, he groped around for his sword. He had lost the handle on it when the Cynoscephalae had crashed into him from behind. He turned his head to look for Anaklusmos, but he couldn't find it.

The Cynoscephalae on top of him growled and snapped its teeth. They were so close to his face, he felt as though it were actually biting him. He brought his right hand up to push the beast away even further. When it seemed as though his right arm was used to the strain, he craned his neck to the opposite side to see where Anaklusmos had landed.

He saw it.

It was so far away though. He would never be able to reach it.

That was when the Cynoscephalae stopped being stupid. It grabbed Percy's arms, both of them, and pinned them to the ground. That gave no protection to the thirteen-year-old boy at all to protect his face from being torn out.

This is the end, Percy thought. But wait... this Cynoscephalae is a man...

As hard as he could, Percy brought his knee up to the Cynoscephalae's tenders. It let loose a howl of pain. Percy took advantage of this and grabbed an arrow out of his quiver (which somehow magically kept all of the arrows inside it even after he fell) and slit the beast's throat.

"Oh, good, you're okay," Atalanta sighed. She looked a little bloody at her exposed abdomen, but it didn't seem like a bad wound. "I just managed to kill one. I thought I might have been too late to save you."

Percy nodded, still feeling the shock of being mere centimeters from death.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, rushing over to help tend to them. The Argo had been set down, the Argonauts standing around the ship holding their weapons out ready to attack any creatures that appeared. "We heard the howl, but it wasn't until you guys suddenly got ambushed that we stopped."

"Where's Periclymenus?" Percy asked.

Jason pointed over to where he was being tended to. "Medea's helping him with some of her sorcery powers. He had a nasty gash across his arm. Apparently, it damaged a nerve on his elbow."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Medea and Orpheus, who studied with Apollo, both said it was a minor injury."

"Cynoscephalae," Atalanta murmured. "What are they doing here? They aren't usually supposed to be here in the desert."

"I don't get it either," Jason said pursing his lips. "It doesn't exactly make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?" Percy asked.

"What I was about to say just before the Cynoscephalae attacked us was that they live in the mountains," Atalanta said.

A strange feeling bubbled up in Percy's stomach. "A what?"

"Mountains." She frowned. "Why? What's wrong, Percy?"

He stumbled over to the Argo. The feeling seemed to be getting stronger and stronger as he trudged further into the sands. In the back of his mind, he heard vague and distant voices. They seemed to be pointed at him, but numbly he continued without turning around. Fifty or so steps later, he began seeing a dark shape appear over the hill that he had to climb. Another ten steps and he froze.

He had reached the top of the little sand hill and he could clearly see, though in the distance, a range of mountains spread out across what seemed to be a small cluster. Most of the mountains were small, but the largest one there was the scariest mountain he'd ever seen. A dark, swirling vortex spun overtop of it, making Percy feel on-edge and unnerved.

"Percy!" someone called loudly and clearly. "Percy!"

A nervous shiver tingled up his spine, seemingly paralyzing him and rooting him to the spot. Those mountains, especially the tallest one, were quite familiar to him. His dreams had told him all about this place.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning crackled over Atlas.

Before he knew what was happening, his body became possessed and he realized he was running.

"Percy!" he heard Atalanta scream. "Where are you going?!"

"To the mountains!" was his reply.

"Are you crazy? Those mountains are days away! Don't leave like that!"

But the words seemed to drown out. He felt as though he needed to get to that mountain, to save Zoë from a horrible fate. If he was lucky, he could even prevent Heracles from doing what he did in the dream. Maybe the real Heracles would love Zoë and make her his actual wife.

It felt like a few hours, resting for what seemed like seconds. When he regained his wits and senses he was suddenly running, the moon high in the sky. It was nighttime.

He heard a shout from behind him as he made it to the mountain, but he didn't turn around. He bolted straight up the side of it, clinging onto thin, rocky ledges as he climbed up the side. He saw the winding path that twirled around like a serpent up the side of the mountain, but he wanted to get to the top as fast as he could, so he skipped running along the path and tried cutting through instead. He didn't arrive any faster than he would have running and now he had cuts and scrapes all over him from clambering about the sharp, jagged rocks.

When he reached the top of the mountain, he crept through the forest. Then something like the opposite of nostalgia hit him, though not like a feeling of dread. It was just neutral, a place he remembered from the dream. It was happening exactly as he had dreamed. It was as if he was aware that things were happening the exact same, yet it was partially subconscious as he didn't really stop to see exactly how precise that dream had been.

As he walked closer to the spot he had been at in the previous dream, a loud voice began screaming. "Traitor! You lied to my face, to your sisters' faces! I shall cast away your immortality forever! You shall grow old and die remembering that no one cared about you. He left didn't he, pretended that he would take you. Well, Zoë, you get what you deserve!"

"Father! Please, no!" an anguished voice cried out. She sounded so broken, Percy had the odd feeling of running up to her and comforting her.

Percy climbed up onto a tree and watched as the thirteen-year-old-looking girl begged on her knees at the Titan's foot.

"I didn't honestly help him!" she begged. "I just... I—"

"Don't even try to cover up for what you have done," the Titan sneered. His anger seemed to remove all signs of pain from holding up the sky. Those dark, volcanic eyes looked like they were about to explode into blazes of lava and fire. He gave his daughter a cold look. "Hesperides!"

Soft, enchanting voices began singing, approaching as they moved closer. Percy had a feeling that they could only be summoned by their father, the only other time they emerged being that to watch Helios set.

Out of the darkness appeared four lovely ladies who looked exactly like Zoë, except all of different ages. Zoë appeared to be the youngest, even if the legend said they were born at the same time. They looked at Zoë in distaste as they passed her, regarding their father with respect.

"Father," they chorused, bowing at the Titan under the sky.

"Finish the rituals," he said glowering. "Disown Zoë and make sure she gets the message that she is not welcome back here. She will never return. It will be the end for her."

Cruel smiles slowly appeared on the Hesperides' faces as Percy realized what had happened. He, the one who Zoë supposedly helped, was Heracles. Heracles had said he would marry her, he had promised he would come back for her. Apparently coming back could be twisted around to mean, I'll come back for you so that you can see me one last time before I disappear from your life forever.

Anger screamed in his ears and he prayed to his father that Heracles' journeys would get tougher and tougher, especially on water.

The four other Hesperides raised their hands and began chanting in an ancient language, in something Percy couldn't understand. Frightened, he realized they were speaking in the ancient tongue of magic. Zoë looked up at her sisters in horror, tears welling in her eyes. Percy was admittedly shocked seeing as she was the daughter of Atlas, who was the Titan of strength.

A bright glow that had surrounded Zoë previously began fading as the Hesperides chanted, getting louder and louder. After watching for what seemed to be minutes, the glow that represented Zoë's immortality faded and she looked weary, scared and heartbroken.

A growl escaped out of Atlas' mouth before Zoë, weeping, turned around and ran away, into the forest Percy was still in. Breaking out of "spectator mode," he gave chase to her.

"Zoë! Stop!" Percy urged, trying to keep his voice down.

Startled, she whirled her head around and stumbled when she saw him running after her. She kept wide eyes pointed at him, her running breaking into a back pedal. Percy stopped running and approached her as gently as he could.

"I'm not here to harm you," he felt himself saying, feeling tired from coming to the mountain after nearly a day and a half of venturing. His chest was heaving from running, his throat dry from thirst. "I heard what happened with Herac—"

"Don't speak of his name!" she growled, her eyes blazing with anger and betrayal. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"I'm Perseus but I prefer to be called Percy because I'll never live up to the first Perseus," he explained soothingly. "Now, I saw what just happened."

"Spying I assume," she snapped. "Maybe watching for when I'm alone so he can surprise me and rape me." She looked like she was trying to be confident but her shaky voice ruined it.

Percy stared at her as her whole body shook.

A soft whisper escaped her lips: "Again."

His eyes widened. In a surprisingly low and cold voice, he asked, "He raped you before?"

She nodded and leaned backwards against the tree behind her. Tears fell down her face as she slowly sank down into the ground. "He... he threatened me. He said he wanted me to elope with him, but I refused until we ran away. He was very charming, so I was willing, but I didn't want to then. He threatened he would reveal to my father that I betrayed him. I still refused and he... it was two days ago. Then earlier today, just a little earlier, he tricked my father and told him of my treachery."

Percy stared at the girl for what seemed like ages. He could barely imagine being disowned by his own family, not to mention having someone he loved betray him in the end.

"I have nowhere to go." Her voice was hoarse now. "I have to flee, for if I don't, the Titan's friends will come hunting me down. At least, my father will." She looked up at him. "What is your purpose here? Come to steal some apples? They're all gone."

He was going to tell her about his dreams of this place and everything about what was happening around here, but he felt that would sound really creepy.

"I travel with a crew called the Argonauts, Zoë," Percy said.

"Argonauts?" Zoë's lip curled in distaste. "Heracles said he used to be a part of that group. He said he hated them, but since they are associated with him, I want no part of that group of stupid sailors. He even gave away the sword I gave him to some boy!"

Percy looked down guiltily and touched the hair clip that he now decided to hide in his messy hair.

Zoë frowned and asked, "What is that in your hair that you are touching?"

She stood up, wiping her tears away and touched his head. When she realized what it was, her eyes seemed to light on fire. "You. You're the boy that he gave the sword to. Get away from me!"

"Listen, Zoë. I can help you, prevent bad things to happen to you."

She glared at him and backed away. "No, no. You will stay away from me, boy! If you dare try to stop me, I will gouge your eyes out."

"The Argonauts will be a new home for you until we get back to Greece," Percy explained. "You can start anew there. It's basically like a secured passage for you to get to another place where you can be someone else."

She shook her head, her eyes red from anger. "Stay away from me," she whispered. She kept backing away from him, making sure she kept her distance. When she was at least ten paces away, she turned around.

That was when Percy darted forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Let go of me!" she hissed.

"I had a dream about you," he admitted, staring directly at her. It sounded almost alien to say as he sounded like some sort of stalker, but a feeling he had told him to admit this. "Apollo sent me a dream showing this and I had another dream of when you lied to your father about him trying to rape you. But I don't think Apollo was truly that one who wanted me to see this. I think it was Artemis."

That seemed to get her attention. "The Olympians?"

He nodded. "They sent me the dream. I think that they want me to help you, to save you from something horrible. Please, come with me."

"Percy!" Atalanta and Jason burst into sight. They stopped short when they saw Zoë. "And who is this?" Jason asked.

Zoë cast a glance at Percy. Somehow he knew that she was asking whether these were some of his friends. He gave her a smile before turning back to Atalanta and Jason. "This is Zoë. You remember Heracles? He raped her and then threw her aside like a toy after winning her heart and promising to marry her."

Atalanta scrunched up her face in anger. "I always knew there was something to that cocky son of Zeus. But we have to go, Percy. Periclymenus had come to us as an eagle. We found the way out of Libya. We'll be heading home. It's been a long time. This quest is finally coming to a close."

Percy turned to Zoë, whom he had let go of, and offered a hand. "Will you come with us? To find yourself another life, a new life that you can start?"

She looked at Jason and Atalanta and then at Percy. Those dark, volcanic eyes bored into him before they filled with gratitude and thanks. She grabbed his hand and said, "Let's go."

Their escape was quick.

Zoë was quick to warm up to Atalanta, Jason and Percy. However, it was mostly because of Atalanta that it was that way. Atalanta told her that most of the Argonauts are good men, though there are a few rude men. Of course, she was a little wary to most of them who came to greet her, she also warmed up to Medea quite easily.

As they arrived at the location Periclymenus had told Jason and Atalanta, they found themselves at the edge of a huge lake, one that seemed to stretch as wide as the ocean. There was an elegant looking man standing before the Argonauts, seemingly talking to them about how to get out of Libya.

When they got close enough to become a part of the Argonaut group, Percy realized who they were talking to. It was Triton, his own half-brother.

Triton seemed to recognize Percy and gave him a humourless smile. "Well, if it isn't Perseus, my half-brother."

"Half-brother?" Zoë asked.

"Hello, Lord Triton," Percy said. "By the way, I prefer to be called Percy. Either way, you say that you have a path for us to take that will lead us out into the Mediterranean?"

Triton frowned when he called him "Lord Triton." It was as if he were hoping Percy was outrageously incompetent and disrespectful. Percy could definitely have had better restraint, but Chiron had drilled into his mind how to be respectful to those superior to him (meaning the gods, not older men).

"Yes," the minor god said. "Follow the water's edge and into the river that leads out from my lake. It will lead you to the ocean and you will arrive in Greece without a problem. Zeus had finished punishing you."

"What do we owe you, Lord Triton, for revealing this path?" Jason asked.

"I have taken my gift," he said. "Just a tripod."

"Thank you, Triton," Jason said bowing. "We, the Argonauts, will never forget your aide and whenever the story comes out, you will be known as the one that frees us from the southern deserts."

Then, the Argonauts sprang into action and lifted the Argo into the water, Triton's Lake.

Percy gave the Argo an extra little boost and they shot away towards the north. It wasn't hard to find the river, the sun extra bright that day. It was so bright that it seemed as though Helios was winking at them.

Zoë was introduced to Theseus and Periclymenus, though the latter was nearly decapitated by her after jokingly making fun of her. Atalanta calmed her down and told the other two about what Heracles had done to her. It effectively shut them up about insulting her at all. They even tried consoling her about their former friend being such a jerk.

But the way she acted gave Percy a whole new idea. The way she disliked men more than women at a first glance seemed oddly like a fake group of people Percy had thought should be put together. The Hunters of Artemis.

As she punched Zetes in the face after he tried asking her to kiss, he met Atalanta's eyes. She was thinking exactly what he was thinking.

If you can find one who is willing...

Zoë walked over to Percy and sat down next to him and scowled. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. This is horrible, and I've only been on this boat for less than a quarter of a day."

Percy couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" she demanded.

He only laughed harder.

"I'll kill you one day," she grumbled.

Percy smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. She yelped, but he didn't flinch. "I would be surprised if you didn't gut me. But at least you'll have people that care about you. Just remember that hope lies within all of humanity and mortals."

She blinked. "People that care about me?"

"I swear to you that I will try my best to give you a family that will care about you forever," he said. "Just promise me one thing. No matter how annoying I get, how stupid I act, try not to kill me."

Zoë crossed her arms over her chest. "Prove to me you're not worth being disgraced, then I won't kill you."

"I'll prove it. Just wait."

Hey everyone,

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above and if any historical facts are actually wrong. I have spent my time looking through different websites, and even a couple of books, but the story that will continue may have incorrect historical info. Still, I believe it just adds to the effect.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719