Chapter 3: What The?!
Everyone looked on in astonishment as they stood rooted to their spots, watching the lowly mechanic—now a greatly respected hero, they reckoned—bring the earth goddess and himself towards the Earth's magma-heated core—toward their deaths.
Before long, the chasm mended itself and looked like the land was never driven through by a meteor.
Porphyrion blinked, failure screaming his name as its top victim. "No..," he murmured distractedly, before it turned into an all-out scream. "NOOOO! MOTHER!"
Athena used this as an advantage and plunged her spear right through his chest, through his earthen heart. Frank and Nico snapped out of their stupor and finished off the giant by an explosive arrow through the head from Frank, and Nico slicing off half his body. The giant's remains crumbled to the ground in the form of rocks, disintegrated into golden dust, and finally dissolved out of thin air, taking its essence back to Tartarus.
And for a while, silence reigned the battlefield. Most gods bowed their heads in respect for the fallen heroes, while the others cried silently, like Hephaestus, Artemis, Poseidon, who had lost their own. The rest of the Seven, however, did not speak nor act, in too much shock to do anything.
Zeus took charge and announced, "The fallen shall be given a proper burial worthy of a hero of Olympus. The gods shall have a meeting in the new Mount Olympus once we transport the heroes. We will discuss some... matters concerning some of our heroes."
Releasing Jason and Annabeth from their binds, he took his Roman son's and Greek daughter's arms—after telling him he wanted to go with her brother—and vanished from sight. Just like that; no bright light, no lightning, no dramatics. The losses must've affected him greatly.
The other gods took this as their cue. After reviving Piper, Apollo disappeared in a bright light with the other injured hunters, followed by Aphrodite at his side, willing to check on her daughter's condition. Artemis gathered her remaining hunters and the fallen ones with teary eyes, and transported them to the hunters' camp, before teleporting off to Olympus. Athena helped her daughter up and made sure she was alright, before transporting her to the foot of Half-Blood Hill and following her half-sister. Ares and Hades did the same and went on their way. The rest of the gods followed immediately after Zeus.
The heroes appeared at Half-Blood Hill. They didn't look nor speak to each other because of the overwhelming grief and sadness, but headed straight towards the pine tree.
They thought this day had been at its worst in their lives—perhaps they had been wrong.
The camp looked like it had gone through a hurricane. Everything was a disaster. The cabins were either damaged or completely burnt to the ground. The Big House was wrecked. Half of the forest was burned down, while half was uprooted or destroyed. The dining pavilion was almost toppling. Other buildings and activity areas had fatal signs of damage to them.
Amidst all this, the hearth in the center of the cabins was still burning brightly.
Near the forest, among the ruins of the mess hall, was a makeshift infirmary. Apollo campers, nature spirits, satyrs, and other uninjured demigods bustled about, helping with their friends' recovery. Their eyes zoomed in on Chiron, whose arm was on a sling as he sat quietly in his wheelchair.
The heroes' eyes clouded with rage. What monster had done this to them? Who was it?
They walked up to him, intentions in mind. People glanced at them as they approached, and most of them gave happy smiles before growing confused when they couldn't find Leo or Percy. They tried their best to ignore them as shame ate away on them, not being able to bear the thought of failing to save their friends.
Chiron looked up and smiled sadly when they stopped in front of him. They each approached to give him light hugs, before asking the question that has been plaguing their curiosity. "What happened here?"
The centaur sighed forlornly. "The Romans have attacked."
Annabeth practically exploded, despite the grief still lingering. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed loudly and angrily, ignoring the looks sent her way. "We literally save the whole world—them—from Gaea and her minions and this is how they repay us!? What nerve!"
She began to stomp off, probably to teach a lesson to the Romans for destroying her home, but Jason held her back. Still holding her lashing figure, he asked surprised, "When exactly? Do the gods know already?"
As if on cue, Hermes teleported in with a small satisfied smile on his face, oblivious to his surroundings. That is, until he spoke. "Alright demigods, gather ar-r-r-rou.." he trailed off, his smile fading. "Oh snap." He said as his form flickered briefly, before becoming more solid, and then he disappeared, the demigods forgotten.
Before anyone could say anything, though, he reappeared on the same spot, startling the demigods around him. This time he said nothing more as he beckoned the rest of the Seven, Thalia, and Nico to come forward. They disappeared off to Olympus, in the Olympian throne room.
The demigods bowed as Hermes flashed to his throne. Annabeth did so as well when she got out of Jason's hold, albeit grudgingly since she was still angry and sad about the recent events to be forced to do anything. Most of the gods gave her sympathetic looks instead of noticing her stiffness.
Thalia noticed that the hunters where here too. She wondered why all of them were a part of this meeting? Was this some kind of rewarding ceremony? The gods don't look so happy, so she guessed not. And.. She glanced at Artemis. Why was she crying? She usually doesn't cry whenever she loses one of her hunters—not this openly, at least.
Her father started speaking, crashing her train of thought. "Before we start on more pressing matters, it has come to my attention that these heroes have done well, and shall be rewarded for their efforts in the war," he announced, and Thalia was stunned. She could've guessed that the gods have planned this already, but even Athena looked shocked. Her father wasn't this generous before... was he?
"Who argues that they are not worthy?" From the corner of her eye, the daughter of Zeus can see that her friends and the hunters almost stumbled in surprise. She almost did, too. But when she looked at her father, she didn't know if it was a good sign or a bad sign that no one was influencing him into doing this. His eyes were narrowed and clear. His voice was loud and sure.
But going back to the council, she could see the hint of bewilderment in their faces, but no one raised their hand. Maybe—she recalled faintly, when her father flashed her and her brother out with absolutely no dramatics—it was Percy's death that had him acting like this. How powerful he had been; already dead and still doing the impossible. She frowned. She missed her cousin already.
Seeing no objections, Zeus nodded and called Thalia first, since she was his eldest child.
The daughter of Zeus did as she was told. The king of the gods gave her the choice to become an immortal, as he gave the son of Hades and the rest of the Seven as well.
Thalia had accepted to become a full immortal lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, to which the said goddess had nodded at her appraisingly. Nico had accepted as well, and that gave him the title as the Prince of the Underworld. It had probably been the first time he showed even a ghost of a smile (no pun intended) since his beloved cousin's death.
Hazel had declined, feeling obliged to not escape death's hold for eternity, but instead asked for her curse to be lifted. In a way, a descendant of Poseidon did lift off her curse. Percy was that descendant. Through his death, they have fought more fiercely and determinedly, and so they had won the war. The gods, especially Zeus, seemed to have transformed because of this, thus giving her the offer of immortality, which she altered into a wish instead.
Frank had followed, of course not wanting to be separated with the daughter of Pluto, and asked nothing but to take off his life's connection to the small piece of wood.
Jason had accepted the rank of immortality earnestly. He'd sworn: to never abuse it and; his loyalty to Olympus. After Piper had recovered, and knowing that her boyfriend had accepted, she'd done so as well. They had decided to stay in Camp Jupiter once the issues between the Greeks and Romans are fixed.
And Annabeth—well, Annabeth, from then on, had wanted to see Percy again, so she declined. But then she realized that she had nothing to do once they came back to camp, after it'd be repaired, so she opted for an adventure—anything to keep her busy doing something instead of thinking how he'd died saving her, which makes it all more painful.
Joining the hunters of Artemis is her number one option; she'll have plenty of fun, have a—possibly—long happy life, and at the same time a chance to see him again once it ended. Unlike when she accepted the offer, she will still be able to see him in another time.
Artemis gave a small smile at this. Great, just what she needed, probably the greatest reminder of him around her every time. Not that she didn't want the daughter of Athena as a hunter, don't get her wrong; the maiden was a wise and skilled warrior. She would be a perfect addition to her group. And for a second there, a very scary second, she had actually thanked the Fates for giving Perseus a break that gave her the service of one of the greatest heroines of all time.
Life could be worse.
"With that aside, let us talk about more... touchy subjects," Zeus announced, to which the heroes tensed. What will they say when they have been asked for a retake of events? Thinking of their failures are hard enough, much less speak it.
"Athena has a theory on what happened to both heroes lost in the Seven." He nodded to the goddess of wisdom, and she stood up.
"From what I have heard about Perseus Jackson, and what happened to him before this, I say that he might still be alive. He has gone through hell and back with my daughter, hasn't he? There is a chance that he lives," she proposed, before turning to Hades. "Or is he..?"
The Lord of the Dead shook his head, much to everyone's relief. "Perseus is still alive. Although he—" Hades stopped abruptly, and everyone waited in baited breath for him to speak once again. Nico and Hazel looked questioningly at their father, along with the others, not being able to feel what he had felt. Their hopes though, were lowering, and they had a terrifying suspicion on what it may be—unlike the others who don't have a clue of what's going on.
Hades suddenly closed his eyes, and his face twisted in concentration, before he sagged and leaned back on his throne miserably. He shook his head. "He's... he's gone."
Uproar had overcome the throne room. Disbelief and incredulity flooded their expressions, although pain and grief ruled out to be the most visible. Poseidon had released a sob, while others shouted in protest, demanding proof. Some, such as Zeus, Hera, and a few others, remained as calm as they could get and tried to settle everyone down. Amidst all this, Artemis had snuck out and fled.
She had not known what to think of his death; one second she was fatally grief-stricken and heart-broken, and the next she was utterly thankful. The man—yes, she accepts and emphasizes that he was a man—had been a source of her doubt towards the attitude of the whole masculine population. When she'd heard of what he'd done, she began asking herself questions, like, Are there some other men like him? Or, aren't all men arrogant, selfish, and disloyal?
What makes him different?
Many things, she thought it over. How had he captured her heart, then? Or did he really do that? Or was it Aphrodite's doing? That last part had been unclear; of course it wasn't the love goddess's doing, she had worked very hard to get him and the daughter of Athena together. Then again, she and Aphrodite always had their spats. She could be playing with her feelings, a goddess's, as ridiculous as it sounds.
Artemis let her thoughts calm with a sigh. Perhaps she shan't dwell too much on thinking of him. It sounds unhealthy. She lied down on her cot, taking in the comfort she hadn't felt since the past decade, and let herself drift off to Hypnos's realm.
Or at least, it's what she thought.
Instead of a dreamless sleep like she had expected, she found herself standing in the middle of a maze of bookshelves, which had a nice and dark forest theme engraved in dark wood that looked as though it came from the forest within it. When she looked closer, most of the books looked to be of war and architecture, and a few others of archery and wildlife.
Confused to be in a library of all places, Artemis started to wander around, looking for something to be of interest. She had brief stops to glance at a few books, but nothing really caught her attention that much. Besides, something compelled her to keep moving. She felt it. Something... important was waiting for her. And she was getting anxious.
For what seemed like hours, she wandered aimlessly through the maze of bookshelves that appeared like a knowledge labyrinth. She was about to give up and throttle Morpheus to let her out, when she finally arrived at the heart of the library.
There was someone there, looking impatient on waiting for something... or someone. Their back was turned, but still looked oddly familiar. Who was this? Is this the one who called her into this dream? Those things only happen to heroes, and she was a goddess. Or perhaps... this was another scenery unknown to her?
She stepped into the room, purposefully adding a stomp in her step to catch their attention. They turned, and she saw it. Her face contorted into a look of shock, and she gasped.
AN: Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~SmartzyFan