(A/N) You have to admit, I'm getting better with this whole updating thing. Only six days after the last update! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO, nor do I own the world that they live in. I do, however, own the alternate universe that differs from the original, and I hope that others respect that fact.
The throne room was not calm, despite its outside appearance. Tension seemed to split the air around the Olympians like arcs of sizzling lightning, but that was most likely just Zeus and his nervousness. Apollo was so jittery that he was unable to sit still; he was either tapping his foot or drumming his fingers on the arm of his throne, and whatever his movements may be it was obvious that his anxiety level was way above normal. Artemis' level head was basically the only thing that had kept the throne room together, and even Hestia's comforting words and aura could not pacify the gods' seething nerves.
It did not help that all thirteen of them were quite certain that Artemis was in the hands of the demon Perseus, due to the point that despite the fact they were the Olympian gods, they were powerless to track and kill the beast. Artemis had been the only goddess who had known the secret, and now she had been captured. It was basically Atlas all over again, except there wasn't a huge sky that they could make Perseus hold up, nor was there any way to trick the demon into holding up that huge sky, had it even existed.
Zeus was pacing, and the other eleven gods followed him back and forth with their eyes. Hestia had left due to the high strain and burden count, which she could not stand to see thrust upon her brothers and sisters. Even so, she had also given the reason that it simply was not her problem; she wasn't an Olympian goddess, so why should she fret over the problems that were in their hands? However she still fretted over those problems despite the fact that they weren't, indeed, her problems. The Olympians, on the other hand, had to deal with the problems, and they were not having a very pleasant time. They had tried everything, from having the Hunters try to track Artemis to even consulting Hades. The god of the Underworld, however, had no good news nor good information on the matter, which he had just now heard of (They didn't tell him much in the Underworld).
"I was just about to Iris Message you." Hades told his Olympian brethren, lounging back on his throne made of human skeletons. "Tartarus is going berserk. More monsters than usual are clawing their way out, and the souls are seeming restless. Just now Perseus, the hero, not the demon, had just screamed that someone was going around wearing his name and killing people, and that his brothers and sisters were becoming restless. Sometimes souls, even if they're human, can sense things that we gods can't. I've tried to weed things out of my advisors, but for some reason they won't talk. I even tried weeding information out forcefully, yet they still refuse to speak. Either that or someone is keeping them from talking."
"Or something is keeping them from talking." Zeus replied gravely, running a hand through his hair. His frustration caused lightning to crackle all around him, arcing around his body in voltages that would fry a mortal alive.
"It is not within my knowledge. Most suppose that I deal with demons on a regular basis, but those things have been extinct for years; in the depths of Tartarus known as Hell to most mortals." On the message a skeletal guard hurried over and made a serious of clucks and growls that were virtually incomprehensible, but Hades nodded as if it made perfect sense. "Listen, Zeus, I have an Underworld to run and I'd appreciate if you did not bother me with your over-worldly difficulties." And with that, the pale god cut through the message and disconnected, leaving Zeus and the other Olympians in a fit of rage.
'How dare he?" bellowed Ares. "I should go to the Underworld and snap his little skinny neck!"
"No, Ares, we must not dwell on his incompetence and unwillingness to participate in this matter, which may expand to all worlds if not halted at the source; Perseus." The lightning god turned to his fellow Olympians, his cold blue gaze raking over them emotionlessly. "So, what facts do we know about demons? Let's go around the room and see what truths we've managed to dig out of the sea of faux facts and legends. Ladies first."
"Demons have a very low reproduction rate since there is a twenty year gestation period, however they are always born in pairs; every female demon will always give birth to twins, but they are immortal and practically invincible." Hera stated, her voice cool and collected despite the situation. Demeter went next.
"Demons eat only flesh and blood and are physically incapable of digesting foods such as grains; they have to throw it all up again."
"Their minds are so developed that they have room to remember every second of every day in their immortal lives." said Athena, who crossed her legs and continued, "They can tell the exact details of their life from start to finish, and they are very intelligent. They cannot be outwitted very easily." The Olympians' gaze hovered on Artemis' empty throne, hard lines etched into their faces, but they continued, with Aphrodite quickly stating her fact to fill in for the silence that the moon goddess had presented.
"I hear their mating rituals are so romantic. They exchange flowers and even go hunting together before getting to the big stuff-"
"Aphrodite." Dionysus piped up. "Is that really necessary? Anyway, since that concludes the ladies I shall contribute my own fact, but only because Zeusy here had said it was manditory." Zeus' stern expression signaled for him to stop, which he most certainly did, though reluctantly. "Demons cannot become intoxicated on anything except human flesh, though they can sometimes get carried away and go on killing sprees, leaving a path of bloody bodies that leads straight to them."
"Demons are excellent swimmers." Poseidon told the other gods and goddesses, twirling his trident in anxiety and irritation. "And they don't need to breathe and consequently can stay underwater for eternity. Therefore, we can't drown the beast, either."
"Their fighting can rival even mine and they are known for slipping through the fingers of even primordial gods such as Tartarus and Gaea!" Ares bellowed, clearly riled up from the rapid-fire facts, though he had obviously needed to find that out himself, since he wasn't smart enough to have that much prior knowledge.
"They're really good at being sister snatchers." Apollo hissed, his grip tightening on the arms of his throne. "Bright light irritates them but does not burn them and therefore they do all of their hunting and are most active at night."
Hephaestus' contribution ensued, "Their skin is like armor and they are immune to all forms of heat and fire, including Greek fire. So we can't burn this thing, either."
"Demons can be one place one moment and another place the next. Their speed matches mine and they can make a quick escape if they are unsure about picking a fight. This makes them excellent thieves." said Hermes. "What's your fact, Zeus? We were all supposed to have them like you said."
The lightning god did not appreciate the god's smart mouth, however he sighed and boomed, "Demons are resistant to lightning, electricity, and electrocution. Trust me, I've tried zapping the beast and it still refuses to just curl up and die. An annoyance, it is." That's when the hearth in the center of the fire pit blazed. The flames leapt high into the air, becoming almost as tall as the gods and goddesses themselves, even though they were in their giant form. The throne room became at least several degrees cooler, and it sure wasn't the gods sapping the heat. Their breathing caused clouds of wispy steam to curl into the air like ribbons and disappear, and they had all drawn their weapons.
Apollo had an arrow trained at the bellowing flames and even Aphrodite had produced a huge Celestial bronze knife from the folds of her satiny dress. Abruptly a voice projected from inside of the flames, smooth, loud, and mocking, "I have come to make a deal with the gods." It should have been impossible to communicate in this way; Hestia was constantly monitoring all of the hearths, and there was the fact that there were more enchantments and spells around Olympus than there was around any other otherworldly place.
"Perseus?" Zeus accused, his voice bellowing like the throaty roar of thunder. "Show your face!" The gods were well aware of the fact that Perseus was being incredibly smart; had it used an Iris message, the rainbow goddess would have been able to trace it back to its exact location, but no, it had to use fire messaging. Even though Hephaestus could, indeed, trace it back to the fire source, fires could be snuffed out and the connection would be cut.
"I'm sorry, Zeus, but I can't do that. Do you really think I am that brainless?" Perseus' voice asked, echoing throughout the giant hall.
"We kinda wish you were that brainless." Dionysus muttered under his breath as he cracked open a can of Coca-Cola.
"Want to be wise, eh Dionysus? Well then how would you like it if I said you gods may never see Artemis again?" The whole throne room inhaled sharply, their fists clenching and their teeth gritting together tightly. The sound of Dionysus' cola can caving in seemed to rip through the air like the blast of an atomic bomb, and the brown soft drink began to drip through the god's fingers. Had Perseus been there in person, this would have been the part where they all had incinerated the beast at the same time, but however much they wished it was here so they could destroy it, that fantasy could not come true.
"What are you playing at here?" Zeus asked, and all of the other Olympians waited silently and allowed the lightning god to do all of the talking.
"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to drop by and say hello." Perseus chuckled without any humor, his voice like ice that sent the gods' hairs standing on end. "But I want something from you, and if you want to see your little moon goddess again you will give it to me."
"Where have you taken her?!" Apollo bellowed, and it took all of Ares and Hephaestus' strength to keep him seated, for if they allowed him to stand he would most likely extinguish the roaring flames, and therefore they would have no leads to Artemis' location. "Tell me where she is!"
"Down, boy. You should really keep your gods on a leash, Zeus."
"How dare you!" Zeus roared, frustrated that he was powerless to do anything but listen. "I am the king of the skies and I tell the likes of you what to do, not the other way around, you foolish monster!"
"Oh no, I'm very scared." This, of course, was sarcastic on Perseus' part, and the demon was obviously taking much joy in irritating the Olympians. "So here's the bargain; I set your daughter free, no tricks and no surprises, if you release my brothers and sisters from Hell. I swear it on the River Styx. Thunder rumbled overhead, and the Olympians knew that Zeus wasn't the cause. They realized that this was no joke; Perseus was very bent on getting its kind back, and if it was not given to it then the demon would raise a Hell like no other.
"And why would I say yes to that?" Zeus asked, his expression just as torn as it was exasperated.
"Because you'd like to see your little virgin back? Her throne is empty, is it not?" the demon replied, his voice no longer chilled but rather laced with an unrequited venom and anger.
"It could be the end of the human race!"
"If it was the end of the human race then we'd suffer. It's like a food chain, Zeus. We kill all of our food, we have no more food. Consider it thinning out the human population. You do agree that they are too numerous, do you not?" Perseus asked. Zeus was silent, for he did agree, and if he said otherwise then Perseus, being a walking, talking lie detector, would be able to call out his lie in front of the assembled gods and goddesses.
"Are you positive she shall be home safe?" he questioned finally.
"You can't be thinking of agreeing to this?!" Hera hissed into her husband's ear, her eyes blazing like the fires of Tartarus.
"What's the downside?" Zeus shot back. "The humans are less underfoot, Artemis will be freed, and there are minimal consequences."
"That is not all true." Athena interrupted, rising to her feet. Her cold grey eyes were for once uncertain, however they held a firmness to them that one could only associate with those that are stubborn. "Perseus would have an army of immortal, indestructible monsters at its aide. They could rise up against us, or rise up against our children and wipe them off of the planet."
"Since when do we care for our children?" Zeus growled, his knuckles whitening around the master bolt, which he was griping tightly within his hand.
"Since Nico di Angelo said so. We swore on the River Styx we would pay more attention to them, and I am ninety six point seven percent sure that that includes watching out for their wellbeing. Worst thing is, though, is that they won't go for the full grown demigods, no they're too smart for that; they'll go for the ones that are too young to go to camp, or the vulnerable ones that are being taken to camps by satyrs. Our children, both Greek and Roman, will be in great danger. I could care less, but we swore that we would care."
"Indeed, but maybe the senior demigods and the ones who are not detected by demons will figure out a way to kill them. Wait, they don't need to; we'll have Artemis just wipe them out again."
"I can still hear you, you know." came the voice of Perseus, whom had been silent as it'd listened intently. "And Artemis has already sworn on the Styx not to kill the demons off again if she is freed, and also she cannot share the secret on how to kill us."
"Why would she do that?" Athena hissed, cursing under her breath.
"Nice language." Perseus chuckled. "So do we have a deal or not?" There was silence. Complete and utter silence only accompanied by the roaring of the fire and the shallow breaths of the Olympians surrounding it. "I'm waiting." Yet more quiet ensued, and one could almost sense Perseus' patience wearing thin on the other side of the fire message. "You know what, I didn't want to be the bad guy, but now I'm going to have to be the bad guy. Only bad guys make people rush their decisions, but I'm not getting any younger just standing around here. This offer is going once…"
Aphrodite gasped and tottered a little on her feet, and all of the gods and goddesses began talking at once.
"Take it! It benefits everyone!"
"Don't take it, it's foolish! It's a demon and it'll double-cross us!"
"…going twice…" Perseus said slowly, and you could hear the smile in its voice as the order in the throne room was tossed out of the window.
"Hurry!"
"Oh no what will we do?!"
"We'll never see Artemis again!"
"SILENCE!" Zeus bellowed and all of the gods and goddesses shushed as if a mute button had been pushed. The lightning god stepped over to the blazing fire, where Perseus was waiting patiently. "We will take your offer as long as you swear not to start an uprising against us or our children."
"I swear on the River Styx not to start an uprising against the gods and goddesses or their children, and I swear to allow Artemis to return back to Olympus without any scratches or recaptures as long as the gods free all of the demons from Hell." Perseus replied.
"Then I, Zeus, god of gods, swear on the River Styx to free all of the demons from Hell as long as Artemis is returned and the demons do not cause an uprising."
"Pleasure doing business with you." Perseus chuckled and the fires disappeared into nothing but embers, plunging the whole throne room into darkness. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, however the Olympians stayed silent as they thought of the heavy weight that had just been placed upon their shoulders.
Quote of the day:
arms hurt? saw them off.
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Everyone on this website is a phycopath I swear
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Alright Sherlock, don't make me get Mummy.
Are YOU my mummy?
No, your mummy is dead because she burned on the ceiling.