"C'MON GUYS! LET'S PAAAAAAAAARTY!"
Every Huntress, including Artemis heard that. They turned their heads to see that it came from a flying member of the Pack hovering around their campsite.
Huh. This was weird. For some reason, the guy flying didn't have white cloaks like the others, silver cloak like the Ace's, nor a black cloak like the Lieutenant's. The boy that was flying was wearing a red cloak.
"ALRIGHT!" another shout
"TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!" says another one.
Artemis was again bewildered by the sudden actions of the Pack.
Meanwhile, Thalia was experiencing 20% shock 30% dread and 50% urge to kill a certain guy called L because she was afraid she knew exactly what the Pack was doing. After all, it was their tradition. But c'mon! That was before they got caught, they wouldn't be idiotic enough to go on with tradition now that they were discovered by Olympus and being watched by Lady Artemis, right?!
Apparently, Thalia was wrong because she heard a familiar voice that she decided was B's said, "C'mon people! Get moving! It's not every day that those two are gone! Don't let any time go to waste!"
Gods, Thalia couldn't help but face palmed. The hunters were to bemused at the voices they heard to notice. I mean, c'mon. The Pack that was so distant, quiet, and mysterious was suddenly shouting so carefree? Who wouldn't be bemused? But Annabeth seemed to notice, but shrugged it off…for now.
"Thalia, Phoebe, Annabeth, come, let us find out why the…boys are making such a ruckus" Artemis said.
"Can't we just try to kill them with a note attached to the arrow like we usually do?" Phoebe asked and Annabeth couldn't help but let out a laugh, though for a different reason the hunters think she did. She laughed at the memory of the Ace and their…'talk'
Thalia on the other hand was chanting on her mind yes, please. Just send a note. Please. So that you don't have to see the Pack in that 'mode.' What the hell was L thinking? This is a MAJOR slip up. That's the reason why Percy is being punished in the first place! And now he goes doing the exact same thing…purposely!
"Not this time, Phoebe. We are going to check out their camp site" Artemis says and Thalia pales though again no one notices….except Annabeth. Hmmm, Annabeth thought.
They trudged towards the Pack's campsite. The sight they found was quite….not the one they expected.
Pack members were swarming around as if preparing for a…celebration.
Not to mention that there was something different with the cloaks they were wearing.
Some of them wearing the same white cloaks like usual, but others were wearing some red cloaks, and the others were wearing blue?
Thalia wanted to punch everyone in the Pack. Great job guys. You might as well explain everything in the pack.
Someone then noticed the hunters. "THERE ARE SOME HUNTERS CROSSING THE BOUNDARY LINE!" they shouted.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and three red cloaked Pack member snapped out of the silence. "Everyone get back to work!" someone says and they hesitantly nodded and the three red cloaked men walked towards the hunters.
They bowed. "Lady Artemis," the first cloaked man said. "To what do we owe the…er," the second stuttered. "the pleasure of your presence here?" the third one filled in for the second.
Thalia was glaring at them and the three secretly gulped.
"What are all the noise you are creating? And what happened to your cloaks? And don't tell me that you do not answer to me and that you only answer to your patrons. Where is your Ace? It seems that there are changes in your Pack and I wish to discuss whether or not it affects my hunters with him" Artemis demanded.
The first cloaked man said, "er…my Ace is kind of…being puni—" the second one elbowed him hard. "Ehem, is kind of sent to a missi—" the third one elbowed the second one, "What they meant was that the Ace of the Pack was summoned by our Patrons" he says glaring at his companions as if to dare them to say otherwise.
"And who are you?" Artemis asks looking at the third cloaked person. She did not believe the three a bit. Thalia was glaring at the third cloaked boy hard. Great, just spill the beans now.
The first cloaked man said, "I am B"
The second cloaked man said, "I am C. And the one you asked who he is, is L"
And together they said "and L is the real leader of the Pack"
Percy was somewhere hidden from the gods in a cosy logged cabin, with a fire wall, and all.
"Thanks for dragging me into this, kelp head" Nico whispered to Percy as he was drumming his hands on the sofa. "Oh shut up, death breath. Take it like a man" Percy says and at that exact moment a god and a goddess appeared before them.
They quickly bowed. Hestia was looking at them warmly and Mars was looking at them sternly….well, it's better than him glaring at them in Ares mode. Ares was more spontaneous. And besides, Percy saved him when he was in Roman mode so Percy's patron was mostly in the form of Mars.
"Do you know why you're here?" Hestia asked.
"I think so" Percy yelps
"Nope!" Nico says.
Percy glares at Nico. "Thanks for sticking with me, bro. I feel the love" Percy murmurs. Nico rolls his eyes and Hestia was slightly amused.
"Are we being punished?" Percy hesitantly asks.
"Are you sending us for a mission?" Nico asks too.
"Hmm….yes, I am sending you two for a mission. No, I am not punishing you. Yes, I am kind of worried with the fact that Artemis knows you have sisters in her Hunt. No, you are not getting away with it. The only reason I won't punish you, Perseus is because the mission I'm sending you two…well, it's necessary really…but it'll be…difficult…and personal. And that's punishment enough," Mars says.
Percy gulps. Mars just called him Perseus. This must be serious. This wasn't about his major slip up with Artemis anymore. This was something bigger.
"What is it? What's the problem?" Percy asked.
"How long will we be gone? What about the pack?" Nico asks.
"L is back, remember? He'll lead like he usually does…though, I won't stop him from doing as he pleases like he normally does. In fact, I think their preparing for it right now!" Hestia says
"WHAT!? You're allowing him to party, change the colour coding of the cloaks, and lead like usual with the hunters there to watch?!" Nico says and Percy says.
"I thought we were going to keep their knowledge on us to a minimum! If L leads like usual, that's just the opposite!" Percy says.
"Come down, Percy. Trust us. By the end of it all, the Pack will still be safe and intact. With L, B, M, and C, plus the others, you don't have anything much to worry about while you're gone. The plan is in motion and L doing that is part of it…though you may not like the plan…" Hestia says
"And the plan is….?"
"..."
"You're not telling us aren't you?" Nico groans.
"By the end of your puni—erm, mission, you'll understand. Trust us" Mars says coolly.
"Plus L has been leading most of the stuff so what's the difference now that he's back? Do you not trust us?" Hestia asks.
"Of course we trust you!" Nico says
"Yes, I think it's even safe to say we even blindly trust you" Percy smiles
That earns a grin from Mars and Hestia's warm smile grew