PART ONE: THE CITY OF GOLD

CHAPTER 5: Ambushed

Percy and Artemis walked carefully through a large forest, the sounds of crickets chirping in the early hours of the day were heard. The pair made their way toward the eighth biggest American national park, they had arrived nearby to the south entrance so that they didn't have to walk a long distance, but at the same time, far enough to not alert their enemies of their arrival.

The son of Poseidon was getting used to now being immortal, besides the obvious perk of not dying, he was also faster and stronger, both physically and with his powers. The goddess of the hunt had barely spoken and was trying to avoid talking to him as much as she possibly could. So to break the tension he decided to talk.

"How are things with the hunt?" he asked, carefully stepping over tree branches.

Artemis looked at him, "Since the giant war, where we lost many of our sisters, things haven't been great. We have gotten very few recruits, and quite a few of our members are not proficient in battle yet. I fear that this mission will be too much for them."

Percy nodded sadly "Hopefully it's the last mission for a very long time, I think we could all use a break from fighting."

"You aided my younger brother at the beginning of his time on earth right?" she asked him, seemingly asking a question she already knew the answer to.

"Yeah, to be honest, though he didn't look like Apollo at all. How's his journey been going, especially since he has started to deal with more Emperors." Percy questioned.

"It has been challenging, especially when my youngest half-sibling was killed in combat, right in front of Apollo. Thankfully both Caligula and Commodus were just extinguished by the son of Mars." Artemis explained.

"How is Thalia doing?" Percy asked, concern evident in his voice.

"She has been distraught since hearing the news, but that was to be expected," Artemis said keeping her answer short, as they hurried through the forest and walked onto a road. A car drove less than a meter in front of them and the two immortals quickly ran towards the entrance to the park. After they entered the park, with quick use of the mist, they veered away from the road and back into the forest.

"This mission, do you have any idea who is behind this?" Percy asked.

"We do not have much information but we have deciphered that it is most likely a Primordial such as Nyx, who has in the past gotten into quarrels with us Olympians. The use of shadow travel has nearly confirmed that suspicion." Artemis told him. Percy shuddered as he remembered his encounter with the Primordial goddess of Night. Nyx's wings and terrifying demeanor were forever seared into his memory, along with Tartarus's humanoid form. He wasn't eager to encounter either of them again, yet here he was walking towards both of them.

"Are all primordials more powerful than Olympians?" Percy asked, a hint of fear visible in his voice.

"They dwarf us in terms of power, especially when they are in their domain, however, multiple Olympians at the same time can hold their own against one of the weaker ones. Someone like Nyx however, would be capable of defeating Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all at the same time." Artemis explained to him. "That is the main reason we are taking the route of infiltration and sabotage."

Percy grimaced, perhaps he could sneak up on Nyx from behind and end it all immediately. "I hope that you are a good actor," Artemis asked.

"Not necessarily, but I can do a competent enough job, I just need to get close enough to put a sword through her." he quipped.

"Much easier said than done, but I appreciate the confidence," Artemis replied as they continued to make their way through the forest. The day wore on as they continued talking and walking, taking breaks occasionally.

As nightfall approached and they set up camp for the night at one of the campgrounds, Artemis realized that they were being followed, she pulled out two hunting knives and silently signaled Percy, who withdrew his ballpoint pen from his pocket and held it out in front of him. They made their way toward the area where the trees began to increase in quantity.

They glanced around the area, no sign of anything, Artemis ventured further into the forest, examining the trees for any signs of people or monsters around. When she thought everything was fine she began walking back towards her tent. Suddenly a dark figure fell from a tree, on top of her and knocked Artemis to the ground, sending her knives flying out of her hands, landing a few meters away from her body.

Another person attacked Percy and the son of Poseidon quickly uncapped his sword and parried the blow, the man attacking him was dressed similarly to the ones he had met at Camp Half-Blood, he was covered head to toe in black, the only difference was that this man had an iron helmet covering his head. Percy almost grinned when he realized that there was water nearby, he clenched his left hand, attempting to pull it towards him, as the man struck again, Percy backed up and let a smile out when a torrent of water burst from the ground and shot the man 20 ft up into the air. When he fell back down, Percy immediately stabbed Riptide deep into his midsection. The man whom Artemis was fighting, seemed to start fighting more defensively when he realized that his comrade had been killed.

The Goddess of the hunt moved incredibly quickly and soon was able to land a blow, right below the man's right elbow. He grimaced and switched his weapon to his left hand and looked like he was ready to run the moment that he got a chance.

The son of Poseidon turned his attention toward him, as he feebly attempted to defend himself from the moon goddess. Percy took a few steps toward him before kicking him to the ground. "Why does your master keep sending people after me?"

The man on the ground scowled "You think I would really tell you, I will die defending my master."

"Nope." Percy said "You are going to die, after failing to successfully wound or kill, a goddess or a son of Poseidon. You are going to die, doing someone else's work for them, someone who is too scared to show their face to their adversary. A man who hides behind his soldiers, too weak to fight. You are dying to defend a coward." With that Artemis quickly ended the man, before summoning a cloth and cleaning her blade of the blood.

"Perhaps we should take shifts," Percy stated, as they headed back towards their tent.

"You know what Perseus, I think you might have potential, if you weren't a boy, I would have already invited you to join the hunt," Artemis stated with a smile on her face.

"Call me Percy."