Back again with another chapter. Things will be switching between Artemis and Percy between chapters, so try not to get too confused. Thank you all for the kind reviews, so this kind of thing will be continuing for a while. You'll all get answers to your questions eventually. Trust me, it was difficult not to plop everything in this one. Also, I've got an idea for another Pertemis fic, so I may begin that one and have both of them running at the same time, just less constant updates. As always, please leave a review. Have fun reading!
- PermaEncrypted
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, HOO, or Trials of Apollo. Obviously.
"What I can tell you… is that Annabeth is dead." Percy has strained to get the words out, that much Artemis could tell. She remembered that he had been her boyfriend until she had passed, but only a few times before had she seen a male so… broken… over the loss of someone. The boy that had saved Olympus not once, but twice, and had gone through so much loss in such a short amount of time. So many friends dead in both wars, and now Annabeth? Complete silence enveloped the tent, except for the sound of crying. A tear trickled down her own face, for the brave woman who faced so much.
"Thalia," Artemis said gently. "Take some time off. Go to your tent, I'll have Reyna take over for you." Artemis offered Thalia her hand, which she took, and helped her stand.
Before Artemis could leave with her, Percy spoke up. "Thalia. It will be alright. Annabeth has found her peace, I can be sure of that. She wouldn't want you to mourn forever." The flow of tears had slowed by now, and Thalia nodded her response. They walked out, and Artemis led her to her tent. It will certainly be some time, maybe a day, before she's ready to move on, Artemis thought. But, that wasn't something she had the leisure to worry about. She walked back to her tent, where Percy was waiting.
"Percy. I'm assuming you have some information based on your words?" He nodded in response, standing up from where he had been sitting. The tears, it seemed, had dried and stopped flowing.
"Yes, I do. Walk with me, and we can talk about it." She raised an eyebrow, but decided to go with him. His head was held somewhere in between high and low, no emotion visible anywhere, except for his eyes. They were empty, devoid of emotion, nothing like what they once were. A haunted look seemed etched into his features. He had changed greatly, and Artemis just had to know why. Wait. Why are you concerned with the happenings of a male? She internally tensed when the thought came up. Her curiosity had definitely been peaked, but she felt that she needed to control herself. After all, she had an image to uphold, as well as her own identity and morals. Being sympathetic to males isn't exactly one of them. But after brief internal deliberation, she settled for asking a few questions about the obvious things first.
Nature was peaceful after they had started walking. Things just seemed right, like everything was in its place. But Percy could never get the feeling that he fit. It always seemed to him like he was an outlier, never meant to belong, always doing the work of his superiors. Prophecy was Percy's life for the past many years, and he doubted it would change all that much. Artemis broke the silence though. "Before we get down to business, I'd like to know a couple of things."
He let a heavy breath out. To be entirely honest with himself, he wasn't not sure he wanted to answer any of these, but Artemis was someone who Percy could respect, and hopefully trust. "Sure, go ahead."
"The first one is one I asked earlier. Why do you have a gun?" Percy laughed a little bit at that, pulling out the pistol from its holster.
"I had a run-in with some resurrected SS guys, you know, the Nazi organization? When they were dead, I checked the weapons. Sure enough, celestial bronze ammunition that replenished itself. So I figured I could take it. Luger P08 model. Apparently it can also switch into the Karabiner 98k, the standard service rifle. Very helpful since I'm shit at archery."
Artemis rolled her eyes when the last sentence finished. "You could always learn, Percy." He just gave a small smile, which he couldn't stop from being filled with sadness.
"Though I appreciate the offer, Chiron tried already, and I can't say it went all that well." When Percy looked to my side to where she was, he couldn't find her. However, he did see a bit of movement out of his peripheral vision, and turned his head to it. Artemis was looking back at him with an amused smile, but it dropped off her face rather quickly. Huh.
"You know I'm the goddess of archery, right?" Percy gave a mocking bow in return.
"Of course I do. You never let anyone forget, my dear goddess." She just rolled her eyes again, then motioned for them to keep walking.
A small amount of time passed before Artemis had another question. "I'm assuming you've had contact with the new kind of monster, or demon before based on how you fought them. Where did you, and do you know anything about them?"
A scowl came to his face as he remembered that night one more time. "Annabeth was killed by those fuckers. After that happened, I wanted to find out as much as possible. And surprisingly, I did actually get some stuff. That 'master' I had mentioned, or any of these creatures? They're not from this world in any way, shape, or form. They might be from another universe for that matter. But what I could gather is that the main leader is named Duriel, the Lord of Pain. The majority of the demons are terrified of him, and the enforcers that I've encountered have tremendous power. I can't even fathom how much power he would have. But that's all I know, nor do I have any way of confirming it."
Artemis took a sharp breath in. "Well… shit. That's not good at all. I'm going to need to warn the council about this."
Percy didn't respond. After a bit of silence, a thought came into his mind. All of the campers from the Second Titan War had stayed in touch. Percy had never been one for reading, but after a bit of time at college, Clarisse had contacted him about a general that she had discovered, an old one, for sure, but nevertheless interesting. Helmuth von Moltke the Elder of Prussia/Germany, a brilliant strategist. Percy read some of his works and found a few quotes, but now, one fit him well.
The pair had stopped by a river, which had a log, and Percy sat down with a sigh. "What's on your mind, Percy? You seem troubled by something else."
He stared at the river. "Just a quote. Was there anything else? We should probably get back soon to get on the move if we want to maintain the initiative."
Artemis seemed curious, but Percy disregarded it, and she looked outward. "Yes, there was. We all have auras of power, although those for demigods are much lesser compared to the gods. Yet, yours is easily as powerful as the minor gods, if not more. How?"
Percy smirked. "Well, when one realizes his father's domain is pretty much all-encompassing, it certainly allows for one to do much more."
Artemis had opened her mouth to say more, but had been cut off when Percy spoke. Her eyes lit up slightly with anger. "Don't cut me off again, boy." Percy's smirk remained on his face, but he nodded. "When you took off your ring earlier, your aura diminished significantly. Why would that be?"
Percy just breathed out hard. "It's not something I feel like letting the world know. If Zeus knew about how it worked, he would kill me on the spot."
Artemis looked at it suspiciously. "Let's go, Percy. We have more to discuss later." With that, the two stood up and jogged back to the camp.
(Time-skip, 2 days later)
Artemis, to put it simply, wasn't satisfied with what Percy told her about his ring. It was obviously connected to his power somehow, but she couldn't figure out the reason for it. But right now, she was preoccupied with other things. Thalia was ready to resume leadership, which she did so quickly. Artemis pulled her over to discuss something as they were packing up the camp. Percy had left early, going out to find a route to take to Duriel's encampment.
"Thalia, I need you to find things out about that ring of his." A small smile grew on the lips of her lieutenant.
"Why? Interested?" was all that Thalia said in response. Artemis grimaced. Maybe I shouldn't have said it so bluntly.
"Not like that… but I am interested in its capabilities. Would you mind trying to figure out a few things?"
Thalia still had a smirk on her face. "I'll do what I can. Are you sure you aren't?" Artemis glared at her, a harsh light in her eyes. "Okay, okay, sheesh. I was just making a joke," Thalia muttered under her breath.
An hour later, Percy returned, a bit of blood on his sword. "Ran into a couple, you should be fine if you move northeast. I'm betting that you can find at least one enforcer and maybe some clues down that way. I'll be going myself to see what I can do about the self-proclaimed 'Lord of Pain'."
Artemis looked at him with exasperation, and even with a bit of concern. "You can't go alone! You said yourself you don't even know how powerful it is!" Only after she said it did she notice just how she was acting. Shit… What the fuck is happening to me?
Percy just grinned. "If you want to come with me, you're free to, milady." Artemis rolled her eyes, trying to keep up her demeanor and keep the golden blush off of her cheeks.
"I suppose I will. You'll probably need some sort of protection or help." Before she could continue, a shout of indignation came from Percy, the Hunters all snickering, and Artemis gave a small smile. "The Hunt should be fine without me. But first, I have to go talk to the council."
Percy seemed nervous at that prospect for some reason, although Artemis had some idea of why. His ring was clearly powerful, and that sword didn't exactly seem normal. When the thought of the sword came to her mind, she cursed internally. Fuck, I forgot to ask about it. Well, I guess I'll be able to after I see it work again. He spoke before Artemis could flash out. "Could you refrain from mentioning my ring? I doubt they would like it all that much."
Artemis nodded her agreement. "I won't mention it if you want. Though you might want to take it off, they're probably going to want to see you." Percy took it off in acknowledgment. However, inside her mind, she kind of did want to mention it. She knew that Zeus wouldn't be happy about it, but she felt like she needed to know more about it. But on the other hand, she still respected Percy more than most men, if not all of them. He was just the opposite of everything she didn't like about them. It made her nervous, but she couldn't stop herself from being curious. As someone who spent over four millennia in nature, it was just something that was a part of her.
"Alright," Artemis said with a commanding voice. "Hunters, get ready to move once I come back from Olympus." They all immediately went to go begin packing up the camp, ready to begin their next hunt, one which was sure to be a challenge. She walked away from the camp, flashing away to Olympus, and arriving directly in the throne room.
She shot a special arrow into the air, calling the council into session. The gods all flashed in, each of them looking rather confused. After all, the situation had been peaceful for a while after the oracles were released. Zeus spoke first. "Why have you called this council, daughter?"
Artemis looked around at the assembled Olympians, none of whom seemed to be very interested. She internally smiled, this would definitely get their attention. "We have a few… issues, to say the least. Monsters from another universe have arrived on this earth, and they don't dissolve with Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, or any other magic material." Everyone stiffened in their thrones.
Athena was first to respond. "That simply isn't possible. All monsters dissolve." She dismissed the matter with a wave of her hand. Artemis just laughed, and everyone stared at her.
"I have proof, Athena. The man who's been missing for nearly 3 years should be enough." Percy appeared in the room, looking unsurprised.
"I see not much has changed, except for you, Apollo," acknowledging the god separately. Apollo gave him a thumbs up and a smile, while Poseidon got down off his throne and enveloped his son who he long thought may be gone in a hug, tears pooling in his eyes. Artemis watched the exchange with a smile on her face. After they had separated, the god of the sea spoke.
"Percy, why did you not tell me you had left?" He just shrugged.
"I needed time for myself after Annabeth died. Plus, I doubted many of you would care all that much, except for maybe our most recent god-turned mortal-then back again," once more giving a nod to Apollo. Artemis felt a small stab to her emotions as the words came from Percy's mouth. The hall was completely silent.
"Annabeth… is dead?" Athena then asked, tears in her eyes. Percy looked over at her, his own eyes showing no emotion.
"Yes, Lady Athena. I thought you would have kept up with your daughter more." The goddess of wisdom grimaced, the water beginning to fall as she realized her mistake.
"I never thought…" She fought to regain her composure, although she didn't really succeed. Artemis was surprised at the whole interaction and how blunt Percy had been. It wasn't like him. "How did she die?"
"By the hand of those demons that Lady Artemis spoke of earlier, which you so quickly dismissed." He said it scathingly such that Athena looked away. Even Apollo looked down in what seemed like shame, but he knew what it felt like. He could sympathize with Percy, Artemis knew, but Athena could not.
Artemis decided to try to calm him down. "Percy," she spoke in his mind. "Now isn't the time to show open disrespect. Please, for my- your sake." She mentally facepalmed when she slipped up, and Percy gave a small smile, barely perceptible, but enough to let Artemis know he caught her mistake. She was so confused with her behavior, but she told herself she'd put it off for now.
"Anyway, there's a large threat, and the Hunters, Artemis, and I were going to go deal with it. Any problems?" Percy said it almost like a challenge. The council had all shaken their heads, except for Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo.
"This is nearly guaranteed to be dangerous, Percy. How do we know you're going to be safe?" Poseidon asked him bluntly.
He gave his signature smile, a small part of the old Percy that Artemis knew. "I've got one of the best goddesses at fighting by my side, I'll be fine." Apollo looked at his twin then, giving her a small smirk and a wink. She rolled her eyes.
Zeus looked thoughtful for a moment, then raised his master bolt. "All in favor of this motion?" Every hand went up of those who were paying attention, Dionysus was sleeping and Demeter was doing her own thing. "The majority approves. Good luck to you two. We will keep watch on the situation elsewhere." Percy bowed, then teleported out in a blast of mist. The gods then flashed out themselves, leaving Apollo and Artemis.
Apollo looked at her. "If you let him die, you'll have to answer to me. His mother won't be very happy." Artemis gave him a slight smile.
"He'll be fine with me." She then flashed away.
Percy was looking at his sword when Artemis came back to the camp. He sat on a rock, looking at the base of the blade. There, something that no one had noticed yet, resided a shard of a stone, black as night. It was perfect in its dimension, having been forged into the blade by Percy himself. It swirled with a grey-blue color, almost like that of what he imagined an independent soul, not a ghost, would look like. That small shard held power that was so great, it almost burned his hand went he picked it up. No object that Percy had ever held had this much sheer energy within it. The goddess of the moon came over and caught a glimpse of it before he could put it away. Shit.
"What was that in the sword, Percy?" Artemis looked at him with her silver eyes, and Percy gave a sigh that sounded resigned to himself.
"It's the object that gives this sword its power. Absorbing the souls of those it takes the life of. The object does a lot for me, and I probably wouldn't have as much success without it. You see that it glows with this light, right?" Percy took the sword back out and handed it to Artemis, whose eyes widened when it was placed in her hands.
"There's so much energy here… How is this even possible? How did you come across this?" Percy shrugged.
"I found it in a crater near a monster camp. It probably isn't from this world, just like the demons. But anyway, no records I could find ever gave a name to this kind of stone. So I decided to name it myself."
Artemis looked at the shard in awe. "I can see why you'd want to keep this a secret. Any one of the gods with this kind of power would be able to do whatever they wanted. What did you name the shard?" To Percy's surprise, she handed the sword back to him. He gave her a smile.
"I half-expected you to keep it. Thanks for keeping my trust. It certainly hasn't been easy for me to do that recently." Artemis returned the smile.
"You never answered my question. What did you name it?" Percy's smile grew into a grin.
"The Soulstone."