Well, I know I said it would be a rare occurrence, but I couldn't help but upload this on the day of Percy's birthday. Plus I also felt bad leaving a cliffhanger on chapter three and you all would have to wait two weeks until you get another chapter. So, here you guys go! Let me know if you like what you're reading so far! And thank you all for the support! Another thing, I edited the earlier chapters so that Percy is Artemis's husband and not fiancée, just because it wouldn't make sense later on with how I'm planning things out. Anyway, enjoy!
The Olympians sat on their thrones, six of the seven adorning their own as well, a nervous tension in the air as a storm brewed outside. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, lighting up the worried faces of the gods and goddesses. Poseidon was the most worried of them all, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as he tried to quell the seas while his brother, Zeus, tried to do the same to the skies. Each of them concentrated, while the others bickered amongst themselves, trying to figure out what to do. While the Olympians looked desperate to control the situation, the Immortal Heroes, as everyone liked to call them, sat in uncomfortable silence. A certain blonde had red eyes and was looking like she wanted to be anywhere but there. The others gave sneaking glances towards her but didn't say anything.
"Are we any closer to fixing the situation?" Athena asked, drumming her fingers against her armrest. She looked particularly annoyed that her day was being held up by the son of her nemesis. Poseidon continued concentrating while Zeus opened his eyes, lightning flickering inside his irises, his bolt glowing with power. He shook his head.
"No, the best we are able to do is to keep the rain from falling, and the waves from crashing into the shore. However, it's still out there, threatening to wipe out the coastline." Artemis could see her father's face flash with fear, which wasn't an emotion he was known for. Paranoid? Yes. But not true fear. She looked over to Apollo, who was flicking his eyes between the sky and Zeus. Artemis pondered how Perseus had managed to go head-to-head with two of the strongest gods in the Pantheon. She heard a cough, and watched as Ares gave a wicked smile, winking to Aphrodite. Artemis gagged.
"Why don't I go teach the little punk a lesson huh? I'll knock him out and bring him here." Poseidon went to stop him, but Zeus held out a hand, silencing his brother.
"Poseidon, at this point, we don't know how much more we can protect the mortals, I suggest we let him try." Ares grinned, flashing a great sword into both hands, twirling them in circles. Some of the gods paled, the Immortal Heroes included, as they knew Ares had a serious grudge against the boy and would do anything to pick a fight. And with Perseus's emotional state, she wasn't sure if he would be able to go up against the god of war, especially with his powers concentrated on the current natural disasters dancing around the edges of the country. To put it simply, she was worried. She wasn't even sure why he was throwing the country into chaos. The god of war sauntered into the middle of the throne room, like a gladiator about to put on a show. Ares flashed out of the room, likely going towards the epicenter of the storms, which seemed to be in a small beach on the outside of Miami, Florida.
"Iris, show me the area of where Perseus is, in the middle of the storms." The queen of the gods tossed a drachma into the middle of the room, and a shimmer of light appeared. Normally, you'd need a rainbow to display a message, but Iris was able to create a screen through the sheer amount of divine power that was in the throne room at the moment. The screen split into four, much like a sports stadium showing every audience member what was going on. A few gasps were heard as it showed the former demigod, the wind whipping and howling around him, the waves crashing into the sands as he just stood there, his hands balled into fists. He wore a sea green button up shirt with a pair of black slacks and was soaked to the core. It was strange, seeing him dressed up, but it also gave another piece as to why his emotions were running wild. Artemis pieced it together quickly after looking at Annabeth, who was also nicely dressed, a beautiful blue thigh length dress, with matching high heels. Simple makeup adorned her face, and Artemis realized they had been on a date before this.
'They broke up' The goddess raised an eyebrow and felt a small pang in her heart as she scanned over the daughter of Athena. Going deeper than just surface level details, she saw her eyes were puffy and red, stains of black from running eyeliner, and her nervous tick of wringing her hands together showed that she was as distressed as the boy was. Figuring she could talk to her later, she turned her attention back to the iris message. Ares had just appeared in the side of the screen and flourished his weapons with an air of confidence. Perseus turned towards him, his face emotionless and blank, sea green eyes once full of life now a dull teal. Ares, aggravated that his taunts weren't working, circled the boy, hurling insults, goading the boy into drawing his weapon.
"Come on sea scum, you put on a big show, but you're just a punk. You're weak, you can't even create a real storm, this is all just for show!" He spread his hands, daring the boy to strike him down, but Perseus stood still, turning back to the sea. Ares didn't like this, and decided he was going to take the initiative, dragging his great swords behind him as he lunged at Perseus, crossing them as he got closer. Perseus made no effort to move, and Artemis wanted to scream out at him to move, but before she could, Perseus simply dodged to the side. Ares tumbled into the sand, spitting into the ground to his side. "Come on punk, fight back! Where's the Hero of Olympus at? I wanna see him here!" This seemed to get a small reaction out of Perseus, as he turned his head, and Artemis could see the faintest hint of fire behind his eyes. Ares grinned, stepping forward again, before throwing his great sword at the water god, the blade leaving after images because of its speed.
In an instant, Riptide came into his hands, and he parried the blade away, letting it dig into the sand behind him. Artemis stared at Perseus, watching as Ares started his assault, parrying the blades with ease. A voice in the back of her mind told her that something was wrong, that she should stop him. Rain blanketed the beach, causing the Iris message to only show blurry details, but it was enough to show that Perseus was never on the offensive, and instead just batting away Ares's attacks. As he was pushed away again, Ares growled.
"Is this it? You're just a coward, unable to face the enemy in front of you. How did you even manage to kill Gaea? I bet you let everyone else do the work while you just sat back and watched. No wonder all those demigods died." Artemis gripped her armrest, her knuckles turning white as she listened in. From what she could tell, the entire throne room, aside from Zeus and Poseidon who were still concentrating on keeping the mortals safe, felt the same as her. Everyone had stakes in that war, everyone had someone they had lost, hells they all thought Leo had died before he returned on Festus a few months later. Ares seemed to hit a soft spot as the fire brightened behind his eyes. Perseus slammed his wrist, a round shield springing into action as he got into position. The god of war let out a hellish laugh, before continuing his onslaught. However, this time, Are's seemed to be slower, his attacks barely hitting the boy as he was no longer on defense. Perseus blocked a strike aimed for his shoulder, sliding the great sword across his shield as he guided it into the ground. Celestial bronze glimmered as he stabbed forward, causing Ares to jump backwards, a sadistic grin on his face. In seconds, Ares went from testing the waters to a relentless assault. Perseus wasn't overwhelmed however, and fearlessly dealt with the god of wars attacks, and delivering his own. The gods in the throne room struggled to keep up with the speed of the battle, flashes of bronze leaving trails in the air, force of the blows creating shockwaves. However, it still seemed like Perseus wasn't fully there. Ares made another swing towards Perseus, aimed for his midsection. The young god didn't try to deflect it, instead walking into Ares's guard and shoulder checking him, causing the war god to stumble. Seeing an opening, Perseus stabbed forward, burying the blade into Ares shoulder. He let out a loud yell, sending a wave of red energy that slammed into Perseus, sending him backwards.
"Back off Ares." Was all Perseus said, Riptide at his side in a relaxed stance. The immortal's expression was anything but, however. Artemis looked over to the others in the room, studying their expressions. Everyone wore the same face, leaning forward, anxiously awaiting the outcome. Everyone knew about how he defeated Ares when he was thirteen but seeing it in person was a completely different experience. They watched as Ares charged forward again, this time foregoing his second great sword and two handing the other. The power behind his strikes sent thunderous booms across the beach, mimicking the thunder gods signature weapon.
Her inner voice returned, telling her she needed to stop this, a feeling of dread pooling in her stomach. But she couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen. She always wanted to know what Perseus was capable of, and she got the feeling everyone else was too considering they made no move to help either of them. Not many people liked Ares anyway, not even his girlfriend enjoyed his company much anymore.
"I don't even know what that daughter of Athena sees in you. You're just a kid who got lucky, favored by the fates. She needs a true man to make her happy, and here you are, throwing a fit." Everyone knew it was just words, a baseless claim. Annabeth loves Perseus.
'Or at least she did…' Artemis thought, watching the screen. Then she heard two gasps next to her as Zeus and Poseidon broke out of their concentration. They looked at each other, confused.
"Looks like Ares was able to do it…." Zeus said before looking at the screen. However, he had a look of shock as Ares and Perseus were both still standing. The area around them now was deathly calm, the gray clouds simply hovering over the sea, which was as smooth as glass. Artemis felt her hair stand on end; something was deathly wrong.
"We need to stop him, now." Poseidon said in a rare display of anger towards his son. Before anyone could move, they watched as Ares charged towards Perseus, however there were two things different about this lunge. One, was the yell Perseus let out before it happened, and two, well, was the fact that Ares arm had been torn off, suspended in the air.
It was quiet in the room. Even the two fighters stood deathly still. Ares looked at his shoulder, ichor gushing out of the empty socket. Perseus had his left hand out, fingers outstretched towards the god's arm. The annexed appendage dangled there, the great sword dropping from his hand. Perseus then started walking towards the god of war, and for the first time, everyone saw Ares back down, not out of need, but out of pure fear.
"Wait punk, hold on a moment, let's not do anything rash, Zeus will have your head if you hurt me, come on now, I was just kidding!" The god groveled before Perseus, but there was no emotion on his face, just a blank slate that drove the hearts of men still. Ares tripped, landing on the ground, trying to crawl away, but with only one arm he wasn't so successful. As Perseus raised his blade, the voice screamed in the back of her head to stop him, and she realized now it was her own. Glowing silver, she flashed to their location just in time to stop the decisive blow that would've taken Ares head clean off.
Silver clashed against bronze as she just barely managed to stop the blade. His strength was overwhelming, and she understood why now. She saw his eyes glowing with power, the power of his domain flowing through him. Water surrounded him, filled him with energy, and for a moment, she was scared. She didn't want to end up like the bloody mess the god of war behind her was.
"Perseus, you need to stop." She spoke slowly, struggling against the blade that inched towards her. Divine energy flowed through her muscles as she pushed back. "You're hurt, I understand that, but you don't take it out on others. Think of the mortals, think of your mother." He had told her about his mother numerous times, and Artemis knew that she was the reason Perseus turned out the way he did. His strength wavered, and she took the opportunity to push his blade to the side and flipped him over her, slamming him into the ground.
'Sorry Perseus.' She thought, hearing the immortal groan into the sand. The other Olympians soon flashed into the makeshift arena. Poseidon rushed over to his son, looking him over for any injuries. Unconsciously she did as well, seeing that he had multiple cuts and scrapes from Ares bombardment. His shirt was shredded, exposing his body underneath, and also the scars. Gods could be perfect if they decided to, but from the little skin she could see, numerous scars lined his back. It was another curiosity added to her book, which seemed to grow by the day. They flipped him over and she was glad to see the fire in his eyes had died down. He tried to sit up, but suddenly clutched his head.
"What…where am I?" Perseus asked, his eyes flicking around, as if looking for something. Sea green eyes met hers, before they seemed to focus on something behind her. Artemis turned around and was met with blonde curls and stormy grey, matching the current weather. Annabeth wore a face of concern, but buried deep within her expression Artemis could see fear. She looked over to Ares, who was passed out in the sand, Apollo working furiously to reattach his arm and keep him from having to reform. Perseus looked over as well, turning pale as he did so.
"Did I do that?" He asked, but by the tone of his voice he knew the answer. It was cliche for him to start looking at his hands, his eyes tinged with fear, but what was one to do when they committed an atrocity? He looked over to Artemis, then his eyes focused behind her. She turned around and saw the Immortal Heroes, each one with a different expression on their face. Jason looked worried for his friend, and what his father would do to him when this was all over. Piper had a look of concern, walking over to check on his injuries. Perseus seemed to relax at the girls charmspeak while she whispered soothing words. Leo looked sick, his eyes flicking between Ares arm and Perseus. Hazel and Frank weren't looking at Perseus, but instead looking at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena had a variety of expressions on her face. Concern, worry, regret, but most of all, fear. This didn't go unnoticed by Perseus, as he turned away from her, his eyes downcast with shame. Artemis looked over to the gods, and could see Zeus walking over, his master bolt in his hands, crackling with energy.
"I need to have a private conversation with the boy. All of you, leave. Now." His radiant blue eyes glared at each of them. Not wanting to upset the king of the gods, they all took their leave, with Artemis giving one last look at the boy before walking away. With a flash of gold, both Perseus and Zeus disappeared into the air.
Artemis lowered her bow, an anxious chill running through her body. While she may have been the wife of Perseus, she never interacted with Annabeth outside of the solstice meetings. Artemis felt, for lack of a better word, awkward around the girl. Did she have feelings for Perseus? No. Did she care about his previous relationship with Annabeth? Not any more than a friend did, well, ex friend. Was it still weird because she was his wife? Yes. Artemis studied the girl. It was strange to see a goddess tired, but she managed to pull it off expertly, with small bags under her eyes, alongside a slacked posture. Grey eyes met silver as an awkward silence settled over them, the sounds of water lapping against the shore echoing against the rocks.
"Are you okay Lady Artemis? I heard someone crying and I was concerned." The blonde stepped forward, concern in her tired eyes. Artemis nodded her head, wiping away a few stray tears that dripped down her face. She noticed that while Annabeth did show concern, there was also a wariness to her.
"Yes, I am fine, I just got something in my eye." It was a shit lie, and Annabeth knew it. The girl narrowed her eyes, the previous concern now gone, replaced with a wariness like an animal caught in the open.
"What…what are you doing here?" Annabeth asked, walking over to the hammock, placing a bag into the webbed swing before looking back at the goddess. "I thought Percy and I were the only ones who knew about this…" Her voice was tinged with bitterness, and Artemis felt a semblence of unity with the girl.
"Perseus showed me, a few years before he left. I figured if he were to be anywhere in Florida, he would be here." She watched the girl carefully as she sat down on the cloth, pulling out a laptop from the bag and began typing away. Curiosity overcame her awkwardness as she walked over to the girl and looked over her shoulder. Considering she was never around technology in the hunt, she was oblivious to the rudeness of the gesture, but Annabeth seemed to be too focused on what she was doing to notice, or if she did, she didn't care. Peering over her shoulder, she saw black and white videos of people walking, cars driving, and empty lots.
"I've been checking on this cove every day since Zeus ordered you to search for him." Her voice held a tinge of bitterness that didn't go unnoticed by Artemis. And the goddess stared at the girl, a sense of, something, boiled in her chest. Did Annabeth think her incompetent? Did she think she could do better? For a fleeting moment, her previous feelings about Perseus disappeared as she felt the need to place her fist firmly on the girl's face.
"Why are you looking for him? He's my hunt." A possessive feeling washing over her like a cold shower, which in turn snapped her out of it. Artemis blinked, before re-focusing on the goddess in front of her. Annabeth had turned around now, looking at Artemis, gray swirls roaring like storms as she stared at her.
"Why wouldn't I look for him?" She was curt in her response, and her nostrils flared, which shocked Artemis. Last, she had heard, they weren't speaking to each other, which made solstice meetings extremely awkward while he was still here. But now she was here, sleepless and hunting him down like, well, like the goddess of the hunt. Thoughts rushed through her head as Annabeth closed her laptop with a sigh, shoving it in her bag. It was clear the daughter of Athena was annoyed, and Artemis didn't exactly take the rude behavior kindly.
"Because you broke up with him. I'm not versed in love, but aren't exes supposed to hate each other?" Artemis placed her hands on her hips, and Annabeth whirled around to look at Artemis, her hands balled into fists, rage clearly boiling over.
"Aren't wives supposed to love their husbands?" Annabeth quipped back; her voice laced with venom. The goddess took a step back, before her own face flushed with anger.
"He's not my husband, I don't give a damn about him. He could rot in Tartarus for all I care." Recovering from the sudden outburst, Artemis stepped forward, getting up close and personal with the daughter of Athena, silver eyes igniting under the moonlight. Annabeth wasn't fazed at all, in fact, it seemed to only ignite the smoldering tinder in her heart. She looked up at the goddess, just barely restraining herself from planting a dagger through the goddess's heart.
"Then why are you even looking for him? You know you could just ignore Zeus's orders, we all know that you're daddy's favorite." She snarled, "Don't think I don't know what you did to him. We break up and not a year later you two get married? Then, the next winter solstice party you two disappear and don't come back. After that, Percy's gone, nowhere to be found." The girl took a shaky breath. "He's been gone for twenty years Artemis. Twenty. Fucking. Years. At any point you could've looked for him, but you didn't, instead you pranced around with your hunters, relishing in the peace Percy brang, but didn't try to bring him back. So, I ask again." Annabeth took a step forward, her face mere inches away from hers. "Why are you even looking for him?"
Artemis was shocked and confused, the questions sending her in a spiral. Why was she looking for him? As much as she hated to admit it, she could've easily skirted the rules of Zeus's orders by just sending her hunt to find him and screwing around in a random city until they did. But she didn't, she instead went to the city she knew him best in, spent countless nights scouring the streets in search of the man who broke her heart, and even returned to the cove, a flicker of hope that he would be here. She repeated the question to herself, and she suddenly realized the answer. She wanted to find him. After twenty years in the dark, she wanted answers, she wanted closure. Why would he force her to marry him, why would he betray her trust after pouring her heart out over the multiple men who broke it before, why had she thought that he was different than all the other heroes when he was just the same.
"I want to know why he asked for my hand in marriage." Now it was Annabeth's turn to be shocked, looking at Artemis with an expression of distrust.
"You're lying. There's no way he would ever do that, not so soon, not when I…." She trailed off, shaking her head.
"But he did. You want to know what happened between us? I'll tell you what happened." Artemis turned and looked towards the ocean as she gathered her thoughts. "Not long after you two broke up, yes, we did get married. I hated it of course, I was the goddess of maidenhood, the eternally chaste goddess of the moon. I was depressed, angry, frustrated, confused." She pursed her lips, turning back towards the girl, "But, I knew Perseus, or at least, I thought I did. He wasn't like the others; I could trust he wouldn't do anything to me. So, while I was married to him, I could deal with it. He gave me time, and eventually, I got over it." Shrugging her shoulders, Annabeth studied the goddess, her grey eyes soaking up the story. "It was an inconvenience, a stain, but I wasn't forced into his bed, or really anything." But then, Artemis got quiet, remembering that night, the solstice party, the drunk ramblings of Zeus, and the feeling of ice spreading through her veins as he let it slip that Perseus was the one who suggested the idea. "Then I learned it wasn't just some political nonsense, not just Zeus angry about another thing Poseidon did, no…" Her voice was barely a whisper, and the daughter of Athena strained to hear the next part. "He came to Zeus and asked to marry me, to take away my domain of maidenhood."
"Wh-what? Percy would never…." At this Annabeth scrunched up her nose, no longer were her grey eyes clouded with anger, instead now it was confusion.
"I confronted him that night, right here, and he admitted it to me. Didn't even try to lie…" Artemis closed her eyes, breathing slowly to calm herself. "I want closure Annabeth. For him to come up with whatever pathetic excuse he has, and then I can finally end this chapter in my life. To move on." It felt good to say, like a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Annabeth just stood there, her mouth open and closing, unsure of what to say. However, Artemis wouldn't let her speak yet. "But you never answered my own question. Why are you looking for him?" The daughter of Athena stiffened, looking to the side, watching the waves crash against the sand. A little hermit crab walked along the edge, leaving little trails that were washed away seconds later.
"I….I want to see him again. Everyone does. I also figured if I found him before you, I could talk to him, and convince him to come back." Artemis felt another swell inside of her, whether it be anger or something else, she didn't dwell too deep on it. Instead, she huffed, crossing her arms.
"You think he will take you back? You left him to rot girl. You betrayed him, and that isn't something you can just fix with an apology, I would know." Annabeth glared at the goddess, crossing her own arms. Sparks flew between the immortals, a silent showdown illuminated by the burning light of the moon.
"I love him, and I always will. I made a mistake, immortality was a drug, and I was blinded by it, but that doesn't mean I don't love him still." Artemis snorted, rolling her eyes.
"I think asking for an open relationship would be considered more than a mistake, especially with someone like Perseus." The girl flushed, before turning around, heading towards the worn-down path that marked the exit to the cove. Her boots clicked against the stones, mutterings of 'stupid goddess' and 'I'll show her' echoed against the walls. Artemis just rolled her eyes once more, before going over to the waves once again. Now that she had a reason to find him, she felt renewed with energy. The goddess took a deep breath, before walking off into the other direction.
Once again, the goddess sat in the cafe, a cup of steaming hot tea sending wisps of smoke towards the ceiling. Another month had passed, and Artemis had grown manic searching for the missing son of the sea. From the outskirts of the city to the most secluded of beaches, she's seen no sign of him, and frankly, it was starting to piss her off. As she lamented with her head in her hands, she felt a presence move into the booth across from her. Looking up, she saw a pair of red eyes shining in amusement.
"Boy troubles?" The barista asked, her own cup of tea sitting in front of her. She wore a black button up shirt with a pair of black slacks, the typical uniform for the employees of this place. A white rectangular button was pinned to her shirt, with the name 'Penelope' written in perfect cursive. The girl had become quite the companion for Artemis over the past two months. If she wasn't already married Artemis would've absolutely tried to recruit the girl, even though she was mortal.
"You don't know the half of it." Artemis replied, brushing her hair out of her face before taking a sip of her tea, the warm drink calming her. Currently, her cover was that her husband, Perseus, had run away after lying about his intentions behind their marriage. It wasn't the full truth, considering there was the whole immortal aspect, but it wasn't an entire lie either. A small smile formed on Penelope's face as she watched the goddess. Currently she was on break, and since it was around midnight, the chances of a customer walking in were next to none. However, despite this fact, the bell softly chimed as the door opened, letting in a breeze of cool air. The new customer was a beautiful woman with light brown hair that framed a smiling face. She wore a simple floral-patterned blouse with a pair of jeans. Her kaleidoscope eyes scanned the room before settling on the goddess, who's eyes widened. The girl walked over to the booth and slipped in beside Penelope, who looked confused, but didn't make a move against her.
"Hey Arty~" Her voice was as smooth as glass and Artemis glared at the girl. Not for the fact that she didn't want her using the nickname, but she was silently signaling to the girl besides her that she doesn't know her real name.
"Arty?" Penelope tilted her head, curious about the nickname. As far as she knew, the woman in front of her was named Cynthia, so she wasn't sure how she got Arty out of that. Piper's eyes flicked towards Penelope, before her eyes widened in understanding. Sending a discreet thumbs up, she turned to the barista.
"It's nothing, just an old name I used to tease her with when we were young, don't worry about it~" Sickeningly sweet words echoed in the cafe as Piper put her charmspeak to work. Penelope simply nodded; her eyes slightly glazed over from the ability. Seeing that was taken care of, Artemis gave a nod of thanks, taking another sip of her tea.
"What brings you here Piper?" The young goddess in question just rolled her eyes, which in turn, made Artemis groan. "Don't tell me you're looking for him too?" She sighed, putting her head in her hands again as Piper just nodded in affirmation. Now she had to worry about Piper finding him before she did. However, unlike when Annabeth had claimed she was going to find him, it didn't bring out that ugly feeling in her chest. She trusted Piper, much more than Annabeth, so that was probably why. Penelope looked between the two, curiosity twinkling in her eyes.
"You're looking for her husband too? Wow, he must've really pissed you guys off. Wait, are you one of his mistresses?" Artemis spit out her drink, unceremoniously covering both Piper and Penelope, the former absolutely dying of laughter.
"N-no I'm not. Oh my gods, yeah, no, that's funny…." Piper caught her breath, taking a few of the napkins from the dispenser and dabbing herself off, offering a few to the girl next to her. Artemis however was just shocked, and couldn't help but picturing the two together, and that brought back the ugly feeling in her chest. Squashing it instantly, she recovered, realizing she had spat over both of them. Helping clean off the table and the two girls, eventually they returned to their normal selves, spare a few drops of tea here and there. "Yeah, the rest of the seven are all looking for him, we got to the same conclusion you did in that he's somewhere in this city, probably." Returning to the topic at hand, Piper interlaced her fingers together, setting them on the table. Artemis simply groaned.
"So, you don't have any leads then do you?" The fact that this damned water god was able to hide from nearly the entire Olympian pantheon was both impressive and seriously irritating. She didn't feel as bad that she couldn't find him since the others were also struggling, but she was also ready to call it a day and just go literally anywhere else. Drumming her fingers on the table, she was surprised when Piper actually shook her head.
"We do have some…but uhm…" Her eyes flicked back and forth between Penelope and Artemis, the same clue that was given before. Rolling her eyes, Artemis gently prodded Piper's mind, establishing a mental link between the two so that they could talk in private. While doing so, she set herself on autopilot, talking about the mundane with Penelope, settling on the topic of marine biology, which the girl seemed to love.
"What did you find?" Artemis asked, her silver eyes locking with Piper's own.
"It's, complicated. While technically we haven't found anything related to Percy, we've noticed an oddity. I'm sure you've noticed the fact that monster attacks have risen in the city over the past few months?" Artemis nodded. With how many divine beings centered in one city, it was like a bright beacon shining in the night saying, 'Hey come here!' "Well, we've also noticed something else. It's been nothing but sea creatures attacking. No drakons, no hellhouns, no dracanae, not even empousai. There's no way that's just a coincidence, especially considering who we are looking for. So, Leo decided to create a device that can track strong auras of the sea using the drops from these monsters. He said it should be finished by tonight, which is why I came to see you." At this Artemis froze, she'd finally be able to track down the source of her insanity for the past twenty years. Finally, he would answer to her, and she could have her peace, her closure. As she was about to respond, a girl in a silver parka burst into the cafe, the bell breaking the silent nature of the room.
"Lady Artemis, monster, trouble, hunters…" The daughter of Ceres was breathing heavily, a large cut spanning from her shoulder to mid-breast caused blood to soak through her jacket. Artemis immediately got up and brought her to a nearby table, laying her down and tearing the jacket off with a silver knife that appeared in her hands. Piper went over and started calming the girl down so she could produce coherent sentences, while Penelope hopped behind the bar and grabbed the first aid kit. Eventually, Piper got the girl calmed down enough to explain what was going on.
"We were doing our rounds, and out of nowhere, tentacles started grabbing girls and throwing them around. Spikes shot out of the water, Thalia and Phoebe called it Cetus. I was told to get to you as fast as I could." Artemis grit her teeth, sending her powers out to find where her hunters were. Luckily they were fighting on a beach a mile East of the shop. Materializing a bow, ignoring the fact that there was a mortal here, she looked over to Piper.
"I need you to set up this place as an emergency medical center." Piper nodded as she started moving tables together, clearing away the different condiments and trinkets that were placed on them. Artemis then turned to Penelope, "I'm sorry, but I really need help, my friends are in trouble. I'm going to send them here; Piper will help guide you along. Can I trust you?" The girl, who paled a bit at the sight of the girls wound, nodded. The goddess gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, before dashing out of the store, morphing into a bird and soared towards her endangered girls.
As she soared through the night sky, she could faintly hear the sounds of battle echoing against the concrete buildings. Sounds of arrows clanging against armor, Thalia yelling out orders, and bolts of lightning flashing against the night sky. Artemis could just barely make out the monster against the inky black waters, and she paled, well, if hawks could even pale. Thirty or more tentacles thrashed about, sending sand and bodies across the beach. In the middle, there was a large humanoid body, standing about twenty feet tall, with the head of a boar and tusks as long as semi-trucks. Piercing yellow eyes burned like roaring bonfires as they scanned the beach for his enemies. Artemis flew high into the sky, before diving down, letting gravity pull her until she couldn't hear anything but the rushing wind past her body. As she neared the head of the creature, she morphed into a bear, slamming into the beast's head, causing it to stagger greatly, flailing about in the ocean.
"Lady Artemis!" The daughter of Zeus said, raising her spear as the hunters cheered her name. Vaulting off the beast's head, she morphed back into her human form as she assessed the situation. By a stroke of luck, no one had been killed by the beast, but many of them looked like they had been through Tartarus and back.
"Atalanta, escort those injured to the coffee shop on Shoreline Street, Thalia, Phoebe, you will be my frontline, Reyna and Maya, keep the tentacles as busy as possible. And Hailey, stay in the back and call out any attacks we can't see, use your bow to attack any weak spots you find." Artemis pointed at the different hunters, immediately going into leader mode. She only had five hunters with her, as the rest of them were too injured to fight. Turning back to the beast, it managed to recover from a bear to the face, roaring as it started slamming its tentacles down again. The hunters got to work, acting out the plan their leader gave them. Thalia slammed her shield into Cetus, charging up her spear with electricity before jumping high into the air, slashing across the beast's chest. Phoebe didn't let it recover as she used her own weapon, a great sword, and started hacking away at its front tentacles, in response it let out another guttural roar that pierced the eardrums of those nearby.
"Bubble bombs, coming up on the frontline, watch out!" The daughter of Athena called out, shooting an arrow high into the air. Slowly, the missile arced downwards, before slamming into a tentacle that was about to hit Reyna. The former praetor gave a nod of thanks before slashing away another appendage, black blood gushing from the severed limb. Giant water bubbles slammed in front of the beast, driving Phoebe and Thalia back, but thanks to the earlier warning they came out unharmed. Maya, a speedy daughter of Athena dashed between the tentacles, the beast getting frustrated like a person would get if they couldn't catch an annoying fly. She sped through the battle, using a small dagger to cause minor cuts along the beast. She stuttered to a stop however as a tentacle blocked her path, with another one coming up behind her. This didn't impede her plan as she simply jumped over the blockage, letting the other tentacle slam into its brother.
"Friendly fire!" The girl screamed, letting out a rather scary laugh, continuing to be a silver blur in the battle. As the hunters dealt with the tentacles, Artemis was using her powers to keep the head distracted. Shifting from birds to mammals, using the force of gravity to her advantage, she was a beautiful sight to behold. Morphing into a tiger, she clawed the beasts' eyes and jumped backwards, transforming back into a human and launching a volley of arrows. Transforming back into a bird, she circled the beast as it tried unsuccessfully to swat her out of the air. Now that their goddess was here, they were much more composed, and the fight wasn't nearly as hard. Plus, they were no longer caught by surprise, which helped them immensely. Artemis landed on the ground next to Phoebe and Thalia, both of which were too preoccupied with their fight to notice her. Snapping her fingers, silver daggers spun into existence, fitting perfectly into her palms. Joining the two frontliners, she became a whirlwind of silver, flashes of metal creating a dazzling light show as the sea monster was pushed back into the water. For a moment, it seemed like they were going to win without much issue, however the Fates were never that kind. The beast let out an ear-piercing screech which dazed the huntresses, causing them to be launched backwards by the tentacles. While recovering, Artemis was slammed into the ground, a sickening crunch could be heard from her leg as she screamed out in pain.
"Lady Artemis!" Maya yelled, speeding off to try to ferry her away from the battle. Unfortunately, Cetus had managed to recognize her pattern, and predicted where she would go. Using its hands, it swatted her away, knocking her out as her body skipped along the sand. Hailey aimed an arrow to try to blind the beast before it could cause any more damage, but something in the air changed. The ocean started to glow as multiple pillars of water jetted out and slammed into the beach, blocking the hunters from their patron. Artemis tried her best to crawl away, but her broken leg impeded any kind of movement. Grabbing the goddess, Cetus picked her up, prepared to deliver the final blow. Artemis tried her best to struggle out of the beast's grasp, but her divine power was directed towards healing her leg, which meant she was unable to break free. For a split second, her silver eyes flickered in fear, her mind resigning itself to its fate.
"Lady Artemis…" The world went quiet as his voice whispered in her mind, a sudden rush of energy filling her body. Static slowly crept its way into her mind as she was filled with a renewed vigor. Her silver aura flashed brilliantly as she burst forth from the beasts' hands, her silver daggers reforming in her hands.
"I hope…..well….." Static burned through her mind as she dodged a water blast, her leg aching in pain. Somehow, whatever he sacrificed this day amplified everything. She could see the individual scales on the beast's skin, hear the rising heartbeats of the hunters behind her as the treated the wounded, and she could feel the individual grains of sand beneath her feet. Using her one good leg, she kicked off, plunging the daggers into its skin, scaling the beast as it tried desperately to buck her off.
"Today…." More meaningless garble, more power, and more static blurred her mind as she got to the top of Cetus's head, just barely hanging on, her body divided between screaming at her to stop and empowering her to keep going. Letting out a yell of defiance, she drove the daggers into the beast's skull, releasing bursts of divine energy through the blades, causing them to explode with energy. Cetus let out one last roar, before dissolving into dust, causing the goddes to plummet towards the beach, energy still coursing through her body.
"I…L…..Lady Artemis." Was the last thing she heard as she hurtled towards the sand. Taking a breath, she turned in midair, using her arms and one good leg to angle herself so that she could easily roll into the sand. Tucking her head in and curling her arms inwards, she landed in the sand with a dust cloud covering the area. The hunters had mostly recovered by now, and they waited with bated breaths. As the dust settled, they saw a silver glow as their goddess stood up, her leg almost fully healed, her fiery red hair nearly glowing in the night air. If it weren't for the fact that she walked with the slightest limp and ichor staining her clothes, they never would've guessed she even got hurt.
"Thalia! Lady Artemis!" A male's voice echoed across the beach, and they all turned towards it, some glaring, some cautious, but one was surprised. Thalia walked over to the voice, revealing a blonde man wearing a celestial bronze spear in one hand and a sword in the other. Dressed in simple battle regalia, he emitted an aura of authority and leadership. The winds seemed to warp around him, aiding his stride as he hugged the daughter of Zeus.
"Jason, hey, ow, I'm still hurt dumbass." Thalia simply smiled, returning the hug as he stepped back, a flush of gold coloring his cheeks. Following Jason was another blonde, however this one wore a silver parka, blue jeans, and combat boots. The daughter of Apollo immediately rushed to her companion's aid, producing a first aid kit seemingly out of nowhere. As Artemis limped over to the hunt, she scanned over her girls, sighing in relief that none of them were gravely injured. It looks like the greatest injury this battle was her previously broken leg. Looking down, a rush of emotions flooded through her. Surprisingly, the first one was gratitude, as much as she hated to admit it, Perseus had saved her life. The second emotion came immediately after the first, which was anger. She hated the fact that he had saved her, she didn't need protection from anyone, especially him.
"I heard from Piper that you all were fighting Cetus, but…." He looked over to the pile of shimmering monster dust, a few scales laying in the sand as the spoils of war. Artemis followed his gaze, with a few thoughts running through her mind. Last time she fought Cetus was two centuries ago, and while sure they had more numbers then, he wasn't nearly as strong before. The attack he did, that stunned them all, it gave off a strange feeling of dread that Artemis couldn't shake off. Something was happening and combined with her frustration of being in this damned state for two months, she was about to drag Poseidon down here himself to explain to her what was going on.
"We have it handled; we don't need your help boy." She glared at him, and with her silver aura still lighting the place up, the god flinched away, going to help Atalanta with the other huntresses. Thalia walked over to Artemis, her electric blue eyes flicking down to her leg, an expression of concern and shock written on her face.
"Are you alright? I could've sworn before I was blown away, I saw the monster crush you with its tentacle." Artemis simply leaned against the appendage, seeing how much it had healed. Jolts of pain shot through her body as she stumbled, with Thalia rushing forward and supporting her half-sister. She uttered a small 'thanks' before steadying herself again.
"It did, but your little cousin had impeccable timing." The goddess hissed, and Thalia raised an eyebrow before realizing she meant Perseus. Electricity arced between her fingertips, clearly agitated at the fact they still haven't found him. Artemis sighed, looking behind the girl to see Jason walking up, a serious look etched into his face.
"The hunters are alright, more or less, but we should go back to the cafe. Lord Apollo is there, and so is the rest of the seven. We could use those spoils from Cetus to finish tuning the device to track Percy." He waved his hand, motioning at the scales, his eyes locking with Artemis, asking for permission. She nodded, having no current use for them anyway, and if it helped her find her bastard of a husband, then so be it. The huntresses all walked over to Artemis, freshly bandaged and ready for orders. She nodded to them, before leading them towards the cafe.
Inside the small shop, tables were joined together to form makeshift operating surfaces, with the god of healing himself donning a surgical mask and gloves. Beside him was a tall, buff, Asian-American man who wore a pair of cargo pants and a leather jacket, and next to him was a short and composed dark skinned woman who wore a dark brown blouse with navy blue jeans. Fiddling with a mechanical device on one of the booths was a certain son of Hephaestus, with a daughter of Athena giving him tips and pointers as he worked. Piper was nowhere to be seen, same with Penelope, which wasn't too out of place, considering she was probably trying to charmspeak the girl into thinking this was all some kind of weird dream. As they all worked, Apollo was happily playing doctor as he asked for his medical tools, Frank and Hazel both assisting him as he did so. With a soft clink, the bell signalling the arrival of the goddess and her companions chimed, the former now able to walk rather easily and, aside from a faint scar, fully healed. It was incredible how quickly her body mended itself, and even with the fact that she was a goddess, broken limbs should take at least a few hours to heal, at the most a few days depending on the severity of the injury. Apollo looked up at the door, seeing the dried ichor stains and scar, furrowed his brow in worry, which turned into confusion when he saw her silver glow and rather healthy complexion. Quickly patching up his current patient, he walked over to her, discarding the used gloves in a nearby trashcan.
"Are you okay Artemis?" He asked, maneuvering his body to scan her for any open wounds, getting more and more confused as he saw none. Artemis waved him off, gesturing towards the non divine beings who actually needed help while she went to a nearby sink and started cleaning herself off. Sure she could do it with a snap of her fingers, but it gave her time to mull over the thoughts in her head. The sun god wanted to ask some more questions, but decided to wait until they were alone. He started on a triage with the remaining hunters, luckily not needing to do much thanks to his daughter.
"Leo, catch." Jason threw a bag of scales towards the mechanic, who opened it and smiled maniacally. Beginning to deconstruct the scales, the machine started whirring and buzzing as it calibrated to the new materials. Annabeth pulled out her laptop and started rapid firing lines of code, the soft clicks and small whimpers of 'ow' from the injured hunters filling the room. Artemis watched the gods go to work, feeling oddly out of place as she dabbed a wet cloth to her skin, she instead dwelled on the recent events. Cetus reforming and coming here, alongside the surge of sea monsters, well, it was disturbing at the least. Unfortunately in the Greek world, coincidences didn't exist, and everything happened for a reason. There was also the prayer he sent her that ultimately saved her and quite possibly the hunters. A thought ran through her mind, that maybe she was watching her, which made her unreasonably angry. If he could see her, he should just show himself already, so that this damned manhunt could end and she could go back to the way things were.
'The way things were…' She froze, what would that imply? Does that mean they would go back to before the fight? Of course not, she could never forgive him for what he did. But, does that mean just ignoring him whenever he comes around? No. She wouldn't hide from him, instead she would chase him off. While it would be cruel of her to prevent her hunters from seeing him, she could damn well prevent him from stepping foot in her camp again. Satisfied with her answer, she tossed her damp napkin towards the trashcan. Unfortunately a loud buzzing noise threw her aim off and it landed a few inches away. Glaring at the source, she saw the device that was meant to track Perseus, a little satellite dish spinning in rapid circles, the loud screeching noise repeating every few seconds. It eerily reminded her of the static she would hear whenever she would hear him.
"What in the hells…" Leo smacked the machine a few more times, wondering why it was going off. "For some reason after calibration, this thing is refusing to turn off, must be a sensor issue. Hold on let me resta-" He was interrupted by a loud bang as the back door was thrown open, a panicked goddess looking around the room. She was talking to herself, pacing back and forth as all eyes settled on her. Artemis stood up, being closer to her than Jason was, and grabbed her shoulders, locking their eyes together.
"Piper, what's the matter?" The goddess lightly shook her, wondering if maybe she was under a spell. Kaleidoscope eyes darted around the room, unable to focus on Artemis in front of her. She kept mumbling something about eyes, and Artemis decided to do something drastic. She slapped her. Jason and the others immediately protested, walking towards the goddess of the hunt, but Apollo raised a hand, sending a warning look towards them. The slap seemed to do the trick however, as Piper's eyes settled on silver, her pupils dialing in, focusing on the present. She took a deep breath before she spoke.
"Thank you Arty….I just, wasn't really sure what to say." Artemis let go of the girl, nodding. She remembered when Piper did the same to her, so she figured she'd return the favor.
"First of all, what's wrong?" Piper ran a hand through her hair, the buzzing noise of the device still going off, distracting her for a moment. Artemis could see hints of dread in her expression and furrowed her eyebrows. As she was the goddess of positive emotions, it was hard to rile the girl up, but it seemed like she had seen a ghost with how she was acting.
"Well, Apollo and I decided it was best to send Penelope to the back, you know, for me to help manipulate her so that she would forget all of this." Artemis nodded, looking over to Apollo who confirmed her actions. "Well, I thought the best way would be to make her think she went to sleep. It was easy, she started immediately getting ready for bed. And well, when you go to bed, you're not supposed to wear your contacts, so I helped her with them and…" At this, the door opened again, the girl in question rubbing her eyes. Her raven black hair no longer tied up in a ponytail, instead messily framing her face.
"Can someone shut off the alarm? I'm not supposed to be up until six, and it's midnight last I checked…." Her sleepy voice echoed through the room as her hands dropped to her side, a frown on her face, clearly unhappy. However, no one heard the words coming out of her mouth. Instead they focused on her face, specifically her eyes. They were like two emeralds placed in marble, the beautiful sea green glinting in the dim light of fluorescent bulbs. The same color she had come to trust, only to be betrayed in the end. The same color that kept her up for nights on end, an endless amount of emotions rolling through the spectrums of greens. At first, the ugly feeling returned. She remembered the girl was twenty years old, and the dates matched up. But she could also sense it, now that her cover was blown, she could smell the sea on her, and realized that no, it wasn't Perseus's child. But it was a child of the sea, a specific uncle of hers who she thought wouldn't be having a kid anytime soon. Who probably knew that Perseus wasn't here. Anger wasn't the correct word to describe her current emotions. Hell's, not even enraged could describe it, instead she felt nothing but cold fury.
"Guys?" Penelope asked, and she seemed more awake now. With the color of her eyes and the device still going haywire, everyone was in full blown shock. Their wild goose chase was over, and it led them straight to Penelope, the daughter of Poseidon.