Chapter Ten
Artemis checked to see if Isaiah was back early three times before she found Zoë standing in her path as she went a fourth time. The goddess never took time to appreciate the new glow that came with the revived daughter of Atlas. There was a dark silver aura around Zoë that made all of her features that much more prominent. Artemis didn't remember her former lieutenant's hair being that long and luscious, her pupils holding literal volcanoes, or even the woman being as voluptuous as she is now.
Especially since Zoë had changed into a pair of gray leggings with a white sports bra to go with it. It was a comfortable and effortless outfit but it looked stunning on the assassin. Before she knew it, the goddess was very openly checking out her former lieutenant and the girl receiving the attention felt odd, not uncomfortable per se, but odd. Regardless of the reasoning behind her old mistress looking at her like that, Zoë cleared her throat.
"Umm, you've kinda been pacing from your room to Isaiah's. Is whatever you need to talk to him about that important? I can call him back right now if there's an emergency-"
"No! I mean it's not an emergency, I just had a few questions for him. But I also wanted to talk more with you, a chance to catch up after all this time."
"Well, he still isn't here so we can go back to my room if you want…"
Artemis found herself nervous about being caught scanning Zoë's assets, so she was more than happy to go somewhere else. They walked down the hall to the assassin's room and found it across from Bianca, one person the goddess was rather nervous to talk to. Right after adding her to the hunt, she gets captured and the young maiden is sent on a quest to save her, leading to the newest hunter's death.
Zoë led Artemis into her room which turned out to be an entire apartment. There was a living room that was connected to a kitchen, and a hallway that led to more rooms, and it was well furnished. The female assassin noticed Artemis' surprised look and answered her unasked question, "I always wondered what it would be like to live a normal life in the modern mortal world. Isaiah and I came here a few millennia ago and we walked around New York trying to find the optimal place to live according to common city folk. This was the best apartment we found, but the landlord was being an asshole about rules and regulations to follow because Isaiah looks like a troublemaker. Then the idiot goes and says that he wasn't even gonna live there even though we got a tour because we applied as a couple. I had to knock the idiot male out and Isaiah literally stole the entire apartment and put it here for me to live in."
Artemis liked the sound of "idiot male" coming out of Zoë's mouth after all these years but didn't like the reminder of how close she and the male assassin were. She was led to the large couch in the living room and the two sat down. Zoë had been wearing sandals and kicked them off, sending them somewhere under the coffee table, prompting Artemis to take off her boots and neatly set them next to her feet. As they lounged there, the goddess had to admit that the thought of mortal life was slightly intriguing.
She could imagine coming home from a nine-to-five job and sitting down to rest on the couch just like was now. Then Percy came in from his job to see her lying there, sore and tired from work. He walks over to her and kisses her before sitting next to her and swinging her legs over his lap. Her husband proceeds to massage her stiff feet while asking her about her day with nothing but love and care in his sea-green eyes.
Artemis couldn't help but allow her eyes to water at her daydream of something that looked so amazing, yet impossible. Zoë must've been on a similar wavelength, "I think when I got it, I tried to imagine a life where I'm not constantly fighting for my life or others. Having jobs, friends that I could have fun with, maybe a guy to spend my life with…"
At the last sentence, the goddess stiffened. She felt a little miffed that her former lieutenant mentioned friends to have fun with as if they didn't used to be friends and have fun hunting together. Then she mentioned a guy and the maiden within got angry that a hunter would even think like that. But Artemis also thought of having a guy to be with, she had no right to chastise her friend.
She was hesitant to venture into the subject but had to know, "Is the guy in mind Isaiah by any chance?" Zoë froze and the volcanoes in her eyes suddenly stopped erupting as her face fell.
"Once upon a time, maybe. Now it's impossible. Even worse, I'll likely be alone for the rest of my existence because of my blunders." The former hunter sunk further into the couch with each sentence as if each one was a metaphorical boulder.
The goddess wanted to find joy in knowing that the assassin didn't hold Zoë's heart but the despair on her best friend's face hurt too much to see. She shuffled closer to Zoë and grabbed the woman's hand in support, to the honest surprise of said woman. The master assassin assumed her former mistress wouldn't wish to hear about her love life, but now found the strength to talk about her issues for the first time in millennia.
"I can't express how happy I am to see you and be able to confide in you as I did thousands of years ago. I've made friends and family out of the army and assassins but no one that I trust as much as you. While I'm sure that you are curious about my life after you put me in the stars, are you okay with me venting as well?" Zoë didn't want to influence the goddess' decision but admittedly sounded desperate at the end.
"Of course my friend. I missed you dearly and will always be willing to listen to you. I've also missed our many talks." Artemis turned her body towards her former lieutenant to provide her full attention.
(Warning, a lot of dialogue is about to happen. It will be Zoë speaking primarily in longer spiels.)
Zoë took a deep breath and decided to begin with her leader retrieving her from Ouranos' Realm. "Isaiah's original objective was to check on the primordial and ensure that he and his realm were secure. I was bored out of my mind and annoyed that we couldn't cause harm to anyone up there because they wouldn't feel the pain, our physical states were similar to that of spirits. Several guys up there, including the original Orion, kept trying to hit on me and promised that if I gave them a chance, they would ask Ouranos to make us tangible for a day so we could 'consummate' our new relationship."
"I truly regret putting him in the sky, especially since Gaia was able to take the darkest part of his spirit and revive him into the giant we fought in the Second Giant War." Artemis almost spat at her foolish actions.
"The asshole was the most determined to get with me because we were 'both' hunters but I had to tell him off again and again. Even if we couldn't touch or affect each other, we could touch ourselves and look at each other. Imagine how angry I was whenever he would satiate his lust by masturbating while staring at me. His biggest mistake was doing it when Isaiah made his visit. After speaking to Ouranos, he used his mechanical wings to fly around the realm and overlook everything. He noticed me trying to get away from Orion's leering and got surprisingly angry at the situation. Orion finally caught me at the edge of the realm that leads to limbo and smiled as he could finally finish what he started. Suddenly Isaiah drops from the sky in front of me, blocking Orion's sight. The mechanical wings disappeared and I was able to see the outline of a random, tangible man in front of me and didn't know whether to be happy that he was stopping the disgusting male or to be wary of his intentions after he dealt with Orion." Zoë clenched her fists as she remembered her life before becoming an assassin.
"Why couldn't Ouranos do anything to stop it from happening?"
"He can only intervene when someone is threatening the safety of others by communicating with anyone that wasn't already in the realm. Orion wasn't bothering anyone but me so the situation didn't concern him. Isaiah, however, felt the need to protect anyone who was helpless in a situation so he helped me. Orion saw the random person in front of him and seemed embarrassed to have his dick out in front of the guy, but looked at him annoyed as if waiting for him to move. Some people have come to the realm to retrieve others but no one could touch them because they were spirits so Orion wasn't too worried about some random guy. What he didn't expect was for that guy to summon a blade and slice his head off in one fluid movement! He proceeded to catch the falling head and let the body, still clutching himself, hit the floor. Orion screamed, then realized that he was still alive and looked at Isaiah confused and nervous about whatever was going on. This new guy had just gained a thousand points in my eyes as he turned to me with the severed head in hand and held it up so that it was facing me. He squeezed the hair on top causing the repulsive male to scream in pain and said, 'Apologize. Now.'"
"He killed Orion and forced him to apologize? He must not be that bad then…" The goddess didn't want to admit it, but she was glad that the assassin showed up that day to save her best friend. No one should be subjected to an eternity with scum.
"My thoughts exactly! After forcing Orion to apologize, he dramatically condemned his spirit to the Void, which also caused him to become weaker on Earth, making it easier for Reyna to defeat him. I actually smiled at a male for the first time since Percy Jackson and he looked at me blankly. His eyes opened really wide suddenly and brought up his arm to type something in. It confirmed whatever suspicions he had and he smiled brightly at me before grabbing my arm and teleporting us to Lady Chaos. Ever since then, I've been a Chaotic Assassin and I owe it to him."
"It sounds like Lady Chaos already wanted to recruit you? And is that the only reason you're loyal to him?" Artemis found herself intrigued with any insight she could get into Zoë's life.
"Lady Chaos wasn't specifically looking to recruit me per se. She merely had me on a watchlist and was waiting to see what happened to Percy on Earth. If his talents had been wasted on Earth, she would have recruited him using me and some of his other friends who died over the years. Because Isaiah brought me back before she was ready for me, she entrusted me to him. In other words, find something for her to do until I need her."
"That seems a little harsh…"
"Lady Chaos is really cool for the creator of the universe but I did, however, feel a way about her reviving me and turning me into a Chaotic Warrior, then dismissing me right after. Isaiah brought me back to his ship and showed me this room to settle in before coming to meet him and his right-hand assassin in training. I left the room and noticed that the other rooms held blank doors while mine and the one across from it had names on them. I looked at the other and it said, Bianca Di' Angelo! I all but ran to the control center to see Isaiah and the new hunter I got killed talking. I ran up and hugged Bianca because I felt so bad about taking her on a quest she wasn't ready for and was elated to see her alive. Thank Chaos she forgave me before she even joined Isaiah, I was so scared that she would push me away or something."
"Honestly, I'm nervous to talk to her on one because I might get a reaction like that. It's not fair that I have her join, then right after getting her killed by being captured…"
"Bianca isn't that type of person. None of us really got a chance to properly get to know her but now I know that. She was proud that she saved Percy's life, who later saved the world, even if it was at the cost of her own. Before I could try to apologize, Isaiah interrupted by touching my head with a glowing finger and all the information about becoming an assassin versus a soldier flew into my head. After properly processing it all, I knew that I wanted to be an assassin, working from the shadows and dealing with small groups rather than armies." Zoë seemed to be looking at this memory with a smile, as it was the start of her new life.
"Isn't being an assassin just naturally better? You, Bianca, and Isaiah all seem so powerful compared to the energy I felt from Percy's captains."
"The Army cannot protect the universe without the Assassins and vice versa. Wars are won not only by the soldiers and commanders but also by the spies hidden within enemy lines or people to take out key players that may deal large blows to the soldiers. Soldiers are important because they are meant to go in head first with the main objective of taking out as many enemies as they can while working in units of one hundred or more. As an assassin, I can drop into a room, take on ten to twenty enemies, and walk out unscathed without the people outside the room knowing what happened. On the battlefield, however, I would have to rely heavily on my powers to focus on bigger groups of enemies and that's just too difficult compared to the ways that I was used to being trained. Soldiers, however, aren't meant to be quiet, they are meant to draw attention and do everything in their power to take out waves and waves of enemies."
"Is that why Percy's captains are going to train the campers? To take out a lot of monsters?"
"Yes, except their training is special and difficult. It's easier for Chaotic Warriors to train in either way they choose because they get Lady Chaos' blessing when they decide to become one or the other. The assassin blessing is similar to yours in that it gives us enhanced agility, speed, and strength. In addition to that, our movements are naturally almost silent, we automatically plan out how to handle situations efficiently and without drawing attention, and have enhanced vision that can detect movements through thin walls. The soldier's blessing comes with enhanced strength, almost infinite stamina, the ability to wield large and heavy weapons with ease, natural battle sense, and the ability to use their powers to affect large areas while still using natural skills. That also comes with five lives that are taken each time one dies and has to reform. Assassins only get three lives." Zoë knew that the information that Artemis and the Hunt received covered the strange immortality everyone had, but clarified the difference between the two groups.
"So they literally have to work hand in hand in order to be successful?"
"Exactly. The only problem is that the army is still getting used to the thought of Percy being their commander and not threatening them or beating them into submission. That's why you saw him snapping like that in the throne room because he's tired of that being the case. The soldiers that he has on call to come to the planet are in his command building and are all fully loyal to him because he won them over through his signs of strong battle strategy and prowess. Once he can work out the kinks with the rest of them, he and Isaiah can lead their warriors to properly protect the universe."
"I'm guessing you've had a good enough experience to be named the Master Assassin." Artemis learned enough about the army and wanted to delve back into her friend's story.
"Yes milady, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Every hardship that I faced in life was worth it if it meant I ended up here after everything. I just wish my feelings didn't get in the way. Sometimes I wonder if it all happened because I spent so long swearing off love, or if it happened because I should have continued swearing off love."
"I'm sure you know of my first experience with love... What happened with yours?"
Zoë stiffened but took a deep breath. "Isaiah and I used to be in a relationship. A real, wonderful one with some of my favorite memories in my long life that I will cherish forever. I truly believed that I was in love with him and that we would be together forever… until Percy showed up." Artemis' eyes widened at the last sentence before narrowing as she looked at her former huntress.
"What happened when Percy joined the army?" The goddess felt nervous about the possible reasons why Percy's presence ruined Zoë's relationship.
"You have to see it from my perspective milady. Percy was the first example of a man who broke all the rules of being a disgusting male that permeated the Earth. On the quest that I died on, I admired every sign that he was different, and even I had to admit that the boy was handsome. Lady Chaos summoned me when she revived him, and his face lit up as if I was the greatest sight he'd ever seen. I watched him rise in the ranks so quickly, and then become commander in record time. The longer Percy was around, the more I felt gravitated to him instead of Isaiah in my free time. These things all told me that I was attracted to him but I didn't want to be like all the males we condemned so I ignored it. I refused to be unfaithful to a man who showed me true love and loyalty for thousands of years."
Artemis had too much to process at once. Not only did Zoë engage in romance with a male, she felt for another during the relationship. Not just anyone but Percy Jackson himself! Her Percy! The goddess somehow managed to gesture for the master assassin to continue if only to finish the story.
"Unfortunately Isaiah picked up on it, as any good assassin should, and decided to confirm it for himself. He found a unique situation on planet Td-02 that required an undercover assassin and someone to go in as a cleanup crew after the mission was complete and sent me and Percy on it. Long story short, the hero ended up having to save me because Isaiah purposefully tipped off one of the men in power and they sent too many people after me for me to handle without using my powers that were concealed to keep my cover. Percy saved me and I couldn't handle the rush of emotions that came with the rescue. I had feelings for him that slowly intensified as time went on and to see him protect me was too much at the moment. I practically jumped his bones and started kissing him. Over the millennia, Isaiah and Percy had truly bonded as brothers so he angrily pushed me off of him and opened a portal for me to go back to Chaotica while he stayed to finish the mission."
By the end of her admission, Zoë had tears in her eyes. If there was one moment she could change in her entire existence, it was this. She could still see the anger and disappointment in Percy's eyes as they frosted over even more than usual. Artemis on the other hand was stuck between feeling pity and anger for her former lieutenant. The woman not only had feelings for the same man as the goddess but had also acted on those feelings. She could almost care less about the scorned man who was hurt but was surprised that Zoë would cheat on her lover. Without realizing it, Artemis had leaned away from the female assassin, hurting the woman immensely.
Zoë decided to finish the story before dismissing the goddess. "That portal led me straight to Isaiah who was chilling in his room, flicking through mission reports as they came in. I didn't expect to have to face the repercussions of my actions so quickly and froze when I saw him there. He spun around with a blank look, then smiled when he saw me and tried to hug me, but I couldn't hug him back without feeling bad that I betrayed him. I don't want to delve into that conversation yet, but in the end, we broke up because I basically proved that he was the second best thing to the guy I wanted the whole time, Percy Jackson."
"Does Percy know why you kissed him?"
"No, that's the problem. To him, I used him to ruin my relationship with his brother and since then he has been strictly professional with me." Zoë noticed that the goddess seemed almost relieved to hear that but didn't want to dwell on that motion. She instead focused on calming her emotions, or else she would shut down in her room for a week as she did whenever she remembered the pain she caused one of the most important people in her life.
Artemis cooled her reaction to Zoë falling for the same man as her given that they also both squandered their chances to be with him. She surprised the master assassin by relaying her own experiences with Percy. The goddess told her former huntress the events that led up to their hero's death but added how certain events made her feel. Like how happy she was that Percy got her a new recruit and the respectful and thoughtful way that he did it. Like how embarrassed she was when that mortal assumed they were together and had a child, but surprised at how much that idea intrigued her. That was the first time she not only thought of a man in a romantic way but also imagined a future with him. That and the hunters basically teasing them into being in a relationship and the spectacle they put on in Camp Half-Blood and how it all culminated in the night they kissed and engaged in intercrural sex.
Zoë was pleasantly surprised to hear Artemis' side of the story and couldn't help but feel for the goddess because one stupid moment resulted in her first chance at true love falling apart. It was nice for them to sit together and confide in each other the way they used to. They could gotten into an argument about being in love with the same man, but their millennia of friendship couldn't be broken over something such as romance.
"I'm honestly surprised that Isaiah still kept you at his side after everything that happened. I would expect a scorned male to hate and push away the woman." Artemis couldn't wrap her head around the closeness she's seen between Zoë and Isaiah given the way that their relationship ended.
"He's a good man milady. If I didn't truly love him, then I almost did at one point. For his sake, I wish I could care about him as much as I do Percy."
Suddenly Isaiah appeared in the room. "Sorry to interrupt but we have an emergency to handle. Silena has brought it to my attention that one of the hunters isn't who we think they are."
Line Break
Percy and Isaiah stood outside of the house of Sally and Paul Blofis as the former fidgeted while looking at the doorbell and the latter glared at him for taking so long.
"Are you gonna ring the bell or not?" The assassin couldn't comprehend his brother's reluctance to see his family.
"My sister is almost four! That's the age when they can walk and talk, but also don't like meeting new people! What if she doesn't like me?"
"You'll never know how she feels about you if you don't open the fucking door!"
"No cursing in front of my family idiot!"
"No name-calling in front of your sister then!"
"No-"
The two boys were interrupted by the door opening abruptly. They turned to it while straightening up, expecting to see Sally glaring at them for arguing again but instead, Khione, the snow goddess, opened the door. They were taken aback by the sight of the goddess in a maid uniform that looked really sexy on her. "I thought I heard you two out here. Do you want to come inside while I alert Mrs. Blofis of your presence?"
The boys walked in and walked into the living room to wait for Sally and Paul. Isaiah's eyes followed the goddess as she walked further into the house. "Woah bro, I didn't expect her to be so docile now."
"I know right? When Piper ordered her to protect and serve my mom, she was ready to put the house in an eternal winter…"
"I guess giving your mom the Chaotic Blessing gave her enough power to put Khione in her place."
They laughed at the thought of Sally smacking a powerful goddess into her place as a servant but quieted down as they heard someone descending the stairs. Sally was ecstatic to see her baby boy and another boy she saw as her son in her house for the first time in a few years. She ran up to Percy first and hugged and squeezed him with a mix of natural motherly strength and the boost that came with the blessing. When he murmured something about her cutting circulation she let go, then turned to Isaiah and kissed him on the cheek, happy to see her boys.
"Khione, be a sweetie and prepare some cookies for these boys. Don't add the food coloring without me though! Thanks, honey," Sally said as her servant left to follow her directions. She turned back to smile at the brothers' surprise visit and couldn't help but appreciate the warm looks on their faces as they looked at her. Before she could speak to them, a small voice came whining from the kitchen.
"Mooooooom! Khione said I can't have any of the cookie dough!"
"You didn't finish your lunch so you have to wait until dinner to eat!"
"See Mom! She's being mean!" Estelle's voice came closer and closer until she came into the living room with a pout on her face. She froze when she saw Percy and Isaiah. Despite being three years old, being the daughter of a teacher and an author set her up to be intelligent for her age. The girl noticed that muscled guy with messy hair looked a lot like her mom and felt like his presence was familiar for some reason so maybe they were related. Intelligent or not, Estelle didn't like to be around people who were strangers to her and backed up behind her mom and peeked at the two guys from between Sally's legs.
The greatest mother in the world took her daughter from between her legs and lifted the girl into her arms. "Estelle, remember when I told you all about the heroics of Percy Jackson that he was your demigod brother?"
"Yeah, and that I can't tell Piper and Hazel that he's alive and on a secret mission for a powerful lady. Is the guy on the left my brother?" Estelle questioned while looking at him.
Once Percy smiled and the girl could see the clear resemblance between his smile and her mother's, Estelle jumped out of her mom's arms and ran straight into Percy's arms. Sally's heart practically melted as she saw the siblings together for the first time since he and the hunters visited almost two years ago. Isaiah smiled at the scene as well and was ready to sit back and get more comfortable, maybe even tell Sally about Percy and Annabeth but was interrupted.
He stiffened as he got the information telepathically from Percy who was still hugging his sister but still giving him a meaningful look. Isaiah glared because the information would have been useful earlier but nonetheless knew he needed to go. He looked at Sally apologetically but she knew how it was for the boys since they were both leaders. She waved at him as he dissolved into thin air, then realized Estelle would be expecting an explanation for the other guy suddenly not being there and facepalmed.
Line Break
Hazel knows that she failed the simulation five times now but honestly didn't care. Ever since she and Frank broke up, she's been craving some sort of romantic relationship to stabilize her emotionally. She's always been a bright and outgoing girl ready to help and support her friends but she's also a 17-year-old girl whose emotions are still partially controlled by hormones. The box put her back in school with Sammy and he was protecting her through humor as usual, but in every situation, they were already dating. Hazel cherished every hug and kiss they shared in these situations. When he was put in situations where he got hurt to protect her, all the demigoddess had to do was stay still until it was over and the bullies left so she could help him and get away from the place but instead, she revealed herself and saved him every time.
The box may have just been a machine but it also adapts to the thoughts of its occupants. Unfortunately, Hazel just learned how to hide her thoughts from others so it was having a hard time. As Hazel got beat up saving Sammy, she smiled, happy to protect a guy she used to love and her thoughts slipped through the block she put up to hide her mind. The simulation adapted immediately and suddenly she was underground with the growing Alcyoneus and Gaia all around her.
Maria Levesque was hovered over the crater the giant was in and Gaia was chanting some sort of spell. Hazel realized that her mother was being sacrificed to finish reviving the giant born to oppose her father and almost jumped up to save her. She was stopped by Maria making eye contact with her.
Please stop, Hazel heard in her mind somehow, you are the only one that can save the world right now. If you help me, you would merely give her another person to sacrifice. Let me go and destroy this place.
Hazel didn't want to listen to her mother. She was stronger now, stronger than she had been at thirteen years old. Right before the girl could fail the simulation again suddenly she got visions of her, Percy, and Frank on a small boat sailing on the Pacific Ocean. Then the three of them walking towards a Greek warship with Percy's arms around their shoulders. Then she, Leo, and Echo running away from Narcissus and his posse. Vision after vision of her with friends appeared and she knew that none of it would happen if she revealed herself and got her soul sacrificed to Gaia's son.
It hurt to go through this again, but Percy holding her after helping her train with visions of the earth goddess gave her strength and for the second time, she used her geokinesis to destroy the underground facility and listened to Gaia's angry wails as her plans were delayed.
Hazel woke up in the box with a smile on her face. It opened and she sat up to see Leo looking at her with concern making her smile even brighter. Something about his eyes and the energy behind them made her happy to see him, adding the visions she just saw about her friends, Hazel was instantly jovial that he was worried. She looked to see Annabeth smiling, looking relieved and felt good about that too. The daughter of Pluto had to admit, she was upset about what the blonde did and their interactions were stiff afterward. Annabeth did, however, pop up in her memories of friends so she obviously still thought fondly of the gray-eyed beauty.
Esmeralda waited for Hazel to get out of the machine before snapping her fingers, making the boxes disappear. She walked in front of the group and addressed them. "It's currently 20:35, meaning we still have about 25 minutes before dinner. I say we go early to debrief, and then get to know each other since you'll be stuck here for a while. Percy will join us shortly and he will go over what the next few weeks will look like."
The demigods looked at each other in surprise, not expecting a captain of the Chaotic Army to want to interact with them any more than she had to. They followed her into the elevator that reappeared outside of the training room and noticed that their clothes returned and the bodysuit was gone.
They filed out of the elevator and looked around in wonder once again at all the different rooms and parts of Percy's command building until they got to the mess hall. Before they could join the random people getting food and sitting down, Esmeralda stopped them and led them to a room within the mess hall labeled "Specialists Only." As soon as they sat down, screens came out of the table and displayed a menu for them. After learning how to access it and that they can be as unhealthy as possible, the demigods quickly dug in.
"I'm sure you guys have met each other at some point on a surface level. However, I don't know you and some of you may be nothing more than acquaintances. Let's attempt to learn more about each other and share stories and adventures."
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing who to start with until they heard a burp come from Leo who excused himself and cleared his throat, ready to speak. Hazel and Annabeth groaned at the prospect of him speaking but laughed when he gave them a look.
"Okayyyy, so-"
Line Break
Artemis jumped off of Zoë's couch in outrage. "How dare you accuse one of my hunters of being a traitor?!"
Isaiah had explained to the goddess and assassin that one of the hunters had a different fingerprint than she was supposed to according to her profile. The only thing to be assumed was that this wasn't the same hunter and that she was planted on the ship to infiltrate and complete some sort of objective. Artemis almost exploded after he had finished talking.
"How do you know it's not her? Based on a difference from her 'profile?' That's crazy!"
"So a machine created by Chaos herself made a mistake?"
Artemis froze at his words, then flopped back on the couch and crossed her arms while glaring at him. Zoë cleared her throat and looked up at Isaiah. "Who is it? And how do we go about it without her knowing that we are on to her?"
Isaiah smirked because he already had a plan in motion.
Line Break
Naomi sat on her bed, watching TV while eating popcorn. She originally didn't know what she wanted to do for fun because, for the last months, her fun had to do with being with the hunters. Suddenly a large TV appeared in front of her and started playing "The Office" from season one and she was hooked.
As she was watching until she fell asleep, the board that held her schedule suddenly changed into a message.
Being that you all will be helping in the war, here are the key players and places that we will go after once you all are ready. Please place your thumb on the board to read your print and verify that you can access this information.
Naomi didn't feel like she was important enough or smart enough to have the info but was curious to see what kind of things the hunters would do while helping the assassins. Once she placed her thumb on the designated location, the board changed again to show a bunch of information that she couldn't understand.
Then without a warning, her body froze and her head began to hurt. It felt like someone was invading and taking over but she couldn't stop it. Next thing she knew, she was watching from the sidelines as her body scanned over the info before taking out a phone and taking pictures of it. Once done, her body sent the information to the only contact on the phone, Naomi regained control and fell to the floor in pain.
Somehow, someone forced her to reveal the information of the assassins' plans and she just endangered everyone on the ship. She almost immediately gathered herself before sprinting out of the room, still in her pajamas but too frantic to think about changing. Once she got to the command center, Naomi looked around frantically for some way to contact Isaiah and tell him what happened. As if summoned, he appeared in the room and looked at her with a confused face.
"Hey, Naomi… Is everything okay-"
"I'm so sorry sir but I just somehow betrayed you! It's like something came over me when you sent everyone your plans and I took this phone from out of nowhere and sent the plans to whoever the contact is-" Naomi stopped because the phone was suddenly blank as if it factory reset just now. the assassin's face appeared even more confused and suspicious of her, scaring the poor hunter who felt bad about what just happened.
Isaiah wasn't confused about what just happened because he was the reason it happened. He purposefully sent false info to her room but expected her to happily send it and then act like she didn't. However, the girl was frantic and trying to tell him what she did. Only one explanation came to mind.
Zoë and Artemis were watching from the former's room, just as surprised as Isaiah, wondering why the girl was trying to help after what she did. Suddenly, the master assassin came to the same conclusion Isaiah did and turned to Artemis. "What's something only Naomi would know, no one else could possibly know this information?" The goddess in question had to think about it but turned red while revealing it to Zoë.
Isaiah heard a voice in his head but didn't bat an eye as he tried to confirm his suspicions. "Tell the truth. What do you think of McKayla Smith?"
Naomi turned red and was baffled that one, he disregarded what she just told him, and two, he picked up on how she felt about her fellow hunter. Only Artemis knew about that! "Um well, she… she's really… I mean I think she's…" The poor girl stuttered as she tried to explain without revealing her attraction to the mortal huntress.
This confirmed that whoever this was in front of Isaiah wasn't Naomi, but had her memories and thoughts. Some strong magic was at work. He snapped his fingers and the girl fell asleep immediately, dropping into Zoë's arms as the former hunter appeared in the room with Artemis.
"Artemis, this isn't Naomi. I don't know who has abilities this strong on this planet but they were able to use magic to give this girl your hunter's appearance, memories, and thoughts. I'm asking for your consent to remove the magic from this girl figure out who she really is and any clues as to where the real Naomi is."
The goddess was surprised that this guy asked her permission and appreciated the thought. She nodded and watched as Isaiah removed any traces of magic from the girl. They were astonished at the girl's clothes disappearing leaving her nude. Before Artemis could freak out, the hair changed from black to brown, the age of the girl increased by a few years and the skin complexion became darker. The breasts grew along with the rest of the body until it was a completely different woman in Zoë's arms. A brown dress appeared on the girl and her eyes opened to reveal completely gold eyes that looked surprised that she had been found out.