Ello, been a minute. Lifes been something, lmk what you think. Ill try to update sooner
Earplugs didn't help, music didn't help, screaming didn't help, and Piper couldn't even get herself to think. It was only the thick wood of the Argo's body that kept her ears from bleeding, as they had been when they appeared.
She hadn't gotten a good glance at the monsters before their cries sent everyone below deck, but the smell of rotting flesh and the grisly mockery of wings mixed with their bloated, corpse like appearances were enough to know it was nothing natural and likely nothing divine.
The screams had definitely been the most 'notable' thing about the creatures. Piercing, keening and awful, like hundreds of dying men, women and children screaming their last breaths into a megaphone.
She had no idea how Annabeth managed to keep pacing without trying to drown out the cries.
A thin line of crimson blood trailed down to the tip of her jawline, stark against her pallor of sleeplessness and stress. Still, a fire flared in those eyes every time Piper caught a glance of them.
The rest of her friends and hidden deeper in the ship, buried in piles of pillows and blankets and earmuffs and earplugs and who knows what else in some vain attempt to drown out the sounds. She couldn't blame them, even if she knew it would do nothing. These sounds weren't normal, weren't natural, and certainly wouldn't be held back by mortal defenses. She still had her fingers halfway to her brain herself, tickling her eardrums even with the knowledge it would do nothing.
The creatures had managed to stop the Argo, according to Leo, somehow managing to figure out the controls when Piper still didn't have a full grasp of it.
Considering that Jason had passed out when he tried to go out there and get them moving again, it had brought their hunt, for all that it was, to a standstill over Chicago.
A snarl, and the sight of Annabeth's fist thumping against the hull with enough force to break skin, pulled Piper from her pondering.
"We can't keep sitting here!"
Piper didn't bother responding. It would just lead to more arguments, more senseless bickering, and ultimately only make her look worse.
Annabeth paced towards the door to the deck, drawing right up to it then pivoting away, like she had dozens of times over the course of their standstill. Piper almost wished she'd just open the door and pass out already.
They had sent a dozen prayers to the Olympians, each to their respective parent, alternating every thirty minutes or so, with no response. That had been no surprise, nor would it be surprising if Zeus was holding them to the typical quest standard of 'no interference'. Piper'd bet they wouldn't get anything done till some kind of aid was given.
Her eyes drifted from Annabeth, caught by a flash of purple and orange as the others returned from their burrows, expressions twisted in pain and displeasure. Leo took up the rear, awkwardly waddling to the table with a large monitor in his grasp.
"This better be important, Leo." Jason groaned, rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes as he collapsed into the seat beside Piper. She shifted away without thinking, then a little more with thinking. That migraine that showed up after he passed out must be lingering.
"Depends on your definition of important," Leo's tone said otherwise, "Calypso's whereabouts? No. A bit of news on our friend downstairs though…"
Her attention snapped to the monitor as the screen flared to life, paused on a frame of the news anchor. She didn't have the chance to read the headline before it started.
"Earthbound Railways reported a train derailment early this morning." She started, straightening her papers with her desk, "The derailment was found this morning hundreds of miles from the New York station by their next outbound train by the name of Cybele. Several fatalities have been reported, but the true count is unknown as of now. The cause of this derailment is also unknown as of now, but is said to have happened around seven yesterday morning. If you have any information concerning-"
Piper pitched into the seat back, and let the information wash over her. It wasn't unexpected, per se, with Percy's luck, but it sent a worm of worry through her. Something had attacked her friend, and it was the last thing he needed.
"Is that it?" Annabeth asked flatly, "As great as sitting around and watching tv is, we're still stuck here."
The bite of her final words made Leo flinch, only for a moment before he recovered the bravado.
"But wait, there's more!" He pressed a button, and the screen flipped, this time showing a male anchor and a picture of the charred remains of a building.
"-the source of the forest fire was found to be this abandoned gas station. A failure in the pump mechanism filled the parking lot with gasoline, the ensuing explosion was enough to start the fire." If the topic was anything else, his voice might've just put her to sleep, "the cause of the spark is unknown, if you have any information, please contact us at-"
"Shit." Jason groaned, planting his elbows on the table.
"You think Percy did that?" Hazel sounded absolutely miserable, and Piper would only put a quarter of that misery at the hands of the creatures outside. She seemed to be closer to Percy, kind of like Piper was, though he seemed to have more of an older brother relationship with her.
"More like something that was after Percy did that. Chimera?" Piper asked, glancing towards Annabeth no matter how loathe she was to do so.
"It's not impossible I suppose," She shrugged, uninterested, "could be a host of things."
"We know where he was though. That's all that matters." The screams seemed to pitch up a bit more, the pain in her head far more than what she had 'become used to'. Then it stopped.
They looked to the door in unison, fresh blood pouring from ringing ears.
Annabeth, unsurprisingly, was the first to react, throwing herself towards and right through the door. The others were quick to follow, though seemed to hesitate before following.
It was twins that awaited them on deck. Apollo and Artemis, watching the group of things flutter away. Piper only managed a glance at the streaks of black against blue, before the duo turned to face them.
Apollo looked troubled, angry and concerned. He studied each of them in turn, probably looking for injuries since he was prodding at Jason's ears soon after.
Artemis seemed… distant. Not in her usual way, an impassive wall of guarded emotion and suspicion. No, there was emotion there, it was just muffled, far off.
What happened that night? Surely they had proof of Artemis' oath being broken, but there was still debate among Olympians, that must mean something.
"What were those things?" Hazel asked. Apollo gave Jason one more cursory glance before moving to Leo, fingers glowing and forcing the boy's head this way and that.
"Keres. The sisters of violent death."
"Those were goddesses?" Apollo frowned at Hazel's question, though the disdainful twist of his expression seemed more directed at the subject.
"A bit complicated. While these spirits often are under the category of 'minor god', they aren't in the same 'bracket' of power, if you will." He unceremoniously shoved Leo's head aside, and Piper was next. His hands were warm on her head, almost hot, "They represent death like their brother, but not to the same degree."
"Their brother?" Hazel shifted on her feet uncomfortably, and glanced towards where the Keres had fled, "I don't wanna know what he looks like."
"You already do. Unless you forgot the quest to Alaska."
"Great. Why were they attacking us?" Annabeth prodded, ignorant or uncaring of the dawning realization on Frank and Hazel's expressions. Artemis finally returned to the present.
"We don't know. The Keres avoid Olympus almost entirely, and there's little doubt they won't start answering the call now." Apollo nodded in agreement, and moved on, taking the pain in Piper's head with it.
"But it means there's something going on here," Apollo announced, "something big enough to pull some eyes. We can't leave you open for the next group that don't feel as merciful."
"Which means…?" Piper tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut, but it didn't matter.
"We will be accompanying you on your quest." Apollo answered.
Perfect. Fantastic. Gods awful luck.
The thought Percy might not be so interested in telling her what was going on had crossed her mind, and that was before she had the source of the problem and the walking ball of hate escorting her straight to him. No way in Hades she'd get anything from Percy like this.
"I assume that was what took you so long, bargaining with Zeus?" It wasn't really a question, moreso Annabeth verbalizing her thoughts. Apollo gave her a sharp look, but said nothing, "Leo, we need to get moving."
Like he had just snapped out of a trance, he leapt to comply, and a few minutes later they were off, once more sailing to the West.
It was his stomach that ultimately stopped Percy.
He was making good time, probably, though it was a bit hard to tell. Everything had become a sort of blur, but he would bet that was making decent time. Not as fast as the Argo. He walked faster.
A fair had awaited his arrival, the 'Billings county fair', though why it was in a town so small was beyond him. That didn't really matter though, not with the smell of greasy, fried food flooding his senses.
Fair food was a weak spot for him. Beyond tasting almost as good as his mom's cookies, they had gone to the fair quite a few times when he was younger, especially before he knew what he was. It carried memories, and none of them were bad ones.
Right now, he needed a few good memories.
For how small the town it was hosted in was, the fair was far too crowded for him. Nowhere near what anything in New York was, but the swell of the crowd made his skin crawl.
His stomach pushed him onwards though, spurred by hunger and steeled by nostalgia, even when wandering eyes landed on him and made his pulse thump harder.
He went for the first food stand he saw, after a brief period of drifting between vendors selling knickknacks and toys and all sorts of things.
It was covered in flashing lights and garish colors, with the word 'Food' displayed in neon on top. It almost hurt his eyes to look at, but there was no line.
He slid to the window, to be met with an empty stand. No sign of life, save for two steaming trays of food. One of everything on the menu actually, now that Percy glanced at it, and a little note.
The sea protects the sea
The handwriting was neat, flowing, and had a stylized serpent dancing below it. A sea serpent, presumably. He eyed the food suspiciously.
It wasn't like his dad knew where he was, or he'd be sitting in the middle of the Throne Room. Good intentioned as Poseidon might be, his vote mattered just as much as one of the many in that council that wanted him dead.
He glanced back over the crowd, and when his search was fruitless, grabbed his favorite among the pile. Funnel cake, and a corn dog.
It seemed the instant the first taste of fried dough hit his tongue his stomach finally realized how empty it was. Lost between memories and navigating back to the bike as he ate, the food lasted mere minutes. But an amazing mere minutes it was. Maybe he could get a hold of something for the road-
A flash of silver made his heart lurch and sputter, and finally sink when he found it.
A girl, dressed in silver with a parka just a bit too heavy for the weather, a bow slung over her shoulder and a permanent glare. A huntress.
"Percy! What in Hades are you doing here?" He jumped, and whipped around on his heel, grabbing a fistful of his pants instead of Riptide. Thalia appeared from the crowd, coming to a stop a few paces away and far too close.
She was still the same as she'd been when he met her. Same hair, same eyes, same face, still barely reached his chest.
She took a step forward. He found himself taking two back. Confusion danced in her eyes.
"Percy?"
The hunter's eyes were all on him, all glaring, all hating, all knowing. They know. They knew. They were here for him. He swallowed a lump.
Fire bloomed in his chest, and the world went quiet. More eyes landed on him, more and more and thousands.
He took another step back, and she was the one to react with two steps forward.
"What's going on? Why are you here?"
"You already know."
"Percy?"
He bolted, throwing fairgoers aside as he went, scrambling to make distance. There was a cry of alarm behind him, one that he resolutely ignored.
The world passed in a colorful blur, as he hurtled through the crowds and over anything between him and the bike.
An arrow whistled past his head, thumping into the dirt before burning pain and blood erupted in and from his ear.
He jerked to the side, beginning an erratic path of putting as many bodies between himself and the line of fire as possible.
It was a blur, though he felt all too slow as he ran. Blowing past the last vestiges of the fair, all but flying through the trees, motorcycle roaring to life beneath him as he peeled away from the parking spot.
He was fine. He was fine. He was fine.
A blur of silver in the woods along the road made his heart lurch violently, and the engine roared as he pinned the throttle open.
Artemis couldn't quite bring herself to look away from the horizon the Keres had vanished upon, nor her thoughts from the sisters themselves.
While they traveled together as death required, it was rare, practically unheard of for them to work together on things not pertaining to death. In fact, Artemis couldn't recall them choosing sides in any of the conflicts between immortals, much less preventing the hunting of a demigod.
It put a sour taste on her tongue. There was something far more going on that she was not privy to. That she was being excluded from.
The Argo moved at a breakneck pace, hiding Chicago in the smog of horizon within the half-hour. From there, they had already warded off a flock of Stymphilian Birds, and it was undoubtedly Artemis' presence that kept the wyrms that writhed in the clouds at bay.
There was a strange feeling in her chest, a certain urge that she couldn't quite place.
She drifted closer to the prow, considering the feeling as it pulled her forward. It was certainly a feeling, but not an emotion, like something had wrapped a cord about her torso and was tugging her forward.
Memory still evaded her, save for the pieces that mocked her. Hazy moments that only revealed to her that she had certainly done these things, and not had them done unto her. Her own voice betraying her, her body acting of its own accord, her passions intermixing with his and burning all the stronger for it. She could even still taste-
She needed to know what happened, and the whispering breeze gave her an idea.
Perhaps Perseus was not the only one with knowledge of that night. Perhaps someone she could find knew something. Perhaps she had found the reason the Keres had moved to slow the quest.
It had been centuries since she had last spoken to Nyx. There were not many circumstances that one summoned a primordial, and even fewer that would not put one in poor favor with said primordial. This circumstance seemed something that wouldn't catch Nyx's interest, yet something in Artemis was starting to say otherwise.
She watched the sun sink lower, now fully aware of how long she'd been standing there. The gold that painted the world just before her chariot peered down at the earth. All the better, now she wouldn't have to wait long.
She was alone on the deck, thankfully. No need to send anyone below deck, nor anyone to be suspicious of such an order. Nyx did not like extra guests.
Artemis only started her work when the sun was below the horizon, and whispered a soft, silent prayer.
Her domain pulsed, resounding with the power she forced into the request. The moon brightened, only to dim. The forests sang her words and- a pang of dissonance rang in protest.
She glanced upwards in surprise, staring into the fog of night as though with enough effort she could see the source. She could not, in fact, but the feeling was something she had not found since Pan had roamed the surface of the earth.
The feeling lasted no more than a couple seconds before it was dwarfed, lost in the swirling darkness of the night.
Nyx's presence was an overwhelming thing, for most. Something demanding a sort of fear, or dread. Artemis had spent every night since her domains had been given to her enshrouded in that power, though not to the same magnitude, it hardly held the same sway over herself as others.
"Lady Night." She greeted with a bowed head, offering a simple curtsey to go with it. There were few things that demanded respect from Olympians, and her company happened to be one of those few.
"Artemis." The Night whispered back, with a tone as low and whispy as the quietest breeze. It was just the barest hints of attention, but the power was undeniable.
"I seek knowledge."
"Many do." Despite the comment, the darkness swirled tighter, a silhouette resembling a human forming in her peripheral. She forced her sight forward, and let the form thicken, "Go on, you do not have all night."
"You know all that happens in your domain. You saw me, that night, I need to see it."
Nyx remained silent, vanishing when Artemis reflexively glanced, yet appearing once more when she stared at the spot she had been.
"A vision then." The darkness strengthened, and pinpricks of stars dotted the silhouette, "Such a thing does not come without a cost."
"Name it." Artemis countered without hesitation, "I must know, my Lady."
"And what makes you think that you have anything to offer me?" She responded, though there was naught a moment between that statement and her next words, "A favor, one which you shall know when the time comes."
The air hummed with a charge, and Artemis mulled over her half of the deal with trepidation.
"I am quite annoyed by waiting, Artemis. Are you going to be seeking out another power for your vision, or not?"
"I agree." Quelling the strange, fluttering nervousness in her belly, gave a jerking nod, "A favor for a favor."
Nyx smiled, and the hum of the night grew louder. Another burst of nerves, but she had already agreed.
"I'm sure he meant the best for you." She glanced at Nyx again, except the form did not fade, quizzically, "Your brother. He could not keep watch of the wine the whole time."
She tried to speak, but her tongue felt too thick in her mouth. Sleep shrouded her mind, slipping past her defenses with deft ease. She could only manage a wordless sound before the world fell away.