The next morning, before the sun was even above the horizon, Percy was up and ready to go. He had packed his bag with two weeks' worth of supplies and enough ammo for his pistol to last him at least a couple of gunfights. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to come down to that but it was better to be safe than sorry. The hunters could be anywhere in America and with that came countless dangers from monsters, enemy demigods to even Olympians. His plan however was that when Artemis was back in the inner states, her powers would return. When that occurred, they should be able to locate the hunters pretty quickly and get them back to camp before Olympus was alerted. But that was only if things went according to plan and if his years of experience meant anything, plans never went accordingly.
Knocking on Artemis's bedroom door, he expected her to come out ready to go but after waiting for some time and no response, he didn't really know what to do. Should he continue to sit out here and wait? No, if he did that then they were going to be burning daylight. But if he went inside her room while she could be in a "vulnerable" state, then that would only mean his death. Powers or not, Artemis was still a very dangerous woman. But the thought of the hunters, especially Thalia's, lives on the line spurred him into action. Opening the door softly, he was greeted by a familiar sight. Her room was decorated similarly to that of her tent that he had entered years before. Animal heads, pelts, and antlers littered her walls. Her room smelt of pine and a faint hint of burning wood. It was intoxicating, almost putting him to sleep had it not been for the soft breathing coming from underneath a bundle of blankets.
Quietly walking over, he poked the bundle a couple of times, hoping that would do the trick but sadly to no avail.
"Artemis. Hey, Artemis, wake up." He whispered but once again no reply. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he started to shove her around. That seemed to work a little bit as the Goddess started to mummer slightly.
"S-Stop it." She groaned out, her hand desperately waving in the air. Somehow she had managed to get ahold of him around the collar of his shirt before bringing him down into the bed with her. Percy almost yelped as he tried to get out of her grasp but somehow the woman still had enough strength to bring him down even while sleeping. He had no time to react before she threw the covers over him as well, cocooning him in the bed's warmth. Once again, he could smell pine and burning wood fill his nostrils, this time more amplified. He did his best to slap himself out of this daze but with Artemis's warmth flooding over his body and her scent intoxicating him, he found it extremely difficult to move. The situation only worsened when she cuddled up against his chest, her breath softly caressing his skin. He tried to control his heart rate and breathing but nothing was working. It got even crazier when he realized that the Goddess liked to sleep in the nude, her figure and assets clearly evident against his skin.
Percy was finding it very hard to take control of the situation, in more ways than one if he was being honest. He couldn't control that though. He was a man who hadn't had any interaction with a female in that way for quite some time so this was only natural. He only wished it was some other girl and not a Goddess who was known for killing men for just looking at her in the wrong way. That thought spurred him into action as he tried to slowly and carefully get out of her grasp. But as he tried to move Artemis, even though she was asleep, seemed to realize what he was trying to do. Every inch he backed away, she would only move closer to him until eventually they were at the bed's edge.
Looking back frantically, he realized the only chance he had to get out of here alive was to make a break for it and get off quickly. Biting his cheek he counted to three before trying to fling himself out of her grasp but once again, Artemis prevailed. She grabbed ahold of the back of his neck as he was about to fling himself which sent the both of them flying off the bed.
"OW!" Both demigod and Goddess cried out as they hit the wooden floor beams with a harsh thud. Groaning out, Percy opened his eyes only to be greeted by silver ones in return. This too was a familiar sight. He felt like he had been in this situation with her on top of him too many times now. Too many times of escaping her wrath unscathed but he had a feeling he wouldn't be so lucky this time. Realizing she was finally awake, he was almost relieved. They could finally hit the road and search for the hunters. But another realization hit him as well. She was awake. On top of him. Nude with blankets thrown over both of them.
"Fuck." Percy could only think to himself as he watched Artemis begin to realize what type of situation the both of them were in.
"Morning. Ready to go search for your hunters?" He asked her, hoping that that question would buy him some time.
"Why didn't you knock?" Artemis asked him in a steady tone.
"I did. It seems you're a heavy sleeper nowadays." He replied, questioning why she wasn't off of him yet. Any second now and she would realize that it wasn't just Riptide in his pocket she was feeling. For some reason Artemis only hummed in agreement as she continued to lay on top of him, the fast rhythm of her heartbeat very evident against Percy's chest.
He didn't know what to do with his hands so he simply set them over to the side, not daring to go that far. The faintest of shifts he could feel, driving him to the point of insanity. He needed to get out of here quickly before he did something he would later regret. That point only became more evident when Artemis's hands came to rest on top of his bare stomach. He could feel her fingers slowly draw circles around his abs but it seemed she was only doing that subconsciously.
"Hey, can you get off of me so we can get ready to set out? We have a lot of ground to cover if we're gonna find them." He asked. Artemis nodded as she slid back slightly, her rear resting on top of his lower half for a moment which sent shivers down both their spines. Shivering slightly thanks to the cool air that hit her skin now that they were separated, Artemis quickly wrapped the blankets around her body. Both stared at each other in silence with foreign emotions in their eyes. It wasn't until Percy cleared his throat that the trance was broken.
"Let me know when you're ready and we'll head out. I'm gonna go let some people know what's going on before we do."
Artemis once again could only hum in reply as she watched him walk out of the room. It wasn't until five minutes later that she realized what had just occurred. Blushing madly, she quickly face-planted against her pillow as she tried to stop her rapidly beating heart.
'What the hell was that?" Was the only sentence she could think of. It took quite some time for her to calm down but when she did, she took a deep breath before preparing for the trip. Her hunters needed her and she couldn't be acting like a schoolgirl if she wanted any hope of saving them. Slapping her face with both hands, she nodded at her appearance in the mirror before setting out in search of Percy.
Walking through the camp, she was happy at what the demigods had been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. The place was really starting to come together and if all goes well after the war, this place could really become the next New Rome. Waving at a few familiar faces along the way, she was happy that the demigods treated her fairly even though she was an Olympian. It was weird not to be greeted like the Goddess she was anymore but it offered her a new perspective of the demigods who she had been living with for quite some time now.
They were different compared to her hunters who although were mostly demigods, were hundreds of years old. She couldn't quite explain it except that these demigods had more "life" about them she guess she could say. They knew that their lives weren't guaranteed to see the next day which was something she couldn't quite fathom as a Goddess. But seeing them interact with each other and even her, she was starting to paint a picture of what that meant. This morning clearly evidence of that. She had never felt strong emotions like that ever in her life. She had never felt her heart pound that hard. She had never felt such a strong, warm man like that before. His eyes peered right into her, making her feel as if she couldn't hide from him no matter where she went. For once she felt like she was the one being hunted.
"Oh my Gods stop!" She screamed internally as she grabbed ahold of her shaky hands. Those thoughts were not for right now, especially in front of the demigods! She had an image to maintain and Godsbedamned if she would let the son of Poseidon take that away from her.
"Hey, Artemis! You ready?!" She heard the man question her from a distance. Looking around, she spotted him standing aside from Hazel's tree, speaking to the daughter of Aphrodite. Walking over to the pair, she greeted the girl politely who waved back. She had actually gotten along well with Piper Mcclean despite her lineage. She wasn't your typical daughter of Aphrodite and if it wasn't for her relationship with her mortal half-brother, would've made a great hunter.
Looking at Percy who was smiling at her with his pearly white teeth, she was quickly reminded of the events of this morning. Glancing down at his pants that held something behind them that she clearly felt this morning, it took all of her strength not to start blushing and giggling like a fool.
"Y-Yeah. Ready when you are." She cleared her throat, quickly looking away and instead focusing on Piper who clearly knew that something was up. The tan demigoddess squinted her eyes in suspicion but decided not to pry on Artemis's unusual behavior. Instead, she hugged Percy one last time, said her goodbyes, and walked away without another word. The Goddess internally breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her fleeting figure.
"Alright, grab my hand, and let's go. I'm sure you're ready to get your powers back." Percy smirked as he stretched out his hand toward her. Artemis's heart once again jumped as she made contact with his skin. She tried to focus on her breathing to slow down. This really wasn't the time to be feeling such emotions. They were now on a mission, a vital one at that. There would come a time later where she could address these issues but for now, she just needed to ignore her conflicting feelings. She needed to ignore Percy or else she didn't know what she might do to him.
"Wait!" Another woman's voice cried out before they were able to mist-travel away. Squinting through the morning fog, Artemis recognized one of their new arrivals running at them. It seemed she was still injured from the battle as bandages were still wrapped around her torso and was running quite slowly.
"Reyna? What's wrong?" Percy asked worriedly, stepping forward to help the panting daughter of Bellona.
"L-Let me come with you. You'll need all the help you can get." She pleaded to him. Percy however only shook his head in reply.
"You know I can't let you. You're still injured. Your wound hasn't even closed properly yet."
"Percy I can-"
"Thank you daughter of Bellona for the kind gesture." Artemis interrupted, standing tall against the demigoddess. "But we don't require your assistance."
She didn't mean to say it that rudely. She respected this Reyna girl greatly. She would make a fantastic hunter if she chose to. But seeing her inch closer to Percy and wrapping an arm around him brought great annoyance to her. She couldn't quite stand to watch another woman be so close to him.
"My apologies, Artemis. I just thought that-"
"We know, Reyna." Percy said, smiling down at her. "I know you feel like you're stuck right now since you're always on that hospital bed but for now can you just do that? If not for you, do it for me."
Reyna grimaced at those words. She truly wanted to help. She was tired of just sitting around and having others do the work. And she was tired of all these women getting too close to Percy. Looking over at the Goddess who was practically staring into her soul with those silver eyes of hers, she could see exactly what was going on and she didn't like it, not one bit. Reyna came here on the premise of finally doing what she wanted to do. Getting what she wanted. She was not about to let a man-hating Goddess take that away from her.
"You'll have plenty to do once you're healed up. Trust me on that." Percy reasoned, seeing the daughter of Bellona not wanting to back down. But it seemed his words had finally struck home.
"Fine. When you're back though, I'm helping out with things. You can't just be the only one doing everything." She said in annoyance.
"That's a deal. For now, just rest up. The centurions are in charge while I'm away but if things go to shit, I know I can at least trust you." He replied with a chuckle. Reyna blushed slightly at the comment but nevertheless nodded her head in reply. Kissing his cheek and wishing him good luck, the daughter of Bellona walked away, leaving a furious Artemis in her wake. The Goddess had to practically bite her tongue to not cuss out the demigoddess but thankfully, Percy grabbed her hand and teleported them before she could do so.
Reappearing on the Alaska border, Artemis sighed in relief. For one she didn't make a fool of herself cussing out Reyna but two, she could feel her powers begging to be returned to her. It felt as if there was static electricity running throughout her entire body. It took all of her strength not to jump across the border like a starving dog.
"You ready?" Percy asked her, seeing the eager look she adorned. The Goddess nodded her head, took a deep breath of air, and stepped over the line. Immediately it was as if she was hit with a freight train of electricity. Every fiber of her being felt as if it had just been jump-started, causing her to bite her cheek in order to not let out any unsavory sounds. It was only a couple of seconds before it ended but to her it felt longer, causing Artemis to collapse to one knee.
Gasping for air, she lifted her hands in front of her, feeling the power that she had once taken for granted, return. Looking back at Percy with a crazed smile on her, she almost leapt at him with joy.
"Welcome back, Lady Artemis." He said.
"Good to be back. Now, let's go find my girls."
And so the pair set off, beginning their long-awaited search for the hunters. They scoured the entire continent, going to old campsites and hideouts that Artemis had provided for them if ever the need arose. To no avail, however. Everywhere they went, the hunters weren't there. Not even a hint or trace of them could be found which angered the Goddess greatly. She was the tracker yet she couldn't find anything that could lead her to her girl's whereabouts. This went on for days, going to any location Artemis could think of.
Eventually, after close to two weeks of searching, they found themselves in Montana. They had been searching a couple of hideouts in the state. There were some hints that the hunters had been there such as some silver arrows but that was it. It wasn't much to go on but it was a start. But they only were able to find the arrows just before nightfall and both of them were tired after searching the entire continent without any reprieve.
So they decided to settle for the night, electing to step up camp on a mountaintop. Thankfully, Artemis conjured two tents for the both of them while Percy set up a fire and grilled some fish he had managed to catch in a stream earlier.
"I thought you didn't like to eat fish? You know the whole son of Poseidon thing." Artemis struck up some conversation as she ate.
"You learn to grit through it when your life's on the line. Alaska was not kind to us in the beginning." He replied, his eyes gaining a faraway look as he remembered just how much hardship he and the others had to go through.
"But still, can't you like to speak to them and hear them? Must've been horrible to hear them as you caught them."
"Surprisingly not. They seem to accept their fate when they know it's me catching them. Even had one say "I would gladly give my life to Perseus Jackson". Pretty hardcore especially for a damn fish."
Artemis snorted as she looked down at her plate that held the fish. She wondered what this one said to Percy before he killed it. She could relate though with the whole hearing the animal before you kill it type thing. She was the Goddess of the forest and all of its inhabitants which meant she could hear deers, bears, wolves and so many more speak to her. She didn't like to kill them but it was necessary to feed herself and the girls.
The thought of her girls filled her with sadness. It was beginning to worry her greatly that she couldn't find them. It should've been so easy yet they practically disappeared. If she didn't know any better they could be off the face of the planet.
"We'll find them, Artemis. You have my word." Percy interrupted her thoughts, seeing the grief written across her face.
"I hope so, Percy. I really hope so. Because if I can't find them they can mean only two things. They're dead or Z-Zeus has them." She choked up. If that was the case she would much rather have her girls be dead than be captive to her father. That man…there were so many things he could do to them that would make death look like mercy. The thought made her eyes water which made Percy quickly sit next to her.
"You can't think like that. Once you do, you've lost." He softly said. Artemis sniffled as she scooched closer to him, the wind due to their elevation hitting their bodies pretty hard now. She found solace in his and the fire's warmth. It was almost enough to take her mind off her girl's potential fate.
"When we were first arriving in Alaska, so many things went wrong. The boat we sailed on turned out to be filled with monsters and all of our supplies got destroyed before we even hit land. We had to trek through miles of woods and mountains without so much as an extra pair of clothes."
"I heard about that when I was still on the council. Hephaestus tried to get hourly updates on the TV but it was so hard to know where you all could be located." Artemis replied which caused Percy to get an exasperated laugh.
"Of course the Gods would still try to pry into our lives even in the Godless land." He said before continuing on with his story.
"Anyway, once we found a spot to settle, we were ecstatic. We hadn't had any rest for what felt like months. The place was amazing and it had everything we needed. But once again luck wasn't on our side. We got ambushed by cyclops which turned out to be under the control of Ares. So we had to run away again."
Percy sighed as he remembered those times which felt like they were years ago. He remembered just how scared and angry everyone was when they had to run away from those monsters. He remembered just how many Nico and he killed so they could try to be able to stay.
"But we could only run so far and eventually they caught up to us. They cornered us and Ares had taken Piper and Hazel hostage." Percy's voice had gotten shaky as he spoke. He didn't like to remember that horrible memory but Artemis needed to hear it. And he needed to talk to someone about it. If he bottled up any more memories and emotions like this, his mind would shatter.
"I wanted to kill all the cyclops that surrounded us. I could've…so easily. But if I did that Ares would've killed Hazel and Piper in a flash. I didn't want anyone to die so I just sat there. I just sat there as he let those monsters disembowel Hazel. I sat there as I felt her blood rain down on me." He finished with a whisper, his head in his hand.
Artemis could see just how much anguish he was. How much he was hurting. Wrapping an arm around his torso, she hugged him close and waited for him to continue.
"I didn't want anyone to die…but I couldn't think of a way for that to happen. So I just fucking sat there and watched!" He spat in disgust.
"You know what happens next and what I did to Ares." He finished, looking down at her head that was leaning against his shoulder. Running a hand over his hair, he brought up the point he was trying to make.
"What I'm trying to get at is that even all those horrible things happened to us. After all the shit we went through, we still prevailed. We didn't give up hope and we pushed on."
"And you're saying I should do that too?" She asked.
"No, you have to do that. If you stop having hope, then Zeus has already won."
That statement hung in the air as the two of them sat together in silence, the wind's howl the only thing that could be heard. Watching the fire start to dim, he realized that they should probably get some sleep. The both of them would need all the rest they could get before scouring even more of the country tomorrow.
"Let's get some rest." He yawned, untangling himself from Artemis who tried to hide her displeased look. She really didn't want to leave his warm side.
"Goodni-" Percy was about to say but something stopped him. Standing up abruptly, he slowly looked around the area, trying to spot something that was out of the ordinary. The hairs on his arms and back of his neck stood straight up, signaling his instincts that something was about to happen. Artemis was confused at the strange behavior of the son of Poseidon but nevertheless readied her hunting knives. She trusted Percy's instincts.
"What is it?" She whispered, looking around for any signs of danger in the darkness.
"It- I don't really know. There's nothing out there yet I can feel something coming." He replied. Something, however, screamed at him to tackle the air to the left. Without so much as a flicker of hesitation, he did just that, leveling riptide towards where a person's neck would be. As luck would have it, a harsh yellow glow appeared right at the moment he had leapt into the air, directly where he was aiming. Closing his eyes to avoid being burnt to a crisp, he blindly tackled the unwanted visitor to the ground, pressing Riptide against the immortal's neck thanks to years of muscle memory.
"Woah, woah, woah! Hold up!" A familiar voice yelped out. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a frightened Apollo whose blue eyes were as wide as a frightened animal. Although Percy had no ill will toward the God of the sun, he wasn't taking any chances. Pressing his sword even deeper into his skin, he made sure that Apollo wasn't able to move.
"What are you doing here? How did you find us?" The son of Poseidon growled out, causing the God to swallow nervously.
"I swear on the Styx that it's just me and no one else knows where you are!" Apollo quickly said, flooding Percy's veins with relief. Letting his cousin up, he watched as brother and sister quickly ran to each other.
"I'm so glad you're okay." Apollo said in relief, hugging his little sister.
"It's good to see you again, brother." She said, returning the hug with an equal amount of force.
Percy sat back down as he let the siblings have a moment to themselves. They needed this, especially Artemis who hadn't had any interaction with the outside world she was so accustomed to for quite some time.
"How'd you know we were here?" Percy asked, hating to break up the reunion but questions needed to be answered.
"I spotted you while I was flying my chariot during my shift. I made sure that Zeus's sight was blocked. You have my word." Apollo answered.
"My-My hunters. Do you know where they are?!" Artemis quickly asked, her voice filled with desperation.
"I can take you where I last saw them but something is fishy about it. One second I saw them and then the next it was like they turned invisible. No aura, no pulse, not even a hint that they were ever there." Her brother replied with agitation, causing Artemis to quickly ask him to take them there. Within a second the God had flashed them away to the location. Opening his eyes, Percy realized that they were still in Montana.
"I recognize this place. We were here earlier." Percy exclaimed, looking around at the woods that surrounded them.
"This is where we found the arrows." Artemis said, kneeling down to examine a silver arrowhead that was sticking out from the ground.
"But we searched this entire place and found practically nothing that helps us find them!" Percy said, throwing an arrowhead against a boulder. Spotting it only for a second before it disappeared, a flash of blue occurred when the arrowhead made contact with the rock. It only happened for a second and he honestly thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but he wanted to be one hundred percent sure. Walking up to the boulder as Artemis and Apollo continued to converse behind him, he slowly exclaimed it but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
"Maybe it was just my imagination." He said to himself, running a hand over the rough material before beginning to walk away. As he was about to turn around, however, he spotted it again! That damn blue flash of light was definitely real!
"Percy?" The siblings asked in unison as they watched the son of Poseidon frantically run his hand over the rock. Walking over they peered over his shoulder just in time to see the familiar insignia of a delta flash brightly.
"Holy shit." Apollo exclaimed as the trio watched the boulder split in half, revealing stairs that led down to complete and utter darkness. They stayed silent as they listened to the echoing sounds below. Cool air blasted against them, causing shivers to run down all their spines.
"The Labyrinth. It's still alive." Percy whispered, looking at the familiar walls he had traveled through so many years ago on a quest.
"Y-You don't think-"
"Yeah, Artemis. It would explain everything. How you can't track them or feel their presence." He answered, looking at her terrified face.
"The hunters are definitely down there."
"Oh fuck me, you can definitely count me out of this! Tight, dark places aren't my thing. Not one bit!" Apollo said with raised hands. Artemis, however, would not accept any of his excuses and dragged him by the collar, following Percy who was already walking down the steps.
-X-
"Get back here, pretty girl!"
"When I catch you, your skin will be used for my leather seat!"
She could hear the monster's laugh echo throughout the halls as she continued to run away. That's all she had been doing for Gods know how long now. Just running and running and running some more without reprieve. Her body was starting to give, she could feel it. No food, barely any water, and no rest for what felt like days was definitely making its mark. She couldn't do a damn thing about it though. There wasn't anything down here she could eat. The walls had just barely enough dripping water, wherever it came from she didn't want to think about, for her to drink. Rest was non-existent thanks to the monsters that always seemed to know where she was. Just when she would sit down to catch her breath, their footsteps would get closer to her position, causing her to get up and repeat the cycle all over again. She had a feeling that her demigod scent was amplified in the labyrinth which would explain why she could never hide from them.
After running for an hour, her body couldn't take it anymore. Huffing deeply, she collapsed against a cracked wall. Leaning her head against it, she closed her eyes as she tried to control her fear. She was terrified. Her sisters were separated from her, captured by the monsters, and dragged to that hellhole against their will. Her Goddess was nowhere to be seen and couldn't possibly know that they were down here. She was all on her own, no one was coming to help and the monsters were only getting closer. She could feel the thud of their footsteps getting stronger and stronger as they honed in on her position.
"Goddamint." She groaned to herself, trying to get to her feet but collapsing under her own weight.
"Fuck, c'mon!" She said, trying again but to no avail. It seemed her legs had completely given out. They had been running constantly and now were muscles were shot. Looking around to see if there were any places she could find it, she scanned quickly but to her horror there were none. She was stuck here, waiting like an animal on the gurney to be slaughtered. The monsters knew it too, their footsteps getting quicker. She could hear their salivating laugh echo throughout the air. They were hungry and knew that their next meal was upon them. Staring at the darkness that blanketed the end of the hallway, she watched in horror as three cyclops and one hellhound came out of it, slowly walking toward her. Their eyes deadlocked on her figure hungrily.
"Found you." One of the monsters said, baring his blood-stained teeth.
She tried to get up once more but found it impossible, her legs shaking from strain and fear. The monsters laughed at her feeble attempts, walking closer eagerly. They watched her in fascination, like an animal trapped in a cage desperately trying to get out.
"Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide, little huntress."
"You're ours now."
Collapsing against the wall again, she knew it was over. She couldn't fight these monsters, her arrow supply long since depleted. All she had left was one silver knife. Unsheathing it, she stared at the blade fiercely. She knew what needed to be done. She was not about to disgrace herself and her sisters by becoming a monster's next meal or sex slave. Gripping the handle tightly to stop her shaking hands, she leveled the weapon to her heart. Closing her eyes tightly, she prepared to push down as hard as she could.
"Forgive me." She whispered her last words.
At the last second, before she sent herself to the underworld, a loud shriek of a sword expanding echoed loudly in the air, causing everyone to stop. Opening her eyes, she noticed a bright, bronze glow, illuminate the walls. She could see a man whose face was half-shrouded in darkness look at them. She could see one lone green-eye, filled with fury and destruction, look upon them like they were ants in his way. Despite the nightmarish image, she couldn't help her heart fill with relief. She knew who this was. She knew what he was capable of. She knew that she was saved.
"N-No, it can't be!" One of the cyclops whispered in horror, backing away slightly. The others had to take another look at what lay before them but when they realized what it was. Who it was. Dread filled their entire bodies.
Everyone watched the infamous green-eyed demigod walk forward, his sword still pointing at the ground. With every step he took, the monsters took one step back, not wanting to get any closer. It was as if he radiated destruction and chaos. No, that wasn't the best way to describe him. The correct way would be…he was death himself. His aura of immense power weighed the air down, making it difficult to breathe. His power weighed down on their shoulders like heavy rocks. She did everything she could not to pass out from it but it was becoming more and more taxing by the second.
"Ple-Please, Perseus! W-We didn't know she was one of yours, okay?"
"Mr. Jackson, I swear that if you let us live, you'll never have to deal with us again. We won't cause you any trouble!"
The monsters begged and begged, falling to their knees as if in prayer. Even the hellhound tucked its tail in submission. The son of Poseidon, however, paid no heed to their begging, electing to stand in front of the huntress to shield her. Making sure that she was okay and not injured, he turned back to monsters that continued to backtrack. Waving his hand in a simple motion, the air was soon filled with the sounds of bones snapping and the gurgling of monsters choking on their own essence. The huntress watched in horror as the cyclops' bodies snapped in half and contorted in ways she never knew were possible for something that large. It sickened her to the point of wanting to throw up but thankfully her stomach that has been empty for days had nothing to give.
Looking up, it was as if Percy had flipped a switch inside himself. One second he was the personification of doom and then the next he was the caring, righteous man he was known for.
"You okay, Atalanta?" He asked her, looking over her for any injuries. The girl shuddered slightly as she peered into his eyes. His bright, sea-green eyes made her feel like she could hide nothing from him.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. Just can't stand." She replied, causing Percy to look at her exhausted shaking knees.
"Can I carry you? Artemis and Apollo aren't too far behind. I can take you to them to get you healed up." He asked, causing the huntress's eyes to widen in surprise.
She's here?! Artemis is really here?!" She questioned, joy leaking out from her voice. It only amplified when Percy nodded.
"Yeah, we've been looking for you all for two weeks now. Speaking of which, where is the rest of your sisters?" He asked, causing Atalanta to grimace.
"They were taken by the monsters. Our supply of arrows was depleted a long time ago and we could only do so much with our knives. They were taken to this, uh I don't know a better way to describe it, this arena of sorts. At least that's what it looked like to me when I caught a glimpse of it."
The son of Poseidon clicked his tongue. He knew exactly the place she was talking about. How could he ever forget about it? Deciding it was best to continue this conversation with the Olympian siblings present, he picked up the huntress and carried her on his back. Walking through the darkness with only the faint glow of Riptide to guide him, he struck up conversation to pass the time. He and Atalanta talked about what they had been doing before getting stuck in the labyrinth. She told him how waves and waves of monsters attacked them wherever they went in the country, believing that it was Zeus who sent them in revenge for what Artemis had done. Percy couldn't find that hard to believe. She also explained how the weather was getting worse. The sea was churring greatly and hurricanes were everpresent on the coasts. The sky constantly stormed, sending lightning in every which direction. Wildfires spread their flames across thousands of acres causing smoke to cover the land like a blanket. Overall, it was not a good time for the mortals. They didn't know what to make of it. Some said it was the cause of global warming. Others said it was natural. Few said that it was the end of the world. None listened to the few but in half a year's time, everyone would.
Then it was Percy's turn to explain what had all been happening. He told her how Artemis had been living with them at Camp Freedom. He told her about the newly rebuilt camp, the raid on the fort, and the battle. He explained how they defeated Olympus's invasion of their home and took three thousand of their soldiers for their own force. It amazed Atalanta at how much the rag-tag group she remembered helping in Alaska had been able to accomplish so much.
"It's not over though. Zeus will still send armies after armies after us until we're finished. That is if we don't bring the fight to him." He finished, causing her to lift her head out from the crick of his neck.
"You can't be serious. Bringing the fight to him. You don't mean invading Olympus?!"
"That's exactly what I mean. The reason the ocean is churning the way you said it was is because my father is preparing his army. Fifty-thousand strong are training as we speak to invade New York in half a year. Not to mention the thousands of demigods at Camp Freedom ready to help out as well."
"Holy crap." Atalanta could only say. She's seen wars before due to her immortality as a huntress but the potential of this one was unfamothable. This was a civil war between gods. The destruction. The chaos. The death. All of it will be unlike anything anyone has ever seen before.
"And Artemis is on board to help?" She asked.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask her." Percy nodded his head in the direction in front of him, causing Atalanta to shift her eyes. Immediately, she was greeted by Artemis who bear-hugged both of them as hard as she could. She did her best to keep her tears at bay but it was hard, especially since she had been alone for all this time now, always close to death's door.
"M-My lady." She greeted her Goddess, her voice barely above a whisper. Artemis could only hug her harder in reply.
"I-I'm so glad you're okay." She said, a tear running down her cheek.
Percy awkwardly cleared his throat, standing silently between the two women who were still hugging each other. Atalanta was still on his back which meant he could feel both of their bodies pressing against him.
"Apollo, think you can heal her up? She can't walk." He hurriedly asked, breaking up the sentimental reunion.
After resting a bit, getting the huntress healed, and explaining the situation to Artemis, the group began to plan their next move. It was obvious that the hunters needed to be saved but there was still a lot of information left in the dark. First, they needed to find the arena which was the last known location of the girls. Secondly, they had no clue just how many monsters could be waiting for them. They couldn't just go in guns blazing. Lastly, and his biggest concern, was Antaeus. His half-brother and owner of the arena. If his luck was anything to go by, that half-giant son of a bitch was reformed by now and holding the hunters captive. Artemis seemed to not worry about him when Percy told her about the blood-lusted monster but he knew better. If he remembered anything about him, it was that he liked skulls, and more than likely a few of the hunter's skulls were probably on a spike. He didn't have the heart to tell that to Artemis or Atalanta though.
"Ok, well, let's get rolling. We need to find the girls fast." Apollo said, getting to his feet. The others soon followed in tow with Percy watching their back. He tried to hide his worry but he couldn't help it. He had a feeling that most of the girls were probably already dead. Looking over at Artemis, he could tell that she was worried too. But she just couldn't fathom the idea that her hunters were all dead, which was why she was heeding Percy's advice. Holding onto hope.
He just hoped that he was wrong.