Chapter 3: The Hunters of Artemis

[David's Pov]

A child of Ares? Like, Ares from the myths?

I didn't even have a chance to ask what she meant, because Dr. Thorn had gotten back up to his feet, or paws. He was holding his stomach wound with a snarl. The black sword was lying on the snow underneath him, covered in blood.

"You, you're not dead."

"As if a green demigod like you can kill me! I am the strongest!"

Dr. Thorn snarled out viciously, but he was still bothered by his wound and kept the distance. Prowling over from one side to another, his yellow-green eyes locked on the symbol over my head.

"Ares, eh? I see how you managed to jump on me on your first try. But that won't happen again!"

But Dr. Thorn's smile was soon turned to a scowl. Percy and punk girl-I think she was called Thalia?-had recovered and was getting ready for another brawl.

They were also eyeing the symbol at my head. Thalia was mostly neutral about it, but Percy had a perplexed expression on his face.

"How did you manage to pierce that thing again?"

"I, uh, there is a weak spot near his underbelly."

"Not anymore. The wound had already healed up."

The blonde girl pointed out. Indeed, the spring of blood flowing down was already healed up. Dr. Thorn barked out a laugh triumphantly.

"Yes! Now I am truly invincible against celestial bronze; which means that none of you can make the smallest scratch on my body anymore. Now die!"

With a roar, Dr. Thorn pounced up once more.

We all scattered in a different direction: I dived under him to the front, while Percy moved left with the blonde girl, and the punk girl joined Underwood at the right.

Underwood started to play a tune again; it was a peculiar sounding one, it sounded like two songs were stacked upon each other.

One was similar to the previous melody; Dr. Thorn snarled out of frustration as he tore apart the vines climbing up his calves.

The other one was more battle-hardened and spirit-lifting. I could tell because it did just that; I felt a sudden boost of energy surge around my limbs, and while Dr. Thorn was occupied I managed to retrieve my sword. By then punk girl had retrieved her spear, and Percy had his sword in hand as well.

"Gah! Damn Satyr!"

Dr. Thorn swatted away a vine that tried to go up to his nostril and fired his missile spikes over to Underwood, but he managed to scamper away out of the way.

He now focused on the second tune as we all circled Dr. Thorn, who now just realized he was surrounded, but he still had a confident smirk on his lion-like face.

"Try! If you might dare, foolish demigods!"

"Oh, I'll dare you alright!"

Thalia was the first to make an advance. She was still mad with the whole fake voice situation and lunged in with a fierce intent jabbing straight at his forehead.

But when the spear tip connected, the flesh didn't open up. Instead, there was a 'clang!' and sparks flew from it as if Thalia had stabbed at a thick plate of iron.

"What the?!"

She quickly raised her shield as Dr. Thorn slashed at her.

There was a horrible screeching noise as his claws scraped the surface of the shield, and somehow the 'terribleness' of the shield lessened; I could now make out that it had a face of the gorgon Medusa molded to it.

I couldn't help but wonder if these kids somehow met Medusa and cut off her head. That would be a story I'd like to hear…unless Medusa was a nice lady at daycare or something.

Percy tried a surprise attack from behind. He hacked down at Dr. Thorn's tail, trying to cut it out again, but the blade bounced off without leaving a mark and he had to hastily retreat as several fire-engulfed spikes flew out of it.

"He's like a Nemean Lion! Don't attack head-on!"

"Fool! Do not compare my ability to that beast! My ability is unique; anything that pierced my skin once may never pierce me again. And every time my wounds heal, I get stronger as well!"

The blonde girl ducked between Dr. Thorn's slashing paws and rolled out of his strike zone. He snarled out, but for some reason, he didn't fire any spikes after her.

That must've struck her odd as well, then her eyes opened wide.

"Spikes! Use the spikes to maim him!"

"Silence, you insufferable twat!"

Dr. Thorn roared out loud, but we all heard what she meant; Dr. Thorn's spike was not celestial bronze, and judging by his reaction to her exclamation it could hurt him as well as one.

He shot flaming spikes towards her in rage. Thalia quickly stepped in and covered them both with her shield, but they were flung back by the impact of the explosion and didn't get up.

Percy advanced at him from behind. He had a spike in his hand and jumped on Dr. Thorn's back. He roared out in surprise and reared up on his hind legs, trying to shake him off, but Percy held on to his fur tightly and drove his spike into Dr. Thorn's neck.

Dr. Thorn bellowed out in pain, his neck bursting out with his red-green blood. It must've been poisonous or something because Percy cursed in ancient Greek when some drops landed on his hand and his grip loosened.

He was quickly thrown off. Dr. Thorn grunted, shook his neck side to side and the spike fell out from his neck.

It's no use. Even if the spike could pierce his skin, they weren't nearly an efficient weapon against something as large as a lion monster twice the size of a lion.

I gripped my sword again. It was just a feeling, nothing but mere speculation, but I had a feeling that this sword, for whatever reason could maim him without a hitch. Maybe this was not celestial bronze.

Dr. Thorn glanced up at the sky as if he was waiting for something to happen, before swiping at Percy again. He was already groggy from the constant battle and barely stood his ground as Dr. Thorn attacked. At his first strike, Percy lost the grip of his sword and fell over.

"Hey!"

I called out. Dr. Thorn turned to me with a nasty growl.

But before we could properly engage, something silver whooshed past out of the woods.

"Gah!"

It caught Dr. Thorn at the side and embedded itself deeply, making him yelp in pain and surprise.

"I-It, can't be! Why would they be here!?"

Dr. Thorn almost screeched out in fury and fired his missile spikes towards the woods. But from the deep, dark shadows 6 streaks of silvery lights shot out as a retort and impaled the spikes in mid-air.

Through the explosions came a volley of silver arrows, just like the one shot before.

Dr. Thorn roared out in pain, his side now looking like a porcupine. He tried to scratch the arrows out but his paws only broke away the shaft, digging the arrowheads deeper into the body.

A group of girls dressed in silver hunting clothes and armed with bows came rushing out from the woods. The youngest looked no older than 10, while the oldest girl was about 15? 16? I couldn't tell exactly; she felt like a much older person, even though she looked about my age.

"It's the hunters!"

The blonde girl cried out. She was holding Thalia in her arms, who looked unconscious.

Dr. Thorn looked straight up scared now. He was growling and snarling at the group of girls, but didn't dare to attack and was slowly backing away from them.

"This is against the ancient laws! Direct interference!"

"Not quite." One of the younger ones of the group spoke up.

She looked around 13, but her voice had a mystical power that made me want to bow for no reason; she was staggeringly beautiful, but her stern expression told me that she was not just good looks.

She pointed a finger at him.

"You, are among the beasts of many that I swore to drive out of this world; it may be a battle that lasts forever, but that is why I am taking it as my duty. Zoë."

The oldest one nodded and held up her free hand. The rest of the girls all raised their bow, aiming at Dr. Thorn. He was desperately looking around, trying to find a way to escape, but there were none to be seen.

They were just about to let loose when a peculiar sound came from above. A continuous metallic sounds of large Iron blades spinning around. A helicopter.

One leek black military-style gunship was nearing the sight, its searchlight swiped across the girls making them wince, and then a machine gun attached at the underside of the copter flared up.

Several bullet holes littered the snowy ground. The girls all started to take cover, and Dr. Thorn let out a roar of a laugh.

"Looks like the luck is on my side, huntress!"

The girl who spoke to Dr. Thorn had a frown on her face. The bullets didn't seem to reach her; it looked like the moonlight itself was making a shield around her, and she had just reached out her hand toward the impending helicopter, when-

"Ah!"

Chilling shirk pierced the night.

One of the youngest girls had fallen over, her legs gushing out with blood. The one with a circlet instantly turned around and leaped over to her, as the machine gun fired again.

My legs moved without thinking.

They kicked on the snowy ground so hard, I think I felt my muscles snap apart as I ran. The sighting around me blurred as if I was in a car; I had to reach her before a second fire line can mangle her.

The good news was: I managed to miraculously get there in time.

The bad news was: I was still shot. Multiple times.

A second volley of bullets showered down on my back─and just for a millisecond, I felt the worst pain I'd ever felt.

I counted a dozen bullets piercing my skin and flesh, ripping them apart, and digging into my bones.

Then my consciousness left my body, and everything went black.

[3rd Person Pov]

"Wha-"

Zoë Nightshade was perplexed at the action of David. For one, the speed of him running towards was so fast, that he felt more like a car rather than a human, which was a surprising sight even for someone like her.

The second reason was, he ran at that much of an incredible feat to what─take cover for them? That was the most bizarre action she had seen a man take in 3 millennials, which was a very bold claim, especially for her.

But she soon gathered her wits and quickly moved behind a nearby bolder, signaling to her sisters to stay hidden with their bows loaded. They were not yet completely out of the line of fire.

The helicopter was still circling the area, and Artemis was having trouble dealing with it.

She had originally planned to turn it into a flock of birds, as no mortals were allowed to witness her hunt; but her magic was blocked by an enchantment of equal strength, and the bullets were also not all just ordinary steel, but a random mixture of steel and celestial bronze, so that even she couldn't afford to let her guard down.

Zoë let the young hunter, named Luna, down onto the ground and knelt next to her.

"Are thee alright? How is thy leg?"

"Is he dead?"

Luna's face was pale white, her eyes were locked on David. Zoë looked back as well at the mangled body of the boy. His blood was slowly sapping into the white snow around him. If he weren't killed by getting shot, he was very close to it anyway.

"Zoë, we can't let him die! He saved our lives!"

"No, he didn't."

Luna gave her a perplexed look. Zoë held her tongue herself because technically she knew that he indeed saved their lives; an act of heroism, if you will. And that idea made her stomach turn over out of shame and anger to herself.

How could she let herself get saved by a man after all these years after he had left her alone without a second thought, his precious golden apple in hand?

Zoë reached for her sack at her waist and pulled out a small flask filled with Nectar.

The flask was given to every hunter to heal them at the most perilous state if it ever came. Even previously mortal hunters could use them, as they counted as 'children' of Artemis with her blessings.

Zoë treated the wound of the young huntress before taking a glance around the boulder at the boy again. Miraculously, she could make out his chest slightly moving up and down-he was still alive.

'I am going to regret this.'

She waited for a few seconds in case there was another shower of bullets, and when none came, she quickly darted out towards David.

Not to be confused or jumping to conclusions here; Zoë was as cold to men as any of the most mature hunters, partly because she was one of the most mature ones present.

But she at least had enough sense of honor to not let someone just die after saving her life. Even if she was skeptical at the idea of admitting it.

She knelt next to David, hoisted his arm around her shoulder, held her impulse to immediately throw him back down, and dragged his body back to the boulder.

Meanwhile, Artemis now had a clear frown on her face as she had a confrontation with the helicopter.

If it was a normal chopper, she would've just turned it into a flock of birds and been done with it. However, she was irritated and secretly concerned to find that the helicopter was being protected by its ancient magic.

A spell cast by someone very powerful at that, as it easily deflected her magic, when her powers were only outmatched by the elder Olympians (the Big Three, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia) are the only gods who surpass her.

She fired streaks of moonlight rays at the whirring machinery above, trying to either break the spell protecting it or to physically bring it down, but it wasn't an easy task with all of the things she had to be aware of and take care of.

The Manticore kept trying to get closer to Annabeth & Thalia, determined to get his meaty paws on at least one of the two. He didn't dare move close to the goddess and a few lines of moonlight were enough to keep it at bay, but he was a nuisance nonetheless.

Annabeth also saw the problem and tried to move to safety with a passed-out Thalia. But it wasn't easy with stray bullets bouncing all over, streaks of moonlight whooshing past, and occasional explosive spike from Dr. Thorn.

From afar she saw that Percy was back up to his feet; far from his best state, but he was determined to help his friends. Even if that meant getting across the furious field of battle happening in between them.

"Percy, stay back! Grover! We need to get over to the hunters!"

"Right! But-"

Grover was cut short by another, yet a similar sound.

A second helicopter approached from miles away, the same sleek black military copter, but this one was armed with 3 attachments of laser-guided missiles on each side, all of which were fired at the side of the cliff.

Huge explosions followed one after the other, shaking the entire background, and erupting snow and dirt high up into the ground. Some hunters screamed out as their goddess was engulfed amid all the chaos, disappearing from view.

The one who could move was the Manticore. It was at the edge of the fire unlike the goddess and seized his chance immediately leaping to Annabeth and Thalia, his eyes glinting with victory.

"No!"

Annabeth brandished her knife, trying her best to fend him off, but it was in vain. Manticore easily knocked away both her and Grover away with a single flick of his tail and stung one of the poisonous spikes into Thalia's back.

She flinched in her spot, and then went completely limp; not even moving a muscle as the tail wrapped around her waist and hoisted her up.

He was about to jump onto the first helicopter, much to Annabeth's dismay, but then a single line of silver flew out from the ash and smoke and impaled straight through the chopper.

It exploded with a huge 'Bang!' on the spot, and the Manticore was flung back to the ground, landing on the floor heavily.

He stood right back up though, the snow had softened the impact of the fall, and he glared and roared out in fury as the dust flung away as if a gust of wind pushed them away to reveal Artemis, flickering with silver lights here and there, and a very sour taste in her mouth.

"Direct interference!"

"Silence, beast! Do not argue laws of ancient times to me with your filthy mouth!"

She retorted fiercely, and a bow made entirely of silver appeared in her hand. It was also flickering with silver light, and the air around the cliff hummed at the presence of it alone.

The Manticore's fury changed to fear. He shouted "You wouldn't dare!" but still backed away as fast as he could, swatting aside Annabeth who tried to stop him in his tracks and started to run to the cliff.

But before Artemis took her shot, a distant thunder rumbled, and suddenly the glittering silver lights around her vanished in a blink of an eye. Artemis herself swayed on her spot and collapsed to one knee, her breath heavy with beads of sweat dripping from her face.

"M'lady!"

"Hunters! Don't let the beast escape!"

They all instantly rushed out of the woods at her command. Now that the threat of being shot was no more, they filed up in a neat formation and let loose their arrows.

"Wait!"

Annabeth screamed out as Thalia was also at the line of fire. But the arrows let loose, and it hit the Manticore's back and calves, making it growl and stumble, collapsing at the edge of the cliff.

The volley of arrows stopped for a moment as the hunters reloaded. And Annabeth saw the Manticore's skin changing colors yet again; from the areas around his arrow wounds, dirty grey fur was covering over the red.

She instantly lunged out with her knife and drove it deeply at the root of his tail, over the grey fur. It went straight inside, and Manticore roared out in pain, rearing upwards while scratching the air with his front paws.

Poisonous blood gushed out and sprayed over Annabeth's hand, singing her skin badly, but she gritted her teeth and twisted the knife against the wound. The tail was still in a furious shade of red.

"Let her go!"

"If you are so willing, I might as well do better to take both of you!"

Manticore hissed out and threw himself over the cliff.

Annabeth was nearly hauled along when at the last second a silver arrow landed on her backhand and she instinctively let go─to her horror than anyone else.

"Thalia!"

She saw her tumble along into the darkness and reached out, not caring that she was also still falling over the cliff…until someone grasped her arm from above, and Thalia went out of sight.

"No!"

At that moment, Annabeth was back at the very beginning; when she had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

Just like then, she tried in vain to help Thalia.

And just like then, she has pulled away from her.

Then, by Luke Castellan.
Today, by Perseus Jackson.

She cried and screamed and kicked out viciously, but eventually broke down into sobs in his arms.

That day, she lost her sister─her older sister, for the second time.

A tad bit too dramatic, but I had already rewritten this chapter 3 times, and I'm not going through that process again. Maybe I am thinking too deeply about this, who knows.

I hope it was entertaining for you guys!