The Cradle of Olympus

by Rohan Rodrigues

Taking place for a brief period in Ancient Greece and beyond, at a time when the Olympian council of Gods haven't reached their full potential yet, an unknown entity has made it's presence known. What will it's connection be to Olympus, and the greater Greek pantheon as well? Arc I is complete, continuing on with Arc II.

35. Chapter 35

Authors Note: Man, that was quite a long unofficial break lol. and I'm back, and i have recovered from no writing work syndrome. It took a while, but I'm back on track with writing so that's awesome. anyway, enough of me, let's get on with the story.

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Chapter 35: Panic at the mountain

Perseus was paralysed. He felt numb, and watched helplessly as Artemis shook uncontrollably, tears streaming down her faces. The silver aura surrounding her was glowing brightly, but the cause was something not positively related, if the glow being dull was any indication. Artemis then stilled, her eyes rolling back as she crumpled on the ground. That, and the panicked cries of the hunters immediately snapped Perseus out of his stupor, and he was then by Artemis's side in a flash.

"No, no no no, Artemis!" Perseus yelled, his eyes darting back and forth over Artemis's unconscious form. She was burning up, fast, and the quicksilver colored sweat was forming on her brow much faster than anticipated.

"I- what to do…Apollo! Apollo, get your sunburnt ass down here this instant!" Perseus yelled loudly, his voice reverberating throughout the entire forest. Perseus had just carried Artemis in his arms bridal style when Apollo showed up, a frown plastered on his face.

"Sunburnt ass? Really Perce, and that to shouting it- What in my father's name?!" Apollo cried out, rushing to where Perseus was. "How- what- what Happened to my sister?!" Apollo shrieked out.

"I don't know, which is why I called you down here!" Perseus shouted.

"Um, ugh, I…" Apollo sputtered out, panic flashing through his face. "Olympus infirmary, we're taking her there so hold on!"

"Ajax, you're in charge. I'll send in my mother in case things get-" Perseus called out, his speech interrupted when him and Artemis flashed away, courtesy of Apollo. The group soon materialized in a corridor, the white walls lined with small etchings of people getting their treatments in certain ways. Some of them even gruesome.

"Come on, I may know a room that's free." Apollo muttered, his face pale as he jogged forward. Perseus followed, though it felt like forever as they searched for a room. They finally found a room, and the two immediately barged in. Perseus wasted no time in setting Artemis down while Apollo grabbed a bunch of boxes and began to take out various tools.

"Cloth, bandages, septic formula…" Apollo mumbled, pulling his hair back. "Perseus, strip her."

"Excuse me, but what?!" Perseus asked, not sure if he heard it right.

"Take out Artemis's gear and what not, just leave her in her tunic." Apollo corrected, taking out a funnel like object. He then took a wet swab and began to clean off the sweat from Artemis's body. "Was she already having these spasms before you called me, or is this recent?"

"Before I called you." Perseus replied, gently taking out Artemis's sandals. "Okay, I took out everything like I asked."

"Good, now bind her."

"I'm sorry what?!"

Apollo glanced up, a heated glare on his face. "Do what the medical expert tells you, huh?"

Perseus muttered some incoherent swears as he bounded Artemis's limbs on the bed. Apollo then stood at the head of the bed, his hands resting on Artemis's temples. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, and muttered an incantation of sorts. Perseus watched with bated breath as he held Artemis's hand, as Apollo's fingertips glowed blue, the glow passing on to Artemis's forehead. Suddenly, Artemis jerked up, a low cry escaping her lips as she spasmed more. She then fell down on the bed, her body pale and was shivering a lot.

"Apollo…what is happening to Artemis." Perseus asked slowly.

Apollo didn't reply, his eyes still shut. His fingertips glowed blue again, causing Artemis to once again jerk up and cry out in pain. This happened another couple of times, with the same results.

"Apollo what is happening!" Perseus yelled out, the shadows nearby swirling.

"I don't know!" Apollo cried out, opening his eyes to show they were red and teary. "I…I have never seen anything like this at all, and what's worse, I can't even do anything about this! But… but I may have heard of something like this happening before to someone…"

"Which is-"

"Go get everyone." Apollo suddenly said. "They have to know about Artemis, and they might possibly even give an insight as to what this might be. Last I checked, most of them were in the throne room."

"Of all the damn places, the throne room?! Apollo, watch over her." Perseus groaned out.

"Like I'm not doing it." Apollo grumbled as he watched Perseus dive into a shadow. Soon enough, Perseus barrelled out of a shadow, just next to the steps leading to the throne room. It was moments like this that Perseus wished that Zeus would allow direct mind communication to whoever was in the throne room, but he wouldn't budge. According to him, Ganymede was enough to deliver any messages, which was false.

Perseus then flashed in front of the doors and more or less blasted them open. Inside the throne room, Zeus and Athena watched in amusement at Poseidon and Ares, who looked like they wanted to rip each other's spinal cords out if their glares and shouting didn't convey it enough. Hera and Aphrodite were struggling to hold Ares back, while Hermes and Demeter were holding back Poseidon, and Hestia was in the center, trying to placate them. Hephaestus was nowhere to be found.

"Halirrhotius surrendered to you!" Poseidon yelled.

"That wimp would have done it to some other young lady. And his name sounds like some foot disease!" Ares screamed.

"That doesn't explain the fact you basically did a Kronos on him. Butchering him to pieces!"

"That was self-defense! I was protecting my daughter from your creep of a son!"

"Self-defense my ass!" Poseidon yelled, summoning his trident.

Zeus's eyes widened. "Okay, break it up you two. We can discuss this another time, seeing that Perseus barged the doors open for maybe someth-"

"Artemis is injured!" Perseus shouted effectively shutting everyone up. "She's in the infirmary, Apollo is there too. It looks serious, me and Apollo don't ev-"

"That's it?" Ares sorted. "Kid, Artemis has gotten hurt plenty of times, and she always got back on her feet in-"

"I can't sense my daughter." Zeus suddenly whispered, making everyone's heads turn to face him. "Where is my daughter Perseus?!" Zeus bellowed.

"I-Infirmary-"

"Athena, Hermes, Hestia, you all are coming but waiting outside! And Aphrodite, get your husband just in case."

Aphrodite had a look of worry on her face, but wrinkled then her nose. "My husband? I don't see how he could be any important for all this."

But Zeus had already left by then, prompting the other named gods to flash away as well. Hestia had wasted no time in joining her son, and sent a calming pulse through him on seeing his worry.

"How serious is it?" Hestia asked softy.

Perseus shook his head. "I don't know; even Apollo is not sure what may have caused this. And he's the medical god for crying out loud." He said bitterly.

"Every being is not perfect, even us gods." Hestia replied sternly. "Don't be mad at Apollo, he must be going through an ordeal similar like yours with Artemis being his twin. You can't fault him for not trying."

Perseus opened his mouth, but then closed it as after letting out a deep sigh. "I know, I'm just…really worried."

"I understand. Come, let us go and see if Artemis's condition has changed." Hestia said, flashing away with Perseus. The two appeared back in the same infirmary corridor, where they noticed that Aphrodite and Hephaestus were already present, the latter confused about his presence.

"Oh thank the Fates, you two are here. Zeus wants both of you in for interrogation and possibly calm Artemis respectively." Aphrodite told Perseus and Hestia. The two then entered the room where Artemis was, and to find Apollo at the same position Perseus left him, Athena inspecting Artemis with a pensive look on her face, while Zeus was at the edge of the bed, clenching his fists tightly.

"Perseus." Athena breathed out. "You were there when Artemis…fainted, am I correct?"

On seeing Perseus's short nod, Athena continued on. "Did you ever see Artemis behave strangely before what happened today, or is this a whole new development?"

"And please give my daughter a clear answer. We need all the information before us." Zeus stated.

Perseus frowned a little. "She was completely fine today itself. And the past couple of days too. Wait…now that I think about it, she was wincing a couple of times last week, but it didn't happen again and it couldn't have led to something like this right?" Perseus asked, gesturing towards the unconscious form of Artemis.

"And then when she started acting up today morning, she was, well, spasming. Her head must have been hurting because she was clutching it quite tightly, and she kept muttering something about danger, blood, and how little they were? And that to not to harm them."

A brief silence filled the room as everyone was contemplating what was going on when Athena suddenly got up.

"Ares!" Athena cried out.

Apollo blinked. "Ares? What does he have to do with-"

"He acted like this at one point, don't you remember father? The mutterings, wincing, the headaches."

Zeus frowned. "Are you sure Artemis is facing the same ordeal daughter? If I remember correctly, Ares wasn't admitted to the infirmary, and unable to respond to healing magic."

'That's because he went on a couple of wars! Don't you see, it was a domain overload which has caused Artemis's condition."

Perseus was the only one who looked confused, while the rest of the gods present quickly had their faces starting to pale. "Hold up, what is this domain overload, and how come I am the only person unfamiliar with this term?!"

Apollo gulped. "I can answer that. Domain overload is more or less what it sounds like. Your domain basically goes haywire and-"

"That's a very basic explanation." Athena interrupted. "As you know, each of us gods have a set, or one domain. And these domains, have to be balanced in all aspects. Like say, Artemis's hunting domain. Artemis has to keep track on the balance on how far one can take hunting to, lest you destroy the ecosystem, or how far the wilderness can expand, lest you halt civilization from flourishing. Her wilderness domain also plays a key role in the balance. All this, has to be kept in a fixed and balanced state. But, if that balance starts to tip, whether overly positive, or overwhelmingly negative, then that will start to affect the god whose domain is affected, and it is always for the worst. That, is what happened to Ares quite a while ago, before you even entered this world Perseus."

Perseus frowned. "That still doesn't explain how I didn't come to know about this."

Athena sighed. "This is a rare, very rare phenomenon as it is, and I'm ashamed to say this, but we felt that it would be best if you young and newer gods probably didn't know about this. The only reason Apollo knows is because this is technically something to do with his medical domain. If these cases of domain overload were something that happened uncommonly, then we would have told you all from the beginning."

"As for how Ares managed to get it, there was a time where there were no major battles or wars happening within the Greek cities or from neighboring places. It was quite peaceful. Too peaceful in fact, because that led Ares to face a massive dip in his domain of war, leading him to almost experience a domain overload. But like I mentioned before, Ares actually managed to shake it off, in a fluke situation I must say by influencing a city in Greece to go to war with another place. That managed to placate him, and…we never spoke of it again."

"Wait a minute." Apollo suddenly spoke up. "Why is it that domain overload, if say is overly positive, a bad thing again?"

"Think Apollo. Let's say Ares's war and battle domain is tipped to the scale of more of those things happening. Ares will experience a state of euphoria to an extent, that will render him with madness. He will be drunk on that pleasure, nothing will stop him, and then, his body and mind wouldn't be able to handle the state he is in and will shut down."

"Which now comes to my next point, the aftermath. Seeing that Artemis's body basically shut itself down to prevent the possible mass hysteria she might face. This is just a possible deduction though; I don't have more evidence that this is concrete information." Athena explained with a frown.

Athena had basically left Perseus speechless, as he worriedly stared at Artemis who was now resting peacefully, courtesy of Hestia. But he wasn't sure how long this will last, or if she will ever wake up from it.

"Is there anything we can use to help Artemis? I mean come on, there has to be some kind of thingy over here that we gods can use to fully heal ourselves up with, right? Right?" Perseus asked.

Zeus shook his head. "I'm afraid not nephew. We almost rely heavily on our own accelerated healing, or sometimes ambrosia and nectar. Healing magic is only something we use for dire situations. Like…now."

"Well it's clearly not enough." Perseus muttered to himself as he approached Artemis and took her hand. Later on, Zeus and Athena left, the former wanting to see if Hephaestus could build something that will be beneficiary to the situation at hand. Hestia left quickly as she realized that Leto was not informed about the situation, leaving behind Perseus and Apollo. Apollo had just finished checking if Artemis's vitals and body functions were still functioning, and glanced at Perseus who had just ended an Iris message call with the hunters.

"How are they?" Apollo asked.

"Shit scared. I tried to make them feel a bit better by kinda downplaying it, but Artemis still being unconscious was enough for them to still be very worried. Which makes sense, she's a goddess. Being unconscious isn't in our nature." Perseus replied, his hand going through his hair.

Apollo shrugged. "I guess." he mumbled as he saw Artemis's skin turn paler than before. "You must be seriously worried, may be scared right now huh Perce? Like, you're significant other is right now, in the infirmary, not responding to anything, health is fine but it can change-"

"Apollo."

"Yeah?"

"For both of our sakes, shut up."

"Yes boss."

Perseus then let out a low sigh as he leaned back, watching Apollo as he suddenly got up, and began stretching. "What I don't get is that, why are you asking me if I'm worried or okay. I should be asking you that, you're the twin sibling over here. With the unbreakable sibling bond, doubled with twin power, the dynamic duo, the arrowheads, the-"

"Oh hush." Apollo replied, a small smile on his face. "Let me worry about something I can probably handle for the time being."

Perseus snorted. "Since when was emotional support your specialty."

"Since today." Apollo replied, his eyes momentarily flashing green. "And something tells me we are going to get the full brunt of it."

Perseus raised an eyebrow, only to hear the sounds of flames crackling behind him. He turned around to find Hestia and Leto, the latter already teary eyed on seeing her daughter.

"Oh my little girl." Leto choked out, rushing to check on Artemis. Perseus stepped aside to let Leto have some time with Artemis and Apollo, and he went outside. Hestia seemed to have gone somewhere again, and surprisingly enough, Aphrodite had remained behind as well.

"Has she woken up?" Aphrodite demanded. Perseus shook his head in response, making Aphrodite groan. "And I thought your mother was pulling my leg."

"Mom doesn't even joke about serious situations Aphrodite." Perseus replied.

"Yeah, that is true." Aphrodite muttered, summoning an apple and taking a bite out of it. "Maybe Artemis needs some fruit; they are quite delicious and rejuvenating. I would recommend apples, because they are my sacred fruit. And, because they are pretty and sweet, just like me." Aphrodite said, beaming.

Perseus winced. "Yeah…no. I doubt apples can…help. Apples…"

"Hmm?"

"…Aphrodite you're a genius!" Perseus exclaimed, hugging Aphrodite tightly.

"Um, I am? Wait, of course I am, see I should be the goddess of smartness."

"I will be right back." Perseus said, almost barging into the room when he realized at the last minute that there were people in. but it was too late, for Perseus had already entered the room and tripped over his own feet, startling Apollo and Leto.

"Perce? What are you-"

"Golden apples! Can golden apples heal Artemis?!" Perseus exclaimed.

Apollo blinked a couple of times, realization dawning upon him. "Well, that is a stretch. But it's also not. I mean, I did feel quite healthy and powerful after having my golden apple so…"

"So golden apples area possibility?"

"I would take a shot and say…yes. It might be." Apollo said slowly. "But aren't the golden apples guarded by Ladon and the Hesperides? I mean, you can ask Hera, but I have a feeling she will say no if it's for healing Artemis-"

"We don't have to worry about Hera actually." Perseus interrupted with a grin, taking out the sack he had kept in his cloak. He took out a golden apple and threw it at Apollo, who caught it and then dropped it as he stared at it, dumbfounded.

"How did you…you know what, I'm not even going to ask." Apollo muttered as he started to pace around.

"Where did you get the apples Perseus?" Leto asked.

"Hera sent me to get them for the annual talent show. Kind of a good thing I went today only itself to get them." Perseus replied.

"Did someone say they have golden apples?" Aphrodite said, peeking in. "I want to try one."

"Okay, I turned it into mush." Apollo announced, holding a bowl of a clear silver liquid.

Perseus raised an eyebrow. "Is that golden apple juice? I honestly expected it to look more…golden."

"I had the same reaction to." Apollo replied, tipping the bowl into Artemis's mouth. After making sure that Artemis had swallowed it whole, everyone present watched patiently to see if the golden apple had any affect.

"She seems, a bit more relaxed." Perseus commented.

"hmm, let me see if she is eased enough." Apollo mumbled, walking to the head of Artemis's bed. He then did the same thing he had done previously when he touched Artemis's temples with his fingertips. They glowed blue again, and Perseus was relieved to see that Artemis wasn't thrashing around like the previous time. But she did look very uncomfortable, and was moving in her place slightly.

"…need…"

Everyone's eyes widened. "Did she just talk?" Aphrodite asked.

Apollo grunted out loud. "She's definitely better than before, but there still has to be a lot of progress to be made."

Aphrodite blinked in surprise. "Then give her more of that golden apple juice, if it worked the first time, it can work even more."

"I-I'm not sure about that." Apollo said nervously. "Sure the golden apple may have given more life to Artemis, but, we could overdo it. Which sounds stupid, I know, but there is a reason us immortals don't even eat golden apples for a snack every day. I don't want to risk anything. Giving Artemis the golden apple liquid was enough for me."

"Maybe we should move outside." Leto suggested. "Le Artemis have her rest, and who knows, maybe the apple will try to heal her as time passes. Apollo, you come out as well, staying cooped in will not do you any good.

Apollo and Perseus protested as both wanted to stay behind, but in the end were thrown out, with a promise of some nursemaids watching over Artemis. Apollo had flashed away to see if he could find anything more on domain overload, leaving Perseus and Aphrodite behind.

"I should go back to the hunt, let them know how Artemis is." Perseus said with a sigh. Aphrodite watched her pseudo brother curiously, and then tilted her head to the side.

"You know, I'm kind of surprised you didn't think of using it to heal Artemis. Especially after you know it's capabilities, and, used it yourself."

Perseus glanced at Aphrodite. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, Grandpa P's…" Aphrodite said, making a circle shape with her hands. "he always used it on ailments…"

Perseus tilted his head to the side, and then his eyes suddenly widened. "You really think that can…"

"I'm just saying." Aphrodite said quickly. "The ailment stone is said to cure any disease, maybe even fatal ones. Don't forget, even the titans unknowingly ransacked them to use for the war."

"But you heard what Apollo said! We shouldn't overdo it with shoving potions down Artemis's throat, and an ailment stone sounds worse when compared to a golden apple."

Aphrodite frowned. "Ailment stone is different though. Come on Perseus, I know you're scared about Artemis and want to see her fully well as soon as possible, so why not go with the best and easiest option? And unlike Hera, Pontus would give a stone to you, he loves you. But me more, though that's beside the point. And if you're worried about any potential affects, ask Pontus. I'm sure he would tell you there will be nothing to worry about because the ailment stone fixes everything."

Perseus was still weighing his options as he glanced back and forth at Aphrodite and the infirmary building. "Okay fine." Perseus breathed out. "If there is a chance it will work; the I might as well take it. And I anyways wanted to visit Pontus this month so it works out."

Aphrodite squealed. "We're going to see Grandpa- Mphff!"

"Not so loud sis! Do you want the whole of Olympus to hear about Pontus?"

"Hay ardy kno hoo e es." Aphrodite said through Perseus's palm.

"You know I mean know about his reappearance." Perseus said, removing his palm. "Would you mind taking me to his palace though. I keep forgetting the route due to Cetus changing the routes every single time."

Aphrodite smirked. "Yeah, it is a pain. Lucky for you though, Cetus has been terrorizing Aethiopia for a while now. So the currents are free to use."

"Splendid. Let me go see the hunters, and then I will join you later. We will get going then."

---

Perseus let go off the giant turtle he had hitched a ride with to get to Pontus's palace. Umbra wanted to go shark hunting, though Perseus didn't mind since the ride with the turtle alright. Though he kept saying 'dude' all the time.

"That turtle, was definitely on something." Aphrodite said knowingly. "It was like he was trying to speak to me, I know it."

"Only you Aphrodite, would attract bizarre sea creatures. First a singing crab, and now a 'fresh' and 'righteous' turtle." Perseus said shaking his head. The two entered the courtyard, but Pontus was nowhere to be seen, not even on his throne.

"Maybe he went out?' Aphrodite said.

"A primordial wouldn't just go out." Perseus said, heading down a path lighted by bio luminescent algae. Aphrodite followed him, and the two took in what was left of Pontus's palace. It was reminiscent of a larger, but more rundown and creepy version of Poseidon's palace.

"Stay close." Perseus whispered, forming a sword while Aphrodite took a piece of the algae and gave it an experimental sniff.

"Aphrodite." Perseus hissed. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in the distance. Perseus and Aphrodite made their way to where the source of the light came from. They found a golden structure, surrounded by remnants of walls inscribed with an unknown language. The golden structure was an arc facing upwards, and had a kaleidoscope like portal within it. Perseus and Aphrodite watched as Pontus emerged out of the portal, and seemed to be visibly fuming.

"Lummox omnipotent one. Had to run off to another galaxy, especially when there's a Forbidden Being roaming around here. What was it thinking." Pontus muttered.

"Grandpa P!"

Pontus swiveled his head and blinked in surprise. "Frothy? And Kelpie!" he said, immediately grinning. "What are you two doing over here." He asked.

"We were just visiting. Right Percy?"

"Yeah…and we need something from you." Perseus said, glancing at the golden arc. "What is that?"

"Not important, not important." Pontus replied, leading Perseus and Aphrodite away. "Now, tell me my boy, what is it that you need from me?"

"I need an ailment stone." Perseus said bluntly.

Pontus stilled, and then bursted out laughing immediately. "Of course! Does that mean I can have your vambraces?"

"No." Perseus said.

Pontus shrugged. "Then I don't see any reason to give you an ailment stone."

Perseus then sighed. "Pontus, grandpa. P. I really need an ailment stone, it's for Artemis. She experienced domain overload today itself, and while we did use a golden apple on her, I believe an ailment stone will be much more beneficial to use."

Pontus raised an eyebrow. "Domain overload? I know about it from another name, but you said Artemis needs it? Hmm, you're right, a golden apple is not enough."

"Does that mean you will give one?" Aphrodite asked.

"I…I'm not…" Pontus said hesitantly. "You both know my resource is currently low in stock, it will take a while to mine some more. I can't just go handing it out left and right."

"But you gave me one when I fought against Typhon." Perseus pointed out.

"That was necessary. You were up against one of the most dangerous children of the earth and the pit. And, you had just returned from the land beyond the gods, you needed the boost in power. But…" Pontus said, and then sighed.

"Why I would actually give you a stone, how are you going to explain to the Olympians on where you got it? They will definitely not believe any excuse you will make up, the almighty lord of the cosmos is stubborn and persistent like that."

"We'll sneak in and use it on her if we want to." Perseus blurted out. "I, I just want Artemis to recover."

Pontus remained silent as he piercingly stared at Perseus. He then gave a short nod, and summoned his staff. He then dug the tip of the staff at the ground, and broke a piece from its surface. The broken piece slowly floated up, revealing a small transparent rock with multicolored smoke within, and stuck to the abalone rock, similar to the orb on top of Pontus's staff.

"Here, just a small piece." Pontus said, handing over the rock to Perseus. "We don't want to give Artemis an immortal overdose right." He said, giving Perseus a wink.

Perseus smirked. "Right. Thank you Pontus, it really means a lot. And if there's anything you need, I will do it to the best of my ability."

Pontus had a thoughtful look on his face. "Well I can't use your vambraces sadly, and who knows how many times I have to remind you to not to call me Pontus. Instead, I would like to meet Artemis, the girl who my grandson is courting. You know in case she ever gets to be a part of the family." Pontus said, giving another wink.

Perseus blushed while Aphrodite snorted. "Come on Grandpa P, Artemis is technically family if you really think-"

"Uh uh uh, don't get started on that with me Frothy, I don't want to hear it." Pontus said with a chuckle.

"I'm guessing the two of you will be taking your leave right away, which I understand. But I do expect another visit quite soon from you two, don't keep this old sod waiting."

"We won't." Perseus said, giving a farewell hug to Pontus. Pontus then flashed them to Cypress, on the same beach where Perseus and Aphrodite visited before. Perseus took a deep breath as he collected himself, but watched curiously as Aphrodite had a dreamy look on her face.

"What's up with you?' he asked.

"Nothing, just my perfect patron city giving me some fresh offerings. Oh they smell so good."

Perseus rolled his eyes. "Come on Aphrodite, we have to go and check on Artemis. I just hope no one is there with her now."

---

Apollo was there with Artemis, and he looked like he wasn't going to move anytime soon.

Perseus and Aphrodite watched as Apollo took a swig of a suspicious green looking liquid, checked Artemis's health, and then wrote a single line for what looked like to be a poem in a span of a minute. And then repeated it. Again. And again.

"Seriously dude, I leave you for five minutes and you're still going?" Hermes complained, dumping a sack to the ground. "you owe me ten drachmas."

"Ask my father." Apollo mumbled.

Hermes sputtered while Perseus raised an eyebrow. "Hey Apollo, maybe you should take a break."

"I took one."

"How long ago?"

"…An hour ago."

"We first left from here an hour ago."

"Yeah, but then I came back."

Perseus sighed. "Come on, just go get some air for five minutes at least?"

"No, I have to watch over Artemis." Apollo mumbled.

"I'll be here to watch over Artemis." Perseus said.

"I don't believe that. Otherwise you would have been here since an hour ago, maybe even before me."

Perseus narrowed his eyes. "Okay, now you're behaving immaturely. I'm as worried as you are, but wasting away here isn't going to do you any good."

Apollo remained silent as he stared blankly at a wall. Sensing that the two maybe needed to talk, Hermes and Aphrodite slipped away, the latter forcefully.

"Apollo, something tells me there's another thing that's bothering you." Perseus said slowly.

Apollo sighed. "It's…it's stupid, really. I was acting like a bit of an arse just now, and I'm sorry."

Perseus nodded. "Apology accepted, but that still doesn't answer my question."

"Like I said, it's stupid. So just, forget about it."

"Come on, no matter how stupid, it is bothering you. Is it because I'm not hanging around with you and Hermes much? He did mention that a couple of days ago."

"What, no. …Okay, maybe, but that's not it. I'm just…jealous."

Perseus blinked in surprise. "Jealous." He echoed.

"Told you it was stupid." Apollo muttered. "I'm jealous of the fact that Artemis mostly spends her time with you, and if she's not, then she's doing her own thing. The last time I proper hung out with her was three years ago Percy, three. And while time is meaningless to us, we still experience it. Add to the fact that I now have to drag my friends to go out, instead of us just randomly deciding a group night. I get we're gods with responsibilities but…we're gods! Can't we have, a day just for ourselves."

Perseus smiled. "You know I just got hit with déjà vu." He said, glancing at Artemis. "And I'm going to tell you this Apollo, if you're worried about any of us distancing ourselves, then forget about it. How about this, you and Artemis go for a solo hunt or something once she fully recovers. Maybe we can even organize a group day sometime in the future."

Apollo gave a small smile. "Yeah that would be nice. But first, let's just focus on Artemis's recovery."

Perseus nodded. "Yep, especially after I heal…p. Healp. Help her, help her recover of course." Perseus said, chuckling nervously.

Apollo raised an eyebrow, his eyes flashing. "Perseus, was there by any chance you were going to say, heal?"

"No." Perseus said too quickly.

Apollo smirked. "Are you lying to the god who can detect lies?"

"…Ah shit." Perseus muttered.

"A-ha!" Apollo exclaimed. "You did say heal. Wait, what did you mean by heal?"

Perseus glanced around the room, and after sensing there was no one else present or able to listen, faced Apollo. "You can't tell this to anyone, especially your father or the rest of the Olympians. Because, I have an ailment stone with me."

Apollo frowned for a second, only for his eyes to widen. "A prime resource?!" he hissed.

"Yep. An ailment stone, which can-"

"Heal any sort of wound or disease, no matter how small or fatal." Apollo whispered, glancing back and forth at the stone and Artemis. "You really think this will work?"

"Positive. I asked Pontus about it if you're wondering and he gave no disadvantages, even with the golden apple in play."

"Wait what are we going to tell everyone if this works though?" Apollo asked.

"Uh…we'll say that we used golden apples, but a lot." Perseus said. "Leto must have already told someone that we had used golden apples, it's best if we stick to that." Perseus replied.

"Smart. So, how does the ailment stone work anyway?" Apollo asked.

Perseus face palmed "…I can't believe I didn't ask Pontus about this."

"Maybe just, touch the stone on her I guess?" Apollo guessed.

"If anything wrong happens, I'm blaming the medical expert." Perseus thought as he gingerly tapped the stone on Artemis's forehead. The stone glowed once, and it then broke into miniscule pieces. The multicolored swirl within it passed through Artemis's head and then body, soon enveloping her in a brilliant violet glow. And then it faded.

"Did it work?" Apollo whispered. He and Perseus watched in fascination as the violet glow returned again and then faded, but this time leaving Artemis in her trademark silver glow. Her color returned to her skin and she looked to be visibly relaxed in her place. Perseus even noticed that some of the small scars on her arms seemed to have faded away as well.

"Did it work?" Apollo repeated again. Perseus slowly took a step forward to Artemis and gently grasped her hand. "Come on Artemis, wake up." He thought, not noticing that his hand had a faint sky-blue glow to them. Perseus then felt Artemis's hand shift within them. He immediately glanced at Artemis's face, only to get knocked back as Artemis's head collided on his, and sent him sprawling on the ground.

"Arcadia. Spirit. Wolves." Artemis gasped out, her eyes darting around wildly. "Where…" she said, grasping air behind her back as she reached for her bow. "Where are my…Perseus."

"Oh…oww." Perseus cried. "I think my jaw is broken."

"Perseus!' Artemis, shouted, crouching near him "What happened to your mouth, are you alright? Should I get Apollo or will it heal by itself?"

"…Huh?!" Perseus choked. "Wh-What?!"

"BWA. BWA-HA. BWAHAHAHA!" Apollo shouted immediately bursted out laughing as he rushed to hug Artemis. "You're awake, and you look alright! You're completely alright!"

"Um…yeah? Wait…is this the infirmary?" Artemis asked, looking confused.

"Apollo…" Perseus groaned. "I may be dying."

"No you're not." Artemis and Apollo said together.

"Guys, what are we doing in the infirmary." Artemis asked, then frowned. "And why do you two look so worn out for some reason."

"You don't need to know about that last part sis." Apollo said, fixing Perseus's jaw. "There, good as new."

"Good, because I damn badly want to this." Perseus said, taking Artemis in his arms and giving her a passionate kiss which even took Artemis by surprise. But she too was soon kissing back with equal vigor.

"Oh bloody Fates no." Apollo gagged, covering his eyes. "Why in front of me, have some pity for the younger twin, please."

Perseus and Artemis had then separated, both of them staring into each other's eyes. Perseus then let out a soft sigh as he rested his head on Artemis's shoulder, making her chuckle.

"I am still very confused on what is happening right now." Artemis said, lightly glaring at Apollo, who cracked an eye open.

"Umm…it's a long story which we can't shorten. But all you have to know is, you were the reason we are in the infirmary."

"Me?" Artemis exclaimed, glancing at Perseus then back at Apollo. "Why would I…oh."

"Artemis?"

"I remember now." Artemis said softly, making Perseus straighten up.

"You remember? Like, you know what was happening to you?" Perseus asked.

Artemis did not answer. Perseus was going to say something when he noticed Apollo cocked his head to the side like he was listening to someone. He seemed to be discussing something internally, and then slowly gulped.

"Who were you talking to?" Artemis asked, who had also noticed Apollo.

"Um, Father, that is Zeus, wants us to be in the throne room as soon as possible after hearing that Artemis is awake. And if we don't come 'soon', he's going to go all master bolt on us."

"And what is Zeus's definition of soon again." Perseus said with a sigh.

"Less than one minute." Artemis and Apollo said together, both of them glaring at each other. "Stop talking alongside me!"

"Not this again." Perseus muttered, hauling himself up. "Come on, I don't want Apollo to get master bolted twice just because I used him as a shield."

"Bold of you to assume Apollo or what's left of him, is going to be there for use." Artemis said, taking Perseus's hand and getting up. "Wow, I feel quite energetic really. How did I gain conscious again?"

"We'll be telling that to the council only so find out there." Apollo replied nervously, and then flashed away, with Perseus and Artemis soon following. The trio flashed into the throne room, where they saw that the entire council, plus Leto, were assembled. Leto had already flashed by Artemis's side and enveloped her in a hug, with Zeus not far behind. After a round of well wishes from the rest of the gods, Zeus had then banged his bolt on the ground, a stern but also warm look on his face.

"I am happy to announce that my daughter Artemis has miraculously made a full and healthy recovery from a condition we gods may have deemed quite fatal." Zeus announced. "But this situation is far from over, as I would really like to know how you managed to make a full recovery in less than a day. Perseus and Apollo, you two were present when Artemis awoke, was she like that when you first saw her, or do you two have a play in her recovery?"

Perseus cleared his throat. "Lord Zeus, ma and Apollo decided to use golden apples as a way of possibly reviving Artemis. Aphrodite was the one who unknowingly gave me the idea." "And another one." Perseus thought to himself.

"WHAT?! You used my golden apples to revive…her?!" Hera shouted. "And who gave you authority for that young man!"

Perseus stood his ground. "No one at all, but we had the means, and an easy access to reviving Artemis so we took it. And it worked as you can see." He replied, gesturing at Artemis.

"It worked too well." Hera seethed. "Look at her, she's glowing without doing anything and looks as healthy as a healthy newborn baby. How many apples did you feed her?!"

"All. Which was like, five of them." Perseus replied.

Hera was positively fuming in her seat, and looked like she wanted to lash out again if not for the cold glares Zeus and Leto were giving her. "Hera, I would have asked you for the apples myself if I had thought about it sooner. I am glad that someone else did and brought Artemis back to us sooner."

Hera now looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, and wisely kept quiet.

"Artemis, if you don't mind, can you tell us what domain had led to you in this condition, and possibly recount your recovery if you could feel it while unconscious." Zeus asked.

Artemis had a pained look on her face which was noticed by Perseus before she quickly masked it away. "I'm…not sure which domain it was father, I'm sorry. But as for my unconscious state, I could vaguely feel healing magic flow through me, with the user probably my brother. But I don't think it really helped me, and I did feel some pain from it. But then later on, I felt a something rejuvenating inside me which helped ease the pain. It must have been the golden apples because I then once again felt Apollo's healing magic, but it was much calmer than before. After that, I'm not sure what happened, or how much time passed but I felt another presence in me. This one, much more powerful and rejuvenating than what I had before."

"Golden apples." Perseus piped up, making Artemis glance at him with confusion.

"Are you…sure about that? Cause it felt very-" Artemis said, but cut off when she saw Perseus discreetly wink each of one eye at a time. A sign, that they were keeping something and to roll with what one said.

"Yes." Artemis then said. "It must have been the golden apples, there must have been a lot for the sudden change in its power. And after that I, woke up. Quite quickly actually, because I may or may not have broken Perseus's jaw while he was standing next to me."

"Seems like Artemis will always aim for Perseus even when just waking up from a mini coma." Athena quipped, making the gods chuckle and Perseus and Artemis blush.

"Well." Zeus said after a deep breath. "I believe we may have found a cure to a situation like this (Perseus and Apollo gulped) but I hope this never happens again with anyone, and with it being a very rare occurrence, I hope that's the case for the future. Everyone is dismissed. And Hera, please come with me." And with that, Zeus and Hera flashed away in a bolt of lightning.

"You have some explaining to do Perseus." Artemis communicated inside Perseus's head, making him nod quickly. It took a while, but Artemis was finally left alone from all the fussing she was facing, especially after she learnt that the hunters had witnessed the full ordeal of her before she became unconscious.

"I must have definitely traumatized them." Artemis groaned. "I'm the worst."

"To be fair, the hunters have their fair share of trauma. But yeah, you just added another even in their list." Perseus replied with a light chuckle, and then immediately groaned when he felt Artemis punch his arm.

"Not helping." She muttered, raising an eyebrow when she saw that Perseus was still wincing. "I'm pretty sure I didn't punch you that hard."

"Golden apple…boost in everything." Perseus groaned out, making Artemis's eyes widen.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense." Artemis mumbled, but then frowned. "But you didn't feed me golden apples the second time, what was it that you had to make me keep it a secret?"

"Ailment stone." Perseus muttered, making Artemis's eyes widen again.

"No wonder." Artemis breathed out, staring at her hands. "But that means my godly power must be amped up to my maximum. It may something akin to my divine form!"

"Not exactly, but you're way stronger than usual now."

"Huh, neat." Artemis merely said. The two had been walking through the forest of Arcadia as they made their way back to the hunter's camp. They even found another wolf scouting the area, but weren't able to kill it before it darted away.

"We have to take care of Lycaon soon. I have a bad feeling about him, especially if…" Artemis said, glancing at the direction where the city of Arcadia was. "Never mind."

Phoebe was the first to spot them, and one yell of 'Artemis' was all it took for the two gods to be part of a dogpile. With them right at the bottom.

"Space guys, we need space!" Perseus gasped out. He took hold of Artemis's hand and then went through a shadow and popped out of a nearby tree. He then glanced at Artemis, only to see that it was Pootus the onocentaur.

"Wha-"

"The great Lord Perseus held my hand, and shadow travelled with me!" Pootus squealed. "I am ecstatic, ecstatic indeed."

"Just my luck." Perseus muttered, disappearing into the shadow again, and this time actually coming out with Artemis. "Sorry about that hon, meant to grab you."

"That's fine." Artemis said with a laugh.

"Guys, me and Artemis, aren't in that pile, we're over here." Perseus said, making the hunters swivel their heads towards them. They once again swarmed Artemis, while Perseus stood in the distance with Pootus.

"You know, I'm not even jealous." Perseus said with a shrug.

"I can kick you on a tree if you want. Then you can be injured." Pootus suggested.

"For your sake, Pootus, keep quite or I will kick you into Tartarus the hard way."

"Yes boss."

"We were so scared." Celyn gasped out. "You were crying, and then you fainted, and- and-"

"And I am really sorry about that. But, I'm perfectly okay now as you can see, so no surprise fainting from me, got it?" Artemis said with a smile.

Celyn nodded, and then hugged Artemis, the hunters soon following again. It was nighttime when Perseus was finally able to be with Artemis alone, he entered her tent and marveled at the newest addition to her fur wall, a fur coat from a lion they had killed together just yesterday. Perseus had kept the claws for himself.

"You like it? I wasn't sure if it will go with the brown so I decided to settle with the grey. What do you think?" Artemis asked, pulling her hair down.

"It suits it." Perseus replied. "Listen, I-"

"I know what you're going to ask Percy." Artemis said with an eyeroll, but has a fond smile on her face. "And I am perfectly fine. Like Hera sai, maybe too fine. The ailment stone worked like a charm, and I don't feel anything wrong or different other than my power boost."

Perseus smiled. "I'm happy to hear that, and so will Pontus. Speaking of him, he wants to meet the 'girl whose grandson is courting' so, are you prepared to meet a primordial?"

Artemis's jaw slacked. "A primordial?!" she breathed out. "That…that will be truly something. And a once in a lifetime opportunity so I will take it."

"Awesome." Perseus said with a grin, though it fell as soon as it came. "Another thing, while I was going to ask you how you were holding up, I was going to add something else as well."

Artemis patted the spot next to her bed. "Well then, don't just stand there."

"Right." Perseus said, sitting next to her. "When Zeus, asked what domain had caused your overload, you looked pretty nervous and shifty on answering. That solidified more when you didn't even give an answer, because I'm ninety percent sure you know which domain it was."

Artemis fell silent, with a distant look on her face. Perseus took hold of wrists, tracing small circles. "As much as I want to know, you don't have to share. But I'm going to be there, by your side, always. Always, to help you out in any way I can. We're a team like you always say, no backing out now."

Artemis smiled, slowly nodding her head. "I know." She said softly. "And I lo…adore you for it."

Artemis then let out a heavy breath as she scooted closer to Perseus. "The domain which got affected, was childbirth. And children to an extent. I kept getting these pains within me since last week, and these distant cries of infants. Children…even mothers and parents. I even tried to find a source, but couldn't get any. That was…until today itself. I got more flashes, and visions, of mothers having miscarriages, infants who were not even a year old dying. Children so young falling in Thanatos's arms. It was so scary Perseus, it…I couldn't even handle it. And in turn, made everyone I care about needlessly worry for me."

"That actually sounds very troubling. Which means I'm going to help figure and stop this all. And hey, we can have our team join in as well." Perseus said.

Artemis stifled a laugh. "I have a feeling Apollo and Hermes have gotten lazy over the years. And why do I have a feeling Aphrodite is going to join because no offense Percy, she cannot fight."

"Yes she can. Kinda." Perseus muttered.

"No, no she can't. she's lucky she's mediocre with a sword to be honest." Artemis said rubbing her eyes.

"Looks like someone's a sleepy deer." Perseus replied.

"Not sleepy, just tired. Long day after all." Artemis said, stifling a yawn.

"Uh-huh, and I love getting up in the mornings." Perseus said, stretching out some covers. "Come on hon, I'll tuck you in."

"I don't want to, or need sleep Perseus." Artemis muttered.

"True, but you definitely need especially after today." Perseus said, gently resting her down on the bed.

"I don't want…those flashes to come back. I don't want to see…them…" Artemis whispered.

Perseus paused as he glanced at Artemis, a sad smile forming on his lips. "Will it be alright if I stay with you for the night?"

"That…would actually help." Artemis muttered, but still audible enough for Perseus to hear. He summoned a stool and a cover for himself and set it next to the head of Artemis's bed. Artemis watched silently as Perseus laid his head on her bed, just next to her head, and stared at her with so much love and adoration that it made Artemis's hear beat faster."

"Is this alright?" he asked softly.

"This is the best." She corrected, grasping his palms. "Thank you."

"Anything for you Artemis. Now, shall we sleep?"

"Mhm. We shall sleep, …shall sleep…"

Perseus watched as Artemis slowly drifted off to sleep. And as the night went on, there was only one thought that was plaguing Perseus's mind as he gently caressed Artemis's head after seeing her a bit restless. And that is what being would be powerful enough to lead an Olympian to an almost comatose state. And whether if they were able to annihilate the threat, a threat that involved Artemis, and could have unseen consequences, to the aforementioned goddess…

---

I know. I know I promised some fight in this chapter, but for some reason, I reached my limit. Okay, that's no excuse and I hate to end the chapter without writing what I promised but I have to. I seriously underestimated how much I wrote, and I did promise you guys an update… . so hear it is, a chapter where nothing much happens. At least Artemis is alright now XD. But seriously, next chapter will have that fight I promised, and the story will move forward. And of course, the next update. The next update will happen next Saturday as usual, no changes in that day (unless…some of you guys get this chapter on a Sunday because of time zones…huh, never thought about that :P). But yeah, I hope you guys did enjoy this chapter though I hope I didn't make it too boring, and I will see you guys in the next update. Bye!..\/