Percy POV

"I'm sorry, do you two know each other or something?" Piper suddenly blurted out. I wasn't an expert at deciphering emotions, but her face was easy to read. Confusion and angst.

"Who's this?" Eris asked, gesturing towards the daughter of Aphrodite. "Of course I remember you Perseus, and I briefly saw the scrawny boy once when Ephialtes was bragging to daddy about capturing the foolish son of Hades."

"Who are you calling scrawny-" Nico muttered under his breath, but I shot him a warning look. Eris was the last person to agitate, especially with our… complicated relationship.

"But I've never seen you before," Eris continued, her eyes still fixed on Piper. "Last I checked, Percy was with that blonde chick, but he seems to have upgraded." She sighed, the smile never leaving her. "Ah, Mother would be disappointed, she always wanted both of you together."

"I know you're Lady Lethe's mother, but who's your mother then?" Piper asked. Well, that summed it up. Piper was officially worse than me at Greek mythology.

"My mother is Nyx," Eris replied, her gaze never wavering from Piper.

"Oh," was all the daughter of Aphrodite could say. I didn't blame her. None of Nyx's children were known for their kindness and willingness to help Olympus. "And you are then…?"

"I'm often associated with Ares, if you want a clue," the goddess mischievously said.

"Umm, the Keres?" Piper guessed. At that point, every single person with the exception of Piper face palmed, Eris included.

"My name is Eris." Looking at Piper, I saw her gulp. If it was possible she became even paler.

"Eris as in the same Eris who started the Trojan war?" she stuttered.

"Oh yes, the very same one. Ah those were the good days. Shame Zeus didn't agree."

"Wait, I thought the whole Trojan war was Lord Zeus's idea in the first place?" Eris scoffed.

"That thunderboy couldn't think up a plan so detailed up even if he tried. At first he tried convincing everyone he threw the apple, but when I confronted him, he changed the story so that he told me to throw the apple. Honestly, I didn't care who got credit, but it was funny watching him squirm when I hinted at telling Mother." Piper looked like she was about to faint. Nico reached out to steady her, something Eris found adorable, but she seemed to have regained her composure.

"Funny? You started the Trojan War, one of the bloodiest wars just for fun?" She sounded incredulous.

"Well, it wasn't just for fun, darling," Eris purred, flicking a strand of her black hair over her shoulder. "I mainly did it for the sake of strife, and to prove how much the Olympains despise each other, courtesy of…"
"Lady Aphrodite?" I guessed.

"Exactly," Eris nodded. "And that's how the Golden Apple of Discord came to be."

Piper was still staring at the goddess of chaos, mouth open in shock. I looked at Nico, seeing him with a similar expression. It was clear both of them were having doubts about my plan. To be honest, I was doubting myself, now that I was finally face to face with Eris and her villainous smile.

"Anyway, enough about the past, let's talk about the present shall we?" I could feel the tension in the air, and Nico seemed to sense it as well.

"Listen Eris," I began, my voice firm despite her piercing gaze. "We need your help." She raised her eyebrow, her lips curling into a sly smile, but nevertheless let him continue. "Earlier on, I was in a viscous battle, and in the end-"

"Artemis got captured?" Eris offered, her tone almost taunting. I stared at her uneasily.

"W-What how would you even-"
"Know that?" she asked innocently before cackling, the sound sending shivers down my spine. "Oh please, if I didn't know all about the latest strife, I would call myself a failure. I know everything, from that person Gone all the way up to your return and that titanness waiting in Olympus for you as we speak." My eyes widened in horror. How could she possibly know all of this when she lives in the pit. I could feel a cold sweat break out on my forehead.
"How?" I finally managed to ask. When I came here, I was prepared to argue, even fight with the goddess if necessary. I was not ready to be shocked and spooked down to the bone.

"Like I said, in the Trojan War I've proved how much the Olympians despise each other. A whisper here… a sneaky wink there, and I get told whatever I want to know." I breathed a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Slightly shocked are we?" she giggled, although her laughter sounded anything but flirtatious. "I may not be a primordial, but everyone in the pit knows short of Hemera and Aether and maybe Moros, I am the darkest child of Nyx." Another chill ran down my spine at the mention of such powerful names. Hemera and aether were primordials of light and day. Moros was the god of doom and destruction. Perhaps we had underestimated Eris after all. My carelessness and desperation to save Artemis from my mistake may end up becoming our downfall.

"Now Perseus, why don't we all take a seat and you can explain why you think I'd be willing to help you find your moon goddess."

Calypso POV

To say I was angry would be a major understatement. I was livid. Furious. It had been less than a day since Percy Jackson had left me, and I was feeling a mix of emotions, all the way from confusion to shame and anger. Especially anger. Out of everyone, I was the best person to go with him to free Artemis. I understood him. I had a kind heart that charmed most people, mortals and immortals. Yet, still, he said I was better off guarding Olympus, which everyone knows might be a prestigious job, but it is also more boring than sitting and watching the ocean like Percy loves to. I mean, I am the daughter of Atlas, something I don't like rubbing in people's faces, but it means that I am powerful. Perhaps Percy thought I wasn't capable or strong enough to fight the monsters and immortals guarding Artemis, but I know that's not the case. Even though I have a strong dislike for her, I was ready to travel with Percy down to the depths of the Underworld or wherever she is and rescue her.

It wasn't just the face that Percy didn't choose me, it was also the way he did it. He made it sound like it was a no-brainer, like it was obvious. He made it sound as if I wasn't important enough or skilled enough to go on this mission. Although maybe it's the opposite, and he thought you were so important that he couldn't bear the thought of losing you in battle, a voice nagged in my head. That gave me a satisfying smile. Yeah, that was probably the reason. As I paced back and forth in my room, I couldn't help but think of all the times I had spent with Percy. We had developed a connection, a bond through the battles we went through. Yes, Nico and Jason and Piper and everyone else had been there, but Percy was different. There was a kindness to him that I couldn't get over. Plus, as much as I'd hate to admit it, his sense of humour always made the day better. I'd even considered truly opening up to him about my feelings, something that scared me to even think about. And now, he had left me here while he went off to save Artemis. I began taking deep breaths, trying to calm down, but even as I seethed with anger, a small part of me understood why he had to do it. Percy felt guilty for Artemis getting captured while trying to save him. He just needed to make things right and rescue her, courtesy of his fatal flaw. Besides, it wasn't like he had feelings for her or anything… right?

"Calypso," a singsong voice came from outside my room. I immediately snapped my head up.

"Go away Aphrodite," I growled, sinking back into my bed. She's the last person I needed to talk to at the moment.

"You're my guardian, that's not how you should talk to me," she scoffed.

"I don't care!" I yelled, burying my head back into the pillow.

"Calypso," she sighed. "Open the door, it's about Perseus. I froze for a moment, debating whether or not it was a prank. Deciding that she was not joking I eventually got up, walking the hard 5 metres (too far if you ask me) to the door, before wrenching it open. Elegantly, the love goddess glided into my room, sitting on my bed without even asking.

"What about Percy?" I asked quickly, trying to keep my tone even. Aphrodite smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Artemis." That was it. That was all the goddess needed to say for my heart to sink lower than Tartarus.

"What about her?" I asked in a cold voice. Aphrodite looked at me with a knowing smile, and I immediately knew that the situation was far more complicated than I had thought.

"Calypso, darling, you must realise that Percy is still bound to Artemis by the vow of a guardian, the same one you took for me, remember?"
"I try not to," I muttered.

"Well, anyway, we also know how loyal Percy is to those he cares deeply about, and luckily for you, Percy is forced to care for Artemis. He's her guardian, he has to care about her safety more than her own brother."

"Percy hates her," I growled. Aphrodite looked at me with a sad smile.

"Then tell me, my guardian, where is he right now? Is he not searching as we speak for her? Is he not travelling to the Underworld for her?"

"He's doing that because he's guilty!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "It's his fault she is captured."
"You tell yourself that," the goddess said. "Remember, in the end it was your choice to live in denial and get your future robbed by a moon goddess." I sat there, stunned by her words. It made sense in a way. Percy had always been fiercely loyal to those he cared about.

"Why hasn't he dumped me for her then?" I asked with a defeated sigh.

"Because Percy is living in denial as well. He's bottled the feelings down after what she did, but soon enough, they're gonna force their way to the surface. It's basic physics. When something is kept down for so long, the pressure builds up until it needs to be relieved, and it bursts open." I squeezed my eyes. The thought of him having feelings for her was almost too much to bear. It was bad enough that he was off trying to rescue her, risking his own life in the process, but to know that there was something more, something deeper… It was almost too much to handle.

"I just don't understand," I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why does he always have to do this? He's not safe around such a lunatic moon goddess. Why can't he just let Artemis go and move on with his own life?" Aphrodite sighed, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"Percy is brave and selfless, and he'll stop at nothing to save Artemis, being her guardian and all. While he is bound to her by oath, he is forced to help her out, and unbeknown to him, the two may even have a future set out. I cannot say for certain, only the Fates can, and man they have a twisted sense of humour." I nodded, although at this point I just needed to be left alone. Fortunately, my patron seemed to sense this.

"I think this is the best time for me to take my leave," she sighed, standing up and walking to the door. Just before she left the room, Aphrodite turned around to face me, a small smile still on her face.

"Don't worry, Calypso. You're still young and shockingly beautiful. There are plenty of other men out there who would be lucky to have you. Besides, who knows, maybe Percy will realise that he's meant to be with you after all?" I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. As she left the room, I sank into my bed, feeling a sense of emptiness. Before this, I always thought that we were meant to be, but that might not be the case anymore. Now, I don't know what to do, but one thing is certain.

When Artemis comes back, me and her are having a long talk.

Percy POV

"I'm sorry what?" Nico said, rather rudely might I add. You definitely don't want to talk to the goddess of discord in such a tone.

"Why are you so surprised, son of Hades?" she asked with a sneer, saying 'Hades' with surprising venom. "I never liked your father, but he was a good source of strife. Oh yes, all the wars we waged because of Hades. It's a shame Hemera convinced Nyx to put her foot down, or else I was going to make the war go on for another seven, even eight years'' Her smile grew crueller. "Of course, my sister could never handle the bloodshed. It made her and Aether stand out from the rest of the family. That didn't stop Father from favouriting them though, for some reason." It was hard to read Nico, but I could tell he was taken aback. Hell even I was. Eris was nothing like what I was expecting. Originally, I was thinking about a gleeful woman who was bored and just wanted to cause trouble, kinda like me back in my days of education. I definitely didn't expect this… A woman who provoked violence purely for her own satisfaction… Someone who found the prospect of bloodshed amusing.

"Mother!" Lethe exclaimed. "Can we stay focused please!" Eris rolled her eyes, but nevertheless stopped her speech.

"Okay then, Perseus, convince me to help you. We've never been on good terms so good luck. Also hurry up because I have places to be, battles to watch." I took a deep breath. Despite having planned this argument, I was still shaking from Eris's attitude alone. In mythology class, no one really talked about her, but she was freaky. The way she talked about war was like she loved the actual bloodshed. I silently prayed thanks to the Fates that Eris had never come to exert her vengeance after me and Annabeth escaped the pit.

"You know where Artemis is, and-"

"I do?" Eris interrupted, looking entertained.
"Yes, you do. Don't beat around the bush, Eris. You admit earlier that you know everything about the latest strife, and that includes enemy bases." I tried to keep my tone firm, but under her gaze, it was hard to not break down. Eris shrugged.

"It's hard to know where every strife is taking place, and I haven't seen the base directly, but yes, Hemera mentioned something about it earlier on."

"Brilliant," Piper breathed out in relief. "C'mon Percy, let's find Lady Hemera and ask her."

"Oh, you want to go to Tartarus?" Eris asked gleefully.

"WHAT!" Piper shrieked. "Oh gods, please no!"

"Well that's where my sister will be, in Mother's mansion. Believe me, my sister won't reveal herself, no matter what you do. Besides, the last time a primordial came to Earth was Gaia. My sister may be nicer, but she's busy, tired, and frankly, doesn't care about godly affairs. You're far better off doing a deal with me instead of wasting time Artemis doesn't have to search for a very busy Light goddess."

"A deal with the devil!" Lethe muttered, making her mother grin. "Correct! I may not be a devil, but I'm as close as you get, closer than Hades and those pesky Furies."
"And you take pride in it," Lethe sighed. Eris chucked, making my heart freeze.

"Oh I do. I take pride in causing chaos, strife and discord wherever I go. I take pride in going to sleep knowing somewhere, a war is brewing because of me." Her eyes glinted with a sadistic light that made me flinch.

"Tell me, oh great Perseus Jackson," Eris drawled, her voice laced with mockery. "How are you getting my help? Don't mention going to Zeus and asking him to make me talk, because that would be tragic for all of you. Thunderboy would never dare search for me in the Mansion of Night. On the contrary, pleeaaaase say that you'll fight me for the knowledge. Come one, it's a 3v2, you actually might win!"

"3v1!" Lethe interjected, glared angrily at her mum. "Keep me out of this Mother!" Eris merely shrugged, as if the prospect of a three-on-one fight didn't bother her in the slightest.

"We could win," Nico said cautiously.

"Perhaps," Eris agreed, her lips curling into another sinister smile. "But in the long run, you'd all lose. My siblings are a bit… protective when one of us loses gravely. I can assure you, Moros will haunt you for the rest of your lives, and that's assuming the Keres don't reach you first."

"Hardly fair," I scoffed.

"Is war ever fair?" Eris asked, tilting her head. "Nothing is fair in life, Perseus, and my brother Moros is the same way. When was doom ever fair? Doom, death, revenge, deceit, Misery, Old age, Sickness, Strife… None of us know what it means to be fair." I watched the panicked expression grow on the two demigod's faces. Even I was paling. Moros, the god of impending doom, was someone you never wanted to meet. Zeus would shiver at the thought of incurring his wrath. Eris cackled again, the sound echoing down the Lethe River. She was talking pleasure in the fear she was driving at us.

"We're willing to make a deal with you," I said, my eyes narrowing. "We'll do something for you, and in exchange, you help us." Eris raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"What can you offer?" she asked, her tone skeptical. I hesitated for a moment before answering. We only had one chance at this.

"You say you usually do stuff for the strife, right?" I asked. She nodded warily, as if unsure where this was going. "Well, if you tell us where Artemis is, imagine the strife. Imagine the chaos that will unravel at their base as we plough through ranks of monsters. Plus, you will have the entire council's respect, as well as both mine and Artemis's eternal gratitude." The goddess nodded.

"Using my own words of strife against me," she giggled. "I can see why Nyx thought you deserved your escape from Tartarus."

"So is that a yes?" Piper asked hopefully. Eris seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. Her eyes glinted with amusement. She knew that she held the power in this bargaining session, and was relishing the opportunity to toy with two demigods, and the newest Olympian.

"Very well, I'll help you."

"Brilliant!" Percy breathed out in relief. "So where is she?"
"Honestly, I'm surprised you couldn't find out yourself," she snickered. "There are only two places you would hold an immortal captive. One is Tartarus, but in there, you're fighting for your life and sanity at the same time. The other is the same place my brother got captured, something Nyx still hasn't got over. I tell you, when she went to confront Tartarus about the actions of his children, I thought we were going to have a second war. It's the only time I think Tartarus was genuinely scared."

"Alaska," I said, the colour draining from my face. She nodded. I had feared the worst, and my very fears had become personified.

"As Hemera said, they're very close to the border, near a very, very long river, called something like the Yucky river." I nodded.

"Thank you Eris," I said quickly, my mind already racing with thoughts on how we were going to pull off this rescue. "It was nice seeing you again, Lethe." Then, before any of the two immortals could say a thing, I turned around and tried speed walking out of there. Key word: Tried.

"Percy, we're not done," Eris said, her voice taking on a darker tone. "I want a favour from you as well." I froze, dread filling my stomach.

"What!?" I asked, struggling to remain calm. "That was not part of the deal." She nodded sadly, though I knew inside, Eris was feeling anything but sadness.

"True, but this is why you don't make a deal with the devil. Now, unless you want me to call the Keres, get your butt back here right now." I mouthed 'It's okay' to Piper, trying to reassure her even though I knew things were far from it. My heart drumming, I forced myself to walk to the goddess. Lethe was frowning at her mother's antics, but she knew better than to interfere. Eris smiled widely, before leaning close into my ear.

"Perseus," Eris said softly, her voice sending shivers down my spine. "When you get back to Olympus and fight against Gone, in the name of Discord and Strife I want you too…" My breath caught in my throat.

"Yes?" I gulped, my throat suddenly dry.

"I want you to die," she giggled into my ear, before leaning back and hollering out a laugh so sadistic it made me want to turn around and run away, never to meet her again.

So as you can see, we had that... interesting scene with Calypso. Let me know how you think it went! I'm still not telling what the final outcome of Percy's relationship is going to be.

Also, that's Eris... How was she? I had a surprisingly good time writing her, and I hope you enjoy reading it. The way I wanted to put it was to show Percy that there is always a bigger fish, and Eris is deadly, partly because of her role in strife, but also because of her powerful family.