Chapter 9.
Over the next couple of days following his return, Percy stayed in New Rome with Reyna to make up for the month he was incapacitated. He enjoyed exploring the city further and observing the impressive training of the cohorts.
However, his parents eventually needed him to return home to train with Thanatos using his scythe. Though he was already proficient with it, they wanted him to be extra prepared in case he ended up in a fight with Kronos, a possibility that seemed increasingly likely as the war progressed.
Reyna was disappointed to see him go, but she knew it was a necessity. After multiple scoldings about not overwhelming himself, she finally let him go. Now, he found himself in the throne room, waiting for Thanatos to arrive for their daily training session.
They had been training rigorously for almost a year now, with Percy now being able to give Thanatos a good fight, but he had yet to beat him. However, when Thanatos arrived, it wasn't to train.
Percy sat on his throne lost in thought when the shadows in front of him swirled until Thanatos appeared. "Percy," Thanatos said, bowing his head.
"Stop it, Thanatos. You know I hate that," Percy replied with an annoyed tone.
Thanatos laughed before replying, "Yes, I'm aware. I'm not here to train today. Lord Hades requests your help."
Percy looked at him in confusion and concern. "What does Lord Hades need?" Thanatos looked at him for a moment before replying, "He needs your help rescuing Bianca and Nico. He's waiting in the throne room."
Percy's blood turned cold as he immediately faded into shadow and reappeared in Hades's throne room.
"Ah, Percy, good you're here," Hades said from his throne. "Are Bianca and Nico okay?" Percy replied hurriedly.
"Yes, they are fine, but Chiron sent some campers to take them from their school to camp, and I don't want Zeus to know they are already trained. I would appreciate it if you could bring them here."
Percy nodded before he turned and yelled into the room, "Mother!." Hades looked at him in confusion until the shadows moved towards the center of the room and Nyx appeared.
"Yes, Percy, what is it?" Nyx asked, confused. "Is it time?" Nyx looked at him in confusion before her eyes widened and she nodded. "Yes, my dear, it's time." Percy nodded before fading into the shadows.
"Is it time for what?" Hades asked. Nyx turned to look at him before replying, "It's time for Percy to reveal himself to the gods. Or some of them at least." Hades went wide-eyed before he nodded, to which Nyx melted into shadows the same way Percy did as she returned to the Void.
Percy reappeared on the forest edge, aging himself to his twenty-year-old form as he suspected he would need it. He watched from the shadows as Bianca and Nico were herded out of the back door of the school by a man that Percy could tell was a monster.
He observed intently as they were led to the cliff edge, and as the campers Chiron sent burst out of the school and headed towards them. Percy breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the campers as Theo, Annabeth, Grover, and another girl Percy didn't recognize.
Realizing he needed to be closer, he changed into his eagle form before flying above the cliff edge, but close enough to where he could hear the conversations.
"Give us the demigod's Thorn," Theo yelled. The monster, apparently named Thorn, laughed before replying, "These demigods will be useful to Lord Kronos, boy. You, however, won't be useful when you're dead."
Thorn shoved Bianca and Nico to the side towards the treeline before transforming into a monster. A manticore, Percy thought to himself. Once the fight began he dove back towards the tree line and changed back to human before sending a mental message to Nico and Bianca.
"Guys, I'm in the treeline to your right. Once the manticore is distracted, sprint in my direction," Percy mentally relayed to Nico and Bianca. Startled, Bianca and Nico looked around, searching for Percy, but nodded in understanding, ready to seize the opportunity to run.
That opportunity came in the form of a silver arrow flying out of the treeline opposite Percy before embedding itself in Thorn's shoulder. "AHHH," He yelled in pain, ripping out the arrow. "Stupid hunters! Direct interference is against the ancient law." he yelled.
A younger girl, no older than twelve, stepped forward from the group of hunters. She addressed Thorn with determination, asserting her authority over the situation. "Not so," she declared firmly. "All creatures are permitted in my hunting domain. And you, foul monster, are open game." Her words were laced with confidence, leaving no room for negotiation.
As Zoe stepped forward next to Thorn, Percy froze at the sight of her. Memories flooded back to him of the time he had brought her to Artemis thousands of years ago. He knew she was Artemis's lieutenant, but seeing her in person again after so long surprised him.
"Permission to kill, my lady?" Zoe asked. The girl, who Percy presumed was Artemis, nodded her head. "Permission granted Zoe."
Thorn growled before turning to look at Artemis. "If I can't have them alive, I'll have them dead!" with that he turned and dove at Bianca and Nico. Percy quickly wrapped the kids in shadows before yanking them into the treeline to him, before turning to them with a smile on his face.
"Sorry about that, didn't have much time to react." "No worries, you did what you had to," Bianca said with a chuckle, her brother Nico echoing her sentiment as they enveloped him in a hug.
"Yeah, better alive and in a mess than dead," Percy laughed, his tone light despite the gravity of their recent ordeal. "I've got to sort this out. I'll catch up with you two later back in the Underworld if I can."
Bianca and Nico nodded in understanding as Percy waved his hand, whisking them away to their fathers' throne room.
Facing the Manticore, who remained fixated on the spot where the demigods disappeared, Percy emerged from the shadows at the edge of the treeline, his form shrouded in darkness, wielding his scythe.
"Well, well, little kitty. Feeling brave today?" Percy's voice reverberated across the clearing, sending a shiver down the spines of all who witnessed the scene. Thorn momentarily seemed taken aback, his fear palpable before he gathered his resolve and lunged at Percy.
Percy laughed as he effortlessly stepped aside, swatting the manticore aside with the flat of his blade and sending Thorn tumbling. Thorn got back up before firing a volley of thorns at Percy, who deflected them off the flat of his blade.
"Come on, little kitty. Where's that power Kronos promised you?" Percy taunted, his laughter ringing out as he goaded the creature. Thorn appeared unsettled before finally responding, "Who are you, and how do you know about that?"
Percy chuckled once more before retorting, "You're a fool if you think Kronos would grant you any power worth having. Now scurry away, and don't you dare show your face again. If you do, I'll hunt you down and ensure it's the last thing you ever do," he concluded, his tone chillingly resolute.
Thorn retreated cautiously, inching backward before swiftly turning and sprinting off the cliff, vanishing in a burst of golden light. Percy approached the edge and peered over, his guard momentarily lowered, only to snap back to attention at the twang of a bowstring. With godly reflexes, he stopped the arrow aimed at his head, catching it in a tendril of shadow.
He slowly turned his gaze toward the group of hunters, where Artemis stood, her bow drawn and aimed squarely at him. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice tinged with anger. Percy shook his head, a hint of disdain in his expression, before snapping her arrow in half. "I am night child. Now put away your toy before I decide to break it," he warned with steely resolve.
He didn't dislike Artemis for the most part, but he also knew the only way to prove a point to an Olympian was by using force. He just hoped she would forgive him after the fact.
Artemis's eyes widened in surprise before she unleashed a barrage of arrows, each aimed at Percy with deadly accuracy. Percy narrowed his eyes as he conjured a wall of shadows to intercept the barrage. When the barrage finally ceased, a shadow darted from the nearby tree, swiftly enveloping Artemis's bow and wrenching it from her grasp. With a fluid motion, it delivered the bow into Percy's waiting hand.
"What did I just say, child?" Percy's voice was sharp, his glare fixed on Artemis. She stood frozen in shock, a trace of fear flickering in her eyes as she observed him holding her bow. "You Olympians need to remember your place. Test me again, and I'll ensure your bow is shattered permanently," Percy threatened icily before tossing her weapon back to her.
Once Artemis had her bow securely back in her grasp, her hunters wasted no time in launching their own volley of arrows at Percy. With a resigned sigh, he deflected the arrows effortlessly before conjuring tendrils of shadow that coiled around the hunters' necks, hoisting them into the air and leaving them gasping for breath, their struggles futile against the darkness.
Artemis turned her gaze to her suspended hunters, all but Zoe ensnared in Percy's shadowy grasp. Whirling back to face Percy, she pleaded urgently, "Please release my hunters. They act out of loyalty, not malice." Percy's eyes narrowed, unmoved by her plea, as he tightened his firm hold, despite Artemis's protests. After a tense moment, he finally relented, releasing his grip on the hunters and retracting the shadows back to his form.
Zoe's confusion was palpable as she posed the question, "Who are you?" Percy's smile widened as he dispersed the shadows enveloping him, revealing his identity to the group. Zoe's expression shifted from confusion to realization as she pieced it together. "Percy?" she inquired tentatively.
Percy nodded, his smile warm as he dipped into a gentleman's bow, responding playfully, "At your service, my lady."
Zoe's eyes widened in surprise before she dashed over and enveloped Percy in a tight hug, eliciting a mixture of amusement and astonishment from the surrounding hunters. "How come you never came to visit me?" she exclaimed, a hint of reproach in her voice.
Percy chuckled, gently extricating himself from the embrace. "Well, I don't know, maybe because your goddess would have tried to kill me, and we both know how that would have ended up," he replied wryly, a playful glint in his eyes.
Zoe chuckled in response before she and Percy shifted their attention back to the hunters, who regarded Percy with a mixture of disdain and fury, while Artemis gazed at Zoe with a blend of astonishment and a hint of betrayal in her eyes.
"Drop the look, child," Percy interjected coldly, noticing Artemis's disapproving gaze directed at Zoe. Artemis turned to him, her expression questioning, and asked, "How do you know Zoe?"
Percy smiled cryptically before replying, "Who do you think brought her to you in the first place?" His tone carried a hint of amusement as he watched realization dawn on Artemis's face.
"You brought Zoe to me?" Artemis asked, clearly taken aback. Both Percy and Zoe nodded in affirmation before Percy responded, "Well, technically, I beat the shit out of Heracles first, and then brought Zoe to you, but yes." His tone held a touch of humor as he recalled the encounter.
Artemis's eyes widened in understanding before she offered a soft smile and addressed the hunters. "Girls, set up a temporary camp while I have a discussion with Zoe and Percy." Though the hunters appeared displeased, they nodded in obedience and began arranging a camp in the clearing.
Once the camp was established, Artemis led the way to the largest tent, turning to address Percy. "Come inside, let's talk," she invited before entering the tent, with Zoe following closely behind. Percy smiled before following them inside and closing the tent flap behind him.