Authors Note: I have nothing to say in this a/n. Oh wait, I do. Me being an idiot didn't put the actual translation to that bold Greek sentence. But it's there now so if you missed it, go check it out.

Chapter 13: Stuff happens, what else is new? Perseus, you better watch out!

Kylotes, the right-hand man of Tartarus himself, was not having a great day. The cyclops was summoned all the way to the doors of death, wondering why his master had been spending so much time over there. It didn't help that the army of the pit was feeling quite restless, and so were the other major monsters residing like Typhon. There hadn't been any large scale attacks against Olympus for quite some time now, the last one being from the war against the titans almost four hundred years ago. It was about time the puny gods were knocked down a peg or two, they thought.

As soon as Kylotes reached the canyon where the doors were kept, he was greeted by an odd sight. Large tentacle like structures were coming out from the misty sky, (not really a sky in the first place) and they all seemed to be connected to something. On closer inspection, it looked like translucent oval beans, with a weird grey liquid inside of it, but nothing else was in it as well. There looked like to be at least a dozen of them, and they were also connected by another set of large tentacle structures coming from the ground of Tartarus itself. Some of them didn't have the oval beans connected to them as well.

"Impressive, aren't they." a deep rumbling voice spoke up behind Kylotes, making him jump. Behind him was Tartarus, wearing nothing but a loincloth and grinning like a madman.

"I must say, I was skeptical about this. But after seeing the fruits of our labor in the flesh, I'll say it was definitely worth it. The perks were amazing as well." the lord of the pit said.

"That is wonderful to hear Milord." Kylotes said, nervousness laced in his voice. "But I don't understand why you called me here in the first place. I doubt there's anything for me to do here."

"Oh but there is, my friend. Soon enough, these pods will be occupied and I need you to watch over them once that happens. Even though I can ban this place from the monsters, there are some out of my jurisdiction and we don't want any sort of accidents to take place now, would we? Which is why I'm assigning to you this job in the first place. And you don't have to be here all the time. You can always go back to the palace for the weekends, not to mention there are lots of drakons over here. Farming parts has never been so easier, am I right?" Tartarus replied, a malevolent grin on his face.

Kylotes gulped. "That's true Milord, quite true. So when will I begin this new job?"

"In a weeks' time, you will be notified as soon as possible. And speaking of drakons..." Tartarus said as he gave out an ear splitting whistle. Within moments, a drakon appeared, it's sickly yellow eyes boring down on its master as it let out a low growl.

"It seems that hellhounds aren't enough for that thing. Especially when I find them back in my realm days later, regenerating and not with my prize. Looks like I would have to up my game if I'm ever going to succeed."

"You know its scent now. Bring it to me alive, and if possible, dead. But it being alive is fine so whatever is possible." Tartarus said to the drakon, holding it by its head. He then let it go and the drakon charged up ahead, heading for the doors of death.

"Milord...if I may. How dangerous is this thing you are actively hunting? Will it be a threat to us or..." Kylotes asked.

Tartarus just stared into the distance as he let out a heavy sigh. "Let's just say, if my fears are confirmed to be true, then I want it eliminated as soon as possible. I honestly can't risk this, though I'm not even sure how much I will risk. But I will have my prize, my conquest fulfilled. Whatever it takes.

"I'm bored. You want to pull a prank?"

"No."

"Go hunting?"

"No."

"Have a spar with me?"

"Maybe."

"Alright, that's enough. Don't give me those one word answers. Are you honestly telling me there is nothing you want to do today?" Artemis asked, as she sat up. She and Perseus were in the gardens on Olympus, resting on the grass as they were waiting for the 'Sunday Olympian breakfast' to start. A tradition started by the goddess of family of course.

"I don't know. I think it's because I'm grounded that I'm feeling let down. Like, I have never been grounded before in my life, like never. Even when I play pranks, get into shenanigans with you and Apollo, and change your dad's shaving cream with toothpaste for the fifteenth time. Mom was rather mad at me and Uncle Hades."

"Didn't any of you two tell her what even happened?" Artemis asked.

"She saw the full thing. Sure, she said that she was proud of what I did in order to save Phoebe, but she also said I shouldn't have left Hades's side in the first place. Then she went scary mode on Hades because he got unnecessarily distracted in the first place. Though I'm lucky she didn't ground me within the house, otherwise I wouldn't be here in the first place."

"Thank Hestia for that. So, are you excited about Hera's new baby? I hope it's a girl, then the two of us can easily go against you and Apollo." Artemis said.

"So you do admit you can't handle the two of us together?" Perseus asked, grinning. "Well, we are the awesome duo, the best of the best, the heartthrobs-"

"Don't. You. Dare. Finish. That. Sentence." Artemis growled, holding a knife under Perseus's throat, who immediately scrambled away. "But to answer your question, I have been dealing with you knuckleheads for at least four months now, I can handle more than that."

"Nope you have finally reached your limit because you can't handle our awesomeness." Perseus said, and immediately got up and started running to the Olympian dining hall, Artemis hot on his heels. The two of the were laughing as they ran through the large halls. The chase was cut short however when Athena managed to get a hold of them by carrying by their hands. "Kids, the amount of energy you have this early in the morning, on a Sunday nonetheless, is mind blowing. At least pity us working immortals and quiet down." Athena said, as she let out a yawn.

"How are you even able to carry us?" Perseus asked Athena, as he tried to break free from her grasp.

"Super strength." she simply replied. She then raised an eyebrow at Artemis, who was waving a knife in front of her and gesturing it to her hand.

"Try to cut me, and your friend over here won't be the only one grounded." Athena stated, and smirked when she saw the down trodden look on her half-sister's face. "Cheer up, I've heard that Demeter has brought her famous cheese pie for breakfast so no cereal this time." Artemis immediately brightened up while Perseus was indifferent. As long as he had his pancakes, he was content.

Athena then set the two down and ushered them to the dining room where most of the major Olympian gods were. Zeus was overseeing the construction of the city of Olympia while Ganymede his attendant was pouring his coffee induced nectar. Poseidon was making what looked like a house out of slice bread and breadsticks. Ares was cleaning his shield, and simultaneously combing his hair. Demeter was sleeping with her body half on the floor and her head on her chair. Hestia and Apollo then came out of the kitchen holding the breakfast and set it on the table.

"Zeus no outside work allowed on the table. Poseidon, stop behaving like one year old Perseus. Ares, no weapons allowed, shield counted. Apollo, please wake up Demeter and Athena help me with the pie. Kids, you are going to set the plates and hurry up or the food will get cold." The Olympians then immediately got to work under Hestia's orders. Soon enough, breakfast was served and the usual Olympian banter had started.

"So Poseidon, a little birdie told me that you have the hots for one of the nereids. Pretty surprising it's not all fifty." Zeus said smirking.

Poseidon merely shrugged. "That is true. The one nereid part, not the fifty. But you know, a little fishie told me that you have reached girlfriend No. 50. Pretty surprising you haven't reached one hundred."

"Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Is that a challenge, brother?"

"Possibly."

"Are you'll seriously talking about how many girlfriends you'll can have?!" Demeter asked with a disgusted look on her face. "Children are eating here, and I'm not even surprised with your antics anymore. Even Hades is more mature then you two."

Ares dropped his fork when he heard his aunts' words. "Did you just compliment Hades?! Has Tartarus actually frozen over?"

Demeter sniffed as she bit into the pie. "I still hate him, thank you very much."

Apollo blinked slowly. "But you just...said something good about him?"

"Well, I won't say it to his face, I have a reputation to hold!" Demeter said getting up. "And the pie needs more salt." and went to the kitchen.

"So Perseus, how are you handling your terrakinesis so far?" Athena asked.

"It's going great actually. I'm used to the usual pillars and spikes now. I'm trying to see if I can move rocks or no, and maybe even change their shape. I think that would be cool during battle if I need an extra weapon or something." Perseus replied.

"And I thought of that mind you." Poseidon said with a grin. "Imagine Perseus, all cool and imposing with rocks floating around him. His enemy makes one wrong move and BAM! Gets pelted left to right, then gets launched into the air and as he's falling down, he lands smack in the middle of a rock spi-"

"We're eating over here brother." Hestia said calmly, her eye sockets now burning with actual flames in them. Poseidon wisely kept his mouth shut.

"As long as there are no freaky eye color and voice swaps, I'll be fine." Ares muttered but no one heard him. "Wait a minute." Ares said frowning, as he looked around. "Where is mother anyway? Isn't she usually the one to first come down?"

"I'm sure she's fine son." Zeus said as he took a sip from his coffee. "Probably morning sickness, or eating ham and jam sandwiches again."

"How can she be fine if she's sick?" Perseus asked.

"She's not sick sweetie, last I checked she's completely healthy, her and the baby." Hestia replied.

"But...Uncle Zeus just said she might have morning sickness?" Perseus said, confused.

Silence enveloped the table when a loud noise was heard from Poseidon, who banged his head on the table. "Hestia. Please don't tell me he still doesn't know all this stuff?! And don't say it's because he's too young, he's more or less thirteen by now."

Hestia blushed. "I thought I'll tell him once he's inaugurated as a proper Olympian..."

Ares fell off his chair laughing on hearing this. "Inauguration? Kid won't even know what to do because before you explain it to him, he's going to get whisked away and will probably get frisky with a nymph or a goddess on that day. He'll be as oblivious as the rocks he will control if that happens!

The other gods were soon snickering as well. Hestia had a look on her face that said 'really?'. Artemis looked like she wanted to either laugh or frown, and Perseus was even more confused now. "Frisky? Do you mean dancing?"

"Percy noooo." Apollo laughed as he clutched his stomach. "Don't worry Perce, I'll teach you all about the wonderful secrets of something we call, life. Something nature intended, and.-"

"No, nope, όχι. There is no way I'm letting you do that at all. Fates know what you will teach my son and I don't want to even know how you'll explain it and-"

"Can you all keep quiet please. It's too early for me to function without my nectar. And I need it with that mustard concoction." Hera said, coming into the room. However, the other gods noticed that something was immediately wrong as they looked at her. And that's when they realized that she was not only walking completely fine, but she did not even have a big bulge at her stomach. In other words, she did not look like a pregnant woman.

"You're...baby...is missing." Demeter stammered out.

"Wait, you're, but...how?" Zeus asked, gob smacked on seeing his wife.

"Did you deliver the baby?! How did I-"

"Enough! I wasn't pregnant okay!" Hera shouted, her eyes glowing with anger. "I lied, I just wanted to one up you because I was sick and tired of your infidelity. But I couldn't even find a suitable method without going against my belief and values. So zap me. I lied and pretended to be pregnant, and if anyone tries to bring up this subject in front of my face, I will turn you'll into bird seeds, and feed you to my peacocks!" she then grabbed, a piece of pie and stormed out of the room.

Another wave of silence enveloped the room as the Olympians stared at the door Hera just entered and exited from. Everyone was shocked with the recent development of the queen of the gods not pregnant. It was truly unfathomable, and confusing.

"So... she was pretending to be pregnant so that she can eat all the food she wanted, whenever she can, right?" Perseus slowly asked, which was soon followed by groans from everyone.

"Hestia."

"Fine. Perseus, finish your food quick. There's something that I want you to know called the 'Birds and the Bees'."

Later that day, Hestia was tending to the hearth and trying to dispel any sort of outwardly rumor that had her sister as the main focus. The news of Hera not being pregnant spread faster than the muses' newest musical tickets. Honestly, the citizens of Olympus can really gossip and come up with the wildest of rumors. She inwardly shuddered when she remembered when she first adopted Perseus, the rumors that came up were so outlandish, she almost contemplated moving out of the city only. Thank Chaos for her brother who did the most worthwhile thing ever by shutting the rumors down. Though sending down thunderbolts on anyone dare even mention them was slightly too much. As she was reminiscing, Hestia didn't notice an iris message form in front of her, asking to accept or reject the call.

"If you don't answer in sixty seconds, this call will be cut Lady Hestia." Iris's voice spoke up, loud.

"Hmm? Oh! I am so sorry Iris; I was a bit distracted. I accept the call, and who it is calling me, may I ask?"

Iris didn't say anything but connected the call. On the other side was Brontes of the Elder cyclops, who had a big grin on his face.

"Milady! Good to see you again! I have finally got a breakthrough with the cube!"

"The cube?" Hestia asked, until she realized what the cyclops was talking about. "Oh that cube! That's wonderful news Brontes. Have you told my brother yet?"

"I did ma'am, but he's too preoccupied with Lady Hera right now. Mentioned something about white peacocks, whatever that means. But you wanted to also know about the cube so why don't you come over to the forges?" Brontes asked.

Hestia was going to say yes when she realized something. "Oh, I'm so sorry but I don't think it'll be possible. My son you see is grounded, and with those shadow powers of his, I really don't trust him. Which is why I need to watch over him."

Brontes looked confused. "What does grounded mean. Wait I don't want to know. Can't you drop him off with that archer friends of his or something?"

"I can but he's supposed to be...you know what, I'll drop him off. I think two weeks is enough for a grounding period. I'll be by the forges in five minutes." Hestia replied, and swiped the mist, disconnecting the call. She then telepathically called Perseus who was back home throwing a ball back and forth with a wisp.

"Perseus." she telepathically said.

"...Mom? Wait yeah, it's you. What's up?"

"I'm going to the forges for some work. You on the other hand are free from your grounding and can go visit Artemis and Apollo. But only them."

"...Either you're pranking, or you're a god or goddess imitating my mom, which you're freakily good at."

"*sigh*. Who is the only person that can telepathically communicate with you, not to mention took a lot of steps to see that no one else can with you?"

"My mom. Which means...I can really go? Like, really, really go?!"

Hestia let out a laugh. "Yes Perseus, now don't make me say it again. I'll see you in an hour or two. Bye, and I love you."

"Love you lots, bye mom!" Perseus shouted. Hestia then ended the mind call and teleported to the Elder Cyclops forge. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by a pacing Brontes, who was still grinning and holding a peculiar looking spear. On noticing the flash of light from Hestia's teleportation, Brontes immediately went and dragged her to the middle of the forge where the cube was placed. Only this time, it was pulsing like crazy, purple light flashing from ridges that Hestia remembered only seeing when Perseus was inside it. When he came out of it, the contraption reverted into a smooth surfaced cube.

"So, this cube wasn't behaving like this in the previous times ma'am, never. It was just a normal metal cube which refused to break open. But after almost two years, it has changed! And it's all because of... this!" Brontes said, giving the spear to Hestia.

It was pitch black in color, with blue geometric lines formed along the entire length of the weapon. The tip of the spear had a diamond shaped hole in the center, which also had a blue glowing light coming from it.

"It's a beautiful looking weapon." Hestia commented. "Is this also made from Nexus Platinum?"

"That is correct Milady. My brother was scouting along the edge of Tartarus, next to Nyx's very own realm when he found this half buried in the dirt. It's a godly level miracle I tell you. Now we know that this blasted metal can be smelted and used for weapons and other things as well. And for further proof, look at the bottom of the spear." Brontes said giddily.

Hestia turned the spear to the bottom and saw that a symbol was carved into it. A circle with two crescent shapes on either side of it.

"Is that...the symbol of Nyx?" Hestia asked.

"It definitely is." Brontes confirmed. "Like come on, it definitely has to be. And if you're still skeptical, take a look at this."

Brontes then picked up the cube, turned it a bit and then showed it to Hestia, with his finger pointing at a particular spot. That spot, also had the very same symbol as the spear, glowing with a brilliant purple light.

"Okay...I'm convinced. It seems like the spear is from Nyx's realm. But was that symbol always there on the cube?" Hestia asked.

"No ma'am. I was inspecting the cube itself when my brother came in holding the spear. As soon as the spear crossed the rooms vicinity, the cube started rumbling and doing it's weird pulsing thing. And then, the symbol showed up, right in front of my face. Today is truly the third happiest day in my life." Brontes said sniffing, as he wiped a tear from his singular eye.

"That is wonderful." Hestia said, smiling slightly. "You know, I'm wondering what happens if the spear comes in contact with the cube? Will it stay the same, or..."

Brontes suddenly froze. "No don't touch the cube-" But it was too late. As soon as the spear made contact with the cube, the cube pulsed brightly and an opening was created. The spear then began to merge with the cube as it shortened in length, its materials becoming one with it. Brontes pushed Hestia out of the way and tried to grab the spear shaft but it was futile. The spear was now gone. The cube then gave out a shudder, it's newly formed ridges becoming more prominent and then it stayed still, its surface once again smooth like before.

"Oh." Hestia simply said, as she watched Brontes stare at the cube with despair and horror.

"Happened last time...managed to pull out...but now...gone..." He said, his voice cracking. He then began to cry out loudly as big fat tears started to leak out from his eye. It was then at this moment that Zeus flashed into the forge as well, picking off feathers from his hair. "Alright Brontes, I'm here. What's the status on the..." Zeus started to say, only to trail off as he stared at the bawling cyclops and the guilty looking Hestia. "Um...what did I miss?"

Around the same time, Perseus had travelled into Delos, just outside Apollo and Artemis's house. As soon as he touched, solid ground, Perseus immediately started running and jumping around and screaming. "I'm free! Percy is free! Hello fresh air! Hello nature! Hello mortal world!

Artemis suddenly came out, bow ready and quiver full. "Whoever the Hades you are, I'm going to turn you into a breathing pincushion and will- Perseus?! I was going to turn you into a household decoration!" Artemis cried out as she went and hugged her friend. And then promptly flipped him over.

"Don't come barging in like that ash-for-brains. I wasn't going to take my chances after Apollo's stupid entrance." Artemis said, helping Perseus up.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, really appreciate it." Perseus groaned as he massaged his back.

"You're welcome." Artemis said, shaking her head fondly. "But what are you doing here anyways? Aren't you supposed to- Don't tell me you actually snuck out?!" she asked, shocked.

"Of course not! I don't have a death wish arrowhead; my mom allowed me. I thought I was pretty loud clear outside." Perseus said quickly.

Artemis snorted. "Being free could also mean you snuck out without permission."

"True. Wait, where's Apollo and your mom? I figured one of them would come out to see check the ruckus." Perseus noted.

"True, but mom has gone to visit some titan friends. Apollo is at Olympus actually, practicing for his rehearsal. Though he was supposed to come an hour ago. So, I'm here all alone. Until you showed up thankfully." Artemis replied.

"Okay. So, you want to hunt or go swimming or something?" Perseus asked as he picked up a stone. "We could go get that deer you've been after for so long now.

"I actually have a better idea. Why don't we go exploring? But not here in Delos, but somewhere else." Artemis said, grinning.

Perseus chucked the stone, his attention now on Artemis. "I'm listening."

"There is a place called Delphi, which is not too far from here. Supposedly, there's a holy place over there, dedicated to my grandmother Phoebe. It had an oracle, soothsayers, the whole package. Very mysterious and it's also rumored to be empty. Perfect for exploration."

Perseus was now definitely interested. "How do you know about this, your mom?' he asked.

"Yep, though she was a bit vague on some details. Like why she didn't give birth there if it was holy and sacred place to her mother, which could mean that Hera's curse she put might not even work there. She made some stuff like complications and with stress she didn't think to go there. But Apollo is very sure that she's lying, and you know you can't fool him at all." Artemis said.

"Good thing your mom forgot about that detail. Well, I'm sold now. We are going to Delphi for exploration. And if it's not that far, then I can definitely shadow travel there with us together." Perseus replied.

"Excellent, I'll be taking my bow, just in case. You have yours?" Artemis asked.

"No..." Perseus said, as he stepped back into a shadow. "I'll be back in a sec." and then disappeared.

Artemis waited patiently for Perseus, when he came back with a sword instead. "I figured you could handle the bow." he simply said.

Artemis pouted. "No fair, you were supposed to come with a bow and arrows. We were supposed to be the Arrowheads! Aiming for mystery!"

Perseus snorted. "Nice name, but arrowhead is yours and Apollo's nickname. Gold arrowhead is him while you're silver arrowhead."

"And you're night arrowhead." Artemis said, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah. Are we going or not." Perseus said. Artemis nodded. "Alright then, grab my hand." Perseus said, not noticing the slight blush on Artemis's face as she held his hand. "I know you did this before, but careful of the wind." Perseus said, as he started running to a nearby tree, Artemis in tow. He then slipped into a shadow, and soon familiarized himself with his surroundings. He then looked for an opening that led to Delphi, like he did with Kichyros two weeks ago. Soon enough, he found a warp and immediately went through it and tumbled out into a road, Artemis falling on top of him.

"Ow that hurt." Artemis groaned.

"I'm hurting on both sides over here. Get off me." Perseus complained.

"Are you calling me heavy." Artemis asked, as she glared at Perseus.

"No. And if I was, then yes because you're obviously heavy, if you were light, you would have been off with the wind."

"Not what I wanted to hear, but you get a pass." Artemis muttered, getting up and then helping Perseus as well. "So, we're here huh."

"Yep, and if you ask me, I think that's where the oracle is, or was." Perseus said, pointing to the top of the hill, where a large stone monument rested.

"The Oracle of Delphi." Artemis said, in awe. "This is going to be great. And look there's a sign that says it's the oracle."

"The sign also says 'Beware' and 'Turn back'. Not something you would expect from a holy place." Perseus noted.

"It might be from disgruntled people who got bad experiences with the oracle. Or a dumb prank. But come on, let's go." Artemis said, tugging Perseus's arm. The two trekked on, taking in the nearby scenery and pointing out the distant city of Delphi. They soon reached the entrance of the oracle, which looked like it had seen better days.

"Well, this definitely checks the mystery box." Perseus said, noting the overgrowth and what looked like damaged wood buildings.

"Wonder why it's abandoned in the first place. I mean this is an oracle, they are supposed to famous in Greece. Even though they get a bad reputation sometimes." Artemis wondered out loud.

"Well, why don't we check in and find out. Shall we?"

"We shall. Let's do this."

The two entered the building and found more vegetation growing inside. They managed to remove most of it, but it was still quite thick. "I got an idea." Artemis said, taking out an arrow. She then poked around the inside and came back with a couple of torches. After several attempts, the two managed to make a fire and were able to burn most of the vegetation down.

"Hey I'm guessing you finally had 'that talk' with your mom right." Artemis said, immediately grinning when she saw the look on Perseus's face.

"Um, yeah...what about it." Perseus asked slowly.

"Soooo, did your mom tell you about stuff happening with the body, where babies come from, how to-"

"Yes, she told me everything and now I wish I didn't know. All that stuff- stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry but the situation is too hilarious. And don't worry, I'll stop laughing, though I can't say the same for Apollo." Artemis said, with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"I wouldn't even hear the end of it." Perseus muttered, as he burned a vine overgrowth with his torch. After some time, the two then reached a large room with a dome as a ceiling.

"Now this is something." Perseus said as he looked around. "Hey look. Drachmas. And they are still useable so that's a good thing."

"I found this weird tube thing." Artemis said. "There's some powder in it. *sniff*. And it smells disgusting, ew." she said throwing it away. "Hey, I think I found some clothes, maybe the soothsayers wore them?"

"Really? Let me see." Perseus said, going to Artemis who had picked up an end of the clothing. Perseus also picked up an end, but immediately frowned. "Are you sure this is clothing? It looks too big, and feels kinda dry and leathery at the same time."

"Not to mention scaly. You know, maybe it isn't clothing. No way I would've worn this, even if you payed me fifty drachmas. It has a cool looking design and pattern though." Artemis replied, dropping the cloth.

"Hey check this out. It looks like the doors are sealed over here." Perseus said, shining his torch ahead. There looked to be seven large doors, all of them blocked by what looked to be stone slabs, from the inside.

"Oh no, this can't be. I wanted to check out all the stuff, even the inside." Artemis said, a disappointed look on her face.

"Maybe we can still open them though. There could be like a lever system or something that will allow these doors to be opened. We just have to find it." Perseus said, as he started to look around.

"Probably." Artemis muttered, as she inspected the stone slabs. "It looks like they have something drawn on them." she shouted to Perseus. "The design looks familiar though. And why does that pattern..." Artemis shouted, only to trail off at the end.

"What's up! You found something!" Perseus shouted back, wondering why his friend stopped mid-sentence. Suddenly, he tripped over something and fell on the ground, the torch rolling to the side. "Ouch, what the in the world." he muttered, picking up the torch and shone it on the ground to see what he had tripped on.

Artemis on the other hand, was still inspecting the wall when she felt it. "Gross!" she shouted as she stared at the slime that covered her hand. But she then realized something. The wall, didn't feel like a wall at all. It was more bumpy but smooth and leathery, and cold and slimy. The opposite of...

"Perseus, I may or may not have found something!" Artemis shouted only to realize her friend hadn't moved from the spot where he had fallen on. "Perseus?" Artemis said, as she jogged up to him. "Hey, did you find something?" she asked, but was soon on high alert when she saw Percy trembling. He was still staring at the lighted area on the ground, and when she followed his line of sight, she immediately understood why he was behaving like this. Lying on the ground was a pile of skeletons, with half a skull resting on the side. From the little light shown farther, it seemed like there were more skeleton piles littered around, mostly near the doors.

"Skeletons." Perseus said with a shaky voice. "That checks out the mystery box, right?"

"Percy, maybe we should leave. I think we explored a lot-"

Artemis was however cut off by a low rumbling noise, which echoed across the room. A large groaning voice was then heard followed by the ground rumbling. A loud noise was then heard, making Perseus and Artemis jump. The two searched for the source of the sound only to find a door at the end of the room open, with no covering from the inside which was previously there. The two then looked at the next doorway, which was also covered, but the wall was moving and soon the doorway also became empty.

"Artemis, the walls are moving. Did you by any chance find a lever?" Perseus asked in a small voice.

"Percy, I don't think they are walls at all." Artemis said softly, fear laced in her voice. "Because that cloth we found back there? It came from that." Artemis said.

"But then what is it?"

"The 'it' my prey, isss me. I never thought I would sssee the day where prey will once again come to my abode you know. I thought I would have to finally ssstretch my body and move towardsss the city. But looksss like there isss ssstill hope for me. And thisss prey, oh! You two sssmell absssolutely divine. Too divine in fact." a voice rasped out loud in their heads, making Perseus and Artemis clutch their heads in pain. "What are you?!" Artemis cried out.

"Not what, who. The name isss Python, devourer of the Delphi Oracle, and ssscrooge of the great flood left by Zeusss. Explorersss, didn't you two sssay you were? How would you feel exploring my inssside, hmm? All you have to do, isss ssstay...very...ssstill."

And that's a wrap, and an intentional cliffhanger. I was going to probably continue from there, but it would have been another story thread and not this one, so much better to end it here you know. Heck I wasn't even going to write the python scene but then I did anyway, hence the quite late update today. I'm really sorry about that also, life was getting kinda hectic today, luckily managed to get this chapter out. also, 'όχι' basically means 'no' in Greek. Anyways, what will happen to our favorite duo! Stay tuned for the next chapter on Wednesday. Until then, bye!...\/