Authors Note: Just throwing in some pertemis, don't mind me XD.
Chapter 19: Primordials are weird. Perseus is weird. Everyone is weird! (Welcome to the Greek world :D)
Wetness. Cold and unforgiving. That is what Perseus was feeling as he was starting to get up, his arms reaching for his vambraces so that he could beat the dumb pranker to pulp for disturbing his much needed sleep. Not that gods needed it but it was nice to rest for a few hours. Perseus frowned when he felt his hand brush against something slimy and opened an eye to find himself face to face with a orange eyed sea serpent, which was staring at him intently
"Ahhh!" Perseus cried, swatting the serpents face as he did an unintentional backflip...underwater? The serpent gave a light shudder as it swam away. Perseus managed to collect himself as he stared at what looked like to be a very messy open throne room. Some chairs were broken and depleted, and many columns had fallen over. At one end of the room was Pontus, who was sleeping on what looked like to be his throne with a bunch of jellyfish floating aimlessly around him.
"What the..." Perseus muttered as he swam towards the primordial. "Pontus, wake up. Hey, Lord Pontus!" Perseus shouted. Even though he could properly speak underwater due to Poseidon's blessing, it still seemed like he was speaking gibberish since Pontus wasn't able to hear him.
"Maybe this is a dream, that's why he can't hear me." Perseus thought as he took in his surroundings. "What even did happen here? Is this something from the past or from now? Dreams are confusing for gods." Perseus thought as he picked up a rusted spear. "Maybe he'll respond to this..." Perseus figured, swimming back to Pontus. "Grandpa P!"
"Huzzah! I'm alive Frothy dear, I'm alive." Pontus yelled, shaking his head. "Wait, that didn't sound like..." Pontus said, glancing up to see Perseus. "Perseus? Did you call me grandpa?!" he cried, letting out a squeal. "Oh this is a joyous day! Truly I-"
"That's not important! Do you know why am I here in the first place." Perseus said. "Is this some dream or something."
"Oh this is not a dream my boy. I brought you over here you see. Did take a bit of a toll getting you here though." Pontus said, letting out a yawn. "So when I saw you sleeping, I figured I'll take a nap to. Though I was planning to wake up before you so that I could...hide all this." Pontus said, gesturing at the semi destroyed room.
"Oh...okay. But yeah, what happened over here? Did you face some kind of battle or something?" Perseus asked.
Pontus nodded. "Somewhat. You see, back when your uncle Poseidon first took control of the seas, Oceanus wasn't happy about it. He came to me, asking for help to overthrow your uncle. But I refused, like there was enough water for the three of us to rule over. But Oceanus didn't like that and a fight ensued. Of course, this was a long time ago but I never bothered to fix up everything. Not to mention, I don't have that many subjects to even undergo repairs."
"That must suck." Perseus muttered. "What happened to your subjects?"
"Most of them have gone to serve under Poseidon, some even went to Oceanus. With my blessings of course." Pontus said, getting up. "Now, I'm sure you are wondering why I even got you here to my palace in the first place. You see, I've been meaning to talk to you ever since you got your domains but I had to confirm some stuff. Now, let me get these things over..." Pontus muttered, a look of concentration forming on his face. A slew of bubbles erupted from the water which joint together to form a set of familiar looking vambraces.
"What?! How did you do that?" Perseus asked, grabbing his braces.
"A primordial trade secret. You should ask your mother, Nyx mind you, to get these enchanted so that no one else would be able to do what I just did. May I see them?' Pontus asked, already taking a brace in his hand without hearing Perseus's response. He took a quick sniff of it, tapped it, and then licked it once before nuzzling it against his face.
"Pure refined Umbra Ore! Oh, I haven't seen this beauty for a while now. And it's enchanted to form weapons if I'm not mistaken. It's...it's too beautiful my boy. You know... I can always keep it for you... maybe take this off your hands if you want to give this to an old soul like me..." Pontus said, a slight crazed look in his eyes. "My precious, power, such imaginative power I cannot-"
"Okayyy... that's enough." Perseus said, grabbing the vambrace from Pontus's hand who looked like he wanted to make a lunge for it again but collected himself in the last second. "And what did you call this, Umbra Ore? I remember Hecate mention something similar. Is that what it's actually called?" Perseus asked.
"Hmm? Oh yes, yes. This is what us primordials call Umbra Ore, a very versatile metal that is exclusive to only Nyx's realm sadly. Oh what would I give to have something like this within my domain." Pontus muttered. "All I have is that dumb Ailment stone, really puts a damper into my popularity. But at least I don't have that taken away from me by Chaos."
"The Olympians call the metal nexus platinum." Perseus said, slipping the braces into his arms. "A much better name if you ask me."
"Don't let your mother hear you say that. She came up with the name 'umbra ore'. But, there is something else you also wield right? That was once part of another realm." Pontus said, a mysterious demeanor settling in him.
"Uh...yeah. Hellfire. Though it's a bit frustrating to control. I celebrated to soon when I first got this." Perseus said, summoning the fire. "Hey, this burns underwater. Cool,"
"If I wasn't jealous before." Pontus said, licking his lips. "I definitely am jealous now."
"You know what, I think it's really late so I'm going to maybe leave now." Perseus said, floating back while simultaneously forming a sword.
"Huh? Oh don't get so freaked out." Pontus said laughing. "I promise I won't skin you alive and try to dissect your body to see how you wield the hellfire."
"That sounds oddly specific." Perseus pointed out.
"Does it? I'm just listing out the things someone might do to try and make sense of your powers." Pontus said shrugging.
"Uh-huh." Perseus muttered. "So did you bring me over here just to drool over my weapons or what?"
"Of course not." Pontus exclaimed. "My boy, what do you even think out of me?"
"A possible power hungry primordial." Perseus said in a deadpanned voice.
"Aww, am I really giving out that vibe?" Pontus asked, pouting. "I was just curious. It's not every day you see a prime resource you know, for a primordial that is. This is a big thing for me!"
Perseus sighed when he suddenly thought of something. "Hey Pontus, how much do you know about hellfire?"
Pontus blinked. "Quite a bit actually. We primordials tend to boast about our prime resources. So hellfire is, or rather was, the pride and frustration of the one king of the pit. Tartarus never got the hang of using it really, the number of times he would beg the omnipotent one for full control of the flame was hilarious. But over time, Tartarus managed to get full control of it until 'poof'. It disappeared from his realm, leaving one third of his castle and residents destroyed. Hellfire, has its perks of burning everywhere, anything, anytime, no matter the circumstances. It can create a special kind of ash from the things it can burn that has healing and destructive properties depending on how it is implemented. There's even a rumor that the ash can be used to make a special kind of casing that when added to something, like say a weapon, and can make it immune from being destroyed by anything, even hellfire itself. And yes, hellfire can even melt umbra ore my boy. Be careful when using it, make sure your weapons don't come in the way."
"Unless I encase them in that ash thingy?" Perseus asked.
"Technically speaking, yes. But no one knows how to do that. Tartarus's researchers and mages have spent decades trying to figure that part out." Pontus said, letting out a sigh. "I'm highly confused on the fact that Chaos has allowed a deity to be its god. There has never been something like this ever before. Like, there isn't any god of celestial bronze or ether frost. You being the god of a prime resource has really put us old deities on edge. Aether is already crying because he's positive that his radiant prisms are going to fall into the hands of someone else. "What happened back then to allow something like this..." Pontus yeah, that's all I got on hellfire sonny." Pontus said, stretching his limbs. All that talking has made me hungry, I could really go for a nice bowl of steamed seaweed. You want to join me?"
"No thanks, I should probably head back home, don't want to freak out my mom if she finds my bed empty."
Pontus nodded. "Of course. Hmm, maybe I should invite Frothy down here. That is, if I can even get a hold of her. I should introduce the two of you, my two grandchildren together at last."
"Who's Frothy? Your actual grandkid?" Perseus asked.
"Not exactly. She's... special. I'm not sure if she is a child of Ouranos, or my kid, or heck me and Ouranos are her parents." Pontus said, laughing. "Her birth is weird let me tell you. As weird as yo... never mind. But yeah, I should introduce the two of you." he muttered.
"That's cool." Perseus said, glancing up at the empty roof. "Hey Pontus, what's the time exactly?"
"Grandpa P. Now let's see. I got you down here around five in the morning, took a nap for who knows how long so it's currently...just a moment, it's a bit difficult getting the dial working when there's hardly any sunlight AH-HAH. Seven in the morning." Pontus said, grinning. "It felt more than that but oh well. Here's a pearl, crush it and you'll be taken to the shoreline of Athens. See you around sonny."
"Yeah, you too." Perseus said, crushing the pearl with his hands. Bubbles came out of the pearl and covered him, accompanied with a loud whooshing sound. A few moments later, Perseus stumbled on a beach as he took in the city of Athens and immediately groaned.
"PONTUS! Get your damn dial checked cause it's not seven in the morning, its seven in the evening!" Perseus cried as he took in the night sky. "Oh I am so, so screwed.
"You were gone, early morning on a Saturday."
"..."
"I thought 'Okay, you're grown up, you probably went to see your friends.' "
"Mom."
"But you left your braces. You never leave those ever since you got them."
"Oh great."
"And I got more worried when none of your friends said they saw you today. I tried communicating telepathically, got blocked."
"Mom."
"I couldn't Iris message you, I couldn't find you through the hearth. No other god was able to track you down."
"Mom"
"I actually assumed the worst. Artemis was worried. Apollo had to go ask those mortal girls you befriended-"
"MOM!"
"What?!"
Perseus sighed. "Look, I'm really, really sorry I left without telling you and anyone else. I just, had a lot in my mind so I went south. Like, way south."
Hestia's eyes widened. "You went outside of Greece? To the desert? But... why?"
Perseus really hoped that he could turn Pontus into a burnt water god when he saw him again. "Like I said, too much going on. I needed a break really and I guess try to see if I can do anything about my fire powers.
Hestia smiled sadly. "Are you still having trouble with it? Why don't you and Hecate meet up again and see if anything can come out of it?"
"Definitely. I'm anyways planning to take her out so I'll ask her then only." Perseus said.
Hestia stared at her son, her eyes slowly widening as her mouth also opened. "I'm sorry... but what?!" she cried.
Perseus looked at his mom curiously. "I'm taking her out with me. Artemis and Apollo are also joining. Maybe even Hermes if he isn't busy. We plan to visit a mortal city and all."
"Oh..." Hestia said, cocking her head to the side. "That's... an unexpected development. Have the twins met Hecate before?"
"No, the outing will be the first time. But if I can, I like to-" Suddenly a crash was heard downstairs making the two gods jump.
"What was that?" Perseus asked.
Hestia closed her eyes and relaxed. "Oh, that's just Artemis sweetie. I did tell Apollo to tell her that you came back."
Artemis suddenly entered the room in a devilish state, her eyes boring on Perseus as she panted. "Didn't...believe him...but then remembered...he can't lie." she gasped as she rushed towards Perseus, enveloping him in a big hug. Hestia smiled as she got up and silently left the room.
Perseus just stared at his friend as he slowly returned the hug. "So... what did I-"
"Just shut up Percy." Artemis muttered, holding him tightly. "You scared the ever living immortality out of me so keep quite."
"Okay." Perseus whispered, rubbing her back. "I'm alright though so you don't worry."
"I'm always going to worry." Artemis said, letting out a shaky laugh as she looked at Perseus. "Dum-my." she said giving a light knock on Perseus's head.
"Ouch. You're using godly strength again. No cheating." Perseus teased.
Artemis scoffed. "So not. You're just week, which means I'm much stronger than you."
"Well... you do do a mean uppercut. Ow, my jaw hurts from just thinking of that time." Perseus grinned.
"That was all your fault. You shouldn't have dressed as a satyr and tried to-"
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped as thick mist entered the room from the open window. Perseus and Artemis watched as the mist solidified into a blonde woman wearing a white gossamer dress.
"Yello Perseus! I just came back from mother's house, she wanted to give you some stuff and... oh." the woman said staring at Artemis and Perseus. "Maybe I'll come tomorrow."
"Wh... wait. Hecate is that you?" Perseus asked.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't know you were with someone, since it's quite late you know." Hecate said, wincing a bit. "I can come back tomorrow, it's no biggie."
"No it's alright really." Perseus said, getting up. "But what do you mean by mother giving some stuff?"
"Exactly what you said." Hecate said, showing a black colored box. "Though are you going to introduce your friend to me or not?"
"Uh, yeah! Artemis, this is Hecate. Hecate, this is Artemis. And yeah, that's about it really." Perseus muttered.
"Lovely introduction." Hecate said, glancing at Artemis. "It's really nice to meet you, I probably know everything about you since Perseus over here keeps on yapping about you." she said, jutting a thumb at an indignant Perseus.
"Oh..." Artemis said. "Well, It's nice to meet you too. Though I know nothing about you since Perseus hardly ever mentions you."
"What!" Hecate cried, glancing at Perseus. "I thought we had a connection, I feel betrayed now." she cried clutching her chest dramatically.
"Oh shush, we never had a connection." Perseus said, grabbing the box from her hand. "Thank you mail lady. Now can you go please."
"But I thought you said me being here was perfectly fine!" Hecate cried.
"Yeah, but my mom is not really in a good mood so you being here will get me in trouble so go!" Perseus hissed when he heard Hestia call out from down. "Nothing mom!" he shouted, bringing up a large shadow. "Here, direct passage to the Underworld."
Hecate huffed. "Oh please, as if I would go willingly through that."
Perseus grinned. "Yes... and no" he said, swiping his hand which also made the shadow portal move, consuming Hecate. Perseus then brought the portal down as he glanced at a wide-eyed Artemis.
"Sorry about that, she can get really annoying sometimes." Perseus said, sitting on his bed. "And don't worry, I made sure that she'll go back home safely."
"That's a bit comforting." Artemis said, a slight smile on her face. "She seems a bit weird. Also, didn't you mention she had black hair?"
"Yep, along with me mentioning about her different forms. One for morning, afternoon and night." Perseus said, grabbing the box.
"Hecate mentioned that your mother gave this to you." Artemis whispered. "I'm guessing it's not the one downstairs."
"Mhm. Symbol of Nyx and everything." Perseus said, brushing the top. "Wonder what's inside this." he said opening the box.
"Whoa!" The two said together. Inside was a set of pitch-black arrows, all of them with the familiar blue geometric designs and a diamond shaped hole at the tip, which were associated with Perseus's weapon forming vambraces.
"These look beautiful." Artemis said, picking an arrow up. "It looks like to be made from nexus platinum as well. Are you trying to give my father a seizure Perseus?"
"It's technically called umbra ore. And who knows, you might get another half sibling out of your dad's seizure." Perseus quipped.
"Hera would have another field day." Artemis said, laughing. "But how do you know this metal is called umbra ore?"
"Oh Po... Hecate! Hecate mentioned it at one time." Perseus said a bit nervously which made Artemis raise an eyebrow. "Okay..." she said, glancing at the arrow in her hand. "But I wonder, does this have the same properties as your braces? If so, can it dispel into other stuff, or..."
But Perseus wasn't listening as he stared at Artemis, who's face shone brightly and glowed in an ethereal light as the moonlight illuminated her. She definitely looked beautiful now, her silver eyes having a glint of yellow in them, her pale skin almost white, and her long flowing auburn hair cascading down-
"Perseus? Shadow dolt, ash brains. Percy!" Artemis shouted, making Perseus jump.
"Huh, I'm awake. Not spacing out." Perseus said, as he shook his head. "Bad Percy, bad! Wait, did I just refer to myself as Percy?!" he thought. "You were saying something? He asked Artemis.
Artemis sighed. "I was saying, that there is a note inside the box. Addressed to you. I think it's from, well, you know who." she said, handing a rolled up parchment to Perseus.
He took it and unraveled it, taking in its contents.
"Dear Lykofós. Sorry it took a while, a bit difficult getting this up without alerting the guards. Luckily you acquainted with Hecate, good thing she came down here today otherwise I would have had to rely on the Furies. But anyway, congratulations on becoming an Olympian with all the perks, you can say that without any obvious bias. These arrows are well suited for any bow really, and I've provided a special case to hold them. And as much as I would really like to meet you physically, for now I can't. But remember, I am always, and really, watching over you (yes, I know of your escapades with that underwater shaggy lunatic) I and the realm can't wait to hear more of your feats. And know this, I am proud of the god you have and will possibly become. -Your mother -Nyx."
"Huh." Perseus muttered as he read the note again. "This... is something."
"This must be your first ever form of contact you have with her." Artemis muttered, glancing at Perseus. "You alright?" she asked.
"I think so." Perseus said. "It's... a bit weird honestly. Not sure what to make of it."
"Take your time, you don't have to make sense of this now." Artemis said slowly. "Anything noteworthy in that note?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, some special case for the arrows is supposed to be in this box." Perseus said.
"Really? Let's see... hmm, is it this thing?" Artemis asked, holding a pointed three lobed figure with holes at its points. The symbol of Nyx was etched at the center as well.
"I'm guessing the arrows go in here." Perseus said, taking an arrow and putting it next to a hole, the arrow was immediately absorbed, making the figure glow momentarily blue.
"How do you take out the arrow though?" Artemis asked as she watched Perseus attach the case on his his coat.
"Maybe if I like pull my hand back with a bowstring?" Perseus asked, grabbing his bow and doing just that. On pulling the string back, the case glowed once again, forming out a arrow which Perseus noted was set perfectly on his bow without any need for adjustment. "Looks like I basically have an automatic arrow supplier." Perseus said grinning.
"Ooh, let me try." Artemis said, taking the lobed figure and attach it to her dress. "So I just draw the bow like this?" she asked. "It's not working though."
"I don't think it's connected to me." Perseus said, stepping behind Artemis and holding her hands. "Maybe try drawing the string next to the figure, yep, there you go it worked!" Perseus said, not noticing Artemis's breath still when he guided her with the bow.
"Y-Yeah, looks li-like it worked." Artemis said, nervously laughing. "It's not fair though that you get all these cool stuff but I'm stuck with an ordinary bow and arrows."
Perseus snorted. "I doubt celestial bronze and silver arrows paired with a tough as nails bow would be considered ordinary."
"Whatever." Artemis said, handing over the case to Perseus. "I should probably get going, we do have to wake up early to meet Athena tomorrow."
"Meet Athena? Why?" Perseus asked.
"Didn't she tell you? Oh wait I forgot; you weren't here the entire day. Basically Athena just wants to meet the two of us, along with Apollo and Hermes for something. Not sure what though." Artemis replied.
"Hmm, I don't have any clue on what it could be but I hope it's nice." Perseus said, giving Artemis a hug. "See you tomorrow then."
"See you tomorrow, bye." Artemis said, returning the hug and then flashed away.
The next day, Perseus was waiting outside Athena's palace when he got tackled to the ground by two gods.
"Percy!" Apollo cried, wringing Perseus's neck. "You owe me ten drachmas to pay for my medicine and sanity. I had to stay up all night trying to remove arrows off my butt and giving most of the gods calming pills. By the way, there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Which fan horde of yours kidnapped you anyways?!" Hermes asked. "Was it that group of naiads in Delos?"
"No. It was the nine muses. Led by Ourania herself." Perseus said in a deadpanned voice.
"Ooohhh." NO!" Hermes and Apollo said together. "She wouldn't, I just missed one date, one date! And I made up for it as well." Apollo cried.
"Uh Apollo. I was just joking." Perseus said, wondering if his previous statement was a good idea to say out loud. "Are you and Ourania...uh... good? Or..."
"Oh no, we're good, really really good." Apollo said, grinning. "I was just playing along. So, what does miss brainiac have in store for us today?"
"She might want us to rearrange her library." Hermes said, shuddering. "I don't want to be ten feet near that five-story room, thank you very much"
"Or she wants us to go to Athens." Artemis said, joining the group. "I'm sure Perseus would like that." she said, grinning.
"Hisssss" Apollo and Hermes hissed together as they waved their fingers in front of Perseus.
"Haha, snake people in Athens, I'm scared." Perseus said. "Very funny you three, going a bit overboard now."
"You are scared of the Gemini Perseus?" Athena asked, poking her head from the door. "I doubt they would have done anything remotely scary in order to frighten you. But I can definitely introduce you to my new pet snake, I found him when I-"
"I'm not scared of them; these idiots are implying it." Perseus said, glaring at the other present gods. "What, no hug for your long lost pseudo brother? he asked.
Athena shrugged. "You were gone for a day, that doesn't warrant a hug and neither were you lost. Come on in you four, we have a lot to go over so hurry up." Athena said, swinging her door open. The four gods trudged inside, as Athena led them to her living room where a bunch of diagrams and parchment was scattered over, and what looked like to be a large map of Olympus strewn over the center table.
"The reason I called you guys over was because we technically need to make you guys a temple and your very own palace. You two can't stay forever in Delos." Athena said, glancing at the twins. "And you Hermes, can't stay forever in the guest rooms with your workload. And you Perseus have to move out of course, can't stay forever with your mother." Athena said, pointing a pencil at the map. "You four have a bunch of areas you can choose. Temples will be in temple road so you can't do anything about that. As for palaces, you can have one overlooking the gardens. There's a spot near the marketplace but then it would be too noisy in my opinion. You can have one have one on top of a cliff, will give a stellar view of the city below. But that will be next to Zeus and Hera and I doubt you want them as neighbors."
"Aww, I wanted the cliff side." Perseus said. "Is there another area similar to that I can take?"
"Hmm... you can take the one that overlooks the forest. There's actually enough room for two palaces so it'll be perfect for you and Artemis." Athena said, glancing up.
"Too perfect really." Apollo quipped, crying out in pain on getting his foot stomped on.
"Alright, so Perseus wants this location." Athena muttered. "Artemis? Alright, you also want the same location. What about you two?" she asked Apollo and Hermes.
"Give me a location facing the east. Oh and the area should be huge because my palace will be extra huge as well. And I want an outdoor pool, a race track for chariots, maybe even a small little pasture for some other cattle I might bring over. And the bedroom-"
"All that you should discuss with Hephaestus." Athena said, holding her hand up. "He's the one that is going to design all your stuff. I'm just the land allotter for now but I will oversee construction."
"How come you are not teaming up with Hephaestus? I figured he would be here as well?" Artemis asked.
"... Let's just say, he is currently not in my good books right now." Athena muttered, grabbing a bunch of papers. "Take this to the nymphs in the plaza, you have to pose for them so that they can get an image to make statues and paintings. If you all want to, you'll can also visit Hephaestus now if you want to go over your temples and palaces. Otherwise, I'm done here with Perseus and Artemis. Hermes, Apollo, you two stay back. And no interrupting me."
"But I wanted to go and check out the beach location. And talk to Perseus about something." Apollo whined. "Hey wait a minute, I was thinking of getting that!" Hermes cried.
"Let's go." Perseus whispered to Artemis who nodded. "I'll see you sometime later Athena."
"Sure Perseus. Oh, and one more thing." Athena said, giving a one-armed hug to Perseus. "Don't leave without us knowing, okay?" she said, a small smile on her face.
"Of course." Perseus said, walking out of the house with Artemis. "You're going to try riding your moon chariot today?" Perseus asked.
"I still have to find something to pull that thing." Artemis said, sighing. "But I plan to use some horse for the time being, but it's of course only temporary."
"You thought of an animal to use?" Perseus asked.
"I was thinking of maybe using... deer. Like, enchanted deer, something like that. Not sure if anything like that exists but I'll see." Artemis replied.
"Hey, you want to check out the forest here? I heard there's a ton of wild boar that Ares sometimes keeps and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we hunt them down."
"Yeah okay, let's head down there." Artemis said. The two were soon running and jumping around, trying to get hold of a horde of boars that didn't like the fact that its much needed beauty sleep disturbed.
"Got three!" Artemis shouted as she launched an arrow to her left. "What about you?" she asked Perseus.
"Only one, going for the big kill." Perseus shouted back as he launched two arrows at once on a red maned boar. "Damn it, why is the always the big ones that are so difficult." he muttered.
"Maybe go for that later, or I'll clean through every single boar out here." Artemis said as she got hold of another one. "That's four."
"Fine..." Perseus said with a groan as he jumped up, using the air time to launch a bunch of arrows around him. As he landed back on his feet, he slung his bow back as he watched the entire hoard of boars, except for the big one fall to the ground. "This is why I was only going for the red guy." Perseus said, tapping the case to get his arrows back and smirking at Artemis's shocked expression.
"You can do all these stunts but you can't hit that one thing." Artemis shouted as she threw her hands up. "You are so weird."
"Hey that boar must have been jacked up with Ares's war blood or something. Couldn't get even a cut." Perseus muttered. "I'm wondering if that was one of his sacred boars."
"That doesn't sound good, seeing that we killed ninety-nine percent of them." Artemis noted, glancing around. "Want to take one and head back to your place?"
"Yep, I could go for roast pork chops." Perseus said, picking a plump boar up and placing it on a shadow where it sunk in. "Good thing my mom isn't home right now, she would get a heart attack if she saw a dead pig land out of nowhere in her kitchen." he said grinning.
"Perseus, make sure to clean up the crushed fruits and flour that has been conveniently spilt everywhere on the kitchen counter. Love you and bye." Hestia's voice said, echoing in Perseus's head.
"From your shocked expression, I'm guessing your mother already knows." Artemis said, shaking her head. "Come on, we're heading back walking."
As the two walked back to Perseus's place in comfortable silence, Artemis asked Perseus a question that was plaguing her mind. "Hey Perseus, do all the mortals know of our existence?"
"I'm pretty sure they do." Perseus replied to Artemis, glancing at her. "Delphi definitely knows about us, and I'm sure the oracles everywhere have already spread the news. I'm guessing that they will soon start to worship and pray to us, wonder how that feels."
"I hope it's nothing like a million voices echoing in our heads." Artemis muttered. "You have a sacred animal?"
"No..."
"Flower?"
"Flower?" Perseus said. "Um... I don't think that's really necessary; Ares doesn't have one. But maybe I'll pick the Nightshade flower, I like the color of the petals."
"That poisonous flower? Huh, I'm guessing it's the name maybe that you also like." Artemis said, smirking when she saw Perseus sheepishly rub the back of his neck.
"Name is a bit on the nose. But what about you, you chose anything for sacred symbols?"
"Yep. Deer for animal, cypress for plant. I'm not sure if I should add bird or no..."
"Which bird helps in hunting." Perseus muttered. "How does wolves sound for sacred animal, is it already taken?"
"I'm not sure about that, but what about sacred weapon? That might be tough to choose since you're a master in all available weapons." Artemis asked.
"That's easy, I'm going with a sword. Oh man, we might have to search for cities as well to become patrons." Perseus groaned. "That's too much work, and convincing. I don't think I'll be able to win anyone over."
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Dummy, you are honestly one of the coolest gods out there. I'm sure cities will be groveling and begging for you to be their patron. As for me, I probably freaked out the citizens of Delphi, not to mention that place is more suited for Apollo if he's in the market for one."
"Yeah. Maybe we have to find a city that's big on hunting. Or maybe a city that likes to stare at the sky and make poems on the various things they see." Perseus replied.
"We still have to finalize the hunt's details, can't forget about something like that." Artemis said. "i wonder if we have to go ourselves to recruit them or if father will give some followers to start off with."
"He might give us some followers, who knows. Let's just hope none of them are-"
"Perseus! Can you hear me? I can see you, can you see me!" a guff voice shouted behind Perseus and Artemis. They both turned around to find Hephaestus wearing a tin foil hat and was furiously writing on a piece of paper.
"Fascinating, if something like this can be replicated in this time period with the help of machinery, the advancements an would make would be stellar. They would need the nudge of course." Hephaestus muttered, looking up. "You two are staring at me?" he asked. "Can you hear and see me?!"
"Yes Hephaestus, we can hear you loud and clear. Very loud in fact." Perseus said, wincing. "What's up?"
"The...ceiling?" Hephaestus said, looking confused. "I just met Apollo and Hermes; they came to me with plans for their palaces. Almost broke my best project I've been working on as well." he muttered. "Are you two coming over as well?" he asked.
"Yeah, but not now. I'm kinda busy with some work my mom pinned on me, so yeah." Perseus said. "I'll try to come after lunch though."
"Alright then, I'll see you then Perseus." Hephaestus said, snapping his fingers. "How do you make this thing disappear, do you wave it around or what..."
Perseus sighed. "Iris, disconnect the call and thanks." he said, watching the mist dissapiate. "So, you want to help me clean up the mess I made?" Perseus asked Artemis.
"Oh please, that's on you. And you're going to cook the boar yourself, and I'll supervise. No buts, you have to learn how to make food other than cookies if you're going to be moving out Perseus." Artemis said. "And living on ambrosia and nectar doesn't count."
"The craftsmanship on this is unlike anything I have ever seen." Hephaestus mumerred as he inspected Perseus's vambraces. "It also has a fixed design when a weapon is made, and how it's formed is truly something out of this world."
"Because it is." Perseus said, his head on the table. "I thought the reason you called me was to oversee the designs of my palace, not gush over my weapons Hephaestus."
"Yes, yes, but look at this! This might be every blacksmith worst nightmare. A brace that can turn into anything? Me and the cyclops would be out of business if these were everywhere." Hephaestus said.
"Why is everyone so damn attracted to it." Perseus said, glancing at Artemis who was playing with a mechanical silver dog. "Is that the same dog we saw you working on that day?" Perseus asked Hephaestus.
"Hmm? Oh no, that's his brother. I'm still making the other twin. I have even built a special feature in these mechanical dogs, the ability to detect lies. Pretty neat right?" Hephaestus replied.
"Lie detecting dogs. You don't hear of those every day." Artemis said, feeding the dog a bunch of screws and bolts.
"Okay, let's see what you want for your requirements Perseus." Hephaestus said, grabbing a piece of paper and going through it as a frown began to form on his face. The more he looked at it however, the deeper his frown became. "Uh, Perseus? You hardly wrote anything at all for what you want for your place."
"Yep. I mean, I don't need a lot of stuff honestly." Perseus said, shrugging. "Just give me a nice quaint two-story bungalow and we're done."
"Quaint? Two-story?!" Hephaestus cried, trembling a bit. "Is it because you're my friend that you are not asking for much or what? Those two screwheads asked for a full infinity pool, an open bath house and some 'disco room'. Not to mention, the various racetracks and rooms in those palaces as well!"
Perseus blinked. "Um... maybe a small archery range would be nice? And I'm not opposed to a pool."
"Finally, something worthwhile to add." Hephaestus said, throwing the piece of paper away which Artemis grabbed on to. "Perseus, all you have written is exactly what you said out loud." she said, staring at Perseus who had a 'what' expression on his face. "You really are weird sometimes."
"Why is this such a big thing to you guys. I can't even have what I want."
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Apparently, Apollo wanted to talk to you about something. Not sure about what but he kept muttering and acting fidgety about it." Hephaestus said.
"Really? You know anything about this Artemis?" Perseus asked her, who just shrugged in response. "I'm sure it's nothing that bad. If it was Apollo would have probably come in here, kicking down the door, grab me, and proceed to take me who knows where." Perseus replied.
"That sounds oddly expected." Hephaestus commented, while Artemis nodded sagely. "Sparta and Thrace. They didn't deserve the madness which befell upon them due to one drunk poetry god." she said.
A loud crash and a shout of 'Percy!' was heard by everyone present as Apollo dashed into the room where the other gods were. "You, are coming with me." Apollo yelled, grabbing Perseus by the shoulder and teleporting him into a dark cave. "Okay, looks like no one will hear us." Apollo said, grinning at a stunned Perseus. "What's up?"
"Your mangled body pinned on the roof if you don't explain to me what's going on." Perseus growled. "I'm not going to save your butt from disbelieving priests once again Apollo. And where are we anyways?"
"Relax, it's nothing like that." Apollo said, making a 'calm down' gesture with his hands. "We're in the oracle of Delphi's cave, in one of the many rooms. Okay, did you know I asked those mortal friends of yours yesterday about your whereabouts or no?" he asked.
Perseus frowned. "You mean Phoebe and Celyn? Yeah, mom mentioned them yesterday."
"Good, you have caught up. The reason I'm telling you this is because I found those two in that same forest where I first and you introduced me to them. But this was during the night actually, and they looked to be hiding because they were both in a small cave, covering the entrance with sticks and leaves. And they were armed with weapons, almost attacked me as well."
Perseus was really confused on hearing this. "Why would they do that in the first place?" he asked.
"That was something even I was wondering. I wanted to probe their mind, but I doubt they would take to kindly to that. But after a lot of persuasion, with your name being mentioned a lot, I found their reason. And it's not good Perseus." Apollo said.
"The girls mentioned a Mados guy to you right? The big criminal mastermind of Kichyros? Well, he plans to 'take' the children from the orphanage and others who he'll kidnap somewhere to be sold. Whether it's for slavery or worse, he's going to do it by tomorrow at least." Apollo said, watching the look of anger that slowly settled on Perseus's face. "Phoebe and Celyn told me they will be fine but I'm not so sure. I checked on Mados's men and they seemed to have been planning to scout out that forest area for possible runaways."
"Take me there."
"What?"
Perseus's eyes glowed a faint purple. "Take me to the girls hiding spot now Apollo. I need to see if they are alright."
Apollo gulped. "Yeah sure, I'll do that. Just give me a moment." he said, grabbing Perseus's shoulder. The two disappeared in a flash of light and soon appeared in a forest. Just ahead of them was a small cave, with a bunch of broken sticks an leaves at its entrance.
"No." Perseus breathed, running to the cave. He crept inside, only to find his newly formed fear to be true. "It's empty, damn it they are not here." Perseus said.
"Oh man, I hope they weren't-" Apollo began to say but stopped as looked at the ground. Perseus, wondering why his friend stopped speaking mid-sentence looked back and followed his gaze to see the ground and leaves stained with-
"Blood." Perseus whispered, as his body had a dark blue aura settled around him. "Mados's men found them, and he probably has them locked in somewhere. Apollo said. "And I know what's going through your mind right now Perseus so let me just say, I'm going to help you in any way I can and not to do anything rash and- Perseus? Percy, Percy wait just a moment!" Apollo cried, tugging Perseus's arm who was going elsewhere.
"Apollo, let go of my arm. Now." Perseus whispered.
"See, this is exactly what I meant by not to do anything rash and you are already trying to do that!" Apollo said. "You can't just barge in like that and pulverize those maniacs, but! But you can take advantage of the ancient laws which you have been generously removed from, mostly."
"What do you mean." Perseus said slowly.
"Twilight zone! You can move freely and do whatever the heck you want to do during the Twilight zone. From dusk, till dawn, the night is all yours. The fates literally gave you permission, and if you ask me, this is the perfect way to start of your 'Twilight Avenger' career with a bang." Apollo said hurriedly. "Not to mention, no one in Kichyros knows about you at all. You'll basically be a literal shadow to them and... wait what am I saying, you're a god! Just blow them up with your powers or something.
"I am a shadow Apollo; I'm going to be sneaky about this. Will probably have to see to make a plan worthy of Athena if I'm going to pull of something this major." Perseus said with a laugh. "Might need Hermes's expertise on all this, could ask Hecate as well. And don't worry, I definitely haven't forgotten about you and Artemis, though we have to make sure that all of you would take minimum participation in this... rescue."
Apollo had a confused look on his face. "What do you mean minimum? I'm going to help-"
"Dude, you can't go around blowing stuff up cause unlike me, you are bound by the ancient laws. There's no way I'm going to let any of you'll get into trouble, okay?" Perseus said, a bit of authority seeping into his voice.
"Fine... .But I want to do something cool!" Apollo said.
"You'll get your chance." Perseus said, staring of into the distance. "I just hope that the girls and all the other kids under that maniac are alright. I really don't want anything bad happening."
"You think we could pull of a rescue in such short notice? We're literally going to hit the city tonight." Apollo noted.
"It'll be fine, might wing it a bit but we'll be prepared. Like you said, we are gods." Perseus said with a grin.
"Gods who might blow up an entire city just because someone's crops didn't get harvested properly." Apollo muttered.
"You know, there is something you and Artemis can do for me." Perseus said.
"And what's that?" Apollo asked.
"If you guys didn't know, there's an eclipse coming in tonight." Perseus said with a grin. "Maybe, if possible, you can hold out the full phase for at least the entire night."
"Like a... symbol, shown off into the sky to strike fear." Apollo asked. "Sounds kinda tedious to do it every day."
"It won't be every day." Perseus said with a sigh. "Only for large scale attacks. Like what we're doing tonight."
"I like the sound of that. So... shall we gather our unofficial team?"
"We shall." Perseus said, frowning. "...It feels kinda weird saying that to you though, instead of Artemis."
"You have a catchphrase with my sister?! What am, I chopped liver?" Apollo cried.
Cliffhangers galore! But this is a filler chapter, I know. Hope that's fine : P. But then again, I don't think I've ever established where the main focus is truly going to go... but we'll definitely get there! Soon! Alright, so if you guys are wondering when you'll see the release of my new one-shot book, well, it's going to come out...tomorrow! First chapter is going to release on Sunday. As for update time, expect it sometime around the time I usually post these chapters, that's a bit of a rough idea. But yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and be on the lookout for the new one-shot book coming out tomorrow! Bye!... \/