It wasn't a secret that the gods could very easily resemble immature children.
But for them to start yelling loudly when Artemis dropped the information was a new low.
It took Poseidon to slam his trident against the ground for the Council to shut up.
"I didn't even hear her! Artemis, do you mind repeating, and please, no interruptions?!"
"Yes, I hope so." The goddess of the moon answered while also glaring at Zeus and Hera, the ones that were yelling the most. "I have discovered a titan plot that threatens us immensly."
This time, nobody cried out loud when she finished speaking.
"And what would this titan plot consist of?" Athena asked.
"Well... It's called the Bunker. It's located in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Apparently... an elder titan is behind it."
The silence remained after these words, cogs spinning inside the gods' minds.
"Who could it actually be?" Hermes pondered.
Artemis cleared her throat before speaking. "Of course, Kronos is out of the question. Hyperion, Krios and Iapetus are also not possible candidates, by what I have been told."
"Told by who?" her father asked.
"Percy Jackson." Of course, just the mention of his name caused some reactions from the gods. "He was there to witness the two first titans being destroyed by the primordial of the pit, and the third one sacrificed himself so Perseus and Annabeth Chase could escape."
"That is true." Athena pointed. It was possible than Annabeth told her about the story, but Artemis had learned (because of Thalia) that the goddess and her daughter weren't in the best of terms, thanks to the quest for the Athena Parthenos.
"Moving on, Oceanus is also out of the question, for obvious reasons. If he was plotting, it wouldn't be in the Midwest, but in the seas. And that also excludes Tethys."
Poseidon gave her a small nod. Looking at the sea god after spending a lot of time with Percy was interesting. They weren't a carbon copy of each other, per say, but the similarity was very obvious. Baring the features inherited from Sally Jackson, and most of all Percy's usual feral expression that even an angered Poseidon could not replicate. Not that the sea god couldn't be intimidating.
Overall, Percy was more good looking, even if he looked too feral at times.
"Themis is also unlikely. Unless she is a traitor." Artemis said, trying to remove the thought of Percy Jackson from her mind and focus on the real problem, changing her gaze over to her father.
"She wouldn't dare." Zeus concluded after some thought. Themis had covertly helped Olympus in the first war, and fully supported them in the second. There wasn't reason to think that she would betray them now.
"Yeah. It would be wise to call her." Apollo pointed out.
"Maybe later?" Artemis suggested to her brother, who nodded. "That leaves Koios, Mnemosyne, Theia, Phoebe, and Rhea. And the last one would be ludicrous to even think about, so only the first four. However it can't be Koios either."
"Why not?" Athena questioned.
"Because..." Artemis began. "I saw the aforementioned titan just a few minutes ago. Titaness."
Zeus scratched his beard. He did that a lot. Since ancient times, actually. "So... Theia, Phoebe, or Mnemosyne. Do we have any information on the whereabouts of these three?" He asked to Athena, obviously. It figures. Head advisor and all.
"No, actually. I say we contact Themis." The goddess of wisdom suggested.
"Unoriginal." Apollo muttered loud enough for everyone to hear it, but Athena barely had time to glare at him before a bright light shone in the middle of the room. The titanide of divine law stood there, holding a toothbrush in her mouth.
"Yes, Lord Zeus?" Themis asked, her words coming out muffled.
"Why are you brushing your teeth?" The king questioned with a frown. The titaness seemed mildly annoyed.
"I just woke up." She waved one hand, making the toothbrush and toothpaste disappear. "Anyway," she said, her words much more clear. "You require my services?"
"We do." Athena spoke. The goddess of wisdom reminded Artemis of Themis, although sometimes it was the opposite, since the latter was much more friendlier than the former. "We would appreciate to know about the whereabouts of certain titans. Specifically, the elders."
Themis's expression became more reserved. Perhaps it was still a delicate subject for her. "I do not have contact with any of my brothers and sisters, Lady Athena. Why is that important?"
"You see," Artemis decided to speak. "there is a titan plot happening as we speak. And I have just encountered the mastermind behind it. It's a woman, one of the twelve. It can't be you, I imagine."
Themis looked offended. "If I didn't side with the Titan Lord a few years back, I wouldn't do it now, Lady Artemis. I assume you have already discussed the possibilities and came to the conclusion that it's either Phoebe, Mnemosyne or Theia."
Almost every god (that was paying attention, of course) was seemingly taken aback by the titaness's thinking. Being the unofficial deity of lawyers (a title given by Hermes) sure made her smart, more than most gods.
"Indeed." Hera agreed. It was weird to Artemis seeing the queen talking to a former lover of her father (albeit, before Zeus and Hera got married) in such a casual tone. "And would you have any thoughts to share about who could it be within those options?"
Themis brought one hand to her chin. "Theia seems unlikely. I haven't heard of her in a long time, even during the second Titanomachy. It's either Phoebe or Mnemosyne. But I can't see why they would do this. Either way, careful here." She directed herself at Zeus. "Both are very smart deities, that could really cause trouble even with limited numbers."
The god of lightning nodded. "Advice taken. You are excused."
The titaness of order gave the council a short bow, before flashing away.
"So... Where even is Percy right now?" Poseidon asked Artemis after a long pause in which many of the gods were probably wondering if Zeus meant that just Themis was excused or the entire council.
"Uh..." Artemis tried to think of a way of explaining without it being too problematic. "We were... escorting someone to Camp Half-Blood..."
"What?" Zeus interrupted, clearly not happy.
"Father, if anything, Percy was doing it. My task was tracking down the monsters and their bass." She tried to argue, causing Zeus to snort. And although he was still not very satisfied with the answer, he signaled for Artemis to continue. Only him to care that much about even talking to mortals. Of course, dating was okay for them. Saving a demigod's life? What a crime!
"As I was saying, we were... going with the demigod to Camp Half-Blood, she was fifteen, and wasn't actually claimed. She also did not look anything like any children of you." Artemis made sure to use the term "you" instead of "us".
"And what happened to her?" Dionysus asked. Guess demigods were for now under his jurisdiction. At least someone in the Council cared for the half-bloods, even if reluctantly.
"She... got kidnapped by the titaness." Artemis announced. Of course, most gods seemed careless about the situation, but others frowned in worry.
"They wouldn't get a random, unclaimed demigod for nothing, right? There has to be a reason." Hermes pointed.
"And what of Percy?" Poseidon once again asked. It was becoming redundant, but considering how worried Poseidon had showed himself to be while Percy was supposedly dead... it wasn't out of character. Artemis too was worried about Percy, since he literally just got shot and wouldn't let her do anything about it apart from healing the wound, instead opting to walk for hours to reach Natalie. He definitely was lacking some braincells.
Curse his fatal flaw.
"He got..." Artemis paused, looking at the sea god with caution, who in return narrowed his eyes. "He did get shot by surprise, but it didn't stop him from obliterating the horde of monsters that was escorting the titanide. He is now covering ground as we speak, on his way to the Bunker."
At the sign of yet another display of power by Percy Jackson, the council was once again engulfed in silence for a few moments.
"What armies do we have that can cease this threat to us?" Apollo's voice had a moderate amount of distaste in it, something that only few could actually notice, such as Artemis herself. She knew that her brother did not want to send demigods to die. Neither did she, to be honest, but she could see where this was going. It wasn't summer, so most of Camp Half-Blood wasn't even there. That only left a few options.
"He is a one man army by what is told of him." Ares's said with a tone much more respectful than usual, specially regarding someone that defeated him as a child. Not to mention the whole cursing situation that almost made Poseidon declare war on the god of war himself.
"But could he take on an actual army, all by himself?" Poseidon questioned, his voice enlaced with worry, moving his gaze to Artemis once more.
"Probably." the goddess of the moon admitted. It wasn't ludicrous to think that the man could just destroy the entire place, along with the army, in one go.
Athena raised one hand to speak, as if it was really necessary. She sometimes was just as dramatic as their father, even if in different ways. "Since it would be too costly to send Camp Jupiter all the way to the Midwest, and considering the fact that Camp Half-Blood isn't at its full strength, it only seems natural that the Hunters should assist Percy Jackson in this task."
Admittedly, Artemis wanted to deny it, but it made sense. She really did trust that Percy could bring the entire thing to the ground without much effort, but if Natalie was still a hostage, the Hunters would be best to track her.
"Should we vote?" Hermes suggested, earning a nod from their father in response.
"All in favor of ordering the Hunters to bring down this threat?" Zeus brought the proposal into motion, causing eleven hands, his own included, to be raised up in the air.
"Wait, hold!" Artemis protested. "You can't do that!"
"Do what?" The god of lightning questioned, confused.
"Order my Hunters to do stuff for Olympus." She stated. It was quite obvious too. They weren't the Hunters of Olympus, but the Hunters of Artemis.
"Fine." Zeus conceded. "All in favor of asking Artemis to command the Hunt in this struggle against the so called Bunker?"
This time, twelve hands were raised in agreement.
"It is settled then. Council dismissed." The king announced. Most gods flashed out immediately, as would Artemis do if she did not notice the look that Poseidon was giving her. After every Olympian baring her and her uncle were in the room, the latter began to speak.
"You did heal him, right?" Poseidon asked, a bit menacingly if Artemis knew the sea god enough.
"What do you think I am? Of course I did." Artemis answered, actually offended by his assumption that she would just let Percy bleed out.
Poseidon's shoulders became less tense. "Good. Just don't let him die. I trust you with that." With that, he flashed out in sea green light.
"Great." Artemis muttered. "Babysitting."
Without wanting to vent her frustrations to Hestia (althought the idea didn't seem that horrible, in hindsight) she flashed out of the throne room.
At least things were calm at the Hunt's camp. She quickly walked through it, greeting the Hunters that stumbled upon her way. It was cute seeing the newly recruited ones bowing to the ground. It took roughly a year for them to become accostumed and not think of her like a goddess, but like a hunt companion.
And it's not like speaking to them that the bowing treatment wasn't necessary actually did anything. Mortals were just completely terrified of having gods around them.
Thankfully it didn't take long for her to find who she was looking for.
"Thalia." Artemis called.
Her lieutenant turned her attention from the previous task she was performing, apparently looking at a piece of paper, seemingly a photograph, to the moon goddess.
"Milady?!" Her sister exclaimed. Sometimes it was weird to think of Thalia, or any other demigod who was the son or daughter of her father as a sibling, but with Thalia, it was different. She had truly become a sister to her throughout the years.
Artemis smiled, while subtly looking at the picture in Thalia's hands. She could make up the figure of Thalia herself, and some of the Seven of the Argo II.
"Pack everything up. We are going to help a friend."
Percy walked for sixteen hours, non-stop.
To say the least, he was exhausted, but his body refused to stop until he got his hands on that titanide and successfully rescued Natalie.
If something happened to her... He simply wouldn't forgive himself. Sure, he only met the girl fourty eight hours ago, but he already felt like he needed to protect her. Specially regarding her special status as a demigoddess.
Seriously, did no one ever honour their promises on the Styx? He almost pleaded to the gods that all demigods were to reach camp and be claimed when they were thirteen. Instead, here she was, a fifteen year old girl who didn't have a clue about camp at all, and not to mention the boy, Matthew apparently, that died a while ago.
The Butcher really did want to storm Olympus and demand a promise on the name of the creator itself, to see if the gods would actually keep their word this time.
Walking around Pittsburgh made him feel a little better. He had been around the city for a time now, searching for the camp that many monsters had hinted at. Guess it was just that easy to build a gigantic operation to block out contact between the Romans and Greeks with so much wild life and nature around a major center. Parks were just that wonderful for an urban society.
One thing was for sure, the air was much cleaner than Manhattan's. The fresh air of the night acted almost like ambrosia to his lungs. He had developed an attachment to forests, groves, and generally staying around the wild. Sometimes he imagined that Grover knew that he was still alive but respected his wishes to stay alone, possibly through nymphs gossiping. He did, however, only remove his mask in places that he knew that would be safe, probably. Now that his identity was compromised, he should at least reattach some old bonds and contact Grover and some other people after this mess.
Percy soon reached a 24 hour gas station, where he knew there was a convenience store that served the coffee that he craved for right now. He had been there a few times already, and on its way to the store, he greeted some of the attendants that he recognized. Being around mortals always made him intrigued, in contrast to being around half-bloods. Not that being around demigods was a negative thing, but he sure mostly experienced the godly part of life since he was twelve. The people around here knew him as a hunter. He even had a (not forged at all) license. And he did hunt things that weren't monsters.
Sometimes.
"Oi, Percy!" As soon as he entered the store, the cashier and attendant, a bloke from Leeds named Joe, called him. He was a good man, and very well known around the area.
"Hello." Percy greeted, without forcing a British accent like he tried some times before. Quite embarrassing. "The same, as always."
"On its way." Joe aknowledged the order, which was just a simple cup of coffee with sugar. "So, how's things?"
"Oh, they're getting interesting." Percy answered as he sat down at the balcony. "Meeting some new people, and getting together with some old ones."
"Really?" the cashier/attendant replied. "And by meeting some new people..." He said teasingly.
"Come on, do you think I have time for that?" Percy answered in an equally playful tone.
"Don't worry, just wondering if you aren't getting off track. One cousin of mine was actually looking for deer skin. Don't ask me why. Do you think you could get it? He does have some money to give you, a lot. Father is a farm owner, wealthy at that."
Percy chuckled at the request. "I will see what I can do. Maybe give me his number or something."
"I thought you didn't have a phone?" Joe asked. "Here's your coffee by the way."
"Oh, I don't." Percy took a sip from the coffee. As always, it was perfect. "But I have my ways."
Joe pouted and shrugged, bringing his attention back to some Premier League game that Percy didn't know how the Hades he could stream in that relic of a TV that looked like it was brought from the 1950's. As he drank from his coffee, the bell of the door ringed as someone entered the store. Percy didn't mind whoever came in until the person sat down right by his side.
Yeah, he knew goddesses were supposed to be stunningly beautiful, but this was kind of another level. Maybe he just wasn't that used to it anymore. Artemis wasn't in her usual twelve year old form, instead opting to appear still young, but noticeably as an adult, roughly around twenty years old.
Her auburn hair went down far beyond her shoulders, with a fringe covering her forehead. She wore the usual Hunter outfit, a silver jacket along with jeans, but it looked better on her than anyone that he ever saw. Her silver eyes were still cold as ever, but not a bad type of cold. He did like the cold. Too warm was bad for his health.
He soon noticed that he was clearly staring at her for a few seconds ever since she sat down. He quickly brought his attention back to the coffee, feeling his ears getting slightly warm.
"Um... hi?" He greeted. Her expression was neutral, not giving many signs that she would transform him into a jackalope or not.
"Did you just walk for thirteen hours?" The goddess simply asked.
Percy smiled sheepishly. "Sixteen. I did tone it down a bit to rest my legs without actually stopping."
Artemis surprised him but putting her head in her hands. "By this rate you're going to actually kill yourself and Poseidon is going to blame me for it."
"What?" Percy asked in confusion. What was she talking about?
"You know what? Nothing." The goddess of the moon answered. "Hey!" She called Joe, who promptly ran to take her order.
"Yes, good lady, how may I help you?" He spoke in a cordial tone.
"A cup of coffee. Without sugar."
"Noted." Joe replied, but before he could pull out another bill, he glanced over to Percy. "Is she with you?"
"She is." Percy admitted.
Joe chuckled at him, undoubtedly because he had just said that he wasn't seeking any girls, and in response Percy rolled his eyes. The attendant went out to make Artemis coffee, leaving the two hunters alone.
"So... What are the news?" The Butcher asked to Artemis in a far more serious tone.
Artemis moved in her seat. "Father has decided that the Hunters should assist us in our mission."
Percy looked at her carefully. "Are you sure about that?"
The goddess of the Hunt sighed. "If we are to rescue Natalie, we need the Hunt. You alone would be enough to bury the whole structure down with an earthquake, but that's not the goal."
Percy disliked to admit it, but she had a point. In all honesty he did want to just, as Artemis said, bury the Bunker down as he shook the earth, but it wasn't so simple with a hostage involved.
"Fine. Are they around here already?"
Artemis nodded. "Yes. In a park near the city. We could flash there, since you already walked that much..."
"Here's your coffee." Joe came to scene, giving Artemis her cup of coffee, who nodded in thankfulness. Joe winked at Percy before leaving to watch TV again.
"What's up with him?" Artemis said while she glared at Joe's back from her seat.
"He's just a friend. I've been here sometimes already. I just said that I wasn't meeting any girls and then you show up and he does the 1 plus 1."
"Alright..." Artemis directed her glare at him.
"I'm not insinuating anything. And if I were to bring someone to a date it wouldn't be at a gas station."
The goddess seemed to process his words for a bit.
"Where would you go then?" She asked after a while.
"Well, Hermes did send me and Annabeth to Paris after we did a thing for him. Does that sound good enough?"
Artemis shrugged. "I suppose. Paris is very high regarded by most. Not that I ever liked it. Looks like a slum to me."
"I agree that outside the restaurants and attractions it has its problems," Percy started. "and if I were to have a date right now, it would probably be nature themed, honestly. Away from big cities."
"I see. A long way, coming from someone that was born in New York City..." Was what Artemis replied while she kept looking at him, taking sips from her coffee, apparently having a look of curiosity on her silver eyes, if Percy knew anything.
"Anyway..." He drank the rest of his coffee in one last sip. "Should we go, milady?"
"Uh..." She made a long pause "Yes. Yes, let's go." She too drank her coffee entirely.
"Six for two?!" Percy directed himself at Joe when he looked at the prices on the wall.
"Yeah." the attendant responded.
"Damn. Prices are absurd these days." Percy muttered as he got two banknotes from his wallet, one of five dollars, and another one of one dollar, leaving them at the balcony.
The Butcher and Artemis walked outside, with Percy once again greeting the attendants as he walked by. Artemis for some reason kept staring at him for a while as they walked around the city, which was fairly deserted since it was very late at night. At last, the two reached a bus stop, where Percy practically throwed himself at it.
"Could you perhaps be careful?" Artemis scolded at him.
"Don't know." Percy sighed. "I'm tired. And worried about Natalie"
Artemis sat by his side, still looking at him, that same bright of curiosity still present in those cold eyes of her.
"We should go to camp. So you can rest and we can formulate a plan tomorrow." The goddess suggested, seemingly worried for him.
"Yeah." Percy got up, extending his hand. "Come on."
"Close your eyes." She warned as she also got up. Percy did as such, but even behind his eyelids the bright was blinding.
Once it ceased, he opened his eyes, only to find out that they were in a forest, with tents in sight.
"Guess it's home sweet home for you." He said as they began walking to the camp.
"You could call it yours too, since you are technically homeless." Artemis joked.
"I demand of you to respect my cave." He answered playfully.
"You don't even have a bed." Artemis pointed out. "And unless you want to be called a cave man..."
"Yeah, I'll pass." They had finally reached the tents, where many Hunters were still awoken, performing various tasks. Soon one that he recognized far too well approached them.
"You are looking like a zombie." Was the first thing that Thalia told him.
"Thank you. And you are looking wonderful, princess of the skies."
"She is right." Reyna appeared right next to the daughter of Zeus. "You should look yourself at a mirror."
The daughter of Bellona looked at Artemis, who, as if on cue, conjured a hand mirror. She then gave the mirror to Percy, who looked at himself. His hair was messy as ever, but he appreciated it a bit, but to be fair it did need a cut, it was much longer than it was in the past. He had prominent dark circles under his eyes, and overall a very tired look. But even with all of that, he truly thought that Thalia was exaggerating.
"It's not that bad." Percy said with a yawn.
"Not really, to be fair. But you do need sleep. And no trees this time." Artemis once again reprimanded him like she was his mother. "There's a tent for you right next to Reyna's. I will see you tomorrow." She waved at him, and he waved back at both Artemis and Thalia, the latter of which giving him a hug before he went to follow his former Praetor colleague.
"I wish I could have helped you, honestly." Reyna said as they walked.
"It's okay. I didn't want to make more people worried, along with endangering them."
She looked at him with anger. "It doesn't matter if your scent is strong, or whatever the fauns or satyrs say, it's not okay for you to just quarantine yourself from the world, you know. People care about you. And you were quite brutal too. Not even in the battle against Polybotes or the last stand in Long Island..."
"I know." Percy interrupted. "I got violent and all. I get berated enough by your lady already."
"You didn't question me joining the Hunt, also." Reyna pointed out.
Percy sighed. "I know that at some point you had a thing, I guess, for me, but that was ages ago, even if you look exactly the same. I guess it makes sense since Aphrodite just had to mess with your life. If you are happy, then I'm happy for you."
Reyna smiled sadly. "I suppose that is true. But I am happy where I am. It gives some purpose for me. Anyway, this is your place." She pointed at a simple tent that was, of course, sea green colored. But apart from that, there was nothing that made it that distinct from any other tent in the world.
"Thanks. We will talk better tomorrow, I suppose."
"Hopefully. Good night, Percy." Reyna hugged him briefly, before leaving him alone. Percy didn't wait any time and quickly entered his tent, dropping down to the mattress on the ground.
"Oh, Morpheus, god of dreams, bless me with a peaceful night of sleep." Percy sent a short prayer before his brain was turned off from the tiredness.
Seventh chapter is over! Some seeds have been planted, and all. Unfortunately my PC is dead for a while, screen is broken, and writing on the phone sucks. Hopefully the gigantic chapter will keep you satisfied until next year. Happy holidays for you all, and review!