A/N. Reviews.

"Yeah you're right. Azazel was a Yellow Eyed Demon and Asmodeus was a Prince of Hell and are both from Supernatural. I'm currently on season 13 of Supernatural so it's still fresh on my mind. As always another amazing chapter." -GokuBlackSSJR14

I never got past the first few episodes of season 6 lmao. I wouldn't say that these versions of Azazel and Asmodeus are from Supernatural tho. Thanks man!

"I've got a feeling that one of the princes of Hell sent the assa, maybe even God? on the other hand he's really chill about surviving an assassination, he should probably tell Artemis soon before she finds her husband killed for some unknown reason…" -Sankarea396

I guess we'll have to wait and see, won't we? As for chill, I address it this chapter. I don't know, she might celebrate his death if it gets her out of the marriage. Although, maybe she wouldn't, she seems to be enjoying his company.

"I keep imagining the way that the Greeks found out about Percy ruling hell and keep coming back to the scenario where Artemis gives birth and when announcing the babies titles, they have the title of price of hell and everything goes to shit. Very funny in my head." -fugy

Lmao. That's definitely not how it's happening lol.

Chapter Fifteen

"You are quite calm, My Lord. There have been attempts on your life. I would have expected you to be more… shaken up, as I believe you mortals say." Mephistopheles commented, Percy's calm demeanor confusing him.

"I'm a demigod. There have been attempts on my life almost everyday since I was twelve." Percy sighed. "What's the deal with these assassinations? Are they legal? Do they count as challenges for the throne?"

Mephistopheles shook his head. "If they do not verbally issue a challenge beforehand, then it is not legally a duel. Should they win, they would immediately be put to death, as Lucifer decreed."

"Demons try to assassinate Lucifer often?"

"In the beginning, yes. But as they saw the raw power He possessed, they quickly welcomed him as their Ruler."

Percy nodded. A couple of seconds passed before Percy sat up straighter. "Three times."

"Pardon, My Lord?"

"There were three assassination attempts. That one." Percy pointed at the demon laying on the floor and held up a finger. "The one that attacked in the dining hall." He held up another finger. "But there was one before that. During the trade, at Asmodeus' stripclub. A demon had barged in and just attacked me."

"Right, you mentioned that when you got back."

"But he didn't say a word. Just attacked. That's three." He held up a third finger. "That's three assassination attempts in a very short amount of time. Whoever wants me dead, really wants it, and wants it to happen quickly."

"That is troubling. If they indeed want you dead quickly, then we can be sure that they will—"

"Hello? Percy, you anywhere near here?" A voice called out from the stairwell.

"In here Nico!" Percy yelled back.

The sound of footsteps rapidly ascending the steps echoed into the room before Nico appeared in the doorway, out of breath. He hunched over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He looked up to see a body on the floor, black blood oozing from it. His eyebrows narrowed. "The hell I miss?"

"Someone wants me dead. Sent an assassin while I slept." Percy said gesturing to the body. Immediately, as if it was an actor who had just been given its cue, a groan came from the demon's face, before it started choking on its own blood.

"It's still alive?" Nico asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I… I thought I killed it. I stabbed it in the chest repeatedly."

"I could tell." Nico said, amused.

"It's possible that this particular demon has vital organs in a different place than you would expect, or even lacks them entirely." Mephistopheles informed.

"Great. Just great." Percy said. He grasped the knife that had fallen on the bed when he sat down. He stood up and approached the demon. "I'll just cut its head off. Maybe chop it into little pieces like the Olympians did Kronos."

Mephistopheles interjected, "My Lord, if I may?"

Percy turned around. "You may."

"Why not lock him up. Maybe he'll reveal who sent him."

"There's no guarantee. Besides, where would we even keep him? It's not like we have a dungeon."

Mephistopheles narrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh my Gods, we have a dungeon don't we?" He turned to Nico. "What are you doing here?"

Nico frowned. "Aren't you and Artemis going out tonight? It's Wednesday. Thought you would want to know."

Percy cursed. "Okay, um. Mephistopheles, you take the assassin and lock him up or whatever, and I'll go get ready."

Mephistopheles bowed. "As you wish, My Lord."

"And what do I do, My liege?" Nico said sarcastically, bowing deeply.

Percy rolled his eyes. "You can start by shutting the fuck up. Then go hang out with Will or something, I don't know."

Nico saluted. "Aye, aye Captain."

Percy let out a deep breath. "Gods, you suck."

Nico laughed as he disappeared into the shadows. Mephistopheles picked up the body and threw it over his shoulder, before walking out of the room, leaving Percy behind.

LINE BREAK

Percy waited on the park bench, what he now considered to be 'their' park bench. As he waited, his leg bounced, his eyes shifting all over the place. Despite his earlier words, the assassination attempt had startled him. He had never been attacked while asleep by himself. Usually he was in a safe place, such as his mom's apartment, or back at Camp, or if he wasn't, like on a quest, he had someone watching over him, ready to wake him at the first sign of trouble.

He felt vulnerable. He knew it was stupid. He had fought two wars, defeated countless monsters, had a list of accomplishments a mile long, but irrational fears were not rational for a reason.

He heard a twig snap behind him and he instantly turned around, hand on the handle of his knife, ready to draw. He let out a breath as Artemis let out a laugh. "It's just me." She said.

She walked around the bench and sat down. Percy took his hand off his knife and leaned back. All of the anxieties he had just felt faded away as soon as Artemis sat down. He had someone that would watch his back. That's why he felt safer, or so he told himself.

"You alright?" She asked softly, her eyes showing worry, which was something he never thought he would see. "You seem tense."

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

She looked unconvinced but dropped it. "Okay. Alright. Do you have any plans for tonight? I have been busy with a hunt the last few days."

"We can do this another time if it's messing with your duties. I don't want this to be a bother to—"

"No! No, I like these outings. They give me a chance to experience life like a mortal, or as close as I can get. The hunt can wait a couple hours."

"Are you sure, I know you like hunting. It's really no problem at all."

"Percy." She gently placed a hand on his knee as she looked him in the eyes. "I want to go out tonight. Really."

"Well, I didn't really plan anything either. We can…uh, well, we can do what I did last week and play pool."

"Where would we do that?"

"Pool is usually played at bars. And you drink so, it's a win win." He frowned. "At least, I think it is."

Artemis laughed. "That sounds nice." Then she frowned. "But you do not drink."

Percy shrugged. "You don't have to drink at a bar. They have water."

Artemis chuckled. "Son of Poseidon, water. That's funny."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Are you high or somethin'?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because you are laughing, like, quite a lot."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "No, I am not high. I am just in a good mood. Would you rather I was grumpy?"

"No, not at all. I'm just saying, I wasn't expecting it, is all."

"And by 'it', you mean my pleasant demeanor, correct?"

Percy nodded. "Yes."

"And you were not expecting it because my demeanor is usually not pleasant, correct? Although I remember my demeanor being quite pleasant at the wedding last week."

Percy let out a deep breath, causing Artemis to chuckle again before admitting, "I am messing with you."

Percy laughed too, before standing. He held out a hand. "Shall we?"

Artemis hesitated for a second before nodding and taking his hand. "We shall."

LINE BREAK

"You have an ID, right?" Percy asked as they approached the bar.

Artemis held out her hand and handed him a piece of plastic. Before his eyes, the plastic changed to match a New York Driver's License. The name read Artemis Jackson on it, causing Percy to raise an eyebrow as he looked up at her. "My name?"

She shrugged. "Might as well make it accurate."

"Shouldn't it say Phoebe then?"

"Dropped it." She said shortly.

Her date of birth was labeled as July Seventh, 1992, same year as Percy's. Her social security number was listed as eight. "You gotta change that."

"I know." She said, rolling her eyes. The number changed to a random assortment of numbers, believable enough. He handed it back to her. "Looks good."

"Of course it does. The Mist never fails."

"Really? It fails me all the time. Never works the way I want it to."

"Thalia has mentioned that a few times."

They approached the doors. Percy opened it and motioned for her to enter. "Of course she has."

He followed behind her. They showed the bouncer their ID's paid for pool, and set up as close to the bar as they could. There was a TV showing the news above them. Percy started to set up the pool table. "You want a water?" She asked, glancing at the bar.

Percy shook his head. "I'm good."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

Percy watched her as she walked away before a shiver went down his spine. Something was off. He scanned the area around him and didn't see anything suspicious, but his nerves weren't alleviated. His mind started to reel with possibilities. On the forefront? Another assassination attempt. He looked around again, looking for something, anything. He wanted something to be wrong, he wanted to fix it, give himself peace of mind.

"Are you sure you are okay? Your eyes are darting around." Artemis asked. "Did you see a monster? One masquerading as a mortal?"

Percy looked around again. "I just… I have a bad feeling. You should watch your drink carefully."

Artemis narrowed her eyes."Why, exactly?"

"Some mortals drug women's drinks so they have an easier time raping them." He said lowly. "And, if I might add, respectfully, you are a… beautiful woman. So, y'know."

She sighed before nodding. "Will do."

Percy nodded back, before gesturing to the pool table. "Have you played before?"

The Goddess shook her head. "How do you play?"

"Well, this is your cue stick." He held up the stick. "You use this to hit the cue ball, that white one. You want to get all of your balls, which will either be solids or stripes, into the holes before I do. But you can only do it by hitting the balls with the cue ball. There are a couple of other things, like what counts as a foul, uh, there's a scratch. Oh, right, um, after you get all of your balls in, you have to get the eight ball, the black one, then you win. If you make the eight ball before all of your balls are in, you automatically lose." He paused. "I think that's the gist. I'll start by breaking."

"What's breaking?"

"You see how all of the balls are together in that triangle?"

"Yes."

"You're just breaking them apart." Percy said, as he leaned over the table and took aim. His shot hit the right side of the leading ball, only breaking apart half of the balls. "And now it's your turn."

She frowned. "Am I stripes or solids?"

Percy shrugged. "It won't be decided until one of make a ball. Right now, any and all are up for grabs."

"Okay." Artemis quietly muttered to herself before taking aim and sinking a striped ball into the corner pocket. She looked up at him. He was nodding. "So you're stripes, I'm solids. Good job. Now, because you made one, you get to go again."

Artemis smiled. She proceeded to sink every shot without missing once. Percy watched, his face falling further each time she made a shot. When she made the eight ball, he started clapping while stifling laughter. "Well. You did amazing."

She bowed. "Thank you."

"I thought you said you haven't played."

"I haven't. It is simple though, it is just physics and geometry."

Percy groaned.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just, that's what you said when we went mini-golfing." He said, before gathering all of the balls and putting them in the rack. He placed the rack where it belonged and took it off the table, leaving the balls behind. "Since I went first last time, it's your turn."

She raised an eyebrow, smiling. "You sure? Do you even want to play?"

"Ha ha." Percy said sarcastically. "Just go."

Artemis broke, no balls going in. Percy went next, and managed to sink in a solid ball. He pumped his fist excitedly. It was for naught though, as he missed his next shot. Artemis walked up to the table and started to make her shots. As she took aim, Percy could see her eyes flicking around the table. He could almost see the calculations going on in her mind behind her silver eyes.

As she played, Percy looked up at the TV, reading the current headline on the news.. "Aw man. That sucks."

Artemis looked up from the table. "What?"

Percy pointed at the TV. "Coney's Tower broke down."

She looked at him neutrally. "What is that?" She asked after a few moments, when it was clear that he wasn't going to elaborate.

"It's a ride, at Luna Park, at Coney Island. The one that goes up really high, then drops you." He moved his hand up and down, mimicking the actions of the thrill ride.

Her expression didn't change.

"Have you never been to Luna Park?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Percy, I live in the woods, almost all the time."

"Oh man. Alright, one of these days, I'm gonna take you. It's amazing. My mom used to take me when I was young sometimes, usually as a celebration for something, since we didn't really have the money to go." He paused. "Which reminds me. My mom wants to meet you."

Artemis, who was about to take a final shot at the eight ball, stopped, and stood up straight. "Your mother… she knows… about us?"

"Yeah."

"You… told her?"

Percy shrugged. "Kinda had to. She saw you leaving my room last week."

"Oh." She said softly as she realized she was the reason his mother knew.

"But yeah. She wants to meet you. Maybe we could have dinner, or something. Or just swing by real quick, if you'd prefer that." He added the last part quickly.

Artemis pursed her lips. "We can have dinner. When were you thinking?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know, actually. I kinda forgot about it 'til now."

"We can figure it out later. Along with other details, like—" Artemis trailed off, her eyes drawn to the bar. "Percy." She said quietly.

"Yeah?" He asked, his voice as low as hers.

She subtly pointed at the bar. "That man just poured something in that woman's drink."

Percy looked over at the bar, where a tall tanned man with dark hair was talking to a woman, shorter than him, with blonde hair. "I'll handle it." He said. Before Artemis could insist that she help, he said, "I don't want to cause a scene, namely, death. Okay?"

Artemis bit her tongue. "Fine." She said, before grabbing his shirt and pulling him close, so close that the scent of the forest enveloped him. "But if things go wrong, I am killing him, got it?"

Percy nodded quickly. "Yeah, you got it."

She let him go and leaned against her cue stick, her eyes on him. Percy turned around and approached the bar. He placed himself between the two people.

"Hey man, do you mind?" The man asked, annoyed.

"Sorry dude, I'll be quick." Percy said. "Hey, bartender!" Percy yelled out, reaching over and 'accidentally' knocking over the woman's drink, spilling it all over the bar. He turned to the woman. "Oh my Gods, I am so sorry."

"Dude, what the fuck!" She yelled.

"What's your problem, man!" The man yelled.

Percy turned to face the man, and frowned. At first glance, the man looked normal, but then the Son of Poseidon noticed a couple of things. The man's eyes were red, blood red. Whenever he opened his mouth, he had fangs. And just barely poking out of the man's wavy hair, were two black horns. Then, for a brief moment, the man flashed, revealing his true form, an incubus. But just as quickly it was revealed, he was back to normal.

Percy grit his teeth. "Outside. Now." He said lowly, almost growling, the words coming from deep within his throat.

The demon's eyes widened slightly as he recognized his King. The incubus flared his nostrils before turning around and starting to walk out of the bar. Percy quickly turned around to face the woman. "He spiked your drink." He said, before following the demon out of the bar.

As he walked past the pool tables, he locked eyes with Artemis. He slightly shook his head, telling her not to follow him. She frowned before placing the cue stick on the table.

Percy walked out of the bar, the cold night air blasting him like a fan on high. The demon was waiting for him, leaning against the wall of the building, smoking a cigarette. "Alleyway." was all the King said.

The incubus rolled his eyes before tossing the cig on the floor and stomping it out. The demon walked into the alleyway, Percy following close behind him. "What the fuck are you doing up here?" Percy hissed.

"My job, Lord." The demon said, scathingly.

"Fucking demons ain't enough for you?"

"That? That's just for fun." The demon looked off to the side. "Maybe I'll fuck that little minx I saw you with earlier."

Percy grabbed the demon and slammed him against the wall. "You are going to go back to Hell, and if I ever see you up here again, I will have you executed publicly on the steps in front of my castle. Do I make myself clear?"

"As clear as a succubus' dildo."

Percy drew his knife and slashed the air, creating a rift. On the other side, the ring of Lust, red lights shining on every building. Percy motioned towards the crack. The incubus walked into it, the rift closing behind him. Percy sheathed the knife, and let out a breath.

He looked towards the entrance of the alleyway when he heard footsteps approaching. They revealed themself to be Artemis'. "What happened?" She asked.

"The guy turned out to be some kind of male empousa. Do you know anything like that?" Percy asked, hoping that his acting abilities didn't fail him.

Artemis hesitated. " A Vrykolakas? I have not seen one of those in millennia."

Percy shrugged. "I guess. I don't know. I've never heard of one of those."

"Well, yes. As I said, they have not been seen in millennia. I hunted the last of them myself. They have been largely forgotten. If one is walking around today…" A worried look overcame her face. It unnerved him. The last time he had seen her worried was eight or nine years ago, when he had been summoned to tell her what the Manticore had said. "...Let us not dwell on it."

"If it's any consolation, I killed it."

Artemis' eyes flicked down to the ground, noting the la of golden dust that was usually present upon the death of a monster.

"Shall we go back in?"

Artemis looked up at the moon. "It is late. You should be getting to sleep, no?"

Percy shrugged. "I guess. Sorry today was so weird."

A small smile appeared on Artemis' face. "I have a feeling our relationship is going to be weird."

Percy laughed. "Yeah, it probably is." A moment passed before he said, "Have a good, Artemis."

"You too, Percy. Um, is there anywhere you want me to take you?"

Percy shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna take a walk, clear my head. The air ought to do me some good."

Artemis nodded. "Okay, then. Close your eyes, and have a good night…again."

Percy did as he was told, and after a flash of light that lit up the back of his eyelids, he opened them and she was gone. He sighed. He didn't know how long he could keep lying to her.