A/N. Reviews!

"a war has come" -normalpjofan

Indeed.

"Hoooly shit shit is about to hit the fan and Percy is gonna have to explain to Zeus and the others why they were attacked (which i guess will happen within the next 2 or 3 chapters) if they are even still alive... and i'm goibg to love it !" -Ladis11

Mmm, not quite. You'll see lol.

"Dang, gotta admit I was cautious when Percy said he was going to go to heaven but you pulled it off. God being the bad guy and free will not being a thing is a nice touch too. Wonder how Percy will react to fate being broken." -fugy

Thanks man. Though, just want to point out, Michael was in fact lying when he said Free Will doesn't exist. Because Fate is broken.

"Fuck yes! Now this is getting really interesting, can't wait to see this new arc start up!" -Almostimportant

I can't wait to show yall what I got planned.

"Uh ok" -The ultimite deity

Uh, okay.

"Very good chapter can not wait for more also i wanna see how things go between percy and artemis" -Guest

Well, here you go!

Onto the chapter!

Chapter Twenty-One

Percy stared at the drachma in his hand. There was a rainbow in front of him, glittering on the surface of the lake, but he couldn't bring himself to toss the golden coin into it. His stomach was twisting and turning. His hands were sweating. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Come on, Percy." He muttered to himself.

After a couple more moments, he tossed the coin into the rainbow. "Fleecy, do me a solid. Can you show me Artemis, I don't know where she is, probably in some woods, somewhere?"

"I need a location, Percy." Came Fleecy's voice from the rainbow. "I can't connect you to someone if I don't know where they are."

Percy sighed. "Um, try Thalia Grace, at the Hunter's Camp."

"I don't kn—Oh wait, found it."

"Is Artemis there?"

"No, should I still connect you with Thalia?"

"Yes, please."

"One moment."

A couple of moments passed before the rainbow shimmered, and Thalia's face appeared in the image. She was looking at something off to the side, before shouting back at someone. "It has to be done! I don't care who does it!"

Then she seemed to notice the iris message and grinned. "Hey, Perce, what's up?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey Thals. Do you, uh, do you know where Artemis is?"

Thalia's grin dropped into a scowl. "Artemis." She said, "She's off on a private hunt. She's been in a weird mood ever since last week." She narrowed her eyes. "Do you have something to do with it?"

Percy sighed. "Yeah. I, uh, I messed up. Um, what do you mean by 'weird mood'?"

"She seems to be… contemplative, I guess. I can't really describe it other than weird. It's not like her though. Whatever you did, you better fix it."

"I want to, trust me, I do. I just need to find her so I can make things right."

"Well, I told you already, she's on a private hunt. I think she might have mentioned Yellowstone? She likes it there, thinks the geysers are pretty."

"Thanks, Thalia."

"For real Percy, whatever it is you did, I'm not going to pry," She held her hands up. "That's between you two, but fix it."

"I will. I'll try to."

She nodded. "By the way, have you talked to Nico recently?"

"Like, last week, why?"

"So you heard, he and Will are engaged?"

"I did, I did. He told you?"

She nodded once more. "He did, IM'd me the other day. Which reminds me, the three of us need to hang out more often. Feels like it's been forever since we've gone out for burgers."

Percy smiled. "It's been a while, for sure. At least three years, before the war between our fathers."

Thalia laughed. "Hey, speaking of, I'm glad I wasn't the daughter of Zeus picked. I would hate to be married to you. Poor Artemis, having to shoulder that burden."

Percy put a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "I am offended. I'll have you know I am an absolute joy to be with. Just ask Annabeth."

"Yeah? That why she dump your ass?" As soon as the words came out she frowned. "I'm sorry, that was in poor taste."

Percy waved it off. "Eh, it's fine. I'm over her, for the most part. Can't really be hung up on another girl when you're married. Especially when you're married to your Lady."

Thalia chuckled. "Yeah. I guess it's no walk in the park for you either."

Percy nodded. "Yeah."

The conversation ended there, neither one knowing how to continue. "Well, I'll uh, I'll see you around. We'll have to get that burger at some point."

"Yeah, definitely. Take care, Percy."

"You too, Thals."

The iris message faded away, leaving behind the rainbow. "Fleecy?"

"Yes, Percy?"

"If you could find the Hunter's camp, how come you couldn't find Artemis?"

"She's the Goddess of Hunting, Percy. Her prey doesn't see her until it's too late, and unfortunately, that extends to me."

"You're her prey?"

"What? No. I highly doubt she even knows of me. I mean that she's really good at camouflage. If I don't know her exact location, I'll never be able to find her. A camp is easier to find. Fire, tents, people."

"Hm. Thank you, Fleecy."

"Thank you for your patronage, Percy."

Percy stood up and dusted his pants off, ridding them of the dirt. He sighed, before pulling his knife out and slicing down, a motion that he performed with perfected practice. Yellowstone appeared in the rift, its numerous pine trees stretching as far as he could see. He stepped through, and the rift closed behind him. The scent of the woods filled his nose as he took a deep breath.

How was he going to find her in this place? Yellowstone was huge, larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Thalia had mentioned Artemis liked geysers, which surprised him, he hadn't pegged that as something she liked. Just went to show how little he knew about her.

He wandered around, before eventually coming across an information booth. Hanging on the wall was a collection of brochures and park maps. He picked one up and opened it, examining its contents. He traced over trails and tried to make out the names of the features, but his dyslexia wasn't any help.

He sighed. "Fuck." He looked off to the side, where the forest stretched on and on. There was a geyser in the middle, if he was reading the brochure right, at least. He decided it was as good a spot as any to begin his search. He held out the brochure as he started to walk into the forest.

It was about an hour of straight walking later, when the brochure suddenly and violently flew out of his hand and stuck to a tree on his left, impaled by a silver arrow. As soon as Percy saw the arrow, he slowly looked up to his right and raised his hands. "Don't shoot?" He offered to the Goddess sitting on a tree branch, bow drawn, but no arrow knocked. She rolled her eyes.

"If I was going to shoot you, I would not have bothered with the brochure."

Percy glanced back at the paper stuck to the tree, before returning his attention to Artemis. "Um, thanks. Can we, uh, talk?"

"Why? So you can lie some more?" There was no bite behind the words. More like acknowledgement.

Percy sighed. "That's… I…" He sighed. "It's not that I don't trust you, but… Look, it wasn't a decision to hide it from you specifically, it's just—"

"The Son of Hades knows."

"That's different. I didn't really have a choice with him. Can I just…" Percy's hands began to shake with frustration before they still as he calmed himself. "Explain from the beginning?"

Artemis regarded him with a stare, a blank, cold look. Suddenly, and gracefully, she dropped down and slung the bow over her shoulder. She stood up. "Follow me. If we are going to talk, I want something pretty to look at."

Percy followed behind her as she led him onto a hiking trail. They followed the trail a bit before breaking off of it and walking into the forest once more. They came up upon a cliff overlooking a clearing in which a geyser sat. The water looked calm from their vantage point, but he knew it was boiling, he could feel it. That and the large amount of steam rising from the water.

"You are going to explain everything? Leave nothing out?" She asked as she looked down at the geyser.

Percy nodded.

"Why now? Why not before, when I found out?" She crossed her arms as she looked back at him.

"I was… I was mad… I had no right to be, but I was. And then you asked to go home, so…"

Artemis breathed out, before sitting down on the edge of the cliff, her feet hanging down in the air. She looked up and when she saw Percy still standing, she motioned for him to join her. "Sit. Explain. Please."

Percy sat down next to her, his feet hanging in the air now too. "It starts with the war between our fathers. When the war started, my father took me and my family to the Underworld. Near the end of the war, Hades called Nico and I into his office. He told us that Hell exists and that Lucifer was sending demons into the Underworld. So Hades sent Nico and I to Hell to meet with him and try to get him to stop. Lucifer immediately agreed, sent Nico back, but kept me informed me that he had only sent demons into the Underworld so Hades would send me down. He wanted me down there, so I would fight him and kill him."

"Lucifer wanted you to kill him? That is… interesting. I did not know him, but everything I heard about him… He does not strike me as the suicidal type."

"He wasn't. It was something about escaping his Father's plan. He didn't want to be a slave to his Father. Which was something I understood."

Artemis raised her eyebrows. "You think yourself a slave to your father?"

"Sometimes." He admitted. "I mean, Artemis, for a good chunk of my life, I've been bound by prophecies and Fate. Whenever a God shows up and asks something from me, I can't really say no. For fear of my life, or even my family's."

"I see. If it is any consolation, Fate has been broken for a while now. Prophecies no longer work. They can no longer chain you."

Percy looked at her with a dropped jaw. "What?" He asked breathlessly.

"Fate is broken, Percy. You haven't been controlled by anyone but yourself the past month and a half. Maybe longer. That is the underlying reason we were married. You did no know?"

Percy shook his head. "No. I thought it was just to reunite the council."

"It was. But the reason they wanted to reunite the council was because Fate was broken, and we think something is coming, something bad. If something can break Fate, they would be a major threat to us, and we would need the full power of the council to defend ourselves from it."

Percy knit his eyebrows together as he looked off to the side and bit his lip. "When was Fate broken, do you know?"

"A little before they decided to marry us, I do not know when though."

"I wonder… I wonder if killing Lucifer had anything to do with it. Like," He gently rubbed his forehead. "What if he was so essential to Fate that his removal from it caused it to just… crumble?"

"Which would mean, that the being we all feared, the threat we all thought was coming, was you. Again." She let out a little laugh. "This is great! Percy! If you're right, that means we have nothing to worry about. We have to tell the council!"

"No!" Percy said forcefully.

She was taken aback. "What?" She asked incredulously.

"Artemis," He looked off to the side for a second before leaning in close. "This is exactly why I didn't want anyone to know. So that way, the council doesn't find out. More specifically, your father." He whispered. "If he were to find out that I am the leader of a foreign… kingdom, realm, whatever, he would accuse me of treason and call for my execution."

She scoffed. "He wouldn't do that."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "No? Did he or did he not do the exact same thing to my father, which ultimately led to this moment we are in right now? Hm?"

"So why did you choose to be king then?"

Percy choked on spit. "You think I chose this? You think this is what I wanted in life?" He stood up. "You know what I wanted out of life, Artemis? Do you know what all I wanted was? I wanted to grow old with Annabeth. I wanted to settle down and have a nice, quiet life! I wanted to go to college, I wanted to have a shitty ass nine to five job, because that was normal, those are normal things to do.

"But no! I'm not normal. So I don't get to do any of that. Instead, I live in a world of Gods and Monsters, which isn't much of a fuckin' difference which I'm sure you already know. So instead, my life gets screwed up by Gods, cause that's all Gods know how to do. None of this, none of this would have happened—I wouldn't have had to hide from the fucking sky, I wouldn't have had to hide in the Underworld, I wouldn't have had to become the King of fucking Hell, shit I wouldn't have to even know Hell is real, had our fathers just grown some fucking balls, and settled shit civilly!

"But they didn't! So you know who has to sacrifice their entire life to their schemes?! Me! It's always fucking me! I've had to give them everything! I gave them my childhood, I gave them my skills, I was expected to give them my life, and now they have me giving, not just mine, but yours as well, let's not forget that, they have us giving them our futures!

"And it's not just them now! Lucifer might be dead, but it was his law that made me king. And now God wants me to cause the end of the fucking world." Percy laughed. "New Gods, and yet, the same fucking problem." Percy looked down at the ground far below him. "I just wanted to have a normal life. I didn't want any of this, and yet, here I am." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ranted at you, you didn't do anything." He sat back down, and slumped over, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Percy." Artemis said. When Percy didn't move, she said softly, "Percy, look at me."

Percy looked at her.

"How about you finish telling me everything, hm?" She almost reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but decided against it.

"I don;t even remember where I was in the story."

"You said Lucifer wanted you to kill him. And based on your rant, I am going to assume you killed him?"

Percy nodded as he bit his lip. "I did. He exploded and it knocked me out. When I woke up, Mephistopheles informed me that I was the King. I didn't have a choice. Down there, the ruler is decided through strength. You challenge the King to a duel, and the winner is King."

"So, why do you keep going back? If you do not want to be King, and it is not like you are trapped so… do not go back."

Percy sighed. "It's not that simple. It never is." He let out a breathless chuckle. ""See, the King isn't just a King. I'm a warden. If I were to leave Hell and never go back, the demons would leave Hell. Come to Earth. I can't let that happen. I have… I mean, I have a family. I can't let my little sister grow up in a world overrun by demons. At least with Greek monsters, they mostly leave mortals alone. Demons… demons won't."

"No?" Artemis raised an eyebrow.

Percy shook his head. "Do you remember when we were at the bar, and you saw that guy put something in that woman's drink?"

Artemis nodded.

"That was an incubus. Their whole job is to fuck mortals, beyond that, I don't know. I found that out after I threatened him with execution."

Artemis's eyebrows knit together as she looked over at the geyser. "Hm. I see."

Percy sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I had my reasons, and… I do stand by them."

Artemis sighed too. "I… understand, I think. I have never had to fear for my life, and as such, decisions are simpler for me to make." She paused for a second. "I will not tell anyone."

Percy tilted his head. "You won't."

She shook her head. "While I think it would be good to tell them that there is no threat, I understand your concerns, and frankly, I do not want another war to start. You have done nothing to deserve one. So, for your sake, I will not tell anyone. My father will not find out. You will be safe."

Percy's lips lifted up into a small smile. "Thank you, Artemis, that means a lot. Really." He breathed out, his shoulders relaxing. He felt like the sky had just been lifted off his shoulders again.

"Of course. There is something I want to discuss."

"Okay."

"You mentioned a God wants you to cause the end of the world?"

Percy sighed. "Right, yeah. I wanted to get your opinion on this, but I think, I think you solved it unknowingly." At Artemis' raised eyebrow, Percy explained more. "God, Capital G God," Percy pointed up at the sky, "Wants me to start something called, The Revelation, which will basically destroy the world, so he can create a paradise."

"Hm. And how did I solve this?"

"They keep telling me I'm going to do it because I'm fated to, but if Fate is broken, like you said, then well, I'm not going to do it then."

Artemis frowned. "I would not say that. There are ways of making people do things, fate or no. And I would not say Gods are above such things."

Percy chuckled. "Trust me, I know. Dionysus has threatened to turn me into a dolphin many times over the past nine years."

Artemis smiled. "I believe I threatened you in the same manner with a jackalope, did I not?"

"Kinda. It was more an example, but I could see how it would be a threat if I didn't comply with your wishes."

Artemis shrugged. "It worked."

"I never said it didn't." Percy looked down at his hands. "So, um, are we good?"

Artemis glanced at him. "We were bad?"

"I don't know, you kind of demanded to go home, you looked mad. I was mad."

Artemis pursed her lips. "I was not…" She paused.

"Artemis?"

"Shh." She held out an arm in front of him, before tapping her ear and pointing towards the geyser. Percy turned his attention to the geyser. It didn't look any different than when they first got there. Steam was still rising. However, when he listened, he could hear the faint sound of hissing steam. A couple of seconds passed before a massive cloud of steam filled the air. White water, pure as snow, erupted from the geyser, lifting high into the air. The water turned gray as it fell back to the Earth, cascading against the white water still being shot up. Steam was rising from the water even more than before, and it was hard to tell where the water ended and the steam started.

Percy could feel the heat from where they were sitting, and they were a good bit of distance away from it. The water continued to spew for a minute, before slowly winding down and going back to bubbling waters.

"Beautiful." Artemis said, breathless. "No matter how many times I see it."

"Yeah, it's truly something." Percy said, watching the water.

"As I was saying, I was not mad, I do not think. Hurt, yes, I will admit. To be told you are not trusted would hurt anyone. But, when I thought about it more, I could not have expected you to disclose such a big thing. We are still getting to know each other. I was more worried about what else you could be hiding. But," She sighed. "We are good."

Percy let out a breath. "Okay." He paused. "I'm not hiding anything else, and should something else come up, I'll let you know." He held up his hand, just his pinky up. "Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Come on. You saw me do one with Estelle the other day. It's a binding vow. Even more serious than the Styx."

Artemis stared at his hand for a second, before reaching out and wrapping her pinky around his. "Pinky promise, then." They separated. A couple of moments passed, the sounds of nature around them, chirping birds, bubbling water, and rustling trees, filled the silence.

Finally, Percy broke it. "Hey, you know, if I'm the King of Hell, that makes you the queen."

She frowned. "Hm. I guess it does."

Percy stood up. "I should probably get back. Thank you, Artemis." He pulled the knife out of its sheath and slashed the air in front of him. His throne hall appeared in front of him, but he didn't step through. He looked down at the knife in his hands. He flipped it around, grabbing the blade. He held it out to Artemis.

She glanced up at him. "What are you doing?"

"Take it."

She reached up and gently grabbed the handle. She slowly took the knife, unknowingly cutting Percy's fingers. Blood started to ooze out his fingers as he clenched his fist. "Just imagine this before slashing the air, and it'll take you there."

Percy turned and stepped through the rift. Before it closed, he turned around. "We recently had a change in Princes and are throwing him a ball. I would be honored if you would attend as Hell's Queen. And as my date."

Artemis was silent for a second, still holding the knife he gave her. She nodded. "Sure. I'll go. Let me know when. And are we still on for a date every wednesday?"

"If you would still like to."

She smiled. "I would." She stood up and summoned a sheath, before tying it to her waist. She sheathed the knife. "Be seeing you, Percy."

"Be seeing you, Artemis." The rift closed, leaving Percy alone in his throne room. He turned around to see he was mistaken, as Mephistopheles was in his place next to Percy's throne. The King of Hell walked up to his Royal Advisor.

"You said there were multiple knives in Lucifer's vault, correct?"

Mephistopheles nodded. "Yes, My Lord."

"Good, I'll be needing a new one."

"If I may ask, what happened to the last one?"

Percy opened his hand and looked at the red blood leaking from his fingers.

"I entrusted it to someone."