Luke Castellan woke up.
A good sign, considering he was one of the most wanted demigods in the monster world. Last week he had killed two Telkhines wanting to kill him for his bounty, which was apparently 500,000 drachmas. He was disappointed, after killing so many members of the monster community, he had hoped the number would be somewhere in the millions. Alas, the stupid beasts failed to correctly estimate his value and the threat he posed to them as a whole. From what he had heard, only a handful of demigods were above him in bounty, his friend Thalia being one of them. Which was ridiculous, considering he had slain thrice the monsters she had, and she had only been alive for 6 months. But being a daughter of Zeus had its unfair advantages, and striking terror into every monster's soul by just existing was one of them.
Right now, he was sitting in the front seat of the Camp Half-Blood minivan, while Argus drove. Thalia and Annabeth were sat in the back, sleeping soundly. He groaned loudly. Damn Grover and his stupid distress call. Why did Chiron have to send him anyway? Charles Beckendorf was available, but no—he was too valuable to the camp, Chiron said. It was always him, going on stupid assignments, doing their dirty work, getting those forbidden barrels of wine Mr. D had wanted, that specific quiver that Chiron fancied, it was beginning to be too much for him to handle. Sure, he was a son of Hermes, but he was the best fighter Camp Half-Blood had, and wasting his talents like this was nonsensical, preposterous, and utter foolishness. He cursed Chiron and his magic quiver again and looked out the window.
Snow.
He was bored already. There was nothing to see except snow on the highway. It was an eight-hour drive, and according to Argus, they still had 3 hours left. He shook his head in disappointment, he was ready to give up, 3 hours of doing nothing in a car was not good for his ADHD, he should have brought those magical sleeping pills Lou Ellen had offered, but Chiron had stopped him from accepting. Something about foreign and magical substances and their ill effects on the growing demigod body, Luke had tuned the old trainer out. In a desperate attempt to ease his worsening condition, he tried to fall asleep again, closing his eyes and clearing his mind. The second part was not as easy as it sounded, and just as he was about to lose all hope, darkness engulfed everything.
He was in a palace, made of white marble and porcelain, tall pillars with Corinthian columns surrounded him on either side, the roof looked like the starry night sky with countless constellations adorning it, and the floor was pitch black, enchanted obsidian, as dark as the darkest nightmare. He sat cross-legged in front of a huge throne, made of shadows, constantly moving and rearranging themselves. A man dressed in all-black robes sat in the royal seat. Violet eyes, high cheekbones, and pale white skin.
"My lord," Luke bowed his head in respect towards the god.
"Rise, my champion," Morpheus spoke, his voice was as smooth as silk, perfect, it made him slightly dizzy, but at this point, he was more or less immune to the charms of the Dream Lord. The first time he was in the throne room, he had fallen asleep just after looking at the throne. Embarrassing.
"What is the reason for this meeting, my lord? I was just on the way to the location of the distress call, I-"
"I know, Luke. I have called you in my presence to warn you,"
"Warn me? Of what?"
"You will find two demigods at your destination Luke. And you need to keep them alive, for the Sky King wants them dead,"
"Why?"
"Hades spawn,"
"Ah," this was going to be tricky. He already had a daughter of Zeus as his companion, and now two kids of Hades show themselves. Not good. Zeus' attacks were impossible to dodge, parry, or block. So if a large bolt of lightning were to strike down from the heavens onto them, he could only hope that the Lord of the Dead was kind enough to let him into Elysium for at least trying to save his children. He had to hide their presence, not an easy task when he had 3 children of the big three in his vicinity, they were like walking monster magnets, and Big Z would certainly sense their presence once it was revealed that they were children of Hades. Gods be damned.
"But why protect the children? What do they mean to you?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Nothing. I owed a favor to The Rich One. And I wish to not be indebted to such a man," Morpheus drawled.
"Do I get any help?"
Morpheus tossed him a plain silver ring, which he caught with ease. There was nothing on it, no inscriptions, no spells, it seemed perfectly normal. He slipped it on, feeling no changes to his body or his power. Nothing.
"Of course you get help. That ring will keep you safe and sound," The god smirked. "Do not look so down, my boy, I shall present you with another gift then. I know you were having trouble sleeping, so I kept you here for about 3 hours, You should be reaching your location in the next three minutes or so"
Luke suddenly remembered why he loved the god, his active participation in his life was amazing, it was the only thing he had asked of his father, but Morpheus did it for him. He would most certainly defected to the other side if it weren't for the immortal. Thank fate that his master was a good one.
"You will be shaken awake soon by the daughter of Athena, may fortune favor you my champion. Do not fail me," Morpheus threatened.
Luke gulped as he was transported back to the mortal plane. A blonde-haired girl was shaking him by the shoulders, very violently.
"I'm up!" He announced. "Please stop,"
Thalia giggled. "Come on Castellan, Grover will be waiting,"
Luke yawned loudly as he opened his seatbelt and stepped out of the minivan. The trio of them said their goodbyes to Argus, who left without a word. Maybe he did have an eyeball on his tongue. But Luke was more interested in if he had an eyeball down there. It was a valid question, but he didn't know if he wanted the answer to it or not. He looked at the school, 'Westover Hall' Grover had said. The children of Hades would be here too, and with his luck, they were the reason Grover had called them.
Damn gods and their insatiable need to constantly have more children. Even goddesses like Athena had children. Why? What was the point of having brain babies? He shuddered, thank Morpheus he wasn't one. He looked at Annabeth, at his left, she had her mouth gaping, marveling at the beautiful architecture of the old building. Luke thought about how Athena must have thought her into existence. Weird shit. He and Thalia on the other hand were born normally, like normal demigods. Thank the Moirai he wasn't in the minority.
"Come on," Thalia said, slapping Annabeth and him on the back of their heads. "The distress signal? Remember?"
Luke clicked his tongue. He had another mission to complete too. He unzipped his backpack and took out a bottle of Greek fire.
"Both of you go inside, I'll do some recon while you mingle. I have a feeling things will get messy," He said, grinning like a true child of Hermes.
Annabeth and Thalia stared at the dark towers of Westover Hall as the huge oak doors creaked open, revealing a massive hall. If Thalia had to describe the building in one word, it would be evil. The place radiated an ominous energy that she couldn't quite place. Annabeth on the other hand could not stop drooling over the architecture. She kept rambling about different columns and their structural support. Seriously, what is it with Athena's brain babies?
They made their way inside, it was a huge brightly lit place, swords, shields, and rifles decorated the walls. Music played in the background, and children dressed in formal attire were everywhere.
"You two!"
They both turned their heads and saw two very angry teachers approaching them.
"Guests are not allowed at this dance! You shall be ejected! Get out!" Screamed the man. He looked like the type to ask for the manager at every dining establishment he went to. He spoke in an accent, french maybe? He looked like he hated children and being here was the worst day of his life. Finally, the evil energy made sense. He was the monster.
Thalia clicked her fingers and let the mist do its magic. "We're students here, don't you remember?"
The man narrowed his eyes at them, while Annabeth smiled nervously. "Mrs Gottschalk, do you know them?"
Thalia struggled not to laugh. A teacher named Got Chalk? Beautiful.
"Yes… Dr. Thorn. Thalia, Annabeth, what are you doing away from the gymnasium? Do not wander around, next time, it will be detention," She said, though she didn't seem convinced of her own words.
Thalia grinned internally. Jackpot, the infiltration was a success and they had found a monster, now all they had to do was find the goat boy. Saluting the two teachers, they left quickly.
"The man, Dr. Thorn. Monster?" Annabeth asked. Thalia nodded, confirming her suspicions.
Finally, after roaming around for 2 minutes, they found Grover. He was dancing, or at least trying to and failing miserably. He looked like those flailing inflatable tube men that you saw outside stores for advertisements.
"You know what, let's just go somewhere else, and let him do his thing," Annabeth suggested helpfully. Thalia agreed. She did not want to interrupt his groove. But unfortunately for the both of them, they made eye contact.
"Thaliaaaa! Annabethhhh!" He waved in their direction, everybody looked at them and laughed. Thalia died internally and Annabeth covered her face with her hands. She couldn't play the 'Who are you?' card as the satyr was running towards them now.
"Thank your father, you made it," Grover said, hugging them both. Thalia could feel the stares on her back and Annabeth turned bright red. "Where's Luke?"
The man in question was looking at them from the crowd. He did not want to engage or have any part in the meeting. He made his way outside, slowly, careful not to let them see him. He had another quest to complete after all.
The crowd around Grover, Thalia, and Annabeth slowly dispersed. Annabeth relaxed, she did not like people staring at her.
"Why did you send the signal?" She asked him.
"Two demigods. Powerful. Brother and sister," He said, taking a serious tone. "A monster is here too, He's-"
"Dr. Thorn," Both Annabeth and Thalia interrupted.
"Yup," Grover said.
"So where are they?" Annabeth asked.
Grover pointed towards the drink refilling station. A girl about her age, wearing a green beanie, and a young boy with black hair, standing there and drinking punch. They both were clearly brother and sister, with clear olive skin and pitch-black eyes.
"Nico and Bianca di Angelo," Grover said. "They have an aura, I can't quite place it…"
Annabeth narrowed her eyes on the pair. They seemed innocent enough. The boy, Nico, had a strange deck of black cards in his hands and was excitedly showing them to his sister, who tried to act interested. Classic.
"Have you told them?"
"The girl is quite shy and protective, she punched me when I first approached her. I was just using my satyr charm. Some people are just weird," Thalia rolled her eyes at that. The first time she met Grover, he had tried that with her too. Safe to say he had never attempted that with her again.
"So you haven't?"
"No,"
"Okay, we need to engage slowly. We need to wait for Luke to arrive. Dr. Thorn will be suspicious of us after the previous conversation. We have to be-"
"Bianca and Nico are missing,"
"I hate my life,"
"Damn it,"
Luke had seen Dr. Thorn grab the siblings and take them outside. He grit his teeth in slight annoyance. He knew the man was a monster in disguise. He hadn't expected him to act so fast, but unfortunately, Thalia and Annabeth had blown their cover, and now the monster knew they were here for the demigods. He summoned his sword and ran after them.
The door led to a dark hallway. He heard the sounds of scuffling up ahead, followed by a painful grunt. He gripped his sword tighter, the blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers around him. He jogged down the corridor, but when he got to the other end, nobody was there. He opened a door but found himself back in the main entry hall, he had gone full circle. Dr. Thorn was nowhere to be seen, but on the opposite side of the room were the children. They were frozen in horror, staring right at him.
He advanced carefully, lowering his sword. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you,"
They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. Luke understood that Dr. Thorn was still nearby. He brought his sword up again and turned around.
WHIIIISH!
Pain exploded in his shoulder. Something grabbed him and yanked him backward, slamming him straight into a wall. He screamed in pain, his left shoulder had a hole in it.
A cold laugh echoed through the hall.
"Yes, Luke Castellan. Finally, I have you. The thunder spawn would have been better though," Dr. Thorn said. His accent made the pain in Luke's shoulder worse.
Luke wriggled around, trying to free himself. Some kind of spike had pierced his shoulder and pinned him to the wall. The wound burned, and he felt like the bones in his shoulder would melt. Poison. He tried not to pass out, as his vision blurred.
A figure emerged from the darkness, and Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish, he had serrated white teeth and multicolored eyes.
"Thank you for coming out here. I hate middle school dances," He said.
Luke swung his sword around blindly, trying to pinpoint the monster's position.
Dr. Thorn laughed. "You cannot harm me, thief,"
Next to him, the boy started sobbing. Luke grunted in pain, he had a job to do. He forced his eyes open to see the smiling face of the monster.
"All three of you with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Ouietly. Obediently. If you try to make a single noise or try to call for help, I will not be as tolerant as I am now,"
He pulled Luke off the wall, making it as painful as possible. Luke screamed in pain as the projectile slid out of his shoulder, and he dropped to the ground.
"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Get up!" The monster hissed.
Luke grunted and got up. Thorn marched them into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. His shoulder was killing him, the wind blowing through the hole in his shoulder was brutal.
"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "I will summon our ride,"
"What ride?" Luke questioned.
"Shut up you insufferable demigod. I will see to it personally that you are killed as soon as we are done,"
"Fuck you,"
Thorn growled. His voice was not human. It made the hair on Luke's neck stand up, but he forced himself to keep walking, trying to think of ways to escape.
"Halt," Thorn said.
The woods had opened up. They'd reached a cliff. Luke could hear the waves churning and smell the salty air. But all he could see was mist and darkness. The siblings next to him shuddered. They hadn't uttered a single word all this time. He was like this the first time he had been captured by a monster too.
Thorn pushed them towards the edge. Luke stumbled, but the girl caught him.
"What is he?" She asked quietly. Her voice was laced with fear. Her brother fidgeted with something in his hand, mumbling to himself.
"I'm sorry," Luke whispered back.
"This is not a tea party! Stop talking!" Thorn said. "Face me!"
They turned around to see his eyes glitter with hunger. He took out a phone from his pocket and whispered something. There was a garbled reply. Luke was creeped out more, a monster using a cell phone was something he had not witnessed before. Thorn put the device back in his coat and grinned at him.
Luke glanced behind him, wondering how far the drop was.
"By all means, thief! Jump!" Thorn laughed. "The sea god will not save you!"
"What?" The girl muttered.
Luke glanced around him again. Maybe if Poseidon was in a good mood? He prayed to the god to save them.
"I would kill you before you reach the water," Thorn said, seemingly reading his mind. "You know who I am, don't you?"
Another projectile flew from behind him, grazing Luke's ear. Something was moving behind the monster, wagging. A tail.
"Unfortunately, the General wants you alive," Thorn said. "I will kill you as soon as he is done with you, thief,"
"What are you?" The girl asked.
"Manticore," Luke whispered, answering for the monster.
Thorn's eyes gleamed as Luke said his name. "Precisely. You have some brain cells after all,"
"Who's the General?" Luke asked.
"Do not worry about that, brat. You will be meeting him soon. Then you two will have a new family," He pointed towards the siblings. "I will let the General enlighten you, he is looking forward to meeting you,"
Luke shuddered as he heard the noise of helicopter blades getting closer and closer.
"Ah yes, it is here," Thorn said, grinning.
"Where are you taking us?" The small boy next to them asked, tears streaming down his face.
"You should feel honored! You will play a great part in ushering in a new age!"
"You can take your new age, and go to Tartarus," Luke growled out.
"Been there, done that," The monster replied smoothly, his teeth shining brightly under the moon. "The Great Stirring is underway, thief. And those two will be the key to helping our King rise!"
"The Great what?" The girl asked.
"The stirring of monsters," Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which you have never known,"
"You're insane," The girl whispered. "Batshit crazy,"
"We have to jump into the sea," Luke whispered to them. "Fast,"
"Okay," The girl said. "You're insane too,"
He didn't get to argue as an invisible force slammed into him, knocking the three of them onto the ground.
"For Zeus!" Thalia's voice rang out.
Luke grinned. They were here, finally.
Thorn was taken by surprise, he fired a volley of spikes from his tail, but they zipped harmlessly over their heads.
Thalia brought her shield in front of her, Aegis. The head of Medusa adorning the front was terrifying. Thorn winced as he looked at it, but growled in anger. She brought out her spear and threw it at the monster, blocking the wave of mini-missiles with her shield. The Manticore grabbed the spear with his tail. This allowed Grover to show himself. He sprang forward, putting his reed pipes to his lips, and played a frantic jig. Thick weeds wrapped around Thorn's legs, entangling him.
The monster roared. His skin turned yellow and his hands turned into paws, with huge claws. He broke through Grover's magic weeds and turned towards them, He dropped the spear and charged at Thalia. She would've been turned into minced meat if not for Aegis, it blocked the claws as sparks erupted from the collision.
Thorn yelled in fury. Enough. The demigods were going to die, and he would face the repercussions from the General. He shifted into his true form. His face was still human, but his body was that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.
"A Manticore!" Annabeth yelled, taking off her cap.
"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo asked. "What is that?"
"Three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws," Nico mumbled to himself.
Luke didn't know what he was talking about. He got up and summoned his sword, deflecting the flying missiles with it. He slapped his wristwatch as it morphed into a shield. He held it up in front of him and charged. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. He wasn't sure it could handle a second volley of thorns.
THUD!
Grover landed next to him, groaning in pain. Projectiles had pierced his legs and shoulder.
"Die!" The monster roared.
"Never!" Thalia responded. She charged the monster, her shield raised, intending to run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a flash of light behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the fog, hovering just above the cliff.
"What?" Annabeth whispered, confused. "Mortals?"
The lights blinded Thalia, and the Manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow.
"No!" Luke yelled, running towards her, blocking a projectile aimed for her chest with his shield.
Thorn laughed. "Do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, and I might be merciful,"
Annabeth looked around, helplessly. They were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. They had no chance.
Then she heard a clear, piercing sound. The call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.
The Manticore froze. For a moment no one moved. There was only a swirl of snow and the chopping of the helicopter blades.
"No," He said. "It cannot be-"
His sentence was cut short as something silver, whizzed past them and buried itself into his the monster's shoulder. He stumbled backward, wailing in agony.
"Curse you!" He cried, unleashing his spikes into the woods, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in response. They cleaved through the projectiles splitting them in half.
The Manticore howled in pain as a few more arrows buried themselves into his body. His breathing was heavy, Luke tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he dodged and knocked him aside with his tail.
The archers came out of the woods, they were girls, wearing silvery parkas and jeans, armed with bows.
"The Hunters!" Annabeth exclaimed.
"Oh wonderful," Thalia muttered, Luke shook his head in annoyance.
"This is not fair! Direct interference! The laws forbid it!" The monster growled.
"Do not lecture me about the laws, beast," The voice of Artemis said. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my domain, and you, are a wild beast," She snapped her fingers as the helicopter above them dispersed into dust.
Thorn roared in agony. "I cannot kill you, goddess, but I can kill them! With my last, I give you this! Die!"
He started glowing, projectiles started forming from his skin, covering him, like a porcupine. He was ready to shoot.
Artemis' eyes widened. "BRACE!"
The monster's cold laugh echoed through Luke's ears. He covered himself with his battered shield alongside Thalia who did the same. Annabeth took Grover and the Di Angelo siblings and hid behind a tree. All of them were ready for the explosion of spikes.
SLAM!
Nothing.
Nothing happened. All of them lowered their guard to see a boy, standing above a pile of grey dust, where the monster had stood.
"And that, is how you make an entrance," He said, grinning widely.
"Y-You," Grover said, limping out from behind the tree.
"Hello Grover," The boy whispered.
Grover promptly fainted.
"Who are you?" Annabeth asked, coming from behind the trees.
"I have sea foam in my veins. I understand the language of the waves," The figure exclaimed cryptically.
"What?"
"Perseus Jackson," Artemis said.
The boy grinned even wider. "Milady,"
"You dare show your face to me? After doing all that you have done?"
"You praise me too much. I haven't nearly done enough,"
"I would like to kill you, but I'm afraid my father has reserved that right," She said, with slight annoyance.
Perseus turned and raised his hand, a silver ring adorned his index finger. The same one Luke had. What? Luke checked his hand to see the ring given to him by Morpheus had disappeared from his finger.
"How did you-?" Luke couldn't finish his sentence as the heavens parted to reveal the wrath of Zeus.
The sky rumbled as lightning flashed. Perseus jumped towards the two children of Hades staring at him. A huge bolt of lightning dropped down from the heavens and onto them, encasing them in lightning.
"They're dead…" Thalia whispered as Grover woke up and fainted again.
The light vanished to reveal three people, perfectly fine. Perseus grinned as he looked towards the sky. He knew Zeus wouldn't dare strike twice, if he had survived once, he would survive again, and Zeus could not bear to be humiliated again. The god's pride was his bane, and so was Perseus.
"Thanks for the save," He said to Luke, as the ring on his finger crumbled to dust.
"So that's what it does," Luke mumbled to himself, feeling slightly annoyed at the boy for stealing his gift, and at Morpheus for not explaining what it did.
"If my father cannot end you, I will," Artemis said, aiming an arrow at the black-haired boy.
"Woah! Milady! I mean no harm! I just saved you all! I mean, if I wanted to, I could have let these demigods and your huntresses die. I'm a good person! Deep inside!" He spoke, clutching his heart.
"My Lady, let me take care of this insolent male," The lieutenant of the Hunt, Zoë Nightshade stepped forward.
"You can decide who kills me, or I can give you some valuable information to save Olympus," He said, grinning cheekily, amusement dripping from his voice.
"No," It was Artemis' turn to smile. "I think I will just send you to my uncle right now,"
He gulped. "Atlas! It's Atlas! He's the one! He is free!"
Artemis narrowed her eyes at the green-eyed boy. She brought the tip of her arrow down. "Impossible. How do I know this isn't one of your tricks?"
"You don't" The son of Sally Jackson grinned. "But if you don't trust me, Olympus will fall,"
The goddess growled. "I can end your life with a single thought,"
"The Rich One would just send me back, I'm far too annoying," He chuckled. "Plus, I have just saved his spawn. I'm sure the big man upstairs wouldn't want a war on his hands, especially when the Great Stirring is upon us,"
Artemis yelled in frustration. No matter how much, how many times, she met the demigod, she wanted to kill him, but was stopped by certain external factors. Curse the Fates. Why couldn't he just die? She stared at the ground as her godly mind churned out a rather brilliant idea. Perhaps, she could align her interests with him? She knew the demigod was highly influential among her elders, maybe she could bring down her tyrant of a father once and for all.
All of the hunters aimed their bows at him, ready to strike.
"Stop," Artemis said, her eyes gleaming with deception. "The boy speaks the truth, he is far too valuable to die. My Uncle and the Oneiroi would wage war on Olympus, they are already looking for reasons to fight, and we cannot give them their reasons,"
Everybody present stared at Perseus Jackson, who grinned in return.
"Thank you for your kind words milady, we have much to discuss!" He said.
The goddess groaned and thunder rumbled again. She gestured for her hunters to pitch a tent. The demigod was going to be the reason for her fading or perhaps her father's fading.
"Who the fuck are you?" Thalia asked as Annabeth nodded beside her, agreeing with her question.
"I am Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson! Bane of Zeus!" He exclaimed dramatically. The skies flashed with thunder as the boy in front of them laughed manically.
"You're insane," Bianca muttered. "You're all insane,"
"I was insane," The self-proclaimed 'Bane of Zeus' corrected. "I am fine now,"
"How'd you know about the ring?" Luke asked.
The boy turned his striking green eyes towards the son of Hermes who asked. "You are a temporal anomaly, my friend. I know everything about you,"
"Temporal anomaly?" Now it was Annabeth's turn to question.
"You see, Luke here, is the reason why we all are like this. I was supposed to be the hero. He was supposed to be-"
"Jackson!" The voice of Zoë Nightshade called out. "My Lady wishes to see you!"
He smirked again and made his way toward the tent.
"Temporal anomaly? Him, the hero?" Luke whispered to himself.
"Don't worry about him," Thalia said. "He's fucking crazy,"
Next to them, Grover groaned. "Percy… I'm sorry…"
"Percy?" Annabeth mumbled. The rest of them looked surprised too. Did Grover know the crazy boy?
The crazy boy in question opened the flaps of the tent he was called into and went inside. He saw Lady Artemis sitting in front of him, sharpening a silver knife.
He gulped.
"You aspire to dethrone my father?" She asked.
The boy nodded his head vigorously in response.
"Done," The goddess said.
"What?" He asked, his voice laced with caution.
"I want that old fool gone too. I shall help you in your endeavor, boy. While I am not convinced of your power, I have seen how much trouble you cause him,"
He glanced around the tent in wariness.
"He cannot hear us. Not here, this is my tent, my domain, laced with my magic. Not even the witch herself can penetrate these barriers," She said.
Perseus grinned widely. "While I am very happy you are joining the team. I must ask, why the sudden change of heart?"
"His foolishness has killed half of my hunters. Caused almost all wildlife to deteriorate, and countless maidens to lose their virginity," She growled.
"Amazing. Beautiful. Splendid. I shall inform my father of your participation,"
"Your father?"
"Do not think I am alone in this quest, milady," The aspiring usurper said cheekily. "The King in White has a lot of enemies, with a lot of money and resources, willing to spend it all to see him fall,"
Artemis looked at him with a raised brow as the demigod chuckled.
"I see, good to know. But, do not get ahead of yourself boy. I am merely stating this for the future. Right now, my priority is to kill the Titans. Believe it or not, between us and them, we are the lesser evil. Tell me what you know,"
"Atlas has escaped his burden. He looks to lure an immortal to take his place,"
"How?"
"He places a new demigod under his burden every day, and they all keep dying of exhaustion, and since monsters cannot take the burden, he finds himself running out of half-bloods. If he does not find an immortal, he will be forced to take back his burden,"
Artemis nodded in understanding. "And what does he plan to do?"
"The Ophiotaurus,"
"Ah. I must inform my father of this. I will hunt it down,"
"Good. I trust our conversation will be kept secret?"
"Of course. Tell your father I give my regards," She said.
Perseus grinned in reply. This conversation was rather unexpected, but welcome. Soon, a new age would usher, without the Titans, or Zeus. And at its helm would be Perseus Jackson. He laughed evilly, as Artemis stared at him with annoyance. She waved her hand and sent the demigod flying out of the tent, straight into a tree.
"Ouch,"
AN
Happy Birthday Percy Jackson!
Thanks for reading, and have a good day. A huge thanks to Fate for helping me with this.
