Chapter Twenty-Six

"Scientists are still baffled by the unnatural phenomena occurring in Japan right now. As you can see here, the entire island has been cast into darkness. Right now it is noon, and the sun should be directly overhead." A reporter on the TV was saying as Percy and Artemis walked into the bar. "For those at home who haven't been following along, Last Friday, the sun never rose, keeping Japan in a state of perpetual night time. Despite this oddity, life continues as normal, with work being done via electric lighting. Whether this is just how life is now, or if the Sun will ever return remains to be seen. This was Sarah Parker, back to you Tom."

"Thank you, Sarah. And now to Jerry with the weather."

"Thank you, Tom. As you can see, it's going to be a beautiful night tonight, clear skies and cool temperatures make it the perfect night to do some skygazing."

The sound of the TV was drowned out by the people sitting next to Percy and Artemis, who had started their own conversation. Percy couldn't help but listen in as Artemis was talking to the bartender.

"I'm telling you, man. It's true."

"Fuck off dude."

The first guy pulled out his phone. "Look, I'll google it." He opened Google and began to type in his question, speaking as he did so. "Does saying the moon looks beautiful mean I love you?" He pulled up the results and showed his phone to his friend. "See. I told you."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked.

The first guy turned around. "Yeah, man. It's like a cultural thing. In Japan, if you say 'The moon is beautiful, isn't it', it's like code for 'I love you'."

"Huh. That's interesting." Percy said as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Artemis holding out a glass of cola to him. "Thank you." He turned to the man. "Thanks for the culture lesson man."

"Of course. See ya." He held his fist out for a fist bump, which Percy obliged, before turning back to his wife.

She was standing, so Percy stood as well. He took a sip of his drink. "So what now?"

She shrugged. "I do not know." She took a sip of her alcohol. "Let us sit down and figure it out."

They walked to a booth and sat down. "You know, I am kind of glad you found out."

"About?"

"The whole Hell thing."

"And why is that?"

"Well, now I don't need Nico to come get me for our dates. Let him do what he wants without being shackled to me. Especially now that he's on his honeymoon."

"Now I am shackled to you."

"Yeah, but you were shackled to me when you decided to give this a shot."

Artemis grinned. "Yeah." Then she frowned. "We did not go on a honeymoon."

Percy shook his head. "Nope, we did not."

"We did this whole 'marriage' thing wrong, it looks like."

Percy nodded. "Yep. We kinda did."

"If we did go on a honeymoon, where would you have wanted to go?"

"Ooooh, that is a good question. I'm not sure. What about you?"

She shrugged. "It does not matter to me. I can go anywhere I want, anytime. You, however cannot, and thus, the honeymoon would have meant more to you." She frowned. "That is not how I meant to say that. I mean, where we would go would matter more to you than me. The honeymoon itself would be equally meaningful to me. So, where would you want to have gone?"

Percy sighed and took a sip of his drink. He was silent as he gave the question some thought. He had been to Greece, Rome, Tartarus, there weren't many places left on his vacation list. Where would be a nice place to visit in March? "I don't know. I never really felt the urge to travel."

"Hmm." She held out her hand. "Come on."

He clasped her hand.

"Close your eyes, Percy."

He followed her directions. A bright light lit up the back of his eyelids, before going dark again. The sound of crashing waves filled his ears. He opened his eyes. Before him was the ocean. He was sitting on the beach, Artemis next to him. The dark water blended into the night sky. Above them, the full moon shone, piercing the darkness and reflecting on the ocean.

"Man, I got sand in my shoes now." Percy said. Artemis laughed and snapped her fingers. His shoes and socks disappeared, as did hers. "Where are we? And where are my shoes? And socks?"

"A beach in the Bahamas. I believe we are near Red Bay. As for your shoes, and socks, they are at my tent. I will give them back to you when we leave."

"Thank you." Percy chuckled. "You know,I bet the people back at the bar are confused as hell."

Artemis shrugged. "The Mist will cover it up. I am sure they saw us walk out or something. I am not too worried about it. The Mist has covered crazier things."

"Yeah, that worries me. What if our leaving was too mundane for the Mist to cover it up?"

"Stop worrying. We are on a honeymoon and I am pretty sure you do not worry on a honeymoon. Besides, what is mundane about disappearing in a ball of light?"

Percy sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am, I am a goddess."

Percy stood. "Well, Goddess." He said 'Goddess' the way he had back at the ball in Hell, the way that sent shivers down Artemis' spine. He smiled and offered his hand. "Have you ever seen the bottom of the ocean?"

"I am a daughter of Zeus, Percy. I cannot go beneath the waves."

Percy rolled his eyes. "And I'm a son of Poseidon, and I say it's okay. My father isn't going to do anything if I'm there."

"You cannot be sure of that."

"I sat on his throne and he pardoned me, I'm pretty sure we'll be fine. Come on." He shook his hand, trying to tempt her to join him. She relented and grabbed his hand, using his weight to pull herself up.

"After you." She said.

Percy grinned and started towards the waves. She followed behind him. Once they reached the water line, Artemis slowed. Percy noticed and turned around. He held out his hand. She hesitated, before taking it.

Their feet met the cold ocean water. Artemis shivered. As they walked farther into the ocean, Artemis got more and more apprehensive. When they were chest deep, Percy turned towards her. "We're going to go under. Hold your breath, I'm going to make a bubble so you can breathe."

She nodded. It was a sweet gesture, and she didn't feel like explaining that she, like all Gods, didn't need to breathe. After all, the explanation was a little complicated, and she didn't really want to spend the evening going over godly physiology.

They plunged their heads underwater, and she watched as millions of tiny bubbles swirled around them, colliding with each other and merging into bigger bubbles that then collided and merged. Over and over again until a giant bubble surrounded her. She sat down and let her legs pierce the bubble's surface, feeling the cool ocean water on her legs. They walked deeper into the ocean.

It was strange, being under the sea. She had always known the ocean was off limits to her. Her uncle's domain. While he never said she wasn't allowed, it was sort of an unspoken rule. Gods did not enter another's without express permission. Only exceptions were Hermes and Iris, as they carried messages.

The sea floor below her was made up of sand which seemed to rise and fall in tiny, unmoving waves. There were no animals in sight, which reminded her of the forest. However, it wasn't long before some critters started to appear, drawn in by the appearance of their prince. They started to swarm Percy like paparazzi. Percy, for his part, had a conversation with them, giving advice when needed. It was weird, listening in on a one sided conversation. Was this how her Hunters felt when she talked to animals?

She zoned back in as Percy gestured at her while he talked to a young shark that kept circling around him. Most of the sea animals turned in her direction. It seemed like a couple were waving at her with their fins, but they also could have been just steadying themselves. She waved awkwardly at them.

They started to swarm her like they did Percy, swimming around her bubble. It was a surreal experience, having a bunch of sea creatures surround her. Through a couple of cracks between fish, she thought she saw Percy smiling.

Percy whistled, drawing their attention. "Come on, give her some space." He said. He walked over to her. "I have a surprise for you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's on its way."

He sat down next to her, well, actually, below her, due to the bubble floating off of the ground. He willed the bubble down, drawing it down until it met the sandy ground. The bottom of the bubble disappeared as the rest of the bubble grew in size. Percy scooted inside the bubble and faced the open ocean.

Artemis looked out as well. They sat in silence, enjoying the sound of the waves above them. They sounded strange underwater. The sea creatures had dispersed by now, the novelty of Percy's appearance having worn off, leaving the couple alone.

Slowly, blue light started to fill the water. Small, glowing blue dots. More and more filled the water, swirling around them. Artemis turned to Percy, who was smiling softly as he watched the lights. She looked back at the lights.

"What is this?" She asked.

"There's a species of phytoplankton that light up as a defense mechanism. They're called dinoflagellates. I called a bunch here to show you." He stood up and offered his hand. "Come on, let's go to the surface, it's even cooler up there."

She took his hand. Together, they shot to the surface, bubbles filling her vision as they sped through the water. The bubbles glowed with the blue bioluminescence, giving them the look of a starry night. They broke through the surface, the bubble around them popping. They swam to the shore and ended up on the sand. The bioluminescence mixed with the waves, rising and falling with the water.

The phytoplankton slowly left, leaving the ocean as dark as the night sky above. Percy and Artemis laid down on the sand and stared up at the night sky. "Don't get this view often in the city." Percy said. Away from all the light pollution, the night sky was alive with glowing stars, whose light reflected against the ocean.

"It is a good view." Artemis said. "I have been alive for millenia, and it has never grown any less beautiful."

"Reminds me of when we were on your chariot, that one time."

"You mean when you jumped off and fell into the ocean?"

Percy chuckled. "Yeah."

"I never asked you, but why? Why did you jump off? You said you had something to do."

Percy sighed. "Do you remember when we were at that ball, and Asmodeus mentioned Aeshma?"

"Vaguely."

"The succubus I saved?"

"Ah, yes. I remember. I never met her."

"No." Percy agreed. "Well, I left to go rescue her. When you were talking about Callisto, and how you regretted what you did, it made me realize I had a chance to do something good, and so I took it."

"Percy, you of all people shouldn't have to worry about doing something good. Your whole life has been good deeds, always placing others above yourself. Now, that is not to say that you should start going around being a fucking asshole, but… you get my point, do you not?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I get what you mean.'

"Either way, I am proud that you helped someone in need. But what did you do to the person abusing her? It was Azazel, correct?"

Percy looked away. "I killed him. I had undercovered a plot to assassinate me, with Azazel and Heaven at its head. So, I had him executed for treason. But before I could, he challenged me for the throne, and by Hell's law, I had to grant him the duel." He looked back at Artemis. A dark look crossed over his face. He was almost glaring. His stare reminded her of a wolf's. "But I made sure it was in front of the entirety of Hell. And I tore him apart." He chuckled darkly. "I broke him in front of everyone, and I'm not gonna lie, I took a little pleasure in it."

Artemis hmmed. "I see. Well, good. I presume that is the reason we had the ball, as you said it was for a change in Princes. But. more importantly, you have had assassination attempts? And you did not think to tell me?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly, I kinda forgot about it till now. Besides, I haven't had one since I killed Azazel. I think… I think they might have realized that I'm not going to do it, and are leaving me alone."

"I hope so. For both of our sakes." She scooted over and laid her head on his shoulder. He looked at her, before smiling and wrapping his arm around her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Percy looked up. "You know, the moon looks beautiful tonight."

A small smile graced Artemis' lips. "Yes, it does."

A/N. A little bit shorter chapter. Didn't hit my 3k word goal, but the fact that this is the first time this story, I'm quite proud of it. Anyways, next chapter will start the next arc, which I affectionately call, "Blood Upon the Snow" after the Hozier/God of War Ragnarok song. I put some foreshadowing into this chapter cause I couldn't help it.

Thoughts?