Author's notes at the bottom as always! Hope you guys enjoy!
Artemis:
I was trapped. My body moved as though it were a puppet, somewhere in the recesses of my mind a voice whispered, tugging at invisible strings to make me dance like a marionette. While words spilled from my lips in my voice, the words were not my own. I met Apollo's gaze and I could see the same struggle reflected in his eyes. He too was nothing more than a pawn, ensnared in this little game.
Like rats in a trap, we were stuck. I'd never felt so powerless. Gods, I had borne the weight of the sky and felt more in control than I did at this moment. A heavy presence had descended over the room, thick and oppressive, suffocating any hope of resistance.
A cold shiver ran down my spine as I realised I'd felt this presence before. It was unmistakable, the kind of dread that crept into the deepest corners of an immortal's mind. All of Olympus knew it, the force that haunted even our sleepless nights. Each of us had fallen at some point, our essence torn apart and forced to reform in the suffocating depths of the pit. We all knew the suffocating, inescapable weight of Tartarus' presence.
Yet none of us has sensed him until now. Twelve of the most powerful beings in existence, yet we were blind to this insidious intrusion. None of us had seen this coming, none of us that is, other than… Athena.
I looked down at her smoldering form, laying motionless on the cold floor next to Perseus. She was the only one of us who had been able to resist his influence, the only one who'd tried to fight him. She would wake eventually, but my father's master bolt is not something one simply shrugs off, even as an Olympian.
I locked eyes with Aphrodite. Her usual playful, carefree demeanor was gone, replaced with visible distress. She was unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of someone else's compulsion. Her hand twitched - a subtle, almost imperceptible movement - but to me, it was as clear as the moonlight breaking through the dark of night. She was beginning to escape.
I scanned the room, all around me gods and goddesses were talking with each other as if everything were normal, but their eyes betrayed them. They were all prisoners in their own minds. All that is, but one. Ares, he sat slumped on his throne, either unaware or unbothered by the scenes playing out around him. Drumming his fingers on the hilt of his blade, his head occasionally tilting towards the direction of Aphrodite's chest, not so subtly admiring her form. Look at her eyes you ignorant fool, I thought to myself. How can you not see what's happening? Silently cursing him in my head, I cast the frustration from my mind, it had no use here.
My gaze moved to Tartarus himself. He stood in the centre of the room, looming over the bodies of Athena and Perseus. Despite his outward postering and bravado, there was an unmistakable sheen of sweat on his forehead, his hands were trembling and the second by second, his domineering presence over me felt less and less acute. Such displays of power outside his domain must be draining him, I realised. Even the Protogenoi, mighty as they were, had limits to their strengths. He was waning, he couldn't keep this up for much longer.
"Ares, son. Come here." Tartarus said, his voice noticeably breathier than before.
Ares rose from his throne and sauntered over towards Tartarus, not a hint of concern on his face. He's tricking you, you idiot, I thought as I watched my foolish half brother take the bait.
I noticed Aphrodite's growing panic as she watched her lover so casually approach, unaware of the mortal danger he was meeting. She was visibly fighting now, vying to break loose. I saw her foot twitch, then her fingers. She was almost free.
Ares approached Tartarus, who placed a hand on the war god's shoulder. "Hand me your blade, son. I need you to do something for me."
For the first time, Ares hesited. But, ever the dutiful son, handed over his blade without question. Zeus held it, admiring the craftsmanship, reading the inscription that ran along its side.
"υποκινητής πόλεμου." Warmonger.
Ares shuffled his feet uncomfortably, he hated being unarmed. "What do you need me to do?" He asked, his voice tight with unease.
Tartarus' voice was deathly calm as he spokes "Pass on a message." At a speed not even my senses could follow, the blade whispered through the air, piercing Ares' flesh and driving deep into his chest, plunging into his heart.
"Father… why?" Ares gasped, his body trembling as he sank to his knees, staring down at the sword embedded deep in his chest.
Tartarus went to one knee himself, grabbing the back of Ares' head, forcing their eyes to meet. "Relax my boy, relax. I will ensure you reform quickly, I have a job for you, one that you cannot carry out from up here."
"I… what-" Ares managed before coughing up ichor, his life slipping away with each laboured breath, he only had moments left.
"Hush now, hush." Tartarus whispered softly. "All will be revealed in time. Save your strength, you'll need it for what comes next." With a sharp twist of the blade, Ares' face contorted in raw agony. He made a fist, swinging it weakly at Tartarus' face, a final act of defiance. The blow barely grazed its target before Ares' form shimmered and erupted into a cascade of golden dust, the sound of his sword hitting the ground echoing like a death knell in the silence that followed.
I saw a single tear run down Aphrodite's cheek, her hands balling up into fists. I silently prayed that Tartarus wouldn't notice, she was our best chance at escaping his control.
Tartarus rose to feet, breathing in deeply. "He is with me now."
By now, his control over us had diminished enough that the theatrics ceased. We all sat motionless, still paralysed, but his hold on our actions was broken. The silence in the room was palpable, with every god and goddess now a spectator to their own fate.
Tartarus paced the room, his eyes lingering on each god as he observed their reactions. Stopping before Poseidon's throne "Angry are we, little Sea God?"
Poseidon, his eyes a tidal storm of fury, looked upon him with hatred, still unable to speak. The throne room trembled in his rage as his strength began to return to him, it wouldn't be long now. Tartarus, now sensing his grip on us slipping, seemed wary. He took a light step back from Poseidon and continued walking around the room.
He stopped in front of me and tilted his head, looking straight into the depths of my soul. It seems the younh Huntress has finally caught on! Took you quite a while, your senses may be refined, but you lack your aunt's intuition. She was the first to notice me for who I am. A pity… I abhor unnecessary violence."
Hera's eyes widened in outrage. Tartarus, noticing this, smiled. "That's right, wife. I have your sister too. Do not worry, the flame of Olympus still burns, she is a resilient one. But even hope itself can only withstand me for so long."
Hera let out a low hiss, still unable to speak, that was all the sound she could muster.
"SNAP OUT OF IT, ALL OF YOU!" A voice, Aphrodite's, cried out. Her voice shrill, but forceful, laced with enough charmspeak to convince armies to turn and run.
Tartarus looked around as the rest of the gods stirred, realising his spell was broken, he turned to Aphrodite and smiled. "Such power, little niece, such raw power. Perhaps you are more like your father than I gave you credit for…" He said musingly.
For a moment Aphrodite seemed flustered, like a deer caught in headlights. She opened her mouth, her voice wavering momentarily before she spoke again. "Leave Zeus' body, return to the pit." She commanded.
Tartarus hesitated for a moment, almost as if he were considering it. Then he broke out into laughter, it was a strange sound, his body convulsed with laughter, but the sound itself was coming from below. Far below. "A good effort, you're very convincing. I commend you, truly."
"Now!" Aphrodite cried out. Responding in unison, Poseidon's trident materialised in his hand, its gleaming prongs aimed unwaveringly at Tartarus' throat. Hephaestus retrieved a strange, mechanical weapon from beneath his throne, its barrel glowing faintly, while Hera summoned her staff, leveling it at Tartarus' chest. Apollo and I stayed at a distance, perched on our thrones, bows drawn and arrows trained on Tartarus' forehead. The rest of the gods watched on warily.
Tartarus, regarded the pointed weapons with amused disdain. "Go ahead, strike me down, mighty Olympians! But remember, this is not my body, I will not be the one to pay the price for your wrath."
"Leave my brother's body." Poseidon said sharply.
"Or… what? What will you do, Poseidon?" At this, Poseidon faltered, lowering his trident, though his guard remained up. Tartarus smiled, a forced, twisted contortion. "I thought so," he said. "You'd never risk one of your own. Such weakness…"
"Bold talk," Hera said dismissively, not stooping to bite on Tartarus' taunts. "But you're running out of time, aren't you? You are your domain, leaving it must be exhausting for you. How soon until you return to your slumber, Tartarus?"
Tartarus' eyes fell onto the Queen of the gods, looking upon her in pure, unbridled hatred. "Quite the lip on you, where was this courage when we were alone?"
Hera flinched at his words, the staff in her hand shook as she began to tremble, she looked terrified. What had he been doing to her? I thought to myself in horror. I'd seen this behaviour before with a few of my girls, all of them had suffered horrific abuse at the hands of men.
Tartarus continued. "You are right of course, little wife. Soon I must rest. But before I, I have one final task ahead of me." He turned to Poseidon. "I'll be sure to give your son my regards. Something tells me I'll be seeing him again very soon."
As soon as Tartarus finished his sentence, Zeus' body went limp and crumpled towards the ground, Poseidon tossed his trident aside and lunged for his brother, catching him just before he hit the floor.
Zeus lay unmoving, cradled in Poseidon's arms for some time. We gathered around and looked on in trepidation. Finally, after what felt like eons, Zeus stirred and opened his eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief. The warmth in his eyes had returned, he seemed frail, but there was no doubt it was my father in there.
"Brother," Zeus managed, his voice scarcely more than a whisper. "Forgive me, I tried to fight him, I tried to stop-"
"It's okay, little brother," Poseidon said firmly, taking his brother's hand reassuringly. "I don't blame you. You did not do this."
Zeus sighed deeply in relief before turning to his side, his eyes widening in horror as he saw Athena's broken form sprawled lifelessly on the cold marble floor. "Daughter. Is she-" His voice was overtaken by a harsh, racking cough.
Apollo rushed to Athena's side, placing a hand to her forehead, chanting something under his breath. Her chest rose sharply, drawing in a strained, deep breath before falling still again.
"She'll be okay," Apollo said solemnly. "She's in a lot of pain, but she'll recover within a day or so."
Relief washed over the room, though it was fleeting. There was still much ahead of us to overcome.
Finally Demeter broke the silence. "In that case I'll take Athena home and watch over her for the day."
Apollo opened his mouth to protest but Demeter silenced him with a look. "Don't argue, Athena's injuries are physical, that is easy to treat." Her eyes shot to Zeus and Hera. "Your talents will be needed elsewhere."
With Apollo nodding in understanding , Demeter flashed Athena away.
"Could you take me home too?" Aphrodite asked Hephaestus glumly. Before he could reply she added softly. "Please."
"Fine." He said gruffly, interlacing hands, they both flashed out.
"Artemis," Zeus rasped, pulling my focus back to him. With a trembling hand, he beckoned me closer. "Tartarus has Hestia, I do not know exactly where, but I know she still walks the earth. Find her."
I took his hand in mine and bowed my head. "I will, Father. I will not rest until she is returned to us."
Zeus nodded gratefully, too weak to say anything more.
"Hera, take Zeus away." Poseidon instructed. "He needs rest."
Hera hesitated momentarily, she seemed afraid. Perhaps the prospect of being alone with Zeus still unnerved her. Either way, after one reassuring nod from Zeus, they both vanished in a flash of divine energy.
Hermes spoke from beside me, looking at Perseus' broken body with sorrow. "I will go to the camp, they need to know what happened here today.
"No." Dionysus said sharply. "The campers are my responsibility, Percy was one of mine. I will go and break the news to them."
Hermes looked surprised. "You don't have to."
"I want to," Dionysus replied firmly, ending the conversation abruptly by flashing out, presumably headed to Camp Half Blood.
"Well then…" Hermes said in surprise. "In that case, I'm going to go and see if I can find any leads on Hestia. Someone, somewhere must know something." He too flashed out. Leaving only Poseidon, Apollo and I behind in the now eerily quiet throne room.
"I will go and see Father." Apollo said, breaking the silence. "Possession takes… a toll. He won't ask, but I know he needs me."
"Of course," I replied quickly. "But Apollo… talk to Hera too, please." We locked eyes, exchanging a thousand words in a blink of an eye. "Okay sis. I'll check in on her too, I promise."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. While Hera and I didn't always see eye to eye, every woman who had endured abuse deserved compassion and support. Apollo may be a fool, but he was an empathetic one who could likely aid her. As he had done for many of my Hunters in the past.
"Before you go, Apollo." Poseidon began. "Tend to my son's wounds."
Apollo looked at him, dumbfounded. "Poseidon… I, he's dead, I'm sorry. Not even I can bring him back, I wish I could."
"I know he's dead, Apollo." Poseidon said sharply, taking a deep breath to quash his rising frustration. "But if I am going to bring him back, his body must be repaired. In his current state he'd die again as soon as I returned his soul."
"That's impossible," I said quickly. "Hades would never permit it."
"I don't care," Poseidon said dismissively. "Tartarus is going after my son, I will not abandon him. I have already failed him once, I will not fail him here. I'm going to get him back, nothing will stand in my way." He added, looking at Apollo as he spoke.
"Okay," Apollo relented, not wanting to enrage the sea god. I'll take Percy to my palace, I'll do what I can for him. But I can't make any promises, the damage is… bad. The heat from the bolt alone likely fried his organs. It would take a miracle to reverse that."
"I've seen you work miracles many times, Apollo. Work one here. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my son back." With a brilliant flash of sea green, Poseidon vanished, leaving only the echoes of the ocean in his wake.
So, a lot happened here. This was pretty difficult to write. A lot of moving parts, a lot of plot points to hit and a lot of characters to cover. I think I did a good job but I'll likely come back and rework this a bit in the future. I hope you all enjoyed it though.
This is, thankfully, the final chapter for a long time involving courts or throne rooms. I am so sick of writing them, lol. Next chapter is back with Percy in the underworld, should hopefully have it out in a couple of days time.
Special thanks to Razma2468 for letting me run some ideas by them. You were a huge help for this chapter! And thanks again to everyone else for all the support, last chapter I was thanking you guys for 200 followers, I'm now nearing 500. That's crazy. Numbers aren't everything obviously but it's great to know what I'm writing resonates with so many people.
As always, feedback is always appreciated and if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, feel free to comment or drop me a message about it! Thanks for reading!
