All rights belong to Rick Riordan

Chapter 105

Why Can't We All Get Along?

(Reyna)

Like most of the Western seaboard of the United States Reyna's evening was interrupted by the sound of a series of large explosions. By the shockwaves hitting the Legion barracks she was currently occupying it was obvious that they were from within a mile of her present location.

However as the rest of the Legion ran around in a panic, outside her temporary office unsure of what was happening on the Field of Mars. The daughter of Bellona sat at her desk with her head resting on her bridged hands and smiled. She did not need to look out of the small window or step outside to work out what was happening.

She had after all anticipated the goddess doing something like this. She had just not mentioned the possibility to any of the other legionnaires or even Clarisse.

Still whilst she had the threat of 'treason' looming over her head if she did not actively try and win the game. That did not mean she actually wanted too, so whilst she had been taking the correct steps to win the game as far as the rest of her forces was concerned. She was also playing a delicate game of withholding information on the individual hunter's capabilities that were unknown to the rest of her team.

Including Artemis's newest technique of orbital shock and awe. How was she supposed to plan against a goddess taking matters into her own hands after all? Besides there was nothing to say what she had done was against the rules of the game, after all this was part of the allowed prep time before the game.

Her musing however would be interrupted by the arrival of a large armoured hoplite girl barging through the office door. The girls crested helm held under her arm as she looked at her smiling counterpart commander.

"Is your goddess insane, even my father would not be crazy enough to fire danger close with friendlies that close?" Clarisse shouted as Reyna sat back on her chair.

"Well she is pregnant, that has led to her being a little cranky recently." Reyna said trying to hold a straight face. The truth was being in close proximity to personalities such as Thalia and especially Percy was starting to affect her usual stoicism. Being separated for the better part of two days was also not helping with matters.

"You knew she could do this?"

"Of course she destroyed half of Las Vegas a few days ago doing it."

"And you fail-"

"And what would that accomplish exactly, she is an Olympian goddess. There is nothing that we could do against it. If no one was harmed which I imagine was the case, she can do as she pleases without consequences. She can flood the entire field if she wants to and there is not a damned thing we can do about it. Last I checked she has a daughter of Triton so we should count ourselves lucky she hasn't. Did you really expect them to just sit on their hands and take this loss lying down? If you want to win this she is going to make us earn it." I remarked with a sigh as I leaned back forwards resting my elbows on the desk as I looked into the Greek girl's eyes.

"Your goddess and Jackson are perfect for each other; they both know how to piss me off."

"You should try living with them, one minute they are trying to kill one another the next well…"

"I get it, still hard seeing that little runt now putting everyone to shame. Still at least he looks out for us still which is more than can be said about some other immortals I know." She said bitterly. Over the last two days she had made it abundantly clear she did not trust the six as a group with running a soup kitchen let alone two camps full of demigods. As it was I was not going to indulge her in another round of 'petty bitching' no matter how much I agreed for the most part with her thoughts.

"Clarisse, with respect it is getting late and tomorrow is going to be a long day. So would you kindly get out already?" I told her groaning.

"You know if you were not a member of the girl scouts of doom I would say you need to get laid." Clarisse said laughing as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Thanks I will take that under advisement." I told her sarcastically as she turned around still laughing.

"See you in the morning Praetor." She added waving her hand over her shoulder.

"In the morning Hipparch." I returned as she finally shut the door with a loud bang.

"It is fine Nemea, go back to sleep." I told the feline on my lap as she lifted her head in curiosity at the door closing.

The large cub was here as a precaution in case some of my subordinates decided to cause trouble, or even certain gods. As Artemis and Percy had explained I was still a member of the Hunt and therefore my security was still a matter of concern to the Titan Lord. So whilst the three immortals kept an eye on the rest of the Hunters, I got the divine beast as a pet. Something that served as a great warning not to try anything, most of the Greek Campers were outright terrified of her.

Could be worse, at least I didn't have feed her or that would have guaranteed the Hunter's victory.

(Percy)

"I didn't get to say this last time, but that looked awesome." Thalia said from beside me.

Me and the Hunters had been sitting on the edge of the roof of their 'borrowed' house watching as the orbital bombardment occurred. The flat terrain of the field of Mars being drastically rearranged in seconds as debris was blown high into the air by the detonations and subsequent shockwaves that had shaken the city.

Down below us people were running about in panic at the event. In the distance I could make out figures from the legion taking position on their fort as if in reaction to attack.

"Well you are not wrong Thals, you are not wrong." I muttered in awe. Above the cloud filled sky was punctured with clear patches where the sonic boom from the arrows had blown them apart. I had originally been sceptical of doing a 'Vegas', not due to doubting my fiancée's accuracy and the danger of an errant arrow wiping out hundreds off course. Of course last time she did this I was actually inside the target so I had not seen what it looked like, it did not disappoint.

More for the fact that mortals were going to start panicking if they suspected that the repeated instances of destruction, from outside the Earth's atmosphere were not a random occurrence. Of course they would never find the impact site in this case but they would still know something had happened. Hell seismic sensors around the world would probably detect this.

Then again seismologists were probably still analysing the one that occurred earlier in Turkey, so perhaps I was not one to talk.

"Anyway girls, shows over so back downstairs." I said pulling my legs back over the edge and standing up.

"You can't tell us what to- Zoe let me go." Tania began to complain only to get placed in a headlock by the demi-Titan hunter who pretty much began to drag her towards the roof ladder. The stronger girl seemingly not bothered about her struggling burden.

"Do I even want to know?" Diana asked appearing in a flash of light and spotting the daughter of Ares being manhandled towards the exit.

"I wouldn't worry about it milady." Phoebe remarked laughing as most of the rest of the hunters suddenly decided to make their way towards the ladder.

"Thalia, Zoe stay here a moment." Diana said causing Zoe to drop her burden who fell heavily to the floor on her knees holding her neck.

After almost two minutes the last of the girls had filed down the single ladder into the house. Leaving just the four of us on the roof by ourselves.

"I need a decision from one of you on who is going to be Lieutenant tomorrow. Once that game starts I can no longer hold your hands and tell you what to do. That is the last thing I can do for you, do you understand." Diana said pointing to the now devastated field of Mars, the dust and debris having finally settled leaving a landscape that would not have been out of place in the first World War.

"Yes Lady Diana." Both remarked simply.

"What of the others?" Thalia asked.

"Besides the fact that both of you have been my Lieutenant previously, the only one of you with the skills to lead is Phoebe, who would refuse to lead for personal reasons that we all know off and Reyna who is commanding the opposition. I don't need an answer now but we will want one in the morning." Diana said holding her hand out as the silver diadem appeared in her palm.

(Thalia)

The fact she was correct with her deduction was painful to hear. Whilst I no longer had a problem with the goddess and the seaweed brain dating and vice versa in regard to me and Reyna. The issue was now one of freedom, I enjoyed not always having the pressure on me. When I had originally been enlisted into the Hunt I was the newbie stepping into the group despite my own position being higher than the others. However this offered me a sense of respite as I was learning as much from them as I was supposed to be teaching.

However over the following two years ninety percent of the Hunters at that time would be dead and the newer ones were looking at me with more and more sense of expectation. How was I supposed to lead and inspire girls younger than me when their predecessors had all died on my watch? The whole 'battle' tomorrow was my fault in the first place for acting rashly.

Wasn't that the reason that Phoebe always declined any form of authority? She and her sister had been thrust into positions of power over her fellow countrymen in an era of total war. There was one difference in fighting against monsters at an early age and wars of nations. When you killed a monster it disappeared in a burst of golden dust to be vacuumed up later or blown away in the wind.

A mortal battlefield was a much different story; thousands of mutilated and maimed corpses didn't just up and vanish in the blink of an eye. Things that no girl of fifteen to sixteen should have seen at the time much less been a part of. She was one of the few living hunters left that had ever killed a mortal. The others being Morganna in her previous lives before this one (she did not remember either way) and likely Zoe who I did not want to ask to confirm. But Artemis had implied as such in the past.

Unbeknownst to me it seemed that the two immortals were once again doing their psychic communication thing again as I only caught the goddess nodding as if in affirmation before turning back towards us.

"Zoe can you come with me." Diana said before grabbing a surprised Zoe's hand and the two disappeared in a flash. Leaving just me and the seaweed brain alone beneath the moonlight.

"Thalia, do you feel responsible for everything that happened to the other hunters?" He asked slowly taking a breath. It was as if he had been reading my mind as my entire body went weak as I trembled.

I opened my mouth to attempt a response but no sound came out.

More than three years of suppressed feelings finally exposed caused my whole body to enter shock.

Luckily for me, Percy had begun to move closer to me. So by the time my knees collapsed he was already bending down to catch me and pull me close.

(Percy)

As I knelt there with Thalia in my arms I was struck by how vulnerable the girl truly was beneath her façade. She normally gave off an air of authority that made people take notice and listen. And yet with little more than a sentence, here she was sobbing into my shoulder as I attempted to comfort her. Something I was pretty sure I was ill fit to do, considering my own horrendous attempt at dealing with grief.

As it was the awkward stalemate lasted almost an hour by which point Thalia had gone quiet apart from an occasional sniffle.

"Thalia…" I began before realising that I did not know what to say, instead I simply raised a hand and held the back of her head.

"How did you know?" The girl mumbled into my shoulder almost too quietly for me to hear.

"For the last few weeks you have been acting rasher and with little care for consequences. It was becoming clear something was getting to you. When Zoe came back you were more relieved than happy. With a few exceptions children of Zeus crave power and yet you suddenly did not want to be Lieutenant again. As for you and Reyna… Well I cannot comment if you rushed into that or not all things considered." I said laughing nervously as I noticed the tang of ozone building up around me. Fortunately after a few seconds she seemingly took a deep breath as if calming down.

"For the first time in a long time, I have been able to be myself and have fun without people having expectations. As you can imagine my childhood was not great due to my mother, which only got worse after Jason was born and disappeared. After that when I ran away I was fighting for my life on an almost daily basis, Luke and Annabeth helped but then they looked up to me as has everyone since I was resurrected. The only person who ever treated me as an equal was you. As annoying as you were about it." She added grumbling finally looking up at me. Living with Artemis had told me to comment on the dishevelled states daughters of Zeus could get themselves into… And that if you did not want to be ejected from the moon chariot it was best to be quiet about it.

"Glad to be of service Pinecone Head."

"Stupid Lord Seaweed Brain." She complained glaring at me as I grinned in response.

"Look at the bright side do you feel better now. If not then we can always try my method of destressing."

"I might like girls but what you and my sister—" Thalia began saying whilst pulling a face of disgust.

"No I mean finding and bullying the Minotaur." I told her laughing before leaning in a little. "Besides if anything your sister sometimes only increases stress. Don't tell her that." I whispered before nervously looking up at the Moon looming overhead and smiling.

After a few tense seconds nothing seemed to be entering the atmosphere in my direction so I turned back towards the other emotional girl in front of me.

"Don't the ancient laws restrict immortals from bullying monsters?" Thalia remarked with a chuckle.

"Don't care it is still fun, for me at least. It is only a problem if someone complains about it. Besides may I point out he started this grudge. Not my fault he can't keep up." I told her laughing as I thought how far I had come from that terrified kid in a rainstorm, who had no idea what was going on, in only a few years.

"He probably didn't think it would result in him getting bullied for eternity at the time. More SMASH puny idiot demigod." Thalia said laughing as I mentally imagined briefly fighting the Hulk back then.

As that though flicked through my head, I found myself relieved that the girl was at least still able to laugh after everything she had been through. It had been almost a year after Annabeth's death before I was able to do so, by which point I was on attempt number three.

"Thalia… Just remember you are not alone. I will always be here to help you, Artemis too. Much as she puts up the stern façade at times, we need your support just as much as you need us. Besides I can think of someone else who can help you…"I told her before we were both consumed by shadows.

(Thalia)

After the momentary excitement caused by shadow travelling it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the sparsely lit room. As I began to make out my unfamiliar surroundings I noticed the small pair of green and gold eyes looking at me intensely from their position on a desk.

Slowly the lion cub began to rise to her feet, rolling her shoulders as she arched her back.

As she did so I spotted the raven haired Praetor sleeping at the desk behind her. Her head resting on her crossed arms.

'I will be back about 5AM, so try not to get caught here. Oh and be presentable, I am not getting blamed again, you have been warned.' Seaweed Brain told me mentally with a tone of amusement as I turned to face the idiot.

'Oh and Thalia, try not to have too much fun, we need you well and rested but if you can do something about the enemy commander well we may overlook it.' He remarked innocently and I could tell he was struggling to keep a straight face as he disappeared into the shadows.

As I turned back towards the sleeping girl, I was suddenly aware that the Lioness had grown in size and was eyeing me hungrily.

At which point the desk snapped as a result of having a metal furred lioness sitting on it. The startled Lioness panicking and flailing about as a pile of paperwork obscured her vision. Further spreading and shredding the paper everywhere.

Eventually however the lioness leapt out of the chaos before darting to a corner where she sat with wide eyes as if in shock. I couldn't help but laugh at the fact the nigh invulnerable Nemea had actually been panicked by something so trivial.

It was at this point that I remembered the Roman girl who had been ground zero. Turning back towards her I spotted Reyna standing on her chair backed up against the wall.

"Hey." I said as the pale faced girl noticed me.

"Thalia? What are you doing he-" Reyna began to ask as the door was knocked on heavily.

"Everything alright in there Praetor?" A legionary called from outside with a tone of concern.

"Just a small issue with Nemea, nothing major." Reyna said hopping of the chair and heading towards the door.

"Hide." She whispered to me as I ran towards the corner away hidden from the door. Any one curious would have also had to pass Nemea. Which I was hoping would be more than enough of a deterrent.

From where I was I heard the door open as Reyna nervously explained that Nemea had woken up startled and caused a commotion.

"Are you sure you are safe with it being in the room Praetor?" The legionnaire asked nervously as Nemea growled at him.

"I would be more concerned for you if you keep calling her 'it'. Apart from the mess everything is fine."

"Do you need help tidying up?"

"No, what I want to do is go to sleep. Besides as of tomorrow evening none of it matters anyway. Enjoy your evening." Reyna told him firmly with a hint of sarcasm before slamming the door shut.

"One day and you are mine again." I told her with a smile as I walked out of my hiding place.

"You know I have to try and beat you tomorrow?" She said lowering her shoulders as she relaxed.

"No, you are going to try and beat us."

"I pretty much have an army. There are less than two dozen of you."

"Can you fly and/or throw lightning? See I win by default." I told her playfully squaring up in front of the armoured girl.

"So could Jason and I beat him, twice. Besides how many of the people in this room have beat a goddess unconscious?" She said grinning.

"That one is cheap, Piper barely even counts as a goddess." I conceded, the goddess in question having no skills that would help her in a fight against someone immune to charmspeak. Sure she had some skill with a knife but Reyna was a trained Legionnaire.

"She still bleeds gold so it counts. Besides she had one use…" She said stepping within a few inches of my face.

"Such as?"

"She led me to you." She said cornily before kissing me on the lips. Just like that two days of worry disappeared as I returned the gesture.

(Artemis)

"Will you stop pacing back and forth; it is small enough on the chariot as it is." Diana complained as I accidentally kicked her ankle. But the fact was I was becoming increasingly anxious as the night began to wear on.

The truth was I worried about the War Game for a number of reasons. The actual possibility of losing being the least of them. No what had me worried was the fact the Romans were involved in the first place. In our previous games against the Greeks frustrations of course were bound to happen with repeated defeats on their side which meant sometimes injuries happened as a result. However nothing to major ever occurred on either side that could not be remedied. After all we used blunt arrows which removed most of the risk to them. In the end the only lasting damage was to their egos.

By comparison the Romans could barely go a year without killing a few of their own by 'accident'.

"What is keeping him so long?" I groaned leaning over the rail and looking down at New Rome. Sure enough the Titan and Thalia were still missing from where I last saw them.

Diana had explained why Percy had chosen to 'help' Thalia rather than do it herself or even ask me to. It was all a matter of empathy, he had been through much of the same turmoil's growing up as a demigod in a world that was quite literally trying to kill you. He had gone through the same trials and tribulations she had with the constant cycle of glory and death that followed their kind.

The key difference between the pair was that for a time no one had tried to help him due to the façade he put up of being fine. None of us, myself included had seen that the grief had torn him apart internally. The only reason he had not managed to kill himself was that a vindictive river goddess had removed all ways for him to do so at the time.

I guess it was a point of irony that the only person who kept an eye on him was now the person who wanted to harm him most. However being confined to the Underworld and Tartarus of course meant she was not able to do anything herself. Her husband was not exactly in a rush to follow through on her orders to get himself killed.

"You almost sound as if you are pining for him, like a lost puppy." Diana teased as I slowly turned to face her glaring as she smiled serenely.

"As if you are any better, every time I turn my back you are trying to one up me." I shot back bitterly.

The truth was since their 'incident' the other day, we had taken a few steps back in our relationship as a means of cooling off. Since Chronos things had escalated very quickly and at this rate, Diana was going to run out of things to experiment with. Combined with the preparations for the War game and his own 'project' we had barely spoken about that idea, let alone have some intimacy.

"When are we even going to have the wedding?" She questioned sounding like a spoiled child.

"I don't know some point after our children are born I guess." I conceded honestly. The truth was we had barely discussed that matter since getting engaged last week. Things had been rather hectic since then. Part of the reason I was planning on getting back out in the wild straight away and back to basics in the New Year.

"That is still four months away as it is." She replied groaning, we were not due until April after all.

"Mortals plan their wedding for years in some cases."

"We should have got married in Vegas when we were there then other day."

"Would suit you I suppose getting married like some cheap whore, what with the way you have been acting recently." I hissed back at her venomously, to my annoyance she did not exactly seem bothered as she merely shrugged whilst smiling.

That was the bit that truly annoyed me the most. She was completely unapologetic about what they had done behind my back. With Seaweed Brain I was disappointed and I was accepting of his apology on the matter. He was extremely easy to manipulate when it came to anything sexual, I knew that because I had done it often enough. Sure he was the best male I had ever met, however he was still exactly that male. (Except that little bitch Lust part of him.)

"Found him." Diana suddenly chimed standing up and pointing down at the surface below us. I swiftly followed her direction as my eyes zeroed in on the location she indicated. Sure enough I soon recognised New Rome again from above as I quickly scanned the roads searching for the Titan.

After almost a minute I spotted the familiar black haired figure walking up the street with someone else alongside him that I could not recognise due to the fact he never looked up.

"Stay here." I told Diana who merely nodded whilst smiling as I left her behind in a flash of light.

(Pride)

I had only just arrived in the damned city and I was already being hunted down by the damned goddess. It was midnight for god's sake, normally Artemis was soundly unconscious at this time of night. And yet here she was standing a few metres in front of me with her arms folded.

"Thanks for the lift, but I can see you are going to be busy." Chrysaor remarked before practically sprinting off behind me as fast as he could.

'Wow thanks bro for the support.' I thought to myself as I watched him disappear around the first corner he came to before turning back towards the goddess who was now well within my personal space.

"Now Artemis I can expla-" I began pre-emptively apologising for whatever I had done only to be cut off as the hormonal goddess locked her lips with mine.

Now what of course had happened was that she was obviously confusing me for the other idiot, who must have gone off on his own. We look identical after all it could happen, besides it was not as if she had given me a chance to point out which I was. So whichever way it was looked at I was innocent party, for once.

The question was what did I did now.

One) Back up quick and apologise for the confusion.

Two) Enjoy the opportunity. And then run like Hades.

Three) Get interrupted by the goddess's own doppelganger laughing like crazy… Oh wait that option was already selected.

It was at this suspicious sound that the silver eyed goddess opened her eyes and actually looked into mine. Eyes that lacked the tell-tale Sea-Green of my counterpart. For a few seconds we both froze as the gears clicked into place in the goddess's head.

The moment I saw her eyes began to narrow I acted leaping backwards just as the goddess's knee began to rise up to where my crotch was a few milliseconds earlier.

Artemis looking outright murderous stood glaring at me in a tense standoff. Were it not for the cackling Roman goddess who began to splutter as if struggling to breath from laughing so hard.

"You knew." Artemis growled almost sounding like a very pissed off animal with the way words came out as she turned her heads towards the offender. Diana for her part seemed to finally gain some part of self-control as she straightened up though still clearly chuckling to herself.

'Of course I knew, since when does the idiot where suit trousers and a shirt? You really should pay more attention.' Diana voiced teased mockingly in my head as she smiled serenely. Almost instinctively I found myself looking at my clothes whilst frowning. It was truthful I guess my counterpart almost went out of way to look scruffy most of the time. To excuse the pun I put some pride in my appearance.

"Besides you called me a whore, this seemed appropriate." Diana said out loud this time as Artemis drew a hunting knife and turned towards her instead.

"Hey can we discuss how I am the innocent party in all of this?" I protested at suddenly being ignored. Only to realise I should perhaps keep quiet as another knife appeared in Artemis's free hand, a bow likewise appearing in Diana's.

It was at this point the fourth participant in this dysfunctional relationship arrived in between the armed women.

"What did you do?" He asked accusingly towards me.

"I was minding my own business!" I protested immediately at the assumption.

"Bullshit!" He snapped back.

"In fairness he technically was before Artemis there decided to latch herself onto his face." Diana commented in my defence. Though the almost cheerful tone with which she said was not helping the other goddess's temperament as she shifted around as if trying to get a clear line of site on her counterpart.

Mine however was suddenly pinching the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh.

"Perseus get out of here before someone gets hurt and I would rather that not the case. I will find you later if I need too."

"What about my say in this?" Artemis hissed causing me to roll my eyes.

"How about an apology then?" Diana said simply. Before anyone could comment however she walked over to me and placed her arms around my neck as she grinned.

"Sorry for making her kiss you." She said sarcastically before I found myself being kissed for the second time in five minutes. After a few seconds I felt her tongue against my lips attempting to pry them open. Looking into her eyes I noticed her wink at me before she pulled away slowly as I stood there like a statue.

(Percy)

I would like to say I knew what was going on at this point, but I was truthfully confused at what was happening. After dropping Thalia off I had quickly popped back to Orthrys where I had found that Sloth had also gone to my surprise though Greed and Envy were loath to give details on exactly what Lust had done with/to him. I got the feeling they were actually terrified of the female avatar, Though it smelt like someone had been spraying CS gas everywhere as my eyes began to water after a while. As for the female avatar of Sin, she too was rarely around now. They mentioned that she been coming and going all day ever since leaving with Leto yesterday.

Still as long as my future mother-in-law was keeping an eye on her, I was not too worried. In fairness I would have only been worried if she was trying to sexually assault her remaining counterparts.

After that I had returned to the Moon chariot to find it empty, until spotting the scene unfolding here.

Now as I watched Diana kiss Perseus (or at least Pride technically) I couldn't help but feel jealous of the aspect. Yet when I considered it as she released him. I realised it was no different to how Artemis and Diana must feel when I was with the other. Still didn't mean I had to like it though.

The aspect mind you looked like he was mixture of confused and completely terrified as Diana happily skipped off away from him. The fact that me and the still armed Artemis staring at him was not helping the problem.

"Hey Artemis if it makes you feel better, she kisses better than you." He said after regaining his sanity as I wanted to bang my head on something. Sure enough his incitement was enough to cause her to throw the two blades at him.

With surprising dexterity he actually managed to catch the two knives in mid-air before flashing away whilst laughing. By the time his voice had faded away Artemis had already drawn her bow but was too late.

'Wait did he just steal my knives?' Artemis suddenly asked in confusion as she dispelled the bow and tried to summon another set. Her fingers extending as if to accommodate a new set but nothing appeared.

Slowly the already angry goddess began to turn crimson.

'Is she actually going to cry?' Pride playfully asked me mentally as I sensed him still being present nearby and looked up to see at him leaning over the roof of the building next to us. The faint light emitted by the bronze blades illuminating his grinning face.

'I suggest giving them back before that was the last kiss you ever get.' I told him as I slowly caught Artemis's attention with my hand out of his view and pointed up. Slowly the goddess's eyes began to rotate upwards in understanding.

Almost instantly after obviously spotting him the goddess was gone from her position as she instantly reappeared above and next to the startled aspect who suddenly found himself pinned to the roof by the angry goddess on top of him.

"I suppose we should pull her off of him before she starts making out with him again." Diana said laughing as she grabbed hold of my hand and we both shifted to the rooftop.

(Artemis)

Tonight had started off quite enjoyable, there was always something satisfying about destroying large amounts of real estate. Ever since then I was sure people (Diana) were conspiring to ruin it for me. My mental state had begun to descend into irrationality as my pride took multiple blows. I was first and foremost a goddess, I should not ever be embarrassed. Just ask that guy who peeped on me bathing how I react to embarrassment.

So as I straddled the idiot below me with a re-appropriated knife to his throat I was half-tempted to actually do it.

And yet wasn't that the point I was once again falling foul of my fatal flaw. Arrogance. When something did not go my way I lashed out with violence even if I could not win.

Even as I held the knife to his throat, I felt the point of its twin poking me in the side below my ribs.

The narrowed eyed look of defiance in Prides's eyes only reinforced the implication. If I killed him I would not get away with it. He was the personification of my own fatal flaw, the irony of which did not escape me.

"Artemis as much as I sometimes would love to do this, I would rather not hurt our daughter." He said emotionlessly as I froze, almost instinctively my whole body felt cold as I realised what he meant. It was not just myself I had to look out for, there was also the matter of my unborn daughter. Unlike mortals I may not physically show signs of my pregnancy but that did not mean I was not, or that she would be immune from harm.

Slowly I began to lean back as I removed the knife from his throat, I couldn't help but feel my hands shake. As I rose to my feet Pride slumped backwards with a sigh and released the other knife which soon disappeared as I dispelled its twin. I was able stagger back a few paces before collapsing to my knees, my hands almost instinctively holding my stomach as if in self comfort.

Never before had I felt such a sense of weakness and vulnerability, not for myself but the life I carried within me.

"Artemis." I heard Percy whisper into my ear as his arms embraced me.

"I am a stupid reckless idiot." I grumbled only for him to chuckle as I turned to glare at him.

"What? Normally it is people, you included calling me that."

"That doesn't make it any better." I groaned with a sigh as I leant back into his chest. Eventually his hands came to rest upon my own embracing my stomach. Thankfully for the time being he seemed to get the hint that I just wanted to quietly sit here as I calmed down from my shock.

(Pride)

'Come on you, give them some space.' Diana told me mentally before grabbing my hand and transporting us both to the Moon Chariot.

"Ok why are you acting so strangely tonight?" I asked as she let go of my hand.

"Am I not allowed to have a little fun now and then? Besides between the pregnancy hormones and being sexually repressed I needed to blow off some stress. Making Artemis suffer was just a bonus, besides don't act as if you did not enjoy it." She said with a sly grin leaning forward so she was only a few inches in front of me.

"Well…Uh…I…" I stuttered as I noticed exactly how beautiful the woman in front of me was in the silver light of the chariot. In the end all I could do was shut my mouth and take a sharp inhale of breath.

Dear gods I was acting like m counterpart, these women had us wrapped around their little fingers. Well technically their ring finger is suppose. How was it they were able to weaponize being attractive?

"You know I always had you pegged as some sort of Machiavellian schemer but turns out underneath the tough guy façade you are still a Seaweed Brain after all." She said with a tone of amusement as I crossed my arms in protest.

"Stop pouting like that it doesn't suit you. Besides being a Seaweed Brain isn't so bad, look where it got your counterpart." She whispered seductively into my ear as my throat went dry.

"Besides he is quite handy at handling his sword if you know what I mean." The sarcasm behind the ulterior motive not escaping me, not for the first time did I find myself jealous of Percy in that regard as I found myself looking down and catching sight of half her chest. 'Was her jacket always that low cut?' I thought to myself curiously as I looked at the bare flesh.

"Were back… Oh you're here." Another voice said her tone changing almost instantly to annoyance.

"Got a problem with that." I said looking across at the Greek goddess with instant annoyance.

Just a little too slowly as she grabbed my nearest arm before kicking the inside of my knee causing me to stumble as she tossed me off the back of the chariot.

"Bitchhhhhh." I cursed skywards before my vision became a tumbling blur of floor, sky, floor, sky…

The last time I was able to focus on the chariot I glimpsed the trio of heads sticking over the side with one waving sarcastically.

Shadow travel could not be done in mid-air and flashing required being able to concentrate for more than a fraction of a second and beside I would still have downwards motion when I arrived wherever. Which meant I had to get out of this tumbling the old fashioned way, the problem was manifesting my wings would increase my overall body mass by three and cause me to fall faster.

As would the force of the sudden deceleration when I opened them, I knew all this from where Percy had been chucked out for being too glib one morning. He had dislocated three wings in the process and ended up crashing into the Atlantic which had actually been perfectly safe, and healed him to boot.

Below me I had mainland Asia, so that was off the table. On e thing Mongolia was not known for was large masses of open water.

One thing was for certain… This was going to suck.

Several years ago I had fallen from the St. Louis Arch and had been terrified the whole way down, now this was like that up to eleven and yet all I felt as I hit terminal velocity was utter annoyance. I was not going to give her the satisfaction.

(Percy)

"Artemis I am not going to lie that was a little extreme." I told her sternly as we looked over the edge at the tumbling figure below, our eyes automatically adjusting as he got further away.

"He threatened my child." She said seriously in contrast to the maniacal grin on her face.

"While I don't condone that of course…"

"You were threatening to cut his head off and considering your track record towards him and his rage boner towards you. I would say that his holding back and warning you gives him the moral high ground. Technically you have already killed him once. Well maybe twice now." Diana said smiling as the falling figure finally disappeared into light below a few kilometres above the surface. The best thing he could do was either reappear underwater or just above it.

"Well that was disappointing." Artemis said with a sigh as I realised she had ignored the pair of us. The truth was I got the feeling that the problem was less Perseus and more Artemis. They were both stubborn and saw only themselves as correct. The real Perseus had not exactly set a positive opinion from the start, his attitude of being the most powerful in the room was sure to rub some the wrong way no matter how true the statement may be.

However the fact was he was not going to go away, no matter how much she wanted him to for one simple reason. I was in love with Artemis.

Back when we had begun our relationship it was Diana who had fallen for me. Over time her feelings caused Artemis too as well, despite her early difference in opinion. Diana in exchange had gotten more forceful in making her feelings and opinions known much to Artemis's annoyance.

Perseus too was the same because of my feelings for the girls. Despite his own 'dislike' of Artemis he could not help but be infatuated with her. The truth was he could likely very easily 'cheat' with a lot of girls or even certain goddesses.

Not to big up my own ego but I was no longer the scrawny twelve year old kid with acne I used to be. And yet he didn't, sure vasectomy by bricks was threatened but the truth was he was infatuated with the goddesses as well. He just had no idea how to act on it, something that probably had to do with Lust still being separate from him.

As his face after his kiss from Diana had shown earlier, he was not as suave as liked to think he was. He was still far from his own internal opinion of himself. He was more like how I had been when me and Annabeth had first started dating. Completely clueless on why a pretty girl was interested in latching herself onto my face.

However this was a two way street of course. I had become more selfish and assertive towards others or so it seemed. I was more likely to make my opinion known on matters. As a result I was slowly becoming less willing to be a punching bag for everyone else's problems.

My plans for the demigods was a result of this, because no one else would have proposed such an idea to Zeus out of fear. Whereas I was now long past caring what he thought, which if anything had actually improved my relationship with his Roman counterpart ironically.

However if this was the trade-off for Perseus not going through on his threats towards Artemis then it was not so bad. Providing I could stop the goddess actually provoking him, which was another matter entirely of course…

That was one point of agreement between me and the King of the gods. You could not make Artemis do something she did not want to do. You could suggest politely, but telling or ordering her was a big no.

Besides with Perseus If they ever did actually get along and have some sort of 'relationship' it would be less happy cuddling and more angry sex I expected.

"Percy don't concentrate too hard, you might put your brain cell under too much stress." Diana teased breaking me out of these thoughts as I shot the smiling goddess a glance.

"What were you thinking of there?" Artemis asked turning towards me as I sudden felt like I was before an inquisition. There was absolutely no way in hell I was telling her the truth. Else I would be getting tossed off next.

"Just thinking about the... Wedding." I said hurriedly and almost immediately regretted as Diana's eyes lit up in delight. I knew almost immediately this was going to be a long night.

"I suppose it would be a good start to at least consider the fact of what we are going to do for it." Artemis conceded with a sigh relaxing as she leaned back against the side of the chariot.

The good news was that the pair of them were no longer arguing about Perseus or each other, or worrying about the War Game in the morning. The bad news was that my thoughts on the matter from now on were the same as my chance of sleep, non-existent. It was going to be a long night…

AN. Well that chapter was not supposed to happen, or at least be that long. Still making them all uncomfortable was fun (Even poor Nemea is not safe). Besides brave Chrysaor who apparently missed the bro's before ho's lesson from Medusa.

Still the next chapter WILL be the war game and then we can actually start making some time progress in this story. We may actually get to the children one day.