AN: Wow, a massive response to the last chapter. Much greater than I was expecting. I didn't think people cared much about this story, to be honest. But instead, you surprised me. Which I thought warranted a quick update with a chonky new chapter. Initially, I was planning on only writing chapters which were 4-5k long fro this story, but this one got away from me. But even so I have no regrets, as there were some important things I wanted to include in this chapter.
So yep, hope you enjoy and keep reading.
Please do leave a comment or review, or PM me if you have any questions you want answer.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.
( - )
(Last Time)
"Okay, I t-think that's enough!" Bianca Di Angelo's voice suddenly burst out, cutting through the silence that followed Artemis's last word. "W-who the hell are you people and w-what the h-hell is going on?"
Thalia felt herself internally wince.
Artemis however, merely shifted her gaze onto the Di Angelo siblings. Her eyes, which were colder and brighter than the winter moon, bore into the younger, dark-haired girl. "Come child, I think you already know. I am Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, and you, Bianca and Nico Di Angelo, are both demigods."
( - )
Chapter 5
( - )
(With Percy)
A tense silence filled the clearing at Artemis's introduction.
Most of them had already known who she was before she had announced it. Her Lieutenant hadn't exactly been subtle, as she'd directly named her several times. But hearing it from her own mouth and experiencing the weightiness that came with the goddess so casually naming herself, was another thing entirely – names had power in the divine world, especially when spoken by beings of power.
Looking around, he could see Thalia standing tensely by his side. She looked like she was sucking on a lemon. Her blue eyes were narrowed, and her brow furrowed as she intermittently glowered at Zoe and sent cautious looks in Artemis's direction.
The Di Angelo siblings meanwhile, looked to be stuck halfway between awe and terror. Nico especially, looked like he was either going to wet himself with excitement or piss himself in terror. One way or another he could foresee an accident on the horizon.
The kid was like an overgrown puppy. It was odd to see him acting so childishly. Aside from his physical appearance, it was difficult to contrast the sullen, moody, emo son of Hades he had fought with the excitable runt in front of him. It was like night and day.
His sister meanwhile was far more composed. Bianca Di Angelo's chin was raised in defiance, even if her shaking hands were clenched into fists at her side. She was putting up a good front. But it would probably crumble at the first sign of resistance.
As for the other two.
Grover's eyes were bright and feverish as he stared at Artemis reverently. Subtlety it appeared, was not the goat boy's forte, as it was clear he had a massive crush on the goddess.
Annabeth on the other hand, was more challenging to read. Her expression was inscrutable as she idly observed Artemis and the Hunters behind her. She was probably a brilliant poker player, as he couldn't even get an inkling of what she was thinking.
Shaking his head, he looked back at the twelve-year-old girl claiming to be the goddess Artemis and raised an eyebrow.
He didn't doubt her claim for a second, even if he hadn't already recognised her for what she was, her presence alone would have been enough to convince him.
Her silver eyes seemed to glow with an inner light.
The expression on her youthful face was remote and cold.
A shiver ran down his spine.
For all that she outwardly looked like a young human child, all it took was a glance to see that she was far too alien, and far too detached from the mortal coil, to ever pass as a mortal.
He flexed his hands nervously.
He could practically feel the divinity emanating from her slight form.
Her power was intense and bright to his senses. It felt like being bathed in the light of a full moon in the dead of night, only the intensity of the radiation emitted had been magnified a thousand-fold.
The girl in front of him could crush all of them without a second thought, and she knew it.
She oozed impossible levels of confidence.
His fingers twitched, and he could feel the dense power coiled up within him shift. It was just waiting, no begging, to be used.
Thankfully, he wasn't that stupid.
If he were to initiate a battle with her, he would be annihilated in an instant.
If a mortal was represented by a flickering candlelight; delicate and fragile. A flame that burns brightly for only a short time, before being snuffed out by time.
Then a demigod was a roaring brazier. They burned far hotter and for far longer and had significantly more impact on their surroundings. Yet just like a candle, eventually they would burn through the last of their fuel and fade away to nothingness.
But gods, they were a raging forest fire, vast and fierce. They consumed all in their path with the reckless abandon of one who knew they stood at the peak of existence, and even after they had devoured everything around them, they could still spread and continue their trail of destruction.
He eyed Artemis's innocuous outer shell cautiously.
Over the years he had met several divine beings. Some had chosen fearsome forms that showed off their power and fury. But others picked forms with the intent to deceive and trick those around them. He found the latter far more dangerous and insidious.
His father was one of the more dangerous ones. Oceanus generally preferred to appear as a wizened, kindly old man, with deep laughter lines and a kindly twinkle in his eye. To an outer observer, he would look like just a friendly, sweet old man. Completely harmless. The kind of person that would happily sit beside a pond and feed some ducks.
It was a complete lie.
The only time his father assumed a more honest form was when war was on the horizon or when he was prowling about looking to fulfil his base lusts, and even then, the form he chose did not even come close to demonstrating just how monstrous he truly was.
Only his True Form could ever really show him for what he was.
Not that Percy had ever seen it for himself, as if he had, not only would his body have been destroyed, but his soul would have been ravaged and rendered to nothingness as well.
The same, he suspected, was true of Artemis.
He had heard the stories about her.
The sins she had committed.
Some of them sounded justified, but many others were just examples of base cruelty.
For all she looked like an innocent child he knew she was no better than her other kin. She was just as monstrous as Zeus, as cruel as Hades and as indifferent as Poseidon. She probably had a kill count that reached into the thousands, if not tens of thousands.
Meeting her gaze steadily, he watched as she tilted her head curiously to one side.
"Lady Artemis," he nodded his head. He wouldn't bow. His ego wouldn't allow him to ever bow to an Olympian. But he would show her at least some deference in recognition of the awe-inspiring power she so casually wielded. "If I could ask, what do you plan to do with us?"
"Perseus, the son of Poseidon," Artemis replied. Her tone was cold and clinical. But hidden beneath the iciness, he could almost hear a note of curiosity as she examined him as if he were a marginally interesting specimen in a lab. "We will camp here for the moment. Night has fallen, and a winter storm has set in. Once the storm calms, I will call my brother and ask that he take you the rest of the way back to Camp. We will await him here."
She spoke only in statements of what would happen. There was no flex and no choice in the matter for any of them.
With her piece said, she broke eye contact with him and instead looked over to the others.
Her silver eyes passed over Grover and Nico without interest and instead shifted over to Annabeth, Bianca and Thalia. Her gaze lingered longer on Bianca and Annabeth than it did Thalia, who she seemed to instantly recognise and dismiss without comment.
She wasn't even being subtle.
"Lady Artemis?" Bianca finally choked out, drawing all eyes to her as she turned and pointed her finger at each of them in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Perseus, son of Poseidon, half-bloods, manticore, monsters… who… who are you people really, w-what's going on?"
Artemis's expression softened a fraction, or at least on the surface. "A good question. But I think a better question to ask is who are you. Who are your parents, Bianca Di Angelo?"
Bianca glanced nervously at her brother who was still staring in awe at Artemis. If the younger kid wasn't careful, the prickly goddess might take offence and turn him into a woodland critter.
"Our parents are dead," Bianca said bluntly after a moment. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"
She faltered as she looked around and saw the expression of those around her.
Artemis looked impassive.
Thalia and Annabeth were looking at her with a mixture of pity and compassion.
Zoe looked amused.
He, meanwhile, only felt conflicted. This was not the Bianca Di Angelo he knew. Just like with her brother, it was hard to contrast the grim and unrelenting warrior he knew with the scared and petulant kid in front of him.
The more that he saw of this new world, the more out of his depth he felt.
Nothing was as it was, which begged the question of just what the future might hold. Would things pan out as he remembered? Doubtful considering there had been no child of Poseidon in his time. Or if there had been, he or she had been long since dead and forgotten by the time the war between the New Triumvirate and Olympus started. It made him feel nervous and uncertain about what he should do to ensure his survival.
"What?" Bianca demanded, her tone growing heated. "I'm telling the truth."
"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said with all the tact of a rusty teaspoon. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned like she was reading from an ancient book. "One of your parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."
"An Olympian… athlete?" Bianca tried, her eyes flitting to Artemis.
He could already tell she knew Zoe's answer before she said it.
"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."
"Cool!" said Nico excitedly. The younger boy was practically quivering in excitement as he stared around at them all.
"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"
Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"
"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face, expressing her irritation in the way only an older sibling could. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"
"Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous." Thalia spoke up, moving to stand at Bianca's side. Her hand reached out to clasp the younger girl's shoulder.
Annabeth mirrored her actions. Her expression was no longer inscrutable but instead filled with compassion as she sent the daughter of Hades a soft smile. "Some refer to us as half-bloods, and others as demigods. But in truth, they both pretty much mean the same thing. Personally, I think the term demigod is more accurate for those like us. It's more of a catch-all term. After all, half-blood makes it seem that we're all half-god, which sometimes isn't quite accurate. I mean, there are some among our number, known as legacies, who have the blood of gods. Only it is more diluted, as it comes from a grandparent or great-grandparent as opposed to just a parent. Which basically means legacies have less divinity in their blood than true 'half-bloods'. But are in no less danger because of it. On the other hand, others have far more divinity in their blood, as they might be a son of one god and a grandchild of a completely different one… it's actually quite interes-"
"That's enough, Anne," Thalia interrupted with a patient smile. "Neither of them needs a full info dump just now. I think just the basics are fine for the moment."
Watching the interaction, Percy smiled. It was cute to see the stern and indomitable Annabeth Chase being so awkward. Especially since she seemed to mask her awkwardness with random chatter about facts and theories.
Annabeth glanced around – her eyes lingered on him a tad longer than the others – before she flushed and nodded.
"S-so dangerous?" Bianca pressed, her dark eyes once again flitting around the group. She looked a bit more composed than she had earlier. Though how much of that was a façade meant to put her brother at ease, he wasn't sure.
"From monsters like your teacher, Dr Thorn. He was a manticore that had come to the school looking for you," Thalia said bluntly. "Admittedly he was more powerful than most. But he was one of the many out there that hunt us."
"Regular mortals can't see them, as they are shielded from mortal sight like Thorn was when he was pretending to be your teacher." Annabeth added, "It makes it difficult to identify them. But demigods aren't normal mortals. Which is why, if they're not careful, we can see through the magical glamour they use to disguise themselves and see them for what they truly are."
As explanations of the Mist went, it wasn't a bad introduction, even if she did miss out on a lot of important details, like the fact that there were some things, some glamours, that demigods and demi-titans couldn't ever see through for their own safety.
Bianca shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"
"And that bus driver," Nico nodded. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."
"That's why Grover has been watching you," Annabeth continued. "To keep you safe if you turned out to be demigods."
"Grover?" Bianca stared at the goat boy. "You're a demigod?"
"Well, a satyr, actually." The ginger teen – though Percy suspected he was likely older due to the messed-up ageing of nature spirits – kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves for those still paying attention.
In response, Bianca took a step back, her nerves almost breaking at the sight of them.
Nico just whispered. "So cool."
"Grover put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."
"Hey, my hooves are clean!" Grover shot back.
"Bianca," Thalia ignored Grover with practised ease, her eyes shifting to look at him instead, "we, that is Percy, Anne and myself, came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. Like Anne said, there are a lot of them out there, thousands, and they don't all look the same either. There are hundreds of different kinds of monsters, each one with its own strengths and weaknesses. To keep yourself safe you both need to come to Camp so you can learn about the divine world, understand the threat you're facing, and get the training you need to protect yourselves."
"Camp?" Bianca asked, her eyes shifting between Annabeth and Thalia, before moving to the impassively watching Artemis, the scowling Zoe, her excited-looking brother, and coming to rest on him.
He'd not added much to the conversation yet and had instead kept silent, mostly observing.
"Camp Half-Blood," he said after a moment, taking the hint as both Annabeth and Thalia gave him expectant looks. It appeared it was his turn to give them the recruitment pitch. Though for all the good it would do, as the Bianca Di Angelo he knew had ended up in the Hunt with Annabeth Chase. "Thalia's right that it is a place where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. Some stay there year-round as it also acts as a sanctuary, safe from monsters and the dangers of the outside world."
He frowned as he remembered all he had heard of Camp Half-Blood. He'd never been there personally, as the protection had always been too powerful to breach. The same couldn't be said for Camp Jupiter, the Roman encampment. But that might have been due to the strength of the different camp protectors. One of the camps was guarded by Dionysus, a lazy and yet still immensely powerful member of the Olympian Council. While the other camp was protected by the minor god, Terminus. Dionysus was substantially more threatening than Terminus, especially when the ancient laws came into play.
That said, there was one thing he had always heard about Camp Half-Blood. One facet that even the resentful traitor demigods who had lived there, couldn't deny, even if they desperately wanted to.
"It's also a place you can call home," he continued his brow furrowing as he remembered the wistful musings of the demigods, he had become acquainted with. "A place where you can be yourself, relax, have fun, and spend time with others your own age who understand what you have been through and what you'll eventually face. While at the Camp you can put aside your worries and the constant pressure and responsibilities that weigh you down. When you're there, you're safe, and surrounded by family; siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles…" His expression flattened. Now he said it out loud and compared it to his own upbringing… he felt kind of… jealous.
At his side, he could see Grover, Thalia and Annabeth staring at him in surprise, and dare he say, pity….
His expression hardened and he coughed into his hand.
"It's a good place to be, like the others said it'll set you up for later life, keep you safe, and let you finally unwind. There are kids the same age as your brother that he can hang out with. And there are others your age, who you'll have stuff in common with. And above all, there are older and experienced people who will keep an eye on you and help you both out when you need it." He finished gruffly, scowling as he saw sympathetic gazes being sent his way.
He didn't need their pity. His upbringing had been unpleasant, but it had made him strong. Far stronger than the ones currently looking down on him. After all, it had taken four of Camp Half-Blood's best to take him down in the end and three of them had lost their lives in the process. And even that was only after he had already battled his way to the Throneroom of Olympus.
If anyone should be pitying anyone, it should be him pitying them.
"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico excitedly.
"That," Bianca frowned for a moment, her eyes shifting over to Nico. "That sounds nice. I've always wanted a big family…."
"If that is the case, there is another option," Zoe forced her way into the conversation.
"No, there isn't!" Thalia said abruptly.
Zoe's expression hardened as she scowled at Thalia, it was a look the daughter of Zeus gladly returned with equal ferocity.
Looking between the two, he grimaced.
He didn't know what the history between them was – though he could tell they seriously hated each other – but what Zoe was getting at was obvious to all those present, except Nico and Bianca.
"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced suddenly, her tone flat as she looked between Zoe and Thalia. "Zoe, see to it that our guests' belongings are retrieved from the school."
"Yes, my lady." Zoe quickly turned away from Thalia and lowered her head in a bow.
"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you." Artemis continued, barely even glancing at her genuflecting lieutenant.
"What about me?" Nico asked.
Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while…?" For all that it sounded like a request, it was clearly an order.
Not that Grover seemed to pick up on that as he just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"
With that said Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armour ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff.
Artemis meanwhile led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff, while the Hunters continued unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.
Zoe, with one last snide scowl at Thalia, left to oversee things.
As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration and turned to look at the two of them. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"
"They are a pain," he readily agreed. Though from his experience, they were a pain to fight against. He had never been around them on a semi-friendly basis, let alone invited them to stay at their camp before, even if only for a while.
"I know!" Thalia exploded, her eyes alight with fury and frustration.
"They're not that bad," Annabeth said, a myriad of emotions filling her gaze as she looked over at him.
"Oh, you must be joking Anne!" Thalia growled.
"You take things too personally, Thals. You need to be objective when dealing with them. They saved us, took us into their camp, and are getting us an express ride back to Camp," Annabeth shook her head.
"At the price of poaching, Bianca," Thalia growled. "Nothing in this life is for free, and the only reason they haven't kicked us out into the cold is because seaweed-breath and me are kids of the Big Three, and because they think they can recruit Bianca."
"I doubt they care about my pedigree," Percy added dryly, garnering a frown from Thalia, and a curious look from Annabeth. "She's your half-sister and Annabeth's aunt, not mine. As a son of Poseidon, I am just a child of her father's rival and an unwanted male cousin."
Thalia grunted. "Good point."
"Are you alright?" Annabeth asked. Her stormy grey eyes were locked on his own as she stepped into his personal bubble, her hands twitching as if she were fighting off the urge to reach out to him.
"Fine," he said dismissively.
"What you said back there-" The daughter of Athena pressed on.
"Just trying to help out with selling Camp Half-Blood to her," he shrugged her concern off. "Don't think too deeply about it, I was scrounging about for good stuff to say about it."
"It was pretty smooth," Thalia grinned. "Even if a bit trite. I mean, I can't ever imagine seeing Clarisse and the thugs of Ares as family or friends."
"They're not that bad," Annabeth shook her head.
"That's because you Athena kids are all battle maniacs and love throwing down with the Ares kids. Besides, you can't honestly tell me right here and now that you like Clarisse?" Thalia said pointedly.
"If you look past her… well everything… I'm sure she had some nice qualities…." Annabeth said lamely.
"Such as?" Thalia grinned.
"No comment," Annabeth finally sighed, giving up on her feeble defence of Clarisse.
Observing the back and forth, Percy felt a smile form on his face before he could fight it off.
( - )
It took the Hunters only a matter of minutes to finish setting up their camping site. It was done with the kind of practised ease that only came from decades, if not in many of their cases, centuries of experience.
Seven large tents, all made of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a large bonfire. A dozen white wolves circled the camp like guard dogs, easily blending into the swirling snow, even as a few Hunters walked among them and fed them treats.
Overhead falcons watched over the camp from the trees their eyes flashing in the firelight as they observed all. Occasionally, one of the birds would take flight and circle the wider area, before eventually returning to their perch with a shrieking cry.
It made for a very eerie atmosphere, especially since all the Hunters toiled away in silence as they patrolled, built up the fire, started preparing food, and checked over their weapons.
Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will as the wind died down and the snow stopped falling.
As he sat next to the roaring fire, he could sense the eyes of several of the Hunters watching him with a similar level of ferocity as their avian companions.
It seemed that none of them had either forgotten or forgiven his previous manhandling of their lieutenant.
Not that he cared. Neither the literal nor societal icy atmosphere within the camp meant anything to him. Not when he had spent his formative years in the freezing ocean depths. Where his father's citadel resided many fathoms deeper than Atlantis. The mighty stronghold lay in the deepest recesses of the ocean's depths, at the bottom of what the mortals called the Mariana Trench.
His lips twisted into a bitter smile. Sometimes it was difficult to tell what had exerted more pressure and coldness, the location of the citadel or the atmosphere within Oceanus's court.
Shifting his attention away from the surrounding Hunters, he instead watched Thalia pace impatiently through the snow at the edge of the camp, walking among the wolves without fear.
Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters sent by Hades, in order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. From what he understood, she had only been back as a human for a few months, and honestly, he could tell. Once in a while, she would stand so motionless it almost seemed like she was still a tree.
His eyes softened as she saw her stop and glare in the direction of Artemis's tent. The daughter of Zeus had been directly touched by a god's divinity. Call it a blessing or call it a curse, but in saving her life by turning her into a tree, Zeus had intrinsically changed something within his daughter.
Watching her pace, he frowned. Thalia would never become the person she was meant to be, not after all she had experienced at the hands of the gods.
Instead, she would become someone entirely different. Not that it was a bad thing. He had met a future version of who she could someday become, and as much as he had despised her as an enemy, he had also heavily respected her power, and her will to protect Olympus and her kin, no matter the personal cost. It was no small thing to kill another person, let alone fellow demigods that had once lived and laughed beside you as friends and family. Yet for Olympus, the Thalia he had known, had cut through swathes of traitorous demigods over the course of the campaign to defend her home. She had been unrelenting. Never backing down, not even in the face of death.
Taking a sip of nectar, he shifted his gaze to Annabeth.
Unlike Thalia who ignored the Hunters, Annabeth seemed to be quite interested in conversing with them, even if they didn't seem to be as interested in doing the same.
He had heard that it had been bad. But it appeared the relationship between Campers and Hunters was far icier than he had ever imagined. Which of course begged the question of just what it was that had brought them together when they faced off with the Titan army during the Battle of Manhattan.
Surely there had to be something that had them fighting and dying side by side as they faced off against impossible odds?
The Hunters, he knew, were compelled by their oaths to be loyal to Artemis first and foremost, and by proxy Olympus. But the Campers, as the traitorous demigods had proven, could pick and choose where their loyalties lay. Which meant that close to one hundred of them had willingly chosen to fight and die at the Hunters' side all to protect the thrones of absentee parents who would never love them or do the same in return.
It made no sense.
He had fought because if he hadn't his father would have hunted him down, tortured him horrifically and killed him.
Fear had been his major motivation.
Their oaths were what had motivated the Hunters.
But what had pushed the Campers to so needlessly sacrifice themselves for the gods?
If the Titans had won, they could have likely just slunk into the shadows, alive and out of sight and out of mind. Both the divine world and the mundane were vast, with many dark corners to hide in for an enterprising demigod. And with the gods defeated and imprisoned in Tartarus, there would have been no repercussions for not fighting.
He honestly didn't get it.
But considering that he was on the other side of things this time around, perhaps he would find out.
Tearing his attention away from the two girls, he looked over to the other side of the bonfire as Nico rummaged through the bag the Hunters had collected for him from Westover Hall.
Ignorant of his gaze, Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow — little replicas of Greek gods and heroes.
Frowning, he recognised Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, and Apollo with his sun chariot.
He didn't see any Titans among the boy's collection though.
"That's a big collection," Percy said.
Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."
"Only gods and heroes though?" He asked.
Nico nodded his head excitedly.
So, no Titans, Percy thought with a frown. He hadn't been especially close to his immediate divine family. The Titans really weren't that pleasant, or family-orientated. But he did feel a little offended on their behalf. The lack of representation in this 'mythomagic game' was pretty offensive. Primordial beings aside, the Titans were the OG when it came to the divine world superpowers. Even those of other Pantheons knew and feared their legacy.
"So," Percy said into the silence that followed. "You've been playing this game a long time?"
"Just this year. Before that…" Nico knit his eyebrows.
He looked confused.
"What?" Percy asked curiously.
"I forget. That's weird." Nico trailed off. He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see your weapon?"
Frowning and feeling a bit put on the spot, he pulled the pen out of his pocket and expanded it into its true form.
"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?" Nico stared at it with awe, his fingers twitching as he tried to reach out to it.
"Don't know," he shrugged keeping it out of his reach. He had barely even used it as a sword, let alone a pen. Besides which, he would hopefully be trading it in for a spear or a trident soon. Something more his speed, as although he could handle a sword it wasn't exactly his forte.
"Are you really the son of Poseidon?" Nico pressed on unconcerned.
"Apparently so," As much as he wanted to scoff and denounce Poseidon as the usurper and mongrel wastrel he was – having met Sally and having inferred what her life had been like after Poseidon used and abandoned her his disdain for the sea god had grown significantly (though not quite to the level he held his own father) – he wasn't ballsy enough to say it out loud. A minor god could be dealt with, with the correct and careful application of the ancient laws. But a major god of Poseidon's level, he was next-level terrifying.
"Can you surf really well, then?" Nico asked excitedly.
"Yep," he nodded.
At his side, he could see Grover giving him a surprised look. "Hey that's cool man, I didn't know that."
He shrugged in response, his smile becoming slightly more brittle as Nico continued asking questions.
'Did he fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (He didn't answer that one, as how would he explain that he had killed her in a previous life.)
'Was Annabeth his girlfriend?' (He'd rather date Medusa or Lamia, as that would be many times less dangerous for his health than dating the daughter of Athena.)
Really, the more Nico spoke, the harder it was to contrast what he was seeing, with the grim, and overly serious son of Hades he had fought in the past. Puberty must have hit the boy like a freight train; physically, emotionally and mentally.
Thankfully, before Nico could irritate him too much, Zoe Nightshade strode over to their position with a sour look on her face – she looked like she had a particularly large lemon shoved sideways up her arse – and called his name. "Percy Jackson."
"What's up?" He asked. He didn't know much about her aside from the fact that she was the daughter of Atlas and a distant relation. And what little he had heard of her was likely pretty biased as it had all come from the other Hesperides, none of whom had been all that flattering when the name of their not-so-dearly departed sister was brought up in conversation.
"Come with me," she said brusquely, not giving him a chance to reply. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with you."
Frowning, he pushed himself up and followed Zoe to the Artemis's tent, which looked no different from the others.
Taking a breath to centre himself, he entered the tent behind Zoe.
The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the centre, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Sitting in front of the brazier was both Bianca and Artemis.
His eyes narrowed.
Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was a silver bow, which he idly noted had been carved to resemble gazelle horns. Even from where he stood, he could feel the divinity emanating off the bow. It was her symbol of power, and it was within easy reach of the famously prickly and misandrist goddess.
Wetting his lips, he tore his gaze away from the deadly weapon, as he instead looked at all the animal pelts lining the wall of the tent: black bear, Siberian tiger, and several others he didn't immediately recognize. It was a little macabre for his tastes, but it fit well with the whole Goddess of the Hunt motif.
"Join us, Perseus Jackson," the goddess said, her silver eyes fixing him in place as she deigned to notice his presence.
Taking the order for what it was, he carefully sat across from her on the tent floor, his eyes locked on the goddess even as he felt Zoe move around the edge of the tent and take her seat at Artemis's side.
"Are you surprised by my age?" Artemis asked as she met his gaze.
"Not particularly," he replied honestly.
She raised a delicate eyebrow.
"I know that gods and goddesses can choose their own forms. The fact that you chose to look so young doesn't surprise me," he clarified.
"Do you know why I chose this form?" She asked curiously.
Feeling where she was going with her line of questioning, he glanced over at Bianca. If he spoke up now, he could probably wrest her away from the Hunt, if he did not, Artemis would easily ensnare her… he needed to decide quickly if keeping her out of the Hunter would be more beneficial to his longer-term health, than sitting back and allowing Artemis to recruit her.
"I could guess, but please do enlighten me," he replied after a few seconds of thought.
In the end, like with everything, he had to consider what would benefit him most.
"As you say, I could appear as anything I want. Whether it be a grown woman or a blazing fire. But this is the form I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron before they go astray." Artemis said softly.
"Go astray?" Percy asked leadingly.
Yep, he could definitely see where this conversation was going.
But why he had been drafted into it, and not Annabeth or Thalia, he wasn't sure.
"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, and insecure. Forget themselves." Artemis clarified.
"You mean before they mature and become adults with all the ups and downs that come with it," he said, his brow furrowing.
Zoe glared at his response.
"Quite," Artemis nodded agreeably, her eyes shifting to look at the still glaring Zoe, before returning to him.
"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis continued tonelessly. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"
"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."
His eye twitched at the casual display of petty cruelty she engaged in. Truly the Olympians were no better than the Titans. They were all vile scum in the end. The Olympians just had marginally better PR.
"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Perseus, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore, and of anything he might have said during your confrontation with him. "
Frowning, he took a moment to gather his thoughts before nodding and describing the brief encounter with the goddess.
Her expression did not change, but despite that, he was able to detect a hint of disappointment emanating from her.
"He did not reveal much before his passing then," Artemis hummed. "A pity. But his presence is telling enough in itself."
"How so?" He asked.
"The manticore is a rare and dangerous monster. One that I have not come across in many an age. To see it now in this era… it is concerning…. It tells me that things… are stirring…. things that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis said. She almost sounded excited. It made her appear almost… human. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten. We came here tonight after sensing the manticore, but he was not the one we were truly seeking. The monster I first sensed before the manticore caught my attention, and the one I seek now, is an entirely different beast to the one you fought."
"What is it you are seeking?" He asked. He could feel the curiosity burning in his gut.
During his first time around, his father hadn't deigned to get involved in the war until after Kronos had been defeated on the slopes of Mount Othrys. Only once the Crooked One had been crushed and sent back to Tartarus, had Oceanus and his other brothers forged their unholy alliance and waged their war on Olympus.
Artemis gazed at him. He could almost see the judgment lurking about within the cold depths of her glowing silver eyes as she weighed up what she would say next.
Had he a weaker mind, then he had no doubt that she would have been able to pluck the thoughts out of his head with contemptuous ease.
"A threat to Olympus. One, which if allowed to roam free, could spell the doom for us all." She said ominously after a moment. "We have been too slow to catch on to the signs. But with what has been occurring these last few years, and with the emergence of monsters that had long since faded into legend… it paints a worrying picture of what the future may hold. It appears my hunt will continue, but at least now I have a better idea of what form my prey may take."
"We will hunt it together my lady," Zoe spoke up, her voice bold and expression firm.
"Yes, Zoe. As we always do." Artemis nodded a small smile slipping across her lips. "Once we have finished our business here, the hunt will begin anew."
Zoe nodded her head, satisfied.
Meeting her smile with one of her own, Artemis turned to look at him. The smile lingered on her lips as she pinned him in place with her piercing gaze. Once again, the small smile made her look deceptively human. If he ignored the silver eyes and ominous presence, he could almost imagine her as just a regular child, who was looking forward to an upcoming trip. "Before I go, Perseus Jackson, I have a small task for you."
"Oh," he queried warily.
"I want you and Thalia Grace to escort several of my younger and more inexperienced Hunters to Camp Half-Blood. There will be four in total. There they will stay in safety until myself and the others return." Artemis continued.
"You wish to split the Hunt?" Zoe blurted out. "But, Lady Artemis, the others, they hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"
"This task is too dangerous for all but the strongest and most experienced of my Hunters." Artemis cut her off.
"If… yes, my lady. I understand, as will the others." Zoe lowered her head in deference.
"Besides," Artemis said, a ghost of a smile playing across her face. "I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's the right of my Hunters to use Cabin Eight whenever they are in need, and I have heard they already rebuilt the cabins you burned down."
Zoe muttered something about foolish campers, which both of them ignored.
"Do not worry about your camp, Perseus Jackson. I will be sending, Phoebe, one of my boldest and most reliable Hunters to accompany the younglings and keep them in line. You will only need to see them safely to the camp. Once there, Phoebe will maintain discipline and ensure that there will be no escalation between my Hunters and the Campers. I would request that you for Thalia Grace, do the same for the Campers to ensure there is no provocation." Artemis continued, her gaze coming to rest on him once more.
"Will do," He nodded, as tasks given by divine beings went. It sounded like an easy one to fulfil.
"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis nodded, turning to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind?"
Bianca hesitated at the question, her eyes widening as she was suddenly put on the spot. "I'm still thinking about it."
"Let me guess, they've invited you to join the Hunt," Percy said dryly. Now that he was doing a favour for Artemis, he felt a bit more comfortable pushing his luck.
Bianca flinched but nodded.
"And did they tell you all that it entailed?" He asked softly, his brow furrowing as he saw Zoe stiffen in his periphery.
"We told her all," Zoe said bluntly, her expression hardening at his implied accusation. "We gave her no falsehoods about what her oath would mean."
"So, you told her about eternal servitude under pain of either death or transmogrification," he said.
Bianca's eyes widened.
Artemis didn't even blink and just watched him curiously, her head tilted to one side.
Zoe's however snarled. "An eternal sisterhood."
"What's the oath?" he asked abruptly.
"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said simply. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally. As you're no doubt aware. My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, and my sisters-in-arms. As such they swear loyalty to me, and once they do, they are immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."
Percy shook his head and looked at Bianca. "Tell me, Bianca. Have you heard of Peter Pan?"
Bianca frowned in confusion at the sudden tangent but nodded slowly.
Zoe frowned and just looked befuddled.
"Well, Lady Artemis and her Hunt, are just like Peter Pan and his Lost Boys. The Hunt never grows up, they never mature, and they never change. In doing so, they never truly experience everything that life has to offer. Zoe makes it sound exciting and like an adventure. But in truth, you'll spend the rest of your life running away. Fleeing from responsibility. Fleeing from love both romantic and familial. Running away from actually living your life. Life can be hard and difficult at times, I know that. But it can be glorious too, and that is what makes it so rewarding."
"Growing up and getting older is part of being human. It is what makes mortals shine so bright. It's because their life is finite. If you join the Hunt, it will mean running away from reality for the rest of your life. It will mean being forced to watch as the world around you changes into something unrecognisable and being unable to truly live within it. It'll mean watching from a distance as your brother grows up, finds love, has a family and dies, and then watching as his children, and his children's children do the same. All the while, you'll remain static, forever fixed in time. Never truly living the life you were supposed to live. And when you stumble, you'll die, and you'll do so without ever experiencing all the beauty and majesty that life has to offer…."
"You do not know what you are saying, boy!" Zoe snapped. "The Hunt does not run-"
"You do nothing but run," Percy cut her off. He was aware that Artemis was listening. It was why he was holding his tongue and exercising at least some restraint and not outright insulting them. He honestly wasn't sure how far he could push her, or if he could even push her at all. What he was hoping, however, was that with a favour done, and with Poseidon as his 'father' she would at least not smite him out of petty spite. "You run from life."
Zoe's eyes blazed with anger.
"And you wouldn't even know any different, Zoe," Percy continued, "You spent your entire life living in the Garden of the Hesperides. You were sheltered from all the horrors of the world, and from ever experiencing the true joys of life. The one glimpse of living you actually did have was when Heracles broke into your garden and screwed you over. I mean, yeah, the guy is complete scum. Everybody knows that. I bet deep down even he knows he is scum. But you allowed one bad experience to break you, and have spent the rest of your eternal life running away."
Zoe's face contorted into something truly ugly. For just a moment, she looked like she was on the verge of hurling herself across the tent and mauling him with her bare hands.
Thankfully, before she could, Artemis finally decided to intercede.
"Enough," Artemis said softly.
Percy froze as he felt a subtle wave of power flow over him.
Artemis's expression hadn't changed. But her aura certainly had. Where before it was as tranquil as a becalmed sea. Now it felt like someone had just thrown a rock into the centre of it, disturbing the once calm water and awakening the eldritch abomination that dwelled beneath the waves.
"I invited you into my tent to answer some questions. I did not invite you here to share your opinions. Especially when your opinions on the Hunt are meaningless." Her words made her irritation known, even as her tone remained placid.
"My apologies, Lady Artemis," he said, quickly bobbing his head. "I allowed my tongue to get ahead of me. But I think it is only fair that Bianca hears both sides before she makes her decision."
Artemis's eyes narrowed a fraction. "She has already heard your pitch."
"Had we known that that was what that was, we might have spoken differently. Such as by telling her that Chiron and the Camp Counsellors will be taking responsibility for both of them. Allowing both to live the life they want to live, to grow up, to fall in love and to have their own families. Or at the very least. I wanted her to know that Camp would give her at least a few years to decide what she wants to do with her life, as opposed to forcing her to make a choice now when she is stressed and still comprehending all that she has learned." Percy said forcing a respectful note into his voice, even as he twisted the truth to suit his needs. Artemis might pick up on it. But at the same time, she was one of the few goddesses that didn't spend time with mortals which might make her a little obtuse when it came to picking up on social cues that most took for granted. "After all, she is still young, and she still has at least a year or two to join the Hunt, if she ends up deciding that becoming a Lost Girl is what she wants."
He winced as he felt Artemis's power momentarily intensify.
He knew that he'd already massively overstepped. Moreso than he had ever intended – he had gotten a bit wrapped up in the moment. As such he knew he shouldn't push her any more than he already had. After all, he could almost feel the rage radiating off Zoe. A pissed-off daughter of Atlas he could deal with. It wouldn't be his first time, or even his fourth dealing with one. But a mildly annoyed Goddess of the Hunt… yeah that was game over. His only hope was that Poseidon's reputation for vengeance and pettiness, and Artemis's own sense of caution and her possessiveness over the safety of her Hunters would tilt things in his favour.
Additionally, he really hoped that Poseidon actually gave enough of a shit about the 'other Percy', that he had given the rest of his wider family the talk about not smiting him on a whim. Because if he hadn't then he might end up living the rest of his life as a Jackalope, whatever the fuck one of those were.
He winced as he looked up and met Artemis's cold gaze. Her face was entirely expressionless, giving no indication of just what in the name of Iapetus was going on in her head.
He really hoped his last-minute gambit would pan out as otherwise he would be very pissed off Jackalope.
"Well, you have once again given your view, Perseus Jackson, whether it was invited or not. Now you may go." Artemis said after a few moments, her voice was arctic.
"Yes, Lady Artemis," he quickly nodded, scrambling to his feet and heading for the exit.
Before he did, however, he gave a wide-eyed Bianca one last look.
He had told her the unvarnished truth and spoken from the heart. Whether that was a mistake or not, he wasn't sure. Either way, he really hoped he hadn't gained a goddess's possible enmity for no reason.
( - )
AN: So I'm gonna be picking up the pace now that the intro arc as I like to think of it is pretty much over. What that means, you'll have to wait and see. But let's say things will veer away from canon, I mean they already have if you picked up a few of the clues I left in this chapter.
That said there are some elements of this chapter I am unsure about, for Percy I am trying to write him as conflicted, but I am not sure if that is coming across properly. Hopefully, it is. But let me know if my characterisations are missing the mark.
Not much more to say other than that, hope you keep reading, and please do check out my myriad of other stories, and who knows if you keep up the support for this story I might even publish the first chapter of 'A Light in the Dark' Part 2, the long-awaited and mostly likely long forgotten upcoming sequel to the only proper story I ever finished :D
Cheers for reading, and let me know what you think.
Have a good one all and catch you later.
Greed720.