LAST TIME

"Hmm, but would you take it?" I asked and she turned back to me.

"I would," Her silver eyes flashed, sending a shiver rippling down my spine. "I would love it."

"Then well," I breathed. "There's no harm in trying to give you kisses, is there? Even if it doesn't—"

"No, I suppose there isn't." Artemis cut in. "We should try it."

She captured my lips in hers, and my arms wrapped around her body as I pulled her closer, sinking into the kiss like a grain of sand in the ocean.

Ch.56 Love and Quest

PERCY POV

Bright sunlight fell across my face, and I twisted in the bedsheets, my arm wrapping around something warm and soft. A gasp rang in my ear, and my eyes shot open, only to find wide, silver eyes staring back at me.

With a yelp, I sprung back and tumbled, crashing onto the cold marble floor.

Alexander's rumbling laughter rang in my mind as pain flared over my arm and leg, stabbing into my chest. I slumped onto my back and breathed heavily as Artemis peeked at me from over the bed, a golden hue covering her cheeks.

"Are you alright?"

"Sure," I coughed, wincing as a faint ache ran over my arm. "Maybe not the best thing to happen after yesterday's fight. But I'm alright."

I slowly got up and rolled back onto the bed, sighing as I sank into the soft mattress. Artemis shifted amongst the bedsheets, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear and glancing at me with uncertain eyes.

"So…"

"So?"

"We— uh, nothing happened. We just, well, slept together," she mumbled. "Just shared a bed. In a friendly way. Like a girl and a boy would."

"Definitely not like the way a girl and boy with our relationship would," I said, a wave of amusement washing over me.

"Right, right." Artemis scrunched her nose. "Definitely not. But this was just like… two friends would sleep. That's not to say that we aren't more than friends, we are. I love you like I haven't loved anyone, most definitely, and our relationship is unique. But we didn't—"

I pushed myself up and pressed my lips against her, cutting her off. Artemis' eyes drooped and she leaned in, wrapping her arms around my neck. We broke apart a few moments later, and Artemis breathed heavily, her silver doe eyes gleaming.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"You were being adorable." I grinned. "For something we both know didn't happen, you got very nervous. Which is rare."

A golden flush crept up her neck and she squirmed. "I think I should get going before someone comes looking for you. And you have a quest to complete."

I nodded, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "Take care."

"You too. Don't take any risks and return home to me… to Olympus." She disappeared in a soft breeze, leaving behind the smell of wild bushes, the faint chirp of birds, and the roar of animals drifting to my ears.

I smiled and pushed off the covers, trudging to the bathroom, feeling the dull tiredness well in my muscles. After a hot, long shower, I dressed in jeans and pulled on a blue hoodie. As I got up, I looked around and frowned, seeing my torn shoes lying on the floor, next to a torn shirt and a burnt pair of jeans.

'The fight ruined my clothes and shoes yesterday.' I sighed. 'Now I need to get a new pair of shoes. Those were the special pair.'

#I have a few more of those in the vault. They were really collector items at that time but you might need to get Hermes if you want a new one today.#

'I'd rather not go on a quest without that type of footwear now.' I paused for a moment. 'Damn, did I sound like a spoiled brat right now?'

#Well, when it comes to material things in the godly world, you are a rich spoiled kid.# Alexander snorted. #You have more weapons on yourself than Athena did once upon a time, which, to be fair, is concerning.#

'I am pretty sure she has a whole armory like yours. Maybe even bigger.' I rolled my eyes. 'She's Athena.'

#She might have access to it, sure. But now, she just keeps her main weapons on herself at any given time. And a few other surprises, of course.#

"Why?"

#Because she is way more confident in her abilities with her spear and shield and in her powers than she was when I was around. Honestly, even then she didn't need most of those weapons. An occasional sword or a bow aside, she stuck to spears and her shield in real battles.#

'Like I stick to Thyella Kavalris.'

#You only stick to your sword in the worst battles, yes. But you pair it up with other weapons as and when it suits your fancy. And let's not forget, Thyella Kavalris is two weapons in one. Athena will only take out her spear and Aegis in a real battle. Unless very unique circumstances have her determining otherwise.#

'Right.'

A knock sounded on the door, and I extended my senses to detect a Satyr outside— Grover. I opened the door and Grover beamed at me, before giving me a slight quizzical look as he sniffed the air.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What? Oh, the others are calling you down for brunch. Annabeth says we should leave soon if we want to catch Nereus tomorrow morning in Miami."

"Yeah, let's go. My shoes got destroyed, so I might have to buy something before we leave."

I glanced over my shoulder at the state of the room, the unkempt bed bringing a smile to my face. Artemis' warm smile flashed in my mind, the touch of her lips lingering on mine.

"Percy?"

"Yeah." I slung an arm over Grover's shoulder. "Let's go, G-man."

"You seem unusually chirper. And happy. There's this warm, fuzzy, lovey-dovey aura around you." He narrowed his eyes. "Did something happen? Aphrodite didn't hit you on the head with something, did she?"

I felt a brief stab of anxiety and guilt bubble beneath my ribs as I shook my head, smothering the smile on my face.

"No, no. Nothing like that," I lied. "It's just that, well, we took down a Titan yesterday. A big one."

"And a good chunk of the island and two whole nearby islands too," Grover said and I felt a chill run down my spine. "Though, not many deaths. Injuries, sure, but casualties are far and few. This island was almost empty and the other one of the two that sank was a private island with no one on it."

"That's good." I let out a sigh of relief as we walked down the stairs.

My friends were seated in the empty lobby, empty baskets and food wrappers strewn around them, a small pile of foodstuff propped on a seat, next to Clarisse's hoplon.

"Raided the resort, did we?" I asked and their heads snapped up.

"Percy," Bianca beamed and scooted aside. "How are you feeling?"

"Decent. Still a little sore, but better than I was yesterday. It's more fatigue than injuries if I am being honest." I slumped on the couch next to her. "Where's Nico?"

"Still sleeping. My brother doesn't like to get up unless it is the middle of the day, or he has something important to do. And he spent the night watching TV."

"That aside, where are your shoes?" Annabeth asked, munching on a packet of chips.

"I need another pair. My second pair got destroyed in yesterday's fight. I need your laptop to go through Hermes' mail catalog and order something."

"His extra durable, extra grip, element proof, all-terrain combat sneakers." Clarisse propped her Nikes on the table. "We children of Ares swear by it. They're expensive but fucking worth it if you're going on a quest."

"Order me one in blue, won't you? I like blue."

"My laptop's in my room. I'll get it for you later," Annabeth shrugged. "But you might want to wait till we get to Miami. I think we should get there by afternoon, rest, and tomorrow morning, we can find Nereus. What do you say, Percy?"

I shrugged and ripped open a packet of butter biscuits, popping one in my mouth.

"Then it is decided. I'll see which flight can get us to Miami. Percy, I'll be using your card."

"Knock yourself out," I said. "Buy First Class or at least business."

"Can't we just take Percy's car?" Thalia waved an empty can of soda, before chucking it in the nearest bin. "It can fly at Mach speeds, way faster than a plane can."

"We'd need two trips. Which will take too long." Grover said. "Flight's the best way out. And most comfortable. I loved the first-class napkins."

"That's the thing worth concentrating on, goat boy," Clarisse snorted. "Anyhow. Call me a few minutes before we need to leave. I'll go and complete last night's movie. Maybe rest a little more. Just don't do anything to make the resort collapse."

"I'll try my best, Clarisse. I'll try my best."

"We've got to stop meeting on planes," Clarisse grumbled, spinning in her chair, leaning into the black cushions and reclining. "And this is a private jet. Can't we just fucking enjoy it?"

I agreed with her but kept quiet as I saw Annabeth's eye twitch.

Annabeth, in her haste to get going with the quest, had booked us a private jet to take us to Miami because the flights had been suspended until the evening, something that was still tentative.

Our best way out was a private jet or my car. So, naturally, Annabeth had opted for the private jet, paid by my card. Of course, I didn't have much to complain about because it didn't even make a dent on my card's balance. After all, what's a few thousand dollars to what was infinite?

The pilots had thought we were just spoiled rich kids and had gone along with it without complaint. Pulling into the airport in an Aston Martin and Range Rover had probably helped matters, alongside a little mist work, courtesy of Thalia.

A part of me was reminded that if Zeus had no need for me, or his daughter wasn't on the plane, he would've smited me the moment I got in the air. Something, my slight discomfort was reminding me, despite Alexander's help.

"All you are going to see below is the sea, Clarisse," Annabeth scowled at the daughter of Ares. "Better discuss a strategy for tomorrow because some of our numbers—" she shot a glare at Nico, who kept his eyes wide open. "Intend to sleep through the day if not awoken. And I can't hammer a strategy into sleepy, ADHD brains, can I?"

Thalia sighed. "Annie, just get on with it. We've faced Nereus before so this should be short."

Bianca and Grover nodded in agreement, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Artemis' quest, Percy. When you were gone, we confronted Nereus to find out about the monster. You just came back after Zoe had wrestled him down and gotten the name of the monster Artemis had been hunting."

"Yeah, I remember Zoe telling me something about it." I nodded at Grover.

"She had a lot of problems wrestling the bastard down," Thalia said. "And we know how quick and strong Zoe is."

"Daughter of Atlas and Artemis' lieutenant." Grover chewed on a hot towel. "She has hunted the worst monsters by Artemis' side for years. And Nereus still gave her a hell of trouble. Or she had to give him a chase more like it."

Artemis' shy smile and gleaming silver eyes rose in my mind and a smile curved on my lips.

Grover gave me a look, his forehead creasing. "What are you smiling about? You've been behaving a little weird the whole day."

"Did Perses hit you on the head and turn on the happy setting?"

"No, I… just remembered something." I shook my head, before redirecting the conversation. "We were talking about Nereus. How did Zoe subdue him?"

"She chased him through the beach, got him in a tight spot and wrestled him down," Bianca said. "It was more of a hunt at that point. And hunting is what we do best. But she couldn't subdue him at the beginning. He was quicker than her and slipped away."

"Had it been me instead of her, Nereus would've probably gotten away," Thalia muttered. "Well, I might've shocked him, but that's beside the point."

"Well, we'll have to make sure that it doesn't happen." I chewed my lip. "Can't we just knock him out, and then tie him to a chair? Much easier that way. Even Ares gets knocked out by a well-placed punch. Nereus would be a lightweight compared to him."

Clarisse made an offended noise but settled for scowling at me.

"He had disarmed me, and Athena had just told me that a fight isn't over until you're out or you give up. So, I got creative." I told her, and she raised an eyebrow. "It was a brutal fight. No one compares to your dad at wrestling. But I had an advantage he didn't."

"What?"

I gave her a sharp smile. "Punches that can cause earthquakes, of course. In his limited mortal form, even Ares can't muster the strength to just shrug them off. And he's one of the strongest gods in their mortal form when it comes to physicality."

"It could work," Thalia leaned back in her seat, adjusting a cushion. "It is better than chasing him down the beach, at least.

"Yeah, because kidnapping is definitely better than chasing a man down the beach. Totally innocent." Nico grinned.

"It is all for a good cause." Clarisse grinned. "Plus, kidnapping is more of a Hades thing in the Greek world."

"Hey!" Nico scowled while Bianca rolled her eyes.

"Clarisse," Annabeth chided. "Anyhow, we'd need celestial bronze chains if we want to hold a god. Thankfully, we already have a version of those. So, here are the plans."

"Plans?" Grover blinked.

"You think I'd only have one single plan going in to kidnap a god?" Annabeth snorted. "Plans one, two, and three are ready in my head already once the main plan was formed."

"Most name them by A, B, and C, Owlhead," Thalia snorted.

"That would imply that I won't have over twenty-six plans, which, in my opinion, is redundant. Plus, plans can have sub-plans, so numeric heading, with an alphabetic subheading."

Everyone stared at her for a moment before I cleared my throat. "Right. What are the plans?"

"Plan one, Thalia approaches and distracts him, long enough for you to sneak up on him and knock him out. If he notices you, you just have to react in time to hit him and we'll still be good to go." Annabeth glanced around. "Plan two, if he gives you the slip, you direct him into a trap, one which Bianca and I will make. If that doesn't work, Grover and Nico intercept him with another."

#Both are good plans,# Alexander told me. #Nereus shouldn't anticipate either if you're quick enough. He's fast and slippery but only when it comes to a direct chase.#

"What's plan three?" Thalia asked.

"Plan three, we do it the old-fashioned way. By chasing him across the beach and wrestling him down like Zoe did. That can go multiple ways. A: Thalia can shock him and incapacitate him. B: We get Percy to create a ring of fire around him, and trap him, before wrestling it down. C: Nico teleports through his shadow, trips him, and puts something around his neck. D: Clarisse chases and wrestles him down. In which case, Percy should go to the sea to cut off the easiest route of escape."

I blinked. "That's awesome, Annabeth."

"I agree," Grover nodded faintly. "You might need to run that by us again. I think you've lost Clarisse and Nico."

"No, I got my part in it." Nico snorted. "But yeah. It was a lot."

Annabeth shrugged but said nothing, tossing her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and looking at me with expectant gray eyes.

"The plans are good, of course," I said. "We might need to improvise as we always do, but all should work and I think you've covered all routes. I like plan one the most. Quick, clean, and easy."

"That's why it's plan one."

"Right." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I also think we should start preparing for Hecate. She would not be easy to get. Heck, she might escape, even through the dome."

"How?" Nico tilted his head. "I thought gods couldn't break through it."

"The disk's magic. And Hecate is the goddess of it. If anyone knows how to break through, it'll be her. The goddess of magic. We need something foolproof. Something that's not magic."

"A trap." Annabeth's eyes gleamed. "I'll see if Daedalus has something. If not, I'll see if I can make something to do that."

"I have a book. One I took from Medusa's. Never used it much but it might be useful. I'll give it to you."

Annabeth nodded and gave me a wide smile.

"Now that's done, I think the rest of us will enjoy the fucking ride," Clarisse said after a moment of silence. "And if anyone disturbs me or my movie—" she shot Annabeth a glare. "I will skewer them with my spear. That, I promise."

The cool morning breeze ruffled my t-shirt, carrying the scent of the sand and the ocean. The crash of the waves rang in the distance as I walked, my new shoes sinking into the sand, leaving a trail of deep footprints across the beach.

I extended my senses, feeling the sea respond to me, but I turned it around, feeling the whiff of power that emanated from beneath a bright red umbrella, under which a man lounged on a blue deck chair, a hat over his face.

Pale yellow light fell across his long, thin legs, his upper torso covered in the umbrella's shadow. His chest rose and fell slowly, the god clearly asleep.

#It might be deception,# Alexander suggested. #I suggest you just chain him to the chair. If he moves, deck him in the face.#

'Might work. Shouldn't be too hard to overpower him in any case.'

I could tell that Nereus wasn't a very powerful god. Somewhere near to Rhodos, who, in Kymopoleia's words, was an insignificant cretin and a mark of shame on the house of Poseidon. Clearly, neither sister had a high opinion of the other.

Rhodos, as I had last heard, had barely heard my father's punishment, being only in the occasional vicinity of Kymopoleia, keeping her distance, trying nothing to make amends. It should've left my dad angry, but for now, he was far too busy with the war against Oceanus to care.

A brief niggle of worry crept in my heart, and I glanced at the sea, before shaking my head. I had something else to do. My father and the warriors of Atlantis were handling the war. And there was nothing more I could do to help.

For now.

I turned my attention back on Nereus before looking beyond him to see Thalia striding toward the god, Aegis in her right hand. She raised a questioning eyebrow at me and I nodded.

"Change of plans," I muttered as she hurried closer to me. "Put him in chains directly. If he moves before you lock him, I'll knock him out."

She nodded and removed a pair of bronze handcuffs from her pocket. I moved around the deck chair and pushed a trickle of my earthshaker power into my fist.

Thalia clicked one end of the handcuffs on the chair, before grabbing Nereus' leg. The god jerked awake, his leg smashing into her chest, sending Thalia flying back.

I lunged, my fist grazing his shoulder, sending Nereus spinning into the sand. The handcuff clinked against the chair's leg as I vaulted over it.

Nereus got on his feet quickly as lightning and bounded away, out of my reach, running across the sand. I heard a war cry in the distance and smirked as Clarisse emerged from the dunes, charging at Nereus with the ferocity of a rampaging bull and slamming her shoulder into him.

Nereus stumbled, changing direction, and I heard the sound of reed pipes that played into a quick song.

'He's running toward Grover and Nico.' I called to the ocean, wrenching the world past me, and appeared on the turf, the waves of the sea crashing into my calves. 'I am now on backup.'

On the beach, Clarisse chased Nereus as the tunes of music rang over the crash of the waves behind me. I felt power gather in the god's shadow and Nico sprang from it, rolling straight into Nereus's legs, sending him face-first into the sand.

Clarisse pounced, grabbing onto his legs, just as thick vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around Nereus, trapping him. Bianca and Annabeth ran toward them and in the distance, Thalia rose to her feet, the smell of ozone tingling my nose.

'Right, she's angry.' I rolled my eyes and walked toward Nereus, who was wriggling in the vines, wary of the stygian iron sword at his neck.

"What do you want to know this time?" He sighed as he saw Thalia and Bianca near. "I remember you two. And the lieutenant of Artemis. So, let's get this over with. You have one question."

"We'll ask how many ever we fucking want." Clarisse pressed the heel of her boot into his back. "This is not an ordinary capture if you haven't noticed. You can't free yourself."

#He can. He'll teleport away, as is fair, even if you don't let him go. And the Fates only need him to answer one question per capture. After that, he can remain quiet, and do whatever he pleases, including lying.#

"But we'll just ask the one we want," I shot Clarisse a quelling look. "Tell us, Nereus. Where can I find Hecate?"

AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the chapter.

So, yes. Artemis and Percy are adorable as usual. Complete sweethearts. I admit this was more of a breather chapter but had some grains of importance scattered throughout. I did this on purpose, for one sole reason: The next… sub arc of the ichor purge is going to be gruesome and take your heads for a spin. Also, heavy on the side of action.

The last chapter was also a majority of action, added with some romance. I continued the romance part here before sticking to a calmer setting that I needed before I launch into yet another action-extravagant chapter.

Oh, the next chapter, as it goes without saying, will have Hecate. And some surprises. And some very unique stuff, the likes that make the very story unique.

If you want to get more chapters, they are already up on Pat-reon alongside fourteen Side Stories (two of which are free). So, if you want to (and can), please subscribe and support me as an author. It would mean a lot to me if you do so. There you can even find additional short stories, polls, and lore compendium apart from my normal long fics!

Link: www . pat reon HPFanfictioner66 (Remove spaces)

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Immaterium: Oh, Hecate is a whole different fish. Let's just say that a lot of shit is going to erupt as it happens. She'll occupy the whole next subarc now.

NCC1701D USS Enterprise: The hammer will destroy the forge on the first strike. It is not you normal hammer by any means.

Walter: From 10th of November to 10th of December. Perfect monthly update! As for the fate of the hammer, well, using a godly weapon, as demonstrated before, takes a lot out of the user. In such a case, it'd be ill advised for any demigod to wield the hammer.

Archduke-Reality: Um, do look up what Virgin sacrifices are, please. They're not what you think, lol.

Anaklusosdude16: Perses didn't die too fast. You felt it was fast because Percy's brain tuned out a lot of the world around him. We're watching this from his eyes. He also didn't pull his punches or worry about the mortals around as there were none.
As for the side stories, some are up for free on Pat-reon. You don't need to subscribe to read the first two.

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Thank you for all your reviews.

A huge thanks to Mughil and ShadowCheck for betaing the chapter!

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