Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson
A/N: Sorry for the short delay, life has been busy for me! Also small cliffhangers I know. But I hope you enjoy all the details this time with an introduction of a new character and some drama we all love very much.
LAST TIME:
While Artemis was having a mental crisis that seemed to freeze her and Diana's mind, Alpha was currently smiling and chuckling as he walked closer to Medusa as she retreated a little with each of his steps.
"Awww is the little snake scared?" Alpha asked in a teasing voice as Medusa growled as the intensity of the beams grew from each of her snakes. The petrification from simply meeting her eyes had no effect on him as he stared right down at her as his insane grin grew.
"I am Medusa! Queen of the gorgons! I am afraid of nobody! Now come fight me you freak!" She roared in anger as Alpha grinned happily.
"Excellent! Everything about you is just so perfect! Attitude, power, presence, instinct, and everything else! You will make a perfect slave! I knew it!" He roared happily as the air grew silent from Medusa as she was finally pushed over the limit.
"AAAHHHHHH!!!" She roared in pure fury as the beams in her hair fired and the spear in her hand was thrust forward.
NOW:
THIRD PERSON POV:
Medusa's beams and spear never found their target as Alpha's body seemed to disappear the instant they were about to touch him. An afterimage of his body was all that was left as the beam ran through the image and turned more trees to stone. Medusa's furious eyes tried to find him yet he was nowhere to be seen, only his maniacal laughter echoed the forests.
"So much wonderful fury! Truly magnificent! Now again!" His voice traveled to her ears as Medusa screamed in rage as multiple beams lit up the forest. Like the most dangerous green disco ball in the world, Medusa's petrifying light beams spun everywhere in a full 360 degrees. Medusa let out a scream of rage that was even louder than the last as a large chunk of the trees around her crumbled and were crushed as her beams tore through the forest.
Even Artemis was forced to retreat a distance to avoid the storm of green beams that filled the forest. Alpha's laughter only continued to fill the air as Medusa tried to find him but was only met by his shadow. Dozens of trees fell to the ground creating another storm of dust and debris as Medusa seemed to be running out of steam.
"HAHA! Excellent!" A voice yelled right behind Medusa as she turned her head to find Alpha towering over her as he was rearing back a fist. Medusa's spear moved instant as it stabbed right towards his heart, his fist moved far faster than Medusa's spear as it slammed right into her face sending her rearing back. Yet her years of experience kicked in as her spear continued on its path right towards his chest.
"Slow!" He yelled as his free arm drastically increased in size in an instant, his hand catching the shaft of the spear and stopping it instantly. His once sleek arm now a bulging mass of muscle as Medusa tried to pull her spear free of his grip but it did not move at all.
"Fuck!" Medusa roared in fury as she let go of her spear and retreated as fast as she could as Alpha pursued her. He threw her spear away as it flew through the air and shot through multiple trees before finally coming to a stop as it buried itself in a stone. Seeing this Artemis' eyes widened in shock as a godly level of strength was displayed with such ease. Yet yer eyes quickly returned to the fight to see Medusa fighting back with her only weapon.
*BOOM*
Her massive tail moved like lightning as it struck Alpha as it took out several trees with the powerful swing. Beyond her expectations Alpha simply tanked the move as his legs bulked up just like his arms planting him firmly in the ground. In the end he only skidded several feet from the blow that would hurt minor gods.
"Much better!" He roared happily only for Medusa's tail to move yet again as it began to wrap around him as fast as Medusa could make her tail move. Alpha seemed a bit surprised as the huge tail wrapped around him in mere moments like a massive boa constrictor. Medusa's tail completely entrapped him other than his head, his blood red eyes staring at hers as they shone with a deadly green glow.
"Will you SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DIE?!" She screamed at him as she stared down at him as her snakes in her hair all hissed at him as well. Alpha remained surprisingly calm as he just looked up at her slightly bleeding face as he stared back at her unhindered. Medusa then began to constrict her tail tighter and tighter as she gritted her teeth in anger.
"It seems this little snake needs to be taught a lesson." Alpha said in a cold tone as Medusa suddenly felt a chill down her back as Alpha mouth opened revealing his serrated teeth.
"FULL BULK!" Alpha roared as his body began to morph and change underneath the gorgon's tail as her face suddenly showed pain as sections of her tail seemed to tense and start to stretch in certain areas.
"AHHH!" Medusa yelled in pain as she tried to apply more and more strength to her tail to crush Alpha. Yet as she tried Alpha continued to increase in size and struggle against her tail, finally an extremely muscular and engorged arm managed to escape her tail.
"Haha!" Alpha started to laugh once again as he pried open the tail that held him with surprising ease. More and more of his muscular hulking body was revealed as he finally managed to completely escape her tail. Medusa showed a face of pure fear as she saw her last straw of hope disappear. In a moment she decided to flee and she slithered away as fast as she could. As she did she was suddenly halted and fell face first to the ground as she turned back to see the nearly 20 foot tall Alpha with a vice grip on her tail.
"Oh no you don't!" Alpha roared as he started to move as he pulled at her tail and then began to move. Medusa clawed at the ground as she felt her body begin to drag across the ground causing her to scream out in fear. In a moment her huge body was torn off the ground as Alpha began to spin her body in a full circle.
*BANG!* *CRASH!*
Her body smashed into trees with incredible force as she continued to scream and cry, all while Alpha only laughed while he continued to spin her faster and faster. A whirlwind of dust and debris flew away from them from the spinning force as Medusa actually vomited due to the force being put out on her. Before she could even scream again her body was suddenly whipped upwards in a huge ark.
*BOOOM!*
A thunderous quake shook the forest as a massive cloud of debris exploded outwards once again filling the forest with a dust cloud. Soon the quake stopped as the sounds in the forest began to die down, only the sounds of coughing could be heard and with it slow footsteps could be heard after a few minutes. From the dust a prone Medusa could be seen as her body and tail slowly squirmed on the ground in pain.
Her body was now covered in multiple cuts and huge bruises that broke apart many of her black scales leaving her flesh exposed to the air. Her armor was now completely torn apart leaving her in a nearly destroyed undershirt that was barely keeping her decent. Medusa's face was also bruised and bleeding, her black pit vipers a bloodied and somewhere even completely gone giving her an extremely worn down appearance.
"Now now, no time to rest!" Alpha said in a happy voice as he finally made it to her head. His grotesque muscular form was now completely gone, left in only his base form he reached down and picked Medusa up by the throat as he hoisted her into the air. Medusa didn't even have the strength to fight back as her fear filled eyes looked at Alpha. Her hands reached up and gripped his arm, yet they were shaking from her fear and couldn't get a solid grip.
"Is this all the legendary Medusa has to offer? A bit pathetic if you ask me, but we will work on it in the future. A weak slave is not a good slave." Alpha said in an almost exasperated tone as Medusa' face showed complete fear.
"P-Please, let me go." Medusa begged him as Alpha just stared at her and suddenly dropped her to the ground. She let out a groan of pain but showed a glimpse of hope in her eyes as she struggled to sit up, a foot then came down on her chest as Alpha pushed her back to the ground as she let out a cry of pain.
"I never said I was letting you go miss snake, I just need to free up my hands. I unfortunately don't have much time left or I would keep playing around for a bit more." Alpha said with a sigh of reluctance as Medusa's mind seemed to break apart as panic and even more fear ran through her. She then began to scream in panic as Alpha happily grinned as he reached up and suddenly opened his mouth revealing his teeth as the mask split apart.
"Just a bit of blood is all I need, I'll teach you how to perform this on your own later." Alpha spoke to himself as he addressed Percy, he then bit into his hand as a molten red blood began to spill into his palm and drip down his arm as it splattered all over Medusa's struggling body. Her panicked screams only grew and grew as she felt an unavoidable doom descend over her. In a moment one of his huge hands was full of the strange red blood.
"Now drink it." Alpha said as he reached down and grabbed Medusa by the face, Medusa closed her mouth like a vice as her poison green eyes shook as they looked at the dangerous liquid. Seeing that Medusa was refusing to open her mouth Alpha simply adjusted his hand as he forced her mouth open.
"Drink." He said in a commanding tone as he began to pour some blood into her mouth as Medusa began to cough and push the liquid out of her mouth. The molten red blood covered her lips and mouth as she continued to struggle.
"So messy, stop struggling!" Alpha roared as he suddenly adjusted his hand as he tilted her head a bit more and held her throat as well. Medusa kept struggling and struggling as her tail tried to move, it only twitched a bit in response to her tries though. Her whole body seemingly paralyzed as Alpha finally began to pour his blood inside her mouth. She was unable to control her throat at all as she felt the liquid pour into her stomach as tears streamed down her face.
"Blood soul enslavement, activate!" Alpha spoke in a deep tone as the last of the blood drained down Medusa's throat, as the last drop fell into her mouth Alpha shut her mouth tight. As it did a blood red magic circle began to appear beneath Medusa and expand outwards as ancient and evil looking symbols filled it as it continued to spread. In mere moments the circle expanded nearly 40 feet, encasing the entirety of Medusa and Alpha.
"MMMMHHHH!" Medusa tried to say something through her closed mouth, her struggles only growing as Alpha gave an evil smile as he raised his other hand and snapped his fingers.
*SNAP!*
The snap was like a gunshot through the silent forest as the magic circle activated, in a single moment the circle lit up with red light. As it did the light began to seep into Medusa's body as her eyes widened in pain, her body shook and thrashed as much as it could. Yet Alpha held her mouth closed and her head still as he seemed to hum in delight. In mere moments a huge majority of the blood red light flooded into Medusa as her eyes began to roll into the back of her head as she passed out.
"Good, now become the slave you were always meant to be." Alpha said as he pulled his hand free of her mouth as Medusa lay paralyzed on the ground. Her body trembled from time to time as the last of the blood red light flooded into her body. As it did, blood red chains made of light appeared all over her body as they went in and out of her body. The ghost-like chain then had a segment shootout and landed right in the middle of Alpha's chest as he happily laughed.
"Enslavement complete! I hope you enjoy the gift master!" He roared happily as he laughed and laughed. As he laughed his body began to give off a black smoke and started to shrink as black mist filled the air and the laughter eventually stopped.
*Cough, Cough*
"Geez, always with the smoke." Percy said as he waved away the smoke as he tried to catch his breath. As he did he glanced down at the slowly fading chain in his chest as the last of the smoke dissipated in the air.
"W-What was that magic?" A certain voice filled the air as Percy quickly turned to see Artemis slowly approaching him with eyes full of worry and fear as she stared down at the passed out Medusa. Her eyes then slowly looked up at Percy as he appeared to be catching his breath from the transformation.
"Alpha said it was a magic not of this world or plane of existence. A spell used to bind two souls together in a master servant contract, even death will not free Medusa from it. My death however will cause her soul to fade. Quite the contract if you ask me." Percy said, seeming to review the information Alpha had put into his mind.
"Such magic exists?" Artemis asked in a surprised tone as Percy gave a soft nod.
"Apparently so, according to Alpha it can only be used if you meet certain requirements though. It also puts a large burden on the soul to use so you can only use it so many times with a certain level of strength. Enslaving Medusa is already my limit at the moment."
"Still to make a slave of the Medusa is incredible. You never cease to amaze me." Artemis chipped in as she walked closer to Percy as he happily nodded and grinned a bit as she complimented him.
"Hehe, why thank you." Percy said happily.
"So what are you going to do with her?" Artemis suddenly asked in a curious tone as she looked at the passed out monster in front of her.
"I honestly have no idea." Percy said looking down at her as well as both of them stood in silence for a bit.
"Can you give her commands even if she is unconscious?" Artemis asked him as Percy thought for a second and nodded.
"Tell her to rest and heal up for now and when this quest is over we will have to think of something. It is kinda inconvenient to have a giant snake lady following us while she is trying to recover." Artemis said as Percy couldn't help but agree, he could think of a few things but so far nothing came to mind.
"That sounds like a good plan." Percy said as he inwardly commanded Medusa as he felt the command go through their connection. After that he gave Artemis a nod as she nodded back, as she did her face had a slight change on it as she seemed to grow a bit more serious.
"Also Percy, I have a few questions about what Alpha said earlier." She said in a certain tone that made Percy freeze as he felt a cold sweat started to drip down his back. An invisible aura seemed to come off her that was filled with an array of emotions, yet to Percy it was like an even bigger monster just confronted him.
'Just going straight up to ask him huh? I don't blame you though, I am also curious about what that evil clown dude meant. Wait… if he ends up liking you, or actually liking you, what about me?' Diana asked as Artemis ignored her other half, she only felt her emotional turmoil continue to grow as she watched Percy grow more nervous. Somehow his nervousness confirmed a bit of her own worries, suddenly he seemed to unfreeze as he looked at her with a robotic like face.
"Uhhhh… look at the time! We need to check on the trio! I'm going to get going first!" Percy said as he suddenly shot away with incredible speed dodging the goddess' question. Artemis could have caught him if she wanted to but part of her refused as she let out an emotionally exhausted breath.
'Can't believe you scared him off with your question.' Diana commented as Artemis stood there silently for a moment before stomping her foot on the ground a few times in frustration. After she did she let out a few huffs of frustration and then began walking in the direction Percy went, leaving the unconscious Medusa behind.
LINEBREAK: A few days later
PERCY POV:
"I'm telling you something is off with Ares." I whispered to Artemis as she glanced at me with cold eyes and then to the war god as he exchanged his shield for a backpack and gave it to Nick and the other two.
"How so?" She asked in a flat tone as I felt the urge to sigh in defeat but held it back, ever since that night she had only been speaking to me in a cold tone. Her stunning silvery yellow eyes were now full of a sharp coldness as well, a stare that I was far too familiar with in my days of the hunt. A look she gave men that she didn't have a good opinion of. It seems after 'escaping' talking to her that night I got on her bad side.
'Master it would be best to simply talk to her about this.' Barbatos spoke to me in my head as I inwardly sighed. Sure I will just go ahead and do that, let's see how many arrows I can dodge in a minute.
'He has a point master, but instead of talking you two should trade blows! What better way to get out any frustrations than to fight it out?! Why me and my first wife exchanged blows for 3 days straight when she was angry with me! After that we made love for ei-.' I instantly tuned out Alpha as I ignored the later part.
'Land blows huh? Hmm… I don't know why but that does seem like the Artemis way of things.'
'My lord you cannot take this clown's words seriously. Talk to her and answer any questions she has, why me and my 3rd wife once talked for a week straight about things that were worrying her. That is the story of how my 5th child was conceived." Barbatos said with a sigh of happiness as I started to ignore both of them now.
"Percy?" Suddenly a voice snapped me out of my own inner conversation as Artemis raised an eyebrow at me. I coughed a few times clearing my head a bit as I focused on the departing war god.
"Sorry I was just thinking. I mean what war god leaves his shield in a tunnel of love ride? Doesn't that seem suspicious?" I asked as Artemis glanced back at the god as she gave it some thought.
"Hmm well gods are more forgetful than you might want to believe. Especially Ares… yet you make a point. A shield and sword are important for him regardless, it doesn't make sense." She said as she put her hand to her chin and seemed to think a bit.
"As much as I hate to suggest it, but Ares mentioned he was on a date. I am assuming it was Aphrodite… maybe we could ask her?" I suggested as Artemis gave a slow nod.
"Perhaps she knows something, I will send a message and see what comes of it. Though she is always slow at answering my messages. It will take a day or so for her to respond." Artemis said as I nodded, with that we no longer spoke with one another as an awkward silence arose between us. This only continued as the clock ticked by and we were forced to ride on the top of the trailer that the three had boarded.
After realizing that the trailer was filled with animals Artemis seemed to get even grumpier as the seconds passed. I swore I heard her whispering about turning people into animals themselves and then feeding them to the lion inside the trailer. I ended up deciding that right now was not the best time to speak to the goddess so I decided to shut my face and simply lay on the top of the truck. After securing myself to the trailer I simply closed my eyes and began to wait as I felt the truck start to move. With my camouflage skill I was even able to keep myself unseen, I didn't want the truck to be pulled over for having someone riding it.
With the wind in my ears and the warm sun on my skin I found myself slowly nodding off. With my body the way it was I needed all the rest I could get and with what happened with Medusa didn't help at all. Before I knew it I was dreaming, the dream in question… was a picnic. Zoë, Hestia, Zora, Ryder, Mom, Tracy, and even Phoebe and Cammy were there. Everyone simply enjoyed themselves and chatted, all I could do was stare and smile.
"Wake up, we are here." Suddenly a voice snapped me out of my dreams as I took a sharp breath and opened my eyes revealing a night sky above me. Nothing but stars and a nearly full moon could be seen as I gazed up at it in silence for a second before I slowly sat up.
"Where are we?" I asked as I looked around only to find huge buildings full of lights as I blinked a few times in surprise.
"We are in Las Vegas, ahead of schedule I might add." Artemis said as I nodded as I started to recognize the city. I had been here several times over my years as the Ranger of Olympus, I even rescued several demigods from this place.
"Where are the trio?" I asked looking down and around as I suddenly found an array of animals running amok as I blinked in confusion a bit. I even noticed a faint hint of silver aura on them as I easily recognized from a certain goddess of the hunt.
"They ran away after causing this mayhem. That daughter of Athena's plan was quite wonderful in my opinion." Artemis said in a mildly happier tone as I glanced at her as I saw a faint smile on her lips as she watched the animals run away as a poor truck driver was trying to chase them down. She then noticed my stare as her smile was wiped from her face as she gave me a cold look once again.
"She is a smart girl, that is for sure." I agreed as the face of Annabeth flashed through my mind. Her stormy gray eyes and princess-like hair that made her stand out even among demigods, at the same time I thought about how Annabeth had been acting around me lately. It wasn't hard to see she had a crush or something similar and I still wasn't sure how to handle the situation. My only option at the moment was to wait it out and see if her feelings for me fell or kept them with her.
"For now let's find a place to stay for the night, the group looks like they are doing the same." Artemis quickly said as I nodded. In an instant both of us were gone as we moved through the night. Soon we found the trio just in time to see them walk into the Lotus Casino and Hotel… Well, this isn't good.
"Should we… rescue them?" I asked Artemis as she stared at the time warping hotel.
"Hmm… let's see if they can get out by themselves first. If time is almost up then we will interfere." Artemis said as I pursed my lips a little, in the end I had to agree. I knew that even if I went inside after them I would also be affected by the Lotus den time warp. If that happened then Artemis herself would be forced to move which wouldn't be good for the quest.
"Very well, let's wait for now. I think we have 6 days until the deadline?" I asked as Artemis nodded, at the same time she began to move as I followed behind until we reached the top of a nearby building.
"We will camp here while we wait." She said as I nodded as I quickly took out a box and threw it to the ground. In a moment a tent started to unfold itself and mere moments a black tent was fully set up.
"Ahhh home sweet home away from home." I said looking at my tent as I glanced over to see a gray tent I was all too familiar with set up a distance away from my own. The simple movement of the tent's flap was all I could see as Artemis already went into her tent as I gave a small sigh. I could only think back to the conversation I had with Alpha and Barbatos, I knew I needed to talk with her or do something.
'Let's talk to her tomorrow, for now… more sleep!'
'My lord you just slept 8 hours.'
'Exactly Barbatos, I slept 'just' 8 hours, I need more to get back in tip top shape!'
'...'
'What? I am injured, you know! I still have at least a few more weeks to be at 100%.'
'I didn't say anything my lord.'
LINEBREAK:
'My lord something… weird is happening.' A voice filled my head as I snapped out of my dream, again it was the picnic scene again however even more people were present this time. But as I tried to remember then I simply couldn't as their faces escaped me.
"W-What?" I asked as I stumbled out of bed and reached for my pants as I hastily put them on as I hopped towards the front of the tent. Part of me was ready to fight the instant I exited the tent as I summoned my Kopis as the saber-like blade came to life.
'It isn't an emergency, get dressed first.' A voice cut me off as I was about to exit my tent as I let out a disgruntled sigh. Instantly my Crimson Sky returned to its bracelet form as I quickly found a clean shirt and got dressed. Not forgetting my shoes I put them on as well and exited the tent as I felt the warm night air.
It was almost uncomfortably so, but that is what Las Vegas was, ready to cook anything on any metal surface as soon as the sun came up. Still as I shook off the awkward feeling of the air I looked around and found a surprise as I saw Artemis sitting on the edge of the roof as she looked down at the lotus den. Seeming to sense me the goddess turned my way and snorted every so lightly.
"You slept quite a while." She in a snarky tone as I raised an eyebrow and looked up, finding the once almost full moon now a complete one. It seems that I had slept the day away indeed.
"My bad, just exhausted and still recovering. Want me to take over lookout?" I asked as Artemis shrugged and a small sigh. Seeing her reactions I could see she had calmed down a tiny bit, at least she wasn't seemingly angry at me anymore… I think.
"Do as you please." She added as I nodded and joined her as I sat not too far away as I stared down at the hotel as we sat in silence for a bit.
'Barbatos, what do you mean weird?' I suddenly remembered the reason I was up as I questioned the magical knight as he stayed silent for a bit.
'I am not sure… the space around us feels almost restless. Just give me a bit.' He said as I raised an eyebrow as I grew more curious, but as he said it I felt the tiniest tingle in the back of my neck as I tiled my head a bit yet it didn't disappear. It didn't feel dangerous at all like someone trying to strike me, instead it was like feeling a ripple in a pond.
"Are you okay?" Suddenly words filled my ears as I blinked and turned to see Artemis raising her own eyebrow at me as I paused for a second as the tiny tingle continued.
"I think so… by chance do you feel a tingle on your neck?" I asked her as her silver eyes shimmered a bit as she suddenly reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. I didn't even need to hear her answer to know that she did indeed feel it.
"I have for a little, is it one of your new insane powers?" She asked me in an almost annoyed tone as her eyes flickered with a fire of insinuation, hey it wasn't my fault I had so many! Geez!
"Not to my knowledge, at least I think so, even Barbatos felt it." I said as Artemis gave me a slight curious look.
"Who is Barbatos?" She asked me as I realized I never told her about him. Quickly I explained him to her as she stayed silent and listened through the entire explanation. Once I was done she continued to stay silent for a bit as her eyes stayed locked with mine as she seemed to be thinking for a bit.
"So you have two super powerful beings ready to cover your back at any given moment. One is a crazy clown and the other is a well behaved knight. Percy… sometimes you make no sense to me, even after knowing you for so long." She suddenly said as she rubbed her head a bit as her thoughts seemed to jumble a bit.
"Well… how can I make sense to you?" I asked her as she suddenly froze a bit and eyed me as I saw her stunning silver eyes stare at me as if deciding something.
"Telling me the truth would be a good start, no more white lies." She said as I felt a bit of a panic swell inside me but I managed to keep it from showing on my face. Though I bet from my heart rate alone she could tell I was feeling a bit panicked. Still I could only stare at the goddess before me as I took a long inhale and exhale before closing my eyes. After a second I reopened them as I felt my face soften a bit as I looked at the adventurous and wild beauty before me.
"You mean about my soulmates right?" I asked as Artemis' shoulders seemed to jolt the tiniest amount, even her eyes shook a bit as they looked at mine.
"Yes, when Alpha mentioned me being your… girlfriend, I started to think and think and I came to the conclusion based on some things. Am I part of this love magic… scheme?" She asked in a strained tone as I sighed a bit.
"You know it is no scheme of mine or anyone else's Milady. Zoë and Hestia already explained to you how the river or love works." I said calmly as I saw Artemis' built up agitation finally explode as she stood up angrily as her silver eyes glowed a bit.
"D-Don't call me that right now! Just explain to me what is going on!" Artemis yelled at me as I stared at her as I saw confusion and many other emotions along with her anger. I decided it was time to stop running from this topic and finally tell her.
"Yes, you are one of my soulmate candidates, I can feel a connection to you like I do Hestia and Zoë. Even Zoë has felt the same connection and I believe even Hestia has felt something similar. We promised not to act on it though, we didn't want to hurt you and have our relationships we have with you right now fall apart." I admitted as Artemis seemed to pause for a second as she heard the words come out of my mouth as her mind raced a bit.
"Even Zoë felt it? I-Is that why… NO! Undo this! I don't want my emotions to be controlled!" Artemis said as I stared at her as she heaved a bit from her rant. Her silver eyes no longer just anger filled as a bit of fear and reluctance seeped inside them.
"I can't control it, you know this. Your emotions are your own, if you have feelings for me or anyone else then that is your own doing. Your feelings are your own and are genuine… even if you don't want to admit that to yourself." I said as Artemis gritted her teeth as she grew even more frustrated as I felt her aura spike a bit.
"You say it like it's something so simple! My head is an absolute mess because of this! For the first time in a millennia I feel like my life is falling apart!" She screamed at me as if blaming me as her eyes shimmered a bit as if they were about to cry. At the same time I saw something deeper inside her eyes, similar to when me and Zoë first started dating. A plague of fear and worry about being hurt. I felt a pang in my chest as I felt the need to comfort her but withheld myself.
"It isn't simple in the least, relationships between people are difficult and hard to understand. Even with Zoë and Hestia I am still finding my relationship with them improving. Even if it is improving as time goes on I still find we have our moments and our own little bumpy parts. Yet we work through it with our words and emotions even our little squabbles. The effort we put in shows just how much we care and I am willing to put in any amount of effort for them. Especially with my soulmates and anyone else I care about, I am not perfect and I understand that."
"The river of love simply paired us and others together because we fit the best, our feelings that we will develop for each other will be genuine as well. No crazy magic goes into it, no super duper complicated mechanism, only a simple nudge in the direction of love. Sometimes I admit it feels like magic but it isn't, only pure compatibility between us that holds us together." I said as I felt my mind grow a bit calmer as I watched Artemis take in the information as her aura slowly dwindled.
"I…" Artemis tried to say something but she just gritted her teeth and clenched her hands in frustration. Even without my eyes of creation power I was able to see the mass confusion inside her stir.
"Artemis it is okay if you don't feel any emotions towards me, it hurts me to say that but it is the truth. If you don't like me or feel anything for me that is fine. If… If you do feel something about someone, don't bury it down and hide it inside yourself. That will only breed resentment and grief if you continue to do so, even if you can't tell that person at least tell yourself. That way you can move on if you need to." I said as Artemis' body trembled a bit as she looked up as her eyes showed anger as well as an almost pained expression.
"Don't you go all philosophical on me! You don't think I know that! Also don't you dare lecture me on my own emotions… BOY!" Artemis yelled at me as she grabbed my shirt with two trembling fists as her silver eyes glowed as her stormy emotions only grew. I just simply allowed her to continue as she held onto my shirt and took deep breaths of anger. Even the full moon seemed to glow a bit brighter due to her anger as I stared down at the goddess.
"I apologize if I went too far, even if you don't feel the same about me I still want you to be happy with whatever you choose to do. I just hope you will make the right decision for yourself. I simply don't wish to see the goddess I care so much about to be in so much pain." I said in a calm tone as Artemis' eye continued to bore into mine until she let go of my shirt and walked away from me.
"If you were any other male I would have killed you right now." She said in a slightly shaky tone as she kept her back towards me, as I gave a small smile to her words.
"Guess that means I am pretty important to you." I said offhandedly as she gave me a dry laugh.
"Don't push your luck." She said with a quick snap as I shrugged my shoulders a bit.
"Sorry sorry, I wont say anymore… Can we at least go back to talking norm-." I froze as the tingle that had been bothering me during this very important discussion seemed to increase exponentially. Artemis also seemed to freeze as her head whipped around in a certain direction as I followed her gaze to find something very interesting happening.
'So this is what the weird feeling was, it is something with time! My lord, prepare for batt-.' Barbatos said with great surprise but he was cut off and a new voice entered my mind.
'Hush Barbatos, you are in no danger Percy. You simply have a… young guest.' Ananke's calm and slightly surprised voice entered my head. At the same time the whole space on the roof around me and Artemis seemed to stagnate a bit as Ananke seemed to throw down a barrier to hide us.
"What is happening?" Artemis asked as she pulled out her bow ready to strike as I held up my hand to stop her. She looked at me surprised but then turned to where I was looking as we watched a part of space ripple like the surface of a lake.
"I don't know, but it isn't dangerous. So I'm told." I said as Artemis glanced at me as I did the same to her. Her eyes filled with a hundred questions but before I could say anything the space in front of us seemed to splash as a tiny figure flew out of it right towards us. We both watched stunned as the tiny person tumbled through the air as a jolt of electricity seemed to flow through the air and hit both me and Artemis.
It didn't take a moment for both of us to move in sync as Artemis dropped her bow and dashed faster than I ever could. With precise timing both me and Artemis caught the small person in sync so as to not harm them as we fell to our knees to reduce the impact more. It was then we both saw who we caught as my mind went blank in surprise. Laying in both our arms, giggling happily with a mischievous smile on her face, was a young girl.
Her face was the very definition of youthfulness as she appeared to be only about 5 ish maybe a bit younger. She was dressed up in a simple pair of shorts that came down to her knees and a shirt with a picture of what looked like a cartoon like snowman on it that said 'let it snow'. Her skin was lightly tanned giving her a very outdoorsy look, like she had just spent all summer outside playing.
Two eyes like pools of black that were dotted with gold stared up at me and Artemis as they shined in happiness. Her hair was a sheet of gray giving her a very unique look that I had never seen before. What took the cake were two tiny horns only a few inches long that came out from each side of her head. I felt confusion overrule me as she squirmed in my arms happily
"Surprise!" She screamed happily throwing her hands up in the air as she easily wiggled out of our arms as we stared at her completely stunned. She stood proudly before us with her arms crossed as we continued to kneel on the ground in stunned silence. All we could do was gape at the young time traveler before us.
"W-What is going on?" Artemis managed to ask out loud as the girl turned to her with a beaming smile that would put Apollo to shame.
"I used my powers!" She happily jumped up and down in joy and lunged at Artemis as she hugged her as hard as she could. Artemis froze in place as her mind seemed to short circuit as she froze in place as the girl nuzzled her head into her chest.
"I did it right this time, I didn't mess up!" She continued as she released the struggling Artemis and hugged me. As she did one of her horns jabbed me in the cheek as she hugged me tightly and nuzzled me a bit as her horn dug a bit into me. I was still a bit frozen myself as I let the girl hug me and then pull away as she happily jumped up and down.
"I did it! YYYAAAAYYY!" She yelled happily only for her to suddenly stop and give a huge yawn that made me even want to yawn. Clearly whatever she had done wore her out without her realizing it. Her small high from her happiness and joy finally dispersed itself as she gave another large yawn as she walked over to us and plopped down in front of us. Without a word she simply laid her head on Artemis' knees and fell asleep a second later.
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"What is going on?" Artemis asked me in a very confused tone as I stared down at the girl. Artemis was absentmindedly petting the girl's hair as she continued to sleep without a worry in the world. At this point we had moved her to a pillow and even threw a blanket over her.
"I have no idea, all I know is that she is a time traveler." I said as Artemis looked at me with a face full of surprise.
"Even the gods cannot do such a thing. How could a child perform such a feat?" She asked me as I couldn't find the answer myself, a voice then filled my head giving me an answer.
'Time is always fluctuating, the energy it costs to transport oneself always depends on the time one wants to go to. The more important time the more energy required, if it is not then it will cost very little energy. If her very existence is tied to this event, then the energy cost would be even less, something a child could even do.' Ananke filled me in on as I nodded and quickly relayed the information to Artemis as she pursed her lips a bit. Yet her hand did not stop running its hand through the child's hair.
"Percy… who are you getting this information from?" Artemis as I chuckled a bit.
"I will tell you after we deal with… this." I said as Artemis gave me a light nod, she then sighed a bit as she stared down at the girl.
"What's up?" I asked as Artemis glanced at me and then back to the girl.
"I don't know, my domains over children are simply going crazy right now, it is mildly frustrating." She said as I stared at her as she continued to pet the child on her lap with the utmost care.
"It can't be that bad." I said as Artemis' face snapped up at me as she seemed to frown at me.
"You don't know what it is like to have something in the back of your mind whispering to you constantly unless you do it. Normally it is pretty silent but right now it is almost filling my mind with commands. It even seems to blend into my instincts a bit sometimes." She said as I blinked a bit as a sheepish grin spread on my face a bit.
"I have two of those exact things you speak of, Alpha and Barbatos never seem to shut up or stop commenting about things. I am sure they aren't as chatty as your domains, though I am sure they could easily match Diana." I said as Artemis blinked in surprise at my mention of her other half.
"You know that we can speak to our Roman halves?" She asked as I nodded remembering on several occasions Hestia told me about it.
"Hestia says Vesta is quite chatty when she messes up or is thinking about something embarrassing." I said as Artemis suddenly snorted out a laugh only to slap her hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. I watched the goddess try to calm herself without waking the child as I found the scene a bit harmous in a sense.
"She also says when Vesta is in charge she does the same, do you bug Diana when you switch?" I asked the goddess as she finally calmed down a bit to answer.
"Of course I do, I have to pay her back for what she did to me." Artemis said with a sly grin as I swore I could see an irritated Diana yelling in her head, it seems all gods have the habit of bugging their other halves. If only they ever put that much effort into governing Olympus properly.
"So any idea who she might be?" Artemis asked me as I started to think a bit about the unique child in front of me.
"I have a guess…" I said as Artemis seemed to perk up a bit.
"Really?"
"Yeah… I think she is my daughter." I said as Artemis froze as her hand stopped petting the girl as well.
"W-What?"
"I mean… I just feel a connection to her like I do Zora and Ryder, a maternal instinct you can call it. Even though when I use my eyes of creation on her no information shows up, still I can tell she is my daughter."
"..." Artemis seemed to be thinking as she stared down at the girl as her hand slowly began to pet her again as a soft sigh escaped her mouth.
"I can't believe we just had such a major argument and in the next moment I am taking care of your child. Why won't destiny or whatever leave me alone." She said in an exasperated tone as I suddenly felt a bit bad for her.
"I can take over if you want." I said, patting my thighs as Artemis looked at me with a raised eyebrow as she glanced down at my legs.
"With those thighs? Please, they appear hard as stone. I pray for the soul that tries to sleep on them." She said with a judging tone as my mouth dropped open a bit, what was wrong with my thighs? Sure they were muscular but hard as stone? I wasn't some Hercules-like freak made of muscle!
"Is that a no?" I asked her as Artemis ignored me and simply continued what she was doing as the girl continued to nap without a care in the world. I simply watched in silence as I saw a very rare side of Artemis come out, the goddess seemed to glow in a new light. Her once adventurous type of beauty was replaced with a soft almost motherly one.
Her face that was screaming at me and full of anger, worry, and anxiety mere moments ago was now replaced with a calm and soft one. Her silvery yellow eyes beaming with a sort of satisfaction that I didn't understand. I swore I could even see her lips part a few times in rhythm as she seemed to be silently singing to herself. I wasn't sure if it was her domains at work or her instincts but the Artemis before me appeared like a brand new goddess.
I had only seen her like this maybe once or twice in the past when I brought a baby demigod to her on a few or my rescue missions. Though it was similar to this time I couldn't help but see a gap between then and now, this time she appeared even more beautiful and stunning than ever before.
'Hehe boss, what kind of thoughts are you having?' Alpha said to me as I ignored him for a bit as I couldn't help but respond.
'She seems happy.' I couldn't help but say to him as Alpha chuckled happily to himself.
'She indeed does, domains and motherly instinct rule over many things in nature.' Barbatos said as I couldn't help but agree.
'So any idea who the girl's mom is?' I couldn't help but ask as a sudden silence filled my head as I grew a bit curious. Normally they weren't this quiet when drama was happening.
'Guys?' I asked as both finally seemed to find words.
'We have been told to keep quiet.' Barbatos said as I grew confused.
'By who?'
'By Ananke.'
'Ohhhh… destiny stuff?'
'Indeed, she says you will need to figure it out yourself but even then you cannot tell anyone before she leaves. If any of us tells you before she leaves then a ripple effect will happen. It will risk her very existence and might cause her to fade.'
'... Got it.' I finished my internal conversation as my mind sobered up a bit.
"Artemis I am going to keep watch if you don't mind extra babysitting." I said as Artemis gave me a simple nod, with that I was stuck on wall duty once again. Time slowly began to trickle by as Artemis eventually gave the girl a blanket and futon beneath her, this caused her to snuggle up a bit more to Artemis as she slept the night away.
"Mmm?" Finally after several hours a noise besides snoring escaped her lips causing me and Artemis to turn to her as the girl slowly woke up. Her face was a bit confused as she sat up and rubbed her eyes a bit and gave a short yawn.
"Good morning." Artemis said as a soft smile graced her lips, the girl just gave a smile herself as she leaned forward and hugged her as Artemis chuckled lightly. Unlike last time she even gave the girl a soft smile back and even hugged her a bit as well.
"Quite the hugger aren't you." I said as the girl's head snapped up as she giggled a little.
"You always say that." She said while smiling as I paused for a second.
"Always say that? I am afraid I don't know what you mean." I said as she froze for a second as she stared at me. When I was alone with my thoughts I figured I better get to the bottom of what was going on so I figured out a few ways to do such a thing.
"Ummm… w-what year is it?" She suddenly asked with confused eyes as a majority of my hidden questions were answered in a single instant.
"It is 2006." I said simply as the girl's face scrunched up drastically as if she had just eaten something gross as I nearly laughed from her expression.
"I went too far back! No no no!" She began to panic a bit as Artemis started to pat her head as the girl quickly calmed down but looked much more nervous. Especially when her eyes landed on us as she seemed like she was going to break something if she simply touched it.
"You're okay, just calm down." Artemis said in a soothing tone as the girl seemed to slowly calm down.
"T-Thank you." She stuttered out.
"So what is your name?" I asked her as the girl looked at me and seemed to think for a second.
"M-My name is Mayleen."
"What a beautiful name." I said as she smiled happily.
"It does mean beautiful so of course it is a beautiful name." Artemis chimed in as Mayleen gave a cheeky smile as I chuckled a bit.
"So Mayleen, I can't help but wonder, are you my daughter from the future?" I asked as Mayleen nodded without a hint of hesitation. It seems the link I felt with her was correct after all.
"Why did you come here?" I asked as she gave a shy look.
"I-I only meant to go back in time a few days. I messed up really bad… please don't ground me daddy!" She begged as I raised an eyebrow as she put on a pair of puppy dog eyes that would make anybody cave instantly, unfortunately for her I was not just anybody.
"I don't think I can make that promise." I said as she seemed to deflate like a popped balloon as Artemis patted her head a little.
"So what year did you come from?" Artemis asked as the Mayleen looked up at her and shook her head.
"I can't say, daddy said if anything ever happened with my powers and I end up in the past I can't say a bunch of things. He said if I did I might disappear, like a sandcastle dissolving into the sea." she said as I imagined the scene and shivered a bit, good job future me.
"So what can you tell me?" I asked her as she seemed to think for a second.
"That I have a lot of siblings! Lots!" She seemed to fall over without even moving as Artemis pursed her lips together as Mayleen giggled at our reactions.
"Mommy said if I ever met you in the past and you asked me that question to say that hehe." She laughed mischievously as I felt my lip twitch a bit. Just what woman was teaching her such things?
"Your mother seems to be very mischievous." I said as I suddenly felt a tingle in the back of my head as I felt space begin to ripple once again. It seems that Mayleen's time to go home was quickly approaching.
"All of my mommies are mischievous when it involves daddy! Both of my mommies are even more so though!" She said happily as I perked my ear up a bit at a certain word but Artemis beat me to it.
"Both?" Artemis suddenly asked in a confused tone as Mayleen suddenly slapped her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened.
"Oops." She whispered through her hands.
"You have multiple mothers?" I asked as my curiosity grew, Mayleen kept quiet for a bit after I asked. Then every so slowly nodded as Artemis and my eyes went wide. At the time the ripples began to grow around Mayleen as she looked around her.
"It seems you are being called home." I said as Mayleen put on a saddened face.
"But I don't wanna go yet! I don't wanna get grounded!" She said unhappily as I chuckled from her reaction as I leaned down and patted her head as she sniffled a bit as her watery eyes looked up at me.
"How about this, when you get back to your time tell me this phrase 'Zeus smells like extra smelly farts'. If I hear that I wont ground you, though you might have to convince your mothers not to." I said with a wink as her eyes lit up happily and nodded a bunch of times, to the side Artemis snorted out a laugh but managed to contain herself after a few seconds.
"Thank you! I love you daddy!" She said as she gave me a huge hug as her small horns dug into my cheek once again as I simply smiled and hugged her back.
"What about my goodbyes?" Artemis asked suddenly in a pouty tone as Mayleen pulled away from me and then jumped towards the goddess and hugged her as well. Seeing how Mayleen interacted with Artemis I already had a solid guess about my future, but I kept my lips shut for now. The seconds quickly ticked away until Mayleen let go of Artemis and suddenly gave her a peck on the cheek and then ran towards the ripple in space.
"See you soon!" She said with a wave and a smile, in a moment she was gone as space consumed her and the ripples dispersed in a matter of seconds.
"Such a sweet girl." Artemis said with a soft sigh as I looked at her as her face was filled with a bit of sadness.
"No need to be sad, like she said she will see us soon. Though I am not sure when I feel that she isn't lying. Also I'm happy you cheered up a bit, a smile suits you better than a frown or angry face.." I said as Artemis suddenly blushed pure gold as her eyes tried to look angry but failed.
"S-Shut up! I'm still mad at you!"
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry for the late update. I've been a bit busy with my job and working on my new story Percy Jackson: The Akashic System! If you want to go ahead and give it a look! Also can yall guess who the two mothers of Mayleen are????
E/N: Ahh it is good to be back here again, I have missed this story! Sadly I am editing this in a rush so I may have to do a secondary edit when life isn't kicking me in the nuts! (No pun intended, boss!) Anyway I love the little Mayleen pop up, and I am pretty sure at least one of the mothers would be easy to guess! - Sol