Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, etc. are the property of JK. Rowling and Rick Riordan. The OC characters and storyline are purely my imagination running wild. My story is for entertainment only and is not part of official storylines. I do not have any association with J. K. Rowling or Rick Riordan even though I wish I had. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Camp Half-Blood, New York
It was early the next morning when the group was ready to depart, except for this one problem: there was no Percy in sight. He did not arrive at the arranged meeting place and when checked; he was not in his cabin nor the big house.
This, of course, agitated Skye. Still not sure why Zoe chose him to join the quest, as she found him to be very arrogant. Unfortunately for them, Zoe had a feeling that he would be needed for the quest to succeed. Don't get her wrong, but Zoe did inform her that she still believed that boys are very unreliable and deceitful creatures.
So, without any further delays, the group quickly departed with the van that Argus, the camp security chief, left them with. Zoe quickly decided to seat herself behind the steering wheel, saying that she would do all the driving - leaving Percy to make his way to them if he even bothered.
Skye had no problem with this. They could not and would not wait any longer to start this quest. They needed to get to Lady Artemis fast because, for some reason, she had this unbearable feeling of pain ever since last night. She knew without a doubt that she was feeling emotions from her Alpha - Lady Artemis - why she could feel Artemis' emotions was a mystery to Skye at the moment, but also knew instinctively that she could share her emotions with Artemis, any positive emotions would help her lady in this moment.
It was midday when the group made their first stop in Maryland. Taking a short break there, they bought some snacks and drinks with the money they got for the quest.
Skye decided to cast a nature-tracking spell that Pan taught her, hoping this would help show her the path Artemis took. She also hoped that the closer to her lady they got, the less pain she would feel. The spell's result ended up pointing them to Washington, D.C.
Climbing back into the van next to Zoe, Skye could not help but notice a strange smell, the smell of a horse. Expanding her senses, Skye noticed that the smell was coming from the sky, making a mental note to mention this to Zoe, though Skye knew this could be Percy trying to follow them. Skye just wished that he stayed off the quest. She does not trust him, and he will have a lot to prove before Skye would even consider trusting him.
It was a while later when the group of five arrived in Washington, D.C. Parking the van next to the National Air and Space Museum before they got out to look around.
"So, why did we stop here?" Annabeth asked before looking at Skye with distaste.
"The spell that Skye cast led us here. That is why we stopped," Zoe said, glaring at Annabeth - she could see the hurt of being judged shining in Skye's eyes.
"Zoe, I think we should split up and have a look around; maybe we could find a lead that will direct us to our Lady," Skye said softly while ignoring the two campers.
"Okay Skye, just be careful. We will find you in 10 minutes, okay," Zoe answered, knowing that Skye needed a moment to herself, otherwise she would not have suggested this.
Skye just nodded before walking off into the museum.
Turning back to the group, Zoe glared at Annabeth once again before speaking to Thalia. "Can you speak some sense into your friend? I do not want her upsetting Skye like she just did. That girl had been through enough already in her young life and I do not want her to experience anymore."
Thalia nodded, as she also saw the hurt and pain in Skye's eyes before she walked off. She will speak to Annabeth and Percy both - they need to understand that Skye was extremely protective of those she sees as family. After all, she experienced it in the capture of the flag game.
Skye walked aimlessly for a few moments as she tried to get her emotions back in control - not only did she feel hurt by the way Annabeth kept looking at her, but she was still feeling her Lady's pain radiating through her - she was slowly becoming overwhelmed. This was the main reason she asked Zoe to split up.
Skye walked into a hall that looked like the replica solar system. The room itself was large and dark, with all the planets within the solar system hanging from the ceiling.
No one was around, or that was what she thought until she felt it.
This pressure reminded her a lot of Lords Pan but it had a darker, more beastial feel to it. Skye once felt this pressure within her. It was the night she killed her uncle, yet it soon changed when she accepted who she was.
Expanding her senses to find who or what was exerting this pressure, whatever it was, was lurking in the shadows.
"Look who we have here." A deep voice sounded behind her, causing all the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end.
Turning slowly toward the voice, but yet only finding darkness.
"You still have a lot to learn, little one." The voice said from her right, turning again but was met again with only darkness, it seemed that she would have a difficult time finding the owner of the voice.
"You look so much like your mother that it is unbelievable." The voice said, this time from her left.
"Who are you?!" Skye asked the beast within the shadows, yet she had a strong feeling that she already knew.
"Oh! So much power and confidence. You would be great, you know, if only you come with me; I can lead you to all the greatness you deserve. After all, that was what fathers do."
It was that one word that confirmed Skye's suspicions - here in front of her was her father, the monster who abandoned her, so why would she want to go with him?
"What do you want from me? Why am I only seeing you now? Why did you abandon me to a life of pain and abuse?!" These questions just came out of her, it was these questions that she had to ask herself over and over again since she discovered that her father was still alive from Pan, she needed these answers.
"What do you mean by 'life of pain and abuse'? Your mother and James would never have harmed you."
"I didn't live with my mother nor James." She answered his question.
There was silence between them. The only sound that could be heard was their breathing and that of his mighty flanks as he came closer to her.
"There is so much we need to talk about?" - There was curiosity in his voice. - "Imagine the new life I can give you. A place to belong, a true family, not like those hunters. But first, you will need to help me. I know that you joined the hunters and arrived here on the quest. You will need to help me defeat them and ensure that you do not save Artemis. They will never believe that someone from the inside will betray them. After that, then we can talk and I can teach you everything you should know, like it should have happened."
Quickly, red-hot anger washed through her. Here she finds her father, and he asks her to betray not just her sisters but her Alpha as well, well he just made his biggest mistake. 'She will not now or ever betray her family, her mate,' Skye thought without ever realizing what she thought Lady Artemis was.
Skye subconsciously noticed the others entering the hall, deciding to distract the lion from her friends when she spoke up again. "I will never betray Lady Artemis and the huntresses; I will not harm my mate."
"Mate… you cannot possibly believe that one of these humans is your mate. Who will ever love a monster?"
"I am not a monster!" She growled.
"Well, you currently aren't human!" The lion said with amusement in his voice.
"I know that I am not human either!" She growled back at him.
"Oh, this is precious." He laughed before his voice turned to steel. "I can smell the blood on your hands, human blood at that."
The lion started to circle her again as he spoke. "Don't you remember how good it felt to sink your claws into warm flesh? The feeling as the blood painted your face red?"
Skye truly did remember the feeling. After all, she needed to hunt in her beast form once in a while. After all, she was part cat. "Ah, that look, the inner predator in us which excites us and makes us relish the hunt and the kills."
Every word out of the lion's fanged snout caused her to feel pressure to make her mind want to go darker. She felt that her father was trying to make her go against who she was, and she would not stand for it. Skye was not who he wanted her to be. She was a protector of those who were her family, and this lion was nothing to her.
"… It's the thrill of the hunt you seek. It's only natural for us at the top of the chain. The way nature takes its course."
"I will state this again… I am not a monster… I am who I am without any help from you!" she growled out through gritted teeth.
That seemed to surprise the lion, truly believing that his daughter would come to her senses and join him. "So, you choose to be prey instead? I will not have any of my children be prey. You will come with me even if I have to knock you out and carry you back."
"I am not prey!" Skye yelled as she started to lose her rising temper.
"Then you should not act like it!" He said with anger in his voice. "I see those hunters messed with your mind; it is a wonder you are still alive. After all, they will always shoot first and ask questions later. They just want to use you for something and I will not let them use you!" With that, the lion pounced. Only her long hours of training with Pan allowed her to dodge out of his reach.
Letting out a growl, Skye transformed into her large lion form, the choker of the moon still present. She wasn't as big as her father but was much bigger than a normal lion. Arrows soon flew at the lion without the moon choker, but they all shattered on impact. The lion was about to attack one of the campers when she lunged at her father. What soon followed was a fight to the death between daughter and father, while the others tried to find the lion's weakness.
Skye lunged at her father with her claws out, knowing instinctively that her claws would pierce his pelt with ease. This caused her to rip open his hind leg and part of his back. This, of course, had a domino effect. The lion reared back as he roared in pain, allowing Zoe and Bianca to shoot arrows into his mouth. The Nemean Lion disappeared into a burst of dust, leaving what was left of his fur and causing Skye to fall with some force, hitting her head on her way to the ground, dazing her a bit.
"Oh gods; are you alright?" Thalia asked, being the first to get to Skye.
Shaking her head as she slowly turned back to her hybrid form as blood slowly leaked from a wound on her head.
Zoe glared at Thalia - "Does she look alright?" Before she crouched down in front of Skye, looking at her with great concern. "Here, drink some of this," Zoe said, giving Skye the canteen of nectar, hoping that this would help with any amount of pain Skye was in. To Skye, the nectar tasted like the blood of a deer. It energized her as well as taking a good deal of her pain away, but left Artemis' pain untouched.
"How are you feeling, Skye?" Zoe asked the demi-monster softly.
"Lots of pain mentally, physically. I am okay. I have had worse in the past so I will be okay." She said before getting up from the floor.
"So, what are we going to do with the pelt?" Annabeth asked, "We cannot leave it here."
"What about the lion's fur? Isn't that like an animal's rights violation or something?" Percy asked the group.
"It is spoils of war, Percy, and one of you three should take it," Annabeth said to Skye before looking at Zoe and Bianca as well.
Skye was observing the way Annabeth and Percy were looking at her. What she saw was less hostility and more acceptance and appreciation. She knew that they were still far from being friends, but closer to the alias. Skye was still not sure when Percy arrived, but did not give it much mind.
"You should take it; you did most of the fighting and got injured in the process." Percy said to Skye, of course, this received him a slap on the back of his head from both Annabeth and Thalia.
Skye grimaced at that. "As much I like to think I deserve that, he was still my father, and having his pelt will just make me have nightmares, so no, I will not be taking it; but I do have an idea that will suit our needs more."
"What do you have in mind?" Bianca asked Skye, seeing the devious smile forming on Skye's face.
"You will see…" she said, picking up the pelt before walking out of the room. After all, what she had in mind cannot be done inside the building.
Coming to the cafeteria court yard, Skye spotted exactly what she was looking for. Walking to the small fireplace with the five very confused Demi-gods following her.
"Hey Thalia, can you start a fire in this fire pit?" Skye questioned the confused girl.
"Um sure," Thalia agreed as she used some of her lightning to start the fire.
Once the fire had a nice blaze going, Skye dumped the pelt into the fire; before anyone could ask her anything. "To Artemis!" Skye stated clearly. The fire turned green before dying out completely, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.
"Why did you do that?" Zoe asked Skye, confused.
"The gods are strengthened by our sacrifices, correct? Well, I am pretty sure that Artemis needs all the help she can get right now," Skye said softly to the group before walking back to the museum, knowing just how much Artemis was suffering.
Mount Tamalpais, San Francisco.
Artemis felt that her whole body was on fire, but even with the weight of the sky bearing down at her, she could not help but think that it would be so much more bearable if it wasn't for Atlas, oh how she hated him.
As the time passed, Artemis could feel her body screaming as her muscles were being ripped over and over again before healing themselves. To say she was in pain was the understatement of the century. Still, all she could think of were her hunters and how they were doing and, of course, what would become of them if she were held here any longer.
She knew a quest was issued as she could see the demi-god spirits appearing in front of her, allowing her to see the progress of the quest. It was at the end of the night when she felt her will start to fade. This was when Skye's spirit appeared in front of her. She was bombarded with feelings not coming from her but from Skye, the feeling of hope, love, courage and strength. 'Why can I feel what Skye is feeling?' Artemis thought, puzzled. Yet these feeling helped her when thing got too much.
It was late when Artemis felt her strength start to leave her again, all of the sudden she started to give off a faint silver glow. The spirits of the six questers appeared with an update of the quest. Artemis could not believe her newest huntress had sacrificed her father's pelt for her, causing unknown emotions to swell within her. This sacrifice somehow strengthened her muscles and skin, helping her with the unbearable weight of the sky.
'… Skye, what are you doing to me?'