The Sea and The Moon

Chapter 16

A.N: I realize that there has been some confusion with Iapetus and whether or not he is Bob at this time. I apologize that I have not read 'The Demigod Files' and was not aware that Iapetus had actually been Bob by TLO. For the sake of this story, assume that Iapetus is not Bob and he will never be Bob.

Percy POV:

The next morning, I woke up in a comfortable bed with a thick blanket draped over my body. I rolled onto the floor with a groan and picked myself up. I looked down the hall and saw that Artemis' door was open. I guess she's an early riser.

After brushing my teeth and changing into slightly more presentable clothing, I padded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Artemis was sitting at the table with a plate of bacon and pancakes in front of her. She glanced up at me before setting her head down and continuing to eat her breakfast.

"Well, good morning to you as well," I said a little irritated that she had blown me off. She just grunted and stared at her plate even more intently. What's wrong with her this morning. I wonder if it had to do with what happened last night?

I decided to ignore her and grabbed a plate off the counter, plating some of the left over food that she had cooked for herself. It wasn't much, but I didn't want to waste the energy of summoning more food.

We finished breakfast in silence and I walked back up the stairs to gather my gear before we started our journey. I assembled my weapons and my armor and walked out of my room and back to the dining room. Artemis was already there with her bow slung over her shoulder and her usual hunting clothes on. When she looked up at me, I nodded to tell her that I was ready. She sat up promptly and walked briskly out the door. I didn't exactly know that she was doing, but I followed her anyways.

When we were back outside, she turned back to the tent and shouted,"μαζεύω (shrink)!" The tent immediately responded by disappearing from view. She walked over to the spot where it had been and picked something up, putting it in her pocket. I realized that the tent had shrunk to an unimaginably small size.

"We will walk towards the center of Tartarus. Hopefully we will reach it by the end of it and be done with this stupid mission," She said, finally opening her mouth and acknowledging me verbally.

"That sounds good to me."

I stayed quite as we walked, as I didn't want to annoy Artemis anymore. It wouldn't do to have her angry at me if we were in a dire situation.

(Line Break)

My legs hurt and my feet burned. I looked up and saw Artemis about ten feet ahead of me.

"Artemis!" I shouted. She paused ,"Can we rest? I don't think my body can take much more walking before I collapse again."

She looked at me a little annoyed, but nodded and stopped, letting me catch up. I sat down on the floor and lay on my back, taking in deep breaths to calm my rapid breathing. She sat down to my right and set her bow on the ground beside her.

We had been sitting like that for ten minutes when we heard a voice behind us.

"Well isn't this nice. The little goddess of the moon sitting with the hero of Olympus," Said the voice. It sounded cold and abrasive to my ears and I had the sudden urge to cover them and cower into a ball. I shuddered at the familiarity of the voice.

Artemis and I whirled around and came face to face with the one person who I had once considered a younger brother.

"Nico?" I breathed.

"Heh, I'm surprised you remember my name. After all, you did leave me on my own after the war. Didn't even visit me once," He sneered. Suddenly, I felt guilty. I had not contacted any of my friends after the war. The ones who had stood by me till the very end. The ones who I could always count on. And they couldn't even count on me. This was the consequence.