Even with the presence of a large number of fallen leaves and dry twigs covering the ground of the dense forest, there was possibly no chance one could hear the movement of such a large group. Not a single crunch of misstepping on a dry leaf or even a huff of a breath gave away their presence. Such was the level of skill and coordination among these 26-odd people.
As the group broke through the forest cover and into the open, they observed a short gradience above which was a metalled country road. On the opposite side was a huge mansion that obstructed further view, complete with high walls and its own driveway. Beside the forest on this side of the road they were on, there were absolute flatlands on the other side as far as one could see.
Seeing as they had reached their target, the leader of the group broke through and stood in front of them all. The chilly winds of the early morning blowing from the flatlands were battering this group. Long, fiery auburn hair belonging to the surprisingly young 12-year-old leader blew around her yet did little to deter her steely gaze as she observed the mansion in front of her.
Satisfied with her observation, she turned her startingly silver eyes towards the group under her command who were standing with practiced discipline, and who were also revealed to be all girls with the oldest looking no more than 17. The Hunters of Artemis stood high and proud, awaiting the order of their Mistress.
"Tsch! What are we, mercenaries?" Artemis cursed, twiddling with the strings of both bows strung across her shoulder, as was her habit whenever she was unsure and anxious. As for now, she was extremely annoyed at her father.
The Hunters of Artemis were known to hunt in the wild, and seldom joined the civilization and even those few times were mostly when Artemis sensed a maiden in distress or her domain of childbirth reached out to her. But the Hunt's job was to clean out monsters, dangerous ones, whenever they resurfaced from Tartarus. And due to that job specification, Artemis found herself stuck with a mission in the mortal world.
The Manticore and Lamia had both resurfaced. Though they both had resurfaced at different times, the Manticore being the first to resurface a year prior to the turn of the 20th century, followed by Lamia 2 years later, the real problem arose a month ago, after 5 years of both running around.
Apparently, these two had met up and were killing demigods, satyrs, nymphs, and humans alike, especially children. To add to that, they were now working together with some mortal mafia who they had manipulated with the mist and thus had become way more dangerous.
Time and again Olympus had sent demigods to end this predicament, getting only failure as the result and death of the demigods. Which is why the job had been handed over to Artemis and her Hunters.
Considered as the most lethal and successful fighting unit on Olympus, Artemis, on behalf of her Hunters, had to accept this job, lest she suffer a blow to her reputation and pride as the Eternal Huntress; same for the Hunters who prided themselves as the most efficient and fastest monster killers.
Artemis stood still for a while and thought about the best way to end this quickly and settled on a decision. Assuming her immortal form was out of the question, since she couldn't assume her form in the presence of mortals. Then again, this fight was more than likely going to be solely an indoor fight, not the ones she and her Hunt were used to fighting. A large number of the hunters would definitely increase possible casualties and damage to her side.
'Percy, I hope I am choosing the right path,' she thought as she pictured the smiling face of an annoyingly endearing demi-primordial.
"Zoe, Naomi, Atlanta, and Phoebe," Artemis said in a clear voice. "The five of us will be going in. We will find and eliminate our target as quickly as possible and hopefully be back as fast as possible. The rest of you, retreat into the forest and await our return."
"But Milad—" Celyn was cut off by Artemis. "I know you all want to join in. Believe me, this won't be the greatest idea. We will be fighting close-quarter in an enclosed area. Too many of us may result in inefficiency and even friendly fire. This is a job best done by a smaller group." The rest of the hunters sullenly nodded their heads and retreated into the forest.
As the first rays of the sun peeked through the trees and onto the mansion in front, the group of 5 advanced with the finesse of jaguars. Reaching the oversized gate of the establishment, Artemis found the guard to be sitting in the guard room, sound asleep.
'Stupid males,' Artemis snorted as she snapped her fingers and the gate opened noiselessly, revealing to them a vast-sized lawn, complete with a pool and a horse stable yonder that, complete with its own small ranch. A gravel driveway led to the main building, a 3-floor house that was more a palace than a mansion. Parked near the humongous door to the mansion was a horseless carriage, a modern invention that used a steam engine to turn the wheels rather than being pulled by horses.
Artemis's mission was simple; get in before they any hostiles wake up, kill the Manticore and Lamia in their sleep or with as little of a tussle as she could, let her hunters take care of the mortal hooligans, and get out fast.
As such, they used the kitchen door to enter, rather than the obvious front door. What Artemis didn't expect, much less her hunters was to stare at the wrong end of around 15 infantry rifles pointed at the door the moment she opened it.
'Shit! These bastards knew,' Artemis cursed in her mind. She didn't break a sweat though. She was in no danger from these petty guns. Heck, she wasn't in any physical danger from anything. In fact, she hadn't lost a drop of ichor in the past 2 millennia due to battle wounds. Her hunters could be affected still, could be.
A familiar blue glow enveloped her body the moment the rifles unloaded the bullets as Artemis stood protectively in front of her hunters. Almost in slow motion, she could see the bullets cut through the air in a swiveling motion as 15 rounds collided with the blue aura around her body. Time returned to normal and 15 clinks were heard as all the bullets fell on the ground, not one penetrating Artemis's defense, neither causing any deformity to it as the ethereal blue glow receded.
Such was Percy's blessing. No Percy's promise. He had promised that nothing would harm her and nothing did. This was his parting gift, one she could never repay. "Thank you, Perce," she muttered with a fond smile. Even with him gone, his gifts still surrounded her. Artemis turned back her attention to these mortals.
Lamia and the Manticore weren't here. 'Fucking cowards,' Artemis thought. She was too high It was below her to deal with these pathetic mortals, her hunters were enough for this. These Remington 8s were notoriously slow to reload, as Artemis recognized from Ares's infatuation and how he took one to Council meetings. With a snap of her finger, the rifles turned into wooden sticks.
As the thugs gaped at her, she leaped over them and into the house in search of the 2 monsters, screams filling the background as her hunters took care of the mortals.
Hunting knives out, she started barging into every room on the second-floor corridor, the place where she felt the monsters were. The fifth room she broke into was almost the same as the others, a bed in the middle, a small table with chairs in the corner along with a big window, and a wardrobe and dresser.
She had almost left this one too until she felt a ripple in reality. The Mist, she realized and snapped her fingers. A ripple went around the room and seemingly out of nowhere the Manticore appeared before her. The blue glow surrounded her once again as it deflected the Manticore's spikes.
She threw her hunting knives at the beast and successfully trapped it to the floor with one knife through its tail and the other through its throat. Instinctively she rolled away as a heavy celestial bronze net dropped right where she was a second ago.
Lamia in her folly tried to take advantage of her hidden state and rammed her dagger as fast she could, aiming it at Artemis's throat. Not only did Lamia give up her position but also broke her hand as the dagger collided with the blue defense around Artemis. As she cradled her arm, Artemis jumped away and using Moonlit, pinned both beasts to their places with arrows through their arms and legs.
"Who sent you?" Artemis growled.
"Only a few decades, he will rise, and you all will cower Olympus will be no more." Lamia grinned like a madwoman, even while being painfully attached to the wall. Artemis paid no heed to them. Putting an arrow through their brains, Artemis sent them off to Tartarus once again.
'Too easy. Tsch," Artemis thought as she dusted the golden dust off her and walked down the mansion. She smiled with pride at her hunters who had by now rounded up every thug in the house and tied them up in the center.
Walking towards the struggling group, Artemis called upon the Mist as the thugs' eyes glazed over. "There was a raid at your house, you lost all your weapons. Deciding to give up crime, you all decided to be just and go find jobs. We never came here." Artemis said monotonously.
She could have easily killed them, but she remembered how Percy gave everyone a second chance. This was her way of remembering him, by following his morals. 2 millennia later and she still was hopelessly in love with him, even though he was gone forever. She saw the trouble-maker grin and the greenest eyes ever on the devilishly handsome face the moment she closed her eyes. He wasn't gone, he was right there, in her mind, watching over her.
Artemis shouldered Moonlit with a sigh and walked out of the mansion and into the forest. Zoe and the others followed her as the rest of the Hunt met up in the glade. With the sun now up in the heavens, the Hunters of Artemis once again set off into the forest.
------------------------------
Soil and dirt rose up defying gravity as the ground shook violently. Shockwaves of pure and raw power disturbed the otherwise still space as they blew over everything like gusts of strong winds in a hurricane. If someone stood there, they could see the whole area, as long as the eyes could perceive, behaving in this way only.
Also visible was a singular house in the whole area. Miraculously, it was unaffected by the mega-quake shaking the ground. Looking beyond it, one could finally see the source of these shockwaves.
Sitting on the ground cross-legged, Percy was meditating. His hair was randomly flowing like it was being tousled by the wind. Except it was Percy himself that was the cause of these winds. In a shirtless state, one could see how much work he had put into conditioning his body. Not overly buff but built more like a warrior, his mid-section was adorned by a medium six-pack, strong biceps and triceps, and well-built calf muscles.
That brings to attention the many glowing runes adorning his body. They glowed an unreal blue, almost illuminating the area around him. A blue omega glowed proudly on his forehead. This was one trick that he had practiced to perfection over the hundreds of years he had been living here.
It was the same power that had killed him in the Gigantomachy, except now he had learned to harness it. The omega and other symbols on his body were release points. This ability gave him supernatural powers. When he used this power, he was almost invincible, not only did it make him tougher but it increased his powers over his other abilities substantially. The only catch being it had a time limit. Don't get it wrong, the time limit went on for quite a bit of time if he held on to it for as long as he could, but as soon as he let loose of the power, he was weakened considerably.
When Ananke told him she would help him strengthen his mind, she really meant it. She had taught him everything, every language, culture, etc. Then she had him practice his decision-making skills and split-second decisions, to the point it had been ingrained into his subconscious.
On his own and often under Ananke's guidance, he had trained further with his weapon skills. Don't even start about hand-to-hand combat, Ananke was one damn fighter, and more than often had him sore for hours. His aura, he realized, had been largely out of control in his previous life. Much like his sealed power now being under control with the runes, he had tuned his aura to his own will. Instead of the wild helix that enveloped him, he now had a much less flashy field. This one surrounded him like an external bodysuit. But don't confuse less flashy with being weaker. This was much more lethal and used with his new harnessed powers... let's just let it hang.
The many years both stayed together brought light to a new relationship between Ananke and Percy. Apart from the initial mentor-pupil relation, Percy discovered a new family member in Ananke. Technically she was her Aunt, yes, but to Ananke, Percy was the son she never had. And Percy for his part, was more than happy to have a mother figure looking after him. There was no doubt Percy would do anything Ananke asked him to do, with no questions asked, that was the amount of Percy's loyalty to Ananke held.
Percy continued his powerful meditation, rolling off power in waves. He had found that clearing out random thoughts from his mind worked the best when he wanted to extract 100 percent of his power. Though, this meditative process was soon interrupted.
"Percy, there is something important we need to pay attention to" Ananke's voice cut through the power show, absolutely unfazed by the massive power surges. Percy groaned but opened his eyes, which were glowing pure green, matching perfectly with the glowing blue runes on his body.
Slowly the surges subsided as the glow and runes faded from around Percy. His emerald eyes returned to their normal state as the runes, which looked like tattoos, faded into nothing and his tanned skin stood unblemished. He grunted and stood up, facing Ananke as he dusted off his track pants. "So what is it that is so important?" Percy asked Ananke.
"It is time, Percy," Ananke replied. Percy's reaction was a very jumbled one. First and foremost was the joy and happiness he felt. It was everything he had waited for. 2000 years, he had waited 2000 years to return and the moment of truth was here. Then there was this hollow feeling within him. He was going to leave this place, his home for so long. Living with Ananke had become part of his life, to not see her, to not have her advise him with whatever he did was going to be strange. Also on his mind was the fact that he had the weight of the world.
"So... Are you satisfied with me?" Percy asked. After all, this was supposed to be training. A 2000 year-long training.
Ananke smiled proudly at her pseudo-son. "The best, Percy. The best. I could never have been more satisfied with any other choice. But now it is time to bless you."
She beckoned him forward and conjured stools for both of them to sit one. Percy, still being overwhelmed with emotions, followed to where the stools were sat down, opposite Ananke. She snapped her fingers and Percy glowed grey with some white runes floating around him before the glow subsided and the runes were absorbed by his body. Percy looked puzzled since he couldn't feel anything new.
"This is a power that needs a great sense of responsibility. Remember this well, Percy," Ananke said sternly. "This gives you the power to overthrow what the Morai has for you. This is your blessing from me. You have been marked by destiny. I have claimed you, which means the Fates can't force something on you. While I highly recommend you follow the path my daughters pave for you, I trust you to veer off right and only where it is needed. Understand?"
Percy nodded dutifully. Now he realized why she had trained him mentally. She had trained him to make decisions where even the Fates were wrong. Percy just hoped his training helped him when he needed it.
Ananke snapped her fingers once again. This time, a searing pain hit the underside of his left forearm. He turned his hand to see a torch and spindle crossed with each other. Both the symbols were just white outlines but were very prominent.
"Now that is my actual mark. This also is my gift." Ananke said, smiling at Percy's reaction as he continued to examine the mark that now covered a small part of his forearm.
"Wait! Gift? I thought you already blessed me?" Percy asked, confused.
Ananke chuckled gently. "Exactly. That was my blessing. And this was my gift. This is the gift of knowledge, Percy. It will help you a lot. But, it will be up to you to figure it out. It will take effect in your new life. You will know it when it does."
Percy thought about it for a while before asking a question. "What about my other powers? How will this rebirth affect me?"
"Once again I remind you, You will not be able to use these powers instantly. They will take hold with time. Same with your memories. I am sorry but you will not remember anything for some time Percy. Not the training, not me, not your previous life...not even Artemis."
Before Percy could drown in his own mounting heartbreak, Ananke's words pulled him out. "I never said you won't ever remember, now did I? You have waited two millennia Percy, can't you wait some more years?"
Percy nodded in acceptance. "But how will I remember these things? How do I regain control of the powers I have worked so much on?" he asked.
"Things will fall into place by themselves. Don't worry too much about it. Let life take your course. Give it time, my boy. Eventually, all this will come back to you, all your memories, your powers, your feelings. And oh yes, your trident pupils will certainly draw attention. So I just tweaked it a little. Until you figure out who you are, your eyes will appear to be normal, though I can do nothing about the fact that you have probably the greenest eyes ever. Even after you remember everything, you can control if you want to have trident eyes or normal pupils" she answered.
With that both, stood up. Percy was looking down at the floor sullenly. He murmured something that Ananke didn't quite hear.
"What was that? Couldn't hear you." she said.
"Will I ever see you again? In-person?" he asked in a small voice. Ananke walked up to him and lifted his chin. His emerald eyes were full of tears. Wasting no time, she wrapped him in a hug.
"You silly boy! I will always be there if you need me. Maybe not at once but I will be the one to help you regain your memories. I am omnipotent Percy. We can always meet in person right inside your mind. But alas, we have to let go of this space."
Percy didn't let go of her, only hugging her more tightly. "Who is going to be my parent?" he asked from her shoulder.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." She said. "And remember Percy, some of the gods have changed. Gone down paths that make it impossible for them to return. As sad and heartbreaking it is, you can't change it. Accept and make the best of the situation."
With a final squeeze, she snapped her fingers, still hugging him. Slowly, Percy turned more and more transparent until he disappeared altogether. She turned to look at the house and the whole area that had been her home, at least for her physical form, for hundreds of years. Wiping some stray tears from her eyes, she snapped her fingers again and the world she had created became the black nothingness it previously was. With a grey flash, Ananke's physical form disappeared as silence reigned once again.
-----------------------------
Whoosh!
Waves crashed on Montauk beach as the refreshing smell of the great Atlantic filled the noses of everybody present with a pleasant smell. It was a Sunday and the beach was crowded. Among the many people playing and swimming in the shallow waters near the shore, a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and beach shorts walked out of the water, seemingly having spent a lot of time in the water. He walked inshore where all the lounge chairs were and took in a deep breath before settling down on an empty chair. The cheerful life on the beach never failed to make him smile. These people just had that happy energy around them that had the result of his face breaking into a content smile.
Just like always, he didn't sit still. His view kept circumnavigating the whole of the beach, never settling down on someone in particular. That is until his eyes fell on her. Lying on a beach chair some way from where he was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had seen in a long time. The way the sea breeze made her yellow sundress flutter while it accentuated her curves, the way the sun filtered through her long brown hair making her glow ethereally, the way she sipped juice from the glass beside her as she read a novel, the man was already a mess just looking at her from this distance. Needless to say, his eyes never left the woman the rest of the time he was there.
Over the next few days that he came to Montauk beach, his sole reason was to keep a lookout for the gorgeous woman. It was easy, for he found out that she always came to the beach at 2 in the afternoon and left at 5. Yes, this was stalking, but he just couldn't help it. What was not easy was to pick up the courage to go and speak to her. Not after the day he had seen her mesmerizing smile when she was talking to her friend and those brilliant blue eyes that were dancing with mirth. Even before he realized it, he was already hopelessly lost in her eyes and her smile.
No, he had to speak to her. He had to do it.
The next day, the man tried to look his best for his big plan, and boy did he succeed big time. He was a looker as it was, but now that he actually tried to clean up, he was drop-down hot. His dark raven black hair and deep, sea-green eyes, and a neatly trimmed, small beard had the immediate effect of girls swooning all around him. The breeze swept across his face, tousling his hair and giving him an even more handsome look. Women were fixated on him but the man in question had his focus on just one woman.
He spotted her quite easily through the Sunday crowd at the beach, her beauty standing out among all the other people present there, sitting in a beach chair as usual. Walking her way, he thought about what he was going to do for this big moment, mentally replaying the start of a conversation. 'I'm going to wing it,' he gave himself courage as he neared the woman.
As luck would have it, he stepped on a piece of trash and fell right in front of her, face-first. 'Oh, fuck no!' he thought. Of all possible ways to make his presence known, he just had to face-plant in front of the woman that had caught his eye. Millions of thoughts of a bad first impression flooded his mind until one voice pulled him back to reality."Are you okay, Mister?" A smooth and soft voice said, fit for a queen. He looked up to see a pair of kind, multi-colored eyes looking at him with worry.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," he said, embarrassed. He got up hastily and started dusting the sand off his body. The woman looked at him sympathetically with a smile that made his heart melt into his toes.
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," he said a bit shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Trouble? Oh not at all, It wasn't your fault anyway. People are taking this whole trash issue way
too easily. So much plastic is thrown in the ocean every day. The poor ocean dwellers. Those creatures have it the worst of us all. We are practically prodding the most powerful element with a stick, provoking it to retaliate. I hope no deity is angry with us. It won't be a surprise if a tsunami of plastic that we threw over time comes hurtling towards us suddenly" she started ranting amicably, a small frown adorning her features, making her even more pretty.
The man looked at her in surprise before his own zeal and passion about oceans snatched away any shyness or nervousness he was harboring earlier about speaking to her. A twinkle appeared in his eyes as he spoke to her with no reservation whatsoever, "I know right! It's like they have no care for the sea at all! These people don't even understand how they are destroying the habitat of sea life."
The woman smiled widely and replied with more enthusiasm. The man drew another beach chair from beside him and down right next to her, hearing intently while speaking when asked questions. They were so overwhelmed by their own passion for the environment and seas and oceans that they didn't even notice the sun go down as the beach started clearing out.
"Oh my! It is 6.30 already?" He asked, shocked. The woman jumped up and stared at her own wristwatch.
"Shit! I am going to get a scolding now," she murmured before packing up her book and whatever she brought.
"Do you think we should continue this some other time? Like, say over lunch or dinner? What do you think..." He asked hopefully but faltered as he realized he hasn't even asked her name
What he heard in response was a giggle. "Bold of you to ask a lady out on a date without even knowing her name, don't you think?" she said, her eyes dancing with mirth.
The man choked on air with an expression like he was being deprived of oxygen. Only incoherent words came out as his mind worked overtime to regain composure.
But before he could answer, her beautiful, tinkling laughter filled his ears and his heart with warmth. "Don't worry, I was just messing with you. I will be happy to accompany you for a meal. Name's Sally Jackson. But do tell me your name," she said with a gentle smile.
The man's heart leaped with joy but he did well to hide his high spirits, lest he embarrassed himself again. "Thank you. And my name is Poseidon."
Poseidon was waiting near the entrance of the Le Meridien hotel, housing one of the finest and most extravagant restaurants in the world. The day prior, he had met Sally Jackson again and gave her an invite to Le Meridien. To say she was shocked would have been an understatement the size of Manhattan itself. She had stayed catatonic for a few minutes before she practically hugged the life out of Poseidon. Then just as quickly, she withdrew, both of their cheeks flushing red, and ran off with a promise to meet him there at 8.
As he was looking in the other direction, Poseidon felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned around and maintained a gobsmacked expression for two whole minutes. Sally wasn't wearing something extraordinary. But even the mediocre white blouse and pencil skirt managed to bring forth an unmatched living image of true beauty that was Sally Jackson.
"You know, it is rude to keep a lady waiting on her first date, much less in this chilly weather, '' she said, giggling as she punched his arm, enjoying watching the mess that was Poseidon. Poseidon, for his part, choked and spluttered on air.
"Date?!" he gasped. Sally just elegantly raised an eyebrow. "Last I remember, men don't take their female friends to one of the poshest restaurants in the area, that too alone. Tell me, do you not want this to be a date?"
"Uh...of course, I want this to be a date. I mean if you don't mind that is," he said, his face burning with embarrassment and anxiety. Sally just threw her head back and laughed before grabbing Poseidon's arm and dragging him inside, which was quite funny to watch, especially because Poseidon was 6'2 and Sally was 5'6.
Time once again flew by and they hardly even registered what they ate because they were quite absorbed into each other, busy talking, which was apparently more important than eating. But Poseidon did make sure to not order seafood. And just like that dinner was over, but their date wasn't.
Still talking, they decided to take a stroll in Central Park. Walking subconsciously closer to each other due to the slight chill in the air, their fingers brushed together a lot more than what one would call off as an accident. However much either thought that the other didn't take notice, it was a far cry from reality. Finally, after an awkward few minutes, Sally with a red face grabbed his hand and threaded their fingers, bringing a goofy smile on his face.
All too soon for Poseidon's liking, their walk in the park also came to an end, the clock nearing 10 at night. Sally turned towards him and gave a small smile. "I guess this is it for today. Thank you very much, Poseidon. I haven't enjoyed myself this much in a long time." Her voice was melancholic, almost betraying her from keeping her wish for this night to not end.
Poseidon smiled too, his eyes flicking down to her soft lips before locking eyes with her. "I guess it is the end for tonight." Even as these words fell from his mouth, he had already started leaning in. Sally, with an equal wanting look, waited, looking up at him until he was a mere couple of inches from her own lips. "What will this make us, Sally?" he asked softly, his breath sending pleasurable tingles across her lips and cheeks.
"Whatever you want us to be, mon cher." She didn't hesitate as she closed the distance, capturing his lips with hers before he could.
Six months. Time passed by faster than either of them could comprehend. It was already six months from when Poseidon had started dating Sally. They saw each other almost every day, through thick and thin, through storms and sun. Poseidon found Sally absolutely delightful, a queen among all in the mortal world. And right then, walking in Central Park at 10 pm on their six months anniversary, Poseidon had decided to reveal the big fact.
"Hey, Sally?" Poseidon called out to his lover as they walked hand-in-hand, a chill draught blowing over them.
"Yes?" Sally replied with a radiant smile that had the ability to cloud any other thought of his.
"I need to tell you something. Something big. I have been putting this off long enough already," he said hesitantly.
"What is it?" She asked. She was a little worried. In fact, more curious than afraid.
"I feel horrible for not telling you this earlier" he muttered to himself. "Ah, Hades! How do I even explain this?"
"Tell me Poseidon. What is it? You are scaring me," she said, her voice rising a little.
"Have you— have you, like seen, you know, really big people with one eye? Or short young women sitting atop trees whose skin has a green tint? Or women with a metal stub instead of one leg?"
"Ye-yes, how did you know?" She said with wide eyes full of surprise.
'Hmm so she knows,' he thought. Proving his assumptions correct, Sally was indeed a clear-sighted mortal.
"Well, I know this because it is part of my own world. All these creatures, monsters, and beings; we exist alongside humanity in this world. Once upon a time, we even interacted openly with you all. But alas, something happened that caused us to retreat. We, I, we are what you call myths—" He was abruptly cut off by Sally.
She dropped down on a nearby bench and started breathing heavily. Poseidon was scared it was because of his declaration. But Sally, as much as she was surprised, waved off his guilt by saying that she was just unwell.
"So umm... I am what you probably would call a pagan deity. We are the Greek—" he said before he momentarily changed into a sterner being before reverting back. "—and Roman gods, to be precise."
Sally looked like a deer caught in the light. She was still having difficulty breathing but her surprise was very much visible. She just stared at him with wide eyes. Poseidon looked down in shame. He had kept her in the dark all this time.
He was almost sure he had messed this up until a pair of slender arms wrapped around his midsection. He found Sally peering right into his eyes.
"I had my suspicions for some time, you just confirmed them," she said gently. She reached out and cupped his cheek. "While I am a little disappointed that you kept this from me, this revelation, this changes nothing between us, mon cher."
Poseidon smiled brightly at that as he enveloped Sally into a tighter hug. Sally put her arms around his neck and whispered right into his ear.
"I am pregnant"
---------------------------
Guiding the moon chariot into the night sky was a refreshing feeling for her. Even after millennia of doing this, she never got tired of this. Of course, Artemis didn't always ride the moon chariot. That was just inefficient and tiring. Her hinds knew the route and did it for her whenever she wasn't driving herself, a rather crude autopilot to be honest, but it worked and she wasn't complaining. Rather she rode it whenever she needed to clear her mind, like right now.
Today was one of those days. Cleaning her bows, she had a flashback to the past when she was polishing Moonlit. Needless to say, she had a hard time fighting the tears. She had never fully recovered from his death. Over the years, she had lost and gained a lot of hunters but Percy's loss hit home.
It hurt her a lot that many of the hunters that joined the Hunt later often believed Percy to be a fabricated tale. They were so staunch in their beliefs that men were vile that none could comprehend that there indeed was someone as ideal as Percy. Sure they respected Percy. But respected him more like a tale with morals, like a tale used by elders to teach ideals.
And since Artemis indeed disliked most of the male race, she didn't fight this belief among her hunters and neither did her elder hunters. And it was the fact that someone like Percy existed that made Artemis colder towards men, for she was always comparing them to Percy, and consequently failed to find any similarity.
The blast of air certainly refreshed her. Yet it did little to calm her mind for the moment. She closed her eyes as her mind was playing a hunting session she and Percy had shared together so long ago. His face, crinkled with a wide grin, as they rushed through the forest floor. Her own laughter echoed around as she chased him, weaving among trees until they burst forth from the forest cover and onto the bank of a river. She didn't slow down, instead, she rushed into him as he instinctively turned around and opened his arms.
The warmth and affection his embrace provided were irreplaceable to this day. A stray tear made its way down her cheek as hopelessness took hold of her, her mind wallowing the fact that it won't ever relish the embrace again. Yet her eyes snapped open. A long-lost, very familiar warmth was spreading from inside her. A warmth only Percy's arms offered.
She knew it couldn't be. After all, no one recovered from fading. But she was sure it was the same warmth; the same warmth that made her heart whole. There was no mistaking it. And it seemed to be trying to convince her to hold on, hold on and it will be alright soon.
Remember when life is so unfair
Hold on, hold on, we're almost there.
Slowly it receded, once again exposing her to the blast of the night air. Yet its message was passed. She held on. Artemis held on to Percy's memories as a small, wistful smile appeared on her face. Roused from this pleasant reverie, she felt a small jitter in one of her domains. A child was born somewhere in the East of the US. But mortal medicine had done well to take over her domain of childbirth, and thus shrugged it off and continued her nightly journey.
Simultaneously, the screams of a woman giving birth were heard in a hospital in New York. The father stood by the mother's side, his face pale as she clutched his arm in a death grip. A few more anxious moments later, the cries of a newborn echoed off the walls, bringing a smile to the faces of a few people outside too, because who doesn't love a baby. The doctors put the boy in the waiting arms of the new mother and left, giving the parents some privacy. Mother is a figure that would never be explained ever, for the moment the child felt his mother's arms around him, his cries subsided.
The small tuft of hair on his head was as black as his father's and the toothless smile promised to evolve into the radiant, trouble-making smile his mother was known for.
But it was his eyes that swept them off like a riptide. Green. Greener than his father. Perhaps the greenest eyes ever on a mortal. Yet it shifted shades. Emerald to sea-green, sea-green to olive green and back.
The moment he opened his eyes, was the moment Poseidon's eyes teared up. It was just a glimpse but he had seen it. His tiny pupils were the shape of tridents. And so Poseidon wept for the first time in centuries, wept tears of joy.
Ecstatic with the birth of her son, Sally, though terribly tired, still held him straight, pride and affection dancing in her blue eyes. Her smile never left her face as she watched her son giggle and gurgle, his eyes capturing her.
"What shall we name this beautiful angel, my love?" Sally asked with adoration.
"We don't need to," Poseidon smiled, wiping away his tears. He took his son in his arms and kissed his forehead, resulting in a happy giggle from the infant. "Welcome back, Perseus Achilles Jackson."
A/N: First of all a big thanks to TooManyIdeasTooLittleTime, without whom, you all will be reading grammatical crap in this chapter. One of the finest betas in my opinion. Thanks to TheLostSoul0 for writing the part where Poseidon meets Sally. I had to edit that part but it was majorly written by him. Other than that, arc 2 is finally here. JOY!!
Also, I think the summary is below par and doesn't summarize the story as it is supposed to. So don't be surprised if it is changed. Same for the Title.
Another big news is the release of my very own Discord Server. It took me and 4-5 friends a week to complete building the server. But it has resulted in a fabulous server with well-organized channels and roles.
https://discord.gg/s4vRjwvd6w
This server, "The Cynthia Guild", is co-owned by my friend and FFNet exclusive author, Rohan Rodrigues. This comes when we both were in the need of our own servers but due to inactivity being a big possibility in the case of individuality, we decided to make a common server.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Please comment and let me know what you liked about this chapter. Once again I say, please vote, it's just a click. Those who haven't please do for all the chapters. Our target is 1k votes before 40k reads.
So this is goodbye for now, see you soon, and yes, make sure to join my server (it was very tiring to make, please show some support by joining, will mean the world to me)
Feel free to message me here or on Discord if you have a good name or summary for this fic.
Ciao
-KloseKom
6703 words (excluding bold font)