Tia's POV
Year 1940, a year after the Second World War had started. Tia had been living as a vampire for almost a decade, she along with her father. Her mother had died after the townspeople had burned their house just because they were vampires. Tia and her family had meant no harm and they promised they wouldn't kill anyone, but they didn't trust them. As the townspeople burned down their house, her mother had died in the process. Now, she and her father had stayed somewhere in the U.S, trying to stay hidden as much as possible.
When the Second World War started, Tia's father had gone all the way to protect her. Hiring bodyguards, reinforcing the house and everything. Then, came the day that Tia dreaded.
Her father was going out to fight in the war for the sake of her safety. Even though vampires were immortal, but they could still be killed in battle, just like the hunters of Artemis. Tia knew this was for her sake, but she didn't want her father to die nor did she want him to leave her.
"But dad, I don't want you to go." Tia cried as she wiped her tears. Her father smiled sadly.
"I have to, my child." Her father knelt down and wiped her tear with his thumb. Tia sobbed and sniffed. "I don't want anything to happen to you, and I would do everything to keep you safe."
"But I want you next to me." Tia cried. She pulled her father into a hug, which her father returned. If Tia had known that was going to be the last time she was going to see her father, she wouldn't have let him go.
"How about a deal?" Tia's father said with a smile. "If you get stronger than you are right now, I'll promise I return for you." Her father offered.
"So, if I get stronger, you would come back for me?" Tia asked. "Promise?"
"I promise, my child." Her father smiled.
Tia woke up and shot straight up. She was breathing heavily, her forehead was beaded with sweat and her eyes were streaming with tears.
It was just a dream. A nightmare, to be exact. Since that moment on, Tia had trained herself to become stronger and stronger, so her father would return to her. There's not a single day she didn't wait or even anticipated for her father to return. It's been a long time since the war ended and there was still no sign of her father. Tia made a conclusion that she was still not strong enough, so her father still hasn't return yet. Tia had trained to become stronger, stronger than anyone else. As a vampire, it helps a lot.
It was already a week since Percy had went to Azurea. Percy had contacted her through an Iris message and told her that he wouldn't be back for five years. Since then, the demigod camp that Percy called Camp Half-Blood had gone to a complete hellhole. The campers were fighting each other everyday for power to be in control. The gods hadn't done anything about it, but Tia doubt that they were happy.
Tia had waked up in the middle of the night, which was fine by the way. She was staying in the Poseidon's cabin since Percy told her to. Tia got out of the cabin and went towards the forest to hunt some monsters for her thirst, because she was seriously thirsty. If this goes on, she might even kill a demigod here. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy for Tia as a group of male demigods surrounded her.
"Well, well, look what we have here." A demigod said with a smug grin. Tia mentally rolled her eyes.
"A little girl, huh?" Another guy smirked. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Do you know its past curfew, little runt?" The first demigod said. "Well, I'll let it slide this time but first, we need to search you, just in case you're carrying something under those clothes."
They grinned evilly and reached started to crack their knuckles. "If any of you touch me, I will kill all of you." Tia threatened but coming from a twelve year old girl, it seemed like an empty threat to them.
"Oh, I'm so scared." The first demigod said. Then, he reached out for Tia. Before the others could react, Tia gripped the demigod's wrist and pulled him closer. Then, she gave a one inch kick towards the demigod's gut. Tia heard a sickening crunch coming from the demigod as he sputtered out blood. Then, Tia snapped the elbow in a way it shouldn't be bent. There was a snap as the demigod screamed in pain. To finish him off, Tia kicked him between the legs, the soft spot for males. He then collapsed to his knees, clutching his manhood.
"Who do you think you are?" A demigod screamed. "You have no right to do that!"
Tia shrugged. "I did warn him, you know. And I'm afraid, he will be the cause of all your deaths."
"What do you mean?"
"I said, if any of you touch me, I will kill all of you." Tia grinned evilly. "So, I'm keeping my promise."
"You bitch!" The demigod shouted as he charged at Tia. Tia ducked under his punch and gave two punches of her own. Added with her vampire strength, the punches alone were enough to knock the wind out of him. Tia jumped and kicked his head, almost knocking his skull clean off of his neck. A second demigod charged and Tia moved her body swiftly to the right, avoiding the first blow. Then, she moved to the left, dodging another blow and followed up with a kick to the ribs. The man staggered, but it didn't faze him that much. Tia punched his face, breaking his nose in the process and gave him a powerful right hook. The demigod sprawled to the ground, not moving an inch.
"Anyone else?" Tia challenged.
The silence of the night was shattered by the scream of the demigods who had their lives taken.
Tia was back at Poseidon's cabin. If anyone saw her right now, they would be confused on why she was crying. She sat on her bunk, hugging her knees and cried silently.
"Dad, when are you coming back?" Tia pleaded silently to herself as she cried herself to sleep, hoping her father would keep his promise.
Percy's POV
It's been a week since Chaos dragged them all to Azurea and trained them here. During the second day, they had created their own weapons, so things would probably get easier from here on.
Oh, how wrong they were.
Bob had put them through intensive training, but Percy received the most excruciating training from both Bob and Dina. Why? Because Percy stubbornly swore by Chaos he could complete Chaos's training in five years. After each day, his friends would be amazed on how he still had the energy to even stay conscious. After their respective trainings, they both were drained out and were exhausted. They had never experienced this kind of training ever in their life.
Dina would sometimes teach them about the creatures that existed throughout the universe, but she was mainly focusing on the species that were on End's side. Dina taught them how they looked like, what their powers are, where they live and more importantly, how to kill them. By the end of the week, Percy had known about a few dozens species but he only remembered only a few of them. What's interesting is that most of them were just like humans, only different languages and slightly different appearance like pointy ears, three eyes, red skin and all of the things like that. Whenever they finished a lesson with Dina, she would always give them homework, the thing that most demigods dreaded the most. Percy had extra homework and to top it off, he had to send it to Dina by tomorrow.
Bob's training was much, much more difficult. While Dina focused on basic knowledge, Bob's lessons focused on combat, battle and physical abilities. Percy thought it would be easy, since this was his area of expertise, but he was the one who seemed to fail the most in most of Bob's test.
"Come on!" Bob shouted at them one day. "You say you were going to finish this shit in five years. SO DO IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"
Bob had told the ones who used swords to stab their sword straight through a thick metal slab that was as thick as a bus. The whole blade of your sword must be imbedded inside the metal slab, leaving only the hilt visible. Percy, Reyna and Nico were the ones who had to do it. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as your blade went through the metal slab. Nico had slashed the metal slab in half with his katana, so he passed. Reyna had somehow managed to spin her blades in a drilling formation and drilled a hole in the metal. Percy was the only one left, and he'd barely made a dent on the metal slab. His sword was huge and the first time he stabbed his sword at the metal with all his might, it bounced off harmlessly. He tried Nico's tactic of slashing the metal in half, but it didn't work. Percy knew Bob lied when he said all were only metals. Percy knew his slab wasn't metal, because his sword would've cut it like butter.
Bob added a special twist. For every strike they failed, Bob ordered them to do fifty push ups. So, Percy's hands were basically screaming in agony if they could make any sound.
"Percy, let's just continue tomorrow." Thalia pleaded. "I know how tired you are and it's getting late."
"No!" Percy argued. "I'm finishing this thing and I don't care if I have to stay up all night."
"What good does this training does to us anyway?" Jason panted.
"If you can pierce your blade through a slab of metal that thick, you can kill an enemy no matter how thick or heavy their armour is." Bob said. "And Percy, is not doing so good."
"To tell the truth, that slab Percy's hitting is not even metal at all." Dina admitted.
"What?!" All of them exclaimed except for Percy and Bob.
"But, Bob said that they were slabs of metal." Reyna said.
"Nico and yours are metal. Percy's slab is made out of something much stronger." Dina explained. "It's a rare type of material that Chaos calls Azure." Dina explained.
"I thought azure it was some kind of colour." Jason said.
"It is. Which is why Chaos made a material based from the colour. Fun fact, Azure can only be obtained in Azurea, hence the name of the island." Dina said. "Azure is a diamond-like substance that is hard and very, very hard to forge. Why? Because it is the fast adapting material that existed throughout the universe. If it receives any kind of impact, heat, cold or anything, it distributes whatever that hits it, making it almost impossible to break. So far, Azure had been used nothing more than a trading good by everyone because of its difficulty to forge it. Many tried, all of them failed. If Percy could cut through Azure, then no armour in the universe is unstoppable for him."
"But, you said that Azure is almost unbreakable." Nico said.
"Which is why I tested him with such metal." Bob said. "Besides, I said almost unbreakable. How did you think we shaped the Azure into a slab?"
Percy gave out a scream before attacking the slab again with all his might. Percy's sword bounced harmlessly on the metal. In frustration, Percy threw his sword to the ground and gripped the hair on his head as he screamed to the air.
"Fifty push ups, Percy." Bob said.
"I know." Percy grumbled as he got down and started to count his push ups. Percy's arms were shaking and were aching in exhaustion and for straining too much. He needed to find a way to stab his sword into the hardest material known to Chaos. Percy did the fifty push ups in a few minutes before he picked up his sword again.
He'd thought about using the blessing Chaos had given him, but Chaos said he needed to wait for the right moment to use it. Well, it's very tempting right now.
"Focus, Percy." Bob said.
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?!" Percy grumbled in frustration. The frustration was getting into him. Who knew an Azure slab could be so annoying?
Percy gripped his sword tightly but something unexpected happened. Annabeth's face flashed into his mind and stayed there like a permanent image. Percy gripped his head as the headache got worse.
"Percy, are you okay?" Piper asked.
Oh shit.
He was taken over.
Percy started to giggle. At first, it was normal, but his giggle turned to an evil laugh that even he would've been scared. His friends backed away and so did Bob and Dina. The enormous amount of power rolled off of him, creating a space of pressure around them all.
"What the hell?" Jason was surprised.
"Do you feel that as well?" Reyna asked.
"It's Percy's powers." Bob said. "He's releasing too much power at the same time that he basically created a pressure space." Then, most of them except for Percy and Dina frowned.
"Pressure space?"
"When someone released a tremendous amount of power all at once, the air around them will get sucked by that power and it will create a pressure space, where everyone in a certain area will feel pressured, as if you were at the bottom of the sea. The amount of pressure you can feel is based on how much power that someone released and as you know, with the amount of pressure we're feeling, Percy's releasing big amounts of power."
Percy laughed maniacally as he released a surge of power.
"Shouldn't we stop him?" Dina seemed worry.
"There's no need." A different female voice said. It was Chaos, but Percy was taken over to even care.
"What? Why?" Thalia asked.
"I want to see how this goes." Chaos then held her hand out and a black tendril wrapped around Thalia. Thalia yelped in surprise, but the she screamed in pain. "Percy, pass the test or she gets hurt."
"What are you doing?!" Nico said.
"Let go of Thalia right now!" Piper demanded, but Chaos stopped them. The same black tendril wrapped around each of them. They struggled, but the more they struggled the harder the tendrils squeezed them.
"Let us go! What are you doing?!" Nico demanded.
"Percy, pass the test or they will get hurt." Lady Chaos said.
"Lady Chaos, are you sure about this?" Bob asked. Chaos didn't answer.
"Don't harm them." Percy said as he giggled. "Or I will enjoy my time killing you and destroying you to shreds." Dina and Bob were surprised, partly because he still had enough sanity to defend his friends and partly, because he had the guts to threaten Chaos like that.
"Not listening, eh?" Chaos said. Then, all of his friends screamed in pain.
"Percy!"
"Help!"
"Percy save me!"
Annabeth's image flashed into his head.
Percy . . . Save me . . . Why did you do this to me?
Percy held his head. "Get out of my head!" Percy shouted as he gripped the hilt of his sword and it shattered to pieces. Percy gave another scream as he balled his fists and punched the slab. There was a dull exploding sound as the Azure shattered into little pieces. Percy fell onto his knees.
"Well done." Chaos said, clearly satisfied. "Your friends were never hurt, Percy. It was just a motivational move from me." His friends grinned as they were released from their grip.
"You were good actors." Dina admitted.
Then, Percy screamed loudly. He gripped his arm as tightly as he could. Percy had regained consciousness and the first thing he felt was the enormous pain on his arm. It was as if someone had repeatedly crushed it with a huge fucking hammer that was charged with electricity. Percy screamed again.
"What's happening?" Thalia asked. Percy couldn't see it, but Percy was sure Chaos had just shaken her head. Percy grunted in pain as the pain in his arm wouldn't go away.
"It appears that the bones in his arm are totally obliterated." Chaos explained. "Even though you managed to break it, punching the Azure was stupid. Compared to Azure, your bones might as well made out of liquid. It will take time, but your bones will mend together. Probably in a few days, but it will heal."
Percy screamed.
"Can you at least do something for the pain?" Thalia pleaded.
"I'm afraid there's nothing I could do, no matter how much I wanted to. I can't help you in this training. Any injuries will be training to how fast your body will recover from an injury." Chaos explained. "The pain will go away in a few seconds and he won't be able to use his arm."
Percy's scream turned into a grunt. His forehead was beaded with sweat and he was crying in pain. "That was interesting." He managed with a pained smile.
"You Kelp Head, why did you punch the fucking rock?" Thalia demanded.
"I punched Azure?" Percy said like he couldn't even believe it himself. "I'm not that stupid, you know."
"But you are crazy." Nico said. "And with one punch, you basically destroyed the slab."
"No fucking way." Percy muttered.
"You did." Jason added with a grin. "That was a ballsy move."
"And a stupid one as well." Piper added.
"Don't do something like that ever again." Thalia said.
"Not planning to." Percy said. Then, he grinned stupidly at Bob. "Hey Bob, I passed."
"It seems you did, Percy."
"Well, that shows you not to challenge Percy . . ." He then fell unconscious.
Thalia's POV
Thalia was worried sick for Percy. Why? Because his stupidity had finally injured him. When Percy fell unconscious, Thalia gently caught his head and rested it on her lap.
Bob chuckled. "Technically, he didn't pass."
"What?"
"I said to put your sword through the slab. He punched it, so basically, he failed, again." Bob said.
"But-"
"Don't worry, Thalia." Bob assured her. "If he could destroy Azure that thick with his bare hands, I think he could manage with a sword."
"Unfortunately, the hilt of his sword is shattered." Jason said.
"Although Percy would prefer this sword, I think I can do a few things with his sword." Chaos offered. "When he wakes up, just tell him that I need his sword for a few days and tell him to practice his, um, 'powers'."
"Powers?" Thalia asked.
"Just tell him that, he'll understand." Chaos said. Thalia had always wondered what Lady Chaos actually looked like because every time she's around, the surroundings got darker and her face was always covered with some kind of darkness or shadow. Thalia knew that if they stared directly into her face, they would either combust spontaneously or just ceases to exist.
"Okay then." Jason said. With that, Chaos vanished. "How are we supposed to get Percy back to the Cube?"
"Just this time, I'll help." Bob offered. "But the next time any of you are injured, you're going home yourselves. That's part of your training." They all nodded. Bob waved his hands and the scene swirled around and shifted. They were standing in front of the entrance to the Cube.
"Thanks Bob." Piper said. Bob just nodded and bid us farewell, along with Dina. The shadows seemed to engulf them before they disappeared out of sight.
"Jason, help me with Percy." Thalia asked. Jason nodded and slung one of Percy's arms over his shoulder why Thalia took his other arm. Percy winced in his sleep, which was a bit weird. Then, Thalia realized she was carrying him by his broken arm.
"Oh shit!" Thalia let go of his arm. "I took his injured arm." Thalia was a bit worried that Percy got hurt in the process, but his expression softened which made relieved Thalia a little bit.
"It's okay, sis. I can carry him." Jason added with a smile.
Thalia was with Jason and Percy the whole time they made their way to their room because Thalia didn't want Percy out of her sight. Jason set Percy down on the bed gently.
"Thanks, Jason."
"No problem sis." Jason grinned. "No funny business between you two, okay?"
"Shut up." Thalia zapped Jason slightly, but Jason rolled his eyes.
"Sis, we're children of Jupiter. That kinds of makes us immune to lightning." Jason said.
Thalia glared at him and zapped him in a voltage higher that usual. That made Jason yelp and Thalia gave a satisfied smirk. "Not to my lightning."
"Whatever sis, just, no funny business."
"Do you want me to zap you again?"
"Okay, okay! I'm leaving." Jason said with a grin. "Just no-"
"Get out!" Thalia ordered. Jason just laughed as he got out of the room. Thalia sighed and shook her head. Jason can be just as annoying as Percy sometimes. Thalia took a look at Percy. She sat next to him and stroked his cheek gently. His skin felt cold at her touch, which made Thalia frown. She placed a hand on his forehead and realized her skin was awfully cold. Thalia had tucked him in with the blanket and the temperature in the room wasn't that cold. Thalia hurriedly took a piece of cloth and doused it with warm water. She gently placed it on his forehead, hoping that would raise his temperature a bit. When Thalia accidentally made skin contact with his skin, she pulled away. His skin was like ice. Yes, it was that cold.
"What's happening to you?" Thalia muttered to herself. "Lady Chaos, any help?"
Thalia wasn't expecting any answer, but she got one anyway from Lady Chaos. "It's his body. His powers are adapting to its host, which is why he's experiencing these changes."
"Changes?" Thalia said. "What changes?"
"He'll be like this for the rest of the night and if his body temperature doesn't stabilize anytime sooner, he's going to be in serious trouble."
"How serious?"
"Fatally serious."
Thalia quickly took a few sets of clothes from his closet and wrapped him up quickly. "Thalia, that won't work."
"Why?"
"Because by keeping him bundled up, his cold temperature isn't going anywhere and will be trapped under there, making him even colder than before." Right on cue, Percy's expression changed slightly and he shivered.
"Why aren't you doing anything to help him then?" Thalia demanded.
"I am. I telling you what to do and if I hadn't he'd probably be dead by tomorrow." Chaos said sternly. "Keep him warm, that's my only advice."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Use your imagination."
Thalia groaned in frustration as she unbundled Percy from the clothes she'd just wrapped around him because apparently, according to Chaos, it made him colder instead of warmer. Thalia tried to find any solution, but couldn't because she was panicking. Thalia had once heard something about keeping each other warm by hugging without your clothes on. That thought alone brought a red blush on her face. There was no way she was going to take her clothes off and hug Percy. But then again, this concerns his life . . .
"Please forgive me, Lady Artemis." Thalia pleaded as she took her jacket off and then her shirt. She decided not to strip her clothes all the way because, well, she wanted to keep some of her dignity left in her. Thalia took her clothes off until she was only wearing only her bra and a pair of tight and short jeans. No matter how much this concern his life, Percy was not ready to see the lower half of Thalia's body. Thalia didn't want to wake him up, so he used her dagger to rip his shirt open. She couldn't help but admire his well built body, but she had no time for that kind of thing. She pulled his jeans and left his boxers there. She had no interest to see what was hidden underneath it. Thalia then climbed onto the bed and cuddled closer to Percy. Her skin involuntarily shivered when it made contact with his skin. He was getting even colder than before and his teeth were chattering. Thalia pulled the blanket over them and cuddled closer next to him. She was used to enjoying Percy's warmth, now it was her turn to share her warmth to Percy. "You're going to be okay, Percy." Thalia whispered next to his ear. Thalia didn't know if he heard her, but his muscles relaxed and he was becoming a bit better than before.
"Hey, good idea." Chaos said in her mind in a slight mischievousness in her voice.
"Shut up." Thalia grumbled. She cuddled closer to Percy and without realizing, she fell asleep.
Line Break
The next morning, Thalia woke up with something warm next to her. She heard a very faint sound with a slight movement on what she's sleeping on. Thalia realized she was hearing Percy's heartbeat. Her mind then remembered what happened last night, where she had to keep Percy warm. Luckily, after hearing his heartbeat, Percy was still alive which meant she'd succeeded in her task of saving Percy. His body felt warm, the familiar warmth that Thalia was used to. Then, she heard Percy groaned and shifted under her.
"Thalia? What are you . . . Holy Poseidon!" Percy screamed as he rolled out of the bed. He fell to the floor hard. "Ah shit! My arm!"
"Percy! Are you okay?" Thalia asked.
"I'm fine." Percy grumbled. "But why are you naked? And more importantly, how am I naked?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Percy, neither both of us are fully naked." Thalia argued. Then, her face turned red. "As for how you're half naked, well, I had to do it."
"Why? Did something happened to us last night?"
Thalia blushed furiously "What? Gods, no! Nothing happened, Percy." Thalia pulled the blanket and covered her body. "Percy, stop staring."
Percy shook his head. "Sorry. Nothing really happened?"
"Nothing happened, so don't worry. Your body was getting seriously cold last night, and I mean like ice cold Chaos said it was your powers adapting to your body or something like that. She told me to keep you warm, so I . . ."
"Oh . . ." Percy said timidly. "Um, thanks, I guess."
"Yeah, well, Artemis won't be too happy about this." Thalia muttered. Considering that Percy had seen her almost naked, she was a bit more open to Percy. Somehow, after that weird incident, their relationship perhaps had gotten closer.
"Can you help me out?" Percy asked.
"Sure." Thalia said and without even thinking, she stood up and offered Percy her hand. Percy blushed as he pried his eyes away from Thalia.
"Can you at least wear some clothes first?" Percy said shyly. Thalia's eyes widened in realization when she noticed that she was still half naked, which was stupid, by the way.
"Ah shit! Sorry Perce. Can you just- ah!" Thalia somehow tripped on her own leg and fell on Percy. Percy gave out a yelp and fell along with Thalia. The next thing she knew was that she was on top of Percy (that sounded wrong) and their faces were a few inches apart.
"Hey, Thalia, Percy, breakfast is almost ready and- what the fuck?!" Thalia heard Jason's voice said. Thalia and Percy looked over to the door and saw Jason, Piper and Reyna staring at them, wide-eyed and jaws dropped.
"Are you guys . . ."
"No!" Thalia quickly dismantle herself from Percy. Thalia grabbed her shirt and put it on. "Nothing happened. It's just that, uh, I'll explain during breakfast. Cab you please just, get out?"
"Uh, we'll wait for you down below." Reyna said as she dragged Piper along with her.
"I'm expecting an explanation." Jason said then, he grinned and looked at Percy. "And Perce, I would cover that bump of yours if I were you." Thalia made a mistake of glancing over to Percy and saw that his 'little buddy' was standing up. Thalia's face blushed even more red.
"Scram!" Percy shouted before Jason giggled and ran away.
"Uh, we better get ready." Percy said shyly.
"Y-yeah." Thalia stammered.
After getting ready, Thalia and Percy hesitantly made her way to the dining room. This was probably the most embarrassing moment of her life, and even the most misunderstood one. Jason gave them a grin while Piper and Reyna were trying hard not to stare into their eyes and Nico, well, fortunately, Nico was still eating.
Thalia and Percy sat down awkwardly as they tried to control their composure. "Uh, so . . ."
"Explain." Jason said.
"Well, last night after we got back. Percy's body got cold, like, really cold." Thalia started. "Chaos said it was because of Percy's power adapting to his body or something like that. So, Chaos asked me to warm him up so I did."
"By taking your clothes off half-naked and cuddling with him?" Piper asked.
"Wait, they were half-naked?" Nico asked.
"Shut up, Nico." Reyna rolled her eyes.
"Well, apparently it worked." Thalia defended herself.
They just nodded. "Are you sure nothing happened between the two of you?"
"Gods sake, nothing happened." Thalia said.
"Then why were you guys on top of each other?" Jason added with a grin. Thalia glared at him.
"Thalia fell on top of me." Percy explained. "Oh yeah, where's my sword?"
"Chaos borrowed it for a few days. Don't ask us why, because really, we don't know." Nico said. "And she said that you should practice your 'powers', whatever that meant."
Percy just nodded silently, which made all of them wonder what kind of power Chaos was talking about. If Chaos meant his demigod powers, then Thalia knew how much mastery Percy had over it.
"Well, Bob will be waiting for us. Percy, you should rest here for a while." Reyna said. "Besides, you can't do anything with an injured arm."
"Yeah, well, good luck on your training."
Line Break
Third Person's POV
Thalia and the others were just about to leave when she told them wait. "I should probably tell Percy that we're leaving." Thalia said. They nodded as Thalia headed upstairs. She noticed Percy on the second floor and was about to say something when she noticed that he wasn't alone.
Percy was with Dina, and they were both talking about something. Thalia stayed low so she wouldn't be seen or noticed. Thalia tried to hear what they were talking about. "Percy, are you sure about this?" Dina said to Percy. "Chaos said you're not ready and besides, you arm is barely healed up. You shouldn't strain yourself like that."
"It's okay, Dina. I would like to try it once, if you'd allow it."
"Of course I'd allow it, but I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"I'll be fine."
Dina sighed. "All right, you know what to do, right?"
"Make eye contact, will it to appear and just reach it and pull it out." Percy said. "Got it." Dina just nodded. Thalia kept her head down, but she was interested in what they were doing. "Ready?" Dina nodded. Percy closed his eyes for a moment before she stared into Dina's eyes. Suddenly, there was a bright blue light emanating from beneath Dina. Percy reached out towards her chest. Just when Thalia thought that they were going to do something wrong, something appeared on Dina's chest. It looked like a circle of blue light. When Percy reached into the light, his hand went through Dina's chest, straight into her body. When he pulled his hand out, he pulled something else along. It was only a beam of light though how Percy was holding a beam of light, Thalia had no idea. He held the light up and it brightened, changing its shape into something else. The beam of light lengthened and at the top of it, it formed a curve. Thalia realized it was a scythe. It looked like a weird scythe because Thalia had never seen anything like it before. The blade was a bit uneven at the edges and there were some lines of blue lights along the weapon.
The moment Percy took the scythe out of Dina's body, Dina passed out. Percy dropped the scythe and managed to catch Dina with his good arm before she fell to the floor. The scythe seemed to be all metallic, without even a hint of any other materials. Then, Piper called. "Thalia? Come on, we're going to be late."
Thalia hurriedly went down just as Percy glanced over at her direction. Percy didn't see anyone, but he knew someone was there. He was just hoping that no one seen what he did, but he didn't know that Thalia did see it, and she had some questions for Percy but in the mean time, she decided to pretend that she didn't know anything and didn't see anything.
Percy decided to ignore the weird feeling and willed the scythe to disappear. As soon as it did, Dina's chest glowed brilliantly blue before her eyelids fluttered open. Percy smiled down on her.
"Did it work?" Dina asked. "How did it looked like?"
"It was a scythe, which I think suits you very well." Percy said with a smirk,
"How does that suits me?" Dina demanded. Percy just shrugged. "Well, I'd better head to where the others are training. In the mean time, you need to take care of yourself."
"I think I can manage that." Percy said. Dina just glared at him playfully before she was engulfed by shadows and transported somewhere else.
Percy's POV
Percy had just made his first attempt at his new power which Chaos had blessed him with. Turns out, the Voids that the Norse people were studying were real after all. Chaos had explained everything to him. Voids are a representation of a person's heart, what they stood up for and what their feelings were like. The shape of a person's Void and how powerful it is depends on how strong the person's heart is. Dina, for example, is a strong person both physically and mentally, so the scythe represents her heart. Chaos had blessed him with the power to draw people's Voids and use them. Chaos had blessed him with this power, or more like cursed him, to help him. This power had an effect on the personality split he'd been experiencing. It unites the split personality that one person is having, but it also gives the bearer of the power a curse. Something that Percy hoped he would never experience.
Chaos told him that if a Void is destroyed, the owner of the Void will die. That was why Chaos had forbid Percy from using it for the time being with his friends. If Percy misused this ability, it could lead to the death of anyone and besides, he can't use it often because it would tire him faster.
"Looks like I'll just have to practice."
Line Break
A few days later, Percy's arm had almost healed completely. Thalia had been taking care of him and their relationship had been much closer than ever. They were currently at the training arena, where Bob was giving them lessons on how to decapitate your enemy with one blow.
"Percy?" Dina called out. "Lady Chaos wishes to speak with you."
"Uh, okay. Where is she?" Percy asked.
"I'm here." Chaos said, appearing right next to Percy so suddenly that it almost made Percy jump.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked.
"I've come to return something that belongs to you." Chaos said. She waved her hand and three things appeared in front of Percy. One was a sword the size of Percy's own sword, but the shape was completely different. It was a sword with the middle section of the blade empty, shaping the sword into two single edged blades facing either side without a midsection of the blade. The two other things were identical swords. They were basically blades that were smaller than the first sword. The blades were as long as the length of Riptide from the bottom of the hilt to the tip of the sword, but these swords were built in an unorthodox way. The hilt was at the blunt side of the blade, which Percy doubted would be easy to wield.
"Uh, what are these?"
"They're your old swords."
"I remembered there was only one sword."
Chaos chuckled. "I've made some improvements. These swords can combine as one, which will make it more powerful but it won't make it any lighter to hold. You can keep the swords you're not using away just like how you did with your old sword." Chaos explained.
"Well, thanks, I guess."
TIME SKIP
Artemis's POV
It's been almost five years since Thalia and her friends went to some island called Azurea. Artemis had asked all of the Olympians for any information regarding the island, but no one came up with anything. Even Athena went into a dead end, which meant Thalia was either lying, or the gods finally found something they didn't know about. Camp Half-Blood, when Percy appeared, was a bit peaceful since he'd disappeared but ever since he's gone again with Thalia and the others, it went back into a more chaotic situation than ever. The young girl, Tia, she scared everyone. The latest news Artemis had heard about her was that when a group of those wretched male demigods tried to ambush her, it didn't go well. The next morning, they found five bodies hung by their neck on Thalia's pine tree. If Peleus saw anything, it didn't tell them. The scene was a bit brutal, but they deserved what they got.
The hunt felt a bit empty without her sister and her lieutenant with her, because Thalia usually entertained them with her tendency of acting before thinking. When Artemis tried to ask Percy's mother on Percy's whereabouts, since he was also missing, Sally said Percy was doing something and he'd rather keep it hidden for the time being. Artemis knew that Iris knew something about it either, because she was the one who conducts the Iris messages between them but even if she did knew something, she didn't tell anyone.
During these five years, Artemis felt some kind of disturbance in the air, as if something was in the air besides what should be there. Artemis had a bad feeling and she feared that they might be a threat coming, but if there was a threat, Rachel, Apollo's oracle, would've announced another Big Prophecy. Artemis had really missed Thalia and missed being in her company, but unfortunately; she's gone to who knows where.
Now, Phoebe is the lieutenant of the Hunt, though she didn't feel comfortable in taking Thalia's place. Phoebe was an outstanding hunter, but she still had some respect for Thalia and she always thought Thalia was just a little more qualified than her to be the lieutenant of the hunt.
They were camping somewhere around the northern part of America, somewhere around the forest part because her father, Zeus, had sent her here. Zeus said that there was a power disturbance far up north, so he sent Artemis. Artemis, in fact, was quite elated with the offer because it can be a bit boring when they didn't have monsters to hunt. Artemis was sitting in her tent, trying to concentrate and tried to find anything that might relate to the power disturbance Zeus was talking about. She swept her senses around the perimeter, but she didn't found any thing.
"Milady?" Phoebe knocked on the door of her tent. "Permission to enter, Milady."
"Granted." Artemis said. Phoebe walked in with her bow in one hand. "What's wrong, Phoebe?"
"Um, we found something near the river." Phoebe said. "You might want to check it out because, well, it's weird."
"How weird?"
"Weird like, 'out of this world' weird."
Artemis nodded and followed Phoebe outside. She led them towards the nearby river, where the hunters look for any source of water. Phoebe led them until they stumbled upon something weird. In front of Artemis, there was a spot in the air where the air seemed . . . warped. Artemis studied the place closer. It seems like a portal, or more like a vortex.
"What is it, Milady?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know. Perhaps we should warn-"
"Enemies!" The hunt's youngest member, Natalie, shouted. "They're in front of me, about a few hundred meters."
"Hunters! Prepare to defend." Artemis ordered. She scanned the area and found out that Natalie was right. There was a pack of hellhounds, a dozen of Laistrygonian giants and possible, two drakons. Artemis knew her hunters could handle the monsters easily, but the drakons worry her. Artemis was about to tell her hunters to advance carefully, but they were caught by surprise when the horde of monsters that Artemis had sensed earlier attacked them. Artemis cursed herself. The monsters were nearer than she'd originally thought. It's rare for gods to make mistakes but when they do, it's usually bad.
"They're everywhere!" Phoebe said. Artemis turned around to see another group of monsters advancing towards them. How come Artemis didn't sense them sooner?
Soon, they were surrounded.
Artemis and her hunters tried their best to fend them off, but they couldn't hold up for long. The drakons were not making this easier. Artemis wanted to reveal her true form, but she didn't want to harm her hunters in the process. Artemis got caught up in her train of thoughts that one of the Laistrygonian giants managed to sneak up on her and knocked her aside. Artemis grunted under the force of the blow.
"Milady!" Phoebe shouted. "Hunters! Fall back! Protect Lady Artemis at all costs!" The hunters retreated slowly as they fired arrow after arrow, trying to protect her as best as they could. Artemis knew that they would do anything for her just so she could survive, but she didn't want that.
"No! Fall back, retreat." Artemis grunted. "Phoebe, get them to safety."
"We won't abandon you, my lady." Natalie said.
"Don't be stubborn and go!"
Then, something happened. A hooded figure with a single wing descended from the night sky. Why the figure had only one wing, Artemis had no idea. Artemis focused on the figure's face, but it was covered with something that looked like a white hard plastic mask, covering the bottom half of his face, revealing only his eyes, but even Artemis couldn't see that because he'd pulled his hood low. Artemis established the fact that it was a 'he' because he lacked some feminine features.
The mysterious person looked around him, scanning the situation. Then, he looked at Phoebe.
"Who are you?" Phoebe hissed. "If you're here to help, then you're welcome to do so. Just stay out of our way." The man walked towards Phoebe. "What are you doing?" Then, he thrusts his hand forward towards Phoebe's chest. Artemis thought this man was being a pervert and was trying to touch Phoebe, but what she saw next fascinated her. A ground beneath both Phoebe and the man glowed bright blue. Phoebe let out a yelp of pain before the man's hand went through Phoebe's chest in a blue glowing circle of light. His hand was inside of Phoebe's chest, reaching into something. Then, he pulled his hand out along with something else. A blue beam of light. The beam extended and enlarged into a shaft and at the end, it was shaped into something that looked like a twin bladed axe. It was all metallic without even a hint of any other materials that are non metallic.
"Phoebe!" One of her hunters shouted. As the man pulled the axe from Phoebe's chest, Phoebe fell unconscious. "What did you do to her?"
"Stay out of the way." The man warned. His voice sounds vaguely familiar. Somehow, Artemis felt the urge to oblige him.
"Who do you think you-"
"Julie, stand down." Artemis ordered. "Leave the man be." The hunters looked reluctant to let the man go, considering what he'd just done to Phoebe but Artemis knew he wasn't the real threat.
"Thank you, Lady Artemis." The man said. Then, he held up the axe that he'd just pulled from Phoebe in a battle stance. "This will be quick."
The man moved with incredible speed, charging at the monsters. The man swept his axe sideways, decapitating a dracaenae and catching the ribs of a giant. The former disintegrated while the latter grunted in pain. The man yanked his axe out of the monster's ribs and cleaved downwards, literally splitting the skull in half as it disappeared in a shower of golden dust. He moved to the next monster, which was another giant. The Laistrygonian giant roared as it threw a cannonball at the man, but the man just sidestepped and dashed towards the monster. He made an upward swing at the giant, hitting directly below the chin with a blow hard enough to knock any other mortal's heads off. The giant staggered backwards as the man swept his axe, hitting at the side of the knee. The monster growled as it tried to lunge at the man as a last resort, but the man kept his composure and slid under the giant.
Then, Artemis witnessed something she'd never seen someone else do.
As the man stood up, there was probably a one second skip in time, because the next thing she saw was the man holding his axe in a stance that indicates he'd just finished a blow. The giant crumbled to dust. Artemis didn't see what happened, but the fact that she'd been knocked aside probably disorientated her vision.
"What just happened?" Natalie muttered.
"I didn't see a thing." Julie said.
Wait, so was she really imagining it?
Artemis struggled to get up, but she managed to. She couldn't believe the fact that a mere blow from a giant was enough to send her sprawling to the ground, but since the demigods rarely believed in the gods anymore, they'd been losing power. The gods gained their powers from the faith of humanity, literally. The more humans believed in them, the stronger they believe, the more powerful the gods are, but in their current state, there're probably just a few who're left that believes in them. Even her father was getting weaker. The only one who seems to gain benefit from this was Ares, because the demigods were always bickering and fighting with each other, but Ares didn't seem so thrilled about it.
"Lady Artemis, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. We need to help him."
"But that arrogant male told us to stay out of the way, and we shall. If he thinks he doesn't need our help, then he doesn't deserve it.
"If not for the fact that he'd saved our lives, I would've agreed with you and leave him here, but I don't think we could. There's something familiar about him, and I'd like to find out what it is."
The hunters nodded as they sprang into action. Artemis never gets tired nor will she ever be disappointed on how well the hunters fought in combat. Artemis had thought them everything she knew so they could do well in protecting themselves. Artemis cared about them that much. The hunters notched their arrows and fired at the monsters as the man finished them with his axe.
"Still not taking orders from a male, eh?" The man chuckled as he stood next to Artemis. "You haven't changed one bit, Lady Artemis."
"Who are you?"
"I'll tell you later. Your hunter need all the help they could get, so I'd better return this." The man gestured at the axe. The axe somehow evaporated into a bright liquid into the air. As the axe disappeared, Phoebe regained consciousness.
"What happened?" Phoebe rubbed her head.
"Phoebe, we need your help." Artemis said. "Help the hunters and this man in defeating the monsters. Play safe and don't act too rashly. We're seriously outnumbered." Phoebe understood and nodded as she went to rally the hunters. "As for you, male, you would do well in assisting my hunters and not interfere with them unless you want to face my wrath."
"Understood, Lady Artemis." The man said as he bowed slightly. The man held both his hands out in the air and gripped his hands tightly. Then, he made a pulling motion. Something appeared in his hand when he pulled them, as if he'd just pulled them out of thin air. They were two identical swords, but Artemis had never seen a sword that was designed like this. The hilt was at the side of the blade, making the blade the entire body of the sword. "But you'll have to excuse me if I have to save one of your hunters."
The man dashed and slashed his left sword at a hellhound and threw the other one towards a Cyclops. The hellhound melted into the shadows while the Cyclops collapsed to the ground. The man dashed towards it and pulled the sword out of the now disintegrating Cyclops's body. The man blocked a sword strike from the dracaenae with both of his swords and kicked the dracaenae's head by doing a backflip. He dashed forward and slashed his right sword, which the dracaenae blocked but he immediately replied by using his left sword as a pole and kicked the dracaenae. He then used his swords to slash at the dracaenae's head, decapitating it and killing it instantly. Artemis didn't waste any time in helping her hunters. She took out two hunting knives as long as her arms and started to slash the monsters left and right. She was angry that the monsters were brave enough to even mess with them, but she was more annoyed that she'd relied on a male to save them.
The man spread his wing and moved with incredible speed, floating slightly off the ground. Artemis couldn't help but still wonder why the man only had one wing. Heck, she even wondered why the man even had a wing.
"Phoebe, take care of the rest. I'm taking care of the drakons." Artemis said.
"I will assist you, Lady Artemis." Phoebe said with determination, but Artemis shook her head.
"I need you to help the others."
"But-"
"That's an order"
Phoebe looked reluctant, but eventually she nodded and went on. "Don't worry, Lady Artemis. I'll assist you."
"I don't need your help."
"You do, because Thoon is near." The man said next to me. "This is the first wave of enemies."
"Thoon?" Artemis sounds like she had trouble believing what the man had just said. "What's he doing here?"
"Revenge, I suppose but I'm sure that's not the only reason he's here." The man said seriously. The fact that Thoon was here freaked her out. Thoon was one of Gaia's breed, the Gigantes. The gods really are weakening ever since the mortal's faith in them went down because if a threat as great as a giant came up, they should've known about it.
"If Thoon was coming, Zeus would've warned us about it." Artemis argued as she sliced a hellhound in half.
"But since you gods are losing powers, I doubt you'd sense him." The man said. Then, he looked around, to see if the hunters were still there or not. Luckily, Phoebe had evacuated everyone just like Artemis had ordered.
"What's wrong? Stay alert!" Artemis said, but the man ignored him.
"Bob, are they ready?" The man tapped onto his ear as if he had an earpiece, but with the hood covering it's hard to tell. "Okay, send the siblings in. Thoon is closing in on Artemis."
"Who are you-" Just before Artemis could finish her sentence, someone flashed into the scene. It was not for another five more seconds before Artemis recognized him.
"Jason?" Artemis called.
"Hello, Lady Diana." Jason greeted.
"B-but how are you-"
"Everything will be explained later, Lady Artemis." The man took his hood off, but left the plastic mask on, but with the hood off, Artemis could very well figure who it was. She would never forget the man who took on the sky for her and the man who'd saved Olympus.
"Percy?"
"It's nice to see you too, Lady Artemis." Percy said while bowing slightly. Percy turned towards Jason. "Where is she?"
"She's in position. We stick to the plan. Distract Thoon, wait for her to move and finish him off with the help of Lady Diana." Jason explained. "Lady Diana, we need your help in defeating Thoon as you know, a giant can only be killed with the help of a god."
Artemis snapped herself out of shock. "I shall help you in any way I can." Artemis said. Normally, she wouldn't agree to this but Jason and Percy were heroes of Olympus, so they deserved it.
Percy, Jason and Artemis cleared out the monsters as they waited for Thoon's appearance. Artemis couldn't help but be impressed on how much Jason and Percy had improved throughout their five years of disappearance. Artemis even doubted herself that she'd have the skill to outmatch them. That's how good Jason and Percy are. Artemis could probably go toe on toe with them, but never outmatch them.
"Dina, how much longer?" Percy asked as he ducked under a Cyclops's swing and ran both of his swords through its gut and pulled them out sideways. "What?!"
"What's wrong, Percy?" Jason asked.
"Thoon's changing direction." Percy said. He tapped his earpiece again, which Artemis can now see clearly since his hood was down. Jason had the same thing on his ear as well. "Thalia, can you hear me? Thoon's changing his plan. He's targeting the hunters. Meet us there ASAP." Percy said.
Thalia's here?
"Lady Artemis, we have to go to your hunters. They're in terrible danger."
"But I ordered them to leave the area."
"Which is why they're in danger, because you're here, separated from them." Percy explained. "Jason! We're leaving now." Jason gave Percy a grin.
"Go on, I'll handle these guys right here." Jason said.
"Are you sure?"
"Percy," Jason held his hand out and a larger holographic arm appeared, surrounding Jason's hand. "This is me we're talking about."
Artemis couldn't see his mouth under that mask, but Artemis was sure Percy had just smirked. "Call me if you need help."
"You got it, Percy."
Then, Percy turned his attention towards Artemis. "My Lady, no offence, but it would be faster if we fly. Do I have your permission to carry you, my lady?"
Artemis was impressed on how polite Percy is.
"Considering we need to get to my hunters as fast as possible, then you have my permission, but not longer than necessary." Artemis warned.
"Understood, my lady." Percy spread his wing and carried Artemis bridal style. They flew towards where the hunters were, which wasn't hard to spot. There were shouts, screams, clangs of metals and for some odd reason, repeated lightning sound. They arrived in the matter of seconds and the hunters were in utter chaos. They were firing at Thoon. Thoon was a purple humanoid creature without even a single hint of human features on him. The creature itself was purple with white beady eyes. Its head was undistinguishable as it was a bit disorientated, as it always has been. He stood over eight feet tall, towering over all of them. It's amazing on how fast Thoon was able to reform but then again, it's been eleven years since the last war. Thoon wore a bronze breastplate with a sword on one hand.
"Phoebe!" Artemis called. It was a mistake. Phoebe ran over to her side, but she was knocked aside by the flat of Thoon's blade. Phoebe flew over to them and just as she was about to land, something bright and blue zapped next to her, catching her before she fell. It was Thalia, different than when Artemis had last saw her. Her hair was longer and she looked more feminine rather than the punk attitude she used to have.
"Don't worry, Milady. I'll help as much as I can." Thalia said as she zapped away. Artemis realized her body was pure lightning and she was travelling with it.
Percy let her down on the ground and dashed towards Thoon. "Haven't you had enough?!" Percy shouted.
"Who are you?" Thoon bellowed. "How dare you intervene! I'm taking my revenge on Olympus!"
"Well, good luck with that, pal." Thalia said as she zapped into view. "We're still defending it, whether you like it or not."
Thoon laughed. "Thalia Grace. A fine hunter, but unfortunately, we both know without that insolent Perseus Jackson, the Olympians are weak. Your hero has disappeared, just because he killed his own girlfriend!"
Thalia turned towards Percy with a frightened look in her eyes. Percy was gasped as he clutched on his head, as if there was a sudden headache in his head. "Percy, don't think about it." Thalia whispered. "Listen to my voice, Percy."
"Leave . . ." Percy said quietly but with a creepy voice.
"Percy, don't. You've just finished your training and you're not one hundred percent ready."
"Leave . . ." Percy said, his voice was louder than before. Suddenly, there was a burst of power coming from Percy, pushing Artemis slightly backwards as well as Thoon. It was coming from Percy. The pressure from the power was so intense that Artemis couldn't help but feel . . . scared. Artemis had never felt this kind of power coming out from a demigod.
"Lady Artemis, we have to leave now." Thalia said as she urged Artemis to leave. "Hunters! Fall back immediately now!"
"What's wrong?" Artemis tried asking, but Thalia ignored her.
"Jason? Jason, pick up!" Thalia tapped her earpiece. "Jason, Thoon flipped the switch on Percy. We have to go, now." Thalia said. "I'll explain later, milady but we have to go now!"
Artemis decided not to argue as she together with Thalia and the hunters left the area.
Third Person's POV
What is this power? Thoon thought to himself
"We're leaving, now!" Thalia shouted again. Thoon didn't know why they were leaving, but at least it made his job easier by leaving the one male demigod alone.
"I killed her . . ." Percy muttered.
"This will be your end, demigod." Thoon said. He raised his blade and swung the blade downwards. The blow would've cleaved Percy in half, but remarkably, Percy stopped the blade with his big sword, the first one. Then, Percy started giggling. His giggle turned into a manic laughter, almost psychotic.
He was taken over.
"What are you laughing at?!" Thoon bellowed.
"Do you know who you're talking to, oh Thoon?" Percy asked. He opened his mask, revealing a psychotic grin etched on his face.
"Impossible! You're supposed to be dead!" Thoon said as he staggered backwards. Percy laughed even maniacally.
"Unfortunately, I'm not." Percy said. "And this will be the end of you, Thoon."
"Silence!" Thoon roared as he swung his blade again, but with one swing of Percy's sword, the blade shattered into a million pieces. "How-"
Thoon never ended his sentence as Percy smiled evilly.
Line Break
"Thalia, what happened?" Jason asked as they met up at the edge of the forest.
"Thoon flipped the switch." Thalia said, and then she tapped her earpiece. "Bob, Dina, have you got a lock on Percy?"
"Thalia! You have to stop him now!" Bob shouted from the other line. "He's using magic!"
"Oh no . . ." Jason muttered. Jason pointed towards where they left Percy, to see a beam of bright light shooting from the sky even though it was night.
Line Break
Thoon was wounded in several places after getting a beating from Percy, and Percy was still grinning like a madman as he held his sword. The way Percy fight, there wasn't any hint of humanity left in him. He was sadistic. He enjoyed watching his enemies suffer in pain. Percy laughed madly as he slowly walked over towards Thoon.
"Stay away!" Thoon said, but Percy just chuckled.
"Stay away? No . . . You asked for this. I will kill you in the most honourable way possible." Percy glared at Thoon. "Death by magic."
"Hah! You think magic will stop me?!" Thoon said triumphantly. "Even the goddess of magic, Hecate herself can't bound me with her magic!"
"Oh, there's where you're mistaken. You see, I'm not Hecate." Percy gave Thoon a very sick death glare. "I'm your demise." Then, around Thoon, three swords suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stabbed themselves to the ground. One sword was a few meters behind him, another one to Thoon's left and another one to his right. Percy stood right in front of Thoon. The ground beneath them glowed with dazzling white light, covering the area of a circle around them according to the swords. Thoon looked terrified.
"What are you doing?!"
"Art of Magic," Percy muttered. "Three Swords Magic, Total Demise."
Percy had learned how to use magic from Chaos and so did the others. It wasn't like Hecate's magic. This type of magic was a lost form of power, forgotten by everyone since before the Gigantomachy. Studying this kind of power was lethal for mortals, because they weren't meant to use this kind of power. Using it was even far more dangerous as it literally consumes your life force momentarily, but you'd need to recover for a few days before your life force returns. Using magic too much would mean draining your life force, at the same time killing you. Magic is a powerful force, but it can lead to your own demise should you not use it properly.
A section of the sky above them lit up and shot a beam of light towards where Thoon was. Thoon screamed in agony as the beam of light hit him. Slowly, bits and bits of his body and soul evaporated towards the sky, killing him slowly and painfully. When Thoon had finally evaporated, the light died down and disappeared. Percy collapsed to his knees as he coughed up blood. He really shouldn't have used magic after that much training with Chaos.
The last five years had truly been the hardest five years of his life so far. Percy had never been asleep for more than three hours as he was constantly training and studying. He could literally see the changes on himself for the past five years. Percy and his friends had gotten closer than ever. Percy didn't know if he could fight in battle with any other people except for them. That's how close they were. The closest person to him was Thalia, closer than even brother and sisters. Thalia might not know this, but Percy harboured a huge crush on her ever since she'd helped him went through Annabeth's death. Although he's comfortable speaking about it, it didn't stop Annabeth from still haunting him. Five years of constant headaches, flashbacks and nightmares that won't end no matter what they tried to do. Chaos promised that after the war, he would find out the real reason Annabeth was haunting him.
"Percy!" Thalia called out. Percy glanced over and saw Thalia, Jason, Artemis and the rest of the hunters running towards him. He gave a small grin as he collapsed to the ground but was still conscious. They all surrounded him as Thalia cradled his head on her lap. Artemis looked at Thalia and raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything.
"Dude, for an idiot, that was pretty stupid." Jason said.
"Shut up." Percy muttered.
"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just a goddess of the moon who's still surprised to see three demigods who'd disappeared five years ago." Artemis said sarcastically. "No, please, carry on."
"Hey, Artemis developed a sense of humour." Percy managed a smile.
"Shut up, Perseus." Artemis rolled her eyes. Then, Artemis turned her attention towards Thalia. "And I expect an explanation after this?"
Thalia blushed, but she nodded. "Busted." Jason muttered.
"Shut up."
"Well, sis, we'd better get going." Jason said.
"Wait, you're leaving?" Artemis asked.
"Unfortunately, yeah." Thalia said. "It won't be another five years before we could return because, well, we haven't finished our training yet."
"We're not all Percy Jackson, you know?" Jason said.
"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.
"Percy finished his training in five years, just as he promised." Thalia said. "But we haven't finished our training. If we work hard, we're probably going to return in a few years."
"So, Percy will be staying?" Artemis asked, and they nodded. "Sally and Paul would be happy, and I imagine Poseidon will be as well."
"I'm going to say hi to them in a few minutes." Percy muttered.
"Before anything, I need to talk to you first, Thalia." Artemis said. She led Thalia away into the forest until they were out of hearing range and out of sight. When they were, Artemis embraced her sister tightly. "I missed you, sister."
Thalia smiled. "I missed you too, Lady Artemis."
"I know you will have to leave soon, but I want you to tell me something." Artemis said. "What's been happening between you and Percy?"
"Um, can't we talk about that later?"
"We can't, because you'll be gone for the next few years."
"Well, we got closer." Thalia explained. Artemis raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I see it in your eyes, Thalia, that you cared for the man, but I think that's not all, is it?"
"I-I don't think you would approve of this, Lady Artemis."
"Spill it out, then."
"I can't help but have feelings for him, my lady." Thalia admitted. Artemis can't say she didn't see this coming, because sometimes, these kinds of things happen.
"So?"
"I wanted to ask if it's okay with you." Thalia said. "I'm not saying that I want you to release me from my oath, but I'm asking you to let me be close to him for a while, just to see how I really feel about him. And when I'm sure that I really am in love with him, then I would ask of it from you, if it's okay with you."
Artemis smiled. "I'm okay with it, sister as long as it's with a decent man. I have a feeling that Percy will be the most decent man you would ever find in your life. But I don't think father would agree to this." As Artemis finished talking, thunder rumbled in the distance. "That would be him. I suppose he wants me to report on what happened today."
"I don't get it. How are you gods able to translate what Zeus's say through thunder?"
Artemis chuckled. "That's for you to find out. Anyway, I expect you would keep me updated with everything?"
"I will, Lady Artemis." Thalia said. Artemis smiled one last time before she embraced her sister. Then, Jason contacted her through her earpiece. "What's wrong, Jason?"
"Thalia?" Jason called. "Come on, sis, we need to go. You know how cranky Bob can be if we're late."
"I'm on my way." Thalia said. "Well, this is goodbye for now." Artemis just smiled.
Line Break
"How come you only have one wing?" Artemis asked. Thalia and Jason had already left and Artemis had ordered the hunters to set up camp for the night while Percy and Artemis went to Olympus. They were still at the hunter's campsite.
"Frankly, I don't know." Percy shrugged. "I would love to have both wings, but considering it's enough for me to be able to fly or at least float, it's good enough for me."
"Why?"
"Because it gives me an advantage, to be able to move that quickly in battle."
Artemis took a closer look at Percy to see he has changed back. When they first saw him after six years of his disappearance, he had changed negatively, which we all could see. Now, he's changing back to his former self but not all the way, but at least it's good.
"We'd better head to Olympus." Artemis said. "Everyone's going to flip now that you're here again."
"Lucky me," Percy muttered.