Ch. 6
When Percy left the hunter's camp he teleported himself to Los Angeles. He figured now would be as good a time as any to find his cousin Nico. He appeared in front of DOA recording studios. Percy was hoping that getting Hades his throne back made it acceptable for him to enter his uncle's domain. He wasn't sure but decided he could just teleport out if Hades got angry. Percy walked into the building and went straight up to Charon who was reading a magazine behind his desk.
"Perseus Jackson, you're still not dead, so what can I do for you." Charon replied after lowering his magazine to examine the demigod in front of him.
Percy smirked, "Correct as usual Charon. I need a ride to the Underworld."
"Your chances of leaving alive aren't very good. Are you sure you want to go?" Charon asked warily.
"I'll take my chances." Percy said as he pulled a small bag of drachmas from his pack. Charon's eyes widened at the sight of the drachmas. Percy dropped the bag on the desk and looked at Charon expectantly.
Charon's skeletal face morphed into a wide grin, "Very well Jackson, right this way."
Percy followed Charon as he led him to the River Styx. They rode in silence until they reached the other side.
"Good luck Jackson. Hopefully we'll see each other again." Charon said as Percy stepped off the ferry and into Hades' domain. Percy walked toward the judging lines until he came upon his first obstacle, Cerberus. Percy decided to skip the games and teleported himself to the gates of Hades' Palace. The minute he appeared, three demonic figures looked down at him from the top of the gates.
"Perseus Jackson, are you really foolish enough to come here of your own free will?" Alecto hissed as she looked at Percy with hungry eyes.
Percy shrugged, "I need a word with Lord Hades. This was the easiest way."
Alecto stared at Percy for a minute before scowling, "It's your lucky day Jackson, Lord Hades has allowed you entry into his palace."
The gates slowly creaked open for Percy to enter.
He made his way to the throne room where he found Hades looking at him curiously. Percy walked up to his uncle and bowed.
"So Perseus, what is so important that you came all the way here to speak to me?" Hades asked.
"I was hoping you could let me know where Nico is. I heard he has been looking for me and I figured it was time to let him know where I've been." Percy answered.
Hades nodded, "Yes, he has been quite persistent in his quest to find you. I assume you don't want to go back to camp to find him?"
Percy nodded and Hades waved his hand. Nico appeared in front of his father and looked at him questioningly. Hades gestured to Percy. Nico's eyes went wide before he walked over to Percy and hugged him tightly.
"What are you doing here Percy?" Nico asked once he let Percy go, a wide grin on his face.
Percy smiled, "Looking for you obviously. I was brought to Olympus last night and just left the hunter's camp from visiting Thalia."
Nico turned to look angrily at his father but Percy spoke first, "All the gods had sworn on the Styx not to mention where I was. But it's been far too long since I've seen my two best friends."
Nico nodded and smiled, "Are you coming back to camp?" He asked hopefully.
Percy shook his head, "Let's go get some food. I'll explain everything while we eat."
Nico nodded in response.
Percy turned back to Hades, "Thank you uncle. I won't enter your domain without permission again."
Hades shook his head, "Its fine Perseus, you have permission to enter whenever you want. I owe it to you for returning my throne to me."
Percy nodded and bowed quickly before letting Nico grab his shoulder and shadow travel them to a food court in a mall in Los Angeles.
After they grabbed some food, Nico looked at Percy expectantly. Percy looked at him apologetically, "Sorry I never let you know where I was, I needed some time to deal with some stuff."
Nico nodded sadly, "Yea, I found out about your Mom and Paul after the war. I made sure they were put in Elysium immediately."
"They didn't get in right away?" Percy asked angrily.
Nico shook his head, "Your Mom did but Paul was sent to Asphodel. I told my Dad and he made the change immediately."
Percy looked at his cousin gratefully, "Thank you Nico. I owe you and your Dad big time." Percy said trying to keep his emotions in check.
Nico nodded before looking at Percy, "Bro, where have you been? And what happened to your eyes? They have streaks of....is that brown?"
Percy smirked, "I've had an eventful five years."
Nico glared at him causing Percy to chuckle. Percy told Nico everything, from his becoming Hera and Hestia's champion to rescuing demigods; he told him about Hera adopting him which caused Nico's eyes to bug out. The only thing he left out was the Roman camp.
"Hera adopted you?" Nico asked disbelievingly.
Percy nodded and explained everything that Hera did for him, mentioning how he wanted to jump into Tartarus just to have a chance to get some revenge for his mother. Nico just listened in shock while Percy explained everything.
"So now you just rescue demigods that Hera and Hestia send you after." Nico asked.
Percy nodded.
"Dude, why do you get such a sick job? Camp sucks now that you're not there. I spend most of my time in the Underworld but when I do go to camp, it blows." Nico whined causing Percy to chuckle.
"You want to come with me on the next one? There's a girl in Washington that I need to grab. I'm not sure what her situation is though." Percy asked.
"What do you mean situation?" Nico asked confused.
Percy shrugged, "If they're girls that have issues with men I take them to the hunters. If they are boys or aren't scared of men, I bring them to camp."
Nico nodded, "So what happens with the relatives? I doubt they let them all go peacefully."
Percy smirked, "Depends on what their like. If they are just bad parents then I take the kids as peacefully as I can. If they're abusive....well let's just say there won't be anyone to come after the girls once I take them."
Nico's jaw dropped, "You kill mortals?" He asked disbelievingly.
Percy shrugged, "If they deserve it then yes. If not then I try to be as nonviolent as possible. But yes, like yesterday I brought a girl to the hunters who had been beaten by her uncle. She was seven Nico. I don't like killing people but I don't regret ending that guy's life."
Nico looked at his cousin in surprise but nodded, "No man, I'm not saying you shouldn't. I was just surprised. People like that don't deserve mercy."
Percy gave his cousin a small smile, "So you want to come along?"
Nico grinned, "Of course bro. I've missed you; I've been waiting to hang out for five years. If we get to save a girl from a bad situation then all the better."
Percy smiled, "Good. Hey Nico, sorry about disappearing on you and Thalia for so long; I should have at least let you two know I was okay." He said apologetically.
Nico shook his head, "No man, its cool. This is like how I was over Bianca's death. You just needed some time. Don't worry about it. It's just good to have you back."
Percy grinned, "Alright then, let's go." Percy said as he grabbed Nico's shoulder and vanished into flames.
The two reappeared outside the city of Olympia, Washington.
"Whoa, that's so badass." Nico said jealously causing Percy to smirk.
"Dude, you can shadow travel, I don't want to hear it." Percy replied.
Nico shook his head and chuckled, "So where are we?"
"Olympia, Washington." Percy answered.
Nico snorted, "Of course a demigod lives in a city called Olympia. So where are we heading?"
"415 Cross Street." Percy said.
"Do you know where you're going?" Nico asked.
"Nope, so let's get moving, it could take a while." Percy replied as he started walking into the city with Nico on his heels.
As they walked, Nico filled Percy in on everything that had happened at Camp Half-Blood while he was gone. Nico told him about Rachel becoming the new oracle and then sprouting the next great prophecy.
"What did the prophecy say?" Percy asked warily.
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
Nico recited. Percy tensed a bit after hearing the prophecy. He prayed it didn't involve him but the Fates never did seem to cut him a break.
"Hey there it is" Nico announced breaking Percy from his thoughts.
Percy looked up and saw the sign for Cross Street. The first house was number 40. They started walking up the street to find the house.
"So how do we do this exactly?" Nico asked curiously.
Percy smirked, "Depends on the situation. Just follow my lead."
They walked a few more minutes before they reached a run-down dump of a house. Percy looked around to see if anyone was around. When he saw no one, he turned to Nico. "Since you're here, we had mine as well use your talents to our advantage."
Nico waited for Percy to go on.
"Shadow travel inside and see what it's like. Stay hidden in the shadows and then come get me. We'll figure out what to do once we know what's going on." Percy explained.
Nico nodded and ran off into a shadow. Percy waited a few minutes before Nico popped out of a shadow next to him, a scowl on his face. Percy looked at him expectantly.
"There are two men inside. The girl is upstairs but she has a few bruises on her face. She looks around ten or eleven. There's a padlock on her door. She's locked inside." Nico explained, his scowl only deepening.
Percy narrowed his eyes, "Okay then, easy enough."
Nico waited for Percy to continue but Percy just turned and walked up to the house. Instead of knocking he simply opened the door and walked in, Nico a couple steps behind.
Percy walked inside and saw the two men sitting in the living room drinking.
"Hey what are you doing in here?" One of the men asked as he stood up.
"Who is the girl upstairs?" Percy replied with ice in his voice.
The man looked shocked, "It's my stepdaughter. What's it to you?"
"Why is she locked inside?" Percy growled.
"That's none of your god damn business." The man snapped as he smashed his beer bottle and held the jagged remnants threateningly.
Percy laughed humorously, "Good luck with that."
The man's friend jumped up but Nico appeared out of a shadow behind him and swept his legs out from under him.
The stepfather charged at Percy with his broken beer bottle. Percy's eyes caught fire and he lunged under his strike and punched the man in the stomach causing him to drop to his knees clutching his stomach. Percy followed with a hard knee to his face knocking the man to the ground.
Percy rolled the man on his back and looked at him with his eyes glowing with a bright brown light. A second later Percy's face morphed in one of rage. He raised his foot and stomped on the man's throat viciously with a stomach turning crunch. Percy turned to the other man, who Nico had pinned to the ground, and stared at him with his eyes still glowing. After a few seconds Percy's eyes dimmed and he motioned for Nico to move back. Percy grabbed the man roughly and pulled him to his feet. His eyes caught fire again as he pulled the man inches from his face.
"You get a pass today since you never touched the girl and didn't know what was going on. Pick your friends more carefully as I won't be so merciful next time I see you." Percy growled as he shoved the man toward the door. The man bolted out the door never looking back once.
Nico was staring at his cousin with wide eyes, "Y...You okay bro?" Nico stuttered nervously.
Percy's eyes returned to their normal state and he turned to Nico and nodded, "Yea, I'm fine now. The guy was going to sell the girl to some pedophile. He never touched her himself but did beat her. He deserved what he got."
"How do you know?" Nico asked confused.
"Hera's blessing. I can read a mortal's thoughts and look through their memories. Demigods too if they aren't powerful but not gods." Percy answered.
Nico nodded numbly, "Well that's good to know."
Percy shook his head, "Don't worry bro, I'm fine. I just can't stand when people hurt those who can't defend themselves. He deserved worse than he got. I'll leave it up to you and your Dad for what he gets later."
Nico's face morphed into an evil grin, "It will be my pleasure Perce."
Percy smiled at his cousin, "Let's go get the girl. We'll be making the journey to the hunters on foot for a while. At least until the girls trusts us."
Nico nodded and they both made their way upstairs to a padlocked door. Percy grabbed the lock and let his hand catch fire until the lock melted away.
"So badass." Nico muttered causing Percy to smirk. His smirk vanished as he slowly opened the door. A small girl was underneath a sheet on her bed trembling.
Percy slowly walked in and sat the floor and motioned to Nico to follow his lead.
"Hello, my name is Percy. Your stepfather is gone now. He won't ever be able to hurt you again." Percy said softly.
"Leave me alone! I'm not going to live with you no matter what he told you." The girl cried.
Percy frowned, "Actually my friend Nico and I were sent by your real Dad to come get you. He didn't know what was happening with you until now. He sent us to bring you somewhere safe." He said in a soft tone.
"I don't even know who my real Dad is. He abandoned my Mom. You're lying." She cried back.
"That's not true. Your Dad is someone special. He loves you a great deal. He wasn't allowed near you or your Mom. He sent us to bring you somewhere safe." Percy replied.
The girl's head popped out from under the covers as she looked at Percy and Nico warily.
"What do you want from me?" She asked worried.
Percy shook his head, "We just want to help you. We were sent to rescue you."
"Why should I believe you?" She hissed.
Percy pulled a bottle of water from his pack and uncapped it. He willed the water to come out of the bottle and hover over his head as the girl watched with wide eyes.
"H...H..How can you do that?" She whispered.
Percy sent her a warm smile, "I told you that your Dad was special. That's because your Dad is a god. Both Nico and my Dads are also gods. Being the child of a god gives some of us the same kind of powers our Dads have."
"A... A... god?" She asked shocked.
Percy nodded, "Yes. I promise we are here to help you. We want to bring you somewhere safe for people like us. We will explain everything on the way there. Will you come with us?"
The girl looked at Percy nervously, "What happens if I say no?"
Percy looked at her sadly, "You don't have to come with us. But if you don't, we won't be able to protect you. But we won't force you to do anything you don't want."
The girl stared at him for a minute before nodding, "I'll come with you. Anywhere is better than here."
Percy smiled, "Good. Now what's your name? It's a long journey to make without knowing what to call you."
The girl blushed a little, "My name is Lily. You're Percy and Nico, right?"
Percy smiled and nodded, "Okay let's get out of here." Percy said kindly.
Percy and Nico led her out of Olympia and began their trek east. As they walked they explained everything about the gods and her being a demigod. Percy explained he was bringing her to the hunt where she would be given the choice of staying with them or going to camp. Lily was shocked and a bit overwhelmed but slowly opened up to Percy and Nico throughout the day. Percy could tell who her godly parent was and was shocked but happy his mother still sent him to rescue her. When they stopped to camp for the night, they built a campfire and Percy conjured up food of their choice for each to eat. Lily went to bed early after what was a very long day, leaving Percy and Nico sitting by the fire.
"You're good with kids." Nico commented.
Percy shrugged, "They've had tough lives. We're demigods, all our lives are tough but some are worse than others."
"You're lucky Perce. You've got a good thing going; rescuing demigods all over the country, a palace on Olympus, not to mention some pretty sweet powers." Nico commented.
Percy smiled, "You know, you weren't so bad yourself. You're more than welcome to come along when you get some free time away from helping your Dad."
Nico's eyes widened, "Seriously?"
Percy nodded, "Of course Nico. You're like a brother to me. It gets lonely out here sometimes. And you're more than welcome at my palace on Olympus. I don't know how often I'll be there but it's yours to use whenever you want. I'll make sure to let my Mom and Hestia know."
Nico looked at Percy shocked before he smiled, "Its good having you back Perce. I've missed you these past years."
Percy nodded, "I need to IM Artemis to let her know we're coming and make sure the hunters don't try to kill us when we come to their camp."
Percy stood and manipulated the water to form a rainbow from the moonlight. "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering, show me Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."
The image shimmered until an image of Artemis appeared, "Artemis!" Percy yelled.
Artemis froze then turned to Percy's image and smiled, "Hey Percy. You have another girl already?"
Percy nodded, "Yes, I think Thalia will be interested in this one. She's a daughter of Zeus. We picked her up in Washington earlier today."
"We?" Artemis asked confused.
"Oh yea, that was the other reason I need to talk to you. Nico is with me on this mission. Would it be alright for us to come into your camp tomorrow? You know, without the arrows?" Percy asked.
Artemis looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding, "Yes I suppose. He seems like an alright boy. Thalia seems to like him as well. I will make sure you aren't attacked."
Percy smiled, "Thanks Artemis. We should be there by noon tomorrow."
Artemis nodded and smiled at Percy, "Okay, see you tomorrow Percy." She said before she swiped through the message.
Percy turned back to Nico who was looking at him weirdly.
"What?" Percy asked confused.
Nico looked at him incredulously, "Since when were you and Artemis so friendly?"
Percy chuckled, "It's a long story. I was hiding my identity when I ran into the hunters. I ended up on Olympus where my identity was revealed. I ended up talking to Artemis for a while. She's pretty cool once you get past the whole man-hating persona."
Nico stared at Percy for a minute before chuckling, "Only you would be able to become friends with the man-hating goddess Artemis. You really are one in a million Perce."
Percy smirked, "I'm just cool like that."
Nico rolled his eyes, "So the hunters are cool with you inside their camp?"
Percy frowned, "Most are fine with it, except Phoebe. I don't know what her problem is."
Nico scowled, "I don't like her. She's cold, even for a hunter."
Percy nodded, "Whatever, let's get some sleep. We'll teleport there tomorrow."
Nico nodded and they headed into their tent to sleep.
Line Break
Percy, Nico and Lily made their way into the hunter's camp a little before noon the next day. This time Artemis and Thalia were there to greet them at the hunter's camp boundaries. When they approached the two, Thalia and Artemis both smiled at Percy.
"Missed me already?" Thalia asked teasingly.
"You wish sparky." Percy replied with a smirk.
Thalia rolled her eyes at Percy's nickname and turned to Nico.
"How nice of you to tag along, death breath." Thalia said with a sly smile.
Nico rolled his eyes, "Nice to see you too Thals."
Artemis looked at Percy with a smile and then at the girl who was walking nervously behind him. Percy stopped in front of Artemis and turned to Lily, "Lily, this is Artemis. She is going to talk to you about what you want to do." Percy said kindly.
Lily looked at Artemis a little nervously. She looked back at Percy who gave her an encouraging smile, "Artemis is very nice. She is my friend. If you trust me then you have nothing to worry about with her."
Lily nodded to Percy and let Artemis lead her into her tent. Percy turned back to Thalia only to have a blonde blur jump into his arms.
"Percy!" Chloe yelled excitedly.
Percy chuckled and hugged her back. Chloe didn't let go, instead climbing onto Percy's shoulders. Nico and Thalia laughed at the interaction between the two.
"So, how do you like it here?" Percy asked the little girl perched on his shoulders.
"It's so much fun Percy. They taught me how to shoot yesterday and mostly everyone is really nice." Chloe answered happily.
Percy frowned, "What do you mean mostly everyone is nice?"
Chloe smiled vanished, "Everyone is nice but Phoebe says mean things about you. I don't like her very much."
Percy shook his head, "Don't worry about her. She'll get over whatever it is. As long as she isn't mean to you then its okay."
Thalia scowled when she heard Chloe's comment. She planned to have some words for Phoebe later that day.
"Percy are you staying for lunch today? Please stay; I like your food the best." Chloe pleaded.
Percy smiled, "As long as Lady Artemis says it's okay, then I'll stay. I need to message my friend though. Wait here and I will come back after I talk to her." Percy said as he picked up the grinning daughter of Athena from his shoulders and set her on the ground.
Chloe smiled happily and hugged Percy tightly before running off to her tent. Percy chuckled and walked off into the woods. He walked a good thirty yards out before he started to form a mist. As he was about to reach for a drachma, a silver arrow whizzed by his head and imbedded in the tree next to him. Percy pulled out Riptide and turned to find his attacker. He turned and was face to face with a scowling Phoebe.
"What the Hades is your problem?" Percy snapped.
"You're my problem Jackson. What are you doing back here?" Phoebe hissed.
Percy narrowed his eyes, "I dropped off another demigod. I don't need your permission either. Artemis said it was fine to bring her to your camp."
Phoebe glared at him for a few seconds, "Well she's here now, so why are you still here?"
Percy stared at Phoebe angrily, "What exactly is your problem with me Phoebe? I know you hate boys but you seem to hate me more than anyone else."
"Damn right I hate you. You got my best friend killed rescuing your little traitor girlfriend. Zoe would still be alive if not for you. I don't want you near another hunter. All you do is get people killed with your stupidity." Phoebe spat at him.
Percy felt a sharp pain in his heart. He knew she was right. She should hate him, he got Zoe killed. Percy looked up at Phoebe without any anger, "I'm sorry." He whispered before he vanished in a flash of flames.
Artemis walked out of her tent with a smiling Lily, a new huntress uniform in her arms.
Artemis turned to Chloe and Thalia, "Where are Percy and Nico?"
Thalia shrugged, "Percy said he need to contact a friend and would be right back. He was taking forever so Nico went to check on him. He said he would meet us in the dining area."
Artemis nodded and led everyone to the dining area where most hunters were sitting and talking. Phoebe sat in her seat smirking proudly. Artemis waited a few minutes before turning to Thalia, "Go check on them."
Before Thalia could leave her seat, Nico popped out of a shadow a look of rage on his face.
"What's your problem?" He yelled at Phoebe.
Artemis stood up furious and spun around on the son of Hades, "How dare you yell at my huntress inside my camp?" She hissed expecting Nico to cower but was shocked when he didn't.
"No, I want to know what her problem is." Nico replied angrily.
Thalia stepped between Nico and her mistress before Artemis incinerated the furious Nico.
"What are you talking about Nico?" Thalia asked quickly.
Nico glared at Phoebe, "She chased off Percy. I went to check on him only to find her screaming at him about how he got Zoe killed and that all he was going to do was get more hunters killed." Nico yelled.
Artemis' eyes widened and she spun on Phoebe who was still smirking. Before Artemis could say anything thunder boomed overhead and a massive bolt of lightning struck Phoebe, blasting her out of her seat and onto the ground several yards away.
Everyone stood up shocked and looked to find Thalia's whole body crackling with electricity.
Nico looked at Thalia sadly, "I'm going to see if I can find him." He said before running into a shadow.
Artemis stood with wide eyes at the situation in front of her. She was furious at Phoebe but couldn't let Thalia kill her. She was certain that Thalia would if she was allowed. She turned to a couple daughters of Apollo, "Atalanta and Sophie, take Phoebe to the infirmary. Heal her as much as you can but do not let her leave. I'm not finished with her." Artemis said, finishing in a growl.
Artemis turned to her lieutenant whose body was no longer crackling with electricity. Instead she had tears in her eyes and she looked at the spot Nico had vanished from.
"Come Thalia. We can talk about this in my tent." Artemis said as she led Thalia towards her tent. Artemis turned to the hunters, "Take care of lunch yourselves. After that you're free to do what you want for the rest of the day."
The hunter's all nodded numbly, still in shock at the recent events.
Once inside her tent Artemis pulled Thalia into a hug. Thalia just sobbed into her mistress's shoulder.
"We will find Percy and talk to him. It will be okay Thalia." Artemis said soothingly.
Thalia shook her head, "No it's not Artemis. Percy already blames himself for Zoe and a lot of other people's deaths. He isn't going to be able to handle it. He just barely came back and now he is already lost again."
Artemis tried to comfort Thalia but she knew she was right. Percy could very well vanish again. Artemis felt her anger growing as she thought about what Phoebe had done. Percy was her only real friend and now he was off somewhere hurting and she had no way to find him. Despite how much she didn't want to, she knew that Hera was the only person who would know where Percy is. Artemis didn't know if she would even tell her but she had to try.