Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson, nor Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan does
Percy's POV:
I made my way silently over to my cabin before I remembered I didn't have anything I would need in it. I then changed course and walked to the beach where I sat in the sand and sighed, Instinct shimmered into existence next to me. We both laid down and looked at the sky, noticing the absence of the moon.
"Do we know who the General is?" I ask quietly and Instinct nods
"Atlas, Titan of strength and endurance, Father of Zoe Nightshade" Instinct says and I sit up and grab a rock before I skip it across the lake
"We can't kill him, who else would hold up the sky?" I ask and Instinct shrugs before he sits up and picks up a rock and skips it
"We could get Prometheus but then we would have to find him. I think the best course of action is to put Atlas back under his burden again" Instinct says and I nod as we both skip rocks for a few more minutes
Just as we were considering going for a swim, blackjack, the black Pegasus trots up to Instinct and me and just stares for a moment looking between the two of us.
'Uh... Boss? Why is there two of you?' Blackjack says to me and Instinct and I smile slightly
"Don't worry buddy, we are the same person. But you can't tell anyone about this alright? Not until we say" I said and Blackjack nodded
'Anyway boss, the hippocampi are worried about a sea creature and had asked me to get you. They don't know what it is but the creature is tangled in netting and can't get it out' Blackjack explained and I nodded as Instinct shimmered away and I jumped onto him
"Alright, just take me to the spot then I'll take care of things from there" I say and Blackjack takes off and flies over the water slowly and calmly
'Right here boss' Blackjack says and I leap off his back in a flip before diving into the water
I willed the water to create a small air bubble for me to dive into so I kept falling through the water until I saw the bottom. I then collapsed the bubble and pulled up and rocketed through the water until I found a small shipwreck surrounded by Hippocampi and tangled fish netting. I speed toward the netting before slowing down and creating an ice sculpture that Instinct shimmered into and 'possessed'.
We figured out that if given an empty shell, instinct could 'possess' it and use it as his own body. We also found out that he could turn 'solid' but that requires a lot of concentration, and at the moment, that is the one thing we don't have.
I summoned Lunar's light and the sea creature that was tangled up squirmed viciously and I willed it away.
"Okay, so no sharp things. I guess we do this the old fashion way" I say and Instinct nods
I turn to the Hippocampi and count how many there are.
"18, alright, I want you all to press up against the ship and move it away so that it doesn't fall on us" I order and the hippocampi move to the ship and slowly but surely push it away from the sea creature that I could see clearly now
It was part cow and part fish.
"Well, that is something you don't see every day" Instinct commented as we moved forward and slowly started to unknot the fishing net
After an hour or two, we finally got the upper half of the creature's body untangled. It mooed at us as and whenever our hands where near its head it would nuzzle us and 'moo' happily. The creature made me smile and actually lifted my depressed mood a bit.
"Why aren't you a playful one?" I say as Instinct and I are around halfway done with the bottom half
The creature mooed happily causing instinct and I to laugh lightly. We continued to work for another hour, and when we finally finished with the last knot the creature swam around before nuzzling into my chest affectionately. I smiled and pet its head as Instinct did the same.
"I think we should call you... Bessie?" I say uncertainly and the creature shakes its head "Billy?" It nods its head "Alright Billy, want to play for a bit?" I asked and Billy swam away and did a loop in agreement causing Instinct and me to laugh before we both raced after Billy playing a game of underwater tag
It was determined that I was the first 'it' and I rocketed after Billy who in his own right was extremely quick and agile. I was soon thrown off course but I laughed and willed the water to rocket me forward toward instinct who flipped and twisted in the water trying to evade me but ultimately failed as I caught up to him and tagged him.
This went on for another couple hours until our fish friend sawm up to us while we were resting and informed us that the sun was almost up. We said goodbye to Billy before I melted Instinct's ice body and he shimmered away back into my mind. I rocketed out of the lake and as I was falling, Blackjack caught me and flew me back to shore where I flicked my hood up and ran into camp. Once I was out of sight of anyone I cloaked, still feeling the happiness of playing with Billy.
'I'm happy Billy was here, if he wasn't I don't know what could have happened to us' I thought and Instinct nodded
I walked to the pavilion where I saw Nico sneaking around a pillar eves dropping on two hunters who I assumed were Zoe and Bianca. I got right behind him when he turned around and bumped into me. I held his mouth shut as I stopped cloaking and he looked at me with scared and surprised eyes. I held a finger to my mouth to which he nodded and I let go of him.
"Nico, what are you doing?" I asked quietly and Nico shuffled his feet making my eyes go wide "No, you're not going on this quest" I said and Nico looked at me as if considering doing something
"But I don't want my sister to be in harm's way" Nico defended quietly and I nodded expecting this
"I know but you don't have the training yet. You can't just throw yourself into the fray, that's not how you save a life." I say and Nico nods before he looks up and analyzes me critically
Nico then reaches into his pocket and pulls out the guardian of Artemis card and shows it to me. On it was a picture of me that Phoenix had Iris take a few days before the giant war, or that was what I was told. I was wearing my armor, my shield was out and Zoe's sword Anaklusmos was in my hand, I was smirking and my eyes showed mirth and mischievousness.
"The Guardian of Artemis, four thousand attack points, seven thousand defense points when placed in front of another guardian or god or goddess, ten thousand defense points when placed in front of Artemis or a hunter. Abilities, Divine protector, have the Guardian of Artemis protect one or multiple heroes or Olympians, if used while near Artemis, this ability will only affect the hunters around the goddess." Nico spouted quietly without looking at the card "You asked me not to play it until I needed to, but if you won't allow me to go, then I will play this card and activate the ability Divine Protector" Nico exclaims while looking me dead in the eyes with a look of 'You are the guardian, please protect my sister'
I smiled and nodded as he put the card away.
"I guess I don't have a choice now eh? Well, lucky for you, I was going to do just that, so don't worry. I will keep your sister safe." I say and Nico smiles "Now go to Cabin Three, pray to Poseidon that Percy Jackson let you sleep in it alright? And get yourself some sleep" I say and Nico nods before he runs off towards Cabin three
I cloak myself and make my way over to Blackjack who I noticed was sneaking over to me. I also noticed that Zoe and Bianca had made a beeline over to a camp van and had driven off. I walked over to Blackjack before climbing onto his back and urged him to fly off. As soon as Blackjack is in the air I cloak him as well just as I spot a van driving erratically.
"Who the hell Drugged Argus to drive that way?" I said aloud while uncloaking
'Didn't you hear boss? That huntress is driving, saying something about being older than everyone else apart from possibly Chiron and Dionysus' Blackjack pants as he is forced to take a rest on a building
After a few minutes Blackjack tries to take off but is suddenly restrained. I look behind us and see Dionysus reading a wine magazine and looking quite pleased that he caught something.
'Oh Shit! It's the Wine Dude!' Blackjack whinnied
"The next person or animal to call me 'The Wine Dude' and is not joking around or has tried to pronounce my name, is going to be turned into a grape vine" Dionysus said in an annoyed tone "No matter, Perseus, what are you doing? You know that sneaking out of camp without permission is against the rules" Dionysus says calmly
"Lord Dionysus, when have I ever followed conventional rules?" I say honestly and Dionysus raises an eyebrow "Like when I defeated Shane in Mythomagic she thought that the minotaur could only attack in a straight line, which in most cases is true unless you use a mist card that makes it think that it is just walking, causing it to turn towards the closest opponent and attack that. I used the mist card to move my Phoenix guardian out of the way but in turn also allowed my minotaur to attack." I say proudly until I notice the device Dionysus is holding out to me "You recorded that whole thing, didn't you?" I ask and Dionysus nods with an amused smile on his face
"Shane will be happy to hear that you cheated when you used the mist card to your advantage twice in one turn" Dionysus says as he releases the vines on Blackjack "Good luck Perseus, and by the way, they are heading to the Smithsonian right now" he finishes before disappearing in a flash of light
Blackjack just takes off and heads towards the Smithsonian. After a few more minutes Blackjack lands and I spot the camp van's doors being opened and the questers walking out. I climb off and walk away.
"Blackjack, head back to camp alright?" I say as I notice the familiar figure of Dr. Thorn walking into a side door as the main group walks into the main food court
I jump down and cloak myself before quickly making my way over the door where Thorn walked into. I slip into the room and hear quiet footsteps behind me. I move out of the way and watch as Thorn talks to a large shadowed figure.
'Atlas' Instinct said and I tensed in anger but forced it down when I saw a mortal plant a set of teeth 'Shit dragon teeth' Instinct informed me and I cursed when I saw a group of skeletons climb out of the ground. At that moment, I noticed a piece of silver fabric flutter to the ground and heard footsteps running towards the skeletons.
"IDIOTS! Someone is here hiding in the shadows! Lock the doors!" Atlas yelled as I heard panting running past me but I noticed a piece of orange fabric in the skeleton's hands and I cursed some more
I followed the mysterious panting and footsteps out of the side room and into the food court where I decided to uncloak myself. I watch as Luke shimmered in front of me and I sighed knowing that he had Annabeth's hat. I followed Luke with an amused smile on my face as I followed him and he didn't even notice. Soon we reached the girls and Grover, Luke panted while I just walked up behind him and turned my back acting like I was just a normal mortal.
"We... Have to go! Now!! Skeletons, dragon teeth... General" Luke panted out as I flicked my hood down and noticed that the questers haven't noticed me due to them being more concerned with Luke
"Luke, calm down." Thalia said and just as Luke was about to repeat himself a loud roar echoed through the building and I cursed
I turned around, stunning the others completely in the process as I looked them over. Nothing really stood out except that Thalia had her electric blue flower in her hair which I raised an eyebrow to.
"Whatever, listen, you need to get out of here now" I say seriously but none of them move
'Big fucking kitty behind you bro' Instinct told me and I turned around and noticed a large golden feline glaring at us from across the room
"Oh, just great! The Nemean Lion" I shout as I put my hood up and draw my Cutlass and summon Lunar's light so I'm duel wielding the blades "Luke, get the others to the van now! I will be fine" I declare as I take a stance
"Oh, Hades no! We are sticking by you Percy, I don't know how you got here, or how you found us but since you're here we aren't leaving you" Luke says as he draws his sword and stands next to me as the Lion jumps down and lands on the ground, cracking it in the process
"Zoe get some height Bianca you too. Luke and Thalia, if you think you can handle being a distraction then join me on the ground, Grover you get people away from here now" I say in a stern voice that demands immediate action
I suddenly charge the lion as it bounds forward, I feel Luke trailing behind me with Thalia next to him. The lion and I meet in the middle and it swipes it's claws at me, I duck under them before swinging Lunar's light at the felines neck but the blade just bounces off.
'I knew that wouldn't work, but as long as we keep its attention long enough for Zoe to get a shot we should be good' Instinct says as I drop into a roll to dodge the giant felines teeth
I jump back as an arrow hits the lion's side and its attention is drawn to the side where I see Zoe and Bianca both notching arrows. The lion races toward them and lets out a loud roar. When it gets near the two hunters I see them freeze in fear as the lion pounces at them and time seemingly slows down.
"NO!" I yell as I cause the pipelines to explode before I sprint to the side using my super speed ability
I gather the water around me as I make a sharp turn and charge the feline, time still seemingly moving at a slow pace. I reach the lion just as it's claw almost makes contact with Zoe, but I let out a primal roar as the water pushes me forward and I slam into its side. Time seemingly returns to normal as the lion and I fly through several exhibits before finally coming to a stop at the Apollo thirteen landing craft. I leapt back and got into another ready position.
Zoe's POV:
I saw the Nemean lion charge us and I froze in complete fear. I closed my eyes at the last second when the ancient beast leapt at us but, just as I was accepting my death, I heard a roar of anger and snapped my eyes open just to see a wave of water with a silver blur in front crash into the lion, sending the two through multiple exhibits. I watched as Perseus leapt back from the lion and took a stance.
"H-How did he..." Bianca stuttered and I had a hard time believing it myself until I saw it
As I focused on looking at Perseus, I noticed an extremely faint silver aura surround him and my eyes widened in joy. Until the Lion attacked with a vengeance that is, I shook my head, a smile playing on my lips that slowly turned into a smirk.
"Thalia, Luke! Make sure you cover Percy when he has his back turned!" I yell at the two campers who nodded and ran after the lion and its attacker "Bianca, I want you to hold fire until the lion roars then aim for the mouth" I order and Bianca nods
However, my plan is soon put to the test when Percy runs into the gift shop and grabbed a couple of silver packets. Thalia finally reach the two combatants and she starts shooting lightning like a tesla coil at the lion making it even more annoyed. Percy then turns to Luke and tells him something before handing him a silver packet.
"What the hades are they doing?" Bianca asks as my smirk grows wider
"Something that only one person would think of." I say happily as Percy charges the lion again causing it to roar "Not yet" Just then Percy and Luke chuck the silver packets into the monster's maw causing it to choke but Percy raises his hand motioning me to hold fire "Don't fire, come on" I say as I jump down and make my way over to Percy who looks dead serious
"Listen, Nema, I know you hate Heracles" Percy says as I force my smile away albite with immense difficulty "I do too, and I know for a fact that Zoe here hates him as well. So why don't you stop attacking us, and we will all get our revenge on him" Percy says to the giant golden monster who glares at him but he holds up a silver packet and the lion shuffles away before nodding slightly "Good, now stay off the radar for a while until he reforms, then I will notify you" The Nemean lion nods before getting up and pounding off
Percy looks at me and raises an eyebrow as he notices my smirk. However, one look in his eyes says everything, he is not in a joking around type of mood. I've only seen him in this state of mind two times, each time was when he was far away from Lady Artemis and she was in trouble. So, when he was like this, you either get out of his way, or you help him without joking around.
"Let's go, we need to get out of here before the Spartoi find us" Percy says as he turns and sheathes his Cutlass has his other sword disappear, and puts the silver packet in a backpack that I swore his bow was at "NOW! We don't have much time!" Percy said in a tone of voice that I knew well.
"You heard him! Come on!" I shouted at my companions and we all ran to the van
I glanced at Percy to see him unfocused but still highly aware of his surroundings. We got to the Van and we piled in, Grover was the second to last one to get in and I realized we didn't have enough room.
"Close the damn door! I'll get on top" Percy said as he climbed onto the top of the van and I started it before flooring it
"What the Hades is going on!? Why did we not kill the Nemean Lion!? Why did you suddenly start listening to Percy? Why did you start calling him Percy?" Thalia rattled off as she sat next to me and I sighed
"First, we are running away from skeletons that will stop at nothing to try and kill us. Perseus made friends with the Nemean lion since the three of us hate Heracles. Perseus was right in that we don't have much time. Lady Artemis needs us. And His name is too long to say when dealing with stressful situations" I say honestly and keep swerving and hearing Percy cursing as I suspected him shooting arrows at any pursuers
I quickly cut across traffic and into a train station where we all get out and run toward the trains. Percy appears running next to me before he points out a train off to the side 'Sun West' was the name of the train.
"There! Come on!" Percy says and we follow him onto the train and just as he is about to close the train car a man runs up waving his arms
"Hey! What are you doing! You can't be on there!" the man says and I attempt to step forward but Percy beats me too it
"Hello sir, sorry about the inconvenience, but we are a bunch of Reality TV stars of the show, Hitchhiker. We go around the country getting rides from different people to see how far we can go in a week. We already got permission from the station to use this train to start our journey" Percy lies smoothly and I have to give him props for how fast he came up with the lie
"Oh, you are? What are your names so I can follow you on your journeys" the man says and I think that we are screwed
"Oh, my name is Pericles Jesson, and these are my friends, Larry Chase, Ziana Nelson, Greg Ulizo, and Tracy Avila" Percy lies again but it goes unnoticed by the man who just smiles and nods "The first episode should be out in a weeks' time, I hope you watch!" The guy nods and walks off pulling out his phone to no doubt put it in his reminders to watch the fake show that Percy will somehow get put up
Percy then closes the train doors and leans against them as he slides down. The train lurches forward and look at Percy as the others find some cars that look brand-new and expensive. I just sit next to Percy and lean my head on his shoulder.
"Wow, I didn't know hunters could be so relaxed leaning their head on a male's shoulder" Percy joked slightly showing that he has a plan
"oh, shut up..." I said quietly as I looked at him in his eyes "I missed you Percy" I say and he smiles but a serious look in his eyes as the Oracle's green smoke covers the ground around us
"I don't like doing this but, you can't tell Artemis about me. She needs to stay focused on the task at hand, and that is staying safe. If she knows that I am alive she will be distracted. After everything is over with, then I will tell her myself okay?" He says and I feel my heart clench
Over the millennium, Artemis has come to rely on me when she was feeling down and depressed. If I started holding information from her then what would she do?
"Don't worry Zoe, Artemis won't blame you when I reveal myself to her. She will slap me hard enough to knock anyone into the next century but she won't blame you" Percy says and I smile as the smoke disappears "Now come on, we need to keep the act of all hunters hate males. Or else the others will get suspicious" He says and I smile sadly but I pull him into a quick hug
"Alright, but I'm keeping riptide until you earn it back" I say and Percy smiles
"I wouldn't have it any other way, besides, I have a lot of weaponry as it is" He says as he stands up and walks over to a two-door dodge viper and climbs in before closing the door
I stand up and walk over a Chevy Corvette that Bianca had found and climb into it and sit next to her to find her resting from the encounter earlier.
"Things are looking up." I say quietly as I put on some music and drift off into a dreamless sleep
Percy's POV:
'I told you she would figure it out' Instinct says as we wait in a dodge viper for everyone to go to sleep
Once they do, we get out of the car and go to the train car door and open it up to reveal the fast-moving landscape under a moonless sky. Suddenly there is a presence next to me and I look over to see a causal looking Apollo.
"Apol..." I start to say but he silences me
"I'm incognito, Names Fred" 'Fred' says with a smile
"Alright Fred, I thank you for setting up this first ride across the country to start our reality TV show" I say using the lie I told earlier to make the conversation flow better
"No problem, but I assume you all are going to go to my sister first correct?" he says with a smile on his face as he plays along with the lie that isn't so much a lie
"Of course, but do you think I could get a guitar for the long rides? I don't like the thought of traveling with people who would find my presence annoying because I don't talk or do anything" I say and 'Fred' smiles and nods before he pulls out a gold necklace that has a guitar pendant on it and hands it to me
When I grab the pendant, and a Gibson Acoustic guitar appears in my hands. I smile at Fred and he smiles back.
"Use it well, I won't be able to set up any more of these rides" He says before he vanishes and take a deep breath
'Instinct you ready?' I ask mentally
'Already found her, just say the word and I'll go' he responds and I calm myself
"Go to her" I say as I start strumming the instrument
Third Person POV:
Instinct appeared at the door of the room where Artemis was holding up the sky. The room was empty except for the goddess and the flickering image of Instinct as he focused on becoming semi solid.
Suddenly, the strumming of a guitar reverberates around the room and Artemis looks up and tears roll down her cheek as the music progresses and Instinct walks closer.
"P-percy?" Artemis coughs out as Instinct kneels next to Artemis and puts his hands next to hers so their fingers are touching
"Hey Arty" Instinct says with a slightly pained voice as he takes some of Artemis' burden "I have a song for you" Instinct continues as he kisses Artemis on the lips, causing more tears to roll down her cheeks as he stared to sing
"I wanna see you run
Anywhere you want
Never let the darkness hold you back
No fear of getting lost
I wanna see you fly
Way beyond the sun
Anything you're ever gonna dream
I pray that it will come
But if you ever fall down straight to the bottom
And you can't get back where you started
Any place any time
You gotta know for you I'll fight
(Ooh, ooh, ooh ooh)
Where you wanna go
I'd love to take you there
Wish that I could make the road easy
I wish that life was fair
Don't wanna see you cry
Even when it rains
And I hope you don't forget this
You were born for better things
But if you ever fall down straight to the bottom
And you can't get back where you started
With no strength to stand
Gonna reach for your hand
When the going gets rough
Right when it's hurting I will be there
To help any burden
Any place any time
You gotta know for you I'll fight
(Ooh, ooh, ooh ooh)
Any place any time you
Gotta know for you I'll fight
Anywhere you go
Your gonna find me
No matter what you need
If you ever fall down and you can't get back
If you lose your strength to stand
If you ever fall down straight to the bottom
And you can't get back where you started
With no strength to stand I'm gonna reach for your hand
When the going gets rough right when it's hurting
I will be there to help any burden
Any place any time
You gotta know for you I'll fight
(Ooh, ooh, ooh ooh)
Any place any time
You gotta know for you I'll fight"
At the end of the song Instinct kissed Artemis again as they both struggled under the burden.
"P-please don't leave yet" Artemis says and Instinct smiles softly
"I won't leave you until I absolutely have to Arty. I will become invisible but I will still be here. Okay?" Instinct explains and Artemis nods
"I-I love you Percy" Artemis whispered and Instinct faded slightly so he was just an outline
"I love you too moonbeam" Instinct says as he becomes invisible but Artemis smiles as she straightens up and continues to hold the sky along with Instinct
Percy's POV:
I stumbled slightly as I started the song. Instinct and I had chosen to play 'I'll Fight' By Daughtry. As soon as I stumbled I knew Instinct had taken the sky with Artemis because I felt my energy dropping but I refused to rest. Once I finished the song, I heard Instinct relay the Conversation he had with Artemis and I smiled. I willed the guitar back into its pendant before I put it around my neck and watched the moving landscape.
'We're almost there' I thought to myself since Instinct was no longer in my head we had to communicate the same way Phoenix and I would.
A/N: sorry if this chapter sucked, I will probably go back and edit it later on so it flows nicer around the lyric bit. But other than that, take care my fellow Demigods and Demigoddesses! I do not own 'I'll Fight' Daughtry does.
~Major Nich