On the way to the base of mountain, Artemis was reluctant to be far away from Percy, as she was constantly walking with him. Apollo and Hestia raised an eyebrow, but they didn't raise many questions. But Apollo did tease her.
"You know," Apollo said. "I've never seen her so happy to see a male other than me."
"Shut up," Artemis grumbled. Percy and Artemis felt themselves blush, and since their emotions are basically connected, it doubles. While Artemis definitely had feelings for Percy, Percy was still thinking. Did he really love Artemis? Of course, he had strong feelings for her, and that he was close to her, but did he seriously love her?
Line Break
They arrived at the cave after a few minutes, and Percy was greeted with the warmest welcome he ever received from the Olympians. Hera hugged him while the other Olympians just patted him on the back. Well, at least no one was glaring at him, yet. "Good to have you back, brother," Hera said.
"Good to be back," Percy replied.
"Why are you here, Apollo?" Athena asked.
"I took Artemis away from Dad before he could do anything to her," Apollo said.
"What did he do?" Percy growled. Everyone was surprised at how angry he got when he heard that Zeus was about to do something to her.
"It's nothing, Percy," Artemis said. Artemis shot a glare to everyone to drop the subject, and they did. "Let's just get some rest, before Selene arrives."
Percy didn't seem reluctant to change the subject, but he decided to drop it. "Sure," Percy said. "It's almost night time. Get some rest if you can. I'll be staying on guard."
"Don't be ridiculous," Poseidon said. "You've just went through a battle with a dragon. You're the one who needs some rest." Percy gave a look that he wasn't going to take no as an answer.
"Get some rest," Percy said. "I'll wake you up if there's anything wrong,"
For some reason, they obliged at Percy's order. He was the youngest between the siblings, and yet he's the one calling all the shots. They all knew better than to do against what he said. Besides, he's the most powerful of them all. He had Kronos's powers, which meant he could practically stop them whenever he wants.
The Olympians tried making themselves comfortable, but it's been a while since they had slept without comfort. The luxury of being a god and goddess had definitely changed them.
Percy went outside, climbed onto one of the rocks that stuck out and sat there. The moon was shining brightly, which might mean that Artemis was happy, or either she was somewhere near him.
"I thought I told you to get some rest," Percy said. Artemis, who'd been hiding, yelped. She came out of her hiding place and glared at Percy.
"It's night time," Artemis grumbled. "I'm the Goddess of the Moon, Percy. Night is when I'm most powerful,"
Percy shook his head. "You're powerful whenever the moon shows up at its brightest." Percy explained. "You said it yourself; you're the Goddess of the Moon, not night. Whenever the moon shows up the brightest, that's when you're the strongest."
"You have a weird way of making people feel better," Artemis said.
"I didn't mean to discourage you,"
"Of course you didn't." Artemis rolled her eyes and sat down next to Percy. With the width of the rock just barely enough space for both of them, Artemis sat close to Percy, their shoulders were in contact. "Move back," Artemis ordered.
"Hey, this is as far as I can go," Percy rolled his eyes. "Get your own rock."
"Shut up," Artemis pushed him backwards as she sat on front, with Percy behind her. It was more comfortable than before.
"Genius," Percy muttered.
"Kelp Head," Artemis muttered back.
"Moon Beam,"
"Seaweed Brain,"
"Night Girl,"
"Water Boy,"
Percy threw his hands up in frustration. "Where do you find all these nicknames?"
Artemis laughed. "I've had my fair share of experience of nicknaming things with Apollo,"
"Why do all your insults on me relates to the sea? I'm not Poseidon, you know,"
Artemis shrugged. "I figured since men have no brains, they must have at least something in your head. Since your eyes reminds me of the sea, well, hence the sea-related nicknames."
"And here I thought your hatred towards men have gone," Percy rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I hate men, very much," Artemis said. "I just don't hate you,"
"Excuse me?"
Artemis blushed. She blurted out something that wasn't supposed to be blurted out. "Uh, nothing,"
"Come on, tell me," Percy urged.
"It's nothing," Artemis blushed furiously. "Just drop it."
Percy examined her face closer. "You're blushing," he noticed. Percy himself was blushing. He actually heard what Artemis just said; he just wanted her to say it again. It felt good to know that the man hater, Artemis, didn't hate him. "What's wrong?" He said, suppressing a grin.
"I told you, it's nothing!" She argued, but the blush was clearly evident. Percy restrained himself from laughing. He just shrugged.
"You look cute when you blush," Percy pinched her cheek a little in an adoring way. Then, it was his time to blush. What the fuck did he just do? Percy knew that both of them are really close, but that doesn't really mean that Percy get to do what he wants with Artemis, not that he had any bad intentions anyway. For any other males in the planet, being near her was bad enough, but touching her? You better hope that Death gets to you faster than Artemis.
To his surprise, Artemis blushed even further after Percy pinched her cheek. The moon got brighter and wilderness around them is starting to stir, but in a good way. They were sensing Artemis's elated emotion after receiving that kind of, um, thing from Percy. Artemis looked at Percy, and planned her way of revenge.
"Hey, you're blushing," Artemis teased. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, uh, um, it's nothing," Percy said, his face getting redder by the second.
"Aw, you can tell me," Artemis pouted. Percy cursed himself silently for blushing furiously. Why is she so adorable that way?
"Nothing," Percy managed. "It's just that you're beautiful,"
Her plan of revenge failed. She didn't expect Percy to give her that compliment, because being the male that he is, Artemis expected Percy to fluster. While she was surprised, she was actually flattered with that compliment. Many people gave that kind of compliment to Artemis, but all of them are just because she was a goddess. If she wasn't a goddess, it would be to just be close to her. Since Percy's and Artemis's emotions are linked, Artemis could tell that Percy was being sincere.
"Thanks," Artemis said.
"No need to thank me," Percy said. "I'm just stating out the facts,"
Stop talking! Percy scolded himself mentally. Then, both of them mentally decided that they would just kept quiet for the rest of the night. Artemis faced towards the edge of the rock, with her back facing Percy. She enjoyed the moment, especially with Percy in her company. Being with him makes her feel safe and protected, though she didn't need those. With the limited space on the rock, Artemis could feel Percy's faint breathing on her neck, which made her skin tingle.
"Hey, Percy," Artemis whispered out.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever . . ." Artemis took a deep breath. Should she confess her feelings to him now? She felt like a mortal teenage girl doing this. Doubts were swirling through her head as she struggled to get the words out of her mouth. "Have you ever thought about how your life would be with someone?"
Percy frowned. "I don't think I understand what you're trying to say," Percy said.
"I mean," Artemis gulped down the lump in her throat. Why was she feeling nervous? She hadn't felt this nervous since ages. She's a freaking goddess, for fuck sake! "What if you had a life with someone? How would your life be?"
"You mean like a companion?"
"Uh, something like that, but much closer."
"You mean a lover?"
Artemis couldn't bring herself to agree with him with words, so she just nodded slightly. Percy chuckled. "So you're asking me if I ever though of living my life with someone I consider my soulmate?"
"Something like that," Artemis managed.
Percy shook his head with a grin. "Well, for starters, I wouldn't hate her, for sure," Percy said. "And, if she truly is the love of my life, as mortals say," Percy blushed, because the moment he said it, Artemis was all Percy could think of. "I would make sure that she feels safe with me, and that I would love her and protect her and not a single being touch even a strand of her hair."
"Don't you think you're being overprotective?"
"You're ruining the moment," Percy rolled his eyes. "I don't care if she can take care of herself or not, I still would protect her." Percy decided to tease her about who he actually meant. "Who knows, maybe my life is linked with hers."
Artemis blushed. Did she really hear what she thought she heard when she heard it? She decided to push it out of her head. She sighed. She wanted to tell him really badly how she felt. Percy was no different. He wanted Artemis to know how he felt towards her, even if he himself hadn't figured it out.
"Tell me, Artemis," Percy said. "Do you love me?"
Artemis frowned and turned towards Percy. "What?"
"Do you love me?" Percy said in a slightly more demanding tone. He's taking up a lot of risk asking this to her. If she doesn't answer the way Percy expects her to answer, then their friendship will be over.
To his surprise, Artemis blushed. "I guess so,"
"Artemis," Percy said in a softer voice. He cupped his hand on her cheek. Artemis looked a bit scared, but she didn't do anything. To tell the truth, she was scared. Was this how it felt like to be controlled by a male? "Look me straight in the eyes, and tell me, do you love me?" Percy asked.
Almost without hesitation, Artemis nodded. "I do," She said. All the built up tension in both of them was finally released. The nervousness in Percy was gone in a single sigh of relief. Now that he knows Artemis really do love him, he needs to find a way to know if he actually loved her. Then, Percy noticed that Artemis wouldn't look at Percy.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked.
"I-I just told you that," Artemis took a deep breath. "That I love you. Can you at least say something?"
The nervousness that had washed away came back immediately. Should he confess to Artemis that he wasn't sure about all this, or should he lie?
There's a third option, but it's a very, very bad idea. It's like waving a red flag in front of a rabid and violent bull that had a shot of adrenaline.
The first two options would be a no, because confessing that to her would probably break her heart, and he wouldn't risk that. The second one would be a terrible idea, because by lying, he was no better than any other males. He'd gained her respect, and he should honour that. Besides, even if he managed to lie, it was only a matter of time before Artemis knew about it and shit would hit the fan hard. The third option . . . well, Percy has to find out now, whether he loves her or not.
Fuck it.
In one swift move, Percy cupped his hand on her cheek; pulled her closer, leaned in and . . . things didn't go as planned. Percy leaned in a bit too fast that his nose hit Artemis's nose, which both of them yelped slightly. Percy didn't believe how badly he messed that up. Artemis frowned at him.
"What the fuck were you doing?" Artemis demanded.
"Well, um, uh, ah, you see . . ." Percy tried, but he couldn't find any excuse. "Can you excuse me for a second?" Percy tried standing up, but Artemis roughly pulled him back down.
"First of all, you're not going to walk away from me as if you didn't do anything," Artemis grumbled. "And second of all, you're going to tell me what really happened."
"Uh, can we wait for tomorrow?" Percy hoped. Artemis tried slapping him, but he was way quicker. He caught Artemis's hand before it reached his cheek, but the force of her hand was so strong that Percy was knocked out of the rock that they were sitting on, and he pulled Artemis along with him. Together, they tumbled a few meters down with Artemis shouting curses at Percy.
When they finally halted to a stop, Artemis was on top of Percy, their faces inches away from each other. Artemis was still growling at him while Percy, well, he laughed as he facepalmed himself.
"What are you laughing at?" Artemis growled.
Percy laughed again. "I can't believe how badly I messed that one up," Percy managed. When he stopped his fits of laughter, he sat up, but Artemis was still glaring at him. "Can we try that one more time?"
"Try what one more time?" Artemis asked.
"This," This time, Percy made sure to do it right. Once again, in a swift move, Percy cupped his hand on her cheek and pulled her closer as Percy leaned in. Under the glowing night sky, their lips met each other softly, giving both a tingly feeling down their stomach. Percy felt like fireworks were sparked everywhere around them as they both feel the bliss of the first kiss. Any remaining doubts of whether Percy loved her or not disappeared instantly. He loved her, very much and Artemis felt the same way towards Percy.
After just the first time kissing, Artemis should've felt like that was it, and said that it was great. She didn't expect it to be this intoxicating and . . . delicious. Artemis felt like stabbing herself. She sounds like Aphrodite. But it's true. Although Artemis wasn't ready for a more passionate kiss, she wanted a longer one. When both of them finally pulled away, both of them blushed. After what just happened, they didn't feel like talking that much. Both of them went back to the rock they sat on previously, to keep an eye on things. Artemis didn't why, but she wanted more. She'd never felt something like this before in her life, which makes a point because she hates males. Artemis didn't know why, but she gave in when it comes to Percy. There's just that something about him that makes you want to love him. His determination to do something and his desire to keep everyone protected. He will willingly put the burden of everyone onto his shoulders just so he could get what he wants.
With that being said, Artemis loved him.
"Percy," Artemis whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Can I sleep here for the night?"
"Sure," Percy said. "Just find a nice spot in the cave and-"
"I mean with you," Artemis said. Percy blushed.
"S-Sure," Percy said. Artemis crawled over and rested her head on Percy's chest and cuddled closer. Percy made sure she felt comfortable, which was a bit hard since the rock was small. "Hey, Artemis?"
"Yeah?" Artemis looked up at him, showing those glowing silver eyes. Percy kissed her forehead.
"I love you too, Artemis," Percy managed. Artemis smiled at him and rested her head back, but not before hitting Percy on the face.
"Next time, kiss me properly." Artemis said. Percy just chuckled.
"Good night, Artemis,"
Julia's Group
When they arrived at the lake, the sky had started to turn orange. The lake was more like a huge pool with three feet of water. The water was clear with the bottom showing off a greenish nature colour. Julia figured this would be a perfect place to go fishing, assuming you live in a log cabin somewhere near.
"We're near the water," Julia said. "What now?"
"We just wait," Lily said. Lily had been living for a few decades in her seven year old body that she'd forgotten how old she was. "Something will come up,"
"Like what?" Julia asked. Lily shrugged.
Lily turned towards the di Angelo kids. "Are you guys okay?"
"Aside from being tired?" Bianca said. "Yeah, we're good."
"Consider this a basic demigod training," Lily grinned. "You're going to need it."
"They still smell like dead people," Julia muttered. She's the daughter of Asteria, the Titaness of Necromancy. She can sense the dead whenever she's near one.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Bianca asked. "We're still normal, you know?"
"It's probably the sweat," Nico suggested. Julia shook her head.
"Not sweat," Julia said. "Dead people,"
"Okay, can we just change the topic?" Bianca urged. "What are we doing here?"
"Ask Lily,"
Lily stepped into the lake until she was ankle deep. She was hoping her instinct was right, and that some kind of clue or sign would show. But nothing showed up, at least not for a few minutes.
'Okay," Julia said, finally having enough of it. "Should we walk there or should we wait a little-ah!"
Julia was taken aback by the sudden torrent of water that burst out of the lake. Along with the torrent, a creature was making its way back from the air and to the lake. As it landed with a splash, Lily saw something that was like the most beautiful creature she'd even seen. If you take a horse and fish together, then spray paint it with a dozen of bright colours simultaneously, you'll have a pretty good picture of how the creature looked like. It neighed when it saw Lily and made its way towards her.
"Uh," Bianca said. "Should we run from it or what?"
"I think it's trying to help us," Lily said. When the horse-fish thingy was a few feet away from Lily, it nuzzled closer, rubbing its slick snout onto Lily.
"Hey!" Lily giggled. "That tickles!"
Then, it happened.
Julia and Bianca stared at Lily in amazement and awe, while Nico muttered, "It's glowing!"
What glowed?
Lily realized that they weren't staring at Lily, but staring at something above Lily. Lily looked up. Even though it was fading, Lily recognized the symbol all too well. So, he had claimed her.
It was a green trident.
Luke's Group
They were crouched behind one of the racks of fresh produce, after the mortal girl, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, told them to hide because she sensed some weird things outside the shop, which Luke classified as monsters. The thought of that made Luke grit his teeth.
"Stay here," Luke growled slowly. "I'll handle them."
"Luke," Thalia grabbed his wrist. Luke snapped back with a glare, which made Thalia flinch. She'd never seen his eyes looking so fierce. "Just, be careful," Thalia managed.
Luke grunted. "Don't worry about me," Luke said. "Take Annabeth and the mortal girl out of here as I distract the monster." Before anyone could even argue, Luke rushed off with his sword, Backbiter, drawn. Thalia cursed in Ancient Greek.
"Thalia, let's go help him," Annabeth urged. Thalia turned towards Rachel.
"Mortal," Thalia called. Rachel looked a bit annoyed at the name that Thalia gave Rachel, but now's definitely not the time to argue about that. "What more can you see through the Mist?"
Rachel huffed, but she answered. "From what I could see from the window, there're two really big guys with a single eye on the forehead, and probably a few more weird things I've never seen in my life behind the big guys."
On one hand, Luke couldn't handle them all without injuring himself. On the other hand, if they don't get out of here, they might end up being caught and eaten. It's okay for Thalia, but she couldn't bring that fate to Annabeth, or even the mortal girl, Rachel. "Come on, Thalia. We need to help him," Annabeth pleaded.
Thalia shook her head. "We need to get out, now."
"But Luke-"
"I know," Thalia said. "But we have to get out of here now!"
Line Break
Thalia had no choice but to literally drag Annabeth out of the store with Rachel tailing right behind them. Annabeth was struggling against Thalia's grip to go and help Luke, but Annabeth was a seven year old. She could handle Annabeth with ease. When they were far away, Thalia let Annabeth go. From the streaks of tears that Thalia could see on her cheeks, Thalia could tell that she'd been crying. Annabeth glared at Thalia like she's the one at fault.
"Why did you leave Luke alone?" Annabeth demanded, throwing her seven year old tantrum. "We could've helped him!"
"And we will only be in his way," Thalia argued, but keeping her composure. Thalia figured it would be bad to lose her cool in front of a little girl. "Which do you prefer, Annabeth? All Luke fighting alone with a probability of surviving, or we getting in his way and getting us all killed?" Annabeth didn't have an answer. "Besides, Luke can handle himself well. You've seen how he fights. Trust me, okay?"
Annabeth studied Thalia with her stormy grey eyes. Thalia sometimes thought about what she's thinking whenever she looked at other people. Thalia had noticed that whenever they met someone new, Annabeth's eyes would scan on their physical appearance before she pierced their souls with her gaze. Most people wouldn't flinch if a mere seven year old glared at them, but Annabeth managed to pull it off.
In the end, Annabeth sighed as her shoulders slumped and pouted at the ground. Thalia gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," Thalia said softly. "Luke will be okay." The weird thing was, Thalia sounded like she was reassuring herself more than she was reassuring Annabeth.
"Where to now?" Rachel said, making Thalia jump slightly. She was so into comforting Annabeth that she'd forgotten that Rachel was with them.
"We need a place to stay," Thalia said. "Until we can figure out how to contact Percy. If only we had a prism." Thalia grumbled. Their original plan was to get into the store, buy a prism or at least something that can create a rainbow, and the get out. But they had to meet Rachel and the monsters had to be outside the store.
"Why do you need a prism for?"
"It doesn't have to be a prism," Annabeth explained. "Anything that makes a rainbow, that'll help."
"Again, why?"
"So we could contact our friend," Thalia said. "This is a weird thing for a mortal, so it might be difficult for you to understand. Besides, I'm not in the mood to explain."
"Oh, too bad," Rachel said in a tone that Thalia recognize when someone got the winning hand. "I guess I'll just throw away this thing then, it's not like we can use it." Rachel showed off a prism that gave out a faint yet visible rainbow.
"Fine," Thalia grumbled. "I'll explain."
Percy's POV
Percy woke up in the middle of the night with Artemis cuddled into his embrace, sleeping peacefully. He hadn't realized that he'd fallen asleep, so he cursed himself. Then, he realized that he hadn't realized he wasn't at the place he'd fallen asleep at. He was back in the cave with the other Olympians, all of them were sleeping. Percy shifted slightly so Artemis would be comfortable on his chest. Then, a voice said next to him. "Feeling okay?"
Percy almost jumped, but he didn't want to wake Artemis up. Percy looked at whoever that spoke. It was Hestia, thankfully. Hestia gave him a warm smile. "I guess so,"
"I take it this would remain a secret for a while?" Hestia raised an eyebrow as she shifted her glance back and forth from Artemis and Percy. Percy blushed furiously.
"Um . . ." He didn't know what to say. Should their relationship remain a secret? Or should they tell the others? "I'll tell the others after this is all over,"
Hestia chuckled. "I'm just glad that you're finally happy, brother,"
"I've been happy when I met you, sister," Percy said with a smile. Percy leaned in and managed to kiss the forehead of his sister without waking Artemis up. After that, he kissed the top of Artemis's head. Percy felt an overwhelming elated feeling inside of him that he realized was Artemis's feelings.
"You know," Hestia said. "I asked Apollo how he felt about the both of you," Percy gulped the lump in his throat. "He seemed fine with it, as long as you don't break her heart,"
"I wouldn't do that," Percy said. "I know this sounds ridiculous and it's too soon, but I love her too much,"
"I love you too, Percy," Artemis said suddenly.
"I thought you were asleep?"
"Your voice is louder than a lovesick buffalo," Artemis rolled her eyes as she woke up and stretched. "Besides, midnight is the perfect time to wake up."
"For you," Percy rolled his eyes. Then, he turned his attention towards Hestia. "Who's on guard duty?"
"Apollo," Hestia said. "He's the one who carried you guys here,"
Percy and Artemis blushed. Percy knew how protective Apollo was towards his sister. For their relationship to be blessed by him, Percy was grateful. "I'll have to thank that egghead later," Artemis grumbled.
"I'm sure you'll manage it," Percy said. Artemis smacked his head playfully. Hestia chuckled. In such a short span of time, her brother had changed dramatically, thanks to Artemis. He changed from someone who didn't care for anyone to someone who would take a bullet for his loved ones. Of course, Hestia might've been wrong. After all, she didn't know him for the past three thousand years of his life, nor did she know how he was like in his past life.
Artemis sat up from where she was laying and sat next to Percy. "So, what's the plan?" Artemis asked.
"According to Theseus," Percy said. "Selene would be descending tomorrow night, during the full moon."
"Theseus?" Artemis frowned. "Why is that horrible male still alive? I thought he was dead for good."
Percy's eyes flashed slightly with anger, but not too angry. "I know he'd done some horrible things in his life, but he has earned my respect when he lay down his life for me."
Artemis paled a bit under his glare, but she nodded slightly. "But don't expect me to work well with him." Percy understood her hatred towards Theseus. The dude left Ariadne in the middle of nowhere, no wonder Artemis is pissed. But aside from that, he's truly an honourable hero.
"Just don't cause any trouble and we'll be fine,"
"You expect me to cause trouble?"
Percy shrugged. "Who knows?" Artemis glared at him, but Percy ruffled her hair, which annoyed her even more. If someone did that to her, Artemis wouldn't have hesitated to cut the arms of the person who did it, regardless of that person's gender. But if Percy did it, she's just annoyed.
Extremely annoyed.
Then, a cloud of mist started to form in front of Percy. Percy was familiar with this. It was an Iris Message. The mist projected the most unlikely face that Percy would ever see.
"Thalia!" Percy exclaimed happily.
"Percy? Oh thank gods, I managed to get through," Thalia sighed in relief.
"Where are you guys?" Artemis asked.
"Artemis is there to?" Thalia said. "Thank gods. Annabeth and I are in Manhattan,"
"You and Annabeth?" Percy said, clearly confused. "Where's Luke?"
Thalia's face turned grim, and from there, Percy knew something bad happened. "We lost him," Thalia told the story, all the way from meeting Rachel at the top of the Empire State Building to them being stuck in the convenience store surrounded by monsters. Luke told them to escape while he fended them off.
"Where's Annabeth?" Percy asked.
"She's sleeping," Thalia answered. "We're at Rachel's apartment, keeping low."
"Stay there," Percy said. "The day after tomorrow, we'll be on our way there."
"What about Julia and Lily?"
Percy had a hardened expression on his face, like he doesn't want to give out a bad news. "I'm sure they're fine. Besides, Julia and Lily are hunters."
"Perseus!" A voice called from outside the cave. His expression turned alert.
"We'll talk later," Percy said to Thalia. "Keep low and be safe." Thalia nodded before waving her hand across the screen, turning off the connection. Theseus came running down the cave, panting. Artemis shot a glare at the hero, but Theseus could care less about it. If Artemis doesn't like him, it's not his problem. "What's wrong?"
"Selene . . ." He panted. "She's descending now,"
"Wait, what?"
"We have a few hours until she descends," Theseus said. "If you're going to meet her, you'd better hurry up."
Percy nodded. "Thanks, Theseus," He said before Theseus jogged off.
"What are we going to do now?" Hestia asked.
"Well, if the vision I had is true, then that means that Julia and Lily should be arriving shortly." Percy said. Just like Artemis, he was worried about them, but he was confident. Lily has the experience, but she can't handle herself alone, while Julia had the ability to take on a massive amount of monsters, she lacks experience and tends to do rash decisions. They make a great battling duo together, almost flawless.
Artemis sighed. "I worry about them, Percy," Artemis admitted. "They're the only hunters I have left, and I don't want to lose them," Percy grasped her hand.
"It'll be okay, Artemis. They're strong girls."
"Besides," Hestia added. "They're on their way here."
"What did you-" The shallow lake in the cave suddenly splashed, which is kind of weird since there're no winds inside the cave. Then, the water inside the lake started to swirl around the centre of the lake, gradually picking up speed.
"Is this Poseidon's work?" Percy asked.
"I'm afraid not," Poseidon said suddenly already standing next to them. "It's my daughter's work,"
Percy started with a simple, "Oh," Before making sure his confusion for Poseidon's statement was clear to everyone with, "Wait, what?"
"You have a daughter?" Artemis asked. Hestia didn't say anything as her face was calm like the flames without any winds blowing. It seems like Hestia had known about Poseidon's child. She always had a thing of knowing things. The water spiralled and soon became what seemed like a miniature whirlpool. If Poseidon's daughter was this powerful, then she must be someone mature.
Then, several things were spat out from the centre of the whirlpool. Percy was expected to see what he was expecting to see, but he just didn't expect to see it the way he expects to see it now.
Confused? Should be.
Out of the four people that came out from the whirlpool, Percy only recognized two, and it was the two that Percy expected to see. "Julia! Lily!"
Julia and Lily groaned before looking up at Percy. Then, their faces lit up. "Percy!" They said happily before tackling him with a massive hug. Percy noticed something when hugging both of them. While Julia's clothes were soaking wet, Lily seemed to be perfectly dry. Percy decided to dwell on the later and just enjoy the reunion. Then, Artemis cleared her throat.
"What about me? Am I not important enough?" She said while suppressing a grin. Percy knew she was joking. Julia and Lily chuckled as they went on and hugged Artemis.
"We missed you," Lily said.
"I missed you too," Artemis said. "And worried about you as well."
"Who're they?" Percy asked, pointing at the two other people that popped out of the lake. Percy realized the whirlpool had died down and the lake was returning to its calm state.
The other kids must've been siblings, because both of them had this olive and yet pale skin complexion, with brown hair and dark eye colour. The sister must've been around fifteen or sixteen, while the little brother was probably twelve. "We met them on the way here," Lily explained.
"Hi," Bianca decided for the peaceful approach, since she figured that they're immortals. Other than that, Lily just called the woman in silver 'Artemis', which Bianca knew was a goddess in the Greek history. "I'm Bianca di Angelo, and this is my brother, Nico."
"Uh," Nico managed. "Hey," Lily found it a bit funny, becaue he didn't have that energetic vibe around him when they got here.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Artemis said. Although she hated men, she couldn't hate a little boy like Nico. He was far too young to be hated on by a goddess like her. "Are you demigods?"
"From what Lily tells us, I guess the answer is yes?" Bianca said that statement like a question.
"Well, who is your parent?"
"If I had a solid answer, I would tell you," Bianca said with a sad expression. "Truth to be told, we're not even from this era,"
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
"Allow me to explain," A low voice said as he entered the fray. Hades was here. "They're born in the 1940s, during the world war. After their mother died, they were being kept hidden inside the Lotus Casino."
"And how did you know all of this?" Percy asked.
Secretly, Julia tugged Lily's shirt. "What?"
"The creepy guy," Julia pointed out at Hades. "He also smells like dead people, like the di Angelos."
"Quit messing!" Lily said. "Wait, what did you say?"
"They smell like dead people," Julia said. Then, she rubbed her nose. "Might be just me,"
Lily put the pieces together. Artemis told her that after World War II, the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, had made a pact not to sire any more children. Bianca and Nico was from the 1940s, roughly before the pact was made. Lily studied them closer, and Lily could see the similarities between them. They have the same dark eyes and pale complexion and that creepy vibe. And the incident with Alecto just confirmed Lily's suspicions.
"They're your children," Lily muttered. Everyone turned towards her. "Bianca and Nico, they're your children, aren't they?"
"How did you know this?" Poseidon asked. When she made eye contact with the God of Sea, Lily felt that searing pain through her heart. She knew that he was her father, considering the green trident that was floating above her head just a few hours ago, and she resented him. After decades of hiding it, why now?
But she decided to calm herself down and explain her theory. It felt weird having all eyes on you, especially if five pairs of those eyes belong to super powerful beings. "Is this true, brother?" Percy asked.
Hades nodded. He nudged at the di Angelos. A symbol appeared and hovered above both of their heads. It was Hades's symbol of power, the Helm of Darkness. Percy would like to celebrate with something like, 'Welcome to the family!' and all that, but it's not really that good to be in an Olympian family. Mainly because monsters can sense you half a mile away.
"I think we haven't finished yet," Percy said. This time, all eyes turned towards him. "Lily, you're Poseidon's daughter, aren't you?" Artemis gasped.
"That's impossible!" Artemis exclaimed. "If it was true, I would've been able to sense it decades ago, when I first met her."
"I locked her powers," Poseidon explained. "So that Zeus wouldn't sense my blood in her veins, and acts to kill her."
"But why now?" Lily asked, getting angrier. It is really dangerous to make a seven year old demigod have a tantrum. They don't have control over their powers and when they get mad, they tend to have this slight urge of destroying everything around them, including humans. "After all these years, why now have you claimed me?"
"You must understand," Poseidon said. "It is dangerous to claim you when Zeus was in reign."
"Zeus is still in charge now," Lily stated out. "So? Why didn't you wait until we've won?"
"We need all the help we can get," Poseidon said, but Percy knew that he knew he was losing.
"Are you saying that you claimed me because you need help?" Lily said angrily. "What about the times when I needed help? Where were you?!" The lake started broiling up under Lily's power. Poseidon tried to contain them, but Lily was much stronger than everyone thought. The others just watched the family quarrel in astonishment. "Where were you when my mom died?!"
"Lily!" Percy shouted angrily. Lily snapped her attention towards him. "Calm down, and have a talk with me." Percy said it to make sure that what he was saying wasn't an offer. It was an order. Lily looked like she wanted to argue, but Percy fixed her with a glare with his sea green eyes. Lily paled and nodded. The lake stopped broiling. "The rest of you prep up. Selene is descending tonight."
Then, Apollo came down into the cave. "Hey guys, I was- Whoa," He said, clearly surprised. He sensed the tension in the air and the sea that was just starting to calm down. "Did I miss something?" Artemis shot him a look that said, don't say anything stupid now.
"Come on, Lily," Percy said. Lily followed him outside of the cave while the others just stood there.
Percy invited Lily to sit down on one of the rocks that was flat and was perfect for a space to relax on. "Are you okay?" Percy asked. Lily just sighed.
"I guess that built up emotion inside just exploded," Lily admitted. Percy smiled and ruffled her hair. Artemis's blessing was visible on her, as her skin glittered in the moonlight. "Is this what having a period feels like?"
Percy laughed. "I'm not sure I'm eligible to answer that question," Percy said. "What I do know is that you're going to have to forgive your father sometime soon, if not today."
Lily nodded. "I know that," She said. "But I'm not sure if I can do it."
"Of course you can," Percy said. "You just need to keep your egos aside. Woman have big egos."
"Ahem," A voice cleared its throat behind them. It was Artemis, and she was glaring and raising an eyebrow at Percy. "What did you say?"
"Oh, and Moon Beam has the biggest of them all." Percy joked. Artemis fumed and smacked Percy on the head. He was seriously annoying, but that's what Artemis loved about him.
"Shut up, Seaweed Brain,"
"Again, what's with the sea related jokes?"
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Of course you wouldn't remember," Artemis said. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Because men have a smaller brain than woman," Lily beamed at Artemis.
Artemis smiled at Lily. "That is correct, Lily."
"Hey, why are you ganging up on me?" Percy asked.
"No reason," Artemis shrugged. She chuckled and gave Lily a kiss to the cheek, while she gave Percy a kiss on the lips. Lily gasped as she looked the interaction between Artemis and Percy. Artemis looked at her, did a 'cute-girly' look which wasn't like her at all, winked at Lily and put one finger on her lips. Percy had to admit, that did look cute.
"Uh, okay," Lily said.
Then, the top of Mount Ida was brightly lit by a shining beam of light coming from the sky.
"It's Selene," Percy said. "She's here,"