AN: So just a warning, we are starting to go into some details of Percy's abuse, it is a serious matter. At this point of time the abuse will not go into massive details, I just thought that it should be worth mentioning. Also I released this chapter earlier than usual because sometimes I can be a nice dude, most of the time I am a dick, but sometimes I am nice.
1 year and 6 months later 14 December
Third Person Pov
Lord Zeus was picking up monster sightings near Maine and the hunt was sent to dispatch them, the hunt have been sent on more missions lately and to be honest, that worried her. However despite all of this, the huntress relished the chance to go to Maine. Zoe preferred going to Maine over New York because it was always nice this time of year and was always safer for our knew recruits, on top of that it had more trees and the nature was protected including all of the animals. The Satyrs in the forest still tripped over themselves trying to please them and the male animals would annoy them but they stayed away out of fear and a grudging respect that we could kick their asses, and the women their would always ask to train with us learning to improve, apart from the doves, they always followed them probably spying for Lady Aphrodite. She has recently increased her actions against the hunt, however whenever I bring it up with Lady Artemis, she breaks down stating she deserves it, meaning their is only two things that this can be about, both are children of the sea.
"Lady Artemis, thou called"
"Yes, Zoe I would like you to take Atalanta to scout the area, we do not know what we are up against and I sense that the threat will keep growing unless we take them out now. I trust that you and Atalanta know how to escape."
"Right away milady"
------------------------------------------------ 2 hour time skip----------------------------------------------------------
Zoe and Atalanta were currently on a tree branch observing a group of monsters about 50 strong, they all had amour on and were well organised. Leading them was the Manticore
"Someone must have put them up to this" Atalanta whispered in Zoe's ear, the daughter of Atlas could only nod.
"The Olympians strongest assets are the Romans" a women will green snake hair was telling the Manticore. Zoe recognized this voice as Sethno, sister of Medusa.
"First though we need to take out the Son of Neptune, he has become to powerful to live, more powerful than his Greek brother or the children of the Sky. He defeated us already and has killed Perses so severally that he will not reform in time for the war. Be wary of Jupiter's spawn as well, he has taken out many of our forces as well as the original Hydra."
Zoe gasped, tears threatening her eyes, 'Son of Neptune'. The manticore turned to the tree that they were on.
"Go back to your task, Luke will pick you up on his boat, I'll collect the god spawns, and give them to the general."
Atalanta looked at her before dragging her off back to the camp. They were outside the camp of their mistress before Zoe was asked the question she had been dreading to answer.
"Zoe why did you gasp, you could have given our location away"
Sighing, Zoe knew Atlanta deserved to know the truth: "Atalanta, remind me when did thy joined the hunt"
"Around 6 years ago why?"
"Tell'th me what do thee know about the Roman gods?"
"Aren't they the same as the Greek gods"
"No, the gods have Greek and Roman form, the Roman gods tend to be more powerful than the Greek gods, more war like but more predictable"
"Tend?"
"Thou see, some gods are the same just with different names, thou father Apollo being one of them and one of the few with the same name, Aphrodite or Venus, Hermes/Mercury and Poseidon/Neptune. The Romans aren't affected by the great Prophecy, as they have a greater prophecy of their own, but before thy ask, I swore on Chaos not to tell anybody without permission from the correct authority"
"Cool, but you still didn't tell me why you gasped"
"Around just over 15 years ago, Lord Zeus had seen a massive spike of power in this one area, and told the Hunters to check it out. It was a baby boy that had just lost his mother through childbirth. When we arrived Lord Triton had already arrived and had announced that this child was the son of Neptune. The sea god then claimed that the his father wished that Artemis look after the child."
"Wouldn't Artemis say no, since the baby was a male"
"Atalanta, if thy could, tell me Miladies domains please"
"The Moon, the Hunt and Archery"
"Thou art forgetting Childbirth. Thy see, many forget this domain and so did Lady Artemis, she forgot about caring about her domain and as a result a spike in many women dying from childbirth went up. Milady felt responsible for all of these women dying including the lover of Neptune and stated the she owed it to all the ladies that had died to take care of this child"
"So then what happened" Zoe could only smile as her friend was so invested in the story.
"Well, Artemis named the child Perseus, after one of the only male she ever found tolerable other than Orion and Hippolytus as well as a hope that her father will accept this child and his middle name Orion to remember her only male friend. She trained the child to be an expert archer at a young age and came to love this child as her own going so far as to blood adopt him"
"What does that mean?"
"It mean that he has the powers of a demigod of Artemis, if she would ever have one"
"Ok, I get why that, but why were you on the verge of crying"
"The story is not a happy one, are thou sure you want to continue. Thy may look differently on the hunt"
"The hunt is my family and I want to know their flaws and weaknesses" The daughter of Apollo had a ferocity in her eyes, like a daughter of Ares.
"If thy insist, like I said the child was a baby and Artemis was always a 12 year old, so as an immortal 18 I had to feed him, for some reason I was able to produce the milk. Naturally I was close to the baby, but as he got older he eventually stopped feeding off me and I never felt any maternal feeling from the child. We slowly drifted apart, I started to avoid him not wanting to get close to another boy, however he did try to stay connected with me, he even gave me a bracelet made of the plant Nightshade"
"Is that why your name is Zoe Nightshade" the younger hunter gasped
"Indeed, I chose it in memory of him"
"You make it sound like he is dead" Atalanta joked, though she was semi-serious
"He is from my life, I can never speak to him again"
"What did you do, I am sure it wasn't that bad"
"No, it was awful. Many of the girls have terrible experiences with men, so without mine, Artemis or Phoebe's knowledge"
"Phoebe?" Atalanta interrupted the dark haired girl.
"Of course, she was one of the only hunters who accepted him, they loved each other as siblings, he even gave her a laurel made out of Phoebe plants, she was overjoyed when she got it. Anyway without our knowledge the made him their slave and well...they...they called Perseus names such as monster, murderer and abomination"
"Well, I am sure he was old enough to know why they had these issues with men" The blonde haired girl tried to defend her sisters actions.
"They called him that since birth Atalanta, since birth he believed he was unloved, they said that Artemis really hated him and when he was old enough she would kill him. They said that Phoebe pitted him but didn't actually like him. They then said that I hated him just as much as they did and that was why I was avoiding him"
"Why did you avoid him?"
"Because I was afraid, at a very young age it was clear that Perseus was going to become a handsome young man and Lady Artemis gave him values that no other man possessed. I was worried that I would get close to him then he would betray me like Heracles" she sobbed.
"Its ok, Zoe, but still none of that was your fault, like you said you held know knowledge"
"I know, but I still feel guilty but that wasn't the worst part. Thou see these three hunters, I can't even say their names, were so disgusted by his gender. Thy see they had some of the worst abuse I had ever seen, for about a year they were raped and beaten by their uncles and their friends, they were near death when we found them. So when Perseus was 3 these three hunters started to recreate the same abuse they had on him. As for what they claimed 'retribution'"
"You mean..."
"Yes, they raped him and whipped him and beat him. As well as that they didn't get the other hunters so they captured creatures such as empousa and dracaena and made them have sex with the Perseus. They would beat him to near death only to revive him with water. They did this till he was 6. Perseus would share a tent with Artemis as he thought of her as a mother, and Artemis knew he would never try anything with her especially at 6. So one day, Artemis was on a solo hunt and she asked me to look out for him, so naturally when I saw him having a nightmare I woke him up and told him to tell me what it was about. He was 6. He said that I hated him and I would never believe an abomination like him, but eventually I calmed him down and got him to trust me."
"He told you the truth?"
"Yes, but I was looking for an excuse to hate him, subconsciously at least. When he told me what happened I wouldn't believe that a female could do that to a boy much less a hunter to the only son of Artemis. So I call..call" at this point Zoe broke down in tears, Atalanta didn't know what to do, she had never seen the lieutenant full on cry before
"Its ok, Zoe, you don't have to tell me any more. Whatever you said I am sure that he forgives you." Zoe gave Atalanta a sad smile.
"No, its ok, as a hunter thy deserve to know. Anyway I call...called him a disgrace to Artemis for lying about her hunters and I locked him in the tent. Leaving him to his nightmares. When I told Artemis that Perseus was lying about her hunters she was furious and grabbed the boy by his head and through him to the sea shouting 'You are no son of mine, go back to who wants you.' The worst part is he didn't even cry, he had always believed it, the hunters had been telling him that for 6 years none stop. At 6 years old he was immune to his own mothers verbal abuse. He just looked at me and said 'This is why nobody likes you, you don't trust people, my hatred for you is only minor compared to the fathers of sons you killed or the mothers of daughters you've teared away from their family. Yet I still hate you.'" At that point Zoe was a bumbling mess, but they had reached the camp site, and all the older campers looked down, they knew only one story could make Zoe cry, many of the newer hunters looked in fear, thinking what monster could hurt their strong sister so much.
Phoebe came into the clearing, looked at Zoe then at Atalanta.
"I'll continue the story while we head to Lady Artemis' tent"
"Umm, you don't have to" Atalanta felt kind of responsible for asking about the story and making Zoe cry.
She smiled "No, you have to hear the end to truly understand our guilt. Anyway as you know Apollo is connected to Artemis strongly, so when she feels an emotion so strong such as hatred, he comes to see what is wrong. When Artemis told him, he was furious, but not because Percy lied about his abuse"
"But because he was telling the truth"
"Exactly, Apollo can tell because he is the god of truth, when I found out what was happening"
"When you found out, where were you?"
Phoebe smiled at her younger sister "If you stopped interrupting me I could tell you. I came down with Apollo. Our Father was trying to connect with me. And before you interrupt he claimed he needed me for a quest but he just wanted to spend some time with me. Believe it or nor he actually does love his children including us. Where was I?"
"When you found out what happened"
"Right, anyway, Artemis was in shock she went Poseidon to beg for her son back, but he wouldn't give him to her and instead gave his son to Lupa to train for the Legion. She tried to fight him but Poseidon is a lot stronger than she is. She eventually gave up. However while she was doing that I went up to the three hunters and killed the long and painfully, I'll spare you the details. All the hunters who gave verbal abuse are still gaining my trust back. However I will only forgive them for hurting my baby brother when he does."
"What about Zoe, do you still trust her?"
"Zoe was the first hunter, she has hated men longer than all of us, Percy was special and started to break down her cold ice queen persona. She stated things in the moment that she can't take back, but she never took part in the everyday abuse so I do still trust her and forgive her. Any questions?"
"Yeah what happened to Perseus and why do you call Percy?
"Well Percy was my special nickname for him, he hated being called Perseus because Lady Artemis would always call him that when he was in trouble. As for what happened to him, he trained with Lupa for 6 years, as well as Ares or Mars, Triton and our father Apollo. Even Lord Hermes helped now and them. They even gave him small minor quests to complete but he has done a lot more now, and believe me when I see him I'll give him an ear full. Before you ask, it is not my place to say what he has done. He is now with the Legion. I know this because he occasionally sends me letters."
"I thought that Artemis disowned him why did Zoe keep calling him Artemis's son?"
"Because, she blood adopted him, her ichor runs in his veins just as much as Neptune's does, she cannot simply take that away unless she does some ritual but that requires both her and Percy plus she still thinks of him as a son, she is always begging Apollo, Aphrodite and Ares to see him but they always decline saying he will just break under the memories. I said Aphrodite because she councils him and is the main reason he is officially emotionally stable."
"Why do you call him your little brother?"
"He might have well been, I loved him like a brother and he loved me like a sister. The last thing he ever gave me was the laurel I always wear"
"I always wondered why you would wear it, I thought that you were just rubbing it in that you always won the archery competitions"
"Nah... well... maybe but it is the message that it says." The centuries old huntress then took the laurel of her head and gave it to her younger sister.
"Its charmed, Perseus originally gave it to us to show how much he loved us, he though that he would always love us, me, Zoe and Artemis, he gave us each one, though Zoe and Artemis got a bracelet. He got Hecate to charm it, they tell us how he thinks he feels about us."
Atalanta read the message on Phoebe's laurel 'You'll always be my big sister'
"Why what he thinks"
"Well Hecate looked in Percy's mind and saw what had happened, he hated most of the hunt and resented Artemis for not being their for him. However he did not realise this and if a 6 year old realised he hated his own mother it would break him"
"What do the others say?"
Zoe appeared next to the two daughters of Apollo "I'll always hate you"
This is when Lady Artemis came into view, she sighed "I wish you just let me die"
AN- Not gonna lie, I kinda cried a bit writing this chapter, sorry it is depressing. Anyway that is the basics of Percy's abuse, later on in the series I might release a more graphic description of what happened. Anyway, that is some background information on what happened to Percy, also remember the monster information that is very important for the future. This is just the start of the Titans Curse, as you would have figured out Percy is on the quest, and will help save Artemis. For the record he is 15 years old here, and this will be his first major interactions with the Greek half-bloods. Also Chiron will know him as the adopted son of Artemis but not Neptune even though he knows about the Romans. The questers will be Percy, Zoe, Samuel Kane (remember her name?) Bianca, Thalia and Grover. I will just change the Prophecy from '5 shall go West to the goddess in chains' to '6 shall go west to the goddess in chains'.
I would also like to mention a few things that would have happened in this story so far and the ages of each individual mentioned.
Percy told Jason about his adoption by Lady Diana and Jason told Percy how he had an older sister that he presumed dead. Percy knows what really happened with her but isn't aloud to tell his younger cousin Reyna has joined Camp Jupiter and has been there for 6 months, she is part of Cohort 2 and gets along with Jason who is now the Centurion of cohort 5. Both of them are 13. Jason made Dakota his number two and his successor if he died or got promoted. Dakota is 14. Centurion Pearson of cohort 1 made Percy his number 2 and successor, Michael doesn't get a promotion but has a reputation of being a great warrior and was voted in as a member of the Senate by cohort 1. Both Percy and Dakota are also in the senate due to being their bosses number 2. Michael and Percy are both 15. Sam and Annabeth completed the quest for the lightning bolt and traveled the Sea of Monsters they are also 14. Tyson knows of Percy and the Romans because he lives in Atlantis and saw the statue of Percy with Bill at Camp fish-blood, and asked Triton about it. However he doesn't know where the camp is and hasn't met Percy, although he is excited of having a new older brother. Thalia is 15 as well and currently the child of the prophecy but will join the Hunters of Artemis to avoid it.
Don't forget to vote for your 6 parings with Percy either
Demeter
Piper- 5 vote
Hecate- 2 vote
Nyx- 5 vote
Annabeth (Although I do have another planned for her)
Selene- 2 vote
Khione- 3 vote
Theia (Titan of Splender)- 1 vote
Hel (Norse goddess)
Bast (Egyptian goddess)- 3 vote
Zoe- 3 vote (Her vow was made to Artemis, not the Styx)
Thalia- 2 vote
Sadie Kane- 1 vote
Jazz (From Kane chronicles)
Hathor (Egyptian goddess)- 1 vote
Freya (Norse goddess)- 4 vote
Top 6
Leaders- Joint first, Nyx and Piper
Second- Freya
Joint third- Khionie. Bast, Zoe
EDIT- be sure to go on my profile and vote on Powers of the Game, if we get 10 votes in the comments by Friday, I will release another chapter on this book on the same day
Anyway that is it for this chapter.
Shade324