Luke grumbled, "it's fine, I'm sorry I yelled."
"No, it's my fault...what's happening? Are you okay? Last I saw Kronos he was pretty pissed off."
"I'm fine, he doesn't suspect a thing," Luke snorted, "but he's mad Percy, really mad. And scared...I never seen him like this. He refuses to talk about what happened. What...what did happen?"
"I managed to fight him off," Percy shrugged.
"By yourself?!" Luke asked in shock.
"No, not by myself. I have this power, it allows me to increase strength several times over, but it's very rare I get to use it...I'm just lucky enough that Kronos set up the situation perfectly for it to kick in."
Luke nodded, "right...well anyway whatever you did I hope you can do it again, because this time it's personal. You rejecting him must have brought up old memories because he's on the war path Percy. He's going to extreme lengths to get more power, hell in order to just remain standing he's planning on dipping himself into the Styx!"
Percy's eyes went wide, "what?!"
Luke nodded, "yeah, my reaction exactly. By dipping himself in the Styx he basically becomes invulnerable. Like Achilles. In fact that's exactly what he's aiming for, he wants the curse of Achilles."
"Where are you now?" Percy asked impatiently.
"You can't stop it Percy, he's already began trekking his way there right now. I managed to slip away for a moment but I'm not sure...look Percy you can't stop this, so you're best bet is you to find a way to beat him with this power."
Percy growled, "I don't like this Luke....are you sure you're safe? He doesn't suspect a thing?"
"No...he doesn't. If anything's wrong I would tell you immediately."
Percy nodded, "good. I'll keep the device with me at all times, don't worry, if you need me I'll be there."
Luke sighed, "thanks Percy."
"No problem. Now, what can you tell me about the army you've amassed?"
"No much," Luke sighed, "it has a lot of monsters in toe. Giants, cyclops, elemental monsters, beasts from the worst parts of the world. Basically hell on wheels."
Percy snorted, "yeah, been there done that. Anything we should be surprised about?"
"Yeah, witches," Luke growled.
"You have got to be kidding me," Percy blinked.
"No, totally serious, actual witches. Yeah, I know, didn't believe it at first either. But Kronos managed to bring them into the fold. And they are fucking crazy man! I saw one skin her own pet alive just to use it's whiskers in a spell!"
"Shit!" Percy hissed, "what can we expect from them?"
"Honestly? I don't know. Each one has her own special branch of magic. I would just suggest you go nuts and kill them before they can say a word."
Percy sighed, "right, okay, anything else?"
"Yeah, plenty more," Luke began to list every monster he knew for a fact Kronos had in his army. He told him everything he knew, including how to beat them. Percy committed all this new information into his head and smiled at the end.
"Thanks Luke, this is going to help so much," Percy nodded.
"Not a problem, just make sure they are safe Percy, that's all I ask," Luke looked beaten as his eyes darkened in remorse. Percy opened in mouth to say something when suddenly Luke spoke up.
"There's something else Percy...something I...I can't tell you."
"What? Why?" Percy looked surprised.
Luke narrowed his eyes, "you know why."
Percy read Luke's eyes and instantly understood what the son of Hermes was implying, "oath on the Styx?" he asked.
Luke nodded, "yeah. He wouldn't let me be a part of it unless I took it."
"And what exactly is 'it'?"
"It's...it's the end game," Luke's voice became hollow, it was filled with fear and regret, "it's what Kronos is planning on using to win it all."
"What are you talking about Luke?" Percy pressed, "what can you tell me?"
"I-I can't tell you anything...expect this, watch over Artemis...she's the key to everything." Percy's eyes went wide, he was about to ask Luke what that meant when he suddenly began to look panicked, "I have to go, he's coming! I'll talk to you soon!"
Luke closed the connection turning Percy's device into an large paper weight. Percy sighed as he put the device away in his back pocket when suddenly the tang of a bow string ran through the forest.
Using his super speed Percy moved quickly, able to see it pass by his head slowly. He narrowed his eyes, grabbed the arrow by the shaft and followed its line of motion, locking eyes with a brown skinned girl in a silver parka and a tiara on her head.
He disappeared from sight. The girl blinked in utter confusion, one moment her target was in front of her the other he was gone. Suddenly she felt something hard and cold pressed up against her neck as a voice whispered into her ear, "I don't like being spied on."
Zoe felt cold sweats dripped down her back. The voice was familiar, she had heard it before in the Dreamworld where she and some of her demigod sisters were trapped. She turned around slowly to meet cold green eyes glaring at her, they shifted into a searing red, imprinting fear into her heart.
"Let her go," came a clearer voice sounding much braver than Zoe felt as an arrow was aimed at Percy's neck from behind.
Percy turned towards this new competitor only to stop. It was her. Seeing her like this reminded Percy of his dream when entering the Dreamworld, of their marriage, of their daughter. And of the warning Luke just gave him a few moments ago.
Percy knew he couldn't display the worry he was feeling, so instead he activated Gamer's mind, crushing his worries and replaced it with a big smile as his chirped out, "Arty!"
Artemis blinked as she lowered her bow and arrow and stared in wonder, "Percy? What are you doing here?"
Percy grinned, "oh you know, just demigod stuff," he removed the arrow from Zoe's neck, finally allowing the girl to breath calmly. She got up and moved to her mistress's side, Percy smiled curiously looked between the two, "she's one of yours then?"
Artemis nodded, "yes, this is Zoe Nightshade, my most loyal hunter and my lieutenant."
Zoe Nightshade, Lieutenant of the Hunt,
Lv— 34
"Ah, I see. Sorry, should have guessed by the silver parka," Percy chuckled, he presented Zoe's arrow to her, "here, sorry about threatening you. It's just that when people shoot at me I tend to be cautious."
"You did what?!" Artemis' eyes went wide as she looked at Zoe, "Zoe, what is he talking about?"
"I-I saw him communicating with someone my lady," Zoe explained, "I thought him a spy."
"This is Percy Jackson Zoe, did you not recognize him?" Artemis asked with a raised eyebrow.
Zoe bowed back away, "I didn't, forgive me my lady. I am ready to accept any punishment you deem acceptable."
Artemis turned to Percy, "you are the offended party in this regard, what do you think is appropriate?"
Percy chuckled, "come on Artie you know punishing here is overkill. She saw what she thought was a spy and acted accordingly. Heck if it really was a spy then it would have been the right thing to do!"
"So you don't wish to punish her?" Artemis asked in a teasing tone of voice.
Percy rolled his eyes, "yes, I don't wish to punish her. She didn't do anything wrong. Though ah next time Zoe, ask before you shoot someone in the back, it's very rude you know."
Zoe seemed to blush in embarrassment as she nodded, "understood."
Percy tossed her the arrow, who put it back in her quiver. Percy turned to Artemis and looked over her shoulder spotting several more hunters walking up towards them, looking curiously at the boy their mistress was talking too.
Just then a few tips broke out as Percy saw five blue blurs running around the Hunter's ranks, startling them.
"They got out again!" a hunter hissed.
"Catch them!"
"They're getting away!"
Five cat sized Baloths ran out from between the Hunter's feet and ran towards Percy.
The demigod's eyes widened as the pups ran towards him, nipping and biting his ankles. The son of Poseidon grinned seeing the little pups, he turned to Artemis, "they grew up fast!"
The goddess nodded, "indeed they did. They are growing like weeds, very difficult to train. They don't listen to anyone except me, which makes them difficult to train."
"They also bite," Zoe grumbled under her breath.
Percy grinned as he picked one up, scratching behind it's ears, "oh, they aren't so bad, like little cats, you just need to know how to train them."
The Hunters looked surprised at the way the Baloth pups responded to Percy, enjoying his scratches, unlike with them where they clawed their arms if they even attempted such a thing.
"How do thee do such a thing?" Zoe asked in quiet wonder.
"Percy was there when I found them," Artemis explained, "he helped bring them to this world, so I suppose in a way they see him as his father," the goddess smiled, enjoying the sight of Percy playing with the little Baloths.
"You guys arrived quicker than I thought," Percy put the pups down, much to the little ones' frustration, "I saw you all helping out in the Dreamworld, thanks for that."
Zoe blinked, she realised he was talking to her, "y-you need not thank us, we were only performing our duty to protect Olympus," she replied in a quiet tone of voice, respectful, whether out of fear or respect Percy couldn't tell.
"No, I didn't mean that. That flying snake monster, the ones you helped take down? It was heading towards someone I cared very much for. She had depleted her mana and was effectively a sitting duck. You saved her, and for that you have my gratitude Zoe."
Zoe blinked in surprise turning to her mistress for assistance only to find her smiling slyly at the girl. "I-I accept your thanks Percy Jackson, king of Demigods."
Percy laughed, "please don't call me that. I honestly have no idea what Morpheus was thinking when he put this stupid thing on me," Percy pointed at the crown on his head, "stupid god, didn't ask permission or anything. Just put all this on me and was like, 'deal with it'."
Artemis' eyes went wide, "I'm sorry, king of what?!"
Percy blinked, "oh, right, sorry, I forgot to tell you huh?"
"Yes!"
Percy winced at her scream, "I meant to tell you, honest. It's just when Zeus started throwing around accusations I knew he would be more focused on removing my head than the army coming at us."
Artemis glared, "tell me everything, now."
Percy nodded as she and Zoe followed him back towards Camp Jupiter. The rest of the hunters trailed behind, weary of his presence, some looked ready to shoot him on sight, others looked afraid and a few looked at him in awe.
Percy began his tale and told Artemis everything. He told her about the war, how he managed to hold Kronos back while the demigods took on his army of animals and shadow monsters. How in the end Kronos was sent packing while Hypnos and Morpheus turned into the avatars of Nightmares and Dreams.
"You managed to fight Kronos, on your own?" Artemis asked in surprise, "how?! You could barely fight off a Baloth!"
"Hey! That's not fair! For the record I never even got a chance at those stupid things! You went all divine goddess of vengeance on it and wiped it out before I even got warmed up!" Percy pouted.
"Well in my defence you were taking forever to do so," Artemis smirked, "but seriously Percy, how?"
"It's a power I had," Percy shrugged, the little Baloths bite Percy's ankle, but the demigod couldn't feel a thing, so he let them at it, "it allowed me to temporarily become stronger based on the number of people that were following me."
Artemis' eyes went wide, "by how much?"
"5% per person," Percy shrugged, he picked up two Booths and held them with one hand scratching behind the ear of another's.
"5%!" Zoe screamed, "there were at the least 500 demigods in the battle!"
"590 actually," Percy corrected with a shrug.
"That would have made you at least 3000% more stronger," Artemis spoke up.
"And it still wasn't enough," Percy's shoulders felt heavy at the admission, "don't get me wrong, I had him on the ropes. He was moments away from getting his ass kicked, but in the end it was just that. I couldn't destroy him....I couldn't even come close. I was 3,000 times stronger than I am now, even that wasn't enough."
Artemis stayed silent, contemplating what she had just heard. Zoe on the other hand was reeling from the fact that the person standing next to her was almost strong enough to fight off a Titan, and not just that, the king of Titans. She knew that before, but now...only now did that fact sink in.
They walked for sometime, soon they could see camp Jupiter off in the distance. Artemis turned to Percy, "Percy...are you ready for this?"
Percy remained silent, for the longest time he said nothing. It felt as if he was ignoring her, Zoe was about to speak up when Artemis stopped her with a hand motion, telling her to keep quiet.
Finally he spoke up, "I am. I have no choice, but I am. For the first time I know what I'm supposed to do, and I am ready to do it."
"I see" Artemis nodded, "then this is where I leave you."
Percy looked startled, "you aren't joining us for the battle?" He tried not to sound happy, and based on that fact she didn't look suspicious he succeeded.
Artemis sighed, "sadly, no. Zeus has forbidden us from directly interfering in the upcoming battle. He fears that doing so will provoke further actions from Kronos' side. He believes you will be better off without our help."
Percy snorted, "your dad's mad."
Zoe's eyes winded, she turned to her lady expecting her to start attacking this foolish boy on the spot, but instead she found Artemis smiling.
"Yes, that he is. Your father and Athena are doing their best to convince him otherwise but...," Artemis sighed, "be safe Percy, please."
Percy nodded, "always Arty." 'Good, if she's not here than Kornos can't get to her...for whatever he has planned.'
Artemis smiled, she turned to Zoe, "I'm leaving you in charge Zoe. Remember, Percy can be irritating at times, in fact there will be several times you will want to personally strangle him-"
"-Hey!"
"-But be patient. He won't let you down," Artemis smiled.
Zoe looked stunned, she had never seen her mistress so relaxed around a man before. Even males of her own family. She nodded silently, bewildered as to what exactly was going on.
Artemis turned to Percy and turned up to his crown, "take care of yourself, king of demigods."
Percy grumbled, "please don't call me that." The goddess snorted, snapped her fingers and disappeared in a flash of light.
Percy blinked away the temporary blindness he was feeling and grumbled, "I hate it when they do that," he turned to Zoe, who still looked very confused as to what to make of him. Percy sighed, "alright, let's get going."
