5. Course Of Action
(Recap: Artemis just sat there stunned while she saw the back of Perseus Jackson retreat. Her greatest fears were confirmed. Percy Jackson was alive, and he was on the other side. The guy made toilets explode just when he was a bit nervous. Now to think that Percy would be actually villainous. She needed to talk to her dad about this. In fact, she needed a whole Council meeting in presence of demigods. Everything needed to be out in the open. She rushed to Mt. Olympus to call for a meeting.
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Percy Jackson had just injected the girl with a micro tracker and audio device that would transmit audio within a range of 50 metres of the girl directly into the device connected to Percy's ear. Also, the girl's location would be available to him just at a tap of his fingers.
He knelt down and whispered in the boy's ear "Welcome home Leo Valdez, we're gonna have a lot of fun with your Oggygia Princess here. We have a score to settle, apparently, she likes to curse people a lot." Percy spoke bitterly, remembering all but that he'd suffered at the hands of the arai because of Calypso. Talk about partial memory... What exactly had Tartarus done to the hero of Olympus?)
As soon as Artemis stepped into the throne room she summoned all the Gods. A few moments later every God was seated on the thrones while Artemis stood in front of them, expectant expressions on their faces.
"So sis, finally found someone to marry or what..?" Apollo winked and smiled like the child he was.
"Be serious Apollo." Artemis glared at her immature brother.
Before it could turn into a fight though, Zeus interrupted.
"Artemis, ignore him. Why have we all been forced to leave our domains unattended for a meeting when the summer solstice is pretty much just around the corner?" Zeus looked a bit irritated.
"Father. I think you would know. It's your bolt that has caused all this mess after all."
"My bolt? What do you mean?" Zeus asked though he was clearly hoping the conversation wouldn't go where he feared.
"I'll tell you from the beginning. A few days ago my lieutenant was captured by a new threat that I fear is on the rise."
"Oh, not this again Artemis. Every time it's like you meet to hand us new enemies. What if you're wrong?" Hera said, not caring a penny about what Artemis just said about a capture. Zeus paternal instincts though kicked in.
"Wait, lieutenant, as in my daughter Thalia? What happened to her? Where is she now? Who took her?" He asked, pissed that some punny monster dared kidnap his daughter.
"I'm not wrong. Just like I wasn't the last time. I had to hold the sky to convince you then, but I was right, and we'll never know how much pain and suffering we could've avoided if just you'd all listened to me."
"Fine. We'll hear you." Hera allowed, while Zeus looked anxious about his daughter, still not having earnt a reply from Artemis.
The rest of the Gods were meanwhile something like this in front of Artemis:
Ares looked excited at the prospect of another war.
Hera looked concerned for her Olympian family.
Zeus, Hades looked nervous. Zeus apparently because of Thalia, Hades was a mystery.
Apollo looked lost in his own world.
Dionysus was sipping something and appeared bored out of his mind.
Poseidon looked depressed, having hoped to have a peaceful mourning period post everything that had happened.
Hestia was listening curiously, and Artemis suspected that she knew more than she let on.
Aphrodite was busy with her makeup while simultaneously ogling at Ares.
Hephaestus and Hermes were listening with mild interest.
Athena's gears were already starting to turn, her brain coming up with strategies even before the enemy was known.
Demeter didn't look interested at all, but then again, it was enough on her part to not be talking about cereals.
"Father, Thalia's whereabouts are unknown as of now. She escaped her prison somehow, but left the infirmary and camp the moment she regained consciousness."
"Left, what do you mean left? Wasn't anyone watching? And when you say infirmary, you imply she was injured? Then why would she leave again without you or the hunters?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out. Chiron has launched search parties all over. She had some deep wounds that would take time to heal. We're positive she couldn't have gone off very far."
"Who captured her?" Ares asked the million dollar question.
Artemis took a deep breath before speaking "You're not gonna like the answer, but I have solid proof. She was captured by Tartarus."
The air was still for a moment, the only audible sound in the room being the Olympians breathing.
"Artemis... Are you... Okay?"
"Father, I swear if you don't believe me this time, I'm not gonna just sit back like the last time. I'm gonna take matters into my own hands, even if it means breaking the ancient laws. I can't sit back and watch the demigods being killed and captured like this once again. The Titan war was nothing if not an eye-opener. Seriously, haven't you seen enough of your children shed their blood, sacrifice? I lost all my hunters last time, the only remaining one is in jeopardy. So just give me an answer. Will you hear me out or do I leave and do what I know is right?" Artemis gave a mini-speech, really pissed at such a lame response from her father.
"Artemis. Calm down, daughter. It's not that we don't wanna believe you. But you're making this really hard for us by mentioning Tartarus. I mean, how can he fight when he cannot even rise? This is no Kronos, my dear. No demigod except one of the big three is powerful enough to host him, and we have sworn loyalty from all of them."
"All, really?"
"What do you mean? Artemis, all the known living children of the big three have sworn their loyalty to us." Hermes said.
"That's what we thought. Perhaps dad can shed some light on this one."
"What? Zeus? I swear if you have another child of yours hidden somewhere I'll-"
"Calm down Hera! I have no other child. Artemis! Stop speaking in circles and enlighten the Council now!"
"I'm speaking in circles? Why father, I'll be straight. I'm talking about the demigod that you supposedly killed but is still alive. I'm talking about the sea spawn Perseus Jackson."
For a moment the Gods stared at Artemis, then Hades of all the Gods spoke up.
"Artemis, first Tartarus, now this? Hear yourself." Although he looked a bit nervous. And then Artemis connected the dots.
"Of course, it all falls into place now, doesn't it? Dad's expressions when I said Thalia spoke Percy's name, his nervousness during this meeting, him not meeting my gaze at the mention of his lightning bolt, Hades' nervousness, everything. He isn't there is he Hades? In the underworld?"
The Gods took a sharp breath. Even Dionysus, who at first thought Artemis had lost it, coughed on his drink at the possibility of actually having to face a war against Tartarus with Percy Jackson as the host.
"Zeus. It's true that you're our King, but you have no right to hide such facts from us. You better have a very good reason for what you did, or you need to prove her wrong." Poseidon glared at his brother, clutching his trident tightly in his hand.
Tartarus and Percy teaming up to attack Olympus, not the ideal time for two of the big three to start a war. You could literally feel the tension in the throne room. Zeus, to everyone's shock though, just rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Oh, no way Poseidon. If we go down, you go down with us. Tell them. You said I'm your king, so I order you, tell them. The whole thing." Zeus said with narrowed eyes, giving Poseidon really no other choice.
"Alright. Artemis speaks the truth, and we the big three are well aware of the situation. Perseus Jackson is alive." Poseidon said and stopped.
"I honestly hadn't expected you to be a part of this Poseidon. Regardless, go on. He said the whole thing. This isn't even one fourth." Artemis glared at Poseidon.
The sea God sighed and continued
"Percy was never killed by the bolt. Do you all remember how he died?
He was by the window, and when Zeus fired the bolt, he flew a few feet in the air and dropped down on the ground, out of that window. We assumed he was dead. We left him there, thinking his soul would reach the underworld. After the meeting was adjourned, I came back. I decided that no matter what, he was still my son. He needed a proper burial. But what I saw stunned me. His body was nowhere to be found. At first, I thought Zeus must've taken him, so I went to see him. There I saw Hades, and he didn't look happy." Poseidon stopped and Hades took on from there.
"I wanted to see Percy's judgement for myself, curious as to what he'd get. However, when his soul didn't come to the judgement for a long time, I grew suspicious. So I checked everywhere. Long story short, I immediately went to Zeus to report that the boy was alive and that his soul never reached the underworld. We were still searching for him when we started getting reports that he'd somehow lost his memories and joined the enemy camp. All that Artemis spoke is true, we shouldn't have hidden it from you. Our new enemy is none other than Tartarus, and unless we do something about it, Percy is going be his host."
Tons of arguments and cursing later, the Olympians were on the same page. Percy needed to regain his memories and fight for Olympus otherwise they were all doomed.
"Artemis, first you tell us all you know. You seem to have something more to offer."
"As a matter of fact, I do. I met Percy today."
She said, then went on to say everything about that encounter right up to the part where Percy threatened Olympus and left.
"Percy has turned. This is bad. What do we do now?" Hermes asked.
"Nothing for now. As much as I hate to admit, there's nothing we can do even if we want to. Let's just prepare the campers for a war against their own hero and one of the most powerful ancients. Just like Kronos, the ancient laws state that unless Tartarus himself doesn't attack us we can't interfere." Zeus spoke. The Gods, though not entirely satisfied knew that there wasn't much they could do. So they just nodded and Zeus dismissed the meeting while ordering Artemis to go to the camp and train the campers.
Artemis reappeared in her palace and touched a new bracelet she'd just worn today. She'd enchanted the bracelet to look silver so that it's pit black colour didn't stand out. She wasn't proud of the purpose it served, but nonetheless, she spoke to the bracelet
"I'm ashamed I'm doing this for you Perseus. I swear, if any harm befalls Thalia, I'll find you and I'll make you pay." She growled.
The bracelet, much to Artemis' shock spoke to her
"You made a wise decision. I'm a man of my word. No harm shall befall your lieutenant as long as you do exactly what I say."
"What else do you see me doing?" She snapped.
"Nothing. Good work. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you stopped me before I left that restaurant. Good to see how effective my threat was." Artemis could hear the voice of Percy mentally smirking. She wasn't proud of it, but she had stopped Percy just as he was retreating in anger, despising the idea of being a spy less than the idea of Thalia being tortured in Tartarus. So she'd agreed to become his spy.
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Meanwhile, somewhere close to Poseidon's realm in a forest on land, the big three had gathered to discuss something secretive.
"Do you think any of them suspected our story?" Poseidon asked.
"I hardly doubt that. It was pretty convincing. Artemis' story about his lost memories also helped them be convinced."
"Yeah. All this while she thought Percy was threatening her. I can't believe she agreed to spy though." Zeus said, disappointed at his daughter.
"She didn't know the truth about Percy. And let's face it. My son can be pretty intimidating when he wants to be." Poseidon said proudly.
Zeus was just about to retort when a voice spoke from behind them
"I always knew that, but to intimidate someone like Artemis, that was the toughest thing I've ever done, and I've defeated almost every known monster so that's saying a lot."
The big three turned back and Percy walked towards them with alertness and a sword ready in his hand. He lost the facade soon enough though and sheathed his sword. He proceeded with a carefree smile on his face to hug his dad.
"Hey dad, I've missed you so much."
"Me too son. How have you been? Tartarus giving you a hard time?"
"Nah. Stupid thals created a lot of problems for me though. I made her flee with so much planning, and she came back for me, that silly girl. Now, most of my time I have to make sure she's safe."
"You need to get her out fast. They need her here, and besides that place isn't safe for her."
"I know. It's just a bit difficult so soon."
"Okay, you do it in your own time. Meanwhile, what's next? Our plan working out fine?"
"Excellent. Tartarus isn't gonna know what hit him." Percy smirked.
(A/N: PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT WHAT YOU FEEL, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS APPRECIATED.)
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