The Dracaena Reformation Society
Every once in a blue moon, Percy found himself having to sit down and question whether or not the Fates had it out for him.
Even discounting the whole son of Poseidon and child of the prophecy thing that no one would tell him anything about (and yeah, he was still ticked off about that), there had to be a limit to how much weirdness life could throw at you before it became blatantly clear that someone was pulling the strings.
Most of the demigods back at camp had never even met a major Olympian besides Mr.D and maybe their divine parent, and even then most likely only on the annual field trips to Olympus every winter solstice. Certainly, he could count on one hand the number who'd had actual, full-fledged conversations with even one of the members of the council of twelve.
Percy, on the other hand?
Including Artemis, he'd met and talked to six , and seven if you counted Hades too even though he technically wasn't even an Olympian at all.
There was this quote Annabeth had mentioned to him once: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.
If that was true, then seven times was a bunch of immortal nigh omnipotent grannies messing with you for shits and giggles.
After Luna had collapsed in the snow and made them all think she was dead and shaved some thirty-something years off all of their lifespans in from terrifying stress - seriously, Bianca just about had a nervous breakdown right then and there - the hunters wasted no time rushing her and Annabeth to one of their healers.
Thalia had looked like she'd have rather eaten iron nails than let either one of them go anywhere with the hunters (and Percy still didn't know what the deal there was) but between their injuries and the fact that the Di Angelo kids were scared halfway out of their minds and looking increasingly likely to pass out from shock, the daughter of Zeus ended up sticking around for the whole 'One of your parents is an absentee god and life as you knew it is over now!' speech.
Unsurprisingly, It didn't go well.
At all.
"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said bluntly. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."
"An Olympian… athlete?"
"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."
"Cool!" said Nico.
No!" Bianca's voice had quavered. "This is not cool!"
Percy would have argued, but... she wasn't exactly wrong . None of this was cool, and having it sprung on you this way of all ways was... Well. Percy had thought getting chased by the minotaur and seeing your mom get exploded into gold dust was a traumatic way to learn the truth, but tonight was quickly shaping to be a real close second.
Nico, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of his sister. He danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"
"Nico, shut up! " Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"
"Bianca," Thalia stepped in right about then, finally turning away from where she'd been glaring unabashedly at Zoe unclenching her fists. "I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."
Bianca paused and paled a shade
"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who almost fell off the cliff - and Luna ."
She turned to stare at Zoe - maybe because she appeared to be the oldest, or maybe just because she was the one nearest to her. "Is Luna a demigod too?"
Zoe exchanged a quick glance with Artemis and nodded. "Indeed."
"And she got hurt fighting Dr.Thorn"
"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "He is destroyed, but most monsters never truly die. He was but one of innumerable hoards - they re-form over and over again and often attack vulnerable half-bloods like yourselves. Your friend's kill is a testament to her skill and bravery, and she will suffer no last injury from it."
"Demigods aren't always so lucky," Thalia said quietly. "With monsters... it's either we train to fight them, or they hunt us down."
Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"
"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."
"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."
"Grover?" Bianca turned and stared at him. "You're a demigod too?"
"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. Bianca went right back to looking like she was about to faint. Percy almost smacked him upside the head for that one, and Thalia actually did smack him.
"Ow!"
"You're freaking her out, Goat-boy."
"Hey! My hooves are clean!"
"Bianca," Percy said, and he tried not to wince at the desperate look on the girl's face as she rounded back on him. He wished that Annabeth was back on her feet. She'd led orientation for new campers before - she could do a much better job at explaining everything without feeling so far out of her depth or worrying about putting her foot in her mouth. "We came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet, and now that you know what you are, your scent - that's how monsters track you - is only going to get stronger. You need to come to camp."
"Camp?" she asked.
"Camp Half-Blood," He said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."
"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.
"Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"
"There is another option," Zoe said.
Thalia's head snapped back to her.
"No, there isn't!" She hissed angrily
The resulting death glares could have given Medusa a run for her money.
Awesome
Eventually, Artemis herself stepped in to break up… whatever their spat was supposed to be.
"We have troubled the children enough." She intoned gravely, and her hunters snapped into motion and began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."
"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."
"What about me?" Nico asked.
Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"
Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. Seriously, Percy didn't get what the bid deal was "You bet! Come on, Nico!"
Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff."
"Yes, my lady."
Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.
Which left Percy and Thalia all on their own.
"So what now?" He started slowly, because Thalia still looked like a landmine ready to go off and Percy didn't want to be in the blast radius if it did.
"I'm going to go look in on Annabeth and the new girl." She grimaced. "The other new girl - Luna, right?"
"Yeah."
"Thought so." She paused thoughtfully, before frowning. "How did she know to fight?"
"Uh, what?"
"How did she know to fight?" Thalia's frown grew deeper as she thought. "If she's a newbie demigod, how did she know how to fight? Because she was right next to me, and that wasn't random flailing. She knew how to use that spear - Actually, where the heck did the spear come from?"
"It came from her necklace-" Both of them stilled as the realization slammed into both of them. "It's a magical weapon."
Like Riptide, Or Thalia's spear and shield. But that meant-
"Somebody gave her that spear." Thalia finished for both of them, eyes narrowing in thought. "Somebody gave her that spear, and taught her how to use it too."
"Her godly parent."
"My father gave me my weapons, but he didn't teach me how to wield them." She protested, shaking her head. "No, I had to figure that out by myself. No god is going to take the time to personally train their demigod - why would they even bother?"
He winced. Ignoring the suddenly bitter edge to the words, there was a certain truth to them. Still, he didn't see what the big deal was.
"So maybe she did too." Percy shrugged.
"She's too good," Thalia argued back. "She was almost as good as me - and I spent every second I've had since I... came back training. That's not normal - and did you see what she was doing with those lights?"
Right. The freaky bolts of something that her flinging Dr.Thorn around like a bowling pin and somehow maybe teleporting.
"That... was something." He admitted - He hadn't thought about it yet because it had somehow ended up with Annabeth not disappearing forever over the edge of a cliff, and the heady relief that washed over him had almost been enough to take him out at the kneed. "It was magic."
"Strong magic. Powerful magic."
So were Thalia's lightning bolts, and Percy's control over water, but he didn't argue the point.
"So her godly parent is powerful too. Hecate, maybe?"
The goddess of magic seemed as good a guess as any, but Thalia didn't seem happy with the answer. Or the situation at all.
"Maybe." She grudgingly admitted at last, but her eyes were still narrowed. "But I still want to know who trained her."
"We could ask?"
Personally, Percy didn't think anyone had, but he wasn't going to begrudge Thalia her suspicion. Now of all times, a trained, competent half-blood who could charge into battle as unflinchingly as Luna Lovegood had just showing up out of the blue was more than a little shady.
He was curious too.
"No, I'll ask." She finally turned towards him and pointed at his shoulder. "You go after Grover and Nico and get that looked at."
"Hey, I'm fine."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm fine . I want to check in on Annabeth."
She smirked.
"Yeah, I bet you do."
"What's that supposed to-?"
Thalia poked him in the shoulder, and the word trailed off into a garbled hiss of pain as he leaped back some three feet away. He almost swooned from the rush of nausea that came with the jump. When his vision finally cleared up, Thalia had already crossed her arms and was staring him down expectantly.
"You're evil." He exhaled and closed his eyes, trying to get the world to stop spinning.
"You're just dumb. What were you thinking, for the record? That you'd take on Dr.Thorn by yourself? Seriously?"
He bristled. "If I didn't, we might have lost Nico and Bianca.
"I know."
He froze. "What?"
"I get it." She repeated empathetically "You did what you had to. Trust me, I know. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and got turned into a fucking tree for it."
Oh.
Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree.
"Thalia-"
She waved him off. "Just don't forget you have backup for a reason, Percy. Tonight could have gone a lot worse than it did. Get that shoulder patched up."
She turned and walked off without another word, leaving him with an unpleasant feeling curdling in his stomach, one that had nothing to do with the wound on his shoulder.
"Great."
Percy tried to look for Grover and Nico, but he quickly decided his odds of finding a satyr in a darkened forest weren't all that great, so he decided to wait by one of the campfires a hunter had set aside - probably for them, now that he thought about it - and watched as the followers of Artemis finished putting up their camp.
Say what you will about the hunters, but they got things done and fast .
In less than half an hour, they set up seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but Percy decided he would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and he got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.
Finally, one of the Hunters brought him his backpack. Grover and Nico came back from their walk, and Grover helped him fix up my wounded arm.
"It's green!" Nico said with delight.
"Hold still," Grover told him. "Here, eat some ambrosia while I clean that out."
Percy winced as Grover dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square helped. It tasted like homemade brownie, dissolving in his mouth and sending a warm feeling through his whole body. Between that and the magic salve Grover used, his shoulder felt better within a couple of minutes.
Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, Percy didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. He recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.
"Big collection," Percy said.
Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."
"You've been playing this game a long time?"
"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows.
"What?" He asked.
"I forget. That's weird." He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"
Percy showed him Riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.
"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"
"Um, well, I don't actually write with it."
"Are you really the son of Poseidon?"
"Well, yeah."
"Can you surf really well, then?"
Percy looked at Grover, who was trying hard not to laugh.
"Jeez, Nico," Percy said. "I've never really tried."
He went on asking questions. Did Percy fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (He didn't answer that one - literally no answer was a safe answer for that) If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to almost fall off a cliff? (Percy tried not to whack Nico for asking that one.) Could all demigods teleport like Luna did (No. Life would be way too convenient otherwise, and where was the fun in them all not suffering as much as possible?)
Was Annabeth his girlfriend? (At this point, Percy was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves. Grover too, the ridiculous goat was almost choking in his effort not to laugh)
He figured any second he was going to ask him how many hit points he had, and he'd lose his cool completely, but then Zoe Nightshade came up to them.
"Percy Jackson."
She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that Percy had to resist the urge to sit up straight and say "Yes, ma'am."
She studied him distastefully, like he was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.
"Come with me," she finally said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."
Well, then.
Percy exchanged one last, loaded look with Grover ( Don't get smote , Grover's mind screamed over the empathy link) before following Zoe as she led him to the largest tent by the arc of the central campfire.
The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others Percy didn't recognize.
Honestly, he figured that an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot.
He thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then he realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap.
"Join us, Percy Jackson," the goddess said and gestured with a hand.
It was almost funny how she worded it like a request - Percy knew full well that when a god asked you to do something, they weren't actually asking so much as humoring your delicate mortal sensibilities by not outright ordering you outright - they didn't need to, after all.
Even if Percy hadn't known that for a fact, he didn't have to be a genius to know that it took a special kind of stupidity to refuse a goddess on principle, let alone one who'd just saved your life.
With a nod, he sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied him, which made him uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.
"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked, as if reading his mind. For all he knew, she just had.
"Uh… a little."
"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."
"Go astray?" He asked.
"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."
"Oh."
Percy didn't have anything to say to that - Nothing sane, anyway. He especially had no intention of telling Artemis that her definition of 'going astray' sounded suspiciously like growing up, which was something all mortals did.
That was just how things worked, but what did he know? Immortals tended to play by their own rules most of the time anyway.
Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at him as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was his fault, like he'd invented the idea of being a guy. Maybe he would have said something if things had been a little different, but the olympian goddess was literally right there.
"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"
"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."
"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the… mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."
And so Percy told her - and silently hoped that the jackalope thing was a joke, because what the fuck ? - When he was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."
Zoe sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"
"Yes."
That sounded ominous
"What scent?" He asked.
"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured, which... didn't answer him at all, actually. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."
She stared at him intently.
"We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."
"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"
"No, no. After that."
"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."
Zoe's face paled.
She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.
"Go on, Percy," the goddess said.
"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—"
"Stirring," Bianca corrected. "Yeah. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"
The goddess was so still she could've been a statue.
"Maybe he was lying," Percy tried to say, but his stomach was already sinking at the reminder - as a general rule of thumb, demigods were never that lucky.
Never .
And from she shook her head, Artemis evidently agreed "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."
Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."
"No, Zoe. I must do this alone."
"But, Artemis—"
"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."
"As… as you wish, my lady."
"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."
"You know what the monster is?" Percy asked hopefully.
Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong."
What a wonderful non-answer that was.
"Can goddesses even pray?" Percy asked, because he'd never really thought about that and because the odds of him forcing an answer out of Artemis for his previous question were about the same as the odds of Zeus sending him a birthday present next August - one that wasn't rigged to blow up in his face.
His uncle was cool like that
A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you."
Oh no.
"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"
"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."
"What?" Zoe blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"
"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down." Zoe muttered something about foolish campers. "And now there is one last decision to make."
Artemis turned to Bianca, who flinched almost imperceptibly at the Goddess's regard. None of them missed it. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"
Bianca hesitated. "I'm-"
And that's when a commotion from outside interrupted the poor girl, a loud ringing argument and a pair of voices that seemed halfway familiar drew closer and closer.
Before Percy could ask what was going on, the tent flap was suddenly wrenched open and in stumbled Luna Lovegood, a rather irate hunter on her tail (pun intended)
"You can't go in there without permission!" The hunter hissed, red in the face and looking ready to blow "You shouldn't even be moving, I've just finished patching you up!"
"Pheobe," Artemis said calmly, and the hunter's eyes went wide as her gaze snapped to the goddess.
"My lady, I'm so sorry-"
Artemis raised a hand and Pheobe's mouth clamped shut.
"It's alright, Pheobe."
The goddess of the moon turned to face Luna, who'd summarily dropped to the ground beside Bianca, crossed her legs and pulled the other girl into a one-armed hug. For her part, Bianca leaned right into it, looking so relieved she might've cried.
"You're okay."
"Of course I'm okay, silly." She nudged the girl with her elbow. "It isn't the first time I've been hurt. I know how to manage."
Artemis looked at the pair of them for a long second before turning to Pheobe.
"I will speak to young Luna here myself. Please, attend to your duties."
Phoebe didn't look happy, eyes still flickering to Luna, but she didn't even hesitate to bow and turned right around to leave.
"Thank you for treating me," Luna called after her, startling her as she made her way out. The blonde hair offered her a wide, genuine smile. "That was the very best healing I've had all year!"
Pheobe hesitated, shook her head slightly, then inclined it in a motion that could have generously been described as a nod before leaving, the tent flapping shut behind her.
Almost as one, everybody turned to face Luna, though the girl herself only had eyes for Artemis. Slowly, almost theatrically, she bowed her head to the goddess.
"Hail, Lady Artemis of Delos, Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt, Daughter of the King of Kings and the Titaness of Motherhood."
Drop. Dead. Silence.
Artemis's answering expression was the very definition of neutral, smooth as the surface of an undisturbed lake. Zoe had her eyebrows raised, half approving and half suspicious. Bianca, though, was Percy's mirror image.
Namely, confused as all hell.
"Luna, what are you saying?"
Luna blinked. "I'm greeting the goddess. You do know that's Artemis, right?"
"Of course I do!"
"You know she's a goddess?"
" Of course I do! "
"Then why shouldn't I greet her as her position demands?"
Bianca put her head in her hands. "I almost forgot. Why are you like this?"
"Girls," Percy could have sworn that Artemis sounded amused "Luna, I appreciate your sense of propriety. Tell me, who taught you to greet gods as such?"
Luna smiled. "My father did."
"And your father is a mortal?"
Percy almost reared back in surprise when Luna shook her head.
"No, my lady. He's a god too. He insisted I had to learn the proper form of address because many of the other gods can get very uptight and dramatic about receiving proper respect."
Percy choked. Zoe choked. Even Bianca choked.
Oh gods, this girl had just survived a brush with death and now she was all but asking to be blasted to dust.
"Girl, watch thy tongue-!" Zoe almost hissed, but Artemis just raised a hand again.
"She means no offense," And yeah, the goddess was definitely somehow amused instead of angry now. Percy could have sworn she almost smiled "Do you, my girl?"
"No." Luna frowned. "Why would I want to offend you? That would be a bit counterproductive, no?"
"You'd be surprised," Artemis said dryly. "Tell me, then, who is your father?"
"I can't do that."
Someone made a noise that sounded like a dying wheeze. It might have been him.
"Luna," He finally said, tone more than a little desperate. Artemis didn't look angry, but that could change in a heartbeat. "Luna, you can't refuse a goddess."
"But I'm not refusing a goddess. I didn't say I wouldn't tell her. I said I can't tell her." She turned to look at Artemis again. "I'm sorry my lady, but I swore my father an oath I wouldn't reveal his identity without permission. I can't break it."
"A binding oath?" When Luna nodded, the very faintest of disapproving frowns pulled at Artemis's lips. It was still enough to raise Percy's blood pressure by about a hundred marks. "On the Styx?"
"Oh no." Luna shook her head vehemently. "Father said that if I ever swore anyone an oath on the Styx, to anyone , for any reason, he'd bind me in chains and dangle me over the abyss of chaos until the stupid falls out of me."
Percy didn't know what that meant exactly, but Zoe started spluttering in disbelief.
"But it's still very binding," Luna reassured the silent goddess. "If I try to say his name, my tongue will stick to the roof of my mouth. If I try and write it down, my hands won't be able to move. And If I try to mime it or allude to it, I'll be petrified."
Bianca reared back, horrified. "What?"
"Oh don't worry. It's only temporary."
They were all worried. They were all very worried, what the f-?
"I see"
Two words from Artemis derailed that entire line of thought.
"I hear the truth in your words." She said at last, silver-grey eyes pensive. "Very well, then. Tell me how it is you came to be in this mortal school then, along with two other demigods."
"Oh, that's easy." Luna brightened up "I was searching for a sphinx."
...
"You were searching..." Artemis was impassive again, but Zoe was staring at the other girl like she was some new and heretofore unknown kind of creature she'd never encountered before. "for a sphinx ."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Well, it's a bit of a long story." Luna settled in and leaned against Bianca. "See, I was traveling down through Maine a few months ago - I travel a lot and go from city to explore - and one day my friend Carli gave me an Iris call - She said she'd heard rumors of an old, strong monster stalking around a school nearby, Westover Hall. She thought it was a sphinx, which I thought was odd because they usually don't go looking for victims all on their own, so I decided to investigate."
"Your friend led you to a monster?" Percy blurted out - he couldn't help himself. "Is she a demigod too?"
Because if there were somehow four demigods involved in all of this, he was calling it quits and getting Chiron to get down here himself.
"No, of course not. Carli is the president of the DRS"
"The DRS?"
"Yes. The Dracaena Reformation Society. D-R-S. Get it?"
...
"Yeah, no." Percy shook his head and scooted away, glancing at Artemis out of the corner of his eye and shaking his head vehemently. "I got nothing."
Artemis looked at Luna carefully. "Child. Your... friend-"
"Carli"
"...Carli. She is a monster? A Dracaena?"
Luna gave the goddess a funny look.
"Well, of course she is. She can't be the head of the Dracaena Reformation Society without actually being a Dracaena. How would that work?"
Percy was starting to question whether or not somebody had spiked his nectar when he wasn't looking because he was fairly sure only the strongest mortal drugs could induce a hallucination like this.
Maybe not even those.
"You consort with such a creature?" Credit where credit was due, Zoe somehow managed to keep her tone level and free of judgment, but her stare was no less intense for it. "You are aware of what - of whom these creatures feed upon, yes?"
For just a moment, Luna's cloudy eyes sharpened.
"Yes. But not every immortal creature is a monster."
And Percy would have argued against that, really he would have, but he abruptly found himself thinking of Tyson and the winds were blown right out of his sails. His half-brother was living proof that not all monsters were bad, and logically he couldn't be the only one either.
And Zoe evidently agreed, because she didn't do more than purse her lips and frown severly in response.
"I have never heard of this... DRS " Artemis said.
"That's alright. It was only founded last year."
"What?"
"Well, I was down in New York, and this hoard of Dracaena ambushed me - I tried to negotiate with them, but they were very insistent on eating me. So I killed them all instead." Luna nodded, a thirteen-year-old kid being all prim and reasonable about exterminating a monster nest "And when I raided their lair for supplies, I found Carli chained in their basement. She was a young dracnae who made friends with a clear-sighted mortal before her other nest mates found them and killed him."
Luna frowned sadly.
"She was very upset about it, so she tried to run away. Her friends wouldn't let her, though, and they chained her down and kept her all starved and lonely until I found her and set her free. We've been friends ever since - she's doing a good job rounding up all the productive Dracaena she can find, making sure to teach them not to attack mortals and demigods and to file all their taxes like productive members of society, and every once in a while she'll call me about any new or interesting leads, though she made a big mistake this time. She told me it was a sphinx stalking Westover, not a manticore ."
Luna huffed.
"And I spent weeks practicing all my riddles, too. Carli really can be a bit dotty every now and again."
...
"Luna." Bianca... actually giggled. It grew into helpless laughter that sounded a little hysterical, which Percy thought absolutely fair considering the sheer, unmitigated bullshit they were all listening to. "Luna, you of all people never get to call anyone dotty. Ever."
"Why not?" But she smiled and nudged Bianca, expression warm and pleasant before she turned back to Artemis and finished her story. "Anyway, when I got to Westover and I realized that Dr.Thorn was a monster who wasn't attacking any students, I stayed to have a bit of a look around. I used the mist to pose as one of the students, and then I realized that he was getting all funny around Bianca and Nico, so I made sure they never stayed too far out of my reach. Not until I knew what Dr. Thorn was up to. And then came the school dance, you all came charging in."
"You knew we were demigods?" Bianca gasped.
"I figured it out." Luna shrugged and smiled. "Afterwards, I couldn't leave you alone. And we're friends now, so that was a very good decision."
"A dangerous one still," Artemis said
"Yes, but I couldn't leave them alone. Dangerous monsters don't stalk demigods for weeks. That's not how it works. They either attack and kill them as soon as they find them or they go after more convenient prey. I could have ambushed Dr.Thorn, but what if there were other odd monsters at his beck and call?"
Bianca shuddered. Luna hugged her tightly.
"I wanted to know what Dr.Thorn was doing, and I couldn't simply drag Bianca and Nico away, so I had to stay."
"Just like that?" Percy couldn't believe what he was hearing - and he was the guy who'd once had a Fury for a pre-algebra teacher. "You stuck around, just like that?"
"Yes. It was a good experience. I made new friends, and I fought a monster I've never met before." Luna smiled secretively. "Besides, Dr.Thorn was hardly the worst teacher I've ever had. Between a fraud, a friendly werewolf, a murderous imposter, a toad, and a couple more murderous lunatics, he comes out solidly near the top.
...
Percy... didn't know what to say.
"No, still got nothing."
"You are brave, child," Artemis said at last, taking the burden off of him. "A credit to yourself and to your parent, whomever that may be. And you have given me much... much to think about. But we have tarried too long as it is. Bianca."
Their other girl snapped to attention.
"M-my lady?"
"I would have your answer now."
"I'm - I'm still thinking."
Something about the way she said it, wary and bordering on scared had all of Percy's alarm bells ringing.
"Wait," He said, sitting up straight and leaning forward. "Thinking about what?"
"They… they've invited me to join the Hunt."
For a moment, the words just didn't compute. Then Percy looked to Artemis, whose face gave nothing away, and Zoe, whose expression still took on a disdainful edge whenever she turned to him, and he felt a part of himself go cold.
"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."
"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoe said.
He couldn't believe He was hearing this.
"Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and… I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?" "
"To begin with," Zoe said, "immortality."
Percy stared at her, then at Artemis.
"She's kidding, right?"
"Zoe rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."
"What oath?" Percy asked.
"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."
"Like you?"
The goddess nodded.
Percy tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middleschool girls forever. He couldn't get his mind around it.
"So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"
"Not just half-bloods," Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"
"Which are you, then?"
Anger flashed in Zoe's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."
Bianca, this is crazy," He said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."
"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."
"Hey!" Percy protested. "
You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."
And oh, low blow. Percy was beginning to understand why Thalia hated these people so much - you don't tempt an orphan with the promise of family to get them to do what you want.
That's just low .
"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."
Hook. Line. And gods-damned sinker.
"Bianca, you can't do this," Percy said. "It's nuts."
She looked at Zoe. "Is it worth it?"
Zoe nodded.
"It is."
And for one horrible moment, Percy thought that was it. He was terrified that Bianca would just up and abandon her brother, and leave all of them twiddling their thumbs and watching miserably, unable to do a thing.
But at the last second, Bianca hesitated.
With almost visible effort, she turned to Luna, who had remained silent and almost disturbingly expressionless throughout the entire exchange.
"Lu? What do you think?" She hesitated, and suddenly she looked so young and unsure Percy almost flinched from second-hand misery himself. "Do you think I should join?"
Luna didn't even hesitate.
"No."
Percy exhaled in relief, Zoe bristled, and Artemis remained still as a statue and gave nothing away.
"Lady Artemis's offer is generous, and joining the hunt is a great honor," Luna explained gently, gaze flickering to Artemis before refocusing on Bianca. "But being a hunter isn't just a great opportunity, Bianca. There is a price to it."
"A trivial one-" Zoe started, but Artemis cut her off.
"Zoe."
The Leitunant went silent at once, though she was still fuming. She turned to glare at Percy, as if saying 'see?! This is your fault!'
He resisted the urge to say something rude.
"I know it doesn't seem important - Love, and all that." Luna smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It isn't anyone's choice to give that up but yours - but Bianca, you're twelve. You don't even know what you'd be giving up, and I don't like that. Even if you were to join the hunters, don't do it before you understand exactly what it would cost. What it would take from you, and Nico too."
Percy could almost see Bianca's resolve crumble by the end of that little speech. "But.. Immortality?"
It was a weak complaint - He could tell that Bianca was just arguing for the sake of arguing, but Luna just laughed, loud and airy.
"Bianca, excluding Lady Artemis's blessings, I know about six different ways that a mortal can receive immortality." Wait, what? "None of them are easy to come by, but it can be done if you're determined enough, and there are probably at least half a dozen more that I don't know about. Immortality isn't the problem here, silly, it's experience . Lady Artemis is not one to deny maidens who honor her a chance to join the hunters, even if they've rejected it before."
Both girls turned to the silent Artemis, who slowly nodded. Once.
"See? You don't have to choose now. You're scared, Bia, and there's a whole world out there you should get to know first before you choose an eternity you know next to nothing about. You have to be smart about this."
Luna's smile turned slightly melancholy for a second.
"'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.' Live a little. Explore. Learn. Spend a few years growing and thinking, and when you're done, if you still want to be a Huntress, you can join knowing that it's your own choice and free of all regrets."
"But what about you? You've seen the world. You know everything about this demigod stuff" Bianca swallowed nervously. "Would you join, if it were you?
"I barely know a thing, Bianca. There's so much out there that I haven't seen yet and that I still want to see, but none of that's important. What matters is what you choose, and I won't bias you by trying to explain my choices. It has to be your choice, in your own time, by your own free will."
Percy was almost gaping by the end of that little tirade - where the hell had the ditzy, slightly (definitely) crazy girl from before gone? This was borderline Chiron-level advice.
He just prayed it would work (No seriously, Poseidon, if you're listening, please let this work!)
The silence stretched on, low and steady and full of tension.
And at last, finally, Bianca di Angelo turned back to Artemis and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, my lady. But I don't want to be a hunter now."
Yes!
Percy almost jumped up and danced a victory jig - only the sight of Zoe's clenched jaw and the threat of Artemis's 'poof! you're a jackalope!' threat kept him down.
Even still, he had a huge grin on his face. "You're going to love camp, Bianca. You too, Luna."
She smiled nervously. "Thanks!"
Luna just nodded. "I'm looking forward to it - I've been meaning to seek out Chiron for a while. I wanted to ask him what his stance on the Party Ponies growing monopoly on laser tag centers across the midwest and how it affects inter-species relations."
...
"Nope." Percy shook his head and leaned right back again "Still got nothing."
"Unsurprising," Zoe muttered.
Artemis just sighed
"Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother. Girls, go with her."
Zoe didn't look really happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca and Luna to follow her.
"I wish you both the best." Artemis intoned as they left, nodding her head in farewell. "Perhaps we shall continue this discussion another day."
"Thank you for your generosity, my lady, and farewell."
Luna bowed at the waist and tugged Bianca with her, and then the two of them vamoosed, and he was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.
Yeah, he hadn't thought this last part through.
"So," Percy said awkwardly - the goddess didn't seem upset that she'd lost one, maybe two potential followers, but you never knew with gods. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"
Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."
...
The Underworld - Present time
Deep in the darkness where mortals dared not dwell, a figure with golden eyes and wings as black as primordial darkness shifted.
Another appeared before him - vaguely humanoid, if just barely, and promptly took a knee.
"My lord."
The winged figure raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
"The young lady has encountered the hunter of Artemis. She and her compatriots are to be escorted to Camp Half-Blood by Apollo himself come dawn."
...
A long, tired sigh broke the silence eventually.
"Typical. I tell her to avoid the Olympians, and she goes and runs into two right off the bat. And she's going to camp , too. Now she'll inevitably be drawn into this infernal war where I cannot help her!"
There was a sudden burst of fury, though it dissipated as quickly as it came.
Instead, the winged figure paused and began to think.
"...Fine." He shook his head. "Fine. I won't begrudge her the freedom to make her own choices, but I'll not have her stumble into the machinations of gods and titans unprepared. Daimon."
The servant snapped to attention. "My Lord?"
"Fetch me a hunk of Stygian Ore from the banks of the Styx, and summon a cyclops."
"At once, my lord."
As the servant departed to carry out his will, the winged figure finally allowed himself a smile. Grim, perhaps, but when was death anything but?
"There's still plenty of times before the curtains close, daughter of mine." Golden eyes glinted and flared in the dark. "Let's see what you're up to now."
...
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