A Little Fright
Electricity cracked as Artemis walked up the steps to the prison.
The high security cells were in a secluded part of Celestis, one typically closed of to the public. They were many types of cells in the city, but most were in the Arena. These ones, however, were for the worst of the worst, the most powerful, the ones who played a bigger risk to Celestis if they escaped.
But let’s just say that normally, there wasn’t supposed to be lightning and thunder surrounding it.
Artemis guessed that the interrogation of Zeus and Athena might not have gone well, if the lightning was anything to go by. If she remembered correctly, her sister was quite stubborn and prideful, so things would be complicated if she didn’t cooperate.
Her father however… let’s just say Athena’s pride was not inherited from her mother. His paranoia could definitely be problematic. Artemis knew very well what desperation could do to someone.
Her brother’s chariot shined on everything but the prison due to the thunderstorm above it. She stepped under the shadows of the clouds, skin prickling because of the electricity in the air. It reminded her of things she’d rather forget.
She stepped up the stairs, mentally preparing herself for a rough day.
The first thing she heard when she pushed through the door was a sickening crunch.
Flipping around to her left, she saw Ares knocked out cold with blood dripping from his nose, Clarisse cleaning some off her fist. Reyna sat in the back of his cell, writing stuff down on her notepad. Unlike Clarisse, she was clean of blood.
She stepped into the cell through the open door, leaning on the frame.
“General.”
Reyna looked up, her features dark. She nonetheless saluted Artemis with a perfect soldier salute.
“My Lady. I suppose you received my message?”
“Yes, I did.” Artemis turned to the war god on the floor. “But what is he doing here? I thought only Athena and Zeus had been arrested?”
Clarisse spoke up, wiping a speck a blood from her fist once more.
“He apparently started a fight shortly after the Feast. Ironically, it was Silena’s mom that brought him over, saying something about him picking a fight with one of the War Celestials. Goddamn prick.”
“That’s your father, Clarisse.” said the ever stoic Reyna.
Clarisse only responded with an eye roll.
Artemis left them to their own devices, then walked towards the next cell. This one had Athena in it. She still had those auburn locks that matched Artemis’, and her bright grey eyes that shimmered with intelligence.
She was cooperating with Annabeth and Malcom. The Architect of Celestis was writing things down while her brother talked with the Goddess of Wisdom. Connor stayed close to his lover, telling him when Athena tried to lie. Their weapons were still close at hand, and they still had all of their armor on. Smart kids.
Thunder boomed yet again as the Moon advanced to the last cell.
Her father was there, struggling against the bindings. He looked like an overweight baby throwing a tantrum. He was screaming at Jason, who had an impassive face, unbothered by all the screaming and kicking. Thalia was trying to hold him back. Travis was there to do the same job as his brother in the other cell.
Artemis never fully put her hatred of men aside all these years, but she had become better at doing so. She would forever try to avoid unnecessary contact with them, but when it came to work, she couldn’t always ask Pol- Apollo to do it for her on the simple basis that she hated asking her twin for help.
Which is why she didn’t even react when Travis came up to her.
“My Lady.”
Celestials were always very polite when meeting with higher ups, especially during work. The thief brothers were no exception.
“Report.”
“He has so far refused to cooperate in any way. Thalia and Jason are struggling to keep in contained.”
Artemis nodded, then looked back at her father. Jason kept asking questions, receiving no answers. Thunder boomed yet again, before Zeus shouted and punched Thalia directly in the face.
Immediately, Artemis felt her blood boil. No one was allowed to hurt a maiden, let alone the leader of the Hunt, under her watch.
She pulled out her bow, rapidly firing a blunt arrow at her target. It zipped Jason to imbed itself square in her father’s chest. He immediately slumped down.
“What’s that arrow?” Thalia asked, while trying to wipe the blood of her face. She seemed to have a broken nose.
“A calming arrow. Unfortunately, the blunt edge means it’ll only work for a few minutes. Attach him before her recovers.”
Travis immediately pulled out some rope and bonded Zeus to the chair. Artemis turned back to the leader of her Hunt.
“Why didn’t you use your arrows?” She asked, seeing that Thalia had many of those same arrows in her quiver. The Celestial reddened in embarrassment.
“I was too busy trying to hold him down…”
Artemis gave her a kind smile before playing herself right in front of her father. He slowly awoke, eyes glazed over like tinted glass. When he seemed awake enough to ask questions, Artemis started interrogating him.
“Do you intend to bring harm to Celestis as a whole?” She questioned, Connor placing himself behind him to tell her whether it was a lie or not.
“Yes… you have no right to take our place… Olympus belongs to us…” he blurted out, words slurred from the flaming arrow. Artemis pushed down the urge to tell him that Olympus was no more. Travis nodded quickly: truth.
Thalia and Jason stiffened next to her at their father’s statement. They were very attached to the somewhat peaceful life they led: none of them wanted to bring back their lives as demigods.
“Why are you here?” asked Jason, his voice as cold as some of the winds he controlled. Besides him, Thalia bristled with electricity.
“We don’t know… awoke in hotel in New Sparta… with letters for the Feast.” Zeus answered. Another nod from Travis.
Artemis was scared to ask this one, but for the safety of those she loved, she needed to.
“Do you intend to harm Hestia?” she asked, remembering what she was told he had said back in the plaza.
He violently shook his head.
“No. Hestia is… my older sister… can’t hurt her.” Relief washed through her as Travis nodded, confirming the statement. Yet an ugly feeling settled in her stomach as she asked the next question.
“Do… do you intend to hurt my brother?”
Something evil twinkled in her father’s eyes, and she stepped back for a moment.
Memories of thousands of years pushed through, several confrontations arose once again. Fights with their father where Artemis would come out of with only a black eye, while her brother came out with broken bones and punishments. Unfair battles where Apollo would get accused of things he had no control over.
And those dreaded years where she thought she might lose her brother at any moment while he was mortal.
For her twin’s sake, she hoped that her father didn’t intend to hurt him once again.
“Yes.”
A reluctant nod from Travis.
Her world spun as she stormed out of the cell, reaching out to hold herself up with a wall.
She shivered. Logically, she knew her brother was safe: Zeus seemed weak, and he was in a cell. But doubts lingered in her mind.
What if he managed to escape?
What if Apollo was hurt once more?
He had spent so much time healing from thousands of years of hurt and suffering. He had braved it all, talked about it to get better. He had healed. Never completely, but enough to be a million times happier than before.
Artemis can only imagine the sheer stress Apollo had experienced since they had learned that their father was back.
Perhaps it was the cause for the intense drowsiness at yesterday’s Feast.
Thalia put a hand on her shoulder, the other rubbing soothing circles on her back. It was unnecessary, but Artemis appreciated the gesture. She straightened and walked to her sister’s cell.
The conversation was very easy. Athena had chosen the wisest option and had started telling them what she truly thought.
According to her hypothesis, she thought the Fates had brought them here to show them how much better their children were at managing their lives. She thought they were trying to make them learn their lesson.
She also thought the Fates might be behind the explosion, but wasn’t so sure.
What’s more, Athena also told them how they thought they were in demigod bodies, restricting their powers and abilities. They also were unable to connect to their symbols of power.
Artemis remembered those weapons. They had pondered for a while on what to do with them.
Zeus’ bolt had been given over to Jason, who used it more as a simple spear than an actual bolt.
Poseidon’s trident had been used as a template for Perseus’ own, while the original was somewhere in Atlantis’ treasury.
Hades’ helm of darkness had been similarly placed in a secured space by Nico, who had no use for it, but had not wanted it to fall into the wrong hands.
Several others, like Hermes’ caduceus or Aphrodite’s doves, had simply been passed down to the oldest child of said parent.
Artemis and Apollo, on the other hand, and never let go of their precious matching bows.
Athena pulled her out of her thoughts by mentioning that some of them were more powerful than others, even in demigod bodies. Specifically, the older gods like Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Aphrodite.
The ugly feeling rose back up in Artemis’ stomach, as she pushed down the feeling of vomit. She tentatively asked if Athena could associated the amount of power Zeus held to a demigod of the previous era.
“I’d say like that one sea brat, Perseus. Enough to endanger a god or Celestial if unprepared.”
Artemis’ hopes sunk down to Tartarus as a loud thunder sound echoed through the cells and a light passed Athena’s cell.
Zeus had escaped.
They immediately gave chase, sprinting out of the building just fast enough to see Zeus disappear through the gate of the forest.
They continued running after him when they saw him sprinting around the corner of a building. He engaged into a main road, trying to lose them in the crowd. He was slower than them, and he was struggling to push through the masses, but he had a head start.
Artemis caught up to him, holding out a hand to grab a part of his shirt. She pushed forward and…
She caught nothing. Another flash of light, and Zeus was once again out of reach. Anger and fear flashed into her heart as he turned into another street: the one that went up the hill around the council room, otherwise known as the Temple Hill.
No.
No.
No!
Artemis pushed through once again, fear and anger fueling her chase. She needed to get there before him, before-
He entered her brother’s temple.
Two seconds later, she busted through the door. The interior was trashed, as if a hurricane had passed through.
It was probably the case.
A door was open, electricity crackling just beyond it.
Her brother’s bedroom.
No.
She saw it happen in slow motion.
He raised his fist.
(No.)
It filled with electricity.
(No.)
Her brother laid there, unmoving, asleep on his bed.
(No.)
Unaware of what was going to happen.
(No.)
The fist went down.
NO!
A flash of light blinded her for a second, before a loud sound of an explosion rattled her ears.
She stayed there, frozen, as the smoke cleared.
A smell of blue cookies filled her nose before it turned to a feeling of vengeful waves washing over her.
A aura of pure anger and protection radiated from the smoke.
When it cleared, Artemis prepared for the worst.
And it didn’t happen.
Perseus stood there, holding up Zeus’ fist in a defiant manner. His expression was of pure anger as a mini hurricane raged around them both. Artemis stumbled back. It was not every day that she was confronted to the Perseus glare (TM). It had the reputation of making even the strongest willed falter.
“You dare hurt what’s mine?” He said, venom dripping from his words.
Zeus shook in fear. His eyes glazed over before he promptly fainted, dangling from the fist that Perseus was holding. His captor’s expression softened somewhat.
He then proceeded to slump the unconscious god on his shoulder and fireman carry him over to Thalia and Jason, who had just arrived. They exchanged some quick words before the siblings’ expression turned pale and angry.
Perseus transferred Zeus to Thalia as Jason pulled out some handcuffs from his belt, muttering something along the lines of: “Leo will be so happy that I finally used them”.
All three of them turned around to looked sat Artemis, their expressions dark.
“I hope he’ll get a trial for all this?” Asked Perseus expectingly.
Artemis nodded.
“Yes. Tomorrow at noon, a trial will be held to determine his sentence for attempted murder. I trust you’ll oversee the process, Lord of the Skies?” She asked, turning to Jason as he tensed.
“Of course, My Lady. It shall be done.”
A groan came from the bed as Apollo woke up from all the noise. He blinked a few times, before finally taking in the situation in his bedroom and angrily turning over to his lover.
“Percy, I thought I told you: no hurricanes in my room!”