LoSP Side Stories Ch.13: The Hunters' Faceoff

Flashes of green burned in Artemis’ eyes as tall explosions of Greek fire rocked through the clearing, the dome of energy over the field cracking like a mirror. The smoke stung her nostrils and itched in her chest as her ears rang with the chain of explosions that tore through the monster army around them, drowning the dying screeches of monsters in a sea of fire. 

Percy stood tall amidst the flames, his sword glowing, shining off his armor. Artemis felt his power brush over her, and felt something stir in her stomach as the green and orange flames reflected in his glowing eyes. A warm glow blossomed in her veins and ran down her body. 

‘He’s your friend now.’ A whisper rose in her mind. ‘The first one of his kind you’ve befriended. A boy… no, a man.’

She saw Percy’s muscles tense, his green eyes locked onto Nemesis, who was his target. Artemis’ fingers tightened over the silver hilts of her daggers, the wild in her roaring in challenge.

“NOW!” Percy’s voice echoed like a clap of thunder and she pounced.

The edge of her silver daggers screeched off Lelantos’ bronze ones, sparks raining between their feet. Blurs of silver bounced off the edges of bronze, sparks flying as the blades clashed. 

Ichor pumped in Artemis’ veins and her arms glowed a faint silver as she felt the wild and the forest respond to her. She could hear every breath, every cackle of fire, disrupted by the crack of thunder and the twang of bowstrings beyond the flames. She could feel Thalia calling to the lightning in her as she could feel her other huntresses who fought beyond the flames and doing what they did best. Hunt.

A breeze ruffled by her parka as Lelantos moved with the breeze, evading her strikes. His eyes burned with rage and grief as he snarled and parried her attacks. 

Artemis spun and went low, her daggers cutting through the thin air, a hair’s breadth from the Titan’s crotch and he drifted back. With a scowl, he leaned away from a flash of silver that whistled past his ear and the bronze hunting knives in his hands glowed. 

Silver power thrummed over her body, as a wave of power roared from the Titan, hammering into Artemis, who spun in the air, and called to the wild.

Her muscles rippled and her clothes melted into orange and black fur. Her ivory nails, as sharp as her daggers dug into the ground. She roared and pounced on him, her nails digging into his arm, drawing ichor. With a yell, he released a powerful gust of wind. 

But as a tigress, she was faster, as she twisted and her paw slammed into his chest, sending him stumbling. She morphed again, her form shrinking and feathers sprouting over her body. A falcon soared into the skies, Lelantos’ eyes following her before she dived sharply, changing her form to a huge, silver grizzly bear.

The Titan’s eyes widened and he dissolved into a breeze as the bear landed, where he had been. Lelantos reappeared behind the bear and charged, his silver bronze knives glinting. 

Artemis turned back into her human self and ducked under Lelantos as he soared above her, before grabbing his ankle and slamming him into the ground. Lelantos dissolved into a breeze and Artemis whirled, catching one of his bronze knives on her dagger and pushing the Titan back.

Above her, she could hear the rumble of thunder, like the sealing of a vow, followed by a shockwave of force that sent both of them stumbling.

On the other side of the clearing, Percy’s sword gleamed against Nemesis’ pitch-black one, their muscles straining as several plumes of flames around the clearing died out.

Artemis felt the ground shake, the acrid smell of Greek flames, and the ozone of storms burning in her nose as she rolled to her feet. The flash of lightning from her left threw light across Lelantos’ face and his dripping arm.

“Come on, huntress. If this is how you hunt, you’re doing a very poor job of it.”

Artemis felt rage course through her veins and she blurred, her silver daggers slicing through the air, a hair’s breadth from Lelantos’ throat. She snarled and jabbed her knife which the Titan caught between his blades.

In a blink, the other knife sank into Lelantos’ calf and he yelled in pain, a wave of power rolling off him. Artemis wrenched her hunting knives free, ichor flying off her blade, and slashed again, tearing a thin gash through his abdomen. 

As Lelantos stumbled, his knife caught in the fabric of her sleeve, tearing it open. She felt the heat of the Greek flames prickle her skin, Percy’s storm picking up by the second as he battled against Nemesis. 

On her other side, Aura’s blade screeched against Thalia’s Aegis. Artemis could feel Thalia’s pain as Aura went low, scoring a gash on her thigh. 

Artemis blocked Lelantos’ dagger, pushing him back, keeping an eye on her second lieutenant. Rage coursed through her like moonlight on a dark night as she witnessed Thalia duck a lethal slash from Aura.

A bronze blur gleamed past her, brushing the strands of her hair as she moved on instinct, Lelantos’ eyes glaring at her, his lips quirking into a smirk as Artemis felt a burning line cut beneath her ribs.

Drops of her ichor dripped from Lelantos’ dagger as Artemis pushed him away, the roar in her growing stronger. The sounds of the fights around her faded, the rumble of thunder diminished, and she no longer heard the crackle of flames. All she saw was Lelantos and the fact he was in her way toward her huntress.

She saw red.

With a snarl, she poured her fury into her daggers and charged the roar in her ears, growing stronger as her knives sliced through the air, and chinks of Lelantos’ armor. The Titan reeled back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His bronze knives were chipped, but his eyes were sharp as he parried another strike, his dagger grazing Artemis’ abdomen as a gust of wind sent her skidding back.

Artemis’ chest heaved, her fingers trembling with fury as Ichor slowly soaked her parka. She barely registered the sting as her eyes flicked to Thalia, who was holding her shield, defending herself against Aura, her spear nowhere to be seen. 

Aura’s sword dripped red as it clashed against Thalia’s shield, as she pressed forward. 

Artemis deflected the bronze daggers and glanced at Percy, who was trapped in tendrils of darkness that restrained him, his trident hanging in the midair, bound by chains of shadows.

Then, she felt her heart drop as Aura drove her sword into Thalia’s stomach, who gasped and stumbled back.

“NO!” Percy’s yell rang through the pounding in Artemis’ ears as she watched Thalia’s eyes droop close.

“Finally I got you, you annoying bitch,” Aura smirked. “The fabled huntress of Artemis, the daughter of Zeus. Nothing but a failure.”

Artemis was blocked by Lelantos again, his eyes gleaming as he slapped her hunting knife, the clang of their blades drowned out under Percy’s roar, as the ground trembled.

"Oooh, your friend seems worried for you.” Aura’s taunt rang in Artemis’ ears. “I think I will let you live till you see me behead your friend and then… Artemis. Got to leave her for the end. Now, say bye-bye to your friend Percy, Thalia. Any—"

Artemis felt it just like Aura did. The hairs on her neck stood and she felt the sky rumble.

Thalia's eyes snapped open, glowing an electric blue as they started to emit tendrils of lightning that connected to Thalia's armor. Thunder boomed in the sky as Thalia snarled, lightning flickering between her teeth. 

Aura took a step back, fear etched on her face as Thalia's body was wreathed in a shroud of lightning.

A bolt of lightning shot out of her hand and punched into Aura, the clap of thunder echoing through the forest. As Aura's body soared through the air, a massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky onto her, slamming her on the ground, and creating a crater.

Thalia leaped from her spot, the tendrils of lightning highlighting her form vividly as she soared through the air before landing straight on Aura and decking her in the face with a lightning-infused fist.

Artemis glanced at Lelantos, who stared at the scene with wide eyes and she lunged, her knife sinking into the Titan’s throat. Ichor spurted from his jugular and he collapsed on the ground, his eyes wide as he turned into golden dust.

Artemis looked up to see Thalia walk out of the crater, to where Aura’s sword law, picking it up, as its owner feebly crawled out of the ground. Aura’s form was barely recognizable. Her one eye was gouged out, her nose missing. Ichor dripping from her face onto her chest plate that had melted into her skin.

Thalia barely paid heed as she launched herself up toward the sky, going several feet high and hoovering, just before yet another lightning bolt dropped from the sky and hit her sword in a blinding flash of light.

When Artemis’ vision cleared, Thalia was kneeling where Aura had been moments ago, the sword embedded in the ground, stained with ichor. Aura was nowhere to be seen.

As Thalia stumbled, Artemis moved, and appeared next to her, but she was already in Percy’s arms, who had caught her securely.

"We need to take her to my brother,” Artemis told Percy as she took her from his arms and laid her on the ground.. “Suppress the flames, Percy. And tell the hunt to relocate to somewhere near or go to the camp. I will stabilize her till then." 

Suddenly, she felt a presence approach and turned to see Nemesis limping toward them, taking support on a cane.

"You," Percy spat as his trident flew back into his hand.

"Get aside. Your friend will need my help." Nemesis shoved Percy away, and knelt next to Thalia.

"What are you—"

"Shush." Nemesis placed her hand on Thalia's forehead and chanted.

Artemis felt the magic thrum in the wind and her heart clenched. "What did you do, Nemesis?" 

"A special healing spell. Her energy levels were… are dangerously low. She wouldn't have died but might have gone into a coma despite you working your magic. I replenished a little of her energy and closed her wounds."

"Why would you do that?" Percy spat. "You wanted her to die."

Nemesis raised her eyebrow. "I did it because some of the blame for her condition lies with me. Beware, she isn't healed completely. Not even close. I just got her out of danger. With Apollo's aid, she will be on her feet within a week."

"Thank you," Artemis whispered.

"You didn't answer my question," Percy reiterated.

"For an intelligent boy, you are quite oblivious, Percy Jackson. What happened was to balance the scales of power. Your friend unlocked her true power. The one that had been suppressed by her last stint with death."

"You said that I was too powerful." Percy’s forehead creased. "And Thalia is on my side. How is this… balancing the scales?"

Nemesis's eyes shone like obsidian crystals. "You have no idea of what is coming, demigod. Even I do not even have a concrete idea of what is coming. But dark times are ahead of Olympus. Titans are just a part of it. Remember, demigod, balancing the scales for a small event by upsetting the balance on a greater scale is no balance at all. In times like this, one demigod, however powerful, won't suffice."

"You mean there is a greater threat than Titans coming?" 

"Greater threat? Maybe yes, maybe no. I don't know. Another threat? Definitely. But, I see one thing clearly. You, Perseus Jackson, are going to be at the center of it all. That is why I was here today. To see you for myself and ensure that you don't upset the balance to save a friend who doesn't need saving… well, she won't, if you get her to Apollo in time anyway. Farewell."

Before they could say anything, Nemesis dissolved into a shadow, leaving them alone with Thalia.

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AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the chapter!

This side-story is set parallel to chapter 30: The Balance of the Scales. The main one was in Percy’s POV and this was Artemis’. You can put several events together if you read both of them side by side. (That’s how I wrote it, I know.) 

I also intend to do the Thalia v/s Aura fight, when voted for, in the future. The poll for the next side-story will be up very soon. As for the update schedule, I am already writing both Agent Potter and GotSIS side-by-side. I will publish one later this week, and the other will soon follow, close behind. 

A huge thank you to Mughil and Nanu for betaing this chapter!

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