Percy Jackson: Battle Royale

Stronghold

I just realized I wrote this story at a time when I didn't fucking know that dialogue from different characters had to be in separate paragraphs. Sorry its a bitch to read.

Artemis' eyes were wide as she stared at him, but when she realized who he was she closed her eyes and kissed back with just as much passion. Apollo and Hermes cringed at the sight, while the nearby hunters giggled.

Percy spun her around and held her in his arms, disconnecting from the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he looked her up and down. This tournament had been going on for a few hours and yet she had already descended into post-apocalyptic survivor mode. Her clothes were torn, and her shirt now ended just above her stomach. She had crudely applied bandages to her left forearm, with blood soaking the white material. She had a scar on her cheek like it had been cut, and also bandages were applied to her hands. They let her fingers move freely, so they were likely acting as gloves and used for better grip. As he looked around, he noticed most of the hunters looked like this.

"Hey beautiful." He smirked, and she leaned into him,resting her head in his neck. "I'm so glad you're okay. Where were you?" She asked, slightly mad. He pulled back and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well, uh, you see... council meetings are boring. So I thought I'd shoot out to get some snacks, since we weren't talking about anything important. Then I decided I wanted In-N-Out. Then when I was coming back some nice homeless man gave me a bag of candy for a couple dollars, and I lost track of time." He excused.

Artemis stared at him incredulously for a second, before slapping him across the face. "You left a council meeting to get snacks?! That's worse than Dionysus sleeping through the meeting. And... what? A homeless guy gave you- you know what, I don't even wanna know. You're back, you're safe, that's what matters." She said, going back in to hug Percy.

They stood there embracing each other for a while, and Percy rubbed her back soothingly. "How many?" He asked, and Artemis sighed. "Six, all at the beginning. Atalanta went ballistic, though. She defended the younger ones as they escaped to the gardens, but Heracles took her down." She said. Percy's face fell as he heard what happened to the daughter of Apollo that he was so fond of. "And I thought Ares and his crew was our only problem." He thought out loud.

Artemis shook her head. "Heracles went solo immediately. I'm guessing all those years of guarding Olympus' gates has gotten to him, the bastard." She closed her eyes and looked away. Percy wrapped his arms around her again as she hugged herself tight. "I'm glad you're safe. My friend Grover told me what happened, and how there were plenty that wanted to win cause they wanted you, Hestia and Athena." He said.

The goddess nodded. "Most of our suitors. I guess they're tired of waiting." She said. Percy kissed her forehead gently. "I won't let them get to you." He promised.

Artemis looked over to see Apollo and Hermes resting, so she led Percy over to a corne of the clearing filled with mats on the floor, acting as beds. A few hunters already lay there, sleeping since it was roughly 5am. "Come on, let's get some rest." She said.

The two gods lay down, and Artemis rested her head on Percy's chest. They didn't have a blanket, so they were cold in the winter night. While they slept, most of the other hunters got into bed and crawled closer to them, sharing body heat and the comfort of each other's embraces.