Legends Never Die

Destiny Is What You Make Of It

"Your reincarnation? As if. And even if I was, the fact you could assume I'd even help you is ridiculous. You've clearly paid no attention to how I act. I don't care who you are buddy, but I don't follow rules very well."

Thalia looked at Percy stunned. This was the first time she'd heard him sound like his old self. Maybe this was just what he needed. Someone that couldn't hurt him to ground him, and someone to beat to a pulp.

"Plus...I was given a different set of orders. Ones that involved making sure you stand trial for the crimes you have committed," Percy said.

"And what crimes would those be?" came the man's response.

"The fact that you killed Selene, Keeper of the Moon, and Helios, Tender of the Sun. The only reason this world wasn't plunged into chaos was because Artemis and Apollo happened to be coming into their birthrights and took over. They never would have taken over the sun or moon otherwise. And I'll be damned if you think you are going to kill her while I still take breath."

The man frowned, clearly not expecting Percy to rebel so much. He stretched out a hand towards Percy. A grimace quickly took over Percy's face and slowly he dropped to a knee, but the man was sweating profusely and shortly thereafter dropped his hand.

"I did not expect her to have given you such power to be able to block me out. Even if it is hardly trained, with your natural ability, it is more than enough since you became a true immortal. This just means the next time we meet, I will have to dispose of you before I move on to the goddess." And with that he disappeared.

- - -

"So...what was that all about, mi'lady?" a huntress asked.

"I have no idea, Karrie. But a lot is going on, and the only person we can rely on is him," Artemis said, nodding her head towards their Guardian.

"Is it true that you really married him?"

Artemis cringed. Raising her voice, she said, "Yes, it is true that I married Perseus, our guardian. Otherwise, he was going to die in a very unbefitting way. He asked to go to Olympus, thinking he was going to die, so that none of you had to see his death or be killed should his godly power get out of control.

"He served Olympus in two wars, leading his fellow demigods in an unprecedented showing of leadership and loyalty no matter how many times we threatened his life. His only options were to be killed or become immortal completely. If not, he would have overflowed with godly power and exploded, making the nuclear bombs of the mortals look like toys.

"He did not wish to be a god, so he had to be married to one. Since I could never cheat on him being a maiden goddess, I figured this was the least I could do to repay his loyalty to us, and to Zoë as her only male friend."

The Hunters all looked a little stunned. Some still looked unhappy about the news, but none of them were going against it. They understood is was their best choice. They certainly would not have wanted to deal with that daughter of Athena.

"Percy, Thalia, can I speak with you in my tent a moment. We need to discuss what just happened."

The two in question followed Artemis into her tent. "What...what was that, Percy?"

He looked at her with such a broken look. "I–I don't know. But I may not be safe for you any more. If he were to get any stronger, there's no way I could keep him out. He nearly broke down my defenses there and I feel like he wasn't trying as hard as he could have."

Artemis frowned. "Regardless, you aren't leaving us. If you go too far from me, your flaw will still react as you are not a god. An immortal yes, but one that was formerly a demigod. Even Heracles still has his fatal flaw. I will not stand by idly as you wither away, Perseus."

Percy didn't understand, and it showed on his face. "Why? Why go this far for me? I didn't save Olympus, Luke did. I didn't defeat Gaia, Leo did. The only thing I can say I did on my own is defeat the Minotaur and legions of monsters in the Battle of Manhattan, and I had the Curse of Achilles at the time. I don't see how that gives me a better treatment than other males. Yes, I befriended Zoë, but she died because I was too weak to fight Atlas on my own. So why me? Why would you marry me to keep me alive?!" He was nearly shouting and sobbing by the end. "I got so many people killed. People I could have saved. People I promised to save. I'm no better than any other male out there."

A slap rang out in the tent. Thalia was stunned at how angry Artemis looked. She knew Percy beat himself up over all the deaths through both wars, but she didn't expect her mistress to get so heated when he started this. "Uh....sis, did you have to hit him so hard?"

"Yes. Because he's being stupid. You can't change the past. And every one of them died a hero's death. Would you really take that from them? Zoë went on that quest knowing she would die, and you are disrespecting her memory by acting like this. Luke, while he may have served Kronos, he still came back, and I'm sure he regretted what he did. The daughter of Aphrodite and son of Hephaestus died protecting people they cared about. Don't talk as if you can save everyone, because even as gods we can't save everyone. They were destined to die then. Would you rather them die fighting for something they believe in or just drop dead when their string was cut?"

Percy didn't quite know what to say other than, "Since when have I followed what others wanted? I make my own destiny. Wouldn't you rather have a guardian you've known for millennia than some male?"

Artemis' eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I have a way of bringing someone back. And I've thought about it a long time. Make of it what you will, consider it a wedding gift if you must, but I was going to bring back Zoë. The idea was to use my excess power to do it so I didn't explode. But I kind of went a bit critical before I could get enough things together for it."