So Now You Need Me

The Offer

Song of the Chapter 

Call me Fighter ~ Matt Beilis 

Quote of the Chapter 

"I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up."

― Lauren Oliver, Delirium

~~~~~~

A woman was dragging a girl down an alley, an ancient Roman Spatha in her hand as she looked back to see if they  were still chasing her and the child in her care who not even twenty minutes ago lost her parents to the same monsters that killed her older brother twelve years ago. 

"Auntie Hazel can we stop? I am tired." The girl pleaded. 

Hazel glanced at the mortal girl sadly. "I am afraid we can't Zoe. I promised your brother I would take care of you and your parent's and I failed." 

"My brother left he is a coward." Zoe snarled, Hazel went to say something but was interrupted by a monster snarling. Hazel took Zoe deeper into the alley but Zoe whispered. 

"Hazel it is a dead end." 

Hazel sighed before she dropped to her knee's, closed her eyes and prayed for any type of help, not for herself but for the mortal child in her care. 

Snarling made Hazel open her eyes, she saw three Mahkai as Percy called them stalking down the alley.

"Stay behind me Zoe."  Hazel muttered, her eyes never leaving the three monsters. 

"But Hazel, I can help." The girl pleaded. 

"No, not this time Zoe." Hazel said sharply making the child flinch. 

With that the monsters charged, Hazel met their charge, before sliding and cutting the legs off one, leaving it whimpering in pain. The monsters turned around, Hazel ducked and blocked the eight swords coming at her with lighting speed before she received a sword through her thigh, shattering the bone. Hazel screamed in pain before falling to the ground, staring defiantly at the monster scum in front of her. 

A blade came down into her chest piercing her chest the monster pulled it out as Hazel fell down her body not moving as Zoe watched from behind the dumpster. Before she could scream a blinding flash of light made her temporarily blind. 

She heard the sounds of battle but still couldn't see anything, she rubbed her eyes and the light faded as she saw a girl similar in age wiping silver knives on her thigh leaving golden powder on her silver pants. 

She gasped as the girl faced her, her eyes a bright silver shaped like a crescent moon before she could say anything to the strange woman she heard a gasp. Zoe flickered her eyes to where the sound came from. 

"Auntie Hazel." Zoe yelled, as she rushed past the woman, and grabbed Hazels hand. 

"Auntie I am here." Zoe cried out. 

Hazel's golden coloured eyes looked at Zoe and said in a wheezing voice. "Trust the girl, she will help." 

"I don't understand. I can't lose you too, Haze. You are my family." Zoe sobbed as she hugged her aunt. 

"I see, I see Frank." Hazel muttered as her hand stiffened in Zoe's, before relaxing and dropping out of Zoe's hand. 

"Hazel!" Zoe screamed as she shook her aunt but to no avail, until a small hand was found on her shoulder. 

"She is gone child, there is nothing we can do." The voice said. 

Zoe turned around seeing the girl again. "Who are you?" 

The auburn child said. "I am Artemis, Hazel prayed to me asking to help protect a maiden. I can't ignore that, it is my nature." 

"Like the Greek goddess my mother told me about?" Zoe asked in wonder. 

Artemis smiled. "Like your brother I see. Yes, I am the Greek goddess your mother told you about, I help young maidens as yourself by inducting them into my hunt. Would you like to be apart of that?" 

Zoe looked unsure till her brown eyes hardened. "I will join your hunt Lady Artemis." 

Artemis smiled at the young girl in front of her. "Your brother would be proud of you Zoe." 

"My brother is a coward he left us." Zoe growled. 

Artemis's face hardened. "No, your brother is many things but a coward is not among them. He did not leave you willingly Zoe, he left to protect the world do your best to understand that." 

"No, he left us, he left me! He left us for glory, my parents are dead because of him. There is nothing you can say to me that will change my mind." 

"Understood, come with me and you can meet your new sisters." 

~In the Underworld~

Hazel didn't go through the judges, and found herself at the gates of Elysium, where the laughter of children was heard the smell of barbecue made her mouth water, houses from all eras were to be found. 

"Hazel?" A male voice asked. She turned around to see her longtime friend and cousin, Percy Jackson. 

"Percy?" Hazel questioned before the son of Poseidon nodded his head, the daughter of Pluto rushed into the arms of her cousin, quietly. 

"So I take it you died as well?" Percy questioned. 

"Yes, the Mahkai killed your parents, I was protecting Zoe. I couldn't help, she was alive when I died, I don't know what happened to her though." Hazel explained sadly. 

"It is OK, Haze. You did your best, but some one is waiting for you." Percy said with a smile. 

Hazel brightened up as Percy led her deeper into the Greek version of heaven but Hazel stopped as she saw a teenage boy sitting on a bench looking like he was waiting for something. 

"Frank?" Hazel muttered. 

"Yes, he has been waiting all this time for you Hazel. Go." Percy said as he gently pushed her forward as Frank looked in their direction for the first time as he stood up really fast and almost fell over. 

"Still my lovable clumsy Frank." Hazel muttered to herself as a tear escaped her eyes as she ran to Frank for the first time in a decade and a half. She jumped and he caught her as he spun around both of them laughing, Percy smiled before turning his back on the happy couple. 

Not cause he was upset with them, but they reminded him what he could never have. True love.

He stalked off to do some more training, two people behind him watched. 

"He isn't getting better." One commented. 

"I told you Achilles, it takes time to heal from heartbreak or did you forget Apollo already?" The other commented. 

"I haven't." Achilles admitted. "But he doesn't talk to his friends anymore, he is constantly angry and filled with hate. We have to do something, what would your girlfriend Athena say, Theseus?" 

Theseus blushed. "Shut up, but you are right. He is going down a dark path and we should talk to him." 

"Than let us all spar than." Achilles suggested. 

"Ok, but you take his wooden sword to the head this time. My head is still sore and it has been days." Theseus countered. 

Achilles just rolled his eyes as they went to find where Percy stalked off too.