God of night

Chapter 8

Both Perseus and Zoe from the present stared confused at the spot where past Zoe had vanished from. Both their visions went dark before reappearing in a side room on Olympus. When they looked, they saw Artemis and Apollo arguing with Zeus.
"You must be joking if you think we would go against Percy father." Artemis argued while Apollo nodded his head.
Zeus just smiled smugly and turned to Zoe who Artemis and Apollo just noticed was in the room.
"Well your choice is simple daughter. Vote for Perseus' banishment or I will kill his little girlfriend here." Zeus said as he leveled his bolt at a wide-eyed Zoe.
"You can't be serious father. It would begin a civil war on Olympus. Percy won't rest until he has killed you." Artemis screamed at her father.
Zeus just narrowed his eyes, "And what would your dearest brother say when he discovers that it was you who made the decision that led to her death?"
"Why? Why are you doing this father?" Apollo growled.
"Your brother is a liability to Olympus. He constantly challenges my decisions and leads both of you to go against me with him." Zeus replied back simply.
Both Apollo and Artemis narrowed their eyes at their father, "And what do you think will happen when he finds out you forced us to vote with you." Artemis asked with a murderous glare at her father.
"He won't. You both will swear on the Styx to never reveal this meeting or I will kill her along each and every one of your little hunters." Zeus said back smugly.
Zoe was staring wide-eyed just like her past self at the scene if front of her. She turned to look at Perseus to see tears falling down his face. Before she could say anything, everything went black again.
Zoe felt herself waking up this time. When she opened her eyes she saw Phoebe leaning over her yelling that she was waking up. Zoe shot up out of the bed looking around wildly. She saw Perseus open his eyes and look at her. Before she could say anything he vanished from his bed without a word.
"Where the Hades did he go?" Phoebe asked confused.
Zoe looked to see Artemis and Apollo staring at the spot where Percy vanished from with sad expressions on their faces. They turned to look at Zoe but before they could speak she did.
"He knows what happened on Olympus all those years ago. He was with me in the memory as we watched Zeus threaten the hunters and me and blackmailed you two into voting for his banishment." Zoe explained quickly.
Apollo smiled, "That's great but why did he leave?"
Artemis' eyes went wide, "We need to get to Olympus, now!"
Apollo finally seemed to realize what she meant as the twins both flashed out of Perseus' home and up to Olympus where they both went pale at what they saw.
The throne room of Olympus was in utter chaos. Perseus and Zeus were locked in combat while a few of Nyx's children watched amusedly from places beside the thrones of any Olympian that would come to Zeus' aide.
Lyssa and Thanatos stood with weapons out in front of Hephaestus' throne while Phobetor stood in front of Dionysus who didn't look to have any interest in joining the fight anyway.
Athena and Ares were trying to calm Perseus with words but he was in his own world as he pushed his father back again and again, slowly starting to gain an advantage over Zeus.
Hades sat in his customary guest throne since it was the Winter Solstice smirking at his brother getting his ass whooped by his own son.
Poseidon, Hera, and Demeter looked unsure of what to do. They knew Perseus was justified in his actions and felt wrong interfering while Hestia just looked at Perseus sadly. No one in the throne room knew of what set the God of Night off but were hesitant to step in with the look of absolute rage on his face.
Artemis looked around the room and found Eris smiling gleefully at the utter chaos that was consuming the throne room. Eris twirled on of her cursed apples in her hand and looked ready to drop it to increase the chaotic state of the room until she saw Artemis were her bow drawn and aimed at her as she shook her head.
Eris scowled at the moon goddess but held her grip on the apple as she resumed gleefully watching the epic clash between her brother and the King of the Gods.
Perseus pressed his attack harder and faster as his mind raced with the thought of everything that was taken from him through Zeus' blackmail.
Zeus blocked Anaklusmos and pushed Perseus back and raised his master bolt to blast Perseus only for Perseus to lunge forward before he could attack and drive his blade deep into Zeus' shoulder, making his drop his bolt in shock.
Perseus kicked the master bolt aside before he ripped his blade out of his father's shoulder and raised his blade to finish him off only for it to be stopped as a tendril of shadow wrapped around his hand stopping him from delivering the final blow.
Perseus froze and turned to meet the disapproving gaze of Nyx as she shook her head.
"Let me kill him mother! He took everything from me!" Perseus snarled.
Nyx sighed and flicked her wrist as a wall of darkness crashed into the unsuspecting Zeus and sent him onto his back.
"I am sorry son but you cannot kill him today." Nyx said apologetically.
Perseus growled, "You don't even know what he did! He blackmailed my brother and sister and took away the woman I loved because of his own paranoia and lust for power!"
Nyx's eyes narrowed as she looked at Zeus who was clutching his painfully injured shoulder before she turned back to Perseus, "He will soon pay for what he did to you but it cannot be today."
"Why not?" Perseus growled.
Nyx sent Perseus a meaningful glare for a minute. Perseus just glared at his mother before grudgingly nodding. He turned back to Zeus who still sat on the ground and held a hand to his shoulder as ichor poured from the wound.
"This isn't over. Whether it be tomorrow or in ten years, I will kill you for what you did." He snarled at his father before taking two quick steps forward and kicked Zeus right in the face before flashing out of the throne room without another word.
He was followed immediately by the other children of Nyx until only she and council remained. Zeus glared at the Primordial Goddess of Night before he glanced at Apollo.
"Well are you going to heal my wounds or what?" He asked angrily.
For once in his immortal life, Apollo's expression stayed serious as he looked back at his father, "Heal you? You're lucky I don't add to your injuries you bastard." He spat at his father.
Zeus' eyes widened in shock before anger flashed in his electric blue eyes, "How dare you? You will heal my injuries or incur my wrath you little good for noth..." He began before a silver arrow flew by his head, missing the Kings of the Gods by less than an inch before it imbedded in the throne room wall.
"You seem to believe that we actually cared about you father rather than just went along so you would not hurt my girls." Artemis hissed.
Zeus' expression turned murderous but before he could speak, Poseidon stood from his throne, "What are you talking about Artemis?"
Before she could answer, Perseus flashed back into the throne room, "She is talking about how Zeus got her and my brother to vote for my banishment all those years ago."
Artemis and Apollo looked at Perseus hopefully but he refused to meet their eyes, instead keeping them on his uncle.
"And how exactly did he do that?" Hera asked quietly from her throne.
Perseus sent a glare at Hera, "He threatened to kill Zoe if they did not vote the way he wanted and then threatened the rest of the hunters if they did not swear on the River Styx to never tell anyone what happened." He spat angrily.
"An oath you have now broken!" Zeus bellowed at the twins before he shrunk back after being glared at by almost the entire council.
"I swear if you open your mouth again no even a Primordial Goddess will be able to stop me from ripping you to pieces." Perseus growled.
Zeus glared at his son but before he could say anything Nyx spoke up.
"I am not here to listen to you realize how terrible of a father and god you are Zeus. I am here to let you know why it is I stopped my son from killing you." She sneered at Zeus before turning back to the council. "After my son put Atlas back in his place under the sky, there was an attack on one of the demigods from the second threat that you face. While I said we would let you face both threats alone, that is actually not true. My children and I have been doing what we can to stop the being but he is a dangerous threat to not just Olympus but the world as a whole."
Athena looked at Nyx sadly, "The man who killed my daughter?"
Nyx nodded sympathetically at the Goddess of Wisdom, "Yes. There is not a lot I can tell you about the man as my information is also limited. He was cast into Tartarus centuries ago but instead of being punished, he thrived inside the pit. While he was born a mortal, he is anything but that today." She explained before being interrupted.
"A mortal? You can't think a mortal could challenge of the might of the gods." Zeus said arrogantly.
Nyx's eyes flashed with annoyance "Silence you arrogant fool. You will raise your hand when you want to speak again or I will show you what the true meaning of power is." She spat before a crushing aura of power was released causing everyone with the exception of Perseus to shrink back. "While in Tartarus, my husband thought he could use this man as a weapon in his war against my son Aether. Under the guise of being his ally, the man managed to become unimaginably powerful, draining my husband of his power and eventually causing him to fade."
The Olympians paled a bit at Nyx's words. Poseidon looked up nervously, "And what is it that this man wants?"
Perseus shook his head, "He doesn't want anything." He said garnering confused looks from the Olympians. "He is a soulless and evil being who cares nothing for the lives of anyone, even himself. He simply wishes to see the world fall into chaos and destroy anything the challenges those chaotic ways."
Poseidon looked at Perseus worriedly, "But he must not be acting alone. No one being could hope to throw the world into chaos by himself."
Perseus nodded, "He is alone but he is not. He has an army of monsters and undead that serve him. How he procured their loyalty, we do not know. He will use the war with the Titans as a chance to wreak havoc in hopes Olympus and Othrys destroy each other and he can step in afterward and do as he pleases."
The council sat silently as they thought about Perseus' and Nyx's words.
"My son and some of my children are doing what they can to capture and destroy the man but he is not easy to fight. He is reckless and cares not about losses on his side. The reason I did not allow Perseus to kill Zeus is that Kronos will release Typhon. You Olympians must stop Typhon while my children hold back Wraith as it will be his chance to send the world into chaos." Nyx said ominously before a shadow consumed her as she vanished.
Perseus looked up at Artemis and Apollo for the first time since they came into the throne room. His lips remained sealed but the pain in his eyes was undeniable as he followed his mother's lead and was engulfed by a shadow.
Artemis looked at Apollo, "Let's go find Percy."
Apollo nodded and they were about to flash out when Zeus spoke, "Where do you two think you're going?"
Artemis glared at her father, "We're going to find the brother you took away from us for two millennia, do you have a problem with that?"
Zeus glared at his two children but was interrupted by Hera, "Go to your brother. We will deal with your terrible father." She said glaring harshly at Zeus.
Zeus looked like he was about to argue until he noticed all the other gods and goddesses glaring at him.
Artemis and Apollo flashed out of the throne room and back to the island of Delos.
When they appeared on the Island of Delos, they saw Perseus talking with Zoe on the beach. When Zoe noticed them, she gave Perseus a quick kiss and made her way inside his house.
Artemis carefully approached her brother as he faced away from her staring out into the ocean. When she reached him, she saw the tears falling down his face.
Artemis tentatively sat down beside Perseus on the beach. She looked over at his face and felt her heart break a little, "Percy?" She said quietly.
Perseus kept looking out at the ocean for a minute before his gaze slowly looked over at his sister; the pain in his eyes was enough to bring tears to the moon goddess' eyes.
"Percy, I'm sorry." Artemis whispered.
Perseus looked at his disbelievingly, "Why are you sorry? You should hate me for thinking you would willingly betray me."
Artemis looked at Perseus confused, "You don't hate me?"
"Hate you? You're my big sister. No matter how mad I was or how much I truly wanted to, I could never hate you Artemis. You are one of the few people in the world who I could never hate." Perseus said quietly before he was pulled into a tight embrace.
Artemis buried her face into the crook of Perseus' neck as she held onto him for dear life, something she had been praying she could do again for over two thousand years.
Perseus slowly wrapped his arms around Artemis as he felt tears falling from Artemis' face and onto his neck. He hugged her a little tighter as he let go of all the anger and resentment he had been holding onto to for millennia.
The brother and sister stayed in that position silently for a couple of minutes as Perseus rubbed her back soothingly. Artemis finally loosened her grip on Perseus and pulled back enough to look into her brother's midnight black eyes, "You have no idea how much I've missed you."
Perseus gave her a sad smile, "I do actually. Despite how angry I was, I missed you just as much. You've always been my big sister but you're also my best friend. My life has hardly been worth living without you in it."
Artemis' lips quirked into the first genuine smile in as long as she could remember, "Never again Percy."
Perseus smiled before his eyes moved to his left where he saw Apollo watching the duo with a smile on his face. Perseus turned toward him, "Apollo..." He began but was interrupted by Apollo closing the distance between them and pulling him into a godly sized hug.
"None of that Perce, it's all in the past now." Apollo said happily as he released him.
Perseus smiled, "Thanks bro but I'm still sorry for think you two would ever betray me willingly."
Both twin siblings smiled at their brother.
"What are you going to do now Perce?" Apollo asked.
Perseus shrugged, "I really don't know. I didn't exactly expect any of this to happen."
Artemis glared at Perseus, "You're coming back to hunt. You've been forced away from Zoe and the rest of the girls for too long. It's time you came home."
Perseus looked up at Artemis surprised but smiled, "I think I will like that."
Apollo grinned, happy to see his siblings together again. He knew didn't have the close relationship that Perseus and Artemis had but he loved them both and was happy that Artemis would finally be happy again.
"Well I suppose I should get back to Olympus, Hermes and I are going out into the mortal world to pick up chicks," he said making Artemis scowl. "Any chance you want to join us Perce?"
Before Perseus could respond, a silver arrow flew from behind them and imbedded into Apollo's backside.
The sun god shrieked in pain while Artemis and Perseus laughed. Apollo turned to find Zoe with her bow out glaring at him from the edge of the beach.
Apollo paled as Zoe loaded another arrow, "Whoa, just kidding Zoe."
Perseus and Artemis continued to laugh as Apollo stepped back nervously before vanishing in a golden light.
Behind Zoe, Phoebe and Thalia came walking out, Phoebe not meeting Artemis' eyes as she approached her.
"My Lady, I am sorry for how I spoke to you. I didn't know the truth but I should not have doubted you." Phoebe said nervously.
Artemis smiled, "All is forgiven Phoebe. I would have been angry in your position as well."
Phoebe looked up surprised but when she saw her mistress smiling and the lack of sternness and stress that usually adorned her features, she decided not to question it. It was clear Artemis was happy to have Perseus back.
Artemis turned to Thalia, "I will send you back to Camp Half-Blood as I must return to my hunters."
Thalia looked a little saddened at the thought of returning to camp but nodded, "Thank you Lady Artemis."
Artemis smiled and put a hand on Thalia's shoulder before she vanished in a silver light leaving Perseus and Artemis alone with the two huntresses.
Zoe looked at Perseus sadly, "Have you told Hades what happened to his daughter on the quest?"
Perseus looked confused before chuckling, "Tell him what?"
Zoe looked at Perseus incredulously, "That she was killed by that bimbo Aphrodite and her idiot husband."
Perseus chuckled again, "Yeah, about that...." He said before snapping his fingers as a shadow descended beside him until it solidified into the form of the daughter of Hades."
Zoe gaped at the sight before turning to Perseus confused, "How?"
Perseus grinned, "The prophecy stated that one would be lost in the land without rain... not that one would die. I simply made sure the prophecy played out in Bianca's favor."
Zoe's eyes widened before stepped forward and slammed her fist into Perseus' gut but he continued to chuckle.
"Why did you let us think she died?" Zoe growled while Phoebe glared at Perseus and nodded her head in agreement to the question.
"It said she had to be lost, not that she had to die. If you knew where she was, then she would not have been lost to the quest now would she?" Perseus asked.
The two huntresses continued to glare at Perseus for a minute before grudgingly nodding.
"Fine but don't pull that crap again." Zoe said bitterly.
Perseus rolled his eyes, "What save one of my two champions? I wouldn't dream of it."
Artemis' eyes widened, "Champions?"
Perseus smiled, "Of course. Bianca and her brother Nico needed a patron god since there is no way their father or I will send them to that worthless camp so Zeus or someone could get to them." He said before nodding to Bianca, "Sorry for grabbing you without notice Bianca. You can go back to the Underworld, I will come see you and Nico soon cousin."
Bianca smiled and ran off into a shadow.
"Cousin?" Artemis asked.
Perseus shrugged, "She is our cousin, isn't she? You should remember I don't consider there to be a difference between gods and demigods other than lifespan."
Artemis smiled at his words, "Come Percy, let's get back to the hunt. I know a couple more girls that are going to be thrilled to see you."
Perseus grabbed Zoe's hand while Artemis put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder as they flashed to the hunters' camp where all four paled at what they saw.