Percy Jackson, The Moon Goddess's Man (Pertemis)

Chapter 5: CTF

For the whole week the Hephaestus cabin was not to be seen anywhere. They had locked themselves into their cabin and Bunker 9, making machines under Alyssa's guidance. Hunters would try and sneak up on the cabin to peer through the window, only to be repelled by a force field. Unbeknownst to everyone, the Hephaestus cabin was bringing all the materials to Bunker 9 for assembly.

When the day of Capture the Flag finally came, the Hephaestus cabin declared a challenge; themselves versus the Hunters alone. To say the Hunt and whole camp was stunned, but they quickly recovered and agreed. They found a Fortress made out of wood and metal platings near the creek, which was the boundary of the game. Of course, unlike other games, the Hephaestus cabin stayed in the Fortress, causing the Hunters to laugh for their cowardice, but Thalia, who had been ambushed too many times to count, was wary.
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<Artemis>
I was watching from above in a tree as my Hunters came into range of the Fort. Suddenly automated turrets came up and started firing on my Hunters. They quickly dodged and hid behind the trees. Several took shots, but it took forever to take down one turret. Once the turrets were taken down, the hunters advanced. Then Hephaestus children started firing on the hunters, this time with crossbows and I could see the new girl, Alyssa, firing away with her guns. Several hunters went down. This was going badly. For the first time ever, my Hunters were up against an opponent who was not only strong, but well protected. That Alyssa girl is more than she seems. As my Hunters release arrows at the defenders, they ducked into their Fortress. Phoebe went up to the doors to place a jar of Greek fire to blast the door open. The sound of engines was heard. Thalia's eyes widened. "It's a trap!" She shouted. The Fortress doors blew open and out came a Tiger tank from World War 2. It's machine guns cut down my Hunters in mere seconds with paintballs and it's main canon belched and shot an explosive color round at the Hunters on the Hill. They scattered just as the fortress collapsed on itself. However, I could sense multiple beings under the Fortress, going by underground passage to another Fortress. Due to rules I was unable to help Thalia, who now was concentrating on the tank, which seemed impervious to any sort of attack. It blew straight through our traps. Greek fire, stun explosives, it just cut straight through like a hot knife through butter. My hunters guarding our flag scattered as the tank pulled up beside it. The girl Alyssa grabbed our flag just as Thalia came into the clearing and summoned a huge bolt of lightning, disabling the electronics in the tank. "Come on!" Alyssa screamed and threw the flag at Thalia, knocking her out. I winced. That girl had a strong arm. She quickly banged on the engine, trying to repair and get it going from Thalia's electric attack, which seemed to have EMP-ed the tank. She shook her head dejectedly. "Hey! Cover me! I'm getting the Flag out of here. A female, Calypso, appeared on the machine gun on the tank turret. "Go!" She yelled. Alyssa did a taxicab whistle and a small metallic dragon flew down. Then I realized it was a jetpack. She took off just as the Hunters came running in. Calypso opened fire and took out several. The rest fled or hid behind trees. She flew towards the creek. A spear flew up from below, nearly hitting her jetpack. She screamed in frustration. "Stop attacking my machines!" She pulled out her longsword and dove at Phoebe, who got out of the way in time before she hit, throwing up dust. She appeared out of the dust, her jetpack on and swinging  the longsword with deadly speed and accuracy. I could only watch as Phoebe dodged attack after attack. Finally she slipped and as the blade swung again Alyssa jumped and turned the blade, putting her full weight into the swing. Phoebe got hit by the flat side of the blade and flew into a tree. Alyssa huffed. "Motherfucker."  She muttered. I could see the that one of eyes was glowing purple. What was with that. Then I realized her legs were reappearing. Hmm...so apparently she has the ability to become invisible. None of Hephaestus' children nor the god in question had that ability. I'm sure she is just more than what she is. Then more hunters appeared and several arrows shot out. Alyssa spun and a glowing green field extended out of her gauntlets. The arrows reflected back at the Hunters and broke their bows. They warily pulled out their daggers but realized it was futile as she had obviously taken down Phoebe and Thalia alone, making her more dangerous than even most monsters. They gulped as she glared at them. She backed up slowly. Then she shot into the air. A minute later, the horn sounded, showing the Hephaestus cabin had won. I flashed down to take care of Phoebe but Alyssa was already there, healing her with the same green field. She bowed to me and before I could say anything, she shot into the air and disappeared. I collected all my Hunters who were dejected and stunned at being defeated so easily. When we got back to the pavilion the Hephaestus cabin was being cheered for. Alyssa sat on her tank as she watched the Hephaestus cabin get congratulated. Issac congratulated the Hephaestus children as well, but Annabeth stood to one side with a very vain boy of Zues called Tony. She was obviously unhappy that her plans could fail yet Alyssa's succeeded. She left the pavilion with Tony, who was unhappy the Hephaestus cabin was getting all the attention.
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<Alyssa>
It's time for my daily reconnection to Avery's memories and to transfer what had happened. I drove the tank over to the beach where I felt the most peace. I sat on the top of the tank, meditating. I saw what had happened throughout the day. Avery had just wondered around her mother's kingdom. She chuckled when I showed her the memory of using the Flag as an impromptu weapon. I sensed someone coming and quickly broke the connection. If the connection was ever interrupted, the power feedback may cause me to go into a coma which only Avery can bring me out off. When I came out of my meditative state, I saw Lady Artemis. I bowed. She waved at me to sit an she sat down on the tank top beside me. Her hunters swarmed the tank and several even got in to look. "I have to say Alyssa." She said. "I was pretty impressed with your performance. Driving a tank. That's one thing I've never seen before. And I'll daresay it may never happen again." I bowed. "Lady Artemis thank you for the compliment, but what are your intentions here?" I asked. She smiled. "I'm here to offer you a place in the Hunt. You don't seem to get along with boys other than your half-aunts and uncles." I shrugged. "I rather the company of my machines." I said tapping my tank. "Even so, I offer you a position in the Hunt as a mechanic, making vehicles and machinery to help and defend us." I smiled. "I would be glad to accept, however, you need to know of my special condition first. I am not an actual person. If you search my birth records, I was recorded to have died at birth. Thus one could say I am a spirit. How am I surviving? Easy. There's this primordial that no one, except the children of Kronos, Zues, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera and Dementer know. Her name is Avery Kestrel Chaos. She is the primordial of Space, Black Holes, Weapons and Technology. I am not lying about being a child of Ares and a legacy of Hephaestus. However. When I was born, I was dying already. To save me, Avery had to assimilate me and aided my growth. I grew like Athena, inside Avery's brain, absorbing every single ounce of her intelligence. Over time, with the knowledge, she turned me into an immortal living inside her brain. Of course, she lets me put quite often, so I'm never bored. She's the reason I can be here, living and breathing." I took a deep breath. 15 years. I still wake up everyday to the fear of dying. "So yes. I would accept, but once Avery comes to Camp Half-Blood, I would need to be assimilated again for another mission." I took to a knee. "I, Alyssa Maxwell Chaos, swear an oath to Lady Artemis and off men for as long as I'm in the Hunt." She nodded, surprised by my story. The hunters were too. She touched my cheek. "Welcome to the Hunt." I bowed and stood up. "M'lady, I need to separate first. I cannot leave this camp so easily. Avery had sent me here to make the life of Annabeth hell. I will need to gather my energy to spilt into two. All aspects can do this, they can spilt into two. Actually any immortal being partial or full can, however, if they get injured, the other get injured as well when they combine back." I sat down and focused my energy and started to glow purple. Stretching my arms out, I could feel myself splitting. I twitched. I focused my energy and finally my other being formed. I tried to stand up but had no energy. "Hello." My other said. "We." "Are." "Alyssa." We said one after another. Artemis shuddered. "That was creepy." I shrugged and told my other to continue with my plans for the camp. "Upgrade the defenses and add missile pods and gun turrets here and there." I told her. She nodded and disappeared. I turned to Artemis. "Lady Artemis I will meet you tomorrow outside the barrier I can't have Leo knowing I am gone." She nodded and I drove my tank back to Bunker 9.