When the Arrow Flies - A Pertemis Story

Chapter 22 - Artemis..

"The Broken One, destined to Love

Shall Fall to the Major Domain of the Dove

When the Daughter of Zeus Prays to the Sky

Is When the Arrow Shall Fly

The Broken One's Oath to Break

Due to the Moon, the Prince shall Awake

When the Lord of Godhood Rises in Power

The First One Shall Fall Off the Tower

And Gain the Rightful Place Shall he

Though Fall Shall the one he calls Arty."

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Uncle Rick does. (Rick Riordan)

Chapter 22

Artemis..

*Previously, on When the Arrow Flies*

"The smirk on his face told me that everything was about to go wrong."

*Currently*

*Percy's POV*

I held my sword up in defense against Kronos. I had no idea, no plan. I didn't know how he healed himself so easily and so quickly, but it definitely made things a whole lot worse. I was battling a completely immortal being that wouldn't stay injured for long. I was trying to play defense as much as I could, but it wasn't working out for me.

Kronos didn't let up. Blow after blow, I was starting to wear out. God or not, against a titan like this, I couldn't last long. The army of Olympus was starting to be pushed back. I didn't know what to do. I could faintly see Artemis doing her best to keep the demigods in the fight but it wasn't going over well.

I continued blocking and deflecting Kronos' strikes, but he was getting faster and faster. Finally, I was too slow and he sent Riptide flying out of my hand. He kicked me back into the ground. I tried to get up but he placed his foot on my chest, raising his scythe above to strike. This was it. The mighty and grand Percy Jackson, finally defeated.

A flash of light blinded me for a moment. When it was gone and I could see again, Kronos was backed away from me, and Artemis was standing over me defensively. She didn't take any time to look at me, but said "You really can't handle yourself for long, can you?" I just sighed, summoning Riptide to my hand and preparing to attack Kronos.

As Artemis and I started to charge, a horn blew from the enemy tower. The monsters stopped fighting and began to retreat back. Kronos glared at both of us and said "Until next time." He disappeared. I turned to Artemis, but she disappeared before I could speak. I just sighed, and vanished as well.

Appearing back in the command center, some of the camp leaders were arguing. I called them to attention, crossing my arms. Artemis stood nearby but said nothing. "Today, we discovered an issue that could prove extraordinarily bad for us. When I fought the titan Kronos and injured him, he immediately healed himself without a problem."

The campers immediately fell back into discussion. I tried to get them to be quiet, but it took a loud "SHUT UP" to get them to listen again. "I don't know the source of this ability, but we need to figure out if it's possible to get rid of. Otherwise, we may be unable to take out critical opponents. It's best to assume that other titans have this ability as well.

The campers fell into another round of arguing. "We aren't gonna be able to beat them!" One yelled. "How are we going to win?!" Another said. I had no answers. Stepping back, I vanished from the tent. I appeared somewhere in the woods, alone to gather my thoughts and try to think about what we could do about this issue.

After a minute or so, Artemis came walking up to me, her arms folded. I was simply standing there, not facing her. "What do you want?" I asked. I could almost feel her eyes narrow at me. "To see why you're out here, and not discussing publically with the camp." She responded. I sighed, looking up at some of the trees.

"It seems like no matter what, something always goes wrong. No matter how hard we try, no matter what we do, something changes and causes everything to start falling apart. We have everything together, ready, and then it crumbles again." I said, looking down now. "I almost agree with the campers. It's looking hopeless, like we can't win."

Artemis snarled at me. "You need to stop being a wuss and man up for once." Hot anger rose inside of me as I turned around and snapped at her "Shut up, Artemis! You're the feminist who blocked herself off from the rest of the world except for maidens and her hunters. You're used to not looking at the big picture. But I am!" I took a breath. "I want everyone to get out of this safely and have everything go back to peace. You on the other hand, just care about yourself and your hunters. Even if the camp fails, you can still take your hunters to safety, even if all of us fall."

Artemis was speechless for a moment, but she quickly got angry as well. "And you're any better? You cried and hid yourself away from everyone for a long time after your oh-so-precious Annabeth died. You only cared about what was good for you, and not what everyone else felt! Athena lost her precious daughter. Then those who cared about you lost you for a long time." She took a break for a moment. "I - they missed you, Percy. You were everything to them and you just went alone for a long time, worrying everyone. Did you ever think about how we felt?" She sprouted out.

It took me a second to register the rest of her words, but my anger only rose. "You understand nothing Artemis. You are a closed-off cruel and stone-hearted goddess who doesn't understand love or feelings. Annabeth was everything to me. I would've given everything for her, but I lost her. But you could never understand that, because you don't love." I shot at her. She started shaking for a moment, and I normally would've gotten scared, but I was too angry to care.

"You think I don't love? You think I don't feel feelings?!" She screamed. She walked right up to me and grabbed me by my armor and pulled me forward and kissed me. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to do. Then she pushed me back. "I like you Percy Jackson. Like you way more than I should. And your selfish rear-end thinks that you're the only one capable of having feelings." She was red as a tomato now. I opened my mouth to try to mumble something but nothing came out. She looked at the ground, unable to look me in the eyes.

"For once, you should stop thinking about the others, and maybe think about us- yourself. You claim to care so much about the others, but where do I fall into this? You pick and choose who's so important to you." With that, she vanished. "No, Artemis-" I stumbled, falling to my knees as tears began to fill into my eyes. I couldn't believe what just happened. Shock, pain, but weirdly happiness flooded my emotions.

After a little bit, I stood up, rubbing my eyes. I vanished away and appeared in a bed.

I closed my eyes and just tried to sleep.

1126 Words.

AN: Sorry if theres a lot of grammar mistakes or stuff that doesn't make much sense. I'm pretty tired at the time of writing this, but I really felt like writing a new chapter. Hopefully you all enjoy, and I couldn't stop myself from writing what I wrote this chapter cause I know you all were waiting a very long time for it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!