Chapter 29: Questions under Moonlight

A/N

Hello! I'm back from the dead. Life happened so yeah.

Since a lot of you enjoyed the new writing style I tried, I'll continue this moving forward and keep improving. If at any point it gets confusing, do let me know.

Shoutout to Yoshi and Fox for helping and e-luckarcher, Murph, Meister and Maruf for the beta and proof reading.

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Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of its characters.

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Chapter 29: Questions under Moonlight

The walk forward gave Percy ample time to dwell on the numerous thoughts spinning inside his mind. He had been trying to come to terms with the events that occurred a few hours ago but to no avail.

He had seen his fair share of monsters dying, heck he killed a lot of them himself. However, to see someone you value die right in front of your eyes? That was another ball game altogether. Even though he was able to resurrect Medusa thanks to the ring, the expression on her face and the brightness dimming from her eyes stung every time he recalled it. Moreover, what if he didn't have the ring? What would happen then? Such what-ifs kept plaguing his mind as he trudged forward.

Percy knew that he shouldn't be blaming himself for this since he couldn't have possibly known, but a tinge of guilt for not being able to do anything still crept in his heart. He knew it was impractical and something that Athena (the irony) would scoff at and tell him to stop bitching about (in the goddess' words, who knew that she had such colourful vocabulary?) and move on but for some reason, he couldn't. What was it?

It was a vicious cycle that he found himself in, unable to break free from. Unbeknownst to him, his face completely gave away his line of thoughts, something that a certain huntress was able to pick up on.

Ever since the reveal, Zoë had been sneaking glances at the son of Poseidon every now and then, trying to understand the mysterious boy but to no avail. He was a complete enigma. He wore his heart on his sleeve, yet his eyes held certain darkness within them, containing the deepest secrets, not privy to the world. He cared for those whom he treasured, yet, was a merciless killing machine towards those who wronged him or the people who held a special place in his heart. He was a child, yet acted more mature than his age would otherwise suggest. There were just too many contradictions for her to form a proper picture. However, despite all this, one thought always remained prevalent – he was different.

She was sure that he was unlike the boys that she had encountered through the thousands of years that she had lived. Despite seeing the greatest empires forged and later fall, civilization and technology progressing to provide more comfort to humankind, the lust, greed and selfishness of those of the opposite gender always remained constant. Be it a great emperor with all the riches and luxuries the world could give or the man on the side of the street, dangle any of the above in front of them and they'll reveal their colors. It had always been like this. There were some exceptions every now and then that came along, some persevered while others ultimately fell from grace. It had always been the case.

Compared to those, this boy hadn't strayed from his path despite being gifted power rivalling the greatest heroes the world had ever seen at such an early age. Most of all, he had been accepted by, unarguably, the most critical goddesses in the Greek pantheon. That alone called for the biggest achievement of his life. Ultimately, she decided to sit back, observe him for now and not let anyone else influence her decisions. It had been a long time since someone ever caught her interest and as such, she was curious to see how things would pan out for that boy. Don't get her wrong, she didn't trust the boy nor did she have a budding romantic feeling for him. All she wanted to do was satiate her curiosity. She hoped things would get interesting. She'd rather die than go through so much boredom or be around boys more than she could.

Thus, with each to their own thoughts, the party progressed through the day in relative silence with small words exchanged during lunch and a monster attack that they easily repelled. It had been a relatively peaceful time when compared to the events of the previous day. Very soon, Apollo had disappeared from the horizon, off to light up the opposite side of the world, while Artemis would soon begin her journey across the night sky.

The son of Poseidon was currently lying in his tent, recalling all that had happened for the umpteenth time. The walk during the day had given him some time to reflect on things but it was still far from ideal for his restless mind and empathic heart. Just when he was about to start pondering again, an idea suddenly popped up in his brain. Without thinking twice, he channelled a bit of his power and disappeared from the spot, leaving the mortal plane, blissfully unaware of the fact that part of Artemis' consciousness was still at their camp and said goddess had been alerted of his disappearance almost immediately.

…

Dimension Create

…

All the light suddenly dimmed from the world and a hush fell all over the surroundings, creating a peaceful yet creepy atmosphere. However, it was soon broken by voices screaming in the distance.

Percy slowly walked towards the source where he came upon a sight that evaporated his solemn mood almost instantly and left him flabbergasted.

Medusa and Alecto could be seen arguing with each other in Ancient Greek while the Death Knight sat a little afar, gazing into the nothingness of the bleak world, completely uninterested in the quarrel occurring in front of it, not that it could understand the language anyway, Percy deduced.

"…. little bat…," Medusa said before she abruptly stopped and whirled around, completely losing interest in the argument. The frown marring her features immediately turned into a wide smile as she felt her master approach.

However, the smile was quickly replaced with worry as soon as she gazed into his eyes. The normal vibrant sea-green colour was a little dark like the sea during an overcast weather. The swirls kept clashing against each other like the waves, restlessly. At that moment, she knew the reason behind his sombre mood for she had had those for so many years.

Medusa turned towards Alecto and whispered, "Mind giving me some time with Percy? I'll take care of him."

The Fury, to her credit, understood and nodded her head. She took off towards the Death Knight and dragged it along for a spar in a different part of the realm, leaving the two alone.

"It wasn't your fault," Medusa said as she turned to look at Percy.

"I made a promise."

"Which you fulfilled and continue to do so."

"How? I wasn't there for you when you needed me. You had to suffer because of that."

"There was no way you would've known, as rude as it sounds, you're not a god."

"Even then, I should've done something beforehand to avoid such a situation altogether," Percy insisted.

"Why do you keep blaming yourself for something that was out of your hands? Why are you so fixated on playing the hero?" Medusa asked.

"I…," Percy started but was interrupted by the gorgon.

"This isn't a fantasy game where the hero will always come in time to save everyone. This is real life, shit happens. Either you accept it and move on or you keep looking back, only to fall because you couldn't see what's ahead of you. What's in the past, is in the past. You can't change it, so stop looking back and move forward. Moreover, you're beginning to have a hero complex where you blame yourself for every wrong there is and for being so powerless. Stop playing the victim card each time. If you have the power and will to do it, do it. If not, either work towards it or shut up and move on. That's all there is to it. I almost died. You had the power to save me and you did. End of story," Medusa said firmly. She knew that she was being harsh and her heart ached for speaking so crassly to the person that saved her but she knew that this was needed. If he didn't stop blaming himself, he'd never be able to move forward and she'd be damned to see her saviour fall like that.

Percy, on the other hand, was silent as he soaked in the lady's words. What she said was true. He had somewhat made it a habit of blaming himself for things that were out of his control, just to add to his plate for no rhyme or reason. However, another question came up which he couldn't wrap his head around.

"Should it be like that even when it's related to the ones who're important to me?"

Medusa responded immediately, "Especially when it comes to them. I'm sure they wouldn't want you to blame yourself for things that were out of your hand. Moreover, if they're in trouble, you'd need a calm mind to tackle the issue, and if they're dead, well, you can honour them and their wishes. Loathing yourself would be equal to trampling on their memory of you. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

After several moments of deep thought, the son of Sally looked up to the gorgon and slowly shook his head.

"You're right, I should stop doing this. It will take time to correct it. I know I'm asking a lot but will you help me out if I'm ever like this again?" Percy asked with a small smile.

As Medusa watched, his eyes turned brighter slowly as the overcast weather was overtaken by the bright rays of the sun. She couldn't help but be enraptured by this sight. However, she was snapped out of it when Percy coughed lightly to bring her attention back to him.

"Y-yes, of course, I will be there for you Percy. You can count on me," she replied quickly, ending with a smile of her own.

The demigod nodded his head and said, "Thank you I should go back now before it's morning. I'll visit you again!"

"I look forward to it."

With that, Percy vanished from the realm, leaving behind the gorgon who inwardly blushed when she recalled those sparkling eyes and that smile.

'You can't help but make a woman start falling for you. Yes, I might just have to go after you,' Medusa thought with a small devious smile gracing her lips.

Back in the real world, as soon as Percy popped up in his tent, he was greeted by the scowling face of the goddess of the hunt. Any thoughts about how she entered his tent or the nature of her visit died out the moment he looked into her silver eyes. He knew he had messed up.

"Perseus Jackson," Artemis said.

Yep, he did.

"Mind telling me, where exactly did you vanish for the past hour?" the goddess asked.

He messed up big time.

"Um, I was out?" Percy said lamely, his answer coming out more like a question. While technically he didn't tell her the truth, he didn't lie to her either. However, he knew it would be all for naught.

"And where exactly were you? I didn't sense you leaving your tent, much less this vicinity."

Called it.

Percy couldn't help but heave a sigh internally. He didn't want to lie to Artemis since a lot was at stake, and any sort of discontent had the potential to affect the world if they didn't see the quest through. Moreover, Artemis was one of the deities he highly respected, and the thought of lying to her left a bad taste in his mouth. Not to mention, the Fates did allow him to tell some people about his powers, so he might as well tell the truth.

Artemis, on the other hand, made sure to keep a stoic face as she patiently watched the demigod silently ponder over his situation. She knew that he realised that he didn't have a choice now.

If the boy decided to lie, she wouldn't make a fuss about it and accept it silently. However, that action would sever all ties between the two of them permanently, and she'd refuse to ever hear him again.

On the flip side, if he did tell her the truth and faced her head on, the tiny bit of respect that she had for him would increase greatly as well as reinforce the other goddesses' assessment of his character.

Finally, after a few minutes, he spoke.

"Lady Artemis, before I tell you the truth, can you please swear on the Styx to not share this with anyone unless I allow you to? I know this is asking a lot from you, however, this is something that I cannot share with you unless you do that. I do not want to lie to you so please," Percy pleaded, unintentionally giving her the baby seal look.

The goddess glared at him for a moment before she sighed and said, "Normally, I wouldn't do this but given your precarious situation, I will do it. But, if it's something that would be against the gods, I will not stay silent and take you to Olympus to be judged. Agreed?"

The demigod nodded.

"Fine, I swear on the Styx that I won't reveal whatever information you share with me to anyone unless it is detrimental to the rule of the gods or given explicit permission by you," Artemis said as lightning boomed in the background, signifying that the pact was acknowledged by Styx.

She then gestured for him to start.

"I know that this will sound unbelievable but I have been blessed by the Fates."

Artemis blinked once. Twice. What? Did he think of her as an idiot? Or was he mocking her? She was ready to accept any line of reasoning but to a certain extent. But this?! Her silver eyes flashed as she felt her temper rise and started exuding her godly aura. The air around her started vibrating with the amount of power rolling off of her.

"Do you think of me as some idiot, Perseus Jackson? Or do you have a death wish?" Artemis barely said through her clenched teeth.

Smart Percy, smart. A great way of starting a conversation, time to add it to the 'how to piss off a goddess within a micro-second' book that he would be authoring soon, if he did live through the quest.

"Wait, wait, Lady Artemis. I swear on the Styx that I am not lying about this," Percy quickly said as Gamer's Mind held back all the fear that he would've been experiencing as soon as he was exposed to her aura. Thunder boomed again in the background which momentarily made Artemis pause.

She looked at him closely, waiting for the faintest bits of an oncoming punishment from Styx but to her great surprise, nothing happened. The boy stood in the now almost destroyed tent without a single injury to his name.

At that moment, Zoë and the satyr both rushed out towards the tent, weapons drawn, ready to strike whatever monster had dared to attack them. However, both were greeted to the sight of the goddess clad in her divine clothes, exuding a terrifying aura, and to a calm (maybe?) son of Poseidon facing each other.

Immediately, Zoë narrowed her eyes and drew her arrow. She knew it, the boy was nothing short of a liar and the sort of person she despised. She cursed herself for thinking that maybe, just maybe he could be different from those that she had met. She vowed to never make the same mistake ever again. She'd rectify this right now, the other deities' anger be damned.

To her great confusion, Artemis raised her hand and stopped her from doing anything. Without turning to look at either of them, she said, "Go back to your tents or keep watch. There's something that I need to discuss with Perseus in my tent now."

She then turned on her heel, and started walking towards her tent whilst she rescinded her aura and went back to her normal form. Instead of arguing or saying anything, Percy quickly scrabbled after the moon goddess, not wanting to piss her off even more than he did.

Meanwhile, the other two could only watch the events transpire and head off in their separate direction, not wanting to attract the goddess' ire.

Just as Percy entered Artemis' tent, he didn't stop to admire the interior. Instead, he quickly sat on the chair the goddess had clearly summoned for him.

"Why don't we continue where we left off. Now, what was this about you being blessed by the Fates, hm?"

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Percy's Stats

Perseus Jackson

Species : Demigod (gives +2 STR and +2 DEX)

Title : Son of Poseidon

Perseus is the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Blessed by Elpis, the spirit of hope, he has a natural affinity with water due to his heritage which grants him control over water, horses, storms and earthquakes. He is also Hestia's champion which grants him control over fire and lets him summon meals.

…

Level - 21

Exp – 127 / 13,310

…

HP : 1,200 / 1,200 (+ 2,000)

MP : 1,350 / 1,350 (+ 2,000)

…

STR : 50 (+ 2 + 20) (Bonus : Weapon damage - Damage + STR | Unarmed damage - STR * 2)

VIT : 35 (+ 20) (Bonus : 50 HP per 10 levels)

DEX : 37 (+2 + 20) (Bonus : +10% HP regenerated / min)

INT : 50 (Bonus : 50 MP per 10 levels)

WIS : 37 (Bonus : +10% MP regenerated / min)

LUC : 26 (Bonus : +14% chance of better loot)

Points : 30

Money : $2,200 / D520

…

Status : Demigod

…

Skills

…

Combat :

Sword Fighting (Level 40)

…

Inherited :

Ancient Greek (Max)

Tongue of the Old Times (Max)

Modern English (Level 35)

Swimming (Level 11 - 13 km/hr)

Breathe Underwater (Max)

Akachan Shiru no Me (Max)

Running (Level 10 - 40 km / hr)

Storms (Level 4)

Earth Shaker (Level 3)

…

General :

Observe (Level 4)

Sneaking (Level 12)

Critical Strike (Level 22)

Mark of the Furies (Level 8)

Mage Armor (Level 21)

Summon Meals (Max)

Makarios tis Elpis (Level 5)

Battle Strategy (Level 19)

Bond Manipulation (Level 7) (Purple: Romance, Brown: Family, Red: Dislike/Hatred, Blue: Friends, Grey: Neutral)

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Chores :

Cleaning Dishes (Max)

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Passive :

Gamer's Mind (Max)

Son of the Sea God (Gives +20 STR, VIT & DEX as well as +2000 HP and +2000 MP when in water)

Battle Instincts (Max)

Champion of Hestia (to be declared)

…

Abilities :

Water Control (Level 32)

Water Manipulation (Level 25)

Blood Control (Level 12)

Dimension Create (Max)

Ice Control (Level 14)

Ice Manipulation (Level 10)

Steam Control (Level 5)

Fire Control (Level 26)

Fire Manipulation (Level 22)