Brother of The Huntresses (Chapter 26)

Quote: "Hope is one thing everyone can hold on to. Whether it be war, hunger, disease, Hope will survive as long as we keep it there."

The next few days seemed to be quite great to be honest. The Hunters stopped with the glares and such and were actually nice to me. I guess they hated Heracles more than I thought. The more chores I did made it easier for them, and they grew to like me. They were pretty nice, and I liked playing with some of the younger girls, and it made me feel happier in a way.

I was probably one of the only men that they considered good in the world.

We were hunting for once, as we all found a group of giants that were terrifying a mortal camping ground. It was Me, Thalia, Artemis, Pheobe, Atalanta, Tina, and another Huntress named Lily, who apparently was 279 years old in a 19 year old body.

We were searching through the forest in a group, and we were suprised as a Laistrygonian jumped out of nowhere.

"I am Rono, Prince of my pack! You will pa-"

"ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!" I shouted as I punched the giant in the stomach, and due to my strength, was able to throw him backwards into a tree, which he turned to dust.

"Really?" Thalia rolled her eyes.

"What?" I reply innocently.

"You just had to make a reference, did you?" Tina said, annoyed.

"I don't get it." Said Pheobe.

"Admit it, that was pretty cool." I say.

"Enough! Didn't you hear him? He said he was prince of his group, meaning they have a large number of giants. They must have gathered in one spot." Artemis interrupts us.

"Well, I wonder why the prince was just wandering by himself away from his group." I comment.

"Yeah, I wonder-" Tina said, but a huge arm grabbed her around her waist.

All of our heads turned and saw Tina being grabbed by a giant. She tried to struggle, but was easily outmatched by his strength. There were 3 giants, all of whom were smiling at us, as if we were their prey.

The first giant roared as he held onto Tina and the Huntresses all pulled out their bows. I didn't use Riptide, since I like having it as a surprise.

The Huntresses and I charged the giants, who charged back. The giant that held Tina stayed in the back while the other 2 charged us. I quicky summoned a fireball at one giant, turning him into a pile of dust, and Artemis and her hunters all shot at once at the other one, making another dust pile.

The first giant knew his chances, and before any of us could react, he threw Tina straight up in the air, at least 30 feet. As soon as he threw her, he bolted away from us.

Tina screamed as she was rocketed up, and I quickly used my wind powers to soften her fall, making her float down gently.

"Thanks." She sighed in relief as she was not dead from falling.

"No problem, who wants him?" I gestured to the giant that was running away.

"I got this." Thalia said as she shot an arrow into the distance.

A loud roar was heard, meaning the shot landed. We got all 3 of the giants, but this must have been a small group that wandered off.

"That could have been bad." I comment.

"Yeah, but it will get worse from here." Artemis informs me.

"Great, now I feel super confident." I say sarcastically.

"Shh! We don't want another group here." Artemis half-whispers/yells.

We all quiet as we pass over an empty parking lot. We soon see a gathering area for giants, a large plot of land hidden from mortals. There were a LOT of giants. It was like a convention for Laistrygonians,  as the land was full of about 26 giants. To clarify, these monsters were originally in the pit before Doomsday, meaning they were not teleported to the moon, so they spent these few months gathering an army to strike Olympus since it was still quite weak. The gods were very weak at that moment, and needed months to become normal, and would need centuries to regain their full power.

"Wow." Pheobe gasps at the number of giants. While 26 is not a large number, giants are like tanks. An army of 26 soldiers sounds weak, but 26 tanks sounds like war.

"Should we do this the easy way, or the hard way?" I ask the others.

"The easy way." Thalia says immediately,  and the other girls nod their head. They really did not want to fight 26 giants.

To put in perspective, giants are easy for me to kill, very easy in fact, but for normal demigods, it is like me fighting Heracles. On average, it takes about 3 skilled demigods to take out a Giant with minimal problems.

26×3= 78, so it would take about 78 demigods to defeat this whole army without extreme issues.

We have 5 hunters, a goddess, and me. Luckily, a goddess such as Artemis can take out multiple giants, and me being here only adds more fuel to the fire.

The easy way would be me using my fire powers to create a laser, and make a long line across the army, then make it move, cutting the giants into dust.

The hard way would be us slashing each giant individually, which is the obvious wrong choice, but it gives the hunters some battle experience or something that Artemis said. It is kind fun in a way.

1 hour later

"That was easy." I state casually as the hunters and I walked back to camp.

"Well, some of us can't control everything." Tina retorted.

We talked as we arrived back at the Hunter's camp with no casualties,  and was a success.

The hunters had a short celebration of this success, but then Artemis told us that we had a free day off today. The Hunters had lots of free time now that I was around, things that would take days to do took minutes for me.

There were a few ahem, minor setbacks here and there, but eventually, they saw I wasn't evil and stuff.

The hunt was kinda cozy, a huge, somewhat happy family. Being the only boy was kinda odd, but I got used to it. Perseus Jackson: Official cook, janitor, warrior of the Hunters of Artemis.

I don't really like that title.

Anyway, the girls all were scattered around camp, socializing, training, y'know, the usual.

Something was off though, I could feel it. I would need to stay alert. However, I realized I was thinking too much and zoned out.

"Percy? You awake?" Thalia said as she snapped her fingers infront of me.

"Yeah, yeah, just fine." I said.

"Percy, you aren't fooling anyone, I know something is wrong." She said more worriedly.  I could tell saying "no" was not an option.

"Just feel a bit....off I guess." I shrugged.

She studied me, and when she didn't see anything else, she sighed. "Alright, lets go with the others."

The "others" are a group of friends me and Thalia both hang around with. Usually its the girls who have no problem, and the kind ones. You know how at school you can see different groups of people hang out? Like Jocks, Nerds, etc and all that, except the group I am with is basically everyone.

The girls and I were making our way to lunch at the dining area, but I could still feel something off. Like a little tingling feeling at the back of my head, or an itch I can't scratch.

I can feel....movement, or something far away moving very fast since it is interfering with the air. Whatever it is, its coming towards us. It is definitely a monster, a big one too. Shouldn't be too much trouble.

Wait...the monster is moving oddly. Its.....slithering.  And it is moving fast.

Crap! Its definitely Python, no other monster is that large and slithers. I needed to warn the girls. NOW.

"Thalia! Python is on its way here! Get the girls out of here!" I shouted after her.

She gets the message and commands the other girls to move it. "Everyone! Get to-"

She was cut off as a loud screech was heard in the forest. A bone-chilling noise, like a car engine through a microphone. The noise was heard throughout the camp, and the girls all froze in terror at the sound.It was the call of Pytho on.

Near the open forest, a few trees were slammed to the side, and Python itself showed. Python was huge! He was like a roller coaster track, and had huge, fiery red eyes that seethed in hatred.  It had green, scaly armor on its back and a yellowish-white on its front. It had two baring fangs that drippped blue venom.

It stared at us for a moment, and gave a roar that rocked the camp, and charged.

Now, I knew it was fast, but I severely underestimated this thing. It was like a lightning bolt, and cleared the space between us in a single second.

I quickly brought out Riptide and charged the beast, and I heard Thalia and a few others gather the hunters to run while I fend off Python.

I jumped ontop of Python's back and slashed at its neck. I was surprised when the sword didn't go completely through the neck, but only cut it, creating a slit of golden ichor on the neck. Before I could get another slash in, I felt something slam into my side. Python somehow managed to use it's tail to slam into me, sending me into a tree. It wasn't painful, but I could tell this would be annoying.

I heard something crack, I hope it was the tree.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Artemis with a bow, shooting arrows. I could tell she was nervous, by how she wasn't talking and was sweating already. Every arrow that landed made Python shriek in anger and charged her.

I got up and ran, trying to catch up to the beast. I changed Riptide into a shield, and when Python was only a few feet from devouring Artemis, I rammed the side of Python with the shield, making him fly into the distance behind some trees and forest.

I quickly help Artemis.

"That won't last for long. Your arrows work, but they aren't doing enough damage. How do we kill it?" I asked her quickly.

"We need to aim for the eyes, and with your sword, you should be able to kill it in one hit if you can get up there." She explained quickly.

Those two sentences are all we managed to say before Python showed its ugly self again, bursting from the trees.

"Cover me." I said, and Artemis nodded as I ran and jumped ontop of Python's back again. She shot the beast to distract it a little bit from me.

I felt Python's tail moving, so I ducked, making the tail soar above my hair. I took the chance and I jumped and grabbed one of those flaps that snakes have. I held on, and I eventually made it to its face. Python was struggling like a maniac, moving constantly to try and shake me off. If I weren't so strong, I would have flown off by now.

I got closer and I managed to uncap Riptide and I aimed the sword over the eye. Python's fiery red eyes had a glint of realization as I plunged the blade into his eye, making ichor splatter all over my favorite shirt.

The beast fell to the ground, arrows littering the corpse courtesy of Artemis.

I walked up to her, and we sighed in relief in unison, now that Python is gone. I swear I heard her snicker at my now-golden clothing.

There was no time for a celebration as many screams were heard in the distance. The Hunters!

I looked at Artemis, and she looked at me at the same time. Without speaking, we both knew the hunters were in trouble and we started bolting in the direction of the screams. It led us to the back of the camp, where all the Hunters were at.

When we reached the area, I heard Artemis gasp as Gration the giant was standing triumphantly over the bodies of several hunters. He was at least 20 feet tall, with rotten brown skin and torn leather clothing. Several arrows were sticking out of his body, but it seemed like it had no effect at all. He wore chains on his arms and neck, with a pig-like expression. I clenched my fists and was preparing to run in to attack until I noticed something.

He was holding Thalia in one of his arms. She was struggling furiously, with a hunters knife in her arm. She slashed his finger, making a small cut appear, a small slit of gold.

Gration growled in response. "You will regret that, Huntress scum!" He said as she threw Thalia to the ground, a sickening snap! was heard. Thalia screamed in pure terror as her body rocketed to the rocky dirt. Her body went limp.

Before Artemis could even signal me, I ran up and punched Gration in the head, sending him straight into the ground. He was going to die.

He got up instantly, which was actually amazing since he was humongous.  He looked surprised when his dull brown eyes locked onto me. He gave a hearty laugh, a gruff voice erupted from his throat.

"It seems Artemis finally got over her silly oath. A mere boy cannot beat me!" He chuckled as he crunched his fists together.

I summoned a plume of fire from my hands in a battle stance, I was well aware of my eyes burning with fire as well. Gration raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he swung his fist, aiming for my side.I blocked with my arm, surprising Gration greatly that I could stop his punch, and while he was distracted, I uppercut his jaw, sending him in the air. He fell on his butt, and looked like an angry bull. His nostrils flared with actual smoke as he actually grabbed a whole tree from the ground, and launched it in my direction.

I leapt over it easily, and I summoned a blast of fire at Gration. He quickly grabbed a nearby rock and shielded his body with it. When the fire stopped, the rock was scorched, with half of it gone, but Gration still stood. He threw the molten rock at me, which I easily moved out of the way of. I quickly charged and slashed his leg, a deep gash.

"AGGGGHH! Y-you are not even a demigod!" He spluttered, clutching his bleeding leg.

"Oh, but I am, and much, much more." I said in monotone as I slashed his head off, one clean cut.

I quickly tended to the wounded, and it wasn't pretty. The girls were either coming out of hiding, unconcious, or helping the wounded up. All except one. Thalia.

She laid limp on the floor, staring into the sky with glazed eyes. I rushed to her side and held her arm up, hoping for a response. I didn't get one. I panicked and felt her pulse. Nothing. Her electric blue eyes were dull, the same color as the sky.

I started healing her, a golden aura trickling from my body to hers. She must have multple broken bones, as well as internal damage, and battling Gration hadn't exactly been quick. I breathed heavily as I continued to heal her. I wasn't the absolute best at medicine, but I would put all I had if it meant saving Thalia's life.

It wasn't working. A few minutes of healing and she hadn't gotten any better. Her motionless body stared into the open sky, a pool of blood on the ground, covering her body. I had to refrain from vomiting due to the blood of my best friend and cousin that covered my hands.

Eventually, the healing got more severe, and instead of a golden aura, a pink one replaced it. I was surprised at it until I noticed several hunters around us were getting up and getting healed as well. Whatever I was doing, it must have been really potent stuff. The hunters all noticed this and were gathered around me in a large circle.

Artemis had a hand over her mouth in horror at the sight of a lost lieutenant.  Many of the girls had tears on their face, since it was never a good occasion when a huntress was lost. Everyone held onto their hopes, as well as me, hoping I could revive her.

Thalia was- I mean is a great person. She has been with me for a long time, dealt with all my problems, and has been the greatest friend a person could have. She was strong, kind, and was, well, determined to say the least. I love her a lot. Whether as a brother or something else, I will always care for her as she did for me. She can't die, right?

Of course, anyone related to me always gets hurt.

I pushed these thoughts out of my head as I concentrated on healing, and it was not easy. While healing is not very difficult to actually accomplish, it is very energy-consuming.

Five minutes passed and no change at all. Most hunters have given up hope, embracing the fact Thalia is...dead. Her body was actually intact, despite the pool of blood surrounding her, except the fact you could tell she was injured by the fact that her eyes were still, dull, and murky. Her expressionless face gave it away, anyone could tell she was internally damaged.

Artemis put a hand on my shoulder gently. "Perseus......it is no use." She said sadly.

I turned and looked at her straight in the eyes, and I think she may have even flinched at my eyes. "Maybe. Maybe not, but if this gives even the slightest chance of her survival, I must do it." I said in a harsh tone.

She got the message and backed up, but not out of fear, but out of defeat. She knew she can't convince me, even if this may be a lost cause.

A Few Hours Later

It was night. The Hunters had all gone to rest after they mournex the death of Thalia. I still knelt by Thalia though. Artemis, Pheobe,  and a few others stayed behind longer, but eventually they left too. When I said I won't give up, I meant it. I won't let someone I care about die at the hands of someone like Gration. Artemis had called and cursed her brother Apollo, but he wasn't responding.

Sweat started to form all over me. I was tired. Very tired. The sky was pitch black, but my healing gave a bight aura that lightened the area. Thalia's form hadn't changed a bit. Still out cold as ice.

I decided I needed to do something. If what I am doing now isn't working, I need to change it.

I gave it my all. I fail, I fail, but I would do anything to save her life. I put all my godly energy into one last push in my healing, which drained all the energy I had left. A bright aura appeared from my hands, making me gasp. I saw multiple colors, almost like a rainbow fly from my hands.

Whatever it was, I didn't get to see it clearly because I fell to the dirt.

Fast asleep.

Author's note: Sorry for the late update, for some odd reason, this chapter was deleted. It was orignally 4500 words, but now it is 3300 because I hate rewriting stuff, and this chapter may be a bit sloppy.

I will say that I may end this book quicker than I originally planned, since I kinda want to make another betrayal book soon. Depends if the story gets wanted enough.