Chapter 5: Chapter 05: Rescue Mission and Cousins Reunited
Percy appeared in the edge of a forest in Saratoga Springs, Utah. Percy looked around before making his way into the city. He was slightly apprehensive about this mission. Hestia had seemed angry when giving him the mission. She had even encouraged Percy to take his time when he dealt with the mortal, which is not something he had ever heard from the kind-hearted Goddess of the Hearth. He knew whatever it was he would find was not going to be pleasant. He just prayed there wouldn't be any kind of sexual abuse. He had trouble controlling his rage when he saw evidence of that. Percy began to pick up the pace as he looked for Turner Street. He wanted to get the girl out of there as fast as possible. Finally he saw Turner Street and quickly located the house he was looking for.
He found the number house he wanted as he looked around it for any signs of danger. The house was large but not well kept. It looked like it had been nice not long ago but been neglected over the past few years. As Percy walked up to the house, he noticed the beer bottles that littered the porch of the house.
"Chloe! Chloe where are you? Where are you hiding you little brat?" A male voice yelled from inside the house.
Percy scowled, it was noon and it was clear the man was already drunk from his slurred speech. Percy saw a small shadow run across the window in front of the porch. Percy could see a larger shadow slinking its way in the same direction. Percy's face contorted into one of anger. As the larger shadow neared the door, Percy walked up and kicked the door in, catching the unsuspecting man in the face with the door.
Percy stepped into the house were the man was holding his broken nose in shock as he looked at Percy enraged.
"Who the fuck are you? Get the fuck out of my house!" The man yelled as he got up and charged toward Percy.
The man took at wild swing at Percy, aiming for his face. But Percy just moved to the side and shoved the man roughly to the floor. A soft whimper in the corner of the room drew Percy's attention. A small girl with blonde hair and grey eyes looked up at him with fear evident on her face. Percy felt his stomach twist into a knot. The little girl looked exactly like Annabeth except a few years younger than when they first met. Then Percy looked at the girl's face a little closer. The left side of her face was badly bruised. Her eye was swollen shut. Her lip was split and still bleeding.
As Percy looked at the girl he felt himself losing control of his anger. While Percy was distracted, the man landed a hard punch to side of Percy's face, causing him to stagger a bit. Percy stumbled but turned as the man tried to punch him again. Percy caught the fist in his hand before letting his hand catch fire. The man screamed in agony as his flesh burned away. Percy released his hand and threw a heavy punch into the man's face, his hand still on fire.
The man stumbled back and fell to the ground where he clutched his charred hand. Another soft whimper drew Percy's attention. Percy's heart ached when the girl looked up at him with fear and awe.
"Turn around and stay hidden little one. I am here to help." Percy said softly. The girl's eyes widened and she ducked behind a chair.
Percy turned back to the man, her father he assumed, and scowled. He so wanted to take his time with this guy but for the sake of the girl he knew he needed to be quick. She was already scared enough.
Percy walked up to the cowering man and pulled him to his feet before slipping behind him and wrapping his arms and hands around the man's head and neck. In one swift movement he snapped the man's neck effortlessly.
"I'll have my cousin make sure you face the worst Hades has to offer." Percy muttered as he dropped the man's now dead body.
Percy grabbed the man's limp shoulder and teleported his body to another room. He then turned back the chair the girl was hiding behind. Percy slowly made his way closer before taking a seat on the floor five feet away from the chair.
"Chloe?" He asked softly. A trembling hand appeared on top of the chair before two teary eyes followed as the girl peered over the chair.
"I'm not going to hurt you Chloe, I was sent here to help you." Percy said softly.
"You're lying. You're going to hurt me just like my uncle did." Chloe whimpered.
Percy sat in his spot looking sadly at the girl's trembling form hidden behind the chair.
"Chloe, your Mom sent me to take you away from here. She didn't know what was happening but as soon as she did, she sent to me take you somewhere safe." Percy said slowly.
"Your lying. My mommy is dead. She died before my Dad died." Chloe replied back shakily.
Percy shook his head, "That's not true Chloe. Your mommy is very special. She is so special that she wasn't allowed to be around you or your Dad. But she sent me to bring you to her sister. She has a group of girls that are just like you."
"What do you mean special?" Chloe asked as she peeked out from behind the chair just a bit.
Percy gave her a warm smile, "Your Mom is a goddess. But gods and goddesses aren't allowed to visit their kids. That's why they send people like me to take them places where they can be safe."
The little girl looked at Percy critically, her grey eyes analyzing his words to see if she could pick up on any lies. Percy's stomach twisted painfully. The girl was analyzing him exactly like Annabeth used to.
"Do you promise you won't hurt me?" Chloe asked timidly.
Percy nodded, "Are you hungry Chloe?" Percy asked as he looked at the girl's skinny frail body. Chloe's eyes widened before she slowly came out from behind the chair and took tentative steps toward Percy.
"What do you like to eat? What is your favorite food in the world?" Percy asked softly as the girl sat on the ground warily a few feet away from him.
"Macaroni and cheese." Chloe whispered back. Percy nodded and smiled before he clapped him hands together softly. A large plate of macaroni and cheese appeared in front of Chloe along with a fork and a tall glass of water.
Chloe's eyes shot wide open, "How did you do that?"
Percy smiled, "I told you, your Mom is a goddess just like my Dad is a god. But I have a special job where I help find people like us and bring them places where they are safe. Because of my job, some of the other gods and goddesses gave me special powers to help. That is one of those powers."
Chloe watched Percy warily as he spoke. She tentatively grabbed the fork before taking a bite of the food. A small smile appeared on her face before she began to eat faster. Percy felt good when the girl's face contorted into a smile as she ate the rest of her food. Once she finished, Chloe looked up at Percy again.
"So what happens now?" She asked nervously.
Percy smiled, "Now I bring you to your aunt. She is a very nice lady who dedicates her life to helping girls. After that, you can either stay with her or go to a camp for people like us."
Chloe nodded, "What about you? Where do you go?"
Percy looked at her a little surprised, "I find someone else to help."
Chloe's face dropped but she nodded.
Percy looked at her sadly, "Hey Chloe?" She looked at him questioningly.
"My name is Percy. I want to do something to help your face. It might seem a little scary at first but I promise I won't hurt you." He said kindly.
Chloe looked at him nervously but nodded. Percy pulled out a water bottle from his pack. He uncapped it and willed the water out of the bottle.
Chloe's eyes widened and she crawled back a few feet.
"I won't hurt you Chloe, this will help your face but you have to trust me." Percy explained.
Chloe looked at Percy closely before nodding. Percy crawled over next to the nervous girl. He slowly brought up his hand and touched the side of her face as he willed the water to heal her cuts and bruises. After a minute Percy sent the water out the broken door and onto the porch.
Chloe reached up and touched her face tentatively. Her face contorted into a look of awe before she lunged foward wrapping her tiny arms around Percy's neck and buried her face into his shoulder. Percy smiled. He slowly stood up and carried the little girl out of the house. He decided she had had enough surprises for one day and they would make at least some of the journey on foot.
For the rest of the day Percy carried Chloe towards Chicago. After a little while, Chloe lost her nervousness and climbed onto Percy's shoulders as they walked. Percy explained everything about the gods to her which she took surprisingly well. Percy learned she was only seven years old and that her father had been an author but died in a car accident. After her father died, she was sent to live with her uncle who was nice for the first year but after the money he received from his brother's life insurance ran out he became mean and cruel. He started drinking heavily and then started hitting Chloe, blaming her for his not having any money or a wife. Percy was relieved to find out he had never touched her sexually.
They stopped for the night a near the borders of Colorado and Kansas. Percy made a campfire and ate dinner with Chloe. After dinner, Chloe fell asleep leaning against Percy. Percy scooped her up to put her to bed when an Iris Message appeared behind him.
"Perseus?" Artemis called to him, nearly giving Percy a stroke.
Percy looked up wide eyed to see Artemis looking at him questioningly.
"One minute Artemis. Let me just put her to bed. I'll be right back." Percy said quietly. Artemis looked at him strangely before nodding.
A minute later he came back out to a waiting narrow eyed goddess of the hunt. "What?" He asked confused.
"You said you would be here today. What happened?" Artemis asked.
"Oh, sorry. It took me some time to get her to trust me. She wasn't in good shape when I got there. I didn't want to overwhelm her by teleporting in a flash of flames so I decided to walk for the day and then show up tomorrow. Sorry." Percy explained.
Artemis looked at Percy curiously, "Is she alright?"
Percy nodded, "Yes, she was pretty bruised and battered when I got there. Thankfully nothing else though."
Artemis smiled, looking relieved. "So you'll come into camp tomorrow?" She asked.
Percy nodded, "Yes, we should be there in the morning once I explain teleporting to her. Please make sure your hunters aren't too aggressive, she is very nervous and timid."
Artemis narrowed her eyes, "My hunters would never act like that towards a girl."
Percy chuckled, "I meant towards me. She doesn't need to see me dodging volleys of silver arrows for bringing her into your camp."
Artemis smiled and nodded, "I will keep them restrained. How old is the girl?"
"She is a seven year old daughter of Athena." Percy replied, his voice cracking a bit when he spoke.
Artemis looked at him sympathetically but when she looked at Percy's face she decided not to say anything.
"Okay Percy, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Artemis said as she got ready to swipe through the message.
"Wait, Artemis." Percy said stopping her mid swipe. Artemis looked at him questioningly.
"I believe you already broke our agreement." Percy said smirking.
Artemis' eyes widened before they narrowed at Percy, "Percy don't even…" Artemis began before Percy cut her off.
"Don't worry Artemis. I'll let it slide this time. I'm too "awesome", as you and Apollo would say, to hold it against you." Percy said smirking at her before he swiped through the message before she could retort. The last thing Percy saw was a scowling goddess of the hunt glaring at him before the image disappeared.
Percy laughed to himself before climbing into the tent to sleep for the night.
Percy woke up the next morning to a mess of blonde hair in his face. His eyes widened before he realized Chloe had climbed over to him in the night. Percy smiled when he looked down at the little girl. She looked so innocent and peaceful. Percy scowled when he thought about her uncle. He would have to make sure Nico checked on his punishment in the Underworld. Anyone who could hit a little girl like this deserved the worst of the worst in the Fields of Punishment. Percy was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the little girl stir. She opened her eyes before they went wide when she realized that she had cuddled up to Percy in the night.
"I…I'm s..sorry Percy." She said before Percy cut her off with a warm smile.
"There's nothing to apologize for Chloe. You didn't do anything wrong. Now, what would you like for breakfast? It's your choice again." Percy said kindly.
Chloe smiled before her face morphed into a thoughtful one, "Um….. How about pancakes? And bacon and fruit with some orange juice." She answered shyly.
Percy nodded and clapped his hands together, two plates appeared in front of them, almost exactly how Chloe had ordered.
"Um… Percy? The pancakes are blue?" She asked confused.
Percy smiled sadly, "Sorry, it's a habit. My Mom always made me blue food so it's how I make them now. I'll get you some normal ones."
"No. It's fine. I was just confused." She said as she took a bite. Her face morphed into a surprised one before she grinned.
"These are amazing Percy!" She said excitedly. Percy smiled at her, "Good. Now eat up. We finish our journey today."
Chloe nodded and turned back to her food. Once breakfast was over and Percy had everything packed up he took a seat on a log and gestured for Chloe to join him.
"Chloe, today we aren't going to walk. I have a different way to get places but I need you to trust me again." Percy explained.
Chloe nodded, "I trust you Percy." She said confidently.
Percy was surprised but nodded, "Okay, we are going to teleport. Basically I need you to close your eyes and hold my hand. It might feel a little weird but we it will only last a second. When it's over we'll be where we need to go." Percy explained.
Chloe nodded but then looked up confused, "Why didn't we just do that yesterday?"
Percy shrugged, "Everything was new to you and I didn't want to scare you."
Chloe's eyes widened before he hugged Percy tightly, "Thank you for being so nice to me Percy." She said softly.
Percy smiled, "Okay now I am going to change the way I look. Don't worry. Your aunt knows who I really am. And I will show everyone what I really look like after but first I will bring you to Artemis. She will talk to you about everything."
Chloe nodded but looked worried, "Will you come with me Percy? I don't want to go by myself." She asked pleadingly.
Percy wanted to refuse but one look at her pleading face and he melted.
"Okay I will go with you until you feel comfortable with Artemis. Don't worry. She is really nice and a friend of mine." Percy answered.
Chloe nodded happily. Percy grabbed her hand, "Okay close your eyes. Don't open them until I say to, okay?"
Chloe closed her eyes and nodded. They disappeared in a flash of flames reappearing a few hundred yards away from Artemis' camp.
"Okay, you can open your eyes." Percy said.
Chloe opened her eyes and smiled, "That felt weird." Percy chuckled before his face turned serious, "Okay, I'm going to change my looks. Don't worry it's only temporary and it's still me."
Chloe nodded and Percy snapped his fingers. His eyes turned brown as well as his hair. His face changed slightly but you could still tell it was him if you knew.
"How did you do that?" Chloe asked shocked.
Percy chuckled, "Another special power the gods gave me to help rescue people like us."
Percy turned toward the hunter's camp and starting walking. After a few feet, he felt a small hand slip into his. He looked at Chloe and saw how nervous she was. Percy gave her a reassuring smile and started walking again, holding her hand comfortingly.
After a few minutes, a silver arrow flew by Percy's head forcing him to duck. Chloe hid behind Percy, trembling slightly. Percy saw a few hunters approaching him with their bows out and aimed for him.
Percy growled. He narrowed his eyes at the hunters and they froze in their tracks. Percy made them rise a few feet off the ground, controlling them with the water in their blood. Artemis flashed in front of Percy and gave him an angry look. Percy released the hunters and then gestured toward the arrow imbedded in the tree behind him. Artemis' eyes widened before she whirled around on the hunters.
"Phoebe," She growled. "I told you to let him pass. You just earned yourself laundry duty for the next 6 months." Artemis said before turning to the other two hunters. "Go back to whatever you were doing unless you want to join Phoebe."
Phoebe looked angry but left after sending Percy a murderous glare along with the other two hunters.
"Sorry Percy. Phoebe has issues following orders when it comes to men." Artemis said apologetically.
Percy nodded and knelt down next to the now very scared seven year old girl.
"Don't worry Chloe, Artemis is my friend. We're just going to go talk to her in her tent." Percy said comfortingly.
Chloe looked at Artemis who looked like a twelve year old girl and looked back at Percy nervously but nodded. She grabbed Percy's hand like it was her lifeline as they walked into the hunter's camp.
Artemis turned to a hunter who was currently glaring at Percy, "Atalanta, go get Thalia and send her to my tent. No one else is to enter unless I call for them."
Atalanta looked at Percy with disgust before nodding and leaving to find Thalia. Artemis led Percy and Chloe into her tent where they waited for Thalia.
When Thalia entered she was shocked to find the man from the day before in her tent, "Lady Artemis, why is he here?"
Artemis chuckled at Thalia, "He brought another young girl into camp. Now Thalia I need you to control yourself until you talk to Blake here alone. Can you do that?"
Thalia looked confused but nodded.
Artemis smiled, "Remember, that's an order Thalia." She said before nodding to Percy.
"Sorry Thals." Percy said apologetically before he snapped his fingers.
Thalia's eyes widened before tears sprung from her eyes and she tackled Percy in a hug. Percy smiled at his cousin. He had missed her a lot.
After a minute, Thalia pulled back from Percy, her look of happiness changing into one of anger.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Thalia demanded.
"Not now Thalia. I already told Percy he would have to deal with you on his own. But for now, we have a new friend with us." Artemis said gesturing to the wide eyed seven year old. When everyone looked at her she quickly grabbed Percy's hand and hid behind his leg.
Percy knelt down and gently pulled her out in front of him.
"Chloe, this is my friend Artemis. And this is my cousin Thalia. They are both very nice and won't let anyone hurt you." Percy said softly.
Chloe nodded and turned to Artemis and Thalia who both smiled at her kindly.
"Artemis is going to talk to you about what you want to do from here." Percy explained gently. Chloe nodded but clutched Percy's hand tightly. Percy looked up at Artemis who gave him a nod, letting him know it was okay to stay.
Artemis explained what the hunt was and then offered Chloe a place within it.
Chloe looked at Artemis then back to Percy, "I don't know. Those girls tried to hurt Percy. I don't like that. Percy saved me and then took care of me."
Percy smiled, "Don't worry about that. They just didn't know it was me. They are actually very nice. They thought I might have been trying to hurt you."
Chloe nodded but still looked unsure, "Will I ever get to see Percy?" She asked softly.
Artemis smiled at her warmly, "Yes of course you will. Percy is the only boy who is allowed to come here. He can come and visit you whenever you want."
Percy looked surprised but smiled a bit. Chloe turned to Percy, "Will you come visit me?" She asked nervously.
Percy nodded at her as he held her hand, "I will come and visit as much as I can. Once you get settled in, Lady Artemis will show you how to Iris Message someone. That way if you want me to come visit you can message me and let me know and I will come as soon as I can." Percy said before he reached into his pack and pulled out a small bag and placed it in her hand. Chloe looked at it confused but Percy just smiled and pulled a drachma out of the bag.
"This is a drachma. They will show you how to use it when they teach you how to Iris Message but you just need one of these to send me a message. There are about 50 in this bag. That should hold you over for a while but if you ever run low I will give you more so you can always message me if you need to." Percy explained.
Chloe looked up and smiled before wrapping her arms tightly around Percy's neck. Percy looked up to see Thalia grinning at him, but he knew he would still pay. He looked at Artemis to find her looking at him oddly. She looked at him with a mix of shock, awe, happiness and something Percy couldn't identify.
When Chloe finally let go of Percy she turned around to Artemis smiling, "Okay, I will join Lady Artemis." Artemis and Thalia smiled happily at her.
"I will show you around camp and introduce you to some of your new sisters." Artemis said kindly as she led Chloe out the tent entrance. Chloe stopped at the tent entrance.
"Wait, Percy you won't leave yet will you?" She asked worriedly.
"I won't leave without saying goodbye, I promise." Percy said earning a relieved look from Chloe. Artemis finally led Chloe out of the tent. Percy turned to Thalia only to be blasted back with a massive volt of electricity.
"Five years, Kelp Head. Five years you vanish for without a word. You had better hope you were in a coma or else I might just kill you myself." Thalia growled.
Percy pulled himself off the ground and looked at Thalia apologetically, "Sorry Thalia. I just needed some time to get over some stuff."
Thalia narrowed her eyes before zapping him again, "You think you're the only one upset about Annabeth? It hurt me even worse when you disappeared! Instead of only finding out one of my best friends was a lying bitch; I had to lose my other best friend because he didn't want to talk. I could have helped you." Thalia yelled angrily but tears were in her eyes as she yelled.
Percy's head dropped in shame, "I'm sorry Thals. There was some other stuff that was more than just Annabeth I needed to get over." Percy said quietly.
Thalia narrowed her eyes, "And what would that be?" She asked angrily.
Percy looked up at her with tears in his eyes, "She killed my Mom and Paul." He said almost inaudibly but Thalia heard and her jaw dropped. She lunged forward and pulled Percy into a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry Percy, I didn't know." She said sadly as her own tears fell from her eyes. Percy just hugged his cousin tighter as he finally let some of the pain he had been carrying out. The only other person he had cried to about it was Hera. But Thalia was like a sister to him and he needed her back in his life. After a few minutes Percy stepped back, his tears gone.
"I'm sorry Thals. I shouldn't have cut you out of my life. I was just so lost for a while." He said sadly.
Thalia shook her head, "It doesn't matter Kelp Head. I'm just happy to know you're all right and now you're back."
Percy gave her a sad smile but nodded.
"I need to find Nico too. I miss the little Goth." Percy said with a chuckle.
Thalia grinned; happy Percy seemed to be a little closer to the old Percy.
"He Iris Messages me once a week to see if I found any clue to where you are. I'm sure once he knows you're here he won't hesitate to come into camp even if he ends up with a few arrows in places the sun doesn't shine." Thalia said back chuckling.
Thalia and Percy caught up over the next couple hours inside Artemis' tent. Percy explained what he'd been doing for the past five years. He left out the part about the Romans and the part about Hera, deciding the latter was better saved for a later time. He also had something he needed to discuss with Artemis about the Roman camp. They both left the tent around noon as it was time for lunch. Percy walked with his cousin through camp receiving a lot of shocked stares and quiet whispering as they passed. When they reached the area where the hunter's eat, Chloe was waiting happily for Percy.
"Percy! Percy! Thank you so much for bringing me here. Everyone is really nice just like you said. They even gave me a bow and are going to teach me to shoot it after lunch." Chloe said excitedly.
Percy chuckled and smiled at her excitement.
All the hunters began to stare at Percy strangely at what Chloe had said. They were confused. Percy hadn't brought her here. Artemis noticed their looks and gathered everyone's attention.
"Girls, the man you saw yesterday and then again today wasn't a stranger after all. It was actually Percy. He just disguised his appearance as he was keeping his identity a secret." Artemis explained.
"Why? What do you have to hide, boy?" Phoebe sneered at him.
"That's enough Phoebe. Percy is to be treated with respect. He will be welcome to come back to our camp whenever he wants as he will continue bring new recruits when he finds ones that fit." Artemis said sternly.
"Percy, are you going to stay for lunch?" Chloe asked hopefully.
Percy looked down at her before looking at the hunters. Some seemed fine with the idea while some were not pleased at the thought of a boy eating with them. Phoebe was glaring at him with disgust causing Percy to sigh.
"I can't today Chloe, I'm sorry. Maybe next time I will stay." Percy said as he glanced at Phoebe.
Chloe looked upset when Percy said he couldn't, something that broke his heart. Percy knelt down next to her and whispered something in her ear. Chloe smiled at him and whispered something back. Percy clapped his hands together, producing another plate of macaroni and cheese along with a big slice of watermelon on the table in front of Chloe.
"Sorry I can't talk longer Thals. Maybe next time there will be a little less tension." Percy said as he glanced at Phoebe again who was still glaring at him. "I need to go find Nico anyway. IM me if you want to talk again."
Percy turned to Artemis, "Thanks for not letting me get killed walking into your camp. I'll IM you when I find another girl to bring to the hunt."
Artemis and Thalia looked like they were about to protest but Percy gave them a small smile and vanished into a flash of flames before they could say anything. The last thing Percy saw was Thalia turning to Phoebe with a murderous look on her face.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone