4,559It went without saying that tensions grew high as a beam of moonlight pierced through all uncertainty and pointed the way forward without a shadow of a doubt.
Just like Orion had said, Artemis was not like her brother Apollo. Lacking the mystery and intrigue of a prophecy, the way guided by moonlight eliminated the need for that fool's dramatic flair and excess drama in a quest.
Straight for the kill, much like the Goddess Zoe Nightshade knew and adored.
"Tch."
Clicking her tongue, Zoe could feel her stomach churning as Artemis's Divinity clung so affectionately over Orion.
It felt like utter indigestion as memories of the past came unbidden of a heroic figure filled with such valor and grace that Zoe's maiden heart had been swayed.
Most annoying of all was the celebratory faces of the son of Poseidon and daughter of Zeus.
It was true that Zoe had chosen Thalia Grace to join her in the quest along with Satyr Grover, but even the newest Huntress Bianca was enamored by the affection in Artemis's divinity.
Curse it all…Zoe grimaced and clenched her jaw while listening to Percy talk about some creature, he encountered that he called 'Bessie?'
No. no nonono, none of that was important.
It was them.
The group with that damned Orion.
Zoe shifted her attention towards Lancer, Saber, and Rider.
The man that had valiantly led an army of ancient Greek Warriors in the camp's defense; the very same man who single-handedly captured the attention of the Ares Cabin and the Campers with his training regiments and tactics:
Leonidas, King of Sparta.
Having lived so long, there was no way Zoe would not know that man's tale let alone the stories of the others.
There was word that the green moss-head was the Legendary Achillies, and the weak looking one with a sword was Captain Jason of the Argonauts.
Heroes. Legendary Heroes revered and sung even till this day among mortals and Demi-Gods alike…had returned from their graves.
Hades beneath would not be pleased, and yet here they yet live.
However, who was that man?
The man with the red hair that felt of steel and fire such that Zoe could be convinced he was an avatar of Hephaestus himself?
"Look at her, she's not talking at all," Percy whispered to Thalia, the immature Demi-Gods, children of the Big Three, pointing fingers when their existence was the bane of Olympus itself.
Zoe scowled, but put up with it as Bianca tried to mediate.
"The two of thee are fools," Zoe hissed, her tone scathing. "Are you to truly believe these men are who they say they are? Even should Mr. D find no deceit in their words and heritage, their very presence is an anomaly that could be the ploy of the Titans."
"How much of that is justification, and how much of that is man hating?" Thalia raised a brow.
Zoe huffed, not responding any longer.
Though spurred to join Orion and his companions to follow the trail of moonlight, it didn't mean that Zoe was any less guarded towards them.
They were strong, that much was guaranteed, but being trustworthy was another matter.
You can't trust a Greek hero, no woman should.
Zoe watched in muted silence as Orion and his comraded gestured towards them.
How they planned to take such a large group with them to follow a beam of light that spanned across the horizon was their problem, not hers.
"Are you sure about this Lancer?" Shirou asked to verify, but King Leonidas was unwavering.
"Indeed, I will remain here to safeguard the camp of young bloods," Leonidas said without hesitation. "Given Chiron's explanation that the monster activity has been abnormal as of late, it's likely that the General is using the Grail's power to supplement his forces against the camp. Thus, I will remain and protect the children here."
It was a sound explanation and one that Shirou could not refute given the situation the group had intervened in.
"The tragedy of the Greeks was our lack of unity and our ability to raise the next generation. A nation is only as strong as its people, both its men and its women. For that was the glory that was Sparta." Leonidas took up his spear and shield. "May Lord Ares bare witness to our valor. No harm shall come to this camp."
"Hmph, show off," Jason snorted, his arms crossed. "Leave him if he wants to stay. Let's just get this over with so we can all be on our way."
"Then farewell," Lancer said as he returned to camp half-blood.
Left behind, Shirou waited with Orion, Achilles, and Jason as Orion called over the young demi-gods granted a quest by the oracle.
They were meeting outside of Camp Halfblood, away from prying ears but within view of the quest goers.
Lancer's absence was something Zoe, Percy, and Thalia were keen to take notice of while Bianca and Grover grew nervous at the group's presence.
"Leonidas will stay behind to safeguard your camp," Shirou said to answer the unasked question, Thalia looking somewhat disappointed before she clapped her cheeks and refocused.
"Alright then, so how are we going to travel?" Thalia asked, staring at the stretching band of moonlight. Given that it disappeared into the horizon, there was lot of ground to cover.
"Walk?" Percy suggested, Zoe giving him an unimpressed glare before he raised his hands up in mock defeat.
"Rider?" Shirou asked, Achilles shaking his head.
"My chariot is not big enough," Achilles shrugged his shoulders.
"I was just going to run," Orion admitted when attention fell to him. He flexed, revealing the gleam of his tri-star belt "I trust in my ability as a Hunter and in my muscles."
"Ugh," Zoe made a face of disgust.
"So that's it? We walk?" Thalia asked incredulously. "This will take us weeks."
"Hmph, you forget that you are in the presence of Lord Jason!" Jason puffed up his chest, his handsome expression filling with arrogance. "My ship was a ship of wonders that sailed over the perilous and the wonders of the ancient era, gathering the finest crew in all the world."
"And your ship has long since broken. Oh, wasn't it also your ship crushing you that killed you?" Zoe sneered.
"…" Jason's lip twitched. "I don't like her."
"Same." Percy nodded.
"Seconded." Thalia grunted.
Bianca smiled awkwardly in the growing tension while Grover started snacking on cans.
However, Jason was no longer perturbed. Regardless of whatever animosity Zoe shot at him, could it be any worse than the expressions he'd receive from Atalanta or Medea? Those were the ones to worry about.
Jason walked off in the direction where a lake existed near Camp Halfblood.
"Where are you going?" Zoe said, brows knitting together.
"Where?" Jason snorted. Filled with growing arrogance, Jason placed a hand on one of camp half-blood's boats moored to the lakeside. "My ship."
For a second, light flashed from the point Jason touched the ship, and when it dimmed, several eyes remained unblinking wondering if they missed anything.
Nothing had changed and Jason's complexion was growing embarrassed. "D-Damn it why does this only happen to me, hurry and work!" He stressed.
It wasn't until Shirou strode up to Jason, placed a hand on the boat, and the other on Jason's sword that something started happening.
Alteration.
It was one of the crafts Shirou was capable of when he used his Tracing. Connected to the history of Jason's experience, he found the blueprint to shape his alteration.
Amid the stares of the party, and Jason's own efforts, the ordinary boat began to shift and change until finally-
"Behold, my Argo!" Jason said, beaming before shooting Shirou a contemplative look.
"I'm not joining," Shirou said before Jason could even ask.
Jason's face twitched, but he coughed and pretended the exchange didn't happen. Instead, he turned back to Zoe and the others and raised his arms on either side with pompous flare.
"This is the ship that sailed across the divine, and numerous adventures in pursuit of the golden fleece!" Jason boasted.
The ship was painted with Greek war paint and its mast towered above with billowing sail. On either side, sturdy oars automatically rowed despite being unpiloted.
Most controversial of all…it was floating in the air.
"Whooaa…" Percy and Grover said, while Thalia grew apprehensive while staring at the sky.
"You dare intrude in the sky's domain?" Zoe hissed as lightning began crackling from above.
"Relax, we have Pinecone Face," Percy quickly dragged Thalia onto Jason's ship, the lightning above giving grudging pause. "See? It worked the last time she flew."
"I'm not driving this," Thalia said with a pale face. Regardless, her presence and Percy's words effectively rendered Zoe's argument mute.
Not that Percy, Zoe, or Thalia's concerns raised any alarms for Shirou and the others.
To them, the Gods were the Gods.
Besides, Rider, Shirou, and Orion weren't about to say anything that could upset Jason's mood as he basked in the awed expressions on the children's faces.
As much as a fool and incapable fighter as Jason was, his was still the legend of a leader and captain.
The boat of legends was a ship like no other. With windless sails and unmanned oars, it followed the will of Jason on its path forward. Once the grouchiest and moodiest of the Servants, Jason displayed a certain level of charisma as he stood at Argo's helm.
At a speed that was as fast as a train, the Argo sailed onward as it followed the trail of moonlight.
"Take it easy and leave the navigation to the captain," Jason sneered at Zoe and the other Servants, fully knowing that this was his time to shine.
What others could accomplish with brute strength and skill, Jason made up for in wit and leadership as a captain.
"Let us end this quest as quickly as possible!" Jason beamed. "I'll even call you all my Neo Argonauts!"
"Dumb fool," Zoe murmured.
"Not as sharp tongued as Atalanta," Jason remained unphased, the name making Zoe go mute while Percy and Thalia laughed at her expense.
Meanwhile, Shirou, Rider, and Orion relaxed by the ship's portside while watching the scenery go by.
Orion was oddly quiet. Ordinarily, he'd be joking with girls or even hitting on them, but his attention had grown laser focused from the moment it was made it clear to him that Artemis had gone missing while out on a hunt. His grip on his bow remained tight, his muscles rippling with Artemis's Divinity making him shine as bright as the moon.
On the other hand, Rider stood with his arms crossed, thoughts to himself as the feeling of being watched continued to nag at him.
Fruitlessly, Shirou tried to contact Chaldea again, but the transmission continued to be blocked. He was going to have to get through this on his own.
"Hey," a voice called out to Shirou and the others.
"So ugh, my name's Percy and you guys are all older Demi-Gods right?" Percy Jackson asked without a shred of caution.
"Few if any wouldn't have heard of us," Rider smirked before pointing at himself then at Orion. "We're that famous."
"Then how strong are you?" Percy asked as Thalia perked up an ear.
Bianca, Zoe, and Grover were left to deal with Jason's boasting.
"I can rival Heracles himself," Rider said without batting an eye.
"Right," Thalia scoffed. Whether Heracles was a good guy or not, he was technically her half-brother.
"Oh, don't believe me?" Rider asked before uncrossing his arms.
"Want to spar?" Thalia goaded before a rush of wind hit her point blank.
Blinking rapidly, goosebumps travelled down Thalia's neck as her eyes focused on Rider's fist stopped mere inches from her face.
"Better wait until you're grown, girly," Rider winked. "You're too slow."
Thalia opened and closed her mouth while Percy laughed in the background. Expression twisting, Thalia elbowed Percy and scowled.
"As if you'd do any better," Thalia seethed.
"There's no need to fight," Shirou interjected. "Actually, there are a few things we need to clarify to you."
"Sure thing," Percy answered before Thalia could.
"Our objective is to recover an object that may have stumbled into the General's hands, but that object isn't ordinary. It carries potent magic that could alter reality to make any wish come true. It goes without saying that the General would be leagues above his ordinary strength. If you're not careful, you will die."
"…"
Both Percy and Thalia tensed, having had thoughts to use the opportunity to search for their missing friend Annabeth.
"Just keep it in mind." Shirou said.
"W-Wait hold your horses, what do you mean any wish?" Percy interjected.
"It means what it means, brother," Orion said. "Bring back the dead, unlimited power, or even to wish something never happened. It's uses vary."
"Then why can't this 'General' just wish for Olympus's fall?" Thalia asked. "Who needs a prophecy when you have that?"
"Which is why we must reclaim it. To grant such a wish, it needs more power, power that can be tapped into from a leyline or divine source," Shirou said. "The situation is urgent…you need only look at what stands before us."
"What?"
"Starboard attack!" Jason yelled before rolling the wheel at the helm and turning the ship sharply.
Massive Greek harpoons flew overhead, but their aim was never to damage the ship to begin with. Rapidly pulling back, the harpoon hooks latched onto the Argo's rails and began pulling.
"M-My ship!" Jason roared.
Everyone's expressions turned grim as Mount Tamalpais in California came within view of the flying Argo. What separated the ship from the mountain was nothing less than an army of monsters, empusas, harpies, chimeras, and what looked to be hydras.
"B-By the Gods," Zoe whispered while holding fast to the Argo's rails.
"We're being dragged in," Jason warned.
A laugh escaped amid the chaos.
"Why is he laughing?!" Thalia paled considerably at the notion of the flying ship crashing.
Rider continued to laugh before he raised his fingers to his mouth.
"Leave it to me, I'll cut us a path through." Rider said.
Whistling, a chariot emerged from out of thin air adorned with celestial bronze-like plating and gilded with gold.
"Xanthos! Balios! Pedasus!" Rider called out before three horses appeared and rider grabbed the reins.
Percy blinked at the arrival of the horses as if he could hear them speaking, but there wasn't any time for interpretation.
"The fact that you're standing in front of me means you've already accepted defeat!" Rider yelled across at the monsters manning the harpoons and reeling the Argo in.
With a quick whip of the reins, Rider took off into the sky on divine steeds.
"Wait, what do you hope to do on your own?!" Zoe yelled to no result.
"Believe in him," Shirou said as his voice garnered the attention of Percy and the others. "There was a reason he was hailed as one of Greek Legend's strongest warriors."
"…" Zoe held her tongue at the response.
To believe in the man not known for his valor, strength, or speed, but of his rage was disconcerting at best. However, perhaps that was because Zoe had not been present at the height of that war.
It was the folly created from the pettiness of three Goddesses and the fool who dared put them at odds with each other. After all, by that point, there was no winning regardless of any choice.
It was the tragedy of Troy and the Demi-Gods that flocked to it like a flame.
An emerald comet streaked across the sky amid the harpoons lodging the Argo in place and the panicked screams of the people inside.
One would think that children should not be brought on such a dangerous quest, however, prophecies and fate weren't easily altered. It was safer to take the young Demi-Gods with them then allow them to be subject to the words of the Oracle.
If one should die in the land without rain, then it was a hero's job to reject that fate.
"Come on, try to stop me!" Rider laughed in the wind. "I'll show you real speed!"
Orange scarf whipping back, Rider's figure blurred until all that could be seen was a blur of green light that zipped back and forth within the blink of an eye. And from that green light, was devastation.
The chariot's rotating wheels were equipped with sharpened spikes while Rider's spear cut and impaled all in his way.
Showers of golden dust and the cries of monsters echoed at his passing.
Limbs, bodies, and weapons alike were chopped and momentarily suspended into the air before the shockwave hit and sent them scattering.
Jason who stood at the helm of the Argo swallowed, recalling Rider's words that he could be just as reliable as Heracles. It still wasn't up to the feats Jason had witnessed his friend accomplish, but it was breathtaking regardless.
"Forward through the path!" Jason began to steer as Orion used his bow to dislodge the harpoons and divert other attempts at crashing the ship.
"What can we do?!" Percy asked, holding a sword that had transformed from a pen.
"Can you shoot water?" Jason asked.
"Only if there's water around me." Percy said.
"Then you're useless. Sit back and do nothing." Jason dismissed.
"H-Hey!" Percy protested, but Thalia shut Percy's mouth and proceeded to hurl thunderbolts down from the Argo. Now wasn't the time to argue.
Zoe and Bianca were already shooting arrows while Grover was throwing his tin cans in a vain attempt at damage.
Still, with each sweep of Rider's chariot, swaths of monsters vanished all at once. The path guided by moonlight began to clear, and Jason did not waste the opportunity to steer the flying ship through the gap.
It was almost too easy.
Especially when Zoe, Bianca, Thalia, Percy, and Grover watched Shirou raise a hand into the air.
"Trace. On."
Two words.
Just words and steel filled with the air with the scent of so much iron that even the God of Blacksmiths himself would have to give pause.
Bianca staggered back, gasping as Percy and the others opened and closed their mouths without a sound.
"Bullet. Fire."
Shirou lowered his arm, and it was as if machine gun battery had been equipped to the Argo as steel began to rain down. The extent of the scene was so damning that Thalia stopped throwing lightning bolts and even the hunters stopped shooting their arrows.
Between Rider disorganizing the enemy's forces and Shirou raining steel from above, there was no need to get involved.
"HEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAA!" Jason laughed uproariously. "BEHOLD, FATHER! BEHOLD MY NEO-ARGONAUTS! REMEMBER THE NAME OF LORD JASON!"
Saber had never looked so lively, but the man couldn't help it as nostalgia colored his mind from the surreal sight. It was just like how his old crew mowed down their enemies while he took command at the helm. Atlanta with her arrows, Heracles with his 'everything,' Asclepius with his healing, and even Medea- They truly were…Jason's glory.
Hardening his heart, Jason steeled his expression and pressed the Argo forward. "Brace!" he warned as a flock of harpies rammed the ship's bow.
The impact sent the occupants of the Argo reeling, Percy nursing a bump on his head, but the turbulence was far from over.
It had only begun.
"Impudence!" A guttural voice echoed, the tone and strength belying Divine might.
Zoe clenched her jaw at the tone, her hands trembling from memories born long ago.
The General, no, Atlas, Titan of Strength and Endurance had come for her. Her father.
The Titan himself was still not in sight, but just the voice alone caused the hairs to stand at the back of the neck.
Bianca's pupils dilated as the gravity of what she'd gotten herself into started to weigh on her.
Rider grunted as a boulder thrown from Mount Tamalpais nearly grazed him and his chariot. For such a thing to happen, the boulder would have to have been thrown at God Speed just to touch him.
That settled things.
They were truly at odds with a Divine.
"You shall step no further," Atlas declared. "Your appearance here marks your end."
The clouds rippled before they began to part as if something was pulling against them.
Staring upward, it was as if the heavens themselves could be seen weighing down upon the earth. An image manifested at the heart of Mount Tamalpais. There, bearing the world's burden was Artemis and a younger girl that caused both Percy and Thalia to shout out in concern.
"Come if you dare, but know that I now possess a power beyond anything this world has ever seen. Not even Olympus will stand a chance at stopping me."
The ground suddenly cracked and caved inward, the monsters caught between the Argo and Mount Tamalpais falling inside. The energy within began to swell and ebb.
Yet, a voice spoke out.
"You're wrong." Orion said.
Having been silent for most of the journey, Orion's gaze was now set firmly on Mount Tamalpais where the image of Artemis had been seen.
"It is not our folly, but yours to flaunt what you have done." Orion stood tall; bow drawn as three glowing sigils flared over his hunter's belt. "As a Hunter, I promise you, I will hunt you down and offer your hide to the moon."
"Is that so?" Atlas's voice boomed. "Then come if you dare. I'll wait for you here."
From the chasm formed by Atlas's power, a massive gravitational force pulled on the Argo, causing Jason's complexion to fall.
"D-Dammit, brace!" Jason yelled as the ship tumbled down into the pit and army of monsters.
"Nonononononono!"
The sound of Thalia shrieking echoed in everyone's ears.
2 chapters left for this event quest.
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