Chapter Text
“Come on out and smile for the Rail, Trouble~!”
The Wings of Strife cackled maniacally and levied a hailstorm of bullets at The Princess of the Underworld.
Melinoe took refuge behind the stone apple statues that dotted the shores of Olympus, she pressed tightly flush against the wall, and waited for the barrage to cease. Metal shards peeled away at the paint and chipped the stone.
“You can’t hide forever Babe~! I’ll drive you out one way or another! Bombs away!”
The sizzle of smoke and the whistle of a metal canister flying through the air alerted the Princess of the inbound danger. She dashed through the stone pillar and sprinted towards Eris, swinging her axe upward at The Goddess of Discord.
Eris unfurled her wings and took off skyward, barely avoiding the razor sharp edge of Zorephet. She spun mid-flight and rained down a flurry of bullets. Melinoe felt the sting of hot lead pierce her shoulder and rushed behind another pillar.
This is ridiculous. It’s bad enough that we have to grant her sanctuary within the Crossroads despite her trying to kill me. But who in Nyx’s name decided it was a good idea to give her back the Adamant Rail?
Melinoe took a deep breath and calmed herself. She recalled Artemis’s guidance, Patience is the key to a hunt. Stalk like a lion, and pounce only once your prey has left themselves exposed.
Melinoe snapped to attention when she finally heard her opening. Click Click.
“Augh! Jammed again! Stupid thing!” Eris slammed the Rail against the stoney beach.
Now! Melinoe rushed from her cover towards Eris.
“Uh oh!” Eris frantically smacked the side of her weapon until its complex mechanisms clicked back into place. She raised the Rail towards Melinoe and opened fire, spraying wildly in a panic.
Melinoe held the flat side of Zorephet’s axe-head in front of her body and ran directly into the hail of gunfire. Metal rung against metal, resounding like a bell.
Seizing her momentum, Melinoe crashed into Eris with all her might, slamming her against the cliffside.
Melinoe channeled her Magick into her left arm and clenched her fist tight. The binding circle formed beneath Eris. Spectral hands of the Underworld arose from the magick spell, grasping and clawing at The Child of Nyx. Her legs, arms, and wings, all held firmly by the chill touch of the dead, she struggled in vain against the pull of the shades.
Melinoe hoisted the Moonstone axe aloft, “When you get back to the Crossroads, give Headmistress and Nem my regards.”
“Nononononono! Pleasedon’tmakemegoback Idon’twannago Icanbegood NOOOOO!”
Melinoe slammed Zorephet down into the binding circle, narrowly avoiding Eris’s neck. The cast erupted into a blinding surge of necrotic energy, and in a freezing flash of cyan, Eris was no more, banished back to the crossroads, leaving behind a pilfered golden apple.
“Maybe you’ll think twice about your rotten behavior next time, ‘Babe.’”
The Princess pulled her axe out of the sand and began the long march up the steps of Olympus.
“I can see your every move!” The Flame Titan weaved aside, evading the Moonstone Axe, and leapt backwards out of the Princess’ striking distance. He conjured an azure firestorm between his hands and motioned to hurl it at Melinoe.
“Then you know this is where it ends!” Melinoe’s phantasmal left arm engulfed with static electricity, her hair frazzled and stood at length. She gripped the ionized air and hurled a spear of divine lightning at The Titan of Foresight. It struck the courtyard floor and burst into a binding spell circle. Arctic stormwinds blasted forth from her cast, slowing Prometheus's movement to a crawl.
Melinoe raised Zorephet overhead and pulsed with Magick, “There’s no escaping now, Traitor!” She slammed the Moonstone Axe into the stonework, and a trail of Hestia’s Hearthflame erupted forth. Prometheus’s stolen Flames of Olympus failed to fully consume the oncoming inferno, the wave of flame washed over the Titan, scorching him, and causing the binding circle to explode.
Like how a lighthouse illuminates the sea, the bursting magick served as a beacon. A verdant arrow of hard light tore across the sky like a comet, seeking the titan, and puncturing a gaping hole through his liver.
“Argh! Ha! Haha! I foresaw this outcome, Agent of Change. You’ve finally bested me, as I always knew you would. But tell me, are you prepared for what comes next?”
“...What are you talking about?”
“You…will not…reach…the gods…” The Titan flourished his arm and vanished in a plume of blue flames.
“...What would you know, Traitor?”
The Princess turned her gaze towards the stars, and to the hunter’s constellation from whence the divine arrow originated from, “Thank you Artemis, we got him. I’ll save our family yet.”
Wiping her brow, the Princess continued her assent.
What followed was a cavalcade of disaster, for above the clouds there was no sight of the magnificent palace grounds. A horrific storm buffeted the mountaintop, and colossal, deafening roars penetrated the howling winds.
Melinoe rushed higher and higher, only to encounter monstrosities unlike any she had ever seen. Thrashing eyeballs that overtook the walls, creatures that were more blade than flesh, bloody and volatile eggs filled to burst with acid. Melinoe found herself woefully unprepared to face such an alien threat.
Exhausted and under-trained for such foes, the Princess carved her way though the unidentified threat, sustaining injury after injury, until she reached her breaking point.
When a towering weapon of a tail threatened to cleave her in twain, she had no choice but to retreat, “Return to shadow, now!”
The Princess re-awoke within her private grotto, gasping for breath as if she’d just awoken from a gruesome nightmare. Visions of Olympus in ruins haunted her mind and twisted her heart. A single abhorrent thought tore through her mind, “The Father of All Monsters…”
Melinoe collapsed from her meditative state and sprinted out of her tent, not even pausing to glance at her possessions or chat with Dora. She made a mad dash towards the Headmistress to report her harrowing discovery, when she came across none other than Artemis waiting for her on route.
“Woah! Slow down, Sister. You look like you’ve seen a ghost, and I don’t mean Dora. What has you so frightened?”
“Sister Artemis, it’s so much worse than we ever could have anticipated! Mount Olympus is being assaulted by Typhon! Chronos or Prometheus must have let him loose, and he’s rampaging the palace grounds! It’s no wonder the gods haven’t managed to push back the enemy, all of them except for Pallas Athena are too busy fortifying the final threshold!”
Artemis took on a dour expression, “...That certainly is bad news, but does explain a lot about this war. This must be what Hermes was quietly trying to warn us about. How typical of Father to refuse aid even when things are at their worst. I take it then that you’re off to report to Hecate and Odysseus then?”
“Yes, and then I’m heading right back to the surface. I must get going right this instant, Olympus needs my help!” She motioned to resume sprinting.
Artemis reached out and grasped Melinoe’s arm, “Oh no you don’t. All tensed up with stress like that? You’ll alert every wretch from here to Olympus to your presence with that much pent up nervousness. You can’t leave until you’ve achieved the peace of mind befitting a proper hunter.”
“Peace of mind? Our family has The Father of All Monsters knocking down their front gate, and you want me to be calm? How can you say that? They’re your family too!”
“Very easily Melinoe, listen closely. If the combined might of all of Olympus can’t withstand the enemy assault until reinforcements arrive, then they deserve to fall. Our role is not to get trampled alongside them. Our mission is to disrupt the enemy backlines, flank around the majority of the war efforts, and execute the enemy leadership. If they can’t wait for us, then the war is already lost, and you wouldn't have been the difference maker. “
Artemis let go of Melinoe’s arm and looked her dead in the eyes, “This is the most important point, Melinoe. You have the most critical task of all, and you need to be in top form if you’re going to carry it out. I’d rather you take the full night off, as opposed to rushing out this early in the evening and getting all messed up because of high tension. So tonight, I'm in charge, and we’re doing something relaxing together, that’s final.”
“Artemis…”
“So, when you’re not devoting your every waking moment to mastering weaponry, sorcery, and being stubborn, what is it that you do for fun?”
Melinoe paused and slowly reached into her bottomless witching purse. She withdrew a pair of fishing hooks, "Odysseus gave me these lures as a gift when we undammed the river…would you…would you care to join me on the docks?”
“Fishing huh? Not my usual prey, but that sounds lovely all the same. Something easy to unwind with. Let's go, Melinoe.”
Artemis unstrung her bow, spun it around, and reshaped it into a Rod of Fishing. Then vanished into a plume of foliage, only to reemerge a mere twenty meters away, still well within the Princess’s line of sight.
“...It was just a few steps away…she could have just walked…”
The duo of goddesses sat side by side on the pier, gazing out over the calm waters of the River Cocytus. Melinoe recast her line and chatted with her Silver Sister.
“Hey, Artemis. You mentioned that fish weren’t your usual prey, and that got me thinking. Odysseus once told me that mortals often had to resort to fishing in order to survive. Wouldn’t that make fishing a form of hunting? And if that’s the case, why doesn’t fishing fall under your dominion?”
The Goddess of the Hunt chuckled and cast her line into the water, “You’re right, fishing requires much of the same skill-set as hunting. Patience, precision, swiftness, and preparation. I take to it quite naturally. As for why it doesn’t count as hunting, that’s easy. It’s because uncle Posiedon is a boisterous buffoon.”
Melinoe laughed, “Ha! In what regard?”
Artemis adjusted her sitting posture to face Melinoe, “Well for starters, were you ever told the story about how our fathers drew lots to divide up the world?”
“Yes. My father drew last and was given charge over the Underworld.”
“Correct. My father drew first, he claimed the heavens, the sky, and Mount Olympus. Uncle Poseidon got the first pick of anything that father Zeus didn’t want. He claimed all the world's oceans, its treasures, and all the life within.”
She continued, “Well, after uncle learned about the gemstones and precious metals that lay deep within Hades’ domain, he grew outraged, and demanded more. He demanded shared ownership over the land itself, and the right to quake it as he saw fit.”
“Oh, is that where lord uncle Poseidon's title of ‘Earthshaker’ comes from?”
“Yes, that’s right. But I wasn’t done. After throwing a tantrum that the land and sea were not enough, he also demanded rulership over…horses.
Melinoe tilted her head in confusion, “Horses? Specifically horses? Like the creatures that pulls Sister Selene's chariot? That one feels like it should be within your expertise. Or any number of gods really.”
Artemis nodded, "Equestrian land creatures, yes. I have no idea why he needed to be in charge of them, but he complained loudly enough that lord father Zeus and lord uncle Hades didn’t put up a fight. Uncle Posiedon can be melodramatic like that, so it's entirely unsurprising that he won't simply cede fishing over to me.”
Melinoe giggled, “It’s always funny to hear you bad mouth your family like that. I mean, they’re your family. It can’t be all bad.”
Artemis sighed, “As far as I'm concerned, it’s exactly that bad on Olympus. Everyone is so loud, and they’re always fighting amongst themselves. It’s drama after drama, squabble after squabble. It’s exhausting. I may be an Olympian, but my greater loyalties lie down here, among the Unseen.”
Melinoe turned her gaze away from the water and towards her Silver Sister, “Do you truly mean that, Artemis?”
“I do. Do you really think that when lord Zeus instructed me to come spy on you and lady Hecate, I seized the opportunity because I was eager for the task? Of course not. I raced down here because this is where I'd rather be, among my sisters, spending time with you, Melinoe.”
Melinoe jolted upright, “With me?”
“Yes! You’re not like the braggarts on Olympus. You understand me. We’re both hunters, Melinoe. Warriors dedicated to the tireless pursuit of our prey. We’re not meant to lay idle and waste away on mountaintops or within the depths of the Underworld. The Unseen Crossroads is where we belong, and there’s nobody I'd rather hunt with than you.”
“Sister Artemis…”
“Hey! Back to attention, Melinoe. There are ripples in the water, don’t make a sound.”
Melinoe snapped her attention back to the river and firmly gripped the Rod of Fishing. She slowed her breathing, just as Artemis had taught her, and remained statue still. Her muscles relaxed, free of tension, yet poised to strike at a moment's notice.
The bobber dunked beneath the water’s surface, and in an instant, Melinoe swung upwards like a tree branch pulled taut, ripping the sea creature from its waters.
“I caught a Figment!” the Princess rejoiced.
Artemis patted Melinoe on the back, “Good work, Sister, that’s a big one. For a hobbyist, you’re a real natural at this. At this rate, I'll bet you’ll be securing legendary catches without even trying.”
Without looking, The Goddess of the Hunt yanked her line from the water, flinging a Moper onto the pier, “This has been fun, Melinoe. Tell me, are you feeling any better?”
Melinoe took a deep breath and felt how much looser her chest had become compared to earlier, “Yes, thank you Artemis. You were right, I needed to calm myself. But I mustn’t delay any longer. The Titans' forces continue to march on Olympus as we speak.”
“Always standing on business with you eh, Sister? But you’re absolutely right. We have important matters to attend to. Relaxation is vital, insofar as we don’t allow it to disrupt our mission. I’ll go on ahead and meet you in Ephyra. Good hunting, and moonlight guide you, Melinoe.”
“Moonlight guide you, Artemis.”
With a flourish of her bow, The Goddess of the Hunt vanished once more into a plume of air and foliage.
“...I wish I knew how she did that…”
Melinoe began making her way to the heart of the Crossroads. She had a frightening report to deliver, and a rescue mission to continue, “Okay Mel, you’ve got work to do…”