Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Malcolm Tent, Beans
The Celestial Demigod
Chapter 07: Gunilla the Gorilla
– Clarisse La Rue –
Waking up, she instantly snapped to attention and rose to her feet. Of course the coward would have trapped his home. Her eyes landed on the beaming Adon, and she instantly went for her blade before realising something.
"I can explain," Adon said simply, her glare unwavering as she took a step closer, ready to beat his ass. "Wait, wait! No, really, just relax. I don't want to fight you."
"Where is my sword and shield?" Clarisse asked, snarling as she tried to get to him, watching him jump over the couch to put it between them. "And I wouldn't want to fight me either."
"Like I said… I can explain. They weren't special, right? Just from the armoury? Because I… uhh, lost them. Well, technically, I gave the shield away, but the sword is somewhere in Central Park. I think," Adon admitted, shrugging.
"Gave away? To who?!" Clarisse demanded. Sure, they weren't artefacts or anything, but she'd customised her shield, and she liked that one. If he'd taken her spear, she'd have been far more angry. Still, who did she have to beat up to get it back-
"Lord Hephaestus, but that's not the point," Adon explained, making her pause. "Look, I genuinely feel bad about losing your sword. If you'd just stop trying to punch me, I want to make it up to you," Adon said, dodging behind a chair as she threw a book at him, sighing as it went through his illusion and he appeared two feet to the left.
"Talk," Clarisse growled, pausing as he summoned a beautiful bronze greataxe, with the engravings of a bull on each side. The wimp struggled to even lift it, showing that such a brilliant weapon belonged in the hands of a warrior like her. She wanted it. It was only fair after he stole her sword. And she'd get it.
"This is the Axe of Asterius, you know the bull dude? Anyway, the point is, it's way too brutal for me. My hands are too soft and delicate to use something like this," Adon said, dropping the axe with a heavy thud so he could show her his palms. Shit, they did look soft. "But you're a warrior, and you don't want a handout from someone like me. We know it wouldn't be a fair trade for a regular celestial bronze sword, and I won't offend your warrior's pride like that. I get it, it's seriously cool. I mean, I don't get it, I'm not a warrior, but I respect it, you know?"
…ugh. She… she wanted the handout. Or she wanted to punch him and take it away to pay for her sword and shield. But-
"So! I thought I'd make it a challenge. So you could win the axe, like a true child of Ares!" Adon continued happily. "Normally, I'd charge for access to the Living Towers but I'll give you a free pass since I already owe you. If you can beat the tenth floor, you get the Axe. Fair trade, right?"
"...Living Towers?" Clarisse asked, watching him gesture to follow him as he led her outside and to… the set of massive towers that hadn't been there when she'd got here.
"Basically, each floor has different enemies in it, and if you 'die' it just kicks you out. It rewards you with 'koins' which can be spent at that cool statue for power ups. It's like a game! That is the Greek Tower, that's the Mortal Kombat one, that one's really hard. Also there's an angry valkyrie chick in there at the moment, throwing hands with Shao Khan, but he keeps killing her," Adon rambled. "Anyway, the point is that it's way cooler if you win the axe, right? It's like a mini-quest, with a divine weapon as the prize. I'm also going to put these as a reward as well, but on a temp basis. Like, the best fighter from each month gets them for the next month."
As he summoned… her father's arrows, she stared in disbelief before she bit her lip. A tower where she'd fight through floors of enemies? Fuck… it did sound cooler than just beating him up and taking it.
"This isn't a trick?" Clarisse asked, giving him a suspicious look.
"I have some honour. I'm a man of my word. I save my tricks for the battlefield," Adon claimed. "I mean, if I didn't trick and trap you, you'd have beaten me up."
"Yeah, I would have," Clarisse admitted.
"Exactly. I can't fight a Daughter of Ares in a fair fight, but I'm the child of tricksters and charmers. We all have our strengths. Yours is being a badass warrior chick, mine is being hot and tricksy. Not that you aren't hot too, you really pull off that leather armour you were wearing for the match," Adon praised. "Also… lots of dudes stare at your ass, did you realise that? I'd say it felt weird, but lots of people stare at my ass too."
"You talk too much," Clarisse said simply, hiding her flustered cheeks.
"The point is, you're a warrior, and you should win your prize like a warrior, right?" Adon asked cheerfully.
"...which tower is it the prize of?" Clarisse asked, watching as he produced a different bronze sword. It wasn't hers, in fact she was pretty sure it was the preferred blade of one of her brothers. Did he steal it? Well, if they were weak enough to lose their blade they didn't- ugh. "If this is a trick, I'm going to fuck you up."
"The Greek one, right there. Go forth and kick ass, warrior princess. I'm rooting for you!" Adon cheered, giving her the blade. "So, when it isn't, can you remove the 'up' from that sentence?" he finished as he… winked and did a finger guns gesture.
Letting out a disgusted groan, she grabbed the sword and charged in. Yeah, disgusted. She was definitely turned on- off by the idea of fucking him. Arriving on the first floor, she watched as several hellhounds turned to face her, growling as a bloodthirsty smile grew on her face.
She had some… frustration to work off.
– Adon –
Heheheh. And there goes my first customer, because once she gets a taste, she's gonna be hooked for life. Getting noticeably stronger just for fighting? Oh yeah, Clarisse is gonna get the Ares cabin hooked on my supply. I am the ultimate drug dealer, selling a hit of power.
All they have to do is fight, and then they can use the statue to empower themselves further, for a price. And the other cabins won't want the disliked Ares cabin to grow stronger than them, and they'll all fall under my sway. Mwahahaha.
100cp granted. 100cp total.
Feat Achieved: Avoid Clarisse's Wrath. 100cp granted. 200cp total.
See? Sure, she might be a little salty over the whole pit thing but it's not like we even hurt her! Oh wait, she's a warrior, and I'm guessing the fact that we just mindwhammied her with three charmspeakers is worse than if we'd just beat her ass like a drum.
But I'd never do that! It's way too nice an ass for me to damage it. Sure, she's not the most attractive girl in camp (how could she be with us 'Dite kids around), but as someone who spent a bunch of time wearing her body… she has a really nice backside from all that training. Perfect firmness, usually clad in leather, ten out of ten.
The point is that there's no reason for us to be enemies, and being my incredibly charming, handsome self, avoiding the wrath of a pretty girl is as easy as breathing. Even Clarisse wouldn't want to hurt a face as alluring as mine.
"YOU!" Gun-something yells, spotting me after her latest failure. Man, Shao Khan has been beating her ass like a drum.
"Me!" I agree, putting on my best smile once again. I just charmed a daughter of Ares, surely I can- her hammer sparks with lightning as she glares at me, rage clear on her face. "Can I help you? You said your name was- Gunila, right?"
"Gunilla Thorsdóttir," Gunilla growls out. "Valkyrie of Valhalla, here on the orders of Lord Odin himself-"
"Right, my Norse babysitter," I reply, seeing her features somehow get even angrier. It's kinda hot. Why do I have a thing for girls who can kick my ass? Wait, maybe that's why I'm so opposed to learning to fight like some muscleheaded idiot. Clearly, I know that I'd become a true monster if I actually tried, and then there'd be fewer girls who could kick my ass. I can't shoot myself in the foot like that!
"I am not a babysitter. My purpose is to monitor you and prevent your… mischief from endangering Asgard-"
"So, watching me while my parents are away and keeping me out of trouble? Like a babysitter?" I ask, yelping as lightning arcs from her hammer and tickles me. Well, strikes my illusion, but once again, I wasn't going to just stand there in front of her. Sure, I might be turned on by the fact that she could kick my ass, but that doesn't mean I want my ass kicked. Much like Clarisse's, my ass is a work of art and a bruise would detract from my perfect skin. "I didn't mean any offence!" I lie, without an ounce of shame. "You must be strong and trustworthy if Lord Odin himself picked you for this task."
Clarisse loved being flattered for how much of a badass warrior she was, so surely-
"Do not try your silver tongue on me, snake," Gunilla cuts in, glaring at me.
"What if I ask really nicely? I can promise you that my tongue is pure gold," I flirt, unable to stop myself. Welp, there goes another illusion. Is she trying to attack me or just so angry her lightning is doing whatever it wants?
"Come out of hiding, coward," Gunilla demands, seeing my illusion break.
"Considering you keep attacking my illusions? No," I reply shamelessly, replacing the broken me with two more. "Are you still mad about Luke's bad directions? It's not my fault you charged into the tower of death. It has skulls above the entrance and drips blood! If you don't like being tricked, don't be so easy to trick."
"What- what sorcery created that tower? Who are those people who attacked me?" Gunilla demands, spinning around as she looks for any sign of me. I'm glad I'm crouched because her hammer just went over my head with how she's swinging it around.
…yes, I was crouched down behind her. I was comparing her and Clarisse's booties to amuse myself while I dealt with this nonsense. Gunilla is better-looking, a very typical Scandinavian beauty with blonde braided hair, just more muscular, but Clarisse has the better ass, and it's not even close.
"Not telling. Neener, neener, neener."
If she's going to act so childishly, I see no reason not to return the favour. She was already out for blood the moment she arrived, and personally, I think that was highly unfair. What did I do to her? I'm getting a little sick of people blaming me for things I had no control over, and while I don't know what her problem is, I'm not gonna let her take it out on me.
Watching her hit my illusion with her hammer, I nod. Yeah, our angry girl is way better than the Norse angry girl. Clarisse is so cute when she's flustered. Sure, she's got that spicy, angry exterior, but I think there's a sweet girl under it. Gorilla is just angry wrapped around more angry. If she weren't, she'd have fallen for my charms.
"Man, what did my old man do to you to get you so salty? Stole your candy? Fucked your pet? Hey, I can't rule it out with his reputation!" I say, replacing the illusion with another. "Or was it one of my half-siblings that has you all 'wah, wah, Loki bad!'?"
Gunilla pauses for just a moment, her face twitching.
"Oh my gods, it was a sibling! Wait! Is that why you reacted that way to my silver tongue joke?" I ask, laughing as her face goes increasingly red. "Guess you already know how silver-tongued we Loki kids are? Aww, did someone get talked out of her armour?"
Should I keep poking at what is clearly a sore spot? No. Am I going to stop? Also no. She started it.
Err… why is she sparking like that?
"ENOUGH!" Gunilla roars, smashing her hammer down on the ground as the blast of lightning sends me flying- oh wait, that's why she's triggering me so much. Fucking thunder gods. Fuck you, Zeus.
I hop back onto my feet easily enough, just a little dazed as she snaps her head toward me.
"Meh. I've had worse," I shrug. I have as well. Zeus' bolts hit way harder than her little sparkles. "So, are you done with your little temper tantrum so we can talk like civilised adults?" I ask scoldingly, giving her a disappointed look. I can visibly see the moment she reins in her temper, fist gripping her hammer tighter and tighter. "So, what's Old One-Eye want with lil old me? Wait, is Loki his adopted son? The legends get confusing. And by the legends, I mean the Thor movies."
"I- no, Loki is Lord Odin's sworn brother," Gunilla replies, through gritted teeth.
"Ah. And does your dad look like Chris Hemsworth?" I ask. "I mean, I could see it. You're hot, so he has to look great."
"...only sometimes, but with red hair," Gunilla sighs, putting her hammer away. I get the feeling it's less an offer of peace and more that she wants a moment to consider things, since if it's in her hand, she might hit me on reflex.
"Cool. Does-"
"Odin doesn't look like Anthony Hopkins," Gunilla cuts in, making me pout for a moment. It'd be cooler if he did.
"So, you did watch them?" I ask.
"It's a movie about how untrustworthy Loki is and ends with Loki being thrown into a void. Of course I did," Gunilla replies simply. "As I was saying before you began your… nonsense, I am Gunilla, Valkyrie of Valhalla. I am not here to babysit you. My purpose is to ensure that your treacherous father, snake that he is, does not use you to start Ragnarök or weaponise you against the Aesir and Asgard."
"...could you really stop him if he wanted to? I feel like if you can't even see through my illusions, you'd be easy pickings for the God of Mischief himself. In fact, I could be Loki right now, would you even know it?" I ask, watching her take a long, deep breath before she stares back at me. "Oh, hey! Are Fenris, Jormungand and Sleipnir a thing? Did my dad really fuck a horse?"
"Yes, yes, yes and technically he was the mare, so it was Svaðilfari who did the fucking," Gunilla replies, and I get the weird feeling she enjoys pointing out that fact. "Fenris is bound, Jormungard is asleep and Sleipnir is Lord Odin's mount."
"...so if the Allfather trusts Sleipnir enough to ride him, when he's a child of Loki, why don't you trust me? I haven't done anything to Asgard, don't plan to start any apocalypses either," I reason, watching her go to speak before she pauses.
"That's- that's different. Sleipnir is-"
"A child of Loki. My half-brother," I point out. "He's half Loki. I'm half Loki. He's probably really majestic. I'm really majestic and handsome. We could be twins."
"He's a horse," Gunilla points out with a tired sigh. Hell yeah, confuse them until they give up.
"So could I be, if I wanted to," I point out, my body shifting with [Great Mutator] until I become the coolest horse I can think of. Shadowfax, Lord of All Horses. "See?"
"I- wait, how are you still talking?" Gunilla asks, before shaking her head. "Do not answer that. I don't care. This is just more proof of your heritage, one of deception and trickery."
Shifting back, I shrug.
"Those two are just the same thing. Saying it twice in two ways doesn't make it more impactful. That's called tautology," I point out. "And my heritage wasn't in question? It's not like I'm pretending not to be a child of Loki. I just think you're being really unfair about this whole thing, but it's fine because you're kinda hot when you're angry."
Her hand twitches toward her hammer, but it seems the moment it takes her to grasp it works for making her stop herself. She wouldn't be much of a babysitter if she beat me to death, after all.
"Answer my question. What are those towers?" Gunilla asks again, and this time I have to engage my brain and stop myself from refusing or giving an entirely unhelpful answer.
"They're called the Living Towers, and they're basically training grounds. You fight increasingly powerful enemies, earn koins (with a k) and then spend them at the Statue for power ups. Cool, right?" I ask, beaming.
"Wait, where did the coins I earned go?" Gunilla asks in realisation.
"Oh, I confiscated them. You are a trespasser, and you just left them out the first time," I admit shamelessly. "There's a fee for using the towers, and for you, my angry valkyrie friend, the fee is currently set to '150% of your earnings'. And it's Koins. With a K. I heard the lack of the K."
"And how is that meant to work? You can't take more than I earn," Gunilla says with a scoff. "And we pronounced coins the exact same way."
"Yeah, but I can just tell you didn't use the K. Don't worry, we can talk about your repayment plan later. I'm a very understanding and reasonable man. The interest rate is very competitive!" I reassure her. Her hand does that twitching thing again, sparks leaving her fingers as I once again sneak away and leave an illusion to get hit- heh, I'm so clever-
As she grabs me, I pause.
"I can see the grass moving, idiot. I won't fall for the same trick twice," Gunilla growls.
"Technically, you did. You just didn't fall for it- err, like seven times? I didn't count how many clones you hit," I say with a shrug, teleporting instead to get a few feet away. I normally remember to put an illusion on the grass as well but I got lazy. "Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you seven times, and you kinda had it coming. Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Wrong leg and hip, too. What do you actually want from me? I've never even met my dear old dad, and I don't know a thing about Ragnarok."
Feat Achieved: Enrage almost every God and Goddess on Olympus. 500cp granted, 700cp total.
Ah. What? No, really, what? The fuck did I do? Is it the Egyptian library thing? Did Ra come knocking? Is it Ra who is in charge? I don't know Egyptian Mythos beyond the show where the Egyptian gods were all alien snakes that got shot with P90s and blown up with nukes because 'Murica.
Feat Achieved: Cause a revolt on Olympus against Zeus. 300cp granted. 1000cp total.
…no, really. What the fuck did I do?
Feat Achieved: False Alarm, things calmed down. -500cp granted. 500cp total.
Feat Achieved: Get Hera's approval as a Demigod. 500cp granted. 1000cp total.
Eh? Well, all's well that ends well.
"I want nothing from you, Child of Loki," Gunilla says. "But know that I will always be watching. Your blood cannot be trusted, and don't bring up the damn horse again-" she says as I go to speak. "There is a difference between the traitorous demigods of Loki and Lord Odin's noble mount."
"If I let you ride me, will you stop being such a bitch?" I ask, unable to stop myself. "I can even turn into a horse first, if that's what you're into."
"I. Will. Be. Watching," Gunilla growls, turning and storming back toward the exit to Camp Halfblood.
"Yeah, well, I'll be watching. And you won't even know I'm there, so there," I shout, sticking my tongue out at her back. Yeah, that'll show her. I could be anywhere, anyone.
Heading inside, I nod to myself as I head to the shrine room and give Senko a pat on the head for all her hard work. She's really good at this, and I let her make a shrine to Inari Ōkami since I'm borrowing one of her servants. We send treats, and Senko seems convinced they're being well received.
Making my offering (Gunilla's hammer), I focus as I kneel before the shrine. Man, she's gonna be so pissed when she realises I yoinked this, huh? I gave her a nice, hefty stick in return. Nobody hits me with lightning and gets away with it. Unless they're Zeus, but I'll get even with him one of these days.
"Hey, Dad. Are you trying to end the world?" I ask, sending it through. I feel the shrine hum before someone responds with a generally negative feeling. "Are you trying to blow up Asgard? Because if so, I'm kinda not in. Wars seem like way too much work."
Again, the shrine responds with both a generally negative feeling, almost reassuring me that he doesn't want that, followed by some overarching amusement at me simply asking. It pauses before something else shoots out. Huh, neat rope. The image of Clarisse trapped in her net shines in my head, and I pause.
"You want me to make you a net trap, but with this rope?" I ask, getting a positive feeling. "Got it, Pops. I can do that. We can talk about your payment when you stop playing hide and seek. I'm running a business here, you know."
Again, a feeling of positive amusement as I take the rope and begin my masterpiece. I wonder where he got it? It doesn't feel like any rope I've ever seen and- wait, err, is that wolf fur? Wasn't a certain half-brother of mine tied up in magical rope? Hmm. Ahh. Hmmmmmmm.
Oh well, not my problem.
I wonder what he wants to capture that he needs a net that powerful? I'd better make sure it's doubly good just in case. I don't want them getting free and coming for me. I'm just the merchant here! Let's see what my treasures have for me today. Ah, the bottled dreams of a titan? Don't mind if I do. A good sleep enchantment on the ropes will keep his prey in place. Ooh, if I combine it with the lusts of a succubus, I could make it a wet dreams sleep enchantment, and they'll be too busy getting off to try and free themselves. I'm so smart. Mom would be so proud.
Going through the arduous task of enchanting them (piling them up and hitting them once with a hammer), I go back to the shrine and send the silver disk through.
"There you go, Dad," I say easily, proud of my work and pleased by the general feeling of pride and a promise for 'payment' as something else comes through. A golden apple with the words 'for the fairest' inscribed on it. "Oh, hey, Mom's there too. Hey, Mom."
Feat Achieved: Humiliate Gunilla. 200cp granted. 1200cp total.
She's coming. Run.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I really have to be going. There's a bloodthirsty gorilla coming for me," I explain, to the amusement of both figures on the other end of our divine Skype call. The shrine glows for a moment, returning the hammer. "You didn't do anything to this, right?"
The shrine remains smugly silent.
I'll take that as a reassurance that they did nothing untoward with the hammer, and Gunilla is going to be perfectly fine.
"ADON!" Gunilla roars, probably beating her chest as she climbs a skyscraper. Senko pauses, giving me a concerned look before I just pat her head.
"Don't worry, I can handle this," I promise, heading back toward the exit.
I wonder why she's so angry?
Her father had to tell her that she was picking a fight with a child of Ares with a stick instead of a hammer.
What the fuck?! That's not Athena. It's a male voice, sounds kinda suave and sexy.
Don't worry, Thor's children are always easily fooled. They take after their father.
Ah, hey dad. Also, she got into a fight that fast?
It was taking her entire restraint not to attack you. Long story, she dated one of your half-brothers, but he was doing just a teeny tiny bit of spying for me, and she took it really poorly after he tricked her into leaking one of her father's secrets. Anyway, she was already pissed off and the moment she got out, one of Ares' children challenged her to prove that Ares was stronger than Thor, and she was just eager to have something to beat to work off her rage.
"Give me back my hammer!" Gunilla demands, charging at me with a bright red face. "Or I will destroy you."
"Oh yeah? You and what hammer?" I ask, teleporting to the entrance of the house as she lunges. "Missed me, missed me, now you've gotta kiss me."
Her scream of rage can probably be heard all the way back in Asgard.
Hey, Dad. Where is Asgard? And uh, answer fast, please.
As she lunges again, ready to strangle me until my eyes pop out of my head, I make my move and with a flex of [Good Dog] a portal forms, guided by Loki. Already mid-lunge, all Gunilla can do is widen her eyes as she goes flying through it before it closes behind her.
Pausing, I grab the hammer and toss it through behind a second portal.
– Lord Odin –
Watching Gunilla come flying through a portal and land directly on the feasting table of Asgard's halls, Odin raised an eyebrow at the sight of her, currently face first in a berry pie. The entire hall came to a pause as she rose to her feet, berries dripping down her face.
Her eyes widened as she spotted the many Aesir staring at her, but as she went to open her mouth, a hammer fell from the sky and hit her on the head, and the laughter started. Ah, so Adon had made contact with his father, had he?
Face burning red, Gunilla grabbed her hammer, and they all watched as her body suddenly grew, growing thick hair all over. Yeah, this was certainly Loki's doing. Which was the point, of course. Why else would he send someone so adverse to children of Loki to watch Adon, other than to poke Loki into acting? He'd never been able to resist, and his imprisonment hadn't changed his mischievous ways.
Chuckling to himself, he undid the gorilla transformation and conjured a cloak to hide her body as she shifted back, now missing her armour. Or undergarments.
"I take it you met Adon, then?" Odin asked, sipping his mead.
– Adon –
See, I dealt with it, and the hammer was returned. No harm done.
And more importantly, a blonde muscle gorilla isn't trying to beat me to death. We take the wins where we can find them.
Still, what the fuck is going on up on Olympus?
Looking at the Apple of Discord, I make my decision and head over to the shrine room again.
"Hey, Lady Hera. I know you don't love my kind because of the whole everyone is cheating thing. I mean, I wouldn't love it if my husband kept running out to turn into weird animals. Why does he always seem to be an animal in all the myths instead of… I don't know, himself. Is it like a kink or-" I ramble, pausing and shaking my head. "The point is, thanks for not trying to kill me? I just wanted to give you this: Paris was a moron for picking my mom's offer over yours. If he'd taken your offer and become the King of all of Europe and Asia, he could have just… gotten Helen the normal way without the whole burning his city to the ground. He was a prick in the movie, too, the worst part of it by far. Brad Pitt was a good Achilles, though."
Sending the apple through, I pause for a moment, half expecting her to reach out and slap me. The shrine doesn't respond for the longest moment, before it glows with a feeling of… warmth?
Hell yeah!
– Hera –
Sitting on her throne, she looked over the Golden Apple carefully. She knew Aphrodite lost it a long time ago, and this was undeniably the same apple that Eris had tossed into the wedding. Despite knowing that Eris was almost certainly playing games, she couldn't help but feel smug at the idea of finally having it in her hands, gifted by Aphrodite's own child no less.
The arguing continued, none even noticing the apple as almost every God and Goddess of Olympus shouted at Zeus, who defended himself with his usual arrogance.
But then, it would take a special kind of arrogance to attempt to ban every single God and Goddess on Olympus from having any more children until this situation was solved. Such was his paranoia over Adon, and the mysterious source of his powers that Zeus feared that more with similarly uncontrollable powers could be born and had demanded that until Adon's powers were understood, the source of them revealed, none were permitted to reproduce.
It had ended exactly as one would expect, and Zeus realised his mistake when every single God and Goddess instantly turned against him. With Aphrodite already having made such a large faction against him, for the first time since he claimed it, Zeus had to fear for his throne.
But he would not budge and had instead come to a compromise. Instead, he'd extended the very Oath that the 'Big Three' had already been keeping to (partially) since the end of World War Two. Using it as an excuse (even if they'd all broken it since), Zeus claimed that if he, Poseidon and Hades could make such an oath for the safety of Olympus, then so too should everyone else be able to do the same for a short while. Rather than ban children outright, Zeus had made each of them swear by the Styx that they would have no unauthorised demigod or monster children until Adon's powers were understood.
Or, in other words, no unauthorised bastards.
It wouldn't last, of course. She gave it a week until someone broke it, and Zeus had to punish them or lose face. But the idea that Zeus, once the worst offender, was now enforcing marital loyalty was perhaps the most amusing and pleasing thing she'd experienced in many, many years. And now, on the very same day, she had been gifted something that she'd been denied so many years ago. The insult the Prince of Troy had dealt her avenged, and the Apple in her hands.
Today was a good day.
— Bonus Scene — Artemis
Being tasked with hunting Eris and bringing her back to Olypmus to face charges for her latest… game was a familiar feeling, to be honest. She'd done it before, she'd do it again.
She couldn't rely on her hunters for this, as much faith as she had in them. Eris alone was no easy mark, sending hunting parties into strife and discord, but adding Loki into the mix only made them all the harder to find. It was for this reason that she dismissed most of them from this hunt, only taking those she had absolute faith in. She knew some had been hurt by this, but she would not do such a thing without good reason, and she couldn't risk them falling prey to either of the Gods of Mischief that they were tracking.
She knew Asgard were hunting Loki as well, but there was no cooperation in this. How could there be when Lord Zeus was so paranoid? It didn't matter to her; all it meant was that this was a competition and one she intended to win. She'd not let Asgard steal her prey from under her.
Tracking Eris had proven to be no easy feat, but she was the Goddess of the Hunt and she would not be denied as she stalked her prey, following Eris' signature, no matter how hard the trickster tried to hide it.
She had felt the taint of Norse in it, but had seen no sign of Loki himself. Eris had never escaped her before, and she would not escape her again as Artemis moved swiftly and silently, nature itself covering her approach as she nocked an arrow.
No prey ever escaped the Goddess of the-
Her senses screamed a moment too late as a net trap, of all things, sprang into existence under her and bound her tightly as she was lifted, upside down, into the air, and as she cursed, she spotted a figure coming into view, no longer hiding under Norse illusions.
"I can't believe that worked," Eris admitted, a massive grin on her face as she watched Artemis struggle against the incredibly powerful ropes that were now holding her upside down, the enchantment on them fighting her with every step as she felt her body grow more and more tired. She was not going to fall to it, she was- "You always were a stubborn one, but I can help you along… sweet dreams~!"
As Eris started weaving a Norse spell, Artemis' eyes snapped wide open in realisation of why she couldn't find Loki, making eye contact with Eris. Two eyes, one dark and the other bright green, stared back as the two gods in one body grinned at her.
What had the mad woman done-
Before she could consider the very impossibility of what the two had done, she felt their spell hit her as two gods warred against one, and won, sending Artemis into a deep sleep, plunging her into darkness… right up until the second part of the enchantment started to work its wicked ways.