Pertemis: Chasing Time

Chapter 11: Unexpected Place To See You

Artemis's POV

I woke up to two things, no three. One is the sharp pain on the back of my head. Second are the cell and the dark surrounding I'm in, probably being captured. This leads us to the last points, which is the god damned shackles on my wrist and ankle. Well, at least they are nice enough to add a chain to it, which allows me to move within the cell. The sad thing was I am unable to use any of powers, thanks to those pathetic shackles. I pressed my back against the wall as I sat on the floor pondering. For normal people, they would most probably be thinking of how to save themselves. But for me, all that was on my mind was that i***t Percy. If it hadn't for his stupid I'm-a-coward-so-I-shall-run-away move, I wouldn't even be here. I mean, don't couples quarrel all the times and say something stupid? I don't see them running away just because their girlfriend said something harsh on impulse. On the contrary, the guy actually thinks it through and makes another attempt to please her, based on Aphrodite's logic on relationships. Why does mine have to be so different? I'm still a normal girl...in a way. Whatever all that, I just wish that he's safe.

I heard the cell door opens and a motionless body was thrown into the cell I was staying. Great, even when in captivity I have to share my cell with someone, a male on top of that.

"Hey." I called out to him, but he lay motionless. Perfect, I'm sharing my cell with a dead male. At least now I just dump in at a corner at let him rot.

"Uhhhhh." He groaned out. Ah crap, what can't he stay dead, it's less annoying that way. I went over and took a closer look at him. From his back, he was totally covered in ruin dust. I then used my leg and flipped him over.

"Percy?!" I gasped as I bent down to confirm. I swept off all the dust off his face and true enough, it is him. What's your game Fates? When I was searching for him frantically for the past month, he was nowhere to be found. Now that I'm trapped here, all I asked for was him to be safe, and you send him to me. Thanks a lot Fates.

"Percy, are you there? It's me Artemis." I shook his body, occasionally tapping his face for respond.

"Artemis?" He opened his eyes slightly.

"Yes it is me." I took his hand and wrapped it around mine. His hand is still warm which is a good sign.

"Oh. Hi arty." He said sheepishly. I was immediately filled with rage.

"HI...ARTY?! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY AFTER DISSPEARING FOR A MONTH?!" I raged at him, and that i***t still dared to smile at me.

"Nice to see you again." He smiled

"No it's not nice to see you again, at least now in these conditions. What are you doing and how did you get captured?" I looked back at him curiously. Despite how angry I was, I am still glad to see him again.

"I am here to rescue you." He said cheekily.

"Well you are doing one hell of a job at that, and why are you even alone?" I asked.

"Thalia and Reyna departed earlier then me-"

"Then why didn't you go with them?" I interrupted.

"Cause I was still thinking if I should even come out of isolation. I almost decided to ignore everything and go back into the Lotus casino again."

"Ok so let me get this straight- the last whole month when I was searching high and low for you, you were in the Lotus casino getting high. Then when you realised I was captured, you ALMOST decided to ignore me and go back in again?" I said as calmly as I possibly could.

"If you put it that bluntly, then yeah." He put on an innocent smile.

"If we ever get out of here, YOU...ARE...DEAD!" I threatened him, but he still continued smiling at me.

"I missed you Artemis." He attempted to lift his head, but stopped as soon as he started to wince in pain. I immediately leaned him back down.

"I missed you too Percy." I leaned in and kissed his forehead. I pulled back and checked on his injury.

"Ouch!" He winced as I pressed lightly on his chest.

"Stop being a wuss Percy. You say that every time I press. Don't you get tired of it?" I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you get tired of pressing so hard?" he argued back.

"Just shut up and rest." I shot back, and continued checking.

"Well," I pulled back after finishing my check. "Just a bunch of broken ribs, maybe a bit of internal bleeding." I finished my assessment

"Just? Maybe? If there is one thing Apollo is better than you that is taking care of patients." He snorted.

"Oh just relax will you. I can fix you up with my powers....which I am unable to use due to this shackles." I face palmed myself in my own stupidity.

"So what does that mean?" he looked at me.

"It means that if you don't receive any treatment soon, you'll die."

Line Break

Percy's POV

At least three hours have passed. How do I know? Very simple, I had Artemis waking me up every ten minutes or so just to make sure I'm not dead.

"How're you feeling Seaweed Brain?" Artemis probed. See what I mean?

"Yes Stubborn Girl I'm fine, still alive." I said exasperatedly. Despite how irritating it is to be woken up every couple of minutes, it is still nice to know that Artemis is caring for me.

"I just wanted to be sure ok?" She said slightly angrily.

"I am telling you now I'm-" I suddenly choked on something and started coughing. Immediately, Artemis rushed over and soothed me.

"Just a cough." I said after I stopped coughing. Being paranoid, Artemis started to examine me yet again. She does this every time I cough/sneeze, or even when I moved my hand on my chest.

"Percy, this isn't going to work. You are already bleeding so bad internally." She suddenly crashed onto me, hugging me tightly.

"I can't lose you again." She said softly. For one thing I'm sure, is that I am not used to Artemis being so vulnerable. All my past memories of her involve me getting attacked or beaten up. I hugged her back, not as tightly as her though (She's crushing me with all that strength, literally). We stayed in that position for a while, until Artemis decided to get up.

"How are you feeling now?" She asked yet again.

"I'm fi- AH" I shut my eyes in the sudden pain on my chest. I felt Artemis's hand moving around my body again. The pain was simply unbearable. It's like something just stabbed me right in the chest. She removed her hand shortly, and followed by a moment of silence.

"So? What happened to me?" I asked, still wincing in pain.

"You're about to die from internal bleeding." She said unbelievingly.

"How long more do I have?" I asked.

"About a couple of minutes." She replied

"It's been nice knowing you Artemis, I always-"

"NO! JUST SHUT UP. I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE!" She screamed at me.

"There's only one option left." She said sternly.

"What is it?" I chocked, but she didn't reply. Instead, she placed her hand on my chest and did something that apparently made me feel a lot better ( I didn't see cause my eyes were closed). I felt better instantly. The pain was leaving my body. When I felt better, I opened my eyes, only to see a shaky Artemis. She looked back at me warily and smiled, before fainting on me.

N/A It's getting interested now.