Loyalty Costs: Chapter 1

Diana's P.O.V

I've reached Mount Othrys, and I noticed a boy holding the sky. It's probably a son of Zeus, since Zeus was the one who is holding the sky. (Don't include this on main wiki) Beside them, I could see a girl with grey hair and dark brown eyes molesting this golden boy. It looks weird, because I've seen them before. The golden boy's name is Josh, and the girl is Mary Lester. Although I'm not sure how they lived this long, but one thing is clear. Josh is trying to get away as Mary tries to rape him, and it really looks weird. (End of Don't include this on main wiki)

I looked at the three demigods, and there's two boys and one girl. The girl must have been a daughter of Aphrodite, since she looks very beautiful.

I looked for signs of Atlas, and I could tell Atlas is around here somewhere. I just need to find him.

"Hey! Girl!" One of the demigods called me. I looked over to the one who's calling me. He had brown hair and blue eyes and is wearing a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and have white shoes. He's stocky in build, which might suggest that he is a son of Hephaestus. I turned to look at him since he called me, and he's stunned for a while, until the girl beside him hit him on the forehead with an open palm. That must have cleared his thoughts.

"Sorry, Fawn." The boy said. "Anyways, we need help."

I ran towards them, but didn't power sprint as I don't want to expose to anyone who I really am. "Guys, we need..."

Just then, Atlas came, and he laughed at us. "Well well, looks like a hunter joined the pathetic demigods."

What's strange is that he laughed and at the same time he's clutching his stomach, as if he had gotten hit by a giant battering ram on his stomach. But I sense something isn't right. I sense he is about to fade, and Atlas fading isn't a good sign.

I crouched and spoke with Artemis through the empathy link we established the moment I became a hunter. ''Artemis, we've got a problem. Atlas is about to fade. We need either to put Atlas back where he belongs or find a replacement, and I don't want to replace him under the sky. Please''.

Atlas looked at me. "What are you doing.... hunter?" Atlas said, as he laughed.

I stood up and snarled at him. "What does it look like I am doing?"

Atlas looked confused for a while, and he gestured to the boy who is holding the sky, and he seemed like he wanted to give up already. "Well, come on then!" Atlas said.

With Atlas realizing my intention, I nocked two arrows at his nose, and his chest. The arrow just stuck in there. It was because the arrows I chose were light, and that's enough to provoke Atlas to attack me. I could tell that Atlas wasn't in his peak strength, so I managed to defeat him, but it took about an hour or so, considering the fact that he is tall, big and strong. He punched the ground near me and I sidestepped and grabbed his hand and threw him towards the boy who is holding the sky.

The boy seemed to have known that I was going to throw Atlas towards his direction, so just before Atlas was thrown to his direction, the boy loosened his grip towards the sky and Atlas was once again trapped in his old burden.

The boy tried to stand, and then fall again. Then the girl, who's name is Fawn, to help him up. Then, the three of them came towards me.

"Thank you, hunter, for helping us fight Atlas and free our friend once again." The boy said.

"No problem. Next time, don't get yourselves in trouble again with Mount Tam. It's not a good place for you demigods to dwell on." I adviced.

I looked at Atlas, and his form flickered again.

The boy that just held the sky shook his head and looked at Atlas. "Oh boy, this is such a very bad sign."

"What bad sign?" The other boy asked.

"Atlas is fading." The girl said.

"This is so bad. Looks like we just found out what we needed to know." The stocky boy said.

"We need to go back to camp." The girl said, and she walked up to me. "Hunter, will you be able to escort us while we're going back to camp?"

"Sure!" I said, as I stand by and the group began to walk along as I protected them from monsters. It was quite a long trip to travel from Mount Tamalpalis back to Camp Half-Blood. It's going to be a long journey.

Anyways, crossing the roads, we were able to sprint very far from the mountain easily since most of the journey is downhill, and they like running downhill.

We crossed the forests, and whenever we spotted a monster, I always let the demigods kill them, unless it's monsters that can't be handled by them, such as Echidna, giant drakons and humongous giants, then I step in.

The brown haired boy kept staring at me as if he can't stop looking at my beauty, but the girl kept slapping him everytime he looked at me for quite long. Anyeays, I continued to escort the demigods back to Camp Half-blood and and killed much more super powerful monsters that three demigods can't handle, such as the manticore. It doesn't took more than a few seconds for me to kill that manticore.

The other stared at me with surprise. "Wow, you hunters must be really great!" The girl said. "Tell me, Hunter, what is your name?"

I looked at her. "Diana, Diana Vasquez."

The girl beamed at me. "You must be one of the hunters of Artemis, am I correct?"

I nodded.

"Oh great! I really wanted to become a hunter just like you." The girl said.

I looked at the boys behind her, and sure enough, as I had expected, their expression darkened, because probably they couldn't really take in what they just heard. I chuckled.

"So, what's your name?" I asked her.

"Fawn, Fawn Castora." She told me. "Daughter of Aphrodite. Tell me, hunter, who are you before you become a hunter? A demigod? A nymph? Or a spirit?"

"No, I'm a mortal." I simply told her. "Was a mortal before I joined the hunters."

Fawn gasped. "Wow, I've never seen a mortal hunter this great before. I'm sure you will be a great hunter. How long have you been a hunter?"

"About 1600 years." I told her. Her eyes widened.

"Wow, you must have gotten tired watching your loved ones die all the time."

"At first, yeah, but then after centuries had past, you get used to it."

"Right." Fawn said, and we continued our journey back to camp.

We've met more mutated monsters, and generally when monsters mutate, they tend to be more dangerous and more savage, and I guess I'm one of the people who can beat the mutated and more savage monsters.

I guess I could allow them to use cars, since I noticed that they are exhausted as of now. I decided to stay outside and run with them as they travelled.

It's night time, and it's been 2 hours since the demigods travelled, so they set up camps for the night. They invited me to sleep inside but since I've already been used to sleeping outside almost all the time, I told them I will be sleeping outside since I don't really want to step inside my comfort zones anymore. So we rest.

The next day we wake up, and we woke up simultaneously, and I continued our journey to Camp Half-Blood, and to our luck, we were near Camp. It was just a miracle to how we got to camp really fast.

"That's it, you're safe now." I told them. "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Diana, Diana Vasquez."

"I'm Fawn Castora." The girl said.

"I'm Jason Standler." The boy spoke. He was the one that seemed to like me.

"I'm Simon Hall." The other boy spoke. He's the one who I saw held the sky earlier.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Anyways, I have to go now. I have more quests to do." I said.

"Alright!" Simon said, and he turned towards his friends. I could hear him saying: "We have to tell Chiron about this. Atlas fading is a very serious matter."

Somehow, I got the feeling that I should turn back, and discuss this further with them, so I returned back to the demigods and joined them.

"So, what should we do? If Atlas was no longer holding the sky, then who will?" I heard Fawn said.

"Let's hope that Atlas won't fade for now." I ran up to them. They all gasped.

"Diana! I thought you already left?" Jason said.

"I decided to stay for now since I felt that this is so important, discussing about Atlas about to fade." I told them.

"Yeah, it's a big problem that Atlas is about to fade. We should see Chiron immediately." Fawn said, and we continued to the big house to see Chiron.

As we approached the big house, Chiron opened the door, and he's surprised to see me.

"Chiron, we have returned." Fawn said.

"It looks like we've got a major problem here." Chiron said. "Tell me, what happened?"

It's usual for Chiron to act like that. Everytime someone returned from a quest with me accompanying them usually means that there's something very unpleasant that they have discovered, and Chiron is right this time.

"We have discovered.... that Atlas.... is fading."

Chiron stroke his beard. He does that everytime he is nervous. "This is an urgent matter. I will contact Olympus at once." Chiron said, as he told us to go outside and we resumed our daily activities.

I noticed the hunters of Artemis are here, so I decided to hang out with them on Artemis' cabin.

I entered the cabin, and once I did, everyone looked at me and I was greeted.

"Hey, how was the hunt, girl? I heard you rescued the demigods from Mount Othrys." Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, the demigods are forced to stay there because Atlas is looke, but I managed to fight him and bring him back to his prison."

"That's amazing!" Julia said, as she patted me on my back. "I believe that you've fought him like hundreds of times in your lifetime, right?

"Yeah." I told her. "Stupid demigods that wants to prove themselves go there. They don't know what awaits them there."

Just then, another hunter came, and this time it's Artemis herself.

"Diana, you have to come with me. This is urgent." Artemis said.

I immediately came with Artemis. Quests this urgent only come on average once every 2 decades, and if Artemis said it's urgent, I have to come as quickly as possible or else if I postpone it it would cost the entire city, nation, country, or the world to crumble, so I came quickly to Artemis' side.

"What is it, Milady?" I asked her.

"As you have heard, Atlas is ready to fade. He's now 50% fading now, and the sky won't last. We gods need you to hold it until we can find a permanent replacement."

My eyes widened. "But Milady! The sky is so heavy and I won't last a year to hold it!"

Artemis glared at me. "Are you saying that you don't want to do what I say?"

I immediately shivered and bowed. "No. I will hold the sky for now, Milady."

"Good, let's go to Olympus at once." Artemis said, as I went to Olympus to meet the Gods. I hoped that I don't have to hold the sky.

As soon as I arrived at Olympus, the gods are chattering amongst themselves, discussing how Atlas fading will cause the world to end, and they need replacement for someone to hold the sky.

Apollo was the first one to see me, and he raised his staff in the air. Zeus was about to ask Apollo to put down his staff when he saw me, and then Zeus called, "Order!" Then the Olympian Gods hushed to silence.

All of the Olympians attention is now on me, and Zeus began his speech. "Now, standing on the entrance is Diana Vasquez." Zeus introduced.

"Step to the middle of the room, Diana." Artemis said. I could tell she's going to regret this very much. I kneeled before the Olympian Gods.

"Diana Vasquez. You have been chosen to replace Atlas for the time being. You will stay under the sky for an indefinite time until we can find permanent replacement." Artemis said.

"Umm... If I may ask, why is it that I am chosen? Why not anyone else?" I asked.

"Because my dear hunter, you're the strongest one, and we need the strongest so we have more time in our hands to search for permanent replacement." Artemis said.

"Yes, Milady."

I looked up as Artemis, still in the form of 30 feet tall, walked towards me and placed her hand gently on my back. "You're going to be alright, my hunter. Don't take this personally. This is for the whole world, the camp, and even your fellow hunters."

"Alright, Milady." I said to her, as I kept kneeling before her, and the other olympian gods disappear and it only left me and Artemis on the throne room.

"Now go. The previous group that you just escorted were waiting just outside Camp Half-Blood. They said they're going to be the ones who take care of you during your time under the sky."

"Yes, Milady." I said, then stood up and made my way to Camp Half-Blood. It's a short trip there, and as soon as I reach Thalia's pine, I saw the half-bloods that I escorted earlier.

"So, did Chiron talk to you about it?" I asked them.

They nodded grimly. "You're going to hold the sky, aren't you?" Simon said.

I sadly nodded. "Milady has chosen me to hold the sky, despite the fact that there could be lots of other choices of people who can hold the sky."

"Milady? You mean, Artemis?" Jason asked.

"Milady is who I call Artemis. It's the hunters way of calling her."

"Oh, right." Jason said. "Now we should be going to Mount Othrys now. Atlas don't have much time."

"We have a ride that we can use." Jason told us. He whistles and 4 pegasi came towards us. Each of us mounted on one, and it appears that Jason knew that I'm bigger than the others, so one pegasi was bigger than the others. I mounted on the larger pegasi and we set course to Mount Othrys.

It only took about 4 hours to get to Mount Othrys by Pegasi, and by the time we reach there, it's afternoon. I decided to do last minute sprinting while I told the other three demigods to wait here. I sprinted from the landing spot to the mountain, and it's about 5 miles apart, and it took me 6 minutes to complete it, and I ran back here again, and back there again, and as I took a closer look at Atlas while I'm heading there, he's really fading. He's like 80% fading now, and if I do not act quickly, the world will end, and Artemis will blame me.

I sprinted back after doing 5 laps of running 10 miles each lap, I ran back to them and told them we need to hurry.

But along the way, my stomach rumbled, so we decided to get something to eat first. We went to a nearby restaurant and ate. I ordered 8 portions of 15 ounces of steak, and the others are, of course, surprised.

"Wow Diana, you ate that much?" Fawn asked.

"That's to compensate my incredible abilities." I told her. "I'm not just a hunter. I'm blessed by Artemis, and that allows me to do these incredible feats, at a cost of my extremely high metabolism."

The others nodded, and once we ate, we ate together. I ate quite fast, getting one plate after another. I just can't help it because I felt so hungry.

After about 2 hours, we decided to go to where Atlas is. Atlas is now about 85% faded now, so I guess we have about 15 minutes before he fully fades.

I decided to spend the remaining time with my friends before I hold the sky. I crouched down, closed my eyes and prayed to Artemis silently: ''Milady, I will do anything you ask. If it is your will for me to die under this burden..... so be it''.

As I opened my eyes, I could see Fawn staring at me continuously. "What chu doing?" She asked.

"Praying to Artemis." I told her. I stood up, and she gave me a smile. "Good luck, hunter! You will need it."

Then I stepped towards where Atlas is standing. As soon as I got down below the sky, Atlas fades, and the sky dropped on me. I staggered, trying to support the weight of the entire world, and it's incredibly painful. It's also frustrating, knowing that holding this for an indefinite amount of time can really kill me eventually, slowly and painfully.

Artemis's P.O.V

I really felt regret, sending my best of the best hunter to hold the sky. But the situation is already so very dire so that I have to find someone really quick, since Atlas has shrugged. From the list of who to pick, Diana is the first one that came up on my mind, and I figure she can hold it until we can find replacement.

She could have been my extremely loyal hunter, and I could send her where others could not reach, such as the depths of Tartarus. Perhaps one of the titans could hold the sky. That would be an idea.

Apparently, Zeus had the same idea, because previously we were called in and discussing about the possibilities of who's going to hold the sky. Some said it should be Oceanus, because it's missing one element: Water. Zeus said it's too dangerous to put water into the available two elements that already present there because Zeus feared Chaos will rise. Zeus had already given me permission to visit Diana from time to time to check on her to make sure she is not bored and keep her alive by feeding her every day with a huge meal. After all, I am aware of Diana's needs.

Josh's P.O.V

(Don't include this on the main wiki!)

Mary kept pinning me down on the ground around Mount Othrys, and she tied me to a tree. I struggled with all my might.

"No use struggling, Joshy." Mary told me. "You're too weak to struggle."

Mary approached and grabbed a scissor and snipped open my shirt. I was really surprised and I struggled further as she grabbed a pen and started drawing on my belly and chest.

I struggled more. "Don't struggle, Josh. You will make the drawing hard."

Zeus's P.O.V

I'm sure that Diana is more than enough to be a replacement for Atlas. Really, we don't need anymore titan summonings or things like that to burden ourselves. It's just a waste of time for me to think of other titans or half-bloods who can take the sky. I've just had this massive headache, and I really wanted to forget about this matter quickly so I could rest.

But for some reason, something's tingling in my mind, something that tells me that I should find a replacement soon. I could feel that Diana is the reason why strange stirrings haven't occured for centuries. I looked out the window and sent Artemis a message so she would go to Olympus whenever she can.

Fawn's P.O.V

"You know, it's really frustrating and sad to see the hunter that rescued us really have to hold the sky." Simon said.

I glanced at Diana every now and then. The fact that she is suffering right now is enough to make me cry if I looked at her just for a couple of seconds. I decided to just camp here and grilled some bacon. I guess we shouldn't let Diana smell the food that we're cooking, but unfortunately, her smelling senses is sharp, so she already knew that I'm making some bacon. I noticed Diana is writhing and she's murmuring: "Foooood.... Hungry....."

It's been half a day, so we decided to just stay here for a while. I decided to watch over Diana, and she's still standing strong. Previously when Simon and Jason held the sky earlier, they wouldn't last just a few hours. Diana here has been holding it for like 12 hours and she hadn't tire. I walked in front of Diana and studied her. She grit her teeth and she gasps while breathing. I guess that's one of the techniques that we have to consider while surviving from the sky.

"Hey Diana." I said, smiling at her. "Thank you, for rescuing us back there earlier."

"Your welcome* Diana said, as she cringes in pain as she balances herself so she could find the best position for holding the sky.

"So, how many times have you held the sky in your entire life?" I asked her.

"About...." Diana took a couple of deep breaths before continuing. "1000 times."

My eyes widened. That's a lot of time holding the sky during the course of her lifetime. She must have been very busy helping the stupid demigods.

Diana's P.O.V

It's frustrating to help the demigods that are stupid enough to go to Mount Othrys only to prove themselves to be strong, but it's just stupid of them.

But now the situation is different. I have to hold it because Atlas had faded. I used to hold it for the longest about a week, and I can't bear if I have to hold it for a whole month. I will have collapsed by then.

So here I am, with my left knee pressed to the ground hard and my right leg trembling with furious effort.

Anyways, Fawn had been asking me questions, and it's getting tiring to at least answer them.

"We will be sleeping now." Fawn said. I nodded, and She and her friends dragged the camp to here so they can watch over me while they're sleeping. One of the things that kept me clinging to life now is the fact that I serve Artemis and will do anything that Artemis asks me to do.

It was a long boring painful night, but as usual, I managed to survive the freezing cold night due to my aura protecting me from the cold, and plus, a few centuries ago I've been blessed by Greater Heavenly Fire. It took centuries to master, but I managed to master it.

I kept my hands thrust up in the air, trembling from the immense weight that I have to carry, looking around for signs of predators.

Zeus's P.O.V

We were on a meeting, and we're discussing about the possibilities of who can hold the sky.

"It's a dire situation if I have to say, but we need replacements quick! Or else One of you is going to be the permanent replacement." I told the olympians.

The gods murmured amongst each other. Even Hera murmured towards me.

"Zeus, How about the demigods that broke several rules and the ones that deserves punishment? We can get them from both Greek and Roman camps."

"That... is a great idea!" I told Hera. "That could be a punishment for the demigods! But we really have to announce it or else they don't know about it. That would bring fear to those who tried to commit crimes on camps."

I faced the other gods "Order!" Then the gods went silent.

Then I explained Hera's idea to the other gods, and the gods nodded in approval.

"It could be used as a punishment for naughty demigods." Apollo said. "But if there's no one to punish, then who will be holding the sky?"

"It will be my very loyal hunter, Diana Vasquez." Artemis said. "She will hold the sky until we find one or more demigods commiting any sort or rule breaching or crimes, and she will hold it if there's no more demigods to punish."

"Ooh.... You're very harsh on this hunter, sis. Don't you think she needs rest?" Apollo teased.

"Quiet, brother!!" Artemis glared at Apollo. "I knew what she's capable of, and you do not! This hunter is special! I have faith in her."

"Anyways, do you approve of this or not?" I asked the gods.

"Very well, Apollo, Hephaestus and Ares, transform to your roman form and go to Camp Jupiter! I, Hermes and Artemis will go to Camp Half-Blood to discuss this."

"Zeus," Artemis said. "If it's possible, can we make this law to work next month?"

"Why? You don't feel pity on your hunter holding the sky?" I asked her.

"No. She will make it. I want to push her to her absolute limit. I want to see how far she can push her body, and how far she will stay loyal to me."

"Very well. Now let's go to Camp Half-Blood." I said, then me, Hermes and Artemis vanish in a puff of smoke and we arrived at Camp Half-Blood in a flash of golden light, except Artemis who arrives in a flash of silver light. Chiron immediately noticed us and he blew the conch horn to tell all campers to gather around.

"Lord Zeus, brother, this is an honor." Chiron said.

"Yeah. Anyways, the reason why we're here is to discuss to you about the new laws that we just created." I began, then I let Artemis speak.

"As many of you are aware, Atlas had faded. Now we will be enforcing rules around this camp. From now on, whoever disobeys the camp rules on purpose, gets to hold up the sky for 1 week as punishment."

The campers murmured amongst themselves. I could tell that the demigods don't like the change of punishments.

"This rule will begin next month, which is..... 31 days from now." Hermes said.

"Farewell, demigods." Zeus said. "And always remember that the gods be with you." Then we disappeared in a flash of light and we're back to Olympus.

Josh's P.O.V

I'm back at Camp Half-Blood, and apparently Mary is at her cabin. I just heard the short lecture that the gods have given, and I have to say that it's nowhere near fair. The Titan's Curse is a punishment for a titan or god. Demigods can't really have the strength to lift up the sky for barely 1 day at most, but I've seen some that can lift it for over a year, and that's Mary. Unfortunately, with her father faded, she went into depression, and she didn't weight lift anymore, and that causes her muscles to shrink, and now she suffered from asthma, because her lungs didn't have enough power to suck air inside her lungs. She is lying down on her cabin as I cared for her.

"Joshy..." Mary croaked. "I'm sorry for molesting you all these years."

"Shh.... it's alright." I told her. "Mary, you should train again. Your condition is getting worse if you do not train and eat properly."

"I can't!" Mary whined. "My father had faded! Do you know how painful that is?!"

"At least you got me." I told her, as I got on her bed and lied down on top of her.

Mary smiled. "Perhaps I should molest you again?"

I nodded. Mary's hand reached for me as she started putting me between her breasts. She grabbed a pen and started drawing on my chest, and it looks like our adventures. I could see Mary drawing small circles. Then she grabbed a small knife and started carving the small circles on my belly. I cringed in pain because it's so incredibly painful to be carved like that.

"Mary, there's something you should know. There has been a punishment change in this camp."

Mary's eyes widened. "Punishment change? What do you mean?"

"I mean that Zeus, Hermes and Artemis had recently came here, and they told us that whoever broke the camp rules deliberately starting next month, the punishment is to hold the sky."

Mary's eyes widened. "That's terrible! I should have held the sky for him!" Just then, Mary coughed blood.

"Mary!" I got off her chest. "Please, stay with me!"

"No Joshy.... I can't..." Mary's entire body went limp.

I gave her CPRs, and after a couple of hours, I sure managed to revive her, and then she went to Mount Othrys.

She might have been depressed by her father's death, but I managed to give her renewed strength. I went to the archery range, and I guess I still had it, but my aim is slightly off so it hit just on the side of the dummies.

20 days later

Diana's P.O.V

The demigods that escorted me to this very place had left, and they left me a table full of cooked steaks. This is just too good, but I can't simply bend down from the massive weight of the sky to just retrieve one piece.

It's been 20 days, and no one came to help. I kept praying and praying to Artemis but my prayers weren't answered as of now, but Artemis had been talking to me.

''Diana, just hang in there. This is a test that will take you to your absolute limit. You will have to learn to push your body even further. Keep pushing yourself, and you will be one hunter that I had always wanted you to be, tough, strong'', athletic, and fast.

I won't be getting any faster by doing this, just stronger. I was always pushing my body to my limit everyday, why would Artemis push me more? I felt the sky gets heavier and I was forced to succumb more to the weight, but I managed to keep the sky aloft me. I could feel my entire body burning already, as more drops of sweat poured down on me.

I was about to put my head down when all of a sudden Artemis herself came.

"My most loyal hunter, Diana..." Artemis said. "You must eat."

I put my head up as Artemis fed me steak with spoon. I managed to swallow the steak hard and I felt my strength reinvigorated since I've been using the energy just to support the immense weight on my shoulders.

"Please...." I said with shallow breaths. "When.... will... I... get out of..... this burden?"

"In another 10 days, Diana." Artemis said. I sank further from the weight from exasperation. "If you succeed, then you have proven to me that you're the most powerful and loyal hunter I've ever met." Artemis stepped close to me as she embraced my wet, trembling body and then she disappeared just like that.

I sank further from the sky, and I fear that this will be the last days of me staying here.

Apollo's P.O.V

Ever since the announcement of the new rules, campers began to get more strict following orders, especially the Roman campers, since the current Praetors, Bella McLean and Leonard Sinise have made new rules following the announcement of the punishment. The Roman campers didn't rebel. They just followed what their superiors said.

Anyways, I watched over Camp Jupiter, and they really made the war games twice in one day, and that will push the Roman campers to their limits. As usual, the rules are the same, and the defenders have water cannons as their weapons, since flamethrowers have caused a couple of deaths. The main attack team are only armed with swords, Roman spathas, bows and arrows, and other stuff.

I will leave the war games to them. Right now I have to go to Olympus. I vanished and appeared at Olympus. There was no one but me, so I sat there, bored at my throne.

Just then, someone else appeared on the throne next to me. It's Artemis.

"So, sister. How was this loyal hunter of yours?" I asked her.

"She will stand strong. I just gave her a visit and I told her to just hold on."

"Man, I'm beginning to have concerns on her. Are you sure she is still strong? I could hear her crying in pain when I visit her yesterday."

"That was yesterday, brother." Artemis said. "Besides, she recently ate, so she will have more strength."

"Right..." I smirked. "Anyways, how were the demigods doing? Any of them worthy to be punished yet?"

"Hmm.... There's some on the Roman camp, where this children of Mercury had pranked one of the praetors, where he set up this mechanism so that when the praetor took a bath, she would be exposed to the public."

"Eww!" Artemis said in disgust.

"I got to admit that's hilarious, but nevertheless, the law hasn't been put to place so he will be punished by the praetors."

In addition to the new rule we just distributed, we also gave praetors in Camp Jupiter rights to send any of their misbehaving campers to Mount Othrys to be punished.

I sighed. "So, after 10 days, you'll let Diana go, right?" I asked Artemis. I just can't stand watching beautiful girls suffering.

"Yeah, and I might be adding extra time in case she still can take it. Anyways, I won't be feeding her again until 10 days later."

"Wow, really a way to treat your hunter, huh?" I sighed. Artemis slapped me.

"Once again, you don't know her, so just shut your mouth!"

"Oh kay! Jeez... I'm just saying..." My voice trailed off.

Josh's P.O.V

It was really exhausting to train all day long. Ever since the announcement of the new punishment, Chiron started making thing much more strict, as if he wants at least 1 camper to go into this new punishment. I've got to admit this punishment is unfair because in centuries earlier, most demigods hold the sky for like 1 day before dying of exhaustion and pain.

Demigods around here broke the rules pretty much all the time just because no one's noticing or the punishment is too soft, but with the new punishment in place, we can see who's genuinely afraid of breaking the rules because of the punishment is too soft.

I looked around the camp, and everyone was doing their everyday activities. Less and less pranks are being made. But this new punishment brought up some dismays. Some demigods who are usually lively and happy and love to play suddenly became a person with dark personality, as if he's becoming a loner sort of type of guy. I saw this as a major flaw because that person won't be enthusiastic to participate in the camp's activity, and some are downright depressed. I just hoped that Zeus will realize his mistake and revoke the rules he just distributed.

I saw Fawn, Simon and Jason are around, practicing swordfighting. They seemed worried, though it's probably they have gone through something unpleasant in their quests. I also noticed that Simon's and Jason's hair had grey streak on it, which gives the impression that they might have held the sky on their quests.

Bella's P.O.V

It was downright embarassing to be watched by the whole roman camper while I'm taking a bath. I just knew the suspects for this prank: the twin sons of Mercury, Chris and Robert.

It wasn't pleasant at all to be pranked like this, so I come and grabbed the two boys myself.

"You both are in so much trouble!" I yelled at them both.

I could hear they're still giggling, since they finally knew what's behind the armor of the praetor. Anyways, since Zeus had graned me authority on using the sky as punishment, I decided to give them a little scare.

"As punishment you both will take turns holding the sky on Mount Othrys."

Both went silent, and started whining.

"Well, that's what you get if you disobey orders." I whistled.

They started begging and pleading, but I eventually changed my mind.

"Alright, just for now. But next time there won't be any mercy!"

"Thanks!" The Mercury twins headed back to their cabins.

And just then I felt a pang of regret. Why did I let them go? They could be useful examples! But wait.... if Atlas had faded, then who's holding the sky? Why did the gods said that it would be 30 days from the time Atlas had faded? I'm assuming that Atlas hadn't faded yet or someone else is taking his place, but who?

Anyways, I continued my routine on checking the demigods on their activities. It's a lengthy process to actually catch any of the demigods offguard on their rulebreaking acts.

10 days later

Apollo's P.O.V

I was staring at my watch, looking at the dates. Time by time, I felt like Diana should be let out now.

"So, how was Diana? Has she been let out?" I asked her.

Artemis began to notice this trend since she replied, "Yes, and why are you asking me this every minute? You know she's not going to be yours. She's loyal to me, and don't ever think..."

"Okay, okay! Jeez..." I backed away. "Please don't get so touchy all of a sudden..."

"It's not me who's touchy all of a sudden. It was you who kept nagging me, asking me how Diana's doing all the time. Now I'm going to go get her, you're coming?"

I beamed up. "Of course I'm coming. I can't wait to see how she's doing!"

Then we both disappeared in a flash of light with Artemis and appears in Mount Tamalpalis.

Diana's P.O.V

It's about time. I am unable to keep this up anymore, and to add to the pressure, I am very hungry since I haven't been fed for the last 10 days. I could already feel my stomach churning very hard and my muscles felt like they're starting to fail. I can even barely lift up my head.

Anyways, I saw Apollo and Artemis appeared right in front of me, and I noticed it's Apollo and my mistress, Artemis.

"Mi-mi-lady?" I shivered from the cold sky. It's probably since I have been stuck under the cold and heavy sky for 1 month that's probably why I feel so cold now. My natural hunter aura isn't enough to support the cold as of now.

"Yes, it is me, Diana." Artemis said.

"Hello, Diana." Apollo said to me as he smiled. I know that he is interested in me. He has been interested in me since I was a teenager since he saw me very beautiful.

"Well, there's one who is guilty of this..... eagles from the cohorts, and it's Andrew Craig, and he's a son of Venus"

There came Andrew Craig in chains, and I don't understand how he managed to steal the eagles, which is the sacred animal of Jupiter/Zeus.

Then he took the sky just beside me, and I fell limp and immediately fell unconscious.

Artemis' P.O.V

I immediately caught Diana in my arms. I saw a grey streak in her hair that is tied in a ponytail. I held her for a while and vanished and settled her on Olympus. As soon as I got to Olympus, I placed Diana just on the table in my throne, waiting for her to wake so I can commend her on how brave and how strong she was.

It took days to wait her to wake, and I realized the problem. I haven't fed her for the last 10 days she held the sky, so I willed a steak to appear beside her as I shrunk back to human size and force-fed her. I could tell Diana is starting to chew the steak as she started to wake.

As soon as she wake, she moved, but she winces in pain.

"Don't move yet, my valuable hunter!" I told her. "You still need rest."

Diana's P.O.V

I could feel my entire body aching from holding the sky one month straight. It was incredibly painful, nothing like I have ever experienced. I felt pain coursing through my back, arms, hands, fingers, hips, torso, ribs, head, neck, thigh, calf, and even my legs, feet and toes. They're in incredible amount of pain and if I even tried to move any of them, immense pain jolted up on any organs that I tried to move with.

"Diana. You did it!" Artemis smiled down at me. "You've become the hunter that I wanted!"

"T-th-thanks." I smiled at her, and just stared at the ceiling of Mount Olympus.