Artemis closed her eyes, preparing herself for one of the most daunting missions she would ever do. She hated herself for letting it come to this, allowing Hermes to choose the plan. He had that little smirk on his face as he explained the plan, and Artemis knew she was screwed. Her normal hunting

gear had been switched out for a long, shimmering, white chiton that fell down to just above her knees, hitched on her waist with a silver buckle. Her hair had been twirled into a complicated bun, pinned in place by a silver moon, thanks to Aphrodite. With a weary groan, she moved into the cave, a grin plastered across her face, masking her discomfort. Hiding her wince with a curse against Hermes, Artemis lent against the cool cave wall, welcoming the relief from her stress.

Her eyes spun around the dark space, taking in the vast cave that spread out in front of her. A large bronze jar lay in the middle, a shining centerpiece with a dark twist. Artemis had expected Ares to be trying to escape, slamming the sides and making noise. No such thing. Ares was seemingly silent, no movement, no sign of life at all. She sighed, raising her head towards the two, rather grotesque giants who had their backs to her.

"Well hello there boys," Artemis started, putting on her most seductive voice. The two giants,who were lounging on the large beds that lay on the sides of the gloomy cavern, snapped their heads up in shock at the glamorous goddess. Their mouths fell open in awe as they scrambled over each other to reach her.

The huntress tried to hide her disgust with a tightly-wound smile. "Now, now, if you let Ares go, you can.." Artemis paused, trying to steady herself for what she was about to say, reminding herself that she was here to rescue her half brother, who was probably dying in a large bronze jar that stood in front of her. "You can have me, Otis, we gotta deal?"

She knew what giants were like, they were like gods, extremely selfish and get grouchy when they don't get what they want. With a simple glance at Ephialtes, Artemis knew that her being here for Otis, yet no Hera for him would be enough to get him mad, very mad. Otis was smiling, a large rather unnerving smile, his eyes gleamed, sliding up and down Artemis' body in a way that made her shiver slightly, wishing to go back to her hunters.

Ephialtes growled lowly, glaring at Otis with anger boiling in his veins, why should his stupid little brother get a prize, when he was left with nothing. He turned on him, just as Artemis had predicted, and let his eyes burn bright with raging fury. Otis was oblivious to his brother's rage, he didn't notice, until he was tackled to the ground by his brother.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Artemis smirked, knowing that now the difficult part was over, the rest of this mission should be easy. She paused for a moment, checking the two giants were busy fighting — they were, fists clobbering faces leaving large purple bruises and small trickles of blood — and Artemis transformed. Her nose elongated into a petite snout, a twitching nose at its end; her body shrunk, twisting and shifting, until her body was covered in a sleek, shining coat of silver fur and her legs and arms were thinner, more agile. Her hands and feet hardened, turning black and rock hard until they were hooves. The deer — Artemis — shook its head, almost grinning at its new form.

Otis snarled at his brother, furious he had stopped him from claiming his prize. Ephialtes punched his brother's face, and toppled him to the ground, throwing the brawl into further chaos. They didn't notice the transformation, they didn't notice the goddess' leg muscles tense in preparation, they didn't notice the deer that sprung between them, until it was too late.

Time seemed to slow, the giant brothers fell backwards, scrambling for their bows, desperate to stop Artemis before she could reach Ares. As Ephialtes' hand closed around his wooden bow, he pulled an arrow from the quiver that lay discarded on the floor next to him. Looking up, he saw Otis doing the same with a grimace on his face, Ephialtes pulled the string back as the glowing deer reached the peak of its jump, and released.

Two twin-sounding thunks were heard as the arrows landed in the soft flesh, sinking deep and pulling shrieks out of them. Artemis landed, transforming back into her goddess form and turned around to see her work. The two giants lay dead on the floor, arrows resting in their skulls. A grin stretched across her face, pleased at how that had turned out. Artemis was smart, she knew that as strong and skilled as she was she couldn't slay the giants herself, it had been decreed by the Fates.

The joy that slaying the grotesque giants had bought her quickly wore off as she recalled why she was here in the first place: Ares.