Chapter 4: Heading North

I'm back! Thankfully, my camp did not get shot up, though I was savagely attacked by a pig and a peacock in the same day. It was good, 5 days of fun. Plus, my birthday was on the Wednesday, and my teacher bought me a pack of UNO cards. This is gonna be a long one, to make up for the long wait. I'm thinking about the same length as chapter 1. So yeah, how was your last few months?

P.S. The guy who sent in the Luca and Sophia OCs ignored the bit about the gay part, saying that they wanted to Sophia to end up with someone specific, who is male. I won't name who it is, so you'll have to read and find out.

Chapter 4: Heading North

Arianna P.O.V.

Holy Crap. What have I gotten us all into? I just signed all our death warrants, perhaps even Lady Artemis'. No demigod has ever ventured that deep into Alaska and come out alive, not since Perseus himself. Then again, he did venture in again and not come out alive. I think it's safe to say we're all screwed.

Then there's Erebus, who's been quiet ever since Uncle Hades broke his jaw. He could be up to something, and we might even come back to Olympus to find it in ruin, the gods and demigods dead among the rubble. I don't know what Perseus would be able to do then.

Damn, I've killed myself, Sophia, Luca and Lady Artemis, all in one go.

Artemis turned to look and us, and checked us over, glaring slightly at Luca. "Are we ready to go?" The goddess asked, as Sophia brushed some dust off of her clothes and I stretched. "Um, Lady Artemis, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly are we going to get to Alaska?" Luca asked, and shrunk back at Lady Artemis' glare.

"Do not underestimate me, boy. I can flash us all to the border and then we shall walk through into Alaska. I trust you won't fall behind, boy. Alright, close your eyes." She warned us, and we did so, and both Sophia and I felt her arms link around mine. Once Luca realised what was happening, and fearing being left behind in the bustling Manhattan streets, he grabbed on to the first one of us he could find with his eyes closed.

Oof

We heard a distinct grunt, and then the sound of something collapsing, so both Sophia and I opened our eyes to see what happened. I know, dangerous, but as demigods, we're curious.

It turns out that in his blindness, Luca had failed to notice what he was grabbing on to. He thought it was his sister's arm, but unfortunately, the poor guy had wrapped his arms tightly around Lady Artemis' waist. Now my cousin was lying on the ground clutching his boy-parts while a furious Lady Artemis stood over him.

She summoned her bow and notched a silver arrow, proceeding to aim it at him and scream. "HOW DARE YOU TRY AND TOUCH ME, BOY! I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS!" Luca's eyes widened and he frantically backed up into the manhattan alley wall. "Woah, woah, woah, hang on a minute! Maybe you should rethink this, Lady Artemis." He pleaded, which only served to anger the goddess.

"DON'T TRY AND COMMAND ME, BOY! I AM A GODDESS, YOU SHOULD BE PLEADING FOR MERCY!" She screeched, still threatening him with an arrow. I hadn't ever seen a god this angry. Apparently this used to be normal for them, but I guess they'd calmed down a lot recently because they never had outbursts like this.

I decided that if I didn't step in, things could get a whole lot worse for my friend, and a whole lot more bloody for the rest of us. Me and Sophia moved in front of the goddess, who slightly lowered her weapon at seeing two maidens in her line of sight. She shook her head, and raised her bow again. "Move, young maidens, or I will be forced to execute you as well." She warned sadly, yet we stood our ground.

"Lady Artemis," Sophia began. "I'm sorry, but we can not let you kill my brother. He made an honest mistake, he thought you were one of us. He meant no harm." She pleaded to the goddess, who showed little sympathy. "I have done far worse for far less to boys, daughter of Hades. I won't let this one be an exception."

She saw an opening between us and raised to kill, so I decided to stop playing nice. "Lady Artemis, stop! Please! We haven't even made it out of manhattan and this group is already falling apart. We need everyone if we're going to survive, and we'll need everyone if we're going to bring Percy back! Besides, you know what will happen if you kill him. Olympus needs him, and Sophia, and even I. You don't know our roles yet. What if he's the one who kills Erebus? You just killed Olympus' salvation. Plus, I don't think Uncle Hades will be pleased if you murdered one of his only two children he's had since the Di Angelo's." I argued, and Artemis faltered.

The goddess contemplated for a moment, lowering her bow and looking at the ground in thought. Maybe she was thinking about how pissed her uncle would be? Maybe she was thinking about whether he's needed? I don't know. But I must have gotten through to her, because her bow vanished and she crossed her arms.

"Fine, I will spare this boy, an act I have only done for two other mortals. But know this, boy," She spat the words out with venom. "If you try, no, if you even think about touching me, or defying me again, Hades child or not, I will hang you by your entrails and take your eyes as trophies." Lady Artemis scowled at my friend, who nodded frantically and apologized profusely.

Wow, I didn't think Lady Artemis could be so unfriendly.

Sophia sighed. "Okay, should we try that again?" Artemis nodded at her, and grabbed our arms once more, glaring at Luca, just daring him to make the same mistake. My friend got the hint, and placed his hand on Sophia's shoulder, which made Artemis relax a bit.

"Alright, you know the drill. Close your eyes and hold on tight." She reminded us, and we followed her instructions. Waiting for the normal strange flashing feeling.

We stood there for maybe 20 seconds, our eyes closed and holding on to this woman, before she started using some bad words and grabbing tighter. "Why won't this damn thing work!" She asked, and we opened our eyes.

The goddess had an annoyed look on her face and it seemed as if she was concentrating extremely hard. She sighed, and let go of Sophia and I, slumping her shoulders slightly. "It's not working, I don't know why."

As I was about to interject, there was a green flash next to us, and we all whipped around. Three old women were by a green dumpster, frantically whispering to each other and scuttling over to us. They reached the four of us and we suddenly had all their attention.

They muttered to each other, their eyes still on us, and after about a minute, they started nodding to each other. The middle one, I don't know their names, started speaking.

"Oh, Phoebe Artemis, you've confused us! You're the first goddess to ever go on a quest, and we don't know what to do! You shouldn't be able to interfere with a quest, since you're a goddess, but this is your quest too. But we can't have you unable to do anything, since you're an important part of said quest- oh, Phoebe Artemis you've really done our heads in!" The old woman scolded the young goddess, while her thugs- I mean sisters, crossed their arms and nodded, glaring at her.

Artemis sputtered. "W-well what am I supposed to do about it? You're the Fates! Don't you see like everything in the future? Were you not prepared for this?" She asked, and the Fates shook their heads. "We originally planned that dead things would stay dead too, and that Percy Jackson would become a god and live happily ever after on Olympus with a wife and kids, but plans get derailed, don't they?" The shortest Fate snapped.

Luca chose to join in the conversation. "Well you can't take away all her powers, otherwise we have no chance of surviving." He reasoned, and the rest of us nodded. The tall Fate contradicted his argument. "If we don't, you can just all flash halfway there, which would go against ancient laws!" Luca backed down, but I had not.

"Well, just take away the overpowered stuff! Make it so she can't flash or whatever, but keep all the monster destroying stuff that won't get us killed if you take it away." I reasoned with them, and once again the short one tried to argue, but the middle Fate stopped her.

The three old ladies started conversing quietly, and eventually came to an agreement. They turned back to us, and the middle one, who I assumed to be the group leader, started telling us their conditions.

"Alright, how about this. Phoebe Artemis, you will keep all of your godly powers, except for the ability to flash, and summon your true form. You will have no support from your hunters, as they will be forbidden from assisting on this quest, and you will become mortal until either death, or the quest is complete and Perseus Jackson is returned to Olympus alive."

Artemis visibly paled at the thought of becoming mortal, but quickly steeled herself. "I… I will do it. For Percy." The goddess encouraged herself, and the three Fates nodded. "Then you know the rules." The short one said, and all three old women flashed out together to wherever they lived.

We were all silent as the virgin goddess lost her silvery aura, reduced to a mere mortal, perhaps a demigod. She closed her eyes, as tears threatened to spill. She was scared, even I could see it. Few associated with the Greek world had ever come out of Alaska alive, and Artemis could very possible join the other's who didn't.

She was afraid, because for the first time in her seven-thousand years of existence, Artemis was truly vulnerable.

I couldn't stand to see her like this, standing in the cold Manhattan alleyway, trying to calm herself. She needed support, and luckily I, her cousin, was there for her.

I hugged the goddess tightly, and felt her tense up immediately. She probably thought I was Luca at first, but she relaxed a bit when she saw it was me. "What are you doing, young maiden?" She asked, but unlike with Luca, there was no malice in her voice, only confusion and fear.

I looked up at her calmingly, even though she was maybe two or three inches taller. "I'm helping you. I know you're scared Artemis, you need support. I'm here for you." I comforted, and the auburn-haired goddess squirmed.

"I'm not scared! I don't need support!" She reasoned, but it was more aimed at herself than me. I shushed her, and after a bit more squirming, she stopped, and reluctantly wrapped her arms around me. "You're lucky I respect you, Arianna. I've only let two other's do this to me, and both of them are dead." She said, and I smirked. "Was one of them Percy?" I teased, and she blushed, refusing to answer.

After a few minutes, Sophia cleared her throat and I released Artemis, our attention going to her. "So, um, now that you can't flash… how exactly are we going to get to Alaska? She asked, and I must admit, she had a good point.

Artemis looked around for a solution, and then shrugged. "Don't look at me, I'm not the quest leader." She said, nudging me. My eyes narrowed. "I don't know. You're the oldest, physically and chronologically. You should have some good ideas!" I argued, and Artemis sighed, walking out onto the busy Manhattan sidewalk and looking around.

She looked back at us, and waved her arm for us to follow. "Come on, we'll go find a way!" We didn't hesitate to run and catch up with her through the crowds of mortals going about their day. We reached a street corner, and she looked around for some mode of transport.

"Bingo!" She said and pointed across the street. Parked at a BP gas station was an RV. not a small motorhome however, this one was almost as big as a bus, and standing outside it were two men smoking, another one filling up the gas and yet another coming towards them with what looked to be food.

"Um, Lady Artemis, I think that thing belongs to those guys." Sophia told her, and we started looking for another option. That was, until we heard Artemis say, "Not anymore." and she started marching towards the men. "Uh oh." Luca said our thoughts aloud, and we ran to catch up to Artemis.

"Lady Artemis, don't do anything stupid, now." We reasoned, but she pushed past us, scoffing and assuring us that "They're just males." We watched from a relatively close distance as she marched up to them.

One guy, a skinny blond guy with some faded jeans and a Guns N Roses t-shirt stomped out his cigarette, smirking, and wolf-whistled at the woman approaching them. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? You lost, darlin'?" He asked, and she glared at him, but chose to ignore his comment.

"Which of you owns this vehicle?" She asked. The skinny guy glared at her for ignoring him, but gestured over to the buff guy filling up the tank. "That'd be Mac. But hey, if you're ever… in need… how's about you come find me. Name's Da-" The guy was cut off by a kick to the balls, and the buff guy, Mac, turned to her. The other two guys exited the vehicle to find their friend clutching his balls on the ground.

Artemis walked up to the silent man confidently. "You Mac?" She asked, playing it cool. The man didn't answer, taking the gas pump out and putting it back. "Who's askin'? You a cop?" He interrogated, but Artemis kept her cool. "I want your vehicle." The now mortal goddess demanded.

The other two guys laughed, but Stone Cold Steve Austin here didn't. "You what?" He asked, flexing slightly to show he was a threat. Artemis wasn't intimidated though, and she narrowed her eyes. "Give. Me. Your. Keys. You little bitch."

There was a commotion behind as the guy from earlier scrambled to his feet and grabbed her shoulder. Artemis' eyes widened and she turned around 180 degrees, grabbing his elbow and bending it with her. He screamed, but his other arm hadn't stopped moving. The goddess only just managed to catch a glimpse of silver flash in her peripheral vision before a sharp pain entered her abdomen.

She cursed, and threw the guy to the pavement, pulling up her shirt to reveal she'd been stabbed. We gasped, and charged the guy, empty hand though since our demigod weapons can't hurt mortals. Sophia and I started curb-stomping the bastard when we were grabbed by the other two. Mac started marching over towards the three of us when.

THUMP, WHACK

The two guys holding me and Sophia let go, but were almost immediately knocked to the ground by Luca, who had found a rather large stick and began beating the two men with it.

Mac came over, and Luca aimed a strike at the side of his head, but the giant man caught the branch, and snatched it out of his hands. Luca backed up in fear, and I'm gonna be honest with you, I thought my cousin was done for. Sophia yelled for him to run, but he either didn't hear her, or was two afraid to listen. The man towered over him, and prepared to gut him with the stick he was using, when

SHANK

The large man screamed out in pain and dropped to his knees, clutching his bleeding leg. Artemis, in her moment of weakness, had pulled the knife out of her stomach and thrust it into the back of his thigh. As the four men lay bleeding in the parking lot, Artemis, her breathing ragged now, told us "Grab the car keys, and get in."

I searched Mac for the keys, and found them, running into the RV and hopping in the driver's seat while Sophia helped Artemis into a seat and Luca looked for medical supplies. "Where do I go?!" I asked them, and Sophia yelled back at me. "To Alaska!"

Geez, that was helpful.

"I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY THAT IS, SOPHIA!" I screamed, panicking as I saw some of the guys getting up for the pavement. "Just drive! Luca will find a map after the first aid kit!" She reassured me, and not wanting to waste any time, I floored it onto the busy New York streets.

I drove for a few minutes until Luca came up front. "Here, I'll drive. You go help since Artemis won't let me touch her." He said, and I nodded, slipping out of the front seat now that we were in a traffic jam.

Artemis was much more pale now, and really freaked out at all the blood she was losing. It seems that when getting stabbed, Olympians lose a lot less ichor than humans lose blood. Sophia was concentrated on her wound, using her limited healing skills learned from Councillor Will had taught her to fix up the wounded goddess. Unfortunately, we did not have any Ambrosia, which meant we had to do it the normal way.

Sophia looked at me, then at the first aid kit. "Ari, can you get the needle and thread for me? We'll have to stitch it up." She said grimly, and if possible, Artemis paled even more. I looked through the box, and found the things she requested. Sophia took the items from my hands. Artemis looked up at her, worried. "Will it hurt?"

She looked around, seeing a pile of clothes that were obviously the men's. She got up, and came back with a leather belt. Folding it up, she shoved it into the goddess' mouth. Artemis knew what this was for, and braced for pain.

Sophia sighed, and, holding the sterilized needle in place, pushed it into the skin around the wound. I winced as the goddess' muffled screams filled my ears.

So I'm back. Fun fact, this AN and the one up top were written 7 months apart sooo, yeah. This was originally gonna be 6000ish words long, but then I realized that half of it would be in Manhattan and the other half of the 'travelling' chapter would be spent on the road, so the next one will be longer probably. Don't worry, I'll start writing immediately.

Word Count: 3203