Roxie found herself dreaming again, the same nightmare as every night. The dreams began the same way, her back in school pinned against the lockers by her bullies. The day this happened in real life, the catcher for the softball team happened to be in the same hallway and sent the bullies running for their mommies. But in her dreams, the catcher never showed up. Roxie was forced to take the beating she was spared from every night, her punishment for speaking up. As the beating took place, the gamer felt the dream change. Suddenly she was back in the French Quarter, in her moms little apartment. Roxie watched as her biological mom stumbled around the corner, visibly hammered.
"Little shit thinks she can talk back to me." Her mom growled. "Mommy please-" Roxie begged, only for the slap to come anyway. The girl cried out and fell down as her mother swung harder and harder. "Your the reason your father left me!" The drunk screamed, hitting her daughter again and again. As Roxie tried to hold back her tears, the dream changed again. The girl felt her skin heal, and the air turned cold. She lifted her arms to find herself in the woods. Roxie sat up and whimpered, scared. She wasn't alone. From behind the girl a wolf emerged. Roxie turned, but for some reason she wasn't scared. After working up her confidence, she met the wolf's eyes and was stunned. The creature peered back at her curiously, ice blue eyes glimmering with intelligence. The wolf seemed confused as to what Roxie was doing not running for her life. After a moment, the girl reached out. Something made Roxie want to pet the wolf. The hound obliged, wandering closer and sitting next to her. She stroked the creatures back, and the fur reminded her of her neighbors German Shepherd Benji.
Roxie sighed and looked at the wolf. "So whats your deal?" Out of nowhere, it talked, a deep booming voice like Ares. "Do you intend to survive this quest little one?" The wolf asked. Roxie was understandably startled but so much weird stuff had happened she didn't bother with questions. "I was hoping to. Why, are you something else that wants me dead?" The wolf shook its head and continued. "On the contrary my dear, it's in my best interest you live. A dead hound is no good to anyone, specifically me." The girl raised an eyebrow at the word. "Hound? I'm not sure I'm following you." The wolf shook its head and scratched his neck. "My reasoning requires an explanation that we lack the time to discuss. The important thing you need to know is that I very much need you alive and saving the moon goddess for reasons we will discuss after you save said moon goddess." Roxie stared back at the wolf for a moment, incredulous. "Normally people who don't want to kill me don't feel the need to state they don't want to kill me." "Just trust me on this." The wolf insisted. "Fine. Can I at least get a name?" The hound rolled his eyes as best he could. "Names aren't important right now. Scout is fine." Roxie giggled and stroked the wolf again. "Alright Scout. Where do you need me after I save Artemis?" The wolf looked up at the moon and thought. "When you finish saving the moon goddess, go to Full Moon Bay. The daughter of the sea knows where it is. I will tell you what I need to tell you when you arrive." Roxie shrugged and nodded. Satisfied, Scout took off running back into the forest. "What a good boy." The gamer laughed as her dream ended.
Roxie woke up still in the car, her head propped against the drivers arm. What surprised her was Lucas had taken over driving. The smaller girl stared up at the son of Hermes, embarrassed. "Um...Hi." Roxie finally said, moving away. "What's up Rox?" Lucas managed, not looking over. The daughter of Hephaestus turned back to find Dani smirking. "What?" "Did you cuddle Miles like you cuddled Lucases arm?" The girl laughed, earning a deep blush from Roxie. "I wasn't!" She insisted. "Oh you totally were! Do you always drool when you sleep by the way?" Dani taunted, furthering her friends shame. "I don't...I wasn't...W-Where's Miles?!" Roxie whined, covering her mouth in embarrassment. "Sparky got us to Chicago before he fell asleep and almost hit a truck. Turns out Detroit is actually backwards from Memphis so we have to backtrack a little bit, but we were making decent time until I found out Chicago had the slowest stoplights in the universe!" Lucas said, gesturing to the still red light. "That does not explain where Miles is." Roxie said pointedly. "Sparky is crashed out in the trunk until further notice. We get him up when we get to Detroit." Dani explained as the light finally changed.
"Alright. How long is that gonna take?" Lucas groaned as another light changed. "If we ever get out of here, like 4 hours. We get to Detroit, wake up Miles so he can get us to his girls place, they solve their problem, then we grab a flight out to wherever Dani's dream friend is." The thief outlined the plan as best he could. "So Sleeping Beauty, any new dreams to report?" Dani asked. Roxie collected her thoughts then spoke. "I met a magic wolf I named Scout who wants me to show up in Full Moon Bay when we finish saving Artemis. He seems to think you know where that is?" Dani froze at the very mention of Full Moon. "What?" Roxie asked. "N-nothing. I know where it is. I um...live there." The girl choked up. "Your house is on the bay? That's great, we can at least get a nights sleep when we're done!" Roxie said. "Uh...not exactly. I don't think house is the right word." Dani said, trying to explain without explaining. "They have apartments right on the bay? Cool!" The smaller girl replied, oblivious. "N-No. That's not-" Dani tried again, but Lucas beat her to it. "Rox, when Dani says she lives on the beach, she means it literally. She's homeless." The assassin put it rather bluntly, startling both girls. "LUCAS!" Dani whined, seemingly ready to die of shame. "What, you sure as hell weren't going to say it. What's the big deal, I am too." Lucas replied. "Wait, you're both homeless?! That's so sad!" Roxie exclaimed.
"Not really. I've been on the streets since I was a kid. It's not so bad, just takes practice to live in the city. I'm sure Dani's view beats mine though." Lucas chuckled as Dani slid further into her seat. "Thanks Luca, your really a great person." The daughter of Poseidon grumbled. "Anyway, I can get you to Full Moon." Dani assured. "Good. Then let's get the hell out of here." Roxie agreed. Lucas gave up and began running red lights, ignoring the consequences until the car needed gas. "Do they pump gas in Chicago?" The thief asked as he pulled into a gas station. "Nope." But as Dani said this, a group of men emerged from the small gas station in uniform. "Huh. That's weird." Roxie mumbled as Lucas hopped out. "Hey guys. You fill it up?" The assassin asked, receiving no answer as the men surrounded the car. Finally one spoke, revealing his snake like eyes. "You have come far Demigods. But Father Python demands your heads!" Lucas ducked as a blast of acid narrowly missed his face. "Why snakes, why ALWAYS snakes?!" The son of Hermes groaned as he reached for his gun. Lucas had been practicing and had gotten pretty good at dictating what the gun switched to. This time it was a Carbine. "Suck it snake breath!" He yelled, pulling the trigger and dropping the lead snake. The others hissed and attacked to avenge their brother. "Uh, guys? Little help?!" Lucas yelled as he held off the snakes, but more emerged from the store. Roxie managed to scramble out of the car and suit up, instantly seeing the problem. "Pest control mother fucker!" The girl laughed, turning her weapons on the convenience store and torching it. The rest of the snakes scattered, leaving easy pickings for Dani. The fight wrapped up and Lucas moved on to something even more difficult: working a gas pump.
As the son of Hermes fumbled with the handle, Miles scraped himself together and hopped out. "What'd I miss?" Lucas rolled his eyes and handed him the gas nozzle. "Pump now. Story later." Miles shrugged and gassed up the car as Lucas filled him in on the new developments. "A wolf?" The athlete was as confused as Lucas. "She named it Scout. And he wants to meet her on a beach in California when we save the world." The assassin agreed. "That's...that's weird." The boys jumped back in the car and drove out of Chicago in record time. Eventually the battle fatigue caught up and only Miles was awake. He didn't mind though. Wandering the streets at night was one of his favorite pastimes back home, and the silence kept him company. As the distance grew shorter, the athlete found himself reminiscing about his family. His mom and his sister and his friends...he couldn't bring them into this world. Now the gang was a different story. Miles smirked as he took the exit ramp and came up to the tracks, a favorite spot for settling grudges. As the car bounced across the train tracks, the rest of the demigods woke up to find the city sprawling before them. "Welcome to Detroit ladies and Lucas." Miles laughed. Then a spear came through the roof.