Another update?

Who even am I right now?

Speedy Gonzales?

"Oh, already? Okay," I spoke aloud, wondering why I even bothered to try to hide my thoughts.

Wait, no, that's a completely reasonable thing to do. In fact, most people don't even have to make a conscious effort!

"Before you go, I should probably warn you. The Fields restore people to their natural states. They act as a factory reset of sorts. Normally, people become bitter, angry shells of who they once were. Don't be surprised if Emily acts completely different. Now, go, before I turn you in to Olympus for the reward."

Hades gestured, and a door appeared, made of obsidian or something. I really only know one type of black rock.

I took a deep breath, and Artemis gave me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. She handed me a piece of paper and a pen that just conveniently happened to be in her pockets.

She gave me a little shove toward the door, and I placed my hand against it, not feeling reassured when it was warm. "Here goes."

The door opened inward, and I sort of stumbled into Emily's personal hell.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Iboe ps gppu?"

I groaned and my head slumped. We had been doing this since I rose from the water, and I still couldn't understand what the dark figure was saying.

Repeating the syllables after him wasn't right, and neither was saying that I didn't understand, and neither was repeating part of what he said, and neither was anything else I could think of.

At my continued silence, the dark figure reached toward me with his metal glove, and lightly touched my hand.

I tried not to vomit as the sparks from the glove made me skin crackle and blister.

He rose to his feet and opened his mouth to say something that I couldn't understand yet again, when a girl appeared out of nothingness, holding a piece of paper and pen.

I tried to bow but being strapped to a chair made that useless.

The girl said something to the man in black, and he nodded and walked behind me, out of my view. I was almost relieved that the shocking had stopped, but I knew that the girl probably had something worse in mind.

"Ifz, Fnjmz," the girl said, and I kept looking at my lap, hoping she would know that me not bowing wasn't my fault. "Zpv mppl ufssjcmf."

I didn't say anything in return, because I was never really asked to.

She snapped her fingers near my face, and I looked up at her, warily. Getting the water now would be killer with the fresh burns on my neck. "Dbo zpv voefstubod nf?"

I stared at her blankly, hoping she would be able to tell how sorry I was, but doubting that. Maybe if she had fire the water would put it out…

Not worth it.

The girl ran her hand through her hair, and she sighed. "Vfmm tiju."

She held out the paper, and I looked at it, at her, and at my wrist, tied to the arm of the chair, and back at her, trying to look earnest as opposed to insolent.

The girl winced and muttered something, putting the paper in my lap as she knelt to untie my right arm. I watched as she loosened the rope, pausing for a second before she undid it completely. She looked up at me in that second, and her look was more frustrated and sad than I expected. After all, I had no idea who she was, or how I could have let her down, but there's a lot I don't know.

The rope fell away, and she gestured at the pen, which I picked up warily. I knew what it was, but I had no idea how to hold it, so I just sort of gripped it in my fist, knowing it wasn't correct but having to try something.

/-/-/-/-/

Emily looked at me with nothing but resignation in her eyes. Or, our eyes, I guess.

She didn't know how to hold a pen. She didn't know who I was. She didn't even know English. Hades must have wiped her memory and conveniently forgotten to mention it.

I felt a little sick at the thought of her just languishing down here, stuck in eternal torment and not knowing why.

I also really felt like Hades should have mentioned this.

"Emily. Can you understand me?" I repeated, but it elicited the same blank look as before, and her eyes dropped to her fist, which was holding the pen like a first grader carving her name into the floor before her dad got home and sent her into timeout AND got the gross vegetable soup from the restaurant that he knew she didn't like for dinner.

No, I'm over it. Why do you ask?

There were hand-shaped burns in various places, including her neck, upper arm, one on each knee, and what looked like a fresh on her left hand. There was also a small slit in her shirt, right over her heart, where the knife would have gone in. She wasn't wearing what she had died in; rather she was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and black shorts without shoes. Here's hoping she was incarnated in that.

Wishing that I had some chalk and slate to practice with, I set to teaching myself how to write, so I could sign a paper saying that I bore no ill will toward the person who sentenced me to an eternity of pain. We've all been here, right folks?

It was kind of like teaching someone how to write who was convinced that the pen and paper were made of snakes.

Emily was trying to learn, I feel, but it really hindered things when she flinched away every time I reached over to correct her grip. I'm really looking forward to having to deal with those psychoses. Her torturer lingering nearby didn't help anything, but I couldn't ask him to leave without pissing off Hades.

Eventually, I gave up trying to teach her to write autonomously and settled for directing her hand in signing her name.

It felt a lot like I was holding my own hand, which was pretty weird, and she started twitching slightly, so I quickly scrawled her name to be barely legible. This is also pretty coercion-y, but that is the least of my problems.

Finally, we completed the "f", and I let go, trying to ignore her short exhale of relief.

Above our sloppy, huge signature, I wrote "I absolve my murderer and any potential plotters of my murder from all blame," figuring I could add to it if turned out to be necessary (which it probably will, I don't have any sort of law training except for her binge-watching Boston Legal).

I straightened up, and looked down at Emily, then at her torturer, then back, trying to come up with an excuse for stalling her mistreatment.

The man looked at me and shook his hooded, veiled head and pointed at his watchless wrist, getting his point across nicely.

I leaned down to be eye-to-eye with Emily and I-

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

-bared her teeth, and I wondered what form the pain would take when it inevitably came. So far the girl had just used me to write something on a piece of paper, which was probably the least malicious thing anyone's ever done to me.

A frown appeared on her face, and I was close enough to see my reflection in her eyes, which was weird, because I looked-

Within a second, the dark figure had grabbed my head and shoved me into the freezing water, which was just as terrible backwards.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

I reappeared in Hades's throne room, and I bent over to recover from the trip from hell.

Not unreasonable, I think.

While I was trying to keep my last meal down (which was what, two days ago?), I heard Artemis and Hades talking. Sert had reappeared and was standing at attention near the throne

"See? I told you it wasn't fair! I'll do anything to get her back, uncle. You name it." Artemis was pleading, but she paused to give me a quick once-over.

Hades was lounging in his throne, and he rested his chin on his hand. "You'll let Josie join the Hunters," he stated, no sign of a question mark.

"Yes, of course! We have a de-"

Hades held his hand up. "And, you'll let her be lieutenant."

Artemis's mouth dropped. "What? Hades, that has always been a position of merit, and I have a lieutenant. I've never removed someone from that position, ever."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "You will elect her lieutenant, or you will never get your daughter back."

"Artemis, she-" I tried to stop Artemis from getting super ripped off in the bargain, considering Emily had no memory of her past life and this would just destroy Thalia, but Hades waved his hand, and I stopped talking.

"Not now, girl, the adults are speaking."

One of Hades's minions emerged from... somewhere, and it encouraged me to remain silent by standing near me threateningly.

Artemis really didn't pick up the social cues enough to ask why I was objecting, but she did have the brains to hesitate before saying "It's a deal, Hades. You let me take Emily, and I'll let Josie be lieutenant, as long as she abides by the rules. I can't have a murderer or a harlot in command."

Hades nodded. "Agreed. Also, no one will tell anyone about this arrangement, of course. I want Josie to think you personally picked her. That goes for you too, Roman. If anyone blabs, I'll reclaim both halves of you." He waited until I nodded at him, then he stood up with a smile. "Excellent. Now, Artemis, you go fire Zeus's daughter, then I'll release Emily. Not that I think you'd be crazy enough to cross me, but I won't tempt you."

Artemis didn't look happy, but she knew when she was trapped. "Thank you for your... kindness, Hades. I accept your deal. Now, if you could loosen Aemilia's tongue, I would love to hear what you were trying to keep from me."

Hades nodded, and I could speak again. "Emily lost her memory. She has no idea who she is. She doesn't even speak English."

Artemis stared at me for a second, then she looked at Hades, who was staring at her impassively. "You obviously knew about this, uncle. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Hades shrugged. "I am letting your daughter rise from the dead. That's kind of a big deal. I'd say we came out about even."

Artemis gritted her teeth, but had nothing else to say. She gave a quick nod, and then walked over and reached for my arm. She was obviously furious, and I really felt the heat radiating from her person through my sleeve. "I'll be back within the hour, Hades. Please at least have her learn English in the eternity of torment she'll endure until then."

Hades nodded graciously, and Artemis and I disappeared.

We landed back in the cave, and I didn't fall down, but I did sway woozily.

I saw Diana (well, two of her) rise from the couch. "HADES DID WHAT?"

They were obviously communicating telepathically, so I made my way over to the couch and sat on it with a shudder. The path to hell was paved not with good intentions, but with nausea.

By this point, both Diana and Artemis were practically fully glowing, so I just leaned my head back for a little nap.

I didn't hear Artemis walk over to me, but I felt her grab my forehead and tear through my memories like a lawnmower tearing through a nest of rabbits and there's blood everywhere and I'm crying and my dad's freaking out and-

Okay, maybe I'm not so over that one.

Artemis (and Diana via telepathy, probably) crawled through my visit with Emily, and her hand burned even hotter when she saw the handprints scorched onto Emily, along with everything else.

Finally, she let go of me, and I considered standing to put my head on the cool stone of the wall, but my laziness won out in the end.

"So, we have to fire Thalia? This is going to kill her," Diana said, shaking her head sadly.

Artemis sighed. "Without a doubt. She and Apollo haven't returned, I take it?"

"Nope," Diana confirmed, and Artemis sighed.

My stomach growled at just the opportune time, and both Artemis and Diana looked over.

"When's the last time you fed her?" Artemis asked Diana, who looked up and to the right as if in thought.

"Uh... uh..."

"Geez. You have to feed them, sometimes. At least every couple days, Di," Artemis admonished, and Diana shrugged.

"Hey, we've been busy. Isn't breaking her out of prison enough parenting for one day?"

My stomach rumbled again, and Artemis shook her head. "No, no it is not. Get her an energy bar or something, we have to go find Josie ASAP."

"Why are you taking her with you? Going to scare Hades's kid with some vomit?" Diana laughed, and my brow furrowed. I can't help my terrible, terrible constitution.

Artemis shrugged. "Eggs, basket, the works. Apollo made a good point."

Diana handed me a Power Bar, and I put the advertising money in my pocket.

I decided to not eat the food right before traveling (because of the cramps that are totally real and not an urban legend), and Artemis calmed down a smidge and grabbed my elbow. I tried to yank my arm out of her grip, unsuccessfully.

It did make her pause, which was really just her being polite. "Yes?"

"Before we go, can you tell me a little about Josie? Why isn't she in the Hunters?"

Diana and Artemis exchanged a look. "She's... uh, how do I put this?"

"Really dumb," Diana interjected, and Artemis nodded, "and kind of slow."

"That's a little redundant, isn't it?" Not that I enjoy correcting people, but I mean, it's fun. My personal favorite is less/fewer, but it'll cost you some friends.

"No, she's, uh, not in peak physical condition," Artemis hedged. "And she's kind of mean."

"And she's going to be in charge if the Hunters? I see this going down splendidly." I sighed and rose to my feet.

Artemis shrugged. "What choice do I have? Seriously. Name me a way to get Emily out of hell."

There weren't any crickets in the cave, but if there had been, we would have heard them right about now.

"Exactly. Let's go."

A couple seconds later, we were flying through space (and probably time, but only forward a second at a time), then we landed at a little house in the countryside.

Artemis took a deep breath, and she made her normal clothes appear on her, along with her bow across her back. With her hair now pulled back in a tight bun, her skin faintly glowing, and her eyes a shimmering silver, she looked every bit the Greek goddess.

Here's hoping Josie turns down the offer.

"Don't say anything," Artemis ordered, as if that were even necessary.

She strolled up to the front door and knocked on it four times in a neat little pattern that I would probably copy from now on.

I stood behind her, so I could see a girl's face peek out from behind the door, as well as hear her excited gasp.

The girl yanked the door open and stared at Artemis with unabashed delight. "Lady Artemis! What brings you here?"

"I need you, Josie," Artemis ground out, sounding almost convincing.

Josie dropped into a bow. "Anything you require, My Lady."

Her black hair fell across her face, and she had to quickly stop her glasses from falling off her face. When she stood up, I noticed that her eyes were just slightly too close to each other, and I also realized that I'm a pretty terrible, judging person, yikes.

Artemis smiled grimly. "I need you to be the lieutenant of the Hunters."

"What?!" The childlike glee on Josie's face was honestly adorable, but then it happened. Her eyebrows dropped, she squinted a bit, and she sneered, ever so slightly. "Wait, what happened? I thought I 'wasn't Hunters material' and your precious Thalia was good enough."

I couldn't see Artemis's face, and I moved slightly so Josie couldn't see my look of horror. Yep, this is going to be a great experience for all involved, I'm sure.

"Everything's changed, Josie, and the Hunters need you to help return the group to its former state."

Josie peeked around her at me. "Who's this, then?"

I smiled slightly, but Josie didn't.

"She's, uh, my daughter." As time passed, Artemis was making that sound less and less like a swear word, so good for her. "She's shy."

"Cool. Well, I accept your offer! Could you just give me a little time to pack? I mean, of course you can," Josie giggled, and it was one of the most malevolent sounds I had ever heard. "I am your lieutenant after all."

Artemis's back and shoulders tensed noticeably, and I didn't predict Josie surviving until the next chapter. "Whatever you need. I have some other affairs to attend to, but I will be back within the hour to pick you up."

"Better make it two, I haven't even started packing," Josie said. She bowed again, and then she shut the door, not quite in Artemis's face, but way too close to that.

"She's-"

Artemis whipped around. "Don't."

We teleported again, and by this time, Apollo and Thalia had returned to the cave.

Artemis let go, and I sat on the ground, trying not to retch.

I heard a low groan from Diana, so I bet she was caught up.

"Lady Artemis? Is everything okay?" Thalia said, unfortunately being the image of the perfect, reverent lieutenant.

Artemis ignored her and looked at Apollo. "You guys find Phoebe?"

"Not a trace of her. Maybe your instruction should focus less on covering their tracks and more on not murdering your progeny," Apollo suggested scathingly.

Artemis looked at him, hurt, and he sighed. "Sorry, it's just been a long couple of days for me, too. I'm not being fair, sorry. If you have Emily's signature, I could run that up to Olympus for you. Maybe then Phoebe will come out."

Artemis handed him the paper she had gotten from me somehow, and he disappeared.

The room seemed a little darker without the sun god, and that makes sense.

I finally opened the Power Bar, and took a bite of the most delicious combination of chemicals, proteins, and self-loathing I had ever tasted. I didn't even mind that it was cherry, my least favorite flavor in the world.

"My Lady, I could report to camp if you'd-" Thalia rose to her feet, but she quailed a little when Artemis turned to look at her with cold fury on her face, the same cold fury that it took Emily a year to lessen.

"You, Thalia, will not be reporting anywhere. Effective immediately, you are no longer my lieutenant," Artemis didn't betray an ounce of her sadness, but Thalia sure didn't hide hers.

Thalia took a small step back. "Wha-what?"

"You, Thalia Grace, are no longer the lieutenant of the Hunters. You have proved inadequate, and this past week especially has shown me that I made a mistake in selecting you."

I looked at Diana, who was staring at the back of Thalia's head with sympathy, which was nice by Diana's standards.

Thalia's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to process this. "I'm sorry! Maybe I can change-"

"Oh, you can change? Please tell me how you can undo lying to me about Phoebe being kidnapped! Tell me how you can change Ares beating the Roman half of my daughter within an inch of her life! Let me know how you can explain you all getting away from the dungeon just because Aphrodite decided she was bored! Do you realize that if her whim had been even slightly different, you would all be dead, every one of you? And finally, inform me how you could not notice that your best friend was planning on committing homicide! Your job is to take care of things so I don't have to, but I've had to be so involved in the drama surrounding you that I haven't even been to camp in a week! Tell me how you are going to change that. TELL ME!"

Thalia fell to her knees, shaking from either fear or trying to hold back her tears.

Either way, I looked away, trying to give her what privacy I could in this one room.

"I-I'm sorry, Lady Artemis. Please."

I have no idea how Artemis managed to act like this, but it was truly amazing and heartbreaking to see. "'I'm sorry' won't cut it, Thalia. Remove your circlet."

Thalia reached up with trembling hands and slowly lifted it off her head. She offered it to Artemis, who took it, frowning deeply, and put it in one of her big cargo pockets. "Thank you."

"M-may I-" Thalia was staring at the ground, obviously trying to keep some sort of composure, and that's when Artemis's act ran out, and she started to tear up. She opened her mouth to say something, but Diana rose to her feet, and they switched places while Thalia tried to stammer out her sentence. "M-may I s-stay in-in th-the Hunters, p-please? I'll-ll do anyth-anything to earn back your respe-respect."

Diana nodded. "You may remain a Hunter."

Thalia looked up with such relief that my heart broke anew. "Th-thank you, Lady D-Diana."

"Now, you can travel back to camp alone. We'll announce the new lieutenant later today."

Thalia blanched, but rose to her feet with a bow to cover it. "V-very well."

She bowed at Artemis, who was doing her best impression of someone lounging nonchalantly on the couch, and then Thalia left.

As soon as the sound of her crying receded, Diana also sat on the couch, and both she and Artemis put their heads in their hands.

No one spoke for a moment, and I tried to search the wrapper for any crumbs without making a sound, which was a doomed effort.

"Pooll Thal-ia," I said when they both looked at me, my tongue in the wrapper, desperate for food particles.

Artemis groaned. "That was the worst thing I've ever had to do, and I've committed murder."

Emily had read the legend about that time that Artemis and Apollo killed all of a lady's kids just because she had bragged about being fertile, but I decided now wasn't the time to mention that.

"Josie really told you to come back later? " Diana asked, looking at Artemis.

Artemis scowled a bit. "Like I was asking for loose change, and not offering her the highest honor. I nearly retracted it then and there. But we have to get Emily out of the Fields. Speaking of which, I can do that now. It'll be a short trip, so why doesn't Aemilia stay here with you, and you can feed her or something? Plus, I doubt Hades will be thrilled if she throws up in his throneroom."

Diana looked over at me. "Yep, sounds good. Hey, you like grits, right?"

I would have eaten a shoe served to me on a plate, so I enthusiastivally nodded, and Diana winced a little bit. "Huh, it has been a while since you ate. Here."

A bowl of mushy looking stuff and a spoon appeared on the ground next to me, and I eagerly started digging in.

Artemis disappeared, and Diana groaned and stretched out on the couch. "What an awful, terrible situation."

My mouth was too full of the squishy grainlike substance to respond, but I didn't have to, because-

"Lookie, lookie what I found."

A man's voice that wasn't Apollo interrupted our brief downtime.

Diana leapt to her feet, but the man who I didn't recognize had either teleported to me or just moved fast or whatever, and I was pulled to my feet.

He twisted my right arm behind my back, and I was totally right about not being able to withstand much pain. I stopped struggling, but that just meant I had a lovely view of the ground, where my bowl of grits was just sitting there, practically untouched.

"Let her go, Lelantos. Now," Diana ordered, and her bow appeared in her hand, which appeared in my peripherals.

The man chuckled and twisted my arm a little more, enough for me to whimper, partly due to pain and partly because that put me within smelling-range of the grits. "Nope. You guys are wanted fugitives, and as such, your Olympian authority doesn't come into play here. So, with all due respect, put the bow away, or I'll tear this girl's arm out of its socket."

Diana's hesitation was understandable, yet hurtful. I looked up to see how she would respond, hoping that eye contact would guilt her into not being dumb.

Her bow disappeared, but not the crazy gleam in her eyes, and she was tensed, as if she were ready to bolt.

Lelantos tightened his grip on my wrist. "Don't even think about it, Diana. If you flee, Justicia will tear her apart. You know she will. Just relax, they'll be here in a second."

Diana scowled, but her shoulders dropped, and Lelantos loosened his grip a tad.

"Whew. Thought it was going to get ugly for a second."

Diana crossed her arms. "How did you find us?"

"That girl, uh, the daughter of Zeus. What's her name again?"

Diana's lip started twitching. "Thalia."

Lelantos snapped his free hand. 'That's the one. I've been tracking her. I figured you'd want to meet up with Artemis, and the girl would meet up with her boss. I've been trying to track her down for a few hours now, but she was too careful. Until five minutes ago, when she walked out of here all sparky and sad."

Diana groaned.

Then, Justicia and her goons appeared, and this cave started to get pretty cramped.

"Good work, Lelantos," Justicia complimented him with a smile, then she turned her icy gaze and probably room-temperature sword on me. "You little-"

Well, just picture like thirty asterisks put in groups of fours and fives and you'll get the gist of Justicia's rant.

Eventually, Diana cut her off. "Hey, watch it, minor goddess."

Justicia spun around to face her. "With all due respect, you can feel free to stop talking and cooperate, or I'll start hurting your daughter in front of you."

Diana opened her mouth, and then she closed it. So, she did know when to pick her battles, or which seemed to exclusively be when she had a sword literally at her, well, my throat.

Justicia eyed her suspiciously, but lowered the sword a smidge. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Okay, jailbirds, you made this a lot harder on yourself than it needed to be. Both of you will be subjected to a month of-"

Artemis and Emily appeared in the middle of the cave (or, well, in the only open space, this was not a large room), both looking rather ragged.

"You have to be kidding- oh. Hey, Justicia. You probably weren't invited."

Emily looked around warily and then collapsed to her knees.

I honestly couldn't tell if it was submission, exhaustion, or fear, but none of those made me feel good.

"Artemis, I would leave before I arrest you for harboring these fugitives. Honestly, this behavior is embarrassing for a goddess in your position, and I would think about what kind of example you are setting for the mortals around you. Like your Hunters, your daughter, and whoever that girl is."

She gestured at Emily, who she apparently didn't recognize. I don't blame her (for that, I do blame Justicia for the ridiculous vendetta she has against me). Emily's hair was a lot lighter than it had been previously, due partly to the multitude of grey hairs visible in her ponytail. She was also a lot paler than our half-Mediterranean heritage would lead you to expect. And, she was shivering on the ground instead of looking people in the eye. I felt bad for her but also sort of embarrassed for myself.

"You're right," Artemis agreed, and I dealt with the pain in my shoulder to look up at her. "I would hate for anyone to think I was a sad, petty, vindictive, weak, angry goddess with more power than common sense."

The faint smile at the end gave her away.

Justicia scowled and inhaled sharply. "That's it. You're under arrest also. I'm going to teach you all manners if it takes an eternity."

She motioned for one of her guys to bind Artemis, and he approached her warily.

To practically everyone's surprise, Artemis didn't put up any part of a fight. "Just one thing. What's Diana under arrest for?"

"She is accused of murdering Emily, as you very well know," Justicia said with a sigh, carefully watching her goon tie Artemis's hands behind her back.

Artemis smiled. "Oh, you mean this Emily?" She gestured with her head at my kneeling Greek counterpart. "Look up, Emily."

Emily looked up at Justicia for a second, then completely up at the ceiling.

Artemis, Diana, and I all groaned in unison.

"Not that- Just look people in the eye. Yep, there you go. Good job."

Emily looked at me for a second, then her eyes flicked to someone else. She then started a rotation where she wasn't looking at anyone for too long, resting her eyes on the ground frequently.

Justicia walked over to her, bent down, and looked deep into Emily's eyes. "Is that her? She isn't acting anything like I expected."

"She's fine. She's just tired," Artemis put a hand on Emily's shoulder, and ignored her flinch. "Tired, but alive. So, looks like you have an apology to make."

Justicia looked from Emily to me and back. "There is a certain resemblance, damn it. Fine. Diana, you and your spawn are cleared of blame from the murder, since Hades is apparently letting his standards slip. But with regards to the prison break-"

Artemis raised an eyebrow. She began to glow, and the ropes burned right off of her, along with a flaming sword appearing in her hand.

Justicia eyed the sword for a second, and then sighed. "-that will be settled with a fine of one thousand drachmas, payable whenever."

Artemis gestured at a small wooden chest sitting innocently (or maybe maliciously, it's hard to tell with inanimate objects) by the wall. "There's two thousand in there to cover Aemilia also. Take it, and get the Hades out of here."

One of the men in black picked up the chest, and Lelantos finally let me go.

I stumbled over to Diana and started trying to move my right arm.

The other gods all disappeared quickly, leaving Artemis, Diana, Emily, and I in the room.

"That went better than expected," Diana said, nodding at Artemis. "You came just in time. Ugh, this day is forever. Can we go back to camp tomorrow? I just want to veg out."

Artemis scoffed. "Please, you did hardly anything today. And no, we have to head back tonight. I, uh, want to get this lieutenant situation worked out."

"But what's up with Emily? She doing okay, back from hell and all?" Diana asked. "And could you have her stop kneeling? It's disconcerting."

Artemis sighed. "She's handling it the best she can. And you ask her to stand. I'm trying to get her to be a person again."

"Fine. Emily, stand."

Emily leapt to her feet, still staring at the ground. I knew she had to be relieved, since our knees were terrible for kneeling.

"Not what I meant, Di. Geez, frame stuff as requests, at least! But seriously, we need to get back to camp. Hades must be getting pretty impatient. So, you take Emily and Aemilia to camp, I'll go pick up Josie," Artemis couldn't restrain her shudder of loathing at the sound of that name. "and we'll make the announcement. I hope Thalia doesn't make it back in time, it'll kill her."

Diana nodded. "Sure, sure. Let's do it."

She grabbed both of us, and we reappeared in a forest area, which I had last seen like two weeks ago before I was kidnapped and tortured in Ares's dungeon, neat.

They had rebuilt the tents, because that's not hard, and the setting sun cast a really pretty light over the campground.

"Lady Diana? It's Lady Diana! She's returned!" A hubbub greeted us as all the girls came running out of their tents and trees and stuff to surround us.

There was too much talking at once for me to follow, but Diana didn't seem to be having any problems. Emily was standing there, impassively staring at her bare feet, but I pulled her off toward some trees, just in case she was getting anxious.

"Hey, how's it going, other half?" I asked her, wondering if anyone had explained the whole "she and I are the same person" situation.

She looked at me for a second. "Very well, thank you. Is there anything you require of me?"

"Nope," I answered, rubbing my forehead. "In fact, even if I did, you wouldn't have to do it. You aren't in hell anymore, Emily. You don't have to obey people. This isn't a test you might fail. You're alive again!"

Her facial expression didn't change. "Thank you, miss, that's very kind of you to suggest."

"No, Emily, I'm saying-"

Thalia emerged from the thicket near us. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Thalia. You made good time."

Thalia nodded absently. "Do you know who she's going to choose to replace me?"

"Gather around! Announcement!" Artemis had returned, and she had Josie with her, who was wearing a gray cat cardigan, and the smuggest, grossest smile on her face.

I gestured at Josie. "Her."

"Are you serious? Another outsider? The Hunters are going to riot. And can she even hunt? She looks more like the prey," Thalia muttered all this under her breath, glaring at where Artemis and Josie were standing next to a blazing bonfire.

"Have a seat, everyone," Artemis didn't have to shout, the authority in her voice carried like crazy.

Thalia and I sat in the very back, and Emily followed us, pretty much of her own accord. Diana walked up to the front, and Artemis pulled the circlet out of one of her pockets, which prompted a sea of whispers as the girls recognized it.

"Hunters, I would like to personally apologize for my absence these past couple weeks. As you can see," Artemis gestured at herself and Diana, highlighting the fact that they were in different bodies. "there have been some changes I've had to deal with. Unfortunately, one of these changes is more permanent than the others. Effective immediately, Thalia will no longer be my lieutenant."

Thalia clenched her teeth wordlessly, but still kind of audibly.

"Instead, I have decided to bring someone in from outside of our little family. This is Josie Williams, and she is going to be the new leader of the Hunters. She will be my second-in-command, and I expect you to treat her with all of the respect you treated her predecessor. Remember, she reports to me. Josie, kneel before me."

For a split second, it looked like Josie was actually going to refuse, but she did kneel, with a huff.

Artemis gave the crown to Diana, who laid it on Josie's head, saying something in Latin that I didn't understand and that no one should expect me to, gee whiz. I watched Thalia out of the corner of my eye, and she watched this all happen unflinchingly, but her breath was noticeably shallow.

Artemis made Josie repeat some oaths, and then the deed was done.

"Now, lieutenant, is there anything you'd like to say to your new family?" Artemis asked, smiling weakly. I didn't miss how her eyes kept flitting to Thalia, but I hope Thalia did.

Josie cleared her throat. "Well, I'm new here, so I'd just like to say that I'm excited to get to know everyone, and I think us all working together will be a super fun time! Also, I know I haven't earned your respect yet, but that will come in time. Finally, I'm the most powerful demigod here, and if anyone doesn't believe me, I would like to extend an offer for them to test me."

There was a susurrus as people noticed she had just challenged pretty much anyone to a fight.

Artemis looked over Josie's head at Diana, who shrugged.

A girl from the first row stood up.

"Her name's Rachel, she's a daughter of Apollo. She's killed a bear with just some wire before, so this should be good," Thalia whispered to me, smirking at the prospect of Josie's imminent embarrassment.

Josie beamed. "Perfect! I have a challenger. Now, before we start, I would just like to demonstrate exactly it is what I do."

She snapped, and Rachel started jerking around. "Wait, what happened? I can't see! Oh, oh gods no. It's- it's here! It found me! Please, help! I forfeit! I give in! Oh, gods, please, no!"

Josie was watching Rachel have this episode with a dispassionate look on her face, and that scared the bejeezus out of me. It wasn't until Artemis put her hand on Josie's shoulder that she relented.

Rachel stopped shrieking, and she sat down, still convulsing slightly.

I looked at Thalia, whose mouth was still open in shock.

Josie then looked at all of the silent, still, sitting Hunters with a faint smile. "Okay, neat! Anyone else want to try?"

AN: Thank you whoever reviewed. It means a lot!