Moon Chariot | Somewhere Over Missouri

The night air was crisp and fresh, stars twinkled around her filling the dark night with light. Unlike her brother, she liked to keep her chariot in its authentic Greek form, occasionally switching it to a sleigh when transporting her hunters. She sat on the floor of the chariot, facing backwards with her legs dangling over the edge. It was so peaceful that, just for a moment, she forgot her troubles. Eyes closed as a wave of calm encompassed her. It didn't last for long though. Opening her eyes, they instantly trained back onto the constellation of the huntress. She didn't quite remember how it got there, which was unusual. She was a goddess of night. This was, partly anyway, her domain. She should know everything about it, just as she knew the forests. Her heart clenched and ached in a familiar way, she was used to this feeling now, it happened every time she saw the constellation. Every time her head pounded. Every time she thought of the name Zoë. It was infuriating.

Closing her eyes once more, she took a deep breath, just as the familiar sharp pain flooded her mind.

She was in her moon chariot, a smile on her face as she watched the girl in front of her. The girl was facing the other way, looking out amongst the stars. Her body leaning half out over the side of the chariot as if she could reach out and touch the little balls of light.

"They are even more beautiful up close." She breathed in awe as she stepped back from the edge, head tilting up to look at the sky as a whole.

"Not as beautiful as you my love" the goddess replied. Stepping forward she wrapped her arms around the girl's waist from behind, coming around an inch shorter than the other girl in her 18-year-old form. The taller girl hummed, leaning back into the embrace as her hands held onto the arms around her waist.

"You are a charmer Artemis. Just like your father and brother" She chuckled.

"Please. I am far more charming than they are" the goddess scoffed, earning herself another chuckle from the girl in front. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Do you think we will ever end up like my father and Hera? Loathing to be in each other's company."

"No, I don't think we will. We have had our disagreements, but we will endure. That is the most important thing. We must weather the storms together, so they may never take us away from each other." The girl answered, hands squeezing the arms circling her.

"I don't believe there could ever be a storm big enough to take me from you dear. I am ever yours." Artemis whispered, lips brushing the girl's ear.

"And I yours."

Desperately, the goddess tried to cling onto the fleeting vision, but alas, it was no use. The images dissipated from her mind as fast as they had come. All she was left with was an emptiness in her chest and a lone tear escaping her eye. Zoë. Zoë, Zoë, Zoë. That's all she had. A name, a feeling and nothing else.

The feeling of calm she had been enjoying had faded. Sighing, she stood from where she was seated and turned to face forward. Looking to the sky she could see the beginnings of light coming from the horizon, her brother. Gripping the reigns, she urged her stags on in her native Greek and became a silver blur to any who could see her. Wind whipped her loose hair behind her face as she sped into the fading night.

Hall of the Gods | Mount Olympus

Entering the hall always gave her a feeling of unease. She didn't know if it was because of her titan status, or the lingering tension between herself and the queen of the gods, but either way it caused her to avoid the place as much as possible. Today though, she had no choice. A meeting had been called between Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Hades and Hera and she was needed for her information. Carefully she lifted the hood from her head as she walked toward the gathered gods.

Hera eyed her with distrust, she still felt slightly guilty about the whole debacle with Leto's pregnancy. It was early on in her relationship with Zeus. She already felt threatened by the titaness' beauty and when she learned she was pregnant with twins, something Hera herself had not been able to give him, it filled her with rage. Seeing him so excited about his divine twins, already calling them his Sun and Moon, it just fueled her vengeance and she lashed out at the only person she could. Still, she would never admit these feelings. She was a queen and had a reputation to uphold. She couldn't be seen groveling at the feet of a titaness.

"Lady Leto, thank you for joining us" Athena said as she noticed the titaness. Even though she was technically of a higher station than the titan, she had always been polite toward the woman.

"It is my pleasure Lady Athena" She replied, smiling at the goddess. Poseidon and Hades both inclined their heads towards her in way of greeting, Hades giving her a small smile at the same time.

"Leto, what news do you bring from Mount Othrys?" Zeus questioned. Sat upon his throne, he remained higher than his family who were gathered round the base. It reminded her of Kronos, having been there during the height of his rule acting as babysitter for the many titan's offspring she saw a lot of him, and with that how much Zeus was turning into him. Gritting her teeth, she looked toward the king of the gods.

When she found out what he had done to her daughter, she wasted no time in marching up to the throne he was so fond of and telling him what for. She never once raised her voice, but he still squirmed in his seat. A talent she had picked up from her father. It didn't last long until Zeus' own temper sprouted, and he reminded her of her station and how he knew best as Artemis' father and king amongst gods. Still, it was only when he threatened her for speaking out of place did, she relent. Being with the Titans allowed her to keep an eye on Zoë, make sure they were treating her fairly. It was what her daughter would have wanted.

It did make doing business with him extremely hard however, and right now it took everything in her to control her temper.

"The titans still have hold of the souls they have taken. More and more of them are defecting to their side, desperate to escape the unrelenting torture. Lelantos is still holding the sky, albeit feebly. Atlas is still acting as though he is in charge, though my father and Krios seem to be the real brains behind the operation. There is no sign of Kronos though, it is as if they have given up on him entirely." She explained.

"I never thought Koios would turn his back on any of his brothers, he always prided family above all else." Hades commented, brows furrowed in concern.

"Yes well, I'm sure a few millennia in Tartarus and a few failed escape attempts led by father would be enough to make anyone give up on their brother" Poseidon added.

"Unless he is part of a greater plan, one we haven't thought of yet." Athena added.

"What of Oceanus and Hyperion. What is their role in this?" Hera questioned.

Leto turned to finally look at the queen. She had forgiven the queen for what she did to her a long time ago, what she hadn't forgiven was the disdain she had for her children. Say what you like about her and Zeus, her children should not be punished for simply being born. Still, it made for a confusing relationship with the woman, luckily their meetings were generally few and far between. "I have seen them meeting with Krios and my father, but they are not around as much as the others. They seem…reluctant. As if they don't trust that this will work."

"I suppose that is fair, Koios and Krios have never led a rebellion like this before. Even with the help of Atlas, they are untested. If Kronos himself could not even defeat us, then the others would be fools to put their faith in them." Zeus proclaimed. Leto couldn't help but hear exactly what Zeus meant by that. Comparing himself to Kronos and his brothers to Krios and her father, everything he said had a double meaning. "Still, this does mean the threat isn't as great as we thought. With no Kronos and the remaining brothers divided we have an advantage, and that is without mentioning how Iapetus is still otherwise indisposed in the underworld now."

"Not that Iapetus was ever much of a threat. I am still unsure how he sired Atlas. It is like a lamb giving birth to a wolf" Poseidon chuckled.

"We should not underestimate them. They may not have Kronos but what they do have is enough. Do not be too confident." Leto snapped.

"Feeling sentimental Leto? I would not be trying to defend them if I were you." Zeus growled as his hand tightened on the arm of his throne.

"I was there at the height of the titanomachy. I saw what they were capable of. Even Iapetus. I am merely stating you should not be arrogant." The titaness replied, anger growing.

"I defeated my father and all of his brothers or do you not remember this Leto! I saved my brothers and sisters, led a rebellion, freed you and the other titanesses from their clutches! I did all of this- "

"Zeus, enough" Hera snapped. Turning to scowl at her husband as he clamped his mouth shut, glowering at his wife. "We do not need a rendition of how you single handedly destroyed the titans, nor would many remember it the way you do." She turned back to Leto, eyes still cold. "I believe it is time for you to go. Thank you for the information, we will be in touch."

Leaving no room for negotiation, Leto turned on her heel and marched out of the hall.

Leaving the gods to their bickering.

The big house | Camp Half Blood

It seemed like it had been forever since he had a break. In reality, he'd had a break that morning. But training children was hard, he could see why Dionysus complained about it so much. Just as he closed his eyes, sunglasses on his face and headphones in his ears, something hit him over his head. Taken aback, his chair fell backwards from where it was balancing on two legs and went tumbling to the floor. Had his reflexes been any slower he too would have been on the floor, instead he turned to face his attacker pulling the headphones out of his ears before realizing who it was.

"Mother? What was that for?" He exclaimed as he saw his mother standing behind his, now fallen, chair. Her arms crossed and eyebrow cocked, he saw where Artemis got her disapproving glare from.

"How many times have I told you to be aware of your surroundings? Anyone could sneak up on you. You should be more like your sister." She nagged, always nagging. Mothers are the same no matter their divinity it would seem.

"It's great to see you too mother" He sighed. Her face softened as she reached out to fix his hair, hand trailing down his cheek as she cupped the side of his face. He was about a head taller than her in his 18-year-old form. Both her children surpassed her in height, but Artemis usually stayed in her 12-year-old form, helping the titaness feel like she still had one baby. That hadn't been for a long while now though she mused.

"I am sorry my son. Forgive my temper" she said softly. Smiling Apollo took the hand on his face in his and kissed her knuckles.

"There is nothing to forgive. What are you doing here though? Shouldn't you be at Mount Othrys?" He stated. Distaste flashed across his face as he let go of his mother's hand. He wasn't happy about the job his father had assigned her, constantly reminding her how dangerous it was.

"I had to report to Olympus, update them on what I had found" She explained.

"How is Zoë faring? Did you tell her about Arty?" He questioned, distaste being replaced with concern for both his sister and her lover.

"Yes, I did. There was no point in not telling her, she would find out sooner or later and it is better coming from me." She replied, hands clasping together as she started to pace.

"You still think we should tell Arty don't you" he said, hand coming to rub the back of his neck.

"Of course, I do, I do not feel comfortable keeping things from my own daughter" She exclaimed.

"You know we can't mother. If she found out that we had done nothing to stop it, that we had then lied to her. It would break her. She's already so fragile."

"I know, but it will just be so much worse when she does find out. We can't keep them apart forever. Leaving Zoë for the titans is not an option." She retorted. She knew they had to wait for the right time to tell her daughter. It could push her over the edge and with how unstable everything was now she did not want to risk Zeus solving the matter more permanently.

"I'm not saying we should, I just need more time. She has gone hunting by herself in San Jose, I will pay her a visit when she gets to Chicago and explain it all then. Athena said she will help me. We just need to think of a plan, so father doesn't find out" He explained. She sighed, it wasn't perfect, but it will have to do.

"I trust you my son, you have always looked out for your sister. I just hope you and Athena know what you are doing." She pulled the hood up over her head. "I need to go back to Mount Othrys before they notice my absence. Good luck Apollo." She reached up to kiss him on the cheek before disappearing back to Mount Othrys.

Just as he had finished picking up the chair he was sitting on, he heard a smash from outside followed by footsteps running toward him.

"Father! Ali broke another window; you have to help us fix it before Mr. D finds out!" His son ran in shouting. Groaning he shoved his headphones and iPod in his pocket as he followed his son out to see what his daughter had done. So much for a break.