AN: I'm terribly sorry about the long delay, but I had an awful case of writer's block that I had to slay.

"What link?" Thalia repeated.

I looked around wildly for a way out of this situation. "Are you sure she didn't say 'minx'? That silly Artemis. She's always threatening to do wacky stuff.." I trailed off with a half chuckle that faded out weakly.

Thalia rolled her eyes and shot a burst of electricity at me.

"That was for insulting Lady Artemis. And this," she shocked me again. "is for not answering my question. Come on Emily, stop screwing with me. I haven't slept in two days and I'm tired. Just tell me what you guys were talking about and I'll leave you alone."

She really did look tired, and I honestly wanted to help her, but Artemis's words played again in my mind,

"And if you reveal our link to anyone, I'll viciously maim them and you."

As much as her eternal loyalty to Artemis bugged me, there was no way in Hades that I was going to set her up as Artemis's target practice.

I frowned, putting on my most innocent face. "I honestly don't know what you mean."

She inhaled deeply and raised her arm to aim her palm at me (like Ironman) "You have three seconds. One. Two."

I braced myself for the pain, but just as she was saying "Three", the tent flap rustled and Phoebe walked in, pausing when she noticed what Thalia was doing.

"What do you want Phoebe?" Thalia said, lowering her arm a little. "I'm kinda in the middle of something."

Phoebe frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry, but Lady Artemis wanted to see you in her tent."

Thalia nodded. "Thank you. And Emily? This isn't over." and she strolled out the door, leaving with a curious Phoebe.

"What made Thalia so mad? Heh, reminds me of the time we poured water on her as a joke. Have you ever mixed electricity and water? No? Well don't. I'm still hurting from her retribution, and that was over a year ago. Anyways, how are you? Need anything?"

I shook my head, which is a lot harder when you are strapped down to a cot. "Nah, I'm good. Oh wait, would you mind letting me actually move?"

She shook her head. "Sorry. I have orders not to untie you before Lady Artemis comes. Her orders."

I sighed. That was as much as I had expected. "Then can you tell me a little more about the Hunters then? Like, what do you guys do?"

She sat down on a nearby crate. "Well, we actually have a lot of freedom. We are required to check in here every couple of hours, but we pretty much do whatever we want, whether it be hunting, or fishing, or whatever. Sometimes Lady Artemis has to go to Olympus, but when she's here, it's amazing to see her hunt. She really seems to get into the prey's mind. And then, at nighttime, she tells us stories about the olden times. She makes shapes appear in the fire and everything!"

"Do you guys ever read, or play video games?" I asked, pretty hopelessly.

Phoebe shook her head. "Nah. I mean, we could read, if we wanted to. But there's always so much going on here that we never seem to have the time."

We sat in silence while I tried to come up with more questions, but my thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Artemis, decked out in her full huntress gear.

"Thank you Phoebe." Artemis said, clearly dismissing her.

Phoebe bowed and left.

"So, what's up, mo- my Lady?" I asked, catching myself just in time.

She snorted at my lousy cover-up, and sat on the crate Phoebe had just vacated.

"Well, I have a lieutenant who is keeping secrets from me, a new recruit who causes trouble literally everywhere she goes, and an empathy bond with a mortal who is constantly doing something stupid. How do you think I'm doing?"

Noticing that I was 66% (technically 66.6666... but whatever) of the stuff she considered wrong with her life, I thought it best to keep silent.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead with her palms.

"I honestly have no idea what to do with you." she said, shaking her head tiredly.

I shrugged. "Too bad I can't just hibernate for the next two months, huh?" I said with a chuckle.

She quickly looked up at me, excited.

"That's it! Perfect!"

"Wait wait wait. I was kidding. You can't just put me to sleep like an old dog. At least let me go live on the happy farm where no pets ever die.." I said, joking about that last part.

She smiled sarcastically. "Just think of it this way. You're grounded."

And she put her icy-cold hand on my forehead, and I sank into the deepest sleep I had ever entered.

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

"Emily."

A voice penetrated the warm, fuzzy feeling of sleep, and I struggled to stay in my happy place.

"Wake up Emily."

The voice was more insistent, and somewhere it occurred to me that I knew that voice.

"Emily! Now!"

"I don't want to eat the hermit crabs!" I muttered, trying to turn over.

For some reason I couldn't, and I opened my eyes to see a couple indistinct, blurry images.

"Good, she's awake. Leave us now. I'll call you if I need you."

There was the sound of people leaving, and I squinted, trying to focus.

My vision cleared, and I saw Artemis, staring down at me with a pleased expression on her face.

"You survived. So, how do you feel?"

I yawned, still trying to wake up. "Hungry. Can you please untie me? I feel like I haven't moved in months."

She snapped, and the ropes fell away.

"Well, you technically haven't moved in months," she said, making the ropes disappear with a wave of her hand.

I laughed. "Yeah right. That's a good one. Like you would really..." I trailed off, noticing her expression. "You did! You put me to sleep for two months! Of all the low-down, dirty rotten, skunk-filled, slug-belching, rabbit-covered, evil things, I honestly can't believe you would do that! It's a miracle I didn't die!"

I tried to stand up, and then cried out in agony when every muscle and bone in my back, neck, and legs cracked and popped.

The floor rushed up to meet me, and I couldn't move for several minutes.

Finally, I could stand and I sat down on the cot.

"Thanks for your help, by the way. And what on earth are you grinning about?" I asked, annoyed and holding my back with my ring hand.

"You don't remember what the two month hibernation was for, do you?"

I snorted. "Of course I do. It was when that stupid empathy link was ende- Oh."

The bond was over! I was free!

I turned to look at Artemis. Up until now, I had always imagined us hugging or high-fiving at this point. Now, I wasn't so sure. Her smile was 100% evil, with a dash of cruelty thrown in there (for flavor).

It was one of those "Let's try out my new taxidermy kit... ON YOU (boy, I'll never make that mistake again)" kinds of smiles, and those have never gone well for me.

"So, we made it through, huh? I think we should celebrate. Cake?" I suggested, trying to stand.

My knees were still too messed up, and I collapsed back down immediately.

Artemis, however, stood and walked over to me. Her silence was kinda freaking me out, so it was almost a relief when she said,

"What exactly was that stunt of mine? I believed you called it, and I quote, 'low-down, dirty rotten, skunk-filled, slug-belching, rabbit-covered, and evil'. (my short-lived relief dissolved at this point) Now, those words have exactly none of the respect a goddess like me deserves. So, I'll give you two options. A: Undergo so much pain and misery that you are begging for death, or B: Beg and plead for mercy, and swear on the River Styx that you will never disturb me again, and go free. Your choice. Option B would save you a lot of pain, so you might want to consider that your smartest option."

She stood there with her arms crossed, waiting, and I could tell she didn't really care which one I chose. She just wanted it to begin.

Now, which should I choose? One option involves unnecessary pain and agony, while the other involves hurting my pride a little (okay, a lot) but getting much, much better results in the long run.

Being the intelligent person that I am, I naturally did the obvious thing.

I got to my feet, bowed low, and charged at Artemis's knee-caps.

Needless to say, I lost that battle, and the next several hours were filled with the most pain imaginable.

By the time she left the tent, covered in my blood, I was bruised on approximately every part of my body. I had a broken nose and a split lip, at least one cracked rib, and I'm pretty sure I was paralyzed from the waist down.

My ring (which I had somehow managed to not lose) must have had magical properties, because the pain in my right hand was slightly dulled, but overall it wasn't very effective.

My vision started to fade to black, and I tried to muster the strength to pull myself onto the bed, but, alas, I could not.

So I spend my first day as my own person again slumped on the floor, trying not to scream in agony.

-/-/-/-/

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods. Thalia, I need some ambrosia and nectar, asap. I can't believe she lived through this!" I heard Phoebe's voice say. My eyelids were swollen shut though, so I couldn't be sure that it was her. "Emily, can you hear me? If you can, try to move your hand or something."

It required all of my energy, but I managed to twitch my arm just enough to get Phoebe's attention.

"She's alive! Thank goodness! Emily, hold on tight. Thalia is on her way with the ambrosia and nectar. You are going to be all right."

I snorted at that, and promptly almost vomited from the sheer agony of all my combined injuries.

Apparently, Thalia had gotten back, an before I knew it, a warm, delicious liquid was pouring down my throat. Most of my pain went away, and my eyes even de-swelled enough for me to see.

Phoebe was tearing a weird golden brownie thing into small pieces, while Thalia was pacing nervously next to the bed. She saw that I was awake, and se knelt next to Phoebe, who started shoving the small pieces into my mouth.

"An empathy bond? It all makes sense now! That's why she flinched when I shocked you! I thought she just didn't want to see you get hurt. Man was I wrong. I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine." I breathed wishing I could say more.

The feeling (utter torment) was returning to my legs, and it occurred to me that this would have been the second time I would have been paralyzed. Luckily for me, I have a great Olympian mother who always looks out for me... Oh wait...

"Can you speak?" Phoebe asked when all the ambrosia was gone.

I swallowed, winced, and said "Thank you. Are you" *cough cough cry out in agony* "a daughter of Apollo?"

She nodded. "Yep. Luckily for you, eh? Man, I can't believe Artemis would do this. This isn't like her at all!"

I rolled my eyes at her, pleased that I could do this one thing without anguish.

Phoebe frowned sympathetically at me.

She sat on the crate and I involuntarily flinched, remembering the last occupant.

"What happens now?" I asked, trying to sit up and collapsing with a squeal.

"Well, if you still want to join the Hunters, don't know why you would though, you need to see Lady Artemis to get your first task."

My stomach lurched at the thought of seeing her. "Are there any other way to get the job without coming into contact with her?"

Thalia shook her head. "Think positively though. After your task, you only have a little archery contest and a mock-swordfight until you are in. And I'm sure she's willing to postpone your trials for a later time if you ask for it."

"I doubt it. Okay, let's go. Can you guys..." I trailed off awkwardly, but Phoebe and Thalia got the message. They helped me up and together, I managed to hobble out the door.

The sky was dark, and my breath nearly froze in my nostrils. I hadn't noticed before, but Thalia and Phoebe were decked out in many, many layers. Stupid Canadian Winter.

My weather protecting kicked in a couple seconds later, so I didn't have to endure the agony of freezing burns and cuts for very long.

The wind was blowing a lot of snow around, and I didn't see any Hunters out and about, which saved me a lot of curious glances.

We reached Artemis's tent, and they stopped, so I went in alone.

The tent was nice and warm, and I noticed a large white wolf laying its massive head across Artemis's lap. It growled at me as I came in, and I recognized it as the wolf who chased me up the tree.

"Lady Artemis." I said, bowing my head.

"Ah. You lived. I knew I had enough control. But why are you invading my presense? If it's another fool-hardy attack," I mentally saw myself ram into her again, and promptly cursed my past-self. "then go ahead."

"I would like to know what my first task is, my liege." I said, looking at the ground instead of her.

She leapt to her feet and I flinched, but didn't flee like all my instincts were screaming to do.

"You aren't giving up on joining the Hunters? Why the Hades not?" she roared, clearly upset. "If it because you think you have friends, I'll crush that illusion in a heartbeat."

"I wish to become a maiden of the Hunt."

"No, you don't. Run away. Run away and never come back, or I'll turn you into a flea and crush you."

My legs moved a bit, but I fought it with every ounce of my dwindling willpower. "No my Lady. I will not retreat."

She looked at me sadly. "You should have. Life would have been so much easier for you. But if you insist, I have your first task. Follow me."

She stood up and walked outside. It was almost peaceful, with little wisps of snow blowing around us.

Until Artemis pulled out her bow.

Keep in mind that this was the same bow that sent arrows through my leg and my shoulder.

Ignoring my wince if past-pain, she aimed her bow at the top of the largest tree around, and shot a golden arrow that I saw for a brief second. It looked like it was made of real gold, and I wondered if Apollo gave it to her.

It disappeared into the pine tree's needles.

"Go get it." she said, walking back in her tent.

I was still standing with my mouth open in awe of the gargantuan monster that the tree was. There was no doubt in my mind that if I climbed to the top, I could see straight into Olympus.

When Artemis retreated into the warm safety of her tent, I started walking towards the tree, muttering a quick "Please, oh please, don't let me fall".

I reached the base, and, not seeing any other option, began to climb.

The climb was easy at first, but soon my numerous injuries slowed me down to a ridiculous pace.

The snow didn't stop, and it got harder and harder to see where the next branches were.

Now, everyone always tell you not to look down. If you are smart, you will listen to them. Otherwise you may look down, see the dizzying distance between you and the ground, and promptly have a panic attack.

After I finished hyperventilating, I continued climbing, thinking of happier things to distract myself.

The only Psych episode that I found the pineapple. Getting lost on a car trip with my dad and ending up in Missouri. The prank Ward and I played on the Ares Cabin.

Those warm and fuzzy thoughts distracted me from my pain long enough for me to reach the top.

The arrow was about 3 inches into the tree, so it took a lot of tugging and wiggling to get it out, but eventually I could hold the thing in my hand.

Looking around, I felt more at peace than I had ever felt before. Sure, the second I touched the ground, all of life's troubles would hit me like a semi-truck. But right now, up in this tree, it felt like nothing could hurt me.

Until the branch I was standing on broke, and sent me through two rows of branches before my arms caught on a thick branch. The arrow was still in my hand, so I put it in my mouth so I could use both hands

Looking down, I felt the insane urge to jump, to be weightless in the air, if only for a brief instant.

Realizing that jumping would most certainly result in my death, I started climbing down instead, focusing completely on my footing.

After a couple more slips and more than a couple bouts of swearing (which is still bad, kiddies), I reached the bottom of the tree. I jumped the last foot or so, stumbled into Artemis's tent, threw the arrow at her, and stumbled back to my tent, more than half asleep.

-/-/-/-/-

The next morning, I awoke to a ravenous hunger, one that the world has never seen the likes of which before (Okay fine. I haven't seen the likes of which before).

There was a large platter of grilled meat and vegetables, and I tore into it like my dad at Thanksgiving.

When I was so full that I could barely sigh happily, I remembered that I still had two more tasks.

Walking outside, I noticed that the day was a lot clearer, and the Hunters were out and about.

As I passed, I attracted a bunch of looks, and not all of them seemed hostile. In fact, from the brief snatches of conversation I overheard, amazement seemed to be the feeling running rampant through the camp.

Instantly, my demeanor changed from a tired, hurt little girl to a swaggering, brave hero off to her next adventure.

And it instantly changed back when I entered Artemis's tent and saw her angry look.

I bowed quickly, wishing I could revert back to former swaggering status.

She flicked her fingers and pain ripped through me, cutting off all other emotion.

I thought it would continue for a long time, but she stopped after only a few seconds.

"That was for throwing the arrow at me like I was a dog. Sit down," she said, gesturing to a chair as she sat in a replica of her large, silver throne on Olympus.

I sat, still wincing from her little crucio, and waited.

"How the deviled egg did you do that so quickly? You weren't gone for more than two hours! Who did you call in? Apollo? Hermes?"

"No one!" I exclaimed defensively. "I climbed that pronking tree all on my own!"

She snapped, and ropes sprang up from the chair and wrapped around me.

My breathing turned erratic, and my hands started shaking.

She walked over to me and laid her hand on my forehead.

My entire climb went through my head, and I refelt the pain of all of my injuries, (which had healed up nicely overnight.)

Artemis left my memory, wincing slightly. "Wow. You actually did it."

"Be careful there, Artemis. That almost sounded like a compliment." I said sarcastically. "Perish the thought."

She scowled. "Don't sass me. Now, your next task is to get 200 bull's-eyes, in a row. Follow me."

She led me to a target, and summoned my old bow, which I thought I had lost. Also, she handed me a quiver, and then stood back.

I nocked an arrow, and aimed carefully. Perfect bull's-eye. Same thing with the next 198 shots.

My aiming became so steady that I didn't even have to look to see if I made it, and the time I spent shooting became a blur.

About an hour, and one extremely sore arm later, I was at arrow number 200.

I took a deep breath, aimed, released, and watched in disbelief as my arrow changed direction in mid-air and flew drastically to the left.

"Darn. Better try again." Artemis said, without an ounce of care in her voice.

I turned to face her. "You did that. I saw your hand move."

She shrugged. "So what? I'm an Olympian and you are a puny little half-blood. Why shouldn't I cheat? Unless," her eyes darkened dangerously. "you want to argue the subject?"

I gritted my teeth and turned back to the target, formulating a plan in my mind.

Artemis sat down on a nearby log again, whistling a merry tune.

Again, I got to 199. Then, I lurched over, gasping for air.

"Help me," I panted, clutching at my chest. Artemis leapt to her feet and ran over towards me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, crouching down next to me.

"Can't...breathe. Get.. Phoebe..." I panted out, feeling my eyelids sink down.

Her eyes widened (probably at the thought of Zeus blaming her for this) and she rushed off, yelling for Phoebe.

Smiling, I jumped to my feet, aimed carefully, and hit the bull's-eye, just as Phoebe and Artemis appeared.

I smiled at them. "200."

At first, Artemis's shocked face was worth all the pain of the last few days.

And then she started blurring around the edges, approximately 1000 times as mad as she had been when I was kicked out of camp (but that's just a rough estimate.)

I immediately closed my eyes, and nit a second later a blast threw me into a tree.

I heard Phoebe yell, "Lady Artemis! No!"

And then I heard a more sinister voice (Artemis's) spit something in furious Greek that sounded like "Burn in Hades."

And I fell into the pit of black nothingness.

AN2: I would like to thank you all for sticking to my story, it really meant a lot. All those reviews really made my story what it is, and I can't thank you enough. Wait, you think this is the end? Heck no! In slight seriousness, I'm sorry for this chapter's quality. It was shockingly hard to write, but I have no idea why. Anyway, review if you have any questions, comments, or concerns (except for my mental stability. That's long gone.) Thanks, and gods bless. PS: 195.