Chapter 20: How You Doing?

Maybe the goddess was just being foolish.

Nico sighed for the hundredth time as Artemis drove them (the quest of four) to the road leading to Minnesota—were gods even allowed to do that on quests?—and it was getting... annoying, to say the least, by the second.

Thalia—or a seemingly weird version of her, he reckoned—had been rattling on and on about what they might face either on the way there or at the place itself. When did she ever become such a worry wart? Mercifully, the new kids Arc and Angel seemed to be content in keeping to themselves—though he was thankful that they were cooperating in the peace and quiet, he was suspicious.

One of them might be his first crush's son—not that he had a second—and that fact wasn't helping. Not to mention the other who bore the surname and could very well be the relative of a deceased hunter; oh, and had he mentioned that little adjective deceased?

And it wasn't just their names. Strangely enough, Artemis had chosen them to fulfill the dangerous-sounding prophecy. It was very uncommon for newcomers to be chosen in a quest (unless they were chosen by the Oracle herself), much less a perilous one. Especially when the leader was a man-hating maiden sworn to a hunting goddess, or the aforementioned goddess herself, undoubtedly chose a male to take part in the quest.

Glancing outside the window, he caught sight of the sun rapidly rising from the horizon, temporarily tainting the sky red. It made him wonder if Apollo could see everything underneath since he was always around patrolling the globe. A thought struck him, something that could be essential to the quest. He pondered about saying it aloud, but decided to keep it to himself at the moment.

Sighing again, he slumped back against his seat and glanced at the two new kids again, only including his cousin from the corner of his eye when he'd seen her. He felt like he had to keep an eye out on all of them, since something unwanted could happen if he let his guard down.. Though Arc and Angel weren't doing anything eye-catching, Thalia sure was, in spite of the fact that she was even older than him. What in the world was wrong with them?

Nico studied them one by one, and of course he went for the obvious first choice. The boy had dark greyish hair, almost like black, and his features, his posture, all seemed too familiar, yet not at the same time. It was mildly confusing. His eyes though, were probably the most recognizable thing about him: it was simply a combination of four colors, mixed so beautifully you'd think they were just one thing. If looked closely, seen might be silver, black, red, and green. Sea green.

No, he thought. It should mean nothing. What's all those other colors for, then, if they also stood out with this green? So, stating that his eyes had silver, he was a son of Artemis? If it had red, it was of Ares? That just didn't do.

The same thing went for the girl. She was quite harder to understand than her companion. If he had been a normal demigod, he would have been intimidated by her serious look, plus that midnight black hair that seemed to suck all the light around it. Contrary to that, she seemed like a nice person. Her eyes were onyx, just like his, and she'd changed from the gold dress to a white silk blouse, jeans and a brown jacket (where'd those come from, anyway? He didn't see them carrying anything else when they arrived.)

What's odd, though, was that she looked like she also found Thalia suspicious. Like she thought she wasn't supposed to be there.

His eyes glanced around for the said girl. The daughter of Zeus was on the passenger seat, beside her mistress who was driving, while the three of them were at the back. She was a bit noisier than he remembered. Probably because she was nervous about the quest. Then again, even though he hadn't gotten on a quest with her before (not that he ever had an actual quest,) he knew enough that she was a tough girl.

This looked like the opposite. It was as if she was nervous about everything. She was almost as bad as Grover now.

"Ugh." Artemis scowled as the van came to a stop in the middle of the road. Luckily, they were still at the countryside so the roads were almost empty, save for a few cars who were out to buy from the city or something. Unluckily though, they were still far from their destination when the van dropped. "I should've known."

They got out of the van, slamming the doors. Angel kicked the side of the van, and he was surprised to see it nearly falling over. "Stupid camp truck."

The goddess of the hunt sighed. "We will have to continue by foot."

"By foot?! Are you crazy?"

Silver eyes flashed dangerously. "Watch your mouth, girl."

"And why should I follow you? They chose Arc as the leader, you prepubescent bi—"

Arc elbowed her in the gut, and she went silent. Nico marveled quietly at how quickly he pacified the raging girl. Arc turned to the goddess, whose jaw was clenched, obviously making an effort not to smite the girl. "I'm sorry for her rudeness, Lady Artemis," he apologized for his companion. "She can't quite control herself at times."

The goddess was mildly surprised at how they had the opposite attitude than she probably expected. And then her façade came back. "Quite alright."

"I suggest though, to keep everyone happy, that maybe, we take some other sort of method of transportation?"

She nodded thoughtfully, as if it only came to her. "Yes.. Perhaps.."

She snapped her fingers, and there was a bright flash. Nico had to look away. It was like a god doing their teleporting-whatchamacallit. When the light faded, he looked back and blinked.

There was a silver RV camper van, like the types with tables and beds. It looked ready for a five-mile hike without wheels. She marched in, beckoning them to follow.

"What is this?" Thalia asked as she got into the front seat again.

"My chariot." The son of Hades blinked again, this time in realization. Of course. If Apollo had his ancient sun chariot turn into a Maserati Spyder (which was already outdated by the way, but for some reason he wasn't changing the model), wouldn't Artemis' have the same properties?

"How quick is this?" Nico asked as he slammed the door close.

"It would get us there in no time," was her reply.

"Please tell me that's not some cliché."

"So... who are we hunting again?"

"For the last time, we are looking for Annabeth. Possibly someone else, but she's my first priority," Artemis answered, exasperated, as they entered and stopped by at a little town to eat lunch. Ironically enough, it was called Moon.

"You have a strange sense of humor, lady," Angel had said while looking at her in all seriousness, before stepping out of the van to buy them lunch.

Personally, she didn't think that the girl would be this rude. She'd expected worse from the boy. Well, Percy was the one who raised him, so it was only natural for him to act polite. Then again, it occurred to her. Percy was never polite to gods, or at least he looked like it, since apparently all he thought about them was something nasty and try as he may not, his ADHD forced him to say it.

Eh. She shrugged internally. Of course Percy won't teach something like that to his son. She then frowned as a thought occurred to her. If she was the boy's father's girlfriend, what was she to the boy? A mother-figure? Were the Fates merely preparing her for motherly duty?

The thought made her radiate heat from her cheeks. Unconsciously, she felt her stomach, feeling quite stupid while doing so. They didn't do the act. Percy, the most idiotic, loving boy she had ever met (not that there were many), had told her that she could keep her oath and he would still love her forever, his most exact words. But from Athena, she'd heard of a way very much like hers.

Artemis had thought about parthenogenesis.

If you will it to happen, then it will happen, Athena had told her, taking the quote from somewhere and improvising it a bit. Just add love, Aphrodite would say. Find warmth in someone's heart, Hestia had advised with a comforting smile. Was that what happened?

She leaned back on her chair and glanced at the back of the van, where he and the other boy Nico were trying to spark a conversation, but failing miserably. It almost made her smile. Almost. Arc was just as awkward as Percy.

Thalia let out a sigh and squirmed in her seat, making the goddess look at her. "Why don't we take a rest first?"

The moon goddess raised an eyebrow. "Why? All we did—or, you did—was sit down, perhaps sleep. I did all the driving," she retorted, crossing her arms. "Besides, we haven't had a monster encounter yet, which of course is a good thing."

The daughter of Zeus unfastened her seatbelt and reclined the chair. "But you would need rest, my lady. Even goddesses need those... right?"

The mistress sighed. "I guess so.."

"What a bunch of losers," Angel spat in disgust, stepping up the van, carrying two small plastic bags. "They didn't even give me a straw."

Artemis frowned. "We can manage without straws. It's plastic."

"Yeah, so?" The girl groaned. "I miss being a black hole."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, Lady Artemis," Arc answered for her, being annoyingly polite as usual. "She says she just realized that you could still sip loudly from the rim."

The boy Nico snorted, standing up. "I've had enough of McDonald's. If you would allow me, Lady Artemis," he started softly, per usual, bowing. "I'd like to get something decent to eat."

"Hey!" Angel called out with a mouthful, chicken and potato bits flying everywhere. "Aren't my nuggets decent?"

"For the dead, in my opinion." In an unspoken agreement, he and Arc went out in search for a café or a restaurant, leaving them three girls inside the van.

The silence was something uncomfortable as the newcomer girl continued to eat the nuggets without even sparing a look at them. After a few unbearable minutes, someone finally spoke. "Good thing I just bought two boxes of these."

"Huh?" Thalia looked back at her, confused.

Angel glanced up from her chicken and smiled mischievously. "I bought these only for the two of us. Mine and Arc's."

The daughter of Zeus scowled, insulted, and followed the boys out in the search of food. There were just two of them now.

Artemis was tempted to stand up and go with the demigods than deal with this rude teenager, but figured that it would be ungodly of her to leave a demigod alone, in a quest, with the possibility of being leapt on by monsters that could just be on the other side of the steel wall of the RV. So she stayed.

The girl continued eating her food, finishing the first box of chicken nuggets. She was about to dig in the second—when she surprised her by handing it to her. The goddess gave her a questioning look.

The girl smiled devilishly. "I was lying, you see. These are for you and me." She handed her the other cup of coke. "I was originally going to send them away by telling them I only bought for you, but thankfully I didn't need to hurt their little feelings too much."

Artemis was confused by her sudden change of heart, but of course she didn't let it show. She must've been planning something for her to set up like this. The thought raised her guard, and little could be seen of it when her shoulders gave the slightest twitch.

But Angel noticed it. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not a traitor." She snorted, and the goddess relaxed a bit. She was straightforward. Definitely, she wasn't a traitor. "Unlike that Thalia... hmph."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Sorry for the things I said back then, by the way. I had to do it so he would... uh yeah, sorry." She noticed her stumble on the latter part. "I just have to tell you something now that no one's here." The girl looked around cautiously for any eavesdroppers, and crept forward to the seat behind the driver's seat. "You know Arc, don't you?"

The question surprised her like a zap. "Arc?"

"Yeah. You look at him like you've seen him before—which is impossible, by the way; though I think someone's contacting you from Khaos."

Artemis straightened in her seat in alarm when she heard shouting nearby. It sounded like her quartet minus one. "They're in trouble."

The goddess turned back, but only saw her wink as she disappeared out of the van, dashing towards their companions. She sighed and got out, summoning her bow. That Angel Nightshade had more to her than the moon goddess thought.

To make it short, she wasn't told of the plan before it started.

'Thalia' (emphasis on the double quotes) (there might be someone watching!) couldn't risk making a mistake, but it wasn't her fault, was it? It could've been easier if they just told her, right? She wouldn't be there, being thanked and worshipped (not really), if they had just told. Now she looked like a double agent.

Okay. Back-up. Perhaps a little background of what happened.

She was almost celebrating when Artemis suggested that they walk. She'd have more time to think up something foolproof then, and luckily have excess to do it way before they reach Minnesota. But the new girl Angel apparently liked to boss around and demanded that they can't, and so Artemis was forced to conjure a van, which happened to be her chariot, which travels the world in one night, so it'd have to be fast, right?

Yes. There goes her time. The good thing about that is, Artemis was still a goddess, and assisting them directly (she was pretty sure the van was already that kind of assistance, but she wasn't telling that) was forbidden by the Ancient Laws. So they'd have to travel in mortal time, and that's why after half the day they were only at Pennsylvania. And they just stopped for lunch.

Well, at least, she thought that they stopped. Artemis didn't seem to have the intention to stop and rest even though they've traveled for seven hours straight. (She was a goddess, so why the heck not?)

It was a bonus, though, that Angel seemed to have an irrational dislike to Artemis. And that Nico only bought McDonald's for the dead and not himself, and quite apparently had long been fed up with it. And that the boy Arc (who bore the surname Jackson, of all names) accompanied him. And that Angel gave her a reason to leave them two alone.

She knew the chances of them killing each other were minimal, since they were on a quest and Artemis was a goddess, but one can hope, right?

When she caught up to the two boys, they were arguing about which restaurant to go into: Spanish or Italian. She'd butted in and said, why bother? And headed straight to a Greek restaurant because that was the only one in sight, because honestly, she was pretty sure the boys just started arguing out of nowhere.

Right. Boys were boys. Perhaps Artemis was rubbing off her.

Okay, so basically, this was what happened after she led them into a Greek restaurant. It turned out to be a good thing that she led them there, but it was a bad thing that she was there.

Apparently, the restaurant was hijacked and became somewhat of a camp. Pandemonium broke out once Nico realized that there was something off about the staff, and being there, of course they'd expect her to help. She'd been surprised but helped anyways, deciding that not would get her cover blown.

They'd finished the job, with her feeling slightly guilty and stupid. What use was a blown cover if the ones who'd known was dead, anyway? She felt like banging her head across the dashboard.

Which would bring them to where they were now. Artemis and Angel had heard the shouts from the restaurant, but when they'd gotten there, everything was reduced to smoke and silver dust. Which made her feel even worse. She would've gotten away before they arrived, and the good thing about that is they'd think Thalia was a traitor too.

The bad thing? She found out they hadn't killed each other.

Okay. Back to the present again.

After that incident in the Greek restaurant, Artemis had disregarded her advice of resting. They continued the drive through Ohio, where some of the buildings made her wistful to her stomach. Nothing more exciting happened that day, except when another supposed plan was soiled (again) by yours truly at a diner in Chicago. And after that, Artemis and Angel stayed up to guard to make sure that no more monsters attacked them that night, much to her dismay. That's how the first day of the quest ended.

She groaned and stretched on the bed, and it was too late when she noticed that her back was lying on air. She fell off the bed, eliciting more groans.

She yawned and scratched her back, before sitting up. The bedside clock, a present from one of her colleagues, ticked dutifully, over the personalized name engraved in it that was shown to say ANDROMEDA. It took her a few blinks at the clock to realize that—

"Oh gods! I'm late!"

Andy scrambled into the bathroom, grabbing her towel and sending a few things to scatter on the floor in the process. It was nothing compared to the shouting she'd receive from her boss when she arrives late.

After a quick shower, she dressed hastily in a white blouse and jeans—she hated skirts—got her purse and the car keys of the Prius from her coat on the rack. She was speeding down the unusually light New Jersey road when it came to her that she forgot her laptop.

"Styx." She almost slammed down on the brake to make a one-eighty, but then thought that she could come back to it at lunch anyway, so she didn't. The police would have stopped her for speeding if it hadn't been for her sense to avoid the big, main roads, where most have been patrolling in case of another accident. Well, in New Jersey, she supposed every road was a main road, but they still have their differences.

She wheeled into the parking lot of St. Emerald Academy, and glanced at her watch, only to find it missing. Dang. She forgot it as well.

She bolted the car and speed-walked to the back entrance. The security guard on duty nodded to her politely. She smiled and secured her login.

She dashed to the teacher's lounge and to her cubicle, greeting her colleagues breathlessly. This wasn't so new to them—she always gets up in the morning like a teenager. When she finally found a clock, she sighed in relief. Her first class was still an hour due. Thank whoever foresaw that she was a heavy sleeper.

Andy collapsed on the chair as one of her girlfriends, namely Echo (like that cursed girl in the myths), happened by. "You look like a goddess, Drey."

She snorted and sat properly, reaching for a comb. "Why thank you."

"Seriously, what happened to you? You're lucky none of the truant students saw you in the halls, or you'd be laughingstock."

"Alarm clock messed up, as always," she replied, still not quite awake.

"Hey, hey, careful there," her friend said, gently laying her head on the desk before it was about to crash. "You better fix yourself up before—"

"Ms. Blofis."

Andy shot up straight like a sturdy board, drowsiness gone. She patted her hair down self-consciously as she looked up at her boss. "Uh, good morning, sir."

Her boss was a fit guy, a bit older than her for about two to three years. With thoughtful blue eyes and sharp, handsome features, he was strict but calm, and she'd never seen him in another demeanor. As far as she knew, he was a Bachelor of Arts graduate in Literature at some posh school, and was a top student. She couldn't see anything more attractive than a show of intelligence.

Yep, you guessed it: she had a thing for her boss.

And she just felt like curling into a ball to make herself as small as possible as he examined her like a specimen in his biology class. "You're late again."

"I'm sorry sir, I.." She took a deep breath and stood, facing him. "For some reason my alarm clock just wouldn't ring."

He cracked a smile at this, possibly the first one she'd seen on him. "Just make sure not a student sees you, and you've got time to spare, or else I can't help you about what happens next," he reminded her, pausing. "Especially with hair like that."

Andy hid her blush until he was out of sight. Echo burst out laughing. "You're so over him."

She tried her best to scowl at her, but the red wasn't helping. "Shut up, will you."

Echo didn't, but after a few minutes, she needed air and settled down. By that time, Andy was glaring at her. "Alright... sorry. Anyway." Her friend cleared her throat to say something, as if she just remembered after the laugh. "Wood's out today. You're going to have to sub for his Greek class."

She exhaled, not that all thrilled. "Great. Just great." Don't get her wrong—she enjoyed reading about the myths after finding out that her brother was one, and she certainly didn't mind teaching about it. But it made her free time before class a half hour instead of a whole.

"I'll get that," a voice chimed in. Both of them looked up, and from the corner of her eye, she saw her friend's jaw drop not even discreetly. She rolled her eyes; though she was thankful, he showed up on time and decided to get her work.

"Triton."

He smiled. "Hello, Andy."

"Wha.. Whaaat?" Echo looked back and forth between them. "You know each other?!"

They turned to her. Triton narrowed his eyes. She could tell that he still wasn't fully comfortable with mortals, especially those with feet (who doesn't?), save for his family. She decided to spare her friend. "Uh, Cho, could you please... leave us for a bit?"

Echo was hesitant to leave this 'gorgeous wolf,' as she would probably call him, with her, but a look from Triton got her scurrying.

"How are you?" he asked when her friend had gone.

Andy shrugged. "Well," she summarized. "I've gotten Mom and Dad a comfier place with the money I've earned as a teacher. I also write, part-time."

"Following in your parents' footsteps I see. That's great." As the silence settled in after the last word, she got the feeling that he'd only asked as a formality.

"So uh.. What brings you here? Something happening?" she began again.

He nodded grimly. And then he basically told her of everything that he hadn't told her family yet, which included the quest and the two new arrivals who participated in it.

"Jackson?" She frowned. "Are you sure they aren't related?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. The boy was far more polite," he referenced, his mouth twitching upwards emotively. "And one last thing.."

"What?"

The sea prince glanced behind him with narrowed eyes. "Who is that guy?"

Andy felt like a deer caught in headlights. "Who?"

"That guy you were talking to before I came into the picture."

"Oh. He's my boss, you know."

Triton raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "Your boss." It wasn't a question, though he sounded like he thought she was lying.

"Yeah. My boss." She smiled up at him, hoping that he would just drop the subject.

He blinked and frowned. He glanced behind him again, and around. "You be careful with who you accommodate with, Andromeda." He'd never used her full name before. "They might just be the offspring of two immortal demigods. They might get you into monster trouble." With that, he conjured a suitcase when no one was looking and proceeded to Wood's Greek class.

Andy sat on her chair and let her head crash onto the desk; this time no one was there to soften the fall. At times when she was still a kid, she'd fantasized about joining the magical world that her brothers lived in, having powers, strong friendships, and heroicness. But now that she was being thrust into it, she'd come to regret that she ever wished.

AN: This is a filler chapter. Please do know that I am not American, so the places as of this chapter and onward are hypothetical. Google Maps did help me a bit. Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~SmartzyFan