Chapter 24: A send off

[Luna's Pov]

Well, I guess I'm dead. Or dying.

Death. By getting stabbed by my mom. Just when I thought I found mine at last.

The irony of the situation was so painful that it almost matched the pain caused by a fist-sized hole in my chest.

I'm not even sure if I can believe Niobe anymore. What kind of a mother would hurt their daughter in any way shape or form?

I wish I knew who my real parents were.

As long as my memories go back, they had no hesitation in dropping me under a baby hatch as soon as my skin hit the air. At least, that's what I heard growing up at a shabby church.

I remember that place. There must've been 10 children at least in that dingy building. It was cold in winter, and hot in the summers. We barely had enough food, most of us had to sleep on the floor…

And it was the first family I ever had. By all means, it was not a great one. Everyone was hungry and irritated most of the time, the head nun was so old that it was a miracle that she woke up every other day, and the other nun lady was a straight-up ex-convict with a huge tattoo over her neck.

Her name was 'Margarine', I think. She made good toasts when we ever managed to get hands-on some actual bread. Other times all I've got was a potato soup that was 3 quarters water.

And there was that one time when we went to an old theme park nearby. We couldn't dare go somewhere actually good, but that was fun.

…You know, now that I'm dying and all that? The church wasn't so bad.

They eventually handed off kids to foster homes because of money, but…

…it was nice.

I never got to say thank you to anyone.

Dang it.

….

Foster home…now that was an interesting place to live for a whole new different reason. The place was also poor—you can't expect a rich family to adopt a child for money—and there, I was raised with another kid.

He was a Latino with curly black hair, dark brown eyes, pointy ears, and that lopsided grin he'd always hitch on his face before taking apart a TV or a refrigerator.

I never understood how someone my age could be better at machines and tinkering than any adults, and when I asked him once, he said "I came from a toolshed." and flash a smile as if that answered anything. I came from a church, and you don't see me being good at preaching.

What was his name again? I can't remember. I don't think he ever told me, not in a serious manner anyway.

As much of a troublemaker he was, he was not a bad person by any means. He made me a miniature metal horse when I tried—and failed—to make my own doll that I envied other kids for having.

Then, one day, he set the house on fire.

Oh yeah, I still remember that day clearly. It was 2 am, and I woke up by the foster mom screaming at the top of her lungs. The entire house was set ablaze, the father was yelling something in Spanish; "El diablo!" or something like that, I don't know.

And the boy just leaped out through the window as if he'd done it a million times before and ran off into the darkness, never to be seen again in my life.

So naturally, my foster parents had enough of the quote on quote "Spawns of the devil" and I was ceremoniously thrown back into the foster care station.

That was when Lady Artemis came to me. On Christmas, of all times.

Can you imagine a 12-year-old me, praying to Santa to help me find my parents before going to sleep, only to find a goddess ascend down from the moon and ask if I'd join her in eternal life with dozens of sisters?

She was a savior. Both literally, and figuratively.

At…at least, she was. Now I don't know.

Not that it matters; I'm going to the underworld any moment. I'm surprised that I'm even hanging on for this long. I'm not as if anyone would ever give a single care about me in the world.

Why would they? They have no reason to.

"—una!"

What?

"Duck!" Zoë yelled.

My body lurched forward. A shinning beak snapped a few inches over my head, barely missing out from snatching at the scruff of my neck. Someone was giving me a piggyback ride, holding me tightly over his back as he cursed out in Ancient Greek.

"David…?"

"Yeah—" David ducked again as shining talons reeked out to try and rip his face off. He was locked in combat with a monster that I'd never seen before. But he still gave a glance backward with a look of utmost relief.

"—just hang in there for now. We're kind of in danger at the moment."

He nudged at the monster with his chin before falling back. Zoë, who was looking relieved as well, delivered 2 arrows at once. They landed on different parts of the monster's neck, much to its dismay.

The monster reared up in its hind legs. It was a lioness from the waist down, but the front half was a giant hawk with claws instead of front paws, and a set of wings perched just over where the two animals met.

"W, what is…that?"

The closest guess I could muster would be a sphynx, but I never heard about one having a bird for an upper-body instead of a woman.

David tried a jab at the monster's eye. It squawked and flapped its gigantic wings, sending a torrent of wind to knock him back as it took flight.

"No idea. Zoë said—what was it again?"

"A Hieraco-sphinx!"

"That one!"

David said proudly. Zoë rolled her eyes and muttered something about her getting too soft. She aimed at the Hiera—whatever's back but eventually decided to let her bow down and turned to David.

"We need to find a place to hide. Fast."

"Can do."

Only then did I realize that we were no longer inside the castle, but in the middle of the city of Thebe.

The street was entirely trashed. Splinters of wood and pebbles were littered everywhere, several cracks inhabited the road, and most of the statues we walked past were shattered into pieces.

I would've asked what in the holy moon was going on (that was a preferred cuss word for younger hunters—Zoë was strict on language.), but both Zoë and David wasted no time on moving.

We slipped into a narrow ally, weaving in and out of the most obscure alleyways. More than once, we had to stop and hide from a small troop of petrified soldiers marched by, searching the area as if they were looking for something.

Finally, Zoë led us to a basement. The robust scent of alcohol suggested it used to be where wines were kept before…well, everyone got turned to stone. Thanks to two gods, one of them being my savior.

David wrinkled his nose as soon as the smell hit him. He was drenched in sweat. His breath was much burdened as he settled down on the floor.

"I hate this place."

Zoë looked out from the door before closing it shut. She sighed in either relief or frustration and sat down on a barrel.

"I'm not particularly pleased as well. But we cannot risk hiding in a normal residence; as the queen, Niobe would get hold of us easily. However, I'd doubt that a queen would care about empty wine storage in a back ally."

My chest gave a painful throb at the name. Or maybe it was because of the stab wound. It was still there. And I was alive at the same time. Somehow.

Then I noticed a green chain was wrapped around David's waist. It was holding my body to his, presumably to prevent me from falling…but a weird sensation

"What's going on…?" Another throb made me wince.

Zoë slipped down from the barrel. It was hard to make out her expression in the dark, but her tone suggested that she was heavily concerned.

"Don't strain thou self. David, let her down."

David obliged. His hand was very careful as he untied the chains from himself. For reasons I can't tell, he was making very sure that I didn't lose contact with the chains as he did so. Also, he kept eyeing my chest wound.

"Oh god, that looks nasty…no offense."

"None taken." I managed. Then my ears popped out of nowhere, and everything went black.

[3rd Person's Pov]

"It's just from the shock. I think she is fine." Zoë muttered.

"Apart from the fact that…you know." David patted his chest a few times, still looking quite sick.

Zoë shot him a glare as she let go of Luna's wrist, she cursed herself internally for thinking that this boy was a hero.

Even if his act was heroic up until this point; arriving just at the exact moment of need, not panicking (externally) as he both free her from under Niobe and secured Luna in a blurring frenzy of a movement, before taking the first way out of the castle via jumping out of the window.

It was an amazing feat. However, she—of all beings—was not supposed to think like that. Not only because of her status as a lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis but because the last time she fell for a hero...

Traitor!

Zoë shivered at the memory of that chilling voice line. She was still amazed at her younger self for somehow shunting that aside. Being in love made you do weird, irrational things.

Unaware of her distraught, David shot a question.

"So, what is the plan now? How do we get out of here without casualties?"

It was a blunt one, but it was enough to pull Zoë out from her thoughts. She peeked out through the door once more; the wide ally was still inhabited with the patrolling guards.

"I do not know yet. It may be impossible to leave unless Niobe willingly let us go."

"But Percy and Annabeth made it out beforehand." David pointed out with a frown.

Zoë frowned as well. Both she and David agreed that they were indeed gone, as neither of them showed up as they made a daring escape out of the castle when Niobe went rouge.

"Maybe Niobe didn't care about them enough. They are not our primary concern at the moment."

David slumped against a nearby barrel. An extra waft of alcohol made him wrinkle his nose even further. Zoë noted that it was a very hilarious expression, before hastily scrubbing out that idea away.

"How did Niobe even get this amount of powers? Last time I checked, she was just an ordinary queen."

"Spirits that lingers on the mortal plain can become a problem if they stay too long. Why do you think Thanatos was given such a strong grip?"

"True. But he did lose to Heracles once."

Zoë scowled loudly. It was impossible to go two steps without hearing that name mentioned one way or another. Oh, that's the monster that Hercules defeated. Oh, that's what Hercules did. Oh, that's where Hercules was. Oh, that's the woman Hercules took to bed that one time.

Just the thought of the last example made her want to puke.

David eyed his companion warily. He knew Zoë Nightshade well enough to not touch her nerves when she was already having enough of it.

"You, uh, really don't like Heracles, do you?"

"No." She retorted, her voice filled up with spite. "I suppose that won't fit well with thee, would it?"

"Not really, no. I don't like him as well."

"That's what I thou—" Zoë stopped in mid-sentence to whip around. "Pardon me?"

David shrugged. "I don't like him. I don't like Heracles. Is that surprising?"

Zoë blinked at him for several seconds, determining whether he was lying or not. She decided that he couldn't be this much of a good liar if he was horrible at pretending anything else.

"Isn't he the greatest of your kind? The heroes? Isn't he the one all you heroes aspire to be?"

"Well, that's a lot of assumptions there," David grumbled with his arm crossed. He put up three fingers in front of Zoë and started to count down the reasons.

"For one, I wouldn't want to be a family murderer with or without godly intervention.
Two, his so-called great tasks were set upon him entire because of that whole ordeal. Not that heroic or noble in my book.
And third, he had too much blood on his hand that was resulted from him being on a bad day.

So no thanks."

"…"

Zoë gazed at the 3 fingers without saying a word for a long time. Long enough for David to feel awkward and slowly retrieve his hand. That snapped her back into reality.

"How are thou holding up? The chains must have drained you a fair amount."

The chains were once used to keep Niobe's soul trapped in her perished realm. As such, it had the power to prevent the sprites of the deceased from leaving wherever they resided, which was why Luna was still 'alive' with a fatal wound.

But as far as Zoë could assure, the power of the chains would fail when they leave Niobe's realm. So even if they managed to figure out a way out, taking it wasn't an option until they figured out a way to heal Luna. Which, to be honest, she had nothing.

"Eh, I can still go for a few spars with Clarisse."

At those words, Zoë remembered the one scene she had witnessed at Camp Half-Blood beforehand. It was very much unintentional, but she'd walked up upon David getting thrown onto the wrestling mat by the buff daughter of Ares. Then, she watched for a while to enjoy the view of a male hero getting stomped on. Now the memory made her draw a smile. A bit warmer one. Even if it was smaller as well.

David was about to ask what was so amusing, but just then a small groan escaped through Luna's lips. Zoë's smile melted off quickly and knelt next to her to squeeze her hand.

"Luna? Are thou alright?"

"…No. I'd like to die." Luna croaked out.

"Don't say that," David said. Luna crooked her head to bring him into her vision.

"No, seriously. The pain is—"

David cut her off.

"Don't say that. We both care about you, and I for one would appreciate it if you respect that as a fact."

Luna opened her mouth to say something, closed it, then turned to look David straight in the eye and asked.

"Why?"

David raised an eyebrow. "Why, what?"

"Why do you care?"

David raised his eyebrow even further. Luna, through a series of pained grunts, sat up. Zoë tried to keep her down, but she insisted upon it to get a better look at him.

"We've met what, a week ago? We've barely even talked. You don't even know my last name!"

"Um, What is your last name—"

"My point is, you don't have any reason to care. So I ask you again: why do you care?!"

Luna heaved in her breath. The big hole in her chest was affecting her ability to breathe, even if it wasn't enough to kill her. Zoë put a hand on her shoulder and glanced at David.

For once, he had a truly earnest expression on his face. It looked like he was carefully picking words inside his head to say to her.

"You're right, Luna. I don't know anything about you. But that shouldn't lead to the question of why I care. Because I don't need a reason for that."

Luna gaped at him as if he just said "I like to try and kill myself for fun!". That's how he sounded like to her now. She wondered if he was pulling on her leg, but David's expression proved otherwise. He truly believed what he said.

Those words, as idiotic as they sounded, felt like they filled up something in her chest—not the visible one, but something deeper within.

Luna held her hand together close to her chest.

"Thanks, David." She gave a smile. Not the smile that she'd have right before messing something up, David noticed, but a genuine smile.

He returned it with his. "No problem."

A distant screech of a hawk punctuated the moment soon after.

"We really need a plan." David said.

Zoë peered out through the door for a few seconds before closing them again.

"Getting out is manageable in theory."

Both Luna and David were surprised at her statement.

""It is?""

Zoë sighed, shooting David a sour look.

"I remember telling thee beforehand. This entire sanctuary was a trap made to lure Luna in. Remember?"

"Yes."

"But creating such a place cannot be done even by Hecate if they start from the ground up. It must have been built on Niobe's memory. The destroyed castle, the petrified citizens, it's all what Niobe last remembered about her kingdom."

At this point, David had scrunched up his forehead in an attempt to put all the puzzle pieces together. "So, we're in her memories?"

"In a recreation of it, yes. And if that's the case, the source of this plain would also be her; henceforth she has an excessive amount of power and abilities that thou complained about. If we defeat her, that'll allow us to leave. But…"

"You guys can go ahead. Defeat my mother." Luna said.

Zoë instantly jumped in her seat.

"No!"

David also shook his head in disapproval.

"Luna, I just told you that's not an option."

However, Luna tutted her tongue a few times and snapped her fingers.

"Hello~? Aren't we supposed to be on a quest? To save Lady Artemis? I don't think we have time to waste here."

Zoë and David paused for a second, sharing sideways glances with each other before confirming each other's ideas.

"I will not leave a hunter behind."

"Ditto."

"Look, I'm not asking you guys to let me die. I—" Luna swallowed a gulp of air. "I want to save my mother. Whatever you two might think about her, I don't want her to be in this crazy state."

Of course, Zoë didn't take kindly to the idea at all. While David paused again, she had a scowl attached to her face as she put a hand on Luna's shoulder.

"She already stabbed thee once just because thou was a hunter. I will not permit it."

"Zoë, you have to understand."

"No!"

"We'll think about it later. I'm sure there must be another—"

BOOM!

The door blasted apart, flying away from its hinges to get smashed into pieces when they hit the floor. A giant hawk-lioness reared on its back legs and screeched out victoriously.

"Kee-eeeee-arrr!"

And right next to it stood Queen Niobe, flanked by 6 guards all in full armor and weaponry.

"Ah, there you are. You did enjoy playing hide and seek, Melia. But it's time to go home now."

[Line Break]

[David's Pov]

My first initial thought was that since the Hiera-whatever was on par with the Nemean Lion in bulk, it might have trouble fighting in such a tight space.

And then tore open the storage roof, giving it plenty of room to utilize and leaving us very much cornered both figuratively and literally. Niobe hadn't even bothered bringing a weapon at this point; she just waved her hand and 6 petrified city guards with glowing green eyes marched in.

"Kill the two brats. Protect your princess from their clutches."

"Hypocrite!" Zoë spat with her arrow directly aimed at Niobe's face. But right as she was about to fire, the Hiera-what's it swooped down and sank its claws over her shoulder, making her cry out in pain.

""Zoë!""

Too late, I tried to reach out, the thing had already taken off before I managed to reach it. Instead, the 6 city guards advanced with spears and shields locked. Luna tried to help, but she was in no condition to stand much less fight. One of the guards simply pushed her towards Niobe, who held her in a tight embrace.

"Now now, Melia. Don't be a naughty girl and ruin this for mommy."

"Mother, you can't be serious! Let them go in peace!"

Niobe laughed. "In peace? The Olympians never gave me peace. Why should I ever consider giving them one?"

Luna tried to say something, but Niobe traced her finger across her lips with a gentle "Shh…" and they were magically shut close.

"You are just confused yet, my dear." Niobe chimed, holding on to Luna more tightly as her struggling intensified. "You are yet confused with the memories implanted by that vile goddess."

One of the city guards jabbed forward. I sidestepped it only to run into the other one's shield, which the guard swung around to try and knock me out. I had to duck low to barely dodge it, and three bristling spearheads flew into my face.

In that slim moment of a second, when I was facing death maybe 3 inches away, a voice boomed in my head.

["Instincts!"] It yelled. ["You're a child of the mighty war god! Trust your instincts!"]

Great advice. I had no idea how to do that.

["That's the spirit!"]

And then, something weird happened. When my eyes blinked for the next time, I was aloft in mid-air, with three stone heads of the city guard soaring upwards next to me.

I have no idea how I did it; I'm surprised as you are—if not more.

The headless bodies of the guards crumbled into specks of dust. As they did, I could've sworn one of them whispered "Freedom…at last…thank you…" but I had no time to dwell on that. The other guards showed no worry that I just dispatched half of their force and advanced.

Two stabbed forward aiming at my chest and stomach, while the other swiped low to prevent me from rolling away. It was a neigh perfect integration; I tried to duck under the stabs, but the low sweep managed to whack me in the left knee.

The left leg crumpled down with a throb of pain. It was nothing unbearable, but fighting one on one while handicapped was bad enough; I was facing three with excellent teamwork to boot.

I swung my sword in a wide arc. It clashed against the shields and pushed them backward, but it was a futile resistance.

I racked my brain for any tips that Marcus might've given me during our sparring section. Nothing came to me. Come to think of it, he didn't tell me much beyond the basics. We focused more on sparing than theories.

"Look, you already know all this stuff. Even if you're not aware of it, your brain has all the knowledge you'll need. It might be better at fighting than you are."

Another jab at my chest. I barely managed to deflect it. I tried to make it entangled with the other two attackers, but it didn't exactly pan out as I hoped. While one guard was halted in the middle of a stab, the other one sliced across my arm.

A fiery, and yet cool sensation enveloped my wound. I forced my weakening grip on the hilt. I can't just die here of all places. I had to figure out a way to make out of this mess.

Luna was struggling against her mother, who was now getting more irritated by her daughter's none-stop resistance. They were swinging around as if they were on a dance floor, the chain attached to Luna scraping against the ground.

The guards closed in. This time, each of them came from a different angle. It was impossible to parry the all, and any strike would either kill me or secure my death at the next round of assault.

Trust your instincts! The voice had said. I had no idea how to do that.

That's the spirit! It said in response to my complaint.

The tips of three spears came forward. Luna let out a muffled scream of desperation.

And I stopped thinking.

What happened next was so amazing, that even with my eyes opened it was hard to keep track of.

The best way I could describe it was, my body twisted around in the perfect angle that it needed to barely, just barely dodge the three thrusts all at once. And without wasting any energy from the initial twist, my arm swung my sword in a near artistic curvature to land on the one chink in the armor and the headgear of the guard.

The remaining two guards tried a high-low ambush from before. This time, my body hopped with the exact amount of force for me to both jump over the low spear while ducking under the high spear.

Then I jabbed forward, just a swift, simple jab, and the blade sank into the guard's face like butter. The last standing guard didn't even have time to spring a counter-attack, as my leg swiped it under his ankle and I plunged my sword down at the throat.

Only after the action was over did my thinking senses come back. And with that, a wave of nausea hit me as well. I had to use my sword as a support to stand upright.

"You, you just dispatched my elite guards…!"

"Yeah…yeah, I did. What the hell…?"

I would've stood there leaning against my sword for a good half a day, wondering what I just pulled off.

Unfortunately, Niobe was a very sore loser.

"You insufferable little—"

Her last word was obscured by the most horrific scream I've ever heard in my life, and that includes that one time when Dr. Thorn tried to sing a high school musical pop song (Long story).

And the sound had a similar effect to; it was horrible enough to shake the entire city in a massive earthquake. I barely huddled my way out of the storage as Niobe shot up into the air in a blinding rage.

"I will no longer be humiliated by the gods, or any of their offspring!"

Her voice was demonic. The sky was darkening by the seconds, both the sun and the moon getting quickly obscured leaving the only source of light to be her; the queen of this realm.

"You shall all perish alongside to this cursed memory! Whilst I find my sanctuary next to the great mother!"

The entire scenery obliged her will.

The ground trembled violently, giant holes cracking open everywhere. The sky was cracking open as well—thunderclaps accompanied with winds blasting with enough force to topple over the statues of citizens no matter where they stood, and the air filled with groans and wails of the undead.

"Mom, stop!" Luna yelled. But her voice was muffled over all of the chaos, and the loudest noise of them all; a burst of crazed laughter from a broken mother.

With a shriek of a hawk, Zoë landed next to me. The Hiera-whatever crash-landed 3 feet next to her and fell down a newly opened crevasse. She saw Luna struggling against Niobe and grabbed an arrow.

Niobe only laughed harder.

"Go on, hunter! Take your shot! Finish what your filthy goddess couldn't!"

Zoë gritted her teeth out of frustration, but her arms stayed next to her side. Even though she was a top-notch archer without a doubt, it was impossible to aim correctly to that high up in this much of a violent wind.

And even if she managed to hit Niobe…that won't be a victory.

We lost. We had no way to fight back, nor a way out of this.

Niobe cackled to the void once more. The world that was created in her most spiteful memory was getting crumbled away, and she was savoring every single moment of it.

Her six daughters floated around her as well. But, something was off—even they weren't looking too happy. On the contrary, they looked straight up alarmed at the state of Niobe. The queen didn't even notice her daughters anymore as she laughed and laughed, bloody tears streaking down her face.

While the rest of the daughters tried to get Luna free from their mother's grasp, the first Niobid flew down next to us.

"You have to leave."

"Oh really? Whatever gave thee that idea?!" Zoë retorted with a sneer.

The first Niobid looked around the crumbling city of Thebe.

"We wanted to see our mother laugh again. She had been crying for 3000 years, trapped in the stone statue. Not even we couldn't bring a smile to her.

But it seems that we couldn't save her in the end. Our mother is already lost.

We—we were mistaken."

And, to mine and Zoë's surprise alike, she shed a tear. She wiped it away quickly.

"You should leave. Both of you. Or you'll be dragged straight down to Tartarus. We can also command this world; even if for a sliver of a moment, I can create a way out with the help of my siblings."

"No!" Zoë grabbed my hand. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but her expression was more solemn than ever.

"David, you should leave. I'll stay behind."

"Are you kidding me?" I grasped her hand back, which made the huntress wince. In a split moment, I saw her 2000 years of hunter screaming at herself to shake off my hand.

But instead of doing so, she covered up mine with both of hers with a much more gentle movement.

"David, I was a hunter for more years as the lieutenant of the hunters. A trustful side-arm to Lady Artemis. If, if this entire ordeal is caused by her mistake… then I share the responsibility as well."

"No, you don't!"

I grasped her hands even firmly. Zoë winced again, but I didn't care.

I have had it with people getting pain by the gods.

"Don't take responsibilities from Artemis; take responsibility from yourself!"

Zoë blinked at me for what felt like 3 eons. Her coffee brown eyes were wide with shock as if I just said the most heretical thing ever—to be fair, I kind of did.

Before she can say anything, the rest of the daughters arrived as well. Including Luna, who no longer had the chains strapped around her. Now she was as transparent as her sisters, wearing a similar Greek tunic.

"You must hurry! We don't have much time!"

"But, Luna—" Zoë started to argue, but Luna shook her head.

"Zoë, I have to stay. It's just as David said; I'll take my own responsibilities."

She turned to me with a meaningful look. I wanted to cut out my tongue for saying something like that, but it was too late to take it back.

Zoë still shook her head violently and reached out to Luna, only to find out that her hand passing right through the former young huntress.

"No…" Zoë whispered, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zoë. I—" Luna blinked rapidly a few times and hitched a smile at her before turning back to me.

"My miniature horse. It was made by a demigod. It has his name engraved at the bottom. If you find him by chance, would you give it back to him?"

"I will." My voice sounded hoarse. The fact that Zoë was crying was the only thing that made me hold in my own.

The Niobids, all 7 of them circled both of us. To my surprise, Zoë flung her arms around my neck and pull me into a tight embrace—I wasn't sure if this was an act driven by extreme stress, or if she needed something to cry against.

Whatever it was, I returned the embrace as the 7 duets of the Niobids encircled around us.

In the rapidly darkening world, a singular light opened up beneath our feet. The uproar of impending chaos died out into near silence.

"Goodbye." The Niobids said.

I took a deep breath. I was thankful for my brain for remembering what I needed to say.

"Asrycrateia, Phthia, Neaera, Cleodoxa, Pelopia, Chloris…and Luna; the 7 daughters of Niobe.

To all of you, I'll say: Thank you."

The Niobids all looked at me wide-eyed.

"You won't be forgotten."

Then, each of them broke into a smile.

At that moment, none of them were ghosts.

None of them had arrows lodged in their bodies.

7 princesses of Thebe all waved at us—the youngest of them with the most enthusiasm.

The light under my feet rose into a blinding pillar.

And when I opened my eyes again, we were standing in a middle of a snow-covered industrial area. A newly rising sun shone over the horizon.

"Zoë." I patted the huntress on the back. "Zoë, we made it out."

In response, Zoë let out a huge wail and broke into an uncontrollable series of sobs.

I just held her in my arms. I didn't bother saying anything to her.

Because sometimes tears were better therapy than anything else.

And that's the end of the 'Niobe arc' I guess you could call it. I swear, the singular decision to add Niobe's story derailed the entire plot point of everything I had planned out. It was a mixture of pain and joy coming up with an ending I wanted (The team split, Luna gone(sry), and a step closer in a certain relationship)

I'm really sorry that it took-what, nearly 2 weeks to post a new chapter? I rewrote this chapter more times than I bothered to count, each story vastly different from others. Hell, even the one you see is filled with half-baked ideas implemented on the spot! Still, I hope this being a conclusion and the longest chapter I've ever written be enough for you guys.

The next chapter I think would be more of a clean-up of this one; it might be much shorter than what you're used to, but It'll be out in a few days if that's the case.

Leave a review if you have any thoughts on the matter or if you want to show your support, favorites and follows are great as well.

It's 12:30 am here, so I'd better go to bed.

See ya all in the next chapter!