Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and like this one too. Let's get right into it.

I'll respond to reviews next chapter. So if there are any questions, leave them down below.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

On with the twenty fourth chapter.

24. I Join The Badass Girls Club

Harper

So, you heard Matt's impression of Camp Asgard. Interested in hearing how I feel about it?

No? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway.

It's...pretty cool, I had to admit.

I expected a few tents and some huts with straw as the main foundation, with bearded grown men in Viking armor sharpening their axes. But what I got was the opposite. I mean, everyone dressed like Vikings, which they technically were I guess, but other than that, everyone talked normal, acted normal, and the Camp itself, was pretty normal. By our standards I mean.

It reminded me a lot of Camp Jupiter. Obviously not with the snow setting, but the discipline and order, yeah. The way everyone had a task, took things seriously, it was very similar to the Roman Camp. I'd only been there once, and the memory is burned in my mind. I kept thinking - ugh, this place is so much worse than Camp Half Blood, get me out of here.

But since the war started, I'd slowly gained respect for our counterpart Camp. Sure they could be dull and boring, but they weren't like that all the time. And a little order was needed in times like these. I think that's why our Camp was so unprepared, because we'd already had the Titan and Giant war back to back, now we have the...Storm War?

What do you call it? Ouranos war? Ah, who cares.

Either way, I like Camp Asgard. And despite my groaning attitude last night, I like Arya and the Huntresses. I was just a little worried, that's all.

Yeah, worried. Still. I don't know, it's just the pessimist in me I guess, and the cautiousness. Normally this whole separation thing would seem like a plot to weaken us. Matt goes off with Sigurd alone, the most powerful demigod in the Camp, to some cavern where nobody can help them. I don't have aura sense, but I can tell Sigurd isn't a joke, and Matt might have a tough time with him.

As for Sera and I, apparently we're supposed to go on a little trip with the "Lynx Huntresses" to some mountain and check out what that rumbling is. So Matt gone off with Sigurd, and us gone off with these girls. You see what I'm saying? It seems like they're separating us to weaken our strength. But I'm conflicted, because they seem genuine in welcoming us and making us feel at home. I don't know what to think, I should probably just trust them, because Matt seems to, and Talon definitely trusts the Huntresses...for other reasons. Ew.

It doesn't matter, I'll find out tomorrow just what the deal is.

After Arya dropped us off at the longhouse, she started telling us more about Camp, and how things work around there. The good times they've had and how she met Sigurd to pass the time. She was a great storyteller, and the way she met Sigurd was pretty cute. Apparently the two grew up together here, and were best friends for the longest time. They went on quests for years together, saved the world a few times, and eventually she developed feelings for the Son of Odin. But she always felt like he never reciprocated. On their last quest, involved in some crazy war with the reformed Norse Primordial Ymir a couple of years ago, they finally sealed the deal, and turns out he did like her, he just didn't know how to express it.

Sounds familiar. In oh I don't know, literally every demigod love story. Sigurd and Arya were basically Percy and Annabeth, Norse edition.

She told all of this in about half an hour, and I was pretty intrigued to hear about their past. It was also another sign that they were trustworthy. Because who would give that kind of information to the people you're trying to attack? I mean, she talked about Sigurd's quest team. And this was a particularly interesting topic, because the Sons of Thor were mentioned.

I had asked her who all went on these quests, and about Sigurd's friends.

She had said, "Every major quest it was mostly the same people. Sigurd and myself, Ivan, Rune, Bjorn and Boris-"

Then she stopped talking and clamped her mouth shut. I remember her looking at the ground in sadness. I had wanted to press further, and find out more, but that was when Matt came up. Arya had looked very relieved at his arrival. Not wanting to talk about the brothers, because she knew I'd ask.

And I plan on asking today.

I hate to pry, I really do. I don't like people trying to find out everything about me, but information on the Sons of Thor could be useful in defeating them. And I was really curious as to how they got kicked out of Camp in the first place.

Anyway, currently I was laying on my guest bed in the longhouse. Everyone else was in the room on their own beds as well, fully clothed. I was pretty uncomfortable, sleeping in my jeans and black t-shirt, but I managed to get a few hours of sleep, I think.

Matt and Hercules returned from their talk about thirty minutes after they left, and they came in looking the happiest I had ever seen them. I didn't know what the heck they had done or talked about, but we had all heard loud explosions and what sounded like a giant waterfall a couple of miles away or so. It no doubt involved them.

Soon morning came, and I knew we'd be in for a treat. We were supposed to leave pretty early so we could find these missing scouts, and maybe confront what was in that mountain. About the crack of dawn, when I could still see the night sky outside of the longhouse window, Matt crawled out of his bed and walked to the door, his chestplate and gear on.

I opened my eyes and called to him softly, "Shark Boy"

He heard me and turned around, "Harper? You awake?"

I sat up on an elbow and rubbed my groggy eyes, mumbling, "Yep. You and Sigurd leaving?"

He knelt by my bed and nodded. His proximity making my heart wake up too. He was so close to my bed he might as well have been in it with me. Now there's a thought...

I put my dirty thoughts away and heard him respond, "Yeah. Sigurd wanted to leave early, but I'm actually going to get a haircut from Arya right now." He chuckled breathlessly, "Can't wait to finally get all of this stuff off."

I reached up and ran my right hand through his thick locks, "Really? I kinda like it now. Sure you don't wanna keep it?"

He shook his head, "No way. I miss my old cut too much. It's gotta go."

I smiled, "Yeah, I like the other one better to."

I took my hand out of his hair and just stared at him. His eyebrows were knit with concern, "Harper...just promise me that you'll be careful in that mountain, okay?"

"I could say the same to you. Don't die in that Cavern."

"I won't. Sigurd and I will handle it."

I shrugged, "Then I'll be fine too."

He got up to leave, but darted his head back down like he just remembered something, "And take care of Sera. Make sure she keeps up and doesn't...you know."

"I will."

He smirked and nodded with satisfaction, "Alright. I'll see you later." He bent down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, warming the spot up like hot chocolate. I blushed, definitely not used to all of this affection yet, but liking it a lot.

"By the way, you look really good in the morning." He said flirtatiously, and before I could stutter an embarrassed garble of words, he chuckled and walked out the door.

"Idiot" I muttered, but I couldn't fight down the smile on my face. I shook my head and laid back down, falling to sleep again.

About an hour later, I was woken up by Sera.

"Harper" she whispered, somehow her voice was light and sweet with a whisper too. I felt myself drifting off further at it's soothing tone. How did this girl do it?

"Harper, please awake." She said, gently shaking my shoulder. "We must leave with the huntresses now."

I forced my eyelids to open and I yawned, "What time is it?"

She smiled at my awoken state, "It is six thirty. The Huntresses already have the wolves and sleigh ready."

Wolves and a sleigh? Hold on, I needed to get up first before hearing that.

I wiped any residue from my eyes and pulled the hair out of my face. It had stayed in it's braid, thank the gods, and Sera wouldn't have to redo it. That would take too much time. I reached over and put on my boots, then stood up and went to get my leather jacket off the rack in the corner. But before I could, Sera stopped me.

"You will not need it." She said, "The Huntresses are going to give us 'proper wear' they said."

I reared my head back, "Proper wear? The hell's wrong with my jacket?"

She shrugged, "Something about the snow and temperature. And the fact that their fur armor has protective properties." She gestured to herself, "I do not feel the cold, therefore I do not need it. But I will wear it anyway, because the outfits look cute."

She said this with such a serious voice that I had to do a double take. Makes sense, now that I think about it. I got pretty cold at Griffith Manor, actually freezing cold, so I'd imagine the temperature isn't too much warmer up here. I'd need those fur things they had. Sera was right.

But I loved my leather jacket, and parting with it didn't make me jolly. "Fine" I groaned and put it back on the rack, "Let's go."

Sera walked over to Malachi's bed and kissed him on the cheek, "Goodbye, Kai." She then walked over to Talon's bed and did the same, "Goodbye, Talon." She came over to me and waved at Hercules at the back of the longhouse, still asleep himself. "Goodbye, Mr. Hercules."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand, "Come on, Sera! Jeez, it's not like we're leaving forever."

We cleared the doorway and entered the chilly morning air, the Huntresses and their transportation in the distance. Before we could approach them however, we heard a voice shout behind us.

"Wait!" They said.

We turned around and saw Talon coming up to us. He didn't have on his leather duster, or his cowboy hat. But he had somehow changed into brown pajamas, with little designs of skulls and guns on them. He wore a t-shirt that said Outlaws For Life. His hair was tussled and a little messy, and he didn't have on his sunglasses, making him look almost normal. Like someone's troublemaker older brother.

"Hey, you guys leaving with those chicks?" He asked.

"Chicks?" Sera said, "They are not animals. They are-"

Talon interrupted with a groan, "I didn't mean baby chicks, Princess! Remember what we talked about? Common sense, common sense. Ya gotta think before you speak."

Sera shrunk a little from what he said and looked down at the ground.

I smacked his shoulder, "Be nice to her! She didn't know what you meant!"

He sighed and apologized, "Sorry, Sera. This whole Norse thing has me on edge. Didn't mean to snap at you."

She looked up and half smiled, "It is okay."

He looked past us and ogled at the Huntresses, "As for that Norse aspect, now I can get along with it. Those Huntresses are smoking the snow right up. Think you can get me some digits? Or if they don't use phones like we do...maybe a Raven? I don't know, just get me a date!"

I looked at him in disbelief, "We're about to end a massive war, going on a mission that might kill us, and all your worried about is getting a girlfriend?"

He snorted, "I ain't worried about it, Green Day. I know I can get one of those girls, I just need you guys to be the messenger."

Sera glanced back and forth between them and her idiot friend. The Huntresses were growing impatient, and Arya gave me a throw of her hands like what's taking so long? I gestured to Talon, cocking my head, trying to say - Dumbass ex assassin, we'll be done in a minute.

"But if you were to court one of the Huntresses..." Sera said, "How would you maintain a relationship? With the distance?"

He shook his head, "I ain't trying to get a life mate, I'm just trying to get a little fling, know what I'm saying? A good time, one night stand, that type of deal."

I scoffed with disgust, "Let's go, Sera." I grabbed her arm and we walked off. Talon yelling behind us, "Just think about it!"

We ignored him and met the Huntresses. They indeed had wolves and a sleigh. There were four wolves, to be exact, two in the front and two more behind those. Three of them were solid white, with a hint of orange streaked on their back. The other was black all the way. They each stood a little taller and looked a little bigger than the average wolf. Maybe they weren't normal, or the Campers just fed them really well.

"What was that all about?" Arya asked. She looked badass. Wearing jeans and fur boots with small spikes on them. She had on a white parka and hood, covering most of her blonde hair, but her face was still visible, showing off tribal tattoos, or paint, whatever it was, on her chin, forehead, and eye. The other girls looked the same, only they didn't wear white parkas, they each had on black ones. I guessed the white thing identified Arya as their leader. Everyone had a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and some explosives on the sled. The jars looked kind of like Greek Fire, only this was slimy looking, and kind of reminded me of blasting jelly.

I shook my head at her question, "Nothing. He was just telling us to be careful."

Arya nodded, "Ah, I see. Well, these are my huntresses." She gestured to the dozen or so girls, who all looked pretty much the same with their hoods. I could identify blonde, red and auburn hair, but no black hair. Making me the literal black sheep of the group. Even Sera's pure white hair somehow fit in better with the girls.

"Nice to meet you all!" Sera said excitedly, "I am sure we will have so much fun together."

They all raised an eyebrow and murmured to each other, probably not sure how to take Sera's cheery demeanor.

"Little underdressed, aren't you Sera? We have extra coats for you both." Arya said to her.

Sera waved a lithe, dismissive hand. She had on her usual outfit. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore her usual blue mini dress and Greek sandals. Showing a lot of skin for being in the snow.

"I am a child of snow and ice." Sera explained "I am immune to cold temperatures. But I will still take the coat, it is adorable."

The Huntresses weren't sure what to make of her, exchanging looks with each other and a few snickering. I couldn't blame them, when I first met Sera I had the same reaction.

"Oh" Arya said, a little stunned herself, "Well then...hand her a coat."

One of the girls handed Sera the parka, and she put it on happily. It made her look kind of funny, with the blouse and all, but I fought down the snicker. Sera hopped in the back and squeezed herself next to a few of the girls. There were three rows all together, and the sled was wide, so there was enough room.

Arya got on the very front herself, and offered me a hand, a smirk on her face. "You aren't a child of snow and ice too, are you?"

I chuckled, "Nah." She gave me the parka and I put it on. It instantly warmed me up, and I could no longer feel the chill of the air against my torso. I couldn't believe it, it was like some super coat.

I sat next to Arya on her right in the front. Another girl was to her left. She had on a black parka like the others, only hers was a little different. She had some kind of symbol on the shoulder of the coat. It was a Lynx.

Arya introduced me, "Harper, this is my lieutenant, Lara."

Lara nodded at me, her eyes serious and piercing. She had darker colored skin, and I stand corrected about being the only black haired girl. She had black hair too. Hers were in dreads, and they were long, coming down past her shoulders.

"Ya must be the one of the Greeks." Lara said with an accent, eyeing me up and down, "Ya don't look so strong."

"I do just fine." I said.

Arya snapped the reins, and the wolves took off, keeping a good pace as we left the Camp and went down the mountain slope. She looked at me apologetically once she got good control and positioned herself to steer.

"Sorry about her, she's just very cautious about our collaboration."

"We don' need savin'. We can defeat this guy on our own." She said, looking ahead.

"No we can't." Arya said sternly, "We need the Greeks help. They've come all this way, and gone through many hardships to help us. I trust them, and so does Sigurd. How come that isn't enough to convince you?"

Lara studied me, and I felt like I was being scanned by some monitor. It didn't make me uncomfortable though, because I scanned her right back. The way she looked at things, the way she sat, always on guard. She was a natural warrior, a survivor. Like me.

Doesn't mean I like her attitude though.

Finally she said, "Look, respect is earned around here, Greek. Prove to me ya got what it takes, then maybe I'll change my mind."

Sounded fair to me, "Deal."

Arya turned a corner, down where we crossed the final hill to get up the mountain. We entered a space close to the ledge, but not too close. I'd say about ten feet from it. The wolves started to run a little faster now, and we were hitting car speeds. I pulled up the parka hood over my head, trying to block some of the cold wind.

After a few minutes, I broke the silence, muttering to Arya, "You know your lieutenant and I aren't so different." I don't know why I was saying this, but I did. "I still don't completely trust you guys. I don't know why, but it's just in my head." I sighed, "I appreciate yesterday though, you telling us a bit about yourself. That meant a lot."

She nodded seriously, not taking her eyes off the snowy path. "Of course. And I understand your cautiousness. It is only just that you would be a bit wary, in a land you have never visited, with another pantheon." She shook her head, "I still cannot believe it. That we aren't the only one. Used to, that's all there was. Us. Odin, my mother, all of the gods I thought were so powerful...are just a small piece of the Universe."

I found myself relating to that a lot. Heck, I couldn't believe it either. I knew about the other pantheons through stories, but hearing that they actually existed was mind-blowing.

"I know what you mean. That's how it was for us. Hell, we already felt small, what with all of the gods and monsters in our pantheon." I snorted, "Now there's talk of Norse beings, Japanese gods, and all this other stuff. I can't keep up."

She smiled in understanding, "Oh yes. Sigurd told me the theory once a few years ago, and suggested the possibility that we were not alone, and that one day we would all converge into one massive being." She shook her head, "I don't know if that will happen, but our cooperation sure is a good start."

"Can he tell the future? Sigurd, I mean?"

"No. He is just very intelligent, and loves to ask questions, ponder existence, the universe, all of that. I would expect no less from Odin's only demigod child. That man nearly always has his face in a book, or map, or something. Ever since he was little, he was always interested in knowledge. But hardly had time, due to his tasks."

"Tasks?" I asked.

She tightened her lips, "We have a bit of a drive, so I suppose I could tell you." She took in a breath, "Sigurd has been at Camp since he was a baby. When he was born from a mortal woman, with Odin as the father, it was a very big deal. The former Chief, Hannes, a Son of Hel, who we always called 'The Owl' found him shortly after his birth. He said Odin called to him, and told him to find his son. He said it took him two days and nights, but he found the baby by following a bright beam of green light, shining in the sky. Sigurd was being protected by Odin himself, laying in the floor of his mother's home, swaddled in cloth. Hannes said he saw a green dome of energy around Sigurd. It was Odin shielding his son from monsters."

I was fascinated. It sounded like Sigurd had a wild birth. "What happened to his mother?" I asked.

Her eyebrows drooped with sadness, "When Hannes found him, he also found two monsters that tracked the scent of Sigurd. They could not attack the baby, due to the shield, but his mother...she was not protected by such. And she was killed before Odin's shield could grasp her as well. Hannes dealt with the monsters...and buried Sigurd's mom."

My eyes widened. Gods, Sigurd didn't have it easy either. Even in the Norse pantheon, demigods have a hard life. I guess that's the one thing we all have in common.

"Damn..." I said, understanding the pain of losing a parent.

"Hannes was a good man." I heard Lara say from the other end of the sleigh, "A damn good man."

The other huntresses nodded in agreement. And Arya closed her eyes for a second, a tear falling out of one of them.

Her voice broke, and it was all she could do to steer the sleigh. "Hannes took Sigurd back to Camp, and raised him as his own for Odin. The two were practically inseparable. Hannes trained and taught him, showed him how to hunt, use a sword, read, write, everything. Eventually I came to Camp as well, when I was only three, and met Sigurd. We were the same age, and we became fast friends, despite our differences."

I noted that she said same age. So Sigurd was twenty then.

"Soon Sigurd met Rune, a son of Baldur." I noticed her voice shift slightly at the mention of Rune, who we didn't meet in Camp. I had a feeling he might have died. "That was Sigurd's very best friend, even more so than me. Although our relationship was a little different." She laughed suggestively. "Then Ivan came along, and-"

"Bjorn and Boris?" I pressed.

She stopped, and her expression became hard. "Yes...Bjorn and Boris."

I felt the mood tense in the sleigh, and several of the huntresses faces became angered. Lara actually spat over the side.

"Bastard Sons of Thor." She said with distaste, "Traitorous murderers, all they are."

I turned to face them, "Wait, so they were here for a long time. And they got banished?"

Lare scoffed, "Damn right they did. Sigurd kicked their ass to the curb after-"

She was cut off though by the approaching gap in the ledge. Where the path led, there was about twenty feet of no snow or rock at all, leaving us with no way to cross.

Arya cursed and hit the sleigh, "Damn! It wasn't like this two weeks ago!"

The huntresses murmured, wondering how we were going to get across, when I decided it was time to impress them.

I stood up, "Girls, girls. I can solve our problem."

Lara looked at me suspiciously, "You? How can you solve that?"

I glared a little at her and turned to Sera. "My friend here can get us across. Show em, Sera."

I expected her to get right up and shoot some powerful ice from her hand, but she just sat there shyly.

"Sera?"

"You want me to use my abilities?"

I nodded, "Now would be a good time."

She didn't look so sure, "Even after I...lost control at my old home?"

The Huntresses and especially Lare raised an eyebrow at that. I inwardly cringed, not wanting to come off as demigods with no self control.

"It's okay, Sera." I said calmly, knowing she was probably afraid of what happened that night, when she went berserk and entered her "Absolute Zero" form, as Matt calls it. "That won't happen. Just help us get across."

She thought about it, then nodded in determination, standing up. "I will do it." She raised her hands out, and before I knew it, the ground rumbled, and a thick platform of ice jutted out from the mountain, fitting in right where the gap was. We had a way now.

The girls looked surprised, but pleased at the same time. Many of them offered thanks to Sera, who looked at them in surprise.

Arya smiled, "Thank you. Now we can get across-"

Lara cut her off, "Hold on, Arya. Ya can't seriously trust that, right?"

I rolled my eyes, "She just got us a way to the other side, and you're gonna complain?"

She glared at me, "All I'm sayin, is that ice ain't gonna hold."

"It will" I challenged.

"It won't" She retorted.

I was about to raise my voice, getting really annoyed now, but Arya silenced us both, "Okay! That's enough. Lara, if you want to test it out, be my guest."

Lara got up and unsheathed her bow. She grabbed some rope at the bottom of the sleigh and tied it around an arrow. She aimed and shot at a hanging jagged rock above the floor of ice. The tip of the arrow sank into the rock and the rope had some slack. Lara grabbed on to it, and jumped off the sleigh, swinging across like Indiana Jones.

She landed on the other side and pulled the arrow down. Giving me a prideful look, "The rock holds better."

I gritted my teeth, "Go Arya. It'll hold."

She nodded, and the wolves moved forward. I was confident in Sera's abilities, but...we were pretty high up here. I hope she put a good bit of energy in it, because it would suck if Lara got a laugh on me. And of course if we fell to our deaths.

We finally hit the ice bridge, and it held just fine. The wolves treaded carefully, as to not slip and slide. The huntresses held on and watched with anxiety, making sure there were no cracks or dents. But there were none, the ice was thick enough to hold us.

We made it to the other side and stopped next to Lara, who looked like she'd just ate a lemon.

"Told you." I said with a little tilt of my head.

She ignored me and got back on, crossing her arms. Haha, you were wrong.

I turned around and squeezed Sera's knee, whispering, "Good job."

She smiled, "Thanks."

"The place where the scouts were supposed to go is just up ahead." Arya said grimly, "I'm surprised there's been no rumbling so far. But also thankful, it would probably bounce us off the mountain."

We all fell silent and watched on with caution. A few more minutes passed, and we finally saw the cave entrance. Arya turned inside, the sleigh barely fit, but we managed. We were greeted with a mostly dark space, and a tunnel like path. The wolves ran and ran for only about two minutes, then we entered a large dome like area.

Blue ice was everywhere, and there was nothing in the room, not rocks, no jagged pieces of ice, just an empty room, it seemed. There was one thing though.

A giant hole in the floor.

About fifty feet in circumference, it was a massive round hole, and it led to some kind of abyss. There was literally nothing but black down there. All of us crowded the edge, and looked down to see if we could spot anything. But there was nothing, just...black.

"What the heck happened here?" I muttered.

Lara gripped her bow, "Perhaps we should shoot down there and see. That's where the source likely is." She started to draw back the string, but Arya stopped her.

"No, Lara. That would be unwise. We need to find the scouts first."

Just then, a huntress behind us gasped. We looked at her, and she was pointing at something. Her eyes wide with fear.

"Found them..." She said. We all looked over to where she was pointing, and to our horror, we saw two piles of bones, laying in the corner of the area. They were split, scattered, and some of them in pieces. It looked like something had based them with a sledgehammer, ate them, and them barfed them back up. The barfing part, because under the bones, was a thick, disgusting layer of monster spit. It looked like a truckload of mucus had been dumped here.

"Oh my!" Sera said with disgust, "Wh-what is that?"

Arya walked over to it, her eyes filled with somberness. "The scouts. Something got them."

Even Lara's eyes widened, "By Asgard...what can do that?"

At that moment, all of us were knocked off our feet and we fell to the ground. It shook and rumbled violently, and the noise was ear splitting. It sounded like a growl, or a hiss.

"STAY DOWN!" Arya ordered, yelling over the insanely loud noise.

The rumbling only continued though, and the entire mountain was practically being torn apart. I tried to get up to my feet, but it wouldn't work, I was constantly being knocked back down due to the shaking.

Even Sera was having trouble. She had her hands outstretched to keep herself up on the ice, but her face was strained. She waved her hand and I felt little ice spikes jut from my boots.

"To keep you up!" She said, "They will provide support!"

I nodded a thanks to her. She did the same for the other girls quickly, and they all got to their feet.

"It's down there!" One of them shouted, pointing at the hole. We all looked at it, and to my shock, I saw something pink trying to get through. It was as big as the giant hole, and it was slimy. It might've been up there on my "grossest things I've ever seen" list.

Finally it broke through, and a long, thick, pink worm thing came out of the hole and tried to attack us. The huntresses immediately unsheathed their bows and started firing at the thing. I pulled out my knives and sliced it whenever it came close. None of our attacks or defenses did anything. The arrows didn't sink in and my knives didn't even cut it. What the heck was this thing? There was growling, but it didn't even have a mouth, or eyes, or a nose.

Sera shot ice knives and various snow blasts at it, trying to freeze it, but the monster was too fast. It darted around and slammed into the icy floor, trying to stab the huntresses. They kept rolling out of the way and firing arrows. But eventually, I knew the thing would catch up with them.

"What is that thing?" Sera asked.

"I have no idea!" I said, dodging another strike. I slashed upward with one of my knives, straight across the side of this thing, but it didn't damage it in the slightest. It only reacted and pulled back to attack again.

This time, it curled up and aimed at Lara, who had been unsuspecting of the attack.

My eyes widened, she may have been a bit of a jerk this whole time, but I couldn't let her get hurt. "LOOK OUT!" I yelled, and sped after her. I got there in time and jabbed my knives in front of me, stabbing the pink monster.

It actually worked this time, and they sunk in all the way. Drops of blood leaked from it, and it instantly pulled away in pain.

Lara looked at me in surprise, "Ya...saved me?"

"Don't act so shocked!" I said mockingly, and threw my knives at the monster. She broke from her trance and fired more arrows too.

"It's not working!" Arya said, "We must attack all at once!"

Sera used her ice powers to slide over to her, "I have an idea!" She said, "Fire your arrows to distract it, and I'll cut the monster in half!"

I looked at her like she was crazy, but then realized what she meant, and it was pretty smart. She would create a sharp ice platform to close up the hole, and in turn, slice the monster's body.

Arya hesitated, but eventually nodded to the other girls, who all lined up in position, and quickly fired a hail of arrows with perfect skill. I saw them fly through the air like slow motion, and I threw my knives right beside of it, for good measure.

Every weapon hit it at the same time, and monster finally felt something. It twitched and writhed in the air, and stopped attacking us.

"Now, Sera!" I said. She jumped to action. She thrust her hand out and squeezed her fist. An ice platform morphed from the already existing snow, and closed up like a sliding door on the monster. It proved true, and sharp enough, to cut it clean in half. The monster's upper half fell to the floor and cracked it. It writhed around for a bit, but eventually went limp. I pinched my nose from the smell, it was awful. And the bucket of blood on the platform didn't look so good either.

We all caught our breaths and fell silent. Thinking it was over, but just then, the ground shook again, and we nearly lost our footing. The thing wasn't actually dead.

But how? We just cut it in half. Or...I think we did.

But that's probably wrong. I think we just made this thing angry. It's growl was louder than before, and the mountain shook even more wildly. Ice started to fall from the roof of the cave, and cracks started to form in the ground. The wolves were getting spooked, and they looked like they wanted to bail.

Arya looked at all of us, urgency on her face. "We gotta go! Now!"

No need to tell me twice. We all ran over and jumped on the sleigh, Sera close behind, trying to keep the mountain intact. She was doing great, fixing holes and cracks just as they appeared, shattering ice blocks when they fell so they wouldn't do any further damage. It hit me that this entire mountain probably would've crumbled if not for her. Jeez, she'd really gotten strong since the transformation.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her in the sleigh. As soon as her foot touched the floor, Arya snapped the reins, and the wolves took off. Sera definitely held up this entire thing, because when we left the cave, I looked back and saw every bit of it crumble. Ice and rock filled up the area we all just stood in, no breathing room whatsoever.

There wasn't a lot of talking. Just driving. All of our hearts were kind of going crazy because one, we nearly died, and two, we didn't even phase the thing, let alone kill it.

Finally, Arya broke the silence. "It's as I feared."

"What?" I asked, the other huntresses looked at her with anticipation. Lara didn't, but she looked like she knew what she was going to say.

"Ouranos has awoken a beast. That pink thing that Sera cut back there...that was no monster."

"Well, yeah. It kept growling even after we cut it off." I said, "But what was the pink thing, then?"

Her face darkened a shade, "That was it's tongue."

My eyes widened, along with the other huntresses. No way. That thing was bigger than the hole, and that hole was fifty feet wide! What the hell can be that big?

Arya continued, "Not even it's whole tongue, but a sliver of it. The very edge."

I looked back at the other huntresses, who had been mostly stone faced and serious this whole time, but now they were downright fearful. Just what was in that mountain?

"How is that possible?" I said incredulously. "What Norse monster's that big?!"

Lara closed her eyes in dread, "Don't say it, Arya."

But Arya did anyway, "If I am correct, which I think I am. There is no other monster that can be that large, so it has to be him."

"Him?" Sera asked, leaning up in her seat, "Who is him?"

"Jormungandr" Arya said, "The Midgard Serpent."

We didn't say much after that.

I tried to ask more about this Midgard Serpent, since Hercules mentioned that last night. But neither Arya or the others would budge. They just stared straight ahead, not saying a word. So I kept quiet too.

We got back to Camp shortly after, parking the sleigh and letting the wolves go back in their dens. Arya asked a camper if Sigurd and Matt were back yet, and he said they weren't. It had only been a little while, and it wasn't even noon yet. Of course they would take a little longer than we would. I couldn't help but worry though.

Arya suggested we all go in the sauna to get away from this cold air and ease our tension from earlier. Sounded like a good idea to me. I was ready for some heat. I'd had enough snow and ice at Griffith Manor.

The Campers were busy, so it was just us in there. We all kept a towel over each of our bodies. Arya said they usually do that, but I felt more comfortable that way. I barely know these girls, and as cool as they may be, I'm not interested in showing a bunch of strangers what I got going on.

The actual sauna itself was like a big sigh of relief. It washed away any chills or feeling of frostbite instantly, and replaced it with a soothing texture of warmth. I'd never been to a spa before, but I imagine it would look like this. In the middle of the room, sat a pool like thing, filled to the brim with scalding hot water. It let off more than enough heat and steam to keep us warm, so I'd rather not get into the pool itself. I imagine it's hotter than your average hot tub.

A square shaped wooden bench wrapped around the pool, allowing us to sit in front of it. I sat with Sera and Arya, the latter having destressed and loosened up a bit from earlier, and the former being a little uncomfortable with the heat. Sera was sweating and panting a little. It made sense, since she was immune to cold, I'd figure she'd be sensitive to heat.

"Sera, you good?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yes. I am just not used to it, that is all."

Arya pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face, "Feels good, huh? Especially out of all that snow."

I turned to her, "So you guys never have hot weather? What's summer like around here?"

"Oh no, we have fair weather, but it's not common, and doesn't happen too often in the year." She said, "We're so far up the mountain, if we stayed closer to the ground then it might be different. But we can't risk that. Sigurd says it's strategically better to be up higher. In case of an enemy attack, it'll take them longer to reach us, and we can hit them while they're trying to trek the mountain."

That was...actually really smart. I'd never even thought about that being the reason why they were so high up. Sigurd was intelligent, like Arya said.

"So Arya" I said, hoping she would answer me this time, "What's up with the Midgard Serpent?"

She tightened her lips and looked at the floor, "It is a dangerous beast, said to be as large as the Earth itself. I don't know about that, but that pink thing back there...that was only a sliver of it's tongue. Imagine it's eye, or even it's whole body."

As big as the Earth itself. That was so hard to wrap my mind around. I mean a town is big enough, let alone cities and countries and continents. A monster bigger than all of that? It just couldn't be true.

"Can it be beat?" Sera asked.

"Thor defeated it long ago." Arya said, "They say it became one with the Earth, and it now inhabits it's core, under the surface. That growling...it proves it. Ouranos is waking it, summoning it back to the surface. If that happens, it'll hinder the invasion heavily, distracting our strongest."

"Can it even come to the surface?" I asked, "I mean, without destroying the Earth?"

Arya shrugged, clearly not knowing what to think. "I don't know. But it's Ouranos. And over the course of the weeks we've known about him...one thing is that he will not give up until he accomplishes his goal."

With that happy note, Arya decided to get up, "I've got some things I need to attend to. Thank you for helping us out today, both of you, you did great."

She disappeared behind the corner of the changing room, and eventually left the sauna altogether. Some of the other huntresses stayed, most of them were probably busy, so they decided they had enough.

Sera next to me was fiddling with her fingers, seemingly thinking hard about something.

"Hey" I said, getting her attention. "You alright?"

She looked up, like she'd been caught doing something. "Oh um, yes. I'm alright. I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

She bit her lip in nervousness, "About the other night, when I...transformed."

I nodded, the memory flooding back to me. She had been so cool, so powerful, yet so unlike herself. A complete one eighty from the normal Sera.

She continued, "I do not know all of what happened that night. I just...remember being scared, and knowing the situation was bad. I saw you getting shot at, and somewhere in the back of my head, I knew you could get out of the way in time. But...I just snapped and saw white."

I smirked at her, trying to cheer her up. "You were so badass. Your father probably pissed himself."

She didn't chuckle or laugh, her face only sank more. And I felt guilty for making it worse. I hated to see her sad. It was like watching a depressed puppy. It just wasn't right. It wasn't in the laws of nature for a puppy to be depressed, same goes for Sera.

I put a hand on her bare shoulder, "I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry."

"Oh no, no." She assured, "I am not regretful of what I did to my father or siblings. I spared them, because I thought it the right thing to do. But I left them with enough suffering to satisfy my anger. I felt leaving them on their own without the mansion was justice."

I nodded in full agreement. "It was. You did the right thing." Her skin was slick and warm under my hand. I didn't find the sweat nasty though or anything, so I kept it there to comfort her. The thought that even Sera could somehow make sweat clean nearly made me laugh.

"But I was so unlike myself." She said, "I nearly lost control. It was like I was someone else entirely, Harper." She hugged herself, "I just do not want to lose control again, and hurt one of you, or jeopardize a mission."

So this is how she really felt about her new form? Or whatever that was at Griffith Manor. She hadn't talked about it since we left there, and hearing her open up was relieving.

"Sera, I know it was scary." I said, looking into her eyes, "But you don't have to worry about losing control, or anything. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. You have the willpower and strength to fight against whatever it is that's inside of you." I chuckled, "And besides, we've all got your back. I've got your back, you know that."

She stared at me for a moment, her blue eyes meeting my one lighter shade of blue, the other pure white. I can only see out of the right one, but I still caught the thankfulness that gleamed in hers after I said what I said. They watered and her mouth quivered. She pulled me into a tight hug.

"Oh Harper, thank you." She sighed, "I love you."

I blushed, "Uh...I'm flattered, Sera. But Malachi probably wouldn't like that very much."

She pulled away, but held my shoulders, and smiled at my teasing. "You know what I mean, silly. I love you like a sibling. You are like the sister I always wanted, but never had."

Now it was my eyes that were watering. Damn, the sauna was hot, making my eyes tear up. (I know you know that's not the reason, shut up.)

Hearing her say those words, it made me feel strange. I had an overwhelming feeling of warmth and fuzziness inside of my heart. Kind of like how I did with Matt, but this was different. Sera and I...we had something different. All of those months of talking to each other, comforting each other about our pasts and troubles, becoming friends, experiencing this quest together. We weren't just friends. We were sisters. I don't care if we're not blood related, Sera is my sister, and I fully believe that with everything I have.

I smiled genuinely at her, "I love you too...sis."

She laughed and let go of me, wiping sweat off of her face and looking fatigued. "I believe I've been in here far too long. I need to leave."

"Go ahead, I think I'm gonna get out too." I said, "My fingers are starting to look like an old lady's."

She gestured to the door, "Are you going back to the longhouse, or elsewhere?"

I knit my eyebrows, not sure what to do after this. We were basically done with our part, now we had to wait on Matt and Sigurd.

I shrugged, "I guess I'll just help out wherever I can."

She nodded, "Okay then. See you later."

I waved at her. She went into the changing room first and eventually came out with her getup she came in with. I took it as my signal to go ahead and get out of here too. I found my clothes on a rack and put them on, throwing the towel in some bin that holds them.

I exited the sauna door and let it shut behind me. Instead of keeping on my way, I noticed in my right peripheral, Lara was standing at the corner of the building, waiting on me it seemed.

She eyed me up and down, "Figured I wouldn't stand in your blind spot." She pointed to my left eye.

I didn't take offense. Her tone wasn't like that right now, not like it was before, where she was almost rude. "Yeah, thing's a pain in the ass." I said.

I walked over to her and we stood next to each other.

"How'd that happen?" She asked, "Don't see a scar."

I shook my head, "Let's just say I made a deal. Traded sight in this eye for valuable information."

She nodded, her eyes squinted a little, "Was it worth it?"

I paused, and within the next few seconds, I thought about Levi, and all of the pain he's caused me.

"No. It wasn't." Was all I said, and she left it at that.

She spoke up again after a moment of silence, "Hey...I just wanted to say...I'm sorry, alright."

Wait, what? She was actually apologizing. Was sure by just reading her demeanor earlier that she was the type to never say sorry. Even if she knew she was wrong.

She continued, "Before ya say anything, I know I acted like a jerk. It's just..." She fiddled with a ring on her finger. Not a wedding ring, but something else. It had a weird symbol on it, "I've been on my own for most of my life. And I've put trust in people...that betrayed me. This life is about survival, and I'm a cautious person. That's why I'm wary about this whole joint operation thing."

I nodded, "I get it."

"When ya saved me back there. I knew you were legit, and that...maybe this whole thing'll work after all." She shrugged, "I ain't so sure. But I hope it does."

I held out my hand, "Me too." She shook it, and she smirked. I had a feeling we'd get along in the future of this invasion. She seemed cool after all. Turns out when you don't fight someone you actually become friends.

I pointed at her bow and joked, "Think you could teach me how to shoot that thing?"

She looked back at it on her shoulder, "I suppose so. Only if you-"

But whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a loud BOOM! In the distance, two bright, large beams of light shot into the sky, swirling and mixing with each other. One was a red color, just like Matt's aura, and the other was green. Just like the color under Greybeard's ship...

Oh gods, Matt and Sigurd. It didn't take a genius to figure out the sources of the beams.

Lara's eyes widened at the sight, "Chief..."

All the Campers stopped what they were doing and huddled up to see what was going on. The lights only got brighter, explosions and shouts could be heard all the way from over here. They were war cries, and they shook the entire land beneath us, even from this distance, probably miles away.

Malachi, Talon and Hercules came up behind us, confusion and shock in their expressions.

"What the hell is going on?!" Talon asked impatiently.

Hercules looked worried for his son, "It's Matt, that red beam belongs to Matt..."

Malachi's face was grim, and a shadow cast over his eyes. "Both of them are letting out a lot of power. Their auras are skyrocketing." Malachi concentrated, and closed his eyes, "Sigurd isn't much far behind him. They're using just about all of their strength."

My eyes widened, "No way. What the hell's down there that's making them use that much power?"

Hercules clenched his fists, "Nothing good." I saw his knees twitch. He was probably fighting the urge to go and help his son. I know I was.

Now I had a reason to be worried. I didn't know what was going on in that cavern, but whatever it was, whoever, or whatever those two were fighting...it had them on the ropes.

(000)

Yep, so that was pretty fun to write. I liked writing the huntresses some more, and Harper and Sera's sister like relationship. They're the siblings they both need in each other, but don't have. It's kind of poetic.

Anyway, this chapter was shorter than usual, and definitely shorter than the last one by a lot, but I wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way, because the Matt and Sigurd chapter is next, and that one's going to be good. After that, the Invasion arc of the story begins.

Hope you all enjoyed, and be on the lookout for Chapter 25! It'll be out soon!

Until Next Time.