The Curse Of Artemis (Percy Jackson Fanfiction) [COMPLETED]

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Before, I'd never really known how strongly you could need someone, how much you grew accustomed to being with someone.

I'd always lived on my own; of course I never knew.

I quickly discovered it, though.

Leo and I may as well have known each other for years. In reality, it was hardly a week. How was that possible?

I battled with two feelings for the next three days: grief and love - or something close to it. Guilt was there, too, not only because I was with Leo despite grieving over Dana.

I knew it was probably stupid, but I felt like it was my fault Dana died. It was me, after all, who decided that we should keep going, storm or not.

When I voiced this to Leo at one of our daily trips to that restaurant - McDonalds - he told me not to feel that way. It was all of us that decided to keep flying, not just me. Even Dana had agreed, he reminded me. Of course, I hadn't expected him to say anything very different, but it reassured me all the same.

We all knew we were nearing Tampa Bay, not only because of the newspapers we worked together to decipher, but also because the air grew warmer the closer we got, however subtly.

I'd been in this area once before, though I'd stayed for no longer than two days. The game wasn't very good there, and I didn't like the heat, especially because I'd came at it's warmest. So I'd moved on quickly, but I still remembered it enough to know we were closing in on the Hunters.

The closer we got, the more I sensed a divide between us. It wasn't the four of us, it was Percy and Annabeth, and Leo and Adara.

In the quieter hours in the air, I repeated the prophecy in my head.

Among themselves divided, though all must stay united, was the line I couldn't get out of my head. It certainly seemed to be coming true.

We had a day to find Artemis, and, though I was feeling very anxious, I knew we were close, and I kept reminding myself that we would get there in time. There was no need to worry.

We touched down in a city that we were pretty sure was Tampa. After a quick check of a newspaper, we knew we were on the right track, so we took back to the air to look for water.

I was practically humming with anticipation as the eight of us skimmed over treetops and buildings, leaving concealment completely up to the Mist.

It took us longer than I thought it would to find the water. But finally we did; an inlet from the sea.

The real problem would be actually finding Artemis. We were assuming the prophecy meant "sea" literally, but it could just mean near the sea. Either way, it would take a while to find her.

Hey, Luna, I thought hopefully. You wouldn't have some mind-connection with Artemis, would you? I may as well ask. If Artemis helped make her, than maybe Luna could find Artemis.

Luna whinnied. Not sure, miss. Want me to try?

I nodded, though she couldn't see me. Yes, please.

Luna conveyed the plan to the other pegasi. Hold on miss, she told me. If she could sound amused, she definitely did.

Knowing what was to come, I gripped her mane just as she and the other pegasi pulled into a sudden dive towards the water. Percy, also unsurprised, let out a whoop, spreading his arms and Blackjack's hooves skimmed the surface of the water.

"Damn it, Percy!" Annabeth cried, her hands buried in Cygnet's (the name of her pegasus; meaning "swan" in Greek) mane. She was grinning at Percy in an I'm-going-to-kill-you sort of way.

"Blame Adara!" He grinned right back.

I just spread my arms, hair whipping into a tangled knot, and savoured the rush of air.

Even after we pulled out of the dive to fly along the water, we kept up the same quick speed. I wasn't sure if Luna really knew what she was doing, but I wasn't going to question it.

Surprisingly enough, Leo seemed to be quite enjoying himself. He looked relaxed and content on his pegasus, and Shade looked happy too, as a result. I could only imagine how his sides hurt.

Luna led the other pegasi toward the shoreline until we were so close to it that the water was probably only a few feet deep.

The land was a bit rocky here, and Luna seemed to be heading straight for a large chunk of rock jutting from the ground. I was a bit worried until I noticed  a large hole in the side of the rock that seemed open up into a hollow space. At least I hoped it did, because Luna tucked her wings into her sides and headed for it.

Sure enough, the rock was a cave. The inside was huge; it went downward a bit, so part of it was underground, but the whole area was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside.

It was also full of young girls.

And in a split second, all of their bows were pointed at my friends and I.