NOTE: It really has been a looooooong time, hasn't it? Well, I'm going to try and balance my writing time between all of my stories again. I feel bad that I've been neglecting all other stories...but I'm back here, and I'd like to work on this story once again!

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After inspecting the damage to the van, it was decided that it was still ok to drive. But there was still the question of what to do about Aurelia. Jazmin, Nico, Elizabeth, James, Aaron and Jackie went to the side to talk about that very issue.

"But she saved us!" Aaron crossed his arms adamantly. "We didn't see the hell hound, and she saved me and Jackie."

"Think!" James said exasperatedly. "She just happens to show up and save us in the nick of time? I'm having some serious doubts."

"I'm with James and Elizabeth," said Nico. "It's too fishy. Pun intended."

"Jackie, you were the first to volunteer for this. And Jazmin, this is your first quest. I think this Quest belongs to one of you," said Elizabeth. "Before we decide what to do about Aurelia, I think we need to choose a leader. It'll make decision making a lot less complicated." Everyone could see the logic in that. "And since Jackie and Jazmin have the most license, I think we should vote between the two of them. Agreed? And you two won't vote," said Elizabeth, motioning to Jazmin and Jackie.

The six of them nodded. Jazmin, as nervous as she was, saw the logic in this especially. Her mother, Athena, would approve.

"Jazmin, Jackie, turn around," said Nico. He made sure they had. "All right, who votes for Jazmin?" Pause. "Who votes for Jackie?" Pause. "Turn around, you two."

They did.

"Who won?" asked Jackie.

"Jazmin did," said Nico. "I excluded myself from the vote so I could count the votes and make it impossible to end in a tie." He motioned inward. They huddled in. "Now, what should we do about Aurelia?"

Jazmin took a moment to think. "We need allies. I say we let her join us and if we think she can't be trusted, we tell her to go. Simple as that." Jazmin snapped her fingers. She could see that people didn't like the decision, but they saw the wisdom in it. "All right?"

Albeit reluctantly, the Quest members nodded.

"Good. Let's go back," said Jazmin.

"We've decided to let you come with us, Aurelia," said Jazmin. "But if we see something we don't like, we'll ask you to leave. Sound good?"

Aurelia, who had been sharpening her sword, stood up. "Of course. What can I do to help?" Suckers.

"For right now, just help us push the van back onto the road so we can drive," said Jazmin. "Just in case there's another hell hound in the area."

Aurelia nodded.

"Wait a sec," said Jackie. She pushed her long sleeves up to her elbows and chanted. The van shook for a second. A glowing aura surrounded it, connecting the van with Jackie's hand by a small tendril of magical power. The van moved slowly backwards towards the road. The back two tires were on the road, now the front left and with a final effort, the entirety of the van was on the road once more. Jackie suddenly looked pale. "I've never lifted something that heavy before." She sat on the ground. "Does anyone have a granola bar or something?"

Jazmin reached into her bag and pulled out a snack for Jackie. "You ok?"

Jackie accepted it and bit off a third of the bar. "Yeah," she said through chewing. "I just need a little food after doing magic like that." She finished the snack, pocketed the wrapper and stood up. "Thanks Jazmin. I feel better now." She motioned to the van. "Let's go."

They started up the slight slope.

"Hey, Aurelia, would you mind sitting in back? Your sword is biggest and needs the most room," said Nico.

"At least mine's not a soul sucker," said Elizabeth with a grin.

"Hahaha." laughed Nico. "Veeeeeeery funny, Eagle Brain."

They all climbed in to the van, Jazmin still driving, Nico still in front and the rest piled in the back.

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They drove for three hours, stopping in Johnson City for the night. There wasn't a whole lot around here, and the Quest group didn't know exactly why they hadn't been attacked again. Not that they weren't grateful for it, but still. It was unnerving.

They found an area that was good for camping, so they stayed there, right after they got something to eat.

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With the Quest group so close, Aurelia didn't dare try and kill another one of the whelps. I can't. Not right now, anyway. But what she could do was go and send him an Iris message.

Aurelia waited until they were all asleep, then she crept away from camp. It took some time to find a spot to send her Iris message in peace. She ended up finding a water spigot about half a mile away. Perfect. She pumped it until it created a nice spray and tossed a drachma into the air. "Oh goddess of the rainbow, please show me my master."

Her master materialized. As Aurelia had hoped, he was alone.

"Greetings, master."

"Greetings, Aurelia. Have you made any progress?"

Aurelia nodded. "I have, master. I have killed one of the whelps and I have infiltrated the group."

"And how do you plan to get out of it?"

"I'm still working on a plan, but I have an idea." Her arms began to burn from the physical exertion of continual pumping. But nevertheless, she persevered. "I just need a while to fully formulate the plan, but even before I've fully thought it through, I know it will involve gaining their trust."

"And that means..." He gestured with his hands vaguely.

"Fighting off some of your minions, master. I already had to. One of the hell hounds you sent."

"Ok."

"I knew I had to gain their trust, so when it pounced on two of them, I killed it."

Aurelia's master paused for a second, lost in thought. "Good thinking. It might be difficult to gain it. Do what you have to. It's a good plan."

"I-I will, master."

"Send me an Iris message every so often to let me know how things are going."

"I promise, master."

"Go. You're getting tired."

"I'll keep you aware of my plans. Good night."

Aurelia's master waved away the mist and their connection was broken. Aurelia stretched out her cramped arms and put her things away so she could hike back to the camp site. This will be a good plan.

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NOTE: I know it's short and I'm sorry about that, but I need to concentrate on other things. I have a few final projects to take care of. But all the same, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time~!