Guided by their recent visit to the temple of Artemis, the three demigods arrive at the nearest Mt. Olympus Underground Station. Grab onto your snow gear cause the Fourth Labor leads the party to snowy Rochester, New York. 

/ 

Apparently, there was a whole separate subway station for demigods and non-mortal beings. A little pocket of Greek mythos right along the train tracks all this time. She never would have guessed! 

(Well, actually , ever since Momo’s been introduced to Camp, she’s been noticing a lot of stuff that makes total sense now. 

Like the friendly mailman with an eyepatch and some cool scars that always delivers her mail on time back at the campus postal building. One time, she asked where he got the gnarly scars from and he smirked before replying, “I took part in some wicked games of capture the flag back in the day.” 

And the cafe across from the campus library whose pastries taste suspiciously similar to ambrosia. The employees there always giggled and winked and said “It’s an ancient family secret” whenever she asked about the recipes.) 

Not only were the trains faster ( duh, they were powered by godly magic ), the stores weren’t too bad either. 

Jihyo slipped into the underground convenience store to stock up on some snacks. She grabbed a couple of Demeter’s Grains & Granola Bars and Hephaestus’s Chocolate Forge Coins . She also didn’t forget to grab a pack of sea-salted seaweed that Momo liked so much. 

(Momo was probably being bias but hey!—they tasted good to her. Who wouldn’t want a snack with the tagline, ‘ seaweed grown straight outta Poseidon’s Palace!’. ) She doubted they were really grown in her father’s palace but the mere thought of it was amusing nonetheless. 

While Jihyo got the snacks, Momo decided to buy them all thicker jackets. The weather was getting colder and they were heading to one of the snowiest places in New York. Plus, there was a sweet sale going on. Three for the price of two!

Chaeyoung waited outside the stores and watched one of the station’s tv walls. She was catching up on the local mortal news and the non-mortal news. 

When they were finished with their purchases, her two friends came up to either side of her. 

“Anything interesting?” Momo asked as she draped a new winter jacket over each of her friend’s shoulders before slipping her own on. 

Chaeyoung shook her head. “Well, there’s a recent sports coverage on the semi-annual Cyclops Lava Surfing Tournament. Other than that, nothing much.” 

“Whoa, lava surfing?! ” 

Chaeyoung giggled as Momo became captivated by the current program. Feeling Jihyo rummaging through their packs, she turned with a questioning look.  

Jihyo answered her inquisitive gaze with a smile. “Just splitting the perishable food items between us.” 

The three demigods watched as a cyclops competitor took a nose dive off a big wave before some announcements came on. They were in Greek, announcing the arriving and departing trains. 

“Ah, that’s our cue.” Jihyo zipped up her new jacket before stepping towards the platform. Momo and Chaeyoung followed behind her as they entered the subway. 

“You’ve been here before?” Momo had her eyebrows raised. 

“Yup!” Jihyo had an enthusiastic smile. It kinda looked like her body was vibrating from sheer excitement. “I’ve done a couple errands here and there using the Olympus Express. It never gets old, really.” 

The doors slid shut as the last people entered. It was all a mix of non-mortals and demigods. More than Momo knew even existed! 

They all took a seat on a bench that could fit three people. Momo faced forward, spotting a unicorn centaur waiting on the opposite platform through the train window. 

The unicorn centaur donned a leather jacket and some wicked-looking shades and a party hat. He had a friendly-looking smirk on when he noticed her, giving her a rock’n’roll hoof sign. Her lips tugged upwards into a grin as she returned the gesture. 

The train rumbled and hissed greatly before departing the station. Momo could practically feel the powerful thrumming of the engine through her seat. Only the Gods knew what powered these things! 

Well—them and probably the Hephaestus kids. 

Pretty soon, the three demigods were engaged in an animated conversation as the Olympus Express hurtled towards the snowy city of Rochester. 

/ 

“You think we should check up on Camp?” 

Chaeyoung had asked while they were mid-way into their train ride. 

Momo shrugged and turned to Jihyo who also shrugged. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” 

Jihyo got a golden drachma out and said, “Think you can get a little mist going?” 

“I can try but no promises if you guys get splashed.” 

The Daughter of Poseidon proceeded to dump her half-full water bottle and waved her hand continuously. (A bit dramatically if you asked Chaeyoung.) 

The small amount of water floated in the middle of their train cabin. It shimmered and slowly turned into a cross between water vapor and mist. 

“Alright, it’s steady... I think.” 

At Momo’s words, Jihyo flipped a golden drachma into the mist and said, “O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering.” 

A rainbow appeared through the water and Jihyo said, “Show me Camp Half-Blood.” 

The water’s surface shimmered again before showing the image of the Camp’s Combat Arena. Campers were gathered around the Coliseum—more so than usual. 

“Whoa… what’s up with the crowd?” 

“I think there’s a camp event today… but I don’t remember which one…” 

The image continued to change viewpoints but it was still centered around the Arena. 

“Wait—there’s Tzuyu!” 

The Daughter of Apollo had spotted their friend in the crowd. At Jihyo’s exclamation, the Iris Message shifted until Tzuyu was front and center of the message. 

“Tzuyu!” 

Tzuyu turned towards the call of her name with a questioning look. Her face turned to a delightful expression when she saw that it was an Iris Message. 

“Guys!—oh, hold on.” Tzuyu turned her head away and shouted to something out of their view. 

A few seconds later and all of their friends piled onto Tzuyu. They all spoke at once while trying to get into view. 

“You guys are ok!” 

“Is that a train?” 

“Did you guys get any cool scars yet?” 

“Where are you?” 

“Oh, is that snow?” 

“Wow, you’re still alive? Ow—hey!” 

The three demigods laughed at the familiar chaotic sight of their friends. Tzuyu was exasperated at their actions—they were all squishing her with their movements and hanging off of her. 

She expressed her annoyance soon enough, “You guys do know that Iris Messages expand the viewer’s range of vision, right? They can see you guys just fine.” 

At her words, their friends all froze with various expressions of realization. The trio’s laughter doubled at the sight of their statuesque friends. 

“So what’s with the crowd?” 

Jeongyeon chimed in. “It’s Chariot Racing Day.” She grinned widely. “And guess who I’m teamed up with.” 

Jeongyeon threw her arm over Tzuyu’s shoulder and waggled her eyebrows like crazy. Tzuyu could do nothing but endure her girlfriend’s antics. 

“Chariots? Racing? That sounds awesome! ” Momo’s eyes went all sparkly. Chariot racing sounds so damn cool.  

“Are you using the chariot I built?” Chaeyoung spoke up with a grin, her words directed at none other than Nayeon. “I didn’t spend all that time painting flames for nothing.” 

“Of course I am!” The Daughter of War smirked. “Gotta show off my baby’s work.” 

“Bleh.” Jeongyeon made a face to tease their show of PDA, which Tzuyu responded with a thump to the back of her head. “OW!—seriously, what’s up with you hitting me?” 

Sana took the time to look at Nayeon and say, “Please, we all know that the Athena cabin is gonna win again .” 

She and Mina stood shoulder to shoulder with confident smirks on their faces. Mina high-fived Sana and quipped with a “Yeah, we’re not back-to-back champs for nothing.” 

“Listen!—you guys only won last time cause someone threw olive oil on half of the course!” Nayeon poked Jeongyeon in the chest to emphasize her words. 

“Hey!—Don’t poke me like that!” Jeongyeon retaliated with a poke of her own to Nayeon. 

The group dissolved from there with trash-talking and vigorous poking. Each of their friends were busy arguing with each other; only Tzuyu kept silent as she watched on with fond exasperation. 

The Iris Message went on for a little longer until Tzuyu waved them away with a tired smile. Then the rainbow cut out and Momo hurriedly swept the water back into her bottle before any of them got splashed. 

The sound of the Olympus Express rumbled in the background as the three demigods laughed at their friends’ antics. It was good to see them again, even if only for a brief moment. 

/ 

“BY THE GODS!” Momo loudly shouted as she shook the snow off of her for the umpteenth time. “How much snow is there?!” 

She grunted again as she tried to walk forward. There was so much snow that it reached the door handles of the parked cars on the streets. She had to take big steps and hope that there was solid ground underneath each step. 

Walking was awkward. Running in this much snow just made her feel silly and sluggish. Like a kid just learning how to walk. 

Momo stumbled—a snow pile had given way under her foot. A hand darted out to grab her before she could fall face first. She shot Jihyo a grateful smile. If Jihyo hadn’t caught her, she’s sure she would have been a block of ice upon contact. The snow was pretty, sure. But just touching it was like the coldest thing Momo had ever felt in her life. 

“We’re getting close!” 

Chaeyoung’s upbeat voice reached them from a few feet further ahead. She was crouching when Momo and Jihyo came up to either side of her. 

She pointed to the deep marks in the snow. “See this? Boar tracks, leading further ahead.” 

Chaeyoung got up to her feet. She rummaged around in her pack before pulling out what looked like a metal water gun. Only it wasn’t. Instead, it was loaded with the large silver net they had received from Lady Artemis at her Temple. 

She had managed to craft the net launcher while they were on the Olympus Express, proudly dubbing it ‘The AIR NET 9000’. 

Speaking of the subway, right as they arrived, the girls were struck by a stench that reeked of monster. Jihyo had exclaimed that they had to hurry after it. When Momo asked what was the rush, Jihyo answered that the Erymanthian Boar was known to travel long distances in just a short amount of time. 

They had followed the trail out of the magical subway station and into the snow-filled streets of Rochester. 

And here we are now, wading through the deep cold snow, looking for this huge boar. Momo shivered as she followed Chaeyoung’s lead. She pulled her jacket tighter around her. Snow was still falling heavily, wrapping the city in a thick blanket of white. 

The demigods followed the trail of the Boar’s steps. They had to mind the hoofprints though, since they were like the size of potholes… really big potholes. 

After a bit of walking and stumbling, Momo came to a pause. She tilted her head, face frozen in confused concentration. Jihyo had noticed her lack of movement and stopped. She got the attention of Chaeyoung before asking, “Hey, you good?” 

Momo looked baffled as she swiveled her head left and right. She narrowed her eyes and asked, “Do you guys hear that or am I just going crazy?” 

The trio went silent for a second. 

A rumbling rang out in the distance, getting closer and closer. The closer it came, the more thundering the noise became. 

“That! What is it?!” Momo exclaimed. She could feel the ground slightly shaking. Looking up, she noticed that the parked cars in the distance were wobbling back and forth. So it’s not just me.  

The girls all had their guard up. Eyes flicking everywhere, bodies turning round and round, trying to spot what was causing the disturbance. It was kinda hard with the heavy snowfall blocking their view. Momo could barely make out the light of the street lamps. 

“Wha–!” 

Jihyo, who was the closest to the street side, felt something zoom by her. The momentum and pace of it was ridiculously fast. The force of it jostled her so bad that she fell back onto a snowpile with a comical whomp ! 

“It’s the Boar!” Chaeyoung shouted excitedly before breaking into a run after it. Momo had to hold in her laughter as she helped Jihyo up before they joined the chase. 

Miraculously, the Boar didn’t use its super fast travel speed. It was still pretty fast though, but the girls were right on its trail. 

Momo had to gape at the visual before her. Honestly, how could she not . 

The myths mentioned that the Erymanthian Boar was huge but seeing it up close was a whole different story. The Boar was about thirty feet high. Its two tusks—which were both the size of canoes by the way—was easily parting the snow in front of its path, like a high speed snow plow. 

Chaeyoung took aim with her launcher. Before she could do anything, Jihyo held her back by the elbow. 

“Hold on! We’ve only got one shot!” 

As if it heard her words, the Boar bucked with a loud squeal and to a different street. The girls had to double their speed just to catch up. 

“What now?” 

Momo noticed that the area they were running through was getting less and less populated. There were fewer parked cars than before. She took a quick glance around and realized that they were heading towards a public park. One of those big ones with the public picnic tables and what not. 

How convenient. 

Her mind kicked into gear as she formulated a plan. Jihyo caught onto her train of thought after a few gestures exchanged. 

“There!” She panted out, “Drive it under the trees over there!” 

Momo sprinted in the direction east of them, towards the cluster of trees previously pointed out. 

Jihyo and Chaeyoung moved over to one side of the Boar. They started shouting and making exaggerated movements and managed to spook the giant creature (or annoyed it, who knows). In an attempt to get away, the Boar began shifting its path in the opposite direction. 

Right where they wanted it to go. 

They were getting closer to the place where Momo was headed—but there was no sign of her. Just snow-covered park furnishings and snow piles and trees. 

The pace they were running at was still fast. 

They were just about to reach the cluster of trees when Jihyo swore she saw a snow pile wiggle . Momo jumped out of a snow pile with a loud warcry, her celestial bronze sword glinting in the hazy snowfall. 

Startled by the sudden noise and appearance, the Boar let out an almost deafening squeal. It jerked away from Momo and straight to the cluster of trees. Because of its speed, it couldn’t dodge the trees and ran right into them with a great booming slam!  

The impact was hard enough to shake the snow off of the tree branches, which fell down onto the Boar. The Boar squealed as it was assaulted by the unrelenting cold. 

“Hurry! Shoot it while it’s down!” 

Chaeyoung got close enough to not get trampled by the Boar’s struggling limbs. She launched the silver net at point blank range. 

The silver net magically wrapped itself around the Boar’s entire form. For a second, the only sound was the boar’s squealing and their heaving breaths. Then the net started glowing. 

The demigods were bewildered at first. Then Jihyo realized that the glow was too bright—way too bright for mortal eyes. Luckily, she managed to get Momo and Chaeyoung to shield their eyes in time. 

Jihyo’s quick thinking was the right idea. The silver net was imbued with Lady Artemis’s godly powers. Who knows what it could have done to their mortal eyes. 

When they opened their eyes, the silver net was gone. Instead, what replaced it was a large silver saddle atop the Erymanthian Boar’s back. The Boar itself had settled onto all fours, no longer squealing. 

It still looked a bit disgruntled from all the cold snow falling on it though. 

As the demigods continued to stare in awe, the Boar let out a gruff grunt. It almost sounded impatient. 

It was Chaeyoung who flew into action, running up and climbing onto the saddle with childish glee. “C’mon! Before the Boar tramples you slowpokes!” The Boar let out a grunt as if it agreed with her. 

Momo snorted before the two of them followed. Jihyo went first. Momo grabbed onto her friend’s outstretched hands, heaving herself up. They sat in the order they climbed up: Chaeyoung, Jihyo, Momo. 

As soon as they were settled, the Boar started moving. It tread in a brisk pace before setting into a run. Then it started moving like the myths said. Buildings blurred by and Momo could feel the cool wind whistling through her hair and ruffling her clothes. 

“SO WE’RE JUST GONNA LET IT TAKE US TO WHEREVER?” She had to shout over the wind to get her words across. 

“YEAH! IT LOOKS LIKE IT KNOWS WHERE IT’S GOING!” Chaeyoung had a nonchalant smile on, like she normally rides a giant boar in her everyday life. Momo had to laugh at the image. 

Jihyo turned and Momo had to lean in close to hear her. She shrugged and pointed to the saddle. Silver. “The Gods can’t help demigods on their quest directly. This must be Lady Artemis’s way of guiding us.” 

Momo leaned back into her seat. Hey—who was she to deny a Godly helping hand.