the 7th labor leads our demigod heroes to the presidential monument of Mt. Rushmore. what will happen now, where will they go next, what awaits them in this far up north state? find out in this double update! 

/ 

Harsh breaths came out from Momo—so harsh that it almost seemed like she was bordering on hyperventilating. She tried to calm down and collect herself… but it was kinda hard to when you’re about 60 feet in the air and hanging onto Abraham Lincoln’s stone face. Barely, she might add. 

Momo looked down to see her legs dangling in the air and groaned at the sight of the very far away and very solid ground. She could still hear the sound of her panicking teammates above along with the rampaging Cretan Bull. 

How did she get here? Funny story actually. You know when they say grab the bull by the horns—don’t actually do it. Or else the bull will just fling you off the top of Mt. Rushmore like a screaming rag doll. 

No but really, after they had left Z's Spring Garden, they had arrived at Mt. Rushmore via the West Wind Express—which was a totally wicked experience, by the way. The first they did when they arrived was take a selfie actually. It was actually pretty funny to see Chaeyoung pull a selfie stick out of her bag, unexpectedly funny.

And then the scent of monsters and magic stole their attention away from the glinting marble of the presidential monument. 

Momo only managed to save her skin with her demigod reflexes. She sank her celestial bronze sword deep into the mountain surface during the descent, giving Lincoln a new hair cut on the way down. 

“C’mon, climb...” She groaned as she stretched her hand upwards, looking for a possible hand hold. Luckily the presidential carvings were close to each other, allowing the demigod to use them to get herself back up. 

“Thank you for having such big ears Lincoln. You were always my favorite.” 

With a grunt, Momo grabbed onto the edge of the mountain top and hoisted herself up. She didn’t care about anything else at the moment, other than the fact that she was safe and not precariously dangling off a national landmark. She laid flat on her stomach, sighing in relief as her cheek pressed against the cool stone ground. 

Frantic shouting and bellowing came from her friends and the massive bull. Momo reluctantly groaned, she really didn’t want to be flung again. Eventually, she got to her feet. Time to face the music… or bull.  

The Cretan Bull, or the Marathonian Bull, whichever you prefer to call it, was massive. Like we’re talking big . Maybe even on par with the Erymanthian Boar. Not only was it big, the bull had impressive shiny white fur and gleaming white horns. Very pointy, might she add. 

Running into the fray, Momo tried to grab onto the giant cow again but it just slipped out of her reach. The bull was crafty, always turning swiftly in the opposite direction at the last moment. Her friends were breathing heavily; they’ve been chasing the bull ever since they arrived in South Dakota and that was a good 3 hours ago! 

The demigods took a break, hands propped on their knees as they tried to catch their breath. Momo wiped the sweat off her brow, observing the bull in the meantime. It didn’t look like the bull was angry, it kinda looked amused. The bull wasn’t running away like it did a few seconds ago. More so, it was grazing the nearby patch of wild grass. It would even look over at them every now and then with a little twinkle in its eyes. 

A thought ran through Momo’s head. Was it toying with them? Surely by now any other creature would fight the demigods, not engage in a long game of tag. 

An idea suddenly jumped into her brain and held her hostage. Momo started walking towards the white bull, taking slow and deliberate steps. Jihyo and Chaeyoung watched in half amusement and half horror. 

“ What are you doing?” 

“I got an idea!” 

“The last idea you had got you FLUNG over the Presidents!” 

“Shhh! I got this!” 

“Let her do it. I wanna see what happens.” 

Chaeyoung sniggered and Jihyo narrowed her eyes. 

“You. Are an enabler.” 

“Guilty.” Chaeyoung’s sniggering turned into full blown giggling. 

Momo held her hands up as she approached, hoping it translated as her not having any ill intentions. The bull raised his head and watched her slowly close the distance. Momo waved her companions over without looking. Chaeyoung and Jihyo met each other’s gaze, sharing the same expression of confusion. Chaeyoung shrugged her shoulders before the two mirrored Momo’s steps. 

Momo reached her hand out slowly to pat the bull’s ivory horns. To her surprise and astonishment, she found herself still very well intact. And not flung through the air again. 

Maybe they were going at this in the wrong approach. They did chase after the bull at the first sight of it; no explanation or anything, just straight to the chase. She’d run away too if a bunch of crazy kids jumped her outta nowhere. 

The bull stared right at her and maintained direct eye contact. For some strange reason, she couldn’t find herself able to look away. A glaze passed over its eyes and Momo shivered. She felt like it was examining something deep inside of her. 

“This is crazy , my dudes.” Chaeyoung mumbled under her breath. She and Jihyo were by Momo’s side, still hesitant. Who wouldn’t be after seeing their friend get thrown like a ragdoll by a mythical white bull. 

The Cretan Bull continued to stare at Momo. (“A little creepy if you ask me.” Chaeyoung whispered to Jihyo, who elbowed her and managed to get a small “ow” out.) 

After the long staring contest, the white bull shook like a dog would ruffle their fur. The bull began walking off, its pace slow enough for the demigods to follow. 

“I think it wants us to follow it.” Momo said while moving to trail behind the beast. 

Jihyo paused for a second before she shrugged and followed. 

“Wait, seriously?” An incredulous look appeared on Chaeyoung’s face. 

Jihyo turned back nonchalantly. “I mean, Poseidon did create the Cretan Bull you know. Maybe it’s a sign.” 

“ Oh , well that explains everything then.” Chaeyoung threw her hands up in a dramatic fashion, her tone laced heavily with sarcasm. But she still followed after her friends. 

“Shut it loser.” Jihyo shoved her, laughing at her friend’s response. “You got a better idea?” Chaeyoung remained silent. “Yeah, thought so.” 

/ 

The demigods found themselves in South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest as they followed the Cretan Bull. The open prairie stretched far and wide with green coating every part of their vision. In the distance, pine trees and rolling hills could be seen. 

Momo could spot some wild bison and the occasional elk roaming the vast landscape. The more they walked, the more pine trees started coming into view. Slowly the open prairies transitioned into a clustered pine forest. 

After they walked a couple more yards, Momo felt a sensation wash over her. It was familiar but still felt weird. The hairs on her neck and arms stood up. She whipped her head over to her friends, eyes wide and alert. “You guys felt that too?” 

Jihyo and Chaeyoung nodded, rubbing a part of their arms like a chill ran over them. 

“Magic barrier. We’re in someone’s protected territory.” 

“Like with Lady Artemis?” 

Momo got a nod in return. She turned back to the bull leading the way, it appeared unbothered as it continued to trek through the forest. If the bull was alright then she guessed it was fine for them too. 
 

Soon enough, they encountered a pristine white marble temple. The demigods felt a sense of dejavu, remembering their previous experience with Lady Artemis and her temple in a remote forest. By coincidence or guided by the Fates, Momo didn’t really care as long as it would help them in their quest. Gods know they could all use some help completing Hercules’ Twelve Labors. 

The Cretan Bull halted in front of the temple steps, looked back at them, and then casually meandered inside. A blinding burst of light flashed from within, prompting the demigods to rush up the marble steps. 

The sight of the interior made them pause. An exquisite marble statue of Zeus sat imposingly at the end of the temple. They could feel its mighty presence all around them. Vibrant green vines crawled along the walls but it only made the interior feel lush and pleasantly elegant. A metal brazier sat at the base of the marble statue, a fire already lit and burning inside. It flickered as the demigods came closer. 

Momo walked forward making her way to the offering basin. She dropped a few dozen golden drachma inside. Jihyo and Chaeyoung followed up with slices of ambrosia and a generous pouring of golden nectar. Chaeyoung scooped a piece of flame from the burning fire, like it was nothing , and dropped it into the offering bowl. The flame flickered vividly as it consumed their offerings. 

The trio waited and a few minutes later, a golden burst of light appeared, forcing the demigods to shield their eyes. When they looked back, there were two items in the offering bowl. 

Momo picked up a long golden whistle, an outline of a wild stallion was intricately carved into its side. She didn’t have a clue to what it did. Jihyo picked up the other item, a piece of parchment no bigger than a table napkin. On it was a few inked sentences, to which Jihyo read out loud: 

Head west for the next step in your quest. 

Find a Hidden Lake made from glacier surrounded by the unmovable earth. 

There, the Labor itself is a challenge that must be tamed. 

“Oh boy.” Chaeyoung’s response dripped with sarcasm, “Another riddle. Sounds fun .” 

/ 

Chaeyoung panted as they hiked through the short-grass plains and the pine tree forest. Oh, what she wouldn’t do for the Erymanthian Boar to come back and just give them a ride. It would be so much easier. She took another gulp from her water bottle. 

Luckily, they found a little pit stop in the middle of their trek and were able to stock up on water and food rations. 

The demigods were able to connect an Iris message back to Camp Half-Blood at the rest stop. The situation was rather iffy; things were still cursed so it was quite chaotic. 

The tricky part of the curse was that nobody knew when it struck. One minute, a demigod could be in the middle of combat training. The next, they’re dodging their friends—who are armed with spears and swords, by the way—who are looped in time. 

Fortunately, the curse didn’t seem to harm anybody too bad… yet. The demigods caught up with their friends and Chiron, exchanging updates on both sides. 

The last image they saw was a camper carrying a few boxes before he tripped and it all came tumbling down. The curse rewound time for the camper, subjecting him to relive the fall over and over again for a couple minutes. Some of their friends scrambled to help him and that was when the Iris message faded out. 

And now, they’re back to their quest. Hiking across the Great Plains of good ol’ USA. Chaeyoung checked her enchanted map like a mile back, the red dot hovered over the state of Montana. 

Any other time and she’s sure it would be a great vacation spot. Not now though. All she wanted to do was lay on a soft bed and sleep for a long, long time. Maybe even cuddle with Nayeon unnie. Gods , how she misses her girlfriend. 

Too deep into her thoughts, Chaeyoung hadn’t noticed that her friends had stopped in their tracks. She bumped into Jihyo’s back with a muffled “oof!” 

“Why’d you guys stop?” Chaeyoung whined as she rubbed her nose. 

“Look, over there.” 

She followed the direction of Momo pointed at. An abandoned old red pickup truck sat by the dirt trail they were hiking on. It looked run down and its body had a few dents in it. They jogged over to the truck. Chaeyoung winced, it looked even more battered up close. 

“ Thank you Jeongyeon ,” Momo mumbled under her breath as she picked the truck’s door open. The lock picking lessons she learned from the Hermes cabin came into use. 

She held the door open as Chaeyoung jumped into the driver’s seat. The child of Hephaestus rubbed her hands together with a gleeful look, “Alright! Let’s see if this baby can run.” 

There was nothing but the sound of wires sparking together for a few minutes. Then the truck’s engine roared to life! 

“Get in ladies! We’re going for a ride.” 

Jihyo slid into the passenger seat while Momo smoothly hopped into the truck’s cargo bed. She leaned her back on the window and stretched out her legs with a low satisfied groan. Back in the front, Jihyo opened up the enchanted map. Hopefully they were closer to their destination by now. 

Through the sliding window, Momo could hear Chaeng saying something about getting close to the mountain pass. She zoned out after a while. The consistent rumbling of the truck engine and the constant stream of warm sunlight outside made her drowsy. Hell, after trekking for a few miles, who wouldn’t be? 

Momo crossed her arms and dropped her head back on the rear window. A little nap wouldn’t hurt.