Ria's POV

"The Amazons, Artemis' Huntres, as well as the students are all making their own efforts to prepare for what we told them to do." Dumako si Sir Rio sa likod ng desk.

"Kaano-ano ni Artemis?" ani Cesia na nakaupo sa aking tabi.

"Huntress without the second 's'." bulong ko sa kanya. "Artemis' Huntres. You'll meet them later."

"But you, hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin kayo sang-ayon sa pinapagawa namin sa inyo." Halatang inis na inis si Sir sa'min. "Are you keeping something from us? And do you know how rude that makes you?"

Mag-iisang oras na kami dito sa office at wala kaming ibang ginawa kundi pakinggan ang pagtaas-baba ng boses niya. He's supposed to tell us about the troops' strategies, not ours', kaya nagtaka ako nang pagalitan niya kami dahil hindi namin susundin yung binigay nilang instructions. Akala ko kasi tanggap na nila na may sariling plano kami at wala kaming balak ipaalam ito sa iba.

"You are right to be suspicious," saad ko. "Huwag nga lang sa'min."

He's sticking up his nose in our business, and I'm not liking it. Baka masira ang plano namin dahil sa kanya.

"Kilala ko kayo-"

"Kung kilala mo kami, hindi ka na sana nag-aksaya ng oras para pagalitan kami." Tinapunan ko siya ng nababagot na tingin. "Seriously, pwede na ba kaming makalabas dito?"

I heard him sigh. "It's my job to keep everything in place, Ria, and that includes you. Paano ko magagawa ang trabaho ko kung-"

"Kung hihiwalay kami sa inyo?" Inunahan ko ulit siya. "First off, hindi lahat ng humihiwalay, naliligaw. Second, ginagawa lang din namin ang trabaho namin, which is to win this war. And in order for us to win, we need to take advantage of the enemies."

"Really?" Umangat ang kanyang kilay. "And what advantage do you have?"

"Malalaman niyo rin mamaya," sagot ko. "Ibig sabihin, kasama kayo sa plano namin at hindi mo na kailangang mag-alala."

"And you expect us to adjust for you when you finally announce your advantage?"

Bago pa ako makapagsalita, ay tumayo na si Trev. "I'm done resting." aniya, at naglakad papalabas ng office kasama si Cal.

Ginising naman ni Dio si Chase na bahagyang nakabukas ang bibig habang natutulog. Mahina ring niyuyugyog ni Kara ang balikat ni Art na ayaw pang buksan ang mga mata.

Hinilamos ni Sir Rio ang kanyang palad. "You really are your parents."

"Oh no. We're way better." I said, with a hint of pride.

"I will let you do whatever you want. You can continue that secret plan of yours."

Nagdulot ng ngiti sa aking labi ang anunsyo ni Sir Rio.

"And if your plan fails, bagsak din kayo sa subject ko." dugtong niya.

Tumayo na ako at tumungo sa nakabukas na pinto kasama yung iba.

Bago pa ako tuluyang makalabas, ay napahinto ako. "But if our plan succeeds..." Bahagya kong nilingon si Sir Rio. "We get two weeks of time off from school. No homeworks. No missions."

I didn't move an inch to let him know I wanted a reply.

"One week."

• • •

"You have your weapons and oh, these." Inabot ng estudyanteng babae ang walong maiitim na earpiece. A Beta, according to the pin she was wearing. "Use it to talk to everyone. Minsan nga lang, the signal gets disrupted. Either because of the barrier, or because of some abilities that affect radio waves."

"Press it once to turn it on. Long press to turn off." Nginitian niya kami. "We're all required to wear that. For the sake of communication, of course."

Sinuot ko ito saka pinindot.

"Ah, kaya pala wala pang demigod na may telepathic abilities kasi may ganito na tayo." namamanghang puna ni Art habang sinusuri ang gadget. "Amazing with a zee!"

"Ayos." Nawala si Chase sa kinatatayuan niya.

'Yo, guys! Naririnig niyo ba ako?' Kasunod kong narinig ang boses niya sa earpiece. 'Hello? Hello?! HELLOOO?'

Napaurong kami sa biglaang paglakas ng boses ni Chase, na para bang idiniin niya ang kanyang bibig sa microphone.

"Chase, there aren't any explosions yet but we're already going deaf because of you." Inayos ko ang pagkakakabit ng earpiece sa aking tenga. "Tumahimik ka kung ayaw mong makasabay sa digmaan ang binging version ng Alphas."

Muling nagsalita ang Beta. "Nakalimutan ko na ang ibang features n'yan. Hindi naman kasi ako descendant ni Hephaestus." She shrugged. "Napag-utusan lang akong i-distribute ang equipment."

"Is Beta in charge of the security?" tanong ni Kara.

"You mean the security room? Oo, kami nga." the student replied. "Why?"

"Tell your leaders we're taking over." ani Trev.

"Umm..." She looked at us, confused. "S-Sure."

"Right now." Trev glared at her before heading to the security room with the boys.

Mabilisang umikot ang Beta at kumaripas ng takbo. Sinundan lang namin siya ng tingin hanggang sa tuluyan na nga siyang maglaho sa dulo ng hallway.

"Ria!"

Isang babae na nakasuot ng maiksing chiton ang tumawag sa'kin. The chiton is the garment worn by Ancient Greeks, usually paired with a cloak. It's like a light tunic and the girl who called my name was wearing a gray one. Hanggang tuhod ang straps ng leather sandals niya at may fox tail na nakasabit sa kanyang sinturon. On her back, is a quiver full of arrows and she was waving at me while holding her silver bow.

"Heather!" Tumakbo ako sa kanya at niyakap siya. "I missed you!"

I could smell an entire forest from her hair that was tied into a single French braid. "You still smell gross." bulong ko. "Get off me."

Narinig ko ang mahina niyang tawa bago bumitaw. "Grabe ka naman."

I was met by a pair of silver eyes when I took a good look at her face. Nakatutok din sa'kin ang mga babaeng nasa likod niya na katulad niya, ay kasingkulay ng buwan ang mga mata.

"Cesia!" Tinawag ko si Cesia.

Lumapit siya sa'min sabay tingin sa mga babaeng may dalang mga pana at sibat.

"These are the Huntres, mortals personally chosen by Artemis to become her huntresses." The Huntres is a group of young women handpicked by Artemis who would then offer them a life free of ageing in exchange of a life dedicated to the goddess. Hindi sila tumatanda, ngunit mga mortal pa rin naman sila at pwedeng mamatay.

Artemis is also the goddess of chastity, which means unlike the Amazons that mate with men once a year to reproduce, the Huntres remain pure for the rest of their long but extremely boring lives.

"And this is Heather." Napangiti ako nang i-abot ni Heather ang kanyang kamay kay Cesia. "Ang ultimate virgin nila- este, ang chief huntress pala."

Imbes na makipagkamayan, ay humakbang papalayo si Cesia mula sa kanya.

Humalakhak si Heather pagkatapos ibaba ang kanyang kamay. "Nakilala mo na si Kia, no?" Saka siya lumingon sa'kin. "Did Kia stab her or what?" tanong niya.

"Just pointed a spear at her neck." sagot ko. "My favorite move of hers'."

"You're so pretty." Nginitian ni Heather si Cesia. "If you want to stay that way until you die, sabihan mo lang ako. Ria knows where you can find me."

I frowned at her. "Sa tingin mo papayag si Aphrodite na maging alagad ni Artemis ang anak niya?"

"Oh..." Heather blinked several times in a second. "A daughter of Aphrodite, huh?" she asked, before grabbing Cesia's hand. "Kalimutan mo na yung sinabi ko. Don't let your beauty go to waste, okay?" She shook her hand violently. "Go! Go around the world and spread your le-"

"Love." Hinatak ko si Cesia. "Heather, tinatawag ka ata ng mga kasama mo." Ngumuso ako sa direksyon ng ibang Huntres na nasa likod niya.

Heather laughed awkwardly. "Sabi ko nga. I'll see you later, then." She gave us a quick glance before excusing herself. "Please send my regards to Art."

Nagpalitan kami ng tingin ni Cesia bago lingunin si Art na nakadaop ang mga palad at kumikinang ang mga matang nakatuon sa'min habang nakanganga.

"Iiiiihhhh!" Wala na namang nakaligtas mula sa tili ni Art nang bumalik kami sa kinaroroonan nila ni Kara.

"Huwah! Ang cool talaga nila!" Tumalon-talon siya sa tuwa. "Kailangan ko ulit magpa-autograph!" Kumisap-kisap siya. "Wala akong dalang papel ih... kaya sa noo ko na lang ulit!" Luminga-linga siya at kinuha ang atensyon ng mga estudyanteng dumadaan malapit sa'min. "Hello! May marker kayo? Hmm? Hmm?"

"Art." Pinigilan ko siyang hablutin ang kamay ng isang Gamma. "We need to go to the opening of the forest," paalala ko sa kanya at tinignan sina Cesia at Kara. "After clearing our area, we'll be meeting with the boys on the other side."

"On the other side?" Magkaabot ang kilay ni Kara.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "On the other side of the forest."

A few meters away from us, I heard Heather give her last command and led the Huntres outside of the hall.

"It's time." Surprisingly, my voice lost its stiffness. "We should go." It wavered, because I was too late to realize the sound of my own heart has already filled my ears. Sa mga sandaling ito, mas maingay ang puso ko at hindi pa sapat ang naipon kong lakas ng loob para balewalain ito.

The four of us went to the field and the first thing that I noticed was the sky. "It's really time..." puna ko habang nakatingala dito.

Why is it that in this darkest night, there are no stars to help the moon brighten up the sky?

Tinanguan ko si Kara bago hinila si Art papalabas ng barrier at papasok sa masukal na kagubatan. Tumakbo lang ako nang tumakbo, nang hindi nililingon ang aming dinadaanan.

 I felt the cold air brush against my face, and the only warmth I had was Art's hand. We went deeper into the forest and when the distance was enough, we stopped in front of the tallest tree nearest to us. 

"Dito tayo." sambit ko at nagsimulang akyatin ito.

Pumatong ako sa pinakatuktok na sanga at dumungaw sa kabilang panig ng gubat. Mula dito, natatanaw ko ang paggalaw ng mga puno. 

"They're here." bulong ko pagkatapos marinig ang paglakas ng kaluskos ng mga sanga.

I summoned a spear and threw it towards one of the moving shadows. What followed was a deafening shriek that sent all the birds flying.

Kami lang ang nakakaalam na sa bahaging ito ng kagubatan unang magpaparamdam ang mga kalaban. Balak nila kaming sorpresahin, at ngayong isa sa kanila ang biglang umiyak dahilan na marinig namin sila, walang mangyayaring sorpresa.

Art raised her bow towards the sky. Light trailed from her arm and formed an arrow. She let go of the string once monsters came running to the Academy. The arrow exploded above us, and that was enough to get the attention of the entire field that lit up for a moment.

Pinindot ko ang aking earpiece sabay ngiti.

"Hey Kaye! Your grand entrance failed! You bitch!" sigaw ko bago sinalubong ng espada ang paparating.