"You are unruly and difficult," Dawn pointed out, trying to keep it lighthearted. "But that's normal for you, I gather."

"For Ares kids in general, yeah," Nika said. "We're basically an unruly, selfish, arrogant, blood-thirsty bunch." She didn't look at Dawn as she walked over to Julian's door again.

"I wouldn't go that far," Dawn replied. "There's got to be some good in there somewhere, or else we wouldn't be friends."

"Well, if there is and you find it, let me know," Nika said with a dark chuckle. Then she pounded on Julian's door.

He opened the door, looking a little annoyed.

"We found out where it is and we're going to go kill it," Nika said without preamble. "You know anything else?"

"Not at the moment, no," Julian said. "I can see what I can find out from Mom. Sorry, ladies. Good luck."

Dawn didn't say anything, letting them talk. She just wanted to settle in with her iPod again and try to pretend that the world wasn't silent anymore.

Nika sighed. "Later, Julian." She went back to her car, towing Dawn with her.

"You can settle in again," she said quietly. "I'll drive for as long as I can."

"Don't push yourself," Dawn replied as she got into the car. "I can drive for a while when you get tired. We may not make such great time with me driving, but it'll give you a chance to rest." And it would give Dawn herself something to do that would take her focus off of the meeting with Apollo.

Nika nodded her agreement. "Yeah, although I doubt we'll make such great time once we get to any big city, but we can always try."

"True," Dawn replied. "We'll have to see. Anyways, let me know when you get tired, I can take over."

Nika nodded. "Go ahead and get some rest. I'll wake you up when I need to stop." She started driving, getting on the interstate and heading west and north.

"Alright," Dawn replied. Putting in her earbuds, she turned on her iPod and settled in. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.

Nika managed to get them part-way across the country and finally stopped about ten hours later, too tired to drive safely anymore. She stopped at a rest stop and went to the bathroom before going to wake Dawn.

"Your turn," she said with a little yawn, handing over the keys. "We're about ten hours from San Francisco, although who knows how much traffic there'll be now."

Dawn stretched when she was woken up and turned off her iPod. The sudden silence made her grind her teeth a little, but she got over it quickly and took the keys.

"Go ahead and sleep," she said. "I can at least keep us going in the right direction until you're rested again."

"You can turn on music," Nika said, shifting in her seat to get more comfortable. "Just not too loud." She yawned briefly and settled down to rest for a while.

Dawn did end up turning on the radio, but only barely loud enough for her to hear. It set her a bit more at ease, but she didn't turn it up any so that it didn't bother Nika.

Nika was so soundly asleep that bumps in the road, the occasional honking, and even a coyote loping across the highway at one point. She slept through everything.

After six or seven hours or so, Dawn's eyes were starting to feel strained from driving in the dark, so she pulled into a rest stop. Glancing out the window, she noticed a raven fly down and look at her from a tree. She glared at it, knowing it was probably a messenger of her father.

Nika yawned briefly when the car stopped moving, somehow managed to roll over in her seat so she was cuddled against the door, and fell asleep again. She was tired after driving for so long.

Once Dawn had given her eyes time to recover, she got back on the road again, not even bothering to wake Nika. Finally, they got to San Francisco. Dawn pulled into the first parking lot she saw, and reached over to wake Nika.

"Rise and shine," she teased. "Time to start the search."

"Oh, joy," Nika muttered, opening her eyes. She stretched briefly before getting out of the car. "Any ideas where to start?"

"None," Dawn replied. She looked around, as if there would be a clue. She rolled her eyes when she saw the raven again. "That thing's been following us for the last five hours," she said, pointing it out.

"Well, that's either your father's way of making sure you don't die, or maybe he's going to help us." Nika shrugged, then paused when she saw another car heading towards them.

"Somehow I don't think they're going to be happy," Seth said, looking at the two through the windshield.

"He's keeping an eye on me and I hate it," Dawn replied, directing the last three words at the raven. "I'm a big girl, I've taken care of myself for years already. I don't need a babysitter, especially not my father." She paused as well when she saw the car.

"Knowing my sister, she won't be pleased," Jason replied. "Especially considering how we managed to find them."

"This is not good." Nika started walking over to the car, her eyes narrowed.

"Let's get this over with." Seth got out once Jason had parked, preparing for their wrath.

As soon as Jason got out of the car, Dawn cuffed him upside the head with her bow.

"Ow!" he said, "hey, what was that for?"

"What are you doing out here?" Dawn demanded. "How did you find us?"

"Easy, Dawn," Jason said, arms up to protect his head. "I asked Dad to point us in your direction."

Dawn just bit back a scream of frustration.