1. | CLOSE [NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM]

[ s i x ] TOGETHER

[ six ]

ARTEMIS FELT proud of herself. She was finally stepping up and taking part in a greater force and making a difference.

It was snowing as well, which was something equally beautiful as it was new. As soon as they had stepped outside to try to find Cecil, she had stopped to lean her head back and let the cold wet fairy dust sprinkle over her face.

Ahkmenrah and Nick had smiled at her, put Ahk had had to grab her hand into order to pull her away from the pretty scene, despite how much he wanted to sit and watch her happiness and her smile.

"Who is she?" The pharaoh had asked when Larry had grabbed Sacagawea and ran back in the direction of the back door.

"Sacagawea. Why, you want me to, um... talk to you for her?" Artemis winced slightly at her own words, not quite realising how wrongly she had perceived the situation.

"What? No, no, no, no, no. I don't-" He quickly denied with wide eyes.

"Okay." Artemis said, allowing them to fall into an awkward silence.

"Sorry, I just-"

"It's quite alright." He answered, cutting her off then placing a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure about how it made her feel, but when she relaxed slightly into his touch to the point where she was almost leaning on him, she felt at ease.

He smiled happily.

"He went East. But he lost control and crashed." Sacagawea decided, standing up again. The snow was falling heavily now and was weaving itself into her hair.

"You're amazing. How can you tell that?" Larry breathed, slightly disappointed in himself as she pointed to the vehicle that lay still in the snow.

"He left the wagon, and went back." The woman continued.

"He went back? Why would he go back?" Larry pondered.

"Guys, guys!" Artemis shouted as Cecil came thundering down on a jet-black carriage drawn by two roaring stallions. "Get out of the way!" He yelled to Sacagawea, who gasped but was pushed out of the way last minute by President Teddy Roosevelt.

"Oh my god." Artemis gasped seeing the man cut clean in two.

Ahkmenrah's hand found hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

"You saved me." The Native Indian exclaimed. "You're worth saving my dear." He looked at her lovingly. "That's problematic." Teddy commented. "This whole situation is problematic." Artemis remarked, unhelpfully.

"Larry, relax, I'm wax. Listen, you've got to do something, dawns approaching and half the museum's running amuck outside!"

"He's got my tablet." Ahk reminded.

They looked up to see Jed and Octavius driving Larry's remote-controlled car from earlier, with the bone still attached. "At your service, Gigantor!" He announced proudly. "How can we be of assistance, my liege?" His newfound friend added. "Just give me a second, guys." Larry answered, everyone watching the night guard.

"Rexy." The T-Rex entered. "Come here, boy. Teddy, I need your horse."

"Do it, man."

—§—

Artemis had stolen Herakles' horse.

Moral was high and it was easy to say that she was a better rider than Larry who looked like he was about to fall off Texas any minute.

She let out a somewhat crazy laugh as she and Larry cantered towards Cecil, simply enjoying the moment, knowing it could possibly be her last night.

She was growing closer to him, not recognising that her friend had paused to see if Octavius and Jed were fine.

"Give me the tablet, Cecil!" He yelled.

"Can't do it, son!"

Artemis un-hooked her feet from the stirrups, gripping the front of the saddle nervously. "This is a bad idea." She murmured to nobody but herself.

"Pull over!" "It ain't gonna happen, moving on!"

The goddess pushed up and off the saddle, jumping onto the carriage, gripping it awkwardly. She took a deep breath before pulling herself up and on top of the moving object, taking a moment to recover from the impact.

Arion, the horse, had begun to disappear into the distance.

"Last chance, Cecil, stop the horses or I will!"

"They can't be stopped Larry. Don't you know your history? These are mining carriers, they're trained not to stop for anything, except the secret word!" He grinned, but slumped forward Artemis gave a sharp blow to the back of his head with the hilt of her dagger.

She moved into the driver's seat, pushing Cecil to the side.

"Start guessing."

"Oh, don't worry. I know this!" He yelled back proudly.

"Well, go on then."

"Dakota!"

The horses stopped.