▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN ▬▬▬

ETHAN WAS THE FIRST TO recover from the shock.

"Hey, Luke," he greeted casually. "I see your bowels are doing fine."

Esmerelda shot him a horrified look. Why would he say that?! Did he want to get them killed?!

"So you're finally back from your bathroom break," Luke said tightly, and now it was Ethan's turn to be confused.

"Uh," he said lamely, then caught sight of Alabaster nodding his head wildly in the background. "Yeah."

"You've been gone for almost an hour," Luke deadpanned.

Ethan's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment and Esmerelda suppressed the urge to snicker at what the older man was indicating to. "No, hold on, I wasn't—"

"—But I see you were busy trying to bring Esmerelda over." Luke finished, looking like a weird mix of relief and guilt.

"Um... yeah..." He lied weakly, glancing over at an equally worried Esmerelda.

This was literally the worst thing that could ever happen to them. Ethan's goal was to get Esmerelda out of the Labyrinth and away from Luke, only for them to do the exact opposite. What sort of shitty luck was this?

He remembered his chilling dream and suppressed a shiver. He couldn't let that dream become a reality. He didn't want Esmerelda to get possessed... and especially not by an ancient deity who vored his kids and a goddamn rock of all things. 

I mean, seriously, what dumbass mistakes a rock for a baby? He thought. 

"Luke Castellan!" The man next to Luke (aside from Alabaster of course) boomed, which was unnecessary since he was literally right next to him.

Esmerelda was amazed. The guy was gigantic, probably over fifteen feet tall and was built like a tattooed sumo wrestler. He was so wide he took up three seats. He wore a loincloth, and his skin was an unnatural dark red that was covered with bright blue wave designs. Not a very good color scheme, in her opinion.

"Is this boy the fighter we've been waiting for?" He asked in that same, booming voice.

Luke refrained the urge to cover his ears. "Yes, Lord Antaeus. This is Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis. Apologies for the wait."

Hold on, Antaeus? As in the son of Poseidon and Gaea? Ethan and Esmerelda exchanged horrified looks. Their situation just got a hundred times worse, if that was even possible.

"Will the girl be fighting?" Antaeus gestured over to her.

Fighting? She thought, shrinking a little.

"No," Luke shook his head. "She's needed for something else." He motioned over to a group of nearby monsters, and they immediately went over and seized her. Ethan moved forward, but another group prevented him.

"Take her to an empty room," Luke instructed. "And make sure to knock her out. She has magic, so she's a tricky one. Guard her at all times."

The monsters listened. One of them at least had the decency to knock her out in a less violent manner and instead pressed down on one of her pressure points. Esmerelda blacked out and was carried out of the arena, leaving an internally panicking Ethan behind.

Alabaster matched his panic and cleared his throat, green eyes darting to the door his sister had been carried off to. "Well, uh, I should get going—"

"—Stay," Luke ordered, regarding him with narrowed eyes. "I'm sure you'd want to watch how your friend does."

"Right. Duh. Of course. Silly me." Alabaster plastered on a tight smile as he returned to his place on the stands.

Ethan shot him a look. 'What the fuck am I supposed to be doing?!' his eyes screamed.

'This is an arena! Fight, you dumbass!', Alabaster's eyes screamed back.

Ethan grumbled profanity as he strode forward. He was exhausted, hungry, and angry. He didn't want to waste his time fighting some stupid giant when he needed to get Esmerelda out and continue looking for Nico.

Speaking of the kid, he looked around for him. The whole arena was infested with monsters, so maybe those two laistrygonians took him here? It was unlikely since Minos was the one behind it, but he tried to scan the crowd anyways.

No such luck.

He bit the inside of his cheek. He better be okay... he thought, but don't get him wrong. It wasn't like he actually cared for the little shit or anything. No, no, of course not. He was just worried about him for Esmerelda's sake, that was all. 

The giant he was supposed to fight sneered at him. He didn't even wait for a 'go' sign before swinging his flail around. The crowd broke out into cheers.

The flail was humongous. There was no use trying to deflect that thing. He'd have to go on the defensive, which he didn't mind since that was his specialty anyways. Plus, he didn't want get pricked by those spikes. They were dirty and covered in blood. He'd probably contract, like, ten diseases from it.

As the son of Nemesis, he was pretty damn good at finding people's weak points, whether they be physical or mental, and right now, his opponent had a shit ton of physical weak points. In order to use his flail, he'd have to raise his arms a lot, leaving the rest of his body wide open. Even better, he was arrogant enough to forgo the armor.

Ethan waited.

The giant made a wild run for him, arm raised to swing his flail around. He swung down, but Ethan sidestepped and thrust his sword deep into the monster's armor-less chest.

He died in a poof of golden dust.

The crowd broke out into cheers.

Luke smiled appreciatively. "Is that enough for you, Lord Antaeus?"

"Hmm," Antaeus hummed boredly, eyeing Ethan with inquisitive eyes. "No, not quite. Another fight!"

Ethan dipped his head back and groaned.

Antaeus, who he was beginning to hate more than Percy Jackson, kept throwing more and more opponents at him as time passed by. He wondered if this was punishment for being 'late' to his first fight. If it was, it was totally unfair.

After about ten successful battles, Ethan was finally allowed to retire to the stands. He collapsed beside Alabaster, his limbs feeling like jelly.

"Nice job," Alabaster clapped him a little too hard on the shoulder. "For the fight, I mean. You did a shitty job in getting my sister out of the maze, though."

"I did get her out," Ethan seethed. "But we ran into a... complication."

The older boy arched a brow and Ethan went on to explain.

"When I ran into Essie, a boy was with her. Some kid named Nico," he didn't mention that he was the son of Hades. He didn't want to add yet another problem to the kid's growing list after all. "Anyways, we did manage to get out of the maze together. We ended up in some Ikea store in Florida, but... these monsters found us. Kidnapped Nico and dragged him back to the Labyrinth. Essie and I had no choice but to follow after them."

"And then you went here," Alabaster said dryly.

"Yep," he let out a heavy sigh. "We didn't mean to. We were just hungry and thought that we'd, you know, find some food here..."

"Are you guys deaf? You seriously couldn't hear the bloodthirsty yelling going on the other side of the doors?" The older boy said incredulously.

"We were hungry!"

"Oh my gods."

"Sorry..." He said sheepishly. "I'll figure something out, okay? But what's going on right now? Why're you guys here?"

"Luke needs Antaeus' permission to move through. Beyond the arena is a path that would lead us to Camp Half-Blood." Alabaster explained. "But to get his permission, we need to entertain him first by fighting in his Arena. Luke gathered his best fighters and brought us here to compete. You were picked, naturally, but you know... the clone would go 'poof' if you fought..."

"So you told everyone that I was taking a shit?" Ethan hissed, eye blazing with embarrassment and wrath.

Alabaster didn't even look guilty. "Hey, you poisoned me so we're even."

Ethan was about to rip him a new one when the doors to the arena suddenly burst open, interrupting the current fight that was going on. Ethan looked over and felt his mood worsen even more.

There, being dragged inside by monsters, was Percy Jackson, along with Annabeth Chase and some red haired girl he had never seen before. Beside him, he could feel Alabaster bristle with contempt. 

Percy looked stunned upon seeing Luke, but then his attention was turned towards the unfortunate centaur who crashed into the dirt beside him.

"Help!" The centaur pleaded as his opponent approached, javelin ready.

Percy tried, but the empousa apprehending him held him back.

The centaur couldn't get up. One of his legs was broken. The giant put his huge foot on the horseman's chest and raised the javelin. He looked up at Luke.

The crowd cheered, "DEATH! DEATH!"

Luke didn't do anything, but Antaeus rose to his feet. He smiled down at the centaur, who was whimpering, "Please! No!" 

Then he held out his hand and gave the thumbs down sign.

The gladiator giant thrust his javelin down, killing the centaur. All that was left was a single hoof, which the giant took up as a trophy and showed the crowd. They roared their approval.

A gate opened at the opposite end of the stadium and the giant marched out in triumph. In the stands, Antaeus raised his hands for silence.

"Good entertainment!" He bellowed. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, Son of Hermes?"

Ethan winced. Luke always got a little triggered whenever he was referred to as the son of Hermes, though he could hardly blame the man since Hermes sucked.

Rather than making a snappish remark, Luke calmly rose to his feet. His eyes glittered. In fact, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood. Ethan had a feeling he knew what he was about to do.

"Lord Antaeus," Luke said, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "You have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."

"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled. "I want entertainment!"

Luke bowed. "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now. I have a brother of yours." He pointed at Percy. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

The crowd began jeering and throwing sharp, jagged stones at him.

Antaeus's eyes lit up. "A son of Poseidon? Then he should fight well! Or die well!"

"If his death pleases you," Luke began. "Will you let our armies cross your territory?"

"Perhaps!" Antaeus replied.

Luke didn't look too pleased about the 'perhaps'. He glared down at Percy, as if warning him that he'd better die in a really spectacular way or he'd be in big trouble. Ethan leaned back, feeling partly amused by all of this. He was pretty sure Percy would win anyways, but it was always nice to watch him suffer a little.

"Luke!" Annabeth yelled. "Stop this. Let us go!"

Luke was momentarily stunned to have seen her. "Annabeth?"

"Enough time for the females to fight afterward," Antaeus interrupted. "First, Percy Jackson, what weapons will you choose?"

The dracaenae pushed him into the middle of the arena.

"How can you be a son of Poseidon?" Percy gawked. Ethan couldn't blame him.

"I am his favorite son!" Antaeus boomed, which was probably a lie. "Behold, my temple to the Earthshaker, built from the skulls of all those I've killed in his name! Your skull shall join them!"

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "His mother is Gaea! Gae—" Her Laistrygonian captor clamped his hand over her mouth.

"You're crazy, Antaeus," Percy said to him. "If you think this is a good tribute, you know nothing about Poseidon."

The crowd screamed insults at him, but Antaeus raised his hand for silence.

"Weapons," he insisted. "And then we will see how you die. Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?"

"Just my sword," he said. Laughter erupted from the monsters, but immediately Riptide appeared in his hands, and some of the voices in the crowd turned nervous.

"Round one!" Antaeus announced.

The gates opened, and a dracaena slithered out. She had a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other—classic gladiator style.

Ethan rolled his one good eye. Lame. Percy would win this in no time. They had trained against those sort of weapons at camp for years.

The fight only lasted about a minute, maybe even two. Either way, it pissed Antaeus off.

"No!" He bellowed. "Too fast! You must wait for the kill. Only I give that order!"

"Nice job, Percy." Luke smiled. "You've gotten better with the sword. I'll grant you that."

"Round two!" Antaeus demanded. "And slower this time! More entertainment! Wait for my call before killing anybody. OR ELSE! Son of Nemesis, come forward!"

Are you kidding me? All Ethan wanted to do was grab Esmerelda and have a snack. They were seriously going to make him fight again?

He grabbed his newly acquired helmet and shield and trudged to the arena. Percy's eyes popped open wide when he entered, and he would've laughed if he hadn't been so irritated by everything.

"Ethan?" Percy gawked, like an idiot.

"Hey Percy," he greeted. "I gotta kill you now."

"What have you done to Essie?" Percy demanded. 

"Hey!" A monster jeered from the stands. "Stop talking and fight already!" The others took up the call.

Ethan gritted his teeth in annoyance. "I've done nothing to her. Now shut up and get to fighting." 

And with that, he charged.

Their swords met in midair and the crowd roared.

Despite the anger towards him, Percy clearly didn't want to fight—let alone kill him. Ethan, unfortunately for him, didn't feel the same way. Instead, he pressed forward.

He parried his strike and almost slammed him with his shield, but Percy jumped back. He slashed, and again, Percy evaded by rolling to one side.

They exchanged thrusts and parries, getting a feel for each other's fighting style.

Percy was doing the smart thing by trying to stay at Ethan's blind side, but it didn't help much. Ethan had trained himself almost obsessively to the point where he felt confident that he could guard his left.

"Blood!" The monsters cried.

Ethan glanced up at the stands. If he didn't give them what they wanted soon, he'd be in some big trouble.

He turned back to Percy and charged at him. The younger boy parried his blade and backed away.

"Boo!" Antaeus said. "Stand and fight!"

Ethan continued to press him, but Percy had no trouble defending. Ethan regretted wearing his armor. It made his movements more heavier and less agile.

The crowd went nuts, yelling complaints and throwing rocks. They had been fighting for almost five minutes and there was still no blood.

Ethan was getting a bit desperate. He jabbed at Percy's stomach, but he locked their sword hilts together and twisted. Ethan's sword dropped into the dirt, and Percy quickly slammed the butt of his weapon onto his helmet and pushed him down.

Ethan fell on his back, dazed and tired.

Percy put the tip of his sword on his chest.

"Get it over with," Ethan groaned. He didn't need to look up to know that Antaeus had his thumbs down.

He thought about Esmerelda and shut his eyes. Hopefully Percy would get her out, but then again, he had enough confidence in her to know that she could probably save herself.

"Forget it." Percy sheathed his sword.

"Don't be a fool," Ethan rolled his eye. Figures he'd try to be heroic at a time like this. "They'll just kill us both."

But Percy didn't care. He offered him a hand. Reluctantly, Ethan took it and was helped up.

"No one dishonors the games!" Antaeus bellowed. "Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!"

Percy looked at Ethan. "When you see your chance, run."

Ethan was about to protest that he wasn't going to follow along with whatever suicidal plan he had. Esmerelda was still being held hostage somewhere. If he wasn't going to be killed, then he needed to find her first before ditching this place.

Percy turned back to Antaeus before he could voice out his complaints. "Why don't you fight me yourself? If you've got dad's favor, come down here and prove it!"

The monsters grumbled in the stands. Antaeus looked around, and apparently realized he had no choice. He couldn't say no without looking like a coward.

"I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy," he warned. "I have been wrestling since the first pankration!"

"Pankration?" Percy asked.

Ethan let out a heavy sigh. He'd been attending camp for over a year now and he still didn't know the basics? Camp Half-Blood was doomed. Even more reason to get Esmerelda away from it (not that she'd ever listen to him though, the stubborn girl).

"He means fighting to the death," he explained, just to be nice. "No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport."

"Thanks for the tip," Percy said.

"Don't mention it."

No, really. Don't.

Percy pointed his sword at Antaeus. "Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx."

Antaeus laughed. "This shouldn't take long. I swear to your terms!" He leaped off the railing, into the arena.

"Good luck," Ethan told him. "You'll need it." Then he backed up quickly.

Antaeus cracked his knuckles. He grinned.

"Weapons?" He asked.

"I'll stick with my sword. You?"

He held up his huge hands and wiggled his fingers. "I don't need anything else! Master Luke, you will referee this one."

Luke smiled down at them. "With pleasure."

The fight ended on a hilarious note. Percy used Antaeus' nasty little loincloth to suspend him in mid-air, making it so he would be unable to heal himself. It was a humiliating display and Ethan had to hand it to Poseidon's younger spawn, he was a brilliant genius when he needed to be.

"Get me down!" Antaeus demanded.

"Free him!" Luke ordered. "He is our host!"

Percy uncapped Riptide. "I'll free him." And then stabbed the giant in the stomach.

Antaeus bellowed, and sand poured out, but he was too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to hep him. Antaeus just dissolved, pouring out bit by bit, until there was nothing left but empty swinging chains, a really big loincloth on a hook, and a bunch of grinning skulls.

"Jackson!" Luke yelled. "I should have killed you long ago!"

"You tried," he cheekily reminded him. "Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I'm the winner."

Luke scoffed. "Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll have you killed quickly." He pointed at Annabeth. "Spare the girl." His voice quavered just a little. "I wish to speak to her before—before our great triumph."

Every monster in the audience drew a weapon or extended its claws. Ethan wondered if maybe now would be the best time to sneak away and grab Esmerelda. They were all distracted by Percy and his friends anyways.

But he couldn't, because the doorway leading to where Esmerelda was being held was still being guarded by a group of monsters. They didn't look interested in joining in on the bloodshed either.

Percy whipped out a whistle from his pocket and blew into it. No sounds came out. Instead, it shattered into shards of ice.

Ethan refrained the urge to facepalm. That was his plan?

Luke laughed. "What was that supposed to do?"

Suddenly, there was a surprised yelp. The Laistrygonian giant who'd been guarding Annabeth flew back and was smashed into the wall.

"AROOOOF!"

The largest hellhound Ethan had ever seen entered the arena. It picked up Kelli the empousa like a chew toy and tossed her through the air, straight into Luke's lap. It snarled, and the two dracaenae guards scurried away.

"Let's go!" Percy yelled, running forward and grabbing Ethan by the arm. "Heel, Mrs. O'Leary!"

Ethan stared at him, stunned. "Hold on, you named that thing—?!"

"—The far exit!" The red haired girl cried. "That's the right way!"

"Wait—" Ethan tried to say, but Percy—the little shit—was dragging him away to the far exit, the giant hellhound following right behind them.

"This way!" The read head yelled.

"Why should we follow you?" Annabeth demanded. "You led us straight into that death trap!"

"It was the way you needed to go," she said. "And so is this. Come on!"

Annabeth didn't look happy about it, but she ran along with the rest of them.

Ethan didn't exactly trust her either, but she seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn't even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, "Duck!" and they all crouched as a huge axe swung over their heads. Then they kept going as if nothing had happened.

They didn't stop to rest until we came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof.

Ethan collapsed on the floor. "You people are crazy." He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.

Annabeth gasped. "Ethan Nakamura? You're a son of Nemesis? I thought you were one of the undetermined kids in the Hermes cabin!"

He glared at her, trying to hold in his hatred for the bitter reminder of what his previous life was like. "My mother claimed me just recently."

"What—what happened to your eye?"

Ethan looked away.

"Were you the one who took Essie to the Labyrinth?" Percy demanded.

"No," Ethan growled. "No, gods dammit, I didn't do anything! I was trying to get her out of the Labyrinth, alright?"

"Why?" Annabeth asked distrustfully. "Last winter you were all too eager to have her join you. Why try to help her get away?"

He gritted his teeth. "That's none of your business." He rose to his feet, and the three kids tensed up. "Thanks for the help, but I'm leaving now. I didn't even want to come with you anyways."

"But—" Annabeth started to argue.

"—Essie was back there," he interrupted, and they fell silent.

"W-what?" They paled.

He let out a heavy sigh. "When I found Essie in the Labyrinth, she was with some kid. Nico. We managed to get out, but Nico got nabbed by some giants and sent back into the maze. We went after him, but we stumbled into the Arena instead... Luke had someone take Essie away while I was forced to fight."

"You—you met Nico?" Percy stammered, staring at him with wide eyes.

He quirked a brow. "You know that brat?"

"Yeah—wait, hold on. Why are you trying to help Essie all of a sudden?"

"I told you it's none of your business!"

"Essie's our friend too!" Percy argued. "We deserve to know why Luke's so hellbent on capturing her!"

"You—!" Ethan cut himself off with a groan. "Luke wants to use her as a host, okay?!"

There was a very tense silence. The redhead had no idea what was going on and just continued to watch critically. Annabeth gaped at him like a fish out of water. Meanwhile, Percy was confused.

"Like... an Ouran Host Club kinda thing or—"

"—No!" Ethan and Annabeth cried out. Even the redhead facepalmed.

"You absolute moron," he groaned. "He plans to use her body to host Kronos until he fully rises from Tartarus! Hecate had offered her to him as a peace offering, but Essie's been evading us so now Luke's a possible candidate too. If either one gets picked... well, they wouldn't make it."

Annabeth fell to her knees. "No..." She whispered. "That... that can't be..."

Even Ethan felt some sort of sympathy for her. He could understand how she felt, after all. Esmerelda's life was on the line just as much as Luke's.

"'Picked'," Percy muttered. "The prophecy. Annabeth, I know you've been keeping the last line a secret. You have to tell us what the whole thing is."

She shook her head. "No, no, no, I-I can't, I—"

"—Annabeth," he said softly. "This is important."

She swallowed thickly... and then recited it.

"You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,

The dead, the traitor, and the lose one raise.

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,

The child of Athena's final stand.

But the witch and the scarred one are ripe for the picking,

And only one shall be spared from their destined killing.

Destroy with a hero's final breath,

And lose a love to worse than death."

The last line echoed in Ethan's head tauntingly. He knew instantly who the prophecy was referring to, and Annabeth did as well, which was why she had been trying so hard to hide it.

Lose a love to worse than death.

Either he would lose Esmerelda, or Annabeth would lose Luke.

"Now you see why I need to get her out of here," he said shakily. "She'll die if I don't."

Annabeth snapped her head towards him, her eyes alight with fury. "But then Luke would—"

"—You want Essie to die?" He demanded.

She flinched back. "N-no, but Luke—"

"—Luke chose this," he said firmly. "He chose this, Annabeth. Essie didn't. She shouldn't have to suffer because of something he started."

Annabeth's eyes started to water, and Ethan looked away.

"I'm leaving," he muttered.

Before he could stalk off, Percy grabbed his arm. "You're just going to head off alone into the maze? That's suicide."

He looked at him with barely controlled anger. "You shouldn't have spared me, Jackson. Mercy has no place in this war."

Then he ran off into the darkness, back the way they'd come.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

When Esmerelda woke up after being knocked out, she realized that she had been tied up and her mouth duct taped. She could feel someone hastily cutting her binds lose and only snapped awake when the person ripped the tape off her mouth without a warning. 

"Ow!" She hissed slightly, opening her eyes. She froze when she saw who was helping her.  

It was Alabaster. 

"Just hold on," he mumbled, sawing through the rope that was tying her ankles together. "Almost got them..." 

"What... what are you...?" She mumbled in confusion. 

He glanced up and her before resuming his work. "Ethan never told you? I'm on your side for now, and right now I need to get you out of here before anyone comes. The Arena kinda turned into a mess. Percy Jackson came, but then he killed Antaeus and escaped. Luke's having everyone hunt them down, so now's the perfect chance to sneak you out of here." 

Esmerelda fell silent. She didn't know how to feel about this. Alabaster was trying to save her all of a sudden, and while it warmed her heart it also gave her a sense of dread. She wished she could go back to blindly hating him, because right now she was getting hit by so much nostalgia as she remembered all the times they used to be so close. 

She wished he wouldn't do this, because the memory of her brother would only pain her even more as the war went on. 

She was finally cut free. Alabaster inched forward to help her stand, but before he could even stretch out a hand the door was opened. 

Luke.

They both stiffened. 

"L-Luke," Alabaster stammered, and Esmerelda was very much aware of how his hand inched for his golden sword. 

"Go," Luke ordered. Strangely enough, he didn't look angry at the act of betrayal. Instead, he seemed almost... resigned. 

"No." Alabaster said firmly, his hand fully on the handle of his sword now. 

Esmerelda reached out and grasped her brother's hand, holding it tightly. The first (and possibly last) time she had given him any sisterly affection in years. 

He looked over at her in mild surprise. 

"It'll be okay," she whispered in reassurance. "I'll be fine, Alabaster. Promise. Luke and I... I believe we have some things to discuss." 

"I'm not here to hurt her Alabaster," Luke confirmed quietly. 

Alabaster bit his lip and slowly rose to his feet. "Alright..." He said cautiously. "I'll be just outside then..." 

Silence enveloped the room even after he left. 

"Luke..." Esmerelda murmured, blinking the weariness out of her system. She slowly sat up on the floor, back pressed against the wall.

He didn't say anything, but she could tell from his body language that he was scared. Nervous. Anxious. And regretful. His fists were balled, but she knew he wasn't angry because his face was drained of color.

"Essie," he said back, before swallowing.

She stared at him, wondering if the dream they had was real. Was that the real Luke she was talking to?

"You don't have to do this," she said, trying not to sound like she was begging. "Luke, please. Neither of us... neither of us deserve this." She said the words from her dream, hoping he would recognize them.

Luke breathed in and out shakily, like he was trying to stop himself from crying.

He shook his head. "I've told you this before. I've gone too far to stop now."

So we really did share the same dream, she realized.

"You said it yourself, Luke. This wasn't what you wanted. You never wanted to hurt innocent people. You're not evil, Luke! I meant that, and I meant it when I said that you can still change!"

But he shook his head again. "No. I still want to take Olympus down. It was my fault for trusting Kronos to help me. I have to own up to it. That's why I'm letting you go."

She froze. What?

"Y-you're... what?" She breathed out.

He smiled bitterly, but it was forced. He let it drop.

"I doomed myself because of all the decisions I made. You're doomed because of the decisions people made for you. I won't be one of them, so I'm setting you free. My one last act of good..."

"Luke," she tried to plead.

"Let me do this, please." He begged her with his eyes. He walked over to her and knelt down. "Thank you for putting your hopes in me, but I'm sorry. I can't end this, but I can still let you go. It's the most I can do."

She shook her head wildly. "No."

"I've put so many kids in danger. This should be my punishment. And Essie... the next time you see me... I won't be me anymore." He swallowed thickly, looking pained. "Don't remember me as the villain. Please. That's all I ask."

"You're not a villain," she told him with a trembling voice. "If you—if you just come with me then—"

"—I'm not coming with you." He cut her off gently.

"But what about Annabeth? Thalia?" She knew he still cared for them.

"Tell them I'm sorry." He murmured. His eyes were resigned. Defeated. But they still had a flicker of that determined glint in them. He was going to save her from her Kronos and take the burden of hosting him instead. 

His one last act of good.

He stood up and held out a hand. She took it, shaking. He helped her up to her feet.

"Go. Percy and the others escaped from the exit on the far left. The whole arena's been cleared out, so don't worry about anyone stopping you." He instructed.

"Luke... thank you... and I'm sorry."

He gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry too."

Esmerelda quietly left the room. She had been saved from a terrible fate, but the heavy weight on her shoulders didn't disappear. In fact, it seemed to have grown a hundred times worse.

Like Luke had promised, the arena was completely empty save for Alabaster who looked stunned to see that she was set free. All the monsters were gone, along with most of the enemy demigods. She exited through the door on the far left and was left to travel through the abyss.

She had no idea where she was going, but after nearly getting her head chopped off by a large axe, she figured she was going the wrong way.

But then she saw Ethan. He was sweating, looked out of breath but he may as well have been her beacon of light because of how miserable she felt.

"Ess—Essie, how—?"

"—Luke let me go," she said numbly, her legs dragging her forward. "Luke... he let me go."

His eye widened in pure astonishment. "He—whoa." He froze up when she practically collapsed on him. "Uh."

"Luke chose to host Kronos." She mumbled into his shoulder. "He... he's going to..." She couldn't finish.

He wrapped his arms around her, realizing what she was saying.

Luke had spared her. He would be the one to die instead.

Ethan felt relieved, but he also felt like throwing up. As angry as he was about Luke manipulating him into leading his best friend to her death, he still felt awful about this. 

Sometimes, he felt like Luke was the only one who ever understood him. Before the titans got too involved in the army, Luke had been a great leader and a big brother to everyone. He understood Ethan's anger, his distrust towards the gods, his hopes for a better future, and he had promised to make sure the Olympians would pay for their horrible deeds. 

And now... Now Luke had chosen to die, and Ethan just didn't know how to feel about that. 

All too soon, Esmerelda pulled away from him, but her body seemed to sway. As if she couldn't hold herself up right anymore.

"Percy and the others," she said suddenly. "Can you take me to them?"

"Yes," he said automatically.

"You won't be coming with me, will you?" She asked knowingly.

He looked down to avoid the pain in her eyes.

"Ethan, tell me this: What do you think will happen once the war is over?" 

"Huh?"

"When the war ends... let's say you guys win. What do you think will happen to me? You've risked so much to keep me safe, but won't it all be for nothing? I'll be killed off just like the rest of them." 

"That's not true," he said fiercely. "If you make it to the end, you'll be spared. We're doing this so kids like us could have better lives, Essie. We're not doing this because we want world domination! Any campers who survive the battle will be spared, and then once they experience life without the gods, they'll know that our intentions were good." 

But she didn't seem to believe him. Instead, she looked at him with sad, almost pitying eyes. 

He grasped her hands, desperate for her to believe him. "Even if we're on different sides... I will always make sure to keep you safe... You know that, don't you?" He stepped closer to pressed his forehead against hers, eyes briefly closing shut. 

"Can I kiss you?" He almost begged. "Please, I... I've been holding on to this for so long and if... if anything happens, I just want to... I need you to know how I feel. I don't want to hide it anymore." 

Esmerelda pretended as if his words didn't create any funny reactions to her heart. She knew she was making a big mistake with this, but she nodded her head in response and whispered out a "Yes."

She prayed she wouldn't feel anything as he leaned down, prayed that her heart wouldn't betray her and cut itself open, but it was too late for her to start praying for that now. When his lips touched hers, she could feel something in her chest blossom, but at the same time it felt like a knife had stabbed her there too. 

His kiss was soft, gentle, and chaste, a stark contrast to his usual exterior, but it was as if she could feel every single emotion he felt for her. And when he pressed her to him close, she could even feel his heart hammering away in his chest and was certain that he could feel the same with hers. 

He pulled away, looking as if a weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders. He must have been yearning to do that for a while then. He had a goofy, light smile on his face that she almost returned until reality practically punched her in the face. 

They were on opposites sides of a war. 

Ethan believed the Titans were the good guys. 

They were probably going to die or suffer for the rest of their lives. 

He must have noticed that something was wrong because his face immediately fell. 

"E-Essie?" He said unsurely. "I... Are you okay? Did you not...? Gods, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"—That's not it," she shook her head. "That kiss was perfect, Ethan, it's just..." 

He frowned. "Just what?" 

"I just hope..." She began, leaning against him for support. "That you're prepared for what's to come."

He would never admit it, but her words chilled her to the bone. It almost sounded like a threat, but he knew she was trying to warn him.

"I know what I'm doing is right." He said firmly as they pulled away, and she seemed to accept his answer. "...Come on. I'll take you to where they are. They stopped to rest in a room not too far from here."

He led her there, their hands still clasped together. He made sure to keep his pace slow since Esmerelda was still shaking and wrought from grief. He found the door in no time, and quietly gestured to it.

Esmerelda nodded and gave him one last smile before releasing her hand from his. 

He watched her enter the room full of light, leaving him stuck in the darkness.

— author's note —

Luke to Percy: I'm gonna kill you 👿 👿

Luke to Essie: I'm gonna save you  🥺 🥺 🥺 🥺

Essie's secret super power is to make bad guys go soft for her. Lmao, jk jk 😂 

Ethan: Can I kiss you?

Essie: Sure

Essie, thinking: I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me

Ethan: *kisses her*

Essie: 

You guys have NO IDEA how many sad songs I had to listen to to write this chapter. Rn I'm listening to Billie Eilish's Everything I Wanted. 

Anyways, I DON'T THINK I FAILED MY EXAM!!!! :D

I only got four wrong for the multiple choice questions! The essay question hasn't been graded yet, but if I manage to get a full score on that, then I'd get an A!!!! Unless I get the whole thing wrong then I'll be at C... (cuz the essay question costs 20 points and I already got 4 wrong)