▬▬▬ CHAPTER NINE ▬▬▬

First of all, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! CinnamonBun (from Quotev) published "Black Roses", a fanfic that includes some of my characters so check it out! The first chapter's already been published!

Anyways, this is one instance where I HATE the fact that I have such a huge word count (6,500+ for this book at the moment). Like, I have soooo many ideas for Essie, Ethan, and Nico's adventures through Tartarus, but I'm finding out the hard way that it's STILL not enough.

I was hoping that I could have maybe 10+ chapters of their Tartarus adventures, but that's only manageable for me... if I did like 3,000+ words per chapter. I'm trying to spread my ideas out throughout as many chapters as I can, but it's so hard because I'd need filler scenes in order to reach my stupid fucking word count so I scrapped that idea. Plus, it would just feel unnatural and forced if I put random filler scenes. I wanna get straight to the plot, write about the important shit, and all that fun stuff.

So yeah, the trio's adventures through Tartarus probably won't take too many chapters thanks to my 6,500+ word count 🥲🥲🥲 Idk how many chapters it would actually take, but it definitely isn't gonna be 10+ like I originally wanted... 😞

EVEN ETHAN'S DREAMS WERE BEING invaded by the thought of Tartarus. He had hoped that he could just fall asleep and maybe dream of rainbows and ponies, but nooo he had to dream of this cesspool of pain and misery instead. Figures. 

He was standing back at the beach he, Esmerelda, and Nico had the misfortune to land in. The black little chips of glass dug under his shoes, but he felt almost weightless, like a ghost just drifting around. It was a telltale sign that he was having a regular demigod dream and it wasn't being tampered with by an evil Primordial goddess. 

Over at the side was the River Cocytus (or the River of Lamentation, whichever you preferred). It was a ribbon of dark blue waters that reeked of sulfur. It was a good thing they didn't land in there because according to Nico, it had a mind of it's own. Those submerged into the water would be filled with feelings of unbearable sadness to the point that they would actually try to commit suicide by drowning.

He had no idea why he was just standing here dreaming of the River Cocytus though. But then he saw it. The huge shadow hovering over him from behind.

He turned his back to the river and faced the owner of the shadow. 

"Oh come on," he sighed, dipping his head back in dismay as his shoulders dropped. "Another giant?"

Despite his lack of reaction, this particular giant... actually seemed kind of formidable (despite how ridiculous he looked). At least, compared to the other ones he saw. 

This one was a lot taller than the twin giants, Ephialtes and Otis, though that wasn't much of a surprise since those two were unusually short for a pair of giants. This one was maybe twenty or thirty feet—he couldn't really tell from where he was standing—with shiny silvery hair that reached down to his knees, where it was met by the straps coming from his sequined sandals. 

The long silver hair kind of reminded Ethan of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, but after that, the similarities stopped there. The giant looked like he wearing armor... An armor that looked a lot like adamantine, the precious metal Esmerelda's labrys was made out of. 

No wait. That wasn't armor. That was the giant's skin. 

Now that he was paying more attention to it, it definitely looked more like skin than a plate of armor. The giant, whoever this Sephiroth wannabe was, was wearing a pure white chiton that miraculously had zero stains on it despite the fact that it was surrounded by a hellish wasteland. Beneath it was his skin. He looked like he was literally glimmering. His skin shined bright like diamonds, and they were probably just as hard as diamonds as well.

All in all, the guy looked like a walking giant disco ball. He stood out like a sore thumb down here in Tartarus. Everything here was dark and gloomy and then there was this disco ball-looking asshole walking around the place like a beacon of light. 

At least one good thing came out of it, since this giant was so bright, he could probably spot him from miles away and calculate when he was coming. 

Before he could think further of the giant, a disembodied voice came out of nowhere. 

"Asterius,*" the familiar voice crooned.

When Ethan heard it, he felt like punching something. It was Gaea. She sounded like she was nearby and faraway at the same time, as if she was speaking through an invisible intercom. 

The giant, Asterius, didn't even turn his head at the sound of his mother's voice. 

"Yes, mother?" He said, his voice surprisingly not as deep as Ethan expected it to be. He sounded pleasant and almost youthful. If he shut his eye, he would've mistaken the guy as a frat boy. 

"You are not too far from them. They are near you," Gaea instructed. "Turn around and go to the River Phlegethon, and then follow downstream. You will find them shortly after." 

Ethan sucked in a breath, realizing with a chill that she was talking about him, Esmerelda, and Nico. They were still asleep. Hell, he was still asleep since he was currently dreaming of this moment right now. 

I need to wake up, he thought, trying pinch at his arms and force himself awake. 

He didn't know if this scene was happening right now at this very moment or if he was dreaming of a past event. If it was the latter, then the three of them were definitely screwed. They were miles away from where they originally landed, but Asterius was a twenty to thirty foot tall giant. A few miles for him wouldn't take that many steps. He'd find them in an instant. 

Wake up, for fuck's sake! He growled to himself. Just before he could make the decision to try and punch himself in the face, Asterius spoke up again. 

"And what of the twins?" He asked. "I thought you sent them here as well?"

"They are here," Gaea let out a heavy sigh, like a tired single-mother with too many kids to keep track of (Ethan could kinda relate to that). "But the witch has enchanted them. They are currently roaming elsewhere, their minds scattered. I will snap them out of it so they may join you soon." 

Well shit, that was even worse. Now they had three giants to worry about. 

"Ah," Gaea sounded amused. "We have a little listener." 

Aw fuck, said little listener thought. 

Asterius craned his head around. "One of them is here?"

"Yes," she answered in a breathy whisper, her voice sounding dangerously close to his ear. Ethan stumbled away, but he still had no idea where her creepy voice was coming from. "He is here. Watching and listening through a dream. Hello, Ethan Nakamura." 

"Gaea," he greeted her coldly. 

Asterius' back straightened up at the sound of his voice. He then turned his head down and faced him, but his eyes didn't meet his. Ethan had a feeling that he could probably hear him now, but he just couldn't see him. 

"This is the son of Nemesis," Gaea told her son. "He is a tricky one. Out of all of them, you should be careful of him the most." 

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me," Ethan's lips curled up into a cruel smile. "I just hope this giant is up to my standards. The other one you sent after me was absolutely pathetic. I'm a bit let down, Gaea. No offense, but I expected more from my old boss' mom." 

Asterius let out a laugh. 

"Arrogant, just like all the other heroes," he sniggered. "I don't see how this one would be trouble for me, mother. He seems more mouthy than threatening." 

"And you look like a disco ball." 

Apparently, he considered being called a disco ball was more offensive than someone badmouthing his own mother. 

"Hey!" Asterius barked, stepping forward like he was about to pummel someone, only to pause when he realized he couldn't actually see where the demigod was. 

Ethan rolled his eye. 

"This is seriously the best you could do, Gaea? Send out this Sephiroth wannabe? I almost missed your twin theater kids," he scowled. 

"I will destroy you," Asterius snarled, bearing his teeth. His pearly whites were just as blinding as Apollo's. Ethan briefly wondered if they went to the same dentist. 

"Enough," Gaea warned, and he had no idea if she was talking to him or her son. "Asterius, remember what I told you. You are not to kill them, him and the daughter of Hecate especially. You can do that later. As for you, son of Nemesis... well, I would run if I were you." 

And after that chilling warning, he woke up. 

There was a sense of panic that welled in him until he registered the two bodies cuddled up to him on either sides. Knowing that his two companions were nearby was enough to calm him down, but only temporarily.

On one side was Esmerelda, who looked like a sleeping angel. On the other side was Nico, who (surprisingly) also looked like a sleeping angel.

Nico looked so innocent. And so vulnerable. Ethan wished he had a marker so he could draw all over the little brat's face. 

But unfortunately, there was no time for that since there was currently a trio of giants to worry about, and one of them was right on their heels. 

He sat up immediately and tried to shake the two of them awake. 

"Get up! Get up! Come on, guys, we need to get out of here!" 

Esmerelda was the first to wake up. Her green eyes cracked open, half-lidded and showcasing nothing but pure exhaustion. 

"Ethan? What's—"

"—No time," he cut her off, yanking a sleepy Nico upright. "Wake up, Nico!" 

"No," Nico said stubbornly, eyes clenched shut as he turned away from him. What a little brat. 

"Don't make me fuck your mom," Ethan threatened. 

Esmerelda gasped and Nico's eyes flew opened. The two of them were now very much wide awake. 

"Ethan!" Esmerelda's jaw dropped, her face flushed and scandalized. 

Nico actually got up on his feet to whip his sword out. 

"Stop fucking my mom!" He shouted.

"No." 

That pissed him off further. "You—!" 

"—Now that you two are awake!" Ethan interrupted loudly, glad that he finally managed to catch their attention. "Grab your things. We need to leave this place as quickly as possible." 

"That's what we've been trying to do," Nico huffed as he grabbed his backpack from the ground. 

"Not that, I just had a dream," Ethan began as he hurriedly helped Esmerelda stuff her sleeping bag into her backpack. "A new giant just came in. He's over at the same spot we were in when we first came here. Gaea told him to go to the River Phlegethon and head downstream. He's bound to find us soon, so we need to hurry and go somewhere else." 

Now that got them moving. 

They packed their things away more hastily and scrambled away from the River Phlegethon to create as much distance as they could. It wasn't easy. The giants weren't all they had to worry about and they were quickly reminded of that fact when hordes of monsters kept attacking them as they tried to move away. 

Dracaenae, laistrygonian giants, harpies, and even man-sized crabs intercepted them every step of the way. What made it worse was that they were no longer anywhere close to the River Phlegethon, so they couldn't even go back to heal themselves of their major injuries. 

But finally, the grounds got rougher and soon enough, they reached the familiar black glass beach of the River Cocytus. 

"So," Nico began as they carefully walked over the glass. "What exactly did you dream of? Who was the giant?"

"His name's Asterius," he replied. "Recognize it?"

Esmerelda looked up. "I do. He's nicknamed the 'Bright One' or the 'Glitterer'." 

Ethan snorted. "Well that explains everything. The dude looks like a disco ball. I'm pretty sure we can even see him from where we're at." 

The three of them turned their heads and sure enough, he was right. A few miles away, reflecting off of the fiery flames of the River Phlegethon, was a shiny blob sort of thing that must have been Asterius. 

Oh my gods, Esmerelda thought, blinking in amazement. Ethan's right. He is kinda like a disco ball...

"So uh, what about Asterius?" Nico asked her, and they were pulled back to the conversation. 

"He was killed by Hercules and Athena back in the first Giant War," she began to explain. "From what I remember in our lessons back at camp, Hercules was fighting against the Meropes when Asterius came. He was nearly killed if it hadn't been for Athena coming to his aid. She flayed him, killed him, and then used his skin for her aegis." 

"About his skin..." Ethan trailed off. 

Her face fell. "It's impenetrable. Not even Athena could pierce through it, so she peeled it off instead and then killed him."

"Great," he muttered under his breath. So he was basically going to be impossible for him to kill. Totally not fair. "Do you by any chance recall how she managed to peel his skin?"

"Nope, it was never mentioned." 

"Sounds like he's more of a threat than Ephialtes and Otis," Nico murmured. "We should try to avoid him as much as possible." 

They definitely didn't have any qualms about that. 

"Gaea was there too," Ethan said darkly, and Esmerelda was so stunned that she nearly tripped on a sharp rock. 

"Gaea's here?" She asked, worry written all over her face. They already had an army of monsters and three giants after their asses, they didn't need a Primordial goddess to add on to their list of problems. 

"Not really," he answered slowly. "I didn't see her, but she was communicating with Asterius. I doubt she's actually here, that would have to mean she's awake." 

Nico's shoulders relaxed at that. "What did she say? Is she trying to stop us from reaching the Doors of Death?"

Ethan paused. "Weirdly enough, she didn't even mention them... She seemed more concerned with making sure Asterius doesn't kill us yet."

"She's definitely planning to use us as bait," Nico said. 

"Or a sacrifice." Esmerelda suddenly said, looking slightly pale. 

"What?" Both boys turned to her. 

"A sacrifice," she repeated. "I think that might be it. Ethan... you and I are important to Gaea's plans somehow, and I think it might have something to do with this sacrifice."

"What?"

"Back in the Underworld, my mother told me that out of the Nine demigods of the prophecy, three of them were valuable to Gaea. We're one of the three, but my mother had no idea who the third person is. Not that it matters now, the two of us are stuck here right where Gaea wants us. That third person is in a more safer situation than we're in." 

"Shit," Ethan cursed quietly. "In the dreams Gaea gave me, the other you mentioned something about a sacrifice, but I forgot all about it once I realized Gaea was just messing with my head. Do you know what she was talking about though?"

She shrugged hopelessly. "I remember, before I died, Pasiphaë talked about Gaea wanting to use me as a sacrifice. She even mentioned something about needing my blood to be fresh... I can't really remember if she said anything afterwards. I was kinda too busy dying. But I'm certain that's what she needs us for. A blood sacrifice." 

"A blood sacrifice?" Nico repeated, looking deeply troubled. 

"You know anything about it?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing comes to mind... All I know is that we definitely can't let Gaea have her 'blood sacrifice'. Now let's keep going on." 

The three of them fell silent after that, the new discoveries weighing heavy in their minds. There was a lot to think about here, and none of the topics were good. But despite all that, they knew they needed to focus on their initial objective, which was to find a way to the Doors of Death and close them for good. 

Suddenly, there was a sound of a small rumbling. It wasn't coming from a monster, but from Nico's stomach instead. 

Esmerelda frowned. "I think I have some food in my bag." 

"No, don't," he shook his head. "Save it for later, mom. I'm not too hungry yet, don't worry." 

But there was a lot to worry about. Now they had to add 'hunger' to their list of problems too. What were they going to do once they ran out of food? Or worse, lost their backpacks somewhere and were left with no other supplies? 

 Esmerelda doubted there was a nice little cafeteria here in Tartarus or maybe some edible plants they could eat from. This whole place was designed to kill anyways. She wouldn't be surprised if whatever did look edible, was actually poisonous instead. 

If they didn't find a way out of here soon, then 'death through starvation' would be another possibility of how they would die in this literal hellhole. 

After a few more minutes of silent trekking through black glass, they reached the River Cocytus. It's dark blue waters crashed against the shore, threatening to spray them. 

"If we want to get away from Asterius, then we need to cross this," Ethan said. "Any of you guys think you're good enough to teleport us to the other side?" 

Nico and Esmerelda looked at each other uncertainly. The two of them were breathing heavily, sweat beading down their faces alongside some blood from the many gashes, cuts, and stab wounds they accumulated from having to fight their way here. 

Neither of them were in the right state to properly shadow or Mist travel anyone anywhere, let alone bring two other people along for the ride. 

Ethan looked around for any other ways to get across. Unfortunately, Tartarus didn't come with any bridges. Of fucking course.

"Over there," he pointed a few feet away from them to the right. 

Esmerelda glanced over and saw some rocks crossing the river. They were large enough to use as stepping stones. But as she got closer, her heart sank. They were completely wet from the water of the River Cocytus. It's dark blue waters would crash violently against the rocks, and she was certain one of them could slip and fall. 

(With her luck, she would be that person.)

They walked over to the rocks, staring warily at it. Nobody made a move, until Ethan went forward. 

"Alright," he muttered to himself. "Guess I'm going first." 

He took one careful step on the first rock, balancing himself effortlessly with only one leg standing on it (she figured it was a son of Nemesis thing. You know, goddess of balance and all that). He swung his other leg forward and jumped onto the next rock and so forth without slipping. 

He reached a larger rock and was able to put both his feet down. He turned back to face them. 

"Come on guys, I think we'll be fine," he assured them. 

Nico went next, and Esmerelda followed after him. 

The water would occasionally spray at their ankles. Even though only a small bit had gotten on her, she could still feel the damning effects of the River Cocytus. 

First off, it was freezing cold. Second off, she could hear voices whispering to her in her head. They were terrifying, but not in a horrific sense. They spoke as if they could feel her anguish and empathize with her. It created a sort of lulling sensation. Like she wanted to fall into the water and drift away, and everything would be better in the end. 

It's not worth it, they whispered to her, their voices full of pain and melancholy. Everything is so painful. It's not worth it to keep going on. 

Shut up, shut up, shut up, she thought, trying to push the voices away. She wondered if Nico and Ethan were going through the same thing, but she was too busy trying not to slip on the wet surfaces to glance at their expressions. 

But the voices just kept talking to her. 

Don't you miss it? The relief you felt when you died? They asked, and her body froze. 

Do you remember how good it felt to feel nothing? They went on. Life was awful to you, wasn't it? It was just agony every day for you, but you kept living. Kept breathing despite how much it hurt. But then you died, and all of that disappeared. 

Stop, she pleaded with them, trying to keep her mind from reliving her death all over again. She could vaguely hear someone calling out to her, but their whispers blocked them from being heard. 

Death was peaceful, they told her. You missed it. You want to go back. You want to experience the peace of Elysium. 

And then another voice came. It was a singular one, and far more terrifying than the others. 

It doesn't hurt anymore... She heard herself whisper. It was her last words before she gave in and died. The pain... it's all gone.

She started to sway on the spot.

"—Essie!" Someone shouted, and she jumped, startled. 

She just barely managed to catch a glimpse of Nico and Ethan's concerned faces before they contorted into expressions full of horror. 

She realized she was falling sideways too late. Ethan called her name, terror laced in his voice. Nico tried to reach for her, but a millisecond later, she crashed into the water. 

The freezing cold temperature of the water nearly killed her. She registered her limbs turning rigid just before she felt her mind finally slip away, the haunted whispers of the River Cocytus finally taking over her at last. 

Up at the surface, Ethan tossed his backpack to the other side of the river and unfastened the snap-on watch from his wrist. It morphed into his mother's whip, and he wrapped one end around his fist and thrust the handle into Nico's hands. 

"Hold on to this and pull us out when we're ready," he told him firmly before diving into the river not a second later. 

He would've let out a gasp had he not been holding his breath. He had never felt something so cold before. He had taken many ice baths before in his life, but this was like swimming through the Antarctic bottom water times a hundred. 

He felt as if the air had been knocked right out of his lungs and all of his blood had frozen over. His limbs turned impossibly stiff, but he forced himself to keep moving. He could just barely see Esmerelda's body sinking away from him. She was no longer moving. 

Horrible wails echoed in his ears as he tried to swim downwards. 

Why must you continue to give yourself up for the gods? They called out to him, their question filling him with anguish. You've given up so much to them. They continue to take, take, and take and they never gave you anything in return. Is all of this pain really worth it?

It wasn't. It wasn't worth it all. 

It's no use, they sounded like they were crying for him. Like they felt the great amount of pain he was constantly put under, the hopelessness, the anger, the hate. It was like they understood. 

There's no happiness for any of you, they said, but he already knew that. It was the cold heart truth that every demigod knew. 

Demigods will never be happy. Trying to fight for their livelihoods will only end in despair. Look at what happened to Luke Castellan.

Just hearing his old friend's name again made him want to cry out. 

Luke Castellan was an excellent example of what happened to those who tried to change the status quo. There was no breaking away from the gods' chokeholds. They would just continue to use and abuse them. It was a never ending cycle, and he could never break away from it no matter how hard he tried... 

Why was he even doing this? Torturing himself for the gods only to get nothing in return? So what if the world ended? Maybe it needed a redo. 

He started to slow down until he stopped swimming entirely. Just as he was about to let air fill up his lungs and his body sink to the bottom, he felt a small tug and looked down. Seeing the end of the whip wrapped around his hand snapped him back to reality. 

Essie, he remembered, his heart pounding as he resumed his rescue. The whip elongated as he went along. He had no idea how far it's length could go, but he hoped it would be long enough to reach her in time. 

He was beginning to run out of air now, but he managed to stretch his other arm out and grab her wrist. Quickly, he yanked her up and wrapped an arm around her waist. He gave a strong pull against the whip. 

A second later, he could feel Nico reeling them back up, and he kicked his legs to speed up the process. 

His head was the first to breach the surface and he greedily breathed in the (albeit toxic) air. Esmerelda came up next, and he hurriedly swam to the other side of the river as Nico followed suit. 

When they reached the riverbank, Nico helped pull them out of the water, his teeth chattering when he made content with the frigid waters. 

The cold had numbed Ethan's body so much that he didn't even feel the little bits of glass piercing his skin as he crawled out of the river. He only remembered that the beach wasn't an actual beach when he saw the multiple streaks of blood dripping down his skin. 

"I-i-i-in the b-bag," Ethan tried to say, pointing a cold, shivering finger to his backpack. 

Nico understood what he was implying and immediately pulled out his sleeping bag. He unrolled it and set it over the bits of glass, and Ethan laid Esmerelda's unresponsive body over it. 

He had never felt so scared out of his mind. Esmerelda was as still as a corpse. She wasn't even trembling from the frigid temperature of the River Cocytus, nor did it look like she was breathing anymore. 

Flashes of her funeral invaded his mind. He thought back to the wrapped up corpse within the shimmering purple shroud he had made and felt something in his mind crack. 

No, he thought, feeling a part of him die all over again. No, no, no, please no, not this. 

"Her life force is still strong, but now it's starting to fade away. Please tell me you know CPR," Nico asked worriedly when he took in his mother's pale face and blueing lips. 

Ethan didn't reply. He placed his hands over one another and started pressing down on her chest.

"Do chest compressions only at the rate of 100-120 per minute or more. Let the chest rise completely between pushes." He remembered the words of the first aid instructor back at the camp. She was a naiad and had been in charge of teaching the Hermes cabin what to do when faced with someone who was drowning. 

They didn't have those lessons every day though, just a couple times a year. They stopped once he joined Kronos' Army, but Luke insisted on continuing the lesson. He wanted to preserve as many lives as he could, but then Kronos took over his body and he didn't give a shit if any of his soldiers were dying...

He had no idea if he was doing this right. The lessons had been so long ago, but he had to do something because if he didn't then—

"Ethan, it's not working!" Nico cried out, and he could hear the broken tremble in his voice. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he thought. 

"If the person still wasn't breathing after the chest compressions, then now would be the time to perform some CPR." He recalled the instructor saying. 

He made sure to tilt her head back and pinched her nose close before placing his mouth over hers. He breathed out twice before pulling away to go back to chest compressions. 

"Please don't leave me again," he could register himself sob out loud as his vision was blurred by his own tears. 

He kept repeating the process. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, chest compressions, and then back to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He had no idea how many times he kept repeating the cycle, but his hands were tingling and his ears were ringing. He could vaguely hear Nico fall to his knees and releasing a loud wail. 

If she died here, then he was going to follow after her. He couldn't go through this again. He couldn't grieve her twice. The first time was already excruciating enough. 

He placed his mouth over hers once more in another attempt to breathe more life into her. When he felt her suddenly lurch, he pulled away. 

"Augh!" Esmerelda turned her head to the side, coughing water out of her lungs and breathing in the air desperately. 

Ethan watched as she let out haggard coughs and the color slowly begin seeping back to her skin. The ringing in his ears and the tingling beneath his skin disappeared as he was pushed back to reality. 

She's alive, he thought, his brain overridden with emotion. Relief being the strongest one. 

He heard Nico shout something before he threw his arms around her. Ethan followed next, wrapping his arms around the both of them and squeezing them tightly, unable to let any of them go. 

He knew death was a huge possibility within the depths of Tartarus (he'd give it a 99.9% possibility to be honest), but it hadn't slapped him in the face until now. 

Esmerelda could've died again for the second time (third if he counted her past life as Maria). He felt like it was his fault. He was the one who had the stupid idea of trying to cross the river using the rocks. He was the one who went first when he should've stayed behind to watch over her more closely. 

(He was the one who let her stay in Britain, the one who didn't try hard enough to make her come back home. He should've been more firmer with her, should've taken her away and locked her up—)

"I'm okay," hearing her soft voice pushed all the dark thoughts away from his head for the time being. "I—" she was cut off when several more coughs wracked her chest. "Sorry. I-I'm fine now."

Ethan slowly pulled away, but Nico continued to cling on to her. She leaned on to the younger boy for support, and didn't seem to notice the vice grip he had on her wet shirt. 

"Are you sure about that?" Ethan asked unsurely as he watched her pound lightly at her chest in an attempt to cough out more water. 

She managed a small nod, giving him a weak smile. "Yeah, I swear I'm okay now. Thank you, Ethan... I... I didn't mean to let the river's voices get to me." 

Ethan didn't reply and just nodded. His whole body was still shivering from the cold waters of River Cocytus and his mind was still buzzing with a flurry of new things to worry about. How was he going to keep Esmerelda safe in this hellhole? Or Nico? 

"Nico," Esmerelda whispered, running her hand through his dark hair. "Non piangere, caro mio, ora va tutto bene. Sono qui.**"

Ethan had no idea what she was saying, but it must have been words of comfort because Nico's soft sobs started to quiet down and he finally lifted his face up from the crook of her neck. His face was flushed and wet with tears, and it was kind of like a stab to the heart. Ethan had never seen the kid look so broken before. He wondered if he looked this shattered when he first sensed his mother's passing. 

"Sorry," the younger boy mumbled, wiping his face furiously as if he was embarrassed to be caught crying. 

Esmerelda just let out a soft chuckle before reaching out to wipe his tears away in a less harsher manner. The motherly act nearly brought forth another round of sobs from him, but he held them back. 

"We should get going," she suggested quietly once Nico calmed down enough. She looked around. "My... things..."

"Your bag must have slipped off of you while you were... drowning," Ethan opined, his worry growing. Esmerelda had lost her supplies now, and even worse, she had all the food with her too. They hadn't even had any time to grab a bite since they had to evacuate the area once they woke up. 

Esmerelda realized it too. Her face said it all. 

"It'll be fine," this time it was Nico who was trying to keep everyone's hopes up. "I think I might still have some granola bars with me. Maybe some beef jerky too. It'll be enough to sustain us for the rest of the trip." 

Her shoulders sagged with relief. "Then let's keep going." 

"Are you sure you're okay, mom?" Nico gave her a worried look. 

"I'm fine now, really," she insisted. 

He helped her get back up on her feet, careful to keep her from falling on the broken bits of glass. 

One side of Ethan's sleeping bag was all full of glass now, so he decided to ditch it and reach out for his backpack instead. But just before he could grab a strap, a massive shadow fell over all of them followed by a loud BOOM! noise. 

It was like two rockets landed on either side of them. They had to bring their arms up to cover their faces as broken glass pieces flew around in the air. Dust—or toxic gas in this case—surrounded them in a heavy cloud, and they couldn't see anything except the familiar outlines of a pair of giants...

Shit! Ethan inwardly cursed. They had been so focused on trying to evade Asterius that they had completely forgotten about Ephialtes and Otis. 

"Prepare for trouble!" A voice boomed in front of them. 

"And make it double!" Another joined in. This one was coming from behind. 

"To protect the world from godly devastation!" 

"To unite all giants within our mother's nation!" 

"To—"

"—Oh my gods, stop it!" Ethan couldn't take this anymore. "You got this introduction from Pokemon! This is a copyright infringement!" 

The toxic fumes cleared out and the twin giants were finally revealed. Ethan felt like screaming. They were even copying Jesse and James' poses. The nemean lion was also perched on Ephialtes' shoulder, and he figured it was supposed to take up the role of Meowth. This was all wrong on so many levels. 

Ephialtes dropped the pose and looked over at Otis, fury written all over his face. "Is he telling the truth? You told me you made this up all your own!"

Otis had on a sheepish expression. "Well—" 

"—I spent hours getting my lines down to perfection!" 

While the two of them were arguing (or well, Ephialtes was arguing, Otis was just poorly trying to defend himself with a bunch of half-ass excuses), Ethan tried to think of a plan. 

They were all beaten up from all the other attacks they went through just getting here, so neither of them were in a state to fight. Esmerelda was even worse. He could still hear her teeth chattering and her limbs looked stiff like she was still trying to keep herself from freezing over. He doubted she would be able to fight as swiftly as she used to.

Their only choice here was to flee and hide. 

He surveyed their surroundings. 

Ephialtes was blocking their front, and Otis was standing behind them. To their right, just a few feet away from them, was the River Cocytus and they definitely didn't want to go through that again. Their best route was to go to the left...

As if sensing what he was planning, the Nemean Lion let out a loud growl and jumped off of Ephialtes' shoulder. He landed at the only opening they had, blocking their escape while baring it's fangs. 

The noise managed to halt the giants' fighting, much to his dismay. 

"Forget it," Ephialtes grumbled, sending his brother a scathing glare before redirecting it down to the three demigods. "We'll settle this later. For now, let's capture the demigods." 

The Nemean Lion leaped at them. Ethan jumped back, and Nico yanked Esmerelda to the other side, and now the three of them were divided when the monster landed in between them. 

Ethan felt the air push at his back and dove again just in time to avoid being snatched up by Otis' large hand. During that moment, he brandished his sword and whip. 

The Nemean Lion let out a vicious snarl and ran at him. Ethan tried to stab it with his sword, but it merely bounced off of it's pelt. It tackled him to the ground and was just about to bite it's head off until Ethan managed to kick the monster off of him. 

That thing's pelt is invulnerable, he remembered. Just like Asterius' skin. 

Defeating this thing alongside two other giants wasn't going to be easy, especially since barely any of them had the energy to even properly fight. 

(He just hoped the Fates were entertained enough with their misery that they wouldn't add in Asterius to the fray too.)

"Ow!" Ephialtes cried out when Nico jabbed his palm with his sword. 

"Nico!" Ethan shouted over the Nemean Lion's growls. "Get you and your mom out of here! I'll hold them back!" 

"What?!"

He lashed his whip against the lion's snout, enraging it further. 

"Do as I say!"

"Ethan!" Esmerelda shouted. "Don't—"

"—I'll be fine! Now, Nico, go!" 

Nico decided to listen. He grabbed his mother and started running, ignoring her cries of protest. Ephialtes started towards them, but Ethan wrapped the whip around his ankle and yanked back, making the giant tumble to the ground and eat a mouthful of broken glass. 

"Otis, get them!" Ephialtes yelled after spitting out the glass pieces. 

"Got it, Ephie!" 

"NO!" Ethan roared.

Before Otis could make chase, he wrapped the whip around the ends of the giant's hair and yanked at it once more. He toppled back and landed over his unfortunate brother who was just beginning to stand up. 

"YOU IDIOT! GET OFF OF ME!" The flattened one screamed in frustration. 

"Sorry, Ephie!" 

"GET OFF ALREADY!" 

While those two were bantering again, the Nemean Lion made another leap. Rather than trying to attack it since he knew it would be pointless, he evaded the hit. Behind the lion, he could see Nico and Esmerelda's backs. They were small dots at this point and after several seconds... he couldn't see it anymore. 

Please stay safe, he prayed for them, his face turning grim as he faced his three opponents. 

Hopefully, he would live long enough to see them again. 

— author's note —

* I STRUGGLED SO HARD TO FIND A GIANT TO OPPOSE ETHAN! I was thinking of using Thoon at first (he's the Bane of the Fates), but I looked at his abilities in the PJO wiki and I just... didn't understand it. Apparently he has powers over destiny which is the opposite of what the Fates could do, but it didn't make much sense to me 😅

Soooo, I looked through the wikipedia page of the Gigantes (the general one, not the PJO one) and I stumbled upon Asterius, who hasn't been used in the HOO series. He has invulnerable skin and he actually NEARLY managed to kill Hercules/Heracles until Athena came to save his ass. So going off on that, I figured he was pretty formidable opponent, perfect for Ethan.

This is just Asterius' introduction to the story, but you'll see him again soon. 😊

** Non piangere, caro mio, ora va tutto bene. Sono qui. = don't cry, my dear, everything's okay now. I'm here.

The thing I hate most about writing about Tartarus... is THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LAYOUT. I'm literally relying on this map I found on the PJO wiki, but I have no idea how accurate it is:

No one:

Literally no one:

Asterius: