▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR ▬▬▬

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

Not a forbidden tango but a slightly suggestive scene happens in the middle of the chapter 🌚

(Ethan would never survive No Nut November 💀)

ESMERELDA COULDN'T GET HER MIND off of the way Annabeth looked at her. She didn't look upset that she refused to go meet Hercules with Jason. Instead, the blonde actually looked concerned. For her.

But that couldn't be it, because what was there to be concerned about? Ethan? The way Annabeth looked at her gave her the impression that the girl was scared for her because of her boyfriend.

I'm being silly, she tried to tell herself, but Ethan's hardened grip around her hand kept reminding her of what he had been like back at Tartarus.

She stopped walking once they reached the hallway containing everyone's cabins.

"Ethan, um, maybe I should go talk to Annabeth for a bit," she said hesitantly. "You know, to apologize and stuff. She looked... disappointed back there."

"There's nothing to apologize for," he said bluntly.

"Just give me a few minutes, okay?" She asked, sliding her hand away from his. "I'll meet you back in our room."

"Okay," he replied calmly, giving her a nod of confirmation. He turned around and started walking back to their room and Esmerelda turned around to head back upstairs.

It hadn't even occurred to her how suspicious it was for him to agree so easily.

Fortunately for her, Annabeth was still up on deck. She was leaning against the railing, keeping an eye out for the island Jason and Piper had been dropped off in. Her stormy eyes were narrowed, like she was wary of any attacks from a beach monster or whatever.

The older girl glanced over her shoulder and relaxed when she saw her.

"Oh good," she said. "You're here."

Esmerelda quirked a brow as she joined her at the railing. Annabeth had been expecting her?

"I came here to apologize," she began. "You know, about not going with Jason to speak with Hercules. I just... After what happened in Tartarus and the Skolopendra attack, I'm just not able to handle being separated from Ethan... but I understand that I shouldn't have let my feelings get in the way of the quest..."

Annabeth turned to her, her face so serious that it made Esmerelda shrink a little.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said. Her voice was unnaturally quiet for some reason, as if she wanted to keep from being overheard from any potential eavesdroppers. The whole deck was empty save for the two of them though.

Esmerelda winced. She was pretty sure Annabeth was going to give her an hour long lecture about thinking logically over emotions and whatnot...

"I know," she said sullenly. "I should've put the quest first over—"

"—What? No, that's not what I wanted to talk about," Annabeth cut her off. "Look, I know I'm not good at dealing with my own personal feelings, but that doesn't mean I'm emotionally unintelligent. I can still pick up on things and well... don't take this the wrong way, but I'm worried about you and Ethan."

Esmerelda blinked. So it turned out that her initial thought was correct after all. She was concerned for her. But why...?

Seeing the confused look on her face, she elaborated, "I've always noticed it, even before this quest happened. Ethan had always been so... overprotective and possessive over you. But back then, it wasn't so much of a big deal. I mean, it was worrying, but nobody else was talking about it and you didn't seem to have a problem with it either, so I felt that maybe I was just thinking too much of it but now..."

"You... Are you saying you think there's something wrong with our relationship?" Esmerelda couldn't help but ask.

She wasn't offended or enraged by it at all, just... lost. Annabeth talked as if being overprotective and possessive was a bad thing. But wasn't it a good thing? It showed that he loved her, did it not? Why wouldn't you be overprotective over the ones you love? Why was being possessive bad? If they were yours then they were yours, simple as that. Ethan was hers, and she was his.

What was so bad about that?

"It's okay in moderation, but Ethan... he just takes it too far. Especially now after you guys got out of Tartarus," Annabeth explained carefully. "Essie, I... I've seen the way he's been with you starting from the beginning of your relationship. None of it is healthy."

Esmerelda's face fell. "I don't understand..."

"I don't know what sort of horrible things you've both been through—before and after Tartarus—and I won't say that I understand, because I don't." She said firmly. "All I know is that the way you treat each other isn't good for any of your mental health. The clinginess, the codependency, it's all very understandable since you just escaped from Tartarus, but if neither of you find a way to get it under control soon, it won't end well."

Esmerelda felt like her head was spinning from all the information she was learning. No one had ever once given her such a... not really harsh, but grim relationship advice like this before. Other than Sirius, of course, but the way he talked about it was poorly explained and just full of statements like 'break up with your boyfriend because he's bad for you'. Annabeth, however, was explaining why their relationship was wrong and it was like a slap to the face.

Suddenly, Annabeth glanced behind them. Her sharp grey eyes scanned the deck. She didn't seem to find anything amiss and turned back to her, but Esmerelda noticed the way her voice became even more quieter than before.

"I'm sorry, Essie. I know this isn't something you want to hear, but it's important. You need to stop being so submissive towards him, because you're just encouraging him to control you more and one day, he'll never let you go," she said seriously. "You might think you have freedom, but this is Ethan we're talking about. He's a manipulative, conniving piece of shit who knows how to trick even the smartest people."

She wanted to defend her boyfriend, but unfortunately for her, Annabeth wasn't exactly wrong. He certainly wasn't a piece of shit, but he was definitely sly and cunning to an almost scary degree. She had seen him be like that to his enemies, manipulating and tricking them to their ultimate demise. But... but he would never do those things to her, would he?

The thought made her sick to her stomach, and she knew she couldn't listen to any more of this.

(Because then the rose colored glasses were going to come off, and nothing good would ever happen after that.)

"I need to go," she said suddenly, unable to look at her.

Annabeth frowned. "Essie—"

"—I'm sorry, Annabeth," she said, and she really meant it. But her expression was pleading for her to stop. "But I really can't—I just... I just need to..." In the end, she didn't know what to say, so she just shook her head and started to leave.

Annabeth watched her go, internally cursing herself for being so stupid. She knew the conversation wouldn't go well, that Esmerelda wouldn't listen or believe her, but she knew she at least had to try.

She wasn't a love expert nor was her relationship with Percy the epitome of romance, but she knew an unhealthy pair when she saw it, and she saw all the signs from the very beginning since they first got together. She just never spoke up about it because why would she? She and Esmerelda weren't super close friends and she hated Ethan as well. Plus, everyone else was all for the relationship—even Esmerelda's closest friends and sister. And if they didn't see anything wrong with it, then what was the point of speaking up?

But now... well, now she was beginning to regret never speaking up about it.

She saw the way they looked at each other. Ethan looked at her with so much love that it must have crossed the point to obsession. The way he kept her close, the way he never allowed her to go anywhere without him, the way he literally timed her absences—it was bad enough now, but she knew it would only get worse in the future.

She could imagine it now, several years from now, Esmerelda as his perfect little wife, never allowed to leave the house, never allowed to make any friends, never allowed to truly live. She would stay with him forever in a gilded little cage, just the way he wanted.

And Esmerelda... well, she was blind to it all. She was so so close to danger, and she didn't even realize it. She loved Ethan too much to care for his faults, his obsessions, and possessiveness. One day, he was going to completely turn her life around for the worst and she wouldn't even see what was wrong with it.

With a sigh, she turned away from the island and faced the rest of the Argo's deck.

"I know you're there," she called out, crossing her arms.

Ethan stepped into her view. His face was one of irritation and worry, but he was also smug, like he knew what the result of her and Esmerelda's conversation was going to be and that it wouldn't go in Annabeth's favor.

"I take it you heard everything?" Annabeth said coldly. She only found out later on in the conversation that there was an eavesdropper in the midst, but it was too late to take anything back.

Ethan smiled in amusement, and it was taking everything in her willpower not to snap.

"Yeah. It was quite a riveting talk," he said sarcastically. "I especially love how you tried to twist her mind around."

"Funny," she said flatly. "The only one twisting her mind around here is you, but you would never admit that, would you?"

To her surprise, he actually shrugged and admitted it, "I do that for her own good."

Her jaw nearly dropped. She stared at him with disgust. "You don't seriously believe that, do you?"

Rather than answering her, he sighed as if their conversation was already becoming a nuisance for him. "Look, I get what you're trying to do here and I appreciate that you've been looking out for her despite your misguided attempts—"

At this point, her jaw really did drop. "—Misguided attempts?"

He continued on speaking as if she never interrupted him, "But you should worry more about your own relationship than mine."

If he wasn't part of the Nine, she would've skewered him on the spot.

Instead, she let out a scoff of disbelief. "No offense, but me and Percy's relationship is going perfectly fine. A far cry from yours."

His lips curled up into a cruel smile and she was immediately high on alert. In her opinion, nothing good ever happened whenever Ethan was happy (and to be fair, she wasn't completely wrong).

"I don't know," he drawled out. "I'd worry about Percy if I were you."

Annabeth tensed up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The second the words left her mouth, she wanted to slap herself.

Of course he would mention Percy. It was the quickest way to get a raise out of her and Ethan knew that.

He's just egging you on, she told herself. Stop giving him a reaction!

"I could see it, you know," he replied. "That kid's gonna break soon from all the pressure the gods are throwing at him."

Annabeth stayed silent. She knew what he was talking about and honestly... she agreed. Percy had been through so much—all the quests he went on, the Second Titan War, getting kidnapped by Hera, losing his memories, and now all this. She couldn't believe he was still somewhat functioning today.

But still... she didn't like the way Ethan phrased it, as if Percy was going to be like him in the future. The thought of her Percy being anything like Ethan made her sick to her stomach.

"You may be in control now, but eventually you'll spiral too," Ethan promised darkly. "Let's see how long your strong will lasts when Percy snaps."

Again, she refused to speak. Refused to believe that Percy would ever be as dark and twisted as Ethan and that she would ever be like Esmerelda—accepting and compliant.

He must have seen the denial on her face because he let out a chuckle.

"Oh you don't think it'll happen?" He questioned sinisterly. "Don't kid yourself, Annabeth, you're not stupid. You don't seriously think he'll stay your sweet and goofy 'seaweed brain' after all of this, do you? The quests, the wars, the deaths, and all the pain... it's a miracle he hasn't lost his mind yet. But he will soon, they always do. He's gonna end up like me and all the other fucked up demigods the gods created, and you're gonna have front row seats to the shit show."

Annabeth straightened up her back. She was done with this. She wasn't going to let Ethan mess with her like he did with all his other victims.

"I think you should go," she said, her voice as hard as stone.

He nodded in acceptance, the sadistic pleasure in his eye gone and replaced by a familiar iciness that she was more used to.

"I'll leave," he said. "But seriously, butt out of our business. It always annoys me when people do that. You wouldn't want to end up like the last person, trust me."

And with that, he finally began to walk away. Annabeth watched him like a hawk. Ever since he stabbed her—albeit unintentionally since he had been aiming for Percy—she never liked having her back turned to him and she was always cautious every time he was around.

Once he was out of sight, she let out a heavy sigh.

This whole quest was going to drive her crazy.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda was not a happy camper when he returned to their room.

"You were eavesdropping weren't you? And you went to talk to her. That's why the room was empty when I got back and that's why it took you so long to return," she accused, arms crossed and her mouth set into a firm frown that looked more like a pout.

"I just had a few words with her," he said, and it wasn't a lie. Their conversation was a lot more brief compared to her conversation with Annabeth. "It was nothing, okay? I was just telling her to back off."

Her frown deepened.

"...Really?" She said hesitantly.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Look, the things she said just pissed me off. She doesn't know what she's talking about. Don't believe her bullshit."

Esmerelda just stared at him anxiously. Annabeth's words were ringing in her head and a part of her screamed at her to listen, to take her words seriously and do something about it, but another, much stronger part was desperately crying for her to forget it all because she would be so much happier that way...

Ignorance was bliss as they said. It was the easiest path to choose, and after all the hardships she endured... she deserved an easy path for once, didn't she?

Slowly, she nodded her head in acceptance to Ethan's words.

"Okay," she said at last, and Ethan felt his body relax.

A deranged laugh threatened to burst from his lips, but he kept his face neutral. This... was absolutely perfect. She had listened to him without argument.

Years ago, when he first fell in love with her, he had been terrified of the prospect of her seeing his true face. Seeing just how twisted and wicked he was. He didn't want to scare her off, so he withheld his urges. But she came to him willingly, returned his feelings and latched herself onto him so much that she hadn't even realized that she was already in the jaws of the beast.

He wasn't perfect for her, he knew that—he was too much of a damaged horrible mess to be perfect for anyone—but she was perfect for him. So sweet, caring, gentle, and much too accepting for her own good.

Here she was, practically slapped in the face by Annabeth's all-too-true words... and she chose to believe him instead. Chose to ignore the warnings she got and come back to his arms.

(Not that it mattered if she had actually chosen to trust Annabeth's words. He would've dealt with that promptly because it was far too late for her to try and escape him now.)

And luckily for him, Esmerelda never talked about it ever again. She went on as she normally would, back to her blissfully happy state that he liked her in. Even after Jason and Piper came back from their quest and the Argo II had to hastily retreat away from the island (since they kind of incurred the wrath of Hercules and Achelous), she didn't once act as if Annabeth's words were impacting her throughout their whole meeting in the mess hall.

Annabeth didn't notice Esmerelda's easygoing attitude, too focused on watching Percy in the corner of her eyes. There was a guarded, but anxious look on her face and Ethan knew that his words had successfully riled her up.

When she caught him staring, she sent him a withering glare to which he innocently smiled at.

Right now, they were sailing through the clouds above the Mediterranean. It was a good thing she was no longer hung over her conversation with Annabeth because Reyna hadn't been kidding when she said traveling through the Mare Nostrum was suicide.

Several times an hour, something would attack the ship. A flock of flesh-eating Stymphalian birds swooped out of the night sky, and Festus torched them. Storm spirits swirled around the mast, and Jason blasted them with lightning. Gryphons tried to peck their eyes out but Esmerelda, having dealt with them before, angrily used her telekinesis to squish them all into one fleshy blob before exploding them with a bombarda in the sky that almost looked like fireworks. While Coach Hedge was having dinner on the foredeck, a wild pegasus appeared from nowhere, stampeded over the coach's enchiladas, and flew off again, leaving cheesy hoof prints all across the deck.

"This is getting ridiculous," Ethan hissed, stomping his shoe over the body of a fallen monster bird thing. It had managed to swoop into the mess hall uninterrupted and knock down his plate of chicken katsu. "We can't even eat in peace without them barreling in!"

It was midnight now and this was the ninth aerial attack they've had since they reached the Mare Nostrum and it was driving everyone crazy.

"You guys get some sleep," Jason said, noticing the way several of them yawned or rubbed their eyes. "I'll keep blasting stuff out of the sky as long as I can."

"Jason..." Hazel trailed off worriedly. "These attacks are coming in faster. You'll tire out quickly."

"I'll take over when that happens," Percy offered. "We'll go by sea for a while and I'll deal with them."

"I'll take over next," Esmerelda offered sleepily. "Sky or sea, whatever, I'll handle it..."

She glanced over at Ethan and nodded shortly as if to say 'and yes, you can come too'.

They made up a schedule for keeping watch, finished up their dinners, and everyone went to bed save for Jason and Leo, who kept muttering about 'no more Shrimpzillas'. He had been beating himself up for it since then and he was determined to not let himself get a wink of sleep in order to keep such a mistake from happening again. Everyone told him to get a break, but he wasn't listening so all they could do was hope he'd give up and just go to sleep soon.

Esmerelda murmured her good night's to Frank and Hazel (the poor things looked close to collapsing), before she and Ethan dragged their feet back to their rooms.

"I'm so tired," she mumbled groggily, slipping into bed after getting dressed into a t-shirt and shorts.

"We're almost there you know," Ethan said between a yawn. He crawled into bed with her and she eagerly moved closer to him in order to feel the warmth emitting from his bare chest. "The Italian Coast. We'll be in Rome soon... We'll probably reach it in the morning, and then we can save Nico."

Esmerelda's heart felt like it could jump. They were so close now... So so close, but not just to Nico but to the deadline. They were dangerously close to running out of time. It would be their last day left and if they actually failed to find or rescue him then...

"Hey," Ethan whispered, recognizing the doomed look on her face. "Don't think about that. We will get Nico back. Have you been having those dreams again?"

She shook her head.

He relaxed. "Good. Just focus on him, okay? But for now, we need to sleep. We're expected to go on watch duty soon after Percy and there's a good chance we won't be given any time to rest since we would've reached Italy by then. So we need to rest as much as possible for when we save him."

Good thing was that she was already drifting off, and she could tell that he was too. They were both so exhausted from all the fighting that their limbs were already going slack.

"Mm, love you," she murmured sleepily before her eyes fluttered shut.

She could hear him say something back in response before a gentle weight had been placed on her forehead. Then it was gone and she was completely asleep.

Her dreams were nonexistent and thank gods for that, but when she woke up a few hours later, she was expecting to hear Percy knocking on the door to tell them it was their turn to stay on guard.

Instead, she was met with Ethan. He was already fully awake, his eye staring in confusion at the clock on the nightstand.

"Ethan...?" She mumbled, stretching her arms out with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly five o'clock. Almost time for us to get on watch duty," he muttered back. "We've got about ten minutes, but Percy hasn't come by yet. Either the dude fell asleep on deck or he lost track of time and has no idea that it's our turn."

"Well there's still ten minutes left," she pointed out. "We should get ready for the day."

"Or," he said in a suggestive tone, throwing a grin her way as he held her back from leaving the bed. "We can indulge ourselves in our favorite 'morning activity'."

She tried to stop herself from smiling but the corner of her lips were lifting upwards.

"Morning yoga?" She offered jokingly.

He grinned, yanking her onto his lap as he rested his back against the cushiony backboard of the bed.

"We have ten minutes," he whispered, his hands teasingly reaching under her shirt and slowly trailing upwards. His touch left her shivering for more.

Esmerelda doubted that they would be able to stop themselves before their ten minutes would be up, but after he jutted his hips up to push himself against her, she no longer cared. She let out a shuddering breath, tilting her head back to give him access to her neck.

He started sucking on the expanse of her neck, his hold on her tightening as he rutted against her. He let out a small whine when she tugged on his hair to pull him closer.

There was barely anything separating their skin from touching. Just the thin cloth of her shorts and his grey sweatpants. She could practically feel him throbbing underneath the thin fabrics between them.

"Oh fuck," he moaned, his hips moving desperately against hers.

She was sure that he was close to releasing, but then the worst thing happened: a second later, the ship lurched back as if something slammed into it.

The two of them let out surprised yelps as they were nearly thrown against the wall if it hadn't been for Ethan's tight grasp on her.

"What the fuck?!" Ethan spat.

As if to make things even worse, the door was slammed open and a group of weird looking creatures came barging in, swords drawn.

Esmerelda nearly screamed at the sight of them. Partly because they kind of interrupted a heated moment, but the main reason? They looked like a science experiment gone wrong. The invaders were a horrible cross between dolphin and human. Some had grey snouts. Others held their swords in stunted flippers. Some waddled on legs partially fused together, while others had flippers for feet, which reminded her of clown shoes.

Their appearances were so wild that Esmerelda couldn't even move a muscle when they pointed their swords at them.

Luckily for her, she didn't need to do a thing. Ethan did all the work for her.

"I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF THIS!" He roared.

He crossed the bedroom in a nanosecond, his sword already drawn. He cut each and every one of the dolphin creatures down without an ounce of mercy. The room erupted in chaos. Esmerelda had to cup her hands over her ears since Ethan was screaming profanity and the intruders were making loud dolphin shrieks before they were brutally slashed to bits.

In the midst of it all, the ship's alarms began to blare. A bit too late for that though. By the time it rang, the monsters were already nothing but dust.

"What the fuck was that?" Esmerelda asked, eyes wide.

Her mind was struggling to catch up with everything. First she and Ethan were... doing stuff, then the ship crashed, and then these weird dolphin people burst into the room? What was going on?

She hurried off the bed to Ethan's side. The guy was still fuming, glaring viciously at the mounds of golden dust as if daring them to try and come back.

"I don't know," he huffed, swiping some dust off his bare arms and shoulder. "They looked like pirates. I guess they crashed into our ship to try and overtake us."

"Hold on a second," she dropped her voice into a whisper, hearing something coming from outside the door. "Listen."

He quieted down.

"Let go!" Came Piper's panicked voice. "Let—mmffh!"

Ethan snorted. "They probably gagged her. Good fucking riddance."

On the other side of the door, they could hear Jason shouting at one of their captors. Then there was a loud thud sound and Jason's voice could no longer be heard.

"Jason!" Hazel cried out.

Esmerelda quietly sighed. "He got hit again," she lamented.

Ethan just shook his head in disappointment.

"Come on," he said after a while. "I think it's safe to go out now."

He slowly opened the door and they stepped out of the room. The hallway was void of any dolphin men or any of their crew mates.

"You know," Esmerelda began. "I didn't hear Frank out here. Maybe he got away?"

Before he could answer, one of the doors opened. He brought his sword up, expecting to see one of those dolphin guys again. Instead, it was Frank. He stepped out of the room, wide-eyed and panicked.

He locked eyes with them.

"You guys are okay...!" He sighed in relief. "Did they take everyone el—" He suddenly let out a loud gasp, slapping a hand over his mouth. He stared at them in horror.

Esmerelda suddenly remembered what sort of state they were in. Her clothes were ruffled, her skin was flushed, their necks were marked up, and for fucks sake, Ethan didn't even have a shirt on.

"It's not what you think," she squeaked, immediately trying to come up with a good lie. "We were just... just... um...!"

"Those fucking dolphins cockblocked me," Ethan spat, and Frank's eyes grew wider. It was like he was witnessing a suspect confess to his crimes.

"Forget about that," she said quickly. "We should try to help our friends."

They crept up the stairs and stopped right in front of the door. Their bodies squished together as they tried to peek into the circular window.

"Frank, Ethan, can you guys back up a little?" Esmerelda whispered.

"We literally can't even move," Ethan whispered back. His left side was pushed against Esmerelda while his right was shoved against the wall. The same went with Frank.

"I can't see anything—Essie, you're stepping on my toes!" Frank whisper-yelled.

"Sorry!"

"Oh my gods, both of you stop talking," Ethan hissed.

He was practically pressing his head against the window. On the far left side, he could finally see them. Percy and Annabeth were cornered by the dolphin warriors, Jason was splayed over the floor unconscious, Leo was beaten up, and Hazel and Piper were bound and gagged.

But one person caught his eye. Amongst the dolphin warriors was one human looking dude. He was dressed in Greek combat armor and in his hand was a golden sword. He wore a visor shaped like a gorgon's head with the curved tusks, horrible snarl, golden snake hair, and everything.

Ethan immediately knew who this was.

"Oh my fucking gods," he groaned.

"What? What is?!" Esmerelda fretted.

"It's Chrysaor, another one of Percy's brothers. Ugh."

"So that's a good thing right?" Frank asked nervously. "I mean, they're related and everything so maybe he's here to help us!"

"Nah," Ethan said. "I'm pretty sure he's here to kill us. You know, like what everyone else is doing."

He sighed. "Of course."

"But you can see where they are, can't you?" Esmerelda pressed on.

"Yeah," he nodded. "They're at the far left. They won't be able to see us."

"We can use the ballista!" Frank suggested. "Right over there. We can shoot them down with it!"

"Good idea," Esmerelda chimed. "Let's go!"

As quietly as they could, they pushed open the door and climbed out of the hall. Esmerelda would've used the Mist to hide them, but Chrysaor and the dolphins looked a lot more distracted by whatever the fuck Percy was doing.

"Fine!" Percy shouted loudly just when they reached the ballista. "Take us away, if our captain will let you."

Frank's hands froze over the machinations. "Wait, what?"

Chrysaor turned his golden mask. "What captain? My men searched the ship. There is no one else."

Percy raised his hands dramatically. "The god appears only when he wishes. But he is our leader. He runs our camp for demigods. Doesn't he, Annabeth?"

Annabeth was quick. "Yes!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Mr. D! The great Dionysus!"

It was Ethan's turn to say, "What?"

A ripple of uneasiness passed through the dolphin-men. One dropped his sword.

Esmerelda blinked. These guys were afraid of Dionysus... But what was Percy planning here? Dionysus was either in Olympus or preparing for the plant war with Demeter.

"Stand fast!" Chrysaor bellowed. "There is no god on this ship. They are trying to scare you."

"You should be scared!" Percy looked at the pirate crew with sympathy. "Dionysus will be severely cranky with you for having delayed our voyage. He will punish all of us. Didn't you notice the girls falling into the wine god's madness?"

Hazel and Piper had stopped the shaking fits. They were sitting on the deck, staring at Percy, but when he glared at them pointedly, they started hamming it up again, trembling and flopping around like fish. The dolphin-men fell over themselves trying to get away from their captives.

"Fakes!" Chrysaor roared. "Shut up, Percy Jackson. Your camp director is not here. He was recalled to Olympus. This is common knowledge."

"So you admit Dionysus is our director!" Percy exclaimed.

"He was," Chrysaor corrected. "Everyone knows that."

Percy gestured at the golden warrior like he'd just betrayed himself. "You see? We are doomed. If you don't believe me, let's check the ice chest!"

He stormed over to the magical cooler. No one tried to stop him. He knocked open the lid and rummaged through the ice. Then he pulled away, brandishing a diet coke can at the enemies as if he was about to spray them with bug repellent.

"Behold!" He shouted. "The god's chosen beverage. Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!"

The dolphin-men began to panic.

Ethan stared at the scene, absolutely disgusted with himself. He couldn't believe he got cockblocked by these dumbasses.

"The god will take your ship," Percy warned. "He will finish your transformation into dolphins, or make you insane, or transform you into insane dolphins! Your only hope is to swim away now, quickly!"

"Ridiculous!" Chrysaor's voice turned shrill. He didn't seem sure where to level his sword—at Percy or his own crew.

"Save yourselves!" Percy warned. "It is too late for us!"

Then he gasped and pointed to the spot where the three of them were hiding. "Oh, no! Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Frank jumped. "W-what?!"

"Go!" Esmerelda whispered.

"But what do I do?!"

"Do something!" Ethan hissed. "Go!"

"I said," Percy repeated, sounding a little desperate now. "Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Frank was still panicking, so Esmerelda and Ethan gave him a push and he stumbled out of his hiding spot.

"U-uh... uh!"

He looked back at them in panic.

"Turn into a dolphin! A dolphin, Frank, a fucking dolphin!" Ethan whisper-yelled.

Esmerelda mimed self-strangulation to help him out.

Frank turned back to the crowd and grabbed at his throat like Esmerelda showed him.

"Oh, no," he said, like he was reading from a teleprompter.

Ethan and Esmerelda were nodding their heads approvingly, motioning for him to continue on.

"I am turning into a crazy dolphin." He said blandly.

He began to change, his nose elongating into a snout, his skin becoming sleek and gray. He fell to the deck as a dolphin, his tail thumping against the boards.

The pirate crew disbanded in terror, chattering and clicking as they dropped their weapons, forgot the captives, ignored Chrysaor's orders, and jumped overboard. In the confusion, Annabeth moved quickly to cut the bonds on Hazel, Piper, and Coach Hedge.

Ethan and Esmerelda burst out from their hiding spots at last and gathered around Chrysaor, their weapons drawn and aimed at him.

The golden man was completely surrounded by everyone's murderous faces now.

He backed to the edge of the rail.

"This isn't over, Jackson," Chrysaor growled. "I will have my revenge—"

His words were cut short by Frank, who had changed form again. An eight-hundred pound grizzly bear can definitely break up a conversation. He sideswiped Chrysaor and raked the golden mask off his helmet. Chrysaor screamed, instantly covering his face with his arms and tumbling into the water.

They ran to the rail, but Chrysaor had disappeared.

"That was brilliant!" Annabeth kissed him, which made him feel a little better.

"It was desperate," Percy corrected. "And we need to get rid of this pirate trireme."

"Burn it?" Annabeth asked.

Percy looked at the Diet Coke in his hand. "No. I've got another idea."

They gathered their weapons and supplies back and Esmerelda managed to tidy up the mess from the invasion with a snap of her fingers. After that, she levitated the enemy's weapons back on the pirate ship.

"I can sense about six million dollars' worth of gold aboard," Hazel said. "Plus diamonds, rubies—"

"Six m-million?" Frank stammered. "Canadian dollars or American?"

"Leave it," Percy inisted. "It's part of the tribute."

"Tribute?" Hazel asked.

"Oh." Piper nodded.

"Kansas." Jason grinned. "Crazy. But I like it."

Finally Percy opened the flood valves of the pirate ship. He asked Esmerelda and Leo to create a few extra holes in the bottom hull, and the pair of them were happy to oblige. Leo used the power tools, while Esmerelda used the deprimo spell over and over again. The ship was rapidly sinking but there was still one more thing to do.

The Argo crew assembled at the rail and sliced through the grappling lines. Piper, through Percy's direction, used her newly earned Cornucopia horn to spew out Diet Coke, dousing the enemy deck.

After that, the ship sank even faster.

"Dionysus," Percy called, holding up Chrysaor's golden mask. "Or Bacchus—whatever. You made this victory possible, even if you weren't here. Your enemies trembled at your name... or your Diet Coke, or something. So, yeah, thank you."

Esmerelda could tell that Percy died a bit with every word he said.

"We give this ship to you as tribute. We hope you like it." He finished.

"Six million in gold," Leo muttered. "He'd better like it."

"Shh," Hazel scolded. "Precious metal isn't all that great. Believe me."

Percy threw the golden mask aboard the vessel, which was now sinking even faster, brown fizzy liquid spewing out the trireme's oar slots and bubbling from the cargo hold, turning the sea frothy brown.

Percy summoned a wave, and the enemy ship was swamped. Leo steered the Argo II away as the pirate vessel disappeared underwater.

"Now," Leo said, looking over to Esmerelda, Ethan, and Hazel. "Let's head east. We're almost there to Rome.

Almost there to Nico, Esmerelda thought.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

The hopeful look on Esmerelda's face faded away as did everything else on the deck of the Argo II. The scene shifted into a motel bedroom. A raven haired young man paced around the room in agitation while a much older man sat on an old wooden chair.

Hecate peered closer at the young man's face and sighed heavily when she saw the signs of exhaustion.

"Alabaster," Dr. Claymore called out to him. "I thought you hated that boy."

"Yeah so?" He replied. "What do you expect me to do? Stand by? Étienne's planning something. I heard it in my dream. He was speaking to someone... They were talking about some girls."

"What girls?"

"I don't know. Maybe more family members that he wasn't able to kill..." His pacing grew worse. "He's probably going to kill them like he... like he did with the others."

"Did he say that he was going to kill them?" Dr. Claymore pressed on patiently. "Did he seem angry? Aggressive?"

Alabaster pursed his lips. "No, he... sounded desperate actually. But he was definitely unstable."

Hecate willed herself to teleport into the room, and both men jumped when she appeared.

Alabaster whipped out an index card and his sword materialized into his hand. He pointed it right at her.

"Alabaster—" The doctor tried to warn.

"No," Hecate raised a hand calmly. "It's alright, dear Claymore. If you don't mind, I'd like to have a word with my son."

The mortal nodded hesitantly before disappearing back into one of Alabaster's Mistform cards. Now the two of them were left alone, and Alabaster's sword didn't lower once.

"Did you know?" He demanded. "That Étienne was going to kill his family? That Essie was going to die? Did you know all along that my siblings were going to be killed in that stupid war?!"

Hecate frowned, but didn't say anything.

Alabaster's hands shook with rage. "You act as if you know everything—that you could see the future! You told me everything was going to be okay and that we were going to win!"

"Alabaster," she said gently. "I don't see the future. I just see the many paths. What I saw was a strong chance that we would win, but so many things changed, so many decisions wavered, so many pieces moved—"

"—A strong chance?!" He repeated angrily. "I wanted certainty! A guarantee! That was what you promised me! For fucks sake, if I had known that your visions were shit then I wouldn't have led them to you! Now they're all dead! Every single one of them, and then you sent me to that—to that fucking PSYCHOPATH! Did you know about him?!"

She winced. "I tried to warn you..."

"You're just like the other gods," he spat. "I thought you loved us, but you were just using us!"

Hecate stayed silent once more. Love... she didn't think gods were capable of such a feeling, or at least the way the mortals loved. She didn't think even Aphrodite understood it either.

Gods did not love the way mortals did. They obsessed instead. They consume everything they desire and then leave them to ruin. It was what they did best after all. Nothing a god ever touched stayed unscathed. Apollo loved his lovers so much that he killed them, Hermes loved May and Luke so much that he sent them to their ruination, Hades loved Maria and his children so much that he dragged out their suffering—it was all the same for each and every one of them.

What the demigods didn't understand was that the Ancient Laws decreeing the gods from ever making contact with their children protected them. It was for their own good. Gods were destructive beings that left nothing but death and despair in their wake. They couldn't love their children like mortals could. Their emotions were beyond what any mortal could comprehend. Their love was brutal, terrifying, and ruthless. Not the gentle, kind, and pure love that mortals could feel.

The only reason deities like her mingled with one another was because they were immortal. They could never really die. They could destroy the things and people they loved (that was what they were best at of course), but they couldn't kill each other no matter how hard they tried.

Their half-blood children were so much different. Their bodies and minds were so fragile, so delicate. They could never handle anything a god's true self could bring them.

So leaving them abandoned and ignored was the kinder option, even if their children didn't believe so. The less involved they were in their lives, the safer they would be. But some of the gods strayed from that rule. They'd seek out their children for mere moments, but that was all it took to destroy their lives for good, whether it led to their immediate deaths or a far crueler, slower end.

(How many times had she interacted with Regulus and her children? Now look at what her involvement did. Her favorite lover died a grim end, she had fifteen kids dead, one suffering in exile, another doomed, and the other lost. The reason Lou Ellen was okay was because she never once tried to make contact with her.)

Their Roman halves did it better. That was why there were so few demigods in Camp Jupiter nowadays. They knew the rules and stuck by them as best as they could, and the populace thrived. The only major tragedy they faced in a century was the Second Titan War, and that was only because Luke Castellan inadvertently dragged them into it.

"I'm sorry Alabaster," Hecate murmured. "I admit, I never loved any of you. It was better that way."

But now... now she was getting too attached. She knew she was making a mistake, caring so much over her children like this. She knew this was only going to bring them to their doom if she went any further.

Alabaster finally lowered his sword. He didn't look less angry than before, but he was certainly disgusted with her.

"You immortals are all the same," he said, his voice shaking with emotion.

"You are right," she said honestly. "And I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" He let out a hysterical laugh. "I did everything you wanted! I pledged myself to Kronos, I made my own siblings do the same! I followed your every order and it cost me EVERYTHING!"

Yes, Hecate agreed. Because that was what happened when humans got too close to a god. It cost them everything. Now they were both learning that lesson the hard way.

"I trusted you for so long," he panted. "I thought bringing you glory would keep us all safe and happy. You always told me how much you cared about us. But you didn't even do anything to save them. Aiden, Theodora, even Essie... You let them all die."

"I wasn't allowed to save them," she told him. "I knew at that moment that they were fated to die, and I cannot go against what the Fates decreed. Had I saved any of them, the Fates would have punished them severely for it. They would've been given a worse end."

He scoffed. Either he didn't believe her, or he no longer cared about anything she said.

"I want to know what Étienne is doing," he said abruptly. "I saw him in a dream. He was talking to this shadowy figure I couldn't see. He seemed obsessed with these two girls. I doubt you care, but I think he's going to kill them and I can't let that happen."

"I don't know," she said, and she really didn't. Étienne had been cloaked from her for months now. Either a god was hiding him from her... or something much worse.

The answer didn't seem to surprise her son, but it definitely pissed him off even more.

"Right," he said bitterly. "Sure you do. I guess those girls are just fated to die then, huh? Is that why you won't tell me anything?"

He angrily stabbed his sword into the floor and it dematerialized back into an index card.

"Don't you ever show your face to me again, Hecate. Out of all the gods in the world, I hate you the most." He spat. He grabbed his backpack from the bed and stormed out of the motel room.

Almost instantly, Hecate saw his paths lessen to one.

Doom. Pain. Death. That was all she could see. For him, for Esmerelda, for Étienne, and even for Lou Ellen.

And the worst thing?

She couldn't do a thing to stop it.

Because nothing good ever happened when the gods got involved. 

— author's note —

This chapter was 🤢 BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS

You know how I've been obsessed with High and Low recently??? I could no longer contain myself so I made two additional fanfics for it 🤪

Here they are!

If you're not familiar with the High and Low series, I recommend you give it a try cuz it's so good. The guys are hot, the fighting scenes are awesome, and the soundtrack's addicting too. As for the plot... uh well, it's basically about hot guys beating the shit out of each other 🤗

If you're interested in watching it, here's the order you should watch it and where you can find them:

Netflix only has the movies, unfortunately and not the TV shows, but you can easily find them online and watch for free 💖

Hope you give the series a chance, it's so underrated and there's so little fics of it 🥲

Essie any time someone tries to warn her about the red flags in her relationship:

My readers getting their happiness crushed because they genuinely believed that Essan would have a good and pure future together only to get slapped in the face by the reality of Annabeth's wise words:

Ethan and Essie hiding behind the ballista and helping Frank perform for the dolphin-men: