To Layla- (Chapter 34) Thank you! ^_^ I have missed these stories and I have missed writing Lou!
To HoO Fan- (Chapter 34) The prequel is in the works!
To Ravimar- Weren't so lucky this time! Buuut if we can get to 125 still and people still want to ask questions, I will be more than happy to answer! (Without spoilers, of course!)
The cetus barrelled forward, gleefully opening its jaws like an ever expanding cavern. Leo realised a little too late it was ever expanding because it just kept getting closer and he would not ever be fast enough to evade it. He reached for Calypso, hugging her close and awaiting the jaws to chomp.
However, before their death-by-chewing ensued, a bronze shape rammed into the cetus's neck, hurtling it away as if the water was no boundary.
Festus reared his head, torrents of bubbles swarming upward as the water muffled his roar. His claws sank into his opponent's throat, biting and tearing at its face. Calypso had to pull Leo upwards, too stunned he was to notice he was in dire need of some oxygen. He coughed and spluttered, hugging her again with renewed vigour.
"We weren't eaten." He marvelled.
"Not yet." She reminded him, taking a moment to return the embrace.
"Festus isn't waterproof."
"Maybe Lou's helping him?" Uncertainty crossed her face, wincing when she saw it mirrored on his. She took a deep breath and splashed Leo in her departure. Louisa had not moved from her spot, biting her thumbnail as beast and automaton grappled before her. Keto screamed, tearing at her hair.
"Not my baby, leave my baby alone!" Festus went for the eyes and she wailed, the sound flooding the currents. Calypso saw Louisa frown, brow knitting as if now only realising something wasn't right.
Leo grabbed Calypso's shoulder. He held a small length of pipe to her, an inch-wide hole in the middle, one end melted shut and the other attached to a long rubber tube, wiggling up to the surface. She pressed her lips to the contraption, breathing in deeply and handing it back to him.
Festus bit at the cetus's ear, shaking his head viciously. Louisa drew her sword, clarity finally dawning on her. She still did not notice the other two, shooting forward. Keto shrieked and charged in too. The goddess was aiming for Festus's jaws, determined to unclamp them from her baby's ear. Louisa shoulder-slammed her, twisting in the water.
Leo inhaled through his make-shift snorkel, shoving it towards Calypso. He kicked forward, swept downwards by the cetus's tail as the two creatures rolled in their brawl. Festus noticed him, planting his feet on the monster's blubbery flesh and springing backwards. He caught Leo in his claw and beat his wings, slowing their momentum. Calypso was swimming towards Louisa and Keto, the rubber tube trailing behind her, the pipe in her mouth.
Keto swiped at Louisa's face, fingernails raking over her cheek. The injuries had hardly formed before they began to heal, Louisa's fist encouraging a cascade of ichor from a broken nose. Calypso tackled the goddess from behind, wrapping her legs around her waist. Keto screamed in outrage. Her arms jerked to claw at the unwanted piggy-backer, but were kept before her under Louisa's will.
Calypso tugged on the tube, hauling it down as quickly as she could. As she did so, she looped it around the goddess's neck, pulling each layer taut before adding another. Louisa helped her cocoon the rest of Keto's body. They ran out of tube before her legs. Keto began to laugh. "Your father is an upstart!" She cackled gleefully. "I belong to the sea more than him, more than you." She sneered at Louisa. "Surrender now and I will spare your friends!"
"You ain't gonna hurt my friends." Louisa replied flatly.
"And you're going to stop me?" Keto snorted. Louisa simply smiled and moved to the side. Keto's amusement wilted, seeing Festus's jaws plunge into the cetus's jugular. The monster crumbled, swivelling away in the currents. Louisa raised her sword, Calypso tightened her grip on the tube. Leo urged Festus closer.
Keto snarled at them. "I don't think so."
Calypso felt it first, felt the goddess begin to heat up. She shut her eyes in time. Festus reared up, blocking his master's vision. Keto vanished, the tube liquified in her supernova, the power of which sent them spiralling uncontrollably in different directions. The water was not spared from the goddess's true form, rising in temperature almost enough to boil them. If not for Festus, Calypso would have been. The dragon lunged above the water, Leo and Calypso choking and dripping on his back. Festus was dry as bone, tipping his head and spilling oil.
"Where's… Lou?" Leo asked between hacking coughs. Calypso spat out seawater, heaving for breath as her stomach churned. She was lying on Festus's back, slung over sideways. The water steamed and bubbled, warming her face. Was Louisa still down there? What had happened to her? She had been seconds from stabbing Keto, she had been right in front of her. Had she closed her eyes?
"We need… to find her…" Calypso gasped, trying to push herself up. Her arms were trembling and her wet hands were slick on Festus's hide. Leo massaged his chest, squinting through the steam.
Louisa had not shut her eyes in time. Maybe half-shut, but did that count?
Later, she realised maybe the sea offered her some protection from godly blasts, but a part of her wished it hadn't.
She found herself in a hospital room. The curtains were drawn around the bed, the room was dimly lit. The night sky lacked stars under public fluorescents, the rush of the hospital muted behind the doors at the end of the ward. A pull on her mind and her dream melted through the curtains, revealing the patient on the other side.
This was a maternity ward. She recognised the woman in the bed, from her drawings, younger than her absent memories had provided. Leo had called her Sally. Sally Jackson. Louisa's birth mother. She was asleep, curled on her side, pale and bundled under the covers. She faced a crib, one hand outstretched to it, hanging limply off the side of the bed. Louisa stood at the foot of the bed. The crib held two babies, one in blue blankets and the other in pink. They were sound asleep as well, side by side.
A rustling noise caught her ear and she turned. The curtains parted momentarily, split by a trail of water. It spiralled to the floor next to the crib, building into a man. Louisa stared at him. His back was to her, but she recognised the dark wind swept hair, saw his profile as his head turned to regard Sally. A sad smile creased the corners of his eyes and he gripped the side of the crib.
For a moment, he did not move, quietly observing the sleeping woman. Louisa watched him in return, wanting to find her voice, to break the silence, to talk to him. This was her father, he was a god, he would have answers. Maybe he could fix her memories.
No sound passed her lips. Poseidon did not seem to notice her dream form, looking down at the babies in the crib. He leaned down a fraction, adjusting the blue blankets. He smoothed a thumb over the baby's forehead, sad smile wavering. Was he apologising? Did he know the fate that awaited his children in years to come?
He turned to the pink bundle. His image flickered, becoming sterner, harder-faced. His Hawaii print shirt, shorts and sandals transformed into a pressed suit and tie. His beard was neatly trimmed, hair tidy, a little darker.
Neptune sighed, tucking his hands under the baby girl. He nestled the infant in the crook of his arm, shifting the blankets as she mewled and squirmed. In her place, he lay a blue envelope, tucking the corner under his son. His hand lingered in the crib, gently touching the boy's face one last time. He gave a final, sad look at Sally, now mumbling in her sleep.
The god became water and the scene melted with him. It reformed seconds later, becoming a throne room at the bottom of the ocean. Salacia awaited him, arms folded. She did not seem pleased at the child in his arms, but rose from her throne to greet him.
"What will you do?" She asked, words clipped. "If the Fates are correct, surely we cannot let her grow?"
"I am sorry," Neptune said quietly, "to you and to this one." He nodded at the baby. "It would be easier, to kill her now. A mercy, really. But the Fates have decided." He sighed, looking at his wife. She stared back, jaw set, eyes cold. "She must live."
"And if their predictions come to pass?"
"Then I shall bear the responsibility." Neptune decided firmly. He shifted his hold on the baby, passing her over. The sadness that had pulled at his face was gone, as easily replaced with stoicism as a baby for a letter. "See to it that she is somewhere safe, amongst the mortals. I will guide her where applicable, but there is little else I can do." He straightened his suit jacket, casting his gaze around the throne room.
Salacia considered the infant in her arms, now grumbling. A tiny hand splayed from the blankets, batting at the water. Her coldness thawed, softening into an almost maternal sadness.
"Do you think it will happen?" She asked, voice barely audible, not averting her attention from the child. The small hand locked around her little finger. "Do you think she will grow to be a god-killer?" At her husband's silence, she looked up. He had no need to say anything. His eyes said it all.