Chapter 15

"What do you want to talk about?" Zoë sighed for the tenth time. "Both of us have kept things from the other. Does it matter that I attacked the people who killed my Hunters?"

"Well it might've cleared things up if you told me," Percy pointed out. He held out his arm where Chrysaor had cut him. "This might not have happened if we found Chrysaor. But you just had to be wanted by those Frankish scouts. And here I thought we were running away for nothing."

"Yes, because you haven't kept secrets," she growled.

Percy looked away. "That's a different story."

"Excuses," she spat.

He took a deep breath. They'd finished delivering the jewels back to Aphrodite, and she rewarded them with information on the whereabouts of Thanas, Xanthe and Leon. Aphrodite also lifted the veil between Zoë and the Hunters created by Iris on Zeus' orders, providing her with the opportunity to finally contact Phoebe and the others.

"I don't want to fight," he said.

"We don't have to fight if you don't ask about it."

He bit back a retort. It would only make things worse.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Aphrodite had also told him about Ionna's fate. He felt a mixture of emotions. Guilt, sorrow, anger. But it was hardly a surprise. He hoped Thanas didn't take her death too hard.

"You don't have to continue this, you know."

Percy turned to face Zoë. They were taking the cart down to Ostia, which gave them plenty of time to talk, not that either one of them really wanted to do so. She watched him with a stoic expression.

"I honestly don't understand," she continued. "What about Apollo makes you so crazy to destroy an entire civilization?"

"What other reason do I have left to live?" he countered. "If I have to die, I'll bring Apollo down with me. We can enjoy Tartarus together."

"And, in between, thousands of lives must be sacrificed for this cause?"

He sighed. "You'll never be able to understand Zoë. No matter how long we argue, you'll never know how horrible it was for me out there. Even if you were there with me, at least you had something to come back to. You have a family. I've got nothing."

Zoë stared at him carefully, her dark eyes probing and analyzing him. She pursed her lips. "The worst one was the Panchala. It was after that one that I couldn't take it anymore. I fled back home."

Percy looked at the cut on his arm. He recalled the faint memories of the east, small and vague traces of the memories he'd stored away. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered to survive out there. I... I went through so much. And for what? Did the gods want me to suffer? Did the gods want me to go insane? Is this Zeus' way of preventing my spirit from ever reaching Elysium? To make me do unspeakable horrors?"

"I... I don't know."

"And yet I can't help but feel angry, feel resentful." He squeezed his fist and flexed his arm, squeezing more blood out from the wound. "Pain is like an afterthought now. If it wasn't for Irene, I probably would've died a long time ago. I don't know whether to thank her or resent her for that. Well... no, I'd thank her. I think."

Zoë looked away from him, a faraway look in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to fly away, teleport like she was one of the gods. She looked like she wanted to do anything but be there with him in that cart. "Irene told me that I was the only one that can stop you from crossing the line. Somehow, I feel like that's not true."

He wiped the trickling blood off his elbow, remembering Irene's words from Troy that seemed so long ago. "What do you mean?"

"I hate what you've become," she said bluntly. "I hate how destructive and hateful you are now. How can I convince you to not destroy the world when I think it's impossible? How can I if I can't believe you're someone capable of compassionate thought?"

Percy found himself staring at Anaklusmos, still strapped to his belt as a rod. "Quite the pep talk you're giving me here. I don't think the whole persuasion thing is working right now. Not with those words."

Zoë nodded in agreement. She stared at him. "Exactly. I... I don't have the heart to strike you down. Perhaps that's a weakness of mine that needs to be corrected. Because I can't find it in me to believe that you'll stop this madness. Because I'm convinced that... that to you this really isn't madness."

His shoulders slumped. This was a depressing conversation.

"I have to stop you, you know," Zoë told him. "If we meet in the future, I'll be there to impede your progress, whatever it is."

"Wow, encouraging," he muttered.

They arrived at the docks in Ostia just before sunset.

Zoë was supposed to take the boat to Apollonia, which wouldn't leave until the morning after. As they climbed out of the cart, he took another long look at her.

"You look beautiful tonight," Percy said.

Zoë stared at him. He couldn't read her expression. "Thank you, Percy," she said stoically. "I guess... you look beautiful too?"

Percy nodded at the awkwardness.

Zoë turned away and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" he called out. She stopped and turned. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "Was that a joke just now? You just called me beautiful. How am I beautiful? Handsome, rugged, charming. All those work. But beautiful?"

A trace of a smile flickered across Zoë's lips. "You've lost your touch, Percy. I pray we don't run into each other again in darker circumstances."

She, once again, turned and began to walk away. Percy didn't stop her this time. He just smiled at her retreating figure.

"You're still awesome." He knew she couldn't hear him anymore, but he just felt like saying it out loud. "But you're right. The next time we meet, I have a feeling it won't be under such happy circumstances."

Then Percy turned around and went for the boat to Athens.

Zoë was relieved to see Phoebe, even if it was through an Iris-message.

"You're safe!" Phoebe exclaimed. She glanced over her right shoulder where Irene was loitering in the background, staring at the Iris-message. "Irene works fast. She managed to track us down with our wolf. The one that went missing, presumably, with you."

"How did she do it?"

"Honestly, I'm not that sure," Phoebe admitted. "We fled pretty far."

"Where were you girls?"

"Most of us fled back to Achaea," she explained, glancing over her shoulder. "Irene managed to find Helene and a couple of the girls in the Alps. I'm not even sure how she was able to move so fast. We're in Athens. What about you?"

Zoë clicked her tongue. "I should've gone back to Achaea. That makes the most sense. I'm in Ostia. Travelling through Italia is a nightmare. The war here is clogging all the land routes. As for Irene, do you suspect she might be using the Labyrinth to navigate?"

Phoebe's eyes widened. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Zoë said. "She's been involved in nearly everything. She'll have her methods of getting around. It really is a shame she won't join the Hunt."

Phoebe scowled. "That's the part I don't understand. She might not be blindly following Percy around, but it's clear he's the reason why she won't join the Hunt."

Zoë pursed her lips. "I wouldn't put it like that..."

"Then how would you put it?" Phoebe snapped. Her eyes were full of anger. "Because of him, we've been split up and hunted like beasts. She's done nothing but enable him—" She stopped herself before her voice got too loud.

Zoë watched Irene in the background. The daughter of Aphrodite was staring at her with indiscernible eyes. A part of her got the feeling she was ready to back out of their agreement. Phoebe was right in a way. Zoë couldn't understand why Irene so desperately wanted to help Percy. But, unlike Phoebe, Zoë had seen first-hand why Irene admired Percy.

Back in the old days, before Percy was exiled, when Irene had first become immortal, Percy had helped train her. Back then, even Zoë had to admit that she admired him as a hero. That was why she saved him from death on the beaches of Troy.

Irene was also different than her. She was raised a Trojan, fought for power within the royal family, endured the years of inhumane abuse from Deiphobus, and was not averse to killing, much like Percy. There was a darker side to her that had been unleashed after being subjugated to Deiphobus' crimes. A side that was never fully reconciled due to Percy's exile.

Zoë liked Irene as a friend, but a part of her didn't trust the Champion of None, given her inclination for acting on personal preference. One moment they could be best friends and the next they would be fighting on the battlefield. It had happened once already with Caesar's assassination.

"Let me speak to her," Zoë said. "Alone."

Phoebe hesitated for a moment. Then, she turned and waved for the girl.

Irene walked over, her arms crossed.

"Zoë wants to speak to you," Phoebe said curtly. She glanced at Zoë and gave her a salute. "We await your return."

Zoë nodded back and watched as Phoebe left. Irene's eyes followed Phoebe until she was gone.

"What did you want to speak about?" Irene asked as she turned to face Zoë.

"Will you begin the second part of our plan, as agreed upon?"

"I've already begun," Irene replied. Her eyes were steady and unwavering, as usual. "It'll take me several years to find them all. There are more Hunters than there are of me. I can delay Percy more easily. Do you really think you can delay Percy up to that point?"

"Easily," Zoë nodded. "If he truly wants to use the Trio, he will have to train them. In their current state, they will be no match for the Thirteenth and Fourteenth. Especially the son of Hades. The girl he loved died."

"Ionna?"

"Yes, her."

Irene nodded. Her eyes were sad. "She was a bright young girl. In any case, the Trio aren't powerful enough to defeat the Thirteenth and Fourteenth right now. They were only able to defeat a severely weakened Eleventh Legion, and that was at the cost of a significant portion of their energy."

"The fact that they were even able to destroy the legion at all is cause for concern," Zoë pointed out.

"I had guards from the emperor examine the ruins," Irene explained. She glanced over her shoulder, as if wary of eavesdroppers. "Several of the Romans in their heavy armor drowned just by being pulled out into the lake. But over half of the recoverable bodies at the site were executed. Their throats were cut. Quite a few of the Romans had drowned or were burned or shocked to death, which must have been Xanthe and Leon. But Percy still delivered the fatal blows. A little ways south of the camp was a field of dead Romans. I'm confident Percy was the one who delivered a large portion of the killing strikes."

She stared out toward the docks. Percy's boat to Athens had left long ago. She should've just stopped him there and then. She cursed her softness.

"Not all the Romans were good people," Irene said, as if she knew what she was thinking. "The same Romans who were killed were the ones who'd attacked the Greek camp and killed a good number of them."

"There are no good people in these wars," Zoë sighed. "It's all stupid and foolish. The damned son of Poseidon..." She held back from spewing out a string of curses.

"We will end this, one way or another." Irene gave her a sympathetic look. "I just... I hope it all ends peacefully. I don't want any more fighting either. I'm tired of this life."

Zoë gave her a nod. "So am I."

There was a brief pause in the conversation. Neither of them said anything. They just stared at each other, as if trying to read each other's thoughts and feelings. The mask Irene wore was starting to fade. It was about time. Zoë couldn't imagine holding in everything for hundreds of years, all her pain and suffering.

"You can still join the Hunt, you know," she said softly. "What happened to you... It doesn't disqualify you. I also endured the same—"

Irene's expression hardened, and she shut the door to her heart. Her eyes clouded over with anger and pain. "I told you, Zoë. I'm not going to join the Hunt. You have no clue about me and my past. You didn't endure years of rape and sexual abuse like I did. Your life as you knew may have been over when you betrayed your family, but what happened to me was considered trivial and normal in my family. No one stopped it. Not even my brother."

"You've still never told me the rationale," Zoë sighed. "Why would joining the Hunt be any worse than your life now? Don't tell me... you actually love Percy."

"I don't want to speak about it."

"Irene—"

"Dying, being mortal, having a limited amount of time on this world..." Irene interrupted. Her eyes focused on something Zoë couldn't see. "That's what makes being human so special. Because you only live life once. Even if your soul can live life several times, the you that you remember exists only once. You learn to appreciate the life you're given and live it as best you can. Whether it's a dogfight to survive, or a life of fulfilment and joy, you do your best with the life you've been given. It's something that we, as immortals, forget. Because the only way we can die is if we're poisoned or struck down in battle."

"That doesn't answer my—"

"Being immortal means we remember for eternity all the terrible things we endured." Irene's voice wavered. "If we died and went to the Fields of Asphodel, we will slowly forget who we were. If we went to Elysium, then we could opt to try for rebirth, dip ourselves into the Styx to forget the harsh reality of our previous life. If we go to the Fields of Punishment, the pain of the moment would override the pain of the past."

Zoë pursed her lips. "Joining the Hunt would provide a sufficient distraction. You would have a family to support you during tough times."

"No." Irene's eyes were watery despite her cold gaze. "Joining the Hunt would mean succumbing to an immature hatred for men, succumbing to the very emotions he wanted me to feel. Powerless, vulnerable. Governed by him."

"That's not what we feel," Zoë said. A protective pride swelled in her chest as she scowled. "Are you calling Lady Artemis immature?"

"Of course not. To support women in a society that only rewards men is admirable. Men, as a whole, are conditioned to believe they are better than women. No, that women are lesser than men. But that's not true for everyone. Lady Artemis doesn't take it as hard as your Hunters. They choose to hate all men because of what a few men did to them. Sure, most men in our current society are asses to women. But that doesn't grant them the right to discriminate. I can't conform to that belief. I can't conform with the Hunters' values. Joining would make Deiphobus win. His actions will have governed my fate."

Zoë hadn't ever heard Irene argue that before. It was always something about her loyalty to Athena and to Olympus and how she needed to be a counterweight. Going solo was always easier than having to wait for a team. Zoë understood that. But she never considered the fact that Irene couldn't reconcile with their differences.

Irene hadn't recovered from her past. That much was evident. If she had, she wouldn't have been so closed and so quick to anger when it came to the topic. But she was right, in a way. The girls who'd joined the Hunters came from mixed backgrounds. Some were horribly abused and exploited. Others were simply cast away. All the Hunters shared the same disdain for men, but how they came to share those feelings stemmed from their similar interpretations of their different pasts.

Zoë wanted to help Irene. She was always suffering alone. She was always suffering, trying to help and stop Percy simultaneously.

"Percy is my hero," Irene continued, taking a shaky breath. "I admire him. I don't think I love him the way you think. But it hurts to watch him devolve into what he has become. He cares about you. He might care about me. He will definitely come to care about the Trio. We shouldn't seek to stop him. We need to save him."

Can he even be saved? She looked down at her feet and frowned.

"Please, Zoë," Irene begged. She looked even more desperate than the last time they spoke. Zoë wondered what the girl had found since then about Percy's plans. "If you have to choose between saving the Hunters and saving Percy, don't eliminate the possibility of saving Percy."

"I... How could I...?"

"I know it sounds insane. But if you don't, and the Trio can't, I don't know for certain how far Percy will go."

The girl's charmspeak washed over her like the sweet smell of a spring-time garden. Her mind and body and soul felt compelled to agree. That was how she knew Irene was desperate. The daughter of Aphrodite seldom let her charmspeak through unless she intended to, and the wave of magic was far too weak for someone with her capabilities. Irene was holding back, giving her the opportunity to make her own independent decision.

"What do you fear?"

Irene let out a long sigh, causing the Iris-message to ripple and shimmer. "He has a contingency plan. If the Trio all die, and Percy's not convinced to stop the bloodshed, he'll resort to something more evil and more sinister than anything we've ever seen. He'll do what Achilles did. Dip into the River Styx. He'll hide his weak point, and finish what he started."

Zoë's blood turned to ice. "You mean...?"

"He'll kill every last one of them himself, even if it means drowning a million innocent people."

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while. Things have been pretty slow these days. I've been considering potentially writing another story after this and, as you might guess, that has part of me wary (because I can never seem to finish stories these days) and part of me kind of excited (because I generally like writing these, even if they're far from perfect). That has also complicated my ability to continue writing this story, which is not a good thing.

So I'm going to shut up and try to get this one done before even thinking about another one. If I managed to finish writing this thing sooner rather than later, the duration between uploads is going to shrink significantly as well, which makes it a win-win. I'm going to keep trying!