A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Thank you so much, everyone, for being willing to review that last chapter. Confession, I wanted reviews because I was honest to goodness afraid you'd all leave me after writing that. Glad to know you are still on board. Also, I enjoyed chatting with some of you through PM and playing devil's advocate to your ideas/arguments. I personally love Calypso as a character. He's fun to write, I love his character design, and i love his fighting style. Do I love him being with Helena?
OF COURSE NOT. But it was still the most fun I've had writing a fight scene in a while. Plus, he can get away with saying uber cheesy romantic things. Zoro generally cannot. And he knows it. Which is why he doesn't say them. (Though I want it noted that Calypso's first few line in this chapter made me cringe. He had to say it, though. It becomes important later.)
So hopefully Helena can redeem herself a bit in this chapter. Those of you who were angry with her can let me know what you think on that front.
Ch. 9 – Dreams and Revelations
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" Athena raged, staring in horror at the image of Helena and Calypso in the scry glass. Fox Zoro was nowhere in sight. Aphrodite had already released him from the rose bush, and he'd turned and padded away despondently. What more did he need to see?
Aphrodite most assuredly would have said something snarky in response, but Athena didn't give her a chance. Retrieving her spear from where it lay beside her own throne, she swung the weapon wide, using it to knock Aphrodite to the ground.
"Congratulations. You've just destroyed Ilium's one hope of survival," Athena snarled, looming dangerously over Aphrodite with her spear pointed at the goddess' throat. "I've worked for years to tie that man to her, and now he's going to leave and never return. Have you forgotten that our powers are inextricably linked to the bloodline of Ilium's royalty? If we continue to betray them…!"
"What's going on here?!" Zeus thundered, descending upon the throne room on the back of a thundercloud. His mask hid his face, but not his rage. His beard always got a bit more staticky when he was angry, and currently stuck out at odd angles, sparking. "Athena, stand down!"
"Ah, just in time, Pumpkin," Hera simpered. "Athena just attacked Aphrodite in a fit of jealousy!"
"Jealousy? I highly doubt that," Zeus growled. "Why are any of you using the scry glass? It is forbidden to interact with the mortals right now, especially that mortal."
He pointed at Helena, then paused and did a double take at the image in the water.
"Hey, that guy's got some pretty smooth moves," he said excitedly, a scroll and plume materializing in front of him so he could take notes. "Good work, Aphrodite!"
"Father!" Athena snapped, and Zeus seemed to remember himself.
He turned to glare at Aphrodite. "What did you do?" he asked the Love Goddess accusingly.
"Is it really such a bad thing for the Queen to get a little love and attention after so long?" Aphrodite pouted, batting her eyes at Zeus through her shell mask. He grew flustered under her flirtatious gaze. "The man Athena found for her isn't exactly the most attentive of husbands you know."
"Hmm, well, I suppose not," he said, giggling. He still turned to look suspiciously at Hera. "But why are you alright with this?"
"Maybe I've forgiven her," Hera said with a shrug.
"And maybe Tartarus has frozen over," Athena said bitingly. "My Lord, Zeus. They have just…"
"Pulled a harmless prank," Zeus interrupted, waving a hand over the scrying glass. The image disappeared. "For once can I come home to my family not bickering. Please?"
"Consult your Fates, and then tell me what they've done is harmless," Athena cried. "Through them you have the foresight, Father, you know that…!"
"That's quite enough, Athena."
Athena stiffened. This wasn't the first time he'd dismissed her without hearing her through these past two years, and she'd had it. Swinging her spear over her shoulder, she turned and stormed off.
"What's eating her?" Zeus asked.
"Oh, she's just sad and single," Aphrodite replied. "Turn the scry back on! It was just getting good!"
Zeus looked at her in feigned disapproval, then grinned and did as she asked.
Calypso pulled away for a moment, his mouth a bare tantalizing inch from hers.
"Run away with me," he breathed. "Right now, 'Elena. Leave all of this behind."
"I can't…" she started, and he kissed her again.
Running away certainly had its allure. It had been years since Helena had felt like she was more than her crown or her blades. Every decision she made held such weight, every mistake, every moment of weakness came at such heavy costs. For a few seconds in Calypso's arms she felt like she could be free of all of it. For just one vulnerable moment she allowed herself to be a woman, not a queen. The last time she had felt like this…
Well, it had been with Zoro, hadn't it?
The euphoria passed the second he crossed her mind. What in Hades was she doing? She pushed Calypso away, gasping out, "Zeus Almighty!" and holding her head.
"What? What's wrong?" Calypso asked, not relaxing his hold on her.
"This is!" she exclaimed, then spluttered out. "My husband could still be alive! He probably is still alive. Why else would the World Government lie to me?"
"That coward doesn't deserve you."
Helena felt her heart flop. "I'm the one who doesn't deserve him," she breathed. "Oh, gods…"
This wasn't like her! She knew herself, and this was not at all like her. Sure, she liked Calypso. He had been kind and respectful to her, until now that is. Just who did he think he was, kissing the Queen like this? And she had noticed his hands starting to wander. Well, he'd told her his intentions weren't honorable from the start of their duel – he wanted to be her lover, not her husband.
But even if she liked him, that didn't mean she had ever intended to act on those feelings. She'd liked Troy quite a bit too, hadn't she? She knew better than to let her guard down around men. Especially men intentionally trying to charm her. Especially men like Calypso who were obviously so good at it. Just how many women had he been with before her, anyway? He certainly wasn't a novice at this kind of thing.
"Hey, the idea of your man being alive didn't bother you with your last lover," Calypso pointed out.
"Who are you?" Helena asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "A god in disguise? Zeus Almighty, you're not Zeus are you?"
Calypso grinned at this. Oops. She hadn't meant it as a compliment.
"No, that's giving you way too much credit," she said, pushing him away with a hand to his chest. She stood and he overbalanced, arms helicoptering as he fell over. "The only other thing I can think of is a privateer, like the Schichibukai. Maybe you work for one of them."
"'Elena…" he started.
"But then why the whole lover gambit?" she thought aloud as he scrambled to get to his feet after her. "Anybody who's after power would be more interested in my hand than me. Hmm…I suppose you could be a bounty hunter, but if you're this good, you'd think people would have heard of you by now."
He grasped her hand, momentarily regaining his smooth composure.
"I find it sad that you live in such a constant state of suspicion, mon," Calypso informed her with quiet sincerity. "Isn't it possible that I'm just an ordinary man who's fallen in love with you?"
Helena laughed. Oh, he didn't like that. His expression went sour.
"No ordinary man could fight me like you just did," she pointed out, snatching her hand from his and shaking a finger at him. "Look, you really want to impress me? Tell me who you really are. If you can't do that I suggest you leave and not come back."
He gaped at her.
"Zoro was always straightforward with me. It's not just his swordsmanship that's the standard, you see," she said, her smile broadening. "He was also a better kisser. So there's that."
It was a low blow, but she wasn't feeling particularly merciful at the moment. She had the notion that saying it would hit Calypso where it counted. She was right. His brow furrowed and he mouthed at her, trying to form a coherent retort.
"Well, what else would you expect from a man who works out his mouth every day?" she giggled. Thinking about their workouts together hit her with a wave of happy nostalgia, and she sighed wistfully. "Gods, I miss that man. When I was around him I felt like I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. – he never let me sit around feeling sorry for myself. And he certainly never would have encouraged me to run from my responsibilities like a certain someone just did."
She glanced back at Calypso, who had his jaw clenched inside his mouth, biting back anger.
"What are you still doing here? If you don't have an ulterior motive for trying to get into my bed, I would think that I'd insulted you enough to get you to leave by now."
Maybe she ought to be a little more careful. She now knew the man was better than she was with a sword, and as she had just pointed out, she had no idea who he really was or what his motives were.
Thankfully the anger left his face, and his hands went nowhere near his swords. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he spoke in a calm, even tone:
"It gives me no pleasure to keep secrets from you, mon. For now it's better for everyone that you don't know who I am," he told her steadily, all the more charming now for having turned off the charm. "I am not an ordinary man, but moments like this I wish I was. Your husband is a lucky man."
Aw, Tartarus. He just had to be mature about it and make her feel awful for having verbally flayed him, didn't he? Well, she was definitely her father's daughter when it came to running at the mouth.
He held out a hand to her, and they shook.
"It was a good duel," he told her. "I hope your husband returns soon for your sake."
"He won't," Helena replied, grinning. "He's not to return until he's the world's greatest swordsman. He knows he's not welcome to show his face here until then."
"Oh, you're going to need him a lot sooner than that, mon," he said cryptically, turning to leave.
Helena had just turned a suspicious glance at the statue she had beheaded earlier, but the foreboding comment wasn't entirely lost on her. She looked sharply back toward him.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
He had disappeared.
Helena stared at the spot pensively for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Aphrodite. Narrowing her eyes, she raised her sword and pointed it at the round head lying in the water of the fountain:
"Try something like that again and your temple is next," she warned.
"Oh no! She found me out!" Aphrodite said with mock trepidation. "Unfortunately it's too late to do her any good. The damage has been done."
Hera giggled. "Poor little fox. Tune the mirror to Roronoa Zoro, would you Pumpkin? I want to see him mope."
"Roronoa?" Zeus asked with a start. "Wait, he didn't see all that did he?"
Hera and Aphrodite glanced at each other, realizing their mistake.
"I sent my storm to bring him here so he could help save Ilium! What have you two done?" Zeus thundered.
"I didn't do anything! It was all her!" Hera cried, pointing at Aphrodite. The Love Goddess glared at her.
Lightning started to gather in Zeus' sable beard as dark thundercaps formed around Olympus. In the sudden gloom, he grew larger like a billowing storm cloud, his voice a terrifying rumble.
"You vixens have caused nothing but trouble since that stupid beauty contest," he growled, electricity crackling about his person. "Perhaps I should destroy your beauty entirely so we never have to worry about it again."
A shaft of lightning appeared in each hand as he loomed threateningly over the cowering goddesses.
"Pumpkin, please!" Hera cried.
Heedless of her pleas, Zeus roared, launching the lightning.
He'd purposely missed by inches, but it was enough to scare the wits out of both goddesses. They fled the throne room, shrieking in dismay.
When they had gone, Zeus allowed himself to shrink back to a human size, sighing. He let the thunderclouds roll harmlessly away from the throne room. They would hit Ilium proper in a matter of minutes, causing a short cloudburst. Dionysus wouldn't like his festival being rained on, but it couldn't be helped now.
Turning to the scry glass, Zeus waved a hand, searching the image until he found a certain little green fox. The creature looked about as miserable as could be expected. Something had to be done.
Or perhaps something was already being done. From the looks of it, Athena was on the move. He shouldn't condone her attempt at interacting with a mortal, but as long as she didn't talk to him directly he might be able to let it slide.
Dipping a finger into the magic pool, Zeus again regained control of his storm, using it to guide the fox where he wanted.
"You're welcome, Athena," he smirked.
"Calypso Blue," Zoro rumbled under his breath. "What kind of name is Calypso Blue? –sounds like crayon. Or a stripper…"
Zoro hadn't thought it would hurt like this.
Sure, he'd told Perona and Cygnus that he didn't care if Helena had a lover. That it would be easy to forgive her if she had, knowing that she thought he was dead. It was something else entirely though to actually watch her fall in love with another man.
Perhaps it wasn't even that so much as hearing her imply she regretted knowing him. That she wished the other guy had shown up first.
But who could really blame her? Calypso had a point when he said Helena deserved more. It was the truth that Zoro had kind of abandoned her. Oh, sure, she'd been the one who arranged to have the crew kidnap him, but she'd only done it because it was what he wanted deep down, and she knew it. If he'd really wanted to stay, the crew wouldn't have been able to stop him. Meanwhile all of the little rules and provisos Helena had come up with were meant to keep him as unchained and guilt free as possible, yet had left her bound here, struggling to move on when he'd been defeated by Kuma. He ought to be surprised that she'd held out for as long as she had.
He thought of how he'd found her crying in the garden. He knew her, knew what it took to reduce her to tears like that. The sad thing was, he'd made her cry like that before. It was a sure bet Mr. Calypso twinkle-toes Blue hadn't. The man hadn't struggled at all with courting her or telling her how beautiful she was. Zoro had failed so miserably at showing her he loved her that up until their actual wedding, Helena had been convinced he felt the opposite. It was a wonder he had ever won her heart in the first place.
"Muah ha ha ha! I have defeated Hewena the Sun Queen and now she's mine!" a young voice rang out. "Now I can stawrt my empiwre and take over the worwd!"
Zoro hadn't really paid much attention to where he was going. He'd wound up in one of the main streets of the city, where the City of Dionysus Festival was just getting underway. He glanced toward the sound of the voice and saw a young boy, no more than seven or so, waiving two sticks at an older kid who, by the looks of it, was probably his brother.
"No, Nemo!" the older kid replied, "I beat her before you did! That means to get to her you have to go through me!"
"Wowonoa Zowo!" the younger kid cried in mock anger. "How did you escape my powewrs? No matter! I kiwl you now!"
The older kid had three sticks in his hands. He clumsily shoved one in his mouth, then went on the attack, slashing at his brother with his makeshift swords.
Despite his recent heartbreak, Zoro couldn't help but stop and stare. The little twerps were reenacting his fight with Troy du Noir, making it up as they went because they obviously didn't know the real details of how it actually happened.
"Muah ha ha ha!" the younger brother evil laughed again, "You wiwl nevewr defeat me! No one can cut dawkness!"
"No one except me!" the older brother said. He lunged with one of his sticks, guiding it between the other kid's arm and his side so he could pretend to be stabbed.
"No! Aahhhhhhh!" the younger brother enacted a dramatic death while the elder one held up his sword stick in triumph.
"I saved Queen Helena!" he cried victoriously. "Now we'll get married and have a big party, and everyone gets free churros!"
And then I'll sail away and leave her to fall in love with some jerk with dreadlocks, Zoro thought miserably.
The younger kid jumped up. "Ok, my turn!"
"What? No!" the older one said as the younger tried to steal one of his sticks.
"You said I got to be Zowo next!" the kid whined. When the older one wouldn't give in, he started crying.
Trust me, kid. You wouldn't want to be me right now.
The fox turned away, taking in his surroundings through a weary eye. The street had been decked out with purple and green ribbons and streamers, and sported numerous stalls selling everything from food to toys to carved wooden masks. There was a stage at the end of the street where a band had started to set up. It was a bit early on for the festival to begin in earnest, but there were plenty of people already out in the streets, most wearing colorful costumes and painted masks.
A lot of the masks were more like half masks really – carved and wooden. They resembled the ones he'd seen the gods wearing; some in fact were exact imitations. Most were about the size of masquerade masks, but some were enormous, making their wearer look taller.
A little girl with bright orange hair caught his eye. She wore a sparkling gold cape and carried a fake wooden sword that had been spray painted to look golden. Was it his imagination, or was that little girl supposed to be dressed like Nami? Next he saw someone wearing a godlike wooden mask with a long nose. He recognized that face. Better not tell Usopp he'd been codified as an Iliad demi-God. At least he hadn't convinced anyone that he'd become an actual God or they'd never hear the end of it.
A mom and her child walked by, the mom wearing a purple chiton like the one Robin had worn when she'd been there. Her child wore a headband with reindeer antlers. They were dressed as the two heroes who'd rallied the people to save the Queen's life from Apollo's arrow.
A couple of guys walked past, teenagers who obviously thought they were too cool to dress up and so had done the bare minimum. One had drawn on a curly eyebrow. Another had dyed his hair green. Zoro saw a lot of green hair, actually. At first he thought nothing of it, but then he realized that it was an actual fashion trend among Iliad boys and teenagers, not just a costume for the festival. Cygnus couldn't be happy about that.
When they were a bit further down the street, the guy with the curly eyebrow said something snarky to his green haired companion, and a fist fight broke out. Zoro almost smiled.
And then he saw a young kid wearing a straw hat with a red band around it. The kid's mom had just handed him a souvlaki skewer, and he downed it in one gulp. "Was that good?" he asked, "Did I eat just like Straw Hat Luffy?"
"Yes, you did, honey," the mom said, grinning. "Praise be to the gods the day that man inspired you to actually finish your dinner."
Seeing a kid so like Luffy actually did coax a smile out of the despondent fox. Helena may have betrayed him, but at least he still had the crew, right?
Anyway, they were more of a family to him than she had ever been. Hadn't he sailed with them much longer than he'd been with her? Three weeks, they'd known one another. Three bare weeks. In fact, he'd accepted her marriage proposal after knowing her for one! Why on earth did they think that had been enough time? Did they think they were living in a fairy tale?
Well, the fairy tale was over.
The smile he'd momentarily regained had disappeared by now, and he stopped mid-street, staring at nothing. Honor had driven him to accept her proposal in order to save her kingdom and her life from the likes of Troy. It had been honor, not love. He had never loved her, he told himself forcibly. And she had never loved him.
Well, what did honor dictate he do now? Helena was going to be assassinated tonight. Angry and hurt as he was, he didn't exactly want her dead. He'd really rather not see or speak to her again, but could the others really handle it without him?
The band at the end of the street struck up a tune. Some song he'd never heard of about some Heretic Queen who'd declared war on Hera for killing her baby or something. He didn't really know enough about Ilium's history to recognize the story.
Lightning crashed overhead before the song really got underway, not that Zoro was paying much attention to it anyway. Clouds appeared out of nowhere, and soon everyone on the street let out a collective cry as a sudden downpour drove them to find shelter.
Amidst the helter-skelter of dashing, splashing feet, the green fox just trudged despondently on, still trying to make up his mind about what he should do. Soon he was too cold and soaked to care.
Glancing around, he found he'd left the street and ended up in a wide, abandoned plaza. The only shelter in sight happened to be a large, imposing temple of rose colored stone. He recognized the helmeted goddess' statue in front of it. It belonged to Athena.
He never would have guessed that the storm had intentionally led him here. Trying to shake himself dry as he'd seen dogs do, he made his way to Athena's statue and found a dry place beneath its plinth where he could watch the rain.
His stomach rumbled. Well, they hadn't exactly had a chance to eat a decent lunch, or any truly decent sort of meal since they'd crashed here. Exhausted, hungry and depressed, Zoro flopped down, resting his head on his paws. Soon his eye grew heavy, and he fell fast asleep.
He should have expected to dream of her.
At first the dream was nothing more than flashes of memory, many of them hostile. He remembered the first time they'd locked eyes with each other at sea. It wasn't exactly love at first sight. He was trying to stop her from killing the crew, and she was hell-bent on keeping them from descending on her already besieged kingdom. It had been storming then, too.
He dreamed of stabbing her through the shoulder, ending their second duel in his victory. That's what had started this whole mess. He'd beaten her a third time too, when he'd had to keep her stupid drunken self from hurting anybody in the last round of the tournaments.
Everything else passed in a flurry of images. Fighting Troy. Finding her dead. Trying to fight Hades and ultimately succumbing.
One moment stood out for some reason. It was torturous to watch, but he saw between flashes of angry memories the moment Apollo shot her with his arrow. Her echoing scream of pain still haunted him to this day.
It was that scream that jolted him into a different memory, one he didn't talk about, or even think about if he could help it. At first glance it was something completely unrelated to her, but he knew better. Helena had helped him to survive one of the most harrowing experiences of his life, and she didn't even know it.
He dreamt of Kuma.
He dreamt of taking on his captain's pain.
Though he couldn't exactly feel the pain in the dream, he remembered it vividly. Though he knew it was a dream, he felt the same sense of agonized dread as if he were staring death in the face all over again.
And he remembered how the memory of her had come unbidden to him then, in the very midst of his agony. How he had not seen, but rather felt her presence as though she stood behind him, holding him up. Even then he'd known it was the memory of her, not her actual person that bolstered him, but he had seemed to hear her say:
"If I could bear the pain of a million, you can bear the pain of one."
This isn't just any one person's pain, he had tried to plead with her as the agony made him yearn for death. This is Luffy's. His body can withstand things mine can't.
"You promised you'd come back to me," she had told him sternly. " –promised me, your Captain, and your friend, Kuina that you would become the World's Strongest. You will not die here. We won't allow it."
Memories of the other two people she'd mentioned made it seem as if they too stood beside him.
"Still not strong enough," Kuina simpered at him. "You've got a long way to go, Zoro."
Like you can talk, kid. You fell down a freakin' staircase.
"Zoro, who said you could die in my place!" Luffy snapped.
"You're supposed to be stronger than me, Zoro," Helena's memory reminded him. "Apollo's arrow was a million times worse than this."
Yeah. And it killed you. Unless your father's going to show up and argue with Hades for me, I don't think I've really got a choice here. Maybe if I were at my full strength…
"Lame excuse," Kuina cut in cheekily.
"Zoro, I've come to a decision," Luffy put in as though he'd thought it out. "You're not allowed to die."
Dammit, Luffy…
"Don't fall," Helena told him. "Don't fall. Don't budge. Help will come. You know your friends will come."
When the pain finally ended, Hades appeared, all dressed in black but for a bone white, expressionless mask. He held a long, elegant hand toward the Swordsman invitingly.
The mask still had a crack in it, held together by Band-Aids. Apparently still frightened of Zoro's Captain, the God of Death did not forcibly try to take him. Instead he tried to lure him with the sound of Kuina's voice, tempting him to rest.
The other memories didn't say anything more to him, but he seemed to feel Helena still there behind him, holding him up.
"You promised…" she pled. "You promised you'd come back to me…"
Thinking of her and the others gave him the strength to cross his arms and glare Death in the face. He could feel the gold pomegranate blossom forming on his hand, but he refused to look down at it, to look away from Hades for even a second.
I'm not going anywhere, he thought to Hades, lacking the strength to speak. Just try and take me. I'll smash that mask clean off your face.
After what felt like hours, Sanji finally came, the blossom disappeared, and Hades fled.
Zoro had almost forgotten what Helena had been to him in that moment. In making her provisos, she had forged herself into a talisman. –A talisman that wouldn't allow him to die until his promises to her were met, like Kuina and like Luffy.
Only unlike with Kuina or Luffy, Helena had purposely sacrificed her own needs to become this for him. Though he gave her the chance, the temptation to make him stay with her, she had given him up because she loved him like no other woman ever could, or even should.
The dream shifted, and Zoro found himself again facing Kuma in Grove 12. The sound of bubbles popping clued him in to where he was. Only this wasn't a memory this time. If it had been a memory, Zoro would have had his swords.
Instead he stood facing the Warlord, swordless, powerless. Not that he'd been able to do much of anything the last time. He heard a scream. That sounded like Helena.
"Zoro, no!" she cried, and he turned to see her running toward him. What was that bundle she was carrying? It looked like…
…a baby?
It was a baby. A newborn. Somehow he knew at first glance that it was a boy.
"Get back!" Zoro warned. She too was swordless. What did she think she was doing?
Despite his warnings, his wife soon stood behind him as Kuma charged up one of his beams. Zoro turned to Helena to try and push her out of the way just as the beam struck him in the back. It passed through him, hit the baby, hit her.
A woman laughed. It sounded like that stupid peacock goddess, Hera.
Zoro woke with a start.
The rain had stopped and the clouds had passed. The sun had just started its descent. Zoro sneezed, noticing for the first time the grey owl feather resting on the end of his nose.
"Ok, I'm asking!" he roared, popping up onto all four paws and turning to the statue of Athena. "What the Hell was that supposed to mean?"
He got no response.
"Don't pretend you don't understand me!" he growled. "Why was Helena at Grove 12? And why was she carrying a kid…?"
Though Athena still didn't answer, his eye widened, and he took a step away from her, stumbling over his tail.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said in realization, staring back up at her from where he now sat in a rain puddle.
Athena still didn't respond.
"Answer me!" He let loose a stream of profanities that would have made even Sanji blush. Festival goers, now out in force with the rain out of the way, stopped to stare as a little green fox shook his paw and yipped maniacally at the silent idol.
"At least send your stupid bird!" Zoro snarled at last.
To his surprise he actually heard the flapping of wings. Turning sharply, he saw, not Athena's owl, but a big, blue-eyed white goose with fluffy eyebrows and a curlicue of a beard.
"There you are," Cygnus honked, descending to land beside him. "I've been looking all over for you, fool! We're running out of time."
"You," Zoro growled, all of his fur standing on end. Cygnus took a step back in alarm as Zoro showed all his teeth. "Just when were you planning on telling me that I have a son?"