Trigger Warning: Yes, it is that time again. This chapter contains one thirsty Mary Sue, one dark backstory, and a few possible references to rape. Welcome back to the underworld folks. We're not saving babies tonight, but we are keeping things PG-13.

See you at the end.

Chapter 32: I Get Wet And Dirty With Luke?[1]

(Andi)

"Slow your roll, C-pups!" I called out loudly.[2]

C-pups continued to fast his roll, bounding ahead through the underworld at top speed. He was pulling so hard and moving so much that I couldn't keep up without being dragged along through a few souls who were too preoccupied to get out of the way.

Because I was a proper lady, I apologized to the slow pokes. I said, "Sorry!" to a Japanese girl who needed a haircut and a new dress, "Désolé!" to a damper Frenchman and "Ew! You should take a shower!" to a sweaty American basketball player.[3]

And on it went until I saw a river up ahead. None of the souls were close by it which wasn't a swell sign in my book, but that didn't stop C-pups.

I tried to stop him by saying commandingly "Stop!"

But that didn't work either. C-pups leapt across the river. I did my best to follow him, but the dead air was too heavy for proper hang time.[4]

I came crashing down into the far bank. My left foot landed in the water, but C-pups was still moving. He pulled at the leash causing me to fall forward into the grey wet muddy ground.

I was dragged another few more inches through the mud before my soggy hands lost their grip on his leash and the perverse K9 bolted away.[5]

"UGH!" I shouted into the watery mud.

The mud took that as an invitation to enter my mouth. I pulled my face away from the ground to maybe cough up the boggy stuff, but then I changed my mind and let myself fall back into the muck.

What was the point? I was wet and dirty and muddy and ugly and super uncool.

Cerberus was gone.

Luke was gone.

I was alone.

Everything was ASPCA puppy dog ad sad.[6]

I let myself sink deeper into the bitter mud.

It was dirty and foul just like me.

Sniff!

And I was crying…because that was going to help with my appearance.

Not!

At this point, nothing could console me.

"Andi, is that you?" a voice above me said…and it was the only voice that mattered.

Disbelieving, my head tilted up with my chin sliding through the mud to get a look. And time halted. The underworld gloom lifted and I was back at camp, back at the very first time I saw HIM.

His athletic body was clothed in an orange camp t-shirt and dark jeans that clung to his gleaming muscles that were not too big, not too small, but just right for cuddling, fighting monsters, and catching gorgeous golden-locked damsels in drooling distress.[7] His white scars danced along his sun-kissed golden skin whispering songs of a life lived, like a barbershop quartet of mystery, intrigue, war, and loss.[8] His beach blond hair was always just long enough to sweep out of his face with a well-timed flip and always shiny enough to catch whatever light was in the room, like his own personal sun. And his eyes…

Gods, his EYES!

The stars wished they could shine as bright and true as Luke's peepers.

It had only taken one look, one perfect sparkly twinkle from the pair of them with his smile, the one that was all s~l~o~w and lopsided with boyish mischief and manly secrets, and lightning! STRUCK!

My feet melted.

The ground slipped from under me as I congealed into a warm gooey Andi-shaped heart that beat for Him.

"Bum-bump. Bum-bump. Him-hump. Him-hump. Wuv-wump! Wuv-wump!" said my whole trembly gelatinous being.

Through those momentous beats, I finally understood how men felt when they saw me for the first time. For over a decade, I had thought I had known what love was. People pledged their feelings to me like all the time and I watched movies and read books. I rooted for couples and daydreamed about the boys inside. I had even had a few real-life crushes like on Kian and Nicky, thinking that that was love. La! What a young ingénue I was then.[9] I had had no earthly idea what love really was.

Not until him.

Not until Luke.

"Luke!"

I cried out his name like a prayer because I knew this wasn't a consolation.

This was salvation.

Glory to the heavens I was saved!

He was saved!

I had FINALLY found

~L~!~U~!~K~!~E~

This revelation crashed upon me and suddenly, time was back. I threw myself upward and in less than a jiffy, I was on my feet and running towards the manmade light that was Luke, screaming his name for the underworld to hear.

"Luke! Luke! Luke!" I shrieked as I crashed into him, grabbed his waist, and swung him around like a giant sexy teddy bear. "Oh Luke!" I cried, heartfeltly into his core, "I've been looking for you everywhere! Persephone said you weren't here! I should have known she was lying! How are you?! Did you get my letter?![10] Why are you glowing like that?! How'd you get here?! Are you alive?! You feel alive! Please tell me you're alive!"

Luke laughed and said, "Chill, Andi. Everything's cool. I'm fine. Your letter was super thoughtful. The glow is an underworld thing. How I got here is a long story, but I am here, in the flesh. See?"

I did see.

I would never see anything else.

There was only Luke.

"Oh Luke," I cried again because I might be crying for the rest of my life. "I don't know if I can ever apologize enough for what happened in the Sea of Monsters. I'm an Arachne tapestry's worth of so sorries, but I know that doesn't matter to you.[11] I just want you to know that I promise I will do my best to figure out some way to make it up to you. I already have a few ideas. How does free college sound?[12] Or how about a beaching year of beaches where we go to a different beach every weekend for a year? Or…"

"Shhh," Luke put a finger to my mouth. "Andi, you're talking a mile a minute. Breathe."

Breathe?

I stared up into his galactic eyes.

Breathe!

How could I breathe when he was touching me like that!

I stared down at his beautiful manly slightly calloused finger.

His finger! On my mouth?!

This was so…OH!

SO SEXY.

SO HOT!

Call the fire department!

My forest was on FIRE!

How could it not be when Luke was here?

Luke was here! And he was…and I was…and we were

Touching!

Comets and stars!

I had my arms around him too.

How had I not noticed that I had my arms around him!?

I looked up at his sexy face again.

He was smiling at me!

And I still had my arms around him!

G!A!H!

The forests of my body were ash and the overpopulated cities were next. Nothing was safe from my hot volcanic eruption of Luke passion.

Then Luke spoke again. "Andi," he murmured sexily. "You're such a sweet girl. That's what I love about you."

LOVE3?!

My heart beat extra hard. Each bum-bump repeated the word back to me.

Love.

Love.

Love!

Wove!

!~WUV~!

My pulsating melty insides began to slosh around in a weighty waltz. Luke had to be holding me up…Luke was holding me…I was holding him…we were holding each other…

I ducked my head to stare at the ground before I EXPLODED from pure pleasure, but before I could take stock of the inferno spreading to Anditropolis, Anditopia, New Andi, Andi Bay, San Andi and my face I noticed my muddy body and river-soaked leg.[13]

Just like that the fire department had arrived, dousing some of the Luke-fueled flames. "Whoopsie," I said before I let out a high-pitched girly titter that I abhorred and the wiggles whooshed in, saying for me, "it wooks wike I'm all wet and diwty."[14]

"No," Luke said erotically before he took my chin and lifted my head up to gaze at his apocalyptically steamy face and declared, "Andi, you are perfect."

WHAT?

W!H!A!T?!

He did NOT just do that?!

But he D!I!D!

Forget the forests, fire departments, and cities. Lava, fire, and liquefied wiggles had just engulfed my entire world! Planet Andi was now a molten ball of fiery red Need and Luke could see it.

I could see him seeing it which only made my body pulse harder. When he chuckled, the motion made my toes curl and my mouth whimper.

Then he kept talking! "Andi," he said silkily, "I missed you so much."

I missed him too. Gods, I had missed him so So SO much, but before I could attempt any sort of response Luke removed his finger and leaned in towards my face.[15] And. Then. He. Kissed. ME!

On the LIPS!

Oh, sweet merciful heaven, my body was NOT ready. Kill me. No! I'm already dying! No! I'm already DEAD!

XoX

This.

Was.

P~A~R~A~D~I~S~E

!FOUND![16]

This kiss was NOTHING like the other kisses I had had in the past. There was no slobbering, groping, or stinky breath. It was hotter than the sun and my body, sweeter than honey and peaches, more perfect than me and Luke individually because we were together at last and I wanted this to last:

Forever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ever,

and ev—

But then it stopped?[17]

I blinked and looked up at Luke. Except, it wasn't Luke at all. It was some man in an old-fashioned Greek toga. Not-Luke was okay-looking, but he still wasn't myLuke.

And once I realized that, I saw the small island I was on and heard…

The wailing.

All around me, people were shrieking and crying in joy and despair. Some knelt at the muddy flat gray bank of the island, weeping into the river and drinking from it in turns. Others were deep in embraces with each other. Still, others were fighting and shouting, tears in their eyes, rage in their being.

I turned back to the passably handsome Not-Luke who was glowing slightly, queasy creeping fear in my heart where queasy creeping love had been. "Who are you?" I asked, quiveringly.

"My lady," Not-Luke said in Greek, "my name is Acontius."

I swallowed. "You mean the guy who married Cydippe?" I asked, warily. I didn't like that story.[18]

"The very same," he confirmed ominously, "but she is gone and you, my fair maiden, are here. You must be a sign from Aphrodite, Hera, and Artemis, for Cydippe is a mere trifle to me now. After our kiss, nothing but marriage and children will do." He smiled widely at me.

I did not smile back. "Yeah…um sorry. I already have the bestest true love."

"Indeed, you do," he said, agreeably.

"Goody," I said, glad that he saw reason, but when I tried to pull my hand away, he just floated to wherever my hand moved.

After we did that a couple of times, Acontius laughed. "Not so fast, my lady. I have been living on the memory of happiness for so long. You cannot think I would let go of the real thing. In no time, I shall win you as I won Cydippe."

"Hero!" a new voice cried. Another man ran at me and kissed me like I was the last woman on earth. The kiss probably made my top 3 kisses ever, but still, this man was not Luke.

I pulled away. I wanted Luke. Where was he?

"Hero, my love, why do you retreat from me?" Not-Luke 2 asked mournfully.

"Um…"

"Back up, boy," Acontius said, possessively, "This one is mine."

"No!" Not-Luke 2 cried, "I have crossed the very goddess of love herself to be with my Hero. No mere mortal will stand in my way."

"I am no mere mortal," Acontius snapped. "I am to be this lady's husband as soon as I find an apple."

"I'm not—" I began.

"Husband?" Not-Luke 2 said rudely over me before barking out a laugh. "Ha!" he laughed. "You think I care for that? I will be her lover. You will never be rid of me. If you do not give my Hero away freely, I will swim across every ocean, climb every tower, anger every god in the pantheon to be with my precious and perfect wo…wait…you're not Hero," Not-Luke 2 said staring at me and sounding as confused as I was.

"She is not," Acontius confirmed, "so be gone."

Not-Luke 2 and I kept staring at each other. I gave him a small smile before I said, "Yeah, sorry. I don't think I'm the guy you're looking for.[19] Now have either of you seen my hero. His name is Luke. He has—"

Acontius did not let me finish. He said loudly and rudely, "I do not know or care about who this Luke fellow is. He has not married you yet, so he lost his chance to be your husband."

I gaped at him. Luke would NEVER lose his chance to be my husband, never ever.

Then Not-Luke 2 declared, "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. My name is Leander, but for you, I will be Luke."[20]

"That's not—" I began.

"I already told you," Acontius interrupted me angrily, "This one is mine, back off!" He shoved Leander away.

I shook my head. These two Not-Lukes were useless. I started to look around as they continued to fight. My eyes met another soul's orbs and then they too were running at me. I looked away, searching and searching. Where had Luke gone?

"Luke?" I cried. "Luke!" I jumped into the air to try to get a better view of things and to maybe escape, but the souls, there were three of them now, just floated with me.

As I looked for Luke, I attracted more Not-Lukes. Each tried to confess their love, hug me, kiss me, or do all three, always mistaking me for someone else and when they finally realized their error, they just stayed and joined the ongoing argument about who was going to marry me.

After the eleventh time this happened, I managed to stop agonizing over Luke's disappearance long enough to remember how I usually handled this type of attention at camp and that I was in control of this.

Using a honeyed voice, I said reasonably, "Boys, please, if you just formed an orderly line or fan club, then I'm sure that I'll be able to accommodate all of you."

"Never!" the Not-Lukes cried out in unison.

"But sharing is caring!" I argued convincingly in my sweetest voice.[21]

"No," they insisted surprisingly. "There can only be one!"

"You are lovelier than Thisbe," Not Luke 6 said lovingly.[22] "You must be mine."

"I will never share you!" Not-Luke 4 claimed selfishly.

"I might be willing to try polygamy but none of these whippersnappers are worthy!" the elderly Not-Luke 11 declared.

I had always been popular. This was like the 1156th time I'd been mobbed and I was lucky that all that these men seemed interested in was kissing, but I was not used to having this much trouble getting free of my fans. Then Not-Luke 7 tugged at my shirt too hard and ripped it. That triggered a flashback to my dark past.[23]

There are some things a heroine never wants to remember. Some things that should be shadowy backstory and flavor text but should never show up in the main story. That day with my sixth foster dad and his friends, I had been too lovable and I couldn't…not now, not ever.

No more games. Nice Andi was gone. I was too OP for this paparazzi pandemonium![24]

"Let Go!" I shouted commandingly before I used all my strength to escape this mess.

I twisted. I jumped. I punched. I kicked. I clawed. I beat the Not-Lukes with my lightning stick. All the while, I loudly ordered, cajoled, and finally, screamed for them to back off. But despite my words, my strength, and my divine gifts, no one noticed my bid for freedom.

Worse than that, while I fought, the hoard grew larger. Countless souls were pressing into me now. It felt like they were touching every part of my body, trying to get at me, their angry voices shouting down Not Luke 11's suggestion that they should craft statues of me and pray to Aphrodite to bring my likeness to life so they each could have their own Andi clone.[25]

As the mob surged and the men's voices engulfed me, I could feel it happening. I tried to fight against it, but the disheartening wailing, the underworld's ever-present melancholia, and the mob's mad keenness seeped into my soul.[26] The Not-Lukes were changing me. I was weakening and morphing from Andromeda Sunshine, Andi to her friends, daughter of Zeus, and the most powerful girl around to Annie what's-her-name, a girl too small and helpless to bear the burden of perfection.

Annie couldn't fight off a mob…

Annie couldn't even fight off one Not-Luke…

I was too tired and weak. The air was heavy here. Time didn't exist. Nothing mattered but my lovely face and body.

Because I knew. I was so lucky to be blessed by their attentions, so lucky to be too beautiful for words or dissent. I was made to be loved, so who was I to fight my nature, my purpose? Who was I to withhold what these Not-Lukes wanted? Does a sun stop shining, does a waterfall stop falling, does a unicorn stop prancing, simply to be less admired? Since when were my dreams and goals and desires more important than anyone else's?

Nothing was more important than them.

Nothing was more right than this.

Nothing was more perfect.

And I was perfect.

I was an icon.

I was above it all.

I was below them all.

And I was theirs.

I was their salvation.

I was their truth.

I was their love.

And I was irresistible.

They could not resist.

I could not resist.

I did not resist.

I just collapsed underneath the sheer weight of it all, sinking down to the ground where I belonged and assuming my position.

This was it.

It would be over soon. Everyone would be in awe of me and for a while, these men would be sated beyond their—

"GRROARRRrrrRrrrROARRRRRrrRrRrrrROARRRRRRR!"

Silence.

All the angry men were suddenly quiet. Even the wailing had stopped in the wake of that growl. An alpha Not-Luke had appeared…

I didn't move.

This changed nothing.

A new low dangerous Not-Luke voice said, "You dare touch what is mine!"

Suddenly, every hand, hip, mouth, and male part magically fell away like I'd successfully used my wind powers to make a barrier, except I hadn't. I couldn't.

I opened my eyes but didn't rise.

It wasn't over.

Not yet.

My eyes cautiously flicked up to observe the other Not-Lukes around me. Their bodies were turned toward the newcomer. I didn't look at the new arrival. After all, looking had only made things worse thus far.

The dangerous voice continued, coming closer, "You all disgrace the women you claim to yearn for. I banish you from here. May your souls decay in the obscurity of the Asphodel Fields."

All the Not-Lukes around me disappeared.

I heard more ominous footsteps.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Here we go.

One last man to please.

The footsteps stopped and a familiar voice, no longer filled with underworldly rage, asked, "Andi, are you okay?"[27] I felt the man kneel down so that he was closer to me, but I didn't open my eyes.

I didn't believe it. Instead, I bit my lip, feeling the countless tears on my face, and asked in a small voice, "Are you real?"

A hand suddenly took mine and tried to pull me into a sitting position. It was a gentle touch but I still jerked away from the Not-Luke.

His hand released me.

"I'm sorry," his voice said apologetically, "I should have let you initiate."

I shook my head, my hair digging into the muck. I had fallen back onto the ground. "Don't be sorry," I said earnestly to the voice that I hoped wasn't a lie. "None of this is your fault. It was mine. I should have kept a better handle on Cerberus, but he caught a scent I think and then he started running. And then I got all wet and dirty in the river. And then I thought I saw Luke. And then…" I sniffled. I tried to keep talking, but snot and tears came out instead. I finally managed. "I'm sorry. I…I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Andi. I get it," the voice whispered. "Really, I do and yes, I am real. I can prove it to you if you like."

"How?" I asked. I had thought Luke was real once. That's how I got into that mess of Not-Lukes.

"Look at me," the voice said.

I hesitated.

"It's alright, Andi. Just look," the voice said encouragingly.

Slowly, I scooted back, sat up, and opened my eyes. He had stood up again, so I let my azure orbs move up his body. First, there was a pair of black combat boots, then a pair of dark jeans, bone pale hands, a silver ring, a leather jacket, a white skull t-shirt, and…

"You've gotten gaunter," I said conclusively. That was the word for it. Not just thinner, but gaunt and he'd done something with his hair. It was shorter. On the whole, the changes weren't a bad thing aesthetically. The new angles on his features and even the shadows around his soulful eyes were attractive in an emo kid type of way, but I had to ask, "What have they been feeding you? You're not dead, are you?"

Nico, not Not-Nico? smirked. "They been feeding me normal food and yes, I'm alive. You can tell because I'm not glowing. See? That's the difference between me and the souls here." He gestured at the few people that were left around here, mostly girls at this point.

And I did see, but…

"And," the boy who looked like Nico added, seeing my doubt, "I'll tell you something that some dream me wouldn't say."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I know it's the underworld influence and all the mud, but Andi, you look horrible," Nico told me honestly.[28]

I blinked and then I laughed, but it was all wet and weird. I felt wet and weird and dirty and small and very happy to be looking up at one of my best friends. "Nico," my Nico! "I really missed you," I whispered feelingly. "I…" I hesitated.

"What is it?" Nico asked gently.

"I think I want a hug?" I said in a small voice. "But…"

Nico opened his arms. "Take your time. I know it can be rough after being here too long." [29]

I nodded. I looked up at Nico and his small encouraging smile and his bony arms.

I got up. I wanted to run forward and squeeze him tight. I also wanted to run the other way and hide under the nearest bed.

It took time for me to decide to transverse the few feet between us. It took even longer to actually do it. When I finally managed to, it was another few countless minutes before I could make my arms wrap around Nico.

After all the desperate touches and empty embraces of the Not-Lukes, it was hard to convince my body that I wanted this.

Nico's arms were feathery light noodles, but his embrace was still super warm and comforting.

I couldn't help it. When the hug went from painful to soul-giving, I let out a loud wail. Suddenly, everyone else on the island was wailing too. Only Nico remained quiet, he held me as I cried out in a tear-soaked voice, "Nico! I really really missed you."

"I know," he murmured softly, "I missed you too, but it's alright now. I got you and you're safe. We're safe. Nothing will harm you while I'm here. Okay?"

"Okay?" I repeated. My voice trembled and I squeezed his real warm living body while I continue to cry a countless amount of tears.

And for a long time that was all we did. I cried and gripped Nico tightly, fearing that at any moment he'd change into Not-Nico and he held me gently, reassuring me that he was the real deal and that everything was going to be okay.

By some miracle, after he said it enough times, I actually started to believe him.[30]

Footnotes

[1] I know…this title…Ew, but luckily for us, despite it and the trigger warning up top, the title is a bit misleading. As always, everything is still chilling at PG-13. Just expect Andi to be simping hard and to learn more about her dark past than you probably wanted to.

[2] Slow your roll means as you can guess slow down. I guess C-pups, probably short for Cerberus puppy, is what Andi is calling Cerberus now.

[3] Lots of diversity in this American Greek underworld I suppose. I also suppose Andi knows French. Here Désolé means: Sorry.

[4] Hang time refers to how long a (self-) launched object stays in the air. This term is used a lot in basketball to denote how long a player stays in the air after jumping to score or pass the ball.

[5] Perverse is an interesting word choice. It means contrary…but it is used to describe unusual sexual preferences as well. K9 is short for Canine or Canis, a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals.

[6] ASPCA is short for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I think the ad Andi is referring to shows abused dogs as the ballad called Angel by Sarah McLachlan is sung in the background. Some of you might recognize the lyric:

~In the arms of an angel~

Contrary to popular belief, I am not a huge animal person…but that commercial still got to me as a kid.

[7] As Andi said, this is a callback to Luke's first appearance in the Lightning Thief fic which Peter made fun of in the prologue. I will say that the language here has gotten a serious upgrade from what is in the first fic. And yes, Andi did swoon a bit forcing Luke to catch her in their first meeting.

[8] Luke still has that scar on his eye, but it did not come from his failed quest. Annabeth was the one who got her own quest. She went to the underworld and that trip 'changed her forever'. This version of Luke, on the other hand, got his scar from an incident before camp. He claims he received it in the battle with the minotaur. Though, I have doubts.

[9] An ingénue is an innocent or unsophisticated young woman.

[10] More on this letter later.

[11] Once upon a time, a master weaver named Arachne battled against Athena in a tapestry contest…yeah not a great idea. Worse, Arachne's tapestry was basically a classical, one-of-a-kind, and almost impossibly intricate and beautiful porno of the gods which pissed off Athena. The virgin goddess tore that thing up and Arachne supposedly hung herself out of shame to which Athena responded by making Arachne a spider so Arachne could keep on weaving…yeah…death might have been nicer. A LOT of sewing would be required to recreate one of Arachne's masterpieces by hand…it would possibly take a few lifetimes. For reference, recently, a guy took 18 years/10,000 hours to hand stitch a classic Bayeux Tapestry (which is an underwhelming tapestry to look at if you ask me.) Even Arachne used a loom to make her tapestries. Getting to the point, I believe Andi is combining the meaning of sew and so. Hence, Andi is saying she's a few lifetimes worth of sorry.

[12] That sounds great to me, an American who is all too aware of the shackle that is student debt. More on this college offer later.

[13] There are actually more Andi-based cities on Planet Andi. Though Anditropolis, Anditopia, New Andi, Andi Bay, and San Andi show up most often, there is also Andi Town, Anditon, Andi Park, West Andi, Andromeda, St. Andromeda, Port Andromeda, Andromeda A. S., Andi Beach, Santa Andi, Andiville, and Las Andi-lasses. These get mentioned intermittently throughout the Lightning Thief fic and once in the Sea of Monster fic.

[14] Translation: "Whoopsie," I said, before I suddenly laughed in a high-pitched girly titter that I hated and the wiggles appeared saying for me, "it looks like I'm all wet and dirty."

[15] It is unclear but this implies that Luke has had his finger on Andi's mouth this whole time including when she ducked her head. To me, it was too weird not to keep in.

[16] This paradise found comment is probably a reference to Paradise Lost which is an epic poem by John Milton which starred the devil tempting Adam and Eve out of Eden.

[17] I consulted with my Delta Reader and I decided to cut like 80-ish% of this 'and ever' segment. I hope you don't mind the abridged version.

[18] I agree with Andi…screw this guy. Once upon a time, a man named Acontius saw a well-born Athenian maiden named Cydippe at a festival and fell in love with her. However, Cydippe who liked to hang out by the temple of Artemis (hint hint) was not interested in his attempts at courtship. Instead of being a decent human being and respecting her preferences, Acontius came up with a plan. On an apple, he wrote the words, "I swear by Artemis (though in some versions the vow is made to Artemis, Hera, and Aphrodite) that I will marry Acontius". He then threw the apple at Cydippe's feet while she was at Artemis's temple. Cydippe being a woman in Greek Mythology is curious, so she picked the apple up and read the message aloud. Not a smart move. Because she said the words in the temple and invoked the goddess's name, the words became an unbreakable vow. So, eventually, Cydippe and her father realized she could not marry anyone else and her father married her to Acontius.

[19] Andi is assuming Hero is a guy. She is not.

[20] Once upon a time, a man named Leander fell in love with a Sestos priestess of Aphrodite named Hero. Ironically, the Sestos priestesses of the goddess of love, sex, and desire were under oath to stay virgins. However, Leander and Hero thought they could defy the goddess of love's double standard by having him swim up to Hero's tower by the sea each night using a candle light from her tower window as a guide. It worked for a while, but then they got overconfident and too horny for their own good. On one questionable night, Hero lit her candle and Leander left out. It was too stormy and the wind blew the candle out during Leander's crossing. Thus, Leander got lost and drowned. When Hero saw his dead body, she drowned herself as well.

[21] More on this later.

[22] Pyramus and Thisbe were two star-crossed lovers who remind me of Romeo and Juliet. Once upon a time, there was a young couple who loved each other very much, but their parents hated one another so the couple tried to elope. When Thisbe gets to their meeting spot, she sees a freaking lion there and she is like: I'll be back later. Unfortunately, the girl leaves her cloak behind in her rush to get out. Then Pyramus arrives and sees the lion playing with said cloak. Somehow blood got on it and thus, Pyramus assumes that the lion killed Thisbe. Instead of I don't know…confirming the facts, killing the lion, or praying to the gods, Pyramus immediately goes for the permanent solution to his woes and kills himself using some blood-covered white berries from a nearby mulberry tree. Then when Thisbe shows back up, she sees that Pyramus is dead and kills herself with Pyramus's sword. They say mulberries are red to commemorate the tragic end of this love story.

[23] Warning: We are about to dive into Andromeda's dark past. Hope you all are ready for a bad time.

[24] OP stands for overpowered. Pandemonium is a fancy word for chaos.

[25] The person who suggested this is probably Pygmalion. Once upon a time, there was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved, named Galatea. Surprisingly, this story, traditionally, has a pretty happy ending. When the sculptor asked for Aphrodite's help, she brought his statue to life. Interestingly, in the Disney Hercules cartoon, Pygmalion is depicted as an old man who is married to a young Galatea...I am unsure if this is truly related, but regardless, I feel like the interpretation here is that Pygmalion died while his magical statue wife lived on forever youthful and unchanging which is tragic.

[26] Melancholia is a feeling of deep sadness or melancholy. In the olden times, it was the name for severe depression. Mad keenness means a lot of eagerness or sexual desire.

[27] Normally the term would be otherworldly, basically meaning supernatural, but since we are in the underworld, underworldly it is, I guess. Also, I wonder if this is a reference to the Michael Jackson song, Smooth Criminal:

~Annie, are you okay? So, Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?~

[28] It was noted in the Lightning Thief fic that Andi looks worse in the underworld. She got her first pimple and she complained the place made her hair frizz. Bianca had a field day about this and eventually, Hades confirmed that Andi as a child of Zeus was ill-suited to his domain. Apparently, before she became Hades's wife, Persephone had similar problems.

[29] Nico! When I first read this, I was so happy to see him here being so nice. Ah man if I didn't like Nico before, his appearance here would have sold it. But also, more on this later.

[30] What did I say? I freaking love this kid! I am so glad Nico came in with the save like he did and this hug! So good! Speaking of hugs, our comforting hug count is at like 5, excluding Andi's Feel-Andi-Good hugs. I do not think that it is a coincidence that Andi's and New Moon's/Peter's journeys share similar themes. If nothing else, I'm fairly certain that just like me, Alpha R is a huge fan of healing hugs. They show up in the Lightning Thief fic and there are a ton of hugs in the Sea of Monsters fic as well since that was such an emotional ride. This was an emotional ride. Jeez...I hope you all survived.

A/N: Hi,

You made it. Congrats! Because I am a person of questionable tastes, this happens to be another one of my favorite chapters. I don't know about you, but when I first read this fic I found Andi to be...A LOT. I mean I love her...but yeah, she's a real character if you get what I'm saying. After this one, I felt like I understood her a bit better. We also see a few running themes...in this story.

How about you readers? What did you make of this one?

Personally, I'm emotionally drained after all that. So you know what time it is:

Break time!

I'm going to go around to my other fics and do some writing. When we come back, we'll check on Peter...which actually might feel like a break compared to this rollercoaster, but we'll see, right? There's been talk about sexbots in the comments(All that I will say is that next chapter is trigger warning free) and Peter did seem pretty stunned at the end.

In the meantime, y'all know the drill.

Read, review, follow, favorite, and keep being healthy and awesome out there.

See you all later!