You won't like this chapter.
Disclaimer: All rights reserved by the original copyright holders, including myself in such cases as applies.
Ayano ran up to Zoe and I and stopped right before she rammed into my legs. She pointed at Tony and said simply, "Hello, Mr. Raccoon."
Tony looked at me as if to say, "What do I do?"
I thought for a second before making sure the Hunters weren't looking-they weren't-and I said to Ayano, "This is Tony. He can talk, but keep it secret, okay?"
The little girl gasped before nodding and putting her finger on her lip, showing she would indeed keep it quiet.
"Nice to meet ya," Tony said quietly.
Ayano giggled and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tony Raccoon."
Tony scampered down my back and gave Ayano a handshake, which was utterly bizarre.
"So, Ayano, have you had lunch?" I asked.
She nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yes! I ate Mac-and-Cheese!"
"Oh, okay," I said, before doing a double take, and trying not to shout. "Wait, what? Where did you get Mac-and Chesse?!"
"That Percy guy clapped and food was there! It was good! But I like stew better," she admitted.
I was having a little bit of trouble understanding this. Percy could just make food? Out of nothing? That must be what Zoe was talking about.
"So he made food for you? That was... nice of him..." I managed to get out before looking at Zoe, who was suppressing a smile as my confusion.
"No, he made food for everone!" Ayano corrected me.
"Everyone?!" I couldn't help but shout, which made Ayano laugh.
"But... they're the Hunters... they are the Hunters, right? But they eat his food? That a man made? Without any effort?"
Zoe nodded in vindication, while Ayano tilted her head to the side.
"But they're the Hunters! It's their name! How could they let a man feed them, and without even hunting the food! Why do they call themselves the Hunters if they don't hunt?! And why are they female only if they're provided for by a man?! That's crazy. That's so weird. That's... it's just... how wacky!"
Ayano laughed again, and Tony made a chittering noise that I guessed was laughing.
"Do you see what I've been dealing with, Nathan?" asked Zoe.
"My condolences. At any rate, where are they all?"
Zoe started to laugh dangerously. She let Ayano explain.
"Lady Artemis said they were going to train, but Zoe said we had to stay here, because of your curse or whatever. Zoe went to go get you."
That made sense. I made sure I was within half a mile at the most, but moving around carelessly might have unknown side effects.
"Training doesn't sound so bad," I said, waiting for Zoe to explain what had her so upset.
"It's led by Percy," she said simply.
"Wait, the whole thing? Archery and melee training?" I asked incredulously.
"Well, throwing knife and melee training," Zoe corrected.
"I mean, still, that's unbelievable. I trained a few of the Huntresses in melee combat, but not all of them, and only supplementarily."
Zoe nodded, "Remember what I said last night, Grey."
Tony's head turned to look at me, and I swear he moved his eyebrows up and down, so I rolled my eyes.
"Lead the way."
The Hunters, for all their comfortability with Percy, still did not find my presence tolerable.
"What is he doing here," I heard someone say, and I couldn't help but smirk a bit at their immaturity. These Hunters all acted like they were their physical ages, all 10 to 14.
Some of them looked at Tony, back on my shoulder, strangely, but none said anything.
"Oh, hey man!" Percy shouted from across the forest clearing. For his situation, he seemed a decent fellow.
I raised my hand in greeting toward him.
I looked at Zoe, who nodded.
"Get down, Tony," I said quietly, and Tony scampered down, on all fours next to Ayano.
"Ho there, Percy! If you aren't busy, how about we exchange a few pointers? Nothing fancy, just a good old fashioned spar-swords only."
Percy laughed good-naturedly and agreed, "Sure, sounds like fun!"
I really wished it hadn't immediately attracted the attention of the entire Hunt, but it absolutely did. I sighed. This would not end well for me, no matter what.
Percy and I found an empty spot, and were immediately surrounded by prepubescent teen girls.
"No time limit, no powers, no maiming. A duel to the win-we'll stop once victory has been determined. Right?" Percy suggested some rules.
I agreed.
Percy pulled out a pen, and uncapped it, transforming it into a three foot longsword, the same one I'd seen in my dream. This was Zoe's sword. I glanced at her, but she didn't seem shocked to see it. She merely grimaced. I scowled unintentionally. She frowned, and I made a note to explain to her later. For now, it was time to duel.
I unsheathed my swords, and stood at the ready. Wielding two full sized swords was a complicated art. There was a reason why it was never used as a battle strategy throughout all of history, by anyone. It was stupidly difficult, and for almost anything, a shield was better. If not a shield, then a dagger. But not two full sized swords.
But I wasn't mortal. I had thousands of years to perfect my style. This Percy character couldn't have had more than a decade.
He lunged and chopped sideways, which I stepped back to avoid, before stepping in and thrusting with my left hand, guarding with my right.
He deflected to his right with his sword, and I swung my remaining sword right at his unprotected left side. He dodged, but I had him doing what I wanted, now.
I swung, I jabbed, I dodged, I side-stepped.
I could tell how powerful he was, but I never let him connect. I was faster, and I never let up on the offensive.
After a minute of blistering combat, I finally got lucky. A double feint of mine had fooled him. I made him think I was feinting, before going through with my thrust, and I stopped my sword point an inch from his neck.
He was shocked.
He blinked a few times, before he said, "My loss."
I sheathed my swords and held out my hand with what I hoped was a friendly smile. He capped his pen and shook my hand.
"I'm impressed," he told me frankly.
I shook my head, saying, "I only got lucky. And besides, if we were in a real fight, you'd have crushed me with your powers. All I'm good at is dueling, really."
Percy smiled and said, "I get the feeling you're not being totally honest with me."
He drew in closer, and said quietly so only I could hear, "Besides, it's no easy feat to gain Zoe Nightshade's approval. You must be good at something other than dueling."
Not sure exactly what he was intimating, I felt the blood drain from my face for a second.
Then I felt something.
It felt like... hatred. I looked around, and sure enough, the Hunt was glaring murderously at me.
"I really ought to get going," I said.
"So soon?" Percy asked. He clearly wasn't aware of the bloodbath that would ensue if I stayed here any longer.
"Well, I've got to try to get back to my world as soon as possible. People waiting for us there, you understand."
Percy nodded like he did in fact understand.
I turned and walked a bit faster than strictly necessary to Zoe, Ayano, and Tony.
"Let's go," I suggested, and we all started making our way from the murderous little girl posse.
When we were a mile away, we finally stopped.
"If I never see those bearcats again, it'll be way too soon," Tony finally spoke.
"Tell me about it," I breathed.
Zoe smirked uncharacteristically, but still regally, like a princess, maybe just a little more spoiled than she was normally.
"That should teach those little harlots a lesson," Zoe practically spat towards their direction.
My eyes widened as I put my hands over Ayano's ears, and used whatever power over wind I had left to make the air around them less dense, so she couldn't hear as well.
Zoe saw this, and opened her filter as wide as it would go, for her.
"Those brazen sluts!" she seethed, though quietly. "Lusting after that man, like vixens, doxies, whores!"
"Was it really that bad?" I wondered out loud.
"Yes!" Zoe said strongly. "I did not appreciate you. I merely thought you acted as a respectful male should, but I did not give you enough credit. If you acted like him you would already be dead! If my Huntress sisters acted like them they would not be in the Hunt at all!"
"That's really something..." I said, but she wasn't done.
"Tramps, hussies, all! They're trollops, call girls, streetwalkers, wanton strumpets!"
Tony whistled, though I wasn't quite sure how.
"Zoe, please, this is getting excessive-"
"Hookers, courtesans, scarlet women, loose trulls! Hades take them!"
"Zoe-"
She signed.
"I'm finished, Grey. Truly. Release Ayano's hearing."
"Not 'til you tell me what's gotten you so riled up. It might set you off again."
Zoe looked upset, but said, "Tonight, Nathan."
I felt my chest lighten for a moment, though I didn't know why.
"We will discuss this after Ayano sleeps, alright?" Zoe said. My heart lightened again, and I realized why. I felt happy. I guessed it was because she was considering me her friend. That made me happy.
"Alright, then."
I let go of Ayano's ears.
"So, what shall we do now?" I asked.
Zoe thought for a moment, before deciding, "We should replicate the original circumstances. I will hold Ayano while you travel a mile North of here. Once you've gone that far, turn back. Oh, and take the raccoon with you."
"I agree," I agreed.
I almost started walking immediately, but I stopped, turned, and knelt in front of Ayano.
"I'll be right back, okay? Stay with Zoe until I am, okay?"
I had realized this might not work a second time. I might be leaving Zoe and Ayano behind. I hadn't realized how quickly those two had become more important to me than almost anything else.
I stood up and faced Zoe.
"Nightshade-Zoe. If this doesn't work, I want you to know..."
A million thoughts raced through my head. What? What do I want to tell her? No, I want to... No, that's not right, I can't...
I must have paused longer than I thought, because Zoe said warmly, for her, yet lightly, "Nathan, be careful, okay?"
My head was reeling and my throat was dry, my hands were itchy and my legs were shaking, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. What was this feeling?
"Yes, I will. Stay safe, Zoe."
She bared a ghost of a genuine smile, one of the only ones I'd seen. She was such a vision of beauty, I was ashamed to look at her. I looked down in embarrassment.
Tony clambered up my back, and I sped off.
"I ain't carryin' a torch for nobody!" Tony did a lousy impression of my voice.
"Oh, can it, Tony," I chastised. "I was serious, I'm not in love with Zoe. She's a Huntress. They aren't allowed to have relationships with men."
For some reason, at the time, I didn't realize how little sense that actually made.
After living with the Hunt for months, and living since the mile was invented, I knew exactly how long one was, and after running one plus a few more steps, I turned back.
After running most of a mile, I saw Zoe, and breathed an audible sigh of relief.
Zoe had Ayano in her arms, and the little girl happily laughed, "Nathan!"
Zoe nodded, "There was a flash of light. We're in a different place. Though, hopefully our original place."
My heart sank.
"Yeah, hopefully," I agreed, but my heart wasn't really in it, though I tried to ignore that fact.
If Zoe noticed, she didn't mention it.
"Towards Olympus," Zoe suggested, and I agreed. We began to run east, but we soon discovered something strange.
This forest didn't end.
We ran for hours, but the trees looked exactly the same. We must have traveled a hundred miles, but we weren't in a different place.
Maybe in Canada that was possible, but not America. There simply wasn't that much uninterrupted forest. We would have seen at least one trail, a path, something.
We saw deer, but luckily no monsters were around. When it began to get dark, we halted our progress, and began building shelters-one for me and Tony, and one for Zoe and Ayano.
We chanced a fire, however, and we brought down a stag. After dressing it and beginning to roast the meat, we finally began to discuss what was going on.
"Could it be a world of endless forest?" I suggested.
"That sounds fun!" Ayano supplied helpfully.
"Hmm," Zoe considered. "It's possible. But, is it not also possible that it is simply a world where America was never colonized? Or a world where this part of America is a protected area?"
I nodded. "That's definitely true. In any case, it isn't our world, so there's no need to go to Olympus. It would be an element of unnecessary risk."
Zoe nodded her agreement.
After dinner, there was an... embarrassing outburst from Ayano.
"I want both!" she shouted angrily.
"I'm sorry, Ayano. But you just can't sleep next to both me and Zoe."
Ayano was nearing tears. It was easy to forget she was only 6 years old. I wasn't sure why this was so important to her, but I didn't want her to cry over it. My hands were tied, however.
"But why not?!" she asked loudly.
"Well, it's because-"
"Is it because Zoe thinks you're a meanie? Uh-uh, no she doesn't! So why not?!"
Zoe closed her eyes and took a no nonsense tone with Ayano.
"Ayano, stop it. What was the oath we told you you would have to swear once you got older?"
Ayano pouted even more and said quietly, "To swear off all romantic love."
Zoe stared at the girl until she sulked into Zoe's lean-to.
I was about to call after her when Zoe shook her head.
"You'll just remind her of what she can't have, and she'll try to start arguing again. Let's wait just a few minutes."
Tony had skulked off somewhere during dinner, so now we were alone. If we spoke quietly, Ayano wouldn't hear. In this endeavor, Zoe stood up and sat next to me, so we could speak more quietly. That was the intended effect, but I was glad the dying fire light dyed my face red.
"Those little kids from before, they were unbearable," Zoe began.
"The Hunters?" I asked for confirmation.
She spat into the fire, though she didn't actually spit anything but air.
"At dinner, and then doubly so at lunch, those trollops couldn't stop flirting with Percy. To his credit, I doubt he understood that, but he should have known, and refused to accept it. If one of the Huntresses began to flirt with you, I am sure you would stop them from making such a mistake."
I nodded, which in retrospect seems quite funny.
"But what did they do specifically that made you so upset?" I asked.
"There was nothing specific, Nathan. They simply threw away their pride by letting a man provide for them, they used the name of the Hunt as nothing but a joke. Home-cooked meals in an instant from a man. Dirty. Unclean."
She literally shivered at the thought.
"I, of course, abstained," she assured me, which I wasn't quite sure why I found comforting.
"And of their mistress?" I asked, expecting anger as a reply.
I received disgust.
"That girl is-was-is-nothing but a lovesick fool. The Hunt swears off all romantic love. If one falls in love and has romantic desires, that person is to expel themselves immediately from the Hunt. If it were my Lady herself, unthinkable as it may be, she would disband the hunt, and apologize for failing us all. Admiration is one thing, but romantic desires as well as love are something entirely else. It has happened many times in the Hunt's history. Women's commitments are not as unshakable as once thought, or they are unable to sever themselves from love, and they expel themselves from the Hunt. We do not shame them. The Hunt is not for all. But to remain in the Hunt, this is unthinkable."
"I see," I closed my eyes and nodded, before looking at Zoe. "That makes sense. Those women were breaking their oaths, or at least Artemis definitely was, and so their lack of honor angered you."
Zoe thought for a second, before nodding, "Yes. Yes, that's it."
"Zoe, I have something to confess."
I felt her freeze. She didn't even dare breathe.
"I had a dream."
She breathed in normally again.
"It was a dream of the past. However, I am not sure if it was a dream of our world's past, or that one's."
"And? What was it?" she asked cautiously.
I bit my lip.
"It was... Your past. Herakles. I thought you ought to know. I apologize for learning of it without permission."
Her fist clenched, then relaxed.
When she didn't respond, I continued.
"I... cannot imagine it being much worse. He did... the unforgivable to you, then left you for dead."
"Yes," she agreed. "He did."
I ground my teeth and spat out, "He will pay. If he has already, he will again. When I again have the power to fight him, he will suffer.
Zoe turned to me and asked, seriously, "And why must it be you who does it?"
"You worry I say this only to garner favor with you?" I asked. "It would be impossible to prove otherwise, but it is not so. I'm not going to do it because I think it's what you want me to do. I'm gonna do it because I want it done."
Zoe sat still for a long time.
"Where is the Hunt?" she asked the open air. "When will we return? If we cannot... If we are lost for so long... Would my lady... No. No, definitely not."
She stood up and said, "Ayano is snoring. I will retire. I hope we return home in the morning."
It hit me in the gut like a bowling ball.
"Yes," I said a bit too late. "Yes, I as well."
"Is there something the matter, Grey?" Zoe said, genuinely concerned. For some reason, that felt even worse than her statement.
I looked at her, and our eyes met. For just a second, I was mesmerized by her volcanic black irises.
Snapping out of it, I said lightly, "It's nothing. Nothing at all."
We did not get home that morning, at least.
I assumed this, because we were in the middle of a city.
This was the first time I had seen the flash of light, and after it receded, I was on the sidewalk of a city with skyscrapers only 4 to 5 stories at the most.
I turned around before remembering to use the mist to conceal Tony. Raccoons aren't protected by the mist. I would just look like a freak.
After longer than normal, I met up with Zoe, and we gave each other a look.
"Olympus?" I asked.
She nodded. We looked around for any signs, and soon found we were in a place called Carbondale, Illinois.
I looked at Ayano, who was still sulking, before turning back to Zoe.
"We haven't got any money, so flying there isn't an option. Unless we steal a car or something, we'll just have to run."
"It's fine," Zoe said.
"It'll take us a week..." I said.
"Yes, Grey, that's fine," she said, a bit confused as to what I was talking about.
I was a bit confused, as well.
We roughly followed the highway, switching off every hour or so to carry Ayano, though I always carried Tony. Why exactly Tony was following us, I had forgotten. Zoe tolerated his presence, but she would rather he be gone. He didn't exactly belong with us, to be fair. He thought of himself as a raccoon more than a human. But he had nowhere to go. Maybe if we got to somewhere he liked, he would stay there. Until then, he'd stay with us. Stamp seemed to like talking to the guy, and he was surprisingly good with her. Some people just are, I guess.
Every so often, I would catch Ayano smiling from the speed, but whenever I did she stopped. So she was still upset. At noon, we stopped for lunch, which we could luckily find in the forest on either side of the highway we were following, though it was only squirrel. Over the meal, I finally got Ayano to explain herself.
"Zoe and Nate should be better friends. They should sleep in one tent like some of my sisters do with me sometimes. It's not love, so it should be fine, right?"
I smiled at her. "Ah, little one. You would think it is that simple, but it is not so. Men and women can't be the same kind of friends as just one or the other. Men and women can't share the same sleeping place, even if they're just friends."
"That's silly," Ayano accused.
"I didn't make the rules. Do you understand why Zoe and I can't sleep together now?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes... But it's still silly."
That night, it rained.
We didn't predict it, so only one shelter was finished by the time it started to really pour.
Ayano wanted to play in the rain, but luckily Zoe was able to coax her into the shelter quickly enough. She only had those clothes, so if they got wet she'd really be in trouble.
Zoe began to help me build my shelter, but when a crack of thunder cut through the noise of the rain, Ayano screamed in fear, and Zoe rushed in to comfort her.
It started to rain even harder.
I carefully added more and more leaves to the shelter Stamp was in so there was no chance of it leaking on Ayano. However, it was windy as anything, and the shelter was in constant danger of being blown away. Throughout the night, I continued to protect the shelter.
At one point, after Ayano had fallen asleep, Zoe was about to leave the shelter to help, but I stopped her.
"If you get wet, who will sleep with Ayano? You forget, I am wind. Wind and rain often go hand in hand. It does not bother me."
What I neglected to mention, though I suspect Zoe knew, was that I was not un-bothered by the piercing cold that being soaking wet brought with it, and the lack of sleep.
In the morning, I was beat.
"I'll have to trouble you to carry Ayano, Nightshade."
"Think nothing of it, Grey," Zoe said carefully, after pausing to think for several seconds.
"It didn't leak on Ayano, did it?" I asked, suppressing a yawn.
"Dry," Zoe said simply.
"Good."
We started off again, and by nightfall, I was so tired that I fell asleep on the ground before even making a shelter. I woke up briefly, when I felt myself falling. I opened my eyes in surprise, only to widen them further when I saw black eyes staring into them. Zoe's hands were under my arms, and she quickly let go.
"Ayano insisted we build you a shelter, so I moved you into it. That is all."
Still mostly asleep, I grunted in disapproval before passing back out.
I did not remember this come morning, so Zoe's disguised glances passed me by.
Nothing else interesting really happened until we reached New York City several days later.
To pass the time, we played twenty questions, name that tree, guess what I'm thinking, and I taught Ayano some of the history of the second Titanomachy.
When we entered NYC, we hurried to the Empire State Building, where Zoe handed the receptionist a key card, and the man wordlessly gave it back and nodded.
Zoe, Ayano, Tony, and I all got into the elevator, and away we went to the 601st floor.
"How do we know if it's home?" Ayano asked.
"Lady Artemis will be waiting for us if it is. We will head to her palace."
Long story short, she wasn't in her palace.
In fact, we couldn't find any Olympians. The minor gods and sprites on the streets were no help, either.
When someone told us "What Titanomachy?" when we asked how long it had taken the second time, we decided to get out of there.
We had nearly reached the elevator when a sudden pain in my chest made me look down, and there was a celestial bronze arrowhead floating there. No, it wasn't floating. It was attached to an arrow. Which was inside of me.
Someone might have screamed, but I wasn't exactly sure, because for some reason I was on the ground, and then I was getting dragged into the elevator, and then everything got dark, and I was dreaming.
It was a nice dream. Zoe was there, and Ayano. I don't remember why it was so good, though.
I woke up in agony, in the forest, the sky dark, with a weight on my chest.
I turned to my right to look, and I guessed that Zoe had fallen asleep by accident.
"Wake up, Lieutenant. You accidentally fell asleep and landed on me. I know you must need rest, but if Artemis catches you, I'm dead."
Zoe's head slowly rose and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes groggily as she sat up. We were on the ground.
As she did so, I continued, "You shouldn't push yourself so hard. I don't mean to criticize you, but if you're accidentally falling asleep in the middle of camp, there's no way it's good for you to work so hard."
Zoe looked sad.
What was Zoe sad about?
Was one of the Huntresses hurt?
"Nathan?" she whispered.
"Yes?" I whispered back.
I don't know why we were whispering. The rest of the hunt must be asleep.
"What... are you saying?" Zoe asked incredulously, still whispering.
"I apologize for trying to criticize you as a man, I just thought that if you're so tired, you should sleep more."
Zoe shook her head, but it was dark and I couldn't read her expression.
'What's the last thing you remember?" Zoe whispered.
The last thing I remember?
I thought about it for a while, but I couldn't exactly remember.
"Umm... it was... I don't know. I'm sorry."
Zoe took a deep breath and asked, "Do you remember Percy?"
"Percy? Sort of rings a bell... But not really."
"Do you remember Tony?"
"Hmm... Maybe? Was he someone's pet?"
Zoe put her hands over her face and started shaking.
I didn't know what to do, but my heart felt like it was being ripped in half. I tried to put my hand on her shoulder, but I couldn't move my arm very well, so I ended up whiffing, holding nothing but air.
A second later, Zoe looked at me with tears in her eyes and yelled in an extremely weak voice that was pitiful to hear, "Do you remember being shot?!"
A little...
"When we went to Olympus! You got shot! But it wasn't just you! Ayano and that fucking raccoon got hit too!"
The fog over my mind instantly started clearing.
"Ayano? No, she's... Ayano... oh gods, Zoe, were's Ayano?! What happened?!"
Zoe just shook her head.
"No, no way," I couldn't believe it. Ayano wasn't... she wasn't...
"How could this happen?!" I shouted. I started to get up, even though it hurt like Tartarus.
"Stay down!" Zoe ordered in her painfully faint voice. She must have been crying for a long time. I stayed down.
"You were all shot. I grabbed you and Ayano and got into the elevator. I force fed both of you some ambrosia, and I ran as fast as I could with Ayano once we reached the bottom. I had to hope I could run a mile before they got to you.
"It was another forest world. I came back to you."
She started to cry again.
"Ayano was already dead. She died sometime after we changed worlds. When I got to you, you were barely alive, but you weren't breathing. I prayed for a miracle."
She looked at me through her tears.
"That was a week ago."
I tried to get up again, and Zoe let me. I sat up and held Zoe's shoulder with my hand. I thought she would push it off, but she didn't react at all.
When it became clear she wasn't going to stop crying, I pulled her towards me, guiding her head to my chest, as I held her there, on the forest floor.
I didn't have anything to say, so I didn't say anything.
Just held Zoe.
We had basically just lost our daughter.
I silently wept as I held Zoe to my chest, letting her sleep in relative comfort for the first time in a week.
I couldn't believe Ayano was gone. Dead. She'd never laugh again, she'd never whine, never make a joke, or smile, or hold my hand. She'd never sit on my shoulders, never let Zoe carry her.
She was dead. In a world that might not even have an afterlife.
Because I couldn't protect her. I didn't even see it happen.
I'm a failure.
These words kept ringing in my ears.
I'm a failure. I'm a failure. Failure. Failure!
I squeezed my eyes shut. I forced myself to think about something else.
Who shot us?
And why?
Was it just that world, or was some unknown enemy going to start chasing us through the damn multiverse?
I hadn't noticed Zoe wake while I ruminated, so she surprised me when I heard her say weakly, "I thought you were going to leave me here. Alone in a giant forest, by myself, forever."
There was nothing I could say.
"I'm glad you didn't."
I put my hand on the back of her head, and after a while, said, "There's no one here to blame you, if you want to fulfill one of her last wishes."
So it came to pass that Zoe and I slept next to one another, each on either side of Ayano's grave.
Weeping, together, for the child we lost.