Chapter Fifteen: I'm Sorry
Zoë's POV
Zoё gripped her weapon steadily, each swipe of the knife as precise as only her hands could allow. The sun rained down on her delicately, a gently shine appearing from the arrowhead. Beautiful, it truly was: a cosmic kind of color that would send anyone to Tartarus- and keep them there. Zoё craved to send it flying through a monster's thick heart, just to see it perform its job.
The white point suddenly turned to a saddened gray. Zoё looked up, surprised to see Luke, his shadow cast upon her.
"Hey," he said. "You ready?"
With one last flick of her knife, Zoё brushed off the remained metal shard sticking out from the rest of her masterpiece. She put down her arrowhead; she would finish it later. Willing her bow to disappear, she stood up. "Ready as I'll ever be. You think Chiron should be informed?"
Luke shook his head, his expression darkening. "I don't care anymore. To hell with them."
Zoё smiled, a light mirth in her eyes. "I agree. Did you alert the soldiers?"
"Already told," he promised. "They're ordered to protect the borders, that's all, believe me."
"Great," Zoё nodded. She looked over at the other cabins, campers laughing and running rampant, not a care in the world. Zoё glowered. Oh, how she envied them. They knew nothing about the real world, nothing about missions, and nothing about death. They considered it a simple game- but it wasn't; it just wasn't.
Zoё cleared her throat and looked back at Luke. "We better go."
"You read my mind perfectly," he replied. "The campers look at us as if we're to murder one of them any second. Driving me crazy, to be honest." Luke whispered the last part.
"They're campers," she murmured, "It's what they do."
The soldiers of Chaos began a brisk pace, a small jog, to the borders. Each building was in the same place since the last time she visited, back when she was a Hunter. It was quite easy to find the edges of Camp. The amount of campers was certainly larger than before, Zoё noticed, but dwindled as they got further and further from the pavilion, the main buzz of activity. Zoё and Luke stopped short when the border was certainly noticeable: a golden colored, misty aura encasing the camp, acting as a dome.
"Would Dionysus know?" Luke asked. "When I was still a son of Hermes, I once snuck out-"
Zoё pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do me a favor," she said, a pause in her words, then: "Don't mention your times here. Don't remember. You're not that person anymore, Aion isn't, and I'm not, either. It's useless to remember."
"Done," he promised her quickly. "Running to Mount Everest will take at least an hour, Zoё," he sighed. "Aion and Artemis are being tortured as we speak. There has got to be another path, quicker."
"I know one way, but it will be dangerous," she spoke, a desperate sadness in her words. Luke raised an eyebrow, allowing her to continue. "We can speak to the one deity that Ouranos loves with all his heart. She's bound to let us through to his realm, if we can persuade her enough."
"Mother Earth," he realized.
"Exactly."
"You tricky girl."
"Hey," she warned, "I'm married."
He laughed in return, "Of course you are. And I'm the swords instructor."
"But you are," she pointed out, confused. She shook her head, changing the subject. "Where would Gaea be located?"
A moment's silence.
Suddenly: All around you, a voice said. You need only call my name as I hear.
"We're on a mission of peace." Zoё said smoothly, layering her words with determination. "We'd be honored if you ally yourself with us, the soldiers of Chaos."
The voice laughed, the grasses around them shaking as well. Please, soldier, you needn't lie. I understand your decision perfectly.
"What would that be, Gaea?"
You don't trust me? Fine, fine. As to answer your question: I know of your husband.
Zoё's eyes widened. She tried hard to remain impassive; Gaea shouldn't know of any kind of weaknesses to use against her- especially her family.
Yes, yes. That's right, she promised. He gets tortured day by day. Three tortures per day, I've been told by my Ouranos.
Zoё grounded her jaw. She wanted to strangle the goddess for even saying something like that, but that wouldn't be making her a temporarily great ally. Zoё had to stay on good terms with her; she just had to.
"Look, Gaea," she said as sweetly as she could. It sounded forced, though. Extremely forced.
"Lord Chaos ordered us destroy you, his own granddaughter. Nothing more, nothing less, he said."
Not a good idea, soldier, Gaea hissed with delight. Exposing your master's plans, why?
"Because we don't want to kill you." Zoё replied, smiling a shy kind of smile. "People are bound to rebel sometime, right? Why not start now?"
You have a point, she admitted begrudgingly.
"Yes," Zoё continued eagerly. "Lord Chaos was great in the beginning. He was like a second father, actually. He issued missions, you completed them, he awarded you with titles. It was a wonderful experience, really. Lord Chaos gave you purpose in your lonely life: save the innocents- I found Aion that way but that's a story for another time." Zoё's face brightened at the thought then darkened suddenly. "Do you know what happened next, Gaea?"
The trees were completely still. Even though a cool breeze blew through, not a single blade of grass dared move with its direction. It unnerved Zoё- it wasn't natural. Gaea's reply was comprised of a single, soft spoken word: No. It was more like a breath of anticipation, really. No.
Zoё sneered in disgust, crossing her arms. "Lord Chaos got selfish. Idiotic. Uncanny. I accidentally swung a knife in his direction, you know- a mere knife! He wasn't even paying attention and he more than deserved it. He started sending me on suicide missions, ones I was near to death in. He spit in my face whenever I walked past him in the hallways. H-he..." Zoё swallowed hard, determined to make Gaea crack. "H-he... He..."
The question was a gentle one. He what?
Zoё dug her nails hard into her leg. Tears sprung out from her eyes and she sniffed for effect. "H-he even abused me, Gaea. He abused me. The one who had saved me from my past life abused me."
Gaea was silent as the words were registered. Luke put an arm around Zoё and muttered quietly, "It's okay." Zoё let him comfort her, Gaea needed to be persuaded and hearing from a fellow soldier about her grandfather would truly prove successful. If it didn't... Well, they were simply dead.
"Please, child," Gaea's gentle voice came from behind them now. Her form was a graceful one, fitted with a dress made of every kind of grass that grew upon the Earth. Her rich hair floated down to the middle of her back and her eyes shined a nurturing warm brown. She stretched out her hands in a welcoming hug. "Let me help you. Please, come."
The darkness was surprising for a goddess like Gaea. Dim lighting escaped through cracks on the vine ceiling, forty feet up. The walls were made of many strong trees' trunk, brown and aged. A healthy forest breeze lingered in the air, occasionally overwhelming Zoё's sense of spell before drifting off to circle the room once more.
Zoё and Luke sat in two chairs at the table, a mahogany color. Gaea sat across from them, her hands folded upon the table.
"To summarize," she said, "rebelling against my grandfather requires your... Husband and daughter. But my dearest husband has kidnapped them." She pointed to Zoё in a vague manner: "You request a way to get to Ouranos's realm?"
Zoё nodded. "Of course. That's right."
Gaea frowned slightly. "I know of something. But it was only for emergencies," she looked back at Zoё. "I wish to help you, I do. But I need you to promise me one thing."
Zoё couldn't believe it. She was beating a goddess and winning. She herself didn't think it was possible. "Yes?" she asked her.
Gaea's warm brown eyes turned cold. "Promise not to hurt my Ouranos. What he did was wrong but he doesn't deserve that.
"Promise," she said.
"I promise not to harm Ouranos," Zoё spoke. It didn't sound as official as she hoped it to be. Zoё wanted to explode in Ouranos's face and kill him slowly, torturing him just as he did to Aion. Every single attack on his body, Zoё would replicate onto Ouranos's.
"You, too." Gaea looked at Luke. Luke hastily repeated Zoё's promise.
Gaea's stiff hands regained their blood flow at their words. She absently tested out each finger, almost smiling. Zoё knew Gaea was scared for Ouranos, of course she was.
"When my Ouranos was separated from me by our son Kronos, my husband was desperate; he gave me a portal. 'Use it in times of emergencies', he told me. We wouldn't be separated for forever."
She muttered something under her breath and threw out what appeared to be a gold nugget. The gold nugget froze in the air and expanded into a shimmering portal.
Luke and Zoё stood up; it was time for their departure. "Thank you, Gaea," Zoё said.
"Remember your promise."
She nodded. "We will."
Zoё stepped through the portal, Luke following suit. Her eyesight grew dizzy but turned clearer. The first thing she was saw white. The second was blue. It took her a moment to realize she was standing on puffy clouds. Another moment to see everything was made of the same building material. A castle stood in the distance, a winding path leading to it.
"I'm sorry, Gaea," Zoё whispered. She turned to Luke. "C'mon. We've got family to save."