It's been a couple of days since Stheno and Euryale were attacked by the king's men. In the end, they decided to withhold their true identities from Medusa until a latter point. However, things weren't about to go according to plan.

As the sun was still rising, Stheno decided to go out for a walk. Well, whatever you call slithering. Partially to clear her head, and partially to scope out the area.

After the attack, it's something that she's been doing increasingly often. At this point, she's practically sleeping with one eye open.

Tch.

Barely sleeping at all.

She's been out for a while now. It seems that no matter how far she goes, she can't find any signs of life. Despite having managed to remain calm and at the cave, painting, Medusa's powers continue to grow and destroy the forest.

She and Euryale are worried about what her powers could do. Could they potentially destroy all fauna on the island? Fuck. Too many things to worry about at the same time. Well, at least she hasn't run into any more warriors or hunters. Hopefully, when they went back to the king, he got the memo to stay away.

Somewhat relieved at the situation, Stheno turns around and prepares to head back home. Only…

What was that?

Turning around, Stheno scans the area. She's sure that she heard something. Fuck! Is it another warrior? Slowly, she slither to the direction she believes the sound came from. As she passes by a tree, she hears it again.

Looking to her right, a tree is right next to her. Someone is hiding behind that tree. Taking a look at her tail, she plans on drawing them out. Pretending to move forward, she pulls her tail forward. And…

There!

Quickly, she grabs the person with her tail, wrapping it tightly around them. The back of their… no, his head is the first thing she notices. Turning him around however, she notices something even more shocking.

It's Agathinus. Meekly, he tries to free himself from her grasp.

It doesn't work very well. Moving her eyes slightly downwards, Stheno notices that he was about to draw out his sword when she grabbed him. Huh. She never knew he could even handle one.

Looking back right at him, she sees that he's clearly frightened, though he's trying to hide it. Maybe she can scare him off.

"I thought I made it pretty clear when you people were hear last time that you're not welcome. Stheno tried speaking in a harsher tone, hoping to sound more intimidating.

"Yeah, well, it didn't work on me."

Shit. The scare tactic doesn't seem to be working. If anything, judging from his expression, he's questioning something. "Are you a fool!? I could crush you like a bug, hide your body, and nobody would ever know. Is that what you want?"

"You wouldn't."

Abruptly, Stheno draws him closer. Narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she speaks right into his face, inches away from hers. "And why's that?"

After a brief moment, he answers. "You didn't kill any of my men, even though they tried to kill you. Clearly, you're not a monsters. And more importantly." Now, he speaks in a calmer tone. "Even though you didn't show it much, I always knew you cared about me," fuck, "Stheno." Fuck!

Shocked, Stheno can't even form words. She just, loosens her grip, letting Agathinus gently down on the ground. Asking him if he came alone. How he found out. Those are all things she'd like to ask him, if not more. But right now, "It is you, Stheno, isn't it?", all she can think of is…

"H-How?"

Tilting his head somewhat, he raises his eyebrows upwards. "We were going to be a family, Stheno. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize my sister's voice?"

Stheno feels a slight pain in her stomach; she feels ashamed.

"You shouldn't be here Agathinus."

"No. Do not tell me such things. You're my family. Of course I'd try to find you. Please, what happened?"

"What happened, is that the gods fucking cursed us Agathinus! That's what happened." Her words cause Agathinus to take a step back. For a moment, she wonders if she should keep should behavior up. Maybe he'll get scared and flee.

Tch, no he won't. No now. And Stheno herself isn't sure if she could bring herself to do that to him.

"We were brought to Mount Olympus. The gods, had a vote. Whether we would be punished or not." For a moment, Stheno pauses and sighs. "The odds weren't in our favor. Five against seven. We lost. And were turned into," using both arms, she moves them from her shoulders to hips, "this."

"Medusa too? And Euryale?"

"Yes…"

Probably from too many revelations at once, Agathinus stares off into the ground. For just a second, he laughs. It was so quiet, she barely even heard it. A brief moment of happiness at realizing Medusa's still alive. But it quickly fades away.

"I don't understand. How could this happen? Why?"

"Athena," just saying her name pisses Stheno off, "she did this to us."

"But why?"

Narrowing her eye, she speak, "Why don't you just skip straight to the question you really want to ask, Agathinus. What did we do to deserve this?"

"You don't deserve this!" Agathinus says with so much passion in his voice, that Stheno herself is taken aback. "I mean… Ugh. What I mean was, the gods wouldn't just do something like this, punish someone, without reason."

"It was Poseidon. The day we disappeared, he…" The pain of reliving those memories causes Stheno to squirm. "He did something, to Medusa. In Athena's temple."

"Something?", he questions with anger.

"Yes… Something."

The memories still feel so fresh for Stheno. She can feel her eyes watering. "I tried, Agathinus. You have to believe me. I tried…" Feeling weak, she falls to the ground. "I tried so hard to help her. Athena wanted to punish her. I thought if the gods heard our story, they'd do something." She hates this. She hates feeling so weak and helpless. And vulnerable. Not wanting her sobs to become too apparent, she covers her mouth. "I never thought it would end like this."

She hadn't even realized Agathinus moved from his position, so it comes as a surprise when he wraps his arms around her. Well, almost. He's too small now to do that.

"It's okay." His voice is soft. "I'm here."

Slowly, Stheno decides to hug him back. When they let go, she notices a determined look on his face. "Never, for a second, would I ever doubt your love for your sisters, Stheno. If you say you did everything you could to help Medusa, you did everything you could. It's not your fault the gods were so… cruel."

While still tearing up, Stheno manages to smile. "Thank you."

"Of course." Agathinus looks like there's something he'd like to ask but doesn't know how. "Stheno, where is she?" There it is.

"We've been living near a cave. Near the center of the forest."

"Can I see her?" Stheno picks up various emotions from his tone. Mostly fear mixed with excitement.

"I… I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Why not!? Sorry. But why not?"

"It's just… Medusa's been very fragile. I'm worried how she'll react. Or how she'll take your reaction."

"My reaction."

"All three of us were cursed the same way Agathinus. You may be able to accept me or Euryale looking like this, but what about Medusa." Damn, he's not backing down.

Stheno can see the determination written all over his face. Tilting her head upwards, she rolls her eyes. "Ugh, fuck. Fine, I'll take you to her, but if she doesn't want to see you, there's nothing I can do. Understood?"

"Perfectly."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes."

"Her hair was turned to snakes."

Agathinus' eyes immediately widen. "W-What?"

"Yeah…"

"But you, don't…"

"Have snakes for hair? Yeah, not sure why either."

"Whatever. I don't care. I just want to see her again."

"Alright there prince. Follow me." Stheno starts slithering back towards their cave. After a few moments, she pauses and turns around. Agathinus has been sprinting in order to keep up with her. "Sorry. I guess now I'm faster than I used to."

"It is okay."

"Ugh," gently, Stheno wraps her tail around him, "come on prince, I've got you." And just like that, they go deeper into the heart of the forest.

After a while, they finally reach the cave. Stheno and Agathinus don't utter a word during this period. Then again, both of them realized it'd be awkward to have a conversation like this. As they get near the entrance, Stheno places Agathinus to the ground.

"Just… give me a sec to talk to Euryale first. And, stay here."

"Alright." Did he roll his eyes? Never mind…

"Uh, Euryale, can you come out here a sec?"

"What?"

Stheno rolls her eyes. "Ugh, I said, come out for a sec!"

Getting up, Euryale exits the cave. "Ugh, what is it? Did you find someone?"

"Well… kind of." Going to her sister, Stheno points at her to look behind her. As Euryale turns around, Stheno keeps her arm ready to "strike".

Euryale sees him. "Aga-" but anticipating her reaction, he sister quickly covers her mouth. "Mhm…"

"Yeah. It's him. Now can you please stay quiet."

Turning around, Euryale gives her sister a dirty look, signaling her to uncover her mouth.

"Prince."

Putting on a half-smile, he greets her. "Hello, Euryale." As she approaches him slowly, they both pause. Then they hug each other. "It's nice to see you again."

"How are you here?"

"Those men you fought? They were sent my father to find you. Some of them, barely conscious, hear you scream out Stheno's name. I wondered if it was possible. That you were…"

"Not how we used to be."

"Yes. I tried talking to my father about this, but he wouldn't listen; forbidding me to come here. So, I snuck out during the night."

"Wow. Never could have pictured you acting so criminally."

"Heh, yeah… Is she?"

"Yes. She's inside." Euryale turns and looks at Stheno. "Can he?"

Looking at Agathinus and then her sister, Stheno answers. "As I told him. We'll tell Medusa that he's here and that I informed him on what happened to us. But if she doesn't want to see or speak to him, there's nothing we can do."

"Should I, just go in?"

"Not yet, prince. I should probably go and talk to her first. Give her a moment to process this."

Stheno nods at her. "Alright. We'll wait here for you." Turning to Agathinus, she notices he can barely restrain himself from just running inside the cave. "Patience, Agathinus."

Silently, they see Euryale. As she enters the cave, she wonders how she should inform Medusa of Agathinus' presence. Going a bit deeper into the cave, she notices her sister. She's crouched, painting on one of the rocks. Upon closer inspection, Euryale realizes that it's a flower. Could she be drawing a meadow?

Caught up in the drawing, Euryale doesn't notice Medusa turn her head around.

After a moment, she speak. "So… do you like it?"

"Yes. It's very pretty."

Medusa smiles. "Thank you. Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"You just have a weird look on your face. Tch, did Stheno scold you or something." Medusa's attempt at humor doesn't really work this time. "Is Stheno okay?"

Recognizing the tension in her sister's voice, Euryale is quick to reassure her. "No, no. Don't worry. She's fine."

"Oh, thank Hestia."

"It's just… She found something. Someone."

Possible picking up on where she's going with this, Medusa narrows her eyes. "Someone?"

"Yes. And she brought them here."

"Euryale…"

"Ugh, I suck at this. It's Agathinus. Stheno brought him here."

"WHAT!?" Shocked, if her biology allowed it, Medusa's jaw would have reached the floor.

"Yeah… She found him in the forest. He was looking for us; you."

"Is he here!?"

"He is waiting outside the entrance." Just as Euryale barely finished speaking, Medusa starts running for the entrance. But then, she stops.

"Medusa, honey?"

"I… I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't see him like this, Euryale. I mean," turning around, Medusa looks at her sister, "look at me. Look at my body! My hair! I'm a freak! A monster…"

Somewhat angrily, Euryale goes to her and grabs her hands. "Medusa, we've said this before, and we'll say it again. You are not, a monster."

"Oh come on Euryale. How can you say that? I mean, even if you disregard my appearance, take a look around! How much of the forest is even left at this point? All of the animals are gone. There's nothing left here. I'm a parasite…"

"You honestly think Agathinus would believe such things?"

"How could he not!?"

"Well, you're not giving him much chance to form an opinion, now are you?"

"I… I don't know if I can face him Euryale. I mean…"

"Medusa, honey, Agathinus came all this way here. He came alone, into a dying forest. He saw Stheno and he didn't back down, he saw me, and he didn't turn back. And he did all that, for you." Seeing tears in her eyes, Euryale gently wipes them away. "He loves you Medusa. That kind of love… is rare in our world. Don't you think, if nothing else, you two deserve at least a chance to talk to each other? I know you, and I know you'd want this too."

After having listened to her sister's words, Medusa lets her breath out. As if she had been holding it in this entire time. "I can't lie. Getting to see him again. Look into his eyes. There's nothing more I'd like to see in the world right now. But I'm scared Euryale. I'm scared of how he'll look at me when he sees me."

"Then, maybe… for now, don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't let him see you." Saying this, Euryale looks at a giant stalagmite, beckoning at her sister to do the same. Sharing a knowing look, she gets up and leaves Medusa.

Still outside the cave, Stheno and Agathinus are waiting for Euryale to come back with any news. Finally she does.

Just as Stheno is about to ask her what happened, Agathinus' excitement gets the best of him. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"Yes, my prince. Well, mostly," she says in a whispered voice. "She has agreed to talk to you. Under one condition."

"Anything!"

"Uhm, well… she wants you to not see her." Okay, neither one of them got it. "I mean, of course she wants to see you. It's just… she'd prefer if you didn't look at her. She said something about Orpheus and his wife. Anyway," going to Agathinus, Euryale places her hand behind his back and nudges him gently to enter the cave, "you'll understand what I mean when you see her."

Standing in front of the entrance, Agathinus pauses for a moment. He's been waiting for this for so long. But he can't rush in. He's got to respect her wishes. And so, he enters the Gorgons' lair.

Moments later, he stops. Listening in, he hears Medusa's breathing. She must be behind that big stalagmite. "My dear?"

"Please don't come any closer."

"I won't. I promise." And he doesn't.

"Medusa… I… I'm sorry. Heh, I'm not sure what exactly to say."

"Yeah… I don't either."

"I just want you to know, I'm so happy to find you." Medusa wants to turn around and be held by him, but her fear prevents her. "After you disappeared, I tried to find you. We kept searching and searching, and we still came up empty."

"It was your men that came across Stheno and Euryale, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Tch, knew it. They thought I wouldn't find holes in their story."

"My father sent them. Many citizens had come to us and told us of monsters in the forest. We thought you had been… taken by them."

"Taken by the monsters, huh?" Lowering her head, Medusa pulls her tail closer. "That would have definitely been better than being them."

"N-No, no. Medusa, I didn't… I didn't mean it like that." Desperate to get closer but still knowing he can't see her he kneels in front of the stalagmite. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Didn't you?"

"No! Of course not. Your sisters, they told me of what happened. My darling, why didn't you just come to me?"

Medusa shakes her head. "How could I, Agathinus? You've seen m- seen my sisters. I was scared. And I was ashamed. The gods did this to us." Holding out her scaly hands, she looks at them. "They voted on it. Maybe I did deserve it…"

"Don't ever say that. This is all Poseidon's fault. Not yours."

"They… they told you?"

"Not the full details. But I think I understood." Agathinus takes not of her silence. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

"I'd rather not talk about it either." Medusa considers going to see him, but… "Thank you."

"Medusa, my love… I know you told Euryale that you'd rather I not see you, but can't I at least touch you."

Considering it, she answers. "You've seen my sisters. What… what did you think of them?"

"Of what?"

"Tch, the way they look."

"Well… a large part of them is snake-like."

Medusa expects more. "Is that it?"

"Should there be more?"

Medusa can know that she's about to cry, so she quickly controls her breathing. Having measure up the courage, she gets up from behind the stalagmite. However, she still can't face Agathinus, to look him in the eye. Because when she does, she'll immediately know if he's lying to her or not; she always could. Just as he could do the same with her. So she looks down.

"So... what do you think?"

Without missing a beat, he gives her an answer. "I think you're beautiful."

Hearing those words, Medusa wraps her arms around her chest. "Don't. Don't do that. Don't lie to me."

"My queen, I'm not."

"How? How can you find me beautiful? Look at me. Look at my hair." She gently grabs one of them. "They're snakes."

"Do you really consider me so shallow, Medusa. I fell in love with you. With who you are. Not your hair." Slowly, he extends his hand, offering it to her.

Having her face turned mostly to the side, Medusa looks at it. After a moment, she kneels down and grabs both of his hands, constantly looking down at them. "Medusa…" His voice is so soft it makes her heart skip a bit. She's missed him so much. "I'm not going to pretend to fully understand everything that happened, or that I get the pain you're going through. But I can promise you this. I still love you." Tears start rolling on her faces. Noting them, Agathinus wipes them from her closed eyes. "You are beautiful to me, and nothing will ever change how I feel about you."

Shocking would be the best way to describe what happened next. Well, shocking to Medusa, but even more so to Agathinus. Without warning, she grabs and kisses him on the lips.

After a brief moment, they let go of each other. Overcome with joy, Agathinus cups Medusa's face in his hand, smiling, and opens his eyes. "My love." Slowly, Medusa opens her eyes too.

Outside the cave, Stheno and Euryale wait for their sister and the prince to be done. Stheno leans against the rocks, inspecting her talons.

"I saw you going out at night yesterday." Euryale says bluntly.

"Oh. What about it?"

"Well, what exactly were you doing?"

"Just, hunting."

"Come one Stheno, it's me you're talking to. Where you trying to find her? See if she would contact you."

For a moment, Stheno remains silent, before exhaling. "What can I do, Euryale? You really mean to tell me that all this time, you've never tried contacting Apollo?"

Euryale lowers her head. "Yeah, I guess I'm not one to talk either, huh?"

"Tch, nope."

The two sisters share a laugh. Unfortunately, it is cut short when they hear a scream coming from inside the cave. They slither inside as quickly as possible. As they get closer, they hear Medusa still screaming.

"What happened!?" Stheno yells out. When she realizes exactly what has transpired, she freezes. Standing next to her, Euryale covers her mouth in horror.

Too shocked to react, they just look at Medusa still clinging to Agathinus; who has turned to stone.

"I- I don't know what happened! We were talking, and then I looked at. By the Gods…" Quickly, Euryale rushes to her sister's aid.

For a moment, she considers saying something to console her, but realizes that's impossible. Instead, she turns to Stheno. "How could this happen?"

"She looked at him."

"But what about us? Why weren't we affected?"

"We were all cursed. Maybe that's why this never happened to us. Our powers don't work on each other."

Having let go of Agathinus, Medusa covers her face, repeating the phrase "This can't be happening!" over and over. "I can't. I can't do this anymore."

Euryale wraps her arms around her sister, saying "It's going to be okay", though right now, she doesn't believe.

Medusa's sobbing just gets worse. "I can't do this anymore, Euryale. I can't." Crawling away from her sister, she goes to Agathinus and places her head on his feet. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Forgive me."

Carefully, Stheno moves to join Euryale in consoling Medusa. But as she reaches them, she doesn't lean down. She just stares at Agathinus' expression. His smile. The joy in his eyes at being reunited with Medusa. Frozen, for all eternity, in stone.

She's not sure how much more she can endure. None of them are.