Unconventional Rescue

After everything I've been through, I don't know if it's a curse or a miracle that Thanatos hasn't claimed me yet. I'd often have nightmares about hearing that oily voice of his as he comes to collect my soul.

Instead of the frigid mists of the Underworld or, gods forbid, the flaming heat of the Phlegathon, I couldn't help but notice how… cool everything was. How soothing. It was tempting to keep my eyes shut and take a nap. However, that thought was swept away as a soft pair of lips pressed to mine.

On contact, my eyes shot open, only to be met by a vibrant purple pair in return.

Palírroia pulled away with a shy smile, her hair flowing behind her. "Welcome back, Master."

My head swam, still far too foggy to even attempt sitting up.

"Where are…?"

Only then did I take notice of our surroundings. We were underwater.

I blinked away the black spots dancing in my vision. "What—"

"Use as much as you need," she said. "The others still need your help."

"Wait, what are you…?"

It dawned on me.

Risking a cursory glance upward, I realized we were only about ten feet beneath the surface of the water. To either side of us was a stone brick wall, each of which ran further along in both directions than I could register at the moment, like some kind of canal. Or a…

I lurched upwards.

"Master! You need to—"

My head swayed. "What happened?"

She pressed her hand to my shoulder and tried pushing me back down. "You… fainted. I am doing what I can to help you."

"What are you tal—"

"Please, lay down and let me heal you."

"You heal...?" My eyes widened. "Oh, no!"

As I moved forward, she held her hand to my chest. "Master, please. This is my choice. You saved me. Let me save you."

"I'm not going to drain your life!" I urged, pushing past her.

"You need not take it all," she said. "Only enough to keep you alive and well."

I grimaced, but realized a slightly important detail. My back. My… everything, really. Given recent events, I should be in agony. So overcome with pain I can't even think, much less move. Yet, despite what happened, I could barely feel any of the burns.

"How long have you been doing this?"

She frowned. "Maybe twenty minutes."

"That long?! I drained Thŷella to exhaustion after like five!"

Her lips pulled up in a sad smile. "While in here, it would take a great deal more of my life force lost for me to feel the effects. Once I leave, however…"

If we weren't underwater, I could almost guarantee there would be tears forming in her eyes.

My shoulders sagged. "Well… it's too late now. How does it look?" I turned for her to inspect my back.

"Much better. But it will take more time to completely heal."

"Time we don't have." I rolled my shoulders and neck as I spun back around, groaning as the joints popped.

I could see the protest in her eyes, but she didn't voice it.

"For the record, I don't approve of you doing this. But still, thank you."

Before she could muster a reply, I pulled her into an embrace. My lips pressed to hers for a few precious moments, relishing in her softness and slightly salty taste. With a grim expression, I pulled away.

"Time to save some nymphs."

We shot out of the canal to some very startled demigoddesses and a slightly deformed goddess.

"You're alive!" Calypso exclaimed.

Not a second passed before she tackled me to the ground in an over-enthusiastic embrace. While she peppered my face with kisses, it was only when her leg brushed between mine I realized my legs were still completely bare.

"Um," the soft voice of Hazel piped up. "Do you think you could cover up a bit?"

"Sure," I wheezed through Calypso's grip. "Anyone have any spares?"

"Listen, hon," Drew said, "you'll have plenty of time for that later. Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Stop changing the subject!" the charred husk of Keto spat from the ground. "Help me!"

Of course, Palírroia chose that moment to start swaying back and forth. Stumbling over her own feet, she lasted about three seconds before she collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, no."

I disentangled myself from Calypso and rushed to Palírroia's side. Though she was still breathing, it was faint at best.

"Wow," Drew said. "She wasn't joking."

I shot a glare up to her. "You let her do this?"

"We didn't have a choice," Calypso said. "My magic is exhausted."

"And we couldn't spare any medical supplies when we came down here," Hazel noted, averting her eyes and fanning her face.

"Then how about you stop dawdling and help me!" Keto screeched once again.

Of all of us, she was in the worst shape. Her body resembled a half melted lump of clay. What parts weren't burnt to a crisp were hanging off of her in a disgusting, and pungent, pile of flesh and limbs. The simple fact that she could talk was a miracle in and of itself.

"How?" I asked. "We can't even—"

"Cut off my foot."

I recoiled, taken aback. "What?"

"Cut off my foot!"

"Like I've been telling them," Drew said, "I'm pretty sure her brain melted as well."

"Bah, you fools! Do you not think for even a second?!" The skin around her neck hissed and cracked as she turned to me. "My powers are nullified by this damned shackle. Without it, I'm no more powerful than a mortal. Well… an immortal mortal, if that makes sense. But I need the shackle removed. It's all warped from the heat, so keys would be useless. So the only options left are to either cut the shackle itself, which would take far too long, or cut off my foot and begin restoring my powers instantly."

Maybe it was my head still fogged up from passing out, but her logic made sense to me.

"Okay. Not like you have much left to lose." I went to pat my pockets and reach for Riptide, but only ended up patting my bare thighs. "Right… Anyone seen my pen?"

"Here," Hazel said, holding Riptide out to me with her eyes sealed. "I think you dropped this."

I grimaced. "Thanks. We'll address the clothes issue in a second."

"Wonderful," Keto said. "I'll even give you some when you take care of this. Just make it quick."

She turned away as best as she could, not that it was saying much.

"You girls might want to look away."

"Way ahead of you, hon."

I uncapped Riptide and raised it above my head. Holding my breath, I brought my blade down with a swift strike.

SHILK!

Aside from a slight hiss, Keto didn't react.

"Finally," she groaned.

Before my very eyes, her body began repairing itself, much like how a starfish grows its limbs back. It wasn't a very… appealing sight.

"This will take a while for me to finish," she said. "Nonetheless, I'm as good as my word."

She held her hand up and muttered something in ancient Greek. A slight breeze dusted over my body, giving way to a teal chiton, similar to the one she was wearing when we first walked in. It didn't take much for me to realize that I was still dangling free underneath it, but it was certainly better than nothing.

"Now," Keto said, "I believe you have some business elsewhere."

"Right." I turned to the others. "Are you ready to… go…"

It didn't take Annabeth's level of genius to see that pretty much none of them were in any condition to fight. Calypso, despite her previous enthusiasm, was clearly ragged from her constant magic use. Palírroia was still unconscious. Though she tried to conceal it, Drew's hands were worn raw, likely from dealing with Palírroia's chains. That left Hazel, who despite still hugging her arm to her side, put on a determined expression.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Hazel said.

I pursed my lips. "You sure?"

Her good shoulder sagged. "Just because I wasn't in shape to fight one of the most powerful gods in existence doesn't mean I can't handle a couple of d-list monsters. Besides, you still need a guide."

I smirked. "Fair enough." My attention turned to Drew. "Keep them safe."

"Oh? Guard duty now? Such an upgrade."

"Yeah yeah. Just keep make sure nothing happens to them."

Calypso pouted. "I'm not that worn out."

"Maybe not. If so, you can make sure our resident goddess doesn't turn on us."

Keto snorted, propping herself up against a pillar. "Right. I'm sure I could be a tremendous threat to you. Maybe I should take those clothes back to prove it."

I chuckled. "At least wait until I've got some clothes of my own." I turned to Hazel. "You ready to go?"

Tweet!

Every one of us frowned.

"Maybe I am a bit worn out," Calypso said. "I'm hearing things."

Tweet!

"You're not the only one," Hazel said. "Where's that— Percy, don't move!"

I froze in place. As I put on my best impression of a Medusa victim, Hazel knelt down in front of me, cupping her hands.

Now is not the time for this!

"Oh my," Calypso gasped, cupping her hands over mouth. "She's going to… I don't even know."

"You almost stepped on him." Hazel stood.

Only then did everything click into place. In her cupped palms was a tiny bundle of orange and purple feathers, no larger than a parakeet. His white eyes regarded me with curiosity as he tilted his head and chirped.

"Cinder?"

He ruffled his tiny feathers before performing his little spin dance on Hazel's palms.

"Be careful," Keto said. "I'd keep it away from me. There's no telling if it'll hold a grudge."

Hazel said nothing, but took a step back after a moment of consideration.

"Well then, little buddy." I held out my hand. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

He chirped and hopped from Hazel's hands to mine. Despite the memory of my searing flesh still very fresh in mind, I couldn't help but smile. The slight tilt of his head, the radiant intelligence in his piercing pale eyes, the subtle warmth of his talons. There was something I couldn't help but admire. Of course, the fact that he just saved all our lives, my burns notwithstanding, didn't hurt the case.

With a smile, I held him out to Calypso. "Watch over him."

Despite herself, she couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks, and received him. He chirped in contentment as she stroked a finger down his back.

I turned to Drew. "Watch over them."

She merely smirked and glanced at her nails. "I'll keep all these favors in mind for later."

I pursed my lips and said nothing further to her before turning to Hazel. "I think we're ready to go now."

She nodded. "Let's hurry. Next thing you know, the whole place will collapse."

Turning to an only slightly melted iron door, I groaned. "Don't jinx us."

Tyche must have been on our side. There wasn't so much as a rumble to indicate the labyrinth would collapse on us. On the other hand, said luck didn't extend to other things, as it didn't take us long before we encountered our next group of baddies, which consisted mostly of our least favorite seal people.

"Lay down your arms, runts," a bulky telkhine barked.

I grumbled. "Look, I'm really not in the mood. We've already killed your boss and the little army helping him. Why don't you do yourself a favor and just walk away. We'll pretend you were never here."

To my surprise, a grand total of one telkhine actually turned tail and ran.

"Deilós!" the buff telkhine shouted after the other. "Bah, we'll kill him later. For now, we'll— urgh!"

I'd heard enough, and plunged Riptide deep into his gut. By the time he finished dissolving, my blade already cleaved through three more telkhines.

What followed was a series of whimpers and doglike yelps as I carved my way through the remaining stragglers. Hazel even managed to get a shot in and reduced a dracanae to golden dust with a well placed thrust.

"Let's move."

Hazel led me through a couple of twisting passages. My curiosity got the better of me as we passed a series of doors. Peaking my head into one of them, I couldn't even begin to make out what I was looking at. Some sort of giant spherical machine inside of a silenced room. What it was for, I didn't want to know.

Our next monster was an empousa. Unlike the group before her, she didn't even attempt to look tough.

"The cells are on the third left," she rattled off, her hands raised. "If you make it to the commons or furnace room, you've gone too far. There's a group of dracanae waiting for you."

I smirked and glanced at Hazel, who shrugged.

"It checks out," she said. "I was taking us to the next largest chamber down here."

"Fair enough." I turned back to the empousa, who shivered when I met her gaze. "We're being cut off from the gods. How do we take care of that?"

"You actually passed it," she said. "There's a ritual chamber a little ways back. The telkhines call it the 'dampener,' I think."

"Great." I hefted my sword. "Get out of here. And if there's any smart enough to stay alive, get them out as well. One way or another, this place is going to be emptied."

She nodded her head so quickly, I half worried if she'd break her own neck. "Absolutely. I never existed."

While she scampered off, I turned to Hazel. "I don't know about you, but I think we could use some divine help."

"A little late for that," she muttered. "Either way, follow me. I think I know what chamber she's talking about."

"How so?" I asked, falling in stride behind her.

"Call it intuition."

I quirked a brow. "Really?"

"No. It's the only spot I can feel that's… foggy. I don't know how else to describe it."

"No need. Lead on."

Lo and behold, she was spot on. The chamber in question was indistinguishable from the others on the outside, but inside was a different matter. Three telkhines surrounded an altar with some sort of floating orb of water above it.

"Póntos parakáto," they chanted, oblivious to us entering, "krypse mas, thorakise mas."

Despite their choice of language, it didn't even take a moment for me to translate their words.

"Sorry guys," I said, lifting my sword, "Pontus isn't here right now, so you'll have to settle with Poseidon."

They didn't even have a chance to lower their arms before I cut down one of them.

"Blasphemous sea spawn!" one snapped. "Even your father must bow before—"

SHLICK!

"Not today." I flicked the monster slime from the blade and turned to the last one. "Any last words that won't bore me?"

He grinned. "You like this, don't you? This sense of power you've concocted? It's intoxicating, isn't it? But it's fruitless. You know we'll be back. In time, you will fall. So do it! Strike me down! Try as you might, you can't kill me in a way that matters!"

I frowned. "Then we'll have to try harder next time. Hazel?"

She stepped forward, spatha in hand. The telkhine didn't even resist. He merely spread his arms and closed his eyes.

His head rolled on the floor a moment later. The floating orb of water dropped and splashed over his dissolving body.

"So, did it work?" I turned to Hazel.

She closed her eyes. "I think so. Everything looks a lot clearer. Before, I could just pick up on how big the spaces were down here. Now, I could tell you everything up to where they have stairs and where they have ramps."

I quirked a brow. "I'll keep that in mind. Guess it's time to ask for some godly help. Anyone in mind?"

Before she could answer, a pained scream echoed throughout the chambers and passages.

"Let go of us, you beasts! Let us g—ahh!"

I'd recognize the ferocity in that voice anywhere. Ashe.

With a cursory glance to Hazel, we came to a silent agreement.

Gods later. Nymphs now.

Without another word, we sped out of the chamber and to the cell block.

True to the word of the empousa, a group of dracanae were waiting for us at the entrance of the cells. A dozen or so of them, all arranged in a crescent shaped phalanx, blocked our entry, spears bristling over the tops of their shields.

"You ssshall not essscape! Throw down your weaponsss!"

"Fine," Hazel said, sheathing her spatha. "I don't need it anyways."

Her eyes closed, and for the briefest of moments, I actually wondered if she'd actually gone insane.

"You too, Jacksss— what?!"

My eyes went cloudy. As I blinked away what I assumed was nothing more than dust, my gaze was greeted to the scene of all twelve of the dracanae locked in combat with one another. Each of them screeched for my blood, and yet all that fell to their spears was each other.

I rattled my head, and through my dazed sight, I could almost see an image of myself among them, weaving in between every attack so they could only succeed in striking one another down.

"Die!"

The last two battled one another, until a rather unimposing dracanae managed to put her spear through her comrade's face.

With only one remaining, the fog lifted from our eyes. Nothing remained but a single dracanae panting as she grinned in victory, despite the piles of her fellow monsters' remains all around her.

Then her eyes fell to mine. "What?! How are you…?!"

Honestly, I didn't even know. I gave a cursory glance to Hazel, who couldn't seem to wipe her grin from her face.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long."

The dracanae didn't wait another moment. In some poorly thought out last ditch attempt to kill me, she charged forward, spear ready to skewer me. I just sidestepped her and grabbed the shaft before sending her face first into the wall. As she staggered around dazed, I snickered, partially in amusement, partially in pity.

"Maybe you can try again in a couple years."

With that, I severed her head from her shoulders. After her last moments of mist made mind fuckery, I figured she at least deserved a quick death.

My attention turned to Hazel. "Since when were your powers that strong?"

She shrugged her good shoulder. "For a while. Just couldn't use them while that so-called dampener was active. Remember, it took Reyna, Calypso, and me just to get a peak down here."

"Right… Well, in any case, after you."

The most she could do was smirk as she strode forward, though I could tell she was trying not to let her ego get the best of her.

I could sort of relate.

When we entered the cell block, I could help but feel a sense of deja vu. After my experience in Alcatraz, I wasn't too keen on exploring anymore than I needed to. The chamber was like a giant trash can, all the way down to the smell. Stone bricks, slick with moisture and other nasty stuff, rimmed the circular room. Three rows of cells poked into the walls, one stacked on top of another, like some sort of giant cog. A series of catwalks and stairs led their way up. In total, there looked to be thirty cells, and almost all of them had at least one or two nymphs inside.

"Ashe!" I called out. "Nimba! Rose! Thŷella! Where are you?"

No reply.

"Is it just me," Hazel said, "or does this seem a bit small?"

I frowned. "Well, maybe they don't need to have that many, assuming they charge enough." I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. Do you see any keys?"

She smirked and walked right up to the door of a cell. When she placed her hand on the lock, the nymphs inside recoiled and backed themselves into a corner.

"It's okay," Hazel said, her voice gentle. "We're here to free you all."

Still, they didn't come forward. Instead, they huddled in their corner and shook their heads.

Despite their protest, Hazel continued working… or whatever it was she was doing to the lock. After a few moments, she backed away.

"Um… No luck?"

"What, were you expecting me to just magically open the doors or something?"

"Sorta?"

She snorted. "I was memorizing the locking mechanism. Now that I know how the pins are set up, I can make some keys."

At that, she pulled out a silver nugget and gripped it tightly. Initially, nothing happened, but I'd spent enough time around her not to doubt what she could do with precious metals. My patience paid off when the lump of silver glowed. Soon, it thinned and stretched, shaping itself into not one, but two identical silver keys.

As she handed me one of them, her efforts to hide her grin failed completely.

"Handy," I said. "So, you take care of the cells down here, I'll head up."

"Yes, sir." She mocked a salute before turning her attention to the cell in front of her.

In turn, I rushed to the top, sprinting across the catwalks faster than I probably should have. In my desperate search for even a single familiar face, I had every cell door open within minutes, minus those that were empty, for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, even as I cleared the top two rows, I didn't see one sign of any of my nymphs.

Honestly, I thought freeing the nymphs would be easier. A simple matter of opening up a cell door, then they would rush out, ecstatic for their newfound freedom. Instead, pretty much every one of them pressed their backs to the walls of their cells. Even the most daring of them only took a step or two towards the door before retreating.

"Um, Hazel?" I called down. "Are you having any… difficulties?"

"If by 'difficulties,' you mean none of them leaving their cells, then yes."

"But why would they…"

Then it clicked.

I stepped back, positioning myself as close to the center of the room as I could, in sight of every nymph on the third level. "Listen, everyone, I can't even begin to imagine what you've been through. But what I can tell you is this slavery is over. No more pain and suffering. You're all free. Just follow Hazel and me, and we can get you all out of here. Your old masters are dead. Phorcys is dead. The guards. The trainers. All of them are dead."

"No!" One dryad cried out. "They are tricking us! Don't listen to them!"

"It's just a ploy!" Another oread shouted. "You saw how they took the others!"

"Others?" I stepped closer to the oread. "What others? You mean Ashe?! Who took them?! Where did they go?!"

She didn't volunteer any more information. Evidently, she was still under the impression that this was some sick test.

I gritted my teeth. As much as I didn't like using a binding oath as some sort of truth test, I couldn't think of any other way to convince them quickly. "I swear upon the River Styx that this is not a test. We are telling you the truth. Phorcys is dead. We are honestly trying to free you."

Much to my dismay, that didn't seem to convince them. Some even looked at each other in confusion, as if they had no clue what a binding oath was.

I won't lie, a part of me gave in to despair. What use was trying to free them if they wouldn't trust me? Though… I can't say I blamed them. After potentially years of training, torture, and who knows what else, would I be willing to trust the first person who came along offering freedom?

It was then that the beautiful creaking of the catwalk echoed throughout the hall. A single dryad stood, shivering in her threadbare chiton.

My heart swelled with pride. Despite her meek demeanor, she took the leap to trust me. "Head down to Hazel. We'll get you out of here."

She nodded and shuffled down the stairs. Soon after, another nymph stepped out of her cell. Then another. Then two more. Before my eyes, each and every nymph left their cell, and made their way to Hazel, who tried calming the more fidgety of the bunch.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Anyone else up here?"

"Here," a voice called.

I cocked my head. The voice came from a closed cell.

Did I seriously skip one?

Chiding myself for rushing, I hurried to the cell, only to discover it was completely empty. "Um, hello?"

"Hello," the voice replied.

I fell back, almost throwing myself off of the catwalk.

"Uh, Hazel? Could you come up here?"

"Up here!"

Thankfully, Hazel didn't take too long to reach me. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" the voice asked.

Even she recoiled, not expecting a voice from an empty cell.

"Any ideas?" I whispered to Hazel.

"I… I don't know. Is there such a thing as invisible…" Her eyes widened, and she bum rushed the cell bars. "Quick. Say something."

"Something."

She paled. "Echo?"

"Echo!" the voice replied excitedly.

"Uh, do you two know each other?"

"Percy, look into the middle of the cell. And I mean really look."

Figuring I didn't have much sanity left to lose, I narrowed my eyes and focused my attention on the center of the cell.

A pair of blue eyes stared back.

Once more, I heroically fell back in shock.

"Percy, this is Echo. The Echo. Leo and I met her a couple months ago. There was this big group of them around Narcissus and…" Her eyes widened. "No wonder… There were at least a dozen of them. And none of them would leave his side. They were practically sitting ducks."

"Sitting ducks," Echo agreed forlornly.

"Okay. Well… That's all in the past." I turned to Echo, whose form slowly became clearer. "Would you like to be free?"

"Like to be free!" she agreed, grasping the bars of the cell.

I didn't even have a chance to completely open the door to the cell before an invisible force slammed against me, nearly toppling me over the railing. Any thoughts that I was being attacked vanished the second a pair of lips pressed to mine.

Echo pulled away. For the briefest of moments, I could make out her image perfectly. From her vibrant blue eyes to her slender jaw, every detail was clear as day. But just as quickly as I could see her, the image faded, until I could just barely make out her form.

"I think she likes you," Hazel mused.

"Likes you!" Echo agreed, pulling me up along with her.

"I'll keep that in mind," I chuckled. "In any case, we need to get out of here."

"Get out of here," Echo said.

I sighed and shook my head, unsure if I should laugh or cringe.

Hazel laughed. "Trust me. You'll get used to it."

"Get used to it," Echo agreed smugly.

This time, I couldn't hold back my laugh. But as we made our way down the stairs, my thoughts turned to a more pressing matter. "My nymphs weren't in here. We both heard them." I leaned back against a wall once we reached the ground level. "As much as I want to help them, first I need to know where they are."

"Know where they are," Echo said.

Before I could try to react, she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the cell block and into the passageway. Though it took me a moment to realize it, she was pointing down the corridor, opposite the direction Hazel and I came.

"What's down there?"

"What isn't?" another nymph scoffed. "That leads to the commons, which can take you anywhere. But…"

I turned to her. "But what?"

She bowed her head. "If I were to guess, I would say they took the others to the furnace room. It's pretty much a death sentence for any nymph who goes in there. Only one nymph survived, and she went blind."

Thŷella!

"Where is it? How do I get there?"

"You can't miss it," she said, shaking her head. "The door leading to it is in the commons. Just look for the big metal door with a weird handle."

I turned to Hazel, who had her eyes closed. When she opened them, she nodded with a grim expression. "From what I can see, it's impossible to miss. It'll be on our right. Then it's just a massive spiral staircase down to it."

My jaw set. This mission was almost over. Just a couple more steps.

"Take them to the throne room. Meet up with everyone there. I'll be back with the others. Then we can figure out how we're going to get everyone out of here."

She grimaced. "Be careful, and… bring them back safe."

I nodded and started down the corridor, Riptide in hand. Whoever laid their hands on my nymphs was as good as dead. And if they hurt them…

I closed my eyes and shook the thoughts from my head. With a breath, I made my way to the furnace room.

The commons? More like "the pigsty." From upturned tables and chairs to stains and splatters along the floor and walls, it was clear that Phorcys didn't enforce any cleaning regimens. Or maybe the monsters were just that bad. Don't even get me started on the smell.

Fortunately, I didn't have to spend much time in there. The door mentioned by the nymph certainly stood out, like some weird mix of a vault door and a submarine portal. It probably could have withstood an assault from Briares, or Tyson if you locked a bunch of peanut butter sandwiches on the other side. That wasn't an issue for me though.

It was wide open.

I started down the winding spiral staircase with only Riptide as a light source. No torches. No luminescent moss. Not even the heated glow of the furnace down below. Nope. Just me and my trusty blade.

As my breaths echoed within the chamber, I could only pray that everyone was safe. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. My prayers are very rarely answered.

After about five minutes, the fluttering orange glow of a blazing fire outshined my blade. Guttural growls and yelps joined the cacophony of the roaring flames. As I stepped into the room, all sounds, save for the crackling of the open furnace, went silent.

Before me stood about twenty monsters. Telkhines, dracanae, cyclopes, even another empousa. And among them all were five nymphs, each bound in ropes, with a sack over their heads.

"That's far enough, Jackson!" a telkine said. "Another step, and they burn!"

To prove his point, he yanked back one of the nymphs and held her towards the flames. From the sound of her screams and the way she thrashed, it didn't take much to realize she was Ashe.

"Don't think we won't!" another growled. "Dozens, even hundreds of nymphs have been tossed in there. Of course, that's after we've had our fun with them. And normally, there are only a few pieces left to toss in the flames."

His grin sickened me to my stomach. He was holding Thŷella, if her dark purple skin was anything to go by. She was deathly silent, and didn't move a muscle beyond what he dragged her into doing.

"Come now," the empousa purred. "Why antagonize him?" She strode forward, clearly trying to add a seductive sway to her hips. The lopsided stride caused by her mismatched legs didn't make it all that seductive though. "Let us walk away, and there doesn't have to be anymore death."

I gritted my teeth. "I already gave everyone upstairs a chance to do that. Only a couple took me up on that offer. But you… you lost that chance the second you brought them down here." I lunged forward and grasped the empousa by the throat.

As she cried out, the telkhine shoved a screaming Ashe closer to the flames.

"Let them go!" I demanded, closing my grip on the empousa's throat.

She gasped and choked, despite the perplexingly euphoric grin on her face.

"Not a chance," the telkhine said. "Not until you swear you'll let us leave alive and unharmed!"

"Stop making things worse," the empousa choked out, suppressing a moan. "We're just having a bit of fun. Aren't we, Percy?"

In response, I pressed the tip of Riptide to her sternum.

"Swear it now!" the telkine shouted. "Swear it or she will burn in these flames!"

The flames in the furnace glowed brighter, before dimming to a crimson shade.

"Unfortunately for you," a feminine voice said, "the flames aren't yours to command."

All attention turned to the new figure in the room. She stepped out from the furnace, her eyes and hair alight with flames. Where once, she wore a brown shawl, instead only the flames curled around her like a fiery tornado.

Hestia.

But unlike almost every time I've seen her, she didn't offer a gentle smile, nor was her expression that of somber reminiscence. No. What expression burned into her face could be described as pure unadulterated rage.

"Percy," she said, her voice terrifyingly soft, "you know what to do."

Were it not for the one brain cell not awestruck by her fiery beauty, I would have been incinerated instantly. Fortunately, as her body started to glow, I followed my instinct and turned away.

None of the others did the same. Each and every one of them stood there, stunned by the presence of the goddess. Whether from fear, shock, or some odd fascination, none could turn away as she illuminated the room with her divine form.

Everything went dark. All the light, whether from the torches or the furnace, dimmed to near nothing. As I turned back around, there weren't even any piles of dust to show where the monsters were. Even the empousa I was holding was reduced to absolutely nothing.

I rushed to the nymphs, most of whom were still squirming in their binds. As I sliced off Thŷella's binds, Hestia, who was fully clothed once more, tended to Ashe's. She gazed at me with a somber expression.

"How? How did you know…?"

There were so many things I wanted to ask. How did she know we were in trouble? Or how to find us? Without Hazel, I wouldn't have stood a chance at navigating down here.

"Later," she said. "For now, let's concern ourselves with them." She gestured to the remaining nymphs.

The second I had the sack pulled off of Thŷella's head, I rushed to Nimba, who was rubbing her wrists raw in an effort to get out of the ropes. As I pulled them off, Nimba threw her arms around me and trembled.

"Thank you, Master."

I smiled and pulled off her sack. When she pulled away, I glanced down at her wrists. "We'll have to take care of these soon."

She only offered a shy smile in return before joining Ashe by Hestia's side.

Next for me to release was Rose, who'd gone completely still. She was still breathing thankfully, but as I pulled the sack from her head, a very prominent swelling over her temple revealed itself.

I didn't even have time to address it before Ashe let out a gasp.

"It can't be," she marveled.

I looked over my back. Ashe and Hestia were kneeling around the final nymph. Nimba sobbed, tightly grasping the unconscious figure to her chest.

"It is!" she cried out. "She's still alive!"

With a grunt, I picked up Rose and carried her towards the group.

"What's going on? Who's still…?"

The question all but answered itself.

While Nimba wept into the shoulder of the final nymph, I could help but notice how similar the two of them looked. Just as pale. Just as petite. Nimba raised her tearing eyes to meet mine, half laughing, half crying.

"Sierra's still alive!" she sobbed. "My sister is still alive!"

A/N - Yes yes, I know how long it's been. The last thing I need is my reviews berating me for the time between updates. If you're going to leave a review on the story, can we agree to make the review about the story? If you're seriously concerned about what's taking so long, how about reaching out instead of leaving scathing reviews that help literally no one?

Onto the chapter. Oh, the character introductions begin. Those on the server have known for quite some time that we would be having some new characters joining our roster. Echo is just being introduced for now. She won't be bedding Percy... yet. And the tale of two nymph lovers continues. This is more of a treat for those who've read the supplementary material in "A Lover's Inculcation." If you have read it, you'll understand what kind of drama bringing Sierra back could entail. If you haven't, just be sure you can stomach some much darker content if you elect to read it.

There's plenty of fun and gritty bits in this chapter for you to sink your teeth into, but what parts did you like? What parts didn't you like? Be sure to let me know. We've already surpassed a thousand reviews. Let's see how high those numbers can get (no spamming or trolling please). Furthermore, the artist who's been recreating the scenes from this story for the past year has recently joined the server. Why don't come and check them out and be sure to grant her the love she's earned. She's definitely earned my gratitude!

Nonetheless, the journey continues. How will Percy and his friends actually free all of these nymphs? After all, they can't stray too far from their life sources. Oh, to have such dilemmas... Be sure to leave your thoughts. Hug a friend or family member. Share the love. This is Ronin signing off.