For immortals, time changes slowly and yet fast. A day to them could be a month for mortals, but very little was consequential in their existences. So, whenever there was a change, gods would talk. Astrid already knew that the twins would end up spreading the word about what Ares was doing. The goddess did not expect to be able to stop them, but there was someone she wished to speak to before anyone else could sway her opinion. Astrid went back to her realm, getting her owl. She let it rest on her hand and nuzzle their heads together.

"Come on, Stormfly," she said, "we've got a friend to visit."

The bird understood and started leaving with Astrid. They both stopped when they reached lush greenery. In it, a dark-haired goddess was blessing a harvest. She turned with a grin when she sensed the blonde.

"Hey, Astrid. I haven't seen you in a few of your champions' lifetimes."

Astrid went over and gave her a hug. "I know, I'm sorry. I should have come around more often."

"I know that you're busy."

"Still, I don't want that much time to be between our meetings." Astrid paused, brows pinching together as she got out of the embrace. "Did you hear about the heroes being in danger?"

"I did, but I don't know any of them, so I thought that you'd be dealing with that."

"I'm not the only immortal trying to get involved."

"Is Fishlegs the other one?"

"No."

The answer was almost quiet, like Astrid did not want to follow-up with anything else. It only made Heather more curious.

"Who then? I know Ruff and Tuff aren't out there."

Astrid sighed heavily. "It's Ares."

"The same Ares with the red hair or did you meet another one?" Heather asked, eyes widening in shock.

"The same one."

"What…when? That doesn't seem like him."

"That's what I was thinking too. There's got to be a catch."

"There probably is. You know he's a trouble-maker. I don't even know why war and bloodshed have to be a domain. It would be fine if you had war on your own. At least then, there'd be more strategy than just brutality."

"Believe me, I agree."

The friends sighed, leaning against a tree. Heather looked over at Astrid.

"What now? Are you going to keep an eye on him?"

"I can't," Astrid stated, frustrated. "Not constantly anyway. That's why he's over there with Achilles right now. I have too many mortals I'm checking on to always watch Ares." Her frown slowly became more contemplative. "But that doesn't mean I can't watch him when I get the chance. It might be the only way to keep him from doing something dangerous that ends up killing my champions instead of helping them."

"If there's something I can do to help, let me know." Heather gestured around. "It's a beautiful summer."

Astrid chuckled slightly. "A self-directed compliment, I can respect that."

The brunette chuckled as well. "What I meant was that my work here is pretty much done. I can always get out to watch him if you're worried."

"Thanks. I might have to ask for that."

After a parting embrace, the friends split up again. While they went off in their own directions, the heroes were still on Sarpedon. The cousins would have stared at Dagur in shock if they had removed their blindfolds. Since they did not risk that, their mouth just fell open.

"How does breaking a temple hurt an immortal?" Hiccup asked. "They're just buildings."

"I get that it's weird," Dagur admitted, "but we need to get out of here and find a way to take down the gorgon first. Then I'll answer your questions."

That sounded fair to the young Berkians, so they focused on their mission again. Dagur went over to the bars, breaking several so that Throk would be able to leave.

"Huh, that's new," the redhead commented.

"What?" Hiccup inquired.

"The bars of this prison are stone, but they're made out of arms."

Snotlout shuddered. "Monsters need to stop making prisons out of people. What's next? Cages out of teeth?"

"Don't give them any ideas," Hiccup commented.

The boys listened as Throk stepped out of the prison. They all quieted down, trying to match the volume of sounds around them. This would be necessary if they wanted to escape. In an island of silence, any noise was noticeable. The group headed out of the cave, but they were not sure where to find the creature or how to deal with her yet. Despite their stealth, they worried they had been too loud. Along with this, Dagur thought of a concerning idea. He turned to Throk and lowered his voice.

"Why are you still alive?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why didn't the gorgon kill you?"

The boys stopped, coming to the same conclusion. It was odd. Killing the hero would have been simple. If he had remained in a cage with his eyes closed, surely, the monster could have taken his sword and run him through.

"It could be a setup," Dagur said.

"Or maybe she didn't want to kill him," Hiccup mentioned.

Dagur lifted an eyebrow and Hiccup could feel his cousin's doubtful look even beneath the fabric.

"I just don't know what other explanation there would be for this."

"Torture," Dagur offered. "I probably would've kept him alive to do that."

Hiccup did not argue, but he still was not certain if he agreed. All he knew for sure was that they needed a way to defeat their opponent without anyone taking it out on nearby temples.

"We might actually have to use your 'talking it out' method," Snotlout admitted. "Killing isn't an option this time."

"We cannot capture her either," Throk stated. "She said that some people have been given the task of coming by the island, listening for any signs of her distress."

"She really thought of everything."

Throk's mouth curved down and his head hung in shame.

"I apologize," he said sincerely. "I have never been taken prisoner before and now, it endangers all of you. If only she had not learned of my weakness."

"What weakness?" Hiccup inquired.

"My love of Atê. Uncle always said that it would lead to my downfall, but I just cannot change the way that I feel."

Snotlout frowned in confusion. "Are you really saying that your one weakness is being smitten by a goddess? You can't just get sore like the rest of us?"

Throk did not seem to understand the reason for the younger Berkian's irritated tone. There was a lot that Snotlout thought he did not understand. The heroic Achilles would never be dismissed or forgotten, yet he had time to pray to deities whose main purpose was to bring about chaos. Snotlout could pray to a goddess of order and still receive nothing. It was a challenge to not feel bitter. It was a challenge that he lost.

"You know what," he said, "I say we just kill the gorgon and spread the word that she won't be turning people to stone from the grave. If anyone doesn't believe us, we've got an actual immortal on our side. He's the bigger threat here."

Snotlout did not wait to hear the other's input before he ran off. Dagur found himself wondering if he should go after him or stay with the other mortals.

"He's going to need you more," Hiccup said. "I've got Throk here with me if something goes wrong."

"I'll be back soon," Dagur stated.

He sped up, hurrying after the young warrior. Snotlout had adjusted to only using his ears faster than Dagur expected. He was in a full sprint, not hitting anything. Snotlout was paying attention to every sound around him, from the birds to the gentle waves. It led him to murmurs. The boy stopped running and Dagur stopped too.

"She's over there," Snotlout said, pointing to the left.

Curious, Dagur followed his gesture and saw someone kneeling under a large tree. There was a woman with bright, reptilian eyes and snakes for hair. She stopped speaking when she heard Snotlout. Turning, she looked right at Dagur. When he did not become stone, she stood up and backed away.

"I told Achilles what would happen if I got hurt," she said.

"Yeah, we're caught up on that," Dagur mentioned. "Achilles stays here as your prisoner and you turn whoever you want into stone. We decided that we didn't like the terms of that deal."

Fear flashed in the gorgon's eyes. She moved back even further, looking for a weapon to use. Before Dagur could do anything, Snotlout spoke up.

"Let me do it," he requested. "Achilles might've lost, but I won't."

The immortal looked at him warily. He had heard that tone in the voices of some of his Spartan soldiers. It was one laced with the desire to demonstrate superiority to a comrade. Rarely did it end well for anyone. Dagur did not get to voice these concerns since Snotlout ran forward, sword drawn. The gorgon fell to the ground, then her legs turned into a tail. This helped her slither quickly. It was the type of change that Snotlout was not prepared for. He could fight someone without his eyes, but he had never practiced against a snake-person. Even with the hissing of her hair, the boy had no idea where to slice. He did this several times in vain. She was incredibly fast. The gorgon dodged another strike, slithering behind Snotlout. She reached up, pulling the blindfold off of his face. Instantly, Snotlout closed his eyes tightly. He could still do this. He had to. He was better than Achilles. He might have proven that had the warrior not interfered.

Snotlout almost opened his eyes when he heard the sound of a thud. Throk had run over and knocked down the gorgon. She glared up at him, then slithered into a hole in the ground. Dagur went over to it, frowning.

"This could take her anywhere on the island," he commented. "We can't leave before we get rid of this problem."

Throk nodded and Hiccup joined them, having taken longer to arrive than the warrior. The group started walking together again. The only one who did not was Snotlout. His eyes were open now that he knew the creature was not there. He saw where his blindfold had fallen from her hand and picked it up. Dagur noticed his absence and slowed down.

"Keep going to the right," he instructed, looking at the duo. "We'll catch up with you in a minute."

They agreed and continued their walk. Snotlout saw them go and sighed.

"You didn't have to stay back for me."

"I know. I'm an immortal. I don't have to do anything I don't want to do."

A small smile crossed the warrior's face at the implication. As soon as it was there, it was gone.

"He's always going to be better than me," Snotlout commented sadly. "I bet that even after all this, Throk will go right back to fighting monsters and everyone will treat him like their savior. It'll be like he was never a prisoner. No one will care that Hiccup and I helped. If anything, they'll think that we're the ones who got captured and he went to save us." The boy clenched his hands in frustration. "It's not fair. I train as hard as he does—maybe harder, but he's the one who's 'perfect' and there's nothing I can do about it. He's always going to be the amazing Achilles and I'll just be nothing."

Dagur had been quiet, letting the mortal speak his mind. Slowly, his face scrunched in a frown.

"I should smite you for that."

"What?" Snotlout asked, worried.

"You're calling me a bad judge of character. I wanted you and Hiccup on my team. If you were nothing, I wouldn't have."

The mortal was the one to be quiet after that. How quickly he had forgotten his own encouraging words to his cousin. He looked at the object in his hands. Maybe it was simpler to see the truth when doubt was not acting as a blindfold. Snotlout grinned and tied the fabric back on his head.

"Since I don't want to be smote, I guess I better stop talking like that."

"Too bad because I've been thinking up some really messed up ways to smite mortals," Dagur half-joked, laughing.

Snotlout laughed as well and they went to catch up with the others. It was more difficult to find the gorgon that they expected. The sun began to set and they still had not found her anywhere.

"We can't keep doing this," Dagur said impatiently. "We need to split up. It's the only way we'll get anything done. Just call me if something goes wrong."

After agreeing, the members of the group went off on their own. Throk kept his weapon firmly in his hand. Shame weighed heavily on his mind for having gotten the others in this situation, but he would not let it affect him in battle again. He grew frustrated by not hearing anything at all. It was like the monster had completely vanished. The others were not having much more fortune. They all were getting more annoyed. Hiccup started turning around to head back, but something caught his attention. He also heard murmurs. The boy recognized the pattern. It was like a desperate prayer. He had made so many of those himself that he knew them anywhere. Cautiously, he drew closer.

"Please," the gorgon prayed, "I've been loyal to a fault, no matter what you made me do. Don't let them kill me for it."

A feeling of sympathy entered Hiccup. He slowly kept walking and got spotted.

"I heard your prayer," he admitted. "You sounded scared. I know what that's like."

"You don't know anything about what being me is like," she hissed.

"I don't know what it's like to enjoy turning people to stone," he conceded. "But from the way you were talking, I'm not sure if you do either."

Hiccup could not see the gorgon's eyes widening. She recovered quickly, appearing calm again.

"I could kill you, young mortal," she threatened. "Have you thought of how it would be to feel yourself turning to stone? Your body doesn't become numb. It becomes cold to the point of burning as it changes. The island is silent now, but it used to be full of screams whenever I changed someone."

Hiccup felt a chill go down his spine and he tried to push away the fear.

"You're a fool for challenging me alone," she stated.

"I didn't say I was challenging you," he responded. "I think we can find a way to work this out."

The creature was taken off guard by his comment. When she spoke again, her voice was less hostile.

"How?"

"Ares made me realize it. You didn't kill Throk when you could have. Why keep him as a prisoner…unless you didn't want him to die. You're right. I don't understand what it's like being you. I'll never know what it's like to kill someone by just looking at them. Not only could it lead to a lonely life, but it could lead to more powerful beings taking advantage of you. If your prayer was any clue, that's what's going on."

The gorgon stopped speaking for so long that Hiccup thought she had left. It almost startled him when she suddenly spoke again.

"It's my life or theirs. Do you expect me to die for people who think I'm a monster?"

"No, but does that mean you really are being forced into this?"

After a briefer pause, she answered, "Yes, I can't disobey them."

Hiccup paid extra attention to her last word. So, Eurymedon truly was not working alone.

"What if you were protected?"

"You can't protect me."

"Why can't we?"

"You just can't. We're wasting time by talking about this."

"Are you working for Eurymedon?"

The gorgon made a small noise of amusement. "I'm not like those you mortals call monsters. He's not my king and he won't be."

"Then who were you talking about?"

There was a repeat of that long silence. Hiccup spoke in fear of her leaving without being willing to come to a compromise.

"If they're immortals, I could ask Ares to find someone who'd protect you. We just can't leave if you're going to turn people to stone. If you work with us, then we can make sure everyone's safe."

"Who would protect me?"

"Ares is an Olympian. I'm sure he could find someone willing to help out."

The thought was promising. It was almost too good to be true, but the gorgon did not mind risking it. What else awaited her? Eventually, people would realize her lie or not care either way. She would be slain. Her leaders already made it clear that her life meant nothing to them.

"What kind of life could someone like me lead?"

"You'd be surprised. In Ephyra, we got a minotaur to start helping around the kingdom. He's probably made a few friends by now."

The idea was so absurd that the gorgon laughed.

"Well, that's nice for the minotaur, but we aren't necessarily the same."

"Maybe not, but there's always a solution."

Hiccup reached to the back of his head, untying his blindfold. The gorgon watched him curiously. He kept his eyes closed and held out his hand.

"You could use this," he offered. "That way, you wouldn't have to think about keeping your eyes closed and you'd be able to interact with people."

"They'll never accept me."

"I thought the same thing, but you'd be surprised. There's always someone who's willing to."

Unsurely, the gorgon looked at him, then the fabric. She accepted it from his hand and tied it around her eyes.

"I bet that if you had glasses, that would help too," Hiccup said. "There'd be something between your eyes and other people's. If you give me some time, I could make them for you. It doesn't seem fair that you'd have to spend the rest of your life wearing a blindfold."

"You'd really do that?"

"If you agree to stop doing this to places."

Momentarily, she paused, then replied, "I agree to that."

"Great! Then I'll get started on those glasses."

Hiccup left to complete this task. On the way, he called out for Dagur.

"The mission is about to be over," he said.

He turned when the immortal appeared beside him. Dagur poked his head, noticing the missing blindfold.

"Look at who's trying to turn to stone."

Hiccup grinned and shook his head. "That shouldn't be an issue anymore. Let's go tell Snotlout and Throk."

The duo went to find the other members of their group, then the smallest Berkian relayed the information. Surprise was plainly on their faces. Snotlout had to clap.

"You somehow turned a stone-cold killer into someone who wants to go make friends with everyday people. That's pretty good."

"Thanks. Now, I just need to get these glasses made. I've never had to do that, so hopefully, they'll work."

The group scoured the island in search of materials which could be used. When they had everything, Hiccup began his project. They had to remain there for a day before the first pair was complete. The inventor looked at them as a worrying thought crossed his mind.

"I don't know how to test these out."

There was a tense silence, then Throk stepped forward.

"I will be the one she looks at," he volunteered.

Dagur put a hand on his shoulder. "Eh, buddy, Apollo saw you getting killed by her. Maybe this isn't the best idea."

"Then we shall see if that future was changed. This was my mission," the warrior stated. "Although words will never express my gratitude to you all for coming to my aid, it is my duty to see this through. The risks must be mine only to bear."

Snotlout crossed his arms in annoyance. "Again? Seriously? Why do you always have to act like you're so noble? There are faster ways to go down in history as heroic than getting turned to stone."

Throk looked at him calmly. "Fame isn't my goal, Heracles. Only protection is. If I were forgotten tomorrow but saved one life today, I would consider that to be a life well-lived."

Snotlout's frown faded as he blinked in shock. The other warrior sounded entirely sincere. He bravely walked towards the tree where Hiccup had found the gorgon. The others followed him. She was there again and turned upon hearing them.

"The glasses are done," Hiccup informed her. "We're going to see if these work. If they do, I'm going to make a few more pairs in case these get broken or lost."

The gorgon hesitated, realizing what he meant for her to do. "Are you sure?"

"We are," Throk answered confidently.

Slowly, the gorgon untied her blindfold and held out her hand. Hiccup placed the glasses in her palm. She put them on and took a breath.

"Are you right in front of me?"

"I am," Throk assured her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked back at her, remaining completely alive.

"Y-you're not stone," she said, shocked. "This actually worked."

Hiccup smiled happily. "Two more pairs are on the way! I should have them by the end of the day."

The boy returned to his work area to start the rest of his task. While he did, Snotlout went over to Throk.

"Did you really mean that?" he asked. "You'd rather help people than get the glory?"

"I would. If we fight for fame, can we truly call ourselves heroes? What's more, is there any prize better than seeing you've helped others?"

Snotlout thought back to the people of Ephyra and how much the villagers appreciated what had been done. He could not stop a smile from appearing on his face.

"I think we might actually agree for once."

The warrior smiled and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Snotlout asked.

"I cannot stay. There are more places that need help. Danger has been everywhere."

"It's extra bad for heroes like you too, so be careful out there."

"I will be. You do the same. I hope that the next time we meet, we'll have stories to share of our deeds over Greece."

Snotlout grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that too."

With a wave, Throk started creating a raft that he would use for his travel. He did it so quickly that Snotlout would have been jealous before, but he just felt impressed. His cousin was not really competition so much as someone else trying to help. Greece needed all the heroes it could get and Snotlout was glad that it did not lose another one. While Throk sailed away, Dagur sensed someone hiding.

"Now, who's the one sneaking around?" he inquired smugly.

When he spun, he saw Astrid. She moved from behind a building, still invisible to the mortals.

"I wasn't sneaking. I was just making sure you did this right. I had some time after training another champion."

"Well, it's good that you're here. Do you know somebody who could help keep an eye on this gorgon? She agreed to not go around killing mortals, but as part of her deal, she has to be protected."

"From whom?"

"That's the big mystery of the week."

Astrid hesitated before nodding. "Demeter would probably help. I'll ask her."

"Good."

Dagur expected Astrid to immediately leave, but she did not.

"Were you in a more talkative mood today or something?"

"No, I was thinking about…"

Dagur followed her gaze. It was on Hiccup.

"If you're curious about the mortals, you could just talk to them instead of spying. It's kind of creepy."

The blonde frowned at him. "I'm not curious. I'm going to ask Demeter to see what she can do." She was about to leave, then stalled. "Thanks for helping Achilles."

Dagur grinned and it was not mocking like Astrid anticipated.

"You're welcome," he said.

The goddess said nothing else as she left to find the other immortal. As promised, later that day, Hiccup had the last of the glasses done. He went to give them to the gorgon and stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm curious, what's your name? It seems weird to make you something and just know you as 'the gorgon.'"

"I'm Medusa. What's your name?"

"I'm Daedalus."

Medusa's eyes widened and her face clouded over. The trio noticed this and tensed up. She looked at Snotlout.

"Are you Heracles?"

"Yeah."

"What's the matter?" Hiccup inquired.

"I'm not around the monsters often, but I know my former bosses weren't happy about you getting involved in all this."

"We found that out," Snotlout stated. "Eurymedon seems very excited about us dying slow, painful deaths."

"He's the least of your worries."

"What are you talking about?" Dagur asked. "Who else are we fighting?"

"I can't say."

"You just don't want to," he accused, becoming angry.

The immortal's fury was going to cause Medusa to say even less. Hiccup saw this and put a hand on Dagur's arm.

"It would be really dangerous for her if she did."

"It would, but I can tell you this much," Medusa said, eyes serious. "There are two very powerful beings outside of him who want to see you both die. They'll never stop trying to make that happen, so keep doing your quest if you want, but watch your backs or you might wake up in the Underworld."

Medusa was said to be one of three gorgons, the other two being her sisters. In more classical Greek myths, she was a hideous monster with snakes in her hair and the ability to turn people to stone whenever they looked at her. Unlike her sisters, Medusa was mortal, something that she quickly learned to regret when the hero, Perseus, chopped off her head. Her head was given to Athena for safekeeping and the goddess put it in her shield. Here, I wanted Athena to be given Medusa for safekeeping in another way. In a more Roman-based myth, Medusa was a beautiful woman who was attacked by Poseidon and turned into this creature to protect her in the future. That version makes me sad, so I prefer the idea that she is a monster but can still have humanity. (Also, I had to throw in Achilles's heel: AKA his love of Ruffnut because that's all I could think of as soon as I decided that Throk would be Achilles)