Okay, just for reference, I know that the stories of the Greek Gods are numerous and have many different versions of the same one. So I'm gonna give a brief gloss over of the Gods again, and we'll use these versions just for this story, so that everyone's on the same page.
However, we will have the story of Medusa shown at one point. The sadder version containing Rape. I will have a warning prior to that section, so you will be able to skip it completely if you want or need to. It is non-graphic, and simply stated, but I wanted to warn you anyway.
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Levi POV
I jolt awake to a loud alarm blaring, waking both of us up. Eren growled softly and jumped to his feet, grabbing his sword and adding "Pants are in the trunk at the end of the bed." Darting out of the room within moments. I grab out a pair of shorts and reach into the pocket, realizing I left my blade in my other pants. Shitty mother fucking shit! I out onto the upper deck anyway, seeing quite a few of my fellows in the same state of disarray as they watch the others on deck with awed expressions.
I push to the front, Erwin moving to the side as I finally get a view of what on earth happened while I slept. We'd landed in the water, and were floating along it toward the Camp. However what drew my attention was the color of the water, which was a deep shade of blue. The waves crested with white before they crashed back down into the waters below, lapping at the side of the ship. The sky itself was a beautiful and expansive blue without a cloud in sight. I blink quickly and look back down toward Eren and the other Demigods.
Jason and Eren were taking down these weird dog creatures, but were oddly human like with weird half flipper feet. Jason stood in the usual purple shirt and pants, but had golden armor on his body as well, matching the sword in his hand. Eren was a bit more underwhelming, only his sword in hand and shirtless torso. However you could see the striking differences between the two fighting styles.
Eren's fighting style was more based on constant movement, slashes and pivots that made him almost impossible to surround, but also made him have a full view of the battle around him. Jason had a stiffer approach, like he was used to fighting in larger groups rather than one on one. His moves almost always returned to the same point before he attacked the next one. I notice however as they fought that Eren and Jason both had the same kind of tattoo, but his had a bird instead.
I notice Frank had taken a spot some distance away and was picking off a few of them, the same Tattoo on his arm, yet it had a pair of crossing spears. The bars under each was different, making me wonder what they meant. Hazel and Piper took down the last Monster as Annabeth comes out from the control room with Leo and quizzes "Any more Telekhines? Everyone okay? Anyone injured? If so go straight to the infirmary. We did figure out how they tricked our sensors, so it won't happen again."
We nod as the others look themselves over, everyone seeming to be alright as they walk back over to us. Leo walks over to me and hands me a sword, which is the one I left in my pocket. "Here you go, it nearly went through the washer." He explained before walking back off into the cabin of the ship. I put my blade into my pocket, causing more than a few stares as Eren moves through the crowd enough to give me a hug before sleepily asking "Can we get food now?"
I snort and pull him down below deck, everyone else following. We all crowd into the Mess hall again and tiredly ask for food before munching on what we ordered. I had a tomato and cheese omelette, which tasted heavenly. After we ate Connie asks "Hey Eren? Can you explain the Gods to us? Since we don't really know about them…" Eren nods and answers "Sure. Just let me get a shirt on then we can go on deck and talk. That way we can keep watch and I can explain."
They all nod as he exits, Annabeth standing and adding "We have clean clothes if you would like to change or shower before this." She got more than one accepting nod, people rushing to the bathrooms they had in their room with a small bag of clothes. I stretch and walk from the table, Annabeth handing me a bag and adding "I know Eren will have a shirt or two but the pants here should fit you."
I nod and accept them before walking over to our room and walking in, seeing Eren pull on a shirt. I grin before opening the bag and changing, pulling on a pair of tight black pants that reminded me of the uniform pants. Eren handed me a smaller camp shirt. I glare at him as he laughs and says "Everyone's got at least one, it'll make you match me!" He strikes a stupid pose with his shirt while giving me a warm smile.
I laugh softly at him before yanking the offending colored shirt on. "I look weird." I immediately state, glancing at the mirror. The orange made me seem paler than I already was, while it looked nice on Eren, I looked like a pumpkin vomited on me. Eren shakes his head, "I think you look nice, but I can find you something else if it really offends you." Eren chuckled out after a moment. I huff a moment before grumbling "No, it's a camp shirt. I'll be fine, the others probably have them on too right?" Eren nods before we go to leave.
"Levi, sword?" Eren inquires as I go toward the door. "Shit." I swear as I grab my pants from where I folded them and pull the blade out of the pocket and replace it within the pants I'm wearing now. Eren and I make our way to the upper deck, Leo and the others having already appeared. Mike walked up less than a minute later, wearing a large orange shirt and light blue pants. He sent me a nod before walking over toward his brother, talking of the ship as we wait for everyone.
It took about thirty minutes before Everyone made their way upstairs, Hazel taking some kind of pill as she stepped on deck. "Seasickness." Eren helpfully explained as she moved over and stood by Frank. Once everyone was on deck Eren took center stage again and began "The story of the Greek Gods and Goddesses is long and slightly confusing. Normally, it is very bad to say the name of a godly being, but just for this we will be using their actual names."
I leaned against the railing nearby as Eren continued with "In the beginning, there was many primordial beings. The two we're actually going to talk about were called Uranus and Gaea…" I saw a few people flinch at the second name, like Eren had the first time. "They were the Primordial God of the Sky and Goddess of the Earth. Together they had many children, the main four we'll speak of right now are Oceanus, Tethys, Rhea, and Kronos. Now, these four beings were known as Titans, no not like the monsters you fought."
The looks of horror that went across everyone's faces was expected, but Eren kept on speaking. "Oceanus was the Titan of the sea, his sister Tethys, who was a Titaness of no true area. Their brother Kronos became the Titan of Time, and Rhea, also a Titaness of no true area. Now this is where it gets a bit weird. Oceanus married his sister Tethys and Kronos his sister Rhea. Together, Tethys and Oceanus have over three thousand children, one for each body of water and steam in the world." The looks of disgust make me snicker as Annabeth and Hanji move to my sides.
"Eventually, Gaea became angry at Uranus, which is an entirely different story, and went to each of her children, asking them to punish him. Eventually, her son Kronos agreed, taking the sickle she made and using it to attack and castrate his father, throwing his genitals into the sea, thus taking his throne and naming Rhea his queen. There was a bit of controversy over how it all happened, but that's the jist. However, it gets even better." Leo and Mike start suddenly handing out folding chairs that stick to the metal deck with magnets for everyone to sit.
Many people are leaning forward and watching excitedly, some of the guys even pressed their legs together at the mention of castration. "Now, some time later Kronos gets a prophecy. He would lose his throne the same way he took it, at the hands of his children the Gods. Fearing this prophecy, his took steps to prevent it. When Rhea gave birth to his first child, he swallowed her whole." More than one person jumps as Petra shouts out "HE ATE HIS KID?" Before flinching at the sudden movement.
Eren nods and continues "He ate all of her siblings as well, until Rhea couldn't take it anymore. Upon the birth of her last child, a young boy birthed in crete, she instead swaddled a stone in the blankets meant for her son and handed them to Kronos, who ate it instead of the child. If you were gonna eat a child, would you look too close to it? No you wouldn't. Now, no one really knows how the last child, named Zeus, hid from his father as he grew, but he managed it.
Many years later he snuck into the palace of his father and gave him a drink of Mustard and Wine. This forced him to vomit profusely, and disgorge his siblings that had been growing in his father's stomach due to their immortality. Now adults from there time within the Titan, the began a war against the Titans." I grimace again at the thought of growing up in a stomach. That must have sucked.
"The Gods defeated the Titans, and thus released the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires from their prison. Zeus and his two brothers Poseidon and Hades helped him take the scythe that Kronos wielded, using it to hack his body into tiny little pieces and casting them into the Pits of Tartarus." Eren shivered slightly at the last name, Annabeth doing the same. Everyone outside of our group got a darker look at the name as well.
"Once the war was won, the Gods gained the right to rule the earth. Thus, Zeus became God of the Sky, wielder of the Thunderbolt and ruler of the Gods home on Mount Olympus. Poseidon became the God of the Sea, wielding a Trident. Hades became God of the Underworld, wielding the Helm of Darkness. To us, we know them as 'The Big Three' as they are the most powerful Gods. Along with them were there siblings Hera, the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth and family. Demeter, the Goddess of agriculture, fertility, and the harvest. And Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, home, domesticity, family, and the state. Here is where we get a little confusing."
I glance over and suddenly see Jason standing in what looks like a weird white dress with a thunderbolt in his hand, posing in a weird manner like he was going to throw it. Leo lead Buford over to him and told him to stand still before setting up a decent sized statue on him, made of metal and fabric. "Now, Zeus married his sister Hera and made her his Queen. The next Gods we'll talk about are the Olympians. These are the Twelve major Gods more or less." Eren continued as I saw Jason take the statues hand and smile at her.
Oh god they're acting it out. I blink at them as Eren glanced back at them and snorted. "Really? Okay then." He walked over as Leo grabbed out another dress thing, this one a light blue with a seashell chipped at the shoulder and hands it to Eren, letting him pull it on as Frank tossed him a Trident from a chest he must've brought. Eren walks back over to the others, making people raise quite a few eyebrows as Eren laughed out "Afterwards I'll explain."
They nodded as Annabeth playfully pushed me over to the rest of the dressed group and whispered "Hades! He'll be perfect." I groan softly as she moves over to other people. They hand me a black dress thing and whisper "It's called a Toga. Like this." Frank handed me a bronze helm and a black shield. The urge me over toward the left of Jason/Zeus so I can stand with the shield braced on the deck and held in place by my hand. My sister Hazel walked over to my side in a softer, golden shade with few stands of wheat in her hands. So she's playing Demeter.
She smiles and confirmed "Were displaying the Olympians, we wanted to do Hestia too, but we didn't have enough people, and didn't want to portray her as a boy either." I nod as Eren takes the stage again added, "When Uranus was castrated, Kronos threw the removed parts into the ocean, creating a white foam. This crashed upon the sandy beach and formed Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Sexuality." More than one person flinches at the remembrance of castration as Reiner asks "Wait. Testical foam made a person?" We all nod as Piper walks over to them, wearing a light pink toga as she stands beside the others, holding an apple.
"The first to be born from Zeus and Hera was Ares, the God of War, the Eldest of Zeus's children with Hera." Frank walks over in a white toga with armor on with a shield and spear, proudly looking down at us. "The second to be born was Hephaestus, God of Fire and Blacksmiths. However, he was born disfigured, so Hera had him thrown from Mount Olympus as a child. This disfigured him further, and it was a very long time before he returned to Olympus. Though some say she did it herself." Leo walked over, yet stood a bit away from them as he began tinkering with something.
"Now, Athena, through a far longer story, burst forth from Zeus's cracked skull, fully clothed in armor as the Goddess of Wisdom and War." Eren continued as Annabeth walked over to us, cloaked in a silvery gray toga and carrying a shield and holding a tiny figurine in her hand, which she poses with it to let it stand in her hand. (AN: She's posed like the Athena Parthenos.) "After this, Zeus laid with a woman named Leto. Hera, consumed with jealousy went to Leto as Queen of the Gods and banned her from giving birth upon any land or island. Eventually, Leto finds the floating Island of Delos, who allowed her to give birth upon it.
First came Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, the Moon, Childbirth and Archery. Moments after being born she helped her mother give birth to her twin Apollo, God of Music, the Sun, Knowledge, Medicine and Archery." Hanji and Erwin both walk over, cloaked in silver and gold respectfully. Hanji had a bow in her hands, and Erwin had an odd looking harp. They both stood with the rest of us as Eren continued on.
"Later, Zeus laid with a women named Maia. She conceived, and birthed Hermes within a night. Before dawn, he had left his mother's side and traveled from her cave. He ended up stealing red cattle that are sacred to Apollo, when Apollo found out he was enraged, but Hermes calmed him down by trading him a Lyre that he created. Apollo accepted, and so Hermes joined the other Gods on Mount Olympus as the messenger of the Gods and the God of god of trade, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes and border crossings." Mike steps over to us in a white Toga with a winged helmet on and winged shoes.
"Dionysus is the next one in line, however he was born a Demigod. Would you like to take this one Pixis?" Eren looked over to the older male, who stood in a deep purple toga with a large bronze goblet. "I think I shall my boy. Now, Dionysus was the child of Zeus and a woman named Semele. When Hera heard of her, she changed her appearance and befriended her. After a time, she convinced her to reveal the name of Dionysus's father, and expressed doubt when she said Zeus."
He takes a sip of the goblet, which I would bet money on is full of whatever foul concoction he keeps in the flask of his. He cleared his throat and continued "She prayed that Zeus would show himself to her, in the glory of the God that he is. He asked that she not wish this of him, but she pressed, and he agreed. He came to her, body wreathed in bolts of lightning, causing her to perish in the light of the God. For mortals cannot gaze upon a God's true form without dying."
"Wait, if she died, how was he born?" Armin suddenly asks, looking confused as Petra adds "Unless he was like Hermes and was born already?" Pixis shakes his head and adds "Zeus searched through the ashes of her body and found her womb, stitching it to his own thigh and carrying Dionysus to term. He was born later on the island of Ikaria." Eren returns to his side and explained "Now. Hephaestus, who had been thrown from Mount Olympus, eventually made Hera a beautiful golden throne."
"Wait. She may or may not have been responsible for how he was thrown from a fucking mountain and he makes her a present?" Aurou suddenly interjects, looking confused as heck. Eren holds up a hand and adds "When she sat upon it, it trapped her, forcing her to sit upon it until he saw fit to free her. When the other Gods rushed to him, asking him to free her, he simply replied with 'I have no Mother' and refused. Eventually, Dionysus gets him drunk and brings him to Mount Olympus. After a bit of work he joined the Gods as an Olympian."
They all no in understanding as Jason steps forward and takes a stance beside Eren, Hazel following him. "Of the Big Three, there is one of each that have been claimed on board. I am Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, Roman God of the Sky, Slayer of the Trojan Sea Monster, Destroyer of the Titan Krios and a Hero of the Seven." Jason than states, standing proud and tall as he stares out at the others, small bolts of lightning crackling across his body as the wind picks up slightly.
Eren chuckles and states "Well if we're playing that game. I am Eren Jaeger, Son of Poseidon, Greek God of the Sea, Savior and Hero of Olympus, Slayer of the Minotaur, Leader of the Greek army, Head of Cabin Three and Hero of the Seven." I gaped at him, the ocean spraying a brief mist of water, creating a sparkling addition for a moment, surprised at all the titles he has, yet Hazel steps forward with a laugh and states "Mine aren't anywhere as interesting as theirs. I am Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto, Roman God of the Underworld, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort and favorite of Lady Hecate, the Goddess of Magic."
I blink at her, surprised that my sister also has rather interesting titles. Annabeth steps forward and states "To continue, I am Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus and Hero of the Seven." Frank steps forward after that, moving to be beside Hazel and states "I am Frank Zhang, Child of Mars, Legacy of Poseidon, Praetor of the Twelfth legion, Hero of the Seven." Wait, What's a legacy? Piper stepped forward after that, standing beside Jason and stating "I am Piper McLean, Daughter of Aphrodite, Head of Cabin Ten, Hero of the Seven."
Finally Leo jumped forward, grinning and proclaiming "AND I AM THE GREAT LEO VALDEZ, SON OF HEPHAESTUS, HEAD OF CABIN NINE, HERO OF THE SEVEN AS WELL AS THE SUPERSIZED AWESOME LORD AND SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE ARGO II WITH BUFORD THE TABLE!" Said table happily runs up, statue wobbling precariously on its surface as it moved to the front of the group. I laugh, trying to hide a smile at his titles, watching the others laugh and hug the smaller boy. The looks of awe had vanished from the group on favor of laughing.
Eren moves back from the group and over to me, I'm swept into a hug, humming at the warmth despite the hot sun. "Let's go on in, it's been at least two hours. Wanna grab food before we continue?" He asks as he pulls away, I nod before handing the stuff back to Frank, who easily places it back within the trunk he had. I blink and ask "Hey Frank, what's a legacy?" He blinks back in surprise as the others crowd around and answers "A legacy is a child of a demigod. Somewhere in my family tree was a Demigod of Poseidon."
Erwin perks up then and asks "So… How are you related to Eren?" Eren shrugs and answered "Well, if you really think about it I'm his great, great, couple thousand more greats, Uncle. So you could more or less call him my Nephew with a lot of distance." I nod and pull off my Toga, Eren doing the same before we wander down into the ship, letting out a relieved breath to be out of the heat. "Over food I can tell you about my Quests!" Jason says with some excitement, the others starting to pick up the pace as Eren offers me a hand. One I take with a very small smile.
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Levi POV - Sundown
I groan tiredly, adjusting the armor Eren had gotten me. "It's just guard duty Levi, tomorrow we can sleep as long as we like, and most likely won't have to guard again. Besides, it's just us two and Mike in the control room watching the sensors. Be happy Leo is getting some sleep, he didn't like to rest the last time I was on this ship." Eren gently explains, bumping his shoulder against me. I huff nonetheless, giving my sword a small swing. The weight of it still felt off, and the armor was something I wasn't used to.
"I don't like the armor, it's heavy and annoying." I huff once more, rolling my shoulders. He chuckles and shakes his head and saying "If I could, I'd go to the Underworld and ask your father for Stygian armor like Nico has. But that's something I'll have to do with you later I guess." I nod as he leans slightly against me, the both of us braced on the right side of the doorway to the rest of the ship.
I grab his right arm gently, pulling it up to waist height before running my fingers gently over the raised skin of his arm Tattoo. "What does it mean?" I ask him as I peer up at him. His expression blanks a moment before he explains "It stands for Senātus Populusque Rōmānus. The Roman Senate and People. When you become a Roman Demigod, you join a Cohort based on what family you have and what your standing is in New Rome. It's like the Military in the walls, except you don't get to pick your Cohort. Once you join, you get a brand. This shows how many years of service you have performed, and whose child you are."
He gently points out the Trident and adds "That means that I was seen as a child of Neptune, the God of the Sea that they worship. Each line shows a year of service, but once I was revealed as a Greek Demigod I updated it to show all the years I survived as a Demigod." I nod along, watching his arm with interest. "Legacies have a blended brand, such as a child of Mars and Vulcan will have a spear and hammer crossed."
I hum in acceptance and ask "Why did you join the New Roman military?" He chuckled and said "Well. Thats a long story… But it started when Hera wiped my memory and sent me off to live and train with Lupa the Wolf. She trains all Roman Demigods. I learned something called 'Wolf Stare' from her. It's what I accidentally used while we were back in town. The best way to explain it would be to look at someone and know that no matter how bad you may think you are, they are ten times worse."
"She did what." I practically hiss out, anger spiking as the shadows around us deepen, dropping the temperature around us by at least five degrees. He doesn't even seem surprised as I shove the shadows away from me, making them return to normal. "Jason and I had our memories wiped and we were placed in opposite camps by Hera/Juno so she could jump start a quest. This was the Quest of the Seven. It was a team of seven Demigods that went from Rome to Greece, and returned alive."
His voice sounded slightly pained as he said 'alive'. "What happened?" I softly ask, wanting to know but not wanting to pressure him into anything. He took a breath before I add "You don't have to tell me…" He shook his head and insisted "No, I want you to hear it from me, not someone else. It was bound to come up anyway..." I nod slowly as he looks out across the water, eyes slightly glazed over as he watched it for a moment.
After a moment he breaks the silence by saying "When Rome took over, and the Greek Gods became the Roman Gods, it caused them to get a dual personality. One Roman, one Greek. Part of the reason this happened was because over the course of things, the statue of Athena from her Parthenon was stolen, and the Romans stripped her of most her abilities.
This caused many Greeks to be angry and never really forgive them. Thus, when the Greek and Roman groups fought, the Gods couldn't help either side due to being dilapidated from both personalities warring. None of the most prominent Gods could even move. Before the battle between our two camps was even thought of, Athena/Minerva went to Annabeth and sent her on a quest to find her statue. After a bit, Annabeth accepted. She did eventually find it, the first Demigod to do so since it was lost, so many years ago. It was being guarded by a being called Arachne."
"Who was Arachne?" I softly ask, watching him carefully. He sighs and explained "Their are many versions of the story. Yet the jist of it was simple. A woman named Arachne was born into a lower class family, and she had a gift for weaving. Her tapestries were so beautiful, and so very lifelike, that she was praised by many. After a time, all of the praise went to her head, and she boasted of her great abilities. When someone asked if she had been perhaps blessed by Athena, the Goddess who created weaving, she scoffed and stated that Athena could learn a thing or two from her."
I grimace, knowing it isn't going to end well. "Athena came to her, hidden as an old woman, and warned her that she shouldn't be quite so boastful. She continued to be so, saying that if Athena found trouble with her boasting, she should come and prove Arachne's boasting false herself, if she could. Athena revealed herself then, and challenging Arachne to a battle of weaving. Arachne's hubris forced her to accept, believing she could win.
Arachne and Athena set up their respective loom's in a room back to back and began to weave, working from dawn till the light had faded completely. Then they looked upon the others work. Athena had created a tapestry showing the gods in a good light, showing the greatness and light. Showing wise mortals who paid homage to them, and showing those who didn't being punished with death or transfiguration." I grimace slightly.
"A warning for Arachne?" I ask and Eren shrugs. "Arachne's tapestry however showed the Gods in a bad light. The bad things they had done, like Zeus kidnapping Europa, my father chasing Demeter as a Stallion and so on. It was the most scathing review the Gods had ever received, and Athena knew it too. However, none could say that Arachne's weaving wasn't worthy. It was so lifelike and stunning that Athena was forced to admit a tie.
However, due to such a scathing review and anger at being treated so poorly by a mortal, she leapt to her feet and began to beat Arachne with the shuttle from her loom. The crowd, which had been drawn by the competition, began to laugh and belittle Arachne for her misfortune. Later, when Arachne had stepped away and was left to sit in her own shame and self hatred, she hung herself in an attempt to die.
Athena felt pity for her, not having wanted the exquisite weaver to die. So she transformed Arachne into a half spider creature, so she and all her children could weave forever, thus creating spiders. However, Arachne hated Athena for this, and so all her children hate Athena and her demigod children." He concludes, moving to lean against the mast of the ship, letting me lean beside him and ask "So Arachne later found the statue?"
He nods and says "We had been on the Quest for a while. Just the seven of us and Coach Hedge. Then Annabeth had to go on that Quest, and we had to find her. We found her and Arachne in a cave under a shop, the ground was crumbling beneath the weight of the statue, spider thread hung from the walls beside tapestries of such perfection it looked like a window into the time it appeared.
Annabeth had caught Arachne in a trap made by the woman herself, but her struggling broke the floor and Arachne plummeted into the darkness below us. Annabeth had injured her ankle, and was coated in dirt and faint lines of spider silk. We rushed to save her, but she insisted we help her get the statue into the ship first. So I jumped down and helped the others, the ground cracking and shaking beneath us as we rushed to get the statue inside the belly of the ship."
I see his hand had clenched into a fist, knuckles white from the strain. I grab onto his hand, feeling him grab onto me tightly as he keeps talking, eyes slightly glazed over. I knew he wasn't just telling me this, he was going over it again in his head. "You could feel it. The pull, the deep, gut clenching tug that the place had. Because it wasn't just a drop into another area. Below our very feet was a shaft to the Pit. To Tartarus.
Just as we had gotten everything inside the thread that Annabeth had on her drug her off, She was screaming as the thread dragged her toward the Pit, Arachne pulling Annabeth along with her. I grabbed her, getting drug into the edge before I could grab onto something. And that's where we were, the ground crumbling around us, one arm holding Annabeth from the Pit, one arm clutching a tiny outcrop of rock as the weight slowly increased.
I managed to tell Nico to meet us at the Doors of Death before they all managed to get away, and I let us drop into Tartarus." He said, voice soft as he moved, burying his face in my hair and I pull him into a hug. "We fell, for what felt like hours, before we finally landed, however I made us land in the river of Woe to save our lives, but it nearly killed us.
We traveled after that, making out way through the Pit, heading to the Doors of Death, which were our only ticket out of the Pit. They are a one way ticket back to the land of the living, without any questions. However, you have to have someone on the topside to let you out, or else it doesn't end well." He half whispered, shaking slightly.
"It was… Scaring. Annabeth and I still have nightmares about it, as does Nico. Annabeth hurt her ankle, worse than you did yours, and we were partially running for our lives. Annabeth was unarmed for a good bit of it, and all we could do was pray we would make it out alive. I can still feel it, the poisoned air, tainting everything around it with pain. I can sometimes almost taste it in the back of my throat, burning like the fire of the river Phlegethon…"
He leaned a bit closer to me and says "We made it to the doors, ever so barely, and I lost two very special friends… He wanted to see the stars again, he truly enjoyed them. He couldn't escape with us, and it's something I regret…" He suddenly shakes himself, shaking free of the memory and smiling softly. He then asks "Want to hear about my first Quest? I got quite a bit of praise for that one." I snort, and let the previous subject drop and say "Sure brat, I bet you broke something." He scoffed and began to speak again.
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Levi POV - Next Morning
(AN: I will be going over the story of Medusa in this bit. The sadder version, which contains Rape. Please, if this is triggering at all simply skip this section and continue on to the next page break.)
I triedly walk down the stairs, a little worse for ware then I was before. Eren and I ended up fighting off a few monsters, nothing to big though. Meaning Eren killed them so fast I only got to take on one of the six. I make a beeline for our room, yanking off my armor and climbing into a shower, hearing Eren snort behind me as I hastily scrub the monster dust from my limbs and hair.
I swear to god the shit sticks to you like fucking glitter. I grumble under my breath as I end up spending a good thirty minutes just trying to get rid of the monster dust, finally exiting the shower after I was scrubbed completely clean, and a light shade of pink from the heat. When I finally exit I find a note from Eren, telling me again where the spare clothes were and that he ran to borrow Annabeth's shower.
I dress into something I wouldn't mind sleeping in as the door opens, Eren walking in with a small smile. "You finally return! You okay?" I nod and yawn softly. He snorts before yawning himself, making me snicker. He shakes his head and asks "Food? Then we can sleep?" I nod and grab his hand, Eren smiling and leading me to the mess hall area. Erwin and his siblings wander in a minute after us, grabbing plates and setting them beside us before sitting themselves.
Were mostly silent as everyone steadily makes there way down to here, save Hazel and Frank, who relieved us of guard duty. We were all mostly asleep as we ate, my main thought on bed as I hear Armin suddenly ask "Hey Eren? Jason was talking about Spoils of War last night, he said you once had the Head of Medusa. What's that?"
The effect was instant, as everyone of the newer Demigods perked up at the prospect of learning something new. However, the older all got a darker look as Eren grimaced. He moved his empty plate away and propped his elbows up on the table. He sighs and says "Not every story about the gods is good, nor is everyone the absolute 'truth'," He signed exaggerated quotation marks before adding "Some are sad and painful and make us angry and hurt. The story of Medusa is one of them."
He adjusted a bit and said "This is the version my mother told me, many years ago, when I was far younger. There are two other versions that I know of, but this is the one I find is most likely true." Annabeth looks saddened as she changed her glass of tea for a cup of what looks like chocolate milk.
"There was once a woman named Medusa, and she was the most stunning woman many had seen. She had long, golden colored hair, and was beloved by many people. She had a flock of men who wished to wed her, but she refused them all, as she was a priestess of Athena, and had swore a vow of chastity." I see Pixis' eyes widen as he seems to realize how this story goes and grimaced into the goblet he apparently kept.
Everyone seems to notice the mood of it all as Eren's face falls and he says "One day, she was seen by Poseidon, who was bewitched by the beauty of the priestess. She refused his advances, and had her sisters help her flee into Athena's temple. Believing that Poseidon wouldn't dare enter the sacred ground of another god, especially that of Athena."
Eren paused here as Armin asked "Why? Why run to a temple?" Annabeth answers instead by saying "By it being her temple, and her priestess, any actions taken there are directly against Athena herself. Many wouldn't dare for fear of Athena's wrath, and the wrath of the people who worshiped her, which is why people will wash their feet and remove shoes before they should enter a temple."
People nod as they turn back to Eren and he says "However, this didn't save her, as Poseidon ignored this unspoken rule and entered anyway, where he found her worshiping Athena. Where he also raped her, and left her on the floor of the temple she loved." I feel a bright flare of fury, something I see is mirrored on many faces, before I realize belatedly that Eren is talking about his greek Parent. I feel a tiny bit of hurt for him, knowing that it can't be easy to show people the dark side his father has.
"Athena went to Medusa then, and is stuck by the constraints of her own powers. She can't lash out at Poseidon, he's a god. She can't leave Medusa be, she'll be killed for desecrating Athena's temple, even though Athena knew her loyal priestess did no wrong. She is still pushed to deliver a punishment to the one truly innocent party. So, she used her never ending wisdom to outsmart all of them. She changed Medusa, taking her golden hair and making it into slithering snakes, taking her loving eyes and blessing them with the power to turn anyone to stone, and let Medusa flee, given weapons to kill any man who dared try to hurt her again."
Many are stunned into silence as he finished with "On my first quest I met Medusa, and was attacked by her. I cut off her head because it was the only thing I could do to keep myself alive. Her head however retains its powers even after death. Eventually, it was destroyed, only after I sent it in the mail to Olympus as a kind of 'fuck you' to the Gods for forcing me onto a quest."
Everyone nodded as Eren stands then with a yawn and says "Alright. I'm getting some sleep, see you guys in a few hours." I trail after him, nodding to Erwin as everyone stewed over the story. I climb in beside Eren after he collapsed across the bed, a melancholy look on his face. I don't press for answers, but I do latch onto his arm as I burrow under the fluffy blanket. I get a tiny, almost nonexistent smile, but his eyes soften immeasurably as he tossed the other arm over me and pulled me close. "May your dreams be easy." He softly said, but it almost sounded like a plea. "May yours be as well." I reply gently as sleep slowly takes me.
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Eren POV
Falling… I hate falling, everything feels weird. I feel my body lurching in the same way as it did into the pit, like I would fall forever. Wait… Pit… My eyes flash open and I twist, only to slam into something and sink. First was the pain, water never hurt me before, never felt like I was slamming into a building. Second came the suffocation, I couldn't move or breathe or struggle for the air I so desperately wanted. Third came the chill, the chill that sank into my bones and made me feel empty and so very alone.
Finally came the voices. Half breed. Monster. Lair. Killer. No one wants you. Look how much you hurt people? Your mom lived with an abusive man while you ran off to school. You did nothing to save her. Look at Levi? How many friends did he lose because you weren't fast enough? Weren't strong enough? What would that camp you so love do if they really saw you? The you that took joy in nearly killing Misery itself? Would Levi still look at you warmly? Would anyone do so?
Would the gods still invite you to Olympus? Or would they cast you back to Tartarus? Like they always do with all the monsters. Would you see Bob? The very being that sacrificed everything for you? Or would they hate you too? Find you as pathetic and monstrous as everything else there?
I wanted to scream, to thrash and shout that these things weren't true. That I wasn't the monster that I fought against. But flashes of every failure I had because I was forced to hold back. To keep everything in check so I didn't kill my friends. It was too much, the feelings and the cold and the pain that I finally pushed up with a scream.
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And this is where we will stay for the time being, mostly because I am planning on there being one to two more chapters of this story! REVIEW PLEASE.