We took a break at the edge of the junkyard after the incident with Talos. All of us were exhausted after the rush of everything, and we took turns getting a few hours of sleep until the sun rose.
We found a tow truck at the edge of the dump. It looked old and rusted, as if it had been just left here abandoned- which it likely had given it was at a junkyard. However, the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas. So, it was decided that we would 'borrow' it.
Thalia drove the truck, she and Uta were the only ones who weren't in shock from the appearance of Maelstrom. The others still couldn't believe what they'd seen, even hours after it had happened.
As we drove under the clear blue skies of the desert, the others finally seemed to find their voices.
"What..." Penny finally spoke. "What was that? That... Dragon thing."
"I told you I had spirits at my beck and call," I told Penny. "That was one of them- Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom."
"That was no mere spirit," Zoe disagreed. "The power it released... I mistook it for the power of a Minor God."
"And that weird thing you put on your arm," Bianca added. "And those cards... I remember occasionally seeing you with those cards around camp sometimes... Usually using them to play some sort of game with Uta and Thalia- Nicole sometimes too... What were they?"
My lips quirked in a smile. "They're from a popular game and television series known as Yu-Gi-Oh. The game is also known by the game Duel Monsters. It's a very beloved game, even if the rules are a bit complicated."
"Complicated is a mild word," Uta added from where she sat up front with Thalia. "But it is fun."
"Wait, I remember watching that show a few times," Penny said. "Well... Before my mum blocked the channel it was on because it had too many monsters appearing."
"The point is that the spirits depicted on Duel Monster cards? They are real, existing on another plane of existence known as the Spirit Realm," I told them. "The Spirit Realm is separated from other realms, even by Godly standards- they have no idea about it either. Spirits are only capable of interacting with the world through a medium- a person capable of perceiving their existence. We call such people Psychic Duellists, able to channel the power of spirits and make the power of their cards manifest into reality."
"Even the Gods don't know about it and can't interact with it?" Zoe was stunned... If Artemis had known of such a place, then Zoe would have known. The fact this was new information meant my words must be the truth.
"It is a realm open only to mortals, and only those who the spirits choose," I told them. "Of course, that's just a saying. It's more about compatibility than anything else. Anyone who does know about the spirit realm stays quiet about it. The less chances of other humans abusing their power, the better."
Everyone remained silent for the rest of our truck ride. We ran out of gas once we reached a river canyon, by a steep cliff. It was definitely possible to climb down, but it wouldn't be fun nor easy.
We decided to head further upstream to see if we could find another way- and we luckily did. We found an easier slope that led down to the water, along with a canoe rental that was closed given it was Christmas.
We stole some of them and left behind mortal money, and a note with a quick 'sorry' before we moved the canoes onto the river.
"Go sit with Zoe," Thalia murmured.
I raised an eye at her. "Why me?"
"I know what Bianca did," Thalia told me, quietly. "And I don't think she should be sitting with Zoe at the moment. Penny and I are going to talk to Bianca about why that kind of behaviour isn't okay, and Uta definitely won't want to deal with her attempts to recruit her to the hunt."
I just raised my hands in surrender and nodded, reluctantly getting in the canoe with Zoe. She didn't look happy but, for once, she didn't argue about sitting with me on account of my penis.
Penny dipped her head under the water and had a quick talk with the naiads, who began to help push the canoes upstream- saving us the work of trying to fight the rapids ourselves.
"I hate naiads," I heard Zoe murmur.
"Any particular reason?" I asked.
A stream of water squirted up from the back of the boat and hit Zoe in the face.
She spat out the water in her mouth. "That is why," she grunted. "They never forgave me for my betrayal."
I raised an eye at her. "For helping Mr Muscles, right?"
Zoe grunted, though her eyes held a spark of amusement at my nickname for Heracles. "Quite," she agreed.
"You want to talk about it?" I asked her.
"Did thou not claim to have seen it in dreams?" She countered.
"From his point of view," I told her. "I want to hear about yours."
Zoe remained silent for a moment and ran her hands through her hair. "Nobody has asked me for my side of the story before, not even milady- though she was content to let it rest in the past..." She sighed, looking considerate. "... I suppose, truthfully, it started long before that Hero ever arrived."
"How so?"
She pulled free her bow and began to wipe it down slowly. "Thou must understand, I grew up under the rule of the Titans. I enjoyed many privileges as my father's daughter, given he was the general of their armies. 'The Enduring One,' they called him. Thus, my sisters and I were treated very well. Sought after by many suitors, craved by all our peers. Even the Titan Lord himself would praise my father for having such fine children," she shuddered in disgust.
"And then the Gods appeared."
"And then, the Gods appeared," she agreed. "Things changed. For our own safety, my sisters and I were stationed at our Garden. We were given strict instructions to not leave under any circumstances..." She sighed. "And then, one day, my father went out to battle... And he didn't return on his own prerogative. For us, not seeing him for long periods of time was normal. But then, one day, we saw him being hauled- bound by bronze chains. He was led to the peak of the mountain, and was forced to bear the weight of the sky..."
"How did that make you feel?" I probed softly.
"Angry, of course," she told me. "How could I not be? Our lives were upended entirely... At the very least, we had never fought in the battle actively- unlike my elder sister Calypso- and so we were spared a harsh punishment. The Hesperides were merely bound to the Garden... Eventually, the tree that bore the Golden Apples was placed there and we were tasked with guarding it together with Ladon. It was our only way to appease the Gods and ensure some measure of control and freedom."
She took a moment to pause, collect herself, before she continued. "As time passed, however, my anger at the gods became muted. There was no point being angry, there was nothing I could do. So, I put my passion into Ladon. I loved him more than any other, cared for him above all else. I began to feel thankful to the Gods, for Ladon was a gift. However, my sisters began to draw away from me as I let go of my anger. They did not, and it caused a rift between us... I felt isolated, alone."
I just closed my eyes. "And then Heracles."
Zoe chuckled bitterly. "And then Heracles," she agreed once more. "I thought he was special- I thought I was special to him. I won't deny it, he charmed me. He made promises. Promises to take me out of the garden, to show me around Greece. How beautiful it had become... I was enchanted by him, the first man I had seen besides family in centuries- perhaps millennia, the passage of time is hard for immortals to keep track of sometimes.
"He told me about how he was on a mission for the gods- leaving out the fact that, in truth, he was being punished for crimes rather than it being a truly noble mission. I wanted to help him... I made the worst mistake of my life... I took my Hairpin- made for me by my mother- and I used my power to transform it into a sword for him to wield. Imbued with the power of the seas, and perfectly balanced. It carried my very essence within it, so that he would always have part of me with him. It was named Anaklusmos-"
"Riptide," I translated. "Penny's sword."
"Yes," she nodded. "It was a whole-hearted gift, I believed I was showing him my love. I helped him deceive Ladon- the only family I had left- and helped him steal an apple... And then?" She plucked the string of her bow. "... He left me behind. He did not laugh me. He did not mock me. He said nothing. He merely took off, even after I called for him to wait. He ran, ran, ran... And left me to face the wrath of my family. My punishment, for aiding him in stealing the apples? Banishment."
She took another deep, shaky breath, getting a bit emotional. "I was distraught... The world was so different to what I remembered- mortals were so different to what I remembered. I was lost, distraught, angry... And then, Milady found me. She offered to me a new home, new sisters, a new family that would never leave me behind. In the face of such an offer, what could I do but say yes? And so... I joined the hunt. And, with it, I swore to myself- I would never trust another male again."
The both of us sat in silence for a while after she finished her story, the only sounds being that of the water- along with the occasional chirp of a bird.
"Do you regret it?" I asked her. "Helping him?"
"... In some ways, yes," she nodded. "In other ways, I do not. I regret helping him because I was deceived into helping what I thought was a brave hero but was truly just a criminal. He took the decision to make an informed choice away when he lied to me. For that, I regret helping him... But I also do not regret it. Without question, the years I have spent with Lady Artemis have been the best years of my life. I got to see all of Greece, as I had desired. And when the heart of the West moved, so too did we.
"I got to see so many places and meet many people. I saw the rise and the fall of Rome; I beheld Britannia at the peak of its national power; I watched Abraham Lincoln abolish slavery, and I lived in the midst of the Great Depression. Through all that time, I obtained many sisters through the hunt. And I also lost many sisters. Some through battle, others who gave into love, and some even who wanted to live out an ordinary mortal life. I learned many things about myself I would have never known, but I also lost many things along the way."
Silence fell between us once again.
"I know I'm the one who asked, but why were you willing to share all this with me?"
She sighed heavily. "I have been alive for many years," she told me. "I have held onto my hatred of males for a very, very long time... I suppose, with Milady's fate uncertain, and another Titan War on the horizon... I am tired of hating males... Thou hast shown courage, bravery, and recklessness. Thou hast stepped up and helped us where needed. Thou did not even keep the Pelt thou could have claimed, instead allowing Poseidon's daughter to have it..."
She put her bow down. "Thou art rude and disrespectful to me, but I also understand that I have not given thee reason to respect me either. Thou art right, I have discriminated against thee purely because of thy gender... Just as males have done to women for millennia, so too was I doing the same in reverse..." She sighed. "Even Milady has grown neutral towards males over the years, only punishing them when they are deliberately disrespectful."
"I suppose... What I am trying to say is... I am sorry."
I didn't respond. It didn't feel proper... She had clearly been bottling up a lot, and it didn't feel right to respond to her words. She didn't push me to respond to them either.
Both of us remained silent as the canoe slowed down and came to a stop, staring down a Dam the size of a football stadium in our path.
The Hoover Dam.
***
Discord: https://discord.gg/HjXrgD5adS