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kaihuntrr · 15 days

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part twenty-six: survival instinct.

Now what did those islanders say would happen to those who'd dare leave the island…?

(ehehe cover art reveal <33)

Martyn ran.

Martyn ran as fast as he could. As fast as his lungs could breathe. As fast as his legs could take him. The mist had begun to lift from the port as the pathway toward the ship opened. It wasn’t far. Their ship. Their exit. Their way home.

He could make it!

But Martyn could only wince as the sound of distant blades and bullets became farther and farther. Would Martyn even hear the sound of Katherine’s gun from the ship? Could he hear her shouting at him in relief? How long would they have to wait for Katherine to come back to the ship?

He hoped he wouldn’t hear any tripple gunshots in the air.

“Martyn! You’re back!” Martyn looked up to see Lizzie calling him from the boat, waving her hands and smiling. Grian and Scar were standing on the gangplank, sighing with relief as they turned to look at him.

Martyn wished he could smile back. He really did. He wished he could laugh and joke like he usually did– but he couldn’t. His rapid heartbeat pushed him forward, his body aching with every step he took. He felt like he could collapse at any moment.

But he couldn’t.

Not when they were still on this- this horrible island.

Not when everyone was still in danger.

He could rest when everything was over, but he needed to be on guard for just a little longer.

Scar spread his arms, grinning widely, “Martyn! Thank– thank the gods–....” He approached the blonde, only to stop when Martyn shook his head and bit his lip.

Martyn’s whole world was spinning. Exhaustion ate away at his body with every step he took, and every moment he stood on his weakened ankle he felt like slipping. But–... but he was so close to the end. So close to getting on that ship and getting the hell out of there.

He gave Scar a slight push, forcing him and Grian up the gangplank as quickly as they could. Thankfully the larger man didn’t put up much of a struggle, just a worried look as they got on the ship. Martyn didn’t have the heart to argue. He wanted to hear the sounds of swords clashing, Katherine’s hearty laughter as she entered the port, but all he could hear were the haunting howls of the storm above.

“Prepare the ship to set sail.” Was all Martyn said.

Martyn didn’t notice Puffy leaning against the railings until she spoke up, her voice trembling. “Where’s Katherine…?” He could see her staring out into the docks, her grip tightening on the wood.

“She’s…,” Martyn winced as he saw the look on Puffy’s face. Her eyes were wide, lips trembling and eyebrows creased. “She’s fighting Pearl– she said that–”

“She’s fighting Pearl?! Alone?!” Eret shouted, immediately rushing to the gangplank. “We need to get to her–!”

“NO!”

Martyn smacked his hand over his mouth, surprised at his own sudden shout. He groaned as he looked at the ground and tightened his fists. “We can’t….”

“What do you mean?” Puffy’s words were sharp, as if preparing to strike at Martyn for whatever he would say next.

“She said…,” Martyn looked Puffy in the eye, “she said that if she fired three shots we need to…,” he looked down again. He remembered the way Katherine looked at him. “We need to leave.”

“But we can’t leave her here!” Puffy argued.

“But she doesn’t want us to stay here, either!” Martyn shouted back. “I don’t want to fight anyone about this…. Please, please just listen to me.”

“Okay.” Grian said sternly. He turned to the curious cluster of crew members that had started gathering at the stairwell and raised his voice to shout at them. “Man your stations! Prepare to sail at a moment’s notice!”

The group quickly dispersed, scattering over the deck. Scar disappeared up the lines while Eret went to deliver orders to the crew below deck. Puffy remained at the railing, staring at the line of buildings along the port. Martyn was about to follow the others, but Grian clasped his shoulder.

“Hey- it’s been a bad day for you,” he said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, “We have more than enough hands. Stay.” Martyn was about to argue when Grian nodded his head at Puffy, white knuckling the banister. “Stay with her. Make sure she doesn’t swim for it if-....”

Martyn nodded, slowly at first, then more assured. “Okay.” Grian flashed a tight smile at him before running off to join Joel and Lizzie on the bridge.

Martyn limped over to where Puffy was standing against the railing, grabbing onto the rail of the ship to take his weight off his bad ankle. He took deep breaths to try to calm himself.

Martyn felt guilty as soon as Puffy locked eyes with him. “...What do you want?” she asked, her tone more sorrowful than angry.

“I want to give you some company,” Martyn offered softly, hoping to ease Puffy’s nerves. “So you’re not alone.”

Puffy looked at Martyn up and down then sighed to herself, leaning against the banister and slowly sitting on the floor. She pulled up her legs and stared up at Martyn, then patted the ground beside her. Martyn took a seat, trying hard not to wince at the pain on his ankle.

“...Katherine was a bit of a loner, even as a solo hunter,” Puffy mumbled, laughing pathetically to herself, “I didn’t really ask why she wanted to join our crew at first.”

“Why’s that?”

Puffy looked at Martyn, “I think you’ve been around long enough to notice, but,” she shrugged with one arm, “we’re not exactly very… organized.”

For as much as Martyn had seen of them, the Kites were pretty disorganized, but they were able to pull themselves together during their stay at the island, enough to help rescue him. They should at least get credit for that!

“Katherine’s great though, added a lot more stability than what the rest of the crew were used to,” Puffy continued. “Did you know it was her idea to get close to the border?”

Huh, Martyn thought. But wasn’t she telling us not to investigate the border…?

“Honestly? No.” Martyn shook his head. “I figured Tubbo and Bek put you guys up to it.”

Puffy rolled her eyes and snickered. “Those two are all bark and no bite,” she said fondly. “Katherine chalked up the border to be something amazing, that it’d be the greatest fight of our lives….” Her eyebrows furrowed and looked away. “But she was… different when we actually got there.”

“What was she like?”

Puffy pulled her legs a little closer. “Anxious, I think. She kept pacing around the ship and looking at the sea a lot,” she said. She began to speak a little quieter as she continued, “And before any of us knew it, the ship got seized by a scuttler.” She gave her arms a little squeeze and shuddered. Martyn wouldn’t want to remember something that horrifying, either. “The crew managed to take a few shots at it, but with no one at the helm at the time, well….” She leaned her head back and stared at the clouds for a moment.

“She blamed herself while we were stranded on the debris, and she wanted to dive into the water herself, to do what I don’t know, but none of us wanted that,” Puffy shook her head adamantly. “She was… I dunno, a bit more self-sacrificial than we expected her to be.”

“I think it’s the years of hunting solo that’s getting to her.” Martyn snarked, a loose smile tracing his lips.

Puffy let out a snort. “Gods, you think so?” Martyn smiled softly, watching as the Kite tilted her head and smiled back. “She must’ve been crazy for some time, then.”

BANG!

Martyn’s eyes flew open. Puffy’s expression turned from warm to anxious in a split second as she stared at Martyn in horror.

A gunshot? Now? It’d been quiet for a while. That could only mean–

BANG!

Another shot. But- that was just Katherine using her gun, right? Not meant as a signal, but as a weapon. She was still fighting…!

Martyn had yet to hear another gunshot. For all he knew, Katherine would be sprinting down to the ship at any second, shooting her gun behind her to fend Pearl off. They couldn’t leave when she-!

Come on Katherine, Martyn’s grip tightened. We have to leave together. All of us. You have someone to return to–

BANG! BANG! BANG!

There was no mistaking that. Three shots. Their signal to leave.

The final gunshot reverberated in the air as it echoed in the distance. It was loud, sudden, and heartbreaking. Lightning struck soon after, as if confirming the hunter’s untimely demise.

Martyn could only picture the smile and laugh of the incredible hunter as the world went silent.

Katherine was… Katherine was–

Martyn heard a loud thud on the deck as Puffy’s knees slammed against the wood of the deck, tears in her eyes. Eret appeared beside her and crouched down to put a hand on her shoulder, looking away in sadness.

Martyn felt his chest squeeze. Ren. Jimmy. Katherine.

Three deaths was just too much.

“Katherine…!” Puffy’s shrill cry escaped her through her sobs. Eret sat on the floor to give her a hug as they looked at Grian with the most heartbroken expression on their face.

Katherine’s words echoed in Martyn’s head.

“If I shoot three times in the air, you go. Promise that to me.”

Martyn stomped his foot on the ground, picking up the gangplank then marching up to Grian and the rest of the hunters. They needed to leave. They needed to leave now. “We have to go!” he shouted, though he heard his own voice crack. “Start the engine!”

Lizzie blinked, shaking off her shock for a moment and pulled the lever that shook the whole ship to life.

“I made a promise to her. I’m sorry,” Martyn crouched down and put a hand on Puffy’s shoulder for reassurance.

For all the time Martyn had spent with Katherine, she was a delight to be around. He already knew… this was going to haunt him too.

“Let’s get out of here!”

The ship’s engine roared, shaking the already rocky waves as the vessel began to move.

Martyn took shaky breaths as he stood up and leaned against the railing, planting one of his hands on the harpoon gun. They didn’t have a strategy to escape the sea prince. How were they going to flee from something that large, that powerful?

The ship charged through the water, the distance between the misty island and the hunters lengthening as Martyn stared dead ahead. Tall and sharp black rocks pierced out of the ocean waters, the waves crashing against them. The space between the rocks was narrow, barely enough for the ship to pass through even without the choppy waters. But if they could get through those….

“Storm incoming!” Scar called out. Martyn looked up to see the dark clouds open, sending sheets of rain crashing down upon the ship’s deck. Thunder crackled above, the night sky becoming darker and darker as the rain blurred Martyn’s vision until he could barely see. Rain pelted the ship and ocean around him, a cacophony of noise.

It was like those tavern patrons said, Martyn put a hand over his eyes as he tried to make out the black rocky shapes they were closing in on. They said a storm would come as we tried to leave, then the sea prince would crush us.

All hunting ships trying to leave fell victim to the sea prince, but how? Did it catch them before they entered the stone forest? Did it shove them into the rocks to crush the ships inside? Or was there another option Martyn couldn’t see?

The heavy rainfall suddenly became more moderate. Martyn blinked and shook his head to clear the water from his eyes. Not too far to the rocks now. The cold air of the night mixed with the freezing rain as Martyn walked to the back of the ship, holding on to the railing as he looked behind them, scanning the water for any sign of the sea prince. They were smooth sailing so far but–

“GUYS!” Martyn exclaimed, eyes wide before leaning forward, gripping the railing, and narrowing them. “Back there! Look!”

Was Martyn seeing that right?

There were ships. Multiple ships out in the water, all big supply and hunter ships like their own. It didn’t look like they had any one set direction, but it filled Martyn’s heart. They weren’t the only ones escaping the island! Maybe all it took was encouragement from himself and his friends, or maybe it was Katherine’s death that became a wakeup call to the citizens.

Martyn looked out at the ships and felt a fire burn in his heart. We’ll get out of here Katherine, I promised you.

And I promised to you, Scott, that I’ll make it back alive. I’ll do just that.

“All those ships–,” Martyn turned to Joel, who was focused on guiding Lizzie. He only wanted to confirm his thoughts as they raced against the tides. “Are they trying to escape too?!”

“I don’t know!” Joel shouted back, his voice had to be louder than the whipping winds. “We just have to keep moving!”

The winds howled, haunting and cold as the hunters pushed through the storm. A little more. Just a little more! Those rocks would do great to hide them when the sea prince came around. It hadn’t shown itself yet, but when it did, they’d be long gone from its clutches—!

Martyn’s blood ran cold as a distant roar bellowed.

It sounded unlike anything he’s ever heard. It was distant, it sounded distant– but the rattling trill that escaped its lungs shook the very ocean itself, something deeper than the waves.

The sea prince.

It was here.

An absolutely massive figure cloaked in shadow burst from the ocean throwing massive waves in all directions. Martyn couldn’t make out the details, but the silhouette made him freeze up.

A humanoid build, a crown of corals on its head formed like great antlers, long fins framed either side of its head with hair that was tied and went below the shoulders. Martyn could see a fin trailing along the sea prince’s back as its head faced the cloudy sky above. He shivered as the beast opened its mouth slightly, tasting the salty water as it breathed in and out.

Then its eyes opened.

It slowly turned its head towards the hunter ship.

Martyn swore it looked at him instead of the ship.

All of its movements were slow, but the moment its eyes locked on the ship, it immediately dove back beneath the waves.

Giant ripples of waves punched the ship forward, nearly making it flip over at the sudden crash in the water.

THA-THUMP.

The sea prince’s echoing heartbeat raged against the storm and tides, its serpentine tail peeking out of the water as it slithered towards the ship.

It was swimming towards them, and it was swimming fast.

“It's gaining on us!” Bek shouted. “I–”

The sea prince lifted its tail upward, slamming it against the water with a crash as the ship moved closer towards the pointed stone edge. The ship was still going fast, running for its life, practically flying across the water–

They were getting dangerously close to the rocks.

They weren’t slowing down.

“Lizzie?!” Martyn screamed, rain falling on his face. His constantly shifting glances between the bow and the stern of the ship made his head spin. He could see the gigantic shadow of the monster’s tail, the looming shadow of the rocks. “I’m gonna need you to turn that engine off!”

The ship wasn’t slowing down.

“Lizzie?!”

“Got it!” Joel shouted back. He must have pulled the lever as the rumble of the ship’s engine slowed. They were still going fast- probably too fast, now being pushed along by the massive waves. “Help me! She’s in shock!”

Martyn ran towards Joel and Lizzie, almost slipping as he looked at his captain with frantic eyes. “Is she responsive to anything?!”

“No!” Joel shook his head. “She’s just staring! Hold her for me– please!” Martyn extended his arms as Joel swiftly, yet carefully pushed Lizzie into his grip. Martyn held her tight. He could hear her rapid heartbeat, just as fast as his own, as she took quick breaths. Martyn waved his hand in front of Lizzie’s face, but she wasn’t focused on that. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and her pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. He could hear incoherent mumbles escaping her even though her lips were barely moving.

“We’re almost there Lizzie,” Martyn attempted to comfort his friend, rubbing her back and patting it. He took her down to the main deck, wanting to have an easier time shifting her to the captains’ quarters or the lower decks. “We’re almost–”

The ship’s movement stopped abruptly, flinging them all forward.

Martyn held onto Lizzie and managed to grab the banister to keep them from being flung too far down the main deck. He heard Joel wheeze as he pushed himself away from where the helm had collided with his gut.

They weren’t moving. They couldn’t move.

Martyn looked up, seeing Grian stare back at him in confusion. The others on deck were just as confused too, most of them now crowded towards the bow. Martyn could feel Lizzie’s warmth escape her as her skin turned clammy under his hand. She stared past his shoulder, eyes wide and suddenly bright with fear.

Martyn slowly looked behind him.

His lips parted as his breath escaped him. His eyes opened wide and stung with sea water.

The sea prince.

Martyn could hear Grian softly gasp.

The monster was holding the ship with just its hand, preventing the hunters from leaving. It tilted the ship back ever so slightly, but Martyn still felt as though he was about to slip down the wet wooden floors.

Martyn could only see the sea prince’s eyes burning brightly in the darkness, the fin on the side of its head flicking as water dripped from its crown of corals. Its thundering heartbeat and the rattling hiss of its breaths were the only thing Martyn could hear over the rush of his own heartbeat as it slowly moved its hand closer and closer.

The sea prince’s gaze was unmoving, its orange and blue eyes fixed on the ship. It took slow, calm breaths as it looked down on its prey. Martyn could only imagine that behind the stoney gaze, the monster was licking its colossal lips.

Wood and metal cracked faintly around the hunters as they were lifted slightly above the water. Slightly for the sea prince, but hundreds of meters above the ocean for the hunters as they stared death in the eye.

Martyn expected it to reveal its face. To open its jaws and eat them whole. Martyn thought this was the scariest part, but no.

It was something else entirely.

“QUIET.”

The sea prince spoke, a rattling echo escaped its throat and shook its environment to its very core.

The crown on its head glowed a magnificent teal as it growled.

Then its eyes narrowed, a hint of its glistening teeth revealed itself as it snarled its next word.

“LEAVE.”

It dropped the ship unceremoniously back into the water, causing it to bob up and down wildly before it stabilized.

It turned its back, giving one last glance back at the hunters before it pushed itself forward, diving back into the water with a flick of its tail. Ripples echoed through the turbulent waters as thunder roared, now reduced to nothing but white noise as Martyn stared at the open waters.

They were in the stone forest, safely past the first line of sharp rocks, but that didn’t matter now.

What mattered most was the fact that the sea prince… saved them?

Was it just toying with them? Toying with him?

Martyn didn’t know how long he stared at the sea for.

Martyn could hear distant conversations in the background. Grian was trying to get everyone back into working order. Easier said than done, as Martyn couldn’t focus on anything but the sea prince. He couldn’t hear its heartbeat anymore, or anything else in his surroundings.

Lizzie’s sudden tug on Martyn’s shoulder got him to focus again.

“Th- that beast…,” Lizzie’s eyes remained glued to the ocean, her voice nothing more than a whisper, “that one killed my parents.”

A sea prince killed Lizzie’s parents.

That sea prince killed Lizzie’s parents.

The same sea prince that had, both times Martyn has seen it, done nothing but leave Martyn alive, save him even.

“It's… letting us go…,” Martyn mumbled to himself, “...why?”

“The monster’s gone, we can make it out!” Grian’s sudden shout snapped Martyn out of his thoughts.

Martyn froze. Lightning struck as waves crashed behind them. Distant sounds of wood and metal breaking and cracking reverberated in the air. Lizzie’s breathing quickened as she looked at Martyn desperately, eyes pleading for him- someone to save her.

A roar swept across the water, this one louder and booming like thunder.

Another sea prince??!!

They needed to get out of there.

“That would be our que to go,” Scar forced a grin, but his eyes were wide as he shouted at Joel. “Let’s go!”

The sea prince roared again, this time it sounded a lot closer. Was it looking for them? The gears in Martyn’s head turned. If the previous sea prince wasn’t the one guarding the island– why was it there? Something told him that if he could just figure that out, he'd have a better grasp of what was going on.

“I–,” Joel’s voice came out stunted and edging on panic. He jammed the lever up and down, but the ship’s engine didn’t start at all. “The blummin’ engine isn’t working!”

Quiet. Martyn watched as Joel continued to flick the lever aimlessly. Did the sea prince mean the engine?

“Use the sails! The wind’s in our direction!” Martyn shouted, putting a hand on Lizzie’s shoulder. He needed to get her to safety, now. He gave her a comforting smile as he pulled both of them to their feet.

“I hope these winds are fast–! Free the sails!”

The crew scrambled around the ship and sails snapped open, catching rain and wind as it hit the cloth. The ship began to move forward, Joel carefully maneuvering it through the rock forest. Without a second glance towards where the sea prince had gone, Martyn pulled Lizzie down to the lower decks.

#the sea prince au #sea prince chapters #limited life smp #limited life #life series #life smp #trafficblr #majorwood #mean gills #coral kids #scottyn #martyn inthelittlewood #martyn itlw #inthelittlewood #scott smajor #smajor1995 #dangthatsalongname #pearlescentmoon

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zarnzarn · 2 months

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part three of the reverse odyssey au! polites' pov this time, cause I thought a constantly changing motive explanation would be fun

1/2/3/?

Later, they find that it is the prayer of a terrified Elepnor clinging to the mast that saved them.

He'd called out in fear in the prayer he'd heard the most, growing from a boy of ten to a youth of twenty in the Trojan War, under Odysseus and his quick, odd prayers to his patron goddess- and half-surprised, half out of reflex, Polites had thought later by the look on the goddesses' own face-

Athena had answered.

She'd guided their ship to shore through the storm, somehow, and then stood at the wheel, taller than anyone Polites had ever seen, straight-backed and proud. Staring at them all as they slowly got to their feet, bowing and muttering prayers under their breath as they prostrated, more than half of them trembling in fear.

They'd all known their captain was blessed by the Goddess of Wisdom, in a way that was more than a mere touch or grey eyes. All known the way he'd sometimes stop talking and stare into the distance, and bark out orders for a convoluted, twisted, wonderful plan after.

Polites had known it was something more the day his friend had stumbled out of the forest all those years ago, silent as an owl and grin sharper than it used to be. Eyes no longer Hermes' kaleidoscope-amber ones that hurt to look at, but a gleaming silver that struck you still where you stood to listen.

But this was still more terrifying than any battle they'd ever faced.

(He saw so much of Odysseus in her, even standing still, that it hurt.

They had been so close.)

"Owl Lady!" Telemachus cheers, and runs out from behind his mother's skirts to the Goddess of War. Penelope makes an aborted movement towards him, dredging up some mortification beyond the haunted expression on her face (if only they'd had one moment more, to grab each other's hands even a little, if she'd just grabbed at him tightly, if they hadn't forgotten to get rid of that accused windbag-) at the way Telemachus runs to Athena with even less fear than his father had, grinning wide up at her as he hugs her shins in greeting.

"Telemachus," She says, bemused and fond. Her voice is... familiar, actually. Polites can't place it for a second, until Penelope makes an odd choking sound next to him and memory assaults- of Odysseus running around shouting with joy after his son's birth, proudly showing him off to everyone around as if he looked anything more than a raisin, Penelope tiredly laughing as she lay against the pillows. Of him suddenly pausing and turning to the strange cloaked woman in the corner and dragging her out into the light to gently hand her his son.

"Odysseus," she'd hissed, sounding panicked, yet he'd just laughed and shifted her hands to support Telemachus' head. Polites and Penelope had frowned at each other, confused, but Odysseus had only teased the woman about a newborn baby being the thing to scare her and offered them no explanations, and what the fuck, that had been Athena.

Penelope's eye twitches a little bit, some of the heartbreak clearing up in her face in favour of a strong wish for strangulation. Polites empathized. What was wrong with Odysseus.

She stares at them now, expectant, and Polites realises what she's waiting for the same moment her lips curl into a sneer of rage. Shit, right, she and Odysseus had had some sort of falling out after the cyclops-

"So," She says, dangerously low. "Does the King of Ithaca think himself more powerful than the Goddess of Wisdom, that he spurns my presence in such a way? Or-"

"He's been taken by Poseidon."

Polites doesn't know the words come from him until Athena swivels her head around to face him.

Oh fuck.

He takes a shuddering breath as he pushes himself to his feet. Glances out to the side and feels his heart drop at the unfamiliar waters, so far away from-

He turns back to Athena and gathers his courage. "Poseidon appeared before us, one year ago. Demanded reparations for the hurt we dealt to the cyclops, his son."

"So then why target-" Athena cuts herself off, teeth gnashing. Her hair starts rising, even though there's no breeze, feathers appearing across her visible skin. "I had rescinded my blessings from him! For this very reason, so Poseidon wouldn't-"

She stops talking with a hiss, pinching the bridge of her nose in barely contained fury. Polites' breath catches. She'd taken her blessings back- to protect Odysseus, of course, her feud with Poseidon was well-known to everyone and anyone, so the ocean god wouldn't take it out on her favoured.

Did Odysseus know that, Polites wants to ask her, remembering the absolute mourning devastation on his friend's face for that one day before it all went to shit, but knows it won't help anyone.

He swallows and continues. This part is going to anger her beyond anything, he knows. "Poseidon cursed him into a creature of the sea," He says cautiously, watching strange colors dance across her armour in her growing anger, looking less and less like a woman as he spoke, eyes glowing fire-hot. "His legs melted and turned into the tail of a fish, and he no longer could breathe above land, so we had to put him in the sea. And-"

His throat closes up, and the sailors around wince back, gathering Telemachus and pulling each other away from the wheel, knowing what's about to come.

"And?" Athena says, deceptively calm, as she watches them stumble away from her.

Polites gulps and feels tears run down his face as he says it. "And he ripped out his tongue."

Athena screams.

After they've all wiped the blood from their ears and eyes and huddled down in the belly of the ship, holding onto each other until they've stopped trembling-

They're going to write songs about that scream, Polites thinks vaguely, staring up at the wood. His hands still are shaking. The rage of Athena will be recorded for the ages, in songs and poems and books.

Still, he can't bring up any secret resentment against her for nearly killing them- he felt the same, that first day, when he'd found the bloody tongue on the deck and had vomited over the side of the ship, sobbing.

Odysseus, his silver-tongued friend, wisest of the Greeks, able to talk his way out of anything, tongueless. An unimaginable cruelty, especially to the favourite of Athena.

Although, that was probably why, wasn't it.

They all stiffen as the door creaks and Athena ducks to walk inside. Someone whimpers. Polites doesn't blame him.

She looks at them with Odysseus' eyes, staring around at them once more with a blank expression.

"The continuation of this quest will ruin your kingdom," She says simply, and Polites barely holds back five different protests that will get them all killed.

Penelope stands up, walking to the front. "I will not abandon my husband." She raises her chin, meeting the Goddesses' gaze without fear. "Not ever."

Athena rolls her eyes. Eurylochus chokes, and Polites has to hold back some hysterical mix of a laugh and bursting into tears. Gods, she acts just like him.

"I did not expect you to," She says dryly. "But it will take years, and you can't expect Ithaca to finance your search for that long without a ruler."

Penelope's expression wavers, voice cracking to a whisper. "Years?"

Athena looks remorseful at least when she nods. "Years," She says kindly. Someone puts their head into their hands, but Polites can't tell who, because his vision is blurring out with tears. "He has been blown to the far eastern shores, where the sands stretch over a land a thousand times the size of Sparta. It will take a year alone for him to make it back to the ocean, and Poseidon will fight to keep him away from you all. And by then-"

She closes her eyes and purses her lips, swaying back like someone has dealt her a physical blow. "By then," she continues, steeling herself back to untouchable Goddess. "He will have been of the wild waters for so long that he will be little more than an animal. You will have to catch him, with nets and boats and ropes- and then find a way to bring him back to normal."

They are silent for a while.

"So be it," Eurylochus says, standing up and placing a hand on Penelope's shoulder. He nods to the Goddess, even though he's close enough that Polites can feel him shaking to do it. "What would you counsel us to do for Ithaca in the meantime, Goddess?"

"Ctimene has an equal claim to the throne, as does Penelope," Athena muses. Polites starts and feels the men murmur. Still, who would argue with-

"How will Ctimene rule, though?" Someone pipes up. Nevermind, then. Clearly, Odysseus took everyone's common sense with him when he was rolled off the side of the ship.

Eurylochus snorts before Athena can answer, turning around with a wry smile. "Odysseus may have won us the Trojan War," he tells the lackwitted man. "But never has he once won a single fucking fight with his sister in all the time I've known them. She is a terrifying woman."

Polites feels a laugh slip from him before he can stop it. "She's your wife."

Eurylochus nods grimly. "And I am scared."

"She is rather... shrill." Athena agrees, mouth curling in distaste. "Still, she and you can rule when Penelope is on the waters and the kingdom will not suffer for it. But you cannot both abandon Ithaca to possible invaders."

Penelope sobs and quickly tries to muffle it with a hand, screwing her eyes closed. Polites puts his hand on hers, trying to be reassuring even though his own chest aches. Years.

They will do it, he knows. But still.

"You will find food to eat on these shores," Athena says, turning around. "Ithaca is twelve days west from here."

"Where are you going?" Telemachus pipes up.

A smile props up on Athena's face, small and lacking joy. Cunning and cruel. She still feels so much like Odysseus. "I was dealt a great insult," She tells the child. "And I must return my reply to it."

When they set out the next morning, all the fish in the waters are floating at the surface, dead.

#athenas here!!!!#athena #and she is Pissed #like. this is half her closest friends life being upended and half poseidon flipping her off specifically ruining her project so thoroughly #she is fucking Seething #Polites #he is very broken up about this #also i thought about rewording it to odysseus looks like athena but. its polites.#penelope #telemachus #eurylochus #ctimene #people do not give this girl enough credit. for not killing her annoying smartass brother lmao.#either she is a saint or a sorta jealous weasel woman who is determined to match odysseus' cunning with her own. she is managing it.#i dont actually. know the names of the men. and im too tired to find out #reverse odyssey au #the whole kingdom of Ithaca versus the fucking sea #odysseus #< w us in spirit and also in egypt #odypen

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mystery-salad · 7 months

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The world is safe now.

You tell yourself that as Zhaitan clings to a tower of decay, crumbling beneath its claws as the canons aim true. The shots hit, cheers raise as the dragon topples down. Falling from view through the miasma it created below. No one can hear it hit the ground over the relieved shouts of victory ringing across the airships. But everyone feels it in a resounding rumble that shouldn't have carried through the air like that. The celebrating falters, confusion rising but not fast enough to prepare for what follows. The shockwave hits like nothing you've ever felt. Everything goes dark as the screams begin.

The world is safe now, Orr is not.

You wake up in the rubble as survivors try to make sense of what happened. The dragon is dead, but no one accounted for where all the consumed magic had to go. No one planned for this despite generations of preparation. Perhaps there's a reason for the dragons, you hear murmurs through the tents. But you didn't come this far to call it quits, and one land riddled with a decaying radiation can't stop the mission. The contamination in your blood won't stop you.

The world is safe now. Orr is gone.

Mordremoth stares you down from within his mind. You're like a weed that won't die, small and foreign but resilient and ready to take everything. The odds are against you with the team sent away, you can't face the gaze of the dead like last time. They're safe at a distance, you have to hope they got far enough as you defy the odds and strike another dragon down.

The world is safe, but there's a catch.

Trahearne shudders as your mind returns to your body, as you look around in wonder that there isn't a shockwave like last time. He's so calm as he explains the truth of it, defying how terrified he is of dying, of asking a friend to do this and stand at ground zero once again. But you stand just as calm, picking up the blade and telling him to close his eyes. You hope he'll rest well, wherever his life takes him next. As the blade cuts through, you know it's real as the shockwave begins just like last time. You brace for impact as much as you can.

The world is safe now. The desert is gone.

It's almost tempting to let Balthazar handle the rest, let the god walk a path of destruction to each dragon, sparing yourself further damage. But his path leaves so much unnecessary devastation...so here you are alone with another dragon. Well, not completely alone now. You have Aurene, though you're still not sure if that's truly a blessing any more. The two of you corner Kralkatorrik, the perfect trap laid deep underground in old sunspear ruins.

The world is safe now, until the dragon takes a last stand.

Waking up in wreckage is becoming normal to you. When did that happen, when did the panic vanish? No time to think on it as new plans have to be laid out. You chase him down, you and your dragon, to kill her grandfather and save the world again. Setbacks are numerous. It's harder to work alone on this one, so many soldiers are ready to see it to the end with you. You tell them they don't know what they're asking for and send them away again. Aurene, still a child, fights the dragon's minions nearly overwhelmed as you get to his heart and strike. You've never seen the explosion from inside before. It's so bright.

The world is safe now. The island is gone.

Is it worth it all? It has to be, you tell yourself, as people celebrate your victories in a shrinking world. Refugees who have fled the fallout zones don't seem to agree, but at least they're alive right? And you know you're almost done. Jormag and Primordus, opposites and twins, rise together and somehow feel like childsplay after the last one. Perhaps it's because aurene is an equal to them now. You don't dare to think of the devastation that would be left if she were to die now. Thankfully you don't have to as the siblings tear each other apart.

The world is safe now. The mountains are gone.

No one has seen the final dragon in ages, hidden away deep underwater until you stumble into the truth while chasing a lesser threat. Soo Won was so gentle once, but the void ravages all. It feasts on the magic you released so willingly into the world, your devastations have paved the way for this chaos.

The world is safe now, for the void to reform.

You've survived so much despite the odds, held together by the very magic degrading your bones and poisoning your blood. The void pulls at those strings as it taunts you through the voice of the dragon who started it all. It's the hardest fight you've ever faced. As Aurene pumps you full of power to survive, you wonder if your death would bring destruction too in this moment. But it's left a mystery as Soo Won falls and the void fades. There's a moment of peacefulness you've never felt before, the grandmother hanging on long enough to comfort her granddaughter. But she can't prevent the state of her death. The jade sea shatters beneath your feet as she dies.

The world is safe now. But how much of it is left?

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #gw2 fan submission #quaille #hiiiiii this is specifically about quaille's au #where each dragon's death leaves a monumental magic explosion and essentially #a radiation zone that reflects their element #orr kills and revives and degrades everything in it like a recording played too many times over #maguuma strangles itself with too much growth choking out its own light #the desert crackles with an electricity that consumes anything that holds life #the mountains rage against themselves with deadly storms that tear apart anyone who gets caught in the middle #the jade sea has shattered and flooded cantha #quaille is a mess of these aftershocks from within #was it worth the mission?

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angelbitezzz · 5 months

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Recently read Tilikum by Llama_Goddess on Ao3 (check out the link it's so good) and it gave me some interesting brainrot ideas

Fic under the cut

A day dawned like any other for Sans. Get out of bed, work various odd jobs, slack off at said odd jobs, and get home to sleep some more.

Today was a new gig—Janitor work at the local aquarium. It was good, easy work. He'd been all sorts of things in his time both underground and now on the surface, so he was largely left to his own devices practically since the first day.

Some kid spilled one of those themed ice creams on the floor in front of one of the siren tanks. Big attractions, those guys. Not quite human, too physical to be a monster, they sort of floated in this odd in-between state of natural existence. Word was that the song of one would easily lead you to your drowning death. It was a good thing that glass was thick and soundproof, otherwise any of the ones held captive would likely jump at the chance.

Sans mopped away at the spill slowly, dragging out the task. The place was closing for the night soon, he certainly didn't want to be redirected to something else when he had such an easy job right here. A whistle leaked from between his teeth, some song he'd heard on TV earlier in the day.

The room was empty now. With the evening settling in and closing time within the hour, no one had come by to this one since he'd gotten here. Probably since this specific siren didn't seem a fan of performance, or being seen. You were lucky to get a glimpse of it if it was feeling curious on a given day, or so Sans had heard.

He wrung the mop in the bucket and set about just mopping the entire room, still whistling away. But a chill ran up his spine, halting his movements.

The unmistakable, burning feeling of being watched.

He turned his head slow, pupils sliding up along the glass he stood next to until they connected with a bright purple gaze that seemed to peer right through him.

The siren.

It—She? She floated right there, hand pressed against the glass. Her pupils were blown wide open, though they dilated just a little when their eyes met properly. There was something curious about the look on her face, so human if not for the subtle shine of fine scales along her brown skin. Dark hair drifted around her face, some kind of kelp braided into it at certain spots, that same stuff even braided and tied together to make up the cloth she was wearing around her chest. Did sirens care for modesty? He didn't know. Her lower half was that of a fish, something tropical he hadn't bothered to learn the name of. Powerful muscles twitched the end of the tail, keeping her afloat in the same position with ease.

He wasn't sure when he'd stopped breathing. It seemed like time itself had stopped when he realized he was being watched. Was this typical of sirens? Did the gaze of one paralyze as much as the song?

No, that couldn't be the case. Otherwise they wouldn't bother with displaying them at all.

When he didn't react behind meeting her gaze, she seemed to relax just a little. Her eyes slid along his form, taking in the details of his Janitor's uniform and the bones that were visible.

"huh. you're, uh, curious, i guess?"

Sans wasn't sure why he was talking, it wasn't as if she could hear him. But the way his eternal grin moved with the speech seemed to fascinate her. She lowered herself to be more at eye level, both hands against the glass. He slowly put his mop back in the bucket and turned towards her, tugging at his gloves to pull them tighter before stepping closer. The siren didn't move, only followed every movement with that same burning gaze.

"heya." Sans gave a little wave, the way the kid had taught him.

The siren waved back, copying his movement exactly. Then she did something new—she pointed at him. He pointed at himself.

"me?"

She nodded and did something else, crossed her hands over her chest in fists, only the index and middle finger half extended. She bumped them together at the wrist, tapping the fingers to her shoulders and sliding them down to a point at her mid-chest. When he responded with a blank stare, she repeated it. His head tilted.

"now what does that mean...?"

The siren only did it once more before she seemed to give up. She made a recognizable motion this time, both hands in fists together and turning down as if snapping something. He almost frowned.

"that a threat?"

Her face broke out into a wide smile, revealing teeth sharper than he expected before she was laughing on the other side of the glass. There was no other explanation for what she was doing, she was laughing, entirely too amused by his reaction as her shoulders shook. His grin widened a little at that. Well, at least someone here was having fun?

The siren seemed to recover from her fit and gazed at him once more, pupils dilated again. Then they flickered up—an alarmed look flashed over her features before she was suddenly gone. There was a flick of her great tail and then she had twisted away into the kelp and seaweed populating her tank, only the waves of the greenery giving away how fast she'd moved. Sans glanced backwards, feeling oddly like a kid caught doing something he wasn't supposed to when he met the fascinated stare of a fellow janitor.

"hey, paul. uh. somefin the matter?"

"....I didn't see a damn thing."

The older human just turned and walked out, grumbling something about working here for too damn long just for a newbie to get the attention of one of the shyer sirens. Whatever that was about.

When the intercom crackled to life to announce the night's closing, Sans cast one last glance at the tank as he retrieved his bucket and mop.

The siren was nowhere to be seen.