In a World of Lies, A Dark Garden of Falsehoods and Hatred
Athena and Saber broke off in a run in unison, just as the zombies were getting their feet on the dark and wet soil. Each pushed off towards the far hedges of his own side with such a force that they both were sending clumps of dirt and false grass behind them, cutting tears into the pristine landscape Caster had created.
Athena reached the entrance of the labyrinth, meeting a wall of hedges immediately past the trussed gate, and turning down a pathway to the right. She met another wall and turned left. Right again. Left again. Dead end. She turned around and went right. Then left. Then right again. It was a maze, and she never had any intention of keeping track of her direction. No, she only needed to go through. Considering the flood of undead which would soon be on her tail, she couldn't worry about the optimal path, she only needed to get away.
Over one of the hedges, she spotted another vine-covered gate. It led, she reasoned, into some sort of garden, the kind of secret hideaway one so often places at the center of a labyrinth such as this. She understood that this place didn't operate by normal rules, and was willing to bet that going through a gateway- of any kind- would lead to somewhere new, some new room in this strange hall of dreams. Either that, or it was just a garden, and a true dead end. Of course, if it was a dead end, then she had no reason to think there was an exit to begin with.
It was, in other words, her only hope. And, with the sound of shambling undead becoming steadily louder from whence she had come, she had neither the time nor patience to deliberate on the issue further.
She fought desperately to find the path, meeting more dead ends than she had before, each one sinking her heart just a little deeper into her chest, and her fear rising just that little bit more. She found herself walking around the garden, knowing it was on the other side of the hedge, but unable to get in until finally- there!- she found the white-truss gate and charged through.
-
She found herself in a place she recognized. It was her dining room- or, more accurately, her parent's dining room, up in the manor where she was raised. One one side of the table was a veritable mountain of food, and there was Pigsy, Lancer, in his normal, almost-childlike form, sitting on top of the table and digging in. Next to him was his Master, wearing an elegant yellow blouse and eating her own plate. Her wounds were healed, and not only that, but she seemed to not even be scarred. On the other side was Echo, who had hardly touched her food. She wore a beautiful white sweater with a low collar that exposed her sculpted collarbone, around which was a black choker. She greeted Athena with a smile. Next to her was Monika, wearing a quaint denim skirt, giving a timid smile and wave.
"What?" She took a step back; it was becoming harder to breathe, "What are you all doing here?"
"What do you mean?"
A voice from behind her. Her throat closed off completely, leaving just enough room for her blood to flee from her face.
It couldn't be.
A woman crossed into her vision, stepping into view. She had long, dark hair, sharp yet gentle features, and brown eyes filled with light and darkness in equal portions. She wore a simple flannel shirt, greeting her friend with an awkward smile and a worried tilt of the head.
"Athena? What's wrong?"
"Rhiannon?"
...
Chrysaor charged into the labyrinth, moving with full determination. He would rush through this maze as fast as possible, reaching the end with Godspeed, making sure he would arrive at the end with enough time to double back into his Master's maze and seize her from whatever jaws of disaster would rise to take her. It was not a lack of trust that pushed him on, but a pure and unadulterated devotion that would not tolerate missing any possibility of an opportunity to be useful to her.
For that reason-
"HRAH!"
Blue and white energy gathered around his legs and his blades. As he approached the first wall of hedges with lightning speed, he leaped ahead, turning his body like a drill, swinging his blades like the scythes they once were and tearing through the hedge. He landed on the other side and moved again in the same motion, cutting through hedge after hedge after hedge. He would pay no heed to the path Caster had laid. No, he would carve his own path.
He was in a true fury. A machine of gold and steel. Nothing in this world of lies would impede him. He tore through the labyrinth Caster had created without discrimination, eventually breaking through a hedge which bordered a garden within the maze's center.
-
He was blinded, his boots digging into the loose dirt as he skid to a stop. Peering through his fingers, he saw a brilliant noonday sun staring down at him, beating down in an all-encompassing way- the light surrounding him on all sides as it reflected up off of the sand and sea. The crashing of the waves was far beneath him; he stood on a precipice over the waves. He recognized the place. He recognized-
"Percy?"
There was a young man at the cliff's edge. With a face like a weasel's, a mop of auburn hair and copper colored eyes, his black cloak cut stark across the pastel, Mediterranean picture, sticking out like a sore thumb. Under his cloak, his silver armor, white toga and sheathed sword peered out at him like a timid crab. Behind him was the most beautiful stallion ever known to man or god: a horse of pure white with a gold and brass bridle, its fur as soft as an angel's down feather, and with its own set of majestic white wings to match.
Chrysaor couldn't help but laugh, a wide grin, a wider smile than just about any he'd ever worn, breaking across his face, "Pegasus! You're here!"
The horse whinnied, stamping its hooves in anticipation. He knew what his brother, the divine steed Pegasus, born from his mother's blood just as he was, was trying to say, 'It's about time! Where've you been, slowpoke!?'
Perseus gave his signature, sly grin, "You finally made it, brother. Come on-"
Pegasus let down his wing, revealing the saddle upon his back. Perseus hoisted himself up over the stirrup, sitting in the saddle like an angel of war.
He extended his hand, "-We have work to do."
...
"Rhiannon?"
Pigsy, from the table, let out a huff, nearly choking on his food.
"Oh boy, it's happening again."
"What-" Athena seized herself, "What's happening?"
"Athena," Monika stood up from the table, standing beside Rhiannon and gently taking her sister by the hand, "The war's over. Please."
"The war?" She gasped, "Saber! Chrysaor!"
She shouted, her hands cupped around her mouth, "Where are you!? Chrysaor!"
"Athena!" Rhiannon took her other hand, and waited for her attention before speaking again, "I need you back in reality. Come on, I need you to remember."
She looked back and forth between her friend and her sister, her heart beating at a mile-a-minute.
"Remember what?"
It was Monika who answered, "The final battle against Caster." She sighed, "Caster's magic manipulates the mind. He swarmed your mind with lies. He told you that all your friends, all of us, were in danger, were dying or-"
She exchanged a glance with Rhiannon, "Dead."
She squeezed her sister's hand with more firmness, "-But it's over now. You're okay. We're okay. Sit down. This is just another episode. We're all here. Just take a deep breath and wait for the memories to come back."
The words were like iced water on her mind, and she found herself calming down, she could even, she swore she could, feel holes in her mind, in her memories, being filled. She felt safe. She felt fine. She felt like she could let go-
She ripped her hands from both the girls, stamping her feet, "No! No! NO! Where is Chrysaor!? Where is he!?"
"Athena... Please. Don't you remember? He..."
Monika's voice trailed off.
Rhiannon bit her lip, "He gave his life for you."
She went to say something, but her voice caught in her throat.
Pigsy mumbled from the table, "How many times do we have to have this same conversation?"
Heping whacked him upside the head.
"Athena-!" Monika seized her hands again, tears budding at the edge of her eyes, "He's not dead! He's only returned to the Throne of Heroes! I promise we'll get him back. We will. Please-
"Won't you come sit with us? Just for a while?"
...
"No. I can't."
Perseus retracted his hand, his wry lips giving a slight pout.
"What do you mean, 'I can't'? Don't tell me you're sick or something."
"You know," He laughed at himself, "Sick isn't a bad word for it."
"Ah, I see." Perseus arched his back, casting his head to the side as if to dodge a blow, "Haven't I told you before? Women aren't worth the trouble; give 'er the night of her life, and then run like your life depends on it- because it does. There's too wide a world to be tied down by something as stupid as a woman's fickle heart. Trust me, if she gave it to you last night, then she'll give it to someone else tomorrow. That's just how women are."
"I know you don't really feel that way."
"Please, try me. I can't even count the beauties I've left behind."
"-But there is one. Even if you don't like to talk about it."
Perseus narrowed his eyes, "You, of all people, shouldn't be lecturing me about a man's duty to his mother. That's a damn different story, and you know it."
"No. No, it really isn't. You were there for her when she needed you the most. Because you loved her. Because it was your responsibility to protect her." He chuckled in good nature, "It may damn-well be the only truly heroic thing you've ever done."
"Well aren't you the wise guy?"
Chrysaor became serious, all levity, all brotherhood, disappearing from his face, "It's the same now. It's the same with her. She needs me, Percy. I love her, and because I love her I have to protect her.
"It's my turn to be somebody's hero."
He turned around, marching back towards dry land, resolve in every step, when a woman's voice, silky and smooth, called out to him-
...
"And what about me?"
Rhiannon grabbed Athena by the shoulders, shaking her, mascara becoming smeared by her tears.
"What about me, Athena!? He's gone! He's in the past! He'll come back soon, when the time is right, but we need you here now!"
Monika laid a hand on Rhiannon's shoulder, putting some distance between them, "She's right, Athena. He's not the only one you have responsibilities to. He's not the only one who loves you, who misses you." She smiled sweetly, "We're sisters, aren't we? We'll always have each other. I promise, we'll get him back eventually, but you won't be lacking company in the meantime. We'll smother you with love if that's what it takes for you to get through this, we just need you to take your eyes off the past for a minute and look ahead."
Monika gestured across the table, "Look at the future in front of you. We'll fill this table end-to-end with people who love you. We'll make up for all the time we lost back then. All the times I- we- let you down. Just let us love you, Athena."
...
"Mom..."
In front of him, her long, magenta hair passing her waist, her body full of grace, her arms and her bosom opened wide to welcome him, was Medusa. His mother.
"Chrysaor. Now's our chance. Let me make up for all the time we lost. All the love you deserved, but never received. I know I hurt you, but the time's come for those wounds to heal." A tear broke free from her eye and slid down her rosy cheek, "I'm here. Everything you've had to go through, all your trials and heartache, are at and end. Please, won't you stay with us?"
He stared at his mother for a long time, never forgetting his friend and brother in the corner of his eye. He was overwhelmed. Longing, desire, love, hope and fear ran through his veins instead of blood, beating his heart with such ferocity that it seemed ready to break through his chest like a newborn eagle from its egg.
He smiled, "Mom... Perceus... Pegasus..."
He looked over each of them as he spoke their names. These words, simple as they were, were more than enough to express the love within his heart. Just speaking their names spoke more to his sincerity than any 'I love you' could ever have. Yes, he loved these people dearly, and would happily die for any of their sakes.
He laughed, "Ah, all of you. You almost had me."
Each of the visions went pale-faced, the love and longing disappearing from their eyes. Their looks of welcome became accusations as Chrysaor spoke.
"-But now I know. This is all just a dream. I should've seen it from the beginning, it was always too good to be true, but I guess I wanted this more than I realized- even when it was already the only goal I had.
"No, this can't be real. Because I know that my mother, my brothers, love me."
He beamed out towards the noonday sun, towards the sea, even as tears rolled down his face, "None of them would ever do anything to keep me from what I know in my heart has to be done. No, they love me too much for that."
...
"Yeah, sure, I wanna stay here." Athena addressed the cold dining room, "But I can't. I have too many things to do. Important things. The most true and pure purpose I've ever had. If any one of you were really here, you'd agree with me.
"It's a good dream, don't get me wrong. In another time, I would've gladly stayed asleep. I would've welcomed it. Hell, I would've taken anything if it would've gotten me out of the rut I was in. I would've made a deal with the Devil himself, and, looking back... maybe I actually did."
...
"But that's behind me now. Right now, I have something real. The most real thing I've had in a long time, maybe ever."
...
"The truest thing I've ever known."
...
Chrysaor left no room for further temptation. He turned on his heel and made a mad dash the way he'd come, heading inland, away from the sea, away from the sun, away from his mother and his brothers.
He didn't even turn around as he bid them adieu, "Goodbye! All of you!"
...
Athena shoved the doors to the dining room wide open, fleeing from that place.
"I'll see you again, all of you! The real ones! I promise!"
...
"When the time is right. We'll all be together. But right now-"
...
"He needs me-"
...
"She needs me-"
...
White light overtook her as she left the dream behind, entering into an expanse of pure white.
"To be here!"
...
"To be strong!"
...
"To wake up!"
"To wake up!"
There he was.
There she was.
There they were, alone together in a realm between waking and dreaming, a place neither wholly real nor wholly false. Freed from the labyrinth of lies, each beheld the other with white smiles and wet eyes. They outstretched their arms in unison, each reaching for the other with a fierce desire that belied the certitude of their reunion: having all faith that they would be united, but no patience to wait even a second longer- not when their beloved was in sight.
Their hands joined with a resounding clap that filled every inch of the infinite space, echoing invisibly across the walls of their dreaming.
Love, joy and mischief flowed freely from their smiles as they yelled together-
"GERYON!"
....