32Chapter 06
Nico's room - Palace of Persephone
Charybdis
After dinner, a good training session, and a fresh shower, one can hope for a good sleep, even if they're immortal. But Charybdis had a question troubling her mind. What was the son of Hades, Nico going to tell her? Why did her mother prevent her from hearing it? What exactly she wanted to hide?
She didn't bother to knock, as she already knew the son of Hades was sleeping peacefully in his underworld-ish bedroom. She simply phased through the door, which made it vibrate. Kinda creepy, right? But Charybdis didn't have any ill intent, but to know what was Nico about to say.
The son of Hades and she had a good bonding time while training. This night, her mother taught Nico about dark energy and how to absorb it from the shadows. The boy got a hang of it, which made him stronger and faster in every way. Even though she was rusty with her spear, she could agree that Nico's a fine swordsman in making when he knocked off her shield. Finally, she managed to defeat him by shaking the ground, making him trip and fall. When you're the goddess of waves, you can do that.
She had to shake Nico a few times to get a response from him. What is that response? Turning to the other side and sleeping like the zombie boy he is. Well, this is not working, isn't it?
Charybdis placed her hand over Nico's head. Soon, Nico jolted up. Panic flashed in his eyes as he clutched his head with both hands and breathed hard. Then he glared at her.
"Oww! What was that for?" He asked in a high-pitched voice. "My head hurts! What was that?"
"You slept like a dead body," Charybdis remarked, "A little vibration wouldn't hurt you that much. It's not like I have exploded your head, did I?"
Her mother gave a spark about everything (well, not everything) that has been going on after her curse and she did a good job in catching up. So, she speaks English now.
"As good as that. Take a trumpet and play it next to me next time. What time is it?" Nico asked.
"Four hours to the sunrise," Charybdis said, "My apologies, Nico. I'll use a trumpet next time. Or you prefer the conch horn?"
Nico groaned and rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" he asked.
"I want to know something that my mother doesn't want me to," Charybdis replied, "You said 'Charybdis as in' when my mother shut you down. I think it's related to my curse. What was my curse, Nico?"
Nico closed his eyes. "No, I can't tell you." He said.
"I will save you from mother's wrath," Charybdis promised.
"It's not her wrath I'm afraid of," Nico said, "She promised me on the river Styx about this. She said the truth might be too much for you. Also, she said that she will reveal this to you when you're ready."
Charybdis hid her frustration. What was so wrong with her?
"Good night, Nico!"
Well, that didn't have a reply. Nico already was in the grasp of Hypnos. Her servants didn't answer this question, neither Nico. How about paying a visit to the nearest library? Granted the mythology is faulty in many points, but it is her last resort. Her mother's library never mentions her in the history, that's probably her mother taking off the books. For example, the library didn't have Odyssey, which was one of Homer's famous books.
With a bright light, she vanished away from the bedroom.
Appalachian Mountains
"Where's our daughter?"
Persephone couldn't believe her eyes. How in Tartarus did he manage to find her? Will he going to tell Zeus everything? Will her plans get nipped in the bud?
She weighed the facts and decided to play a different song.
"How dare you?" Persephone glared at him with fire in her voice, "You remain in the council even after Zeus turned your daughter into a monster!"
"I defied the council, my own brethren to save my daughter again, again and again!" storms were brewing in Poseidon's eyes. "I didn't have the power to turn her back before you ask."
"Oh really?" Persephone sneered, "What was the price you had to pay? I'm no fool Poseidon. I know there's a price to pay if Olympian doesn't abide by the rules of the council."
"I will never be the king of Olympus. That's the price," Poseidon said, "Just for knowing your return back to the earth and not revealing it. I'm willing to take her to my underwater palace, where Zeus wouldn't find her. I have already betrayed the council to a known enemy, so I don't think the fates are to punish me again."
The goddess' face lightened a bit.
"So, you're not going to betray me to the Olympus?" She asked.
"No," Poseidon said, "Unless you're going to help the titans. Ares feels the war is reaching. Oceanus has brought it to my kingdom. Our father is rising from the pits, as you might know already,"
"I'm aware," Persephone said shortly.
"If he's to rise to his full power, I'm afraid we won't have a chance to survive," Poseidon narrowed his eyes, "That includes you. Do you think you can take out the whole titan brethren single-handed? You may be able to defeat any titan single-handed, but they united as a front?" He scoffed, "Not so much."
"I assure you that I'm not going to ally titans in any way. You have my word on Styx," thunder rambled, "But Charybdis is going to stay with me after I cleared everything between me and Olympus. I need to be a mother to the daughter I never had the chance to meet," Persephone said.
"That's the point. You never met her," Poseidon said, "I did and I miss my girl more than you. Some people are more precious to us if we had them for a period of time, then we lost them rather than the precious people we know only by name."
Persephone sneered at him. "You only want her underwater because you miss her?" She asked.
"Don't twist my words, sister. I was pointing out why I miss her more than you do," The sea god said, "Amphitrite, Triton, and others would be so excited to meet her again!"
"I'm sorry Poseidon," this time, Persephone's voice was sincere, "That's exactly why I can't let you take her underwater. You know how chatty Nereids and Naiads can get. The result? Zeus would be after my godly hide. I can't let that happen. I have had it in Tartarus."
"What happened in Tartarus?" Poseidon's eyes calmed.
"It's a long story," Persephone said raising her blade. The ground cracked beneath them and a pit formed. An entrance to the labyrinth formed in the very next seconds. Poseidon understood the hint and jumped into the hole. Persephone and Prometheus (Who stumbled a little after the fall) went after him.
Random Library of Alaska
Charybdis
It was closed for the night, but it won't be a problem for a goddess. She just phased through the door. There was a pin-drop silence and no people in it. That's fine.
Now, a book which wasn't in mother's library… Let's go with Odyssey.
A book flew up to her hand at her will. The cover seemed new. She opened the book and read it until she found her name in the middle of the book.
"The other crag is lower—you will see, Odysseus— though both lie side-by-side, an arrow-shot apart. Atop it a great fig-tree rises, shaggy with leaves; beneath it, awesome Charybdis gulps the dark water down. Three times a day she vomits it up, three times she gulps it down, that terror! Don't be there when the whirlpool swallows down— not even the earthquake god could save you from disaster."
Gulping water of the Sea of Monsters? Did Zeus turn her into a whirlpool? Curiously, she turned to the next page and kept reading.
"Now wailing in fear, we rowed on up those straits, Scylla to starboard, dreaded Charybdis off to port, her horrible whirlpool gulping the sea-surge down, down but when she spewed it up—like a cauldron over a raging fire— all her churning depths would seethe and heave—exploding spray showering down to splatter" the peaks of both crags at once! But when she swallowed the sea-surge down her gaping maw the whole abyss lay bare and the rocks around her roared, terrible, deafening—"
With shaking hands, the goddess turned to the next page, which was a drawing of Charybdis and Scylla. She understood what her mother was not going to tell her. Zeus turned her into a monster. She was a monster; a disgusting, yet deadly monster hated by everyone.
She threw the book away and let out a yell of frustration. The library shook, causing books to fall from the racks. She didn't care. She was a monster anyways. Her father wouldn't want to meet her after she became a disgusting monster for many centuries! He would think she must be a disgrace to the sea!
The windows shattered as she shrieked again. Tears were pooling in her eyes as she looked at her hands. Would she transform back into the monster again? Did her mother really break this curse?
The door of the library opened and few neighbors cautiously stepped in. The mortals saw a teen terrorist with a belt of bombs around her waist with her back turned towards them. One ran outside of the library to inform the Police while others tried to slowly reach and grab her.
'Tried' is the keyword.
The roof of the library cracked and large pieces started raining upon them as she broke into sobs and cried her heart out. She didn't notice the vibrating library and the roof and walls are collapsing upon her and the mortals. Only the loud sirens of police cars brought back her to the half-shattered library. She noticed the people surrounding the labyrinth.
With another frustrated scream of the goddess of waves, they all fell as dead bodies.
Meanwhile
"The labyrinth," Poseidon mused, "this reminds me of Minos."
"Yeah, must be fun to mess with a son of Zeus just because he failed to sacrifice a bull in your honor," Persephone said, "When did you begin to love things with animals?"
"Pot calls Kettle black," Poseidon said, "You had a hell hound of a son just because death was pretty."
"Touché," Persephone said, "I'm intending to visit that son of mine too," her eyes turned dark, "You wish to know what happened to me at Tartarus?"
"Yes," Poseidon nodded.
Persephone closed her eyes and opened them again, "As you well know, Zeus threw me down from the edge of Chaos," she said.
Poseidon gasped, "How did you even survive? How did you get out?"
"That's the million-dollar question!" Persephone exclaimed, "The simple explanation is the fact that I never was in it."
Poseidon's sea-green eyes curiously gazed into Persephone's green ones, "How?" he asked.
Persephone sighed, "It was Nyx."
Poseidon paled. "I suppose she didn't invite you for a lunch in the mansion of the night?" He asked.
"Considering she never takes dinner?" Persephone asked, "Nope. I knew I was toast as soon as her whip wrapped around my neck. She was well within her rights when she dragged me into her mansion. Long story short, we had small talk and she threw me to her children, the arai," Persephone took a heavy breath before continue, "I suffered all the curses I have ever had. In return, I absorbed the life force of the arai. Escaping their clutches alone took me several centuries."
"Then Nyx kept me around as an intimate slave for many centuries in her mansion," Persephone said to the sea god who visibly shuddered at the idea. "Yeah I know, tad bit disgusting. I don't want to think about those times. Anyway, I had an encounter with the old guy, Geras. He was sorry that he couldn't overrule his mother's words. Then I met Hypnos when hid under his mommy's skirt. The guy really couldn't double-cross his momma under the circumstances-"
"How did you escape?" Poseidon asked concern in his voice.
"I had this collar around my neck," Persephone said, "A collar made of the pure darkness of night sky. The same matter Ouranos used to make the chains of Heckatonkheires and Elder Cyclops. One day, Hemera visited. Guess what?" Persephone chuckled, "Mom and daughter fought over me!"
"No way!" Poseidon gasped.
"Hemera saw me and demanded me as a slave for her. She said that the goddess of life belonged with her while Nyx claimed the goddess of destruction perfectly belonged to her and there are also living creatures in the night, so Hemera lost the argument. Then Hemera attacked Nyx with pure blasts of sunlight, my collar shattered when I was also hit by one such blast. They didn't notice until I jumped across the river Acheron."
"Turns out, Nyx kept me from turning into a hag whole that time. I wondered through Tartarus absorbing monster after another to find the door to the mortal world. It wasn't easy, but I continued to believe in myself. I thought 'I survived through a fall to chaos, every sin of mine, two primordial goddesses, and I can do this.'
"And you finally made it!" Poseidon exclaimed.
Persephone nodded with a small smile, "Yeah, I managed it-"
Suddenly, her smile vanished. Her eyes darkened. Her body went rigid. The god of the sea noticed the sudden change in his sister's attitude.
"Trouble?" Poseidon asked.
"I must return to my palace." She said in a grim voice and grabbed Prometheus from the hand. Both the immortals vanished in a rain of sand before the sea god had the chance to say anything. Poseidon hit the butt of his trident onto the labyrinth floor and cussed in Ancient Greek.
When will he meet her again?
Homer, Alaska
A sobbing girl sat on a rock on a beach. The sea waves punished the beach with mighty blows. She hid her face behind her palms. Even though her mother changed how she looked outside, she was a monster from the inside. Zeus just made her realize her true nature. She took the lives and the property of the people who lived in coastal areas when she led her father's conquest. She caused misery for countless people. She wrecked countless ships, boats and ate mortals and demigods as her dessert. Even after her outside appearance change, she took out an entire street. She continued to do what she was doing for many centuries.
She didn't know and didn't care about the figure behind her morphing from the sand of the beach. Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder.
"Mother?" Charybdis turned her head. Her eyes were gold from crying.
"You searched the truth, despite my best advice huh?" Persephone asked, sitting next to her on the rock. "And you're wondering if you're a monster?"
"I-I am a monster," Charybdis sobbed.
"Child," Persephone said, "We all have monsters inside us more or less; it doesn't matter if someone is a god, titan, primordial, monster, nature spirit, demigod, or just plain mortal. We all commit sins. We all have flaws. But never forget, there's also the goodness that lies in hearts. No one is ever truly good or bad. So what if you had committed few sins?" She rubbed soothing circles on her daughter's back, "That doesn't define you as a monster, is it?"
"B-But I s-still-"Persephone put her finger to Charybdis' lips.
"You didn't know what you're doing. It was the fault of Zeus and his alone. The people you killed by waves?" Persephone looked in her eyes, "I had let entire civilizations wipe from the earth. I made Pandora's Pithos. Young lady, you're nowhere near to my legacy!"
"You're lying," Charybdis said.
"Why should I?" Persephone raised an eyebrow, "At least I'm honest with the twisted stuff I do. Zeus takes many lengths to hide what he does. I don't need to tell you that one time he turned his lover into a cow? I don't know he was always into cows. Or he would have married any other goddess and settle down with her instead of marrying the goddess of cows!"
Charybdis let out a wet chuckle.
"Just because you do bad things, don't consider yourself a monster. A monster is someone who mostly does malicious, terrible things gladly and always enjoys them afterward. Clearly, you didn't enjoy killing the good people of the coasts. Why do you consider yourself a monster then?" Persephone asked.
Instead of replying, Charybdis turned and threw herself into her mother's arms. Persephone was surprised but hugged her daughter back. The waves smoothened and the sea calmed as the goddess of waves found comfort in the arms of her mother.
The eyes of the goddess of life narrowed when someone started talking in her mind.
"Milady!" The voice of the nymph of labyrinth claimed. "I have something important to say!"
"Now is not the time Annabeth! I'm with my daughter!" Persephone thought back. Annabeth, that's the nymph's chosen name. When Persephone suggested she pick a name, the nymph stuck between 'Anne' and 'Elizabeth' so she combined both and named herself 'Annabeth'.
"Two Heckatonkheires are imprisoned on Alcatraz Island!"
Persephone's eyes widened. Her generals who were loyal to her since they met and she is not going to abandon them right now.
"And beware! The monster Kampé guards them!"
A/N
Hello again to all of you. In this chapter, I found myself in unfamiliar territory. I have my doubts about the work of this chapter but I managed and survived through it anyways. Guess the two Heckatonkheires and win the prizes! (Well, no prizes but it would be fun)
Now, you may ask how Poseidon managed to find her. We know he had his suspicions, then he was smart enough to figure out Persephone is going to release her little trickster anytime soon. It never came up in the writing but that's your off-page explanation.
Shower me your ideas and reviews. Be safe!
Weirdhead out.