𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 // 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑛 ＆𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐗𝐈𝐗.

－ • ꕥ • －

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑒𝑠. 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑛."
— 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧

－ • ꕥ • －

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 smiled at Evangeline's terrified face. "Oh, we'll get to that later," she promised, scanning the table at all of the quest-mates. "I want you to know... I don't actually think that you made that mess back there. I just wanted a moment along with you. There are some things I need you to understand—"

"You have something on your jacket. It looks like... It looks like glass," Grover interjected, eyeing the woman beside him carefully. Realization quickly dawned upon all the demigods. "No one smashed out the windows from inside our cabin. Someone smashed them in from the outside."

Before the woman could respond, the animal inside her carrier growled and whimpered. Evangeline's eyes glowed a soft pink as she determined that the hidden animal was definitely a monster. The woman crouched down in front of the carrier. "Yes, sweetheart. I know, I know. You're impatient. But we're almost there," she stood up and faced the quest-mates. "This isn't your fault. But sadly, you're going to have to bear the burden of your parents' mistakes today."

"Listen, lady. I don't know who you are, but I think I know what you are. We've run across a few monsters like you and we've sent them all packing." Percy spoke boldly, ignoring Evangeline's harsh whispers for him to stop.

The woman scoffed. "Monsters like me? Well... of course they're like me. They were my children." Evangeline felt a weight on her chest as all of the pieces began to fit together. It was all making sense now.

Percy was confused at the expressions on Annabeth and Evangeline's faces. "Children? What does that mean?" he glanced at Grover.

"The Mother of Monsters." Grover straightened his spine as he spoke.

"Echidna." Annabeth named her.

Evangeline's heart thundered violently in her chest. "The Chimera, from that night. He--" she began, trying to make sense of the mess in her head.

"Was my son, yes. Your brother did a number on him, but I'm sure you remember what happened to Noah. And the other. How is Arlo doing?" Echidna taunted Evangeline.

"Don't talk about them." Evangeline warned, her blue eyes darkening.

Echidna chuckled at the blonde girl as her child growled. "Oh!" she shushed the animal. "Monster. It's an odd word, considering my grandmother is your greatgrandmother, and this has always been a family story," Echidna spoke to Percy. "But... to my eye, the demigod is the more dangerous creature. Disruptive. Violent. If I exist for anything, it is to stand in the way of monsters like you. My little one here. She's just a pup now. Bless her heart. Today... you will be her prey. Evangeline knows all about that." Echidna spoke over her animal's continouous growling and snarling.

Evangeline gripped her bow beneath the table. "That's not the way I remember that night. You had to help your son find us. He couldn't even do it himself." she said daringly, the only way she knew how to coat her fear.

Echidna saw right through her efforts. "Acting strong won't make you less weak. You failed that night and you will fail again. Such a disappointment to Aphrodite." the woman stood from where she was soothing her child.

"I haven't failed unless I've become my mother." Evangeline's voice shook as she spoke, Annabeth eyeing her cautiously. She had never seen Evangeline so afraid.