#❛ SURVIVED ALL THOSE BATTLES AND GET DEFEATED BY A STUPID CHUNK OF ROCK. ❜ / ⊰ headcanons. ⊱ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

psychosistr · 5 years ago

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Hermit’s Heart- Pt.2

Summary: After Caesar’s death, he’s prepared to enter the after life and pass on..however, as always, a certain Joestar derails his plans. With a simple, impulsive gesture, Caesar changes his own fate and becomes Joseph’s unseen guardian.

Notes: So, apparently on my birthday I like making myself sad and decided to share that sadness with others. Enjoy the prequel to the previous part that seemed to make everyone cry as much reading it as me when I wrote it xD

-First Part-

Caesar sighed as he watched Joseph go about his daily business with the real estate firm. Watching Jojo work had its interesting moments, certainly, but, for the most part, it was simply tedious. You think he would be used to it after nearly fifty years of watching after the other man, but there were still times when he would get bored.

It really wouldn’t be so bad if he could actually TALK to his friend, he had thought several times in the past. Unfortunately, that was part of the curse of being DEAD.

With another sigh, Caesar reclined back in the air around him weightlessly as he recalled the years leading up to this point…

There had been the fight against the pillar men, Aztec gods that had sought a way to become immortal and unstoppable. He and Joseph had trained to defeat them, and to save Joseph’s life in the process. Tragedy struck, however, when Caesar decided to go off on his own to fight the pillar men after a rather nasty argument with Joseph. He had lost horribly against Wham, the pillar man holding the antidote needed to save Joseph’s life. In a last ditch effort to save his friend, Caesar had managed to snatch the antidote from Wham before giving up the last of his energy to protect it and make sure Joseph’s life would be saved.

When he awoke some time later, he quickly discovered that he was, as he is currently, dead. He had been floating above the ruins, apparently on his way to the afterlife. He had almost made it to a portal of bright light when..distantly..he heard someone calling his name.

“…Caesar..” He knew that voice..

“Jojo..?” He looked back down, listening for that familiar voice again.

“Fight alongside me, Caesar.” It was definitely Joseph’s voice. It had a resolve to it that Caesar had only ever heard when the Joestar was about to do something that was both foolishly reckless and kind-heartedly selfless at the same time.

“Jojo, don’t you dare get yourself killed!” Caesar yelled while taking off towards Joseph’s voice. Finding out he could fly was a bit of a surprise, but, he supposed, it made sense seeing as he was floating when he woke up. He also found that he could go through solid surfaces such as floors and walls, making it much easier to find Joseph.

What he witnessed sent a swell of affection straight to his no-longer-beating heart: He saw Joseph fighting against Wham in a chariot race, Caesar’s headband tied around his head. He noted that the antidote ring was still in one piece, but decided he would be angry about that later if Joseph didn’t survive the fight.

Luckily, he did, with Caesar watching and cheering him on the whole time. His headband was destroyed during the fight and it soon materialized around his own head again, ending up right where it belonged. Caesar watched with pride as Joseph finally consumed the antidote. He was relieved that his sacrifice had not been in vain- Joseph would live.

Of course, there was the still the battle with Kars that almost dispelled what little relief Caesar had felt over Joseph’s victory against Wham. Kars had proven to be a much more challenging and underhanded opponent. Joseph almost died quite a few times before finally sending Kars flying off into space. However, the chunk of earth he had been on quickly plummeted towards the ground.

Caesar looked towards Joseph, wondering how he would find a way out of this. To his surprise, however, Joseph merely lied down on the rock with a content smile on his face.

“Caesar..” Joseph called his name, not once opening his eyes. “Guess I’ll be seeing you soon…”

“Jojo..” Caesar reached out to touch his friend, but his hand went right through him. “No..no, damn it!” He yelled while trying futilely to grab onto the brunette. “Don’t you dare give up now! I didn’t die just so you could join me here! You have to live, Jojo!”

His attempts at getting Joseph’s attention were all in vain, sadly, and Caesar feared the Joestar really would perish without trying at all to save his own life.

Luckily, it seemed the universe had other plans as the rock fell into the sea and Joseph was later picked up by a fishing boat. After that he was taken back to Italy and placed under Suzi Q’s care. She turned out to be a wonderful nurse, her and Joseph clearly enjoying each other’s company just as much as when Caesar was around. He had to admit, though, that he was a bit jealous watching the two of them. They looked like they would make a great couple.

“A couple…” Caesar said one evening while watching Joseph sleep. He reached out, his hand phasing through the sleeping Joestar’s cheek before he pulled it back to make-believe he was actually touching his face. “I guess you’ll be getting married soon..moving in together..having a nice big family…” These were all things that Caesar himself had wanted to have one day, but had given up to safe Joseph’s life. While he would never regret giving up his life for Joseph, there was one thing he did deeply regret. “I wish that..I could have been the one to experience all of that with you…” It was a foolish dream, he was aware- society was very adamantly against those kinds of relationships. Yet, even knowing this, he had still fallen in love with the foolish but clever man lying before him now. With a depressed sigh, Caesar rose to his feet. “Perhaps it is time for me to move on. You’re in good hands here and you no longer need me by your side. Arrivederci..amore..”

He walked over to the window nearby and looked outside. He could still see that glowing portal from before, hanging in the sky like a second-moon. He instinctively knew that that was where he was supposed to go- where he should have gone days ago.

As he started to phase through the wall, a quivering voice caught his attention. “Cae..sar…” He stopped and looked back towards the room’s only other occupant. Joseph’s brow was creased and he was fidgeting under the covers. Was he having a nightmare? “Caesar..” He said the other man’s name again, his arm that wasn’t in a cast reaching out in front of him like he was trying to grab something. “Please..don’t..go..”

“Jojo..?” Caesar frowned and walked back over, sitting beside Joseph on the bed and trying to grab his hand. “Joseph, you need to calm down, you’ll hurt yourself again if you fall out of the bed.” He knew the other couldn’t hear him, he never could, and his hand just went right through him, but he tried nonetheless.

“Caesar..I’m..I’m sorry..” To Caesar’s wide-eyed astonishment, there were tears forming in the corners of Joseph’s eyes. “I’m sorry..Caesar..I’m sorry..come back..please…Caesar..!”

Caesar frowned, hating that he was unable to do anything to ease his friend’s pain. “Jojo…” He wrapped himself around Joseph’s body in an attempt at a hug, his forehead pressing against the larger man’s tenderly. “Joseph..wake up..”

It could have been a coincidence. It could have been a power that Caesar was unaware he had. Either way, Joseph’s eyes shot open and he sat up immediately (Caesar moving out of his way instinctively, even though he knew the other would just go through him), his hand reaching out in front of him desperately. “CAESAR!!” He was panting heavily, wide eyes looking around like he was searching. Apparently not finding what he wanted only seemed to upset him further and the normally proud Joestar curled in on himself with a choked sob. “Caesar…”

“Jojo..” Caesar replied with a pained look. He hated this. He hated not being able to comfort his beloved friend. Hated not being able to wrap his arms around him for real and tell him that everything would be okay. All he could do was sit there and watch his friend come undone.

“Jojo?” A gentle voice questioned from somewhere behind Caesar. He turned his head and saw Suzi Q in the room’s doorway with a lantern, a concerned look on her face. She walked further into the room. “Jojo, is something wrong? Did the stitches pop again?”

Joseph sniffled and rubbed at his eyes with his uninjured hand. “I..Never mind, it’s nothing..just..go back to bed, Suzi…” He didn’t look up at her, merely stared at his legs under the blanket.

“……” She walked over to him instead and set the lantern on the nightstand by his bed before gently wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. “You were thinking about Caesar, right?”

Caesar was just as surprised as Joseph to hear her guess it right so easily. “!!”

She looked down at him with a sympathetic but sad smile. “I heard you saying his name. It’s okay, I miss him too.”

Joseph looked up at her for a while before his eyes looked back down again. “Promise you won’t think any less of me if I tell you something weird?”

Suzi shook her head and sat down by Joseph on the bed, Caesar moving around to the other side so he wouldn’t feel so crowded over there. “Of course- I can keep a secret!”

Joseph gripped the blankets under his hand tightly, unable to meet her sincere smile and patient eyes. “I……I loved him…”

Caesar stared at Jojo in surprise. “Joseph..? You..?”

Joseph continued, unaware of the man in question hearing every word of his confession. “I don’t know when it started..but..at some point..I fell in love with him. I know it was stupid- he was a freakin’ Casanova and always showed off how easily he could get anyone he wanted, so why would he choose someone like me? Still..it happened..to top it all off, I didn’t even figure it out ‘til we had that stupid fight and he stormed off to go fight the pillar men all by himself..” He brought his hand up to his face and covered his eyes. “I was so worried about him..I thought, if I caught up to him, then maybe we could work things out and I could tell him then…..but..then we found his headband..and I knew I’d missed my chance…” His shoulders shook and Caesar could see tears leaking out from under Joseph’s hand again. “I loved him..hell..I STILL love him..and-and now..he’s…” He broke down into a fit of sobs again and Caesar’s heart broke more hearing it.

“Jojo..” Suzi wrapped her arms around him again, holding him as he cried.

“It’s not fair, damn it!” Joseph sobbed in her arms, his whole body trembling with the force of his emotions. “Why’d that idiot have to go and die like that?! Why’d he have to leave me alone?! He should’ve been the one to live, not me!!” He gave a broken sob and clung to Suzi. “He was the one who could’ve married a cute girl and had a nice family and actually DONE SOMETHING with his life! Lisa Lisa said it herself- I’m probably gonna end up dead or in jail, so what good is it for someone like ME to be alive while HE’S dead?!”

“Idiota..don’t talk like that..” Caesar was choking back tears of his own. “I wanted you to live so that you could have those things, too..you deserve them just as much as me.”

“Joseph..” Suzi’s voice was sweet and kind, as it always was. “Caesar cared about you, too. He had a funny way of showing it, but we all saw it. He probably wanted you to grow old and have a good life with the people who love you.” She carefully put her hands on Joseph’s head, a few tears in her own eyes as she spoke. “I…I know I can never take his place..but..I promise I won’t leave you alone. Okay?”

Joseph sniffled and looked at her. “Suzi..” He loosened his grip on her and let his forehead rest on her shoulder. “You think you’d be okay with a guy that’s still hung up on someone else?”

“Of course I would.” Suzi said while gently patting his head. “As long as that guy could care about me a little, too.”

Joseph managed a small smile and a broken laugh while holding onto her. “I think that’d be pretty easy.”

Caesar watched the pair embracing on the bed, feeling more than a little envious. However, despite his jealousy at not being the one to hold and comfort Joseph, he was relieved to see that he did have someone so understanding. Very few people would have been so okay with the one they cared for harboring feelings for someone else.

Still, as he watched the two of them, he could feel the sadness coming off of Joseph in waves. “Jojo.” He placed a hand on the larger man’s back and stroked it gently. He felt his resolve building and voiced it aloud. “Even if you can’t see my face..even if you can’t hear my voice..even if you can’t feel my touch..I’ll stay right here beside you. After all, you asked me to fight alongside you and I still haven’t gotten the chance to do that.” He let his head rest against Joseph’s back and closed his eyes. “Until we get to see each other again, I’ll wait right here by your side.”

And Caesar had done just as he promised, even now, fifty years after his life had been cut tragically short.

Through the decades he had watched Joseph get married, start a family, give up his hamon training, and slowly age into an old man as one-by-one his older relatives passed away. Joseph had traveled the world and seen many exotic and unusual things thanks to the Speedwagon Foundation. A while ago, he’d traveled to Egypt and met a fortune teller that told him about a mystic presence known as a “stand” that embodied the user’s soul. It had been a shock for Caesar to see the fiery red bird appear, but Joseph had apparently not seen it. The whole time, Caesar had a feeling that the fortune teller, and the bird-like spirit, were aware of his presence with how they kept glancing in his general direction.

Now, though, Joseph was done with traveling for a bit and back in New York to continue his day-job. It was a monotonous day-to-day existence, but Caesar was not one to break a promise- even if the one he promised had never actually heard him.

“Hurry up and finish already, Joseph. You always take forever doing your paperwork..” Caesar nagged the brunette while changing his position in the air to a cross-legged one.

He couldn’t explain it, but lately he had been feeling a bit…anxious. Something had been pulling at the back of his mind, giving him a sense of paranoia and unease that something might happen to Joseph if the old fool wasn’t careful. It made him nervous whenever Joseph was outside of his home or by himself in public. Caesar’s eyes often scanned the area for threats, even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything should Joseph be attacked.

“He is in danger.” A voice spoke to him suddenly and without precedence.

“?!” Caesar’s head shot up and he looked around for the source of the voice. The only one in the room besides himself was Joseph, and the phone wasn’t turned on at the moment so it couldn’t have been a phone call. Plus Joseph seemed ignorant to the voice’s words, simply going about his business as usual. “Who said that?!” Caesar questioned while looking around but staying close to Joseph.

“He is in danger.” The voice repeated. It was an odd voice, seeming to come from all directions at once. It sounded like every voice Caesar had ever heard in the background of a crowded room and yet like nothing at all. It was unsettling yet calming at the same time. “Joseph Joestar is in danger. His whole family is.” The voice continued. “They will soon face an ancient evil that seeks to end the Joestar line forever.”

Caesar felt like the voice was telling him the truth. He looked at Joseph with wide, worried eyes. “Joseph..he can’t fight like he used to..if something as powerful as the pillar men attacked him, he may not survive..” Fear and concern bubbled up within his chest. There had to be some way to warn him! Some way to protect him from such a threat!

“There is a way to save him.” The voice spoke calmly. “He will need someone to fight at his side and grant him guidance in these trials. Should you be willing, you may become his strength to ensure his survival.”

“I’ll do it!” Caesar responded without hesitation and complete conviction in his words.

“Do not agree so readily.” The voice warned him. “For if you choose this path, there is no going back. You will lose much that may not be reclaimed for many years to come..”

“I don’t care!” Caesar’s conviction did not waver in the slightest. “I already gave up my life for him! I would gladly give that and anything else up for his safety! Just tell me what to do and I will do it!”

“Very well…” The voice relented. “Touch his hand and you shall be transformed into something he will need in these coming days: A stand. He was not born with this ability, nor was he exposed to the source for it..however, the enemy of his bloodline has gained this power and caused it to awaken in others who share that blood. Those, like Joseph Joestar, will need guardians to become their stands since they do not possess them already.”

Caesar did as he was instructed and touched Joseph’s hand, grasping it as much as he could without going through it. “Jojo…” He felt a rush of energy spreading outward from where his body was touching Joseph’s, shooting up his arm and into his chest. “This time..we will fight together.”

He closed his eyes as the energy burned through him. It was an odd sensation, like his long-dead veins were burning while his every muscle was simultaneously being split apart. Strangely enough, it didn’t hurt, it was simply…odd. The feeling spread over every part of his body from his head to his toes, leaving him feeling oddly loose and shifty by the time it was all over.

When he opened his eyes again, he came to the odd realization that he wasn’t exactly sure WHERE his eyes were. He looked at himself and discovered that his body had unraveled into several thorny, purple vines. Many of them were spread out in the surrounding area, simply lying in wait to be moved as Caesar realized after a bit of focusing. The main part of him, the part that held the greater portion of his consciousness that could loosely be called his “head” was focused into about three or four vines which were growing out of Joseph’s hand.

As he focused on where his no longer visible “eyes” were looking, he noticed that Joseph was looking at him with a perplexed expression. “What the hell..?”

Caesar moved one of his vines back and forth to test if Joseph could see him. “Jojo? Joseph, can you see me?” Joseph’s eyes followed the vine, meaning that he could indeed see him. “Ah! You CAN see me! Jojo, it’s me- it’s Caesar!” Caesar was so excited to know that he had a way to interact with his old friend again. He tried moving one of his vines to touch Joseph’s face and was even more elated to find out that he could actually make contact with him. “This is great! Joseph, there is so much we need to-!”

Joseph continued to look at him with a confused expression, using his other hand to carefully touch the vine that had just touched his cheek. “Woah..this is cool..but, still, what the hell are you??”

Caesar’s good mood fell almost instantly. “Huh? What are you talking about? Jojo, it’s me!” A thought occurred to him as he watched Joseph examining his vines carefully. “You..You can’t hear me…”

He felt like his heart (wherever it was in this mass of vines) was breaking all over again. It was so unfair…after all this time..Joseph could finally see him..he could touch him..but he couldn’t even let him know who or what he was…he was so close, yet still so far…

While Caesar was wallowing in the bitter feeling of despair over his current predicament, Joseph grabbed a camera from a drawer on his desk. “This is so weird..I wonder if it’ll show up on film..?” Caesar felt some of his vines shifting over to Joseph’s other hand, coming out of his hand in the same way his main ones were on the other side. This startled Joseph and caused him to grip the camera harder. “Woah! Ah, shit!” He swore as it started to crack.

Caesar felt an energy racing through him, similar to what he felt when his body changed. “Ah!” He gasped (though there was no telling where his mouth was like this) as the energy seemed to link him to Joseph’s mind.

He saw flashes of thought, memories of the fortune teller he’d met in Egypt. Then he felt a pull on another part of his mind- while one half was staying connected to Joseph’s thoughts, the other half was seeing things in another location. He saw the man that Joseph was thinking of- he was in the middle of performing a tarot card reading for a group of children along the side of a road. That image froze in his mind and the energy within him spread through the vines, into Joseph’s hands, and then finally into the camera he was holding.

The camera shattered completely in Joseph’s grip, but, from the wreckage, a single photo was printed out: It was the image of the fortune teller that had been in Caesar’s mind.

Joseph put down the camera’s remains and picked up the picture with a look of shock and awe. “Woah! This is crazy! I was just thinking about how Avdol might be able to explain this to me!” He looked back down at the vines on his hand. “Did you do that?”

“I..I think I did..?” Caesar replied despite Joseph being deaf to his words. He was pretty sure that was his doing just now, but he still had no idea HOW he did it. This would take some practice and experimentation from both of them to figure out the full extent of Caesar’s new form and powers.

While he would have preferred a form that allowed him to speak to Joseph, or at least allow him to be recognized, Caesar still hoped this new power would prove useful to Joseph in whatever bizarre challenges he was about to face.

#caejose #caeser zeppeli #Joseph Joestar #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken #jjba

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dumbledearme · 6 years ago

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chapter twelve—between scylla and charybdis

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act II — Heart Of The Ocean

Part IV — We’ve got the spirit. You’ve got to hear it. Under the sea.

“You are in so much trouble,” Clarisse told them the minute they stepped aboard. Her ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. And everywhere they looked dead Confederate sailors would stared at them. “Tantalus expelled you for eternity. Mr D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he’ll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV.”

“Really?” said Andy. “He drives a SUV? Never took him for the kind-”

“Did they give you this ship?” Anthony asked.

“Of course not. My father gave me the CSS Birmingham,” Clarisse sneered. “You think her daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That’s their curse for being defeated.”

“Clarisse,” Anthony said. “Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He’s got spies inside the camp, so he probably has the coordinates and he’s heading south. He has a cruise ship-”

“Good. I’ll blow him out of the water.”

“We need to combine forces. Let us help you.”

“No!” She pounded the table, her eyes wild. “This is my quest! Finally I get to be the hero, and you two will not steal my chance.”

“Did you come alone?” Andy asked.

“Yes,” she admitted. “Nobody wanted to come and I didn’t need them, anyway. All you need to know is that I’m finishing this quest and you are NOT helping. On the other hand, I can’t let you go…”

“So we’re your prisoners?” Anthony asked.

“Guests,” Clarisse corrected. “For now. Until I think of something better to do with you two. Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don’t mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies.”

Two days later, they approached the entrance to the Sea of Monsters. Andy was on her way upstairs, when she heard voices coming from one of the rooms below deck. She froze.

“I don’t want excuses, little girl.”

“Y-yes, father,” Clarisse mumbled.

“You don’t want to see me mad, do you?”

“No, father.”

“You’re pathetic,” Ares sneered. “I should’ve let one of my sons take this quest.”

“I’ll succeed!” Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. “I’ll make you proud.”

“I certainly doubt that,” he said. “But you better try, girly. You asked me for this quest. If you let that slimeball Jackson kid steal it from you-”

“But the Oracle said-”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT SAID!” Ares bellowed with such force the ship trembled. “You will succeed! Do we understand each other?”

Andy met Anthony and Tyson on the spar deck. Clarisse came up the stairs right after her. “At last, Captain,” she said. “Full steam ahead.” The engine groaned as they increased speed.

Tyson muttered nervously, “Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water.”

Ahead of them a storm was brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.

“Hurricane?” Anthony asked.

“No,” Clarisse said. “Charybdis.”

All the color left Anthony’s face. “Are you insane?” he demanded.

“Only way into the Sea of Monsters,” she shrugged like it was not a big deal. “Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla.” Clarisse pointed to the other side where a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea. “If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them.”

“What about the Clashing Rocks?” Anthony said. “That’s another gateway. Jason used it.”

“Jason was a pussy. I’m not.”

“No, you’re crazy.”

“Watch and learn, geek.” Clarisse turned to the captain. “Set course for Charybdis.”

“Aye, m'lady”

The engine groaned.

“Charybdis sucks up the sea, right?” Andy asked realizing she knew this at least.

“And spits it back out again, yes,” said Clarisse.

“What about Scylla?”

“She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship.”

“Well, choose Scylla, then,” Andy suggested. “Everybody gets bellow deck and we chug right past.”

“No!” Clarisse insisted. “If Scylla doesn’t get her easy meat, she might pick up the whole ship. Besides, she’s too high to make a good target. My cannons can’t shoot straight up. Charybdis just sits there a the center of her whirlwind. We’re going to steam straight toward her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus.”

“You’ll kill us all,” Anthony told her.

“Tony is right,” Tyson said. “Engine’s no good.”

“What do you mean?” Anthony asked. “And don’t call me that.”

“Pressure,” said Tyson. “Pistons need fixing.” Before he could explain, the ship lurched forward and Andy was thrown to the deck. They were in the whirlpool.

“Full reverse!” shouted Clarisse from somewhere. The sea churned around them, waves crashing over the deck. “Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!”

Dead Confederates rushed back and forth.

“Bailer room overheating, ma'am,” one of them told Clarisse. “She’s going to blow!”

“Go fix it!”

“Can’t!” He yelled over the noise. “We’re vaporizing in the heat.”

“I only need a few more minutes,” Clarisse said. “Just enough to get in range.”

“We’re going in too fast,” the captain said grimly. “Prepare yourself for death.”

“No!” Tyson shouted. “I can fix it.”

Clarisse looked at him incredulously but it was Anthony who spoke. “He’s a Cyclops. Immune to fire. And he known mechanics.”

“No!” Andy said getting up. “Too dangerous, Tyson!”

“Only way, sister,” he shouted back at her. His expression was determined – confident even. Andy watched him go wondering if he’d be back. Then the ship lurched again and she saw Charybdis, the enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth. The entire sea around her was being sucked into the void.

“M'lady,” shouted the captain, “starboard and forward guns are in range.”

“Fire!” Clarisse ordered. Three rounds were blasted into the monster’s maw. “Again!”

But it was hopeless. They were being sucked in too fast.

Suddenly, the vibrations on the deck changed. The hum of the engine got stronger and the ship started to pull away from the mouth.

“Tyson fixed it!” Anthony said amazed.

“No! We need to stay close!” Clarisse shouted.

“We’ll die, stupid!” Andy argued. “We have to move away!”

At that moment, the mouth snapped shut. The sea died to absolute calm. Then, just as quickly as it had closed, the mouth exploded open, spitting out a wall of water and everything else it had swallowed. The ship was thrown backward, spinning out of control, hurtling toward the cliffs on the opposite side.

A Confederate ghost appeared. “The engine is about to blow! We need to abandon ship!”

“Where is Tyson?” Andy asked him.

“Still down there, holding it together. I don’t know how much longer it can take. The hull is cracking apart. She can’t-” He never got to finish his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched him up, and lifted him away.

The captain shouted, “SCYLLA!”

Anthony grabbed Andy’s hand and pulled her close. “Lifeboats,” he said.

“It’ll never get clear of the cliffs, you fool,” Clarisse said. “You’ll be eaten alive.”

“We still need to try,” he insisted.

Andy squeezed his hand. “I can’t leave Tyson.”

“We can’t, Andy. I’m sorry,” he said as if Tyson was dead already. “Clarisse, the boats!”

Clarisse nodded and commanded the sailors to uncovered the lifeboats. Andy pulled her hand away from Anthony’s and ran trying to get below deck to save Tyson. Anthony called after her. She thought she was doing pretty well, she actually thought there was a chance of getting to Tyson and getting out of this ship alive.

And then the thing got her. It lifted her toward the lair. Without thinking, Andy uncapped Riptide and cut the tentacle or whatever it was.

The fall would’ve been bad enough, but as she fell, the CSS Birmingham exploded below her. Chunks of ironclad flew everywhere. The lifeboats had managed to get away but not far. Flaming wreckage was raining down.

Andy hit the water with a blast that would’ve broken every bone in her body if she wasn’t a daughter of Poseidon. She sank in the burning sea, knowing that Tyson and maybe Anthony were gone forever and wishing she was able to drown.

She woke up in a rowboat with Anthony next to her. “Rest,” he said. “You’re going to need it.”

Andy blinked. “Tyson…?”

Anthony looked down. “I’m really sorry, Andy.”

“Are you?” she asked harshly.

“He might’ve survived. Fire can’t kill him. Neither can water,” he said but she knew he was only saying it for her benefit.

“Well, I shouldn’t get my hopes up, right?” she sneered. “I mean, you can’t trust a Cyclops.”

Anthony’s stormy eyes met hers with nothing but kindness. “I am sorry, Andy. I was wrong about Tyson. I’m sorry I won’t get to tell him that.”

It was really hard staying mad at him after that. They sailed for hours without speaking to each other, until Andy finally decided to ask something that had been bothering her for a long time now. “Anthony… what’s Chiron’s prophecy?”

He pursed his lips and leaned back on the boat. “I shouldn’t-”

“I know he promised the gods he wouldn’t tell me. But you didn’t, did you?”

“Knowledge isn’t always good,” he said.

“Your mom is the wisdom goddess.”

“I know. But… Every time heroes learn their future, they try to change it, and it never works. It-” he watched her for a minute and his face softened. “Why can’t I say no to you?” She smiled, he shook his head. “I don’t know the whole thing, okay? It warns about a half-blood child of the Big-Three – the next one who lives to adulthood. That’s the real reason Zeus, Poseidon and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three to turn eighteen will be a dangerous weapon.”

Andy frowned. “Why?”

“The hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it.”

“But if it’s me in the prophecy—”

“We don’t know that and we won’t know for sure until you get older. When Chiron learned about Thalia, he thought she was the one in the prophecy. That’s why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. But she didn’t make it and for a long time we didn’t know what to think. Until you showed up.”

“Am I, like, the only one now?”

“Yes. There’s nobody alive who it could be, except you.”

“Then why do the gods even let me live? It would be safer to kill me. Just saying.”

“True.”

“Your support is charming, really.”

He beamed at her. “I don’t know what they are thinking, Andy. I guess most of them would enjoy killing you. You yelled at Hades inside his own realm. You humiliated Ares. Dionysus has always hated you and so has Zeus. But… Maybe they’re watching you, trying to decide who you are and who you are going to be. What will you do when the time comes? What sort of decision will you make? They’re not used to not knowing things.”

“I guess now they know how I feel most of the time then.”

#andromeda #andy jackson #anthony chase #child of land and sea #fanfic #genderbend #dfcrosas #heart of the ocean #andony

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