Work Text:
The sun shone through the broken, cobwebby windows of the old shack, and Ethan groaned and rolled over onto his back on the dusty old couch. The son of Nemesis was, to say the least, not what you would call a "morning person". Alabaster, of course, had been up since dawn and was standing in the corner of the one-room shack at the card table they always ate at, experimenting with new runes and sigils. Trying to strengthen the protections on the house in case Alabaster's half-sister, the monster Lamia, came after them again.
Ethan grumbled something about the stupid sun and put a pillow over his face to block out the light so he could go back to sleep for a couple of hours. That was when a loud popping sound filled the room, just about bursting Ethan's eardrums. He groaned and threw the pillow aside. One of Alabaster's spells, no doubt.
"Sorry!" the other boy yelped. "That was not the rune I thought it was." Ethan sighed and sat up, pushing back his messy hair and grabbing his old, frayed eyepatch from the side table. Then he stood up and stomped to the small bathroom in the corner. He stood and glanced into the old mirror. The glass was spiderwebbed with cracks and the corners were dusted with old cobwebs. He stared at his reflection and pushed his hair out of his face again. The gaping hole where his left eye used to be stared back at him. For a second, he just stood there- and then he felt himself being plunged into a flashback.
3 years before
Ethan had just escaped a monster. He walked through the woods, pushing up low-hanging branches so they wouldn't whack him in the face. Finally, he came across a mossy log that looked perfect for sitting. He knew with the amount of monsters and even regular wild animals that roamed these woods, he really didn't have the time to stop to rest, but he didn't care. He was tired. It had been about a week since he'd left Camp Half-Blood, and he was doing all right fending for himself, but it was rough work.
Ethan sighed and pulled himself up onto the log, which was wet with dew and rain, but he didn't care. He was already messed up enough.
"Just five minutes," he told himself. "Then I need to get moving." He dug into his bag to see if he had any food left. He was able to dig out a half-eaten granola bar. "Bon appetite," he told himself and bit into the bar, which for some reason was brick hard. "Just my luck," he muttered.
"Well, your luck is about to change," A woman's voice said from nearby. Ethan looked up to see a woman clad in a red leather biker jacket, with frizzy black hair and chilling golden eyes. A goddess, no doubt.
"Who are you?" Ethan asked cautiously, not wanting to say anything that would anger the strange woman.
"You don't know who I am? You wound me, truly." The woman dramatically clapped a hand to her heart. "I'm Nemesis, the goddess of justice, balance, and retribution."
"And what exactly do you want with me?" he asked.
"To tell you something... and to make a deal."
"Okay..." he sounded uncertain. "What did you want to tell me?" Nemesis walked closer and reached out to stroke Ethan's hair with her hand, which made him uncomfortable, but he didn't dare to say anything, her being a goddess.
"Ethan Nakamura," she said, looking him deep in his eyes. "I am your mother."
"Huh? My mother? Why didn't you claim me before at camp?"
"You've seen how children of minor gods are treated at that silly little camp," Nemesis said, curling her lip. "They don't have their own cabins to stay in, a sense of camaraderie with siblings. They're looked down upon, Ethan. You would have been stuck in the Hermes cabin either way, but as long as you were there, you were better off unclaimed."
"And what's this deal you're talking about?" Ethan asked.
"Ethan, the gods have big plans for you," Nemesis said. "Your future is grand, you have a destiny. A destiny fit for any child of mine. You will restore balance to the world, bring respect to the children of the minor gods and the unclaimed. However, such a destiny comes at a price. You will have to sacrifice much to achieve this."
"Balance, justice?" Ethan asked. "Respect for all those half-bloods tossed by the wayside by their parents and looked down upon? I'd do anything."
"Good," Nemesis said with a smile. "Because the gods have informed me you must make the first of your sacrifices right now." Ethan gulped.
"What is it?"
"Well," the goddess said. "You know how the saying goes. "An eye for an eye."
Present
Ethan shuddered at what he saw in the mirror and put on his eyepatch. The first time he'd ever met his mother, the first time Nemesis had acknowledged his existence, and she'd asked that of him. Of course, he'd done it. She'd promised him it was for the greater good, and he said he would do anything for the cause she stated he'd be fighting for, so giving up his eye was a mere trifle in the grand scheme of things. So why did the memory make him feel sick to his stomach?
"Ethan?" Alabaster called. "You in there? Dr. Claymore's making pancakes." Dr. Howard Claymore was... complicated. Originally he had been a mortal and hadn't believed in anything mythical. However, he had then become wrapped up with their problems when Alabaster had sought out his help with his monsterous half-sister Lamia, who wouldn't seem to die. He'd thought Claymore could help because the man, who was a prolific author, seemed to have an intense interest in death and what happened to people afterwards, and had even released a book on the topic.
After Claymore had joined their little group, Ethan had even bought and read the guy's book, though he thought all of the information in it was absolutely bogus. Like, what whackadoodle authorized giving this man a PhD? And what was it even in? Anyway, after Claymore had sacrificed himself to get Lamia to stay dead for at least a little bit, Hecate, Alabaster's mother, had returned him to life in a Mistform body. Now Alabaster could summon him from a notecard. Ethan wouldn't pretend he wasn't a little miffed Claymore had jumped on the wagon and sacrificed himself, since he had been completely ready to sacrifice himself for Alabaster as payment for Alabaster saving his life after he had fallen from Olympus.
Ethan liked Hecate. The goddess was a lot more involved in Alabaster's life than Nemesis had been in his. Other than bringing Claymore back, she hadn't involved herself much in the Lamia situation, but that was only because Lamia was also her child, so she couldn't interfere. Now that that was all over, she often visited them wherever they were. She was probably one of the nicest godly parents Ethan had ever met, and it seemed that she had kind of quasi-adopted him as well. He didn't get any cool magical powers, but he was fine with that. His double swords suited him just fine in combat.
"Yeah, I'm good," he said, stepping out of the bathroom. "What kind of pancakes?"
"Chocolate chip banana," Alabaster said. He'd stopped tinkering with his runes and had cleared them off of the card table, which he was now setting for breakfast. Ethan nodded. "Also my mom's coming today," Alabaster said with a grin."
"Cool," Ethan said with a slight smile. "Visits from Hecate are always interesting."
"Don't pretend like you don't flat out enjoy them," Alabaster said. "You just don't want to admit that she's better to you than your own mother was."
"What do you mean?" Ethan asked. "My mother was great to me."
"Um, yeah." Alabaster pointed at Ethan's eyepatch. "That says otherwise."
"The eye thing was a necessary sacrifice," Ethan said, though the roof of his mouth tasted bitter.
"Yeah, right." Alabaster rolled his eyes. "How your mom treated you was messed up, Ethan. You almost died to restore balance, don't you think the eye thing was a bit overkill?"
"She said I would have to make multiple sacrifices."
"Sacrifices my butt!" Alabaster protested. "Ethan, she took your eye! That's abuse!" And like that, Ethan felt himself reeling back into the past.
3 years ago again
"You know how the saying goes. "An eye for an eye."
"What?" Ethan protested. "That's crazy?"
"I'll give you a little to think about it, I know it's a lot to ask," Nemesis said. "But you did say you'd do anything, didn't you?" Ethan gulped.
"I... guess I did. Fine. I'll do it." The corners of the goddess's mouth twitched upward in a cruel, sadistic smile.
"Good. I knew you'd make the right choice, Ethan." She slipped something out of her pocket, a set of sharp brass claws, like the type you could slip onto your fingers, and put them on. "Don't worry, this will only hurt for a little bit." Ethan inhaled sharply. He wanted to run, but he had to do this. Nemesis walked closer, her smile now looking almost caring and sympathetic, which didn't match the sadistic gleam in her eyes. She caressed the side of his face, the metal claws raking through his hair. "Are you ready?"
"No," he wanted to say, but wasn't about how he felt. So he bit his tongue and did his best to swallow back his fear. "Ready as I'll ever be," he said instead.
"Good," she said. And then it came- the most pain he'd ever felt. Or at least it felt that way. By the time it ended, he was on his knees, clutching the left side of his face, deep red blood pouring through his fingers. "That is all the sacrifice required for now," Nemesis said, sounding pleased. She placed something in Ethan's other hand- a black leather eyepatch- and disappeared.
Present
"...Ethan? Ethan? Earth to Ethan Nakamura!" Alabaster was waving a hand in his face.
"Huh?" Ethan's vision came into focus again and he saw Alabaster standing in front of him, waving one hand and holding out a plate of pancakes with the other.
"You totally spaced out, man," Alabaster said, putting down the plate at Ethan's place at the table.
"Sorry," Ethan said, sitting down. "I was just thinking. What you were just saying is pretty loaded, a lot of memories attached."
"So do you believe me?" Alabaster asked. Ethan sighed and shook his head.
"I don't know. Things like this are hard. You're telling me pretty much the opposite of what I've always heard." Alabaster sighed.
"You know, you're usually the responsible one out of the two of us, but sometimes even you can be an idiot." Ethan rolled his eye and took a bite of his pancakes. That was when the door to the shack floated open, and Hecate, goddess of magic, walked in.
"Hey, mom!" Alabaster said. He would have gotten up to get her a plate of pancakes, but gods didn't eat mortal food.
"Hello." Hecate walked further in... well, less walked and more floated. The skirt of her long, Ancient Greek-style dress ended a few inches off the floor, and no feet could be seen peeking out of it. The goddess moved without touching the ground once, like the ethereal being she was.
"Lady Hecate," Ethan greeted the goddess.
"You don't need to call me lady, Ethan." She floated closer and ruffled his hair, which caused him to make a face, but he didn't protest. "How are you doing lately? Have you been eating enough? Sleeping okay? Drinking water?"
"Yes, yes, and yes," he said with a sigh. He appreciated that Hecate seemed to care about him, but she could be just slightly overbearing at times.
"Good. And you, Alabaster?"
"Me too," he said. "Claymore's been making sure we take care of ourselves."
"Well, then I'm glad I sent him back," Hecate said.
"For the most part," Ethan said. "Alabaster's still apt to put him straight back in the notecard and ground him there if he says something he doesn't like."
"Alabaster!" Hecate scolded. "You know he only has your best interests at heart."
"Yeah, but sometimes he tells me to do stuff that I don't want to, and I can control him, so..." Hecate shook her head.
"You know, I'm really not going to bother arguing since I know I can't stop you."
"Don't worry, I keep him in line when Claymore's grounded," Ethan said. "He can't put me in a card."
"Yeah," Alabaster said. "But one time I cast a spell that made him not have a mouth for twenty-four hours so all he could do was give me disapproving looks." He grinned. "That was fun."
"For you, maybe," Ethan grumbled.
"Well, it's good that you two have been taking care of yourselves for the most part," Hecate said. "And I do enjoy our visits, but since I'm technically not supposed to be here, I'll have to go now." She handed Alabaster a basket. "I brought you food and supplies. Hopefully I'll be able to visit for longer the next time I come."
"That would be nice," Alabaster said. "But thanks for bringing what you could."
"Yeah, thanks," Ethan said. "You're a really good mom to Alabaster... and you're good to me too."
"Of course," she said, ruffling his hair again. "Any friend of one of my children is as good as my child already." Then she floated out. Ethan looked down at his feet. Alabaster was right. Hecate was way nicer to him than his own mother had ever been. The first time he had met Nemesis, she had wasted no time in asking him to trade his eye for some distant, far-off destiny. However, his first meeting with Hecate, on the war front...
1 year ago, on the front of the Second Titan War
Ethan sat in his tent at the Titan Army's camp base. Every demigod in the army's morale was lower than ever, considering their ranks had just been decimated in the explosion of the Princess Andromeda. Ethan had known people on that ship, many of them were among the first people he had ever considered friends.
It was Alabaster who had saved him from the exploding ship. When the explosives had detonated, he'd been knocked backward from the force, and hit his head on something, knocking him out, so he didn't remember much. But when he'd woken up, it had been him and Alabaster, floating on a piece of wreckage, Alabaster tending to both of their wounds. According to Alabaster, he'd gotten them both out of the wreckage by surrounding them both with a protective forcefield. Then he used a spell to carry them to shore on their little makeshift raft. Alabaster had saved his life.
His mother's voice itched at the back of his head, talking about sacrifice. That was when he saw the ethereal woman floating across the camp. He wasn't quite sure who she was. He knew the Titans had managed to recruit many of the minor gods to their side, including his mother, but which one was she? He got up and approached her. The magical, mysterious aura around her drew her in.
"Hello," she said when she saw him, and floated closer. "You must be one of the demigods. I am Hecate, goddess of magic."
"Alabaster's mom." She was also the mom of many of the other demigods in the army, but Ethan had always liked Alabaster the best, even though he pretended not to.
"I suppose, yes. I was just talking to him. And you are?"
"Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis," he said.
"Nemesis," Hecate said, like the name left a bad taste in her mouth. "How to describe Nemesis."
"You don't need to. I've met her." He touched his eyepatch tentatively. Hecate's mouth fell agape as she seemingly picked up on it.
"Oh. Oh, dear. I always knew Nemesis didn't care much for her children, but I never thought she would dare go that far."
"What do you mean, she doesn't care for us?" Ethan scowled. "This was a necessary sacrifice that I chose to make."
"Oh, dear child," Hecate said. "If only I could tell you the path ahead of you and how that was never meant to be part of it."
"The path ahead of me? Do you mean how I restore balance." Hecate looked distraught.
"Oh, nevermind. I'm afraid I've already said too much. I am sorry for all your mother has put you through."
Present
At the time, Ethan had taken much offense to Hecate insinuating that what his mother had done to him was wrong. But now there was a hollow pit in his stomach as he realized that she was right. It was hard to accept, but Nemesis didn't care for him. She couldn't if she'd treated him how she had. Ethan kept to himself for the rest of the day, mulling that thought over in his head. That night, he lay awake on the couch, tossing and turning thinking about it.
"Ethan?" Alabaster sat down beside him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he said. "Just thinking about what you said earlier. About... Nemesis." His tongue was as heavy as lead in his mouth, and he couldn't bring himself to say the words my mother.
"What about it?" Alabaster asked.
"You and Hecate were always right. How she treated me was wrong, and I shouldn't have taken it. I shouldn't have defended her."
"You didn't know any better." Alabaster looked at him with sympathy in his green eyes. "She manipulated you into thinking everything she did was okay... or at least necessary."
"I knew it hurt me," he said. "But I didn't care. I've never cared about how things affected me, only if it was for the greater good. I've always been... sacrificial."
"Well, that's over now," Alabaster insisted. "You're done constantly sacrificing yourself for the greater good. I know you wanted to sacrifice yourself instead of Claymore to defeat Lamia. You wanted to repay me for saving your life twice. But if you just went and sacrificed yourself, that wouldn't be repayment. Instead it would defeat the whole purpose of me saving you in the first place. You're my friend, I care about you. You think I could live with myself if you died because of me?" He shook his head. "Ethan, you're done being the sacrifical lamb. I know you've been taught to always think about the greater good, but it's time to put yourself first for a change."
"I... I don't know if I can," he said.
"Please try," Alabaster said.
"I- I will."
"Good."