During the 24 hours....

The youngest son of Zeus wraps an arm around his Gorgon wife's waist. His other hand strokes her depressed emerald snakes to comfort her.

Baby Chrysaor and Pegasus finally fall asleep after crying their little lungs out. Stheno and Euryale gently rock their cribs with their tails.

Zeus had sent a royal letter by bird detailing what had happened. Artemis' death casts an unmovable shadow over her family.

"I didn't get a chance to say goodbye", Medusa tells him.

"Same here", Percy responds. "I.....want to avenge her."

His wife sits up while keeping her stone-causing emeralds on Athena's shield. Her brass hands grip his soft hands.

"Don't go."

"I can use the shield and-"

"Stop", she loudly whispers. "I don't want to lose you too."

Her broken voice makes him think it through. Even if Stheno and Euryale took care of their children, he wouldn't want to risk Medusa getting hurt by that infamous murderer. And revealing their presence would send Athena and other warriors after her. 

He decides that it's too dangerous for either of them to go. It already felt like he lost her before.

"Okay. We will stay here and protect our family as best as we can."

Her small smile is captured in the reflection. "Thank you."

He kisses her cheek and embraces her with the remainder of his strength. "I love you, Medusa."

"I love you too, Percy........when we have a daughter, let's name her after Artemis."

"A great idea from my genius gynaika (wife)."

"Close your eyes, syzygos (husband)."

The son of Zeus closes his eyes. Medusa pulls him by the chin and delivers a passionate kiss to him. Urges build up, but they stop since her sisters are close by.

"Once they leave, I'm all yours", she whispers into his left ear.

"And I'm yours too."

They watch as the Gorgon Sisters continue to rock their sons. They can't wait to tell them how well The Huntress had treated them all. 

----

Her twin dragons wrap around their master to keep her warm and safe. Their scales prevent the cold breeze from blowing into her.

As soon as she feels herself nodding off, she smacks her face. Keeping herself awake as punishment for her captured friend. 

Her eyes try to count the grains of sand in the hourglass timer. She flips it when one side was filled.

As soon as she regains her magical powers, she will devote himself to finding him. She can't go back to Medus until he's safe with Demeter.

She keeps smacking herself in the face even when the moon was overhead. The orange streaks of daylight lets her know it's the next morning. She flips it several more times before drifting off to sleep....

The thought of his torture wakes her up. She rubs her eyelids repeatedly. Her vision refocuses for clarity. Through the cracks between the wings of her ride, she sees the daylight. Although she doesn't know how much time has passed, she knew it wasn't enough for her sleep schedule.

Her fingers tingle like something was returning. She doesn't hesitate to mutter a word. A small spark comes out. Her mind fixates on the inside of the chariot. With her finger, a small red wisp appears.

She goes to work with her fingers. Muttering incantations to reverse the nature of Hippolyta's aura. Heavy breaths leave her mouth, but she continues with the magic she had regained. She will find her friend and rescue him. Part of her wants to use the darkest spells to end the lives of his captors.....

But would he accept that?

A long exhale leaves her lips. She almost laughs from how he had affected her. Fine. I will at least make a good show to back them off.

Little by little, the red wisp begins to morph into white. She wipes the sweat off her forehead to concentrate. Thinking of his face and hair.....

Glimpses of him appear in the orb to her relief. He's no longer tied up. The cage around him is broken. Something whistles near his head. An arrow has plunged in the column behind him!

She tries to see more, but the exhaustion makes it vanish. Her body drops to the ground with eyelids weighing like anchors. But she managed to make out a symbol in that short time. The open clam symbol told her where to check.

----

"YOU MONSTER!", a masked Adonis yells at Takashi.

He scrambles back while clutching the graze on his cheek.

The next arrow is quickly notched. A soft hand pushes his bow to the right.

"Stop it, Adonis!", Chloe screams with teary eyes.

"He ripped us apart! He's why we can't stay together for long!"

Takashi's heart sinks to his stomach from the truth. The cut on his cheek heals over slowly.

The commotion alerts the servants of Artemis, Hera, and Aphrodite. Their footsteps rush in. Gasps lift up from the arrow that plunged into the column. A teardrop of golden crimson visible to them.

Helena storms forward with a bow and arrow ready. "Adonis, stop it!"

The wooden bow trembles from his grip. "He cannot stay here after what he did to hurt us all! Chloe, why are you helping him?"

She swallows the lump in her throat. "He has Aphrodite's aura inside of him."

His bow clatters to the ground. His legs almost buckle, but Chloe holds him close to her.

"That....can't be."

"It is. She gifted it to him."

His eyes stare at Takashi. The malice inside him begins to crumble.

His shoulders tremble. "Even then, why couldn't you stop her from dying?!"

His lips quiver from the previous reset. Witnessing her dying on her bed. Pink vapors that vanished into the air. If he wasn't muted by Athena, he could have........

His hands clench into fists. "I wanted to save her and everyone too! I'm just.....a constant mistake."

The sorrow dripping from his words rattles the handsome man's heart. Chloe feels his tears dripping from under his mask. Her fingers gently lifting it up from the edge, but he stops her.

"Chloe, listen. We need to give him up to Zeus."

"That won't happen!", Echo barges in. "I will not let Zeus hurt my friend!"

"Friend? After what he did to-"

"Adonis is right!", Takashi's outburst startles them all. 

The nymph closes the distance with a puzzled look on her face. He turns his head away while closing his eyes.

"You will get hurt again because of me. Just hand me over to Demeter so you can be safe."

Her rocky hands grip his shoulders. He tries to wrestle away from her. His right foot steps back, but his other foot remains.

She pulls him into a soft embrace. "You won't go alone. You've been through enough as is."

Although part of him wanted to escape, he missed her comforting nature. His arms slowly reach around her back, but he stops.

How many times did you lead Artemis to her death? Her beloved Chrysaor?  The other deities and demigods who helped you?

His body trembles. "Echo, please let go."

Her mud-brown eyes tear up, knowing the guilt he's carrying on him. She respects his wish by giving him some space.

Chloe pulls Adonis by the arms. "Let's leave and talk about this."

The handsome man stands still. "Takashi? Can you bring them back?"

Everyone looks at him for the answer. He decides to be honest.

A long exhale to gather himself. "With the knowledge that I have, I don't know if I can.....I can't promise anything if I can't break the cycle. If I can, I will at least try."

A genuine answer that rests on neutrality. Echo noticed a slight uprising in his voice towards the end that gives her some hope. Helena, Chloe, and Selene feel the same way. Adonis walks out of the room with Chloe following after. 

The lover of Aphrodite takes off his mask to properly breathe. Her soft hand on his wrist makes him jump.

He goes to turn his face but finds no reason to do so. Sadly, Aphrodite can't stop their union. Tears flow downs his face. This wasn't the way he had wanted.

Chloe gets in front of him. Taking in every detail of his handsome face. Yet, it's not the first time she had seen him. She shakes her head of that fact.

Her fingers gently wipe his tears away. Her tears join in with his sadness. Their heads near each other. He plants a kiss on her forehead before pulling her into him. Their hearts jump from weighted joy.

"Maybe when she's back, we can convince her to let you us be together when it's time."

He backs up to give her a small grin at that possibility. He walks away with her while holding her hand.

--

Echo and Orion stay behind with Takashi to give him company at a distance. He lays on his back to stare at the ceiling. They respect his peace and quiet, but the nymph frowns from trying to keep the questions inside her head.

"I'm sorry. Taki...... who is the brass man in your instant paintings? He makes my heart bounce."

"........Chrysaor", he finally responds.

She mouths his syllables to herself. She can almost picture being near him. Being in his embrace. Dried buds on her crown bloom into flowers that cover her face. She happily plucks them out. The floor around her and Orion is covered with purple irises.

Seeing her reaction cracks a smile on his face.

"Will I meet him one day?"

He remembers something and almost laughs. He covers his mouth to hold it inside.

Echo walks over to him. "What is it?"

"Uhm, he's....a little young.....right now."

"How young are we talking? I'm at least over a century old. He looks around mid-20s. Is he actually 18?"

Although he keeps his lips together, she can tell by his shifting eyes that her beloved was younger?"

"16?"

His eyes say "lower."

Her eyes widen. "Is.....he a child?"

The reaction of his eyes drops her jaw. "Oh, Gaia. I'm a cradle robber?! Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not. But he ages quickly though thanks to-"

The thought of Perseus' brutal death stops him.

He grips his knees to continue. "He's the son of Perseus and Medusa."

Echo tilts her head in near disbelief. Orion trots over and nudges his head against her arm. She looks at him to find he's nodding his head.

"You knew?!"

Orion bleats out a "yes".

Her head almost spins from the truth. She figures that Artemis had never told her about this. All she knew was that after the Trojan War that Artemis would spend time elsewhere as if it was an emergency.....

The connection falls in like a missing puzzle piece. "Okay."

Now that he thought about the subject, his eyes widen. "Echo, is Athena still in Athens?"

"She is reported to be to keep her people calm. Why?"

Relief settles his heart. It seems like Medusa is still alive. The red bracelet on his right wrist is still intact. Zeus is living up to his promise by leaving them alone.

"Do you see this bracelet?"

"What bracelet?"

He can't believe her until he figures that Zeus had made their sacred bracelets a secret. "Never mind. Is Hippolyta around?"

She shakes her head. "She left for Thebes a while ago. She didn't say why though."

He understands the reason why and keeps it to himself. Echo leaves and returns with some fruit, bread, and rabbit for him to eat.

He accepts without arguing. He just hopes that Hippolyta will keep Heracles far away from him. Seeing his face would bring back up his gruesome demise. And render him helpless.