Chapter Text
—A Few Months Later—
Odysseus was… A little bit concerned.
Because of a vow he'd made in order to marry Penelope, he now had to go to war.
Polites, and Eurylochus had both decided to go with him.
“Alright,” Odysseus said, “But Polites–” He cut off as he doubled over coughing. This curse was the worst.
“Are you okay, Ody?” Eurylochus asked, as Polites pat his back during the coughing fit.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” Odysseus said.
“Are you sick?” Eurylochus asked, backing away from him ever-so-slightly.
“Nope, just cursed,” Odysseus said bitterly. The curse was worth it. He WAS grateful to Mnemosyne, and even built her a temple. But man, this part was a bit annoying.
“Cursed!?” Polites sounded concerned now.
“Yeah, nothing too bad,” Odysseus said.
“By whom?” Eurylochus asked. He sounded like he wasn't sure if Odysseus was pranking him or not. Which was somewhat valid, considering all the pranks he'd played in his youth.
“The goddess Mnemosyne,” Odysseus told them.
“I've never heard of her,” Eurylochus said.
“I would not admit that,” Odysseus told him, “That's what got me cursed. I asked if Athena was the goddess of memories, I guess I got confused or something when I was studying."
They didn't know Athena was his mentor, and therefore didn't know about her time dive power that caused his assumption. This was also why he wasn't going to explain the past trauma aspect of her curse.
“Then suddenly Mnemosyne appeared," Odysseus continued, "Pissed that a king didn't know who she was. She's the goddess of memories, and she has some kind of future related power? …I think she's one of the muses– No, she's the mother of the muses. Anyways, she cursed me to see a small piece of a potential future. A really bad one. So not only do I not know exactly what led up to what I saw, but I also can't tell anyone what I saw. Whenever I try, I– Well I'll just show you. In the future Eurylochus–” he began, before cutting off with another fit of coughing. This one was so intense, it brought him to his knees.
“Yikes…” Polites said.
“That's why there's a big shrine to her in the palace. Second biggest shrine other than Athena's,” Odysseus said. “I wanted to appease her.”
Well that, and the fact that he was grateful for what she'd shown him of his mentor. He'd spent so much time befriending her, and it actually seemed like he was starting to get through to her now! At least enough that he'd managed to get her to let him hug her a second time.
“So you can't tell anyone this future…” Eurylochus began thoughtfully. “Could you write it down?”
Odysseus shook his head, recovering somewhat from his coughing fit. At least enough to talk, though his voice was getting hoarse. “I tried it. I was actually just trying to write down notes so I could remember as many details as possible. But my hands started shaking so much I couldn't get letters down. I was eventually able to write my notes on it by creating a code that only I understand, but when I tried to tell Penelope what the code was, so she could read it, I started coughing again.”
“Got it,” Eurylochus said. “So you can keep notes for yourself, but can't tell anyone else.”
Odysseus nodded.
“What about sign language?” Eurylochus asked. They had learned that ages ago, in case they were ever in a dangerous situation and needed to be quiet.
Odysseus frowned, “I doubt it, but I can try.” He started to sign, but had only gotten a word in before his hands started shaking violently. Far too much for the dexterity sign language required. He cursed under his breath.
“Okay, so sign language is out of the question,” Polites said, thoughtfully, “What about just– vague gestures? Like charades. Especially because that won't be exact, and therefore might not fall under the curse at all. But at least you could give us some idea…”
Odysseus frowned. He supposed there was no harm in trying. Other than the fact that his whole body seemed to ache.
He wouldn't be able to communicate that Polites had been killed by a Cyclops, or that Eurylochus had been killed by Odysseus. However, if they knew that he'd seen them die SOMEHOW, they might be careful going forward.
He pointed at Eurylochus, then at Polites, then drew his hand across his throat like it was being cut with a sword. Immediately he broke into another coughing fit (unfair, he didn't even talk) that was so severe, he could barely move. This curse was clearly punishing him for trying to avoid it.
“Both of us died?” Eurylochus guessed. Meanwhile Polites gave Odysseus a hug.
Odysseus, unable to reply, gave Eurylochus an incredibly shaky thumbs up, to show he was correct.
“Is that why you were trying to talk about it earlier?” Polites asked, “Did we die in the war?” Odysseus shook his head. He needed to figure out a way to explain.
Once the coughing subsided, he considered his words carefully. “Earlier… I talked about the curse. I said that the curse showed me a small part of the future, without the full context of what led up to it.” He let his friends pick up on the implications.
“So you don't know,” Eurylochus nodded. “You just know we died, but you're not sure if it was a result of going to war or not. Do I have that right?”
“Ye–Yep–” Odysseus said. Then he fainted.
Mnemosyne was kinda the worst. Still in his top five of favorite gods though. ...That probably said more about the others than her…
Ten years. That's how long the war had taken. Despite that, Odysseus remained optimistic. This should be their final battle, and his plan with the wooden horse had worked flawlessly.
Suddenly, he was blinded by daylight. Then he was being stabbed in the chest.
He gasped, then things seemed to go back to normal.
“Who was that!?” He demanded. There was no one around. What happened!?
“A vision.”
The voice was eerily familiar. He'd never heard it in person. It had been over a decade since he'd heard that voice at all. But he knew instantly who it was. Zeus. The god king. The world's most abusive father.
He turned, now face to face with the god in question. He had to fight to get his face to remain neutral. He didn't want to be smited, and he definitely didn't want Athena to be in trouble.
“What?” He asked, politely.
“It was a vision of what is to come. A future you can't outrun. Unless you put a stop to it right now.”
“What must I do?” He asked. He didn't like Zeus. He also didn't like the idea of being stabbed.
“There is someone you must kill. A foe unlike any you've faced before.”
“Alright…” Odysseus agreed, hesitantly.
Then Zeus handed him a freaking INFANT.
“What is– What?” Odysseus asked. “Why would you–?”
“This is the son of Hector, Prince of Troy. Either you kill him now, or he'll grow up to take revenge on you and your family.”
“What if I raise him as my own!?” Odysseus demanded, he was not killing a baby!
“He will burn your house and throne."
"What if I send him far away from here!? So he won't know anything of what happened!"
"The the gods will make sure he finds out."
"What if-" he began, but Zeus interrupted.
"This is the child's prophecy. Completely set in stone. ‘When he grows up, he'll take revenge on the Ithican man who was responsible for his family being harmed.’ His parents were killed by a man not of your country. Which means the prophecy can only refer to you. Since you're the one who came up with this plan. Even if it was a man of your country, sparing him won't stop you from having innocent blood on your hands. All you get to choose is whose blood it will be.”
With those ominous words, Zeus left.
Odysseus looked down at the infant in his arms. No. No this was not happening. He was not going to kill a baby because ZEUS told him to.
“Don't worry,” he told the boy sleeping in his arms, “I'm not going to kill you.”
“Why not!?” It was Athena who asked. Quick Thought suddenly appeared around them.
“Athena…” Odysseus sighed, “I can't kill a baby. I just can't. He reminds me of Telemachus far too much.”
Athena pursed her lips. Then she sighed, “Fine. Give him to me then.”
Odysseus almost complied. The baby was halfway to Athena’s waiting arms when he paused. He had a feeling something was off. There was a kind of grim determination in her eyes.
“Why?” He asked her, pulling back slightly, “Why do you want me to give him to you?”
She stared at him, “Isn't it obvious? If you can't handle this task, I'll do it. It'll be easier for me to kill him anyways.”
“No!” Odysseus said, holding the boy close.
Athena looked incredulous. “You're really going to keep him alive? Despite the risk that prophecy poses?”
“Yes!” Odysseus said. “You'd really kill him because of a prophecy!?” He demanded, “Like what your father tried to do to YOU!?”
“Obviously. My father had every right to protect himself. I was allowed to live afterwards because I didn't fit the specifications of his prophecy. If I'd been a son, he would've gotten rid of me. He would've had every right to do so.”
“No,” Odysseus told her, “Even if you'd been a son, your father killing you would've been a CRIME! I've made up my mind, Athena. I'm not letting a baby die because of a prophecy from your father.”
Athena looked at him for a long moment, then let out a long suffering sigh. “Give him to me,” she said again.
Odysseus GLARED at her.
Athena rolled her eyes, “I'll let him live, for now. At least until he grows up and tries to kill you, or your family. Once he does that, I'll smite him, and you'll be forced to admit I was right. For now, I'll take him away from here. You still have a battle to finish.”
Odysseus considered this. “Take him to Penelope,” he told her, “Tell her I want to raise him as our own. Give me your word that he'll remain unharmed.”
“You have my word, on my worth as a goddess, that I'll take him there unharmed. However, I'll be telling your wife about the prophecy, and if she wants to get rid of him, I will not stop her.”
“That's perfectly fine,” Odysseus agreed, handing her the child. He knew Penelope would never do that.
True to her word, she held the child as gently as she'd once held Telemachus.
“You're likely going to regret this, someday,” Athena told him.
“That's a risk I'm willing to take.” Odysseus met her eyes.
“Then for your sake, I hope it works out for you,” Athena said. With that, she left.
As she flew to Ithica, invisible, Athena looked at the child in her arms. She couldn't help but think of the comparison Odysseus had made earlier.
If she'd been born a son, Zeus would've killed her without a second thought. He would never risk being overthrown.
-The prophecy was that a boy would overthrow him. Not necessarily kill him. Was it just about power at the end of the day?-
She knew Odysseus wasn't actively suicidal. The war had proved that enough. She knew he cared about his family.
So then why…?
Why would he take that risk…?
What was it about this child that made him care so much already…?
-Why couldn't her father have done that when he feared she'd be a boy? Her mother would still be alive if he had!-
A few tears fell from her eyes, and slid away with the winds of her flight. Even still, she looked down at the baby again.
“Tell no one of what you saw today,” she said to him. It made her feel better, despite the fact that logically she knew if he had seen her cry, he was too young to actually remember it.
She was even more confused when Athena told Penelope about the prophecy, and her husband’s choice. She thanked Athena, and took the child in her arms.
She introduced the baby to Telemachus as his new brother. She didn't even seem to consider the danger…
She just held the two children close to her. Lovingly.
What was wrong with these mortals!?