Chapter Text
Now then, you might be wondering: how on earth did we even get into this situation?
You’d have to start about three days ago. Julio hadn’t checked in, and so Alabaster had gone out to look for him. After clearing out a nest of Stymphalian birds, all he’d found were three things: a smoldering grimoire, an Imperial Gold dagger, and a shattered mirror. The dagger was Julio’s; Alabaster had given it to his younger brother himself. But why had he left it behind?
Gods damn it. Julio was obsessed with the occult. He’d probably performed some cocked up ritual and gotten himself into a sticky situation. Mother told him not to try anything, but did he listen? Of course not!
Alabaster commanded the grimoire to stop burning and started skimming through its pages. The spell was surprisingly simple: a blood offering, an incantation, and a medium of exchange, and the conjurer would be granted the ability to see their heart’s desire. No wonder Julio thought he could pull it off.
But why would that cause him to go missing? Alabaster frowned. Julio’s magical abilities were amplified by the phases of the moon. The new moon a few days ago could have had unforeseen effects on the spell.
Alabaster would just have to try it for himself. Mentally, he reached out to the charm bracelet Veronica had made for all the demigods in the Titan Army. She would be able to track them down if he didn’t return. His sister was an ingenious spymaster, he smirked, capable of reverse-engineering the Camp necklace into a weapon for their rebellion.
After muttering a quick prayer to his mother, Alabaster began chanting under his breath in Ancient Greek. The pages in the grimoire turned in an invisible wind as Alabaster took Julio’s dagger and slit his palm. The blood pooled in the magic circle he’d created as the mirror’s shattered fragments melded back together. His greatest desire right now was to see his brother, so it should show him where it was.
Only, it was his mother’s venomous green eyes that met his instead.
My child.
Alabaster resisted the urge to take a step back. Faltering in the middle of a ritual was dangerous. Maybe that was why his mother had appeared here?
“Mother,” he said, a cold sweat creeping down the back of his neck. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
A girlish voice echoed from the mirror.
Our son! Our son!
This was a test. It had to be. Think, Alabaster. What was wrong here?
Come.
That was her matronly face right now. The voice was the maiden’s. Where was the crone?
A voice, chill like death, whispered in his ear.
COME.
She pushed him forward and then all he knew was a shadowy embrace.
“Al! Wake up, Al!”
Alabaster groaned. It was really warm in this bed. Did he really have to get up?
Something wet nosed his face. Alright, that did it. If this was another prank from Chris, he swore–
He reached for his cards, only to grasp empty air.
Alabaster shot awake, banging his head on something hard.
“Owwwww…”
Alabaster blinked. Crouched before him on the pile of blankets was a small child. He had dark hair in a rather unflattering bowlcut, and green eyes that glowed in the dim light. It reminded him of Julio’s, actually. Was this another sibling of his?
A low whine rang out. Alabaster looked down. There was a little puppy sitting on his lap.
“Hey, kid,” he said, “Where are we?”
The child pouted. “I’ve told you a hundred times, Al! I’m not a kid.”
“...Julio?”
The kid nodded.
What the fuck? Julio was twelve, not four. Why was he a small child? Was it backlash from the spell?
The puppy attempted to jump onto his shirt. Alabaster absentmindedly gave him some scritches as he attempted to process the situation.
Geez. This puppy’s head was almost the size of his hand.
Wait.
If Julio was four, then Alabaster probably was too.
Fuck.
“Julio,” he said, trying to keep calm, “Where are we?”
His little brother steadfastly stared at the corner of the room.
“Julio Eduardo Vasquez, if you don’t answer me right now, I’m going to call your mother and tell her the real reason you didn’t go to Camp this year.”
If anyone could put fear into Julio, it’d be his mortal mother. Alabaster would rather fight a dozen hellhounds than be on her bad side.
Julio’s eyes looked suspiciously watery. “It’s, it’s–”
Oh fuck, was he crying? “Julio–”
“We’re an alternate universe!”
What.
Julio burst into tears.
“We’re an alternate universe where everything is weird! The gods don’t have kids, Mom doesn’t have kids, and she wants to keep us here forever!”
Alabaster wrapped his arms around his little brother and started rubbing circles into his back.
“Shh, it’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay. Breathe for me, Julio, breathe for me.”
“Oh, my dear ones, what is wrong?”
The shadows in the room came alive, swirling around them. Fuck. Where were his cards?
Familiar green eyes glimmered from the mass of writhing darkness.
“Mother…?”
The being purred. Alabaster shuddered. She was as cold as ice.
A beaklike shadow nudged Julio’s cheek.
“I’m here. Tell me what’s wrong.”
What the fuck. What the ever-loving fuck.
Julio sobbed, “It’s dark and I’m scared–”
At his words, the room was awash in torchlight.
He could now clearly see the being surrounding them.
Her body was shadow-dark, with the impression of feathers trailing from it. The head focused on them was sharp-beaked like an owl, with blazing green torches for eyes.
He could feel cold breath against his neck. A wet, sandpapery tongue licked his cheek. When he craned his head to look, all he could see was a pleased-looking polecat, trailing dark smoke.
Guarding the door was yet another shadowy shape, this one decidedly canine in features. The impression of dark fur and claws never quite left him, even as he stared back at the bird.
The being spoke in his mother’s voice. She manifested in the form of his mother’s sacred animals. But this was not his mother!
Alabaster snarled, “Get away from us you freak!”
The being let out a sad trill.
“Is this not what you wanted?”
What?
“Am I not your heart’s greatest desire?”
The bird head turned to Julio and wrapped a dark wing around him.
…The enchantment was for the conjurer to see their heart’s greatest desire. And what did a child want more than a mother who wanted him? Who would cherish him no matter what, who would protect him from all the things that lurked in the dark?
Oh, Julio.
“What we want,” Alabaster ground out, “is to go home.”
His little brother was trembling in the being’s hold, holding the puppy like a lifeline. Fuck this shit. They needed to get out of here, now.
The shadow nodded, considering. “What can I do to make you feel more at home?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Take us back to our friends.”
“That can be arranged.”