Kira gave a long-suffering sigh and stepped into the apothecary, where a middle-aged woman greeted her in surprise.

“Your Highness, what brings you by?” she asked, and Kira winced.

“This whole princess thing gets tiresome really fast,” she told Percy. “Hello, Griselda. Could I get two packets of ambrosia, please?”

The woman eyed them both and considered the request. “For a friend,” Kira added unconvincingly.

“Right,” Griselda replied, deadpanned. She went toward the shelves and picked out two small square objects wrapped in brown paper and handed them to Kira, who had the coins ready for the transaction. “You know you don’t need to pay—”

“Yes, I do,” Kira left the coins on the counter and picked up the packets. “Thank you, Griselda.”

“Would you like some Kelp Mints with those too?”

“Of course,” Kira replied gratefully, adding another coin as the woman handed her what looked like a packet of gum.

“Get well soon, Princess,” the woman added cheerily.

Kira rolled her eyes and walked out with the packages in hand. She didn’t open them until they were outside and a couple paces away from the apothecary.

She uncovered the contents of the brown paper packet; an innocent looking green square of a thick solid substance about the size of her palm. “Here,” she handed one to Percy. “You have to chew it or the effect will take longer to kick in. Be prepared for the taste, though, it’s a mix of all sorts of awful things. Like the worst kind of medicine. Apparently they can’t add anything that would make it taste better without ruining the healing properties.”

She opened and gulped the other one, chewing as quickly as she could manage and wincing at the mess of taste that exploded in her mouth. It was like every unpleasant flavor all rolled into one; extreme bitterness, something that tasted like dirt, a vague taste of vomit—then again sometimes that came up naturally upon tasting it—and something really tangy. It took a monumental effort to swallow all of it, and of course it wasn’t very small either, which just made it worse. By the time the last piece had rolled down her throat she had half a mind to rush back into the bar to get a new drink just to wash the taste down.

Still, the effect was at least almost immediate. She could feel her headache subsiding and the heaviness in her body lifting. Quickly, she pulled out one of the Kelp Mints—a dark green sheet of candy that looked just like a real kelp in small version—into her mouth. “Have one of these afterwards; it helps get rid of the taste,” she told Percy as the refreshing flavor of mint seeped into her tongue, washing away the unpleasant aftertaste.

Percy let Kira handle the purchases, having no money to use himself. The inside of the apothecary was what he expected it to look like, shelves of jars with various roots and powders and liquids. The old woman's reaction to her request was a little more interesting though. He gingerly took the square of condensed herbs, and waited unitl Kira had eaten it to do it himself. 

Percy had to pause so he wouldn't gag it back up on the first bite. How did it manage to taste like cat food and hand sanitizer? After a painful swallow, he pulled a face at the other three quarters he needed to get through.

"So why did you tell the shopkeeper the medicine wasn't for us?" he asked, before shoving the rest into his mouth. The mint would have to wait for another minute, but the Ambrosia was definitely kicking in. The lump on his skull was healing at least....

“I don’t like to advertise the fact that their senshi and princess is a drunk,” she answered, shrugging. Then she rethought that and added, “Not that I am. I mean, I drink, obviously… but not that much.”

Did every weekend or so count as ‘much’?

"Hey, I was just curious," Percy said before finishing the medicine. He wasn't about to lecture her about habits, considering he wasn't very perfect either. "Alright, let's track down Medusa!"

Medusa's shop was a worn down building at the edge of town, the paint peeling a bit and the sign faded. The front lawn was decorated by statues, life like granite carvings of various subjects. He had to admit that for being a creepy kidnapper, Medusa had a lot of artistic skill.

"Before we go in there, I....have to tell you something about the man we're trying to rescue," Percy said.

Kira eyed the stone carvings decorating Medusa’s place. Something about them gave her a chill; they were much too lifelike for her liking.

She turned toward Percy in surprise, not expecting his words at all. “The pretty guy? Why? Do you know him?” she asked in confusion. She did not know him, and she was the one who lived here, so how was that possible?

"I know him the same way that I knew Nerida," Percy said. "His name is Narcissus, and we was supposed to be Sailor Andromeda's guardian. Instead of actually doing his job, he was too focused on himself. That's why I was teaching Nerida how to fight in the first place." She could hear the disdain in his tone. 

"I can't believe he had the guts to show up around here after she died. And considering you had no idea he existed, I bet he's just been slinking around in the shadows all this time..."

Percy’s words made Kira suddenly feel like she was still drunk all over again. She had to grab a nearby statue to steady herself, wishing she had an actual bench. Nerida’s… guardian? That guy? The one who was supposed to be guiding Sailor Andromeda? And he’d… he’d let her die?

She finally leaned against one of the taller statues, reeling from this new knowledge. “Why… why didn’t you tell me about him earlier? That Nerida had a guardian?”

Was this… Narcissus supposed to guide her as well?

If so, then he had failed catastrophically.

"I thought that stuck up otter had died as well, to be honest. I didn't know he was still around until I saw him at the bar." Percy sighed at her reaction. "I didn't tell you about him before because it was all in the past. I didn't see much of a point of bringing him up. It had nothing to do with him in the end, it was about Nerida. He wasn't much of a guardian anyway, as you can see." 

He'd rather Narcissus's pathetic legacy rot in the past than further impede Kira, but she did at least deserve to know if she planned to save him.

“Otter?” she asked, confused.

She supposed it was a fair assumption to think someone from 300 years ago had died. That was at least 100 years beyond the life expectancy here. Was Narcissus not native to this planet? “So when was the last time you saw him before this? Was he there during that battle? Please tell me everything you know about him.”

She eyed Medusa’s lair, suddenly rethinking the reason she was here at all.

"He's not from your planet, but was probably sent here to serve your family as part of an alliance," Percy explained. "Like how the Mauians sent diplomats to the solar system planets, Narcissus is from a far off planet known as Lutra. They can jump between otter and more human-like forms. I have no idea if Lutra is still even around anymore..." Percy hesitated before answering her other questions, but he wondered if bringing this up was the right thing to do after all.

"I last saw him when I was training Nerida, but I have no idea if he was there to see the sea monster or not. For all I know, he could have been nearby and I wouldn't have noticed. He certainly didn't show up after when I was searching for...you know...the body."

Another thing she would have to ask her parents about. She had not heard about any alliance or this planet called Lutra, but perhaps they might know more.

“So… he abandoned her. The person he was supposed to guide.” She balled her fists, furious on behalf of Nerida. She didn’t know if this Narcissus was meant to be her guardian too or not, but Nerida obviously needed him, even if Kira never really did.

Well, that wasn’t true. She could have used him when she’d been chained to a rock.

“So why should we bother doing this then? Why should we rescue him from that psycho woman? He’s clearly not good for anything, and he probably deserves whatever’s coming for him.”

Even as she asked the question, she already knew the answer.

Because it was the right thing to do. Because her job wasn’t to decide who deserved her help or not. She was a senshi, and that meant she was supposed to treat every person who needed her help equally.

She just wished she wasn’t always doomed to save those who deserved her the least.

"I just... didn't want you to think I was tricking you into saving this guy," Percy said. He understood her feelings, but he also knew it was unlikely she'd just turn her back on Narcissus, deserving of his fate or not. That was just how heroes worked. There was someone in trouble, so they needed saving regardless of their past misgivings. He wouldn't have judged her if she had decided to leave though...

"...I'll go scout out what's going on." The sigil on Percy's forehead glowed, and he shifted into a much smaller form, a rat. He weaved between the feet of the statues and slid through the crack in the shop doors, invisible to anyone that wasn't expecting him.

“Okay, be careful,” she told Percy as he transformed, surprised to find him taking the form of a rat. She grimaced as he scurried inside, hoping Medusa wouldn’t kill him on sight or something. Most people didn’t like rats, after all…

She sighed. Maybe while Percy was there, she could wrap her head around this mess. And knowing just how much trouble Narcissus was in would hopefully help keep things in perspective.



Karma. This was karma.

That was the word that kept running through Narcisse’s head as he paced back and forth in his little cell. What kind of woman had a freaking jail cell in her house? He should have known she was crazy. Not long after she dragged him out of the tavern, she’d knocked him out, and when he woke up, he was here in this little prison. The bars were too close together for him to squeeze through even in otter form.

Medusa had not shown up again until a while later, at which point she told him he had two choices: live with her forever or forfeit his life. Obviously, he had chosen the former, but he could see that she didn’t really believe his… commitment. After some sweet talking on his part, he’d managed to talk her into arranging a nice date for them that night, and she’d been busy setting things up ever since. Cooking food (that despite his fears smelled nice), arranging the table, getting flowers, the whole nine yards.

“I’m almost done with the food, sweetie,” she called out now from the kitchen, and Narcisse shuddered. He had to find a way out of here soon. He didn’t know how much longer he could pretend to be in love with her.

But who would ever come to his rescue? He had never done anything good for anyone in his life. The only people who ever cared for him were all the girls whose hearts he’d stolen and then broken. He’d used and abused people without regard for their feelings, and he’d abandoned everyone he was supposed to look out for.

Who would ever save a selfish coward like him?

Now that he was a rat, Percy realized how rare it was for him to take the shape of an animal so low on the foodchain. It made him feel...vulnerable and nervous. He was used to being some kind of carnivore or predator, or at least a larger animal. A warhorse, an eagle, a lion, a bull, even his cat form was more comfortable than this. 

Putting his emotions aside, he ran across the wooden floor until he saw a cage with a familiar man stuck behind its bars. He stood up on his hind legs to get a better look. Narcissus was pacing in the small area he had to walk in, and judging by the sizes of the cage's spaces, he wouldn't be able to escape on his own. Percy's ear twitched and he froze as Medusa yelled from the nearby kitchen. She was...cooking for him? Just what kind of game was this woman playing?

But it seemed that she was busy for the moment. Percy turned and ran back out the crack he had entered through, and shifted back.

"She's got him in a cage, but he doesn't look hurt," he said to Kira. "And Medusa's busy in the kitchen, so he's alone right now. If we could sneak in and free him quietly, we might be able to get away without a fight."

She was relieved to see Percy returning unharmed. She was unsure how she felt about the fact that Narcissus seemed to be fine. “I'm not sure we should avoid the fight. If this woman is abducting people willy-nilly and keeping them in cages, I can't let her continue to do whatever it is she's doing. I need to get to the bottom of this.”

She thought for a moment, then called out, “Andromeda Star Power, Make Up!”

In a second she was transformed, and looked toward the house determinedly. Maybe the woman was just an ordinary criminal, but she expected her to put up a fight, and she always felt more confident fighting as Sailor Andromeda. It gave her more of an authority, as well, as part of the law enforcement, rather than her princess status.

She turned to Percy. “You don't have to do this, you know. We're risking our lives for someone who doesn't deserve it. I have to because these are my people and my problem, but they aren't any of yours.”

"Well, I've got a reputation as a hero too," Percy said, patting the sheathed blade at his waist. "And I sort of lost most of the people I had to guard, so I thought I'd back you up at least." He grinned. 

"Unless you really wanna go in alone. I mean, you're in charge here, not me." She was right about it not really being his concern, but he couldn't just leave Kira to do it by herself, it didn't feel right. If she planned to fight Medusa, then he wanted to make sure she'd be okay.

“You do, huh?” she nudged him playfully. But then his next sentence made her smile disappear, and she nodded gratefully.

“I would love to have your assistance once again. I just feel like I’m kind of using you all the time for my kingdom’s troubles.” She paused, then gripped Percy’s shoulder. “If you ever, ever need help on your end, please don’t hesitate to call me.”

With that, she smiled and nodded her head inside. “Since you’ve already seen the layout inside, care to lead?”

"I'll remember that offer when I get ganged up on by my own rude senshi," Percy said with a crooked smile. "There's not that many rooms to deal with, and Narcissus and his cage aren't far from the door. "You hold Medusa's attention, and I'll get him out. Then I'll come back in and help you." 

Throwing caution to the wind, Percy shifted into the form of a brown and white bull and tore the shop's door off its handles with the force of his charge. As soon as he was through and the wooden splinters had been shaken off him, he turned to the cage, ready to smash the bars apart as well.

Andromeda nodded as Percy told her to get Medusa’s attention while he rescued Narcissus. It was probably just as well she wasn’t the one doing the rescuing. She still wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to this guy.

However, she was very surprised when Percy suddenly turned into a bull and literally charged into the shop. It reminded her of the metaphor she once heard on Earth… a bull in a china shop… though to be honest, she didn’t know why it needed to be a china shop since a bull would wreck any kind of shop if they were released into one.

She was digressing. Blinking to focus, she ran inside and called out, “Medusa! You have been found guilty of kidnapping! Explain yourself right now, in the name of Sailor Andromeda!”

The woman, who had been shocked at the sight of the bull, now glowered at her. “Little princess, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”

Her eyes glowed, and suddenly her hair transformed into snakes. “What the hell?!” Andromeda ducked as her instinct told her to, and a split second later she heard a strange noise above her. She peeked over the top of the table she’d hidden under and with surprise noticed that the potted plant that used to sit on it, previously green and alive, had now turned to stone.

“Oh, did I forget that I can turn you into a lawn decoration with just one look?” the woman’s voice taunted. “Your friend Narcissus here was going to be the centerpiece of my new collection, so don’t you dare steal him!”

Turn people to stone with her look?!

Her mind flashed back to all the sculptures in the shop. So those were people?! No wonder they looked so alive. If that were true, then Medusa was a very dangerous woman.

“Percy, whatever you do, don’t look into her eyes!” she backed away slowly, averting her gaze, her mind whirling with ways to attack that did not involve looking at her opponent.

Ignoring Medusa and Andromeda's exchange for the moment, Percy took a few steps back and slammed his head into the cage door. It dented badly, and then popped off its hinges with a clang. He snorted and moved to the side, allowing Narcissus to escape. 

"Get out of here, we'll make sure she doesn't follow," Percy said, his voice slightly deeper and rougher than usual. He indicated the door with a tilt of his horns, and then refocused on Medusa. He definitely caught Andromeda's warning, and he kept his eyes on Medusa's feet instead. Where did she get the power to turn people to stone? And how could they counter it.

"Well this'll be difficult..." Percy shifted back and grabbed his sword, and then his gaze fell on what looked like an abandoned reflective shield. Maybe that could work. "Keep her busy for a minute, I think I have an idea!"

First there was a bull charging into the house, then it started hitting his cage. Narcissus seriously thought this was how he was going to die. He didn’t even get to die by Medusa’s hand. He deserved to be stabbed by a bull’s horn and probably flung around for good measure and trampled to death. That was sadly not inaccurate. Still, as he cowered in the corner, he became confused when, after the door was broken, rather than charging him, the bull actually stepped aside.

And spoke to him.

Narcissus didn’t need to be told twice. He ran out—and saw Kira streak past him to face Medusa. Every fiber of his being wanted to run away from this horrible place and never look back—the weird talking bull had certainly told him to do just that—but it was the way he treated everyone poorly that landed him in this situation in the first place. It was karma catching up to him, and at some point he needed to pay for his sins. He’d hurt enough people.

The bull shifted, and he recognized it as Perseus. His heart ached at the thought of Nerida, his Andromeda. He had failed her… but he shouldn’t fail another one.

Without much thought for a plan, Narcissus ran straight for Medusa. “You won’t hurt her or anyone else! I’m the one you want!”

Before he could touch her, however, she simply looked at him, and her smile was the last thing he ever saw.



Keep her busy? How am I supposed to do that without looking?

She summoned her blade and was about to throw it in Medusa’s general direction when she sensed movement from beside her. Surprised, she saw Narcissus running toward their opponent, and even more shockingly, she saw him turn to stone in the next moment. Her warning scream died in her throat as the disbelief made her stand stock still, staring at the man she thought was a coward. “No…!”

What did he do that for?!

Guilt and anger warred in her as she threw her blade toward Medusa, able to discern her location by seeing the lower part of her body. From the painful shriek Andromeda heard, it seemed it had hit some part of her.

Just as Percy started moving towards the object he needed, he stopped as Narcissus came running back in. He chose now of all times to grow his spine? Before anyone could stop him, Narcissus looked into Medusa's eyes and was frozen in place. He was just another statue for Medusa's collection now.

Percy grit his teeth to bite back the angry curse that wanted to escape him. This just wasn't right, but drawing attention back to himself wouldn't help him. Instead her made a break for the rounded shield in the corner.

As Percy jumped for the shield, Medusa sent a wave of energy his way, and Andromeda, once again targeting the general area above the woman’s feet, sent an attack in return. “Wave Tide Maelstrom!” she called out, and ocean waves swept the woman away to the other end of the house.

She ran toward Percy to check his condition. “Are you okay?! Come on, we need to get away and regroup.” She pointed toward the back door that headed toward Medusa’s garden, similarly filled with statues.

Percy could hear Medusa firing something at him, and he dove behind another statue. He heard Andromeda retaliate, and peeked around to see Medusa get washed across the room. 

"I'm alright, she didn't him me..." He grabbed the shield and strapped it to his arm. "But I think I have a plan to beat her." He followed her into the gardens and ducked behind one of the larger statues, a sailboat and an unlucky captain turned to stone. 

"You said that we couldn't look directly at her, right? What if we used reflections to see her instead?" Percy lifted his shield arm. "This is reflective enough to see things with, so if we work together, I can direct your aim."

As they huddled together behind a large statue, Andromeda listened to Percy’s plan. “I don’t know if looking through reflections would count or not, but hopefully not,” she agreed. This was going to be difficult, but if the woman was a magical foe, Andromeda couldn’t exactly… well, arrest her. And if Medusa had turned these many people into stone, she was clearly a menace that needed to be dealt with. It was past redemption for her. Andromeda would have to attack to kill now.

“Okay, let’s do that, then. I’m trusting you with my life.”

It felt weird to say that to someone else for the first time in forever. But she did trust Percy after everything they’d been through together.

“Children… where are you hiding?” she could hear Medusa’s sweet voice coming into the garden, and shivered. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”

She nodded at Percy, telling him to start looking, as she readied her sword and told herself to keep looking down.

Percy wasn't sure how to react to being told anyone trusted him with their life, let alone Andromeda's. No pressure or anything. But he had no intentions of letting her down now. There would be no tragic end to this story.

He resisted the urge to snort indignantly at Medusa's call. Children? He was probably older than her... Percy tiled his shield arm to see around his cover, and spotted Medusa in all her snake haired glory. And he wasn't turning to stone. 

"It's working..." Despite the situation, he had to smile at his plan actually paying off. "She's about 4 feet ahead of the statue, and two feet to the left of it!" he called out.

She was glad to hear that Percy had spotted Medusa and hadn’t turned to stone. Measuring the distance the best she could, she prepared for a strike and worked out the momentum and the steps perfectly.

Then, the movement cemented in her mind, she ran ahead and to the left, swinging her sword as she came. She saw the women’s feet appearing ahead and did not hesitate. Her sword swung in a powerful arc, its sharp blade easily tearing through flesh and even bone.

There was a sickening thud once, then twice.

She peeked a little bit higher and saw that the lower half of Medusa’s body was no longer standing. And her head was lying beside it, thankfully facedown.

She stepped back, feeling shaken at her first ever beheading. Having killed many monsters never truly made it easier, especially ones that looked human to begin with. She stared at the remains for a few seconds to make sure that head couldn’t reattach itself for some reason, and when she didn’t even see so much as a twitch, she relaxed a little bit.

“You can come out now,” she told Percy. “I think she’s dead.”

Perseus held his breath as Andromeda left the safety of their cover to blindly follow his directions. He didn't even want ot think about what would happen if he had somehow messed up. But as much as he wanted to close his eyes until it was over, he had to keep lookout. And so he watched through the shield's reflection, right until Andromeda's Chrome Blade cleanly beheaded Medusa.

She'd killed her, and in a single swing. As if confirming his vision, he heard the thunk of the head hitting the ground, and he dropped the shield in relief. It was finally over... 

He stood up and went to stand next to her, looking at all that was left of the woman who had terrorized so many. 

"I think you're right." he said. "So... what do we do now?" They were standing in a yard of living statues, with a beheaded corpse. Should they go tell someone about this? And what about Narcissus, still frozen inside?

She let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks for the assist,” she said with a smile. If Percy hadn’t helped, she knew it would have been much tougher to battle an opponent she couldn’t see. As she looked around at all the statues, she remembered Narcissus inside. Slowly she walked back into the shop, then paused in front of the latest addition in Medusa’s collection.

She stared at his face, frozen in a determined look. There was fear in his eyes, and yet he’d done this stupid, foolish thing anyway. Was that supposed to be his redemption? She shook her head sadly. Maybe she would never get to know the real Narcissus. He’d certainly never given her the chance.

As she turned her back on him, suddenly there was a bright flash of light coming from behind her. Surprised, she turned and saw the statue slowly melting. A second later, more bright lights filled the area and the other statues began to turn back into humans, as well.

Andromeda couldn’t believe her eyes, but she grinned at Percy. “We saved them,” she said giddily. “We saved them all!”

“Well… that is what heroes do, after all. And you are certainly one,” a voice came from behind her. Narcissus.

He was standing there sheepishly, barely able to meet her eyes. Then his gaze shifted to Percy. “Long time no see, Perseus.”

It was saddening to think of all the people trapped in stone. If only they had known about this sooner... Percy looked at Narcissus, and then at the ground. The one time he had decided to be brave, he'd ended up a statue for his trouble. But was it just a one time thing, or did he really mean to change? They'd never know now.

And then, as if a chain reaction had been triggered, the store burst into bright lights, and the statues around them started reverting. Was Medusa's power broken with her death? It was so fairy tale-esque that he had to laugh. 

The happy moment shifted when he heard a familiar voice. If the statues had been freed, then...

"Same to you..." Percy said, barely keeping the edge out of his voice. At least he had the sense to look ashamed. "How about we talk about this outside?" He just wanted to get out of this creepy shop while they still could.

_______________________________________

"So what, you decided to finally talk to your charge now? What changed your mind in the last 200 years?" Percy asked. He didn't wait for an answer from Narcissus before continuing his "Did you suddenly understand how bad of a guardian you were? Did the guilt finally get to you?" His tone was barely restrained from yelling outright. And if anything, he deserved to get yelled at. 

"When you didn't show up on that beach when I was looking for her," Narcissus knew who he was referring to. "I thought you had left out of shame, so I went back home. And when I came back and didn't see you, I assumed you were dead. But in the end, this isn't about me. I honestly don't care now, but if you're really trying to make a fresh start with yourself, at least explain whatever logic you had in the past to Kira..."