Chapter Text
So close. He’d been so close, close enough to see Ithaca, again, so close to seeing Penelope again and getting to properly meet his son. So close. But once again, who stood in his way but Poseidon, always haunting him. And this time, Odysseus knew there was no chance of escape, no miraculous wind bag to save him, no Athena or Hermes to help him, nothing. Nothing but dark, icy water all around him and the trident pushing him even further into the dark depths of the ocean, never to resurface again. Helpless to do anything but simply accept his watery grave.
“You can relax my friend! I can tell you’re getting nervous,” a familiar voice softly said next to him as a hand appeared on his shoulder. It was Polites, his dear friend, coming up from the Underworld to comfort him and welcome him there with him. Poor Polites, he hadn’t deserved what he’d gotten- and he’d be so horrified to see the monster his friend had become-
“Look at all we’ve lost and all we’ve learned,” another voice said, holding onto his other shoulder- Eurylochus, oh no, Eurylochus. All we’ve lost, indeed. Even after all the times they’d betrayed each other, the man was still his brother-in-law, still family, and he hadn’t truly deserved what his captain had done to him either. He should have chosen himself, should have let Eurylochus and what scant crew was left survive even after their mutiny, then at least someone would have made it home. Now no one was going to make it home, all 601 of them lost forever to the sea.
“I’ll stay in your heart…” Mama! His poor mother, he hadn’t seen her alive for 20 years, and she’d died, heartbroken and waiting fruitlessly for her beloved son to come back, not knowing that she’d never see him again. At least now he would be with his mother again, if she could stand to look at him. He felt her arms wrap around him from behind; he closed his eyes and he could almost pretend he was a boy again with his mom comforting him over some childhood slight, and not a man drowning with his heartbroken mother’s ghostly arms as his only solace.
“Oh, Odysseus, waiting…” His men! His poor men, all slaughtered senselessly by various monsters, including their own captain, 600 lives cut too short and 600 bereaved families back home on a little island none of them would ever see again. Suddenly they were real to him, and not just phantom sensations; he could see Polites and his mother clearly smiling at him out of the corner of his eye. He saw Eurylochus and the rest of the crew reaching for him, dragging him down to be with them, captain and crew reunited at last.
“Waiting… waiting… waiting…ah…” He frantically looked around at the ghosts of his comrades, his friends, his family. They were calling him, they had been waiting for him to join them. He must be nearly out of oxygen, he was almost there with them, but oh, how he didn’t want to be. It hurt to drown, a fire in his lungs despite the water submerging him, but there was nothing left to breathe in this watery abyss. He reached for the surface in vain, but he was too far below and all he saw was the manic face of Poseidon’s water form and that ruthless trident pushing him even further down. It hurt so bad, and he didn’t want to die, he wanted to see his wife and child again, but he had no choice left but to die. His luck, his time, and his breath had all run out.
I’m so sorry…