[Third Person Pov]

"So what does it do exactly?" Medusa asked, staring back at the picture on Lucian's phone as she studied it more carefully.

"You feel a connection to it, don't you?" Lucian asked. "You should be able to control it with just a thought."

Medusa closed her eyes and focused on the strange sensation Lucian was talking about. Almost immediately she felt it. The connection was subtle at first, but quickly became unmistakable. It felt as though she had suddenly grown an entirely new limb attached somewhere along her back, something alive and responsive that was waiting for her instructions.

Carefully, she tugged at the connection with her mind.

Lucian watched as the snake tattoo slowly opened its deep violet eye. The serpent began to move, the design unfurling across her skin as though it had been asleep until now. It loosened from its coiled position, almost like it was pulling its tail free from its own mouth before stretching itself awake.

The serpent started slithering over her skin, moving across her back and over her shoulders while Medusa watched with a faint, fascinated grin. She guided it effortlessly with her thoughts alone, deciding where it moved and how quickly it responded. The snake glided down past the valley of her breasts before curling itself around her hips and waist.

Medusa laughed softly under her breath as she experimented with it more. She directed the serpent back upward, making it slide over her shoulder before it coiled its way slowly down her arm. Every movement felt natural, as though she had been controlling it her entire life.

Lucian stepped forward until he was standing only a foot away from her and raised one of his arms in front of himself.

"Go on," he said. "I'll be your test subject."

"Are you sure?" Medusa asked curiously, glancing between him and the serpent.

"Yeah, it's fine. I heal fast, not to mention I'm pretty durable," Lucian assured her as he braced himself.

Medusa shrugged before standing up fully. She raised her hand flat toward Lucian.

The tattoo suddenly surged off her skin and launched outward, transforming into a living black serpent mid-motion. Its mouth opened wide, exposing sharp fangs as it hissed aggressively before striking Lucian directly in the forearm.

The bite sank deep into his flesh.

Lucian didn't even flinch. He simply looked down at the puncture wounds as blood began running down his arm. A moment later the snake released him, dropped to the floor, and slithered smoothly back toward Medusa. It climbed up her leg, wound around her body, and eventually curled itself comfortably over her shoulder again.

"I have to say, it's pretty cute," Medusa said with an amused smile as she rubbed the serpent's head with her fingers.

"I'm sure you've already noticed this," Lucian said, "but because you're magically connected to it, you're also able to share senses with it. You can see what it sees and hear what it hears. It makes it perfect for espionage."

He paused when he noticed both Medusa's and the snake's slit pupils narrowing at the exact same time.

"Oh wow, you're right," Medusa said excitedly. Her smile widened as she continued playing with her new pet snake. "What else can it do?"

"Well, I don't know how much you missed your ability to turn men into stone, so the snake has two additional spells… or curses, depending on how you want to look at them," Lucian explained. "The first allows you to petrify people again, but only if you consciously choose to do it. You actually have control over it now. It can finally be a power instead of a curse."

Medusa's expression softened slightly at that.

"I'll admit, it did feel strange not having that ability anymore after living with it for over a millennium," she admitted while absentmindedly stroking the snake resting around her shoulders. "As much as I once hated it, once it was gone… I realized I had grown used to it. Without it, I felt a little vulnerable."

Lucian nodded in understanding.

"And the last spell allows you to shapeshift—"

He barely had time to finish speaking before the snake instantly flattened itself back into a tattoo and Medusa's body began to shift. In seconds her form transformed into that of a massive boa constrictor.

The enormous serpent slithered across the floor toward Lucian before wrapping itself tightly around him.

Lucian let out a strained breath as the coils tightened around his body with surprising strength. He could feel the pressure increasing with every second as Medusa tested out her new form.

A moment later she loosened her grip and shifted back into her human form.

She nodded to herself in complete satisfaction. "Okay, that one might actually be my favorite so far."

Medusa immediately wrapped her arms around Lucian in a hug and smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you, Lucian," she said sincerely. "I love it."

"It's really nothing too impressive—" Lucian started to say with a half-formed grin.

However, Medusa interrupted him with a small shake of her head.

"I think you've just gotten so used to doing crazy and absurd amounts of magic that you genuinely fail to realize how impressive this actually is," she told him. "Most people couldn't even dream of creating something like this."

Lucian scratched the side of his face awkwardly, clearly not knowing how to respond to the praise. His eyes flickered upward for only a second before immediately darting away again.

"I'm begging you, please put some clothes on. I don't know how much more of this I can take," Lucian said while covering part of his face with one hand, visibly flustered. "This is unbelievably distracting."

"Oops, sorry," Medusa replied with a shy giggle.

She walked over and pulled her shirt back on before adjusting it properly. Afterward she brushed her hair back into place with her fingers, taking a moment to straighten herself out. While doing so she noticed Lucian intentionally keeping his eyes turned away from her, clearly trying to give her some privacy despite his embarrassment.

A faint smile spread across her face at the gesture. "You can look now, Lucian."

Lucian cautiously lowered his hand before glancing back at her.

An awkward silence settled over the room afterward. Neither of them seemed entirely sure how to continue from there. Lucian brought his hands together in front of himself before finally breaking the silence.

"So… where exactly do we go from here?" Lucian asked.

Medusa crossed her arms lightly as she answered without hesitation. "Now we go our separate ways and pretend none of this ever happened. Whatever happened in this room stays in this room. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear," Lucian said immediately as he raised both thumbs up.

Medusa rolled her eyes in amusement before reaching over and ruffling his hair.

"I'll call you when it's time for lunch," she said while walking toward the door. "And please, I'm begging you, don't make this weirder than it needs to be."

"I make no promises," Lucian muttered under his breath.

Medusa shot him a warning look over her shoulder.

"Kidding. Mostly."

She let out a quiet snort before finally leaving the room.

Once the door closed behind her, Lucian exhaled deeply and dropped his head back.

"…I'm so screwed," he muttered to himself.

…

Deciding he needed something to distract himself, Lucian chose to spend his time training. Unfortunately, after several minutes it became painfully obvious that it wasn't helping at all.

His thoughts kept wandering no matter how hard he tried to focus.

Lucian sat in the middle of the room with his legs crossed, staring down at his hands as positive energy pulsed around his palms in soft waves of light. Normally the steady rhythm of magic helped calm his mind, but this time it barely worked.

After another failed attempt at concentrating, he groaned in frustration and flopped backward onto the floor. He laid there sprawled out on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling for several long seconds before muttering a single exhausted: "Fuck…"

He dragged both palms over his face and aggressively rubbed at his eyes.

"Get your shit together, man," Lucian chastised himself while restlessly shifting on the floor. "You're acting ridiculous."

He forced himself back into a seated position before clicking his tongue in annoyance. "I'm not getting anywhere with this stupid training."

Lucian glanced down toward the ring on his finger, his expression slowly shifting into something more thoughtful. "I might as well see how Annabeth is handling her quest."

With a flick of his hand, Lucian summoned his crystal ball.

The magical orb materialized in front of him and quickly expanded until it was nearly the size of his head. Inside, thick crimson mist swirled endlessly against the glass.

Lucian grabbed the sides of the orb as his eyes began glowing with power. He focused his magic deeper into the crystal, peering through the layers of shifting red fog.

At first everything appeared blurry and indistinct. Shapes moved within the mist, but it was difficult to make out exactly what was happening. The sounds, however, came through clearly.

"Nico!! I thought we told you not to trust anything you see!?" Bianca shouted over the sounds of growling, explosions, and collapsing debris.

"Ughhh, I'm sorry! But he looked exactly like Lucian! I thought he was joining us!" Nico whimpered in pain.

"Bianca, treat Nico! I'll cover us!" Annabeth ordered sternly.

The fog inside the crystal finally cleared enough for Lucian to properly see what was happening.

The three of them were cornered inside what looked like a ruined stone chamber. Animated corpses surrounded them from every direction, slowly closing in despite the damage already done to their rotting bodies.

Nico was slumped against a wall with blood seeping through his fingers as he clutched at his chest wound. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes while he struggled to catch his breath.

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