The Purple-Haired Dork
Disclaimer: i don't own class of the titans. I wish i did. But i don't
"Ok guys, lets go over the plan again." normally Atlanta couldn't stand it when Jay made them go over and over the same plan but this time it was different. This was the real thing, after all these years, they were finally about to take down Cronos. Beside her on the couch, her purple haired best friend Archie sat forward, listening intently. She looked at him and then at the others around the room. When this was all over would they see each other again? She would miss Theresa, her best girl-friend, and their long heart to hearts, she would miss laughing at Herry as he chomped down on his 10th helping at dinner, she would miss Odie trying to explain something long and complicated to her, heck, she would even miss Neil's self centredness and nasal whine not to mention Jay's constant mothering but she would miss Archie the most. He caught her staring at him and gave her a puzzled look. She just shook her head at turned her attention back to Jay."Now as you know, we trapped Cronos in the cave." Jay was saying. "he can't leave but he can still summon minions who can. So, me, Archie and Herry will go in and meet Cronos while Neil, you and Atlanta, Theresa and Odie dispose of the monsters outside. Once you've finished, help us inside, i think we'll need it." he laughed half heartedly and Atlanta suddenly saw how tired he looked, she caught his eye and smiled reassuringly, she had his back, and so did everyone else here.
"are you sure you'll be okay without me to save you." Archie joked, they were all positioned outside the cave, with the boys preparing to go in. Atlanta shoved him and stuck out her tongue
"i think its the other way round Arch," she smirked "i'll end up saving you!" he suddenly got serious
"just stay safe, alright?"
"yeah, you too." there was an awkward moment before Archie gave her a quick hug. Then they both turned back to the others. A little way off, Jay was talking to Theresa. He linked his hand with hers and wiped a tear from her cheek. She's such a girl, thought Atlanta, but i know how she feels, we may not make it out of this alive. She turned away politely when Jay leaned in to kiss Theresa and didn't make any of her usual jokes when they rejoined the group. Nobody did. They all understood the seriousness of the situation.
Jay decided it was time to go in and Archie came towards her. "Atlanta, i..."
"just go away you idiot, you have work to do." Atlanta was surprised at her tone of voice. She was scared and nervous, she didn't want to think that she might loose Archie. He looked hurt and she immediately regretted what she had said and made a mental note to apologize later. If there was a later. No, she scolded herself, of course there'll be a later, don't think negatively. She watched Archie go. Maybe later i'll tell him i love him, she thought.
"here they come" Neil screamed. Atlanta shuddered at the sight of the hell hounds. They where three times the size of a regular dog, blood red with black eyes. She used her wrist crossbow to shoot at them but while they yelped in pain, they didn't slow down. She saw Theresa run past her, swinging her nun-chucks, she ran in to help and together, they brought one of them down. Neil was wildly swinging a sword at the other Hell hound. What is he doing? Thought Atlanta, then she Odie sneaking around the back. While Neil was distracting the beast, Odie shot the hound with a lethal dart, the formula for which he had been working on for months now.
"good work guys!" she shouted "that wasn't so hard." but she spoke to soon because through the mouth of the cave shot four wild horses
"the Mares of Diomedes!" Shouted Theresa. Atlanta knew the savage horses lived on a diet of human flesh. She also knew that they breathed fire.
oh my gods, thought Atlanta, if that's what we are dealing with here, whats going on inside?
Inside the cave, Jay, Herry and Archie struggled against the ropes which tied them.
"at last," boomed the deep and familiar voice of Cronos. "i get to destroy you pesky little heros. Without you, the gods stand no chance and olympus, and the world, will be mine!"
"why don't you kill us now, Cronos?" Jay spat the last word.
"why, that would be fun, wouldn't it?" he seemed to consider the idea. "but i want all of you together, one last time, tying and failing against my latest discovery!" he laughed, a horrible sound which echoed around the chamber.
"what discovery?" Called Herry
"why don't i let you find out for yourself" with the flick of a hand, Herry's ropes came loose and a sword appeared in his hand. "come on little hero, try and kill me" Cronos held out his arms and Herry advanced cautiously. With a roar he stabed Cronos in the chest. For a moment nothing happened then the blade dissolved before their eyes and Cronos raised his arms and called;
"I AM INVINCABLE"
"did you hear that?" said Odie as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
"yeah, it sounded like Cronos" said Theresa who was bandaging Atlanta's arm
"what did he say?" Neil drew out a file and began to fix his broken nail
"lets watch the superbowl?" supplied Theresa
"no, i thought it was don't turn invisible" said Atlanta
they looked at each other, eyes wide and mouths open
"i am invincible" they said in unison
Odie retreated behind a rock and re emerged with his laptop bag.
"but that's impossible, isn't it?" Neil stammered
"there are several ways in which he could achieve invincibility" replied Odie
"not really helping our cause it it?" Atlanta grabbed a bottle of water from Odie's bag and drank.
"here listen" said Odie, he propped his computer up on a rock "he could either have bathed in the river Styx"
"like Achilles right?"
"right, but then he would have one weak spot or he could have found something called the orb of Thanatos, this orb grants him the power of never dying unless it is destroyed." (completely made up by me, not a real mythological item)
"if its destroyed?" asked Theresa, standing
"then every injury inflicted on Cronos since the time when he activated the orb, will happen."
"wait, how did the gods defeat Cronos last time?" asked Theresa
"didn't Zeus like, chop him into little pieces?" asked Neil
"yeah, and threw him into Tartarus" Odie shut down his computer. "i have an idea" he said.
"Hold up" said Neil "isn't Thanatos literally Death"
Odie nodded
"then how come this orb stops death?"
Neil had a point but Odie didn't have an answer to that so he explained his plan instead.
After everyone knew what to do, they ran into the cave to save their friends.
Atlanta hid behind a boulder and listened to what Cronos was saying
"...if they don't come soon i guess i'll just have to kill you separately as apposed to all together..." he left the cave, retreating into the Labyrinth of tunnels to summon some more monsters.
across the cavern she could see Odie moving into position, any minute now they would get the signal. She looked at Archie, looks like you are the one who needs saving, she thought with a smile.
Odie signaled and Theresa, Neil, Atlanta and Odie charged.
They ran up to their friends, untied them and whispered the plan, Cronos was nowhere to be seen but the heros where on high alert. An echoey roar sounded from behind and Cronos emerged with a Minatour as well as a group of cyclops's at his heels. Jay dashed forward with his sword, closely followed by Theresa and Herry. Atlanta shot at them from a distance and brought down the beast while Jay Slashed at Cronos, who laughed
"did you not hear me before?" he shouted "i can't die" to prove his point he swiped at Jay and sent him flying into the wall.
"Jay!" Theresa exclaimed and began to run towards him, only to be pushed back by a cyclops that had emerged from the gloom.
"i'm alright" Jay reasurred his friends. He sounded strong but was limping heavily.
Atlanta breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know what the heros would do if something happened to Jay.
Archie came up beside her, brandishing his whip.
"how are you doing?" he asked her
"nows not really the time Arch." she shot at another cyclops. He looked hurt but charged towards the creature, taking it down easily.
Archie glanced back at Atlanta. He knew why she was so edgy but it still hurt when she snapped at him like that. He spotted a passage way to his right.
"i'd better check it out." he said to himself. There might be more beasts waiting to emerge. The Heros could do with a little warning. He crept into the gloom.
The passage spiralled up into stairs and Archie eventually emerged above the battle. Cronos had his back to him and none of his friends had seen him. He looked around the ledge. There was a throne, presumably Cronos's. It was huge and black. Archie supressed a shudder. This throne seemed to emit power. Slowly he approached. There was something beside the chair. Pulsating with a yellow light. He realised that it wasn't the throne that emitted power, it was this orb.
Wait, he thought, this couldn't be the orb that Odie was talking about. Could it? He reached out to touch it, jumping back as he was zapped with a light current. All of a sudden he felt revitalised. No longer wearied by battle.
"so this is it..." Archie grabbed the orb and ran to the edge of the ledge. Down below Theresa and Herry stood before Cronos. They looked tired. Odie was in a corner. He was bleeding badly and his leg was at an odd angle. Atlanta and Neil where attaking a Hell hound, for once Neil didn't care that his hair was messed up and he was dirty. And Jay... Archie looked around for their leader. Jay was slumped in the ground, struggling to stand. Archie was filled with anger at the scene. Before him, Herry was flung aside as if he was nothing more than a teddy bear. Theresa screamed as a sword came into contact with her arm. These where his friends. And they were dying. Atlanta ran towards Herry while Neil hovered anxiously in front of Odie, a sword raised. Jay got to his feet and prepared to charge at Cronos. Even though they all know the battle was hopeless, they stood their ground. All of a sudden Archie knew what he had to do.
"HEY CRONOS" he shouted. The noises below ceased as everyone stopped to look at the purple haired warrior and what he had in his hands. Cronos dropped his scythe and began to move towards the passage. Archie saw Jay bend down and pick up the weapon that Zeus had used to defeat Cronos origionally.
"Don't move another inch Cronos" Archie yelled. "for years we have laboured. Training, learning and fighting. Because of YOU. We were normal. We were happy. Until you came along. I guess i have to thank you though because if you had never shown up, i never would have met these people before me. These are my best friends. My only friends. And i will not stand by any longer and watch you hurt them. So Cronos," he raied the orb above his head. " This is for Jay, Theresa, Odie, Herry, Neil, Odie and Atlanta." he threw the ball down and it shattered "go to hell"
Jay drew the scythe upon Cronos just as a mammoth explosion rocketed throught the cave. The heros where thrown aside as a huge hole appeared in the ground and swallowed up the pieces of Cronos. Sending him back to Tartarus.
The silence that followed was broken by Theresa's wavering voice.
"oh my gods," she whispered "we did it."
"we actually did it" said Jay
"WE DID IT" the Heros chorused. They gathered around eachother and screamed. They hugged eachother while still yelling out in disbelief. After a while, they slumped down against the wall, next to Odie and sighed.
"Archie was amazing. If he didn't find the Orb, i don't know what we would have done!" Jay looked around. There was a horrible silence before Atlanta whispered;
"Where's Archie." Jay, Herry, Theresa, Atlanta and Neil all jumped up.
"Oh my Gods, where is he?" Said Theresa
"ARCHIE" they called and ran through the chamber. Atlanta ran through the tunnel and up onto the ledge where Archie had been standing. To her right was a scene of carnage, to her left was a deep crevass. She scanned the area. Gasping at the sight of something purple, only to find that it was part of Jay's tattered shirt. She looked over at Jay, he was seaching under giants. She saw him shake his head and pull Theresa into a hug. Despite the situation, Altanta managed smiled, Archie would never believe that Theresa was crying over him. She looked back to the left and a cry escaped her lips. On the edge of the crevace was a shoe, Archie's shoe. Atlanta ran to the edge and grabbed the shoe, clutching it tight to her chest. She realised that she was breathing hard. He was her best friend, she reasoned, she had to right to be worried. Or was there something more, said a small voice in the back of her mind, was he really just a friend? was that all she wanted him to be? She didn't love him did she? No, now wasn't the time to think about this, Archie was missing and he needed her help.
Atlanta nervously tip-toed to the edge and peeked over, not sure what she should expect to see, but there, at the bottom, she could make out a shape.
Archie! She searched around for a way down, relieved to find an almost staircase-like structure. She ran faster than she ever had.
As she got closer, Atlanta felt her heart sink. Her vision had adjusted to the dim light enough now for her to recognize a blue hoodie and shorts, a golden leg brace, lay twisted but glinting nearby and a shock of purple hair was just visible. She cringed. Archie was broken, he lay, crumpled in an impossible position, there was no way he could have survived. she bent down beside him and stroked his forehead. His eyes twitched and Atlanta's heart lept to her throat.
"Archie?" her voice wavered and two blue eyes opened and tried to focus on her green ones.
"Atlanta you..." Archie tried to speak "you found me. I knew you would."
"Shh Archie, of course i found you. I can't leave you alone for one minute without you getting hurt can i?" she gave a nervous laugh "dork, you got yourself beat up pretty bad." she stopped, her voice catching. "i'm sorry for the way i spoke to you earlier, you were only watching out for me."
"s'okay" Archie tried to smile but winced instead. He groaned in pain. "did we...is cronus?"
"gone." Atlanta knew what Archie was trying to say.
"and the others?"
"we're all alive. A little worse for where, Odie's pretty beat up." she reasurred her friend.
"Atlanta," Talking was becoming difficult for Archie and Atlanta grabbed his hand. "i just wanted to say that your my best friend but i wish we could have had more... what i mean is...I...I love you."
Atlanta let out a sob "i love you too Arch, more than anything." Archie's face lit up and he looked like he was going to say something else when a shudder racked his body. Atlanta cried out
"No Archie, no," she burst into tears "Please don't leave me." she clumsily stood up.
"JAY, HERRY" her voice broke as she shouted "THERESA QUICKLY" she fell down beside Archie and cried until Jay carried her away.
Neil looked at the broken shards of the orb. They where shiny and pretty. He grabbed some on the larger pieces and stuffed them into his pockets.
Atlanta hunched in a fetal position outside the room. Jay paced nervously and Theresa kept glancing at the other girl as if wanting to say something but then thinking better of it. Odie rubbed his cast, Neil fidgeted with his hair and Herry was picking at his food. The tense mood was affecting them all. Finally the door creaked open and Hera stepped out, looking grave. The heros looked up but her face held no comfort.
"i'm afraid there was nothing i could do" the teacher said and Atlanta broke down in a fresh batch of tears. She had cried more today that she had her entire life. "Archie is still alive, but barely. The only thing that can save him now is the orb that Cronos was using to sustain his life."
"but that orb was destroyed. There's nothing left," Jay ran a hand through his hair "and we can't go back now, that place is overrun with monsters"
"just one shard is enough to save him. Failing that..." Hera trailed off, she didn't need to finish the sentence.
Neil frowned and thrust his hands into his pockets. "it's cold in here...ouch" he cried out in alarm and drew his hand out, sucking on his finger to stop the blood. "what was that?" he whined and placed his hands back in, though more carefully this time.
"oh yeah," he said, "i forgot i found this. Isn't it pretty" he pulled out a shard of multi-coloured glass that seemed to glow. The others gaped at him.
"is that...?" Herry began
"Neil you genius!" exclaimed Jay, "you saved Archie!"
"i did?" he handed the shard to Hera who went back into the room where Archie was. "oh, sure i did!" Atlanta jumped up and ran at Neil, giving him a huge hug, she swung him around and he screamed but she just smiled. She put him down and returned to her seat, though now her eyes were shining and she sat forward in anticipation.
"dude." Neil sat next to her "watch the hair." he pulled out his mirror and began to fix his blond locks. Jay resumed his pacing, not so anxious this time, Theresa picked up a magazine and Herry began to eat. The mood had lifted but it was not yet perfect.
Along the wall, Herry was slumped against Odie, whose head resed on Neils shoulder, Neil in turn, was leaning on Theresa who was wrapped in Jay's arms. Only Atlanta remained awake and when Hera re entered the room, she jumped up.
"He's very weak, it will take him years to recover completely" the Goddess told the girl.
"can i see him?" Atlanta nearly whispered. Hera nodded
"shall i wake your friends?" she asked but Atlanta shook her head.
"they could do with the rest," she said "it's been a long day and i just want to be alone with Archie for a bit." Hera nodded in understanding
.
Atlanta walked timidly through the door, closing it behind her. On the bed, Archie lay motionless. He was as white as the sheets he lay on and for one terrible second, Altanta thought that Hera had lied, that Archie was dead. But then he moved.
She sat on the chair beside his bed and reached out to touch his face. He was as cold as ice. At her touch, his eyes flickered open and he took a while to focus completely on her. Recogntion slowly bloomed on his face.
"Atlanta" he croaked. Tears flooded her eyes again.
"hey dork" she said affectionately.
In the weeks that followed, Atlanta spent as much time as she could, helping with Archie's rehabilitation. She helped him move from his bed to his wheelchair and even pushed him around. He laughed at her and teased her for this but she couldn't help but notice the soft expression on his face or the looks he sometimes gave her. But Atlanta was to scared to bring up the topic of that terrible night and the words that were exchanged. She focussed on being Archie's best friend and tried to suppress that sadness that welled up inside her when ever she looked at him. He's still Archie, she tried to convince herself, but he isn't, he's helpless, dependant. He'll never be what he was, she thought. At night she cried herself to sleep. She wanted the warrior back. That was the man she was best friends with. That was the man she loved.
Archie could see the looks that Atlanta gave him, they made him sad. But he was determined for her to look at him the way she used to , that thought spurred him on and after he got his casts off, he would secretly practice walking. He was going to surprise her, make her see that he was still the same old Archie. Because he was a descendant of Achilles, he healed twice as fast as any regular man, or hero for that matter. He did his exercises in his room, intent on being able to run again. And when he did, he would beat Atlanta in a race, and then she would see that he was better.
It was December. The festive cheer had descended on the brownstone. Although Cronos was gone, monsters still appeared and the group hadn't wanted to disband, they had grown so close now. Out in the training field, Jay was sparring with Herry, Theresa and Odie where wrestling while Atlanta and Neil stretched. Archie sat in his wheelchair and smiled. Today he would prove to them all that he was better. He had grown sick of the constant looks of pity that they gave him. They never let him do anything on his own.
His strength had returned. It wasn't what it was but with regular training, he would build up the muscle she used to have. What was important was that he could run. He rolled his wheelchair over to the start of the track. He often raced Atlanta in his wheel chair, he never won though, his arms no match for her legs. She took the bait.
"Neil, can you start us off?" Archie called and Neil grabbed the hooter.
"Ready to loose dork" there was still pain behind Atlanta's smirk but that was about to change
"Ready." called Neil "Set" the others stopped to watch, this race was always entertaining. Archie smiled. The Hooter sounded and he jumped up and ran.
He saw Atlanta a small way ahead and pressured his aching legs to run faster, they weren't used to the strain and Archie was puffed but he caught up soon enough.
There was silence, no-one could quite believe what they were seeing. The abandoned chair and the purple blur.
Archie smiled at Atlanta's reaction as he over took. She screamed and slowed down but he kept on running until he reached the finish. A cheer erupted from the others and Archie turned to see Atlanta jogging towards him. Before he could do anything, she tackled him.
"You...DORK" she punched him but he flipped her so that he was on top. She stopped. As he watched her, he could see the old look return to her eyes. That was his cue. He leaned down and kissed her. More cheers from the others but Atlanta and Archie didn't hear them.
Atlanta smiled at Archie as they stood up. She took his hand. Her best friend. Alive and walking beside her smiling and happy. The way he always was, the way he always should be. Hers.
The End
phew, sorry it was so long, i got carried away. Well what do you think? Review please, critisism welcome. (if i get enough reviews, i might even do a sequel!)