Whoa - another update? Within 24 hours of the last one? haha that neverhappens! Don't get used to it though :) I only write when I have the time, and this weekend I did :D
Anyways, I think the first 3/4's came out ok, but I'm not too crazy about the ending. I can't tell if I went too overboard on the sappiness or if I made Annabeth too OOC...feedback would be appreciated.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Percy Jackson
Annabeth
Annabeth was snapped out of her horror as Percy not-so-subtly edged in front of her, putting himself between her and Arachne. She had almost forgotten he was there in her panic. She may not have a sword, but at least she has Percy.
"Now, you're going to pay for tricking me!"
And she lunged towards them.
~ooooo~
Percy
Spider-lady was surprisingly nimble for an ugly monster with only about half of her legs in working condition. And boy was she ugly.
She had a huge spider's backend, to put it nicely, and the green goop dripping out of her looked like snot, which was even grosser. Her face was a grotesque hybrid of woman and spider.
But other than a few gooey cuts and broken legs, Arachne looked pretty good for a spider who had fallen billions of miles into a dark pit.
Gosh, that sounded really weird.
And here she was, barreling towards the two demigods, needle-like teeth showcased between snarling lips and pinching mandibles.
Had he mentioned how ugly she was? It's easy to see why children of Athena would be scared of her and her offspring. He doesn't think he'll ever tease Annabeth for it again.
Arachne leaped towards them, jabbing one of her legs at Percy as if to stab him through the gut. He reeled backwards, narrowly avoiding becoming a shish-kabob on her thorny leg. He slashed at it with Riptide but before it could make contact Arachne swiped one of her other legs behind his knees and his feet were yanked out from under him.
He yelped and grunted as his back slammed into the ground, momentarily seeing stars as his head collided with solid earth. He rolled to the side, expecting Arachne to take advantage of his weakness. He wasn't disappointed. She clamped her pincers around his calf, yanking him towards her with unnatural ease. He yelled in pain. A second later, however, the grip on his leg was gone as Arachne hissed and stumbled away from Percy.
He scrambled to his feet and saw Annabeth whacking Arachne with her pole – blocking her angry swipes with it as if it were a sword. She grunted with the effort of each swing, and she was slowly being pushed back as Arachne got the upper hand.
Annabeth was an awesome fighter – she really was. One of the best, actually. But she was trained with close-combat weapons like her dagger, and Percy can tell by her stance that using the long pole she had was awkward. She was rusty with a sword where she was practiced with a knife, and right now, seeing her struggle, Percy grew extremely nervous.
Not to mention that the pole wasn't made of Celestial Bronze so it really couldn't do much damage, let alone kill any monster…
Ignoring his bleeding calf, he lunged towards Arachne and sliced one of her legs off, green gunk splattering him, just as she knocked the pole from Annabeth's hands. She roared in pain and turned towards him. "How dare you," she spat, which sort of shocked Percy because he had almost forgotten that she wasn't just some mindless monster.
Annabeth used the distraction to pick her weapon back up and jump onto her back. With a look of utter disgust on her face, she jabbed the pole straight into one of the larger gashes on her back, jamming it in as far as she could as the spider-lady jerked and fell off balance, whimpering in pain. The movement threw Annabeth off and she fell from the creature as gracefully as she could, receiving a nasty gash on her shin. "Percy, now!" she yelled.
He took his cue and hacked away at her other leg but the blade got caught between the hard hair-spikes running down it. He cursed loudly as she pulled the sword from his hands and lunged towards him, pincers snapping at his face. The snot-like goo oozing from the cuts on her underside dripped onto Percy, who was now pinned beneath the creature's bulk, irritating his skin through his clothes. If he wasn't so intent on protecting his head, he would have gagged with the retched stench that seemed to seep from her skin. When was the last time she brushed her teeth?
Annabeth chucked the pole, which had dislodged itself from her back, at Arachne's head. It poked her in one of her four black eyes. She reared up to caress it, screaming in what sounded more like frustration than pain. "That was my eye!" she shrieked, as if the hit had been unfair. He was about to make some snarky comment about how he wished he could be poked in the eye just so he wouldn't have to look at her foul face when she shifted her leg and the spikes along it stabbed into his side. He didn't even have time to register the pain when Arachne swiped at his chest growling, "Time to watch your friend die, Athena spawn!"
He saw her leg come down, sharp as a knife. It seemed as if everything were moving in slow motion. He closed his eyes as he waited for the inevitable.
Only, it didn't come.
A piercing wail escaped Arachne as a blade – his blade – tore through her abdomen. More gunk splattered over his upper half and he closed his eyes and mouth tight to prevent the stuff from getting in them. She burst into gold dust which showered over him gently.
Annabeth stood next to him, looking like a battle-goddess holding his sword out in front of her. She killed Arachne. She saved him.
The fierce expression on her face faded as she locked eyes with Percy, who was staring at her quite reverently.
"Have I ever told you that I love you?" he said. She blushed.
She placed Riptide on the ground and knelt next to Percy to help him up. Now that the battle was over and his adrenaline rush was fading, he could feel the pain on his calf and side burn through him. He breathed through his teeth as he sat up and touched his side. When he removed his hand, it was covered in blood.
"Gods, Percy!" Annabeth paled. She lifted the side of his shirt carefully and examined the wound. She touched the gash and Percy inhaled sharply, swallowing the groan that tried to escape. "Sorry," she whispered. She sounded unsure when she said, "It doesn't look too deep, but we need to stop the bleeding."
Percy nodded. Luckily, Annabeth wore a jacket which she promptly took off and scrunched into a ball, pressing it against the wound. Instinctively, his hand shot to protect his side, which now ended up on top of Annabeth's. Together, they sat and put pressure against the area, waiting for it to cease bleeding.
Gods, he wished they had ambrosia. As the bleeding finally slowed, Percy removed his hand and examined the calf where spider-lady had bit him. He hoped she wasn't poisonous.
Annabeth continued to hold the fabric against him. A few minutes later, when she lifted it away and saw that the bleeding had stopped, she helped him off the ground. She finally got a good look at him and crinkled her nose.
"What?" he said.
"You're covered in spider guts and gold dust."
He looked down at his clothes and shrugged. It's not like he could change.
"Gross." He looked at her, and smiled maliciously. "I think the mighty Arachne-slayer deserves a hug, don't you?"
She squinted angrily at him. "You wouldn't—"
Too late. Percy wrapped his arms around Annabeth and pulled her flush against him, ignoring the twinge of pain it caused. She struggled for a moment, but, to his surprise, she stilled, wrapped her arms around his back – gently, so as not to aggravate his injury – and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He put all of his weight on his good leg as he held her, feeling her silent tears roll down the collar of his T-shirt.
It must have been terrifying for her to face Arachne, her greatest fear. And Annabeth wasn't afraid of much, so it was a big deal. Plus, he could count the number of times he has openly seen her cry on one hand in the six – seven? – years he's known her. With everything going on, he didn't blame her. He knew he couldn't really say anything useful, so he just focused on rubbing her back softly.
Her tears stopped quickly, and she pulled away slightly. Without saying a word, she wiped his cheek with the back of her hand, removing some of the gunk, and kissed it. It was a silent gesture that said, "thank you."
"We'd better get moving," she said, steady and strong. Her moment of weakness (if you could even call it that) was over, and she was determined to focus on the mission at hand. "We don't know when Arachne will reappear and it's best if we are far away from here when she does."
Percy nodded. Annabeth picked up his sword and handed it to him. Recapping it, he slid the pen in his pocket.
And then they were on their way.
