HIIIII! Here it is-chapter 4! If you want a disclaimer, you can look at the other 3 chapters ^-^ Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Team Up
She felt Anaklusmos in her pocket, and she began to slowly reach for it. She turned around and saw what looked like a Minotaur blocking the entrance to the alley. It was huge, a great hulking beast with only one horn. And, God how it smelled. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her pen-sword out of the pocket and uncapped it. The Celestial bronze sword grew, and seemed to glow in the twilight of the evening. The Minotaur growled at the sight of the sword. After all, it could smell its previous owner on it.
"Yeah, you know what this is, don't you?" Hannah taunted him. "Where's your other horn, Bessie?"
The Minotaur roared and charged. Hannah sank into a defensive stance and leaped out of the bull's way. She turned and slashed at its side, and ichor fell from the cut. It roared again and turned on her.
She knew she could run, as they had switched places. Her back was to the opening of the alleyway and the bull was against the back wall. But she knew that it would just chase her if she ran. She knew she had to face it and kill it before it could get to her.
Or worse, it hurt someone else.
She charged the Minotaur, crying out. She slashed and jumped, dodging its attacks. She tried to get her sword under its belly, but it turned and caught her in the gut, throwing her back against a side wall. It roared in triumph as Hannah knealt on the ground, trying to catch her breath. She grimaced and placed a hand gingerly on her side. A few bruised ribs, maybe one or two broken. She stood and hefted her sword, pointing it at the Minotaur.
Suddenly it turned from her, toward the mouth of the alley. She followed its gaze and cursed in Greek.
That idiotic red-masked turtle–Raphael–stood in the opening, mouth agape. He stared at the Minotaur, then his eyes found Hannah, standing with her sword pointed at the great beast.
"You!" he exclaimed. "You're–"
"Get out of here!" Hannah yelled at him. She turned to the Minotaur. "Come on, Smelly, I'm the one you want!" She couldn't let the turtle get hurt, not when he didn't have to.
Instead the stupid turtle drew two weapons from his belt and lept towards the Minotaur. He landed on its back and tried to plunge the weapon into its hide.
The iron of the weapon–a sai–bent back on itself as Raph tried to stab the Minotaur. He barely had enough time to look surprised before the bull threw him off its back. He flew through the air and hit the wall right beside Hannah. He fell to the ground and groaned. He slowly got to his hands and knees, shaking his head to clear it.
"Should've left when I said so," Hannah told him, offering a hand. He looked up at it, grimaced, and took it reluctantly.
"Thanks Achilles. What is that thing?" he asked her.
"A Minotaur," she answered. "And your iron sais won't do a bit of good against it. It can only be killed by Celestial bronze." She held up Anaklusmos.
"Where'd it come from?"
"Tartarus," she said simply. Then she jumped and landed on its back. "Keep it busy!" she yelled at Raph.
She ignored his sarcastic answer and held on as the beast began to buck and twist. She locked her legs around its neck and tried to stab it with her sword. But it was moving around too much, and she kept missing.
"Damn it!" she cursed. "Stay...still!" She finally stabbed it in the back leg.
It howled in pain and threw her off. She landed on Raphael and they tangled in a heap. The turtle landed on top, and Hannah banged her head against the the concrete of the ground. Through her blurry vision, she saw the Minotaur rear above them. She quickly pushed Raphael and flipped them over, out of the path of the Minotaur's hoof. Hannah was now on top and, ignoring the incredulous look the turtle gave her (not to mention his red cheeks), rolled off him and stood to face the bull again.
"This thing is starting to make me mad," she murmured.
"Tell me about it," Raphael replied.
She leapt for it again, and this time landed with her arms around its neck. She hefted her sword in one hand, but lost her grip. As the Minotaur threw her in the air again, she twisted and slashed with Anaklusmos. The Celestial bronze found a weak spot in its hide, and cut right through its neck.
The monster exploded in a shower of golden sparks, flying up into Hannah's face. She landed on the hard ground on her back, breathing heavily. Her face contorted in a pained grimace and she hissed through her teeth.
Raphael slowly approached her and knealt by her.
"Holy shell," he said. "You're hard core."
"Freakin' minotaurs, man," she told him, laughing slightly. "They keep you sharp." She tried to sit up, but grunted and grabbed her side.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "What hurts?"
"I think I got a few broken ribs," she told him. He stared at her, incredulous.
"And you expect to fight like this tomorrow?"
She grinned at him. "I'll be fine, perfectly healed by the time we fight." She got to her feet slowly. "But, I gotta get back to my room. My group's got the healing stuff."
She swayed, and Raphael caught her before she could hit the ground.
"You're not walking anywhere," he told her. "Where are you staying? I'll carry you."
"I can walk, Raphael," she told him. Once again, she ignored his look and tried to walk, only to crumple to the ground again. Before she could protest, he scooped her up in his arms.
A/N: Anaklusmos means "Riptide" in Greek. It was Percy Jackson's sword in the books, and you can guess who Hannah is since she now has it. In the first Percy Jackson book, The Lightning Theif, the Minotaur is the first monster Percy encounters. (Spoiler alert!) He ends up killing it with its own horn that he tore off it. And Tartarus is the realm where the monsters come and go in Greek mythology. Monsters don't die indefinitely; they explode into dust and go back to Tartarus to reform and come back years later.
Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always welcome!
