HEY GUYS! So, school is starting again for me, so updates are going to be slower and more sporadic sorryyyyy But no worries, I'm going to be keeping it going as the school year goes on! With that, I hope you enjoy this chap!
Disclaimer - I ain't Rick R(oll, jkjk)iordan
Chapter Twenty Three - Bringing A Sword to a Wrestling Match
The moment the pun left his mouth, the hulking man lunged with speeds that Percy did not expect from a mound with legs, and his survival was solely reliant on instinct and honed reflexes that Percy thanked the gods for.
"Holy -" Some profanity slipped from Percy's lips as the lumbering man stumbled to a stop, straightening before sending Percy an award winning smile for the "Frick, I'm scared, Mom" inducing smile contest. Percy's hand twitched, readying himself to Summon Riptide as he heard the cussing of Blackjack in his mind. From his peripheral, he saw Ethan shut the door close and walking around the room, doing who knows what. "Who the heck are you?"
Instead of answering, the man inspected the room with a seemingly contemplative look. He hummed before turning to Percy, disgruntled as he shook himself a bit, decorative bones clacking against each other. Percy eyed the bones warily before narrowing his eyes at the man.
"Hey, don't you know it's not polite to not introduce yourself before fighting?"
At that comment, the man, to Percy slight shock, grinned wider, unnerving him more than he already was. "Ah, yes, we didn't announce the match contestants yet!" He bellowed a rumbling laugh as Percy blinked at his words. Match? The man gestured to Ethan who Percy took note of fully rather than just in his peripheral and found that he had begun to create...a crude looking circle around Percy and the man with pillows, chairs, and other random things.
"What the heck are you doing messing my house up?" Percy asked Ethan who only shrugged and looked at Percy - was that sympathy in his eyes? - with a relatively blank face before turning to the man.
Percy raised a brow when Ethan raised his left arm, pointed to Percy, and shouted with the most badly done imitation of a referee, "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon Olympian, step up to the center ring!" Percy was so shocked, he almost laughed, but he couldn't because he was also hella confused. So instead of so called stepping up to the center of the -
"Oh, wait, did you make a ring out of house appliances?" Percy asked incredulously as he pointed at the not-really-a-circle circle.
"Please step up to the center of the ring," Ethan repeated. Percy opened his mouth before closing it again. He wanted to protest, say that this was not how fighting for his life was supposed to turn out to be like, but then he thought maybe it was better to see where things would go. Maybe there had been a change of plans, and they only wanted Percy to join in on a friendly match of boxing or something, though, he had no idea how to box.
So Percy relented, though clearly reluctant and confused, and walked to roughly the center that Ethan pointed to.
Ethan moved his right arm and pointed to the man on the other side and Percy looked up to match the man's malicious gaze with his own determined one (though sweat trickled down his neck in anticipation).
"And his opponent is the one and only, all-time wrestling champion -" Say what now? "- Antaeus!" Percy blinked as the man - Antaeus - bowed to an invisible crowd with a toothy grin, showing crooked teeth. Percy knew that name. He's heard it multiple times in movies, late night shows and news.
Ethan tripped on something, but Percy was too busy trying to remember what the news had been saying about Antaeus and who he was to care. There was suddenly the sound of static, and the sudden opening song for Daily Sports News that Percy watched sometimes. He realized Ethan must have tripped on the remote that he must have dropped on the floor.
The voices of the reporters filled the room, and Percy's blood chilled. Antaeus turned to face the flickering bright screen of the television, hardly close enough to make out specific features of the two reporters other than one brown haired lady and black haired man.
"Today's topic is on Antaeus Giant, the pro-wrestler that went MIA only six months ago. What say you about Antaeus, Matt?" the woman, Stacy asked, turning to Matt.
"Well, Stacy, before getting into the topic about his sudden disappearance, I wanted to commend him, from wherever he may be, on his unimaginable and unbeatable records for wrestling! I myself remember back in my wee little high school days, doing wrestling myself, and I'll say that Antaeus wasn't called a legend wrestler for nothing!"
"Haha, well, looks like you're a fan of his, aren't you Matt?"
"Ah, I wish I could say that, but..." Percy noted the slight twitch of Antaeus's mouth.
"But?" Stacy prompted.
"Yes, the thing is Stacy, about his disappearance, I actually have a theory on it - I think he was murdered in secret...by ghosts." Percy narrowed his eyes at that, because clearly not, he thought as he glanced warily at the lumbering giant of a man that continued to watch the show. Percy wondered if he should just whip Riptide out and knock the guy out.
He bit his lip. It could work. He could end it nice and quick (a tiny overly-righteous side of Percy told him that he was being underhanded, but Percy shut the voice up).
"By golly, Matt, I never took you for the supernatural-talking type! What makes you think that of all things?"
"I usually ain't the supernatural talker at all! But the thing with Antaeus is is that there have been rumors that the man is a murderer, and the type that does it for fun." Percy didn't doubt that the guy in front of him was a murderer, but Percy also didn't doubt that the guy must be sort of an idiot for being so...absorbed in news about himself when there was an opponent he was supposed to be fighting.
Percy side glanced to Ethan who was surprisingly also looking at the television screen. Luckily for Percy, he was turned so that his blind side was facing Percy, meaning he wouldn't be able to see what Percy was doing at all.
"Oh! I've heard of that rumor as well! Do you think the rumors are true?" Stacy asked with intrigue.
"I think it might be possible. I remember hearing his medical records, and though, physically, he was amazingly muscular and healthy, his mental health was less so - it was possible that he fell into the psychopathic category!"
You ready, Riptide? Percy asked silently as he cast a glance at Antaeus who was grinning stupidly at the screen. Like a psychopath, Blackjack added.
Anytime, I am at your service, Master, Riptide responded. Percy breathed inaudibly as he possibly could as he shifted on his feet, right hand at the ready, as if he were about to flick open a cap off a pen.
"Hm...I've heard that, but, Matt, what does that have to do with ghosts?" Percy inched closer to Antaeus, jaw tight, wondering if he should have a better plan than just smacking the guy with Riptide's hilt. The goal was to get the police to come and arrest him, so he supposed after knocking the guy out, he just needed to deal with Ethan and then call the cops on them.
"Well, Stacy, you've heard of Antaeus's ring name, now haven't you?"
Got a plan, BJ? Percy asked as the seconds passed.
"Well, of course! The famous, all-time winner, Bone Crusher."
Uh, knock the guy out? Blackjack responded at the same time as Stacy.
"And do you know the origin of that fan-given name?" Matt asked. Same thought here, Percy agreed. Let's go, Riptide.
Very well.
Percy grinned out of nervous energy -
- and flicked.
"No, I don't, actually." The blue light filled the room in a flash, momentarily blinding Antaeus who only blinked in shock as Percy, in speeds he didn't know of before his training, lept off the ground as high as he could to compensate for height difference, and swung the hilt of Riptide's bright blue blade down.
"Well, it started when someone, an avid fan, no, a stalker of his had found his house and took a picture of it and posted it." Percy let out a slight grunt as he landed on the ground, stumbling but nonetheless landing, as the large wrestler crumpled to the ground. Percy tapped the guy with his foot but got no response. Ethan made a surprised noise and Percy readied his stance toward the other teen.
"The guy was arrested right away, but he broke out of prison at some point and was never seen after that." Percy's arm throbbed and he wondered what Antaeus was made or if muscle was actually that hard. He remembered learning something about physics and how the same amount of force reciprocates with the amount applied. How he remembered that, he had no clue, but it would explain the pain.
"But that's beside the point." Percy glanced down at Antaeus. That was easy. It was really easy. And Percy wasn't complaining. It meant he had to only deal with Ethan who looked ready to book it. But...Percy couldn't help but have to shove down the sudden anxiety filling the pit of his stomach. There wasn't an inkling of a victorious feeling in him.
"The picture he took of the house blew up on all the wrestling subreddits and websites before most were pulled down, but the picture was enough to drive some fans away..." Percy took a steady step toward Ethan, hefting Riptide up with practiced ease. Percy's instincts were usually pretty on point. Would it be wise to ignore it for the sake of wanting to think he won? That the need to worry for his life was finally over after an excruciating long week?
"Oh, I do believe I've seen that picture before. It was the one with a room full of trophies, but more than that, skulls was it not?" Percy heard shifting behind him, and he realized, that yes, it would be stupid. Sh*t. He whipped around, swinging Riptide with precision but it never hit its mark as it squelched - squelched!? - as Antaeus grabbed the blade, hand bleeding. Percy's eyes widened.
"That's right, Stace - skulls. The skulls and bones of the men and women he murdered."
"Well then, shall I add your skull to my collection?" Antaeus asked with a sick smile that all but showed he was a psycho.
Percy found himself forcing a grin back on his face. "Hey, man, I don't think my skull's too great, but your's? Now that's some hard stuff. Why don't you add that to your collection?" Of course it's never that easy. And with that thought and the continued ramblings of reporters who knew nothing of the events unfolding in his very house, he found himself fighting a giant, a wrestler, and a murderer.
A great big 'all in one' combo. Fabulous.
o)0(o - linebreak
Percy cursed as he moved to tear his blade from the man's hand, but instead found Antaeus willingly letting Riptide go, causing him to stumble back for a moment. Despite it being a mere moment, he knew immediately that it would cost him, such were the words of both Artemis and Apollo, and it was proven when Antaeus was suddenly in front of him, hand reaching out.
SH-
Percy swung Riptide, no technique behind the movement, just pure hope that it would hit in a moment of panic, but to no avail as the hand -
...grabbed his shoulder firmly. Percy blinked, noticing his slight erratic breathing, as he was suddenly shoved back to where he had been before he attacked Antaeus. What the f*ck?
"You're overly excited," Antaeus stated, growling a bit. He gestured to Ethan again who was watching silently, but watching Percy with a strange look in his eyes. Antaeus on the other hand looked a bit angry. "You're lucky we don't have a crowd to impress, otherwise, I might have flung you at them to beat up themselves."
"Hey, are you saying Ethan's not crowd enough?" Percy turned to said boy in an act of incredulity. "Don't worry Ethan; you'll always be crowd enough for me, my man." At the lack of facial reaction other than a raised eyebrow, Percy turned back to Antaeus, now clear that the guy would only play 'by the rules.'
This was all a sick game to him after all. Which was why Percy allowed himself to breath - in, out, in, out - and calm himself. His heart was pumping blood a bit too fast, and the real fight hadn't even started. He tried to think of the wrestling rules he knew of. He knew there was a time as to how long the opponent stays on the ground for it to count as a win, but he couldn't remember if it was five second, three seconds, or -
"No matter," Antaeus said, mouth forming into a grotesque sneer, one that spoke of the arrogance overflowing from the guy's insides. "I will make it as entertaining as possible - for no crowd, but me. I am often self giving and only live to entertain the masses, but today, I will be a bit selfish and entertain myself with your defeat."
"Yeah, I don't think that's what Jesus meant when he said to be self giving, but I ain't Christian, so I've got no clue," Percy said back. Antaeus wasn't fazed and instead gestured for Ethan to start again to which the eyepatched boy complied.
He cleared his throat before saying, "Contestant Jackson, contestant Antaeus, please shake hands - "
"Uh, can we get a rule book before starting?" Percy asked, eyeing Antaeus's large hand before shaking it, gripping as hard as he could and finding that it didn't faze the man at all. "I've never actually wrestled once in my life. I mean, are swords allowed?" He waved Riptide a bit as he and Antaeus stepped away from each other.
Ethan opened his mouth only for Antaeus to interrupt with a 'hearty' laugh. "Rules?" he asked, as if disbelieving what he was hearing. He stopped laughing and in turn grinned unnervingly. "The only rule is to fight to the death." A chill ran down Percy's spine as the words registered.
"Hold up, I thought -" you needed me alive was what Percy was going to finish saying but Ethan, surprisingly, said it himself.
"Antaeus, Kronos said to bring him alive," Ethan protested as Percy nodded at that, glad that at least there was one other sane person in the room. Antaeus growled but ultimately relented with a grunt and a nod.
"Fine. But no holding back."
Percy flashed a smile, as he readied his stance, Riptide held in front of him. "Wasn't planning to." Ethan's shoulders sagged in Percy's peripheral as he stepped back and away from the ring before putting his hand up. Antaeus grinned, shifting himself into his own stance as Percy tensed. This was it, he thought to himself as Ethan readied to bring his arm down.
It's do or die, and for sure, Percy wasn't gonna let himself die, not when he had so much to live for.
"Begin!" Ethan yelled - breathe - and Percy lunged without a moment's wait. Antaeus laughed, and it was just small him and a giant beast, odds unsure but one of them knew that he had to win, and he would.
No matter what.
o)0(o - linebreak
Jason walked side by side with Annabeth and Luke, as the three walked in the general direction of Percy's house. According to Annabeth, Percy should have already got the note that his family was safe, and that that part of the plan had gone smoothly. Next was Percy's part, their part. Jason eyed Luke suspiciously. The sandy blonde seemed...off. He seemed too chipper for the occasion, and that worried Jason.
He couldn't bring it up, though, since Luke himself was there.
Worse comes to worse, we can just beat him down, make it known that he's a little b, Tempest whinnied inside his mind. Jason was tempted to agree with the horse, but he knew it wouldn't be that simple.
Of course, that didn't stop Jason from wanting it to be that simple.
He probably knows how to Summon if he's a Timeless, Jason pointed out internally. He won't be so easily beat, I doubt, especially since we've only trained with each other for not even a day.
Bah, that little sh*t won't know what hit 'im! You and Annie got the element of surprise. Jason tried really hard not to sigh out loud at Tempest's unclean mouth, key word being tried, and hearing him sigh, Luke, of course, took notice.
"Hey, man, it'll be fine," he assured. Jason clenched his hand hidden from Luke's view before nodding.
"Yeah. I'm sure Percy will be fine," he agreed. I saw him training with Apollo; the guy's got this. And Jason believed it. The day before, he saw Percy and it was easy to say that he looked like a whirlwind of blue blades with how fast the guy was moving, attacking, evading. It was astronomical, how professional he looked with the blade, which Jason thought amazing, especially because he was pretty sure Percy's never really touched a blade before this whole shebang with the Timeless.
The guy's a natural, and Jason had trust in Percy.
You worry a lot more than you should, scar face, Tempest snorted.
And you worry too little, Jason thought back with a frown. He knew that worrying too much wasn't good, if anything, it would be counterproductive, but a little bit of wariness was alright, he'd think. Especially when we've got a spy with us...
"Alright, this is where we part," Annabeth said as they stopped at a crosswalk. Jason nodded with Luke. Jason watched as Annabeth debriefed what would be going on, envious of how confident she looked, how unworried she seemed. People often said Jason was a natural leader, had a natural gravitation, worthy to take over his father's company in the future, but Jason knew that Annabeth herself was just as capable. If anyone was a natural leader, it was her.
"Walk around the area where Percy's house is either visible or noise is audible, and when things start getting noisy, point people's attention toward the area." Annabeth pulled her phone out. "I'll be the one to ultimately call the police if no one else does. Keep each other notified in the chat, and good luck."
With that, the three spread off, Jason heading closer to the house than the other two. He kept his phone's vibration on, and held it in his hand as he walked, determined. Once he arrived, which wasn't long, he was at the back of Percy's house. He looked at the windows, curtains that were not drawn.
Jason groaned. "Dammit, Perce." This complicated things. Jason walked around, not right next to the house; he went around the house nextdoor, and as he did, he strained his ear to hear any sound that might resemble a struggle. He got to the front and saw that there wasn't any sign of guests (there was no car), but he hesitated for a moment when he realized that the Timeless may not have come by car in the first place.
It would be easy to track, what with a unique license plate, but of course, no such luck.
BANG!
Jason whipped his head in the direction of the house. He wasn't sure if that meant Percy needed help or not, though, so he kept walking in the general vicinity. The blinds were shut, making the whole situation harder on not just him but mostly on Percy. That was going to be the way that the people outside knew it had something to do with Summoning. It was also going to be the way for Perce to send out an SOS to Jason.
But again, no such luck.
Well, this sucks a$$, Tempest noted.
"I would ask that you keep your mouth PG, but I can't because I agree with you," Jason mumbled before making his way where the back of the house began to come into his field of view again. What he saw made his breath stop before he cursed as he quickly made his way toward what was now a broken in back door.
What does that mean? Jason thought frantically as he found himself in front of the broken and splintered wood. He searched his brain, trying to think of what might have happened. Did Percy get out?
He inspected the broken pieces of wood. No...That wasn't it. All the debris was inside the door, not out, meaning that the door was indeed broken in. So that meant someone else, some unknown factor was now in the house, sneaking up on Percy as Jason contemplated. This someone was most likely Timeless and Jason didn't waste anymore time as he ran through, cusswords spilling out.
He passed by what he assumed was some kind of storage room, and different objects that were probably chairs and other household appliances, though, he couldn't say for sure because of the lack of lights.
Because of the lack of lights, he also almost didn't see the person in front of him before he screeched to a halt, grunting a bit when he was suddenly hit in the shoulder with something blunt.
"Wha-" the breath was knocked out of him with something colliding into his gut, leaving him stumbling in the dark and grasping at his stomach. He didn't fall to the floor, but he felt like it. He hadn't been hit so hard in a pretty long time, and the last time it happened, it was an accident, but this didn't seem too accidental. He heard steps and looked up to find a familiar shadowed figure. "Luke."
"Jason," Luke greeted back, voice blunt and lacking the normal emotion that Jason usually heard from the older boy. Jason shifted himself so that he wasn't as hunched over as he looked at Luke's eyes. The normally sky-like, soft blue eyes were now almost glowing with a malice that sent chills down Jason's spine. "I was expecting to see you soon." Jason's eyes widened at that. Luke chuckled a bit, but it lacked humor. "Though, I would've rather taken you on along with Antaeus, but I suppose picking you off one by one is as effective."
"'Picking us off...'" Jason repeated with a mumble as growing horror filled his stomach. "The others, are they -"
"No, no, the other are fine," Luke said with a sigh before explaining, "It's just the Mediums we're after, and that's Percy, Annabeth -" Jason's eyes widened at Luke's knowledge "- and you."
How does he...? I have to warn Annabeth. "Well, since you know, I guess there's no reason for me to hold back then," Jason said, keeping his voice steady. Luke hummed before replying.
"I suppose the same goes for me as well, then," but before the words were fully out of Luke's mouth, Jason had already snapped, Summoning Points flashing a brilliant purple, effectively blinding Luke momentarily, giving Jason the chance to pull his phone out and send a quick message to Annabeth, though, just before he could push send, there was another flash, a golden flash, and the phone was slammed out of his hand.
Jason cringed at the cracking sound of his phone.
Hey, look, another scar face, Tempest said as he shook his seemingly crackling mane as he stood close to Jason's side. It's a bit tight in here, he noted on the side. Jason agreed that it was a bit tight for a horse to be prancing around. That would be a disadvantage for Jason, definitely. He looked up, the clashing lights coming from not only Tempest but also Luke's Intent, a snake.
That is one thicc-a$$ snake, Tempest unnecessarily commented. But it was indeed a large snake.
The way the purple clashed with gold cast eery shadows that in no way helped Jason's confidence, but he did his best to ignore it and instead to start thinking.
It was a tense moment of silence, of tense muscles and grit teeth.
The one to break it was Jason who lept to the side just as the serpent pounced, fangs outstretched as he internally yelled, simultaneously, Get the snake, I'll get Luke! It was a risky move. Jason's physique was on the more muscular side compared to others in his friend group, but Luke was also as such, and that meant their strengths were hypothetically balanced.
But Luke was a Timeless, a spy, and a trained Medium, meaning he probably knew some fighting moves that Jason didn't, and probably had more experience. And experience could make or break who the victor would be.
But then again, the other option was wrestling a snake, and yeah, Jason was no Hercules.
So as Tempest aimed a heavy kick in the snake's direction, Jason quickly ran out of the way and toward Luke who stood in a ready stance. Jason liked to think he knew how to throw a punch, so putting his weight into it and as much power, he speared the air with his fist with speeds he didn't think he could manage, and hit his mark. From the way Luke's own eyes widened, the speed wasn't expected from him either.
Luke's head snapped back in an instant, making Jason nearly cringe from the prospect of a whiplash, but also leaving Jason surprised at his own feat. The moment of pride didn't last long as Luke stumbled, but stayed on his feet, rubbing blood from his nose away and spitting the red liquid out as well.
He said nothing, but the glint said it all: 'Not bad, but not good enough.' And Jason knew that, so he huffed and sucked in a breath as he readied himself for Luke's counter, all the while trying to find a way to let Annabeth know that things wouldn't go as planned.
But hopefully he and Luke's silence in the groupchat would be enough to alert her of something wrong.
Luke, rather than something like a punch, instead caught Jason off guard with a well aimed kick toward his torso that relit some of the previous blow's pain in his ribs.
"Gah-" Jason grit his teeth, grunting, but he stood his ground and swung as he saw a flash of gold in his peripheral and a loud bang as purple pulsed. His fist missed, but his elbow didn't, and as unintended as it was, it nicked Luke's chin, making his own blow go off course, the made punch skidding across Jason's shoulder.
And just like that, it continued as it started, blow after blow with sudden brightened purples and golds flashing in the darkness of that room. Thumps of fist in flesh and clops of hooved feet and a skidding on the ground from a scaly body resounded along with grunts of pain (and determination).
It felt like an eternity of the exchange of fists and kicks, and Jason knew something he didn't want to admit: he was losing. His endurance was high, his endurance was great, but it wasn't neverending and he was starting to feel its limits. He thought that maybe it would make up for his lack of fighting experience, but as Luke landed his next punch in Jason's chest, he realized that that was a vain hope.
Things as it were, weren't going well, and Jason could only pray that Percy was having a better chance at things.
o)0(o - linbreak
Percy thought he was pretty good with swordsmanship, and he was. He knew he was, despite Apollo constantly saying that he had been making mistakes, but he knew that for the amount of time he was given for training, he was pretty good.
And that was great and all, but as he swung his blade and landed his mark on the large form of Antaeus, he huffed over the fallen body, but didn't let his guard down. He knew that that wouldn't be wise, the throbbing in his chest being a good reminder of that. He took a shuddering breath. The crack that came from that one blow had been deafeningly loud, almost as loud as the large bang that came from the back of his house, but at that point, he was trying to concentrate all his ADHD energy into fighting.
And damn, it wasn't going well.
Antaeus made a laughing noise, and Percy cursed before leaping away as Antaeus made a move to grab him with his large hands. Yep, not going near those hands, not a second time. Antaeus's grip was hard, bonecrushingly so, and Percy wasn't too eager to experience that again (thanks for the reminder, sore arm).
Antaeus stood and with unnatural speed he dashed straight toward Percy who barely managed to leap to the side and dodge the hands that were still trying to make a grab at him.
"Damn frick, how tough is your skin that my sword isn't cutting you up?" And, no, it wasn't like Riptide had absolutely no effect on Antaeus - Riptide left some pretty nasty gashes on the pro-wrestler - but it was the way that Antaeus moved that made it seem like Riptide and her cuts were causing him no discomfort whatsoever.
"You're quite the opponent, Jackson, one of the better victims in a while," Antaeus said with a toothy grin as Percy huffed, grip tightening around Riptide's handle.
"I don't know if I should be flattered or not," Percy replied, and though a few minutes ago, he would have grinned, at the moment, he was a bit winded and too tired to. And Antaeus clearly took note as his smile grew wider, making Percy's heart drop a bit more.
Antaeus just wouldn't stay down. If Percy had counted how many times he's downed the guy, it would have been maybe even up to five times in the course of the ten ish minutes they were fighting, but all those times Antaeus just wouldn't stay down. It was almost as if the guy's pain receptors weren't getting the message and that he was magically being replenished of the blood he would lose.
Percy didn't even lose any blood but he was still dizzy.
And as he readied himself for another assault from the guy, Percy spotted something to the side and the light bulb in his mind lit up. Antaeus, however, wasn't going to be an easy guy to make comply with Percy's vague plan, but he would make it work since it was probably Percy's only chance at beating the guy and keeping him down.
So as Antaeus made a rapid leap toward Percy, he ducked under as quick as he could and ran straight from under the quickly descending wrestler, and didn't look back as Antaeus thumped as he landed, shaking the ground beneath his weight.
The quick thought of Gods that actually worked flashed through Percy's mind, but he wasted no time and raced past - sh*t, where's Ethan - the badly made ring and stopped right by the windows, windows with thick drape-like curtains, and Oh sh*t, I forgot to keep the windows un-curtained, but the thought was interrupted when Antaeus was suddenly in front of Percy, smiling like the psychopath he was.
It was by mere chance, and Percy admitted that, that he wasn't hit by the speeding fist that struck right by his face, nicking his ear from the speed of it. But Antaeus was where he needed him to be, so Percy, who had grabbed the edge of the curtain, quickly lept from his spot and managed to land on Antaeus's large back, taking the curtain with him. Unfortunately, before Percy could wrap the thing around Antaeus's face or neck, the hulking man started to fall backward.
Percy's eyes widened but it was too late as the two landed, the 500 lbs man effectively landing on top of Percy who's breath was shoved straight out of his lungs, hand letting Riptide fall and clatter.
Master! / Boss!
And there was a sharp crack that resonated in the air, the shattering of ribs most obvious. Percy, in that moment, thought for sure that it was over, as black spots burst in his vision, air withheld from his collapsing lungs, but at that same moment, Antaeus sat up, and the sudden onslaught of oxygen in Percy's now open airways caused him to hack and cough - was that blood? - as Antaeus peered down at him with a frown.
"Oh, you can't be downed just like that, now can you? I thought you could do better," Antaeus taunted.
Percy wheezed, and through gritted teeth, he managed, "You're right, I can." And Percy, with the last burst of adrenaline, energy, and probably his will - will to win, will to survive, will to keep running forward, nonstop - he, with amazing speed for a crushed teen, regrabbed the curtain's end, and whipped it around the stunned Antaeus's neck as he again, landed on the man's back.
And he pulled.
Antaeus thrashed, voice stopped as was his airway as Percy kept his grip as tight as he possibly could, mind focused, focused, focused because if he thought of anything else, the pain in his ribs, his chest, and the blackening of his vision would get to him. So he kept pulling and for the longest eternity of five minutes, Antaeus collapsed, and as he did, Percy fell to the ground, hand letting go of the cloth as he hit the floor with a thump and a groan.
His vision started to clear as he huffed, wheezing as he let himself rest, but a thought occurred to him, and he kept it all - the pain - from overwhelming him and struggled as he forced himself into a sitting position, forcing a yelp down at the sharp pain of broken ribs. He shifted himself to the large body beside him and found the man's neck.
A pulse, he thought as he put two fingers, searching. I need to find a pulse. He needed Antaeus down, but not dead. Never dead. Percy didn't want to be a murderer, someone who took away a life. I have to find - the steady dadum, dadum, dadum pulsed against his fingers and he allowed himself to sag in relief at both the fact that Antaeus wasn't standing up again, but also that he was still alive.
Percy looked around through tired eyes. The house was a mess. He looked at his door. Oh, he thought. I was supposed to...bring the fight outside? But no, that wouldn't have worked. Percy would have died had he released Riptide, and he would have also put passerbys in danger too - Antaeus didn't seem the type to care who he hurt.
Percy struggled a bit before fishing his phone out of his pocket. It was broken, and though it turned on, the screen didn't respond to his touch anymore. He dropped it as Riptide pulsed blue, gliding and floating close to him.
Master, be on the look out - Ethan is not the only one left.
"Oh," Percy said before coughing, and thinking better of talking, thought next, Ethan...Wait, there's more?
Well schist.
And with that thought, Percy passed out.
OOF. Haha, I've never written a fight scene this long, and I hope I didn't bore you with it, I honestly had no idea if I was describing anything okay and it was hard to write but fun, but painful. Aha.
Anywho, hope y'all enjoyed! And, yeah, becha didn't expect Antaeus! I didn't either! LOL, when I was researching for this story, I was like oh yeah, there was that one guy, Antaeus, and yeah, here he issssss. LOL
Matt - Hey, Matt! So, yeah, Leo, Nico and Will have been hinted at, but sadly, they don't come out in this "arc." There are going to be multiple parts to this fic, and in the first part, they don't make such appearance yet. But they'll play a large role in the second part, so no worries!
Multi fandom geekerello - LOL, I wonder that myself! But I do think that a lot of that 110K works is part of AN's and such ahaaaa. But yeah, I'm shocked myself! And, well, surprise! It's Antaeus haha, and Luke, well, more will be explain next chap :)
Hope to see you guys next time (and again, updates are going to be a bit more sporadic since my school is starting up again).
Have the best day!