Chapter 8
Percy shoved through the crowds of students, desperately looking for the missing Demigod siblings he and his friends had been scouting out. But no matter where he looked, it seemed impossible to locate the two amongst a sea of dancing, chattering teenagers.
"Come on, come on, where are y-" what he saw made his blood run cold. There, at the exit at the back of the gymnasium, were the two Demigods, being dragged out by the scruff of their necks by that teacher, Thorn.
Of course. Of course it was Thorn! If he had just been the rare mortal that could see through the Mist, he would have just called Thalia out on the spot and questioned her. But instead, he just waited and watched. He was the monster Grover had warned him about!
He had to follow after them now, or he would definitely lose them for good. As Percy made to chase after the disguised monster and his two hostages, one little thought nagged at him from the back of his mind. You have no idea what this monster is. He's clearly smart and been planning this for quite some time. Who's to say he's not expecting you to chase after him? What if it's all a trap?
Percy bit his lip. Now that he thought of it, this most likely was a trap. But… damn it, he couldn't just let Thorn get away! He still had a responsibility to protect those two kids…
"Annabeth!" Percy cried out. "Annabeth! Thalia! Grover! It's Thorn, out back! I'm going!" With that, he rushed off for the exit. He could only silently pray to any God that gave a damn that at least one of his friends had heard his cry and follow him as he charged headfirst into the lion's den. As he neared the exit, Percy reached into his pocket and thumbed Riptide's pen form, ready to draw it the moment he was out of sight from the students. Bracing himself, he slammed the door open and barged through, just in time for-
WHIISH!
WHIISH!
WHIISH!
Instinct overtook Percy's body, and not a moment too soon did he draw his sword to deflect the mysterious projectiles from skewering him.
"Well done, Perseus Jackson. I can see that your reputation precedes you." A familiarly French-accented voice cackled. At the end of the hall stood Thorn, his prisoners still locked in his grip. They were stunned and horrified, both from being kidnapped by their principal and watching a strange boy pull a glowing sword out of nowhere to deflect several high-speed projectiles.
"Thorn," Percy growled, his grip on Riptide tightening. "Let. Them. Go."
Thorn simply laughed in response. A loud, infuriatingly smug laughter that made Percy's blood boil.
"Let them go or what, Jackson? I do believe you're in no position to be making threats. How many spines do you think you can block as you close the distance between us? Or rather…" His grip on the two siblings tightened and the sister, Bianca, whimpered quietly. "How many spines do you think these two can block?"
Percy gritted his teeth, but didn't respond.
"Well then," Thorn sneered. "I'll be off, before your insufferable little comrades arrive. But please, if you truly are as foolish as you have already made yourselves out to be, then by all means feel free to follow me. My colleagues are practically dying to meet you, after all." And with that, Thorn turned and ran for the main hall that led out of the school.
No. No. He wouldn't get away with this. Percy would not allow it. Wherever his friends were right now, they couldn't have been too far behind. The moment Thorn was out of sight Percy sprinted after him, his legs carrying him faster than they ever had before. It was like someone had injected nectar into his veins then dunked him in the Atlantic. He hadn't felt this much anger since he had fought the Minotaur.
Bursting out into the cold winter night, Percy followed the footprints left behind in the snow. He ran and ran, through the cold and through the woods, and he even managed to catch sight of Thorn in the distance.
The forest opened up into a clearing where a cliff overlooked the ocean. There Thorn stood, the Di Angelo siblings behind him with their backs to the water as he stood between them and Percy.
"So you really did follow!" Thorn howled in laughter. "How typical of you simple-minded half-breeds." He slipped a device that looked like a phone or walkie-talkie into his pocket- had he been making a call? "But no matter. This is a most desirable outcome; my good friend has been aching to have a fight with you. In fact, he practically refuses to stain his hands with the blood of other Demigods until he can assure that you are his first kill."
"Always glad to meet a fan," Percy spat sarcastically. "I'd tell you to step away from the kids, but I know you're not in a negotiating mood. Let's get this over with."
"Yes," Thorn's pupils narrowed into catlike slits and a bestial smile spread across his face. He was slowly releasing his monstrous form. "Let's."
In an instant, the two combatants lept into action. A monstrous scorpion tail exploded from Thorn's back and launched a spray of deadly spines, only for Percy's Riptide to swipe them all aside in a flash of bronze. The monster and the hero charged and collided with each other, the segmented, armored tail clashing with the celestial bronze sword.
SWISH
SWISH
CLASH!
Riptide cut the air like a streak of bronze light and was rebuffed by the tip of Thorn's tail. The monster took advantage of his greater reach to stay just out of Percy's reach, goading the boy into making riskier attacks and overextending himself.
WHIISH WHIISH WHIISH!
PLINK PLINK PLINK!
Another burst of spines erupted from Thorn's tail and were once again struck out of the air by the son of Poseidon. Even at close range like this, Percy could still react fast enough to avoid being turned into a pincushion, albeit barely. Thorn snarled, realizing that perhaps slaying a Demigod who had completed two quests at such a young age wouldn't be as easy as he thought. With a howl of frustration, he lashed out at Percy, his fingertips extending into claws in an instant as he revealed more and more of his true self.
But Thorn wasn't the only one concealing weapons from his opponent. With the rapid clicking of whirling gears Percy's wristwatch unfurled to reveal a circular shield, a gift from his half-brother Tyson. Sparks illuminated the dark as Thorn's claws helplessly scrabbled off the surface of his enemy's new weapon. Unable to find purchase in flesh, Thorn stumbled leaving his guard wide open. The monster only barely managed to dodge the lethal sword swipe aimed at his neck by digging his tail into the ground and yanking himself backward, and even then Riptide's blade still cut a lengthy gash across his cheek.
Thorn unleashed a mighty howl of pain as he stumbled back, clutching his wounded face. As he roared his visage contorted and twisted, returning to its true form as his human disguise fully melted away. There, under the moonlight, the three Demigods present watched in horror and fascination as the monster revealed himself, a twisted beast with a scorpion's tail and the face of a lion mixed with a man.
"The Manticore…" the young Demigod boy, Nico, murmured.
"CURSE YOU PERSEUS JACKSON!" The Manticore screamed. "YOU INSOLENT, HORRID, VILE LITTLE WRETCH! YOU WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THE SUNRISE!"
Percy just watched on, his sword and shield still at the ready. His rage from earlier had begun to subside, allowing him to fully focus on battle. "You know," Percy drawled. "You talk real big for someone who hasn't landed a single hit on me. Not even when you caught me by surprise at school."
The Manticore fumed. "Your arrogance will be your downfall half-blood. A lucky shot was all you got. And your luck runs out here!"
"Oh, I don't know about that." A girl's voice called out from the woods behind Percy. Into the clearing stepped Thalia and Grover, ready for battle. Well, Thalia was ready for battle at least. "I would say me showing up right now was some pretty good luck."
With one swift motion Thalia armed herself. In one hand, her spear. In her other, her Aegis unfurled, and the winter air seemed to grow even colder as the cursed engraving of the Gorgon Medusa revealed itself upon the daughter of Zeus' shield. While Thalia's shield was a pale imitation of the divine armament wielded by her father and half-sister Athena, the twisted visage of the goddess-turned monster inspired terror within all who gazed upon it nonetheless. And the Manticore was no exception. The monster's eyes widened, both struck by the fear of the Aegis and by the realization that he was now severely outmatched and outnumbered.
He growled. "Not so fast!" the beast roared. "If you value the lives of the two whelps behind me, then I suggest you-"
But as the Manticore turned to glance at his huddled hostages a fierce, heavy blow slammed into his midsection, sending him crashing into the snow in front of Thalia and Percy. Behind the Manticore Annabeth stood up from the snow, having snuck behind the monster with her invisibility cap to execute a well-timed dropkick into his gut. Brushing the snow off herself and removing her enchanted Yankees baseball cap, the daughter of Athena rushed over to the shocked Demigods behind her to assure their safety.
"Are you alright? Did that man hurt you anywhere? It's alright, he can't get you anymore." But as Annabeth reassured the siblings, a strange sound caught their attention.
"D-do you hear that?" Bianca asked, looking around for the source of the noise.
"Yeah… I do. What is that?" Annabeth looked out over the ocean, scanning the dark sky for anything.
"WHOAH!" Exclaimed Nico, startling Annabeth. "That. Was. So. COOL! That guy just came in and started swinging his sword and deflecting spikes like clang clang and the monster dude was all like, 'Arrgh, curse you Perseus! I will have my revenge!' and then that guy was like 'Heh, not a scratch on me.' and that- that- that was so COOL!"
Over by the two warriors and the monster, the Manticore snarled in indignation while Thalia snickered. She elbowed Percy while keeping her spear trained at the downed monster's face. "Hey, check it. You've got your very own fanboy."
"And he just pulled his sword out of nowhere, and the monster dude transformed into the Manticore, and- and-" Nico continued to rave, gushing over Percy's clash with the Manticore. "Are you guys like, from a monster-hunting organization or something? Are there more monsters like the Manticore? Like uh, um, the Stymphalian birds, or the Questing Beast, or, or, Typhon?!"
"Whoah, whoah, slow down there buddy." Annabeth smiled at the boy's enthusiasm, especially in such a grim situation. "We can answer your questions eventually. That 'guy' is named Percy, and the two beside him are Thalia and Grover. I'm Annabeth. We're here to help you and your sister."
"Well, okay 'Annabeth'? I think I see the source of that noise from earlier." Bianca interjected. Annabeth looked up and followed the older sibling's gaze, looking out over the ocean where lights blinked in the distance. Lights that were rapidly approaching.
"Is-" Annabeth squinted at the lights and listened closely to the sound. "Is that a helicopter?"
"It's coming straight at us," Bianca noted nervously. "I take it that it's not one of yours?"
Annabeth's eyes narrowed at the approaching aircraft, more of its form revealing itself as it switched on searchlights as it approached land. "No, we don't have any-" Her eyes widened as she took in the helicopter's full appearance. "That's a military-grade gunship. What in Hades is that thing doing here?!"
A feeling of dread washed over the Demigods and Satyr as the airship quickly closed in on them. "You!" Thalia snapped, jabbing her spear closer to the Manticore's face. "Who the hell are they? Are they with you?" The Manticore chuckled. His chuckle escalated, growing more and more until it was full-blown maddened laughter.
"Who are they? WHO ARE THEY?!" the Manticore cackled with glee. "Why, none other than the messengers of your death of course!"
Thalia snarled at the downed beast. "What are you-"
"HERE THEY COME!"
"Prepare for dropoff," The human mercenary announced as the helicopter arrived at its destination. "Looks like there's still hostiles on the field, so we'll be dropping you off here and landing at the clearing a few hundred meters north-west of here." The mercenary hesitated for a second then continued. "...And as per the order for this situation, we will not be interfering. Are you sure you can handle this?"
The awaiting passenger of the aircraft grunted. "Worry… about… your… self."
The mercenary swallowed nervously and nodded. "Roger that."
The mortal feared the passenger. He had not seen him in action, nor had he ever exchanged more than a sparse few words with him, but the aura that the passenger radiated as well as his imposing appearance was more than enough for the mercenary to remain clear of him.
Yet, the mortal still only saw and felt what the Mist wanted him to perceive. The mortal simply saw an incredibly large, muscular figure. Unnaturally so, but still just a man. He did not see the horns, the mane of white, the broken celestial bronze mask, or the burning red eye that glared out from the fracture in the beast's headwear.
The monstrous passenger rose, barely able to stand within the helicopter. The side door of the aircraft slid open, and the Beast of the Labyrinth plummeted from the sky.
Annabeth grabbed the two Demigods and hurdled for her allies by the woods. "GO, GO!" She cried. "WE GOTTA GO!"
Behind Annabeth snow and earth exploded as a massive bulk crashed into the ground like a bomb, tossing her and her two wards the rest of the way forward.
"Annabeth!" Thalia cried out, concerned for her friend. "Are you okay?!"
Annabeth spat the snow out of her mouth, then pulled the Di Angelo siblings to their feet beside her. "I'm fine!" she reassured. "But the Manticore's got backup now!"
As the Demigods turned to the crater created by the newcomer, shock and horror overtook them. Rising from the snow a hulking figure loomed, his great size obvious even at a distance. Although the man-shaped creature was clad in modern combat gear, decked out in Kevlar body armor that still looked comically small on his large frame and heavy-duty combat boots, there was no mistaking his identity. Not with the great curved horns that sprouted from his head and the partially-mangled bull mask. From the rend in the mask's face a single, baleful eye glared out, its obsidian black iris and burning red sclera seeming to glow in the winter night. The eye scanned over the crew of Demigods, pausing briefly on the satyr before zeroing in on Percy Jackson.
The son of Poseidon only glared back. "Minotaur." he growled.
"What?!" Thalia hissed. "I thought you said you killed this guy! No way he's out of Tartarus already!"
"They never found his body." Percy replied through gritted teeth. "I put that dent in his mask though. Right there. Speaking of which-" Percy addressed the bull-man directly. "Hey, beef-breath!" He shouted. "I see you got a new look. Did you get a haircut?"
"Percy. What. Are. You. Doing." Thalia hissed.
"I'm taunting him, what does it look like?" Percy replied.
"Why?!"
"He's a bull! He gets mad really easily, and it makes him fight poorly." The two Demigods looked back to the Minotaur, who stood before them unfazed, his arms folded across his chest.
"Well," Percy corrected, a tinge of nervousness in his voice. "The uh, adrenaline I was running off of when I fought him may have caused me to perceive events differently."
Thalia groaned. "Gods, you really are a crock of bull, Jackson. Hey, Beastie-boy!" Thalia called to the Minotaur, jabbing her spear right above the Manticore's throat. "If you don't want your creepy uncle-figure to bite the dust both figuratively and literally, how about you consider fucking off?"
The Minotaur impassively glanced down at his ally, then back to Thalia with his single visible eyebrow raised. The Manticore's lips peeled back in a snarl, but he wisely kept quiet. This was the only gambit they could play.
"Okay Thalia!" Percy cried "Hostages clearly aren't working. Any more bright ideas?"
"Oh, screw you!" Thalia snapped. "He's your nemesis, you think of something!"
"Since when was he my-"
"If we're on the topic of hostages, Grover, we need to get those kids out of here." Annabeth interjected.
"What?" Nico cried. "C'mon, I want to see the fight!"
"Nope!" Grover ushered the boy back into the woods, with Bianca hurrying behind. "Trust me, you do not want to see this."
"Percy, Thalia, try to hold him off for as long as you can, but retreat if it becomes too much. You got that? Don't do anything stupid." With that, Annabeth took off into the woods to cover Grover and the Demigods' rear. As much as she disliked the idea of leaving her friends behind, she didn't quite like her chances against a colossus like that when she only had a knife on hand. She should really start carrying a sword more often.
"NO!" The Manticore howled as the Demigods fled. "Minotaur! Do not let those two escape! They were the reason I stayed in the mortal dump for months on end, I will not lose them!"
The Minotaur said nothing. With a huff that blew a large plume of vapor into the winter air, he slowly advanced towards the two defending Demigods.
"MINOTAUR!" The Manticore screeched. "DO NOT LET THOSE STUPID GRUDGES CLOUD YOUR JUDGEMENT! I AM ORDERING YOU TO CHASE AFTER THOSE DEMIGODS YOU SIMPLE-MINDED BRU-"
"Shut UP!" Thalia snapped, bringing down the butt of her spear right between the Manticore's eyes. The monster crumpled like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"Yup! That's right," Percy laughed awkwardly. "No need to follow that guy's orders and chase after the vulnerable young Demigods that just escaped into the woods, no sir."
"Percy-"
"I know, I know!"
"You…" The Minotaur rumbled, immediately putting the two Demigods on guard.
"Okay, okay." Percy hissed to himself. "He can talk now."
"You… Jackson."
Percy swallowed. "Yes," He affirmed. "Me, Jackson. And what should I call you, oh patron god of cook-outs? Angus? Or…" Percy quickly racked his brain for another cow-related name. "...Bessie?"
"Percy," Thalia growled through gritted teeth. "I thought that we already established that taunting DOESN'T WORK!"
"I'm sorry!" Percy cried in defense. "It's a habit when I get nervous!"
"Well, that's a very poor habit to have! And besides, I'm fairly certain the myths say his real name is As-"
"You… call… me… DEATH."
"Death." Percy remarked, his voice notably an octave higher and much quieter. "Yeah, okay. Death. Suits ya."
"You."
"Me."
"Him."
"You… face… me… a… lone… Sea… Spawn." The Minotaur rumbled.
Percy scoffed incredulously. "What, do you think I'm an idiot?! Hell no! Okay Thalia, let's-"
"No, no, by all means, go for it." Thalia agreed, slipping out of her ready stance and taking a step back.
"What?! THALIA!"
"Okay, listen. In the event that we both fight him and both die, he'll probably chase after our friends. So, if we both fight him, except separately, then we can maximize the amount of time we stall him for."
"Wh- Thalia, we're not going to die! Annabeth told us to run if we couldn't handle h-"
"Go… after… your… friends… instead?"
Thalia turned to Percy and narrowed her eyes. "Well then. I guess we have our answer."
Percy growled. "Yeah, whatever. You can get pounded to death by an eight-foot-tall bull-man on your own, I guess." he muttered.
"I could think of worse ways to go out…" Thalia remarked quietly.
Percy wondered what she meant by that for a moment then pushed the thought from his mind. He had a nemesis to slay. "Alright beef-boy, let's do this. I kick your ass, and you disappear for another two years." Sizing the Minotaur up, he noticed that the beast had two black axes hanging from his belt. They were a decent size, but in the Minotaur's hands they would be more like hatchets. "Got some new toys, I see." Percy noted. "Gonna use them?"
The Minotaur grunted in response and stepped into the vague approximation of a boxing stance. "Don't… need… them."
Percy raised an eyebrow as he readied Riptide. "That's a lot of confidence. Didn't I beat you the last time you fought bare-handed?"
"I'm… not… the… same… person… you… fought… last… time." The Minotaur growled.
"Me neither. Now I have a sword!"
"PERCY!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Percy burst forth, scattering snow as he rushed the hulking monster before him. Riptide sang as the air split on its blade, carving an arc of bronze into the night as the Minotaur-
-Caught it in his hand. Percy blinked as he stared at his blade, trapped between the Minotaur's thumb and fingers before it could even make contact with his palm.
"Huh," Percy noted. "That's new-"
Pain erupted as the Minotaur's fist made contact with Percy's face, sending him stumbling backward. Before he could recover the Minotaur was upon him again, kicking him like a football across the clearing. He landed with a loud thump in front of Thalia, the snow cushioning his fall a small bit.
Thalia stared down at him. "What happened to 'beating him bare-handed'?!"
"Ah, shut up." Percy groaned as he sat up and stumbled to his feet. "Hell of a lot better than not having fought him at all." a small weight manifested in his pocket as Riptide returned to him. "If you're really that eager to have your death be 'pounded into oblivion by a buff bull-man', again, feel free to go first. Or help me fight, for that matter." Percy drew Riptide once more. "But otherwise, could you be troubled to just shut up?"
Thalia stared at him for a moment. "...Oh my gods, you didn't get it. Percy, I don't actually want to be bludgeoned to death by the Minotaur, I was just making a joke about how I think he-" She paused. "...On second thought, I don't think I want to explain that one."
Percy rolled his eyes and sighed. Thalia was a cool friend, and it was nice to see Annabeth so happy around her, but she really didn't make sense sometimes.
"Okay," Percy called to the Minotaur, who for some reason was patiently waiting in the middle of the clearing for him to recover and make his way over. "I can tell that there's a lot of hostility between us," Percy flinched slightly as the Minotaur let out another vapor-cloud-creating huff. "...A lot of pent-up emotion and grudges. And, you know, you seem like a, a great guy." There was a long silence as Percy tensed in a ready stance with Riptide. He continued. "...You know, not the kind of guy who holds grudges for really petty and insignificant reasons. So, I gotta say, this isn't about the mask, is it? Like, I didn't even make that giant hole, that was definitely someone else." Another pause. No response from the Minotaur. "Wh-what I'm getting at is, you seem really upset about something related to me. So what do you want? What are you trying to accomplish?"
There was more silence as the Minotaur stared at him. Then, the bull-horned man exhaled deeply, shuddering as he did so. As if he was releasing a massive weight from his shoulders.
"I… I…"
"...Yeah?"
"I… want… to… kill you. I… want… to… CRUSH YOU. I… WANT… TO… DESTROY YOU! I… I… RRRGHH… GRAAAA… AAAAGGGHHHHH! ▂▂▂▃▃▃▃▅▅▅▅▅!"
"Wait, wh-" Before Percy realized what was happening, the Minotaur lunged forward, grabbing him by the head before slamming him into the ground. The colossal beast snarled as it then grabbed the son of Poseidon by his leg and began to swing him around like a ragdoll, flailing and slamming Percy repeatedly. With a final mighty roar, the Minotaur hurled him across the clearing, where Percy bounced several times before crashing into the treeline.
Thalia watched, frozen in shock as the monster of the Labyrinth went berserk, absolutely brutalizing her friend. When Percy careened past her and slammed into a tree, she snapped out of her shock and rushed over to him.
"Oh my Gods! Percy are y-" Thalia winced as she looked over the battered body of her fellow Demigod.
"Oooohh heeyyy Th-thaaliaa," Percy slurred in a daze. "I… think I broke my everything…"
"Holy shit."
Cing Krimson's Qringe Korner:
Guess who's not dead! THIS GUY! What better way to celebrate a return after two months of nothing than writing Thorn get clowned on? When will I upload the next chapter? Tomorrow? Next month? Who knows? Not me! (Oh god I am so, so sorry to anyone who actually got invested in this story please don't hate me)
Oh, and don't worry about Percy. He isn't as hurt as you'd believe. He did survive a point-blank volcano eruption, after all. Which is... completely ridiculous and inconsistent with all his other feats before and after that event. But hey, I'm no battleboarder even if I am a fan of Worm. I guess that just means that Percy's more likely to be able to walk off getting the "Puny God" treatment than not, ya know?
Now, time for me to vanish into a cave and fade into obscurity to only be told of in old wives' tales for another few hundred years! Bye!