Chapter 12
Percy rotated his arms in circles as he walked down the streets of downtown New York. He was trying to get some sort of feeling from his wound, but it was overall pretty numb.
He scowled to himself. He knew he had to go to whatever pawn shop they had passed by, but he had no idea where it was. After what he thought was too much time looking for directions, Percy resorted to taking care of his own needs.
The boy walked into the nearest corner store and got himself bandages that he quickly applied over his ripped cloth.
He tried to make it as tight as possible to stop any bleeding, but it seemed to just make the pain worse.
After asking the shop owner where to find the pawn shop, Percy made his way over with his hand on his chain the entire time. He may have been in public, but he couldn't trust that fact to protect him.
After minutes of walking Percy finally reached the front of the store yet again.
The pawn shop was a stand alone building with two large fence gates to its side. Percy wondered what was behind them.
With a deep breath Percy pushed the door open and stepped in. His eyes immediately scanned the entire place and he quickly realized it was the typical bummy New York shop.
He was shocked however to see the shop owner. Instead of the usually old man hunched over the front desk, there was a large and bulky behemoth standing at least 8 feet tall.
The mans shoulders were stupidly broad, even considering his height. Percy soon realized this was because that he was not made of normal human flesh, but instead made of stone.
The stone man was a navy blue color with patches of moss growing across his body. The only clothes he worse was a leather hide around his monstrous waist, which alone was longer than Percy's body.
It was then when Percy understood the name of the shop. Mountain Peak Pawn Shop which was named after the literal mountain man that ran the shop. Percy took a step forward and was able to read the mans name tag.
"Helikon, ourea of Mount Helicon"
The man looked down at him with an expression that looked almost sad. It took Percy a moment to realize that that was his normal face.
Percy quickly turned his head and walked past a rack of worn down ancient clothing, trying to make it seem like he was browsing the shop. He decided he'd act like he was merely shopping until he knew wheat exactly was going on.
Luke had said he was here to acquire a ticket of sorts, but he wasn't sure if the ourea would be hostile or not. After all, he was a demigod.
Percy was thinking to himself when a pressure pressed into his shoulder. He turned to see a monster of sorts and immediately stumbled back on shock. Said monster was a snake lady with green skin and scales, and a twin trunk like serpentine bottom.
Percy instinctively reached for his chain, but hesitated when he noticed something on the snake ladies chest.
"Srelessa, Scythian dracaena"
It took a moment, but he thought he got the idea here.
Was she an employee?
Percy slowly got up with a watchful eye on the dragon lady. The worker didn't even bat an eye at the demigod, instead tending to some of the shops items.
Percy shook himself off before he continued to walk on, slightly put off. He glanced back at the Helikon the ourea to see a new dracaena by his side. S'Marely read her tag, and this one looked at Percy with spite in her eyes.
Percy turned around quickly and scanned the shop for anymore monsters. He only found one more, the only one equipped with a weapon.
She stood in the corner of the shop with a spear in hand, watching the door as opposed to the boy which he saw as a plus.
After pretending to care about the stores items, Percy decided to confront the store owner.
Percy picked up a child like tiara that was seemingly made of plastic. He didn't know why it was in a mythological store, but he grabbed it anyways.
With the crown in hand, Percy approached the front desk. He placed it on the counter, and the mountain spirit glanced down at him.
Percy reached into his bag and placed down a handful of drachmas, more than the item would normally be worth.
The dracaena behind the counter looked at the boy confused.
"This is all I need." Said Percy. "But if I was to need a place for answers, where would I go" He said, juggling the coins in his hand.
The lady stared at them intently, though the large man didn't say a word. Percy wasn't sure he could talk.
"We could answer any question, for the right price." She hissed out. Percy noticed she literally talked like a snake.
The boy dropped the coins and pushed them forward.
The stone man lowered his oversized hand and picked up the currency. In his hand that was twice the size of Percy's head, the coins looked like skittles.
"What's your question, demigod?"
Percy leaned forward. "Tell me, dracaena. Where can I find a ticket to the hell train?"
The lady looked surprised at first but turned suspicious.
"What's a demigod like you doing involved with the hell train?" She hissed out.
Percy shrugged out. "We have our secrets."
The dracaena's squint deepened.
"I'm afraid, demigod, that a ticket for the hell train is a rare treasure as the train itself is barely in use."
Percy sighed and grabbed his tiara. "Then I guess I'll be going. You can keep the change." Said Percy, turning his back to the two.
He heard a deep grunt from behind, and assumed it came from the mountain spirit. "I understand." Said the voice of the lizard lady in response.
Percy paid this no mind and walked off towards the door. The boy was prepared to leave, but was stopped abruptly.
Before the demigod could reach the doorknob, two golden spears crossed over the door, stopping him in his tracks. One each side of the door was a dracaenae, both staring at him menacingly.
"Hmm?"
Percy said, his hand hovering over to his chained
"I'm afraid we can't let you leave!" Said a snake like voice from behind. Percy turned to face the final dracaena as well as Helikon.
"It appears that Lord Helikon had taken an interest in that chain around your neck. As one of the original ten ourea, it is mandatory you hand it over in order for you to leave!" She called out.
Percy scowled. The three dracaena were already a significant challenge, but he wasn't sure he could even hurt the giant.
The boy smirked, taking out his sword. S'Marely looked surprised.
"A sword?! That must be why our Lord requires it. You must give it up now, demigod before we are forced to kill you!"
Percy raised his guard up and squared up with the warriors. "This weapon is mine. You'll have to kill me before you get it off me." He said defiantly.
The lady smirked confidently. "Then we shall simply have to deal with you!" She said. The lady raised her hand and slammed down on the counter.
Percy waited in anticipation then watched as the central floor of the shop started to open up.
Percy's eyes widened as he saw what was underneath the surface. The floor had opened inwardly to reveal a large pit with an orange glow at the bottom.
Lava.
S'Marely smiled when she saw Percy's slight fear. "It's too late demigod, we'll simply have to gather the remains of your equipment after you burn to death!" She said as she turned to the two other dracaena. Percy knew he was in trouble.
"Srelissa, S'Tori, push him in at once!"
The demigod scowled to himself.
Percy whipped his head back to see the two dragon ladies advance on him, prodding at him with their spears to force him towards the pit.
He instinctively raised his blade and swiped away at the closest one. She seemed surprised that the boy had fought back, but continued to press him back.
Off one swing alone Percy could tell the two monsters weren't at all experienced with their weapons. He probably should've expected this since they were working in a pawn shop.
The lava was intimidating, but Percy was pretty sure he could handle the two dracaenas for now, but he was still wary of Helikon.
Did he get bigger? Honestly, the guys head was a couple of feet away from the roof and he was wider the the front door itself. While looking back he also noticed that S'Marey, the third dracaena didn't seem to be planning on attacking.
He would have to use this to his advantage. Percy turned back to see a gold tipped spear a second away from his face.
Percy tensed up before ducking down, keeping a level head despite the close call. He calmly stepped forward into the attack, and swung for the ladies semi exposed torso.
He was surprised however when a trunk like tail came from his side, completely knocking him off course.
The monster packed a surprising amount of power, and Percy quickly found himself flying. Percy struggled to recover as he flipped himself over mid air. He landed with a ski, and he felt a pounding sensation in his head.
He wondered what this was at first, but realized it was some kind of vertigo as directly behind him was the pit leading to the lava. He quickly took a step forward in fear.
He heard S'Marely chuckle from behind.
"You react faster than most demigod, but that won't help you, so just die!"
As soon as she said this the two monsters rushed forwards with their spears outstretched. Percy quickly responded, smacking the first up into the air, the slashing the second of her course, sending her into a rack of clothes.
He advanced on the nearest one, but slowed down when he saw her grab a large black sword of the wall. He didn't like how easily the woman handled the large sword, but nonetheless he went forward.
The lady swung down faster then she should've been able to and Percy was barely able to sidestep the blow. He stepped forward to stab the monster directly in its chest, but she reacted quickly, sending one of her serpentine legs outwards and knocking him into the air.
Percy grew annoyed at how easily he was being thrown around, but was set on not letting it happen again.
He landed with a thud, and just before he could start his counter attack, the blunt end of a spear came from the side and hit it him in his stomach.
Despite his previous decision to not get knocked around, the boy was sent through the air once again, hitting the souvenir covered wall with a umph.
The swords and relics all came crashing down from their shelves as he made impact, some landing on the boy but none severely hurting him. The thing in the most pain right now was his pride.
Percy got up and gripped his sword hard enough to turn his palms white. At this point his bandages were already falling off, reopening his arm wound.
The boy took a step forward and watched as the two dracaena raised their weapons towards the boy.
Percy didn't hesitate to rush forward with his sword reared back. He watched in slow motion as a massive sword came flying towards him, and he effortlessly leaped off the ground. Raising his sword above his head, he swung it wildly as he fell downwards.
His blade would've split clear through the monsters skull, but he was stopped mid air by a spear deflecting his blow from the base.
Percy was thrown of course and landed somewhere behind the the two, though he avoided taking any damage.
Percy ran forward once more, and this time was met by the snake's large one sided sword.
Despite his better judgement, Percy decided to meet the sword head on, locking blades. Percy tried his best to push her back, but couldn't compete with the monstrous strength.
As he struggled to fight back the boy saw a flash to the right of him. On instinct he hit the ground as a spear replaced the space where his head was only a moment before.
While squatted down, Percy shot out a foot and swept the monster of her legs. He wasted no time and immediately got up and hovered above the monster who was now on her back.
Her eyes went wide as she realized what was about to happen. Percy pointed his sword downwards before he stabbed it through the snakes torso.
The second dracaena looked at Percy with shock. The boy ripped his blade out and pointed it at the monster.
He was about to say something when there was a pressure-like feeling behind him. The boy shifted his head ever so slightly to avoid the large spear that had just barely nicked his ear.
He was quiet for a moment before he turned to face the one who had thrown it.
"How dare you kill my sister, demigod. For that mistake you will die." Said S'Marely, the dracaena in a darker tone than before.
Percy raised a brow. "You think he can kill me?"He asked. He looked at the monster with more so surprise then worry.
He had dodged the spear due to reflexes alone, but he knew that it was thrown with the intent to take his head off in a single attack. The thought donned on Percy that things were actually getting real.
The monster reached behind her and grabbed a sawed off blade from the rack. She slithered away from the counter and came on Percy's side of the lava pit.
Percy lowered his sword and took a step forward to the newcomer.
He mentally noted that
Without a word the two started exchanging blows, and Percy noted that S'Marley was the best fighter among the three.
While fighting Percy tried his best to keep his eyes on the monster behind him, but he was found this hard to do with the pressure coming from in front of him.
He was able to hit the Dracaena with enough power to send her stumbling. He didn't let up and cut his sword through the women's guard.
Percy's ears twitched. What was that noise, he wondered. As soon as he had applied more pressure on his attacks, there was a ringing sound coming from S'Marley's sword alone.
After squinting and trying his best to focus, he noticed the slightest hint of a crack in the middle of the jagged sword that had caused the resonating ring. Seeing this, he doubled the pressure.
After taking hits for several minutes, the sword gave out and with one final slash Percy was able to cut it in half, sending the top half flying into the lava pit and leaving the monster with only a broken hilt.
With no usable weapon, the lady resorted to attacking with one of her bulky tails, sending it flying towards the boys side. Percy raised his hand to block the whip-like tail but didn't expect it to hurt so much.
He growled, then prepared to stab the snake lady with his blade. Before he could make the motion, he felt something wrap around his wrist.
It took him a second to realize what it was.
His eyes went wide just as the lady used her tail to raise Percy off the ground. Wasting no time, she swung him around, forcing him to drop his blade.
The boy reached out in vain for his weapon, but couldn't even touch it as he was flung free from the monsters clutches.
He flew through the air, and was stopped abruptly by two forces grabbing his heels. Percy swung his head upwards and saw that both his legs were wrapped by the second dracaena's tails.
He quickly found himself hanging upside down, and struggled to wiggle himself free. He watched in a mix of fear and annoyance as S'Marely slithered her way over to him.
Without a word, she shot out her legs and wrapped them around the boys arms, and with her sister she stretched him out while he was suspended mid air.
Percy cried out in pain as his body was being pulled in four different directions. He forced himself to stay conscious, fighting off the patches of black dots clouding his vision. With great struggle his eyes were able to lock onto a shining glint not too far away from his hand.
His sword.
With a huff he swung himself forward with momentum despite the monsters strong grip, and managed to just barely grab the hilt of his blade.
One of the monsters looked confused, and then shocked, but they couldn't react as Percy flicked his wrist with enough strength to send his sword upwards.
The blade effortlessly cut through both of S'Tori's legs, making her back off in pain and release her grip. With his legs now free, Percy dropped down and truthfully landed on his face, though he quickly got right back up. He tried to finish off the dracaena, but couldn't muster the strength to free his arms.
With some quick thinking, Percy instead resorted to kicking his leg out, sending the lady backwards into the burning pit of lava. Percy listened as she called out in vain, burning a fiery death.
Percy flinched slightly at the sound, but used the break to catch his breath.
He eventually shifted his eyes to the final dracaena. Even though she still had Percy's hands in her clutches, she seemed too shocked to hold him down.
Percy merely ripped his hands free as the woman watched him in horror. "My sister, you killed her?!" She said as if she didn't believe it.
The boy decided to take this time to finish things off. He raised his sword and walked forward. S'Marely didn't make any move to defend herself, so he merely swung.
Percy was confused when his sword suddenly stopped directly above its head as if it had hit bedrock. His eyes shifted upwards and he was shocked to see his sword stuck in between two of Helikon's monstrous fingers.
Despite him not even using a full hand, Percy knew he would never be able to overpower even a single finger alone.
The boy was even more surprised when a deep and gravely voice echoed in his mind. He could tell it had come from the ourea, though said man didn't even open his mouth.
"That is enough, demigod." It said, shaking Percy's very bones. The boy squinted at the mountain man before reaching up and grabbing his thumbs.
He wasn't going to waste any time talking to the man as he was already getting tired.
The boy lifted himself up on top of Helikons hand and hopped on to his back. He tried his best to get enough leverage to move the behemoth, but quickly found that he wouldn't end up moving, no matter what.
Realizing this, he jumped off, but before he could escape, he felt the mans hand on his back. The boys hurt sped up slightly.
In a split second, the monster launched him towards the entrance of the shop.
Percy panicked as he was just barely able to land on his feet. He looked up just in time to see Helikon bull rushing him at full speed. At the last moment he was somehow able to get off the ground, jumping up and crashing down with his fist balled.
Percy made a decision to roll underneath the attack, barely evading the small blast wave. With nearly no time to think, Percy was able to study the battleground.
S'Marely had completely backed off and was probably going to remain on the sidelines for the rest of the fight. That was good for Percy, but he didn't think Helikon would need much help.
Percy grunted before he sprinted off for his sword. He didn't wait for Helikon to catch up as he scooped it up and whipped his head around.
He was just in time to block and massive boulder hurling towards him. In all honestly though, it wasn't much of a block, more of a deflection that still knocked him to the ground.
The ourea was on top of him in seconds, and Percy quickly noted that he was moving way to fast for someone his size. Percy rolled away as Helikon destroyed the spot he was at a moment before, creating another hole leading into the lava pit.
Percy stood to his feet before raising his sword once more. To his gratitude, Helikon didn't make a move.
"Your faster than you should be. Surrender right now and hand over your weapon. Do that and I'll let you live." The gravely voice ran through his head.
The boy scowled. He could probably find a new sword pretty easily, but he wasn't going to give up Vindicta to some random pawn shop, no matter how strong the owner was.
"Screw you." Said Percy, gripping hard on his sword.
The man said nothing, simply sulking forward, looking menacing as ever.
I really hate this chapter