And again, I'm not getting reviews I am so sorry I wish I could see what you all think of my twist! And also- I really hope I see them soon because we get Percy's first time blood bending and I told you all it wouldn't be as expected. Also- now you get why Annabeth is gonna be so vulnerable.
"Get away from her!" that came from Luke- and at this stage Percy wasn't interested in a damn thing that asshole had to say about this.
"You're the one who just fuckin' hurt her." Percy snapped- her mind racing as she rolled her over and grabbed Annabeth's right hand, the one she'd used to swat the scorpion away. And it already looked bad. There was a large red welt on the back of her hand, it was oozing yellow puss- and Percy's mind raced as she tried to remember her mom's first aid lessons.
She'd never been any good at healing magic- it was something she'd long ago come to terms with but right now she was regretting that fact.
She knew she needed to stop the venom from spreading if she could- she quickly tore a strip off of her shirt, wrapping it around Annabeth's forearm and tying it off tightly- and she could hear Piper jumping down after her even as she heard Luke staggering towards her. "It wasn't supposed to happen she wasn't supposed to- I didn't think she'd try to run still."
His hands barely touched her shoulders before he was being yanked back and she could hear a crashing sound, probably Piper yanking him back from behind and using his surprise to throw him back against the dumpster.
Percy forced herself not to focus on that. If she didn't think of something quick Annabeth would die. Gods but she couldn't afford to let the venom spread any further than it already had.
The makeshift tourniquet would help a little but it wouldn't do enough- Percy closed her eyes tightly, if only it was water if only she could control the venom- except she could hear Carter's voice whispering in her mind.
Think Percy. What is the human body made of?
And- and it was like, seventy percent water wasn't it? Percy was pretty sure she'd heard that mentioned in her science classes.
And blood was liquid- it probably had some water in there and the venom would probably move through the blood.
Percy gripped Annabeth's hand tightly, threading their fingers together and clamping the other hand on top of Annabeth's, focusing on her powers, picturing the blood flowing through Annabeth's veins- and she felt a horrible tight pulling sensation in the pit of her stomach.
It wasn't the most physically exhausting thing she'd ever done- but as she felt the blood of Annabeth's hand stop flowing, it was the hardest she'd ever had to focus on her powers. The world almost seemed to narrow down to that one single point.
She could still hear Piper and Luke behind her- and she would have been worried about Piper getting hurt if it wasn't for the fact that a moment later Percy heard Piper snarling the words.
"Leave. Leave right now!"
And Percy could hear footsteps fleeing- only just over the labored sounds of Annabeth's breathing.
Then Piper was dropping to her knees next to Percy. And she didn't even hesitate, "Jaz?"
"Jaz." Percy didn't even nod her head, "Numbers on my phone. Mom'll be in France still."
"Right." and Piper's hand slipped into Percy's pocket and then she was getting to her feet even as she flicked through the phone, "I'll get a street name to tell them.
And Percy heard Piper's footsteps fading away, and she forced herself to breathe slowly, focusing her gaze on Annabeth face.
She was tanned, her hair was long, curly and pretty. It was like Percy had once pictured princess hair to look like.
And she was pretty too Percy decided- or she would be usually, her face was pale with a tinge of green on it. And gods but some of the venom had probably spread before Percy had managed to stop it.
How much? Percy knew that even small amounts of venom could be enough to kill. She had to pray that it wasn't that much. That somehow she'd stopped it from spreading too much.
And Piper returned after what felt like a lifetime, kneeling down next to Percy. "Jaz said she'll get here as fast as possible. I'm pretty sure they're going to bring Freak."
"Thank the gods for that." if they brought Freak it shouldn't take them long at all. Percy just needed to keep going a little bit longer.
Admittedly her head was starting to hurt and she was feeling kind of sicky and dizzy.
And really, she'd have thought that controlling such a small amount of liquid would be so much easier but- but she was petrified that she'd lose focus, that she'd let some of the venom through. Or that her control would slip and the veins would burst. And that was a very, very scary thought. Percy closed her eyes.
"It's okay." Piper's voice was soft, soothing and her hand on Percy's shoulder was comforting in a way that Percy could never put into words. But then Piper was good at that.
"No, no it's not." Percy was trying not to feel panic. "Her hand is cold-"
"What-"
"I'm cutting off the blood flow to her hand I'm- I'm hurting her. I- it could be bad if she doesn't- the longer I have to do it the worse it is."
"Better than dying." Piper's voice was firm, "You're saving her life Percy. And you know how amazing Jaz is she'll do everything she can to help her."
"If we'd have intervened sooner-"
"We had no idea it'd go that bad that quick. Stop blaming yourself. The only person to blame is that Luke guy and he ran away like a little bitch."
"I-" Percy paused, forcing herself to breath "You're not actually wrong." she exhaled slowly, some of the tension easing from her shoulders, though she was still focusing on Annabeth's hand.
And after what felt like a lifetime Percy heard Freaks familiar cry from above- and a moment later freak was flying down and landing with the usual boat in tow. And a moment later there were footsteps and then Jaz was dropping to her knees next to Percy.
"What happened?"
And Piper filled her in, mostly because Percy was starting to struggle with focusing and she was pretty sure if she tried to split her attention enough to speak at this stage she was going to vomit.
Once Jaz was filled in she got to work quickly, muttering softly, working her magic- and after what felt like hours Jaz gently laid a hand on top of Percy's.
"I need to get to her hand now okay- I'll draw the venom out Percy. You did amazing."
"S-she- did I-"
"Some of the venom made it into her system but only a tiny amount. She's gonna be really sick for a few days- might not wake up for a few but she's going to be okay. But I need you to let go of her hand and let the blood flow return so I can get to the wound and draw the venom out."
And slowly Percy pulled her hands away, letting her focus snap- and she toppled backwards- and a pair of strong arms caught her as Percy's head spun and her vision seemed to go blurry.
"Woah there kitten." a very familiar voice purred, "Let's get you into the boat. Jaz can deal with your stray."
"Not a stray." Percy muttered the words, "She's like me and Piper-" and that made Bast blink down at her, before she gave a small shrug.
"Well, like you or not she's a stray in my eyes." Bast remarked, sweeping an arm under Percy's legs and carrying her bridal style to the boat, "How are you feeling?"
"My head hurts." Percy grumbled the words, "And I feel kinda sicky, but I've had worse. I think- it was the focus I needed- it was mentally draining."
"Of course." Bast set her down carefully- and Percy blinked.
"Wait a sec- what are you doing here?"
"Your mom asked her to watch us." that was Julians voice. Percy blinked when she turned her head and her gaze focused on him. But him coming did make sense. He was following the path of Horus. Freak might not like him as much as he did Carter but he did follow Julian's orders and let him fly.
"I'm just offended you didn't call me for back-up kitten."
"You couldn't have come." Percy gave Bast a wry smile when the cat goddess gave her a narrow eyed look.
"I'm a cat. No one tells us where to go."
"The Greek Underworld-" and Bast barely blinked.
"For my kittens? I'd do it in a heartbeat. And you know that."
"But you really shouldn't." Percy closed her eyes as Bast sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder tightly so that the young girl could rest her head on the goddesses shoulder, cuddling into her side. "It's like, against the rules for you guys to get too mixed up-"
"Again, I am a cat, when do I care about words?" Bast's voice was faintly teasing, "I'd have been there if you'd asked. I would have been an escort."
"I know." Percy gave a faint smile, "But you're the one who told us that we had to stand on our own- the whole kittens with claws stuff. We can fight our own battles."
"Of course. But on occasion I can still help my kittens-"
"It was my problem. I had to handle it myself. And with Piper but-"
"But she's another demigod." Bast nodded. "I know kitten. Doesn't mean I have to like watching you getting involved with the Greeks. Oh we all knew that it would happen sooner or later but I personally was hoping for you to be much much older. I doubt they've changed much over the years. Most of the Greeks are far too arrogant for my liking-"
"Have you met Horus?"
"Okay you have a point." Bast chuckled, "But it's not quite the same. And while we do use mortals I would say we don't do it quite so callously as they do- and here come Jaz, Piper and the sleeping little Halfling."
"Her name is Annabeth." Percy straightened up slightly as Jaz and Piper carefully set Annabeth down in the boat. "How is she?"
"Not good." Jaz sighed, "Her hand- what you did saved her life but- I won't know just how much damage there is until we get back to Brooklyn House but the venom did more damage than the lack of blood did."
"She's alive Percy." Piper's voice was firm, "Don't you dare feel guilty for doing what you had to to save her life. Jaz said if you hadn't done that she'd be dead right now, not just unconscious."
"How do you always know what to say?" Percy muttered the words as Piper moved to her side and she pulled Percy in close, so that the daughter of Poseidon could rest her head on Piper's shoulder. "When we get back we need to call Carter and Sadie, and Mom. Let em know we're home."
"No, I will handle that." Bast declared, "You two will go with Jaz and get some rest-"
"And I want to look at that shoulder of yours." Jaz said swiftly, "I can see blood there Percy Kane, don't you dare try and pretend that you didn't get hurt. I know your family too well for that."
"Sir yes Sir!" Percy resisted the urge to giggle, closing her eyes, "Fine, I won't argue with you. But only because I feel real tired right now."
And if she dozed off like that and had to be carried in to Brooklyn House by Bast, well, no one was going to comment on it.