Here you go, chapter 8. I've split this into two chapters, so the total count should now be 10.
Moncef: The Sky versus Ajax battle is also split, so I can recuperate enough to write. So, here you go!
aProcrastinatingOrange: Thanks!
Warning: Character death, baby in mortal danger, canon-typical violence
Listening to: Now That We're Alone by The People's Thieves
Lily found Omar building an immense dome shield from the ground up. It was growing carefully with the intent of covering the jail center—the only building in the vicinity which also now held James and the Jacksons.
"Omar!" Lily cried, disarming one dueler and knocking him out before trying to run to the Auror. "What're you doing?!"
"We can't let that energy get out!" Omar argued. "Look, it won't be compatible with any of us—"
Lily stared up at the shimmering air. It was beginning to look toxic. "But James is in there!"
"I know!" Omar groaned. "He said he'll have the hostages out in five minutes."
A hex caught the back of Omar's robes, barely missing his arm. It sliced his robe and Lily spun, to defend his back.
But an arrow hit her below the shoulder and she jerked back. Sharp, tear-jerking pain began at her collarbone and she was completely taken off-guard. She'd never trained or fought against archers.
She gasped, trying to put up a shield, but a hit golden charm hit her hand next, her wand flying out of her grip. Lily panicked at the sight of the archer nocking three arrows at once.
Their green van pulled up.
WHAMM!
It crashed right into the archer's side, throwing him several feet off to the side. His legs let out an awful crunch and Lily cringed.
Sally was out the door before it came to a full stop. Omar tried to step in her way but the girl was shrieking almost immediately.
"I need to get inside!" Sally gasped, hands waving around. "I just need to get my family!"
Cass looked up at the growing poison around the building in horror. "What's he done!"
"James's gone inside," Lily told Sally, trying to get the words out fast enough. "He's gone to get them—"
Sally broke Omar's hold and rushed inside. Iphy followed her. Cass remained behind, eyes darting over the compound wall.
Ajax's body moved like a whip.
Wind whistling, Sciron managed to dodge the first two punches but was struck when Ajax's leg slammed into his gut. Sciron went airborne, flying back into the plateau with a groan.
Percy whined as he tried in vain to move the boulder weighing on the leg of his pants. The air of Tartarus was obviously hitting the baby now. And yet…
The demigod squinted at Percy. The baby's skin seemed fine. Normal, even. Percy objected to the description and began to wail for his mother.
Sciron kicked back up moving, just as Ajax's fist slammed into the ground, narrowly missing his head. He moved with inhuman speed, the likes of which Sciron wasn't expecting. But he had to take it in stride.
Vowing to use the rivers as a last resort, Sciron moved his hand down to crack open the ground in front of them. Ajax grunted as one of his feet sunk into the ground. Sciron clapped his hands once and the fissure closed, snapping over Ajax's ankle and trapping him in place.
Sciron slipped out his knife and brought it down on Ajax's throat, but the man blocked the swing with a catch of his wrist, while his other fist delivered a low hook to his torn gut.
He dropped his knife and Ajax caught it, nearly slashing Sciron's throat. The demigod dodged at just the right time.
Sciron pushed away from Ajax who was still stuck with his leg trapped in the fissure. Ajax chuckled, craning his neck to get rid of a crick.
"The best of the best?" he laughed.
Sciron panted heavily and sat several feet away, nursing his wounds. Tartarus was not letting him heal and it felt as though the ambrosia's effect on his torso had completely stopped.
Percy stopped crying.
Both Sciron and Ajax frowned and looked over to the boulder. The baby wasn't there. Sciron got to his feet with a wince of his sore muscles and hobbled over there.
The baby's pants were still trapped beneath the boulder, but Percy it seemed, had wiggled out of the trousers and crawled away. Sciron looked at the raging river of the Styx below them, heart in his mouth.
What if… nononono
"Abba!"
Sciron and Ajax turned as one and did a doubletake of the precocious baby who'd gotten hold of the shiny bracelet.
"Percy," Sciron breathed, raising a trembling hand. "Stay right there."
Showing no mind, Percy was drooling over the metal band, very delighted by his new toy. But as he tried to bite down on it, the bracelet offered no care to his gums. He whined and pulled his arm back.
Sciron's heart stopped.
With an impressive show of strength, Percy hurled the bracelet straight into the Lethe.
One of Ajax's swordsmen was smart enough to avoid Cass and instead rushed at Lily.
She couldn't throw spells without her wand, unlike James.
But Cass caught the movement of the archer out of the corner of her eye. She spun around, kicking her foot up and jamming it into his abdomen. He doubled over and Cass slammed her fist into his ear.
The yowl he let out was cut short as she jabbed her elbow into the nape of his neck. He fell like a rock, but there were others taking his place. Cass turned on them, engaging in a three-against-one fight.
Omar cursed as he stopped the shield in its tracks to pick up the battle.
A sword sliced up his arm and the two men and two women in front of them advanced, panting.
One of them shouted, "Last words?"
Lily choked. Her eyes prickled and grew wet. Not like this…
"Whatever you're doing," Omar said quickly, raising his arms. "You need to stop! Look at the building! Look at what's leaking out!"
Another man just shrugged, not at all perturbed by the poisonous air around the building. "Poor last words."
"Could I…" Lily winced as they all narrowed their eyes at her. "Have a glass of water?"
The archers stared, nonplussed. One of the rogue witches sporting dark hair and a mean grin chuckled, "Sure, sweetheart."
With a quick Aguamenti charm she drenched Lily with a gallon of water at firehose pressure. Lily coughed, feeling the cold water give her a temporary reprieve from the blazing heat.
She gathered her strength for one of the only things she could conjure without her wand.
"The air is going to kill all of us," Omar promised, still managing to keep his voice rock-steady in the face of death. "None of us will win if we don't seal the building."
Lily reached behind him and grabbed the back of Omar's torn robes. The earth surrounding her was wet. Her hands began to glow.
The brunette witch noticed it first. "Hey, wait—"
Mud erupted around them and Lily felt a magnetic pull towards the ground. Instead, she held tight and yanked back, bringing up the new life all around them.
Several thin trunks sprouted up, branches shooting outwards to slam into the rogues. Twenty trees emerged from the ground, growing rapidly right before everyone's eyes. She held out a hand and one of the branches knocked her wand out of the brunette's, handing it back to Lily.
"That's better," Lily whispered before making a grand sweeping gesture with her wand. "Insurgo!"
Omar backed away but the rogues weren't so lucky. The trees were now twenty feet tall, sprouting heavy palm leaves from the top. The trunks bent and swerved, smashing the large leaves into several swordsmen and launching them several yards away into hot dunes.
People began to run away from the chaotic forest of palm trees that had appeared out of the sand barely wetted. Lily held strong, bringing more life into the trees to uproot themselves and let the roots move them around. One archer shot an exploding arrow into a trunk, the blast ricocheting through Lily's body.
She shuddered, stumbling back but reared up and charged again. The trees began to crush the interlopers, smashing heavy trunks and leaves into them. A bunch of heavy green dates fell on top of one of the witches who'd been about to apparate away.
A green haze settled on her. Lily felt the exhausting waiting for her on the other side of adrenaline. Her body was glowing green and she felt detached from her physical self.
Omar's voice was tunnelling away. "You're overdoing it, Potter!"
The world was a blur of green trees and yellow sand. Lily felt removed from the present, staring at her own body that was directing so much energy towards the trees that were rushing about and fighting the attackers.
"Lily!" Omar's voice diffused into a high tension wire vibrating far too much for her to pinpoint.
Green waves of light rose from her skin. Silver was embedded in it, sparkling and overtaking her line of sight. Lily's head went heavy and the weight rushed in so quickly that everything snapped like a rubber band.
Her hands shook, agony suddenly blistering her skin. She shrieked and pushed everyone back, sending a shockwave of green and white moving through the newly created oasis, momentarily stopping the burning air that surrounded the building.
The palm trees slowed their onslaught. Their roots began to dig through the dry earth, replanting themselves into the desert ground. The trees went silent and Lily collapsed to her knees, gasping for air. Her throat was unbelievably dry to the point of speechlessness.
Omar and a few Aurors were left standing, just as quiet as her.
"I've never seen Chlorokinesis in action," Omar finally admitted. Lily, hands shaking badly, managed to create a fountain of cool water from her wand. She gulped greedily, her mind calming down now, before leaning beside the closest palm tree of her creation.
Cass stood by him, gauging the building. "Shield?"
"It's going to be tough," Omar groaned before barking orders to his Aurors.
Lily stood up carefully, dropping a palm on Cass's shoulder. "What's happening to the building? Why's it doing that?"
They look up at the strange reddish energy in the air. Lily thought it resembled the breath of a particularly irate dragon. It had a quality of hellfire to it.
"The Mist is getting corrupted," Cass whispered.
"What?"
"We have shield caster pots all around the compound," Cass told Omar wide-eyed. "Use them and build the dome again. I need to find a lock for it."
Lily blinked. "We can lock shields! That's brilliant, actually—"
"Crystalizing shields is too dangerous in such a short time," Omar warned. "It takes too much energy."
"We just need an active, self-reliant source," Cass insisted. "No one has to actually power it, it should keep the shield locked down for long enough until the energy dissipates."
Lily didn't like the sound of that. Self-reliant sources of magic were most often unnatural and dark. Blood magic was the most common one, but that required a sacrifice. Rare power types could work…
"Dragon blood?" Lily suggested.
Cass nodded. "I have a vial of the stuff in the shed."
Omar winced. "Fine, get in and get it. We'll start the shield again. Once it's sealed, nothing's going in or coming out."
Lily and Cass acquiesced and ran into the compound.
The 'shed' was a large weapons chamber outside the main building. Lily stepped in and was gobsmacked at the wall stacks of gleaming gold and bronze swords, spears, knives, bows, and arrows. The weapons were deadly and looked sharp enough to split a hair down length-wise.
Cass ignored all the weapons that were at least worth a thousand Galleons and headed for one of the smaller cupboards with a broken handle.
Lily watched as Cass stopped at the splintered wood of the handle, before yanking the doors open. An array of potions were laid out on the shelves, all protected by individual enchantments. Only one was missing from the layout.
Figures.
"It was here just a few days ago," Cass said, befuddled. Lily groans, "You had a vial of dragon blood here for anyone to take?"
"Only very select personnel can open the hangar door," Cass said through her teeth, stepping back away from the potions. "This is bad. We're gonna need a Plan B."
Lily rubs the back of her neck, looking around at the swords. "Has Plan A ever worked for anyone?"
Cass didn't answer that.
The bracelet!
Ajax yelled and so did Sciron. The latter threw an arm out and took hold of the river, drawing up the water with such force that the entire Lethe rose out of its path, every drop evading the irreplaceable bracelet that was now on the dry bed.
Gasping, Sciron struggled with the weight, panicking as the fumes of the Lethe spread out above their heads. Its glimmering white water weighed heavy on every part of his body and Sciron's limbs shook with the force of it.
Percy gasped up at the river in delight and pointed happily at it. Sciron stared in horror as silver drops separated from the Lethe, summoned by the baby.
He yanked everything back up, shifting the river even higher so it grazed the ceiling.
Ajax growled before raising a fist to slam it into the ground. Sciron turned to stare in horror as the man punched the earth again and again till it crumbled and broke apart, freeing his foot from the dust and debris.
He threw Sciron's knife back at him and the demigod only managed to avoid the blade. It hit the wall on the other side of the river now impossible to retrieve.
Ajax hurtled towards Percy, swiping him off the floor. Sciron flinched and yelled, "You won't get the bracelet if you hurt him!"
The baby complained as though in agreement. Ajax shook his head, "I'm not gonna hurt him. But you're going to get that bracelet for me."
"I'm a little busy here!" Sciron said in outrage.
Ajax just raised an eyebrow before moving backwards and raising Percy over the Styx. The dark water bubbled up below him as though sensing a life far too close to it.
"Don't!" Sciron pleaded.
"Get the bracelet outta there," Ajax said, shaking the baby. Percy began to cry, his face all scrunched up and red. But unlike Kimberly, Percy's skin didn't look affected by Tartarus. Sciron didn't know what was protecting the boy, but he didn't want to find out either.
Sciron growled, throwing his other arm out to take control of the Styx. He summoned a jet of water from it and aimed it at Ajax's feet.
It hit the man behind his knees and Ajax roared in pain, dropping into a roll to avoid the scalding water. His trousers burned up revealing blistering skin and the stench of acid.
Ajax still had a strong grip on Percy who was dry. Just as he was about to get up, he stopped and stared at the ceiling.
"What're you doing?!" Ajax shouted, his entire body locked up.
Sciron looked to the ceiling and his jaw dropped.
The Styx had begun to rise up when he'd summoned it and was now mixing in with the Lethe. The searing white and the glistering black waters flowed towards each other, weaving in and out in a mad dance of power and darkness.
Sciron felt the extreme temperatures burn his hands. The rivers did not agree with each other.
"Separate them!" Ajax yelled.
Sciron couldn't tell the rivers apart. More and more water from both began to mix, creating a cesspool of chaotic energy near the ceiling. It bubbled and boiled as one indiscernible liquid.
"I can't!" he cried out.
"Send it back to the source!" Ajax snapped.
"Are you crazy?!" Sciron shouted back at him.
"You're the moron who's mixing them!"
"They're doing it on their own!"
Ajax stared at Sciron. "Are you a complete idiot? What do they teach in those camps?"
Sciron brought down a spray of the polluted water down on Ajax. The man dodged it, narrowly avoiding disintegration. The spray hit the ground and ate through the earth, melting the floor of the plateau they stood on. A large hole was left behind reeking of death and despair.
Ajax backed away. "None of us are getting out of here if you don't put those rivers back."
They eyed the bracelet still in the Lethe's bed.
Sciron grunted, trying to bring the Styx down to its usual path, but the river was reluctant. It had gotten a taste of the Lethe and did not want to leave.
"Please," Sciron whispered, not sure if he was speaking to the river spirits or to Ajax. The man frowned at him before looking at the bracelet again. "Fine."
Sciron turned in surprise. Ajax heaved a sigh. "An impasse. I'll get the bracelet and leave. You and the drool monster can walk away. We both get what we want."
It sounded too good to be true. Sciron didn't believe him. "Why should I trust you?"
"Because we're stuck here unless we work together," Ajax pointed out. "You focus on separating the rivers. I'll get the bracelet. Not gonna do anything to you and Pepe."
Sciron bared his teeth. "Swear on the Styx."
The black river rumbled as its name was called out. Sciron was afraid it would lash out at him for such a bold statement, but Ajax responded, "I swear on the great and noble river Styx that Sciron and Perseus can walk out of here unharmed by me, as long as I get my bracelet."
Percy stuck his fingers in his mouth, inspecting the man. Sciron watched Ajax closely. He sounded absolutely sincere. Sweat dripped down his temple and he knew that they were running out of time.
The air of Tartarus was now causing small boils to erupt on Sciron's skin. Even Ajax's skin was turning an ugly green in patches. Unbelievably, Percy was still unharmed. There was a faint yellow glow over him, but Sciron couldn't be sure if it was his own imagination. Whatever the truth, he couldn't bear it anymore and yelled, "Deal!"
Ajax nodded, deadly serious. He walked towards the Lethe river bed, Percy safely ensconced in his arms.
"Hey, wait! Don't take him there!" Sciron snapped.
"I'm not leaving him on the ground," Ajax pointed out, infuriatingly calm. "He could crawl right into the hole you made with your new acid creation. Or head over to one of the rivers. Or you could just drop the Lethe on my head. I know what kind of a hero you are."
Sciron gritted his teeth. "I never said I was one."
Ajax looked up, surprised. He smiled. "Oh, you most definitely are. Look at you, avenging a friend you made in the past few days and worrying about a child you have no connection to… besides the obvious I mean. That's what heroes do. They care."
"I'm not doing this because I care," Sciron refuted. "I'm just sticking by my word."
The cavern was filled with the sounds of the rivers bubbling, melding together, and that of Percy's slowly growing whines.
Ajax shook his head slowly. "Not true, pal. The definition changes and has a spectrum. But you? You're the kind of hero that's grown and changed. Today's stories aren't about the perfect Jason leading Argonauts on an adventure of glory. They are about the commoners who make mistakes and do the right thing even at the cost of themselves."
The mad man grinned, making his skin crawl. "It's like you were born for this century, Sciron."
"Jason made mistakes too," Sciron whispered, arms shaking.
Ajax's eyes lit up. He laughed and turned to make his way down the side of the plateau, Percy practically clamped in the crook of his arm. The Lethe raged over them and Sciron's hands were suffering from freezer burns.
"Ah," Ajax said, bouncing the squalling baby in his arms. "Then maybe there isn't much difference between ancient and modern heroes."
Sally's skin burned and ached as much as her insides. Kimberly was trembling in her arms, her breathing having gone shallow. She was trying to say something.
"Pepe," Kim whispered, hot tears bubbling up. Sally sobbed, holding her tighter.
"We'll get him," she told her baby sister. "It's okay. I promise."
"Hurts," Kim stammered, burying her face in her neck. She was shaking so badly that Sally thought nothing could be more horrible than this feeling. Sitting here in a crumbling building, breathing in poisonous air, and holding a dying child.
And then Kim stopped moving.
Her grip on Sally lessened and nothing made sense. Sally's head reeled. She clutched onto the girl, nails digging into Kim's skin, but Kim didn't even react.
No. Sally wouldn't believe it. They had to get to Percy and go back home. She can't go alone. She won't.
Iphy kneeled in front of her. Her face was carefully devoid of extreme expressions, looking placid enough to fool Sally that things were alright.
"Sally," she whispered. "Let's get you both out of here."
James appeared to her right. His eyes were far more troubled. "Can I take her?"
Sally embraced Kim tighter, shaking her head.
"I'll be careful," he said, face crumbling ever so slightly. "This place isn't so good, we need to go."
Kim was heavy. Sally was surprised by how much weight she had. She'd always been able to roughhouse her a bit, but now, it was hard to even get to her feet. James helped and they carefully stood.
Iphy had a firm palm on her back, nudging her down the corridor. Sally loosened her grip on Kim and watched as James bent momentarily to bring her into his arms. Kim looked like she could be sleeping, completely conked out, unbothered by being carried out by a stranger who'd made an empty vow.
Short chapter, but I'm going to tie up as many loose ends as I can in the next one! Stay tuned, readers and stay safe!
Cabba K