Hehehehehe. I mean- let's face it it had to happen again at some point. Poor Percy honestly, and poor Leo.
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Undeath9087: Yeah, Percy doesn't like magic at all- she can sort of tolerate it but she despises it.
Percy and Leo took off together, sprinting through the archway. Immediately, the field shimmered and became a maze of brick walls and trenches. Percy didn't even think as she reached back slightly- and Leo was pretty in sync with her because his hand caught hers and they ducked behind the nearest wall and ran to the left, sticking close together.
Back at the archway Percy could hear Frank's voice yelling, "Uh, die, Graecus scum!" And honestly Frank was not very convincing, he definitely wouldn't be able to get a career as an actor. And okay maybe Percy was slightly hysterical if that was where her mind was going. Then a poorly aimed arrow sailed over their heads.
"More vicious!" Nike yelled, "Kill like you mean it!"
"Oh she does not want that." Percy muttered the words, "Because that would not go well for her."
"Of course." Leo snorted, "Are you ready?" he raised an eyebrow, and Percy looked down at the bronze grenade Leo had given her. And if it was anyone else she'd definitely not have been comfortable throwing something like that towards her friends.
But it was Leo who had given it to her, and as reckless and immature as her brother could be about some things, she trusted him with their friends safety, so she rose upwards, twisting as she did, using the momentum to put more force behind the throw as she screamed, "DIE ROMANS!" before she ducked down even as she heard the grenade go boom.
And she had to resist the urge to high five Leo when a familiar smell filled the air- though actually it did make her feel kind of hungry.
"Oh no!" that was Hazel's voice, a high dramatic wail that filled the air. "Popcorn! Our fatal weakness!"
Frank shot another arrow over their heads and Percy and Leo moved together, scrambled to the left, ducking through a maze of walls that seemed to shift and turn on their own.
And gods but she did not like that- it brought back a lot of less than pleasant memories- and she felt Leo's grip on her hand tightening, she could hear the way his breath caught.
She didn't even have to look at him to see that he was starting to freak out slightly. She just had to hope that they could keep it together. They didn't exactly have much choice in the matter after all.
Then from somewhere behind them Nike yelled, "Try harder! That popcorn was not fatal."
And Percy could hear the rumble of chariot wheels, possibly from outside of the field of battle.
Another grenade exploded over Percy's and Leo's heads. They dived into a trench as the green starburst of Greek fire singed Leo's hair, Percy made quick work of patting the fire out- sure he might be fireproof but still, Greek fire was somewhat questionable even if he did see to be able to summon and control it now. Fortunately, Frank had aimed high enough that the blast only looked impressive.
"Better!" Nike called out, "But where is your aim? Don't you want this circlet of leaves?"
"I'll shove that circlet of leaves up her ass." Percy growled the words. "I wish the river was closer I would love to drown her right now- make her choke."
She could feel an undercurrent of anger twisting in her belly.
It was all like a sick game and that sort of thing always always put Percy on edge it always made her want to lose her shit and tear someone apart, even if usually the feelings weren't quite this intense.
"Percy-" there was a note of tension in Leo's voice- and Percy forced herself to look at him.
"What?"
"I don't want to lose you."
"You're not going to lose me I am fine-"
"Please-"
"Don't 'please' me Leo." Percy snapped the words, fingers curling into a fist, "She has it coming-"
"Percy she's been driven crazy by the rift between Greek and Roman. I don't like her either but she's not like Akhlys-"
"Sure she's not." Percy turned her head away, forcing herself to breath deeply.
And okay Leo was probably speaking sense. She couldn't risk losing herself in the moment the same way she had with Akhlys, she knew that Leo was just worried about her but still, it grated at something deep in her very soul. "It's going to be okay Percy." Leo promised her, "Just try not to lose your shit."
"It's kinda offensive that you'd even consider that I could lose my shit-"
"Percy-"
"Yeah yeah I get it." Percy managed a strained smile. "Okay, okay I'm not going to do anything stupid."
"I'll distract." Leo said easily, pointing across the field. The walls had shifted, revealing one of the Nikettes about thirty yards away, standing with her back to them. Hazel must be doing her thing – manipulating the maze to isolate their targets. "You do your thing and kick their butts. I'll be relying on you."
"I'll always be there to back you up."
"You ready?"
And Percy gave a sharp little nod. "God."
She dashed to the left, even as she saw Leo pulling a ball-peen hammer from his tool belt, and she snickered when he yelled, "Hey, Bronze Butt!"
The Nikai turned as Leo thre the hammer, and it clanged harmlessly off the metal lady's chest. Still, it definitely did the job, it annoyed the lady to say the least.
She marched towards Leo, raising her barbed wire laurel wreath, throwing it towards him.
Leo ducked swiftly, the metal circlet spinning over his head, and even as she charged at the Nikai she saw the wreath hit the wall behind her baby brother- and her stomach clenched painfully as she saw the hole punch straight through the bricks.
If that had hit her brother- Percy gritted her teeth, feeling a surge of protective rage as she emerged from a trench behind the Nikai, slicing through her waist- she turned her gaze towards Leo and a scream caught in her throat- Leo had been watching her, he hadn't followed the path of the wreath, which was acting kind of like a boomerang, and it was speeding back towards Leo from behind.
"Leo duck!" Percy screamed the words, and Leo's gaze met hers, brows furrowing in confusion as he turned to look behind him.
It was probably that movement which saved his life. Not that Percy realised that at first. All she saw was the wreath hitting Leo from behind- and Percy let out a loud, ear splitting scream as she heard Leo cry out, saw him almost flying forward even as Nike let out an outraged scream.
"Foul! You don't attack the Nikai unless you wish to die!"
And Percy was already moving, sprinting towards Leo- who was sprawled on the ground, and Percy could see blood spreading across the back of his t-shirt.
"LEO! Oh gods!" but Leo didn't lift his head, he didn't move. And Percy could hear Frank and Hazel's voices calling out to them but she couldn't think clearly, couldn't hear anything over the blood pounding in her ears- and she'd seen what that wreath had done to the wall behind Leo- she couldn't look at it. Couldn't look at Leo's broken body, she didn't want to see that. It would kill her, drive her beyond insanity.
She rushed at the dual formed goddess, rage flooding through her, hot and over powering.
This feeling was stronger than anything Percy had ever felt before, stronger than anything she could have imagined. She wanted to tear and rend and destroy the goddess, and the ground beneath her feet started shaking.
It stopped quickly enough. Percy could feel something- someone stopping the shaking.
Absently she realised that it was probably Hazel. Percy might be able to make the very earth beneath her feet shake but she wasn't on the same level when it came to controlling the ground- that made a fair bit of sense.
Percy decided against fighting Hazel for control. That wasn't a fight she could win.
Instead Percy pulled, she pulled from deep inside of herself as she kept moving towards Nike- who had stopped, she almost looked like she was gloating- and then Nike's gloating was cut short very quickly, because a huge geyser of water erupted from the ground beneath her chariot, blasting the chariot several foot up in the air, flipping it over, tendrils of it shooting off, smashing into the Nika, destroying them in single blows.
The sounds that filled the air were not pleasant, celestial bronze crumpling, wood splintering, the stallions screaming and a goddess wailing in two distinct voices. Both of the voices were very surprised.
Nike started to disentangle herself from the wreckage and Percy was there before she could, bearing down on the two figures, water wrapping around her tightly, pushing the two together into one slightly blurred and out of focus whole.
"NO!" Nike wailed the word, "You can't-"
And Percy's fingers curled into a tight fist, the water hardened around her, closing in tighter and tighter- and Nike was almost screaming in pain.
"Percy!" That was Frank's voice, "Percy what-" And the water was shifting upwards, covering the goddess entirely, including her nose and mouth, and Percy reached her, bringing Riptide down, across her shoulder and chest to her hip, diagonally, ichor spilling out into the water encasing her.
"PERCY!" Hazel's cry was horrified. Possibly because it was very obvious that a wound like that was only meant to hurt.
"You- your things hurt my brother." Percy snarled the words as her eyes met the crazed Goddesses, who was writhing desperately in the prison of water.
Percy could feel her trying to change shape- but the water flexed and pressed closer around her every time she tried to shift. Her attempts to scream were muffled by the water pressing against her mouth and nose- she couldn't even breathe, she was choking on the water, which was pushing it's way down her throat.
Admittedly Percy doubted that it would kill her, being unable to breath, being choked, but it looked like she was very uncomfortable, her eyes would probably be watering if it wasn't for the fact that the water was coating her face.
As it was, if they were it was unnoticeable.
She could hear a muffled bubbling choking sound coming from the goddess, and Percy gave a vicious smile.
"I can't hold you like this forever-" Percy hissed the words, "But I can hold you for a little longer- and I can make you suffer, I can make you scream and beg-" and she could see that Nike was trying and failing to shake her head.
Then out of the corner of her eyes Percy spotted a metal sphere rolling towards the goddesses feet.
Her brows furrowed and she tilted her head.
Then there was a strange noise- almost like a 'foom' and metal filaments shot upward, wrapping Nike in a bronze net.
And then a familiar voice from behind her called out. "Let her go now Percy. The net will hold her. You can let go." and Percy did, whirling around, her eyes going wide.
Frank and Hazel were crouched next to Leo- Leo who looked ashen and bloody, but who was alive.
Percy's legs almost gave out beneath her as the relief hit her with the force of a truck, tears filling her eyes as she sprinted towards Leo, dropping to her knees.
"Leo! Oh gods Leo." and Leo was lurching forward as much as he could, wrapping an arm around her.
The other arm was hanging limply at his side, his shoulder was bloody and very hurt. But he was alive. Her baby brother was alive.
