Another chapter :D Yay!
Short~~! This chapter is shoooort~!
Take that. :P
I own nothing you recognize as canon.
XXXVIII
TULIO
Honestly? Tulio had no clue what he was doing. The moment Leo collapsed, the situation became all too real to him.
His mother was in trouble. His father was unconscious. His sister was frozen in fear. He had to do something.
So what did he do? Nearly killed himself, that's what he did.
Tulio ran right over to his mother and braced himself. He held up his arms and took a bit of the sky from her.
Holy. Hephaestus.
He thought he was prepared for the weight. He definitely was not! Even with his Titan strength he felt ready to pass out—and his mother hadn't let go yet!
"Mom…" he grunted. "Get out…I've got this…"
"No," she said. "I can't…do that to you…!"
Tulio groaned as the weight increased. Calypso groaned too, and Tulio realized that meant Atlas was throwing more weight onto them. He heard a voice boom into his head.
"Ah, grandson. Perhaps you have your use after all…I don't care if it's you or your mother. As long as someone takes the sky."
Tulio grunted, "No…"
The weight decreased a little. Tulio puffed and glanced over at his mother. She had relaxed a bit, too. That was when he realized someone else was taking the weight.
Esperanza had gotten a hold of the sky now. She whimpered in pain. Tulio screwed up his face.
"Get…out…Mom…" he tried.
Calypso glared at him. "Not…to you…"
Espie groaned, "We got this…"
"I won't…leave you…"
Tulio shifted a little closer—extremely hard to do—and Espie mirrored him. Great thing about being a twin: your sibling knew what you were planning in situations like this. They lifted up a little more, taking more weight from their mother.
"One Titan…" Tulio said. "…isn't as powerful…as two…"
"You aren't Titans," Calypso protested.
"No," Espie agreed. "But…we do have…the strength of one…"
"Of two," Tulio added. "We've got this…"
"Go to Papi," Espie said. Somehow, she'd managed to free one of her hands and place it on Calypso's back.
Tulio shifted to do the same. It almost crushed him, but he managed. The twins nodded to each other.
"Go!" they shouted, pushing her forward.
Calypso crashed to the ground limply. The weight that came next hit the twins so hard they fell to their knees. Tulio cried out in pain.
Espie managed to shift closer, her side brushing his. "We've…got this…Tui…"
Tulio couldn't find the strength to tell her off about the nickname.
"Tulio…" Her voice was soft, regardless of the pain. "We've…got…the strength…"
"I noticed," he managed.
"No…I mean…we've got Titan's strength…the strength…of two…"
"So…?"
The weight increased. Atlas's voice boomed again, "Good. I finally have a reason to like you, grandchildren. Thanks for this! I hope you enjoy eternity this way!"
Something inside Tulio snapped. Two…versus one…! We're two people with Titan's strength versus one Titan!
"Gotcha," he grunted. He somehow got onto one knee, bracing his body for the hardest push of his life.
"One…" Espie said, mimicking his movement.
"Two."
"THREE," they shouted in unison.
Both of them pushed upwards. Tulio got onto his feet, still crouched low, but standing. Stars flashed in his vision, but he kept pushing, gritting his teeth.
It still wasn't enough, though. Atlas was fighting them. Hard. It was like a tug-o-war—or in this case, a push-o-war. If one of them faltered, they were finished. No one could give in. The stakes were too high.
"Tulio…!" Espie moaned. "He's…"
Tulio panted, trying to catch his breath. "…Not gonna win," he finished. "Like you said…we…got…this!"
He pushed more. His knees shook and his insides were on fire. "Go, Espie! We…can do…this!"
Espie howled and pushed up. The weight began decreasing.
"No!"
"This is…our world," Espie growled. "You aren't…allowed in it!"
"So…dear abuelo," Tulio spat. "Take this back…! 'Cause you really deserve it!"
They both roared. Their Titanic aura rose up. Tulio began to glow orange, Espie blue—like, fire blue, not sea blue. Strength they didn't know they had began to come to them. The sky moved upwards quickly.
"Stop! Let me out!"
"Never!" they shouted together.
One last push, and the twins were on their tiptoes. The weight vanished and Atlas's cry died in the distance. Tulio and Esperanza stood there a few seconds, panting, with their aura still shining. Then, at the same time, they turned normal and collapsed next to their mother.
Tulio's muscles screamed in pain. He felt shattered, unable to move. Even breathing was a chore. Was he shivering or having a seizure? Tulio couldn't be sure.
Everything went dark.
A/N: Ha. Managed to get that pretty sizable. Not long, but long enough to be considered a chapter.
Hmm...next POV...Calypso or Espie? Decisions, decisions...Or maybe Annabeth, considering she's the only character I've yet to do a POV on in this story...Wonder who it will be...
Til next time, guys!
And still not the big cliffy. I'm going to try and push out one more chapter, just so I can have the cliffy at number 40 :3 But, who knows...it could happen next chapter...you'll just have to find out! :D
