Hi again! Here's Chapter 2-Arachne.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympains/Heroes of Olympus
Percy's POV
Percy screamed as he was dumped off the cliff. He, unlike Annabeth, was lucky enough to remember to tuck into a roll for his landing. It was still rough, but he remained mainly uninjured and didn't get knocked out. Finishing his roll, he ended in a stance on one knee, his grimy black hair falling in his eyes.
Finally he stood, brushing off his jeans, as if that'd do anything to remove the cuts in the fabrics and stains of dirt and dried blood. Percy was incredibly angry with himself. He'd screwed up. Big time.
How could he possibly have let Annabeth go? He'd promised to never part from her, to never let her leave again. And now, because he was too much of a wimp to suffer through a possibly broken arm, he'd lost her. Some boyfriend I am, Percy thought with a sigh. Annabeth could be hurt right now. Or…Percy gulped. Or dead.
No. She was NOT dead. Percy knew his best friend in the entire world was tougher than that. He would find her, and not only because she needed him. He needed her.
Holding her hand on the way down to this wretched place was his only connection to hope, to life. If he lost her for good, he'd go crazy down here. He already felt his sanity slipping away, worry gnawing at his mind and clouding his thoughts with doubt and hopelessness. Tartarus was beginning to affect him, and he'd only been down there for a minute.
It was strangely ironic; this was the second time in Percy's life in which Annabeth had acted as his 'lifeline.' She'd also, in a way, saved him when he took a dip in the River Styx, down in the Underworld. Or, should he say, up in the Underworld. He was fairly sure that Tartarus was even farther down in the Earth than Hades' realm.
Great, Percy thought bitterly. We're even more surrounded by Gaea's power than ever. Shaking his head, he decided to bring himself out of his self-pity and find Annabeth. How could he have let himself get so distracted at a time like this? Annabeth was in danger, and he had to save her.
Looking around, Percy took in his surroundings. It was still too dark to see much (What was with this place? Was there a lack of an evil electrician to put in some lighting or something?), and the only way Percy could see anything at all was with the help of the few torches placed at 10-yard intervals, branching off both to his left and right. They were mounted on small stone pillars, each holding a bowl of dim flame, threatening to blow out at any second. Below Percy's feet, small animal bones littered the brown and grey cobblestone flooring, which began at the base of the cliff and extended out past the visible areas of Tartarus.
Percy heard no sound, which could be considered good news and bad news. Good news: no immediate monsters. Bad news: he couldn't hear Annabeth. Percy's heart skipped a beat at the thought of the daughter of Athena.
Was she in trouble? What if her voice was so raw from screaming on the way down that she couldn't call for help? What if a monster had already eaten her? What if Arachne had killed her, or wrapped her in webbing, or whatever spider-women do. What if-
No, this had to stop. No more "What if's." He had to find her.
Percy reached into his right pocket and pulled out a certain ball-point pen, clicked it once, and soon held the celestrial bronze sword titled Anaklusmos. It's soft glow was a comforting sight to Percy, slightly easing his anxiety. Now, which way had Annabeth fallen? He remembered her sliding away- he shuddered at the thought- to his left, so he turned and sprinted off in that direction.
Almost immediately, Percy let a cry of pain. His left arm, which he'd been swinging as he ran, let loose a burst of pain with every movement. It felt as if it were on fire and being stabbed at the same time- not a very fun feeling. It had been the arm that had skidded up against the wall of the pit and smashed underneath Percy's and Annabeth's bodyweight. Twisting it around as he slowed his running speed, he saw that it was cut up and bruised, and most likely the bone was fractured.
Percy refused to let this slow him down; fighting the pain, he pulled his arm up to his side and across his chest, in such a position that a sling would hold it, and poured back on the speed. Annabeth couldn't be too far ahead, could she?
At last, Percy saw a crumpled figure lying on the old, rustic stones on the horizon. Before he could stop himself, Percy called out, "ANNABETH!"
It had been a dumb move to do something like that, Percy realized afterwards. He'd probably alerted every monster within a mile-radius that fresh meat was available, but Percy didn't care. His best friend, as well as girlfriend, was hurt, and she needed help.
Percy did a baseball-slide as he reached her, sliding right up next to her unconscious body. Setting his bronze sword down, Percy used his uninjured hand to roll her onto her back. She flinched in her sleep but didn't wake up.
"Oh my gods, Annabeth, don't die on me," Percy muttured, his green eyes wide in fear. He brushed a strand of her curled blonde hair off her face, which looked fairly peaceful, considering their situation.
"C'mon, Annabeth," he pleaded. "Wake up." Percy had no ambrosia, no nectar to aid her in her recovery. He scolded himself for not remembering to have some with him at all times; who knew when a dilemma like this would arise and he'd desperately need it?
Percy used two fingers and layed them on her upper neck, checking for a pulse. After a few heart-wrenching seconds, he felt a heartbeat. A weak one, but a heartbeat nonetheless.
"Oh, thank the gods," Percy sighed. She'd live. He used his free arm and wrapped it under her armpit, dragging her over to the cliff. Percy sat her upright against it, and then sat down next to her.
His eyes drifted tiredly over her body, searching for any injuries he could tend to. He saw nothing but scrapes and little cuts, but nothing serious. Then he saw her ankle.
What kind of splint is that, he thought as he saw her makeshift contraption of wood and bubble wrap. Studying first how she had put it on so that he could fix it later, the demigod cautiously removed her "cast." Her ankle was purple and swollen, not to mention her foot was bent at an odd angle. Percy swallowed down his disgust; it was not a pretty sight. That's when he saw it. A thin thread was connected to Annabeth's ankle, slithering across the floor in loops and twirls away into the darkness. If he stared at it too long, he'd lose sight of it, but every once in awhile it'd catch the light of the nearest torch and shimmer, reappearing to his eyes.
A spider web strand, Percy mused interestedly. Wait a second. A spider web strand? Arachne! Percy fumbled forward and reached for his sword, swinging it high above his head and arching it down with way more force than necessary onto the strand that had been the cause of their fall, cutting it easily. With a sharp clang, the sword rang against the stones, vibrating in Percy's hand. A deeper silence than before filled the air, creating a tension so thick it'd recquire Percy's sword rather than a knife to be cut.
A hiss echoed from the darkness, and Percy launched to his feet, Riptide in hand and left arm cradled.
"Percy Jackson," the hissing monster said with a chuckle. "The most feared demigod of this century." Slowly, creeping from the shadows came a hairy black leg covered in spikes, followed by another, then another. A body slid out of the shadowy depths, resembling a spider's abdomen with the torso and head of a woman. Her narrowed eyes glared menacingly at Percy, and her stringy brown hair was matted and covered in cobwebs.
"I have only known you as described by my children, or else that tapestry would never have been created, and it is an honor to meet you at last," she growled sarcastically.
"Arachne," Percy spat, glaring at the monster. On instinct he stepped in front of Annabeth, ready to fight and protect her, even if it cost him his life.
"Normally, Gaea would've liked for me to capture you alive; sacrifices can't be made with dead demigods. However, she'll just have to choose one of the others. This chance is one I can't resist." With a shriek, the spider lunged forward, reaching out for Percy. Quickly, he slashed at her hand with his sword, slicing it open and drawing blood. Looking at this creature, he felt ready to puke. Spiders were absolutely disgusting, especially blown up to a hundred times their size. He couldn't possibly imagine the fear Annabeth must've felt at meeting this…this thing.
Recoiling back, Arachne hissed. She jumped forward for a second attempt, but Percy just jabbed his sword at her and caused her to retreat yet again.
"Like being on defense, eh, Son of Poseidon?" Then Arachne noticed the girl sitting behind Percy, eyes shut and propped up against a dirt wall.
"Well if it isn't Annabeth, the trickster of Olympus and overall brat."
"She's not a brat!" Percy shouted, already angry with this woman. "She's one of the best people I know!" With a yell as his battle cry, Percy charged forward, ready to do whatever it took to keep Arachne away from Annabeth. He bravely swung at Arachne's legs, making contact and giving her a nasty cut. With a howl of frustration, she brought back one of her seven other legs and kicked Percy away.
Percy screamed and slid across the stones. He'd tried to use his left hand to break his fall, shooting another blast of fire through his arm.
"Di immortales," Percy groaned, rolling his eyes. He shakily stood up and stormed over to Arachne. Unfortunatly, there was no nearby water, and even the air held little moisture, giving Percy only his swordsmanship to use to keep him alive in this battle.
Arachne, on the other hand, had multiple advantages. She was taller than Percy, and therefore she could see far and wide, leaving him no place to hide. On multiple occasions, she shot web at the boy, grabbing onto his leg and tripping him or latching onto his shirt to pull him back. Each time she did though, Percy quickly whipped around and sliced the strand in two.
Percy was quickly growing tired. He'd just fought a giant up in Rome before falling and crash-landing into Tartarus. Admittedly, he was not at his full strength, and therefore not at his best game.
"I thought," pondered Arachne, stomping on the spot where Percy had stood moments before, "that the famous half-blood-." She stomped again, Percy narrowly avoiding her spiky legs. "-son of Poseidon and slayer of monsters-" Yet another stomp, this one grazing Percy's already scrapped up back, causing him to grimace. "-would put up more of a FIGHT!"
Arachne flung a web strand at his sword hand, yanking him towards her. The force of it and surprise made Percy drop Riptide, much to his dismay and worry.
She kicked him to the ground and planted two feet on his chest and two by his sides, making it impossible for him to squirm away and free himself.
Arachne laughed, bending down so that her nasty breath could be felt on his face. "Once I finish with you, I'll eat your little girlfriend next."
"No!" Percy screamed, despretely wiggling around and kicking his feet, trying everything and anything to get away.
"You can't stop me!" she grinned evilly. Percy stared into her nasty, black, beady eyes, portraying an amazing amount of hatred in just a glare, and spit on her face.
"Ah!" Arachne exclaimed, using her fifth leg to wipe the saliva off her already hideous face. "Why, you little-"
Suddenly, Arachne let out a ear-piercing shriek, launching up off of Percy's body and stumbling around before she dropped to the ground, shaking and flailing helplessly.
"What? How!" she wailed as she began to transform into dust. "Not by her hand! Not by that girl!"
Percy was immensely confused, and moments before she disappeared for good, Percy saw a familiar dagger jutting out of her abdomen. Her dusty remains blew away in an invisible wind, leaving the dagger to clatter onto the stones.
"By her hand?" Percy mumbled, turning to look behind him. There stood Annabeth, now fully awake, glaring at the spot where Arachne had stood. She was standing in a position with her arm outstretched in front of her, as if she had just thrown something.
"Perfect timing," Percy said with a smirk.
"Honestly, what would you do without me?"
There you go! Annabeth's alright (Yay!) and Arachne had been defeated. Or has she? Get ready for Chapter 3 of Each Other's Lifelines.
I'd like to thank Troyellalovefan for the Favorite and HaloHead77 for the Follow! I truly appreciate it, and it feels amazing to know that people have read and like your story :) .
All favorites, follows, and reviews are appreciated and encouraged!
See you all soon for Chapter 3!
-8DemigodRunner8