Warning. If you are in a good, happy mood expecting a fun, cheerful story. then adios amigos, because you are looking at the wrong chapter people!
Enjoy. :)
They were all sleeping, for once having peaceful non-demigod related dreams, which in all fairness should've been the first sign that something was wrong.
There was a scream outside.
Percy bolted up.
Attack.
He quickly scrambled out of bed, putting on his copper brooch, a gift from Tyson before he, well, you know….
He ran outside to assess the damage.
There were fires everywhere, three Clochis bulls were running amok. But that wasn't all there was. Standing behind them waltzed three ladies. Two of them had tusks and weren't that pretty, whilst one of them had snakes for hair and wore black shades.
The gorgons.
Strangely, the three didn't seem to be worried by the half-bloods, scurrying around in pursuit of Medea's SPF 5000 sunscreen.
They stood there, wearing black high heels and long black jeans with black waistcoats, their stomachs and arms showing. Percy was actually surprised at how slim they were. (Soz, had to dress them up badass-ly, couldn't resist).
Medusa spoke first, "We're here for Perseus Jackson," his name rolled off her perfectly glossed lips.
"Come out, come out, Percy," said Euryale, "Wherever you are."
"Yes dear, come out so we can give you some nice take you away," said the thickest of the Gorgons, Stheno.
"Shut up Sthe!" said Medusa, "You weren't supposed to tell them that!"
Percy strode forward, his arm on riptide, "Approach, seekers, and ask," he said, in a bad imitation of The Oracle of Delphi's old voice.
"Perseus," said Medusa, sickly sweetly, "How long it's been since our last… encounter."
She ran her hand up Percy's arm, sending involuntary shivers through him.
"Now, prepare to die!" she said.
Her sisters charged him, but they were stopped by black Stygian Iron piercing through them, disintegrating on spot.
Medusa growled, annoyed, as she turned to face the wielder of the sword.
Nico di Angelo.
"Let go of my boyfriend!" he said, pointing his sword at her neck, "And maybe I'll kill you gently."
Medusa laughed, "Oh no dear," she said, "see, it is I who make the deals around here. make one move at me," her claws sprung out, "and you'll need to find a new boyfriend…."
To prove her point, she dug a claw into Percy, unknowingly driving it in his ex-mortal spot. He howled in pain.
Nico's sword flew down, "What do you want?"
"Hmmm," Medusa looked around.
The camp was in Chaos, the others were all busy fighting off the main problem, or at least the distraction, and Nico was the only one there.
"I simply wish to chain you all up. Then make you watch as I rip out the boy's innards one by one, therefore exacting my revenge."
She grinned wickedly as her right hand plunged into Percy. Nico vaporized her, catching his unconscious, bleeding-heavier-by-the-minute boyfriend.
He shadow travelled them both to the hospital wing where the Apollo kids were already busy treating some campers, with help from some of the Athena kids.
Will saw them and immediately rushed over.
"How?" he asked, as he took Percy from Nico, laying him down on an empty bed.
"'Dusa" said Nico.
Will's eyes bugged out.
"Chill. I killed her. If you really think I'd let the monster that did that to Percy live…"
Will sighed, "At least I don't have to treat any statues. I don't think my medical training course quite covered that," his joke was a poor attempt at lightening the mood, as he frantically searched for for cotton and apiseptic, the Apollo version of an antiseptic, therefore five times as good.
He found some and removed Percy's shirt, Percy's brooch, which hadn't been used at all during the fight, disappeared back to the Poseidon cabin, where it went if Percy wasn't wearing the shirt it was on. Charmed by Hecate, naturally.
He turned Percy to his side.
Bridgit, from the Hermes cabin, helped him, since her father was the god of medicine.
She wiped at his back, over his ex-Achilles heel, noticed Nico, grateful, for once, that the curse had been washed away by the River Tiber.
The blood there was flowing more than in front due to what it had been only two months ago.
She sealed it with some nectar, though if she put more on she'd risk killing him, and wrapped the extremely thin layer of skin in a thick cloth, waiting for Will to finish his own side.
The thirteen year old smiled at her handiwork.
Will was having a harder time, though.
It seemed that Medusa had pierced some of Percy's organs with her talons-er, claws.
He popped open a bottle of 'repairo organo,' for once in his life not questioning why it was named that.
He didn't take any time to measure the perfect amount, he just dumped it all in, knowing that an overdose wouldn't do damage, but an under-dose would.
He wrapped the wound with seaweed, knowing that nectar would be dangerous after how much Bridgit had applied to Percy's back.
The cooling effect it had seemed to be healing Percy, well, at least Nico could feel his life force returning.
Others were brought into the room too, though luckily their injuries weren't nearly as bad.
Nico just sat there by Percy.
After the bulls were gone, Triton'd set out the fires with his water magic, and a little help from the naiads.
Three dryads had died, triplet saplings, only three years old.
No campers had died, though, which was good.
Annabeth staggered over to the two, clutching an ice pack to her leg, clearly trying to relieve her limp. She looked sore, beat up and bruised, but never did he see a person look so upset, future him not included, as when she laid eyes on Percy. And who could blame her, he looked dead.
"I-is he…" she trailed off, not wanting to say the dreaded word in fear that it might be true.
"No," said Nico, "he made it back. Alive."
"H-how did this happen?"
"The Gorgons. Don't worry, they're dead now."
She nodded, her messy hair flying behind her as she did.
Jason had probably escaped with the least wounds, just a few scrapes, none of them looking remotely nasty, due to the fact that he sent lightning after the attackers. And woke up late, but may that detail be forgotten history…
"Aren't you going to get that checked out?" asked Piper, who sported a sprained arm and bruised rib.
She was referring, of course, to the nasty-ish bump on the side of Nico's head, and the deep gash he had along his cheek.
"Huh?" he asked, startled.
She sighed, "never mind, here, take this."
She handed him a square of ambrosia. He ate it and all his wounds vanished.
Triton burst in to the infirmary.
"where is my baby br- PERCY!" he yelled, spotting the half-dead boy.
He ran to him.
"How did this happen?" he asked, holding his brother's limp head.
And so, Nico relayed the story of what happened with the gorgons to the group around Percy's bed.
Will interrupted their little moment.
"Ummm, I'm not quite sure why, but my father asked me to give Percy one of these," he held up a purple pill in the shape of, well, a pill, "so can one of you please help me give him this I'm-not-entirely-sure-what-it-does pill?
Nico nodded, getting up to help him.
He propped Percy up and held the glass of water whilst Will placed the pill in the demigod's mouth.
There was a faint glowing coming from said-child's hand, but it was muffled by something.
Curiously, Nico took Percy's hand and ran his thumb over it. he was shocked to find something that did not feel like skin on it.
He peeled back the tape-like substance, which had been made to match Percy's skin color, and what he saw nearly made him faint in horror.
An L-shaped mark. (A.N. I made it up because after scouring the internet since apparently this figure in mythology had no symbol!)
Annabeth breathed as she saw it, "the Symbol of Lupê."
"Wait," said Jason, "Lupê, as in daiemon Lupa?"
Annabeth sighed, "yes, your daimon Lupa. But how did it get there?"
Triton contemplated, "Did anything attack you in Tartarus, anything that could've caused this?"
Annabeth's eyes widened in fear, "Th-the arai might have…."
Triton cursed under his breath.
"How long will it last?" asked Nico, worried for his Percy.
"that's the question, isn't it? what if it's permanent?" said Annabeth, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What I don't get," said Piper, "is what the big deal is about some stupid symbol?
Nico sighed, "It's not just any symbol, Piper, it's the symbol of Lupê, one of the Algea, she presides over pain, grief and distress."
Piper's eyes widened, "so you're saying-"
"All those times Percy would clutch his head, get tired fast, complain about phantom pains, scream even when his nightmare weren't that bad. It was her. It was the curse."
Jason sighed, "We should probably head to sleep now, we've got five cabins to rebuild in the morning."
They all nodded and went to their cabins, all, that is, except Nico an Triton, who stayed by Percy's sighed that night, watching the mark like hawks, not wanting Percy to have to go through any pain caused by some curse he'd gotten from Tartarus….
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
yeah, well, I've been meaning to include the curse part since. Well, actually it was two months ago, way before I started this. But, anywho….
-httyd4eva
peace out
-sorry this is shorter than I promised, but I didn't really know how to continue it….