I do not own Percy Jackson nor Heroes of Olympus, they belong to Rick Riordan.
Chapter Thirty-Six - Alyx
It was his crowning day.
Alyx sat heavily in her cell, sore and exhausted.
Akira had made her fight all day for the past two days, increasing the challenges and how many matches she had to win before she could rest. Thankfully, Rei was on top of everything. Making sure she was well hydrated, fed and rested before her matches. After all, if she did get overly exhausted or dehydrated, she could have possibly died more than once. Throughout all of the matches, her spot (even she didn't even know where it was) wasn't revealed.
Leaving her in her cell, she was bored. She tapped her foot, remembering some songs from the sing along, humming softly and thinking of how well Nico sung.
The guards had left their post, probably to guard the ceremony. Rei hadn't come yet. She hadn't received any updates on her friends or on Bianca. Since the stupid stone cancelled out her powers, she couldn't contact Liam or Carlos. Not that they could respond though.
The door opened.
She looked up to see Rei hurrying in, in a fine suit. He uncuffed her quickly.
"You must make haste." And left, leaving the door open. She stood, looking out before running to the throne room.
She managed to navigate herself down hallways and corridors, hearing the sound of music getting closer. She passed a weapon room and halted, peaking in and spotting Liam's bow, Carlos's ring and gauntlet, Harper's dagger and Isaac's sword. A single guard was in there, so she snuck up and knocked him out, grabbing the cube and running to the room. She stopped and peaked in.
Akira was bowing, a man in Greek robes and golden wreath lowering the crown onto his head. The bow transformed in her hand, the quiver appearing on her shoulder. She pulled out a normal arrow and aimed.
"I now pronounce-" She fired, the tip going straight through a loop, knocking it out of the man's hands and slamming into the wall, the crown hanging off. The audience gasped and looked at her, their eyes wide.
"You!" Akira yelled.
"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" She stepped in, glaring coldly. The people in the crowd were dressed in robes, either human or some sort of hybrid. They stood and slowly started to back out. A cage with her friends was by next to her. Carlos stood from his pillow, dressed in similar clothing from the first day, except had more jewelry and the cloths were now a bright blue that really complimented his eyes.
"Who let you out? That stone is impenetrable!" He narrowed his eyes, looking over at Rei, grabbing his shirt and pulling out his sword, pressing the tip to his neck.
"I knew it was you." He snarled. Rei's eyes widened and he gulped, trembling.
"I-I do not know-"
"Don't pay dumb! I knew there was some type of magic going on, but I just assumed it was Milady's! How long have you been working with her?" She spotted guards running at her with weapons, so she pulled out a foam and shot it, foam exploding and gluing them to the ground.
"Hey!" She yelled. He turned his head, growling.
"It's me you want, right? So leave him alone and fight me." Carlos shook his head rapidly.
"H-He'll kill you!" He managed out, before Akira glanced at him coldly and his knees buckled, falling down and crying out in pain.
"I didn't want to do that, but you gave me no other choice." He turned his attention back to Rei. "Now, what should I do with you?" He dug the point in, slight blood trickling out. She pulled out a second arrow and fired, hitting his hand and knocking his sword out of his hand. He cried out in pain and let go, backing down the stairs. By now, the audience had left. It was just him and her and the others. Even the man who was going to crown left, yet the crown still hung on the arrow.
"Alyx, that's my bow."
"Go to hell."
"We are in hell."
"You dare to interrupt me." He said quietly. "You kill all of my gladiators and take my crown from me. What's next, kill me again?" She lowered the bow, which turned back into a cube. She slipped it into her pocket and pulled out Riptide.
"You have a sword." She said, gesturing to it. "Use it. Let's fight. If I win, you go into hiding or whatever until you have a plan to defeat me. If you win, I'll let you kill me."
"Alyx!" Hank protested. "That's madman talk! Don't do it!"
She didn't listen.
She watched him pick up his sword, coming down the stairs. It was the same sword as last time. The same hideous, black sword.
"You know, that sword is really ugly. You should get a new one." He snarled, approaching before lunging. She lifted Riptide and blocked his blow, shoving him back. He grounded himself then launched again.
He kept doing this until he started to become sluggish in his movements, so she took action.
"Sure, you might be better than me in politics and all that," she said, getting ready to launch herself. "But I'm better in way more things." She lunged, slicing upward and slashing his ropes apart, the cloth around his shoulder ripping and falling to the ground, the ornament on it shattering. Blood rapidly stained his pristine white robes.
"You spawn…" He growled. He gripped his sword. "You do realize that stone diminishes the curse, yes?" She yawned.
"Yeah, found that out." She said tiredly. "Let's get this over with. I want to go home and take a shower." She sniffed herself and wrinkled her nose. "I don't have deodorant." She heard Rei snort and cover his mouth to prevent a laugh and heard the others laugh slightly.
"That's my niece for you." She heard Bianca sigh softly. Relief flowed through her; Bianca was okay. She took a breath and stared at Akira, lifting her sword, putting her arm behind her back the way Nyx taught her.
The horror on Akira's face gave her a rather pleasant feeling.
"You've mastered it?" He asked. She smiled.
"Yes."
"I-Impossible! How!?"
"Some help." She lunged and struck his side, before slicing upward and making a big X on his chest.
"What sort of style of swordplay is that?" She heard Harper ask.
"An Ancient style of royal swordplay. Usually used within either noble or royal families. It was banned before Achilles was born though." Fiona explained. "I'm just wondering how she learned it." She managed to strike little wounds as well, on his arms, legs and chest.
"You are leaving yourself wide open, Lord Akira." She mocked. "Aren't you being taught better?" He did not like being taunted. His eyes flickered, just like Jax's. He stood still for a moment. Then he took a breath and struck, knocking her sword out of her hand with speed matched by her. But it came without warning and startled her, making her back up.
"What's wrong, Alyx? Weren't you taught better?" She clenched her fist and lunged, knocking him down, raising her fist to punch him, but she forgot he still had his sword in his hand. He brought it down, hitting somewhere on her naval, making her gasp. He kicked her off, making her fly into the wall, and she was pretty sure she felt one of her ribs crack. She fell, coughing hard, blood splattering onto the floor.
"What's the matter, dear?" He asked. She looked up, blood running down her lip. He stood in front of her, smirking like he'd just won.
"I love that the mighty hero that seems so courageous and brave is kneeling before me." She wiped her lip, sitting back on her bottom, laying her arm over her knee.
"Okay, okay. I surrender."
"Huh?"
"HUH?!" She shrugged.
"Seriously. Go ahead and prod everywhere. Try to find my spot and kill me." He turned red with rage, stomping his foot.
"What in the name of Tartarus are you talking about? Have you gone mad?" She shrugged.
"We're all a little mad, right?" He looked at the guards, then at her friends, extremely confused.
"Uh…"
"Ha, sike!" A ball of light formed in her hands and she through it at him, making him slam into the wall. His sword was knocked away, falling near Carlos. She approached slowly.
"You put up a good fight today." She said. "But now you go into hiding until you have a plan." He growled, black lightning sparking on his fingertips. He stood, launching a ball at her, making her quickly cast a shield spell. Lightning danced around it like hungry turkey vultures, before it diminished.
"Eh? That was supposed to break it!" He pouted. "How?"
"My shield spell is more powerful than yours." Horror spread across his face.
"N-No…" He covered his face, before lunging and knocking her down. She kneed him in the stomach, flipping them and punching him in the face hard. His nose twisted but he slammed his heel into her back, again hitting near her naval, but closer. She yelled and fell off, gripping it and panting.
"Oh? Is that your Achilles heel?" He smirked, pulling out her dagger from her holster, slamming his foot into her back and making her lay down. She panted and froze when he pressed the point to the spot.
"Heh, look at you now." He slid his fingers down her curve. "I have to say, you and your friend are very good looking." She growled.
"If you defiled his body in any sort of way, I will murder you."
"Oh, trust me. I would have taken his innocence but someone kept interrupting me." He scowled, pressing harder, making her claw the floor.
"You pervert…" She managed out as he poked her butt. He simply shrugged.
"Your father would be disappointed."
"Get away from Highness!" Rei tackled Akira, making him yelp, her dagger falling away. She managed to lift herself up, watching as they rolled and punched each other.
"Rei! Don't!" She yelled. Akira pinned him down, raising his fist to bring down. She pulled out a throwing knife and launched it. It slammed into Akira's fist, making him wail, falling off and pulling it out. Smoke poured out. She stepped in front of Rei, gripping her dagger tightly.
"Leave." He snarled, then vanished in a puff of black smoke. She fell to her knees, panting hard, exhausted. Rei gently helped her up, smiling softly. He walked her to Carlos, who hugged her tightly, burying his face into her neck.
"You're okay…" She whispered. Rei pulled out keys and unchained him, the bonds breaking away. Rei then walked over to the cage, unlocking it and unlocking their chains. They all dog piled her, laughing and crying. Harper stood by, smiling softly.
"Come on." Alyx said, smiling. "You're a part of our family now." Harper blushed and ran into Carlos's hug.
"Let's go home, shall we?"
To Be Continued...
To clarify, he was hitting around her spot, not on it. Direct hits would have killed her.