13. Paralyzed
The monster lunged at Tyson, so naturally, Percy didn't hesitate to step between his brother and the threat. The weird long-tongued monster didn't stand a chance. Riptide sliced through it before its teeth were anywhere near Percy — although the same couldn't be said for its gross tongue.
"Oh, disgusting," Percy complained, wiping gross monster slobber from his cheek. "You alright there big guy?"
Percy cleaned his hand on his jeans, calling over his shoulder as he twisted to face his brother. He barely completed the turn; his legs didn't quite want to cooperate. Riptide fell from his fingers and Percy didn't even have the time to feel alarmed before he was falling. He landed in a crumpled heap in the dirt, knees bent awkwardly, one arm spread out, the other trapped beneath his body. Percy blinked in shock, trying to push himself to his feet but his index finger only twitched . . . and nothing else.
What the hades? Percy thought, too shocked to register any other emotion.
"Yes, I'm—Percy?" Tyson's brow furrowed as he finished the last monster and stumbled back to answer his brother.
"Percy?" he repeated uncertainly, taking a hesitant step forward and almost stepping on Percy's arm.
"Percy!" Tyson cried in alarm, blinking down at the fallen demigod when he realized the weird squishy thing below his feet was actually his missing brother. "Brother, where are you hurt?"
Tyson dropped to his knees beside Percy, frantically patting the demigod over. He rolled Percy onto his back and Percy's limbs flopped around not unlike a ragdoll, heading bobbing uselessly and there wasn't a thing Percy could do to stop it.
"Percy?" Tyson worried after a thorough investigation of Percy's person revealed no pressing injuries.
"Percy?" Tyson repeated apprehensively, leaning over Percy's face, anxiety clear in his wide eye. Percy blinked up at him.
"Why won't you move, brother?" Tyson fretted, giving Percy a little shake.
Percy could only blink up at him, a vague feeling of panic bubbling in his chest. He remembered the gross slimy tongue of the monster and wondered if saliva could cause paralysis. It wouldn't surprise him; the real question was how long would it last? That was a frightening thought and something must have shown in his eyes because Tyson was shushing and patting Percy's head in what he clearly thought was a soothing manner but really wasn't.
"It's okay, it's okay," Tyson repeated near frantic, clearly thinking hard as he looked all around. "No Annabeth, no camp, no Daddy. Need to find water or, or Annabeth, or camp."
Camp, Percy wanted to say but of course, nothing came out because he literally couldn't move anything. Except for his eyes apparently which was decidedly useless. A fat wet droplet fell on Percy's face. For a horrible moment, he thought Tyson was crying. Then one fell on Tyson's head and the cyclops looked up in surprise. Another drop fell square on Percy's nose.
Then it began to pour.
Great just great, Percy thought, near hysterical. Of course, it would start to rain. Rain splashed against his face, getting into his open mouth. Percy's heart leapt in his chest, his breathing constricting as he instantly tried to turn away and found his body still couldn't respond. Oh gods, Percy thought, panic truly settling into his heart. Oh gods, he was utterly hopeless, totally vulnerable, he was going to drown in the rain because the Fates were nothing if not ironic, this was it, this was—
The rain suddenly stopped hitting his face. Percy blinked up his brother, who hunched protectively over the demigod, large callused hands fisted in Percy's shirt.
"I got you," Tyson sniffled, looking frightened and miserable but it was with great care that he reached out to gently close Percy's open mouth.
Percy's heart calmed a little. Tyson was there. Tyson wouldn't let anything happen to him.
"Camp, water, Annabeth," Tyson repeated to himself, looking frightened but determined. "Don't worry brother, we'll fix this. It will be okay."
Tyson turned his head towards the clouds, then blinked his great eye down at Percy.
"Okay, I have to move you," Tyson warned. "We need to find help and get out the rain so I have to pick you up, okay?"
That sounded humiliating, Percy thought but his body remained utterly unresponsive. He could only stare at his brother, heart pounding in his chest. The need to move, to do something, to force his body to obey dammit, thrummed through Percy's veins and he couldn't quell the panicked sick feeling that had settled inside him. It was the worst feeling in the world to have no control of his body as Tyson leaned down and carefully picked his brother up. Tyson was infinitely gentle, crossing Percy's hands over his chest and lifting the demigod off the ground. Percy's head bobbed for only a moment before Tyson carefully repositioned so Percy was cradled against him like an infant.
Horrifying, utterly horrifying Percy thought as Tyson began to jog down the muddied path. Percy wasn't entirely sure where they were heading and it wasn't like he could open his cursed mouth and ask.
Rain pelted against his face, legs swinging back and forth, and there was absolutely nothing Percy could do. Tyson winced every time he stumbled, Percy's head bumping against his collarbone or worse, lobbing uncomfortably forward for a moment before Tyson could righten him again.
"Sorry, sorry," Tyson would mutter but all Percy could do was stare at his rain-drenched shirt.
Percy only got a vague glimpse of the world as Tyson jogged, snatches of blurry colors that didn't lend him enough information to glean where they were heading. It had been nearly dusk when the monsters attacked—it would be dark soon. In the privacy of his mind (not that he could vocalize the thoughts even if he wanted to) Percy had to admit the entire experience was utterly terrifying. Right up there with falling into Tartarus except maybe almost worse because at least in Tartarus he had some semblance of control over the situation (he also had Annabeth, which made any situation bearable).
The rain suddenly stopped hitting his face. Percy blinked, mostly because that was all he was capable of. Tyson slowed, ducking low underneath something and thwack. Percy couldn't even flinch, his body horrifyingly pliant as a branch whipped across his cheek.
"Sorry, sorry," Tyson fretted, patting Percy's cheek anxiously.
They were in a forest, Percy realized. Tyson had ducked into a forest. Whether it was to shelter them against the rain or because they undoubtedly looked odd, Percy boneless and being carried by the cyclops, Percy wasn't sure but he figured it was for the best either way. The sun had begun to set. Soon, Percy knew, he wouldn't be able to see anything at all.
Tyson kept moving on. He tried to protect Percy from the debris of the forest the best he could, but between maneuvering his own bulky body around, keeping Percy's head steady, and trying to stop invasive branches, well, he was having a hard time of it.
Percy mentally flinched when Tyson hit something, causing the cyclops to stumble forward and almost drop his brother.
"I've got you, I've got you," Tyson gasped, tightening his grasp on Percy as he valiantly hung onto his brother through the near fall.
He sounded exhausted and frightened, Percy thought with a pang of guilt, wishing he could say something to assay the sniffling that had begun above him.
"I'm sorry, brother, I'm sorry," Tyson repeated miserably, still sniffling as he shifted, coming slowly to his knees than sitting back on his feet on the cold, wet forest floor. "I'm tired and I cannot carry you any further tonight."
He sniffled miserably some more, careful not to drip any snot on Percy as he shivered in the damp night. Percy decided that hearing Tyson cry and sound so afraid was actually worse than not being able to move. He wanted to assure Tyson that it was okay, he was doing his best, Percy knew he had his back, but all he could do was blink repeatedly into his brother's shoulder.
Tyson shrugged his knapsack off his back, laying it on the ground. After a brief and awkward struggle, he managed to pull his jacket off without letting go of Percy, laying that down on the soggy forest floor. Then he gently, ever so gently, positioned Percy on the makeshift bed, carefully ensuring that Percy's head was properly cushioned and as much of his upper body on the coat as possible. As his brother fritted and fussed, Percy's heart swelled with affection for his poor, goofy, sweet, gentle giant of a brother.
He tried to convey this thought through rapid eye movements, but he must have looked like he was having a seizure or something because instead of being comforting or conveying some weird morris code-esque message of brotherly love, it made Tyson squeak and renew his worrying. Percy wanted to scream as the fussing began again but of course his head simply bobbed to the side with doll-like complacency as Tyson fretted anxiously over him.
"The ocean is close," Tyson promised. "I can get us there tomorrow, I promise, I promise. And, and I promise I won't let any monster get close. I'll be good, I'll watch out."
He gave a great sniffle, his giant hands smoothing and resmoothing out the wrinkles in Percy's shirt. Percy hated how sad and pathetic he looked, tears welled up in his great eye and periodically sniffling in misery. Like seriously, it was one thing for a monster to attack them, that was like normal, but this was unreasonably cruel. What kind of horrible monster made Tyson cry? Percy hoped wherever in the underworld it was right now, it was utterly miserable. He was fairly certain he could ask Hazel or Nico and the message would be gladly passed along to Hades because who didn't love Tyson?
Granted Percy would have to regain movement again to be able to pass along the message, but the potential permanence of his situation was a possibility he wasn't remotely willing to consider. So instead he focused on Tyson. The cyclops had calmed a little. He curled around his brother, slowly sliding down from a seated position to something half slumped over . . . to, eventually, laying on his side, head resting on the backpack next to Percy, one hand clutched in his brother's shirt.
Percy wanted to reach out and soothe him, to push wet hair out of his face like Sally did when he was little and make reassuring noises . . . .
Percy didn't remember dozing off. But he started awake with a racing heart, panic lodged in his throat as his consciousness went from zero to one hundred in half a second, violently reminding him danger, cannot protect self, why are you sleeping?!
Tyson muttered sleepily next to him, face buried in Percy's hair and hand still tightly clinging to his shirt. He looked like an extremely oversized, one-eyed toddler. Or like a normal cyclops toddler maybe. Whatever. He looked adorable except for the obvious redness around his eyes that reminded Percy that, yes, he had been crying last night.
"Ty—" The sound rasped from Percy's lips and he wasn't sure who was more surprised, himself or Tyson.
The sound roused his brother immediately, who shot up so fast nearby birds squawked in displeasure, taking to the skies.
"Danger? Danger?" Tyson asked, eye wild as his head whipped around, scanning for the trouble.
"'S'k, 's'k," Percy tried to placate and he moved.
Okay, not like a whole lot but, still he moved and the pathetic little flop of his hand tugging weakly at Tyson's shirt made his heart soar, thank the gods.
Tyson's eye snapped to Percy.
"Brother?" His eye burned bright with hope as he leaned over Percy.
"H-hey," Percy croaked, struggling valiantly to make his muscles obey.
"Brother!" Tyson cried and threw himself at Percy, snatching the demigod up into a bone-crushing hug.
"A-ah." Percy's mouth made noises that were half in pain, half meant to be reassuring like yes I am alive and moving.
Tyson pulled back to anxiously scan Percy, his momentary joy morphing back into fretful anxiety as he began to fuss once more.
"Ocean not far, I can still carry you, what hurts, what can you move, did I hurt you—?"
"Shh," Percy reassured hoarsely. He forced his sluggish face to cooperate, managing to pull up half a smile. "Th-th-thank 'ou."
Tyson's eye shone with tears. "Glad you're safe, brother."
"'Ou keep 'e saf'."
"We keep each other safe," Tyson corrected solemnly, then tried to break Percy's shine again.
A/n I don't know if I can justifiably call this a ficlet anymore but it happened and Tyson is adorable so. Also, yes, if you caught the reference, I did totally steal the idea of the monster. I should be able to post regularly again now. Thank you all for your patience!
Up next: Hypothermia