AN: I'm back! guess who had to split this chapter in half...again...hehe. I'll leave the lengthier AN at the end, just enjoy the story for now
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights go to Rick Riordan
Percy scowled as he ducked to the side and backed away as the club smashed the spot where he was a second ago.
"I just told you he's not my father! You can keep him if you like him so much!" Percy snarled out as he continued to evade the swings the cyclops made in his direction. He knew that just ducking and dodging wouldn't work forever, he would have to go on the offensive at some point. Fortunately, he was small and nimble enough to avoid the wild swings that the monster made.
Wielding the massive weapon didn't seem to be wearing it down at all, and despite all of his training, his energy reserves were still quite small, and Percy needed to change his strategy if he didn't want to be pulverised. Again, he reached his senses out in hopes of finding something to help him. There was no water nearby, all of the pipes and plumbing surrounding them had been dried up years ago. The only liquid he could feel around him was the monster currently trying to kill him, the oil in the machines currently trying to kill his friends, and his friends.
He needed a plan of action, and quick, unless he wanted to find out what having his bones crushed whilst simultaneously being stabbed everywhere felt like, and if he were being honest, it wasn't too high on his list of to-dos.
"Stop running around and take it like a true son of Poseidon!" the cyclops bellowed as it once again missed the six year old.
"Oh my gods, how many times do I have to tell you? He's not my father!" Percy screamed, enraged. Using his fury as fuel, he tugged as hard as he could on the blood he could feel pumping through the monster in front of him, feeling smug victory as the cyclops suddenly veered to the side. It smashed into the wall headfirst, hard enough to momentarily daze it, stumbling before losing its footing and falling to its knees, shaking its head doggedly as if to clear it.
"Wha- AAARRGHHH," Before it even had time to finish the word, the tip of a sword jutted through its left shoulder, and Percy's eyes widened before he looked up and met the grinning blue eyes of Luke. The older boy winked before withdrawing the sword and focusing back on his own opponents.
Percy took the time to glance at how he and Thalia were doing and it seemed the duo had it under control; they had pretty much decimated the automatons, and were just finishing off the last dregs of the tin can army. His attention was drawn back to the cyclops currently kneeling and clutching at its shoulder. The club had fallen out of its hands when it had lost its balance from being suddenly pulled in a different direction, and Percy narrowed his eyes as the cyclops seemed to recover from the shock, moving, albeit slowly, to retrieve the weapon.
"Oh no you don't," he growled before dashing forward, and in one big overhead strike, swung his sword down on the outstretched arm. He continued to glare as the cyclops bellowed in pain, clutching at the dripping stump where its forearm used to be, blood beginning to pool beneath. Percy glanced at the growing puddle, watching as the liquid continued to pour out. He walked towards the club, kicking it out of range of the cyclops, all the while keeping his eyes on the creature should it try anything funny. Once he was satisfied that the club would be out of reach even if the monster were to make a lunge for it, he fully turned back towards the groaning figure, still hunched over on the ground.
"I told you to shut up, and you wouldn't listen. He's not my dad," Percy glowered down at him, "Honestly, why can't you just get that through your stupid head. He's never been my father and he never will!" The young demigod raised his sword to strike the final blow.
"Perseus, that wasn't very nice," the cyclops suddenly glared up at him, its one eye filled with hatred and fury. Percy stumbled back, he hadn't heard that voice in so long. He knew it was a trick, had heard her voice coming from these one-eyed creatures too many times to count, and yet, each time, he couldn't help it. He just missed her so much, he just wanted to hear her say how much she loved him, just one more time. Just one.
"You're not my mom! Stop using her voice!" He yelled at the cyclops, who had seemingly forgotten about its injuries. Its eye was trained on the child before him, clearly revelling in the anguish on Percy's face.
"But my dear, I was just telling you the truth! Your father hated you, and wanted nothing to do with you. You're the reason he left us all alone. You're the reason I had to go through all that. You're the reason I di-" and before the monster could finish the final sentence, its head was already rolling forward, completely detached, slowly disintegrating into yellow dust along with the body, leaving a sulfuric stench in the air. Thalia stomped through the small pile of sand with a snarl on her face, grinding her foot as she went, before kneeling in front of Percy.
"You okay Perce?" He ducked his head, hiding under the messy bangs, not saying anything as his grip on his sword tightened. Her hands were steady on his shoulders as she tried to catch his eyes, before she raised a hand to palm his face, gently thumbing at his cheek. "C'mon Perce, talk to me," she tried, voice soft and tone gentle in a way that was rare to ever hear coming from her. She tilted her head forward, closer to his mouth as he mumbled something, too quiet for her to catch. "What was that?" she asked again, this time lifting the other hand off his shoulder and moving it to rub comfortingly at his back.
"I said I hate him! I wish he was dead! How come my mom's dead and he's just off doing whatever? I hate him! I wish I was never born!" Percy suddenly screamed, the abrupt outburst taking Thalia by surprise as she instinctively jerked her head back and away from the source of the screams.
"How come?" The new voice didn't so much startle her as it did remind her that Luke was finally done with the remaining automatons. Percy didn't say anything, just sniffled and shook his head angrily, stubborn in the way all righteously angry children can be.
"Alright Percy-boo, we don't have to talk about it now, but we will later. Let's get out of here first, yeah?" Thalia rose, moving her hand from Percy's back to resting on his shoulders again, keeping a firm enough grip for him to know she was still there.
Luke handed her her canister of mace that she had apparently dropped in her haste to get to essentially, her younger brother in all but blood. She shot him a grateful look, mouthing thanks and he shrugged it off, his natural troublemaker smile sliding easily onto his features as he gathered up his sword.
As she slowly led the way back to where they had originally set up camp, she felt a tug on her sleeve before a smaller hand slipped into hers. Smiling softly, she gave a small squeeze before continuing through the dark warehouse.
This time, they were much less wary of their surroundings as they quickly made their way back, the moonlight still coming in weakly through the top windows lining the building.
She hissed lowly as the adrenaline started to wear off and she became aware of certain areas that were throbbing. Looking down, she could make out several cuts where the automatons had gotten in a few hits when she had been focusing on a different machine. A glance behind her told her that Luke was no different, sporting his own assortment of minor injuries. They'd have to patch up when they got back to their camp, although calling it that was generous. Crash site might be more fitting. As they climbed back up the stairs, Thalia could now see just how rust-ridden the metal was and made a mental note to not touch the rails any more than necessary. Death via tetanus would just be anticlimactic and embarrassing after everything they had survived.
When they had finally gotten back to their things, still strewn about from when they had been hastily awakened, Percy made to start packing his things up, still not saying a word.
"Hey Perce, it's fine, we'll stay here for the rest of tonight. It won't be too long anyways, we might as well get some shuteye before we move out," Luke ruffled his hair as he walked past the child to his own sleeping bag. Percy paused in his movements, his gaze landing on Thalia, who had resumed her previous lookout position, and at her affirming nod and "Go ahead," he crawled back into his sleeping bag, adrenaline already wearing off and making way for the fatigue and exhaustion from a combination of lack of sleep and post-fight. As he drifted off into the realm of Hypnos, he barely heard the whispers, much less made out what they said.
"Alright, kid's asleep, we need to talk," Luke sat back up from his previously prone position, sleeping bag draped around his shoulders and hair already dishevelled. "We're all pretty used to the whole, we hate our godly parents, they suck and they're deadbeats who don't give a crap about us. But why on earth would he wish he was never born?" Luke continued, voice hushed as he tried to still project over to where Thalia was.
"Okay, first of all, come over here, you're gonna wake him up with all your screaming. Second of all, bring the first aid kit with you. You're gonna bleed all over your bag, and I am not washing it out for you," Thalia rolled her eyes, but moved so that there would be space for Luke next to her. She watched as he gingerly got up, still in his sleeping bag, and awkwardly shuffle-walked over to her, wincing when he was near Percy. They both froze when the sleeping boy mumbled something, but he quickly flipped onto his side and continued snoring. Thalia glared at Luke to be quiet and hurry up, but he caught the fondness in her eyes even as she tried to kill him with her gaze. He paused when he passed where they had dogpiled their bags and rummaged through them, giving a triumphant little ahah when he found the white pack filled with their medical supplies, both mortal and godly.
When he had finally made his way over, he set down the medical pack and unzipped his sleeping bag so that it'd just be a big blanket and draped it over the both of them, before settling down next to her.
"Anyways, as I was saying, everything else he said makes sense, but I don't get why he would say he wished he was never born," Luke whispered, this time actually managing to keep the volume down without any worry of disturbing their youngest companion. As he began talking, he picked the pack up and began going through it before bringing out a little baggy of ambrosia and holding it out to her. Thalia hummed as she considered her words, wordlessly shaking her head.
"No, those should be for big emergencies and injuries. These are minor cuts, they'll be fine. Pass the bandages and alcohol," she made grabby motions with her hands and he handed the pack to her with a slight shake of his head, a smile playing on his lips. "Anyways, right before I killed the cyclops earlier, he was using a voice. Most likely Percy's mom's voice, from his reaction. He was saying stuff about how Percy was the reason for his father leaving them alone, and I think he was saying that Percy was the reason that his mother had died. Obviously it was all bullcrap, so I shut him up. Permanently," She hissed the last word, clearly vexed at the effect the words had had on their resident six year old. It definitely didn't have to do with the rubbing alcohol that was being poured directly onto one of her wounds. Luke looked at the way she was holding onto the bottle and promptly took it from her, placing it down further away from her before grabbing some clean cloth they had specifically for this reason. It was Luke's turn to hum even as he winced apologetically, gently wiping off the dried blood and remaining alcohol, turning what Thalia had said over in his head.
"But we already know how his mom died. His pig of a stepdad paid for it. Perce obviously blames him for her death, rightfully so. And he's smart, even for his age. There's no way he would believe what one stupid monster says," Luke frowns, still not seeing the reason for Percy to make that sort of self-deprecating declaration. Having cleaned her whole arm, he began to wrap the bandages they had around the different cuts she had received.
"Yeah, but the monster was using his mom's voice. It's different when someone else says it, but for him to essentially hear his own mom say it, that's gotta be different. Imagine how you'd feel if your mom suddenly said you're the reason for everything that's gone wrong in her life," Thalia looked at the ground bitterly at that, spitting out the last words like they were poison. Luke thought back to how he had felt when the cyclops had used his mom's voice earlier, telling him to come home. Unbridled fury had coursed through his veins then, and he could feel himself getting angrier as he thought about what it would've been like to hear his mother tell him that her visions and crazy fits were all his fault. That Hermes no longer loved her or visited her because of him. He bit back the growl building in his throat, eyes also locked in a staring contest with the metal platform below him. He didn't realise how tightly he'd been tying the last bandage, near her wrist, until she shifted, drawing the appendage back towards herself, blue eyes hard.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. This one's all finished, now gimme the other one," he apologised, and it seemed she knew that he truly had been thinking about something else, since she didn't make any other snide remarks like she normally would. Huffing, she turned her body towards him, checking out her newly bandaged arm as he repeated the process on the other. "Yeah, okay I get it now. That would really…suck. But he knows deep down that's not actually his fault right? Like, if anything, it just proves how much our godly fathers suck and don't care about us. It's not anything to do with him," Luke kept his gaze on her arm, concentrating on making sure all the wounds were properly cleaned and dry before he started wrapping them up. Unbeknownst to him, Thalia's gaze was fixed on him, watching him as he worked. She flexed her newly bandaged arm, moving her fingers and feeling nothing more than the normal amount of stinging.
"But we need to remember he's just a kid. He's literally only six-"
"Turning seven in August!" Luke didn't shrink back from her glowering at him as he interrupted her, instead chuckling to himself. If he wasn't already occupied with tying up bandages, he definitely would've held up his pointer finger, and she knew it. Thalia rolled her eyes in exasperation but couldn't help the snicker that came out. Every time they had mentioned Percy's age, the boy would always interject, proclaiming that he would be turning seven very soon. And it would be quite soon, it was already late May. They had been planning a small surprise for him, but it would depend on where the goat would lead them.
"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted," Thalia shot a pointed glare at the blonde beside her even as he smirked up at her, shrugging before returning to his task. "He's still so young, he's literally half our age. And don't say we're old, or I swear to Hades I'll knock you out," she paused, daring Luke to make a snide remark, but the son of Hermes just continued wrapping bandages, albeit with a small shake to his shoulders. "He might know that what the cyclops said back there was Minotaur dung, but he still heard it in his mother's voice. That's gonna stick with him, for a while, at the very least," she continued, tone dropping in worry as she turned her gaze back towards the subject of their conversation, who seemed deeply asleep, judging by the line of drool she could see trailing down the side of his face. She looked back down at the tap on her wrist and smiled at the neatly wrapped bandages. "Thanks, you didn't have to," she said, as she tested her manoeuvrability, making sure she would still be able to fight should they get attacked before her arms were completely healed.
"All good, it's why you keep me around, right?" Luke grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows before his eyes caught on a small cut on her cheek. "You got one on your cheek, Thals," he said, already rummaging back through their medical pack. He comes out successful with a small bandaid in one hand and an alcohol disinfectant wipe in the other. "Stay still, it's gonna sting a little," he warns, eyes meeting with the electric blue ones that seemed to be glowing again. She scoffed, but steadied herself regardless. Tearing the packet open, he made sure to be gentle as he dragged the wipe across the cut and the skin around it. It was shallow, more a graze than anything else, but like all facial injuries, it had bled quite a bit before clotting. Once he made sure it was clean and there was no more blood on her face, dried or otherwise, he carefully opened the bandaid, placing it over the cut. He smoothed his fingers over the edge, removing any air bubbles, because what was the point in having a bandaid if it was just gonna fall off in a few hours? Only then did he realise how close they had become. He could feel her breath, the warm air dissipating on his cheek, and he looked up to meet her eyes. They were the same intense electrifying eyes he remembered the first day they had met, way back in the cave. He blinked, before pulling back, clearing his throat as he went, hand reaching down to where the bottle of rubbing alcohol was. Thalia watched him, face giving away nothing, leaning closer, until he realised she had grabbed the bottle and was shoving him so that he was facing away from her.
"Your turn, idiot. And I know I saw one of those metal lumps get a lucky hit on your back. Off," She commanded as she tugged on his shirt.
"Thals, it's fine, I do this myself all the time," Luke signed out, exasperated, even as he complied with her instructions.
"Yeah, sure you do. Remind me of the time when we were in Maryland again?" She smirked even as she took in the wound. All things considered, it wasn't that bad. It was pretty shallow and he wouldn't need stitches, but he would need to be careful of his back for a little. She began soaking a new cloth in the alcohol, before slowly dragging it across the wound from the top down. She was more careful than when she was cleansing her arm earlier, mindful of how the skin twitched and muscles tensed under her fingers as she worked.
"Shut, you know for a fact I had no say in that. Literally wasn't even my fault. If someone hadn't insisted on testing out their powers over the wind, nothing would've flown at me, period," Luke turned his head to frown back at her, clearly incensed about being wronged. Thalia ignored him, instead continuing to make sure that the wound was completely clean without any dried blood around the edges before grabbing one of the longer rolls of soft gauze that they had. She began making the long rounds, around his midsection before coming back around across his back, repeating it until the wound was properly covered. Once she had secured the end and made sure it wouldn't be budging, she finally looked up to see that Luke was still looking back at her.
"Your neck is gonna cramp if you keep that up, loser," she smirked, picking up the rubbing alcohol and moving onto the next area.
"It so will not, because I am a superior being and just built different," he retorted, before turning his head back forward and cringing, because his neck was, indeed, cramping up. Thalia said nothing, just snickered under her breath as she none too gently moved him so that the next wound would be easier to access.
"Anyways, back to Perce, I think we should maybe keep an eye on him for the next little while. At the very least, remind him how much we love him and that it will never be his fault what happened to his mom," her concentration never breaking as she continued to cleanse and bandage up the few other cuts and grazes that Luke had received during the fight.
"Yeah, I agree. Hey, let's get him some of his favourite blue jelly beans on our next supply run. We're running low on things anyways. That'll definitely cheer him u-mf," Luke broke off with a grunt as Thalia went over a cut that seemed a bit deeper than the rest of them. She paused her ministrations, muttering an apology before rummaging back through the pack and bringing out their small canister of nectar. Luke's eyes widened when he realised what she was about to do, and he hurriedly blocked her before she could pour the godly drink over his wound.
"Woah hey, that's for emergencies, what are you doing?" He made sure to keep his voice low, no sense in waking Percy.
"You're clearly in pain, and it's either this, or we stitch it up, and I'm not in the mood to deal with two whiny children," Thalia grumbled, batting his hands away and trickling a small amount over the cut.
"We don't know when we can get more though, it's not like the stupid goat is gonna stand still and let us refill," Luke continued to argue, even as the wound slowly healed and closed up, fading until there was barely even a scar in its place. He was glad she had done that though; now that the cause of the majority of the pain was gone, the tension was slowly easing from his posture. Thalia continued to eye him, unimpressed, even as she smugly closed the canister and placed it back in their pack. With their injuries all treated, they could finally just sit back and relax as the rest of the night passed. The unzipped sleeping bag had fallen off of both their shoulders and was just laying behind them and Thalia groped blindly behind her to tug it back up so that it'd cover them and provide warmth and comfort once again. Luke was still a bit stiff from his back injury and he just let her drape the corner around his shoulders, lifting his hand to grab and secure it in place. Wordlessly, Thalia relaxed into his side, head resting lightly on his shoulder as they let a comfortable silence settle over them.
"I know you think that I'm crazy for always following the stupid goat. But she's never led me wrong," Thalia spoke softly, gaze trained on her bandaged arms as she slowly turned her hands over. Luke hummed, witty retort dying in his throat as he sensed more than felt an elbow hovering near his ribs. Wounded or not, the daughter of Zeus was not going to let him off the hook should he open his mouth, so he wisely kept it shut. Seeing her friend wasn't going to comment, she continued, " Okay, so not entirely accurate, we've nearly died way more times that I can count. But! She also led me to Percy, and to you," she nudged him gently with her knee, eyes still focused on her hands. "I have to believe that she has a reason for all the places she takes us to, I just…" She trails off, as if unsure how to put this need into words.
"Hey, I know. And I know I complain way more than I should, but at least this gives us direction. Without her, we would just be aimlessly wandering around the country, and trust me, it's not as fun as it sounds," the light hearted tone in Luke's voice fades towards the end, and again, Thalia is reminded that whilst she had been given some sort of messed up guidance when she ran away, Luke had been alone for four years with no one to turn to. Her hands drifted over to take one of Luke's, holding it softly. She started turning his hand over in hers, just observing it, wondering how many times he had had to make do with just himself, and whatever he had on hand. Jack of all trades. What a useful skill to inherit from your godly parent. She could feel his stare, but she refused to acknowledge it.
"Tell me about some of it," she asks instead, still holding his hand, almost reverently, studying the faint scars from old wounds that littered the skin, telling the story of his hard lived life thus far. She feels the huff of air from his nose, warm on the top of her head, disturbing a few of her spiky strands, feels the vibrations in his neck as he hums in contemplation. And so they pass the rest of the night in quiet conversation, exchanging stories of when they were on the run, watching over their younger brother as he slept.
AN: Soooo, I'm back! I just want to say it always makes my day when I see a new review or that someone's followed my story, cause how the beans did you even find it haha. I recently received a review from Jasmine Lucas, and I was so shocked that I don't think I've had a chance to respond yet, but they reached out to me with the possibility of fanart for this fic, which, again, beyond my wildest imagination. I do plan on responding and hopefully work some things out and possibly have some fanart for this story (gasp, still in shock)
The next chapter is like, halfway done, I'm just kinda stuck on this specific part, so please bear with me.
Also, (last thing, I promise), shout out to JoJo 'Perlia' Jesus, who has been with my story from the beginning, genuinely made my day when I saw you were still around :)))))
See you guys!
Riptide50
