Author's Note: I'm celebrating the completion of the semester's large term paper with a whirlwind writing stint. This was the result. I hope you guys enjoy.
Chapter Fourteen: Wounds
After defeating Aphrodite, Percy drew in on himself. The young man seemed to be a different person as he rode in the back of Jack's alternate mode with Thalia. His mind roared at him like torrent. If Sally knew what he did, would she see him as no different than a Cyclops or the Bull-Man? He bent another being to his will, for gods' sake!
A small voice in head that sounded like Sally whispered. You protected Thalia, Percy, the voice seemed to grow warmer. You did exactly what I taught you to do, son.
Percy's twisted insides heaved, "Pull over, Jack!" The son of Mycenaean Posieda said in a weak voice before he stumbled out of the backseat and puked. Thalia quickly exited the car and put a hand on Percy's back. The young man dry heaved a few times after he emptied his stomach and looked up to see worried, bright blue optics staring at him with a feminine faceplate.
"The first kill should never be easy, kid," the Cybertronian soldier said in bid to try and comfort him. "If it is, you need to get your processor checked."
"I DIDN'T KILL HER!" Percy snapped. "I CONTROLLED HER BY CONTROLLING HER BLOOD FLOW TO CERTAIN AREAS IN HER BODY!"
Jack cut in at that moment, "I know that," he said. "Let me ask you this: were you ready to kill her if that was your only option?"
Percy began to pace in the grass as he considered Jack's question. What would I do? The demigod thought. He looked at Thalia and shivered as his mind went back to that moment where he summoned his will and slammed it into the goddess. Percy could hear The Dove's bones creak and pop as she bowed before him. He blinked, but the abject horror and fear in the goddess' eyes proved to be a seared image against his eyelids. "I had to," Percy whispered. Then, his voice grew a little stronger. "I had to stop her, or it would be Thalia's blood on my hands because I did nothing."
Jack nodded, "My Dad used to say, 'Strength is control. Weakness is madness.' I didn't know what he meant until Vince gave me a bloody nose one day when I was seven." Jack closed his eyes and barked a short chuckle. "I was so pissed; I wanted to hurt Vince like he hurt me." Jack put a hand on Percy's other shoulder. "You did not kill the goddess; you restrained her." Then, the young Prime smiled slightly. "She clearly does not know true strength if she finds The Immortal Bully attractive."
With his spirits lifted, Percy climbed back in the car and buckled after he got settled. Had Percy looked up, he would have seen the briefest glimpse of silver followed by a purple and black metallic flash. As Percy looked out the window, the group began to move again, but instinct kept Percy's eyes on the tall prairie grass. He knew from past quests that tall grass could hide many mythical as well as mortal dangers. Percy shook his head as he thought of the Nemean Lion. If he'd known… The young man thought of Nico and Bianca. His heart clinched as he remembered her sacrifice to save them from Talos and her brother's continued grudge against him. Part of Percy understood Nico's frustration. The other part wished the boy realized life as a demigod was more than a stupid card game you could lose and come back to win the next hand. This was a choice, and it was Bianca's choice to face the guardian of Hephestus' Junkyard alone. Percy gripped the armrest hard enough for Jack to flinch. It was just a damned figurine of their dad!
As Percy fumed over old wounds, someone else did the same out of sight and in silence. The femme fatale Cybertronian hunter studied the group who followed Arcee and her Human pet. She laughed silently to herself. Silver truly was a foolish choice for hunting camouflage, but it made her hunt just that much more entertaining. There was one particular huntress among the silver-clad Humans Airacnid watched with eagerness. As the monster slipped silently closer to the group, she couldn't help but bring to her processor the time before war, before betrayal, before blessed pain. "Yes, my prize," Airacnid purred to9 herself. "Once I kill your fleas, you will be mine. Then, Arcee will scream as we kill her pet together!"
Artemis could feel the unease in her Hunters as they followed the outlanders, her half-sister, and the only male to prove himself to her in recent memory. It still shocked her how Perseus proved to be different when he saved her from Atlas. Artemis unconsciously pulled at the streak of silver against her auburn locks. No matter how much force she tried to exert over her appearance, the silver remained. Artemis cursed Atlas under her breath and kept the Hunters on the move. Her newest recruit seemed to be the most disturbed out of all of her maidens. Out of the corner of her eye, Artemis watched Annabeth Chase keep her head on a swivel. Artemis drew back to look after the girl. "What is it, Annabeth?"
The Daughter of Athena seemed mad with twitches and darting eyes. "M-My Lady, I think we are the prey for something…other."
Artemis closed her eyes and focused. The goddess' power waned in daylight, but she was far from powerless. With thousands of years of hunting experience, Artemis picked up on the soft sounds that didn't belong to the natural rhythm of the area. A crunch of grass with a slight metallic ring to the steps. What are one of Hephestus' automatons doing out here, so far from its master? The goddess of the hunt listened harder. Tap. Almost inaudible hiss. Tap. Hiss. Tap. Hiss. Tap. "Hunters, to me! Defense formation!"
Annabeth screamed as a Cybertronian SPIDER launched itself out of the grass and pinned Annabeth to the ground. Then, she watched in horror as arrows passed harmlessly through the monster. The daughter of Wisdom felt her heart pound in her chest.
"My Lady, our weapons can't harm it!" The girl squeezed her teeth so tightly together, part of her worried they might crack. At that moment, Annabeth fell as the weight of Jack's curse nearly crushed her and shivered. "My Lady, call a retreat! I must face this alone!"
"Girl, are you insane?" Artemis shot back. "My arrows are Divine Silver!"
Annabeth growled and pulled out her knife. She expected the bronze gleam, but in its place, a seemingly steel blade met her hand. The knife fit extremely well in her hand, and if she wasn't in the middle of a fight for her life, she would have marveled at the blade's craftsmanship. As it was, the knife definitely wasn't forged by Olympus or Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth's overclocked mind noted a slip of paper in a on the joint of the blade.
The note, written in a helpful font for dyslexia and tied to the handle, read: In the future, do not insult my son or his Sparkmate. It was signed simply: Primus.
The blonde took a deep breath and tried to still her racing mind. The daughter of Athena felt strength come back to her and spied one of Airacnid's legs in reach of her knife from her current position on her back. With a burst of adrenaline, Annabeth rolled out of the pin. Her shirt ripped unheeded as she slashed at a leg. Airachnid roared in rage and shot a blast of webbing at Annabeth. The girl felt the heavy webs throw her to the ground.
"I'll deal with YOU later!" Arachnid promised with a smirk as the human under her web screamed in abject terror before the glitch turned her twisted optics to the group of so-called Hunters and began to play. Using her active camouflage mod curtesy of Shockwave before Cybertron went dark, Airachnid moved around the group and toyed with their feeble minds by making it appear she approached from another place other than her true vector. The Hunters were laughably easy to slaughter. When Airachnid thought the group's leader had fled to save herself, a flash of light and searing heat took out her optics.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Artemis roared. She now stood in the form of a fully-grown woman and had foregone her bow and arrows and now stood equal with Airachnid. The two fought like beasts. They traded blows and seemed to fall into a macabre dance as tears began to flow down Artemis' face. She quickly went for the extra legs after a certain amount of time where neither gained ground. With a mighty heave and godly strength the goddess rarely accessed, Artemis pulled the extra legs free and snarled at the Cybertronian. "Your own legs should be enough to get through your hide, creature!"
Airachnid's optics dimmed and flickered. The twisted femme moaned in something other than pain which startled the goddess. The Moon Goddess stared in morbid fascination. The goddess' heart thundered in her chest. The machine seemed almost out of breath as it looked up at her with its iridescent blue lifeblood pouring from the stumps where her suspension legs used to attach to her back. It looked so pathetic and helpless, but still there was something in her optics that drew the goddess into a strange embrace. "What are you?"
Arachnid actually laughed, "I haven't been this switched on in thousands of your years."
Artemis shook her head, "What is the darkest pit of Tartarus are you?!"
Airachnid sat up as the Energon stopped leaking from her stumps and, with an almost coy smile, responded, "…an extremely pleased femme. Arcee's never had the metal for such brutality."
Out of sight of either goddess or Cybertronian, Eros hovered on his massive wings and withdrew his bow with an extremely pleased smile. That wasn't at all what I expected! The god of sexual desires laughed. I thought for sure Artemis was immune to my spell.
Annabeth cut the webbing with her reforged knife and closed her eyes before she went into the slaughter to check for any wounded she could try and help them. All the newest Hunter found was a massive slaughter that reminded her of a scaled down Gettysburg. Annabeth began to shake as she she went further into the carnage. Then, the daughter of Athena's heart almost stopped when she heard Lady Artemis and the monster talking like old friends! Annabeth's eyes widened in fear and shock, Then, she turned and ran. "I have to find Percy and Jack!" The daughter of Athena whispered before she ran from the camp and did her best to follow the road on which she caught sight of them last.
On the road, Jack suddenly felt a chill that sank down to his Spark. The young Prime looked at Percy and Thalia in his rearview as he felt the need for sleep creep into his mind. "Arcee, can we pull over and make camp for the night?"
Arcee rolled to a stop and looked around the deserted road. Then, she transformed, nodded, and led Jack to a cave large enough for all of them to rest comfortably. As soon as the coast was clear, Jack opened his doors and frowned as Percy unrolled the sleeping bags while Thalia started a small fire in the mouth of the cave for ventilation. Jack looked at Arcee and rubbed the back of his head, "We're about a day out from The Wolf House."
Arcee instantly caught his tone. "What's wrong with that?" She asked. "Doesn't that mean the quest is almost done?"
Jack sighed, "I'm not talking about the quest," Jack said. "Ever since Mom was taken by MECH, I've had this odd…" Jack struggled to put into words what he was thinking. Between his exhaustion and the terrible sense of death, he couldn't focus. Without much effort, Jack's mind sent a message. I can't explain it, but I think we'll see Airachnid in New Rome.
Too tired to fight sleep, Jack thought he was already dreaming when Arcee answered. We'll be ready for her. I promise, Jack.
Please Read and Review. What do you think of my pairing of predators-Airachnid and Artemis?