ΉӨЦƧΣ ӨF ΉΛDΣƧ

"BACK THE FUCK UP." Percy jabbed Riptide at the nearest shriveled hag, but she only sneered.

We are the arai, said that weird voice-over, like the entire forest was speaking. You cannot destroy us.

Lucia pressed herself against his shoulder. "Don't touch them," she warned in his ear. "They're the spirits of curses."

"Bob doesn't like curses," Bob decided. The skeleton kitten Small Bob disappeared inside his coveralls.

The Titan swept his broom in a wide arc, forcing the spirits back, but they came in again like the tide.

We serve the bitter and the defeated, said the Arai. We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you.

The firewater in Lucia's stomach started crawling up her throat. Her heart slammed against her ribcage.

"I appreciate the offer," Her boyfriend said. "But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers."

The nearest demon lunged. Her claws extended like bony switchblades.

Percy cut her in two, but as soon as she vaporized, his chest flared with pain. He stumbled back, clamping his hand to his rib cage. His fingers came away wet and red.

"Percy, you're bleeding!" Lucia cried, her eyes widening with fear as she noticed the blood-soaked center of Percy's shirt. "Oh, gods, Your chest..."

"Antaeus," Percy's voice was airy. He was pulled back into his own memory. "This is how I killed him..."

The spirits bared their fangs. More Arai leaped from the black trees, flapping their leathery wings.

Yes, they agreed. Feel the pain you inflicted upon your own brother. So many curses have been leveled at you, Percy Jackson. Which will you die from? Choose, or we will rip you apart!

"Stay away from him!" Lucia cried.

Somehow he stayed on his feet. The blood stopped spreading, but Lucia could see how weak and pale he was becoming. She knew it was hurting him, that the wound was serious. She wanted to heal him. But she had no supplies—no nectar or ambrosia. His sword arm was heavy and weak. Lucia felt as if she were the one stabbed in the chest.

"I don't understand," he muttered.

Bob's voice seemed to echo from the end of a long tunnel: "If you kill one, it gives you a curse."

"But if we don't kill them..." Lucia's voice trailed off.

"They'll kill us anyway," Percy guessed.

Choose! the arai cried. Will you be crushed like Kampe? Or disintegrated like the young telkhines you slaughtered under Mount St. Helens? You have spread so much death and suffering, Percy Jackson...

And Lucia of Sparta! They shrieked. The katadesmos ensnares you. Your fate now dances to our tune. It whispers your impending doom. How about an arrow through both sides to have Geryon repay you? Or to have your flesh burned to a crisp. Under Kronos, you became a weapon of death. Choose, for you are bound to us until your last breath,  your destiny has been placed in our hands. And there is no escapeeee...

The winged hags pressed in, their breath sour, their eyes burning with hatred. They looked like Furies, but Lucia decided these things were even worse.

༄

AT THE VERY LEAST THE FURIES WERE UNDER HADES' CONTROL. These things were wild, and they just kept multiplying.

If they really embodied the dying curses of every enemy Percy and Lucia had ever destroyed...then they were in serious trouble. They had made a lot of enemies.

One of the demons lunged at Lucia. Instinctively, she dodged. She brought her bow down on the old lady's head and broke her into dust.

It wasn't like she had a choice. Percy would have done the same thing, but instantly Lucia dropped her bow and cried in alarm. The sound tore Percy's heart into tiny pieces.

"I can't see!" She touched her face, looking around wildly. Her eyes were pure white. "Percy?!" She screamed in panic.

He tried calling for her, but she didn't seem to hear a word that left his lips. Percy ran to her side as the arai cackled.

"It's too silent." She whimpered,

Kronos cursed you when you took away his senses. The arais voice rang, When you brought him to his knees, He could not see or hear. Now you will not see or hear your attackers.

"I've got you," Percy promised, despite her not being able to hear it.

He put his arm around Lucia. Lucia clung to him the moment she felt his skin. She seemed to recognize his touch immediately because her panic subsided slightly. Little did he know that she could recognize it anywhere.

Percy held her close, her hand fell on his chest and she felt the thick liquid touch her hand. She cried harder her hand falling to his waist to hold him.

Percy wanted to tell her that he was holding on, that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. But it was no use, there was no way to communicate without her besides touch.

Percy guided her backward, as the arai were advancing, He didn't know how he could protect either of them. How they could get out of this?

A dozen demons leaped from every direction, but Bob yelled, "SWEEP!"

His broom whooshed over Percy's head. The entire Arai offensive line toppled backward like bowling pins.

More surged forward. Bob whacked one over the head and speared another, blasting them to dust. The others backed away.

Percy held his breath, waiting for their Titan friend to be laid low with some terrible curse, but Bob seemed fine.

"Bob, you okay?" Percy asked. "No curses?"

"No curses for Bob!" Bob agreed.

The arai snarled and circled, eyeing the broom.

The Titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? You, Percy Jackson, have already destroyed his memory.

Lucia didn't have the full context of what was going on, but she seemed to at least be able to hear the Arai. Percy guessed they were forcing themselves into her head, which angered him.

Bob's spearhead dipped.

"Bob, don't listen to them," Lucia shrieked,  "They're evil! Percy is good!"

Time slowed. Percy wondered if the spirit of Kronos was somewhere nearby, swirling in the darkness, enjoying this moment so much that he wanted it to last forever.

Percy felt exactly like he had at twelve years old, battling Ares on that beach in Los Angeles, when the shadow of the Titan lord had first passed over him.

Bob turned. His wild white hair looked like an exploded halo. "My memory...It was you?"

Curse him, Titan! the arai urged, their red eyes gleaming. Add to our numbers!

Percy's heart pressed against his spine. "Bob, it's a long story. I didn't want you to be my enemy. I tried to make you a friend."

By stealing your life, the arai said. Leaving you in the palace of Hades to scrub floors!

Lucia frowned, She hated not knowing what was happening. "Percy." She whimpered. "What—What do we do...."

Percy gripped Lucia's hand.  He understood. If Bob wouldn't protect them, their only chance was to run—but that wasn't any chance at all.

"Bob, listen," he tried again, "the arai want you to get angry. They spawn from bitter thoughts. Don't give them what they want. We are your friends."

Even as he said it, Percy felt like a liar, guilt churned in his stomach. Bob was in the Underworld and Percy hadn't given him a thought since.

What made them friends? The fact that Percy needed him now? Percy always hated it when the gods used him for their errands. Now Percy was treating Bob the same way. He hated that.

You see his face? the arai growled. The boy cannot even convince himself.

"Percy.." Lucia tried again, he rubbed circles on her arm.

Did he visit you, after he stole your memory?

"No," Bob murmured. His lower lip quivered. "The other one did."

Percy's thoughts moved sluggishly. "The other one?"

"Nico." Bob scowled at him, his eyes full of hurt. "Nico visited. Told me about Percy. Said Percy was good. Said he was a friend. That is why Bob helped."

"But..." Percy's voice disintegrated like someone had hit it with a Celestial bronze blade. He'd never felt so low and dishonorable, so unworthy of having a friend.

The arai attacked, and this time Bob did not stop them.

Percy pulled Lucia by the arm.

༄

PERCY COMMUNICATED WITH LUCIA THROUGH TOUCH ALONE, using a system of gentle pulls, pushes, or taps to guide her.

He sliced through the arai to clear a path. Bringing down a dozen curses on himself, but he didn't feel them right away, so he kept running.

The pain in his chest flared with every step. He wove between the trees, leading Lucia at a full sprint despite her being blind and deaf.

Percy realized how much she trusted him to get her out of this. He couldn't let her down, yet how could he save her? And if she was permanently like this...

No. He suppressed a surge of panic. He would figure out how to cure her later.

First, they had to escape.

Leathery wings beat the air above them. Angry hissing and the scuttling of clawed feet told him the demons were at their backs.

As they ran past one of the black trees, he slashed his sword across the trunk. He heard it topple, followed by the satisfying crunch of several dozen arai as they were smashed flat.

If a tree falls in the forest and crushes a demon, does the tree get cursed?

Percy slashed down another trunk, then another. It bought them a few seconds, but not enough.

Suddenly the darkness in front of them became thicker. Percy realized what it meant just in time. He grabbed Lucia right before they both charged off the side of the cliff.

"What!" she cried. "What are we doing?!"

Percy cursed under her breath, he didn't know how he could tell her about the cliff. Percy knew he'd freak her out if he just threw her over his shoulder and jumped. But there was no other option he could think of.

Percy couldn't see how far the cliff dropped. It could be ten feet or a thousand. There was no telling what was at the bottom. They could jump and hope for the best, but he doubted "the best" ever happened in Tartarus.

So, two options: right or left, following the edge.

He was about to choose randomly and pull her with him when a winged demon descended in front of him, hovering over the void on her bat wings, just out of sword reach.

Did you have a nice walk? asked the collective voice, echoing all around them.

Percy turned. The arai poured out of the woods, making a crescent around them.

One grabbed Lucia's arm. She wailed in rage, caught its own arm, and broke it, her hand searing into its flesh. The arai wailed in pain as Lucia flipped the monster forward and dropped it on its neck, putting her whole body weight into an elbow strike that would've made any pro wrestler proud.

Yeah, I'm in love.

Okay, Not the time Percy.

The demon dissolved, but when Lucia got to her feet, she looked stunned and terrified as well as blind.

"Percy?" she called, panic creeping into her voice."No....He didn't... He didn't...Percy! Perce!"

"I'm right here, Princess." He tried to comfort her.

She cried harder and he was stunned. He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she wasn't standing where he thought. He tried again, only to find she was several feet farther away. It was like trying to grab something in a tank of water, with the light shifting the image away.

"Perce!" Lucia's voice cracked. A scream of agony escaped her lips. She began to choke on her sobs. "Why did you leave me?!"

"I didn't Luz!" He turned on the arai, his arms shaking with anger.

His eyes grew dark, he wanted to make them scream in agony. He wanted them to feel the pain.

He growled, "What did you do to her?"

We did nothing, the demons said. Your beloved has unleashed a special curse—a bitter thought from someone you abandoned. You punished an innocent soul by leaving her in her solitude. Now her most hateful wish has come to pass: Lucia feels her despair. She, too, will perish alone and abandoned.

"Please, You can't. Not again..." Lucia spread her arms, she was looking for him. The arai backed up, letting her stumble blindly through their ranks.

Percy hissed, he wanted to run to her arms and tell her he was right here with her. That he wouldn't ever abandon her like that.

"Please! I don't want to be alone again!" She screamed, her cries caused Percy's entire body to ache. "Percy! I can't find you!"

"Who did I abandon?" Percy demanded. "I never—"

Suddenly his stomach felt like it had dropped off the cliff.

The words rang in his head: An innocent soul. Alone and abandoned. He remembered an island, a cave lit with soft glowing crystals, a dinner table on the beach tended by invisible air spirits.

"She wouldn't," he mumbled. "She'd never curse me."

The eyes of the demons blurred together like their voices. Percy's sides throbbed. The pain in his chest was worse, as if someone were slowly twisting a dagger.

Lucia wandered among the demons, desperately screaming out his name. Percy longed to go to her, but he knew the arai wouldn't allow it. The only reason they hadn't killed her yet was that they were thriving off of Lucia's misery.

Percy clenched his jaw. He didn't care how many curses he suffered. He had to keep these leathery old hags focused on him and protect Lucia as long as he could.

He yelled in fury and attacked them all.

༄

LUCIA FELT HER SKIN CRAWLING WITH TERROR.

She was in Tartarus, she could not see, could not hear, and Percy left her completely alone...

What kind of cruel fucking joke was this.

Lucia felt the desolation of Tartarus wrapping around her like an invisible shroud. She felt helpless and alone. She couldn't do anything but wander. Lucia couldn't even hear her own screams, She had no idea if anything was even her lips. All she knew was that she was trying to purge this pain inside. All she could do was cry.

In her isolated world, Lucia moved without purpose, her steps guided only by instinct. Tears mingled with the unseen shadows as she tried to navigate the unforgiving realm.

The pain within her resonated with the haunting voices of the Arai in her head, creating a disorienting cacophony of suffering. They taunted her, tormented her. They wanted her to feel only misery.

Lucia wanted to desperately be put out of it. She was afraid that this was going to go on for eternity.

This loneliness and isolation would be her end...

You're ours Lucia of Sparta. Your destiny is ours.

Her steps became hesitant, as if an invisible hand guided her toward an unknown fate. She felt her feet hit an edge.

Her instincts screamed of impending danger. Lucia flailed in the darkness, She was about to fall off a cliff.

Suddenly, a brawny hand enveloped her, lifting her off her unsteady feet.

Fear surged through Lucia as she kicked and struggled, her mind clouded by the fear of the unknown. In her frantic attempts to break free, surges of light erupted from her fingertips in random directions.

The creature seemed to be undeterred by her fighting, he carried her somewhere. But, in her fear, Lucia unintentionally released a burst of scorching energy.

Lucia fell out of his hands. Luckily he was already lowering her down to the ground. So Lucia only had a minor fall, slightly bruising her tailbone.

She groaned, curling up on her side.

"Owie." She felt someone touch her forehead.

"No—" She stopped herself when she realized she heard a voice speak. The darkness turned into figures and oblong shapes until she blinked, and Bob appeared in front of her. Her vision returned to its normal state, her ears focused, becoming super sharp, like they were before.

"Bob?" Lucia questioned, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"Owie." He repeated, his hand fell on the burn mark on his hand. The scar disappeared.

"I'm sorry," She looked up at him with watery eyes. The fear was replaced with guilt. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just scared."

Lucia didn't get to see Bob's reaction. When her eyes fell on Percy she forgot everything else.

She felt a mix of emotions: relief, joy, shock, horror.

"What's wrong with him?" She crawled to him. "What happened?" She cradled his shoulders and wept into his scalp. Pulling him into her Lap.

Percy tried to tell her it was okay, but it came out in a strangled groan. Lucia wept harder. His chest rose and fell harshly. Lucia looked at the lesions and bruises on his skin and felt her heart in her stomach. His eyes were hardly open, he was losing consciousness. Lucia couldn't lose him, not like this.

Lucia took his face in her hands. She kissed him and tried to wipe the dust and sweat from his eyes. "Oh, Percy..."

Bob loomed over them, his broom planted like a flag. His face was unreadable, luminously white in the dark.

"Lots of curses," Bob said. "Percy has done bad things to monsters."

"Only because monsters have done bad things to him!" She defended, "He would never hurt anyone for no reason. Percy is good." She cradled him closer... She looked up with pleading eyes. "Can you fix him?" Lucia asked. "Like you did with me? I'll do anything you want....I'll give you anything..."

When he didn't respond, Lucia felt herself begin to feel warmth swirl within her. Her aura got brighter. "Fix Percy!"

Bob frowned. He picked at the name tag on his uniform like it was a scab.

Lucia tried again. "Bob—"

"Iapetus," Bob said, his voice a low rumble. "Before Bob. It was Iapetus." The air was absolutely still. Percy stirred under her, but she was a child of Apollo. Lucia knew he wasn't doing well at all. She knew, he needed to be fixed as fast as possible...Or she'd lose him...

"If you want to be called Iapetus or Bob, that is your choice." Lucia responded, "But I've seen firsthand that you are capable of doing right by yourself and the people around you. Of being more than The Piercer. So tell me, Who do you want to be?"

The Titan regarded her with his pure silver eyes. "I do not know anymore."

He crouched next to her and studied Percy. Bob's face looked haggard and worn, as if he suddenly felt the weight of all his centuries.

"I promised," he murmured. "Nico asked me to help. I do not think Iapetus or Bob likes breaking promises." He touched Percy's forehead.

"Owie," the Titan murmured. "Very big owie."

Percy sank back into his body. He seemed better, but Lucia could feel that the poison within him had only been slowed, not removed.

But he was alive. And Lucia would do everything she could to make sure he stayed alive.

He tried to meet Bob's eyes, to express his gratitude. His head lolled against his chest.

"Bob cannot cure this," Bob said. "Too much poison. Too many curses piled up."

Lucia hugged Percy's shoulders. "What can we do, Bob?" Lucia frowned. "Is there water anywhere? Water might heal him. Or, Any Herbs? I—I  can make a paste. I just need something..."

"No water, No herbs," Bob said. "Tartarus is bad."

"No," Lucia insisted. "No, I won't give up on him. There has to be a way. Something to heal him."

Bob placed his hand on Percy's chest. He looked relieved for a single moment, but the second Bob stopped touching him Percy's breathing became shaky.

"Tartarus kills demigods," Bob said. "It heals monsters, but you do not belong. Tartarus will not heal Percy. The pit hates your kind."

"I don't really give a fuck," She snapped. "Even here, there has to be someplace he can rest, some kind of cure he can take. Maybe back at the altar of Hermes, or—"

In the distance, a deep voice bellowed—

"I SMELL HIM!" roared the giant. "BEWARE, SON OF POSEIDON! I COME FOR YOU!"

Lucia held him tighter, They'd have to get through her first if they wanted to get to him.

"Polybotes," Bob said. "He hates Poseidon and his children. He is very close now."

Lucia struggled to get Percy to his feet. His body was super heavy against hers, his head lolled into her shoulder. Lucia felt ridiculous as she tried to keep the taller boy upright. "If I don't—I love—"

"Shut up. Do not say goodbye." Lucia snapped.

Even with Lucia supporting almost all his body weight, he could barely stand.

"—Shortstacks." He finished,

She simultaneously wanted to yell at him and kiss him.

"Bob, I'm going on, with or without you," She decided. "Will you help me or not?"

The kitten Small Bob mewed and began to purr, rubbing against Bob's chin.

Bob looked at Percy, and Lucia wished she could read the Titan's expression. Was he angry, or just thoughtful? Was he planning revenge, or was he just feeling hurt because Percy had lied about being his friend?

"There is one place," Bob said at last. "There is a giant who might know what to do."

Lucia almost dropped Percy, she pulled him closer when she felt him falling. He groaned against her. "A giant. Uh, Bob, giants aren't exactly great. Especially to demigods."

"One is good," Bob insisted. "Trust me, and I will take you... unless Polybotes and the others catch us first."

"I'm trusting you." She decided. "Now lead the way. I can hear them getting closer..."