★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖙-𝖖𝖚𝖆𝖙𝖗𝖊:
SOME THINGS SHOULDN'T
BE CONTROLLED

★ 。／｜＼。★

THE LONGER BELLE walked, the more she wished that Bob was still with them. Her and Percy were following the Goddess of misery to get Death Mist, and even though Belle didn't like it, it was their only chance of survival. The fog continued to get thicker as they walked along. They were only able to follow Akhlys because poisonous plants grew from the ground wherever she walked. Belle could sense those said plants, which allowed her to follow the exact path Akhlys took. However, that whole thing about plant roots being veins still creeped her out. She didn't know if she still wanted to try and grow plants down here.

Finally, Akhlys stopped. The thick fog dissipated all around them, and Belle found herself on a small peninsula. Every single one of those three sides fell off to a pitch black void. Belle felt a chill run up her spine. Something about that void made her unsettled.

"Here we are," Akhlys announced.

She turned and gazed at them, her sickly and swollen eyes bright with excitement. Blood from her cheeks dripped down onto her dress, staining it red. Belle inched closer to Percy for a second. This Goddess was really making her nervous.

"Uh . . . great," Percy replied. "Where is here?"

"The verge of final death. Where Night meets the void below Tartarus."

Belle turned and peered over the edge of the cliff at the deep black abyss, a cold blast of air immediately hitting her. "Below Tartarus? But . . . Tartarus shouldn't have anything below it. It's literally the bottom."

"Oh, certainly there is something below it . . ." Akhlys coughed for a second. "Even Tartarus had to rise from somewhere. This is the edge of the earliest darkness, which was my mother. Below lies the realm of Chaos, my father. Here, you are closer to nothingness than any mortal has ever been. Can you not feel it?"

Belle suddenly knew what she meant. The void of Chaos seemed to be pulling her, just like the pit of Tartarus had done back in that cavern in Rome. She felt as if the breath in her lungs and oxygen from her blood were leaving her. Belle shivered and took a step back. She glanced up to Percy to see his lips were blue like he had taken another swim in the River Cocytus.

"We can't stay here," Percy stated.

She nodded in agreement. "I know."

"No, indeed!" Akhlys exclaimed. "Don't you feel the Death Mist? Even now, you pass between. Look!"

Belle looked down to see white smoke gathering around her feet. However, she soon came to realize that it was actually expelling from her as it coiled up her legs. Her whole body seemed to be dissolving. Belle held up one of her hands, but they were fuzzy and indistinct.

Percy yelped quietly, startling Belle. "Beauty, you're . . ."

He didn't finish his thought. She turned to him and gasped. Presumably just like her, Percy looked dead. His skin was sallow and her eyes sockets were dark in sunken. The jet black hair on top of his head looked like it had faded into cobwebs. Every time he moved his features momentarily blurred into mist so she couldn't see him. Belle felt her heart stop. Ever since their quest in the Labyrinth, she had always worried that Percy would suddenly die. He was more of a target since he was a son of Poseidon. Taking that and combining it with the fact that Demigods didn't live very long, Belle had a right to be worried. But now, seeing him like this, was way too painful.

"Percy," Belle whispered. "You look . . . oh, Gods."

He studied his arms for a second before taking a few steps. Percy seemed to struggle a little before he held out his hand to her. Belle took it, and surprisingly, they managed to latch onto each other again. She took a step too. It was difficult since it felt like his body was floating out of her."

"I've definitely looked better," Percy decided. "It's hard to move, but it's okay. We're okay."

Akhlys clucked at that. "Oh, you're definitely not all right."

Percy frowned. "But we'll pass unseen now? We can get to the Doors of Death?"

"Well, perhaps you could if you lived that long, which you won't." Akhlys spread her gnarled fingers, making more plants — hemlock, nightshade, and oleander included — bloom along the edge of the pit. It began to spread towards them like a blanket of deadly plants was being laid on the ground. "The Death Mist is not simply a disguise, you see. It is a state of being. I could not bring you this gift unless death followed — true death."

Belle placed her hand out, using all of her willpower to stop the plants from spreading. "Before you decided to trap us, you should've listened to me. Using plants against a daughter of Demeter will not end well for you."

Akhlys cackled and spread her fingers again. However, the plants didn't budge, due to Belle still stopping them. Akhlys snarled at her and Belle sent a challenging glare back.

"Didn't you expect me to betray you?" Akhlys asked.

"Yes," Belle and Percy chorused.

"Well, then, it was hardly a trap! More of an inevitability. Misery is inevitable. Pain is—"

"Yeah, yeah," Percy growled. "Let's get to the fighting."

Percy drew Riptide. Belle grabbed Sunflower's keychain, momentarily forgetting about the plants and letting them grow a little, and flipped it in the air, twirling the green hilt in her hand once it appeared. However, both of their blades were made of smoke. Belle pointed hers at the plants once more so they could stop. Percy, on the other hand, slashed at Akhlys, but Riptide just floated across her.

Akhlys grinned evilly at him. "Did I forget to mention? You are only mist now — a shadow before death. Perhaps if you had time, you could learn to control your new form. But you do not have time. Since you cannot touch me, I fear any fight with Misery will be quite one-sided."

Her fingernails grew into talons and her yellow teeth elongated into fangs as her jaw unhinged. She lunged right at Percy and raked her claws across his chest. Percy gasped in pain and stumbled backwards, although his movements were slow. He threw his backpack at her in desperation, but it fell right through her.

Akhlys snarled again. She crouched to spring. Belle gritted her teeth. It was time to move past her fear and use these plants to advantage. She raised Sunflower, making the plants grow taller with it, and pointed it straight at Akhlys. All of them immediately wrapped around the Goddess and pulled her down onto her back. The plants tied her to the ground as Belle made their stems wrap around her and go back into the ground.

"Stupid girl!" Akhlys shouted, trying to rip through the stems with her claws, but Belle only made them grow more.

Belle raised an eyebrow, although she could feel sweat bead at her forehead and her muscles ache. "Stupid? That's probably you, Miss Cheerful."

Akhlys snarled again. This time, she ripped through the stems faster, being freed from the plants Belle had used to her advantage. She lashed out at Belle, but Belle rolled right in between her legs and got to her feet easily. Belle didn't know how she had learned to use the Death Mist so quickly. Maybe it was her years of training at Camp Half-Blood, but nevertheless, she got used to the way it worked and the way it made her feel. Akhlys turned and launched again, and just like before, Belle dodged. She locked eyes with Percy while Akhlys was distracted. Belle had managed to buy them some time, but they needed to figure out a way to get out of here fast.

The Goddess attacked for the third time. This time, Belle wasn't as fast, since she was a little weak from controlling those plants. Akhlys managed to grab Belle's arm and pull her towards her. She put her claws right at Belle's throat. Belle breathed heavily and sent a pleading glance to Percy as Akhlys raised her hand for the strike.

Percy raised Riptide. "Hey, Happy!"

Akhlys paused, her hand still in the air as she turned towards Percy. "Happy?"

"Yeah! You're downright cheerful!"

The Goddess threw Belle aside. She landed on the hard surface of the ground with a grunt. Belle blinked the haziness out of her eyes before rolling her head over to see what Percy was doing. Percy kept sidestepping and backing away the off-balance Goddess, leading her further and further away from Belle. Every compliment seemed to smack Akhlys right across the face. She kept snarling and wincing every time Percy opened his mouth.

"I will kill you slowly!" Akhlys growled. Belle could see blood from her cheeks still dripping onto her chest and water expelling from her eyes and nose. "I will cut you into pieces as a sacrifice to Night!"

Belle pushed herself up and struggled to her feet. She glanced around the area, trying to find something, anything that could possibly help right now.

"Cuddly!" Percy yelled. "Fuzzy, warm and huggable!"

Akhlys made a growling, choking noise. "A slow death! A death from a thousand poisons!"

More poisonous plants grew around her and began to burst. Green and white sap trickled out of them, collected into pools, and began flowing across the ground towards Percy. Belle wasn't bothered by the smell. She had been around plants her entire life, but Percy really hadn't. Belle could tell the fumes were getting to him.

"Percy!" Belle screamed.

Akhlys wasn't worried about her anymore. She was now fixated on Percy. He tried to retreat, but the poison ichor was flowing all around him now. The ground steamed and the air burned. Belle looked to see that Percy was stuck on a small island of dust. He fell to one knee.

"You will feed the eternal darkness," Akhlys voiced. "You will die in the arms of Night!"

Belle gripped Sunflower's hilt tight. "No!"

It was a desperate attempt, but Belle raised Sunflower and stabbed it downwards into the ground. She knew this trick worked with growing plants. But if the Goddess Athena was right, plants would bend to her command. Who went to say that she couldn't reverse it and make the plants stop growing? Tartarus had its own rules, after all. Fire was drinkable. The ground they had walked on was actually the body of a God. Trees had roots that were actually veins, and Belle was still able to control them.

She felt a deep pulling in her gut. Instantly, all of the plants around them sunk down into the ground. She willed the roots to try and drink up the poison. It was working a little, but as time went on, Akhlys merely grew more plants that spewed more poison. Every time Belle concentrated more, Akhlys just countered it.

Suddenly, the tide of poison stopped. Belle's eyebrows knit in confusion as she raised her head from looking at the ground. She saw Percy glaring straight at the poison, and it began to move back towards Akhlys in tiny waves. Belle was suddenly hit with the realization that he was controlling this poison. She slowly took Sunflower out of the ground and straightened up, backing up slightly to the edge of the cliff.

"What is this?" Akhlys shrieked.

"Poison," Percy answered simply. "That's your specialty, right?"

He stood up. Percy made the flood of venom roll faster towards the Goddess, and she began to cough violently. She struggled against her own poison, but Percy looked eerily calm. Belle's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth in shock. How was Percy so okay with . . . with torturing someone?

Akhlys gagged, choking on her own tears because Percy was making her. "I—"

The side of poison finally reached the Goddess' feet and sizzled like droplets on a hot iron. Akhlys wailed and stumbled backwards. Belle felt her breath hitch in her throat. Back in Kansas, she had felt like Percy was truly scaring her for the first time when he was fighting Jason. However, it was revealed that an Eidolon was controlling him and it wasn't actually his doing. But this . . . Percy was voluntarily choosing to choke Akhlys as himself. That was not the Percy Jackson she knew. This version of Percy Jackson was scaring her right down to her bones.

"Percy," Belle let out, her voice filled with fear.

He turned to her. Even from far away and through the mist, Belle could see that his sea-green eyes had darkened. Her stomach turned uncomfortably at it. She hated herself for being so scared of him, but right now, who could blame her?

"Stop," she pleaded. "Let her go."

Belle could tell he didn't want to. But she couldn't let him continue. He had to stop.

Her ghostly eyes filled with tears. "Please."

Percy finally listened to her. He turned to Akhlys and willed the poison to recede. It created a small path of retreat along the edge of the cliff just big enough for one person to take.

"Leave!" he bellowed, Belle flinching slightly at how loud and anger-filled his voice was.

Akhlys didn't waste any time. She stumbled along the path, even falling on her face and scrambling to her feet once. Her wailing faded into nothing as she sped into the dark. As soon as she was gone, the pools of poison that had gathered evaporated and the remaining plants withered to dust and blew away.

"Beauty," Percy breathed out, reaching out to her as she walked slowly towards him. He gently placed a hand on her cheek as Belle hesitating slightly to meet his eyes. "I — Belle, please look at me."

Belle gripped his arm with the hand that wasn't holding Sunflower, finally looking back up at him to see his eyes were filling with some light again. "You can't . . . Percy, please don't ever do that again. Some things shouldn't be controlled like that."

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay, you're right."

"We've got to get away from this cliff," Belle stated. "Akhlys said she brought us here as a sacrifice."

"She told us something about feeding us to the night, but I don't know what it's about."

The temperature suddenly dropped while the abyss seemed to exhale like it was sighing. Percy wrapped an arm around Belle's waist and backed them away from the edge. A figure emerged from the void. Belle's eyes widened as she stared at it. It was so vast and shadowy that Belle finally understood what the meaning of dark was.

"I imagine that she meant Night, with a capital N," the darkness replied in a soft feminine voice. "After all, I am the only one."

—  [  ♡  ]  —

belle watching that whole thing unfold:

also updates will be coming later in the day starting friday bc I chose to go back to school in person for my last marking period of senior year !!!! I get out of school at like 1 pm (new york time) so like expect updates in that hour from now on <333

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !