𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[10] Freeze dried ice-cream to the rescue

Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."

The lion roared so loud it parted everyone's hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.

"Separate on my mark," Zoe said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Grover asked.

"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"

Percy uncapped Riptide and rolled to the left, while Y/N and Thalia dived to the right. Arrows whistled past the two of them, and Grover played a sharp tweet-tweet cadence on his reed pipes. Zoe and Bianca were climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lions metallic fur. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. "ROOOAAAR!"

"Hi-yah!" Thalia yelled. "Back!"

The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire. For a second, Percy thought Thalia had it under control. Then he saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. The lion was going to pounce.

"Hey!" Y/N yelled, sprinting towards the lion. Aithon, quickly morphed into a sharp bronze spear, which Y/N thrust into the lions side. But the spear simply bounced off. The lion raked him with its claws, ripping off a chunk of Y/N's coat. He backed against the railing. It sprang at him, one thousand pounds of monster, and he had no choice but to turn and jump.

Y/N landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost spilled him to the floor, three stories below. An arrow whizzed past his head. The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords holding the plane began to groan.

The lion swiped at Y/N, and he dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter. The lion crouched on the airplane, preparing to jump, but its weight was too much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off onto the model earth's North Pole.

"Grover!" Percy yelled from the second balcony. "Clear the area!" Groups of kids were running around screaming. Grover tried to corral them away from the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Percy dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from Y/N, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded them both, trying to decide which of to kill first.

"Any ideas, Percy?" Y/N muttured. As if in response, the lion roared loudly, showing it's bright pink maw.

"The mouth." Percy muttured. He looked up at Zoe and Bianca. "Zoe, target the mouth!"

"No clear shot!" Zoe yelled. "Get it to open up more!" The lion snarled from the top of the globe. I looked around. Y/N gripped Aithon tightly. Percy glanced at him.

"Y/N," he said, "keep it occupied." Y/N sighed, but nodded anyway. He quickly morphed the spear into a electric cattleprod, zapping the lion in the tail.

"ROOOOOOOAR!" The lion turned and pounced. Y/N rolled out of its way, and Percy ran for the gift shop.

"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoe yelled.

He dashed into the shop, knocking over rows of T-shirts, jumping over tables full of glowin-the-dark planets and space ooze. The sales lady didn't protest. She was too busy cowering behind her cash register.