𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎
𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆
❛ even if the world decided not to.
i'd still be by your side. ❜
𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐄'𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐄, "𝖄ou'd think he'd run out of rocks," Percy stupidly muttered.
"And you'd think being the son of Poseidon made you swim faster," Aurora bit back. "Hurry!"
"Hey!" He snapped, but nonetheless tightened his grip. "I'm trying! Being the son of Poseidon doesn't give me super strength!"
A sudden jolt sent pain shooting up her spine, "Ah!"
Percy's annoyance washed away in an instant, "This might hurt."
This made Aurora internally groan. She was already in so much pain with both her ribs, ankle, and wrist broken—adding more pain to her already fragile body was something that wouldn't exactly make her day any better. Especially as she noticed her reflection in the waves, her mascara was dripping down her face. Her lipgloss was smeared to the point of her cheek revealing a nasty bruise alongside of it—likely from her fight with Polyphemus. Yet, even when she noticed all of that, the moment she noticed her sopping wet and tangled hair—her mood soured all the more.
Trying her best to ignore her dishielved appearance, she winced as Percy swiftly moved her so he was giving her a piggyback ride.
They were now waist deep in the water, with Percy's grip on Aurora tighter than normal. She could practically feel his hesitation to leave as he took in the sight of Tyson behind them, yet his grip on Aurora never faltered.
Noting his frown Aurora called out to her other friend, "Grooves!" She began to wiggle from Percy's grip with pain shooting through her body. "A little help."
Percy's raven colored hair was now wet too, so when he turned to give Aurora a confused look, droplets of ocean water flew from his hair, "What are you doing?"
Aurora only nodded her head behind her in the direction of Tyson whom stood firmly with his feet on the ground in between them and Polyphemus, "He needs your help, barnacle boy. I'd help you but—"
A wince cut her off.
"Don't worry about it," Percy said, his face softening as he noticed her own face turning green. As if she was moments away from puking. "I'll handle it."
He noticed her eyebrows pulled together almost like she didn't believe him, but chose not to argue. He didn't know whether it was the pain in her body or the trust she had on him, but he was glad they weren't bickering—especially in the state she was in.
Aurora winced as Percy gently ( as gently as he could ) handed her over to grover who wrapped her arm around his shoulders, in hopes of keeping her a float, "I got her, Perce," he sent Percy a look of reassurance. "Be careful."
"Right back at you," he nodded to the others. "I'll be right behind you."
Before he could turn around and rush to his half brothers side, Aurora's hand instinctively reached out and wrapped around his wrist in a rush—in a tight grip. Her heart pounding in her chest as she realized Percy was heading straight into danger, danger she wasn't going to be able to help him through like usual.
Percy whirled around to look at her to her hand on his wrist, "Auro—"
"Be careful, ocean eyes," she rushed out. Her throat contracting and heart pounding harder—it's usual pace, she noticed, when only around Percy. She took notice of her hand still wrapped around his wrist and briefly let it go. "Just—be careful."
"Yeah," he softly nodded, beads of ocean water dripping down his face—the same color as his eyes, she noticed. "I can do that," he cleared his throat and looked away from her eyes and back towards Tyson when a roar erupted from behind him. "See you on the other side, pretty girl."
"Come on, Aurora." Grover urged as Percy rushed off to help his brother.
After a brief moment of silence between them, and Percy a safe distance away, Grover said, "Soooo," he drawled out. "Can we talk about you and Per—"
"No"
"Okay," he nodded in agreement. His curly mop of hair flattened on his forehead revealing his horns."I was just curious."
"Now is definitely not the time for that."
"So," he trailed off. "Later?"
"No."
He went to open his mouth, likely to ask more questions about what he had just witnessed but Polyphemus' roar echoed around them, sending jostles through the water around them.
"You, young Cyclops!" Polyphemus boomed. "Traitor to your kind!"
Tyson froze.
"Don't listen to him!" Percy pleaded. "Come on."
Aurora turned her head just in time to see Percy reach out and wrap an arm around Tyson, tugging hard—but it might as well be like pulling a building. His eyes were wide, trying desperately to tug Tyson away.
Instead, Tyson turned and faced the older Cyclops, "I am not a traitor."
"You serve mortals!" Polyphemus shouted. "Thieving humans!"
"Come on, Aurora," Grover paddled a bit harder. Aurora could only cling onto his neck in support—her body too weak to even attempt to help.
They soon arrived next to Clarisse and Annabeth, the two girls as drenched as everyone else with Clarisse ensuring the fleece was firmly put around Annabeth despite the rough waters around them.
"We have to get Annabeth to the ship!" Aurora yelled over the splashing of water. "While Percy and Tyson have Polyphemus distracted."
Clarisse scoffed, "Like you're one to boss me around, Stark. This was my quest to begin with and now I'm stuck carrying blondie here," she lightly lifted Annabeth. "Away from a mess your dumb boyfriend created."
Aurora could practically feel the blood rushing to her cheeks at the accusation. One glance at the waters around her had her catching a glimpse of her aura—the color magenta.
"He's not my boyfriend!"
She'd have to curse her mother later, for the weird flutters in her stomach—one's she knew all too well when the raven haired boy was mentioned.
Clarisse scoffed under her breath, "Yeah, Right."
Suddenly, Polyphemus' roar interrupted them again, "Death or victory!"
Aurora turned just as Polyphemus' charged into the surf, but it seemed his foot was wounded. He immediately stumbled and fell on his face.
"Percy!" Aurora yelled. "Come on!"
Percy managed to catch Aurora's eye before turning back towards the large Cylcops. Tyson saw the exchange and softened.
"Go," Tyson told Percy. "I will hold Big Ugly."
"No! He'll kill you. We'll fight him together."
"Together," Tyson agreed.
Percy drew his sword. Polyphemus advanced carefully, limping worse than ever. But there was nothing wrong with his throwing arm. He chucked his second boulder. Percy dove to one side, but he still would've been squashed if Tyson's fist hadn't blasted the rock to rubble. Percy willed the sea to rise. A twenty-foot wave surged up, lifting him on its crest. Aurora gripped her shirt in worry as she watched her close friend ride toward the cyclops and kick him in the eye, leaping over his head as the water blasted him onto the beach.
"Destroy you!" Polyphemus spluttered. "Fleece stealer!"
"You stole the Fleece!" Percy yelled. "You've been using it to lure satyrs to their deaths!"
"So? Satyrs good eating!"
From next to Aurora, Grover whimpered. The thought of almost being eaten sent a surge of fear through his body.
"The Fleece should be used to heal! It belongs to the children of the gods!"
"I am a child of the gods!" Polyphemus swiped at Percy, but luckily he sidestepped. "Father Poseidon, curse this thief!"
He was blinking hard now like he could barely see, and Aurora realized he was targeting by the sound of Percy's voice.
"Poseidon won't curse me," Percy said, backing up as the Cyclops grabbed air. "I'm his son, too. He won't play favorites."
Polyphemus roared. He ripped an olive tree out of the side of the cliff and smashed it where he'd been standing a moment before. "Humans not the same! Nasty, tricky, lying!"
Grover and Clarisse were helping Annabeth aboard the ship. Her pain not as present as before—however, she shivered when a breeze swept past them when she was fully out of the water and onto the ship deck. They soon turned their attention to Aurora, who was floating like a starfish in order to ignore the pain.
She desperately wanted to look back at the fight behind her, but even a twitch of her finger sent her entire body in overdrive.
"Young one!" the older Cyclops called. "Where are you? Help me!"
Tyson stopped.
"You weren't raised right!" Polyphemus wailed, shaking his olive tree club. "Poor orphaned brother! Help me!"
No one moved. No sound but the ocean and Aurora's shaky breathing from the pain and worry.
Then Tyson stepped forward, raising his hands defensively. "Don't fight, Cyclops brother. Put down the—"
Polyphemus spun toward his voice.
"Tyson!" Percy shouted. The tree struck him with such force it would've flattened Percy into a Percy pizza with extra olives.
Tyson flew backward, plowing a trench in the sand. Polyphemus charged after him, but Percy shouted, "No!" and lunged as far as he could with Riptide.
"Blaaaaah!" Polyphemus bleated just like his sheep and swung at Percy with his tree.
Polyphemus swung the tree again, but this time he was ready. Percy grabbed a branch as it passed, ignoring the pain in his hands as he was jerked skyward, and let the Cyclops lift him into the air. At the top of the arc, Percy let go and fell straight against the giant's face-landing with both feet on his already damaged eye.
Polyphemus yowled in pain.
Tyson tackled him, pulling him down. Percy landed next to them-sword in hand, within striking distance of the monster's heart. But Percy locked eyes with Tyson, and he knew he couldn't do it. It just wasn't right.
"Let him go," Percy told Tyson. "Run."
With one last mighty effort, Tyson pushed the cursing older Cyclops away, and they ran for the surf.
"I will smash you.'" Polyphemus yelled, doubling over in pain. His enormous hands cupped over his eye. Tyson and Percy plunged into the waves.
"Where are you?" Polyphemus screamed. He picked up his tree club and threw it into the water. It splashed off to their right. Percy summoned up a current to carry them, and they started gaining speed.
Aurora was beginning to think that the brothers might make it to the ship, when Clarisse shouted from the deck, "Yeah, Jackson! In your face, Cyclops!"
Aurora whirled around in panic and glared at the Daughter of Ares, "For the love of the gods! Be quiet!"
"Rarrr!" Polyphemus picked up a boulder. He threw it toward the sound of Clarisse's voice, but it fell short, narrowly missing Tyson and Percy and sending a small splash towards Aurora who was now on the deck with her arm around Grover to help her up.
"Yeah, yeah!" Clarisse taunted. "You throw like a wimp! Teach you to try marrying me, you idiot!" Aurora clamped a hand over her mouth but it was too late.
Polyphemus threw another boulder and this time it was headed straight for Aurora and her friends. It was as if it was in slow motion, Aurora felt her hand drop in surprise from Clarisse's mouth, as the boulder crashed through the hull of the ship. The crash was so profound, Aurora stumbled to the ground. The Queen Anne's Revenge creaked and groaned and listed forward like it was going down a playground slide.
Unfortunately for Aurora, she began sliding down—following the form of gravity, clawing at the deck to grab ahold of whatever she could . . . with no use. As the ship sank, she and the others sank along with it.
Clarisse was a strong swimmer, but even she wasn't making any progress. Grover frantically kicked with his hooves. Annabeth was hanging on to the Fleece, which flashed in the water like a wave of new pennies. All the while, Aurora was on the brink of giving up because of the pain erupting on her body.
Percy swam toward them, knowing that he might not have the strength to pull his friends out. Worse, pieces of timber were swirling around them; none of Percy's power with water would help if he got whacked on the head by a beam.
Aurora then went underwater and did her best to kick up but was unfortunate in her efforts. The same indescribable feeling of being helpless filled her lungs and burned her heart and head. With it, the pain from her already fatigued written body was no help. Every time she tried to swim, it felt like blow after blow was landing on her ribs.
Suddenly, as she was moments away from giving up, she opened her eyes underwater and almost gasped at the beauty before her.
It was the same ethereal hippocampi from before, with skin as vibrant as before as if Poseidon personally dipped them into tie dye colors and blessed them with feeling of scales.
The hippocampi tilted its head and nudged her head before grabbing a hold of her and rushing to the surface.
When Aurora broke through the surface she looked around and saw Grover, Annabeth, and Clarisse each clinging to the neck of a hippocampus. She smiled when she saw Tyson's beloved Rainbow, and how he had Clarisse.
He raced over to Percy and allowed Tyson to grab hold of his mane.
Aurora's hippocampi did the same for Percy who sent the Daughter of Aphrodite a reassuring smile. They soon raced away from Polyphemus's island.
Behind them, Aurora could hear the Cyclops roaring in triumph, "I did it! I finally sank Nobody!"
They skimmed across the sea as the island shrank to a dot and then disappeared.
Aurora winced as she turned to look at Percy behind her, "Good to see you're still alive, mermaid man," the corner of her lips lifted into a smile. "Would've been a rather quiet journey home without you around."
Percy rolled his eyes but he too smiled, "Yeah right," he said. "I could say the same thing about you, pretty girl."
"About what? Seeing me alive or never shutting up."
"If I had to choose . . . maybe both."
Aurora snorted and shook her head, "Well," she shrugged. "I almost did die today so being alive is nothing short of a miracle."
"I wouldn't let you," he suddenly said. His eyes suddenly blended into the ocean around them. "Die, I mean. I wouldn't let you."
Aurora's face softened as she turned to look back at him again, her eyebrows crinkled together as she took note of the more vibrant magenta aura she'd ever seen on him before. She then looked into his eyes, searching for anything to signify the aura and the cause, because she came to realize why hers shines so bright—especially around him.
She knew what it was but her fear of the future would never let her utter it aloud. Especially seeing as the world around her was grown accustomed to making her favorite people vanish into thin air—it happened to her father, to her mother ( in a very weird way ) Hell, it even happened to one of her favorite childhood heroes—the star-spangled man with a plan.
She couldn't let it happen to him too.
She coughed, her own aura turning magenta, "That's a tough promise to keep, Percy. Especially in our world."
"I don't care," he told her a little louder like he was telling the world too. "It's a promise I plan on keeping."
— NAT TALKS !
What'd you guys think? Any thoughts? Theories? Concerns? Feel free to comment below anything that comes to mind, I love hearing your thoughts!!
Question of the day, What act are you most excited for? For example, the titans curse? Iron man 2? Tlo? Avengers?
❛ allure me. ❜ ༢ ͎۪۫ ༊*·˚ ╱
❪ the prodigy, 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 book. ❫
༢ ͎۪۫ ༊ ❛ ©CELESTIALAPHRODITE 2023. ❜ ¨. ༢ ͎۪۫ ｡𖤐
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