.・゜゜・——— I AM NOT A WOMAN I'M A GOD !
PROTECT THAT PRETTY FACE OF YOURS
IF ANY OF THESE LIFELESS BODIES suffered with insomnia, then their biggest wish had come true. Manhattan had been cursed with an endless sleep, or so, it seemed endless to Regina. They were as good as dead.
Civilians lay motionless on the streets of Manhattan, as if they had all decided to faint at the same exact time. Thomas and Silena were hosing down cars that crashed together and dragging out the sleeping bodies to safety. Elio Gray and Michael Yew were bandaging sleepers on the road, and Annabeth was spinning a magic shield while Katie Gardner scolded the Stoll brothers for proposing a sweet shop robbery in the middle of a war.
They all gathered around Annabeth as she explained things about the magic shield, and Regina overheard something about ships approaching Manhattan full of deadly monsters that wanted to murder them. But something else was on Regina's mind, which was weird because nothing should be clouding her thoughts more than a full on God war, but she was selfish and so was her brain so it made sense.
She was looking at Thomas, and watching as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he listened to what Annabeth and Percy were informing. That was one of the things Regina loved most about Thomas; he was a listener. It was what made their dynamic so compatible. She talked and he listened. And he would always remember what she said, recalling every little detail that even she forgot about. She missed talking to him; she never needed to talk to anyone more. She had so much to tell him, but the destructive mix of guilt and anger made her stay glued to her spot and refuse to approach him. Her eyes were glistening with gross tears.
She missed her best friend.
"— and Regina, lead the attack."
She snapped out of her thoughts as her name was pulled into the conversation that she wasn't paying any attention to. Perhaps she should have, because they were all staring her down, expecting a vocal response to the order she was given.
"Attack ... what?"
They all groaned, Annabeth pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers, which scared Regina slightly because she knew to never piss off Annabeth during a crisis. Silena raised her brows, "the invasion? They'll be here soon, you think you'll be okay leading it?"
Regina nodded as if she knew what Silena was talking about. "Yeah, of course. I'll lead the attack. Got it."
"She can't do it on her own." Michael said, and Regina finally saw what everyone was gathered up in their cabins. She looked beside her and remembered the absence of her family. Convince Clarrise to fight. She remembered her failure. She was the only Ares kid here, and Michael was right. How was she going to take them down alone?
"We'll join her." Annabeth said, her eyes connecting with Regina's. "Athena is the Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, Ares the God of war and slaughter —"
"We'll destroy everyone in a heartbeat." Regina finished off, mirroring the smile Annabeth was displaying on her face. She watched as Annabeth blew a singular braid from her face and the whole Athena cabin stood behind her, but Regina frowned and pulled Annabeth to join her. "We'll lead this one together."
"Then I'll have to fill you in with plan twenty-three." She said with an affirmative nod of her head, but Percy interrupted them.
"No wait, I need you two with me." He said, looking between Regina and Annabeth.
It was a good idea, and everyone had a part to play. With Regina and Annabeth beside Percy, they were sure to get at least some damage done. But as Annabeth walked towards Percy, Regina couldn't push the idea out of her head that this may be the last time she would see her camp mates. Splitting up at a time like this would result in inevitable death, and all the words she wanted to say would never be said. Her eyes moved to Thomas's, and they connected for a brief but sure moment.
She was not going to leave without him.
She pushed the other campers aside as she strode towards the brunette boy. His eyes were wide in pure surprise when she grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards the way she came. She didn't even look him in the eye, but the fact that he didn't resist told her that maybe he didn't hate her after all.
"Thomas is coming with us, too. This isn't up for debate." She told Percy and Annabeth with a straight face, and as she looked at them for any signs of disapproval, they gave her none.
"Alright." Percy said, nodding his head.
"But wait," a kid named Mason said, scratching his red hair. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."
Percy cursed under his breath, and before he could say a thing else, a miracle happened.
A group of bow and arrow holding girls approached the campers with smirks that made them look like Goddesses. And it clicked. They were the Hunters.
"No fucking way." Regina said in astonishment. The leader, it seemed, was wearing the most badass punk fit that put Regina's style to shame. She had a pixie cut that was streaked with silver highlights, and electric eyeliner that made her blue eyes blinding. She was stunning, and Regina couldn't take her eyes off of her.
"Thalia!" Annabeth screamed in delight, and it was like Regina was looking at a celebrity.
The infamous daughter of Zeus who got turned into a tree then claimed immortality.
Thalia smiled. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."
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REGINA WAS THE ONLY ONE who could drive between the four, but when Percy implied that riding a motorbike was the same thing as a car, it was like Regina had forgotten all of her road sense.
She grunted as she kicked the pedal of the motorbike they stole from an emo teen, trying to rev the engine as if that would work. They were all squeezed onto one bike since all the cars were wedged against each other and they couldn't get in any of them. Percy sat behind Regina with his hands clutched around her waist, Annabeth sitting behind him and Thomas behind her. It felt like they were in a conga line.
"Regina, do you reckon you could speed this up a little?" Annabeth asked in a sweet and innocent voice, though everyone knew it was to cover her frustration.
"I don't know how to control a motorbike, Blondie. Cars and bikes are not the same thing, believe it or not." Regina huffed, gritting her teeth as she twisted the handle and tried to position the bike once more.
When it finally seemed like the basics were coming to her, she grabbed the helmet and handed it to Thomas down the line. "To protect that pretty face of yours."
He didn't say anything, but she could see him fail to resist a smile, which made Regina's stomach flip in euphoria.
That gave the brunette girl a push to go, and with a breath of prayer to the universe, she kicked off and began to steer the driving motorbike down the road, trying to recollect any sort of memory of her brother teaching her when she was younger. And as if that memory triggered motorbike sense, she began to get cocky, driving faster and faster to get where they wanted.
They all began to get comfortable, as if the security of Regina guiding them was enough for them to relax during such a chaotic time. Regina could see in the rear view mirror that Annabeth was leaning back against Thomas, who was holding her up as she nodded off slightly, her eyes flickering open and closed as she tried to catch up on the sleep she missed for days. Percy's chin began to rest on Regina's right shoulder, his hair brushing against her cheek as looked at the view in front of them.
"What motorbike professional just possessed you?" He asked, his voice clear in her ear as she felt him smile against her shoulder.
She shrugged, his head moving through the motion. "I think my brother finally decided to help me out. Motor-biking was kind of his thing."
It was as if she had mentioned something she shouldn't have, as Percy's whole demeanour changed abruptly when she mentioned her brother. He sat back quickly and his hands moved from her waist to her shoulders, as if he was uncomfortable with the conversation she had just started. That confused her, as he never had this reaction when she first mentioned her brother to him back at the labyrinth. What had changed?
She gulped. "Is something wrong?"
He didn't answer right away, and when she looked at him through the mirror, his face was mixed with a look of confusion and uneasiness. He finally answered, but his eyes were far from her. "Just keep driving. We need to get there as soon as possible."
Regina's heart sunk, and she nodded.
𝐀/𝐍
yeah angst, as always.
I love the fact that I know what's happened and you guys don't. But you might have figured out a little bit if you've read the lat Olympian really recently or you're just clever. Guesses is that you haven't but it would be funny if you have.
And yes, I just love torturing Regina and Percy :) it's what makes their love so great. Torture.