☠︎︎"I'm not like him. I don't want to be fucking feared."︎☠︎︎
ISABELL FOUND IT AMUSING that the first time she'd ever step foot in New York would be with children that she was supervising, she always thought it would be her mom. She always talked about taking her around the world, just the two of them, like they thought it would always be. Izzy wanted to see every part of the world, she and Luke always joked about leaving camp and running away together, well she always thought it was a joke.
Luke was serious, he wanted to escape from the mistreatment and blatant disrespect from the gods. He knew if he kept on running they'd never be able to catch him, and as long as he was with Isabell he could keep running. He'd be able to leave with her beside him and they'd never look back.
"Let's run away together." Isabell turned her head that rested right beside Luke's. His tear-stained cheeks had been dried by the girl's thumbs to the best of her ability, he had another nightmare and snuck away to her cabin for the comfort she loved to give him.
"Huh?" Luke asked, his voice groggy and his eyes barely open. He was so exhausted he didn't know if she was serious, either way, it got him to smile.
"Just me and you, travelling across the world, we can pretend we're orphans, we won't have anything but each other." Izzy hummed, the idea was appealing to her as she had always wanted to do that with her mom, but she would never have the chance to anymore. That was till she met Luke, he made her feel like the world wasn't so bad after all.
"Where would we go angel?" The boy whispered, playing into her little fantasy that he wanted to make real.
"First we'd go Disneyland and Universal Studios, i've always wanted to go back since my mom took me when I was six, I was too little to go on the big scary rides then but I'm pretty sure I'm tall enough now." She let out a small laugh, Luke nodded and smiled like he knew what she was going on about, she could talk about going to an island full of snakes and he'd follow her, she made every beautiful and kind.
"Then we'd go somewhere where it's always hot, like the Bahamas, Mexico... oh! And Dubai!" Isabell yawned, the sight of her eyes dropping made the boy look at her fully in awe.
"I like the sound of that." Luke laughed lightly, his arm slowly moving around her back, his thumb gently caressing her scarred skin, bringing Izzy closer to the heat his body radiated. Her heart fluttered at the action, his touch instantly sent shivers down her spine.
She usually hated when people made the scar on her back obvious that it existed, but whenever Luke touched her all she could think about was him.
"Good, because I wasn't asking." The girl giggled, before fully attaching herself to his chest as if it was a magnetic force that did it. The smell of campfire smoke that stained his clothes filled her nose, he could sent her into a deep sleep just from his scent.
Instantly, her body was filled with the warmth that never left him, not even in the coldest of nights. Luke chuckled, Hypnoses quickly took them afterwards, both of them dreaming of running away and not saying goodbye to anyone at camp, leaving no traces that they'd ever existed, just the memories of who they once were.
Luke often wondered what would've happened if they actually ran away before Kronos had given the boy a reason to stay and fight, if she where to ask him again, if she where to stroke the scar on his cheek as she did it making him feel like he was just broken and Izzy could fix him, he'd wouldn't even think about saying no.
Meanwhile Isabell was close to spilling her guts out due to the stench from the bathroom toilet she was sitting right next to. She understood she had to sit there to hide their demigod smell, but it still made her face turn green. She gave Annabeth a deadly glare as she had the pretty window seat, it sucked being the oldest.
"There is no way this is what sacred smells like." Percy cringed as a man walked out from the bathroom, making the bus smell even worse.
"We're soldiers on a mission. It's not a vacation." Annabeth rolled her eyes at the boy and how he complained so much.
"Thank you for clearing that up." Percy replied back, Isabell groaned at being right in the middle of their bickering, whilst Grover could choose to ignore them. "But if this is so important, why didn't Chiron spring for plane tickets? This seems kind of low priority, doesn't it?"
"Sorry, I assumed someone had told you." Grover sighed.
"Tell me what?" Percy demanded.
"Percy, it isn't just the monsters who are going to be trying to stop us. You and Isabell are forbidden children, Zues might decide to take a shot at you both himself. The sky is his domain. We'd be serving you up on a silver platter to try to travel through it." Grover informed him, Izzy hated most of the gods but Zeus was definitely number one on her list for his hypocrisy. He was allowed to have forbidden children but god forbid his brothers do.
"Yeah, no one mentioned that." Percy frowned and shook his head.
Isabell pulled her walkman out of her pocket, starting the tape Carlos had given her and letting herself be surrounded by her and her mom's favourite band, abba. When Izzy's mom was pregnant with her, she used to put headphones on her belly and constantly played abba for her, so you could say the girl has been a fan for day one.
It wasn't smart of her to just block everything out around her, a monster could attack the bus and she'd be humming along to dancing queen. But if she was going to get through this quest, she needed moments like this.
As the girl got older, the memories of her mom started to disappear as she started to make new ones. That's why she didn't like making friends, she knew there wasn't enough space to share between them and her mom. Isabell felt like she was betraying her, how she went on living after she disappeared. How she was to scared to leave camp and look for her own mother, it disgusted her how much of a coward she is.
Annabeth clapped her hands in front of the older girls face, Isabell jumped and pulled the headphones off her head. "I've called your name like 15 times."
"Sorry, Annie. What's up?" Isabell rubbed her eyes not realising she had fallen asleep, and that the coach had now stopped.
"I'm gonna go get us some snacks, want anything in particular?" Annabeth asked climbing over her.
Izzy sighed as she tried to think of the chocolate stars her mom always bought her for after school,"I'll just come in with you."
"Me too." Percy added getting out of his seat.
"No, you'll stay right there." Annabeth pushed the boy back in his seat, the look on the boys face made Isabell hold back a laugh.
"Why? It smells terrible back here." Percy whined.
"That's the point. Monsters can't smell you through that." Isabell ruffled the boys hair, he slapped her hand away sick and tired of her messing up his hair.
"Exactly, so that's where I want you." Annabeth added.
"I wanna vote. Who thinks that we should all go get to breathe fresh air, and buy our own snacks." Percy replied with a smirk on his face as he rose his hand.
"There's no voting. Chips and sodas okay for you guys?" Annabeth rolled her eyes at Percy's constant persistence.
"I don't think you should just get to decide we don't vote. Izzy should decide because she is the grown up." Percy pointed at the girl who scoffed, as if she'd back him up against Annabeth, he was on his own here.
"What ever Annabeth says, goes." Isabell shrugged, earning a sigh from Percy.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Annabeth sarcastically pouted.
"Fine. I wanna vote on whether you get to decide we don't vote." Percy continued, Izzy was ready to give him another slap at the back of his head.
Annabeth groaned, extremely tired of his bullshit already "Grover, please, can you help your..."Grover started to clap, catching all three of their attentions. "...friend?"
"I really don't wanna be a tiebreaker. I have a better idea." The boy frowned still clapping, then it turned into some sort of rhythm. "Oh golly, the roads gettin' bumpy 'cause I got me some friends who just can't get along. Oh dear! When the team's gettin' grumpy the trick to gettin' through it is singin' this song-"
"Dude, what are you doing?" Percy shook his head at Grover.
"It's the consensus song. Verse two encourages us to say nice things about each other. You get a few rounds in and you'd be amazed at how disagreements just kind of..." Grover looked at all three of his friends, none of them were interested or amused in his song, he tutted "..fade away."
"Chips and sodas okay for you guys?" Izzy repeated what Annabeth asked before to get away from the awkward tension.
"Whatever." Percy grumbled.
"Yes, please." Grover sighed.
_____________________
ANNABETH SIGHED AS THEY both got out of ear shot, "He's getting on my nerves." Isabell smirked behind her, their arguing reminded her of her grandpa and grandma, how they always used to bicker of the smallest things, but she could tell how much they loved each other.
"Like, he's so persistent and stubborn it's so annoying. He reminds me of you actually." Annabeth opened the gas station door, leaving Isabell stuck in place with her mouth wide open.
Before she stormed in after her demanding an answer to how she was like Percy, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're super stubborn, Luke says it all the time. You refuse to do most things around camp despite how much people try to convince you, you refuse to accept or even acknowledge that you and Luke have feelings for each other, you're constantly trying so hard to prove yourself to others yet claim you don't care what they have to say, and there are a lot more things." Annabeth hummed as she looked at the candy in front of her, trying to decide if the boys would like them.
"Excuse me! That doesn't make me stubborn, in fact it makes me... self-willed!" Isabell scoffed picking up a box of grape and strawberry nerds.
"Yeah, whatever. What about the Luke thing? Why can't you both just get it over with already?" Annabeth rolled her eyes, turning to face the girl.
Izzy sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "It's not that easy, you'll understand when you really like a boy but their literally giving you nothing to even give you an idea that they like you back."
"That's such a lie! You're the one giving him nothing." Annabeth shook her head at how completely stubborn the older girl is.
"Just drop it." Isabell pointed at her sternly, Annabeth raised her hands in defeat and turn back to the hard decision of picking candy. The older girl waited for Annabeth with a hand on her hip, Izzy knew the young girl was incredibly smart but did she have to shove how she could see right through her in her face.
Annabeth frowned at the flavoured candy in front of her, picking every one up and studying it hard, she gave up and grabbed one of each. Isabell giggled as she struggled with so much in her hands, "We have Chips, Soda, and whatever they are. We good to go?"
"Yeah, this is definitely enough." Annabeth laughed lightly as the two walked over to the register and dropped their items on the desk. The lady's eyes widen at their stash of unhealthy snacks, Izzy shot her a sarcastic smile.
"Izzy," Annabeth whispered urgently to the girl and nudged her side.
"Hm?" Isabell hummed looking over to where Annabeth was nodding towards. She could tell who the woman was instantly, a minion of her dad's, the monster turned around and smirked at her. "Let's go." Izzy grabbed the bag of treats off of the lady and stormed out of there quickly, with Annabeth following right behind her.
As soon as the two got on the bus Isabell noticed another minion that belonged to her dad, she tried to hide behind the newspaper she was "reading" but she could tell who that monster was from a mile away. Izzy boldly took a seat right next to the monster, Annabeth's eyes widened at this action. The young girl let out an exaggerated sigh as she placed on her cap, and sat right behind the two.
"If you guys were better at your job, we might not have noticed you here so easily." Annabeth spoke first.
The monster smirked, "If Thalia were better at hers, there might not be a family of squirrels making her their home."
"That's the only job you ever almost done right, all the other times you've failed, you would've thought Hades would have replaced you by now." Isabell scoffed.
"How things have changed, you're both not the frightened little girls I came for all those years ago." The woman let out a light chuckle.
"What fear? The only fear I saw was the moment you knew that you could never beat me." Isabell laughed rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, don't kid yourself. I wasn't that frightened." Annabeth added, if Izzy could see her she'd definitely have a proud smirk on her face.
"Maybe so. Maybe so. Either way, now it would seem that you're both exactly what they say you are. The pride of Athena's offspring, and Hades worst nightmare. Perhaps the most formidable demigod children alive." The fury smiled, watching how Izzy's jaw tightened at the mention of her father's name.
"Why are you here?" Annabeth snapped at her.
The sinister smirk returned to her face, "I'm here to collect your friend, and to take Isabell willingly with me."
"Yeah, never going to happen." Isabell scoffed looking the woman up and down. Never in a million years.
"Collect him? For What?" Annabeth asked harshly.
"Oh, I don't question orders. "Bring them in, quick and quiet." That is what I was told. Lure him off this bus where I can take him quietly away from so many eyes, and your question goes on unimpeded and unburdened. We both know he isn't gonna be of any help to you, and maybe even a hindrance." The woman sighed.
Annabeth had left already, they both found that out as an old man now sat behind them. Isabell herself was about to get up before an old, wrinkled hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, digging her sharp claws into her soft flesh.
"I don't think you understand how powerful you'd be, if you'd just listen to what he has to say. All of the gods would fear you, Isabell." A growl escaped the fury's lips.
Izzy whacked the woman's hand away and brought her face threateningly close to the monsters, "I'm not like him. I don't want to be fucking feared."
And that was the full truth, all the girl wanted was to be loved by everyone, a love that she'd only ever felt once. She had never done anything to not deserve it, yet people practically spat at her feet.
"Guys, you need to open that window! Now!" Annabeth demanded urgently rushing over to the boys. Isabell turned around and saw the monsters bat like wing rise from her seat.
"I don't think these windows are supposed to-" Grover's eyes widened as he saw the monster coming right towards them, "Oh, no."
Both boys urgently rose from their seats and over to the window, desperately trying to open it. Percy pushed it with so much force the whole window collapsed, Isabell and Annabeth smirked at the mister getting trapped in front of a man trying so desperately to get off.
"Izzy, Annabeth, let's go!" Percy urgently waved them over. Another Fury shrieked from outside the window and flew right in knocking Percy and Grover down onto the seats behind them. Both boys cowered away in fear, as the monster got up and lunged for them.
Isabell felt the heat rise in her fingers, and spread all the way down to her elbow. Izzy snatched the sword from Annabeth's hand, it being fully engulfed in her flames as soon as it touched her hand. "Hey!" She spat, the fury turned to her quickly, Isabell threw the blade right into the middle of the monsters chest causing her to erupt into flames as she shrieked in pain, and her body turned to ash.
"Holy shit! You can do that!" Percy gasped at the girl, fully in shock but all he could think about was how cool she was, Isabell rolled her eyes at the young boy.
Annabeth ran for her blade and began to climb out the window, "We are done here! Let's go."
Isabell waited for the blonde to leave first before turning back around to the other fury, a smirk covering her whole face as she flipped her off.
EDITORS NOTE
I'm sorry this is so late school is making me burn out currently because i have my exams so soon but either way i hope you enjoyed
the betrayal scene is going to be gut wrenching honestly im already crying writing the plan
id also like to thank you all for the support for this fic i love you all so much and you continue to be the reason i keep on writing
thank you all so much🫶🫶