[3] 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 ― p.jackson, l.valdez

013.

「013. a lovers duel」

WAS IT weird that barbie was oddly relieved that the demon grandmothers were closing in for the kill? maybe so, but it was better then waiting for imminent danger. there were several dozen of them, and sure- she didn't like the fact there were that many of them against four. but at least fighting was something she knew. wandering through darkness was horrible- you were sitting ducks, waiting to be attacked. and by the looks of her boyfriends face along with her friends face... they were sort of thinking the same thing. and now? well, they had a titan on their side, that was definitely a plus-side that would help them a lot.

"back off." percy scowled, jabbing riptide at the nearest shrivelled hag, but she only sneered.

we are the arai, said that weird voice-over, like the entire forest was speaking. you cannot destroy us.

annabeth pressed against her shoulder, the four of them stood closer, "don't touch them." she warned, "they're spirits of curses."

"bob doesn't like curses," bob decided.

barbie couldn't help but agree with that statement. there was a small mrow of fear from skeleton kitten small bob as it disappeared inside bob's coveralls. the titan glared at the spirit ladies, sweeping his broom in a wide arc, forcing the spirits back. but the spirits came back like the tide- relentless and fucking annoying.

we serve the bitter and defeated, said the arai. we serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. we have many curses to share with you.

barbie didn't like the sound of that. she stared around, the firewater in her stomach started to crawl up her throat, bubbling and making her feel like it was eating away at her. it didn't sit right with her. suddenly, her mind was flashing to every monster she'd killed. when she was fourteen, she killed the nemean lion with percy. what would happen then? what curse would that be? dracanae. kelli. thousands of hellhounds. giants. cyclopses. in the months whilst making the argo... hundreds- if not thousands of monsters. her and annabeth had been on several missions, trying to find more out about the roman camp. her and cherry had seen unsuspecting mortals turn to be humans. her val and piper had tried to spend a normal sibling day out together- and nearly got kidnapped (long story).

and medea...

no, her mind hissed, she's given her curse. there's no more she can do.

with the dozens of demon ladies, barbie was starting to panic.

percy glanced at her- then at annabeth (who looked just as shook as barbie) and cleared his throat. he was trembling with fear, you could tell just by glancing at him. she squeezed his hand, they were in the same boat- or... sinking boat.

this isn't the titanic, barb. shush, she chastised herself.

"nice offer," she managed to warble out, "but i'd rather not."

"and anyways," percy added, "my mom told me to never accept a curse from a stranger."

"could we get a refund?" finished annabeth.

and then, the nearest demon lunged. her claws extended like bony switchblades. but before barbie could even blink, percy had cut her into two- but as soon as she vaporized, barbie let out a scream. percy had stumbled back, clamping his hand to his rib cage. his fingers came away wet and red. if tartarus wasn't torture enough, this was really setting the bar high. red. that's all she saw. her vision blurred.