𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

156

Hadrian had personally never had an encounter with basilisks. But he decided he hated them. 

A basilisk didn't look like much – just an arm-length serpent with yellow eyes and a white frill collar – but it moved fast and could kill anything it touched. A dozen were swimming around the giant's legs. The only good thing: underwater, basilisks wouldn't be able to breathe fire, but that didn't make them any less deadly.

Two of the serpents shot towards Percy. He sliced them in half. The other ten swirled around him, just out of blade's reach. They writhed back and forth in a hypnotic pattern, looking for an opening. One bite, one touch was all it would take.

Just out of sword reach huh? Hadrian slung off his bow. 

"Do you think I can shoot arrows underwater?" He turned to Percy, "Help me?"

Percy nodded. 

Hadrian breathed deeply, he didn't know how a little bubble could carry enough oxygen  to sustain him this long but he didn't ask. 

Before the basilisks knew what was hitting them, drakon bone tipped arrows buried themselves inside them. One by one, Hadrian paused only to catch Percy's eye on him. 

The basilisks shot towards them, tired of waiting around to get shot. If they got too close, Percy would slash through them. 

Hadrian didn't rest until he'd cut down all the basilisks and all that remained was the giant in the back along with Kym. 

He wasn't sure about the physics of arrows travelling underwater, but he was also unsure about the physics of being hundreds of feet underwater and breathing in a bubble made for him by his "friend". 

"Kymopoleia." Jason tried his best to pronounce her name right. "You have to stop this."

She regarded him with her glowing white eyes. "Why would I do that? The Earth Mother has promised me unrestricted power. Could you make me a better offer?"

A better offer...

Hadrian sensed the possibility of an opening – room to negotiate. But what did he have that a storm goddess would want?

It was three demigods against a goddess and a giant- for some reason Percy thought that was invitation to go charge the giant. 

Percy raised his sword. He hurled himself at the giant, but Polybotes swept his hand through the water, leaving an arc of black oily poison. Percy charged straight into it faster than Hadrian could yell, what are you thinking?

Percy dropped Riptide. He gasped, clawing at his throat. The giant threw his weighted net and Percy collapsed to the floor, hopelessly entangled as the poison thickened around him.

Hadrian's brain straight up refused to work. All he could see was poison and a Percy that wasn't moving. The bubble around him popped and Hadrian took one last breath before Percy's powers stopped helping him.

This deep in the ocean with no ocean, he knew he would die. He let Jason pull him into his air cocoon. Only then did he breathe deeply again.

Hadrian coughed out some water he had inhaled accidentally and tried to focus on what was going on. 

"What did you do?" He asked just as Jason said-

"Let him go!" 

Hadrian thought he was drowning, even though he was safe in the air cocoon, pressed against Jason in the limited space. 

The giant chuckled. "Don't worry, son of Eros. Your friend will take a long time to die. After all the trouble he's caused me, I wouldn't dream of killing him quickly."