madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-I tried to scream but my head was under [fire] water-

Percy's throat was as dry as, well, the rest of him. And that wasn't a good thing. Blood dripped down from his cracked lips, only it was nothing in comparison to the waves of throbbing pain, prickling spikes of it, unbearable itches, and burning aches.

He didn't really notice it though, he was too busy checking behind him every few seconds to make sure Annabeth was still there, even if she didn't know he was, and holding Teqi.

"Come on, wake up dude!" He muttered to her through gritted teeth, eyes prickling with tears, monster dust, and dried blood. "Come on, what did they do to you? What the fuck?"

Teqi didn't reply. She just sat there, staring ahead with an unblinking gaze. Her muscles weren't tensed when Percy grabbed her arm. She could have been asleep, only that wasn't possible. She'd been cursed. What curse had befallen her when she'd killed at least twenty of the arai, he didn't know.

Her pale bloodstained face moved, and for a moment he hoped she was snapping out of whatever trance she was in, but then he realised his vision was wavering. Like heat on asphalt, his view of Tartarus wobbled dangerously.

Then something solid slammed into his side, and Percy was on the ground, hair tangled in thorny vines and body spasming.

He couldn't get back up, his body wouldn't let him and the only sound he could make were choked cries. His hand went over his mouth slowly, and he squeezed his eyes shut as tears slid out of them. Percy had to get back up, he had to drag Teqi along and fix Annabeth, he had to get them to the doors of death and through them, he had to stop Gaea and save the world and, and....

And he just wanted his mum.

He wanted warm hugs and bellies that hurt from laughing too hard and a sense of safety and security and he wanted to be a little kid again, to hide his face in his mum's shoulder and cry when he got hurt, but he was only hiding his face in the pulsing membrane-like ground of the Titan Tartarus.

He couldn't feel his face though, in fact he couldn't even feel his body anymore. His consciousness was like a small helium balloon, loosely tied to the top of his head. He vaguely remembered the blue balloons his mum blew up for his sixth birthday. They had silver glitter in them, and he kept each and every one until they ultimately popped, and his mum swept up the mess. Just like the balloon that was the only thing keeping him hear right now.

Percy gasped for breath, chest aching with unreleased wails and sobs.

"What's wrong with him? What happened to them? Why won't she wake up?"

The voice was hoars and desperate and sounded like it was coming from someone underwater. He vaguely felt touch, around his shoulders and his waist, on his head and his face. It was nice, but Percy couldn't even open his eyes. He just curled further into himself, but that only brought on more of the cursed pain.

"Lots of curses. Percy has done bad things to monsters. The mov parafrosyni, Bob... Bob doesn't know. Bob wasn't there, doesn't know."

"Can you fix them? Like you did with my blindness? Bob please! Fix them!"

"Iapetus. Before Bob. It was Iapetus."

"...I like Bob better. Which do you like?"

"I do not know anymore."

Percy felt his thoughts slow, he tried to concentrate, to hold on, he really did, but soon the clear waterfalls of consciousness were mixed with thick oil and he could only focus on the fact that- that- what was he thinking about?