Raised from the Depths: The Apple of Their Eyes [A Percy Jackson FanFiction]

Thirty-four: I can't believe I spent this last week trying to pick an apple

Quick A/N- I decided that I'm not scrapping this story; I love it way too much. But, I'm warning you right now, you will think this book is extremely cliché by book two. And you'll be right. But I need you to have faith in me. I have something planned for book three that will cancel out everything I did in book two. I know it doesn't make any sense now, but it will when the time comes. I hope.
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"Stand down, demigod!" A shrill voice demanded from behind me, and as Mico raised her sword, a blur obstructed my view, and the sound of metal clashing filled my ears.

"Mico, are you crazy?" Sol demanded as he stood in front of me, pushing against Mico's sword with his dagger, his teeth gritted with effort, his muscles straining to keep his smaller weapon from collapsing under Mico's pressure.

My heart seized as I realized he would never last against Mico's weapon. With that thought in mind, a second, weaker wave of energy surged through me, just enough to allow me to stand. I picked up my bow and notched another arrow, and took my place beside Sol, pulling back the string and taking aim. "Mico, put the sword down now." I hissed, my eyes narrowing as my body shook with tremendous effort.

Mico turned her electric glare to me, and I thought I could see the storm swirling in her eyes. "You don't scare me. You don't have the heart to do it." She snarled, and thunder clapped above us.

"Yeah?" I asked, before letting the string slip from my fingers. The arrow sliced through the air, and hit it's target in the center of her forearm, skewering right through it. She screamed in pain, instantly letting go her weapon in reaction. Sol let out a relieved breath, giving me a grateful glance as Mico scrambled for her sword, grasping it clumsily with her other hand. "I don't want to shoot you. Mico, but, given you're trying to kill me, I'm liking Sol a lot more right now."

Mico grunted, tears brimming in her eyes as she gritted her teeth, blood oozing from her wounds as she took her stance. "I'll take you all on. You have no idea what I'm capable of!" She threatened, her body shaking with anger and pain.

"Daughter of Zeus, if you do not drop your weapon, the pain you'll experience will be like no other." One of the Hesperides, Hesperia, warned from behind me, her voice grave and heavy with the weight of her threat.

"You don't scare me, nymph! You're about as powerless as-" Mico's words were cut off quickly by an ear-splitting roar, and the earth began to shake beneath us.

"Get down!" Hesperia yelled, and Sol's hand latched to my wrist as he yanked me down to the floor quicker than I could process. My chest smacked against the ground, and I gasped as the air rushed out of my lungs. Above us, a mass of scales leaped over, and landed with a crash next to Mico. She screamed in fear, but her cry was drowned out by Ladon's powerful roar. Several heads snapped at her while the other 90 hisses and snarled. Mico pivoted and twisted out of the way, but the mythical dragon had another weapon up his sleeve. As quick as Mico's own lightning, he lashed out his forearm, his claws slicing across Mico's face effortlessly.

She screamed in agony, falling on her knees, as she gripped her face with her free hand, curling into a ball on the ground as Ladon loomed over, prepared to make his final strike. "OURANOS!" She shrieked with a shaking voice. Ladon lunged forward, but not quickly enough. Lightning split down from the sky, striking Mico where she sat, and the air popped with a head-splitting crack. When the flash of light dissipated, Mico was gone, and about twenty of Ladon's heads were attempting to maul thin air.

"Ladon, that's enough." Hesperia spoke in a calm, gentle voice, and Ladon's heads slowly lifted from their attack as he back away from the charred ground. The dark clouds hanging above dispersed, and the garden seemed to hold it's breath, the only sound audible being Ladon's heads' grunting and snapping at each other as he lumbered back over to the apple tree.

"Affinity," Hesperia said again, and I turned tentatively, looking up at the distrusting nymph. Her sisters stood next to her, glancing between her and I with wide, curious eyes. Hesperia remained straight-faced, her black eyes giving away no emotions, "please go receive that wretched apple so you can leave this garden and never come back." She stated in exasperation.

I felt myself nod, and I turned to the tree, walking stiffly towards it, my mind whirling with the events that had just unfolded in front of me. Sol followed close behind me, and soon, another large creature was at my side, and when it let out a gravelly chirp, I realized it the Onyx. I pressed a hand into his fur, grateful for his companionship.

"You'll never leave me, right, buddy?" I whispered in a hoarse voice as we walked. A few of Ladon's heads hissed, but otherwise, he didn't bother to challenge us. Onyx purred in answer, and glanced at me, his blood red eyes almost seeming to smile.

"I won't either, Finny. We're gonna stick together. There's no way I can leave you know, not after this whole mess." Sol explained, grabbing my other hand with his.

"Finny?" I croaked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I've been working on that this whole time. You like it?" He asked with a small smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I grumbled as we stood under the tree. I kind of owed Sol my life. As annoying as that nickname was, I'd really be a jerk if I turned around and snapped at him.

I glanced about, and my eyes instantly found the branch that had collapsed under my weight. Still attached to the end, in perfect condition, was The Apple of Discord. I leaned down, my calves spasming with effort as I yanked the apple from the tree, and finally held it in my hands.

My entire quest, all the pain, fear, betrayal, sweat, blood, and tears, for a measly golden apple with a single greek word engraved in the side. You'd think, with all the work I put into it, that'd I'd come to appreciate it more, but it seemed utterly worthless to me.

Suddenly, a voice began to speak from behind me, and I stiffened at the sound. "Oh, isn't this perfect? The demigod I tried to kill for stealing my apple, living to be here now, ready to return it to me. It's quite poetic, isn't it?"