Son Of The Cup Bearer {Percy Jackson x Ejen Ali}

Second Prize: Depression

Iman didn't knew Ali could act so fast. Well, she has to give credits to him for that. 

While Khai had been busy distracting Eta, Iman and Alicia set to work. They slowly inched closer and closer to Ali and Moon to hopefully not get caught, and luckily, they didn't. (OK, Fates, only this time: thank you.)

The two of them hacked as fast as they could at the thick vines.

When Ali and Moon were finally released, Iman turned about to tell Khai that they could leave, only to find that he was nowhere to be seen; and where he last stood was instead a cocoon of grass about ten metres in diameter.

"Oh, no," Alicia whispered horrifically. "KHAI!"

There was no reply. Either the grass was too thick or Khai was hurt. Iman refused to think any other possible thing that could have happened to her team member. However, before Iman could even charge for the cocoon, Ali had threw out his yoyo with a strangled yell.

BOOM!

The whole clearing shook with the sudden uproar of swirling Greek fire. Almost everything within a five metre radius from the impact zone was reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes. Luckily for Khai, the impact was only enough to completely burn away his trap. Iman was relieved to see him unharmed, but he didn't look like fighting at all. He was just there, on his knees, staring fascinatingly at the falling ashes of his grassy prison. 

That's when it hit her.

Uncontrollable grief hit her so hard she collapsed onto her knees. She tried to soak it all in, build up her walls, but it was impossible to fight. Around her, she felt the ground shudder with the weight of Alicia, Ali and Moon. There was nearly no way to keep tract of her surroundings when her head pounded and her eyes filled with tears.

Just lie down and rest, the voices of grief whispered in her mind. Then, you would be able to join your uncle. He misses you dearly; it would be a shame to leave him all alone in the afterlife.

"Stop it," Iman gasped, clutching her head in an effort to steady herself. "STOP IT! SHUT UP!"

You want to go, don't you? the voices said calmly. You just want this to end. You are tired of living. How many more miseries can you take?

"Iman."

That voice. That was different. Iman tried to focus instead on that voice, not the one filled with lamentation. 

After a few ringing seconds, she found her surroundings coming back into focus, though it threatened to slip every now and then. She was just able to make out Moon squatting right next to her with a determined expression. Iman immediately recognised that expression - it's what she sees in the mirror every day. The guarded expression when one is suffering, but is willing to put it all up for the people around her. Iman found this impressive and embarrassing. She was the one who was supposed to be trying to get her friends out of this state, not breaking down at the slight touch of lamentation.

Wait. Lamentation.

"Moon," Iman hiccoughed. "The Cocytus part. It's close."

"What?" Moon asked, confused. "How do you know?"

"The- the breakdowns." Iman shuddered. She could even feel the powers of Cocytus trying to bring her back into her previous state before. It was tiring to endure it when it was so tempting. "It's enforcing our previous grievances and making it stronger a hundredfold. How can you-?"

Moon shifted uneasily. Well, as much as she can while squatting. "I came to peace with my father's death. It's no biggie."

Iman tried for a smile while her face felt like a soaked sponge. "No biggie?"

"C'mon." Moon helped Iman up on her feet, handing her a tissue. "We still got Eta to stop and Cocytus to find."

Iman looked around. Sure, Eta was still standing where he was last, staring into space. Around the clearing, Khai, Alicia and Ali were stuck in their own breakdowns too, sobbing and moaning while tears freely ran down their faces. Seeing them in their current states made Iman's heart shatter, even for the boys. She wanted more than anything to help them. 

"Could they wake up?" Iman asked Moon, wiping her face on her jacket sleeve in the meantime.

Sadly, Moon shook her head. "No. I tried to wake the others up, but only you did."

"Their grievances are worse than mine," Iman said grudgingly. "Cocytus failed to place me in that state for because my lamentation for Uncle Aaron wasn't strong enough."

Moon opened her mouth in silent understanding, then turned back to Eta. 

"You think he's somehow related to Cocytus at all?" Moon questioned. The funny thing was, no matter how long they stood there, Eta didn't acknowledge their presence at all. It was like he was under some sort of trance, being played around like a robot. Or maybe that was just how far mentally damaged he was. Iman knew a journey through Tartarus was not easy. Only a few managed to survive, much less keep their sanity. Three exception only Iman knew: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Mr Black Clothing himself. 

Oh, crap. Speaking of that, they still owed him a Happy Meal each.

Why she was thinking of Happy Meals while surrounded by breaking down friends in the middle of an oil plantation was beyond her. She mentally slapped herself to return back to the real situation.

"You would think Eta would realise us by now," Moon mused, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Well, let's test a theory, shall we?" 

Iman stepped out of the shadows of the trees, into the clearing. Immediately Eta's head snapped upwards and vines shot towards them in the speed of a flying bullet. Iman had barely managed to stumble back before the vines faltered, writhing around in the air as if confused why their target were playing hide and seek.

Moon had her mouth hanging open. 

"You realise what you just did could have nearly gotten you killed, right?" Moon pointed out shakily, master of the obvious.

Iman scoffed. "Of course I knew. Inside the clearing, he detects us. Outside, not so much. But I say we don't take this haven for granted. I don't know why he suddenly can't detect us when he knew our presence when he were just outside of the plantation."

"Good point," Moon agreed. "So, what do you think we should do?"

Iman bit her lip. "We'll need to split up. Since you're practically immune to the powers of Cocytus, you'll have to find it."

"On my own?" Moon said, affronted. "Eta will catch me in seconds!"

"Oh, he won't," Iman said pleasingly. She faced Eta so that he could witness (or not) the full power of her glare. "Because I'm going to stop him."