Clockwork

12

"Every father's dream right?" Percy said, buying himself some time. The shaking ground nearly threw off his balance. The earth cracked, and Percy had to jump away to avoid falling. Jasmine was apprehended by people in black, their faces covered with veils. Kenneth laughed. The shaking didn't affect him in any way, nor did the others seem bothered.

"It's every father's dreams to be killed by their child? To be killed with the power you gave me?" Kenneth asked. Percy looked at his eyes once more, the eyes that were so much like his own, in more ways than one. The glint that was in Kenneth's was metallic, the strength he had shown in their fight explained it.

"I'm the grandson of the Earth Shaker Poseidon, Annabeth and Percy's kid. I looked up to you, you were so powerful. Hell, everyone looked up to you. And then you just disappeared... And left me with them." Kenneth spat, red hot anger in his eyes. Literally, a fiery red light ignited in Kenneth's sea-green eyes, like a spark in the middle of the ocean.

"Do you know what they did to me? How they made my life a living hell for a year until they sold me to the highest bidder?" Kenneth spat. The shaking... He had created an earthquake. It wasn't a big one, but Percy's leg had finally given out, and he was on the ground, keeping his leg close.

"Ha! Look at that, you're literally falling apart." Kenneth said tauntingly, coming closer to his father, the ground shaking even more as he stepped closer. Percy could've scoffed. Sure he couldn't stand but he was obviously much more stable than Kenneth. 

A scream interrupted his son who was about to open his mouth to say something else, drawing both of. It belonged to a horrified Amanda. One of the figures had made the mistake of pulling off one of Jasmine's gloves. Limp bodies laid around her as her eyes darted back and forth wildly, her wings stretched out at full length.

"That little--" Kenneth started, turning away from Percy to assess the situation on how to kill the woman who just single-handedly took down about a dozen people. Percy took this time to summon water from the large crack in the ground, and sure enough, water rushed from the ground.

Kenneth turned back to be swept by a manmade current, one that didn't touch anyone else. Kenneth struggled, air bubbles floating out of his mouth, but he would survive. Percy knew that though Kenneth couldn't exactly breathe underwater, he was unable to drown. Percy himself had been the one to teach him how to swim. There was one thing that he knew wasn't there when he was a kid. A scar on the back of his neck as his head dipped forward. The number 20 was carved into his neck.

Kenneth went limp, and Percy waited a moment before letting him down gently, his son drenched in water and unconscious.

"Jasmine," Percy said. The daughter of death was only seconds away from touching Amanda who was inching away, stepping over the dead bodies as she did so.

Jasmine ignored him, instead replying with, "She lead us here as an ambush. She's fake. She's probably in cahoots with Alpha over there." "Even so, you can't kill her," Percy said. "Says who?" Jasmine spat. "Says me," Percy said.

Jasmine scoffed. "Please." She said. Percy gave her a hard glare before she froze in place. Focus. Don't move the blood. Percy said to himself.  It won't hurt her if you don't move the blood. "C-Clockwork, I-I can't move," Jasmine whispered. "I know. That was on purpose." Percy said.

He silently chanted the words, 'Don't move, stay still, focus' in his mind as he stood, using Riptide as a crutch as he carefully made his way over there. Amanda was huddled into a corner, where she thought she was safe. She was obviously terrified of what she had seen from Jasmine, and what she saw from Percy wasn't settling well with her either.