Guiding Light (Perzoe)(Under Editing)

Floating

Chapter Nine
Floating

Do you ever have those moments where you feel like you have to take a moment and ask yourself, "How did I get here?" Percy was having one of these moments as he watched the monstrous seal like abominations rush him.

The Telekhines, smiths loyal to the titans, were often the basic foot soldiers of any monster army. They were small, and often weak, but their weaknesses were more than made up for by their adaptability and their numbers.

One of them would be no problem, hades, ten of them would be no problem, but the hundreds that were rushing the demigod would easily overwhelm him. Or they would have if he was any other demigod.

Drawing Riptide, Percy started forward, dispatching any of the smiths as they got close as he looked for a way to stop their recreation of the Scythe.

"You demigods don't even see the truth, blinded by your love for your godly parents!" One of the telekhines cried out as he was impaled by riptide.

"Especially you, Son of Poseidon. You kill your people with no hesitation." Another cried out.

"We use to serve the gods, your father was our guardian, but then he abandoned us for his daughter! We were the people of Rhodes, of Cyprus, of Crete! The smiths that supported the armies of old! And now you strike us down in the name of your father." This stopped Percy in his tracks, the demigod growing confused by the monsters words.

Switching to a defensive stance, Percy opted to try this diplomatic route, rather than just killing them all like he usually did.

"What are you talking about?" The demigod called out, eying the monsters warily.

"Look at US, son of the sea. Do we not resemble a sea creature? With our webbed hands, our fins? Our snouts?" A Telekhine replied, shooting a question back as he stepped forward. Percy, as did the rest of Greeks, already knew that the telekhines looked to be a mix of a seal and a dog, but now he saw even more of the sea like features.

"We were a group of partially immortal smiths, under service to Olympus and it's armies. You could find us everywhere, especially around the water thanks to our blessing from Poseidon. We were loyal servants, happy to serve our gods. But then they forgot us, instead sending their kids to deal with us.

"Rhodes had no idea what we did, relegating us to minor duties, abandoning us as humans swept over our islands. And then they cast us out to the sea, taking our homes and forges. Why wouldn't we revolt! And for our revolt, we were cursed, sent to Tartarus, and barred from ever serving Olympus again." The telekhine yelled, venom dripping from every word.

"But of course they would never teach you this, and you just blindly follow them. We are not the only ones wronged either. Why do you not question where all these 'monsters' come from, Perseus Jackson." The monster questioned.

"How can I trust you? I've seen you kill so many of my friends, my family! You've tried to kill me!" Percy responded, feeling himself sway in confusion.

"Of course we would attack you! You're the children of our enemies! Their army! YOU must pay for their mistakes!" The telekhine said as he scooped a handful of lava from his forge.

"I have an idea, why don't we see just how much heat you can withstand? Think of it as training for the future!" And with that, the monster launched the scoop of lava at Percy, landing with a plop on his shoulder as it quickly melted through his hoodie and shirt. The first lava ball was quickly followed by several others as the demigod tried to avoid them, ducking and dodging.

"Hahaha! Yes, dance for us demigod!" One of the telekhines called out as he threw another scoop of lava.

Although Percy managed to dodge several of the projectiles, many of them connected, quickly melting holes through his clothes and starting to roast his skin. Percy tried to wipe it off, but it just spread the lava around and coated his hands, blackening them.

The heat was too much, it was suffocating him, scorching him as he reached, pleading for the molecules of water to listen, but they would not.

As the pain started to grow to be too much, Percy's rage grew with it, enhancing his control, and then, like a switch, Percy could feel it. He could feel the water hidden in the lava, and he pulled with all his strength, causing him to cry out in pain. The usual tug in his gut grew to almost feel like he was splitting down the middle.

With the last vision being that of rapidly rising aggregated lava, Percy blacked out, not realizing the damage he would cause.

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"Percy has been gone for over a week Chiron! We need to send people in after him." Annabeth begged, not understanding why her mentor wouldn't let her save her best friend.

"Annabeth, even if you knew where Percy was in the Labyrinth, you'd have no way of finding your way to him. He took the String with him, and we don't have a replica of it." Chrion replied, hoping to calm the erratic daughter of Athena.

After Percy had taken off into the Labyrinth, Annabeth had showed up with three bags packed and Butch, a son of Iris, following behind her. The blonde had never been quick to anger, but she had exploded on Chiron then and their for letting Percy go off on his own.

"We have to try though! What if he's injured or captured? I can't just let him die, not after he came and saved me on Othyrs." The Athenian argued vehemently. 

Chiron wanted nothing more than to send searchers and questors down into the tunnels to find his pupil, but it just wasn't safe, nor did the rewards outweigh the potential costs. All he could do was deny the frightened child while praying that Perseus would forgive him, that they would all forgive him.