[1] 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐋 ― p.jackson ✓

009.

「009. i hate kronos and so should you 」

SAFE TO say that the sick dragon lady was an utter bitch. like, one out of ten. would not recommend. she had a poison whip that she decided she'd use against them all. annabeth had managed to navigate them to safety. but they didn't stop running through the labyrinth until they hit a water fountain room. briares slumped against a wall whilst barbie tried to regain her breathe. she pushed a few wild strands of her red hair behind her ear and put her hands on her knees, looking to the ground beneath her.

"that pit leads to tartarus," mumbled briares as he looked down the pit, "i should jump in and save you the trouble."

"hey, don't think like that," frowned barbie as she stood back up, "you may not trust me, but it was really brave of you to stand up against that dragon lady."

briares looked at barbie and nodded, "thank you, child of aphrodite. but i have nothing to offer. i have lost everything."

"what about your brothers?" asked tyson in confusion.

"they have faded," spoke briares sadly, looking to the pit with his head hung low.

"what exactly do you mean, they faded?" percy asked, "i thought monsters were immortal, like the gods."

"percy," grover said weakly, looking around and letting out a nervous bleet, "even immortality has limits. sometimes...sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

"i must go," briares said.

"kronos's army will invade camp," tyson insisted, looking to briares as if he was a hero (which barbie guessed her was, but rightnow he didn' look anything like that), "we need help."

briares hung his head as if he was ashamed, "i cannot, cyclops."

"you are strong." insisted tyson, looking to his hero.

"not any more." briares rose.

barbie and percy glanced at each other before they both grabbed one of his arms each and pulled him aside so tyson wouldn't hear them.

"hey," spoke percy with a glare, "braires, we need you."

"and in case you haven't noticed, tyson believed in you. you are his hero." said barbie with a reassuring glance at the timid hundred-handed one

"he risked his life for you." added percy, "isn't that enough for you to come and help us?"

briares just shook his head, "i cannot, demigods. i do not have a finger gun to win this game."

to prove his point, he made one hundred finger guns.

"maybe that's why monsters fade," percy said, his tone changing to sound very icy, "maybe it's not about what the mortals believe. maybe it's because you give up on yourself."

briares hung his head in shame. soon, barbie turned to hear the sound of sobbing and her heart broke once she realised it was tyson. he didn't deserve this, and that made her mad. she turned back to briares as percy began to walk over to the others.

she whispered to him, a frown still pulled on her face as she stared at the hundred-handed-one, "you may not believe in yourself but we believe in you. and i know that doesn't count for much, but we all look up to you... some more than others."

she hoped he got the message that tyson thought he was a hero because she really didn't like seeing tyson upset. he was practically a toddler for a cyclops, and seeing his hero look so timid must have crushed his hope. barbie only hoped that briares would actually help them because seeing tyson so upset was almost as worse as seeing cherry upset.