[2] 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ― l.valdez ✓

012.

「012. team 'no mental stability' save the day ! 」

BARBIE WAS pretty sure she wasn't the only one who was scared in this situation. she had only just stopped shaking once they reached the doors and leo wasn't looking too good. after looking to him and making sure he was ok, she peered inside. nothing looked different. grey morning light filtered through the hole in the roof, and a few lightbulbs flickered, but it was mostly a sea of shadows. above on the catwalk, she could make out heavy machinery along the assembly line, but no movement and no sign of her friends. she looked around, and she turned leo who was just as unsure as her. she wanted to call out, but something was stopping her. she had a weird sixth sense that something was in the factory. and by that something, she was pretty sure it was a monster.

somewhere on the factory floor, piper's voice called out, "leo, barbie? help!"

leo looked like he was about to speak, before barbie quickly shoved her hand against his mouth, putting a finger to her lips. she pointed to the inside silently, and he nodded. quietly, the two of them slipped inside and ducked behind a cargo container. she tapped the pearls on her bracelet like it was some sort of code, and her sword formed beside her silently. she watched as leo gripped his hammer, darting closer to the center, with barbie not far behind.

she managed to crouch behind the nearest piece of machinery which happened to be a crane with a robotic arm.

cherry's voice called out again, "leo? barbie?"

barbie peeked around the machinery and her eyes widened. hanging directly above the assembly line, suspended by a chain from a crane on the opposite side, was a massive truck engine- just dangling thirty feet up, as if had been left there when the place was abandoned. below it was a conveyor belt and clustered around it were three dark shapes the size of forklifts. nearby, dangling from chains on two other robotic arms, were three smaller shapes, maybe more engines, but one of them looked like it was alive.

"told you it was nothing," something rumbled, sounding deeper than any voice barbie had ever heard.

it was a monster, for sure. but barbie wasn't so sure yet.

"leo, barbie, help me! help-" the voice changed, which was exactly when barbie realised what they were. cyclopses. tyson could mimic voices- that's what it was. "bah, there's nobody out there. no demigods could be that quiet, eh?"

the first cyclops chuckled, "probably ran away, if they know what's good for them. or the girl was lying about the other two demigods. let's get cooking, hm?"

with a loud snapping sound, a bright orange light sizzled to life, causing barbie to be temporarily bright. she pulled leo behind one of the cranes as she tried to rub her eyes and rub the black spots in her eyes away. the three smaller things dangling from the crane arms weren't engines. they were jason, piper and cherry. all hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocooned with chains up their neck. piper was flailing around, trying to free herself. her mouth was gagged, but at least she was alive. cherry looked like she'd passed out- but it was only when barbie looked closely did she notice the large bump on cherry's head. and jason didn't look any better. he hung limply, his eyes rolled up in his head and a red welt the size of an apple had swollen over his left eyebrow. it seemed only piper was awake out of the three of them.

"can i take her gag off now? i like when the things scream as they die."

it seemed the cyclops had agreed, and the cyclops ripped the gag off. but piper didn't scream an instead, she took a shaky breath like she was trying to keep herself calm. meanwhile, leo opened his backpack and pointed to barbie. he handed her a stack of tiny remote control units before he quickly grabbed it back. he slipped a screwdriver from his toolbelt and got to work.