Zero to Hero (Percy Jackson Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty-Two-Housefly

N/A It's been a while since I've read the short stories, so if I have the effects of Mermeke's venom totally wrong, I'm sorry.

Percy's POV

My sword was starting to feel heavy in my hand as I warded off ant after ant. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Annabeth sneaking behind piles of treasure, trying to get to Grover. Menoetius watched me with amused eyes. Evil eyes. And Mnemosyne...had conveniently disappeared. Great.

I stabbed into the open maw of one of the Myrmekes. It turns out that these giant ants were not easy to kill. Their armor glanced off nearly all my blows, and I discovered pretty quickly that you had to hit them in just the right spot to even connect. The next ant came at me--their attack circle was getting tighter. I dodged left, swung under its head, and yanked the blade upward. The ant head tumbled free as a searing pain shot through my left arm. 

I stabbed wildly, banging on the creature who had me in its mouth. It let go, but the damage was done. I stumbled back, looking down at my wrist. There were puncture wounds, oozing blood, but worse, I couldn't feel my fingers. I tried to flex my hand, but it wouldn't move.

"Not good," I muttered, backing away as more came at me. They were behind me too though. Surrounding me. "Eaten alive by giant ants. Couldn't I have just died peacefully in my sleep?"

"Enough!" Growled a voice. "You've tormented him enough."

The ants scuttled away, fleeing into one tunnel or another. After jamming my sword into the ground, I clutched my arm, stemming the blood flow and trying to wiggle some feeling back into my fingertips. 

"Mermeke venom has paralyzation properties," Menoetius said, picking his way down his mountain of gold. "Like a spider. They paralyze their prey, and store them. Don't worry, it's not permanent, Percy Jackson. It may take a few days for all your muscles to be able to work right again. Unfortunately, I'm afraid you don't have that time." He held out his hand and a gigantic axe fell into it.

I picked up my sword. "Are you that scared of me?" I snapped, angry that now he wanted to fight. "Are you just too weak to fight me with two working hands?"

Menoetius growled. "It is not wise to goat me, boy. I can make you do things you regret."

Maybe his aura was ebbing off on me, but a combination of worry for Grover, and irritation at being wounded combined and urged me to do probably the stupidest thing I have ever done.

I charged the Titan.

Menoetius sighed, like he couldn't believe I bothered fighting back. He got low as I approached, preventing me from sliding under his legs. As I got close enough to strike, I jumped, trying to get over his defences. 

It backfired. While I was airborne, Menoetius let go of his axe with one hand and swatted me out of the air like a housefly. For a moment, I flew, and then pain. I slammed into the ground ten yards away, and rolled five more. Worse, I had to drop my sword. Never try and roll with an unsheathed sword, trust me. 

I lay there a moment, dazed. Coughing, I struggled to force air back into my lungs. The Titan was running towards me, the ground shaking. 

Get up! 

Using my one good hand, I climbed unsteadily to my feet. Menoetius was ten feet away. I stood still for five more seconds...then ran. Straight for the Titan, and right before he swung at me, I dived to his left, running around him. Five feet away was my sword.

Apparently my assessment of Menoetius's slow turning time was correct. He came at me again, but I was ready. Head still a bit wobbly, I managed to get into a stance as the Titan strode toward me slowly. It wouldn't be easy to get him to be reckless.

He stood before me, hefting the axe. Before he could hesitate any longer, I feinted right again, then dove left, spinning, and delivering a beautiful slash across the Titan's calve.

He roared as I rolled away. Getting to my feet again, I met Menoetius's gaze. His eyes smoldered, and his mouth seathed. 

"I gave you FREEDOM!" He screamed, as golden blood leaked from the wound. He stalked toward me, barely fazed. "I gave you a quiet life without interference. You don't want to fight me, Percy. I have half a mind to take away my generous gift and THROW YOU BACK INTO THE FRAY!"

A wave of anger hit me like lightning. This monster had taken a part of my life. My memories. He might have been right, and I was better off not knowing, but walking away now would have been like turning off the TV as the Avengers assemble. If I didn't fight, I would never know the ending. 

But that was just logistics. What really drove me forward was much simpler than all that. That Titan had stolen my life, and I hated him for it. 

I attacked with all that fury. Dodging, rolling, feinting, slashing. The Titan was smart. He would not be goaded into reckless charges. He was slow, so I got in a few more hits, but it didn't really feel like I was winning. My arm burned from holding my sword with one hand, and I was panting after just a few minutes. 

Menoetius bellowed out a laugh, "Is that the best you can do? The great Perseus Jackson! I suppose all the stories about you really were exaggerated!"

Growling, I ducked in, slashing at the backs of his knees. He stomped away, my blade missing him by inches. He turned around and swatted at me again. I tried to roll out of the way, and mostly succeeded, except his blow still knocked me off my feet, even if I didn't go flying.

I rolled onto my back right as a heavy weight smack into my chest, knocking the wind out of me again. I gasped, blinking back stars. Menoetius stood over me, his giant red foot planted on my chest. Once I could breathe again, I discovered those toes hadn't bathed in a long time.

"Pathetic!" Menoetius leaned forward. Something snapped.

Blinding pain. I screamed. 

Menoetius stepped back. "Get up!" he shouted, nudging me with his toe. "Get up! Are you angry, Percy? Vengeful? Prove it! I took away your memories of your brother. Of your girlfriend. Your father. Is this what I get for it? A pathetic sack of bones? You asked for a fight, boy. FIGHT ME!"

Slowly, enduring little stabs of pain through the chest at every movement, I rolled to the side, and rose to my knees. I looked around, my sword was lying two paces away. But even that distance seemed so far with how much my chest hurt. Despite all this, I couldn't help but wonder, I had a girlfriend? Then I shook my head to rid myself of the distraction. It didn't matter right now.

My chest burning with fiery agony, I slowly crawled toward my sword. Menoetius roared with laughter, which only succeeded in stoking my anger.

I'll admit at this point I knew it was hopeless. I was wounded, practically incapacitated. And Menoetius was still fit as a fiddle, striding slowly after me, enjoying the sight of me dragging myself across the ground. 

Just as I reached the sword and rolled over to face him, Menoetius swung his axe.