★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊-𝖖𝖚𝖆𝖙𝖗𝖊:
FEAR AND ANGER

★ 。／｜＼。★

TERROR WAS NORMAL for a Demigod, but this was different. Belle felt her entire body constrict from waves of terror crashing over her. Her joints felt like they had molded into jelly and she felt her heart stop. All at once, her worst memories crowded her mind against her will — hearing the Mount St. Helens explosion back in the Labyrinth and believing Percy was dead; getting stabbed in the shoulder during the Battle of Manhattan; facing Kronos up on Mount Olympus; seeing Luke Castellan's dead body; the moment she found out Percy was gone; falling into Tartarus with Percy; seeing him torture a Goddess; the swirling whirlpool face of the God Tartarus; leaving behind Bob and Damasen . . . her head spun. Her body wouldn't move and she could do nothing but stand there in fear.

Vaguely, she felt somebody tackle her to the ground and some stone shrapnel peppered against her back. That wasn't even enough to snap her out of it. Belle pressed her palms against the floor and began to feel her breaths come sporadically. It became very hard to breathe all of the sudden. The walls seemed to close in all around her. She could hear nothing but muffled words and the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. Her muscles shook around her as she tried to catch her breath, but it only made her panic more. Every bad memory from Tartarus was being compounded and enhanced with all of her other bad memories. It was quite literally too much for her mind to handle. She didn't know what to do or how to calm herself down.

The Giant chuckled. "Oh, that wasn't fair!"

"Belle," Annabeth's voice called, which sounded underwater, and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Belle, come on."

Both her and Piper hauled her to her feet and pulled them towards the far end of the room. The girl didn't really register it. Her chest heaved up and down and her eyes were still wide. Piper and Annabeth kept a tight grip on Belle, because if they didn't, Belle would just collapse right back onto the floor. Belle attempted to grip her hand onto Sunflower tightly to try and regain some feeling, but it was no use. She just continued to panic.

Annabeth forced Belle to look at her as gently as she could. "Hey, look at me. I know you're scared, but Belle, you have to breathe, okay? Follow me. Breathe in, breathe out."

Belle, with tears streaming down her cheeks, attempted to follow her. She found herself following Annabeth's instructions. Slowly yet surely, she regained her breath. She was definitely still scared out of her mind with all of the horrible memories, but at least she was able to breathe a little easier.

"You're doing good, B," Piper told her. "Annabeth and I are here. We will get out of this."

The Giant laughed at that. "A child of Aphrodite leading a child of Athena and a child of Demeter! Now I've seen everything. How would you defeat me, girl? With makeup and fashion tips?"

"Annabeth, Belle, trust me," Piper pleaded.

"We need a plan," Annabeth replied. "Move Belle somewhere safe. She's in no shape for fighting right now. As much as I hate to say that because she can handle herself, we have to put her back in the right headspace. So I go left. You go right. If we—"

"Annabeth, no plans."

The blonde blinked. "What?"

"No plans. Just follow me!"

The Giant swung his hammer. Annabeth and Piper pulled Belle down to dodge it. Piper then leaped forwards and slashed her sword across the back of the Giant's knee. The Giant bellowed in outrage, but Piper grabbed Belle's arm and pulled her and Annabeth into the nearest tunnel. Immediately they were engulfed in total darkness.

"Fools!" the Giant roared from behind them. "That is the wrong way!"

"Keep moving," Piper encouraged as Belle stumbled along. "It's fine. Come on."

Belle couldn't see anything at all. Even Sunflower's Celestial Bronze glow wasn't able to be seen. All she did was follow Piper blindly. But the darkness was reminding her of Tartarus again, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"Guys, we have to close our eyes," Belle fought to get out. "It's just like the Mansion of Night. Whatever's in here shouldn't be seen by us."

"No!" Piper shouted. "Keep them open. We can't try to hide."

Belle didn't really want to, but she forced herself to open her eyes again. Her heart thumped against her chest rapidly. Something about this whole chamber was making everything ten times more intense.

The Giant's voice then came from somewhere in front of them. "Lost forever. Swallowed by the darkness."

Suddenly, Annabeth froze, forcing Piper and Belle to stop. "Why did we just plunge in? We're lost. We did what he wanted us to! We should have bided our time, talked to the enemy, figured out a plan. That always works!"

"Annabeth, I never ignore your advice," Piper reassured her, her voice soothing. "But this time I have to. We can't defeat this place with reason. You can't think your way out of your emotions."

The Giant's laughter echoed throughout the tunnel. "Despair, Annabeth Chase! I am Mimas, born to slay Hephaestus. I am the breaker of plans, the destroyer of the well-oiled machines. Nothing goes right in my presence. Maps are misread. Devices break. Data is lost. The finest minds turn to mush!"

"Piper, I—" Belle began, another tear streaming down her face. "This is . . . it's all too much."

"B, it's okay," Piper stated, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. "I know it's a lot. But we just have to keep going."

"Oh, I see!" The Giant exclaimed, sounding much closer now. "Are you not afraid?"

"Yeah," Belle breathed out.

"Never!" Annabeth yelled.

"Of course we're afraid," Piper corrected. "Terrified!"

The air moved, and just in time, Piper pushed Belle and Annabeth to one side. There was a large CRASH!, and suddenly they were back in the circular room. Belle blinked to try and adjust her eyes to the dim light after being in the dark. She watched in a daze as Piper lunged and drove her sword into the Giant's thigh as he attempted to yank his embedded hammer out of the floor.

"AROOO!" Mimas cried, letting go of the hammer and arching his back.

Meanwhile, Annabeth pulled Belle down behind the chained statue of Ares, Piper doing so as well. It pulsed with a metallic heartbeat: thump, thump, thump. Belle felt her own heartbeat race as she felt her mind go all over the place. She tried to remember all of the good things in her life, but for some reason she couldn't. All of the bad memories were overwhelming her good ones.

The Giant Mimas turned towards them, the wound on his leg already closing. "You cannot defeat me. In the last war, it took two Gods to bring me down. I was born to kill Hephaestus, and would have done so if Ares hadn't ganged up on me as well! You should have stayed paralyzed in your fear. Your death would've been quicker."

Piper, Belle thinking the girl was absolutely insane, moved in front of the statue and faced Mimas. "This temple. The Spartans didn't chain Ares because they wanted his spirit to stay in their city."

Mimas' eyes glittered with amusement as he pulled his sledgehammer out from the floor. "You think not?"

"This is the temple of is the temple of my brothers, Deimos and Phobos," Piper announced, her voice shaking. "The Spartans came here to prepare for battle, to face their fears. Ares was chained to remind them that war has consequences. His power — the spirits of battle, the Makhai — should never be unleashed unless you understand how terrible they are, unless you've felt fear."

Mimas laughed. "A child of the love Goddess lectures me about war. What do you know of the Makhai?"

"We'll see."

Piper ran straight at the Giant, which unbalanced his stance. Mimas' eyes widened and he stumbled backwards at the sight of her wickedly jagged blade coming at him. He cracked his head against the ceiling, making a jagged fissure snake upward in the stones and dust rain from the ceiling.

"Piper, this place is unstable!" Annabeth warned. "If we don't leave—"

"Don't think about escape!" Piper responded, running towards the rope and cutting it as high as she could.

Belle's eyes widened even further. "Piper . . . what?"

"That hurt!" Mimas replied, rubbing his hand. "You realize you cannot kill me without the help of a God and Ares is not here! The next time I face that blustering idiot, I will smash him to bits. I wouldn't have had to fight him in the first place if that cowardly fool Damasen had done his job—"

Suddenly, all of the fear inside Belle faded into boiling rage. Damasen's face flashed through her mind. His hospitality and sacrifice helped her and Percy survive. Without him and Bob, her and Percy would still be stuck down in the hellish place of Tartarus, probably dead.

"No!" Belle screamed, her voice echoing throughout the chamber as she rounded the statue. "You will never, and I mean never, insult Damasen ever again!"

She pointed Sunflower up at the ceiling, feeling plant roots all around it. They bent to her will and dropped down from the ceiling, twisting and curling as they did so. Belle then moved to point Sunflower at Mimas. All of the roots wrapped around the Giant tightly and held him in place. Piper then took this opportunity to lunge forward and slash her blade across the side of the Giant's face.

Mimas staggered. "GAHHH!" A severed pile of dreadlocks along with a large fleshy thing lying in a pool of golden ichor fell onto the floor. "My ear!"

Before he could recover, Piper grabbed both Belle and Annabeth's arms and plunged them into the second doorway. Belle glanced back for a second only to see nothing but darkness yet again.

"I will bring down this chamber!" Mimas thundered. "The Earth Mother shall deliver me, but you shall be crushed!"

The floor shook and the sound of breaking stone echoed all around them.

"Piper, wait," Belle begged, trying to catch her breath. "All of the fear and the anger, how are you dealing with it? You seem so calm and I'm just losing my mind."

"Don't try to control it," Piper answered. "That's what the temple is about. You have to accept the fear, adapt to it, ride it like the rapids on a river."

"How do you know that?" Annabeth asked in exasperation.

"I don't know it. I just feel it."

A wall somewhere near them crumbled with a sound like an artillery blast.

"You cut the rope," Annabeth voiced. "We're going to die down here!"

Belle suddenly felt Piper grab her face in one of her hands. Piper pulled her forwards, and apparently also pulled Annabeth forward as well, because all of their foreheads touched at the same time. All three of them were breathing heavily, possibly because they were all scared out of their minds.

"Fear can't be reasoned with," Piper told them. "Neither can hate. They're like love. They're almost identical emotions. That's why Ares and Aphrodite like each other. Their twin sons — Fear and Panic — were spawned from both war and love."

"I'm confused," Belle admitted.

Annabeth nodded slightly. "This doesn't make sense."

"No," Piper agreed. "Stop thinking about it. Just feel."

"But . . . when my emotions get the best of me I get too blind sighted," Belle revealed.

"I know. But Belle, you can't plan for feelings. Like with Percy, and your future — you can't control every contingency. You have to accept that. Let it scare you. Trust that it'll be okay anyway. Till forever falls apart, right? That's what you two always say."

"Till forever falls apart," Belle repeated. "Yeah, okay."

"And Annabeth, you have to let your future of architecture scare you. You've been at Camp since you were seven and can't imagine your life outside of it. Even though it's scary, you can't possibly plan every little thing in your journey. There's going to be bumps in the road, but you have to believe everything will turn out all right."

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't know if I can."

"Belle told us about Bob and Damasen," Piper continued. "Without them, Belle and Percy wouldn't be here right now. So, right now, concentrate on getting revenge for them."

Annabeth paused for a second. "I'm good now."

"Me too," Belle said.

"Great, because I need both of you to help me," Piper informed them. "We're going to run out there together."

"Then what?" Annabeth questioned.

"I have no idea."

"Gods, I hate it when you lead."

Piper laughed. "Come on!"

The three of them ran in no particular direction. They then found themselves back in the shrine room behind the Giant Mimas. The plants were still around Mimas, so Belle clenched her hand into a fist and made them tighten. She glanced in between Piper and Annabeth and gave them a single nod. Piper and Annabeth then each slashed one of his legs with their swords and brought the Giant down to his knees. Mimas howled, and more chunks of stone tumbled down from the ceiling.

"Weak mortals!" Mimas shouted as he struggled to stand. "No plan of yours can defeat me!"

"That's good. Because I don't have a plan." Piper then ran towards the statue of Ares. "Annabeth, Belle, keep our friend occupied!"

"Oh, he's occupied!" Annabeth yelled.

Belle smirked to herself and twirled Sunflower's hilt in her hand. "Gladly."

She ran forwards and sliced Sunflower's blade straight across the Giant's lower back. He cried out in pain as golden ichor spilled from the wound. Belle rejoined Annabeth's side and the two of them looked at each other, communicating their next plan. They knew what to do with just a single look. The two of them ran through the Giant's legs to his backside and stabbed their swords into the back of Mimas' knees. Mimas was forced to fall onto his knees.

"No!" he suddenly screamed.

Belle looked over. Piper swung her blade and cut the head off of the statue, her cornucopia set next to it. Flames roared up from the statue's severed neck. Belle's eyes widened as she watched the flames swirl around Piper and fill the room with a firestorm of emotion. She could feel hatred, bloodlust, and fear, but also a sense of love. This chamber was exactly what Piper said it was. Love and hatred were one in the same. Both of those emotions allowed battles to be faced more easily. Hatred for the enemy, love for what they cared about.

The flames vanished along with Piper's cornucopia. Afterwards, the chained statue of Ares crumbled into nothing but dust.

"Foolish girl!" Mimas exclaimed, struggling to his feet as the wounds on the back of his knees began to heal. He charged, but Belle and Annabeth were right behind him. "The Makhai have abandoned you!'

"Or maybe they've abandoned you," Piper countered.

Mimas raised his hammer. He had seemingly forgotten about Belle and Annabeth, because together, the two of them stabbed their swords into his thigh. Mimas staggered forwards after being set off balance. Piper stepped forwards calmly and stabbed him in the stomach. Mimas crashed face-first into the nearest doorway. He rolled onto his back just as the stone face of Panic cracked off the wall above him and completely crushed him. His cry was cut short and his body went still. Without another word, Mimas disintegrated into a twenty foot pile of ash.

"Um, okay," Belle commented, suddenly feeling a lot more calm than she had before despite her rapidly beating heart.

Annabeth stared at Piper. "What just happened?"

"I'm not sure," Piper replied.

"Piper, you were amazing, but those fiery spirits you released—"

"The Makhai."

"How does that help us find the cure we're looking for?"

"I don't know. They said I could summon them when the time comes. Maybe Artemis and Apollo can explain—"

A section of the wall then calved like a glacier. Belle's head whirled over to it. The chamber would crush them if they didn't leave.

Annabeth stumbled and almost slipped on the Giant's severed ear. "We need to get out of here."

"I'm working on it," Piper responded.

"And, uh, I think this ear is your spoil of war."

"Gross."

Belle tilted her head at it. "Maybe it could be pretty useful as a shield you know? Like, forget Celestial Bronze."

"Shut up, Adair." Piper stared at the second doorway, which still had the face of Fear above it. "Thank you, brothers, for helping to kill the Giant. I need one more favor — an escape. And, believe me, I am properly terrified. I offer you this, uh, lovely ear as a sacrifice."

Fear unfortunately didn't answer them. Another section of the wall peeled away and a starburst of cracks appeared in the ceiling.

Piper took Belle's hand in her right and Annabeth's hand in her left. "We're going through that doorway. If this works, we might find ourselves back on the surface."

"And if it doesn't?" Annabeth inquired.

Piper looked up at the face of Fear. "Let's find out."

And, together, the three of them plunged into the dark, the room collapsing all around them.

— [ ♡ ] —

idk if this chapter is good or not but here it is

also, do y'all think you're a roman or a greek demigod? I feel like I'm greek bc I relate more to being a poseidon kid than a neptune kid and i just think I would feel more at home at camp half-blood than camp jupiter. don't get me wrong I love the romans, roman supremacy, but I'm just more greek 🥰

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !