★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖙:
CALYPSO'S CURSE

★ 。／｜＼。★

BELLE HAD BEEN terrified in this place for a long time, but nothing compared to her stumbling over a Titan.

The group of three had entered the storm front and walked for what seemed like hours. They relied on light from Riptide, Sunflower, and Bob, who glowed faintly in the dark. Belle could only see about five feet in front of her, so she held onto Percy's hand tightly, not wanting to lose him. Rocks loomed out of nowhere and pits kept suddenly appearing at their feet. Monstrous roars were echoing in the gloom, although it was hard to tell where they came from.

All Belle knew was that down was the only direction. If she tried to backtrack for even a step, she got tired and felt extremely heavy like gravity wouldn't allow her to go back. It was clear that the landscape was the body of Tartarus, but Belle didn't know what body part they were on.

Belle was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the ledge in front of her until it was too late. She fell forwards while letting out a small shriek. Percy yelled Woah! and tried to grab her, but she was already falling. Fortunately, it wasn't a huge fall. The depression was mostly filled with a monster blister. Belle grunted as she landed on a warm bouncy surface and turned to see what it was.

She wished she hadn't. Staring right at her through the glowing gold membrane was a much larger face. Her eyes widened, and with a scream, she flailed off it. Belle landed in the dirt next to it and scrambled to her feet. She backed away with Sunflower pointed at it and ran into somebody behind her.

"It's okay, Beauty," Percy reassured her, gently folding his arms around her frame as she tried to catch her breath. "Hey, it's okay. Are you all right?"

Belle shook her head. She was not all right, and she thought if she opened her mouth, she might scream again. Belle Adair was no princess, but what was in front of her was enough for her to be a victim in a horror movie. Curled up in the membrane bubble was a fully formed Titan in golden armor, his skin the color of copper. His eyes were closed yet his face was contorted into a deep scowl. Belle could feel the heat radiating from his body through the blister.

"Hyperion," Percy announced. "I hate that guy."

Belle's shoulder suddenly began to ache from an old wound that she had gotten almost a year ago. Percy had fought Hyperion in Central Park — water against fire — in the Battle of Manhattan. It had been the first time he had summoned a hurricane, and also the first time Belle discovered she also had a new power that came when she stabbed Sunflower into the ground.

"But . . ." Belle trailed off, straightening up and allowing Percy to remove his arms from around her. "I thought Grover and I turned him into a maple tree."

"You did," Percy confirmed. "I guess the maple tree died and he wound up back here."

Belle recalled how Hyperion had summoned so many fiery explosions that a lot of Satyrs and Nymphs were destroyed. If her, Percy, and Grover hadn't stepped in and stopped him, Belle was sure that the Titan would've destroyed the entirety of Central Park. Belle was just about to suggest how one of them should burst the bubble, but then she looked at Bob.

Bob was studying Hyperion with a frown of concentration like he recognized him. Belle's eyed widened slightly. Of course Bob seemed to recognize him. Since they were brothers, they looked alike. Hyperion was the Titan Lord of the east. Iapetus — or Bob — was the Titan Lord of the west. If Bob was put in armor, had his hair cut, and changed his color scheme from silver to gold, Iapetus and Hyperion would be almost indistinguishable from each other.

"Gold, not silver," Bob murmured. "But he looks like me."

"Bob," Percy said. "Hey, buddy, over here."

The Titan reluctantly turned to him.

"Am I your friend?" Percy asked slowly.

"Yes," Bob answered, sounding dangerously uncertain. "We are friends."

"You know that some monsters are good. And some are bad."

"Hmm. Like . . . the pretty ghost ladies who serve Persephone are good. Exploding zombies are bad."

"Right," Percy responded. "And some mortals are good, and some are bad. Well, the same thing is true for Titans."

"Titans . . ." Bob trailed off, and Belle gripped Sunflower tightly in her hand, scared that Percy had just made a huge mistake.

"That's what you are. Bob the Titan. You're good. You're awesome, in fact. But some Titans are not. This guy here, Hyperion, is full-on bad. He tried to kill me . . . tried to kill a lot of people."

Bob blinked. "But he looks . . . his face is so—"

"He looks like you," Percy agreed. "He's a Titan, like you. But he's not good like you are."

"Bob is good." His fingers tightened around the broom handle. "Yes. There is always at least one good one — monsters, Titans, Giants."

Percy grimaced at that. "Uh . . . well, I'm not sure about the Giants."

Bob nodded earnestly. "Oh, yes."

Belle decided to move past this subject, knowing that they had been in this place for far too long. "We have to go. What should we do about . . . that?"

"Bob, it's your call," Percy told him. "Hyperion is your kind. We could leave him alone, but if he wakes up—"

He suddenly swiped his broom. Belle flinched as Bob slashed his spear through the monstrous blister. It exploded into hot golden mud and splattered all over them. She wiped some Titan sludge out of her eyes to see that there was nothing but a smoking crater where Hyperion had been.

"Hyperion is a bad Titan," Bob commented with a grim expression and his eyes brighter than usual. "Now he can't hurt my friends. He will have to re-form somewhere else in Tartarus. Hopefully it will take a long time."

"Thank you, Bob," Percy replied.

Belle didn't know how he was staying so calm. The way he talked to Bob like that left her a little unsettled. She had never seen him so . . . calculating. Percy caught her eyes. However, his expression was hard to read. That made her unsettled, too. She could normally read Percy like a book.

"We'd better keep going," Percy said.

He held his hand out to Belle. She took it and laced their fingers together, trying to push away her uneasiness about that whole situation. They followed Bob along, the golden flecks from Hyperion's bubble glowing on his janitor's uniform.

The group of three continued on. After a while, Belle's feet ached and she got a lot more tired. She attempted to stay alert, but her thoughts were just as numb as her legs. Percy often tried to give an encouraging comment, but Belle could see the dark landscape around them was getting to him as well. His eyes had taken on a dull sheen like Tartarus was extinguishing his spirit. Belle couldn't help but think that if Percy died down here that it would be her fault. He had fallen in with her, after all.

"Hey, Percy?" she began quietly.

"Hmm?" he hummed, looking back down at her. "What's up, Beauty?"

"Is this place messing with your mind, too?" Belle paused for a second. "I've always been pretty positive, but I . . . I'm starting to get these dark thoughts. And I don't want them."

The worry lines deepened around Percy's sea-green eyes, and he kissed the top of her head. "Just keep focusing on getting out, okay?" He then glanced up to the Titan in front of them. "Hey, Bob, where exactly are we heading?"

"The lady," Bob answered. "Death Mist."

"But what exactly is Death Mist?" Belle asked. "And who is this lady?"

"Naming her? Not a good idea."

Belle sighed, knowing he was right since names had power and saying them in Tartarus wasn't a good idea. "Do you know how far away she is?"

"I do not know," Bob admitted. "I can only feel it. We wait for the darkness to get darker. Then we
go sideways."

She nodded slowly. "Sideways. Yeah, okay. Makes sense."

They went on. Belle wondered if Rachel would get her message. If Rachel could somehow tell Reyna what she had suggested, the rift between the Greeks and the Romans could potentially be healed. However, a sneaky voice in the back of her head told her she had done nothing but put Rachel in danger.

Belle rolled her eyes at herself. She really needed to pull herself together.

Bob suddenly stopped. Belle paused in her tracks and looked up at the Titan curiously. He raised his hand to tell them to wait.

"What?" Percy whispered.

"Shh," Bob warned. "Ahead. Something moves."

Belle strained her ears to listen. Bob was right. Somewhere from inside the fog was a deep thrumming noise. Belle could even feel the vibrations through her shoes.

"We will surround it," Bob instructed. "Each of you, take a flank."

Belle squeezed Percy's hand before she crept over to the left with Sunflower raised. Percy went to the right with Riptide ready. Bob took the middle, his spearhead glowing through the fog. The humming got louder and shook the gravel by Belle's feet. It seemed to be coming from immediately in front of them.

"Ready?" Bob questioned.

Belle gripped Sunflower better in her hand. "On three."

"One," Percy counted. "Two—"

A figure appeared in the fog. Bob raised his spear, ready to strike. However, Belle's eyes widened upon noticing what the figure was.

"Wait!" she protested.

Bob froze just in time. His spear was hovering about an inch above the head of a tiny calico kitten.

"Rrow?" the kitten meowed, butting its head against Bob's foot and purring loudly.

That deep rumbling sound was coming from the kitten. When it purred, the ground vibrated and the pebbles jumped around. The kitten fixed its yellow eyes on a particular rock between Belle's feet and pounced. Belle let out a laugh of delight and stuck Sunflower down into the dirt. She leaned down, picked up the kitten in her arms, and cuddled it to her chest. The kitten was bony under its fur, but it butted its head against her chin affectionately.

"Oh my Gods," Belle let out, cuddling the kitten a little tighter before setting it on the ground. "What's a kitten doing in Tartarus?"

The kitten padded over to Bob and began purring again as it rubbed against his boots. Belle picked Sunflower up out of the dirt and held it loosely as she watched the scene unfold with a small smile on her face.

Percy chuckled. "Somebody likes you, Bob."

"It must be a good monster," Bob stated before looking up nervously. "Isn't it?"

The smile on Belle's face turned a little sad. Seeing a huge Titan and a tiny kitten made her feel insignificant compared to the vastness of Tartarus. Tartarus had no respect for anything and swallowed anything indiscriminately. Bob then knelt down and scooped up the kitten. It fit perfectly in his palm but it decided to explore. The kitten ran up Bob's arm and settled down on his shoulder, closing his eyes and purring contently. Suddenly, its fur shimmered. The kitten became a ghostly skeleton and turned back into a regular kitten in a flash.

Belle blinked in shock. "Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw that."

"No, I saw it, too," Percy replied. He then knitted his eyebrows together. "Wait, I know that kitten. It's one of the ones from the Smithsonian."

"Smithsonian?" Belle repeated. Her eyes then widened in realization. "Oh, you mean when Atlas rose those kittens from saber-toothed tiger teeth when you tried to rescue Annabeth with Thalia, Grover, and the Hunters?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"But how did it get here?"

Percy spread his hands helplessly. "Not sure. Atlas told his servants to take the kittens away, so maybe they destroyed the cats and they were reborn in Tartarus."

"It's cute," Bob voiced as the kitten sniffed his ear.

"Do you think it's safe?" Belle inquired.

Bob scratched the kitten's chin, obviously forming a bond with it. "I will call him Small Bob. He is a good monster."

That was the end of discussion. Bob hefted his spear and continued to lead them through the gloom. Belle walked in a daze, clearly getting more and more delusional. Her and Percy would need more food and sleep if they wanted to continue on, but both of those things were obviously hard to get in Tartarus.

"Here," Bob announced.

He stopped so suddenly that Belle almost ran straight into him. Percy grabbed her arm and pulled her back, and she blinked to bring herself back to reality.

"Is this where we go sideways?" Belle asked.

"Yes," Bob agreed. "Darker, then sideways."

It didn't seem to be darker, but the air seemed colder and thicker than before. Bob then struck off to the left, Belle and Percy following after him. The air definitely got colder as they continued on. Belle pressed herself closer to Percy's side and he put an arm around her shoulder. However, unlike the comfort it usually brought her, she couldn't relax. She had a very bad feeling about this way that they were going.

Belle began to sense plants near her, and they suddenly entered a forest. Huge black trees that were perfectly round and bare of branches soared up into the gloom. Considering she could feel them, that meant she could control them if need be. But ever since she discovered their roots were veins, she didn't really want to find out.

Suddenly she stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up in high alert. Something wasn't right. It was like somebody was watching them, but not that feeling she felt earlier where a vast being was aware of their presence. No, this was different. She rested her hand on the trunk of the tree closest to them, and the tree waved a small amount just from her touch. However, when she took her hand off, the tree shook again. That wasn't from her. Belle glanced around her for a second.

"Belle?" Percy questioned, raising Riptide. "What's wrong?"

Bob turned and looked back at them in confusion. "We are stopping?"

Belle held up her hand to tell them to be quiet. She wasn't quite sure of what had set her off since nothing was different. Then she realized that the tree trunk, even without her touching it, was quivering, and she wasn't concentrating on moving it in any way. A few yards away, another tree shuddered.

"There's something moving above us," Belle revealed in a quiet tone. "Close ranks."

Bob and Percy did what they were told. Belle stood in the front of them with Sunflower raised while Bob and Percy stood back to back. She strained her eyes to see in the dark, but nothing else moved. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but that thought was thrown away when the first monster dropped to the ground about five feet away from them.

Belle didn't know what this monster was. It was a wrinkled hag with bat-like wings, brass talons, and glowing red eyes. Her tattered dress was made of black silk and her face was twisted in a look that told Belle she was in the mood to kill. Another one dropped in front of Bob, and then another in front of Percy. Soon enough, there were about six surrounding them. More of the creatures hissed in the trees above.

"What are you?" Belle demanded.

The Arai, a voice hissed. The curses!

Belle couldn't tell which one said that since none of them moved their mouths. Their eyes were dead and their expressions were frozen. The voice was simply floating overhead like a single mind was controlling all of the creatures.

"The curses?" Belle asked, this whole situation not sounding very good at all. "What do you want from us?"

That same voice cackled maliciously. To curse you, of course! To destroy you a thousand times in the name of Mother Night!

"Only a thousand times?" Percy murmured. "Oh, good . . . I thought we were in trouble."

"Not right now, Percy," Belle scolded.

"Right, sorry."

The Arai then closed in all around them. Three against several monsters weren't very good odds, but now Belle and Percy had a Titan on their side.

Percy jabbed Riptide at the nearest monster. "Back off."

That Arai sneered at him. We are the Arai. You cannot destroy us.

Belle pressed her shoulder against his. "Perce, I remember them from a book I read once. Since they're the spirits of curses, we can't touch them. Or else we'll get . . . you know, cursed."

"Bob doesn't like curses," Bob commented.

He swept his broom in a wide arc. The spirits were forced backwards, but they just came right back in.

We serve the bitter and the defeated, the Arai voiced. We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you.

"I appreciate the offer," Percy replied. "But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers."

The nearest Arai lunched at him, her claws extended. Percy sliced her in half with Riptide, but as soon as she vaporized, he stumbled backwards. Belle gasped as she watched both sides of his chest began to spill blood out. Percy clamed his hand to his rib cage and his fingers came away stained with blood.

"Oh, Gods, you're bleeding," Belle stated.

"Thanks, Beauty," Percy groaned. "Didn't notice."

"But it's on both sides. There's no way you were cut with a sword—" Belle's eyes widened in realization. "Geryon. You killed him like this with an arrow back in the Labyrinth."

The Arai bared their fangs, and more leaped out from the black trees. Yes. Feel the pain you inflicted upon Geryon. So many curses have been levelled at you, Percy Jackson. Which will you die from? Choose, or we will rip you apart!

"I don't understand," Percy muttered.

"If you kill one, it gives you a curse," Bob explained.

"But they'll kill us anyways if we don't kill them," Belle guessed.

Choose! the Arai cried. Will you be crushed like Kampê? Or disintegrated like the young Telekhines you slaughtered under Mount St Helens? You have spread so much death and suffering, Percy Jackson. Let us repay you!

An Arai then lunged at Belle. She dodged out of the way and stabbed upwards with Sunflower, breaking the demon into dust. However, after she did so, she suddenly couldn't move. She looked down to see dozens of tiny plants and tree roots wrapping around herself. Belle thrashed in effort to try and get out, but it was no use.

Hyperion cursed you when you trapped him in a maple tree in Central Park, Belle Adair. Now, you will also be captured in the plants you grew.

The plants got farther and farther up. Up to her knees, hard bark was beginning to form. She couldn't run . . . but then a thought popped into her head. If that trick with growing plants with Sunflower worked, who said that it couldn't be reversed to make plants un-grow? Belle clenched Sunflower's green hilt tightly and pointed it downwards towards the ground.

"It was foolish of you to put plants against a daughter of Demeter," Belle responded. "You don't control them. I do."

She pressed Sunflower down into the ground. Immediately the plants around her sunk back into the ground and the bark shattered into pieces. She let out a breath of relief and joined Percy's again, Sunflower raised high. A dozen Arai leaped at them from every direction, but thankfully, Bob saved the day.

"SWEEP!" Bob yelled.

His broom whooshed over Belle and Percy's heads. The Arai toppled backwards, and when more surged forwards, Bob whacked one over the head and speared another, turning them into dust. All of the others backed away. Belle was completely prepared for Bob to get cursed, but nothing happened.

"Bob, you okay?" Percy asked. "No curses?"

"No curses for Bob!" Bob agreed.

The Arai snarled and circled around, eyeing his broom. The Titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? You, Percy Jackson, have already destroyed his memory.

Bob's spearhead dipped.

"No, Bob, you can't listen to them," Belle cut in, obviously panicking. "You heard them, they're the spirit of curses. They're evil."

Bob turned to Percy. "My memory . . . it was you!"

Curse him, Titan! The Arai encouraged, their red eyes gleaming with delight. Add to our numbers!

"Bob, it's a long story," Percy answered. "I didn't want you to be my enemy. I tried to make you a friend."

By stealing your life. Leaving you in the palace of Hades to scrub floors!

Belle gripped Percy's hand. "We have to run if he agrees with them."

"Bob, listen, the Arai want you to get angry," Percy continued. "They spawn from bitter thoughts. Don't give them what they want. We are your friends."

You see his face? the Arai growled. The boy cannot even convince himself. Did he visit you, after he stole your memory?

"No," Bob murmured, his lower lip quivering. "The other one did."

"The other one?" Percy repeated.

"Nico." Bob scowled at them, his eyes full of so much hurt it made Belle's heart break. "Nico visited. Told me about Percy. Said Percy was good. Said he was a friend. That is why Bob helped."

"But . . ."

"Percy, we have to go," Belle urged, knowing that the conversation was dwindling to an end.

She was right. The Arai attacked again, and this time, Bob did not intervene.

"Beauty, let's go!" Percy shouted, beginning to drag her along. "Left!"

He sliced through the Arai to clear a path. That probably gave him about a dozen curses, but that didn't stop him. Belle glanced backwards for a second while still running to see the Arai right behind them. She didn't normally like to kill plants, but things were different in Tartarus, so in this case it was all right. Belle flicked her hand and caused a black tree to topple over and crush several dozen Arai. She did it again and again so more of them would get smashed. It managed to buy them a few seconds, but not enough.

Percy suddenly stopped. Belle would've run off the edge of a cliff if Percy hadn't pulled her back in so quickly. She breathed heavily and rested against his chest for a moment while his arms were around her.

"I'm not jumping," Belle told him. "We can either go right or left."

An Arai suddenly descended in front of them and hovered over the void. Did you have a nice walk?

Belle turned back around. More Arai poured out of the woods and made a crescent around them. One surged forwards and grabbed Belle's arm. Belle cried out in rage and sliced Sunflower through the air, cutting the demon. It dissolved, but when she went to turn back to Percy, he wasn't there. Belle felt her heart stop as she looked around frantically. There was no sign of the boy she had fallen into Tartarus with.

"Percy?" Belle called, her voice panicked.

Alone, daughter of Demeter? the Arai taunted. Pity.

"What did you do to him?" she demanded, starting to get choked up.

Nothing. He left you, just like you always feared he would.

Belle shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. "No. No, he would never."

She didn't want to believe the fact that Percy had run away, but there was a possibility that was what happened. If he hadn't left her, then where was he?

"Percy," she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. "Percy, please."

The Arai faded away all around her, apparently satisfied with this curse. Belle was left by herself, standing at the edge of a cliff. This was her breaking point. She had tried to stay strong in Tartarus for so long, but now that she was stuck in the eerie silence all by herself, all of the emotions came slamming into her at once. Belle flipped Sunflower in the air and clipped her keychain back onto her belt loops as tears began to stream down her face.

She walked over to the nearest tree and and sat with her back pressed against it. And for the first time in months, Belle put her face into her knees and began to cry her absolute heart out. That eerie silence was now filled with nothing but Belle's heartbreaking sobs and the sniffles she let out. Gods, she hadn't cried this hard since Percy disappeared for the first time. At least then she was in the mortal world. Now she was stuck in Tartarus by herself, her boyfriend gone and nobody to lead her out. There was no way she could do this by herself.

The Arai were right, after all. When she had finally reunited with Percy, Belle gained a fear that he would suddenly disappear into thin air again. She always pushed that thought away and told herself that it was silly. Yet here she was. Percy had left her again, and Belle didn't know how to deal with it.

A shadow then loomed over her. Belle looked up, her face blotchy and eyes red from crying. Bob was standing in front of her with his broom.

"Bob," Belle began, the tears in her eyes making her vision blurry. "What—"

He bent down and picked her up in his hand. Belle let out another sob and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand as he did so. Finally, after he took a couple steps, he set her down on the ground.

Bob touched her forehead. "Owie."

Belle blinked. Suddenly, Percy was in front of her again. She sobbed in relief at the fact that he hadn't left her after all, but her happiness quickly faded away once she noticed his state. Percy was bleeding in multiple places and looked near to death.

She gasped and fell to her knees beside him. "Oh, Gods, what happened?"

Belle threw her arms around him as gently as she could and cried into his hair. After a couple moments of that, she pulled away and placed her hands on either side of his face. Belle kissed him softly, tasting of salt from her tears and dirt from both of their faces. She pulled away and attempted to wipe some of the dust and sweat from his face with her thumbs. He reached up and weakly grasped her wrist.

"Belle," Percy groaned.

"Yeah, hey, it's me," Belle replied, pushing some of his hair away from his forehead. "I'm here. You're gonna be okay, all right?"

"Lots of curses," Bob announced. "Percy had done bad things to monsters."

"Bob, you have to fix him," Belle pleaded, sniffling again as she wiped more tears off of her own face. "Just like you fixed my curse."

The Titan frowned and picked at his name tag.

Belle decided to try again. "Bob—"

"Iapetus," Bob corrected, his voice low. "Before Bob. I was Iapetus."

The air went completely still.

Belle managed to put a small smile on her face, although it looked sad since she was still trying to stop crying. "I like Bob better than Iapetus. Do you agree?"

"I do not know any more." Bob crouched down next to her and studied Percy. "I promised. Nico asked me to help. I do not think Iapetus or Bob likes breaking promises." He touched Percy's forehead. "Owie. Very big owie. Bob cannot cure this. Too much poison. Too many curses piled up."

"Then what can we do? Do you know if there's water anywhere? Water might be able to heal him."

"No water. Tartarus is bad."

Belle shook her head. "No, I don't believe that. Something down here can heal him."

Bob placed a hand on Percy's chest for a second. "Tartarus kills Demigods. It heals monsters, but you do not belong. Tartarus will not heal Percy. The pit hates your kind."

"Forget about that for a second. Even down here, there has to a place he can rest or some kind of cure he can take. Maybe if we turn around and go back to the altar of Hermes—"

"I SMELL HIM!" a voice suddenly roared. "BEWARE, SON OF POSEIDON! I COME FOR YOU!"

"What was that?" Belle asked.

"Polybotes," Bob explained. "He hates Poseidon and his children. He is very close now."

They had to keep moving. Belle wiped the last of her tears off of her face and stood up. She took Percy's arms in her hands and struggled to get him to his feet. Belle wrapped her arm around his waist and supported almost all of his weight, even despite their height difference.

"Bob, I'm going with or without you," Belle said. "Are you coming or not?"

Small Bob the kitten meowed and began to purr while rubbing against Bob's chest. Bob studied Percy for a little while longer.

"There is one place," Bob revealed at last. "There is a Giant who might know what to do."

"Bob, we can't take him to a Giant," Belle refused. "Giants are bad."

"One is good," Bob insisted. "Trust me, and I will take you . . . unless Polybotes and the others catch us first."

— [ ♡ ] —

THIS WAS SO FUN TO WRITE BUT BELLE WAS PUT IN SO MUCH PAIN ???? maybe I'm a psychopath

anyways who's gonna yell at me to not make a steve harrington fic based off of olivia rodrigo's song deja vu ????

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !