21 Chapter 21

Again, T/W for gruesome violence.

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Blink made the over-the-shoulder punch so fast his hands were barely a flicker of motion. No subtlety here: he was aiming at the joining of Alex's neck and shoulder. Alex's sword met Blink's hand in a two-handed rising parry that forced the swing of the punch over the boy's head. The sword buzzed in his hands, sending an unsettling shock through Alex's arms and shoulders to his teeth.

He backhanded the sword with his right to rake the point across Blink's eyes, just to miss by a handbreadth. Alex continued the motion into a diving side roll, and Blink came after him, swinging, the air singing a tooth-grinding roar as his hand punched through the cement beside Alex's head as if it was made of soft cheese. Alex hooked Blink's ankle with his toe and kicked his knee; the monster bent his leg to take it so the joint didn't break, but it brought him to the floor.

Alex rose to his feet, now understanding why his backhanded slash missed Blink's eyes — his sword was about one inch short. The blade had sheared off three more fingers, bright celestial bronze gleaming like ruby along the edge.

His stomach did a turn seeing so much blood, but he ignored it. The daydreaming was long enough for Blink to reach his feet. A smooth cross brought Alex into range and he chambered his leg for a sidekick to knock him down again—

A thin-fingered hand grabbed his arm from behind, putting him into an arm-lock.

The other Cyclops…

Alex was so consumed with Blink that he never even saw Wink who was now holding him. He was trapped between the two cyclops, his sword hand held stuck high in the air, and his chest exposed.

Blink laughed through the blood. "Not so though now, are we? Wink, hold him there. I oughta teach him some manners."

The monster punched the air sometimes, shadowboxing to taunt Alex, before actually swinging at him all of a sudden. In a whim, Alex brought his head forward and headbutted the punch, negating some of the damage. Wink tried to claw at his back, but her hand split in two from hitting the varsity jacket.

Blink, well, blinked, that was all — but it was enough. In that bare instant, while his eye closed and opened again, Alex lifted his foot, placed the edge of his boot on top of the monster's kneecap, and stomped down. Ligaments tore as the kneecap shifted. The pain was seemingly stunning, seeing as Blink was still deciding whether to scream first and then punch Alex or the other way around. Alex twisted out from under the weeping Wink's hold and dived.

His dive became a roll, and he came to his feet with his sword in his hands. He reversed the direction of another clawed strike and spun as his blade opened a gaping wound across Wink's nape before Blink even realized what had happened.

Wink's head flopped forward, and she burst into a cloud of golden dust at Blink's feet. The remaining cyclops howled like a damned thing, trying to ignore the pain and bring his arms forward in time, but Alex was one step ahead. Knowing where the focused defence would be, he'd already reversed his blade for an over-the-elbow back strike, driving its sharp point through Blink's open mouth and out the back of his head.

Another burst of golden later, Alex was left on the crowded street, surrounded by people who, all of a sudden, had no idea why they were standing there, and moved on with their lives, paying no attention to the bloodied kid near the wrecked coffee shop. Alex momentarily looked up, and stifled a pained laugh — the name of the shop was: Big Three Eyes Coffee.

He breathed in through the nose; breathed out the mouth. He checked his wounds. A limp left arm, a large gash above his right eyebrow, and a few broken fingers — the latter was something he could ignore for now. The best course would be to check the extent of damage on his left shoulder.

"Annabeth!" He called out, ducking through the shattered window. But, instead of hearing her, he heard the tumbling of boxes coming from the backroom.

The door burst open. Another cyclops, this one taller than Blink, but far skinnier, was holding Annabeth hostage by pressing his hand on her thin neck.

"Help!" She cried out, but the monster tightened her grip to shut her up.

"Well, well, well." The skinny asshole — probably named Flutter or Glint — cackled. "Alexander, wasn't it? Me and my siblings have heard much of you."

Alex didn't answer. Muscles bulged at the corners of the boy's mouth, and he clutched the hilt of his sword so tight his knuckles popped.

"Now, now. Don't get antsy with me. Introductions first, yeah?" The Cyclops said. "My name's Peep. And you've probably met my siblings."

He wanted to facepalm so badly but he couldn't. Annabeth was in danger. He could use his shield, but he needed to get close enough in that window of time to get the kiddo out of danger. Perhaps Peep had his brain matter altogether and could gather himself after the jumpscare faster than Alex could reach him, and he wasn't taking any chances with her.

"You guys talk too much for Cyclops, ya know?" Alex taunted. "Maybe that's why you're so small. The heavy brain stopped you from growing."

Peep snorted, tracing his finger across Annabeth's cheek.

Maybe… Alex looked at his own shadow. He'd only done it within the confines of the cabin's ward, and he'd be too exhausted to do anything after, but… it was his only option with maximum chance of saving the little girl.

"Like I said… we've heard a lot about you," Peep began. "Defeated the Nemean Lion within hours of knowing your true nature, then sent the Chimera back to Tartarus. Fought the Mother of Monsters and lived to tell the tale. Then, no matter how many monsters were sent after you, you always managed to kill them," He licked his lips. "Did you know? The stronger the demigod, the better the smell. This little thing in my hands doesn't even strike me hunger with you in front of me."

"Just get to the point." Alex spat.

"Hades, so uncivilized," Peep sighed. "What I'm trying to say is… you come with me and my siblings in peace, and I'll let your little companion go. A good trade, don't you think? After all, you can't beat us three, especially Blink. He—"

Alex broke out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" Peep asked, taken aback.

"Your siblings?" Alex wheezed and lifted his bloody sword so the Cyclops could properly see it. "If you're so good with your nose, tell me. Does this smell familiar?"

Peep frowned and sniffed the air for a second. The monster froze — then, with the biggest scowl Alex had ever seen, he roared with his eye bloodshot.

Grinning, Alex looked at Annabeth, who promptly understood and closed her eyes. He then looked at the raging Peep. "That's more like it, shitface. Aegis!"

Alex knew first-hand how scary Medusa's face on Aegis was. Terrible curls of hair made of snakes, fearsome glowing eyes and a fanged mouth that looked like it could swallow you whole. The first time he looked at it, he may have or may have not squealed. If this was just a copy, he didn't even want to imagine the original.

On the other hand, Peep had no idea of what the shield had in its centre. It was, quite literally, a jumpscare for the furious Cyclops. He had released Annabeth to bring his hands upwards to cover his face out of fear. When he got his bearings together, Alex was nowhere to be seen, and Annabeth was already a few steps away.

The monster tried to reach for the little girl, so he didn't even notice the demigod flying out of his shadow, driving a celestial bronze sword through Peep's heart.

"What—"

"You and your siblings should've worked better on teamwork." Alex quipped, staring eyes to eye with Peep.

Like a large pinata, the Cyclops burst into golden dust just like his siblings. Alex barely spared a glance at the slowly dispersing sand before turning to Annabeth.

"Alex—"

He kneeled and took Annabeth into a tight hug. The little girl, who had been putting on a brave front, let her lip quiver, and soon, was crying a river on Alex's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, pipsqueak," Alex said, trying to keep himself together. He, too, wanted to cry, but was so tired from that little teleportation trick he doubted he had the strength for it.

Annabeth squeezed until he was out of air, but he didn't care. He just let her cry it all out.

"I-I w-was so s-scared…" She spoke, hiccuping every few words. "I was hiding in behind the cardboxes, b-but he heard me."

"It's my fault, Annabeth," Alex said, gritting his teeth. "I shouldn't have left you alone. We should've just run. Y-you could've…"

"N-no… I'm just glad you're o-okay." Annabeth said, trying to wipe the tears that had smeared her face. A small proud smile appeared on her face. "You looked b-badass while kicking t-their asses."

"I sure did," Alex smiled softly. "Come on, pipsqueak. Let's go home."

The sounds of confused police sirens were echoing in the distance as the two walked hand-in-hand up the street. Alex looked up at the sky, body burning with exhaustion, now wishing for the moon to come to soothe his wounds, praying this night, sleep would grace him with its presence.

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A lot of sunlight? Check. Hoose spraying water upward? Check. Golden drachma? Check. No one to bother him for a while? Check. Now for the last one…

Grover waited for a few seconds. The strong sun rays turned a few of the water droplets into a mist that ended up reflecting said sun rays. A smile spread across the satyr's face when he saw the small rainbow forming above the hoose-water pond he'd made in the stables.

"I should really buy a glass prism…" Grover thought off-handedly.

He flicked the golden drachma — which disappeared in the mist — and clasped his hands together. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Alexander Sinclair."

The rainbow mist flickered. For a moment, it seemed to show a forest cabin with a small creak flowing by, before buzzing with something akin to TV static and showing a skinny-looking old man, smoking a joint while sitting in a street curb. The man looked like he hadn't washed for decades: greasy grey hair, long and dirty nails, wild patched beard, and brown clothes that Grover was sure were supposed to be white. Still, the satyr tried…

"Alex?" He asked.

"Huh? What the fuck?" The... what did humans call them… crackhead? Yeah, the crackhead turned to look at the rainbow mist. He blinked his eyes several times, as if not believing what he was seeing. Then, he looked at the blunt between his yellowy fingers. "Just what did that cunt put in this shit?"

Grover quickly waved the mist away, breaking the connection. He sat dejectedly by the stables, throwing some hay once in a while to the Pegasus.

One of them neighed, and Grover looked at him, somewhat angry.

"Don't say that!" He exclaimed, sitting up. "He's not dead!"

Another pegasus, this time a black and white one, whined. 'You're torturing yourself over this, Grover' it probably said.

"Well, I'm going to keep on doing it!" He huffed and threw a roll of hay that hit the first pegasus.

He kept on feeding the flying horses for a few more minutes before a loud neigh startled him.

"God alert!" It, again, probably yelled. "The wine dude! Mr D!"

Someone sighed in exasperation. "The next horse who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"

Mr D., or Dionysus, the camp director, had a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looked purple. His blue eyes, Grover thought, were again blue and bloodshot from drinking, though the satyr was pretty sure the God was banned from alcohol. His leopard-spot Hawaiian shirt was as clean as always, and he was wearing his signature purple running shoes.

"You're not gonna greet me?" The god asked Grover, eyeing him from the side.

"Ah! Good morning, Mr D!" Grover said quickly. He had been so lost in his own thoughts he forgot to greet his own patron.

Mr D. scratched his bear. He waved his hand, and a can of Diet Coke appeared out of nowhere. He casually opened it and began to take small sips, staring at the puddle a few meters away from Grover.

"Still on with that?" Dionysus asked casually.

"Y-yes," The satyr kept hauling the hay, slowly now. "If there's a tiny chance that Alex's alive, I'll—"

"He's alive," The god said, and it took a while for Grover to process it.

"He… he is?"

Mr D. hummed in confirmation. He twirled the can in his hands. "You got weird friends, Grover. Something is concealing him, that even I can't see past. Yesterday, I was able to catch a glimpse, and yet…" He kept twirling the can, thinking hard like he was trying to solve a very interesting soup letter. "I can't tell you where he is."

"Why?!" Grover asked loudly, almost in a yell.

The god didn't seem offended. "Because I don't know." He said with a shrug and walked away. "Keep feeding them. After that, Chiron needs help with a problem in the climbing wall."

Alex was alive. Alex was alive. He was alive. He knew it! All this time, Grover was right in not giving up! Gleeson could go eat a rotten apple!

Okay, calm down. He had to think. Clues! Where could have Alex gone? He had to start somewhere…

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A/N: That's probably enough for a mass release, right?