Chapter 75: The Nemean Lion

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

In which our intrepid heroes just can't seem to catch a break!

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Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Percy grits his teeth as the latest problem launches itself right at him, Bianca, and Thalia. The Manticore had been one thing, but this… this was something else entirely. He lifts Riptide and sets his jaw, putting himself between it and the two female demigods he's dragged along with him on this quest.

"Do not fight it head on! That is the Nemean Lion and its fur is impervious to damage, including from Celestial Bronze Weapons!"

Zoe's warning comes at the last possible second before the shining, golden lion monster is on top of them. Eyes widening, Percy dodges out of the way of the massive paw that just crushed the Manticore's head, even as Bianca and Thalia backpedal rapidly.

Fortunately the Nemean Lion is focused on him for the moment. Coming up out of his desperate roll, Percy sees the truck-sized beast racing after him. At the same time, both Zoe and Phoebe are firing on it from a distance, shooting arrow after arrow into its hide.

Or more accurately, they're shooting the arrows 'at' its hide, because not a single projectile finds purchase in the lion's body. It's just like Zoe said, even if she's still desperately firing upon the monster. The Nemean Lion is impervious to damage, its metallic golden fur clearly allowing it to shrug off the Hunters' shots.

And to think, Percy had been feeling pretty damn good about their teamwork against the Manticore as well. The Manticore had been dangerous, but not insurmountable. In fact, he really should have realized how outnumbered he was, because in the end he'd gone down like a chump.

However, there were several key differences between the two monsters aside from just the sheer size. For one, the Manticore was absurdly full of himself and human enough to love the sound of his own voice. He'd talked and talked, acting like their defeat at his paws was a foregone conclusion.

For two, the Manticore hadn't been invulnerable or even particularly hardy. Riptide had carved his tail from his body without much issue, cutting into him like a knife in better. He also had been easily contained by Zoe and Phoebe's net-arrows, which admittedly Percy didn't think could even fully wrap around the Nemean Lion due to his size.

And finally, for three… he didn't have the same single-minded ferocity and focus that the Nemean Lion was currently exhibiting. As Percy leads the massive monster on a chase around the thankfully very open, very large space within the National Air and Space Museum, he's barely managing to keep out of the claws and jaws that are constantly snapping at his heels.

He's staying ahead of the lion for now, but that can't last forever. Percy might be on his way to becoming a god, but he's certainly not a god yet and he still has the constitution and stamina of a mortal man… especially when he's nowhere near a body of water large enough to provide him with some extra supernatural strength.

Just as he's starting to flag however… the sound of metal screeching against metal fills the air.

"Hey fucker! How about you chase me for a little bit, you bastard!"

Percy whips his head around to see Thalia dragging her spear along the Nemean Lion's side. The sound of metal against metal comes from that as she does the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard or a key against the side of a car. Sparks fly and then a veritable lightning bolt pulses across the golden metallic fur, discharging from Thalia's spear tip with a vengeance.

For just a moment, Percy thinks she might have actually done some damage… but no. No, even a lightning strike from a Daughter of Zeus isn't enough to harm the Nemean Lion. Still, while it's obvious she doesn't hurt the monster in any way… she certainly gets its attention.

With an ear-splitting, earthquaking roar, the Nemean Lion spins on its massive fucking heels and takes a swipe at Thalia, who manages to just barely duck under the huge paw that swings her direction. Then, she's off to the races, leading the lion monster on a not-so-merry chase around the museum.

Percy wants to shout at Thalia for being an idiot, but he's too busy catching his breath, hands on his knees as he sucks in lungfuls of air. Zoe and Phoebe, meanwhile, have switched to shooting arrows with more esoteric effects at the Nemean Lion.

One arrow turns the concrete to liquid right in front of the monster's paw, causing it to trip for a moment before it rights itself. Another creates a glue patch that forces it to rip itself free. More arrows like that are shot out, all to try and slow the beast down in some way.

But this can't continue and Percy knows it. They're up shit's creek without a paddle against this thing. As Bianca comes over, helping him straighten up to his full height, she bites her lower lip, looking between the lion and Percy.

"What do we do, Percy? Do we need to run?"

… Maybe they did. Percy racks his brain for a moment, going over everything he knows about their adversary. And then… it hits him. The Nemean Lion is only impervious to injuries on the outside, isn't he? And he sure likes to fucking roar…

"Maybe we don't need to run. Maybe we just need to give the bastard something too big to swallow."

Bianca furrows her brow for a moment before her eyes widen in realization. Percy looks around the museum, searching desperately for something that can do what they need. Finally, his eyes land on the bulbous tip of a nearby personal airplane. It seems a little ridiculous… and yet…

"Tell the Hunters what we're planning, alright? Tell them to be ready on my mark."

Bianca blinks but nods.

"R-Right. What's your mark going to be?"

Percy just grins lopsidedly.

"If all goes according to plan… you'll know it when you see it."

Splitting up, Bianca heads for Zoe and Phoebe while Percy moves over to the rocket-nosed plane. He's never been more grateful for Athena's Blessing, because without a source of water he's not sure he would be strong enough to do this without it. Calling upon the blessing, he lets more of it flow through him than ever before and leaps up onto the front of the plane.

Reaching down, he wraps his arms around the nose and sinks his fingers into the metal. Gritting his teeth, he begins to pull with all his might… and an awful tearing noise fills the air as rivets start popping off and flying in all directions.

"THALIA! Bring it this way!"

Thalia whips her head in his direction and while the blank look on her face makes it clear she has no fucking clue what he's doing, she nevertheless listens. Twisting around, she begins sprinting in his direction, the Nemean Lion still hot on her heels despite Zoe and Phoebe's best attempts to continue slowing it down.

Finally, as Thalia and the monster close the distance between them and him, Percy is able to rip the huge, metal nose of the small plane off once and for all. Getting a feel for it as he lifts it up, he positions himself and watches the approach of Thalia and the massive truck-sized lion behind her.

Then… an arrow strikes the ground right in front of the Nemean Lion's paw and causes it to crater upwards in such a way that the massive beast actually stumbles and… folds one of his toes under him. It's not a massive injury, but it clearly hurts like nothing else because the lion's massive maw opens up in an angry, pained roar.

Seeing his opportunity, Percy doesn't hesitate. Leaping off of the destroyed plane he's standing on top of, he swings his arms downwards with all his might… and tosses the conical nose of the plane right into the Nemean Lion's gaping maw.

Like the biggest fucking pill ever recorded, the plane nose drives down the Nemean Lion's throat and just as Percy hoped, it gets lodged there. The monster's roar is subsequently cut off as it begins to hack and choke at the obstruction in its throat.

"ATTACK THE INSIDE OF ITS MOUTH WHILE ITS DISTRACTED!"

Percy's orders are followed unquestioningly. Arrows fly and Percy and Thalia both approach the choking Nemean Lion together. As Zoe and Phoebe's shots sink into the Nemean Lion's tongue, pinning it to the floor of the monster's mouth, it lets out a pitiful, gurgling, choked off cry and flops forward.

This in turn allows Percy and Thalia to deliver a subsequent one-two punch as his sword and her spear both drive upwards into the roof of the Nemean Lion's maw. The monster dies still choking on the plane's conical nose, slumping to the ground in a way that makes the earth shake beneath their feet from the impact.

Nevertheless… they'd done it. They'd managed to defeat a monster with a hide that was impervious to every type of damage they could do to it. Percy blinks, watching as the Nemean Lion turns to golden dust… but not entirely. Left behind on the floor of the museum in its place is a golden pelt that shimmers with the same metallic vibe as the lion's fur had.

"The Nemean Lion's pelt. Hercules wore one as a cape, back in the day."

As Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe walk up to join him and Thalia coming from the other side of the pelt, the Lieutenant of Artemis' words cause them to blink and look over at her. Zoe has a frown on her face as she looks down at the pelt for a long moment before nodding to him.

"You should take it, Percy. The plan to defeat the lion was yours, after all."

Percy blinks, glancing between the pelt and the others.

"I mean… we all played our part in killing the damn thing. Just because I came up with the plan doesn't mean I had the greatest contribution."

Thalia snorts and nudges him in the shoulder.

"That's exactly what it means, dummy. You definitely earned it."

Seeing Bianca and even Phoebe nodding along in agreement, Percy hums and reluctantly takes a step forward to reach down for the pelt. However, before he can do so, he catches movement behind Bianca and the Hunters. He also sees the flash of a blade.

Eyes widening, Percy all but leaps forward, jumping over the pelt entirely in order to shove Zoe, Phoebe, and Bianca out of the way. Unfortunately, that comes at a price. For a moment, the world seems to almost stand still… as Percy looks down to behold the sword buried in his gut instead of Zoe's back.

Then, he looks up to stare at the owner's face. A macabre skull under transparent gray skin and set with glowing yellow eyes stares back at him for just a moment before the undead owner of the sword buried in his stomach is ripped out without a care.

"Spartoi! Skeleton Warriors born of dragon's teeth! Get them away from Percy!"

As Percy falls back onto the floor, clutching his stomach, he hears Zoe's warning cry. All of the girls start to react, rushing forward to try and help him, but Percy quickly realizes it's not him they should be worried about.

There are a dozen Spartoi that have snuck up on them while they were patting themselves on the back for their victory over the Nemean Lion. Not a single one of these Skeleton Warriors pays him any mind, however. Even the one who stabbed him is ignoring him now. Instead, they only have eyes on the girls who are all trying to rush in to help.

The Queen's involvement to avert tragic pain.

Part of Hestia's recitation of Zoe's quest from the Oracle comes to him then. As Hestia had said at the time, they both had their suspicions about who exactly the Queen was. The Goddess of the Hearth had postulated that something would happen on the quest that only Hera, Queen of the Gods, could stop.

Was that this? But how? Unless… Hera was here right now, watching. Waiting. Seeking an opening.

"I just worry about what she might demand in payment."

Hestia's words echo in his head. Frankly, Percy felt she was probably right to be worried. And yet, as the others desperately try to fight through a dozen Spartoi to get to him, risking their lives in the process… Percy knows that if he doesn't do something, someone is going to die soon. Might even be him, given the pain in his gut.

Grimacing, Percy bites the bullet, whispering under his breath as weapons clash all around him.

"Hera… I wish to make a deal."

It's a total shot in the dark and when nothing happens initially, Percy readies himself to fight through the pain in his gut and force himself to his feet to help the girls.

Only, just before he can do so… everything freezes. The Spartoi along with the rest of his party are suddenly all still as can be, frozen in mid-combat. Meanwhile, Percy's gut no longer hurts as the sound of heels clacking across the floor of the museum fills his ears.

Walking between the fighting Spartoi with all grace and poise, the Queen of the Gods arrives standing over him with a beatific smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes.

"My King. I thought you'd never ask."

-x-X-x-

The Vote:

[X] Switch to Hera's POV - 78%[ ] Stick with Percy's POV - 22%

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