64Well, that only took forever and a day! But here it is! It's probably the worst chapter in this story, unfortunately… Thank to those who helped me with my writer's block and to those who have review my story, and keep it up! If you have any ideas, just let me know! But please review, no mean reviews though!
Disclaimer: I don't own cott.
"You're…working with…Cronus?" Jay whispered, a sad expression was on his face. I smiled and nodded proudly.
"Jay, don't think you can control everything. We all knew this would blow up in your face at some point."
"Ouch…" Neil muttered. Argh! If I had to kill someone…
But I ignored Neil, and kicked Jay in the chest with such force that it sent him flying across the clearing into a tree. It also caused me to stumble backwards slightly. He slammed into it and grunted as his head snapped back. He fell onto his back and his arm he hit the tree with twitched, but other than that, he remained still. I bent my knees in a cat-like position waiting for someone to strike. I hoped I could have a go at Archie. Even when I was good, I often felt the need to beat up Archie, and vice versa.
"Let's go."
Archie, as I had hoped, lunged at me. I growled as his body came in contact with mine. I grabbed his shoulders, and he grabbed my waist. It was like we were a couple and embracing each other…but more aggressive. Much more aggressive. We began to wrestle, and I knew this was only the beginning of the battle. His hands pushed my arms and I thought that my arms would snap in half. Of course, I would never say that because it would make me seem weak, and I was definitely not. Archie attempted to get me into a wrestling position, but that would also mean I loose. No way.
I kneed him in the gut which caused him great pain, but he still didn't get off me. One of his strong, rough hands held my wrists together and pushed them into my stomach. His other hand was trying to hold my frantic body down. The more I moved, the more he pushed my hands into my stomach, and it was beginning to feel uncomfortable. I slowly pulled my hands free of his. My hand swung back, then forward, making contact with his face. He rolled off of me, his hand over his nose. It was bleeding. Archie glared at me. He then moved his hand and wiped the blood off his face.
Archie coughed and blood sprayed on the ground. I was still lying on my back so I propped myself up on my elbows with a satisfied grin on my face. He noticed and his face grew red (it wasn't just the blood) with anger. Slowly, I stood up above him. Archie looked up at me with anger-filled eyes and for a moment I felt guilty…
"Stop it!" I screamed to myself and put my hands over my face. I was feeling too many things. I was evil now. Then why did I feel guilty? It's Archie. I pushed my guilty thoughts aside and turned to Archie who was now on his feet too.
"What?" he asked. With concern on his face, not anger.
"Nothing!" I yelled back at him. Anger returned to his face. He lunged at me again. His arm wrapped around my stomach and I gasped. We crashed to the ground. Again. Archie's hand placed itself around my throat. He was trying to choke me… His grip tightened and my airway was being cut off. I couldn't die. Not yet anyway. Archie was so close to killing me, but I laughed. I had magical powers! I could kill him in a second! But I can't bring myself to do it…
"Damn it!" I screamed again. I shoved Archie off of me with such force, he was sent back a few feet. Archie was on the ground looking at me, this time his eyes were filled with confusion. I knew what I had to do. I had to kill one of them, or all of them. I had to stop thinking. I had to just do. Using my powers, I made Cronus' scythe appear in my hand. Like he always did. It was hard to believe that I was going to be queen…Cronus' queen…queen of the world.
"Theresa…think about what you're doing…" Archie begged as he crawled away form me when I walked closer, scythe in my hand. Archie kicked my feet out from under me, causing me to fall to the ground next to him. I dropped the scythe a few feet away from me. I reached for it, and just when I almost had it, Archie pulled my ankle so I couldn't get to the scythe. He was about to squish me again, but I ripped out of his grip and grabbed the scythe. Archie did not notice that I actually had the scythe. He was on top of me again, wrestling with me. I fought him with the hand that didn't have the scythe. Boy, was Archie in for a surprise. I raised the scythe above his back, and closed my eyes. I could do this.
I brought the scythe down. It punctured the skin on Archie's back. I couldn't go in too far. I had to pull the scythe out of his back when I heard his scream and a few gasps behind me. He rolled off of me, grabbing his head. I quickly stood up and looked at the pained Warrior below me. I felt someone rush past me and bent down to help Archie. It was Atlanta of course.
"Are you okay?" Atlanta asked her voice full of concern.
"Yup…" Archie muttered. He tried to stand, but collapsed to the ground beside Atlanta. She grabbed his arm and helped him up. Atlanta supported most of his weight as she walked him over to a tree far away from me.
"Just rest here for a bit. We'll finish this," she whispered to Archie. Atlanta hoped I couldn't hear her, but I could. She was still helping Archie as I began wandering towards her. No one noticed me, and that's the way I wanted it to be.
"Try not to move, I'm sure it must hurt a lot…" Atlanta warned Archie. He had been looking down at his feet, probably trying to hide his tears. Crying wasn't manly. Archie finally raised his head, so his eyes met Atlanta's.
"Don't worry 'bout me. I'll be okay. Just rememb- Atlanta! Watch out!"
I guess he saw me.
I had the scythe raised above Atlanta, just like I did with Archie. Her head whipped around and she saw me too. She rolled out of the way and I stabbed the ground. Good thing – for her- that she rolled out of the way. The scythe was almost all the way into the ground. Missed…
"Enough!" a voice yelled behind me. A rough, hoarse voice and I knew whose it was immediately…
"Cronus!" Herry growled.
"Yes, Herry, it's me." Cronus observed that battle field. He smiled when he saw Jay and Archie. But once he saw me holding the scythe that had been forced deep into the ground, he scowled. "What's this, Theresa?" He walked over towards me and I swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, I just-" I tried to apologize. He knelt down beside as I struggled to pull the blade out of the ground.
"Don't apologize…We'll just have to work on this nasty little habit of yours. Missing the target," he grinned. I didn't show what I truly felt. Anger, and sadness. Cronus cupped my chin roughly. "Kill them all." He turned my head with his hand to show me all of their faces. Cronus let go of my face, after causing my neck to twist in an uncomfortable way.
I thought that maybe I was bleeding when I felt something trickle down my cheek, but it felt much lighter than blood. I looked up at the sky which was now a deep grey. It was raining now.
"Looks like I need to help you if I want to get the job done faster, don't I?" Cronus inquired. I swallowed an angry yell and just stared at him, not answering. "That's what I thought. Now may I please have my scythe back?" I pulled it out of the ground and stood up to hand it to him. "Thank you Theresa. Continue." I turned around, searching for my next victim. Neil…Herry…Odie…Atlanta…then something sliced my back. I screeched and felt my back. I traced the outline of the new cut which seemed to extend from my right shoulder blade, all the way down to my waist. It wasn't too deep, which made me feel a little better. But the pain was still unbearable. Now I know how Archie feels.
"I TOLD YOU I WANTED ALL OF THEM DEAD AS SOON AS YOU FOUND THEM! IF YOU WON'T DO IT RIGHTM I'LL KILL YOU!" Cronus bellowed. I turned around so I was face to face with him. His face was as red as his eyes were.
"I'm sorry, it's just that there's one of me, and six of them…" I tried to apologize. Cronus' expression didn't change.
"Just kill them all now. I'll help if you need me to."
"If you want to." He glared at me and turned to the four remaining. I stared down at Atlanta who was clutching Archie's arm. Yuck. I grabbed her shirt from the back and pulled her to her feet. She stared at me with confused eyes. I could tell she didn't know what she was feeling. Sad for me and Archie, angry at me, scared, and just plain confused. Yeah, I hurt her Archie, and I don't regret it…at least I think I don't. I'm supposed to be evil! This isn't evil!
"Snap out of it Theresa! I know, that you know, that this isn't you!" Atlanta cried.
"It is now." I tossed Atlanta onto the wet ground.
"Use magic Theresa! Just get rid of these kids!" Cronus yelled at me. I was about to do a spell that would burn Atlanta's insides when someone stopped me. A strong muscular hand came over my mouth. It must have been Herry. I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my head. I threw him onto the ground next to Atlanta, and he landed with a loud thud. Now that I had them both, I could do whatever spell I pleased…
Twirling my finger beside my head, I muttered a magic spell that would cause Herry and Atlanta to fall into a state of unconsciousness, all the while having disturbing visions. These visions were of what would happen to them if they ended up like me…I can't even think about it. Herry and Atlanta were now unconscious and having terrifying nightmares.
"Excellent…" Cronus snarled. I turned around to finish Odie and Neil, but Neil was charging full speed towards me. He jumped on me and we both crashed to the ground.
"Neil…!" I growled. He attempted to wrestle me for about a minute, but he was also shooting random stupid comments. That was his way of fighting.
"Enough!" I yelled. Then I brought my feet up between out bodies and kicked Neil in the stomach. I sent him a few feet from where we were. When he hit the ground, I thought he was unconscious at first, but then he slowly sat up facing me.
"I'm gonna sit with Archie," Neil muttered. He scrambled over to where Archie was sitting. Archie seemed not to be in pain anymore. Too bad.
"That's not part of the plan Neil," I heard a voice to my left. A voice I hadn't heard since the beginning of the battle…
"Jay!" Archie said. Jay was standing up with his sword in his hand. There wasn't a scratch or bruise on his body…that I could see. But that would change.
I growled which took Jay's attention off his hurt friends- and Odie.
"This is getting good…" I heard Cronus mumble to himself. My hand flew up in front of me, sending a ray of light, which was actually a spell, in Jay's direction. He dodged it, making it seem like he was never hurt. I became frustrated. I continuously sent beams of light towards Jay, hoping one would hit him and…
"Try and catch me," Jay whispered to me. I stared at him, confused. He ran into the forest so I couldn't see him. Idiot. I'd find him anyway!
"Well, go after him!" Cronus barked. I shot an angry stare at Cronus. He noticed this and was about to do something to me, but I followed after Jay into the forest.
I could hear his footsteps squishing the wet grass. I could smell his cologne…I think it was cologne. I also could see a glimpse of his purple and yellow sweater. This was too easy. I didn't want to use my super speed to catch up to him. It seemed unfair… UGH! Me and my mood swings… I'm supposed to be evil!
The good part was that my legs were no where near tired. I could have kept running for another week if I had to. I stared at my fast moving feet, and the next time I looked up, I discovered I had lost track of the prey. I skidded to a stop, and sniffed the air. Jay was close…he was up in a tree somewhere…to my right…fifth branch up…looking at me… My eyes shot open and my head turned to my right. I searched the trees with my eyes. And finally, I saw him. His sweater stood out against the green leaves.
"Gotcha…" I laughed. I jumped onto the tree, grasping the bark and I crawled my way up to the branch Jay was on. In a matter of seconds, I was on the same branch as Jay. He stared at me with disbelief.
"This didn't follow your plan, did it?" I questioned Jay, a smile growing on my face. He swallowed hard, and I saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat. I knew he was deciding what his next move would be.
"Come on Theresa. Please, stop this. Cronus hypnotized you, and that's why you're evil. But I know you're in there somewhere..." Jay started. Something clicked in my head and I felt…weird.
"Nice speech," I commented. Come on. Just finish this now…it's gonna be over soon anyway… I shook my head sadly, and lunged at Jay. He was quick, and slid off the branch onto the one below, and so on until he reached the ground. My shoulder hit the hard bark, which should have been Jay. By this time, I was beyond frustrated. I punched the bark before meeting Jay on the ground. He was standing in front of me, calm.
"Theresa, I know you're in there…please come back…I-I…well…I…" Jay stuttered and his face turned red. Oh no. He was going to tell me that he loved me. Whoa. How did I know that? Oh wait, I know everything! Ha!
I'm loosing it.
"I love you," Jay managed to say. It came out in a hurry so the words were slurred together, but I understood. I smiled, but I was still evil.
"Well…that changes everything…" I muttered looking down. I hope he falls for it…
"Really?" he asked, his voice sounding excited. I looked up without moving my head. His expression was priceless. Jay had a wide smile on his face and his eyes were glistening with excitement. More noticeable was the hope written all over his face. It made me feel guilty…but it had to be done. I looked down at his hand and saw his sword. Quickly, I snatched the sword from his hand and he gasped. I wasn't sure if it was because I was so fast, or he was disappointed that I was still evil. I didn't care. So I kicked his feet out from underneath him and Jay crashed to the ground. I brought the sword to his chest, where his heart would be. At first, Jay looked at the sword with fear, and then he looked at me. The person that would end his life and break the prophecy.
"No," I said, answering the question that had been asked a few seconds before. "Just wait until this sword pierces your skin and punctures your heart…" I licked my lips in a sick way. "The blood spilling all over the grass…yum. Eh?" I looked at him. Jay was almost in tears. "Don't cry; you have to die at some point in your life."
"I'm not crying because I'm going to die…I'm crying because I'm going to die knowing that you killed me. Theresa, I love you. I wanted a chance to be your boyfriend for a long time…nay, I wanted to be with you forever. Then, all of a sudden, Cronus takes over your life and you're about to kill me. Theresa…don't do it. I know that you may have the same feelings about me and…I really want you to show it. Put the sword down and please snap out of it. I don't want the love of my life to also be my killer," Jay whispered. His words were very…meaningful and… oh what can I say! They made me want to kiss him! Just then, something clicked in my head this time…I threw the sword onto the wet grass. I was about to help Jay up when something shot through my head.
"Argh!" I cried and backed away, crashing into a tree. I grasped my head when I suddenly had an insane migraine, which almost caused me to burst into the tears if it hadn't stopped within a few moments. I loosened my grip on my head and opened my eyes which were looking down at the ground. My breathing was heavy and I lifted my head so my eyes met Jay's. A smiled grew on Jay's face.
"Your eyes…they're back to normal," Jay whispered.
"They're green again?" I asked, but that was a stupid question.
"A beautiful emerald green."
We stared at each other for a long time, just smiling. It kept on raining, and although I hated the rain, I still felt happy. Jay's hair was wet and a few strands of hair were on his face. I could feel some of my hair plastered to my face as well, but I didn't mind. Jay let out a quiet laugh and took a few steps forward, and I did the same. We wrapped our arms around each other and I laid my head against his chest. I felt Jay kiss my head before placing his cheek on it. It wasn't exactly a romantic hug, more like a giant bear hug that you give to someone when you haven't seen them in a long time. Jay's hands crushed my shoulders and my back, as my hands pulled him closer to me.
"I'm sorry…" I whispered to Jay.
"Don't worry. I think that this experience was a blessing in disguise."
"What blessing?" I laughed.
"We can finally be together," Jay said. I could feel him smiling.
"You know what we should do?" I asked.
"What?" Jay responded. I think he thought that I meant we should kiss.
"We should go back to the others. Hopefully Cronus hasn't killed them," I said, and for some reason I found it strangely funny. Jay laughed too, although I think he was disappointed. "We'll kiss later." I promised him. He chuckled. How I missed that laugh…
We let go of each other. But when our hands dropped, they found each other. Again, we stood smiling at each other for a couple seconds before heading in to find the others.
"Oh, I forgot something…" I smirked.
"What?" Jay asked.
"I love you, Jay," I whispered to him.
"I had a feeling you did, and well, I love you too." That felt good to hear.
"What exactly are we going to say to the others?" I asked Jay.
"Well, we'll try and convince them that you're good again and later, when it's less crazy, we'll tell them that we're together. At last," Jay explained to me.
"Sounds good to me." It really did. Jay held my hand tighter and it made me giggle. He smiled at me and I moved closer to him.
It was a shorter distance to the clearing then I had remembered because I soon heard voices. I heard Cronus'. I stopped when I remember that he expected me to return evil and Jay dead. Also, I was supposed to be his queen and rule the world.
"You okay?" Jay asked me. I nodded and we proceeded. We had gone a different way than I remembered. We were behind Archie, but no one noticed us, not even Cronus. I let go of Jay's hand and knelt down behind Archie. He and the others were looking up at Cronus who was calmly pacing with his scythe in his hand. He was spreading my blood around on the tip of the blade and he was smiling to himself.
I swallowed and whispered, "Archie." His head whipped around, as did all the others, and his eyes widened when he saw me, and Jay beside me, alive.
"Are you-" Archie began.
"Evil? Nope," I smiled at him.
"That's a relief," he sighed. I put my hand on his shoulder. Archie flinched, but once he remembered that I really was good, he relaxed.
"I'm really, really sorry," I apologized, "I can't tell you how sorry I am. If there's anything I can do-" I stopped when I heard a deep growl. I looked up and saw Cronus. He had such an angry, hateful expression on his face as he held the scythe…and it scared me.
"What happened?" Cronus asked through gritted teeth.
"Well…I'm not evil anymore."
"I know that!" he barked. I couldn't help but laugh. "Come here!" Cronus ordered. I don't know why, but I felt the need to obey. I didn't go up willingly, and that showed. I stood in front of him, a few feet away. I knew if I got too close, I would be killed faster. But something unexpected happened. Instead of killing me, Cronus dropped the scythe on the ground. I looked as though he hand surrendered, but the he looked at me and smiled. He took a step forward and in that step, Cronus had changed from a human (well a god) into a dog…The dog from my vision I had a long time ago. I backed away as it got closer, saliva dripping from its mouth.
"Hey, is that the dog from your vision?" Jay asked. I didn't think I had told them about that vision…but maybe I did. I nodded, my eyes still glued to the dog, or Cronus. He barked at me which caused me to jump. It got into an attacking position. This told me that it was time to run.
"I'll be back," I said to the others and took one last look at Jay. Hopefully it wasn't the last time I would see him. I bolted into the forest and kept on running. I could hear my feet, along with the dogs, beating the grass as we moved over it. I was breathing heavily again and a tried not to look behind me. But I did glance over my shoulder. He was almost right behind me. I was so scared I thought I was about to cry. I waited, wondering if I would trip and if the dog would eat me. I didn't trip, but something did grab my ankle. Someone's teeth. I fell to the ground and my chin hit the ground causing my upper teeth to crash down on my tongue. The blood leaked out of my mouth as I cried. The dog had gotten me. I lifted my head and saw the dog gripped my ankle. I looked as though it was smiling. Then suddenly I had a burst of raw energy, and it seemed as though there was hope. I kicked the dog with my good foot so hard the dog actually whimpered and backed away from me. My ankle wasn't exactly in mint condition, but I was sure I could still run. I quickly stood up and sprinted away from the dog. I really wanted to be Atlanta right now. Her speed would have helped so much…But I kept on running, and I didn't even care that the branches were scraping my skin. I turned around and laughed when I noticed that the dog wasn't following me. But when I turned my head back to the front, I noticed I had to stop immediately. There was a cliff in my way. I don't remember a cliff being here when I had searched the island…
I didn't need to turn around to know that the dog was there. But I turned around anyway. There it was. Its sick face looking up at me. But to my surprise, the dog wasn't the only one there. My friends were there too. My friends…
"I don't remember a cliff here," Herry said and looked down at Odie. Odie, for once, looked puzzled. Then he looked at Herry and shrugged.
I stared at the dog that was about to push me over the edge. Remembering what Persephone had taught me a long time ago, I tried to control its mind. But I guess it's hard to control the mind of a god. Even if he is a dog.
I backed away as it slowly came closer. But I could only go so far before I fell over the edge.
"What do I do?" I asked my friends. Jay raised a finger to his lips as he bent down. He was trying to catch Cronus before he got to me. I played along by keeping my eyes on the dog. Herry decided that he would help Jay with the dog catching. They slowly crept towards the dog with their arms out. Unfortunately, Cronus sensed what was happening. He turned his head around and grabbed Jay's arm with his teeth. Herry tried to help Jay, but the dog took a chunk out of his arm too. Out of habit, I went to help Jay and Herry. But then my vision came true.
It growled at me and I looked into its red, evil eyes that belonged to Cronus. When it growled, I saw its white, sharp teeth which had blood dripping from them. And without warning (well actually I saw it coming), Cronus, or the dog, lunged at me…
And I rolled down the side of the steep cliff hitting every rock and stick, until finally, I stopped. I grunted when the branch that had stopped me hit my gut. My body folded in half and I was able to see my legs on the other side. I was afraid to look down in case there was a longer way to go until I reached the bottom. I was also worried about how many scratches, bruises and other injuries were on my body. It didn't feel like I had any broken bones, so I supposed that was a bonus. I coughed when I swallowed because there had been dirt and such in my mouth.
"Theresa?" someone called from above. It sounded like they were very high up. Great. I have a long way to climb. I coughed again. "Theresa, are you okay?" Instead of answering, I stared at the ground which was very far away from me. There was a long, wild river that if I fell into, I would most definitely drown. It also didn't help being afraid of heights. I closed my eyes, and then opened them, hoping that for some reason the ground would be closer. There was a ledge a feet metres below me that I could get to if I went very slowly. Suddenly, I heard a crack. I closed my eyes hoping that it wasn't the branch starting to break. Well, let's just say that today is not my day. The branch broke, of course and I fell onto the ledge which really hurt the wound on back. I wasn't the only one who fell though. The branch came with me. It was larger than I had anticipated and weighed a lot more than I thought. I pushed it off me.
"Oh jeez," I mumbled. I tried to stand up, and I heard someone calling me again.
"Theresa, are you okay?" I looked up, and it was Jay.
"Sure," I yelled back at him. "I just have to climb back up a few feet…or more."
"How about we call Hermes and use a portal to get back home," Jay smiled.
"That sounds much easier," I laughed. I leaned against the side of the cliff and I had to laugh to myself. Even after falling off a cliff, I survived. Maybe it really was my lucky day after all.
I was only leaning against the rocks for a few moments before I heard something that made my stomach turn. The sound of rocks colliding came from above me. I didn't need to look up to know what was happening. But I did anyway, and I saw many rocks and boulders tumbling down the cliff towards me.
And there it is! Finally chapter 9 is up! Remember to review and if you have any ideas, let me know!
Just so you know, there's only 2 chapters left, so stay with me!
Anyway, i hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! and i hope you all have a wonderful New Years! This will be the last time i post something here for 2008! so i'll see you next year!