Categories > Cartoons > Class of the Titans > Demons Within Me

What Happened in the Water

by Demenior 7 reviews

Why Archie is afraid of water... but does it have more to do with his future than he knows?

Category: Class of the Titans - Rating: PG-13 - Genres: Drama, Horror - Warnings: [V] - Published: 2006-07-13 - Updated: 2006-07-14 - 2666 words

3Ambiance
Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I don't own 'The Little Mermaid', the version I'm familiar with belongs to Disney.

Pairings: Our main course is Archie/Atlanta, with a little Jay/Theresa/Neil on the side

Warnings: Archie almost drowns, and Tulais laughs. I also poorly try to make him seem childish in the 'flashback'... I can't do children very well. There is mentionings of blood- but it's not that bad.

Authors Note: Wow... just... wow. 20 chapters in, we have only a few more chapters to go, and you guys are still sticking with me even though there are so many other awesome writers out there who would love your support, and I can't even stick to a real Greek Myth if my life depended on it!

However, thanks, you guys. I'm at 182 reviews right now (secretly going for 200- but you didn't hear that ;) ) and I'm just... wow. I don't even know how to say how I feel.

But, in other words:

Thank you.

And lookit! Another drawing of Tulais! Haha, I'm not sure if it's just me (and it's certainly NOTHING wrong with you guys) but I've just been noticing that a lot of people are drawing Tulais with curved horns... I guess it's more demonish. I just always imagined him with straight horns, whatever. I love seeing your versions/images of Tulais

This one is by Moonee:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6456/2883/1600/tulais.jpg

Chapter 20: What Happened in the Water

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"Come on, Archie, we're going down to the beach!" a younger version of his father cried.

Eight-year-old Archie literally flew into his seat, eagerly awaiting the feel of the sand in his toes and the cool water on his legs and the yummy picnic lunch his mother had been packing all morning. His parents laughed and got in the front seats, turning on the engine and pulling out of the driveway.

His face was plastered against the window as they shot through the countryside, none of the city junk for their family, and he admired the meadows, pastures, animals and plants.

It was only about an hour later when they arrived on the ocean, a big, vast blue 'land' that was waiting to be discovered...

Or in Archie's case, snorkeled in.

He took his pair of goggles that he practiced for the beach with when he was having a bath, the ones with the dolphin decoration around the lens, and dashed down to the water. But just before he got a foot in, his father grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"Oh, no you don't, sport! You have to wear your lifejacket, and you water shoes."

Archie sighed. He hated the lifejacket, but he loved being in the water. He only had to wear it because he wasn't a very good swimmer- this was his first time to the beach and there were no swimming places around his house, save for when he had practiced in the bathtub. The water shoes were to protect his bad foot, which the doctors had said he would never get rid of unless he had an operation, but his parents had disagreed.

He put on the water shoes easily and reluctantly, he put his arms up over his head and let his dad buckle him in, momentarily wondering why his hair had started off completely red like his mom's, but was now changing purple like his dads.

"There you go, have fun but stay in sight, okay?" his father finished doing up the zipper and clipping on the fat, orange jacket and patted him on the head. Archie nodded eagerly and snapped on the goggles, then leapt into the surf.

It was very, very cold but he gritted his teeth and acted like the big boy he was and didn't go running back onto the sand. He got to waist height and then, taking a deep breath, put his head under the water and clumsily paddled along, looking at the sand underneath.

It was amazing at first- like a rush of adrenaline, just to be able to see underwater, but quickly had to come up for air. He took another big breath and put his face under again. Just looking at the sand and shells quickly became boring, he wanted to see fish, and sharks- maybe even a shipwreck full of treasure!

Archie peered ahead through the half-clear water, seeing that it got deeper further out. Would he see anything over there? Then, something flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned his head sharply but didn't catch the... thing. It had almost looked like a person! Was it a mermaid? Or a dolphin? Maybe he could befriend it like in the movie he had watched last night.

Archie came up for a breath, then put his head under again (the stupid lifejacket was preventing him from going entirely under) and looked for the mermaid/dolphin. There! He saw her; it was definitely a her thanks to her long red hair, just duck out of sight on the drop off. Maybe it was the little mermaid from the movie his mom liked to watch with him. He paddled closer to the drop off and gasped when he saw that the water out there was all black! His gasp caused him to suck in some water and he came up coughing.

He spat out all the icky water and was about to put his head under again when he could swear he felt he was being watched. Archie looked around, but didn't see anyone, and went under again.

This time the black water didn't scare him half as much, instead he was interested. How many people had ever heard of black water? Water was supposed to be blue! He tried to paddle down, but was instantly jerked up again by his stupid lifejacket. Archie frowned underwater and wondered how deep he could go without it.

He puffed up his cheeks and tried to get it off, doing little summersaults as he wrestled with the buckles and straps. Then, as he felt he was running out of breath, a larger, slender hand came up and touched his own little hands. Startled, he looked up into the face of the mermaid!

She smiled and quietly whispered, showing slightly pointed teeth,

"Come with me."

Archie forgot that he was out of breath and allowed her to pull him completely under, gracefully unbuckling and slipping the infernal lifejacket off of him, and then, surprised him with taking off his goggles! He snapped his eyes shut, and felt her gently touch his squinted eyelids, and cautiously he opened one eye, and then the other, but found they didn't sting.

He hadn't noticed that they'd moved further out over the black water, nor that they were much further down than he ever had before. He was surprised to see that she had legs- just like him! She wasn't a mermaid! Or maybe she was, but she didn't have a tail? Archie was genuinely confused over that, but she cupped his chin in her hand and smiled at him again.

"You look so much like my son... and you look like... like Tulais as well. What is your name?"

At the moment, Archie didn't find it strange at all that he could hear her voice perfectly clear underwater.

"A-Archie."

"Archie, you have to come with me-"

The young boy was far too mesmerized to care that a strange woman had come out of the water demanding that she come with him, but he never forgot the one rule his parents had taught him whenever he met someone new...

"I-I have to ask my mommy and daddy first!" he went to pull away, finally feeling a little nervous, but she pulled him back.

"No, you are in danger if you leave me again! You have to come with me now, so that I can help you- you'll die if I don't take you!"

Archie struggled against her grip, kicking at her with his water shoe-covered feet.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Suddenly a huge, booming voice shouted around the two, making the evil-water-lady cry out in fear.

"Get away from the Demonspawn!"

Archie and the Evil-Woman were forced apart by a huge current of water, she was blasted off into the black water (which now Archie had decided he would never go into alone again) and he was pushed back towards shore, but held at the bottom of the water!

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Tyler and Abigail, loving parents of young Archie, were lying on the beach. They were pretending not to notice the many stares they were receiving, Tyler with his abnormal natural purple hair and rather handsome features, and Abigail's strange beauty and small frame.

His hand was resting on her stomach, her shoulder in the crook of his neck while they relaxed in the shade.

"We haven't heard from Archie in a while," Abigail murmured to her husband, very much enjoying the warm sun, sea air and closeness to her partner.

"Probably off searching for mermaids," Tyler joked, hinting at Archie's strange obsession for anything mythical (especially Greek) and the couple chuckled together.

Abigail forced herself up, looking out onto the beach, scanning for Archie's vibrant hue of red-purple hair. When she didn't find him building sandcastles with some other kids, as she had expected him to be out of the water by now, she looked out into the shallow water.

Then something caught her attention, further out. It was a bright orange lifejacket. This bothered her, but many kids were wearing lifejackets, but what shocked her most, were the blue dolphin-patterned goggles floating beside it.

"Oh gods! Tyler!" she cried.
Tyler shot up and immediately saw the orange lifejacket, both parents nearly frozen as they saw the inky red coloring snaking it's way to the surface of the water, clouding the blue-green liquid.

"Archie!" Tyler nearly screamed, springing to his feet and dashing into the water, diving under to save his only son.

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"What's going on? I want my mommy!" Archie screamed. For some reason, he still had the ability to see and speak underwater, even though the bad-woman was gone.

He was released from the strong current holding him down and he suddenly realized how out of breath he was. Panicking, he struggled and flailed to get at the surface, but then another shape rushing at him out of the black water caught his eye.

He only saw the flash of something golden, wondering if he saw three prongs- like a fork, before someone came crashing into him, pushing him away from the gold. He saw red hair (it was the evil woman!) but then he felt something big slice through his bad heel, red filling the water. He screamed...

And everything went black.

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Abigail nearly fainted when Tyler, dripped wet and breathing heavily, came rushing out of the water screaming,

"Someone call 911- please!"

A nearly lifeless Archie was curled in the man's arms. He was pale, far too much for his usual creamy skin, and there was a steady stream of blood flowing form his foot- no- his bad heel!

She was on her cell phone in an instant, as were many other shocked, horrified and worried parents and bystanders. All the other children were being called out of the water, being rushed to their parents' sides and held tightly, thankful it hadn't been their child who had been injured.

Tyler rushed Archie up to their blankets, some people came rushing up telling the frantic couple that they were part-time nurses and instantly tried to wrap the wound, and stop the breathing. Another was trying to wake Archie up, giving him mouth-to-mouth. He coughed up some red-tinged seawater, but didn't open his eyes.

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Out on the water, the head of and elderly man with white hair and beard, a golden crown upon his forehead and a golden trident in his hand came up to try and peek in at the scene. Satisfied that the boy wasn't waking up- therefore he was almost positively doomed to die- he disappeared under the water to punish the nymph that had nearly cost him and the other gods their immortality. But she was gone.

Poseidon sighed angrily, turned, and swam back to his underwater palace.

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Archie shuddered, leaning back against Tulais's thick, and at the moment, comforting coat and took a few shaky breaths. He hadn't relived that memory in such a long time; the dull throbbing in his heel seemed to have escalated back into the mind-splitting pain he had felt in that accident.

"They never f-found out w-what happened to m-me. I w-was so s-scared by the whole thing I-I blocked it out o-of m-my mind for y-years," Archie finished.

"So you associate the water with that accident- with death and betrayal now, don't you," Tulais growled rather gently. Archie was yet again surprised by the different emotions the demon seemed capable of.

He slowed down his breathing rate, to try and calm himself down, "I- I guess. I haven't gone near water since- I just keep beginning to remember that day... and..." he trailed off, curling his knees up to his chest.

Tulais curled his head around, sniffing Archie, "If I'm not mistaken, you have been in salty water not too long ago. It's still fairly fresh on your shorts." The mortal didn't even recall when the demon had gotten up and sat down beside him.

Archie's eyes widened in response. The demon was right! He HAD gone swimming recently- and he hadn't even thought of the 'accident'.

"Well, yeah... but I-I don't know. It was Atlanta who-"

He felt Tulais's sides shake and a throaty, rumbling sound came form the demon's grinning jaws. Tulais was laughing- really, actually laughing!

"What?" he snapped, his fear suddenly forgotten now that the demon had confused him with yet ANOTHER un-demonic emotion.

"You really do love her. You are willing to go through your deepest, darkest fear so long as it means she'll be by your side!"

Archie looked away, not sure if he was embarrassed, feeling guilty because Tulais was right, or feeling angry that he had been so easy to read. He elbowed Tulais in the side.

"Be quiet," he muttered.

Tulais's laughing stopped, but Archie could still feel his sides quivering through the thick fur.

"It's late out," the demon yawned, letting out a slight chuckle as he did so.

Archie nodded slowly, the effects of the earlier battle and the after-math of his deepest fear had completely exhausted him. He leaned back against Tulais and closed his eyes, falling asleep...

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Yay! Another update!

So, yes, I'm sorry this one was mainly just a flashback, and we (hopefully) should be getting back to the others soon... but they're boring right now and Archie and Tulais are WAY more interesting (in my opinion) ;)

I know that when we first met Thetis- I said she had blue-black hair, but as you can see, I've changed it to red. I also edited that part in the previous chapter (The True Prophecy, I believe it was) unless... well, we could just say she got it dyed while she was hiding out, but what-the-hey, red hair just works better all around.

Wow, Archie's parents have names! If you noticed- I continued with the 'named-after-their-ancestor' tradition in Class of the Titans. Tulais=Tyler, Abigail=Achilles... and then Archie is just special ;D

Also, I'm going to be gone for a week, so unfortunately, don't be expecting any updates for nearly two weeks (since I'm so lazy it takes me like a week to write a chapter XD) but I'll try to work on it while I'm gone, but I can't make any promises.

I'd also appreciate it a lot if you reviewed- but it's your choice

Constructive criticism is strongly encouraged.

Compliments will be used to fuel ego (haha, not really)

Flames/spam and junk will be pondered upon, and then laughed at

Demenior
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