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Nico
I
Nico was worried about Percy and Annabeth who fell into barely survived but only because of those magic pomegranates. The things Nico saw in Tartarus…
He was in Hazel's room, on her bed.
Hazel had practically forced him to go to her room and take a nap. Of course, Goat Man (Nico had no idea what his real name was) had a huge fit. He said that it would be inappropriate for Nico to sleep in Hazel's bed, and he asked where was Hazel going to sleep. But Hazel fought back, saying that Nico was her brother and that she was willing to sleep on the floor, because there was no way in Pluto she was going to leave Nico on his own.
Nico didn't care about where he slept as long as it wasn't Percy's or Annabeth's room. If Nico slept in Percy's bed, he didn't want to smell Percy's scent and be reminded of what had just happened.
But honestly, Nico felt like everything reminded him of the event that had just occurred.
Every time he saw an owl, even if it was just a picture, he would be reminded of Annabeth and suddenly feel like the birds would gouge his eyeballs out with their razor sharp claws.
Every time he saw a book, he shuddered, and turned away immediately. Nico knew if he opened a book, the words, "Stupid son of Hades," would be imprinted in the text.
Earlier, Nico had been standing on the Argo II's deck, gazing at the ocean. He remembered how the ocean's water was dark and murky, as if Poseidon was saying to him,You could've saved him.
Nico sighed and gazed around the room, trying to keep his mind off of Percy and Annabeth.
The room had dark brown walls. Next to Nico's bed was a window that showed a perfect view of the ocean. The bed was king size with purple sheets. Next to the bed was a nightstand that had a bunch of remotes. Nico had no idea what they were for. In front of the bed was a black plasma TV that hung on the wall with a shelf below it filled with movies, video games, etc.
As he studied the room, Nico prayed to every god or goddess he could think of to keep Percy and Annabeth safe. Percy was like a big brother to him. And Annabeth was simply…Annabeth.
At that moment, Nico wished nothing more than for Hera to take his memories, just so that he could forget everything, even for just a little while.
Thankfully, Nico felt his eyes grow heavy. He winced as a sharp pain went through his back. With some effort, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
As usual, he had a dream. And of course, it couldn't be a normal dream. It just had to be a demigod dream.
Nico was in a dark room so cold, it felt like he had taken a trip to the North Pole.
"Nico…" A beautiful female voice called. Nico froze. Her voice sounded familiar.
For some reason, Nico felt nervous. "What do you want from me?" he shouted.
She laughed. "You know exactly what I want."
"Come out," Nico ordered.
"Silly child. I'm surprised you survived. Thank you for being such a help for me. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are now in Tartarus." The voice said.
"They'll make it," Nico said as his voice trembled.
He saw a figure in a black cloak made of dirt with a veil covering the face. Nico could see from behind the veil a pale woman's face with her eyes closed. She was strikingly beautiful, but in a cruel way. Gaea.
She shook her head. "They don't know what awaits them. You were foolish to search for the Doors of Death. Tell me my dear, have you seen Bianca?" Gaea asked.
Nico felt chills run down his spine. He hadn't seen Bianca in person/ghost form ever since he had resurrected her with Percy two years ago. "Why does it matter?" he asked, feeling his stomach do flip-flops.
Gaea smiled. "Her spirit is still out there but in my hands."
"What?" he asked, his voice dropping to a terrified whisper.
"I have her trapped," Gaea said slowly, as if Nico was a kindergartener. "However, I am willing to do an exchange."
Nico tried to collect himself. He had been told that Bianca had moved on to another life. He felt like he was in a nightmare. Was this truly happening?
"It's true," Gaea answered.
Of course. Mother Earth probably had the power to read minds as well.
"How do I know she's alive?" Nico asked with a glare. "Not alive, but existent?"
"Listen," Gaea said, a terrifying smile appearing on her face.
"Nico, get me out of here! Save me!" Bianca's voice yelled.
"Bianca!" Nico yelled. All of the blood drained from his face. Oh gods…
"Nico…" Bianca's voice drifted off.
Nico felt his eyes filling with tears. "What do you want?" he asked Gaea, trying to keep his voice from cracking.
"Lead the other demigods near the Doors of Death. A monster will collect them. If you do the job, I will give you your precious Bianca," Gaea said calmly.
"Never," Nico refused, keeping his resolve strong. He had to appear confident even though his mind was in turmoil.
"I'll destroy your sister," Gaea threatened.
"I won't be your bait again. I won't lead the others into your hands," Nico said determinedly. "Not again." A tear was starting to fall down his face, though. Bianca…
Gaea smiled, "Your choice." Gaea seemed to explode into gold as she disappeared. Nico managed to shield his eyes just in time.
"Nico," another female voice called. "Nico!" The female voice said urgently.
Nico nearly jumped up from the bed. He was sweaty and his heart was pounding in his chest.
Hazel was in front of him, looking worried. She had on a purple Camp Jupiter shirt and blue jeans.
Nico sighed and sunk back into the bed once again. He breathed heavily.
"What did you dream about?" his sister asked, his golden eyes filled with concern.
"I dreamt…" Nico didn't finish because he suddenly had a coughing fit. He felt a tightness inside his chest. He couldn't breathe. He was suffocating.
"Don't talk." Hazel said quickly. She handed him a cup of nectar. Nico drank the nectar, which tasted like spaghetti and meatballs.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
Nico simply nodded and gave the cup back to Hazel.
"Nico, can I ask you something?" she asked, gazing at him with an unusually sharp expression on her face. There was something else in her eyes, as well. Weariness.
"Sure."
"What did you see in Tartarus?" she asked.
Nico felt chills run down his spine. "It's dark, cold and laughter of monsters everywhere. The monsters would yell out who would eat me and how. I couldn't see their faces, I only heard voices." Nico talked quickly. He didn't want to dwell on this topic longer than necessary.
"What was it like escaping?" Hazel persisted.
Nico sighed. He didn't like talking about this. He had seen other things in there that he didn't want to mention. "Souls yelling out, "Save me Ghost King." Or the souls would yell, "You are the son of Hades, you must make them bow down to you.""
"What about –" Hazel started.
"I don't want to talk about it." Nico interrupted.
"Why didn't you…" she drifted off, looking hesitant.
"Why didn't I what? Attack? I was stuck in a jar getting the life sucked out of me. I'm the only known demigod to come out alive from there. And I just barely made it. What I just told you are just the basics. You don't know what I saw and the pain I suffered," Nico snapped.
He was angry. He felt like he had let himself down. He was a failure. He knew what his dad would say, "If Bianca was here, she would do a better job."
Ever since Bianca had died, Hades would say that to him to make him feel horrible about himself. Hades would call him weak and useless, with no goals in life. But his father was wrong. He did have a goal— to save Percy and Annabeth.
Nico knew that what his father said may sometimes be true, but his dad needed to realize that a child of Hades could make a name of themselves. Nico knew he was an underdog compared to Percy. This was his chance to redeem himself.
"I'm sorry," Hazel whispered. She bowed her head solemnly.
Idiot, you've barely had a reunion with her and now you're already being rude, Nico thought.
"I'm sorry." Nico apologized.
Hazel sniffled, but quickly dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
"Haze," Nico whispered.
She shot her head up and looked at Nico dead in the eye. "I was worried about you when you were stuck in that jar. Percy was, too. You were my main goal, you know why? You're my brother. You're the only person alive whom I share the same blood with." Hazel's voice remained strong although her eyes were glistening.
Nico could relate to that— that was the reason he rescued Hazel from the Underworld in the first place. That, and, she deserved a second chance in life since her first life had been stolen from her, like his.
"I'm sorry. I know Percy helped search for me. I just feel stupid that I just stood there," Nico said.
"You weren't strong enough," Hazel said, understandingly.
"It was an exchange. You guys traded two great heroes for an outsider – a loner like me," Nico said, looking down.
As long as Nico remembered, he had never felt wanted. As soon as people could, they deserted him. Bianca left him in a heartbeat. His step-mom, Persephone, turned him into a dandelion. King Minos betrayed him.
Traitor, Nico thought.
"We'll get them back," Hazel said, patting Nico lightly.
He twirled the ring on his finger. "I hope so."
"Come on, we should go see the others," Hazel reminded.
Nico wanted to tell Hazel that he didn't want to go. He wasn't the social type of person. He never was and never would be.
"Sure," Nico said unenthusiastically. He didn't want to go outside. Nico was like an indoor cat—he'd rather stay inside than outside.
Hazel grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him up from the bed with the cup of empty nectar on the other. She led Nico to the Mess Hall.
The Mess Hall was a big room with a rectangular shaped table that was covered in white tablecloth. In the corner was an unlit bonfire near the window. Nico saw Frank sitting on one of the longer sides of the table.
Frank was an oversize Chinese teddy bear with chubby cheeks, brown eyes and short military-cut styled hair. He looked harmless to Nico, but Nico decided to never challenge the guy to a wrestling match.
"Frank, can you call the others?" Hazel asked.
"Okay," Frank nodded. He stood up and walked out of the Mess Hall.
"I'll just sit…" Nico said before he was interrupted. He heard footsteps from outside; Nico felt jumpy and uneasy.
"What's up?" Jason asked, concerned.
Jason was tall, blond, tan, and blue-eyed with a scar on his upper lip. Nico wondered where Jason had earned his scar from. A fist fight, maybe? Overall, Jason looked like a male model.
Piper came in. She was a dark-skinned girl and had chocolate-brown hair tied into a braid and eyes that changed from blue to green to brown. From Hazel's brief explanation of her, Nico assumed she was either Mayan, Cherokee, or Hopi. Probably Hopi, he assumed.
Jason walked towards the head chair, but Hazel stopped him. "Nico is going to sit there," she informed him. Jason looked taken back,
"Why?" Jason asked as he masked his shocked expression.
"He has information to tell us," Hazel said.
Sparks flew out of Jason's hands. "Fine," he said grumpily.
Okay? Nico thought.
Nico remembered what Jason was like back when he was completely Roman. Jason was the guy that leaded the legion, showed confidence and was modest. He remembered how Reyna, Jason's co-praetor, scolded him when she felt Jason was out of line. Now, Jason struck Nico as a person wanting to lead and a someone who would back down but express he wasn't very happy about it.
Nico happily sat in the chair that Hazel had saved for him. He knew he was being a jerk but it wasn't like Nico always had the chance to rub something in someone else's face.
Hazel placed the empty cup on the table. "I'll go get the boys." She announced and walked out.
"Nico di Angelo?" Jason asked.
Nico nodded. "Yours?" Nico asked. He knew the answer.
"Grace. Jason Grace," Jason said. Nico thought of Thalia. "My sister is-"
"Thalia Grace," Nico interrupted.
"How do you know?" Jason asked.
"Umm, I'm Greek. I went on a quest with her," Nico said, as if it was obvious.
"What kind of quest?" Jason asked curiously.
"A quest," Nico said. He wasn't in the mood to explain what the quest was about; if he talked about the quest he would have to talk about Bianca. His heart still ached from the dream.
"Oh." Jason understood the message.
"Yeah," Nico said. Where's Hazel, Nico asked himself anxiously. He didn't want to be stuck in this awkward position.
"You were there when I was praetor," Jason said.
Nico resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't exactly in a good mood but he didn't want to show it. "I was."
"I remember you," Jason said.
"I remember you too," Nico said impatiently. He turned his face away, hoping Jason wouldn't continue talking.
Jason frowned. "This is serious."
Nico raised both hands, "What? I just said, 'I remember you too.'"
"I'll talk to you later about it," Jason said.
"We're talking now," Nico said, raising his eyebrows. "You can tell me whatever you want to tell me here."
"I mean about other stuff," Jason said. He looked a little uncomfortable right now. He kept his face as calm as he could, though.
Nico narrowed his eyes in concentration. He was now curious about the topic or the topics Jason would like to talk about. About what? Nico asked himself. "How's Gwen?" He asked.
Jason's eyes darkened, "I haven't talked to her."
"Dakota? Bobby?" Nico asked. He was pretty surprised. Jason had been really close with them back then.
"Who are they?" Piper asked.
"His friends," Nico said. Or they used to be, Nico thought.
"I haven't talked to any of them," Jason whispered, looking like he had tasted something sour.
Nico knew that the question he was about to ask was totally inappropriate judging from how nervous Jason was getting, but he was simply too curious.
"What about Reyna?" Nico asked. He cringed. He expected Jason to get up and beat his sorry rear end.
Piper looked uncomfortable.
Jason's eyes flickered from sadness to protective to guarded. "Only a few words."
"Why only…" Nico drifted off. He remembered Jason and Reyna had a close bond since they worked with one another frequently. But now Jason had a girlfriend…
"Oh," Nico said with sudden realization. That's gotta hurt, Nico wanted to say.
Hazel walked in. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Fine," Nico answered. Thank the gods you're here.
She sat next to Nico and placed her hand on his forehead. "Okay."
"The Romans invented aqueducts, roads, and improved hot tubs," Nico heard Frank say from a distance.
"Greeks wrote poems," Leo said.
"How is that an accomplishment?" Frank asked.
Leo and Frank walked in and took a seat at the table. They looked like they had been arguing. Probably because of their pride.
"Poems win over the ladies. Ask Piper since her mom is Aphrodite," Leo explained.
Leo was about two inches taller than Nico and had curly black hair, pointy ears, a joker's smile, a slim build and dark brown eyes that looked like he had drank a bit too much coffee. Leo reminded Nico of an elf that was far from the "Nice" list. Nico doesn't have a good experience with elves.
Goat Man walked in with his nose held up high. He had on black combat boots, pants that had black, brown, and beige spots on them, a long-sleeved button down shirt with the same design but with the American flag on the right upper arm, and a green helmet. Goat Man looked like a soldier. All he needed was a couple of guns and he was good to go. But, to Nico, Goat Man looked like he was about to go to a Halloween party.
"Listen up cupcakes," Goat Man said. He sat across Nico, pulled out a map from his back pocket and laid it out on the table. "We got two men-"
"Well, Annabeth is a girl," Frank said as he raised his hand.
"Zhang, if you don't shut it I'll eat your Chinese food tonight," Goat Man threatened.
"I thought fauns didn't Chinese food," Frank said, raising his eyebrows.
Goat Man flared his nostrils. "Zhang, do 20 push-ups, " he ordered.
"What?" Frank asked, protesting.
Leo flared his nostrils too. "Zhang, do 20 push-ups," he said, imitating Goat Man.
"Valdez, join Zhang," Goat Man said.
"But, Coach-" Leo was interrupted by the coach.
"Go down and start them push-ups," Goat Man said stubbornly.
Leo turned to Frank. "See what you made me do," he told Frank.
"Shut up," Frank muttered. He got on the floor and started to do push-ups.
Goat Man stared at Leo. "Valdez," he said as if he was saying, 'Honey, I'm home.'
"I need to workout for my ladies anyways." Leo dropped to the floor and attempted to do push-ups. Frank smirked.
"Go back getting stuck with Chinese handcuffs," Leo snapped.
Frank frowned.
"Are you three done?" Piper asked impatiently.
"These boys need to get in shape," Goat Man said.
"Moving on," Jason said.
"Grace, they need to get in shape. Right, let me present the plan," Goat Man said. He held up the map that was on the table and pointed at Greece. "Greece is where we search for our lost heroes, Percy and Annabeth. We get to the Doors of Death and blast whatever monsters get in our way with torpedoes. When we get there, we can either wait outside or go inside to fetch Percy and Annabeth," Goat Man explained. He smirked, as if he had just presented a masterpiece.
"I agree, but what will be or are guarding the doors?" Jason asked.
"Gaea won't have the doors wide open and unguarded. She obviously wants Percy and Annabeth to use their blood on the ancient stones to wake her up," Nico said.
"But, why couldn't she have taken one of us?" Jason asked.
Nico concentrated to come up with the best answer for Jason's question. "Gaea wants heroes. Percy and Annabeth have helped the gods for a lot of things. She knows if the gods want something done then Percy and Annabeth can get it done. By taking Percy and Annabeth, she's thinks the gods probably don't stand a chance at closing the doors therefore, taking her down."
"She's wrong," Jason said.
Nico nodded in agreement. "Percy and Annabeth have killed plenty of monsters, which means their blood are tainted."
"Tainted?" Piper asked.
"It's like the monster's aura bouncing off of them and going straight to the person that's slaying them," Nico explained.
"I still don't get the blood part," Jason confessed.
"They basically have a stronger aura than you guys," Nico said.
"I have a strong aura too," Jason said.
"Gaea wanted a boy and a girl as tributes. Yes, she could've taken you, Jason. But, Percy and Annabeth have a lot of enemies that would be very glad seeing their heads chopped off," Nico said. Nico tried to shake off the image that he had in his brain of a bloody Percy and Annbeth.
Nico looked at Hazel to find her in deep thought. Nico lightly touched her elbow. Hazel jumped from her seat with her golden eyes wide opened. What was she thinking about? Nico asked himself. He made a mental note to ask her later about it.
"The question is, what is guarding the doors?" Hazel asked as she sat up straight from her chair.
"We know that it'll probably be bad, probably worse than all of the other monsters you guys have ever faced," Nico said.
Leo tried to get up from the floor but he bumped his head against the side of table which caused the cup Hazel had given him earlier to drink to fall to the floor.
Nico jumped out of his seat and backed up against the wall. His dark eyes flew wide and his skin turned ghastly pale. His heart pounded in his chest from panic as he breathed heavily. The noise that the cup made was a noise Nico thought he'd never hear again. He was wrong.
Nico sat perfectly still inside his prison jar. He was too terrified to move a muscle.
He saw Otis and his brother, Ephialtes, sitting across Nico's prison on a white round table and two small white chairs that squeaked as they moved.
"When will mom let us use the prisoner?" Otis asked. Otis had a green hair that was tied into a pony hair, tight leathered pants, a white shirt, a leather jacket and green boots where the tip of the shoe curled slightly up.
Ephialtes shook his head. "Mom told us not to," he said. He looked the same as Otis but he had purple hair, a black shirt, and white leathered pants with a matching jacked.
"We can tie him to a firecracker and send him flying!" Otis said, excited.
"No," Ephialtes said, firmly.
"Is he still alive?" Otis asked.
"Check," his brother said.
Otis got up from chair and walked towards Nico. He flicked his fingers against the glass. Clash. Clash.
Nico curled up into a ball and refused to look at Otis. He was terrified.
"Good, you're awake," Otis said evilly. "I have friends. Do you want to meet them?"
No, Nico wanted to say but kept his head down.
"Otis, hurry up and come help me with this stage model," Ephialtes ordered.
"You never let me have fun," Otis complained.
"Yes, I do," Ephialtes said.
Otis gave Nico a quick glance and walked away.
Thank the gods.
Nico heard pounding against the glass.
"Wake up, Ghost King," a ghost taunted. The ghost was a man in a black striped suit, a red tie, short-cut black hair with one blue and one brown eye. Dr. Thorn. Nico's eyes were wide open. "You remember me," Dr. Thorn said relieved. "I thought that mind of yours didn't have the memory to remember my face."
"Leave me alone," Nico's voice trembled.
"Haha. Why? This is so much fun," Dr. Thorn said.
"He has a point, child," a man said. His voice was vaguely familiar to Nico. The voice sounded warm but had a chilling dangerous touch to it. "What's the matter, 'Ghost King'?" He taunted.
"Come out," Nico said bravely and forced his voice not to crack.
"It is me." King Minos appeared. He was transparent and Nico could see right through him. He had a chiseled face, dark eyes that with a mad glint to them, a white beard and wore white robes.
"Minos," Nico whispered.
Minos laughed. "Nico, poor Nico. You're a fool that can be easily tricked into any trap. The trap can have many flaws, but you'll still manage to fall for it," Minos darkly said.
"Gaea will rise," Dr. Thorn said.
"No," Nico said, trying to look Dr. Thorn straight in the eyes. "She will not rise."
"Gaea never takes no for an answer," Minos said in a tone that suggested he thought Nico was simply being an ignorant child.
Nico heard a roar from a distance. The roar was loud and so high pitched, it could've caused you to lose your hearing.
"It's coming," Dr. Thorn said. A cold chill ran down Nico's spine.
"You've behaved very badly," Minos said, reprimanding him.
"Why?" Nico asked.
Dr. Thorn smiled. "You could've joined us. But now it is too late. And you will pay the price." He and Minos faded into blackness.
A small creature appeared behind the see-through glass. The creature was approximately 3 feet tall, had stringy gray hair, green scaly skin, pointed ears like a German Shepherd but with the tip of the ears slightly flopped. It had gray hair coming out of its ear canal, a thin face with thin lips, sunken in cheeks, large green eyes, and a large crooked nose that was too big for the small head. The creature wore a burgundy holed shirt that had splotches of dirt and what possibly looked like vomit with baby blue shorts that had holes as well and black slippers. Overall, the creature looked like an evil elf dwarf mixed with a goblin.
"Hi," the creature said. Its voice was raspy as if it smoked cigarettes when it was younger.
Nico didn't dare to get up and get a closer look at the creature. "What are you?" He asked.
"I'm a kobalos," the kobalos said.
"It sounds familiar," Nico admitted, trying to remember where he had heard the name.
"We're not really mentioned anymore," the kobalos said.
"We're?" Nico asked, already not liking where this was going.
"Yes," the kobalos said. Other kobalos surrounded the jar. Nico looked at the kobalos feeling helpless. He was completely clueless as to what he'd do if the kobalos attacked.
"We're your worst nightmare," all of the kobalos said. The kobalos pounded against the glass with their small hands and clawed it with its sharp fingernails.
Other kobalos gathered rocks in their hands and threw the rocks at the glass wall, trying to break in.
I can't defend myself if they break in. I'm weak, Nico thought.
Nico couldn't have been more happier when Otis and Ephialtes came in and shooed away the kobalos.
"Nico," a female voice said. "Nico!"
Nico snapped out of it and looked at his surroundings. He was at the Argo II.
"Are you okay?" Hazel asked. She gently grabbed his arms as if he could break on a moment's notice.
"I'm fine," Nico said with his voice trembling as if he had just come out of a freezing pool. His legs felt like noodles as he shivered.
"Come. Sit," she ordered. Hazel ushered Nico back into his seat.
Nico looked at the others and saw their faces full of concern and a hint of curiosity.
Great, I'm a freak, Nico thought.
"Lets boogey," Goat Man said, completely oblivious to everything.
"What?" Nico and Hazel asked, staring at him.
"Gnarly. Bro. Radical. They're words that were used in the 70s or 80s," Leo explained.
"I thought only hippies used that," Frank commented.
"This is serious," Piper said, annoyed.
"Yeah," Jason agreed. "We got to get back on track."
"So let's get down to business," Hazel said.
Everyone in the room looked at Nico, waiting for him to say something. Nico shifted in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with the attention.
If Bianca was here, she would do a better job.
Hades' words rung in Nico's ear. I'm all you got besides Hazel, Nico thought. Nico took a deep breath as he tried to lower his rapidly beating heart.
"Okay, I have to guide you. I have a reason to go with you guys. I want to rescue Percy and Annabeth. We talked about this. They are strong. I think they are stronger than you guys. I'm sorry but it's true. You guys got the easy part," Nico with authority in his voice. He was surprised when he heard himself.
"How?" Jason asked.
"I saw things in there. Basically, Percy and Annabeth are deep inside of Tartarus. They will have to fight monsters. It's the monster's playground. Percy has made many enemies with plenty of monsters. You do the math." Nico let his words sink in.
"How is it like down there?" Jason asked.
"It's dark and cold like the North Pole. You hear monsters laughing. It's a maze inside," Nico said.
"A maze?" Piper asked.
"I'm sure you all have heard of the Labyrinth?" Nico said.
"It's an underground maze designed by Daedalus," Piper answered.
"Tartarus is part of the maze. Daedalus designed the Labyrinth to be super complex. Percy, Annabeth, Tyson and I made it out safely, but with Rachel's help," Nico said.
"So, there's a slight chance they'll make it out," Frank said with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.
Nico scowled, "They'll make it. My job is to guide you." Lead them there! Promise me!
"If they had me, I would be swinging at whatever monster came within ten feet," Goat Man said.
"It's Tartarus," Nico reminded, feeling a jolt as he spoke. He took a quick breath and continued. "The faster we get to Greece, the faster we can save them."
"Lead the other demigods near the Doors of Death. A monster will collect them. If you do the job, I will give you your precious Bianca."
Nico felt like he should tell his friends about the dream but something inside him told him not to. Gaea's words repeated over and over in his mind. Oddly, Nico began to consider her offer.