Hey guys! Back with another fic, I know it's been forever, but, life happens!
Anywho, I don't own nothing! Enjoy!
Oh, before I forget, this is based slightly on a head canon of mine, where Nico actually serves in the Underworld and has earned the respect of the ghosts of his kingdom, and this is where the campers really see that connection.
Read on to your heart's content!
When William Solace had made the deal with the eternal personification of gloom and doom, he had not been expecting, well, he didn't know what he had been expecting, but it certainly not… this.
Looking back on it, he really should have, but he was just so desperate to treat Nico that he hadn't actually been thinking. As everyone around him are being so quick to point out.
He was standing with the Seven, Chiron, and a good portion of the camp. Outside the Dining Pavilion. With the sun setting.
Yes, it was dinner time, but nobody could actually take a step inside the said place. If they even crossed the threshold by a single millimeter, they were thrown back a solid five feet through the sudden appearance of shadows-that alone was enough to scare Will into thinking that the past three days were wasted.
Somehow, Will had gotten the resident Death Boy, Nico di Angelo to enter and stay within the confines of the camp infirmary for a total of three days and nine hours.
For the first solid three hours, the son of Apollo had been warmed by congratulations and friendly pats, until the secret had come out-the one thing that everyone had wanted to know. The healer had deflected every comment and inquiry, according to the deal he had made before he had managed to get his patient in.
Well, not that it really matters anymore… he thought miserably as Percy and Jason doubled over again in laughter.
"So, so, so wait," Percy said as he tried to collect a breath, ultimately failing as Jason took up the charge.
"You may a deal? With, with-" Jason had to pause for a second, as if to contain himself. He succeeds, surpassing Percy in that department, "You made a deal with Nico di Angelo, to get him in the infirmary, and didn't expect this to happen?"
The blonde Roman-turned-Greek spares a glance to meet Will's blue gaze, mirth and amusement embedded in his eyes.
"Give it a rest you two," finally, a defendant comes to his aid in the form of Annabeth, "He didn't know that Nico is, well, Nico is Nico di Angelo, the silver-tongued angel," She glares at the duo, but alas, it is to no effect, squishing the little spark of hope that had flared in his chest. Will really didn't want to be remembered as the one duped by "the silver-tongued angel" as Annabeth put it, but it seems like the fates were toying with him.
"Next!" the shout startled those closer to the pavilion, who had zoned out the soft murmuring of the King of Ghosts as the lanky teen flipped through the hundreds of files laying in an organized chaos across the dining pavilion-tables and floor.
"Ah, Ms. Rosewood, I presume you're calling for your husband's return?" the previously annoyed voice couldn't be farther from this smooth, relaxed, inviting tone. It caused all the demigods gathered to take a minute to stop and stare, like the had for the past hour, many of the campers trying to place this voice with the normal brooding, angsty teen hanging about in the shadows.
There was silence, but by now, they had figured out that there had to be a reply, because, after a few heartbeats, there was a swift response, "Ah, yes, well, the shipments were sent out last night and early this morning, you should be getting his investments within the hour,"
Another silence, and from recognition of pattern, the demigods assumed that another "Next!" would be covering the clearing, but surprisingly, the pattern broke, "Ms. Rosewood, you do realize why your husband was sent to the fields of punishment, correct?"
The Seven and Will exchanged glances, Hazel perking up considerably as a glazed look came over her eyes, as if she were trying to remember something. The unspoken thought transferred from one person to the next: Fields of Punishment?
"Then, please, allow me to remind you, and I suggest you listen closely," Nico's voice silenced the hushed whispers that had started up.
A deadly tendril of venom wove its way into his voice as he continued, "Causing or attempting to cause-in your husband's as well as your case, yes I know all about that, don't test me on that. The only reason you're not being sent in with him is because of your mother. Your quest to save the sacred thorns, sanctioned by her is the only reason, Ms. Rosewood, that I am not cheerfully chucking you into a furnace so hot that even Hephaestus would balk before coming within sixty-feet of its smoldering ashes. So, Ms. Rosewood, I would suggest you quit trying to play mind games with me and start being the prime example of the perfect citizen, as well as quitting that side business of yours,"
Demigods who thought they were tough and fearless were surprised to find that they had moved back three paces. Even more were surprised to find the fiercest death glare given by the camp reject being forced upon the table of Persephone.
At this point all the demigods were so silent they could hear the distant sputtering of whom they assumed was Ms. Rosewood.
"Yes, yes, I know all about your, excavating adventures. Not only is that a serious violation of both the law and safety of all creatures within the tunnels, but it's quite the danger to any being within twenty-five feet of the digging site, which, may I please put into perspective for you, is well within range of one of the most populated gathering spots of all souls. Now if I were to break down these very obviously dangerous concepts even further, I'm afraid that you would find the fields very promising, do you understand Ms. Rosewood?" His last question was really more of a demand, an order given by a battle seasoned warrior instead of the sonorous ambassador he had been at the beginning of the conversation.
"Very well, Ms. Rosewood, I shall be expecting a complete shift in character. If not, well, there's not really much to be said, now is there? Because it won't, will it? Very well, off you go then Ms. Rosewood, I shall not expect to see you for quite some time," the threat was hidden well behind a polite tone, but it was still there, and it made Will shiver in fear. He hadn't known that the somewhat wimpy, quiet kid was capable of that type of confidence when he wasn't wielding a sword.
"Hey Nico? You got a sec?" Hazel sweet voice shatters the tense silence with a blissful ignorance.
"Not really. I'm approaching sixty-eight hours and I still have to sort through the deaths, not to mention the siege that I can't be apart of beca-Hello, Mr. Lennign, how can I help you?" Nico's eyes barely flittered over to make out the mob of hungry, although amused demigods. If he was annoyed by his crowd he didn't show it.
Instead, he slipped a thick folder onto a steady pile, that was surprisingly neat. He raised a finger up to Hazel for the briefest of seconds before continuing his call, "Cerberus issues again? Very well, I'll see what I can do, thank you for telling me. Anyways, I have a question for you, what is today's date?" Nico paused what he was doing for a split-second before nodding to himself in a quick downward jab, "The twenty-ninth, huh? Of June?" at this what campers actually remained from the initial crowd sent a few jabs to the son of the underworld. More than a few unfriendly gestures were used.
Nico dutifully ignored them, too wrapped up in his conversation to care, a mirthful chuckle escaping his lips as he replied to the unheard comment, "Me? Overwork? Nah, I think you've got me mixed up with a kid of Demeter," Another brief pause ensued, "Yeah, yeah, I'll take care of myself don't worry. Thank you for your time,"
Nico's head didn't even turn this time to look at his sister. Another folder made its way to the neat pile.
"Nico?" Hazel asked tentatively as the rest of the demigods and even Chiron took a deep breath.
There wasn't a reply, verbally or otherwise, as said teen picked up another three, skimming over them in a much faster rate than before. He walked briskly over to the only partially cleared table-the Hades table, but even then, cleared is used loosely. Instead of folders, a large sheet of black covered one end, crinkled like paper. It had papers scattered in loose piles, yet they were visually thinner than normal pieces, practically see-through and held scrawled bits of writing in beautiful penmanship.
"What's going on-" She barely made it halfway through her sentence before Nico spoke again, although, it still wasn't at her, "T, I need to set some records straight. The opening of the Doors did more damage than we expected. Time froze, we're going to have to meet the whiplash of a much larger caliber than we were expecting… No, even bigger, I'm thinking something along the lines of DeltaZX if not BetaGZV… Yeah, you've been warned. Any news from the Hotel and Afterlife? Hmm, they may be getting some of ours then, if they've been functioning properly,"
Nico tossed the files onto the sheet of black, grabbing a black fountain pen from the midst of papers, "Yeah, explains a lot, really, especially why the shadows have been feeding much more than usual. Yes. Yes. Ok, yeah, I've got it, what? No. NO, I don't care, I'm not putting my civilians in danger, Thanatos. All who want the bloodshed are in the Hotel, or in my league, we have more than enough to-I'll figure out a way, T, I always do- No, we are not going to beg that stupid Hotel to come bumbling through our home. Civilians are a last resort, and I mean a last resort and that's before those stupid idiots come tearing up the place,"
Silence hung in the air for a minute, in which Nico signed the papers he had flung carelessly onto his desk, his familiar scowl etched into his face. A few more folder's full joined the few, each getting a perfectly splendid signature as the King of Ghosts refocused his attention.
The demigods hovering at the edge of the pavilion exchanged a glance, uncertain, and wondering if trying to reach the teen again would work- he seemed so stuck in his mind.
"Nico?" the name was said by four different people, Hazel, Jason, Percy, and Will.
It seemed to work, by some miraculous miracle, because Nico's eyes snapped right to them, irritation lighting his dark irises, "What is so important? We made a deal Solace, no turning back now," he snapped, some anger clearly traceable to his previous conversation evident in his voice.
"I know, but," Will paused for his words, trying to formulate them in a non-threatening manner.
He took too long, apparently, because Nico's gritty voice cut through the silence once more, "But nothing, I have work to do. Scram. Jackson, Grace? What about you? Same story?" He loses eye-contact once again as he strides over to another stack of files, leafing through them as he skims the page.
While he's busy the other children of the Big Three exchange looks, failing to notice how Nico slammed another four folders down on the increasing pile. By the time they had turned back the solo Hades camper had started writing out a letter, all the while waiting not so patiently for a reply.
"Nothing either? Fine, if you want to be sideshow freaks, I'm not going to stop you, just stop talking to me," Nico said harshly, not pausing in his beautiful penmanship as he glared at the duo, "And if you're going to keep mocking Will, I would suggest you bring into light the multiple times both of you have been duped by my 'silver tongue' in the past year alone," He added as a rather pointed afterthought, earning some snorts from Annabeth and some of the Romans. The two heroes turned beet red while hiding their faces in their hands.
Nico slid out another sheet of paper, writing ever so slightly slower, as if he were taking more time to consider his words. In mere seconds he was finished, proclaiming it through a loud shout of, "Stolls!"
The gathered camper's whispers flew up in another wave as the duo, still here until the end of summer in a few short weeks, strode right up to the barrier.
"You called?" they asked at the same time, equal grins covering their faces.
"Yeah, did you guys find my stash of Drachmas?" Nico, surprisingly, looked up for their answer, his face unreadable.
"Wait, you have a secret stash?" Travis said with the sincerest confusion that any campers have ever had the pleasure of seeing.
"Here at camp no less?" Conner followed up, exchanging a befuddled glance with his brother.
"Okay, you guys owe me a score and a favor, that's cool. Thank you. You're no longer needed," Nico said, a trace of annoyance available in his voice.
"What? We did nothing!" The twin's protests fell on deaf ears as Nico shot them a death glare.
"A score and a favor," he reiterated.
"What, how does that add up? They didn't steal anything from you and you automatically get what you want because you say so?" Annabeth and Will asked in turn, their voices mashing together.
Nico sighed as he dropped another stack of folders down.
"You can't just do that to people Nico, they're not lying. At least I don't think they are, and I've known them longer than you, so I should know," Annabeth's voice came out on top, anger almost tangible in her voice.
Nico rolled his eyes before closing them briefly. When he opened them a spilt-second later, he released what must have been his thousandth sigh in that hour alone.
"Annabeth, you are simply quite easy to fool," He says bluntly, the Stoll brothers sharing a chuckle that was quickly smothered at Percy's glare.
Annabeth sputtered, her cheeks growing a red tinge out of anger and embarrassment. She crossed her arms and uncrossed them a few times as she tried to control her emotions.
Just as she was about to say something in retort, Travis spoke first, "I don't know how you do it, di Angelo,"
"What?" Jason and Percy exclaimed at the same time, brows raised in a similar formation as they looked over the recent speaker.
"Yeah, honestly, we can get almost anyone else fooled, but not you," Conner filled the silence with a slightly joking tone underneath his own curiosity, "I mean, we even got Chiron once,"
When his brother's voice trailed off, Travis filled in the void, "But never you. How the Had-um-aha, how do you do it?"
"Simple," Nico replied, getting into a strange stance. His feet were shoulder-width apart and his arms where spread like he was lifting something really heavy. Shadows started to swirl around his forearms, causing Will to start muttering angrily, "I pay attention,"
The di Angelo grunted with exertion, pumping his arms back and forth three times before a large black chest dropped onto the paved floor. To the surprise of many, it caused a small crater.
When the shadows evaporated, Nico was left panting heavily and bent over the chest. It was about three feet long and two feet wide, with a worn leather cover. It looked like it had survived numerous bombing attacks before someone decided to attempt to save it with skewed stitches.
"Nico! What did I say-no more underworld-y stuff for at least a few months! Anything too difficult can cause a relapse!" Will exploded into a bunch of medical terms and words that flew over almost everybody's heads.
Nico listened for a few seconds, just enough to catch his breath before attempting to silence the blonde with another one of his glares. However, this one was much weaker, less concentrated, but the amount of anger and passion in his eyes were unmistakable.
"Will." He said in a deathly quiet voice that caught the head healer's attention quickly, having heard it too many times from fatally injured patients to ignore it.
The blonde paused mid-word and looked Nico dead in the eye, glaring being his second attempt at making his protests be heard. Nico paid it no mind, returning his attention to his chest, undoing the large strap across the center with trembling fingers.
"What? What do you want? You can't just ignore this! You aren't invulnerable-so quit acting like it!" Will exploded again after being so blatantly ignored.
"Shut your damn mouth," Nico practically roared as his hair suffered whiplash from how quickly he had turned to face the irritating son of Apollo.
Everyone was silenced, frozen in their spot at the fact that Nico di Angelo had actually uttered a "Damn" and so loudly. Afterall, he was the one who often went after others for such vulgar language. A habit, most assumed came out of his upbringing. Even now Hazel's eyes glittered with shock and slight disgust at his choice of expressing his emotions while Roman campers stood stock still with fear. They knew this meant business from a past experience of which they did not care to repeat.
With eyes all but spitting out daggers, the death spawn stalked close enough to the barrier that, if they were able to break through, he wouldn't be more than an arm's length away from the slightly taller teen.
"If you think this is me acting invulnerable," he sneered that word in particular, smearing it with disgust, "Then maybe you don't actually have a brain. This is me doing my job. Unlike Jackson, unlike the heroes, unlike the campers, unlike you, my role in wars doesn't end when the bad guys are defeated or when the last camper is in tip-top shape. It doesn't even end when the endless pyres are lit. Especially this war. I would expect someone who has seen as many casualties as you would to understand, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe you don't know what a massacre looks like because you only know how to pump nectar and ambrosia into your patients with eyes that even the dead would have trouble seeing through, Doctor,"
Gasps echoed about the crowd just before a stunned silence fell while Nico flung open the chest with a little more force than necessary. Inside, filled to the brim, were hundreds of drachmas.
"Nico, that's a little far," Chiron said in a soft, yet assertive tone, breaking the silence as the boy scooped up a handful of coins.
"Hermes! Get your butt over here!" Nico shouted into the air before tossing the coins into the air. They shimmered briefly before disappearing. He slammed the lid shut before skimming over a couple other folders as he replied to the centaur, "Is it? I must apologize if it seems that I cannot find the ability to care anywhere, because I can't. Not that I particularly want too, mind you, seeing as I have much more important things to do than dance around a couple of campers with easily crushed feelings,"
His voice was taut, ripe with a new level of spite as Hermes shimmered into existence within the barrier. The god took the time to look around, a grimace settling on his normally up-turned lips.
"Ah, you're finally here. Fifteen seconds late, might I add," Nico's voice somehow managed to smooth out the tiniest bit, but not much as he practically stomped over to the Hades table again, glowering at the black sheet.
"So, has he hit the swearing level yet?" Hermes' staff spoke, well, the green snake did, talking to its magenta-colored partner.
"I don't think so," the snake replied, its head tilting back and forth in a so-so manner.
"Wait, Dad, you've seen him like this?" Travis asked, cocking his head to the right.
"Oh, hey sport! Thing two," Hermes chuckled as his two sons sent two similar grins towards him, "And di Angelo? Oh yeah, this is pretty much standard pro quid pro for the Ghost King after a war or massive death rise. I mean I can sympathize with him, paperwork is honestly the death of many great minds," Hermes adopted a strange look- a mix between pity and empathy as he looked at the overloaded teen.
"If paperwork were the worst problem I'd have to face on a weekly basis, then I'd have an easy life," Nico practically spat as he shoveled folders into the unsuspecting god's arms.
Hermes barely caught all of them, straightening himself out with only a second to spare before di Angelo started spewing locations at him, "I need these to go to the third library, leave them on the front desk and ring the bell. Ms. Fraedo should hopefully be there to grab them. The tan folders need to be in a separate folder. Don't forget that. Again. These three need to be delivered to Mr. Liso. Make sure you do that and don't mistake them with Mrs. Liso's. You should find Mr. Liso in the observatory thirty feet from the banks of the Lethe. If not, place them in Alecto's mailbox at a sixty-three degree angle. Don't ask, not enough time to explain. His wife should be manning the gate that's towards the fields. Do not make small talk with anybody,"
Nico turned sharply, grabbing at the two letters he had placed to the side. Hardly stopping for breath, he placed these two at the top of the precarious stack, having to hop to make the height.
"Be careful with those last two. The first goes to Thanatos. The other, my father," Nico's words were calmer by the end of his tirade, or maybe it just seemed that way from the reaction his words gathered.
"Um, wait what? That last part? I'm afraid I didn't get it," Hermes' eyes were practically bursting out of their sockets and his snakes seemed to pale in color.
"Hermes, don't test me. My father. Yes, I'm expecting you to wait for his reply. No, it won't be pretty, but neither will outside, so get used to it," Nico's voice was terse as he met the god's eyes.
Hermes sighed, "Have I told you how much I hate this job?"
At Nico's let's-get-going-gesture he turned to his kids, "Here's a tip from a pro, kiddos: don't try to stop him from his work. It's best to just weather the storm,"
"I'm only going to get you within forty miles of the Styx," Nico said, closing his eyes in concentration, "You'll have to find your own way back. I would say to ask Father, but something tells me he won't be in a willing mood. Oh, and be prepared for the monsters, try to avoid them as much as possible, otherwise you'll never get to the courthouse,"
At the new news, Hermes balked, "That bad, huh?"
Nico scoffed, "Worse,"
With that, and with monumental effort, an unsteady portal opened in the deepened shadows of the setting sun, and Hermes walked in without another word.
He was barely through before the gateway was closed viciously. Nico collapsed to the ground, shaking violently.
Will, being the good healer that he is, ran straight for him, only to be shot back into the crowd, less viciously than before. One could only imagine that it had to do with the fact that Nico di Angelo's energy was swiftly dwindling.
"Nico, take down the barrier, you need help! Medical help," Will shouted, fear coating his voice.
The one within the barrier ignored him, shakily getting up onto all fours, and then with a pain-twisted face, he climbed a pillar until he stood standing. Sagging against it in aid, Nico reached up to his ear, brushing the dark locks of onyx hair out of the way. Much to the surrounding demigods' shock, a small ear phone was stuck there, explaining in that moment just how the camp loner had maintained communication with the Underworld.
"Next!" Nico said in a half-shout, half-whisper, a quiet cough echoing from the back of his throat.
He was not disappointed, beginning yet another call with another citizen of the dead, "Yes, sorry about the delay, how may I help you?"
This time around, no matter the amount of pestering and angry rants from Will distracted the Ambassador of Pluto from his task. Eventually, much to the gratitude of many, the cleaning harpies prepared a buffet of food for dinner. The campers found themselves at the campfire thinking dinner and a show.
By the time the normal campfire activities were starting up, Hermes had returned three times from the Underworld, the trips becoming much faster than the first. Only Will, Reyna, Hazel, Percy, Annabeth, and Jason remained by the barrier, choosing to forgo the campfire to make sure Nico was still breathing.
Gradually, the time passed, inching forward in a slow march of worry and frustration. By the time morning had rolled around Hazel, Reyna, and Will remained awake, the other three conked out on the ground as Nico worked practically tirelessly through his allotted hours, a slave to his work and his people.
Breakfast wasn't exciting. Campers, grumpy and tired from a night of angry shouts of frustration emanating from the pavilion kept many awake. Even Chiron wasn't doing too good.
It was about ten in the morning when the campers finally fled to Mr. D. for advice and possibly a chance to revoke the deal.
"You can't, Johnny," the drink-loving director had said, staring at the pavilion with distaste.
"My name's Jason," the Roman-turned-Greek replied, still unaware of this odd factor he'd have to learn to live with, "And how are you so sure? You're the director-you're a freaking god for crying out loud! How can you not do something, he's putting himself into great risk while doing this-he could get killed!"
"Well, Jakob," Mr. D. said, sipping a glass of iced tea loudly, "I'm sure because he's a son of Hades. My Uncle and his children are all the same when it comes to getting what they want,"
He took another sip before continuing, mainly to watch the irritation rise on Jason's face, "They're ruthless. They are rarely feared when physically fighting with other demigods, although monsters beg to differ, but their words are dangerous. Much more so than most,"
Jason took a few seconds to consider these words, only coming short of the point the camp director was trying to make.
Dionysus sighed, taking the time to summon a diet coke. When a swallow was down his throat, he jerked his thumb towards Will, annoyance illustrated perfectly on his face, "Look, Wyatt here was a willing victim, di Angelo's favorite prey. They're easier to trap. Wayne here wanted di Angelo to rest up in the infirmary when he was stuck in the midst of a heavy workload,"
"Not like he was the only one," Will muttered, annoyance clearer because of his lack of sleep.
"Heavy workloads? You kids don't know the meaning of 'hard work' much less heavy workload," Dionysus snapped uncharacteristically, a grimace falling on his lips. He muttered something to himself that sounded suspiciously like "millennials," but they weren't sure.
Draining his can, Mr. D. crushed it, tossing it behind him carelessly, summoning another in his place.
"Look, what's you're point? Did you even have one?" Will snapped back just as uncharacteristically, narrowing his blue eyes tremendously.
"Well, Winiford, yes, there is. What rivers did he make you swear on?" Mr. D. spoke as if he were talking to a small child, which is really not that much different from when he's talking with teenagers.
"Rivers?" Jason asked, raising a brow, "Don't Greeks just swear on the Styx?"
"Di Immortals! Do you know anything Joshua or do you just simply yammer away hoping someone won't notice the garbage you spew!" Dionysus crowed, spitting out half of his last sip in disgust, "The Styx is only good for a karma-like response to a broken oath; however, it is not the only way to seal a deal. Something that Hades' spawn know and apply much too often. If you'd paid any attention to the last few times di Angelo has trapped you, you'd notice that he twists everything to his advantage even though it seems it is working in your favor,"
Will slapped his forehead in exasperation as he realized exactly how he'd been duped, "He'd said I'll go if you let me have the pavilion for every second, I waste in here, in solitude. It's all to get well, so you don't have to worry, Solace, I just can't stand it in here, it reeks of death,"
Jason gave him a side look, "What?"
Annabeth tsked her tongue, "Nico tricked Will into thinking that if Will gave him the pavilion- a place full of light to help him heal- he would quote unquote rest. Will not knowing any better agreed,"
"Unfortunately, Will didn't know that Nico is a workaholic with the definition of rest being doing basic paperwork," Reyna added afterwards, getting shocked looks from those around her, "What?"
"How'd long you say you knew Nico?" Percy asked, his head tilting curiously.
"Not long, about a year or so," she replied, slightly unnerved.
"Huh, that's weird, most people don't know that about him. Heck, I didn't even find out until I'd accidentally been in the wrong place at the wrong time," Percy said pensively.
"Yeah, well, during winter he practically lived in my office doing work, something about Persephone being in the Underworld, I think," Reyna said casually, shrugging in her shoulders in indifference.
"Commence Operation Bone-Dry!" the scream sounded so suddenly that everyone jumped, their feet carrying them to the pavilion before they even realized what was happening.
Nico was standing over his desk, where the crinkly black paper was still spread. This time, however, as they looked at it, the surface was no longer blank. Instead, blobs of dark, misty purples and vibrant reds squirmed across the page.
Next to the perplexingly shadowy-looking Nico stood a skeleton dressed in a formal suit, holding itself with a sense of dignity unmatched by his companion. Those who'd had the chance to meet him, immediately recognized the skeleton as Jules-Albert, Nico's gift-friend from Hades.
The map-thing shifted mysterious, causing Nico to growl. His eyes swarmed over the map relentlessly, lips forming words unheard under his breath.
Finally, after a moment or two of contemplation, he spoke, urgently, and much more calmly than the scream from before, "Alpha Squad you take point. Beta, Omega flank from the right. Delta, Echo take the left. Wing-guard I want you to take the next hill. Once you do-" Nico half collapsed, half slid onto the table scattering the loose sheets of paper as his eyes slid shut.
Jules-Albert instantly reacted, grabbing his prince without hesitation, forcing him into a sitting position as the teen blearily blinked his eyes back open. From how long it took, you'd guess they were being weighed down with tons of metal.
"Once, you do, I want," Nico gasped for breath as Jules-Albert procured a black bag from the shadows, "I want Delta and Alpha to block their exit. It'll be a pincer maneuver,"
A series of croaks and groans could be heard, the source most likely the map, but the six demigods guessed it was the troops fighting under his command. Nico cut them off almost instantly, "Focus on the battle soldier!" he cried harshly, his voice cracking under pressure, "I'll be fine, I'll get some damn rest when there aren't escapee monsters trying to overrule the city! At the very least, if I die up here, I'll just be able to help out down there, where I should be. So get back to your post!" the end of the lecture was said so harshly a couple people backed up a step, drawn back by the pure desperation and frustration that leaked out of his normally quiet voice.
No sooner had he finished when Jules-Albert shoved a piece of something (Ambrosia?) into the Ghost King's mouth, causing the teen to splutter as his form, yet again, became unsteady. Nico barely had time to finish choking the piece down when he uttered another command, "Beta cover Alpha! Huge spike coming in three, two-"
On the map a bright streak of red claimed a great portion of the center, growing larger every second. Nico spat out another swear word as his body shuddered as he tried to stand up again, his arms trembling with the effort.
Hours passed carrying on in a similar fashion. Nico's condition grew, if possible, worse as every moment marched, each more frustrating and stressful than the last. Eventually, those who stayed long enough realized the gist of the battle: the monsters who had survived the war were returning to the Underworld in full force. Usually, after a battle, they could hide out on the outskirts for a while until the death community was back to normal. However, seeing as more monsters than usual had returned this time round, garnered from the fact that more had been summoned into battle, there wasn't enough room for them all. This had led to a great deal of fighting.
It was this fighting that was making it impossible to get anything done. The monsters had to be eliminated. Of course, true to the nature of di Angelo's luck, the monsters could only be defeated and sent back to their reincarnation process by the already battle-exhausted legions of the Underworld armies.
As the sun began to set on Nico's second day, the battle had begun to turn into the Underworld's favor. Of course, those who had stayed realized that this was only through painfully difficult decisions and stress of their resident death breath.
"Artemis?" Nico called out softly at an interval where he didn't have to have complete control over his troops. He had cleared off a small portion of a nearby table to summon food, which to the regret of many he did not eat. Instead it was dumped into the sacrificial fire after four tries of picking up fresh food and getting it over there.
"Artemis, please heed my prayer," Nico rasped, his barely-there physical form shaking so violently that it was a miracle he hadn't dropped the food on his way over for a fifth time.
Many demigods at this point, had gathered around the pavilion, finding a sort of sick entertainment in watching the normally inactive member of the camp be so center stage. A few snickered at the way that the teen was using his last vestiges of strength.
"Please, in exchange for three favors, grant me a full-moon as bright as day," Nico gasped, sliding the rare meat he had conjured into the feisty flames, "My two conditions are as follows: it must last the next two nights and the favors granted shall not be invoked until your parts have been completed. I swear on the Styx, the Lethe, and the honor of my full title to fulfill my part of this exchange in return for my request,"
No immediate response was heard, but Nico seemed to be the only one who was expecting that outcome. He slammed into the ground as he went to take his next step, his uneasy form glitching out on him.
"Huh, that's weird," Annabeth said distractedly, "He didn't set an expiration period,"
"What are you talking about, Annabeth?" Leo asked, stopping his little game of fire play to look at his friend.
"Well, normally when the Angel makes a deal, he sets a time that after which he will not accept anymore. Maybe he's just being delicate because he's asking a god?" she mused more than she actually replied.
Thus, it was not too unlikely that when Hermes answered from just inside the dining hall she jumped, "Nah, that has nothing to do with it. He sets those pesky time limits with us immortals all the time. He's just desperate and with that condition of his, I'd be too. I'm kinda surprised that he hasn't keeled over yet. It must be from all that Underworld training Hades puts his kids through. Guess it works,"
"Oh, hey dad, when'd you get here?" Conner asked his father just as the moonlight brightened considerably.
For a split-second, many wished it hadn't as they covered their eyes. When they unveiled them, they wished they'd kept them closed. Hermes was pouring out golden blood from a few scratches along his arms, legs, and face. Granted they'd seen worse on multiple occasions, but somehow, seeing it on a god made the injuries seem so much worse.
"Well, looks like Arty agreed to di Angelo's proposal, lucky dog. I mean seriously, can I get such a good deal. I mean three whole favors? Sheesh, she's on a whole different level now. Remind me to stay on her good side," Hermes laughed at his own joke, his kids getting as close to the Pavillion sector that held their father as they dared.
"Yeah, I know right, man, she really got the golden ticket, didn't she?" Travis said, plopping down and stretching his legs out.
"Wait, you've actually had one of those?" Will asked in slight shock and awe.
The older brother nodded, "Yup. Remember when the Hypnos' cabin ran out of Lethe water?"
Everyone nodded, remembering with slight pain the craze that had lasted for a solid month. Chiron had been very testy those days and they hadn't been able to pinpoint the culprit.
"Yeah, that was us making out like bandits on a cashed in favor, too bad di Angelo never got caught though, that would've been even better!" Conner said enthusiastically.
"Speaking of which, is he dead yet? He hasn't moved in the last two minutes," Travis said, pointing at Nico's still form, still splayed out from when he fell earlier. Jules-Albert had taken over the battle commands at this point, leaving his young prince to get up on his own.
"Yeah, he's just sleeping. I think," Hermes said slightly unsure, sending an uneasy glance towards the body.
"Stupid idiot went and overworked himself again," Will grumbled angrily, "Which wouldn't've happened if I don't know-listened to what I said earlier, but hey! I'm just a good-for-nothing-doctor that can only pump nectar and ambrosia into my patients!" He glared at the still form the need to help him consuming his entire body, battling his fury.
Hermes took notice, giving out a large sigh, "Hey, don't mind what he says too much, Will. The poor guy's been under a crap ton of stress for the past six months-more than what most in this camp have been under in years,"
Will flicked his eyes in the god's direction, an eyebrow arched, "Really? As if the war didn't effect everyone here! He has no right to take it out on everybody else!" his voice was raised slightly by the end of the statement, a few demigods rallying to his side.
"Yes, really. He played one of the most vital roles if not the vital role in this war," Hermes voice was tight.
"Is that so?" Will's sarcasm startled a few demigods, mostly because it was so unlike him to be this uptight about things, "What exactly has he done? He did nothing but lie and deceive anything and everything that so much as breathed around him-he didn't trust a single soul. Oh sure, he brought the Athena Parthenos back to unite the camps, but in all honesty, that's just a distraction from the fact that he was a strong, dividing factor. I mean, he didn't even do any big speech, or anything-he left it all up to Reyna to figure things out!"
Will jabbed a finger towards the motionless figure, "He exhausted his powers in a last-ditch effort to prove himself a good guy and has been nothing but a heavy burden who has done nothing but complain and bitch about life! And he wonders why nobody respects him! All he is good for is lighting funeral pyres,"
In the silence that followed, Hermes took a moment to carefully consider his next words, "I'm not going to deny that he did those things,"
"Good because he did! There's irrefutable proof!" Will said hotly, crossing his arms.
"However, that is all you know of. I don't expect you to know more as, as you've said, he likes to keep to himself. Look, di Angelo has been keeping secrets for the gods, mind you, so most of what you've said has already been justified. I mean if it was Percy, all of you would be defending him with your final breath, would you not?" Hermes words made a harsh impact, some flinching back as they realized, with some alarm, that they were true.
"Yes, he exhausted his powers bringing back the Athena Parthenos, but that alone was not what caused his power to deplete," Hermes continued as more and more demigods began to listen, although, Hermes finally noticed that the seven of the prophecy, whom had been strangely quiet, had only been so because they were conked out from staying up all night. (They'd been so since before the accusations had started, he realized belatedly.)
"Mere days beforehand, Nico had been stuck in a closed-lid jar filled to the brim with poisonous gas. The only reason he survived is because he put himself into a death trance by eating seeds of a pomegranate from Persephone's garden in what would've been his final moments. The trance is no walk in the park either, from what I've seen. It's true that the seeds to play a large part in starting the trance, however the length and strength of whatever is killing the person play vital factors,"
Everyone took a few seconds to soak in the information before Hermes continued, "If the death factor had been any stronger than what it was-just poisonous gas, Nico would've been dead in two days instead of the week he survived. During that time, his core-the thing that gives you demigods the ability to use some of our powers- was slowly, painfully being depleted as his mind was plagued with nightmares from Tartarus. Not to completely dampen what Annabeth and Percy went through- but they had each other in a misted version of the immortal's personal hell. Much like how mortals cannot see into our world, most demigods cannot see into the truth of Tartarus, as it is a similar although not completely identical version of a divine form. Nico saw this true version only because he is a child of the Underworld, any child of Thanatos or Persephone would suffer the same fate. And, he was alone the entire time,"
Will could feel his anger start to fade as more and more news was revealed. Eventually his mind began wondering just how much Nico di Angelo had gone through before the deal he had made.
"If that's not enough, Nico spent nearly two to three weeks down there, searching endlessly for the Doors of Death so that all of you demigods up here, on the surface, had a fighting chance against monsters. Percy and Annabeth barely managed a few days before they were pulled out. Of course, even then it was Nico's handiwork that kept them from being killed,"
Will's eyebrow rose again at that last statement, "How so?"
Hermes cracked a grim smile, "How indeed. Nico was friends with Atlas, the titan," a series of gasps followed this remark, "However, it wasn't Atlas at the same time. He'd been dipped in the River Lethe a few years back, and Nico had given him a chance to live as Bob the friendly titan. Had Nico not bothered to become friends with this memory-less spirit, Percy and Annabeth would not have been able to make it up the elevator the monsters had been using to get back into the mortal world. Bob the titan sacrificed his life to get them up here, only because they were friends of Nico. Without him, they would have died, multiple times,"
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, that quickly stretched into ten, then fifteen. Everyone was reevaluating their actions towards the son of Hades and comparing it with their own, justifiable reasons and vice versa. A few, soft-hearted campers shed a few tears at the cruelty of it all.
"As much as I'd like for that to be the end of his suffering, it's not. The few days Nico spent on the ship with the seven were spent restlessly. He was unable to eat, drink, or sleep a lot. His stomach shriveled from the death trance and his mind plagued by darkened visions. By the time he volunteered to shadow travel the Athena Parthenos, he was running on prayers and a dream. I would know, we all heard them in between the cries of our two forms,"
"Alas, the tale continues on his journey," Hermes sighed for the millionth time, "Every single time he jumped, he had to carry much more weight than he was used to, which is exhausting enough on its own, but with already low-energy? And then of course, every night, without fail they were found by monsters who'd picked up his strong scent-the curse of being a child of the Big Three. If not to make things worse, when the journey was almost complete, they ended up fighting a were-wolf pack and he got some nasty wounds,"
"Wait! He got scratched? I couldn't find any traces! I need to get to him," Will's sprung right up, but was stopped by Hermes's words.
"If you didn't find them while he was in his shadowy form then, you aren't going to find them now, you're just going to have to wait until he's solid enough to deal with them properly,"
Will reluctantly sat again, but shame flooded him. Maybe he wasn't as great a healer as he thought he was. Maybe, he thought, Nico's words weren't unfounded. He thought back to the frosty insult told to him by the son of death. You only know how to pump nectar and ambrosia into your patients with eyes that even the dead would have trouble seeing through, Doctor.
"Either way, he had to come to Camp Half-Blood with all of that on his shoulders as well as a war between the two camps still to be defused. Keep in mind that he's never considered either camp his home or aligned himself specifically with either for a long period of time. In each camp, he's always been considered the creepy walking-dead with a swear-monitoring problem. An outcast,"
"But that's absurd, I mean sure, he's never been a big camper, but it's not like we actually ever banned him from camp," Will stressed, his emotions leaving him feeling even more drawn out than he already was, considering he had stayed up all night, last night.
Hermes made a small sound in the back of his throat. It sounded rather painful.
"What?" Will asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Well, actually Camp Half-Blood has. In a way, although not necessarily on purpose. It was actually Percy who did it, surprisingly enough. It was just after Nico lost his sister Bianca, and Nico was dealing with his grief in his own way. Percy had broken a foolish promise that he could've never hoped to keep to a ten-year-old demigod. Nico had lashed out accidentally with his powers, skeletons lurching out of the ground to take down Percy. Nico, in the end had stopped them, but Percy had told him that he should go, leave camp. Of course, Percy had been dealing with his own problems as that point, but still, to a ten-year-old, that's as close to banishment as you can get,"
"Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that. He came back the next year, right? Or was it the year after? With Minos? That's when he got the whole Ghost King motif, right?" a random camper asked, causing many to look away, scratching their heads as they themselves tried to remember.
"Man, how'd we forget about that? Like, the kid literally just lost his sister, not to mention he was still pretty new to the modern world at that point," another camper asked, sparking another to reply.
"Yeah, and oh man, I just totally thought about this, but he's a kid of the Big Three-imagine all the monsters that would've been after him. I mean, it's no wonder he went to that creepy ghost guy. How the Hades did that kid even survive?" An Athena camper spoke this time, obvious from the way they sounded like they were reading from a textbook.
"Yeah, well, just the way it goes," Hermes said, shrugging his arms helplessly, "I mean, there's nothing you can do about it now, and I don't think he'd want you to anyways,"
"Huh? Really? He wants us to keep treating him like crap?" Will said, arms crossing and re-crossing several times in a row.
"Well, that's not what I meant exactly," Hermes shifted awkwardly, "I just-well, Nico has had a hard life with demigods and our world. It's been a rough hand, and the only reason he's survived is because he's learned to not trust anyone or anything that breathes. I think that the only thing he trusts fully is that everything around him is just another illusion until death. It's probably why he spends so much time in the Underworld I mean, everyone knows he's just counting down the minutes until you all start ignoring him again,"
"Ignore him? After all he's done?" Will sounded, seeming unsure of himself.
"Yeah, I mean, you've all done it before. Back with the Battle of Manhattan," Hermes gave a mirthless chuckle, "Percy Jackson got a great deal of glory for the battle, but everyone forgets that it was Nico begging his father to give us a fighting chance. Without the Underworld armies, there's no way Camp Half-Blood would've still been here,"
"Wait, what do you mean, beg? Nico di Angelo doesn't beg," an Ares camper blurted out, their husky voice drawing many people's attention, "Besides, he's a kid of the Big Three, they get what they want all the time,"
Hermes' had a look of pure shock on his face. Quickly he shook himself out of his thoughts, "Ah, I would see, I would see how you would think that, but no, they don't. Percy, Jason, and Thalia only get what they want as often as they do because of the great honor they have brought their parents. It's a common trait among all the gods, but Nico hasn't. He had to use every trick in the book, every sob story he could think of, and some pretty impressive manipulation to get Hades to comply. That's why the armies came mid-way through the battle instead of being prepared well before-hand. I mean he had to not only talk an angry Hades down, but also into getting over the idea that Nico would never be the child of the prophecy,"
Silence settled over the children as they rethought things through for the umpteenth time that night. Many pairs of eyes gazed on the limp body of their conversation's muse, many left pondering their own prejudice.
"Well, looks like he's solid enough, you might want to get working on him before those wounds get any worse. He'll probably be out of it for the next few days, but a long as you keep him in here, you should be fine," Hermes characteristically broke the silence once again, this time his tone light and airy.
"I-I can't. We made a deal, not to mention the barrier," Will slurred his words slightly as he came out of his own, tired thoughts.
He definitely wasn't expecting the onslaught of laughter that came from Hermes' mouth, "Well of course you can! He left you a loophole after all, and seriously? Like you honestly think he's been able to keep that barrier of his up this entire time? With the state he's in? Hades! It wasn't even a full barrier most of the time, just a little show up front where all of you gathered!"
Demigods stirred at this. They had been tricked?
"Oh my gods! How did we not see this coming?" Travis shouted to his brother, who was smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Gah, he's so annoying! What the Hades, Nico!" Will muttered under his breath as he tentatively made his way towards where the barrier should've been, "How long has it been down?" he demanded of Hermes before miraculously stepping through the threshold.
"Oh I don't know, I think he dropped it after he closed the portal to the Underworld for me?" Hermes gave a nervous chuckle as he raced away shouting some nonsense excuse behind him.
As Will finally made his way towards Nico's body, he realized three things.
The first being the loophole that allowed him to not break the deal: Nico had wanted to be in the pavilion to heal. Sometimes, whilst in a healing process a doctor had to be called to oversee things, just like Will was doing here. Not to mention, they weren't in the infirmary, so he wouldn't be adding more time to Nico's count.
The second thing was that Nico's body was stabilizing much better in Artemis' moonlight than in Apollo's sunlight. Maybe it was something that the Underworld blood in him had to do with. He should definitely look into it. It just may save a life, maybe even Nico's.
Finally, Will realized as he saw Nico's wounds (something that irked him beyond belief as he noted the infections growing within) that Nico wasn't going to accept his help, no matter how often he tried or how much goodwill was put into his offers.
No, Nico di Angelo had been hurt over, and over, and over again by the group he was supposed to fall back on. His half-godly family. However, instead of being accepting and helpful, Nico's family had shoved him away, shunning him like the black sheep he thought he was…
It wasn't going to change overnight-perhaps not even in the next few years- but, Will knew in that moment, he would be willing to try. He'd put up with the angry comments and deflective snark. Nico deserved another chance.
But then again, so did the Camp, and the Romans, Will realized. Yeah, they hadn't been the best or even close to okay when acting towards him, but Nico had his own flaws too-trying to take on too much being one of them.
Nico had built walls around himself in an effort to never be hurt again, strictly limiting his contact with people and even those he was close with, he held them at an arm's length. It was going to take time-lots of time to convince Nico to lower them again, and as Will continued to think about it, maybe they would never come down. Maybe Will wouldn't be the one to do it; after all, Will was just the camp healer. He had no connection to Nico other than knocking him on the head and treating his injuries. He was barely an acquaintance, there's no way he'd be trusted so easily.
Still, something in Will spoke to him, he had to try. Maybe he could start a change, spark the acceptance of Hades campers again.
Maybe.
But maybe it wouldn't work out.
Maybe.
But maybe things would go back to the way they were.
Maybe.
But maybe Nico had suffered enough to realize that he had to come home.
Maybe.
But maybe Nico was tired of always looking over his shoulder for the next thing that would kill him.
Maybe.
And maybe, just maybe, the camps could find it within themselves to give him a second start.
Maybe.
Maybe with the help of the seven they could forge their camps in peace.
Maybe.
But.
That.
Would.
Mean.
They.
Would.
Have.
To.
Try.
And maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
So, hi. It's been a while, I know. I just got really busy and didn't have any plots come to mind, but then I started digging around in the fandom for some ideas and I realized that Percy and Annabeth get a sh*t ton of credit for stuff they didn't do. Like, I mean seriously, in the Heroes of Olympus series they get thrown through a lot of stuff that doesn't even make sense *cough Tartarus cough* to make it more dramatic.
*RANT INCOMING*
Like what the heck Uncle Rick? Like we GET it, Percabeth is the best of the whole century. Give them a break. I mean, I get it the fangirls need it, but really? Having two characters go through the same exact scenario has a character you already had go through because? Drama? How dare somebody go through something worse than Percabeth?
Like, for real, it pisses me off. One of the things that I really enjoyed about the Percy Jackson series was how "fair" it was in terms of all the characters. Sure, some were a bit overpowered but even they had reasonable limits. And then all of a sudden NOPE! Screw limitations I have fangirls.
As for the other thing, this fic was mainly inspired by the idea that I really wanted Nico to get the appreciation that he really deserves. Currently, Nico's just being used as the "signature gay character" (NO OFFENSE MEANT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH GAYS IT JUST DOESN'T WORK FOR NICO'S CHARACTER) and a lot of what he does is sidelined.
Like without Nico, Percy wouldn't be able to have like half to three-quarters of the wins that he does. I'm 99% sure that all the examples I used earlier were directly from the book-like Percy telling Nico to basically go off on his own because Percy doesn't want to deal with a grieving child? That actually happened (but of course the golden child could do nothing wrong in this fandom).
*RANT END*
Anyways, this was basically a Nico appreciation fic because this fandom really needs it and I'm sick of Nico only being Solangelo and nothing but Solangelo and if you don't write Solangelo then you hate gays and x,y,z.
But that's it! I hope you enjoyed this fic, sorry for any and all mistakes, grammar or otherwise. I don't know when or what I'll write next, but hopefully you'll be there!
Sincerely,
Tigerhiddeninshadows (a.k.a. THIS)