Ayyy so I was watching Jack's genocide run, specifically the part before the king's chamber with Sans, and I started thinking about what would happen if Nico fell into Mount Ebott when all the monsters are still there, so I think I'll just have him replace Frisk. Basically, I want some Nico-Sans-Papyrus interactions. But alas, there are no Percy Jackson and Undertale crossovers! Or at least there weren't when I started writing this. So I figure I might as well start one. Enjoy!
Nico is having a bad day. He'd been spending the weekend sleeping his bed in cabin 13, exhausted after his trip dragging the Athena Parthenos halfway across the world, when Percy and Jason thought it be a grand idea to wake him up. Now that wouldn't have been TOO big of a problem, but they decided the best way to do it was to flip his mattress over with him still snuggled up on top of it. The resulting feeling of falling triggered the one thing he'd had to do when he'd first woken up for the past week or so. Shadow travel. Nico, who had fallen asleep in his clothes because he was so bone dead tired the night before, fell from his coffin shaped bed and through the shadow covered floor, blood red blanket in tow.
The first thing his panic filled mind registers when he realizes what happened was how pissed Solace was going to be when he found out he'd shadow traveled again when the son of Apollo had very firmly told him not to do that very thing. The second was that the feeling of falling hadn't stopped yet, when he had left the shadows already. Nico opens his eyes, and sees the blue sky filled with fluffy clouds through a round hole is some kind of ceiling or roof. His tired mind slowly registers the fact the the hole seems to be getting smaller and smaller with each passing moment. His eyes widen in panic as he puts two and two together to realize he feels like he's falling because he is falling.
Nico's landing is far from soft, though he guesses it could have been worse. At least there isn't anything sharp, just some yellow-gold flowers. His eyes droop, and sleep starts calling to him once again. He was tired before, but the shadow travel drained any sort of rest he'd gotten. He might as well, he'd need his energy for the shadow travel back up. He should probably look around for any monsters, but the need for sleep makes his limbs heavy, and even raising his head seems like too much of a bother. Plus, he can't hear anything, just the sound of water dripping somewhere off in the distance. So with that in mind, Nico let his eyes close and quickly fall asleep.
When he wakes, he's pleased to find that nothing has really changed. The circle of sky has turned a reddish orange, so he's slept through the day. He feels better, at least well enough to travel back up. Solace will probably kill him, but he needed to be back at camp for him to do that, so he'd just have to forgive him for one more. He bundles up his blanket, then steps into the shadows and pictures the med tents at camp, he was going to be tired again, and Solace would probably want to check up on him once he got back. Plus it was a sure fire way to make sure someone knew where he was before he passed out again. Everything seems to be fine, that is, until Nico hits something. How he hit something when he was made of shadows, he wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that it hurt. A lot. The pain added with his exhaustion was enough to convince Nico to reform, even though he had no idea where he would be when he did. He knows he's back to physical form, and he manages to register the fact that he's falling again before he blacks out.
He wakes to the feeling of someone gently shaking his shoulder. For a moment, he doesn't remember what happened hours earlier, and grumbles quietly about deserving another hour's rest as he rolls over and away from the warm hand on his arm. The memories come back, however, and soon he's jolting into a sitting position and scrambling backwards, acutely aware of his lack of weapon. He's in the same place as the first time he woke up. He makes eye contact with whoever or whatever woke him. He cocks his head slightly when his brown eyes meet dark red ones. He was woken up by a goat. In a blue robe. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, but the white goat lady is still there, sitting on her legs in a relaxed kneeling position. He'd never heard of a monster that was described as an anthropomorphic white goat, but what else could this creature be other than a monster?
"Hello there, my child, my name is Toriel. What is yours?" she asks.
Nico was mentally prepared for her to do a lot of things, politely introducing herself was not one of them. Not that he's complaining, it just didn't happen that often, if ever. So he does the logical thing and answers her. Maybe he can find out where he ended up shadow traveling to? It was worth a shot.
"Nico di Angelo. Where am I?" he asks quietly.
"I'm afraid you've fallen into the Underground. To be more specific, into the ruins I'm the caretaker of." she replies.
Nico sits quietly for a moment, eyes on the ground, trying to decide what he should ask next. The Underground might just be another name for the Underworld, but then why couldn't he shadow travel out?
Toriel speaks again, "You seem awfully tired, would you like to come back to my house? It's not very big, but I do have a spare bed you could sleep in."
Nico looks back up and blinks. Toriel is smiling sweetly, a furry white paw extended out towards him. Several thoughts flash through Nico's mind in the span of about a second. The first being that the offer sounds a lot like a trap, the second being that if she wanted to hurt him, it would have been easier if she'd done it while he was asleep, and the third being that a bed sounded absolutely heavenly right now. His mind quickly made up, he gives his hand to the kind caretaker, and allows her to pull him to his feet. She leads him through the ruins, talking about the different puzzles. Nico only really half listens to most of it, still drowsy from waking up from his nap. But he completely tunes in when she mentions other monsters.
"Here, practice talking to this dummy, you don't have any weapons on you, so just distract any monsters you come across until I can come and resolve the conflict. You don't want to hurt anyone anyway, right?" she asks.
Nico hesitates, Toriel has been so kind to him, he doesn't want to disappoint her, but he doesn't want to lie either. So he chooses his words carefully.
"No, but what if I have to defend myself when you aren't around?" he asks quietly.
She turns and faces him fully, her tone curious, "What do you mean, my child?"
Nico looks at the ground and whispers, "This... This isn't the first time I've met monsters. They weren't the kind that were interested in conversation, they were kind of set on eating me."
Nico waits for her to say something. A warm padded paw gently rubs his head, mussing his already tangled black hair. He looks back up at her.
"Earlier, you asked a question about where we were, have you ever been to the Underground before?" her tone is patient, but serious.
Nico tilts his head in thought, "I don't think so, but it sounds a lot like the Underworld, which I have been to. Before, I thought maybe that was just another name for it. But it doesn't feel like the Underworld, now that I think about it."
Toriel nods her head, "I've never heard the Underground called that. What kind of monsters did you face, do you know the names of their species?"
Nico hesitates again, "It's kind of a long list... The only one I can think of right now is a manticore that came after my sister and I a few years ago.
"I assume this was not in your Underworld?"
"No, this was in the realm of the living." Nico replies.
"The surface?" Toriel points up.
Nico nods, and Toriel places a hand on her chin in thought. She naps her fingers as if she's come to a conclusion.
"I don't think think it was a monster in the same way that I am, or the other beings here, for that matter. I might have a book that could help clear this up back at the house, we can read it once you've rested, if you like. But for know, stick to talking to the monsters you meet here. At the very least, you can start trying to show monsters mercy now, right?" She smiles.
Nico is surprised to say the least, not only is Toriel willing to forgive him for taking the lives of creatures similar to her, but there might be other kinds of monsters? This had definitely peaked his interest, but he really was tired. So he settles for nodding and continuing on through the ruins. He nearly jumps out of his skin when a strange frog jumps over to him a few minutes later. His ADHD mind is reeling, so he blurts the first thing that comes to mind.
"I really like your eyes."
And they are very nice eyes, one is a vibrant blue, the other is a neon yellow. He feels the heat of a blush crawl up his neck and on his cheeks, but strangely enough, he's not the only one. The large frog rubs the back of it's head, it's cheeks stained red, then it jumps out of it's own skin in fear when Toriel walks over with an unimpressed look on her face. It hops away, but turns back to wave before it disappears around the corner. He finds himself smiling after it, amused by its reactions. He's so lost in his own thoughts, that he finds himself jumping out of his skin, unintentionally mimicking the strange frog monster, when Toriel tousles his hair again.
"That was very good. Froggits will leave you be if you give them compliments like that. But be warned that not all monsters will be swayed by compliments, like Icecaps. They'll never leave you be if you comment on their hats."
Nico laughs quietly, "I'll keep that in mind. I would think that it's something different for every monster then?"
Toriel smiles, "To befriend them? Yes, isn't it the same for humans?"
Nico grins up at her, "Yes. I suppose it is."
With that, they continue through the ruins. They walk in silence, but Nico doesn't feel uncomfortable in it. If anything, it was companionable and comforting. The horned monster just gave off the kind of relaxing comfort in waves. He tries thinking of the last time he'd felt this comfortable around someone: Will was steadily getting there, but the storm of skeletal butterflies that resurrects in his stomach whenever he was close to the son of Apollo suggested otherwise. Jason wasn't quite there either, don't get him wrong, Jason was an awesome friend, but the thought of how they got there always made Nico a bit irritated. He would have done better if he'd been able to tell him in his own time. A voice in the back of his head tells him that they would have never been friends then, but he ignores it. Hazel? The sweet and caring girl was probably the closest so far. His half sister was definitely easier to be around than others, and he felt extremely protective of her. But being around Toriel made him feel like he was the one being looked after, not the other way around. It was a similar idea when it came to Renya, the praetor seems to understand him on a different level than everyone else, but the feeling was kind of mutual? It was like they could stand back to back, and trust the other to back them up, no matter what they where facing. Bianca was the last person to come to mind, but it fit a lot better than everyone else. She protected him to the best of her abilities before they made it to camp, even though she left, he understood why now. She wanted to find her own person, and she finally felt like she could do that, because he would be safe with the others at camp. As safe as a demigod could be, anyway. He also had a theory that she liked the idea of being immortal. It would understandable if she was afraid of dying. Demigods always seemed to be afraid of their godly parents domains, in one form or another. Look at Thalia. He also remembers his own panicky feeling whenever he was completely surrounded by darkness. He shuddered involuntarily, but set his thoughts aside when Toriel came to a stop in front of a marble pillar.
"I'm sorry my child, but there are a few things I need to take care of. Would you mind too terribly if I left you here for a while?"
Nico blinks, "I guess, but at the same time, wouldn't be kind of a bad idea? I'm dead on my feet right now."
Toriel tilts her head in thought, "Well, I suppose you could try to keep yourself occupied by trying some of the puzzles up ahead. But I haven't taught you anything about them, so it might be too dangerous... Ah! I have an idea."
Toriel pulls something out from the inside her robe. She gestures for his hand, and presses it into his palm when he gives it to her. It's a cellphone, oddly enough. A surprisingly modern looking smartphone with a small metal key chain hanging off it.
Nico doesn't try to hide his surprise or his joking tone, "You guys get service down here?"
Toriel laughs quietly, "Only with other phones down here. My number is already in there, so call me if you get into trouble, or if you need a hint on the puzzles."
Nico nods and smiles gratefully, "Thank you, really. I'll be careful."
Toriel smiles and pats his head, "It's no problem, my child. There aren't any forks in the path to my house, though there is more than one way to get there. I know that doesn't really make sense, but it's like there isn't a wrong turn you can take. Good luck!"
With that, Toriel disappears around the corner, leaving Nico to investigate his new phone. He unlocks it, and was pleasantly surprised at the number of apps already installed. He mentally notes them down. Music, contacts, messages, and "Tumblrawr." He remembers a few of the newer campers mentioning a site called Tumblr before, so he guessed this was the monster equivalent or spin off. He tucks his hands into the pockets on his aviator jacket with his phone and heads off down the corridor. He's surprised to see red leaves lying in neat piles, seeing as he hasn't seen any trees and he's underground. But he shrugs it off and looks around a bit more. There's an empty doorway with a Froggit sleeping nearby, or he can continue down the corridor. He goes through the doorway, and is surprised to find a tray of pink, blue, and yellow candy sitting on a small marble podium. There's a note sitting next to it, "Take one."
Nico cocks his head. Candy, in a place like this? He turns to leave, but the sound of metal hitting stone makes him stop in his tracks. He turns to see a sheepish looking Froggit rubbing the back of his head, candy scattered everywhere. Much to Nico's surprise, it jumps forward and offers him one of the pieces. Nico crouches down to it's eye level, and huffs out a laugh when he realizes it's the one with mismatched eyes that he met earlier. He takes the offered candy, noting the name is "Monster Candy," then picks up the metal dish and starts picking up the spilled treats. His small friend hops over and helps, and soon the dish is pack on the podium, good as new.
The frog monster waves goodbye, the hops off, candy in hand. Nico quietly laughs again at its antics, then heads back out and down the corridor. He's about to make a turn when something gently hits his chest. He looks down to see a strange hairy creature. It seems kind of like a bug, with it's entente and clear wings, but the large nose is enough to make him wonder. It looks genuinely terrified, and Nico feels a stab of guilt an concern. He slowly kneels down, and gently helps the poor thing to it's feet. It's shaking like crazy, so Nico gives it a small smile and whispers an apology from running into it. Its eyes widen to almost comical levels, and it shakes its head fervently. Pointing to itself. Ah, it thinks it's their fault? No wonder it looks terrified, he would be too if he ran into some strange creature three times it's size. Nico tilts his head to the side slightly, trying to think of a compromise.
"Maybe it's both of our fault? I don't think either of us were paying much attention to where we were going." he pauses to smiles at the blinking monster, "I'm happy to accept your apology, will you please except mine?"
The little bug is still shaking terribly, but it nods its head. Nico smiles again, and offers a finger for the creature to shake. It does so, very hesitantly, then takes off. Nico stands back up, and continues on his way. He hopes the little guy found himself a little braver than he was yesterday.
He passes a strange hole in the wall, then the floor suddenly give out from under him. He gives a startled yelp, but the fall isn't too far, and he somehow manages to land on his feet. He dusts himself off absentmindedly as he looks around. There are two different doors, both of which have stairways heading upwards. He picks the one on the right, and climbs up. The stairs dead end at a wall with a rectangle shaped hole cut in it. He peeks out to find the corridor he had just fallen down from, and manages to squeeze through to it, pulling his blood red blanket after him.
He huffs a little, but continues on to the next room. There's a rock sitting on stripe of warn down ground leading to a button in the floor, and a row of spikes on the floor perpendicular to it. He walks over to a sign on the wall, "Three out of four grey rocks recommend you push them." He takes the hint and shoves the rock onto the button. There's a clank and the spikes slip into the floor. He raises an eyebrow, but keeps going. He comes to an open area with a crumbly looking floor. His previous fall in mind, Nico decides a call to Toriel is in order. He flips open his phone and presses the contacts button. He selects Toriel's name, then the call button. She answers quickly.
"Hello?" she asks.
"Hi, Toriel?" Nico replies.
"Oh, Nico! How are you doing, any monsters giving you trouble?" she asks.
"No, actually. The Froggit from before, the one with the blue and yellow eyes, gave me some candy. Other than that, I've only met this small hairy bug guy. I had run into him and he was genuinely terrified. I managed to calm him down a little though, I hope he's okay..." he replies.
"Oh, that sounds like a Whimsun. They're very timid, so don't take it personally." she hums.
"I'll remember that. I was actually wondering about one of the rooms, it's big, the biggest one so far, but the ground doesn't look stable enough to hold my weight. I've already fallen through the floor once, I'd rather not do it again. How do I get across?" Nico asks.
"Oh, there's a pathway that's stable enough, I'll walk you through it."
Toriel did indeed, and Nico was careful to follow her instructions, testing the ground before he put his full weight on it. He sighs in relief when he makes it to the door.
He turns his attention back to the phone he's still holding to his ear, "Thanks Toriel."
"Oh, any time, my child. I'm happy to help. Before we hang up, do you like butterscotch or cinnamon more?" she asks.
Nico tilts his head, and starts walking down the corridor as he talks, "I've never really thought about it. I'm a big fan of cinnamon rolls, but butterscotch is good too. If I had to pick I think it would be cinnamon. Why?"
He can hear the smile in her voice when she replies, "Oh, no reason in particular. Call again if you need more advice, goodbye."
He stops walking as he reaches the next room, "I will, see you soon."
Nico locks his phone and puts it back in his pocket. It sounds like Toriel is trying to plan something, but he doesn't mind. He notes the three grey rocks and their respective paths and buttons. They look identical to the one a few rooms back. He pushes two of the three onto their buttons no problem, but the third wasn't having it.
"Woah, wait a second there, what do you think you're doing?" it asks.
Nico tilts his head (it feels like he's been doing that a lot today), the rock didn't have any features, but that didn't seem to stop it from talking in it's strange gravelly voice.
"Umm, well, I need to have a rock on all three of these buttons in order for me to pass. Would you mind too terribly if you sat on it while I go across the bridge?"
"Well, since you asked so nicely, sure, I don't mind!"
The rock then promptly scooted itself up onto the button. With a clank, the way is cleared, and Nico waves goodbye to the rocks after he's safely over the bridge. He starts giggling to himself when he suddenly realizes that the sign he had read in the first room with a rock was very literal. He walked past a table with some cheese that had been there Zeus knows how long, and on to the next room. He stops when he sees a white ghost lying on the ground. Not a ghost like what he was used to, but one that looked like one a child would draw, or a Halloween costume made with a sheet. And it was talking.
"Zzzzzz... Zzzzzzzz..."
It took Nico a moment to understand what it was doing, but once he did, a smile slipped onto his face.
"Are they gone?" it whispers.
"Well, I'm the only one here, so yes." Nico answers.
The ghost keeps saying "Z" over an over, so Nico cautiously sits down next to it.
"I'm Nico, what's your name?" He asks quietly.
The ghost opens one eye, and Nico finds himself a little startled at how sad it looks. Nico smiles patiently at him, trying to encourage him. The ghost looks a teeny bit better.
"...Napstablook." the sad ghost whispers.
"It's nice to meet you, Napstablook." Nico's smile grows a tad wider.
He'd couldn't think of a time when a ghost hadn't know who he was when they first met, so this was new. Just another point he could make to Toriel when they talk more about the differences between the monsters he'd met before and the ones in the Underground. The problem was, Nico didn't know what to do next. He wanted to be friends with the sad looking ghost, but he didn't really know what to say next. He taps his fingers against his phone in his pocket nervously, when his fingers brush up against the candy in his pocket.
His mind takes the idea and runs with it, and before Nico can really think it through, he blurts out, "Would you like my monster candy?" he pauses for a half second, and his brain catches up with what he's just said, "I-I, I mean, if you can eat it, I'm not sure if I should or not, seeing as I'm human and all..." he trails off, his ears turning pink in embarrassment.
The ghost folds in half, into a sitting position, and looks at Nico with both eyes open. Tears start to form in the corners of his giant round eyes, and Nico starts to back pedal.
"I'm sorry, that was a thoughtless question..."
There's another dip of silence, and Nico's eyes drift to his feet, then Napstablook whispers, "I don't know if I can eat it or not. Can I try? Sorry, I can't unwrap it or anything myself... I'm such a bother..."
Nico looks back up at the monster sitting next to him through his bangs. He's still crying, but Nico decides it isn't because of something he's said. So he nods and smiles again, pulling out the candy and unwrapping it for the arm-less spirit.
"Here, open up. I don't mind, really!"
Napstablook opens his mouth and leans forward a little, and Nico pops the candy into his mouth. Much to the surprise of them both, it doesn't fall through Napstablook. The ghost actually smiles as he chews the candy, and Nico feels a rush of accomplishment.
The ghost slowly finishes chewing, then says, "It was kind of strange tasting... I think the only flavor it didn't have was licorice... I did like it though... thank you... Do you want to see something cool?"
Nico nods, happy that Napstablook sounds a lot happier than he did a few minutes ago. The ghost starts crying again, but this time the white tears float up and condense into a top hat.
"I call it, 'Dapperblook.' Do you like it?"
Nico grins, "Yeah, Napstablook, it looks awesome on you."
The ghost smiles softly again, "Thanks... That's really nice of you to say... I usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around... But, today, I met somebody nice..." he pauses for a moment, "Oh, I'm rambling again... I'll get out of your way..."
With that, the ghost disappears, but Nico hopes he sees him again. He really was sweet, once Nico got him to start talking. Nico felt a strange rush and his lips formed a firm line involuntarily, if all the monsters down here where as nice as Napstablook, he would do his best to be kind to them all.
Nico felt like he was filled to the brim with determination.
Okay, that's all for now. I'll start writing the next chapter now, but I don't know when I'll finish it. I'll do my best, hopefully someone will get the same craving for a crossover that I did and read this. If not, oh well, I'm doing this mostly because it was something I wanted to read. I just figure that maybe someone else will too.