Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or anything related to it.
Arai- Winged monsters that look like the furies. When they're cut down, they inflict a curse onto the one who slew them, specifically curses made by previous enemies of their slayer.
Chapter 1: The Dungeon of Night
Percy fiddled his thumbs up and down the handle of Riptide impatiently. He was standing behind a rather large statue of a winged, humanoid figure, peeking around the side of it, although he wasn't sure why he even bothered looking. It wasn't as if he could see anything. The entire room was pitch black even with his eyes supposedly "adjusted" to the darkness around him.
The empty darkness was paralleled with an empty silence, interrupted only by the sound of footsteps.
Judging from the noise, the arai must be just a few yards ahead. With that thought, Percy's grip on Riptide tightened as he continued waiting patiently yet not so patiently behind the statue. He had to make sure this was executed perfectly.
He fiddled his thumbs some more before peeking around the side of the statue once again to see nothing but darkness. Big surprise. Maybe I've been forgotten here in the darkness all alone? Percy thought sarcastically. Before he could continue questioning things, however, he heard a loud noise followed by the screeches of the arai.
Aaaand there's my signal. Percy jumped out from behind the statue and rushed forward. Now that he was getting closer, he could make out the figures of the arai in the darkness as the hideous beasts took flight.
"I'll distract as many as I can; Percy, you go on ahead with Nico!" Percy became aware of Annabeth's figure appearing at his side as she told him the plan. He started to nod his head, but quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to see that.
"Uh, yeah. Be careful." Annabeth gave a grunt as she deflected a swoop from the arai nearest to them, and Percy quickly ran on. As expected, though, Annabeth could only distract the arai in her general vicinity. The rest of them went after Percy, trying to stop him from getting past. There was a flock of arai in front of Percy as well, and while it looked like they were fleeing from him to get further into the room, he knew they were actually chasing after Nico.
Percy had no clue where he was supposed to go, so having such a large bunch of arai in front of him made it easy for him to know he was following Nico. The positives ended there, though. A flock of monsters was never fun. He knew he had to get them off of Nico, so he quickened his pace, digging his heels into the floor until he was upon the flock in front of him. Slashing an arai would only cause it to inflict curses upon you, so he instead rammed Riptide's handle into their guts or elbowed them down.
The arai hissed as they turned on him, lashing at him with their clawed hands and trying to beat him with their wings. Percy ducked and dodged their attacks, his battle instincts more than enough to make up for his lack of appropriate vision. As he started hitting more of the arai, he became aware of the flock that had been behind him catching up. I just need to buy Nico time. With that in mind, Percy turned to face the oncoming monsters. They screeched at him as they attempted to mow him down, but he didn't budge. His limbs moved furiously, tearing the arai from the air and striking them down one after the other. There were a few that ignored him that he couldn't reach, but he knew it was fine. Nico could handle a few that got past him. Suddenly, one of the arai's hands latched onto his arm. He quickly tried throwing it back as it screeched at him.
"Out of the way, demigod! She will not be pleased!" Percy managed to throw it down, but more just took its place. He grit his teeth.
"Ironic, isn't it? You're supposed to be the ones stopping me from getting past!" The arai just continued their hissing as they came at him furiously. Suddenly, someone came up from behind him.
"I got it. Let's go." Percy glanced at Nico and almost nodded again, but quickly remembered he couldn't see him.
"Okay." He replied. The two of them pushed past the arai unfazed, causing the winged monsters to screech and flock all around them. Annabeth's figure appeared in the near distance, jumping around and fighting off arai.
"Percy? Nico? I really hope that's you guys, because I'm getting tired of fighting these things without being able to kill them!" Annabeth called. She leapt and spun in midair, kicking an arai in the face. Or maybe the throat? Percy couldn't tell, but the sound that erupted from that kick sounded painful for the monster on the receiving end.
"Yep, it's us! Let's get out of here!" Annabeth slashed threateningly at another arai before turning to run with them.
A flood of screeches sounded constantly from not too far behind them as the three demigods ran with Nico at the front.
"There, just up ahead!" Nico called. They quickly ran through an open arch that served as a doorway into the previous room before stopping to turn around. Nico put his arms up and quickly brought them together in a sudden motion, causing the arching doorway to bend in on itself until the earth it was made of completely blocked the opening, trapping the arai in that room. The pounding and screeching from the other side of the wall was endless. Percy whistled at all the noise.
"They must be reeeeeeally unhappy." Nico shrugged. This room, unlike the one with the arai, wasn't complete void, so Percy's eyes could actually adjust to the dark and see Nico and Annabeth better.
"I would be if I were them, too. After all, think about who's going to be unhappy with them." Annabeth stated. Percy felt her lean against him, and he put an arm around her shoulder to support her body as they began walking again. Nico trailed just slightly behind this time since they didn't need him to take the lead. He was looking at the artifact in his hand which he had just stolen from the room with the arai.
"Speaking of who's going to be unhappy with them, Nyx is more likely to be unhappy with us. After all, we did just steal her...thing." Percy and Annabeth looked back at Nico, stopping to let him catch up. They both observed the artifact in his hand, which he had referred to as a 'thing'.
"So...Hades didn't tell you exactly what it was for, by any chance?" Percy asked. Nico sighed.
"No, we've been over this already. My father's instructions were just to sneak into Nyx's Shrine and steal the bottled artifact that she keeps hidden here, and I was told I might need help, so...I asked you two." Percy nodded.
"Right...but...he really didn't even tell you what you were stealing?" The three of them all looked down at the bottle in Nico's hands.
"...no. He didn't." Percy was about to say something else, but a wave of darkness seemed to pass through the room, and it even seemed to come with a cold breeze. Percy felt a chill run down his spine as an uncomfortable atmosphere began settling in.
"...curious, curious, meddling demigods…" An ashy voice resounded off of all the walls. Percy, Nico, and Annabeth immediately stood back to back and drew their weapons, their shoulders pressing against each other just for reassurance.
"Who's there?" Percy called out, swallowing the large amount of saliva that had accumulated in his mouth. The same ashy voice sounded from every wall of the room, this time in the form of creepy laughter.
"Child, do you know who's shrine you're in? Who do you think I am?" Percy only had to give it a second of thought before he grit his teeth.
"Nyx." Nico nervously turned to look back at Annabeth, whose face was ridden with guilt. The son of Hades hesitated, but eventually spoke up.
"Annabeth...how long have we been in here?" Annabeth seemed frozen, unable to speak. She slowly looked down at the watch on her shaking wrist.
"W-we...we've been in here for about 4 hours, since we entered at 12...but...that can't be right…" She slowly forced herself to meet Nico and Percy's eyes.
"I'm...sorry. My watch must have stopped working due to this place, and I didn't notice, so my alarm never went off and we...we stayed past the designated time. In other words…" Percy followed her eyes, which were wandering the room, and he finished the sentence for her.
"In other words, it's nighttime now. And Nyx leaves her mansion in Tartarus during nighttime." Annabeth still had guilt ridden all over her face. It seemed to even be overriding her fear.
"I'm so sorry guys..." Nico shook his head.
"It's okay. We should've planned for something like this." Percy nodded.
"Yeah, don't blame yourself. When we get out of here, let's complain to the shop that sold you that watch." Annabeth managed to smile weakly at them.
"Leo gave it to me, actually." If the situation wasn't as bad as it was, Percy would've rolled his eyes. Unfortunately, things went from sort of bad to definitely bad as shadows from every corner of the room began materializing in the center. Percy held his breath as the shadows gathered into a larger and larger cloud, making the form of a horrifying figure that was all too familiar to him and Annabeth.
He completely forgot how to breathe as a pair of glowing eyes that seemed like star systems themselves peered down at them. The ashy voice finally had a face as Nyx spoke.
"Hello, tourists. What may I do for you tonight?" Percy tightened his grip on Riptide, remembering the time he and Annabeth had pretended to be tourists when they ran into Nyx in Tartarus.
Nyx towered over them, raising a large finger to her chin.
"No answer? That's alright. Perhaps you've finally realized my brilliance, and you're now so awestruck that you can't speak?" It took a second or two, but Annabeth quickly stepped forward.
"That's...right. You're absolutely right." Seeing her hesitate, Percy quickly reached forward and intertwined their hands. He could feel Annabeth shaking as she slowly coiled their fingers together for confidence, clearing her throat to continue speaking.
"We...were disappointed to find that, nothing could quite compare to your wonderful estate, you see, so we-" Annabeth was interrupted by Nyx's laughter.
"You will not fool me a second time, girl. Either way, I'm not particularly interested in you and what you're doing here. No, the one I'm interested in is…" Nyx's eyes shifted over, seeming to pierce right through each of them until she rested her gaze on Nico. "...you."
Nico's grip on the bottle artifact tightened as he looked her back in the eyes, although Percy could clearly see the boy was doing his best to hide his trembling.
"Yes, what is it?" Nico said, managing to sound completely unafraid. Percy had always been impressed by Nico's ability to act like nothing was wrong with him, and here he was, proving once again that he could act fine in a situation where he was anything but.
Nyx, however, seemed to see straight through him as she leaned forward, towering over the three of them even more.
"Child, do you know what it is that you're holding?" All of them looked at the bottle in Nico's hand. He gulped before looking Nyx in the eyes once more.
"Perhaps." He stated flatly. This seemed to annoy Nyx, who reared upwards.
"That bottle contains some of my essence. Through this shrine, I absorb the prayers of those who worship the night, and during my nighttime trips outside of my Mansion in Tartarus, I come here to collect it." She moved so that her large face was right next to them, making them all jump back in terror and surprise. "Hades asked you to steal this from me, didn't he?" None of them spoke as a terrifying hint of anger appeared in Nyx's eyes. "Didn't he?" She reiterated her question so harshly that Nico had to nod his head in compliance. Nyx continued glaring at them close up for a while before sighing and pulling herself back up to a straight standing position.
"He must've been hoping to blackmail me, or at the very least to delay my growth in power. He fears me taking over his kingdom. Well, not that it matters, since I've caught you now. Whatever the fool was planning, it never would've worked out for him, but that doesn't change the fact that I am rather upset that you tried stealing from me…" Nyx's gaze cast shadows over them, and Percy felt like he was melting into the darkness of the room. Take over Hades's kingdom?
He didn't have much time to ponder that thought as Nyx held her hand out.
"Give it to me." None of them moved. They gave each other nervous looks, but aside from that, they made no movement towards Nyx. Her frustration seemed to rise. "Give it. To. Me. I'm going to wipe you all out either way, you know, so you might as well comply with me. Maybe then I'll show mercy and grant you a death as peaceful as the night." At that, Percy felt the heat in his body begin to rise.
"Guys, I can't shadow travel. I think...I think she's stopping me." Nico whispered. Percy's mind was racing, trying to find a way out for them. Figuring there was only one thing he could do for now, he stepped forward, causing Nyx to raise an eyebrow. "You will comply with me, then? Smart choice." Percy tilted his head back so that he was staring straight into her eyes.
"In your wildest dreams. It's time to turn out for the night!" Giving a yell, Percy waved his sword in an arc, causing water to appear from nowhere. "Go!" He yelled. Immediately, Nico and Annabeth turned and began sprinting away as Percy barraged Nyx with spouts of water.
"Pesky demigods!" Nyx cursed as her wings spread, filling the room with even more darkness. She swatted at the water coming her way before taking flight. Percy blinked as he watched her rise into the air. Is it just me or does the ceiling suddenly seem a lot taller? He shook this thought away as he turned to run after Nico and Annabeth. Nyx set her eyes on Nico.
"You. Stop!" Shadows began rising all around Nico, reaching for the bottle. He tried pulling away.
"If you're going to try killing us anyways, we might as well get away with what we came for! Annabeth!" Nico tossed the bottle, and Annabeth caught it, running ahead of them. The shadows quickly switched their target, moving towards Annabeth, who slashed at them with her dagger. The attack didn't do much, so she just continued leaping back and dodging away from the shadows.
"You're insane! Percy's saved Olympus countless times, you can't just try to kill him, and us! Don't you think you owe him a little?!" She tried reasoning desperately. Nyx hummed a bit, but the onslaught of the shadows didn't stop. They took the form of shadow hands, reaching up from all sides and attacking each of them simultaneously now.
"Percy Jackson, the so-called hero of Olympus." Nyx said. Percy grit his teeth as he continued summoning water to fend off against the shadows.
"Tell me," Nyx said, her eyes cold and even more void of emotion than usual, if that was even possible. "Why should I address you as a hero?" Percy cut down all the hands around him, panting and looking up at Nyx. He wasn't the type to brag about being a hero and saying others owed him, but in this case, it seemed that taking such an approach was necessary.
"We fought against Gaea! Even you have to be wary of Gaea, Nyx!" Nyx tapped her chin.
"You forget, Percy Jackson, Gaea was my Primordial sister. I suppose stopping her does count for something, though. Very well. I do acknowledge you as a hero of Olympus. But why should I view you as a hero? Personally, you've done nothing to be a hero in my eyes. Saving Olympus is of little concern to me." Percy grit his teeth as more shadow hands began rising from the ground. He knew it was a lost cause to reason with Nyx. He cut down all the hands around him before launching waves of water at Nyx relentlessly. She let out a frustrated yell as he hit her in the face.
"Very well, Percy Jackson." She muttered in a dark voice. Shadows began gathering around Nyx as she rose a bit higher. "Prove to me that you are a hero." As those words left her mouth, the shadows around her formed into a massive black vortex that could fill a majority of the room. The vortex shot down towards them.
"Annabeth, run!" Percy yelled. Right before the shadows enveloped him, he swung his arm out, and a rush of water pushed Annabeth just out of the reach of the vortex. He let out a yell as he fell to his knees from the pressure of the vortex. It was like he was standing in the middle of a tornado made purely of shadows. To his side, Nico, who was also on his knees, had been caught in the middle of the vortex as well. They glanced at each other before shakily standing to face Nyx. She was chuckling sinisterly.
"Prove to me that you are a hero, Percy Jackson." Percy rose Riptide, his eyes narrowing.
"What do you mean by that?" He was almost afraid to ask because of how malicious the look on her face was. Just a glance made him feel like the shadows were suffocating the life out of him, which, in a way, they were, as the spinning vortex of shadows around him continuously threatened to knock him off his feet. Nyx spread her arms out.
"You will partake in my trials." She glanced over at Nico. "And since I must punish you as well, you will be trapped along with him." Nico and Percy glanced at each other again.
"What trials?!" Percy had to shout at the top of his lungs to hear himself above the violent winds of the shadow vortex. Nyx simply gave him a sly smirk.
"You will find out." With a snap of her fingers, the vortex's speed began picking up, and the shadows began whipping up the debris around Percy and Nico.
"Wait-ahhhh!" Percy yelled as he was lifted off the ground. He found himself twisting about in midair in ways he'd never even accomplished on a trampoline as he was flung all around the vortex, getting higher and higher. Nico's screams reached his ears as well, as the son of Hades was also picked up by the force of the vortex. Percy was holding onto consciousness for dear life, desperately begging himself not to blackout. Despite his efforts, however, he quickly found his vision getting hazy. He would blink himself back, then see nothing. Then blink himself back again, then lose consciousness again. It was impossible for him to summon water to fight back in this condition. He managed to hold out for a minute or so, still being thrown around in every direction by the vortex, before he finally found that the fight in him had diminished. Nyx's laughter resounded in his head like a broken record as he officially lost consciousness.
"Percy. Percy! Percy!"
"Wha-I'm awake! I'm awake." Percy gasped as he suddenly sat upright. He looked around at his surroundings. Wooden walls, empty portraits, windows that showed they were surrounded by trees… It looks like we're in a forest cottage of some sort? Percy thought to himself. He looked to see that Nico had been the one calling his name.
Said Demigod had been crouching right next to Percy, but when he sat upright, Nico quickly moved away to pace by the window. Percy stayed seated on the wooden floor as he sat with his legs criss-crossed.
"...so...what happened?" Percy asked. He thought he saw Nico roll his eyes as the raven-haired boy turned to look at him pointedly.
"Well...I'm actually not entirely sure. But it seems Nyx brought us here somehow." Percy scratched the back of his head.
"Alright...where is 'here', though?" Nico sighed. It seemed like Percy was somehow getting on his nerves, which made Percy mentally slap himself. Idiot, try and be less of a pain, will you?
The truth was, Percy really, really wanted to make things right between him and Nico. Their friendship had been in tatters for as long as they'd known each other, and just the thought made Percy really sad and regretful. That was part of the reason he and Annabeth had accepted to help Nico steal the artifact that Hades wanted. He wasn't completely sure about Annabeth, but he personally had agreed to help Nico in hopes that they could finally put the past behind them and be real friends. Especially since...it had only happened not too long ago.
Percy looked at Nico, who was staring intently out the window. There was an awkward silence between them now as Percy recalled the moment like it'd happened just yesterday. Almost immediately after Gaea was finally defeated, Nico had come up to him and Annabeth and confessed that he'd always had a crush on Percy. They'd both been so shocked at the time that they couldn't even find any words to say. Percy was still so shocked, not at the fact that Nico was gay-he could accept that in a heartbeat since he was a pretty accepting guy-but at the fact that Nico had liked him. He was shocked still because no matter how much he thought about it, it made no sense. He always came back to the same question.
Why me? I failed him, I failed to protect his sister, so it makes no sense that he would like me. As Percy continued looking at Nico's figure, he quickly shook his head a bit to clear it. No. That doesn't matter now. Him liking you and why he did in the first place isn't important. He said he's over it now, and it's time for us to put everything in the past behind us so we can actually start to have a real friendship for once.
"Do you sense them, too?" Nico asked. Percy quickly blinked himself out of his thinking state, stumbling back a bit.
"Uh, huh, what?" He said. Nico was looking at him now.
"You sense them, too, right? That's why you were looking out the window?" Percy blinked in confusion.
"Um, no, I was looking at…" He trailed off, quickly realizing how weird it'd sound to say he was looking at Nico. He became a bit flustered as he coughed to regain his composure. "I mean...sense what?" Nico gestured to the window, so Percy got up and walked over. He noticed Nico step away a bit as he came closer, but he didn't think much of it. As he looked out the window, he realized what Nico was talking about. He couldn't see anything specific, but there were imprints on the grass outside, and the atmosphere was dreary. Something was out there. Instinctively, his hand went to his pocket, and he sighed in relief when he felt Riptide. He noticed Nico had a hand on his Stygian iron sword as well. Their eyes met, coming to a silent agreement that they were prepared for battle. Or so they thought they were.
One moment they were standing there, and the next, the door was flying halfway across the room. Percy whipped around in alarm as a figure crawled through the doorway on all fours, letting out low and aggressive growls. Nico and Percy recognized the creature immediately.
"A hellhound." Nico breathed out. The two demigods readied themselves with their weapons. The hellhound continued approaching them slowly, growling and baring its fangs. Percy gestured Nico to its right side with his eyes as he began walking to the left. They sized it up a bit until they were on either side of it. The black, hate-filled eyes danced back and forth between Nico and Percy as if it was deciding who to attack. As if we'll let you make the first move. With that thought, Percy dashed forward, slashing at it with Riptide. The hellhound was ready for his attack and leaped out of the way, only to have Nico rush in from the other side. It let out a wounded yelp as Nico's blade cut its thigh, rendering one of its back legs useless. Percy didn't hesitate in attacking again as his sword cut through the monster. The hellhound gave a loud howl before it fell and its body decayed in a mist of shadows.
Before either of them could react, countless howls sounded from the forest. Percy looked up to meet Nico's gaze.
"What's the plan?" Nico asked. Percy looked out the window, pondering for a bit.
"If we stay here, we're just trapping ourselves. Let's move out into the forest. We need to find out where we are, anyways." Nico nodded, and the two of them quickly headed out of the cottage and into the forest.
Percy kept Riptide raised just in case, and sure enough, two hellhounds jumped at them out of nowhere. Percy ducked down and Nico dodged to the side before they quickly regrouped back to back, facing the monsters. The hellhounds leaped forward again, but Percy and Nico skillfully dodged their claws while cutting them down simultaneously. Percy watched as the bodies faded and, to his surprise, found that he was panting. He also began to realize that his body seemed just slightly fatigued. He remembered that he had literally been swept up by a cyclone of darkness earlier, so his stamina wasn't fully recharged. This could pose a problem if more keep showing up. There was howling as more hellhounds began appearing by shadow travel. Percy mentally scolded himself. I just jinxed it, didn't I? He and Nico continued standing back to back with their weapons raised as the hellhounds eyed them, slowly crawling forward.
"I'll deal with this." Nico said. Percy nodded as Nico shut his eyes, concentrating. The hellhounds leaped forward suddenly, so Percy swung Riptide in a sideways arc, summoning water to keep them away. More attacked from another side, so Percy turned around and swept them away with water as well.
"Hate to rush you, Nico, but anytime would be as good a time as ever!" He got no response from the son of Hades, causing him to look at the boy in worry. "Nico?" More hellhounds jumped at them, and this time, Percy grabbed a hold of Nico and dashed out of the way. Nico let out a yelp as he was pulled along deeper into the forest and away from the hellhounds.
"Don't touch me!" Nico gasped, pulling away from Percy as if he was covered in some repulsive slime. Percy was stuck between feeling confused and hurt at the look of disgust on Nico's face, but there were more pressing matters at the moment, so he pushed his feelings to the back of his mind.
"Come on, we can't stay in one place." Nico seemed to shake the anger out of him before he looked down at his hands.
"I...I can't summon the dead." Percy blinked in surprise.
"What?" Nico grit his teeth, but still didn't look at Percy.
"I can't summon the dead, I said! I-I don't know why…" Percy observed him before sighing.
"Well, that's alright. It must have something to do with, uh, wherever we are. I can still summon water, but making water out of nothing takes quite a bit of energy so I'd like to only use that if needed." Nico looked down at the ground.
"...sorry…" He muttered quietly. Percy had started walking again, but stopped to turn around in surprise.
"Huh?" Was Nico apologizing? What was he apologizing for? Before he could respond, however, the hellhounds appeared from the shadows of the nearby trees, and this time, there was even more of them.
"They just keep growing in numbers...taking them out doesn't seem like it's doing much good. Come on, let's run for now!" Percy said, grabbing a hold of Nico's wrist just to make sure he would snap out of whatever state he was in. His plan worked as Nico recoiled his arm.
"Hey! I said don't touch me! I can run by myself!" Percy chuckled as he began running through the forest, and Nico followed with the hellhounds on their heels. When some of them got too close, he would turn around and slash at them before continuing to run. Percy looked around at the trees, trying to figure something out. If only Annabeth was here…she'd know what to do. He remembered how he had knocked her out of the vortex so she wouldn't be sucked up by Nyx. He wondered if she was okay...had she managed to escape Nyx?
You've got more important things to be thinking about right now, Percy! He mentally scolded himself. A group of hellhounds suddenly leapt out of the shadows of some of the trees in front of them, surrounding them. Percy and Nico stopped in their tracks, holding their swords out threateningly.
"Looks like we have to fight." Percy said. Nico didn't respond. He seemed to be deep in thought. The hellhounds barked at them furiously as they charged the two demigods. Percy quickly summoned an arc of water to sweep one half of the hellhounds away while Nico slashed at the ones on his end with his sword. More took their place, though, charging at them once again. Percy repeated his water attack, and he saw Nico terraform spikes out of the ground to stab at the hellhounds.
"Percy, I think I have a plan." Nico stated, glaring warily at the endless pack of hellhounds. Percy was panting as he looked back at Nico.
"Really? That's good, I'm sure it's better than anything I'd come up with." They fended off another attack from the hellhounds before Nico spoke.
"They can just keep shadow travelling using the trees. It gives them an advantage. We should try and get to where there aren't any trees," Nico glanced at Percy. "There's no such thing as a forest that doesn't end." Percy slowly nodded.
"Alright. Ha!" He gave a shout as a wave of water washed over all of the hellhounds, sweeping them off their feets and causing their yowls to fill the air. They took this chance and began running, looking for any sign of a way out of the forest.
Their luck seemed to really be turning up, because the trees around them began to grow less in number. Percy looked ahead to see a tall hill. Great. Hopefully we can make the climb fast enough. He and Nico quickly made for the hill, scrambling up it with the hellhounds close behind.
They reached the top of the hill, only to have their hearts fill with dread. Guess things aren't looking up after all. Percy thought grimly as he looked down at the tall cliff. The growling of the hellhounds brought his attention back to them as they crawled up towards him and Nico. If they backed up anymore, they'd be plummeting down to their deaths. Percy grit his teeth. This wasn't a good situation. The hellhounds began crouching, ready to leap and knock them down the cliff. Percy was about to let out a battle cry, prepared to die standing his ground against the beasts, but Nico pushed himself forward.
"Stay back." The boy said. Percy looked at the back of the shorter boy's head in surprise.
"Nico…?" Nico looked back at him for a split second before he got down on one knee, his palms spread flat on the ground. With ferocious growls, the hellhounds launched themselves forward, but it was too late. Bumps began appearing in the hill until the earth itself was ripping upwards, tossing the hellhounds into the air and causing them to tumble into each other down the hill. The only part of the hill that wasn't going haywire with dirt and rocks flying everywhere was the ground beneath Percy and Nico. Percy watched in awe as Nico relentlessly sent all the hellhounds flying, not letting up for even a second until they were all gone. He sighed as he brought his powers to a stop. The hill relaxed, although it was completely ruined now, and he shakily stood up.
"Wow...Nico, that was awesome!" Percy exclaimed. Nico didn't even turn around to look at him. He just kept looking at the mess of a hill that he'd made.
"Don't patronize me, Percy." Percy was taken aback, hurt swelling up in his chest. Was there really no way for him and Nico to finally be able to be friends? To finally be able to talk regularly?
He was going to say something, but before he could, darkness began filling up the sky. He looked up and literally watched day turn to night, with the sun setting and stars coming up in the sky, but it all happened in the span of ten seconds.
"Well, I'm quite pleased to see that you haven't died yet." An ashy voice reverberated through the sky. Percy and Nico were on full alert as they looked around.
"Nyx." Nico's voice was laced with venom. The goddess's soft laughter rang out as she appeared behind them, floating over the cliff with her wings spread out. Percy lifted Riptide, his eyes narrowed.
"What happened to Annabeth? What did you do with us! Tell me!" A malicious smile appeared on her face, sending chills down Percy's spine, but he easily ignored it. He wasn't afraid of her.
"You ask about your girlfriend before asking about yourselves. How adorable." Nyx said, not answering either of his questions. Frustrated, Percy thrust his sword forward a bit, causing a jet of water to fly at Nyx. However, his attack seemed to phase right through her, flying harmlessly into the night sky. She smiled at his attempt.
"Feisty now, aren't you? There's no need to waste your energy on me. I was just about to start talking, too, so if you'd be so kind as to not interrupt me…" Percy grit his teeth as he rose his other hand to continue attacking.
"Percy!" Nico's shout from behind him stopped him. He turned around to see Nico looking at him sternly. The raven-haired boy walked towards Nyx, looking her in the eyes.
"Speak." He demanded. Nyx grinned.
"You're feisty in your own way, too, aren't you? Very well. I have trapped the two of you in the Dungeon of Night, with the purpose of having you two face my trials." Percy stepped forward to speak, briefly noticing Nico quickly move away as he got closer.
"What do you mean by trials?" He shouted.
"Well, you were so convinced that you were a hero, so I decided to see for myself. In this Dungeon, you will encounter a number of trials. Each trial is conducted by one of my children, and each trial is conducted during the nighttime. Yes, despite its name, days are still the same and morning still exists in the Dungeon of Night. You will have to complete each trial and move on to the next by receiving a Night Key from the god in charge of the trial." Percy's grip tightened around Riptide, and he felt himself sweating a bit.
"You mean...we're going to have to fight a god every 'trial'?" Nyx seemed to ponder that question.
"Well...no. Not every trial will require you to fight the god. It's really up to them." Nyx lowered her hand until an oval of light appeared in front of them. It seemed to be a portal. "Well, that's all the information you need about your situation. Figure the rest out yourselves. You are, after all, supposed to be a hero. This will take you to your first trial. And no, I won't tell you which god you're up against first. I wish you luck. You'll need it." Percy quickly ran forward.
"Wait! Annabeth! Is Annabeth okay?!" Nyx smirked as her body began fading into the night.
"If I were you, I'd be worrying about myself. My children are very much allowed to kill you during their trials."
"Wait! Answer me!" Percy yelled out, but it was too late. Nyx was gone. His body trembled with frustration as he stared at where she had been. Slowly and cautiously, Nico walked forward, but just a bit.
"...I wonder what she's planning. I don't believe her entire 'I want to see if you're a hero' act. There has to be an ulterior motive to these trials." Percy didn't answer him. He slowly turned his head to look at the portal.
"Come on, Nico." He started to walk forward as Nico reached his arm forward a bit before hesitating and pulling it back.
"Are we...really doing this?" Percy paused and turned around.
"It's our only way out, isn't it? Besides, it's you and me! I'm sure we can take on a couple of gods…" When he said it out loud like that, it seemed pretty crazy, but he shook the thought away. Of course they'd be fine. Nico looked down.
"But this is Nyx's domain...I can't summon the dead." Percy raised an eyebrow. Was Nico...doubting himself?
"Hey, come on man. You totally took out those hellhounds by yourself earlier, right?" Nico looked at him briefly before quickly averting his gaze to the portal.
"I suppose you're right. This is the only way out." Percy smiled.
"We'll be fine. Just stick together." A thousand emotions seemed to flicker across Nico's face from that sentence, but he turned away too quickly for Percy to make out any of them. He let out a small murmur of agreement.
"...lead the way, then…" Percy flashed him a confident grin.
"You got it! Alright, bring it on Nyx! Or, whichever god we're up against first!" Percy turned back around to face the portal, a more determined look replacing his optimistic one from before. And once we're finally out, I'll make sure you're okay, too, Annabeth. With his motivation in place, Percy entered the portal with Nico right behind him.
Next up, Percy and Nico will face the first trial, featuring one of Nyx's godly children. I wonder who it'll be...? Don't worry, I PROMISE this story is Percico. But keep in mind I'm developing it REALISTICALLY from how their relationship was in the books into being more...intimate. So, yeah. No bullshit like Percy randomly getting nervous being alone with Nico, because no, that's not realistically how he is. For now. Also, the story will switch between Percy and Nico's point of views. We only got Percy's this chapter because that's what I decided.
Don't forget to review, fav, follow, all that good stuff. It lets me know you guys want more and helps me write the story with more motivation. So yeah. See you soon I hope!