The Spartan.

"AGHHH!" Nico burst from his father's towering black palace of the Underworld starling the Fury on watch duty outside, filled with fury and frustration at his stubborn-willed father, who was content to sit back and let his brothers and sisters be overthrown by Kronos. He believed that he would be able to hold back Kronos, his monsters, and Nico suspect he just hoped that Typhon would just be satisfied with destroying Olympus. Nico knew he was wrong, he could feel it. But his father was as unchanging as the certainty of death was for mortal man. He was being a fool. Nico felt his stomach churn with anger, and he stamped the ground in frustration, causing a huge wall of rock to erupt out of the ground in Asphodel, in the middle of one of Daedalus's new roads. The inventor shook his head in annoyance,between that child and his father and their tantrums he'd never get done, he thought to himself privately. The Lord of the Dead could be quite childish for someone thousands of years old.

Nico ground his teeth. He wished Percy hadn't asked him to stay behind. He could be much more useful in the war on the surface. He could be raising the dead legions to help. Of course his father would be even more helpful...

But that wouldn't happen if his father didn't get his royally dead behind out there and helping. Ugh... He groaned internally again. He'd take a break he decided. He'd tour the Underworld real quick, check on Daedalus's construction, make sure nothing was trying to slip out of Tartarus this week, and stop by Elysium. Elysium was definitely one of the perks of being prince of the underworld. He often went there and conversed with the spirits within, specifically the dead heroes such as Theseus.

But first Daedalus. He walked briskly toward Asphodel, and the spirits drew back with a multitude of their whisper voices crying out in alarm at his Stygian sword. Haha. He loved the reverence he got from the dead at times. At other times it made him feel like they were the only ones to accept him, and only because his blade could eat their very souls and steal their essence. But anyway. The old inventor looked up as he approached, his body now that as it was as a normal human, frail and rather bent, but his mind still displayed it's keen wit. "Well hello Nico. Did you notice when you made a rock wall smash through one of my roads or did it slip your mind?" Nico grimaced. "Sorry Daedalus. But excellent work with the road system, really. Um...how about you take a three day weekend with your son and nephew as my apologies?"

The old man smiled widely and thanked him for allowing him to be with them extra time.

Now to Tartarus. The pit thrummed with hatred for him, his father, and all the others that put the pit's prisoners there. In fact for him it was doubly so for his part in stopping the Titan Iapetus's rebellion attempt. But his father was using Iapetus's intimidating appearance and the reputation tied to it to keep the others in line. He quickly hurried away from the yawning pit.

Now he wandered into Elysium, unexpectedly passing by the block of houses devoted to the Spartans heroes, of whom there were around twelve. Nico had never been down this road before, had never encountered the heroes of the warrior cult. He just knew that in the Fields of Punishment there were the Spartans who had become monsters, killing for the love of it, killing to feel the thump of life leave a body. They were made to swim across a vat of boiling oil while piranhas plucked of bits of skin, which grew back each day, only to never reach the other side. That was during his father's fried food fetish. Go figure.

He stopped in front of particularly fine and elaborate house, with at least twenty towering marble columns out front and he could see a great variety of weapons hanging in the entrance hall. He strode to the entrance where he was greeted with a hand raised in salute by the owner of the house. "Hail, son of Lord Hades." he called out in a deep, masculine voice to go with his intimidating body adorned with armor, and accented by curly black hair. "In life I was known as Leonidas, one of the two kings of Sparta."

Leonidas? "Wait I've heard of you... you were the leader of the coalition of Greek forces, the leader of the 300 Spartans!"

The ancient king smiled slightly. "Yes that is me. It is heartening to know my legacy lives on same as the legacy of my comrades."Leonidas then offered him a variety of dishes from his homeland in ancient times. Nico excepted the food graciously, and while eating Leonidas posed a question. Tell me, 'o prince of the underworld, what is troubling you?" Nico stiffened. "Nothing is bothering me, king of Sparta."

Leonidas waved a hand. "Ah now that title is long dead and gone, along with me. But remember...I was not just a seasoned military leader, but also a father and a barracks leader, so I've had plenty of experience with reading expressions."

Nico hung his head, but his scowl did not lessen at all. "It's the situation with my father..how he seems to want to just sit back and let them be defeated. And nothing I say helps!" Once again he stamped his foot, this time punching a spur of rock out of the ground next to Sisyphus and his boulder.

Leonidas rubbed his chin thoughtfully, while one hand fingered the stout iron sword at his side. "Remind him of me. When I died, I died after showing that the Greek cities could unite together." He chuckled unexpectedly. "Hell, I even managed to get Athens and Spartans to work together! But remind him that all it takes is one person to give a little nudge. Look at me! If it was just me and some Spartans fighting Xerxes, my name would have crumbled away into time ages ago. Remind him of how One action of mine saved Greece. And... remind him exactly what Xerxes was planning on doing to every last Greek temple, whether it was of his brothers, cousins, or sisters, or of Lord Hades himself! They would have burned them to the ground, and the Olympians and Hades along with them. ." He yawned. "Even here in Elysium, that sword drains my essence. Go now to your father."

Nico stood, thanked Leonidas, and immediately shadow traveled to his father palace, right outside of the throne room. He stood still for a moment, calming his mind, then shoved aside the skeletal guards and strode into the room.

He looked his father in the eye. "Dad, we need to talk about a certain Spartan.

OK so I'm not sure how that turned out really but I got inspired and thought this would be a good way to figure out how Nico persuaded his father into action. R&R!