AN: All rights go to Rick R.
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A Fate Worse than Death
When Frank found himself standing face to face with the extremely powerful and overprotective brother of his girlfriend he nearly dropped his glass of milk. But most importantly he realised that sneaking down to the kitchen for a midnight snack may probably be the worse decision he'd ever made.
Nico observed his surprised expression impassively, "I want to talk to you. Come." He turned out into the corridor.
So dead, Frank's mind whispered.
As the matter was totally out of his hands, he followed.
The first thing he noticed was the cold smoothness of the floorboards and the fact that even with bare feet, he still made a thumping noise on the wood. If he was wearing boots, there would definitely be loud stomping sounds with every footfall- in fact Leo had specifically not carpeted the corridors so that any intruders sneaking about could be heard beforehand. Smart.
The second thing he noticed was that despite the floorboard's design, Frank couldn't hear Nico's footsteps. I should tell Leo about this.
In fact, even with straining his ears and concentrating hard, he couldn't hear the other demigod at - no sound of walking, breathing or the general shuffling noise that normal people made when walking around in the dark.
There were small round windows which let in a generous amount of sunlight during the day, but at night only allowed the shadows of clouds, thrown into ghastly proportion by the moonlight, to filter through.
It was so cold that Frank found himself shivering, and every breath came out as a white mist. Not to mention the fact that he felt horribly exposed as he moved awkwardly through the wide corridor, following someone that he couldn't even see.
But as much as he wanted to move quicker, the corridor was too dark and doing so could be potentially dangerous with all the stacks of gears and metal parts that Leo left lying around.
Without warning, the shadows in front of him began to stretch and move in an alluring pattern, and in the demigod world, whenever something strange happened the correct response would be to pull out your trusty sword and kill the monsters that were about to appear.
Frank was about to do so, when he remembered two things:
He didn't have a sword on him. Mental facepalm.
Something Hazel had told him about her brother a few days ago.
"Children of Hades are cursed with an aura of death. The living shield away from us, but anything close to death strive for our attention." She had leaned closer to him then and her lush, dark hair brushed against his face.
"Next you see Nico, notice how the shadows reach out to him." She told him.
He had nodded and not questioned her any further that day, because they had been basking in the warm sunlight, and all that just seemed a bit too unrealistic and far away at that time.
But now, in the dark and completely alone, the reality could be considered disturbing. As a result, Frank moved nervously, with tense muscles until he reached the ajar door of the dining room, and nearly tripped in his haste to get inside.
He flicked on the light and his relief, the room was immediately bathed in a warm light.
Nico was sitting in one of the chairs, scowling at him.
Instantly, he felt like a child about to be lectured by the Principal. If it had been Jason or Leo, he would had immediately found a spot to sit, instead of standing awkwardly in the doorway.
But with Nico, it always felt as if something bad was going to happen if you went too close without invitation.
"Are you afraid the dark, Frank?"
"I…um…no?" But I'm petrified of you, Frank added mentally.
"You seemed very eager to turn that light…" The demigod left the sentence hanging.
"That wasn't because I'm scared, I just think talking to people in the dark is…bad…"
It was such a lame excuse, Frank mentally slapped himself.
Nico's eyes glinted with mockery, "Hazel has told me a lot about you. About how you're brave and wonderful." He stretched out his words so much that it sounded sarcastic.
While the Roman demigod tried to work out whether he was joking, the speaker had picked up a fork that was lying near a plate of grapes on the table.
"She said that?"
"Yes. Indeed she did." Nico looked preoccupied as the fork encircled and prepared to prey upon an unsuspecting grape.
If Frank had been back in his English classroom learning about the use of symbolism, he would have said that the fork and grape was a perfect representation of a difference of power between him and Nico.
Finally the fork swooped in for killing blow and speared the grape with the horrible screech of metal scraping on ceramic.
The son of Hades placed both the weapon and its victim on the table and grinned at him.
What was the point of that? Frank thought.
"Hazel is very happy with you, I want you to make sure it stays that way," the demigod told him, "If you hurt her, I will give you a fate worse than death. I promise you."
Frank remained silent, frozen and a little shocked at the fact that Nico had so little trust in him.
"Do you hear me, Son of Ares?"
"Mars actually." Frank corrected sharply and found his anger rising, how could he have so little trust in me?
The room seemed to darken as the shadows that had been hiding in the corners started the writhe and move towards him.
Nico stood up slowly, his left hand gripping the pommel of his sword. Frank waited with bated breath to be stuck down, dragged away by shadows or something equally horrible.
Finally, just as the pressure was about to drive Frank running back to his room, the black-clad young man took a deep breath and loosened his grip on the weapon. The shadows retreated and an awkward silence filled the room.
"Frank, you will never consider hurting my sister or suffer my wrath."
"Of course, I-"
"In fact, just not hurting her isn't enough, you have to protect her as well, and…" Nico began a list, "that includes monsters, demigods, gods and anything and anyone else that may want to harm her."
The list was so basic, he almost wanted to point it, but that probably wasn't going to get him any brownie points. "Nico, look, I don't-"
"And you also need to make sure she is happy with you, OK? No flirting with other girls when she's around."
"Ok, I know!"
"On second thoughts- No flirting with other girls at all!" Nico glared at him, "and there will be no inappropriate behaviour with her-"
"I KNOW!" Frank couldn't help himself, "I get it, ok? There's no need for you to tell me this ok?"
The shadows started to writhe move restlessly again, "There is every need for me to tell you." Nico shook with barely controlled anger, "This way if you ever want to hurt her, you will remember the fact that I will give you a fate worse than death, and you will reconsider."
"She's my girlfriend, I love her. Why would I ever want to hurt her?" Frank could not fathom where Nico got these insane ideas from.
Said person raised an eyebrow sceptically and huffed in disbelief, "That's what they all say- before they meet a better looking girl."
"I do not like her for her looks!"
"Are you saying Hazel is ugly?" Nico growled at him.
"No!" Frank felt himself losing control and fleetingly hoped that he wasn't turning into some wild animal, "What is wrong with you? Who are you to come and lecture me? I can't believe we travelled all the way here to save a moody, ungrateful brat!"
Nico thumped the table with his fist, "What did you call-"
"I don't understand you! What is wrong with you? Hazel told me that you weren't like this. I don't believe a word of it!
Nico flinched at his words, his mouth dropped open in shock, "Don't you dare-"
"What could they have done to you in Tartarus to change you so much?" Frank was on a roll, "Nothing could make someone change so much in a few days!"
"Don't…"
"Did they torture you?" Frank felt wickedly satisfied to hear a sharp intake of breath from Nico, "Is that what they did? You know what? You deserve it!"
Suddenly, the surge of strange satisfaction melted away as he realised how cruel his words had been. He blushed as realised that he shouted the last few words. Nico remained eerily silent.
"Nico?"
The son of Hades was nowhere to be seen. He had probably disappeared while Frank was making his heartless monologue. I hope he didn't hear that, the guy didn't deserve that for trying to protect his sister, he realised regretfully.
Something shifted on the ground and he hurried around the table to find that it was Nico.
The young man had sank to the ground and was shaking violently.
"Oh gods…Nico? Are you ok?" Frank knelt down and nervously laid a hand on the other demigod's back. "Can you hear me?"
Some of those words must have gotten through the fog of pain, because the young man turned his head and stared blankly at where Frank was. He blinked a few times, as if he didn't remember who the person that had just talked to him was.
Finally he shook his head, "I know you're not real. It won't work, Gaea- you know it won't!" The confused demigod struggled to stand up, but couldn't manage it with his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
Frank moved to offer assistance, but Nico launched himself forwards with surprising speed and tackled him to the ground with so much force that he landed ungracefully on his bum, slid a few metres and smashed in the wall.
A set of kitchen knives crashed to the floor a few centimetres from his hand and he jerked the limb back hurriedly.
"Where are you?" The son of Hades stood unsteadily and looked around murderously. The black iron sword slid free of its sheathe with the barest whisper of metal on metal and its crazed owner swung it around in a deadly arc.
Frank was so glad Nico had shoved him over a few seconds ago.
After walking around in a trace, slashing everything at chest height, Nico turned around and the son of Mars got a good look at his eyes.
They were… different.
Previously, on those seldom occasions when their gazes locked, Nico's always flicker between anger, hate or a kind of deep sadness that came from seeing too many things have the life sucked out of them.
Back at Camp Jupiter, once in a while, Nico even made a sarcastic comment or found something funny enough to smile faintly at. Not anymore- but there really wasn't anything to be happy about these days anyways.
But no matter which veil of feeling was on top, there was always a pool of intelligence and calculation floating directly below, keeping them in check.
And now? The demigod's glazed eyes screamed murder and was devoid of everything else.
Without warning, Nico sank back on to the floor and curled in a ball, whimpering and shaking. Helplessly lost in the maze that was his own mind.
Hazel is going to kill me if her brother dies under my watch, he thought.
Frank stood up, uncertain if Nico was going to suddenly start swinging around that sword of his again.
Suddenly, the door to the cabin was thrown back on its hinges and Frank went to whip out his sword and… cursed himself for the second time that night for not bringing it with him.
Jason leapt through the doorway, moving into a fighting stance immediately with his imperial gold sword drawn. Leo barged in right after him and tripped into Jason, sending both of them tumbling onto the ground.
The son of Jupiter rose, looking annoyed, and pulled Leo up with the non-sword wielding hand. His eyes scanned the wreaked room quickly and locked on Frank.
"What's going on?"
"We heard raised voices," Leo chimed in. Then he gasped, "What's happened to Nico?"
Jason looked panicked as he took in the sight, "Is he choking? Should I do the Heimlich Manoeuvre?"
He made to move forwards, but Frank dragged him back.
"No, he's fine…Well, not really….Umm….I might have accidently said something that make Nico errr…have a fit…"
Jason's eyes widened and Leo's hair burst into flames.
Frank shifted awkwardly.
The son of Jupiter sighed in what Frank guessed with concern mingled with disappointment. He flipped his sword up and caught it in coin form, "I'll go get Piper."
After he had hurried away, the room once again fell into a silence only broken by Nico's hitches of breath and incoherent murmurings. Frank looked helplessly at Leo, who look back with the same expression.
"I'll go get… Hazel," he said after a moment of thought, "maybe she can help her brother."
Frank watched him leave and was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. Hazel- what this whole incident was about. I wish I could take back what I said. He thought. If the guy was doing this for his sister, then perhaps I was wrong to judge him so?
Frank was considering going over to trying and comfort the stricken demigod, when said person slowly rose, grimacing as he stood up straight.
Nico's breathing was still ragged, but at least it looked like he was getting enough air into his lungs. His eyes had lost that crazed veil, only to be replaced by fear and guarded anger.
The fact that those emotions were both because of him and directed at him made Frank impossibly afraid.
He swallowed and took a shaky breath, "You don't understand anything about me. You have no idea what they made me endure in Tartarus."
Frank almost wished Nico was shouting at him, because the deadly quiet voice being used currently scared him more than any amount of shouting ever had.
"But you know what hasn't changed about me?"
A cold wind whipped through the windowless cabin, sending all loose cutlery crashing to the ground, Nico glared at him with pure loathing, "I still have no tolerance for idiots."
Flabbergasted, the son of Mars let the silence stretch. Shadows began to ripple restlessly around the room. Frank suddenly felt overwhelmingly afraid for no reason. The little seed of powerful emotion spread its roots and burrowed deep into his heart.
Memories were pulled to the surface of his mind against his will.
His grandmother's last words to him.
The first time he saw what Leo could do with fire.
Percy falling over the ice in Alaska holding the legion's standard.
His breathing fastened, drops of sweat began to form on his forehead and the dull ache that was fear settled like a weight on his chest. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"Let's get back to topic," Nico was supporting himself using the table, "son of Mars, if you ever hurt Hazel, I will give you a fate much worse than death."
Frank didn't know what to say, what to do or even what to think. His brown irises met Nico's onyx ones and he shivered.
He suddenly wondered if Nico knew about the stick of firewood that was his life, and if he did, whether he would possibly do something to it. The demigods' gazes were still locked and Frank suddenly felt exposed- as if his secrets were being laying out in the open for all to see.
Quickly, he tried desperately to stop thinking about the piece of wood. But as the more he tried to not think about something, the more he did.
The door was thrown back on its hinges once more and frank, in his spooked state flinched at the sound.
Jason, wild and unpredictable as ever rushed in first and quickly stepped aside, having learnt his lesson about getting knocked over last time.
Piper, looking flustered came through the doorway second and stopped in surprise at the sight of Nico.
"What-", she only got that far before Leo came charging through the doorway and ran straight into her, knocking both of them over.
Jason moved to help Piper up as Hazel finally entered the room.
Frank had always thought his girlfriend was a composed individual, but now looking at her, you could never have guessed.
She had hastily wrapped herself in a brown bathrobe and her hair was a complete mess. But what made Frank's heart twist painfully, was the look of absolute panic and fear on her face.
"Nico? Are you alright?" she rush towards Nico, who had just managed to pick up his sword.
Instinctively, Frank pulled her back. Hazel turned to him with a confused expression. "Frank, why-"
Nico laughed mockingly.
"So that how it is," despite having a determined expression, his hands shook and it took several tries before the sword was in line with its scabbard. He jammed the weapon back in an attempt to look menacing. "Remember what I said- a fate worse than death."
He pushed past the stunned demigods and Frank had to tighten his grip on Hazel's arm to restrain her.
Hazel ran out in the corridor, calling his name. His friends looked at every other in concern.
Frank found himself wondering if there was such a thing as a fate worse than death.
Then he remembered Nico and agreed that there probably was.
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