This is not my first fanfic, despite what it says. I have another account by wanted to do something new. Not to mention, I'm sure everyone who followed my other one is ready to kill me for not updating. So, I decided to start fresh and write new things.
Little warning for this story: This is NOT a romance fic. I'm no good at that lovey dovey stuff so I'm not going to do that. I've never been in a relationship nor am I planning to in the next year. I'm only fourteen, after all. Besides, I'm still trying to figure out if I want Nico to be gay or not. Therefore, since he's one of my favorites and I want to add a bit behind him, I will not be writing romance. Got it?
He paced anxiously in front of the intricate doors that led to Chaos's personal corridors. How could he go back? There was a reason he left a decade ago, a reason why he never came back. And now, just because they were having a little trouble, he had to go back? How was that fair?
He let out a frustrated grunt, pounding his fist against the starry walls beside him. The pain that usually came from punching walls went unnoticed by the stressed young man. Perhaps he could tell Chaos he wasn't feeling well. Or perhaps he could simply say he wasn't ready.
"Listen to me. I'm panicking before I even get there. Real brave of me, isn't it?" he thought bitterly. It wasn't really his fault. Considering the fact that it had literally been a decade since leaving, he was allowed to be a little nervous. Unfortunately, he was a bit more than a little nervous. In fact, he was more terrified than nervous.
"Are you alright?"
He spun around to see Aril Cassia Vein, third-in-command Lieutenant for Chaos. Her arms were crossed and she leaned back against the wall behind her. Though she was probably a century older than him, she looked to be only about nineteen or twenty. She had come from the Old World; the same place Chaos and his family came from. She had all of the Old World characteristics: snow white hair, dark violet eyes (usually it was blood red, dark violet, or like Chaos, eyes that looked exactly like the Universe), and a lean, fit body. They had fair skin, neither too light nor dark, and were extremely smart.
Or at least, those are the characteristics he had seen so far.
Aril stepped forward with a slightly worried expression on her face. Despite looking the same age, she treated him as if he was her younger brother. It got annoying occasionally, but there were perks.
"Brother, are you alright?" she questioned, placing her ice cold hand onto his forehead as if checking for a fever. He rolled his eyes and swept sideways, effectively dodging her.
"I'm fine." She looked doubtful but simply stuck her hands into her back pockets. She looked around searchingly with narrowed eyes.
"Where are the others? Shouldn't Blanca, Kyra, Hunter, and Chaos be here by now?" Nico di Angelo shrugged and placed his hand on one of the doors. The door opened immediately and the two strode forward with purpose.
The room was large, with paintings the size of doors; all of them were of wars and royalty. There were pictures of big and little moments in history, whether gruesome and bad or beautiful and good. The floor was see-through, and you could see planets and stars orbiting below them. At the very end, there was a long round table; the true Round Table. The two took their spots at the table and waited.
They didn't wait for very long before six people entered the room. As they took their regular seats, Nico took an inventory to be sure everyone was there. There was Blanca Truth, Chaos's wife, the maker of truthfulness and honesty. Blanca, though married, had a look of peaceful innocence. She had the same snow white hair Aril had, though hers was brighter and lighter, purifying the room around her. Her eyes were blood red, framed with solid white eyelashes and fair skin. She sat upright, in an almost royal position.
Beside her was Chaos's sister, Kyra Sins, the maker of sins. Kyra was an exception to the snow white hair look. Her hair was a sinful red, streaked with black and silver, creating a dark glow that contrasted with the pureness next to her. Her eyes were black with maroon swirls and her skin was a fair milky color. She didn't sit up as straight, slumping slightly in her gilded seat.
Kyra's husband, Hunter Life, sat beside her and took her hand. He was the creator of life and had white blonde hair rather than simply white. His hair casted an almost angelic glow around him, and it cradled a slightly tanned face with pure silver eyes. He was smiling joyously and sitting comfortably in his own seat.
Clover and Cato sat at the other end of the table, beside Aril and Nico. They weren't from the Old World, therefore having different characteristics. Clover was a dainty girl with golden brown curls that fell about halfway to her waist. Her eyes were a sea green color that reminded Nico of someone he knew from the place he once called home. She sat like a normal human, or rather, a mortal would. Cato was a big, strong boy with dark brown curls and tan skin. His eyes were dark brown and his hand was holding Clover's.
Lastly was Chaos himself. He had a fairly normal build, neither too tall or small, nor too strong or weak. His hair was black, however. He had eyes that matched the Universe itself, dark and mysterious. His skin was fair and he sat up straight, but not at all in an uncomfortable or kingly fashion.
He was the ruler and he knew it, though he never gloated. They all knew who was in charge and followed him because they wanted to, never because they were forced to. He was fair and even and not at all biased.
He was also, of course, the Creator of the Universe.
"As you all know, Naigina Anger and Pierce Lies have recently gone to Earth. They freed all of the Greco-Roman monsters and are planning to take over Earth. We must stop them. Therefore, we will be heading to Earth and will be helping the gods and demigods there fight them," Chaos began bluntly.
Aril snorted. "It certainly sounds like an easy task if you ask me." Chaos smiled slightly and shook his head.
"Unfortunately, the King of Gods has yet to believe there is a problem," Nico snorted at that and Chaos's smile widened, "and hopefully, we can convince him otherwise at the summer solstice meeting tonight. Now, shall we leave?" They groaned halfheartedly at that but all rose.
Ω
Percy Jackson arrived at the summer solstice meeting hand in hand with his wife, Annabeth, and his children, Luke and Silena. The children would be watched by the dryads and nymphs on Olympus while the couple met with the gods at the annual meeting. The children would be joined by Jason and Piper Grace's child, Zeke, along with Travis and Katie Stoll's twins, Kitty and Tracie. Chris and Clarisse Rodriguez's son, Zane would also be there.
It would certainly be a daycare once all of the demigods arrived.
Thalia was already there, talking with Hazel and Frank Zhang and Leo Valdez. She smiled and waved at them.
"Aunt Thalia!" the children cried, running towards her and giving her a hug. They greeted the other three with the same treatment, giggling and laughing joyfully. Luke, who was eight, wasn't giggling as much as his four-year-old sister, but even he let out a few despite his great dislike of them.
The four laughed and hugged them back, but there was a slight dark look in their eyes as they all exchanged grim glances.
It didn't take long for the other demigods to arrive, and it was even shorter for the gods to show up. The only two gods that weren't there were Hades and Poseidon. They arrived a bit later, with their shared lieutenant, Hailey Jackson, in tow.
Hailey was Percy's full sister, making her a daughter of Poseidon. However, she had almost been raised by Hades and Persephone in the Underworld from the time she was about nine years old until she was recruited as Hades' official Lieutenant when she was about seventeen. Originally, the spot was supposed to go to Nico di Angelo, but he disappeared when he was fifteen. Ten years had passed and they had pretty much given up on finding him.
Poseidon needed a lieutenant also, so he recruited her as his. The two brothers worked out a schedule for her and made sure the work was doable, not that it was needed. Ever since Nico had disappeared, she was basically alone. He had been her best friend and when he left, she was heartbroken. It was part of why she accepted her role so quickly. That and the fact that she hoped Zeus would believe her if she had some sort of title.
She had discovered the massive outbreak of monsters. She had known it was Pierce and Naigina causing the trouble, not that the others even knew who they were. It was amazing that she knew, but she had done her research.
It was the reason why Zeus hated her with a burning passion and never believed her. Little did they know, that was about to change very soon.
Ω
Chaos and his group arrived just before the meeting started. They showed up just outside the throne room. In fact, they were even able to hear Zeus's first command.
"Get these children out of here!"
Of course, that was also how they were even allowed to enter in the first place. The children had opened the door and started out when they ran into the group. Silena was the first to regain her composure.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Silena and –"
Her brother cut her off, nudging and glaring at her. She quieted down and stared at them like everyone else. Finally, a masculine voice broke the silence.
"Kids, go on to where you're supposed to go." Nico's eyebrows went up. He recognized the voice, naturally. It was Percy's. He searched the group of demigods and found him. Percy was with Annabeth and Thalia, looking at the group with suspicious eyes.
The children ran off, pushing and laughing with each other. Chaos smiled and stepped towards the gods.
Zeus shifted uncomfortably in his throne. "Chaos, what brings you here?"
Chaos's smile widened. "I heard about your problem with the monsters and decided to help." The reaction was instantaneous. Hailey Jackson spun on her heel, as she was still standing, and gave the King of the Gods a triumphant look. Zeus scowled, and the remaining council had to hide their laughter despite the obvious tension that suggested they be anything other than amused.
"Ha! I told you! The monsters have been growing in size and we most definitely need to do something now before it gets even worse. Or at least we should've done something. It's too late now because Mr. Drama Queen over there couldn't get off his lazy butt to do something." She scowled, folding her arms and starting for her seat between Hades and Poseidon.
Chaos looked as amused as the others, though he was the only one who wasn't laughing. Blanca was giggling along with Kyra and Clover, hiding their smiles behind their hands in a lady-like fashion. Aril was laughing as loud and hard as Cato, Hunter, and Nico, who was hiding behind the small group. He didn't want to risk being seen before they agreed to accept the group's help. Who knows what would happen if they saw him? They may very well decide he betrayed them once, he'll betray them again.
"Shut up, girl. You may be my brothers' personal helper, but I can still blast you to pieces!" Zeus hissed, glaring in hatred at the immortal. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I apologize, my lord. Shall I get on my knees and plead for forgiveness?" she said, sarcasm oozing from her words. He narrowed his eyes.
"You shall."
Hailey snorted and sat with her arms crossed, not moving. Chaos smiled lightly and cleared his throat. He immediately had everyone's respectful attention.
"As amusing as this is, we have greater problems. My brother-in-law and his wife have infiltrated this world with monsters and their own henchmen. They will not stop until they have destroyed this world. You have left things alone for far too long. I'm afraid, Zeus, the girl is right. It is too late to simply look into it. If you had listened in the beginning, as I am aware she commented on this then, you may have been able to prevent this. Now you are truly in trouble."
Muttering around the room began and everyone fixed each other with worried looks. Hermes raised his hand nervously, watching Chaos with a curious and worried expression.
"Um, could we perhaps know who it is we're up against?"
Chaos nodded. "That is fair. Their names are Naigina –"
"Naigina Anger and Pierce Lies, right? They're extremely full of themselves, have crazy looks –no offence –and are under the impression that all of us are worthless and should bow down to them. Those are the people you're looking for, no?" Hailey interjected, her green eyes glazing over as she entered a memory.
Chaos frowned and looked her over curiously. "Would you mind describing the two so we can understand exactly who you're talking about?"
She sighed and met his eyes. "Pierce has snow white hair with eyes the color of fresh blood, is tall and fair skinned, and has a habit of calling his wife Nagini, which is very odd since that's the name of Voldemort's snake from Harry Potter. Naigina has hair that looks like the tail of a skunk, black with a white strip down the middle, and eyes that are dead black with white pupils instead of black. She hates being called Nagini and has a tendency of twirling her hair when she murders an animal or mortal. They think it's funny when their victim screams in pain and laugh when the victim cries. Now will you tell me if they are who you were talking about? I really hope not." She bit her lip and looked at the Creator with an almost pleading look.
If Chaos was surprised, he didn't let on. If anything, he seemed curious. He pursed his lips and nodded. Hailey breathed out and she slumped in her seat. He frowned and tilted his head slightly.
"How do you know so much?" She shrugged helplessly. "And why do you not want it to be them? I understand they are very powerful and it will be hard to defeat them, but you seem to have other reasons as to why you don't want it to be them."
She squeezed her eyes shut. "It doesn't matter. I don't want to talk about that. However, I will say that they must be stopped soon, before they destroy us all."
"We're gods! They can't destroy us!" boomed Zeus. Hailey rolled her eyes.
"They will literally annihilate us if you don't do something now. I have been telling you this for freaking five years now, and you haven't listened to me once. What? Do we need to spell it out for you? They. Are. Powerful. They will not hesitate to destroy the King of Gods! In fact, they'll think it's hilarious when you're on your knees, begging for mercy because you didn't listen!" she yelled, her composure breaking. She was on her feet, glaring at him.
"Something happened. Something happened, and whatever it was, it was bad. I really hope she's okay," Nico thought worriedly. He made sure to keep his face expressionless though, and he continued to watch silently.
Ω
Naigina Anger was bored. She was the creator of anger, bitterness, and yet here she was, bored out of her mind. She groaned and rolled over, glaring at her husband.
"This is your fault," she said bluntly. Her husband, Pierce Lies, rolled his eyes at her.
"If you hadn't decided we were going to destroy Earth, we wouldn't be here. And I certainly wouldn't be bored," she continued snottily. "Plus, if you hadn't flirted with that immortal girl, we certainly wouldn't be stuck hiding here."
Pierce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you hadn't tried to kill her, we'd have one of the more powerful immortals on this planet with us. Besides, we would've been fine out there."
Naigina narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Of course we wouldn't be fine. Do you honestly think that Chaos would actually let you get away with raping the girl? Seriously Pierce! Why did you even do that in the first place? That poor girl was so innocent, so young…"
Pierce rolled his eyes once more. "She wasn't that young; she'd be about thirty if she wasn't immortally stuck at seventeen. Plus, do you really think she'd stay innocent for long? Around those gods, it's impossible to keep your innocence, especially when you're that pretty."
"Still, you shouldn't have done that. I actually quite liked that girl."
"Well, why'd you threaten to kill her?"
"You're my husband; I can't just let people come and take away my husband."
Ω
Zeus sat there stunned. This girl couldn't honestly think he could be destroyed that easily, can she?
Hailey rolled her eyes. "Yes, I honestly think you can be defeated. Now would you please just listen to me and take action? We need to stop them."
Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Only if you tell me what they did to make you hate them so much."
Her eyes widened and she shook her head furiously. "No. It's personal; I will not tell you or anyone else!" She was trembling, either from fear, anger, or horror; he couldn't tell.
Zeus sighed deeply and looked around the council. They all seemed to believe the story. All of them were nodding their heads or looking at the trembling girl in the middle. Hermes and Apollo looked sullen, as if they already knew that it was true. Artemis, Ares, and Athena looked determined to defeat the enemy. Dionysus, for once, looked interested and seemed to buy the story. Hephaestus held his hands still and was looking at the newcomers in grudging respect. Demeter had been nodding along with everything that was said. Hades and Poseidon were glaring at Zeus, as if daring him to say no. Hera was picking her nails, refusing to look at him, clearly believing the annoying girl and the newcomers. Aphrodite was the only one who wasn't paying attention. She seemed to be dealing with something in her department of love.
Zeus nodded finally. "Fine, I give in. I will allow whatever it is that is needed." The council cheered and he glared at his lap.
Chaos cleared his throat. "I believe that is all for the day. Zeus, I would like to speak with you in private."
Zeus frowned and nodded. "Council dismissed." They all got out of their seats to talk with everyone. Chaos's group was immediately swarmed with people as they introduced themselves. Hailey stayed where she was, looking faint and about to cry. She was obviously thinking of whatever happened before.
Ω
Nico couldn't hide his identity any longer. As the people swarmed around them, his former friends noticed him and grabbed his arm, pulling him away.
"What the Hades is wrong with you?" Thalia cried out angrily. She glared at him with such ferocity; it was all he could do to not flinch.
"Why'd you leave, Nico? Do you know how worried we've been?" Percy said softly, looking at him with worried, concerned eyes. The others nodded in agreement, staring expectantly at him. He sighed.
"I didn't mean to leave. I ran into Aril and Blanca while they were on a check-up here and they made me leave. Apparently, they don't allow people who have seen them to roam free. I was automatically placed in the top group because I didn't want to get my memory erased and I beat Garrett. I ended up with his spot. I meant to visit, but I've been so busy and…" He stopped and sighed. They all exchanged glances and hugged him.
"Just don't leave us again without warning us first," Hazel whispered, hugging him tightly. He smiled and hugged her back. They grinned and welcomed him back with warm teases and taunts. One thing bothered him though; why did they forgive him so easily? He asked this and they shrugged.
"You'll probably get a whole lot worse when you talk to Hailey. She was absolutely heart-broken when you left. To make things worse, about two years ago, something happened. She disappeared for a few weeks and when she came back, she wasn't the same. She wouldn't talk to anyone, wouldn't allow any physical contact, and she refused to go hang out with us. She was especially nervous around guys. We think… Well, we think she met a guy who may or may not have raped her." Hazel spoke nervously, as if waiting for him to blow up. He certainly wanted to. But he owed it to his friends to keep his cool.
"Oh. Um well, is she alright?" They glanced over at her. She was staring at the ground, reliving an obviously horrifying memory and shaking in fear.
Thalia sighed. "I'll go talk to her, I guess. Although, I doubt she'll listen. She never has." She started towards her but Percy shook his head and grabbed her arm.
"Nico," Percy said, looking at him pleadingly, "why don't you go talk to her? She might listen to you." Nico rolled his eyes doubtfully but obeyed.
As he neared her, her head snapped up. She looked at him for a long moment before sighing.
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to know if you're alright. Hailey, will you just let me explain what happened before you get mad?" he pleaded. She squeezed her eyes shut, flinching, and nodded. She held out her hand for him to take and led him away from the others. They ended up in a small pavilion with a dolphin fountain. Flowers decorated the area, creating a multicolored effect on them.
Hailey spun around and folded her arms. "Explain."
He nodded and took a deep breath before telling her exactly what he had told the others, except with more details as to why. She listened intently, and at one point, sat down next to the fountain. When he finished, she stayed quiet, just looking at him.
"Well? I really am sorry, Hales. I didn't…" He trailed off, seeing her begin to smile slightly. The side of his mouth quirked upwards. She got up slowly and suddenly threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her tightly to him, hiding his face in her hair and smelling the strawberry scented shampoo.
And then she pushed him away. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips were pursed. She folded her arms and looked at him with fury clear in her eyes.
"Don't you ever leave me again, Corpse Breath."She punched him in the stomach and he doubled over.
"Ah- Okay. I promise," he gasped, trying to hide his laughter. She smiled, giggling, and hugged him once more.
"Now, tell me what was wrong, Hales. And don't you dare say 'nothing'; I know something happened." She sighed and gave him a grim smile, gripping and squeezing his hand.
"How about I tell you later? Come on, we should go join the others." She pulled him back into the throne room.