NICO
"Someone help me! Please!"
Nico spun on the spot, his Stygian sword at the ready to attack any unwanted visitors. He reached out for Reyna but she was gone and so were Coach Hedge and the Athenas Parthenon. His heart started beating fast in his chest though he could feel the pounding in his ears. He gripped his sword tight and called out their names but none of them answered back.
"Hello? Who's there?" the voice from before questioned.
"Who are you?" Nico called out with his voice completely cold and demanding. "Show yourself!"
"Uh, I would but I'm kind of chained up." It responded with a strong tone of sarcasm that reminded Nico of Percy. No, stop it, he said to himself, stop thinking about him.
Nico took a few steps forward and studied his surroundings; he had absolutely no idea where he was or what he was doing here. The ground was red, blood red, and the sky was almost black. For some reason he thought of the Underworld, his father's domain, and wondered whether he had accidently shadow-traveled there. But then the scenery changed and he found himself at the ledge of a small hill and figured this was just another dream.
The voice didn't speak again which made him uneasy so he kept his guard up and his senses alert. There was something about it that made him uneasy and curious at the same time.
He wondered a bit further along the ledge until he reached the end of it and looked at what was below. He frowned, his mouth slightly ajar as he tried to take in what he was seeing: a girl around eighteen dressed in battle armor kneeling on the floor, the bare skin of her arms and legs were all bruised and slashed –the remains of a fight most likely. Her brown hair was tied into a long braid the fell over her shoulder, the tip of it touching her thigh. She was shaking slightly.
He couldn't see her face completely due to the bangs covering half of her face but the tears rolling down her cheeks to the ground were unmistakable. Her hands were tied to her back as were her legs, the chain cutting into her skin every time she tried to move.
Nico slid down the rocks and ran towards her but about ten feet before he could reach her a force knocked him backwards and sent him flying into a nearby boulder. He let out a shout of pain and growled as he fell to the floor.
"You're real!" the girl said.
Nico looked up and met her eyes, her dark blue eyes. He stood and walked carefully towards her, stopping as he felt a strong force field type of thing blocking his way. He reached out and touched it, and then pulled away hissing as it stung his skin.
"Careful, there's a barrier there." She said slowly.
"Thank you for the heads up." He glared.
"I thought she was messing with me again, but you're actually real." The girl sobbed, stopped and looked back at him. "You are real, aren't you?"
"Yes." Nico nodded, confused at the girl's mood swings. "Who are you?"
"Calliope." She said quietly, looking around wildly as if afraid something might pop up and hurt her. "Who are you?"
"Nico." He responded.
She smiled a little but then froze, her eyes staring ahead of her in complete horror. Her body twitched and bent over. She began screaming and thrashing uncontrollably. Nico froze and watched the veins in her neck turned black and swam up to her head. Her shrilling cries rung in his ears. He tried desperately to calm her down but she couldn't hear him. It was as if she could see or hear something he couldn't and it scared him.
Nico swung his sword forward at the barrier, trying to get her out of their but as she screamed it got thicker and began to glow with a strange gold light.
Someone cackled behind him and he turned to face four women with long dark and grey eyes. Three of them looked excited as they watched Calliope withering and crying on the floor and the other, who sported a skirt and cap that resembled a dog's head, simply looked bored to be there. None of them took a second glance at Nico but he was sure they could see him there.
"I think she's had enough." The bored one hissed at the other. "There's no use in driving the girl mad now. We need her for later."
"Just a little bit more?" one of the others asked. "Gaea only needs her blood, not her sanity."
"Gaea needs control- I need control over the girl and I cannot do that if her mind becomes mush because of your lack of self-control."
"You aren't any fun anymore, Lyssa."
Lyssa's eyes flashed a mad tone of red. She took one step close to the other woman, towering her.
"I said stop, Maniae."
The Maniae growled and one of them waved a hand, causing Calliope to stop moving.
Nico took a step back and watched as Calliope lay on the floor unconscious with new bruises and marks along her skin. His mind began racing at a thousand miles per hour as he tried to remember who Lyssa was but suddenly his whole body exploded in pain and he fell to his knees screaming. His eyes filled with tears as he tried to fight against the feeling of anger rising inside of him and the flashes of memories running before his eyes.
Lyssa was looking down at him, sneering, her finger pointed at him.
"Warn the others, Son of Hades: they cannot defeat the Great Earth Mother." She said with a tone of victory. "It would be wise to end your little quest and give in. We already have a demigod in our power."
Lyssa waved a hand at Calliope who stood limply and with her eyes closed. The woman walked towards the girl and past the now-gone barrier, caressing the girl's cheek with a long thin finger.
"We just need the male now." She smiled.
"I'm right here, why not take me?" Nico questioned with an anger that wasn't his.
"Because," Lyssa said as she turned her gray eyes towards him. "Why would we want a pathetic little spawn of Hades when we can have a pair?"
The Maniae laughed wickedly as Lyssa touched Calliope's hair. Nico didn't understand what she was saying but he didn't like it. A pair of what? What was that supposed to mean?
Calliope began shaking again, her lips turning into a mean sneer. Lyssa made the chains holding her together disappear. Calliope's hands dropped to her side in fists, the muscles in her arms flexed.
And then it hit him; Lyssa, the Goddess of Rage, Fury and Madness.
"Isn't that right?" she spoke softly into Calliope's ear. "Wouldn't you like to see the brother who took everything away from you my dearest girl?"
"Yes!" Calliope snarled. "He must pay."
"That's right!" Lyssa encouraged. "Make him go through the pain and suffering you have endured all these years as he enjoyed your father's blessing! Make your father pay for leaving you, for abandoning you!"
"Yes!" Calliope shouted. "I will."
"Then you must wake," Lyssa whispered. "Daughter of Neptune."
Calliope's eyes opened wide but the blue was gone to be replaced with an intense red color. Nico stood in shock as he watched her. Lyssa and the Mania had broad smiles on their faces as a pair of finger-less golden gloves encased Calliope's hands.
"Kill the boy." Lyssa demanded.
Before Nico could react what the Goddess had said, he felt the blow of a sword hit his chest and sent him to the ground. Nico groaned and coughed as the dirt swirled around him. Calliope's body was walking around him with her sword at the ready and a hungry expression.
She gave out a cry and launched herself towards him but he managed to kick her body backwards, giving him time to get to his feet and begin fighting her. She was fast and a lot more powerful than he was but she lacked of balance, probably due to the fact that Lyssa was muttering commands under her breath to guide her. He could tell that his girl was trained with the Romans; they were much more vicious and aggressive than the Greeks, although he didn't remember her from Camp Jupiter.
Nico swerved out of the way as she slashed forward. He spun and hit her in the back with the tip of the handle and managed to break her to the floor but as she fell she twisted her body around and tried to kick his feet but he jumped just in time and began to run into the hill.
"Stop!" The Goddess ordered as Calliope set out after him.
The girl stopped and suddenly took in a deep breath as if she had been suffocating the whole time and dropped to her knees. She gasped and coughed, putting on hand on the ground to hold herself up. Nico glanced quickly over his shoulder just in time to see her eyes back to normal, pleading for help, and then her whole body crumpled to the floor.
Nico wanted to go back to her, fight off the Goddess and the spirits of the Maniae, but a voice in his head kept urging him to keep running, to wake up.
And soon, Nico's eyes flew open as he gripped his Stygian sword on his belt. He was back in the small camp they had built in the woods. He looked at Reyna, the roman praetor of Camp Jupiter, slumped against a tree and then to the satyr who was walking around with his baseball bat over his shoulder.
Nico stood up and rubbed his eyes. Whatever he had just seen happen, he had to let the others know.
First he woke up Reyna, stepping back when she almost plunged her sword into him. He glared at her and accepted her apologies but made a mental note to be careful when waking her in the future. Next he called out Coach Hedge who came running towards them asking who he had to kill. Reyna rolled her eyes at the satyr and listened attentively to Nico's dream, twirling her hair in her hands.
"A daughter of Neptune?" Reyna repeated with curiosity. "No, I've never heard of a daughter of Neptune in our camp… ever."
"Are you sure?" Nico asked.
"Certain." She nodded. "It would have been known if a daughter of The Big Three arrived at our camp; as you know, children of Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto are rare –even from the Roman side."
"It just makes no sense then!" Nico exclaimed. "How could she fight like that and have not belonged there?"
"I'm not sure but I would suggest you communicate with the Argo II immediately." Reyna advised. "If they going to use her to 'get a pair', and if she's as powerful as you say, well, I really think they might be in great danger… especially Percy."
Nico grimaced but he knew she was right. Having the blood of the children of Poseidon/Neptune bring Gaea back to life would certainly cause an uproar in Olympus. Nico tried not to think about Percy's lifeless body hanging from a Giant's hand but it was impossible not to imagine the worst. He shook his head and took a deep breath.
"I'll get an Iris message to Hazel." He muttered. "You keep watch."
Reyna nodded and made her way towards the giant figure of the Athenas Parthenon while Coach Hedged went off to find food. Nico went off to the small river near them and splashed some water in the air with his sword, throwing a drachma into the droplets and saying out his sister's name. He waited a few seconds until Hazel's face appeared before him with a concerned look.
Nico scanned the people assembled around her and answered their questions about their trip. He assured them they weren't far from the camp and that as soon as they stopped talking they would be off again but he first had to tell them something important. Nico saw the grim look on all their faces and didn't give hope of good news as he began explaining what had happened.
The group stayed quiet for the most part. Piper gasped when he mentioned the torture they were putting Calliope through and once he got to the part of whom she was he was certain that the color drained from Percy's face. Annabeth put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder but he just shook it off and left.
"S-so, what does that mean?" Hazel asked slowly.
"It means that they're coming after Percy." Jason answered as he looked at Nico for confirmation.
"But how is it possible?" Annabeth questioned. "An unknown daughter of Neptune just pops out of the blue and suddenly she wants to kill Percy?"
"I don't know where she came from but I do know that it's not in her power what she does." Nico defended the girl. "Calliope… she was being controlled by Lyssa just like-"
"Heracles." Frank interrupted. "She drove him insane on Hera's orders and he ended up killing his wife and children."
"Oh, my Gods." Piper let out. "That's awful."
"But why would she be helping out Gaea?" Leo frowned.
"Because of me." Annabeth whispered with tears in her eyes. "Lyssa is a daughter of Nyx… and Per-Percy and I fought with her in T-T-Tar-"
The image began to flicker and Nico quickly promised to let them know if anything else came up. The others disappeared before his eyes and he was once again alone. He stayed staring at the flowing water beneath him for a moment and then set off back to the camp where Reyna was fighting with Coach Hedge for managing to only find leaves and wild poisonous berries for them to eat.
Nico stepped between the two and told them they had to get back on course. Reyna gave the satyr one last dirty look before gripping the rope of the statue tightly in her hand and held on to Nico with her other. The Coach did the same and took Nico's hand, grumpily mumbling something about how ungrateful the girl was.
Nico took a deep breath and darkness consumed them; they were off to Camp Half-Blood again and hopefully their luck with monsters would still stay the same.
