Okay, this is a monster of a chapter. I have been playing around with one of the events in this story for a while now and couldn't resist throwing it in (let's just say, creek incident part 2).
This chapter is also dedicated to Paws Whovian, who diligently requested Soloangelo during the Hurricane of Lightning story. I'm not good with writing fluff, but I made an attempt at including much more Soloangelo in this chapter. So Paws Whovian, I hope that you enjoy!
Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoy!
Nico woke up to a loud banging noise. Groaning, he fumbled for the nearest object, his shoe, and threw it at whatever demon was disturbing his sleep. "Go away".
"Rise and shine!" A cheery voice perpetrated Nico's sleepy haze, a voice he recognized well.
"Oh, it's you. Of course it is. Why don't you ever show up at like, noon? Not 6 am". Nico grumbled as he rolled out of bed, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders because if he had to get up, he was taking the covers with him. The knocking continued, shaking the door of the Hades Cabin.
"Come on Sleeping Beauty! I have coffee" the voice sang. Nico hesitated a second, then threw all dignity to the wind. He ran over to the door, wrenched it open, and instantly appropriated the steaming mug in Will's hand.
"You're welcome". The son of Apollo shut the door behind him, then started to clean up Nico's floor. It was inspection day, and though Nico didn't care in the slightest what grade his cabin earned, Will apparently did.
"Did you throw a shoe at me?" He asked, expectantly holding up the black sneaker sitting next to the door. Nico was too busy inhaling the glorious steaming beverage to respond. Will snorted and continued his grand quest to make the Hades cabin clean. Ducking around the small fountain in the corner Nico had added for communications, he unclasped the windows and allowed the annoyingly bright sunshine to stream into the cabin. Not that Nico could really complain when his boyfriend was cleaning his dirty socks off the floor.
"How did you get the coffee?" Nico inquired once he had finished the cup.
"Oh please. The Stoll brothers get injured enough to owe me everything they own plus everything they've appropriated". Will wrinkled his nose as he threw away a chocolatey candy wrapper and a half eaten Happy Meal. "Believe it or not, there are times that they need medical attention and don't necessarily want Chiron to know". Nico's eyebrow raised. He didn't know Will was capable of that much sarcasm in one sentence. "So I patch them up, and they give me unlimited amounts of coffee".
"Did someone say coffee?" A sleepy voice came from the corner, making Will jump and Nico chuckle.
"Yeah but I already drained it. I thought you wouldn't be a coffee person, oh mighty praetor. Isn't that not allowed at Camp Jupiter?"
" 'm not praetor yet. Still have the summer transition period to get through. With Reyna. It's going to be a painful summer. But my first order of business as praetor will be changing the coffee policy". Hazel's head finally cleared her pile of blankets. She blushed a bit when she realized Will was there, but then smiled and waved. "Hey Will. Are you the bringer of the coffee?"
Will, unflappably bright and cheery, waved back at her. "Yeah, Hazel. You want a cup? I'm sure I could get some for our whole table. We'll need to drain it before breakfast, though. Just because Chiron suspects that we have a secret coffee source doesn't mean we should rub it in his face".
"Just set it up in here. If they don't want it, Nico and I will drink it all". Hazel mischievously grinned. "If you are willing to bring the coffee, I will make sure that the Hades cabin doesn't embarrass either of us during inspection".
"Sounds like a deal. Careful, I think there may be something living under Nico's bed". Will jested, ducking Nico's swat and dashing through the door.
"He's right, Nico. When you said you were renovating the cabin, I never thought you would go for the "dumpster" style". Hazel ducked into the bathroom to change, then reappeared with a broom and dustpan. She shoved them at Nico, then started picking up the floor. When he hesitated, she fixed him with her best schoolteacher glare. "Nico Di Angelo, your boyfriend and little sister are cleaning your room. And you've had coffee. You have no excuses, sweep the dang floor".
Nico grumbled, but started sweeping. No one wanted to get on Hazel's bad side, not even the son of Hades. She was terrifying for someone so small and sweet. They continued cleaning even after Will returned with a whole jug of coffee, finishing not a moment too soon. Annabeth knocked on the door just as Nico was throwing the last sock in the hamper. Will waved at Hazel, gave Nico a wink, and slipped out the window.
Annabeth was a bit shocked at the state of the room, but then thanked Hazel, made a note next to Will's name on her chart, and accepted the coffee bribe. Predictably, Percy stumbled in a few minutes later, grabbed a cup of coffee and stumbled back out. Thanks to the trusty demigod word of mouth, their entire table rotated through Nico's cabin before they arrived for breakfast.
The day continued like that. The group of veterans conversed comfortably and enjoyed the time together. There was no trace of the tension from the other night, other than a brief and rueful apology from Percy. The only indication that it had even happened was Thalia's occasional glares at Percy when she thought no one was looking. Percy was being Percy, joking and laughing and making a fool of himself. Only Annabeth and Nico could tell that he was still a little on edge. Once, when they were watching the girls race up the climbing wall, he glanced at Nico nervously. Nico again gave him a reassuring nod. He had understood the demigod's careful words last night. Something had happened while he was gone that someone, presumably the Olympians, didn't want him sharing. So he had sworn an oath on the Styx not to tell. Nico was surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier, a faint smell of pollution, power, and danger on Percy whenever he talked about his time away. Yes, power and danger have a smell. Nico wasn't sure if it was an underworld thing or if all demigods could smell it. Most campers couldn't recognize it, though Percy was usually able to pinpoint it fairly well.
The first week of their vacation went smoothly until they hosted a sparring tournament. Chiron had asked their group of veterans to demonstrate their skills to the camp newcomers and of course the campers had turned it into an event. Nico had been reluctant, but everyone else's competitive spirits had them excited. He only grudgingly participating after Hazel and Jason had cornered him about it. They harassed him until he finally agreed. Even Will just stood there, unhelpfully giving him a thumbs up from the side. Traitor.
The Stoll brothers ran the tournament (while simultaneously running the betting pool). The first match was Clarisse and Thalia. Yup, Nico could already tell this was a disaster.
To his never ending surprise, they made it most of the way through with only bruises, hurt pride, and a giant hole in the arena wall. The matchups were fairly even and resulted in some upsets. Nico gained some ground when he beat Jason, but then Hazel shocked everyone by beating Nico. He had to admit that it was kinda fun and stretched his abilities in ways he hadn't since the Giant War. The most anticipated duels of the afternoon were kept until last: Percy and Annabeth, Thalia and Jason, Percy and Thalia, and finally a Big Three faceoff (since the campers were still salty about losing capture the flag to them last year).
Thalia and Jason almost fried the entire stadium, but Thalia ended up winning when she threw Aegis at Jason's chest, then shot a paint arrow right in the middle of his forehead. Jason rubbed his forehead bashfully and joked about her being Captain America.
The Percy vs. Annabeth match ended predictably with a win for Annabeth. That girl was just too good at reading people, especially Percy. Though Nico had to admit he didn't think Percy went all out (particularly since his powers didn't make an appearance during the match). They were breathtaking to watch, so comfortable with each other and yet so dangerous at the same time. Moving fluidly between styles and strategies. They were both sweating and laughing when they were done, something that only spars against each other could bring out. Nico glanced furtively at Will, wondering if they would ever be that in sync.
The real trouble started when Thalia and Percy faced off. First of all, whose bright idea was that? The last time they spared, they nearly destroyed each other over capture the flag. Nico had expected the taunting, tight tempers and raging elements. What he hadn't expected was Percy's calm in the face of Thalia's rage. Nico could tell she was still frustrated over the other night and was trying extra hard to bait him. The son of Poseidon was scarily calm, letting her taunts fly over his head and not responding in kind, his eyes filled with a certain wariness and determination that Nico couldn't quite place. He had a bad feeling about this. So as soon as the match started, he slowly and quietly made his way back down towards the arena floor. He briefly heard Jason stating that Thalia wouldn't be using her bow, just her sword and Aegis. That made sense, the daughter of Zeus likely knew that archery wasn't a good weapon against Percy. He wouldn't allow her the space to maneuver. Nico stood against the wall behind Jason and Piper, letting the shadows wrap around him as he kept a wary eye on the match in front of him.
The fight was almost over before it began. Percy opted to begin on defense instead of offense, throwing his opponent off balance. Thalia's lunge was too strong, as she anticipated Percy meeting her in the middle, not hanging back and waiting for her strike. Taking advantage of her mistake, Percy switched to offense in a second. Faster than Nico could follow, he executed a crushing set of sword strikes and slashes unlike anything he had done today, alternating to Roman style anytime Thalia moved to offense, then switching back to Greek when she got comfortable defending against his Roman fighting. She would begin to reach for her father's element, but Percy would press even harder, forcing her into sword to sword combat. He finished with his signature flourish, disarming Thalia and putting his sword to her neck. He held it there for a couple seconds, the tension and fierce competitiveness draining out of him, then offered her his hand. Thalia slapped it away in frustration, pushing her hair out of her face. The Stoll brothers called the match, the crowd clapped politely but were a little disappointed. Because they were still looking for swords and fists, Nico and Jason were the only ones that caught the scent of ozone. The son of Jupiter started forward, a brief yell to Percy alerting the son of the seas that he may have officially won, but Thalia wasn't done yet.
The daughter of Zeus bellowed with rage, then called the skies down to her in a great crash of lightning. The bolt landed right next to Percy, who started and...ran away? Nico watched the son of Poseidon scramble backwards on his hands and knees, eyes wild, darting from side to side. He looked around him, setting himself in a defensive stance as if he didn't know where the threat was. Which was ridiculous because Thalia was right there and she was pissed off.
"Come on, Kelp Head! We aren't done yet. I think the campers were hoping for a little more than a sword fight".
The crowd roared with delight, pounding their feet on the bleachers and calling for a fight. Only the older campers looked concerned, Annabeth, Clarisse, Will, and surprisingly Jason. They remembered that day at the creek, how out of hand this could get. Jason saw what Nico and probably Annabeth saw: that Thalia was pissed and Percy was wrong wrong wrong. The son of Poseidon wasn't acting like himself, trying to back away from a fight, steel in his eyes that promised death if anyone followed him. Nico thought back through the fight, recognizing the way Percy ended it as quickly as possible and prevented the demigod from calling lightning at all costs. Something wasn't right here.
Percy seemed to realize that Thalia was standing in front of him and seemingly shook himself out of wherever he had been just then. But Nico knew better, could see in his eyes that Percy wasn't looking at Thalia right then. He looked at her and saw something else. The demigod straightened, gave Thalia his signature crooked smile, and spat three fateful words, "Bring it on".
She yelled defiantly, arms raised as she called down the power of the heavens. The skies grew dark, clouds obscuring the sun from sight. Nico tried not to think of that as an omen as Thalia wreathed her arm in lightning, then sent it towards Percy. But Percy wasn't there anymore. Quicker that Nico thought possible, the demigod had sidestepped the lightning, arms at his side. Annabeth was shouting at him, and Nico felt like doing the same. Why was he not calling water, or pulling out Riptide? There was murder in his eyes, but he wasn't fighting.
He easily dodged two more of Thalia's bolts, forcing her to take a breather before calling down more. That was when he made his move. The ground lurched underneath their feet, rippling in waves. An earthquake. It was unusual that Percy would go right for that power, but he was really far away from water, maybe too far away. Thalia tripped, and as she was standing up, the ground fastened around her ankles, locking her in place. What the Hades?
The demigod in question was now stalking closer to Thalia, like a lion hunting its prey. "Try to run now, speed demon". He sneered, starting to pull RIptide out from his pocket. Speed demon? Nico didn't think it was possible for him to get more confused than he was right now. And Annabeth looked the same way, so it wasn't something from Tartarus. This was something from his missing time.
"What the Hades, Jackson?" Thalia screeched, reaching towards the sky again. "I wasn't going to run! Not when I can do THIS!" She threw lightning at Percy once again, faster than she had before, at his head? What the Hades was wrong with these people? Nico liked Thalia, he really did (though he would never admit it), but she had apparently left her head somewhere in Europe because she was insane. Nico started forward, not sure what he was going to do but he had to do something because Percy wouldn't walk off something like that. Jason had the same idea and was running, but he wasn't going to make it in time, oh gods, the lightning reached Percy and...
Stopped? Nico had to amend his previous statement. Somehow, he was even more confused. Because Percy had just trapped the lightning in a ball of water. The son of Poseidon was sweating, fiercely concentrating on the ball of water that he must have pulled from the ground. His earthquake had allowed him greater access, and he had pulled it up to trap lightning. When had Percy become that smart? Nico blamed Annabeth.
The rest of the camp sat there in silent awe at the two demigods displaying such power. Thalia's jaw was open, and she sat there shocked, whether at the fact that Percy caught lightning or that she essentially tried to kill him, Nico didn't care. But Percy, Percy was mad. A rage greater than any he had seen on the demigod, and Nico was there during the Battle of Manhattan. Before Nico could so much as shout, Percy had shoved the ball of water back at Thalia. She could handle the lightning, but the lightning and the water? She may not die but she would be seriously injured. Before he even realized it himself, Nico was moving, closer and closer to the ball of lightning. He didn't know if it would work, but he had to try. If he didn't, one of his friends would be almost dead and Nico would never forgive himself for not attempting this. He ignored Will's panicked shout, focusing solely on gathering the shadows around him. There weren't enough, so he pulled from the air around them, the ground underneath them, the fabric of the world itself because this was going to work, this had to work. Throwing himself in the path of the maelstrom, he opened himself up to the shadows as if he was going to shadow travel, then dodged the dark tendrils of the world pulling at him and closed it before the lightning reached him. Gasping for air, he turned around and saw his portal, his breach in the shadows open up and deposit Percy's ball of death into the ocean. The Long Island Sound churned and glowed, then settled with nothing more than a whisper. Like it had never been there at all.
Nico turned around. The rest of the camp was staring at him in awe, not fully comprehending what had just happened. Which was okay because Nico didn't really know himself. What he did know, was that he was tired. He started to hobble over to Will, who met him in the middle and helped him to the sidelines. The dork was fussing over him, complaining about his recklessness and how he shouldn't have exerted himself, but both of them knew he didn't really mean it. There was no other option. Jason ran over to Thalia along with Hazel, who removed all the remaining earth from her ankles. She stood up shakily, then started over to where Nico sat. Annabeth raced over to Percy, concern clouding her features. She walked up and put her arm on his shoulder, but he didn't acknowledge her at all. He just stared at the area where Thalia had been, confusion and regret playing over his face in waves. He started as the crowd murmured, eyes finally leaving the arena, darting over the campers and Nico before settling on Annabeth. She pulled him gently over to the sidelines, to join the rest of the crew. Thalia and Percy looked warily at each other, both apologizing with their eyes and yet defiantly waiting for the other to vocalize it first. Alright, enough was enough. Nico was surrounded by idiots. He looked at Chiron, who announced, "The tournament is over. Please exit the arena in an orderly fashion". Which of course the campers ignored but at least they left. Nico then turned the group on the sidelines. "What the Hades was that?"
"Sorry, I lost control of my temper". Percy muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. Frank nudged his shoulder, then handed him a bottle of water. He took it, drinking part of it and pouring the other half on a nasty looking burn mark on his shoulder. Maybe he hadn't completely dodged the lightning after all. Annabeth was looking at his shoulder strangely. Nico could practically see her mind whirling like gears, putting together pieces of a puzzle that he didn't quite get yet. Leo fidgeted uncomfortably, hands assembling some sort of metal contraption. Piper was nervously chewing her lip, gaze twitching between Percy and Thalia.
"Yeah you did. Since when can you trap lightning?" Will demanded, his "I'm a doctor and you messed with my patient" face on.
"Um.." Percy eloquently said, his face turning red and looking at Annabeth for help. Nico decided that they were all still idiots.
"Yeah, you goofed up Percy. But I was talking to Thalia". Nico shifted his accusing gaze towards the daughter of Zeus, who was wrapping her ankles with athletic tape.
"What do you mean?" She protested half-heartedly. She may be stubborn but she wasn't stupid.
"The fight was over. Over. And you started it up again. You agreed to the tournament, the fight was fair. Then you had to make it into the creek disaster, part 2". Annabeth nodded slowly, Thalia and Percy ducking their heads in shame. "Then you threw a damn kill shot at his face, not knowing that he could catch the lightning". He turned on Percy again, "And then you shot a kill shot right back at her, making me intervene". Nico's glare softened a bit at Percy's expression. Walking up to the older demigod, he rested a hand on his shoulder. "What was it? Don't give me that look" Nico snapped when Percy looked at him with feigned confusion. "What triggered it? You were fine for all the rest of the matches".
Percy glanced at the sky and his friends cautiously, then stated, "The lightning".
Nico nodded and moved away, the pieces finally coming together. The rest of the group looked confused for a moment, then Jason, clever but stupid Jason, said, "I knew that this would affect us. You call this not our business?"
"Back off". Annabeth snapped, arm curving protectively in front of her boyfriend.
"Back off? Why should I when he is incapable of doing that himself? I just want to help, man". Jason was alternating between praetor mode and practically begging his friend for answers. "You have kept it from us for a whole year and a half. We deserve to know. We need to know".
"He can't you idiots!" Nico was done, so done with these people and their schist (yes, Hazel had told him about that). "He's practically screamed it last week in everything but words. He can't. Those jerks made him swear on the River Styx. So back off, now". Nico leveled his death glare on the rest of the group. "Yes, we deserve to know. But we won't until the idiots upstairs decide that we can".
The silence was almost stifling as everyone processed through this new information. Annabeth nodded her thanks at Nico, who gave her a stiff little nod back. Will sat back on his heels, whispering so softly that only Nico could hear, "PTSD. Gods, why didn't I see it sooner?"
Nico gave his boyfriend a little squeeze on the shoulder, "You couldn't have known. I've known Percy since I was 10, I can read him better than almost anyone. Plus, I have personal experience with this kind of thing". Like the mile long detours he took around the entrance to Tartarus when he was in the underworld, or the feeling of no oxygen can't breathe every time he was enclosed. The dreams of Hazel with a sword stuck out her back, betrayed by the mist she made her own. Of Jason, cut down by Cupid because Nico refused to be honest. Reyna and Coach Hedge, sucked into the shadows forever when Nico just couldn't go on. Bianca dying over and over again. Percy, falling out of the doors of death dead, dead because Nico couldn't reach him. Will, gods he had seen Will die thousands of times in his dreams, prompting the son of Hades to shadow travel to the window of the Apollo cabin, just to make sure he was still breathing. And Nico, well, he had been through a heck of a lot in his short life. But Percy had been through more. And Nico knew he dreamed, he could hear the screams as Percy woke himself up in the dead of night or got caught in a flashback. He could hear when Annabeth ran towards the Poseidon cabin because she couldn't find Percy and he was gone again. When Hazel isolated herself, terrified by her own mist, Jason lunging for his sword whenever a wolf howled, Frank anxiously fingering his bow, Thalia barreling to shield Jason because she couldn't lose him again. Piper hyperventilating when she lost her voice, Leo shutting himself in his workshop when the guilt was overwhelming, Calypso avoiding any Olympian contact for fear she would do something else she regrets, Hades, even Reyna and Clarisse were affected. All of them broken to pieces and glued back together. Strong together but crumbling alone. So Nico would be damned it he was going to let Percy suffer alone because of a promise the Olympians forced on him, selfless idiot or not.
The group was stuttering apologies towards Percy, who waved them off with a hand. "Please, guys, it's not your fault. You didn't know".
"Sorry Kelp-Head. Got a little carried away, didn't mean to be a jerk". Thalia muttered, holding out her hand slowly. Percy took it after a moment's hesitation, "It's alright, Pinecone Face. We both got carried away".
Nico sighed and slumped against the wall of the arena, head resting on Will's shoulder. Did he really have to hold everyone's hands like they are in kindergarten? Is he seriously the adult here? The rest of the crew sat down as well, chatting quietly while the children of the Greek big three caught their breath. Well, this vacation was off to a grand start.
As if the universe wanted to kick them while they were down, screams rose up from the mess hall. Nico started. All the other campers were down there for dinner. The screaming ended and they could hear something else, a strange whirring noise. Jason sniffed the air, then said, "Electrical".
Nico almost jumped as Percy extended Riptide behind him, face pale and knowing. "Nico?" He cautiously asked while standing up, "What exactly did you do to get rid of the...the water ball?"
Nico frowned, "I shadow traveled it. Had to draw on the ground, the" Nico waved his arms around him "air, atmosphere. It's hard to explain. There weren't enough shadows. Why?"
But Percy was already running down the hill towards the mess hall, Annabeth and the rest of the group behind him. Nico rolled his eyes as he and Will started down as well. "I hate camp".
"You love camp". Will jested, then his face tightened again as they tried to catch up to the others. Tried not to think about what could happen if they were too late to get to the campers.
They rounded the corner as a group, swords raised and bows drawn. Only to find every sword in the mess hall pointed at a pair of unassuming humans. Clarisse was in the front, leveling Mamer 2 at a guy with funky glasses and gauntlets. Next to him, a pale guy dressed like he was in an Indiana Jones movie was swallowing nervously as the one of the Stolls (Travis, Nico thought) leveled a celestial bronze shotgun at him. Was Travis carrying that around all day? Nico had given up on trying to figure out the Stoll brothers a long time ago.
But what really drew everyone's attention was the glowing blue circle whirring behind them, leading to seemingly nowhere and apparently where these guys came from.
"Good, you're here. Prissy, Annie". Clarisse sneered at the guy with the long hair, then turned to allow Percy and Annabeth through. Their group followed closely behind, weapons drawn. Nico chose to stay near the back, sliding silently around the side until he was level with the circle.
"Percy? That you, man?" The one with the glasses asked, hands still raised in the air. "Thank goodness! We've been trying to get through for weeks, months now. Didn't know if it would work honestly. And then we come out to this fabulous welcome party. Way to make a guy feel loved".
Annabeth practically growled, leaning forward with her dagger raised. But Percy gently pushed her back, moving so that he was directly in front of the glasses guy. Pointing to the other guy, Percy inquired, "Who's that?" Nico started. Percy wasn't surprised, by any of this.
"A friend. We have a lot to catch you up on. And apparently you have some stuff to catch us up on too. But right now, the bigger problem is that an evil samurai and his robot followers might have followed us through".
The son of Poseidon cursed like a horse and shoved the two men away from the gaping hole. "Why didn't you shut it behind you?"
"It took us this long to get it open. Who knows how long it would take us to get back? We don't want to get stuck on this cesspool for long". The pale man wrinkled his nose.
"Nice friend you got there. You know, just once I would like to see you guys without the threat of imminent death. Please tell me you took care of our previous problem. From what my friend said, I'm assuming he didn't stay in jail for long?"
Previous problem? Okay, Nico definitely needed some clarification from Percy. Especially since it looked like whatever Percy had sworn not to tell, he was free to talk about, at least in a roundabout way. Nico could no longer catch the scent of the Styx, and Percy looked like the weight of the world had been removed from his shoulders.
"You think we would be here if we hadn't? And yeah, that slimy bastard slinked back to his home, then launched another assault on our earth. Barry took care of him, but not without a price. That's been a while ago for us". The glasses man looked nervous as the portal (because Nico was pretty sure it was a portal) ebbed and stuttered. "Looks like he's coming through. You might want to get the kids out of here".
"They are more trained than you are, buddy". Percy retorted, then thought about it. "Meta?"
"Not sure. Maybe. Maybe just someone really smart".
"And you thought that it would be a good idea to bring them into my camp?" Percy rubbed his face, then turned towards Annabeth. "Get everyone out. Come back with some veterans. Annabeth," He interrupted as she started to protest, "Trust me. Get everyone out. Only come back with mortal steel. Celestial Bronze isn't going to do any good here".
The guy Percy knew cracked his knuckles and grinned, "Heck yeah. Let's fight us some samurai".