Authors Note: Ugh, this took forever to write. School is really getting in the way of things. But anyway, hope you enjoy! Please review(:
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson
Chapter Ten:
"Do you really think this is the way in?" Nico asked Rachel dubiously.
"Positive. I can feel it," she answered confidently.
"Well, how the hell do we open it?"
"That part I don't know," Rachel admitted. "But it shouldn't be too hard to figure out."
"Fantastic," Nico grumbled. He stared at the crumbling stone wall, trying to find what he was looking for. It looked like any other part of the ruins, but apparently it was the doorway to whatever Chrysaor was hiding underneath the ancient city. Rachel had pointed it out to Nico and Diane but they had yet to figure out how to actually get it open.
Diane hadn't said anything but she was staring at the wall with such a fierce glare, Nico thought the door might just melt away. She hadn't said much since they figured out that Tyche was not only here, but she was most definitely hurt in some way. Nico was honestly surprised Diane was still as composed as she was. He knew that she wasn't close with her mom – no demigod really was close with their immortal parent – but he knew that if he was in her situation, he would be freaking the fuck out.
Nico ran one of his hands over the wall. Nothing. He felt nothing except for gritty dirt. He sighed. They had been standing there for only a couple minutes, and he was already frustrated with this impossible door. He was just almost as anxious as Diane to get to Tyche.
Rachel, who had also been scrutinizing the stone wall, suddenly pointed. "There."
Nico looked at what she was pointing to. It was a small mark on the wall, something that looked like it had been there for centuries, just a scratch. But when he looked closer at it and tried to see it as something else, the more it looked like a letter. Not Ancient Greek, but some other similar language. Nico couldn't read it, but he knew it wasn't just some random mark on the stone.
Nico pressed his index finger to the mark. Suddenly, the thing burned white hot, like it was a tiny, concentrated flame. Nico swore and pulled his finger back. "Dammit," he hissed, looking at the angry blister. He glared at Rachel. "Next time, you have to do it."
"Hey, I'm a mortal. Me touching that wouldn't do anything."
Nico scowled at her, and then at the door. It hadn't done anything. "Isn't something supposed to happen?" he asked.
"Maybe you should touch it again," Rachel suggested innocently.
Nico glowered at her. "Maybe you should stop wishing pain on me."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, try again. Maybe you didn't hold it long enough or something."
"But it hurts."
"Oh, stop being a baby, Nico. Just open the damn door," Diane grumbled.
Nico sighed. He hated it when they teamed up against him. He warily reached up again and pressed his already blistered finger against the almost invisible mark. He winced as it burned him but he kept it pressed against the stone. As fast as the heat came, it went and a low groaning sound came from the wall. Rachel, Diane and Nico backed away and watched as the large stones seemed to melt into the ground until they were looking into a gaping hole.
Nico couldn't see anything inside of it. He couldn't tell where it led, or how deep it was. All he could see was total darkness. He stepped up close to the hole, absently sucking on his hurt finger. He stuck his head in and looked down, trying to see if this was a drop or if they had to walk forward. Nothing.
He pulled his head out and looked at the girls. "So…who wants to go first?"
Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed a rock from the ground. She walked over to the hole and dropped it. It clattered to the ground, unseen by them. "Well, now we know we aren't going to fall to our deaths the second we step in. How about you go first?"
"Fine," Nico shrugged. Now that he knew it was just a dark passage, he had no issues going in it. He was used to the dark.
Nico climbed into the hole and waited for Rachel and Diane to join him. He pulled out his sword and the metal threw a greenish light on the walls. "Can you put that away? It makes this way creepier than it needs to be," Diane said.
"It's this or complete darkness. Which would you rather have?"
Diane scowled at him and walked forward, leading the way. Nico and Rachel followed.
They walked for a long time. The tunnel they were in didn't change at all. The rock walls were slimy and the whole place smelled dank and moldy. Sometimes they heard what sounded like rats scratching at the walls and floor, and other times they heard other things, things that were definitely not rats.
They all froze as a roar broke the almost total silence. Nico couldn't tell if the source of the sound was close or not, but whatever made the sound was big and loud and definitely monstrous. Nico turned in a complete circle, his eyes probing the darkness, trying to see if there were any monsters lurking just out of sight. He couldn't tell if there was anything through his sense alone. They were too close to Chrysaor's lair for him to pick anything up – he had felt a monsters presence since they found the door to the tunnel.
Nico shook his head at Rachel and Diane. There was nothing there as far as he could tell. If there was, it probably would have shown itself already. They started walking again.
The closer they got to wherever it was they were going, the more they heard roars and other sounds. Every second, the silence that enveloped them was broken by some kind of screech or growl. It made the atmosphere in the tunnel even more eerie. The whole ordeal was staring to remind Nico of the time he spent travelling in the Labyrinth. He wondered if Rachel was reminded of that too.
They came upon a fork in the tunnel. It split into a smaller tunnel that turned sharply to the left and a bigger one on the right that seemed to curve through the darkness. Nico glanced at Rachel. "Any ideas?"
She shook her head. "None."
"Do you have any ideas Diane?"
Diane frowned as she looked at the tunnels. "Nothing concrete. But I have a better feeling about that one," she said, pointing to the tunnel on the right.
Nico shrugged. "Good enough for me."
The tunnel on the right was curvy and they all had to hold their swords up for light so that they didn't start running into walls. The monster noises had suddenly gone quiet so all they could hear were their echoing footsteps and each other's breathing. Even Nico was affected by the foreboding feel of the place.
Suddenly, everything went black. Nico could still fell his sword in his hand, but it was no longer casting light. Or, something was keeping it from doing so. Nico felt Rachel grab his hand and he squeezed hers.
They were all silent for a long time and nothing came out at them. Diane broke the silence between them first. "Should we just keep going?"
"I guess. We're not accomplishing anything by standing here," Nico said.
He heard Diane sigh and start walking again. Nico followed, still holding Rachel's hand.
It was harder to navigate the tunnel when they couldn't see and it wasn't straight. They all held their hands out in front of them and to the sides to keep themselves from running facefirst into walls. But they did end up with hands covered in slimy grime that Nico didn't really want to identify.
Eventually, they were standing in front of a circular door. It was made of Celestial Bronze and had a large handle. The metal was glowing so Nico could see Rachel and Diane's faces in the dim light it cast. Diane looked worried and anxious and Rachel looked wary.
"I really hope there isn't something waiting for us behind this," Nico muttered as he got a good grip on the handle and pulled. The door moved easily, surprising Nico because the thing had to be at least a foot thick. Nico wondered why the door was so big when it was obvious this place didn't need that much protection from mortals and Chrysaor obviously didn't care about whether or not demigods could get it.
The corridor that the door led to was lit with torches at regular intervals on the walls. Nico could see sand on the ground and the walls were made of stone and metal.
Nico climbed in and looked around. This corridor was warmer than the tunnel that had come from but he still had a sense of foreboding. It made him uncomfortable. He kept expecting a monster to jump out at him at every corner. Which, Nico supposed, could very well happen.
Nico helped Diane and Rachel over the wall and Rachel frowned at her surroundings. "This looks exactly like my dream."
Diane raised an eyebrow. "Do you know the way around this place then?"
"No...it just seems really familiar. Maybe it'll be easier when we're farther in."
"Well, let's go then," Diane said.
They walked down the sandy corridor for what seemed like forever. The thing was never ending. Every part of it was identical, too. Sand everywhere, iron brackets holding torches, shadows in between the fires, and walls made of metal and stone.
When they finally reached the end of the corridor, there was another metal door. Nico looked at it and sighed. "What is with this guy and circular doors?"
"Does it matter, Nico?" Diane asked.
"No, but I'm getting tired of them," he said as he pulled on the door's lever. Nothing happened. Nico pulled harder, grunting with the effort. Still nothing happened. He stepped back and glared at the thing. "Why is this one not opening and the other one did?"
"Maybe it's stuck?" Rachel said.
"Or maybe Nico's a weakling," Diane said.
Nico glared at her. "Why don't you try then?"
Diane rolled her eyes and grabbed the handle. She pulled and the door swung open easily. She turned to Nico. "See, easy."
"What the hell?" Nico asked incredulously.
"I guess I'm just stronger than you," Diane told him smugly.
"Whatever," Nico grumbled and climbed through the hole. He really was getting tired of climbing through things.
Unfortunately for him, the drop from the door to the ground was greater than he had anticipated and he fell in a heap in front of it. He cursed as he picked himself up, blushing a little at Rachel and Diane's laughter.
"That was extremely graceful, Nico," Rachel giggled as she took Nico's hand and slid through the door.
"You would have done the exact same thing."
"Actually, we probably would have looked before jumping," Diane told him as he helped her through. "But your way was funnier."
Nico sighed and brushed the sand off his clothes. He knew it would be best to accept his role as comic relief, but he didn't like it. He hated it when the girls laughed at him. The metal door swung shut with a low groan and the room they were went completely black.
"Honestly, does this guy have something against lighting too?" Nico grumbled.
"Shut up, Nico," Diane's voice said from his right.
"Hush you two. I know this place," Rachel said.
Nico turned to where he thought her voice was coming from. "From your dream?"
"Yeah. I remember that I saw Tyche being tortured around here. I had to walk through this room for a while, but I saw it from here."
Nico reached out until he felt Rachel hand. He entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her close. "Well, lead the way then."
Nico felt Diane's hand brush his upper arm and wrap around it. Rachel moved forward and Nico and Diane followed.
Nico was glad he was here with Rachel and Diane. He could tell this room, or cavern, or whatever it was, was huge. It was completely silent, save for the sounds of him and the girls walking. Nico was usually pretty good with dark places, but this room would not have been something he would have wanted to walk through by himself.
Nico wondered what they were going to find at the end of this room. Would it be nothing, just and empty space where Tyche used to be or would they find Tyche, beaten and bloody? Or even worse, would they find Chrysaor or some monster waiting for them? Nico found himself hoping they would find Tyche, relatively ok and Chrysaor nowhere in sight so they could escape before anybody even noticed they were here. If they didn't know already.
They walked through the oppressive darkness for what seemed like hours. The entire time, Nico was strung tight and anxious, just waiting for something bad to happen. He kept thinking he was seeing some empousai hanging around, and once even a hellhound, even though he knew it was just his imagination getting to him. Even if there was a monster hiding and waiting for them, he wouldn't be able to see it. He couldn't see Rachel and Diane, and they were right next to him.
Nico blinked and then blinked again, just to make sure he was really seeing what he was seeing. He could see a speck of light in front of him. When they reached it, Nico saw that part of the floor was broken, creating a ledge. The light was coming from what was below them. Leaning over, Nico could see what looked like an arena filled with cages. Most of them were hanging from thick chains at the same level as the ledge, but several were resting on the ground. Those were filled with bodies, some of them nothing more than bones, but other were fresher and rotting. Nico was glad he was seeing them at a distance.
Only one cage was filled with someone living. Or at least, Nico assumed she was alive. The prisoner was a woman, tall and willowy, but also horribly skinny. She had short black hair that was ragged and uneven and Nico could see blood staining the back of her shirt. She was lying down, curled on her side, seemingly asleep.
Diane moved closer to the edge. Nico held a hand out to stop her, not trusting the strength of the crumbling rock floor. From the look on her face, Nico could guess that the woman in the cage was Tyche.
Nico glanced at Rachel and saw the worried look she threw at Diane. Nico tilted his head to the side and she nodded. Nico pulled Diane away from the light and back into the darkness. They needed to come up with a plan to get Tyche out of there.
Nico turned to Rachel first. "Do you know a way to get down there?" he asked, his voice seeming way too loud in the silent cavern.
"No. This is exactly where I was in my dream."
"Hmm. Well, there has to be some way to get down there."
"There is," Rachel murmured thoughtfully. "I don't know where it is exactly but in my dream I saw Chrysaor in this room and then the next time I saw him he was at the cages. There has to be a way to get down there."
"Do you remember where the room is?" Nico asked her.
"I think so. It was around here somewhere. I guess we'll just have to look."
Rachel grabbed his and Diane's hands and started leading them to wherever this mystery room was. Nico hoped she knew where she was going, at least a little, because otherwise they were going to get seriously lost.
"So what are we going to do after we find a way down there?" Diane asked.
Nico shrugged even though he knew she couldn't see him do it. "We break the cage open and escape."
"We all know it won't be that easy."
"Yes," Nico allowed. "But it's the best we can hope for."
He heard Diane sigh. "What if we run into Chrysaor?"
"We try to not die."
"You're being very optimistic today, Nico," Rachel told him matter-of-factly.
"I try."
They walked through the darkness and Nico felt his paranoia grow. He wondered what this room was. It had to have some use. Nico couldn't help but imagine horrible things the darkness of this place could be concealing. He couldn't help but think there were hoards of monsters watching them, waiting for Chrysaor to give them the ok to kill them all. Nico wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
Rachel stopped. "The door is around here somewhere."
"So how do we find it?" Diane asked.
"Luck," Nico told her.
"Don't you start with the lucky thing again, Nico," she hissed at him.
"I wasn't. But we'll really need some if we're going to find this door and not get caught."
"It's on the right. I remember that," Rachel told them.
"Well, that's something," Nico muttered.
It took them hours to find the right door. After they all got leg cramps from crouching in the darkness and felt some very strange things with their hands, they found the right one. Every time they found a door, they spent a couple minutes listening at it, trying to hear something frown within before they opened it to check. Luckily for them, no one was home. Every room they came across was completely deserted. If it weren't for the charts and candles that littered tables and the floor, Nico would have thought this area of the ruins wasn't being used at all.
It worried Nico that they didn't find anybody. It was obvious Chrysaor had a small army of monsters at his command. So where were they? Unless he kept them somewhere deeper in the depths of the hidden ruins, they seemed to have vacated the place completely.
They were inside the right room and Diane insisted they look through it. Nico didn't understand why she wanted to, but he guessed it made sense. While they were here, they might as well try and figure out what the hell Chrysaor was hoping to do in the first place.
Rachel had found a candle somewhere and lit it. The faint red glow dispelled some of the room's shadows, but not a lot. Rachel held it up to a map on the wall. It was old, the paper cracked in places and worn translucent in others. It was written in Ancient Greek.
Nico leaned close to it. The land masses and lakes didn't look quite right. Nico guessed this map was from a long time ago, and wasn't completely accurate. There wasn't anything special about it. He tried to see what Chrysaor had it pinned up for, because it must be important somehow.
But there was nothing on it. "It's nothing useful. Probably just there for a reference or something."
"Maybe we should check out all of those charts?" Diane gestured to the rolled up scrolls on the table next to them.
"This is a waste of time," Nico said. "We should just go down and rescue Tyche already. That's the whole point of this quest in the first place."
"What good is just rescuing her if we don't know why she was taken in the first place?"
"I mean, Tyche probably has a good idea of why she was kidnapped."
"How much do you think Chrysaor is sharing with his prisoners?"
"Diane's right, Nico," Rachel interrupted. "We should find out as much as we can before we go down."
Nico sighed. "Fine." He walked over to the table and Rachel followed him, holding the candle so that he could read the scrolls. Diane walked over too and looked over Nico's shoulder. She wasn't as good with Ancient Greek as he was and Rachel couldn't read the language at all.
Nico frowned down at the letters. "Nothing makes sense. He keeps talking about 'Dear Mother' and getting revenge on 'those who betrayed my blood.' And you know, taking down Olympus and all that good stuff."
"So he kidnapped my mom so he could take down Olympus?" Diane asked. "That seems a bit strange."
"Which part? Taking down Olympus or using your mom to do it?"
"Both," Diane muttered. "How would kidnapping my mother help him take over Olympus?"
"He said in my dream that he wanted her help with something. Maybe he wants her help taking over?" Rachel said.
"But why Tyche? What would make him think she would want to or be able to help him take over?" Nico wondered aloud. "Why not go to a god who's already shown they wouldn't mind Olympus being taken over? Like Hecate or Morpheus? Both of them are stronger than Tyche anyway."
"Tyche is closer to the Olympians. Maybe he wanted to use a loyal goddess? That would be a bigger blow to Olympus," Rachel mused.
"But he should have known she wouldn't have gone along with him. It would have been easier to get the help from a god who already went against Olympus. It wouldn't have been as big a shock to Zeus and the other Olympians, but it still would've been a problem for them."
"Maybe he thought my mom wasn't as close with the Olympians as she is?" Diane guessed.
"I doubt that. Chrysaor would have done his research before deciding which goddess to kidnap," Nico told her.
"Well, now we know for sure he wants to take over Olympus. We could have guessed that," Rachel said. "But what was all that about his mother and revenge?"
"I have no idea," Nico sighed. "It didn't say much about either of them. But maybe with the revenge thing, Chrysaor feels, I don't know, slighted by the gods somehow and wants to get back at them? I have no idea what his mom has to do with it."
"Maybe his mom was some kind of monster or something and the gods treated him like shit because of it?" Rachel said thoughtfully.
"Oh, very good, Rachel Dare," a deep voice said behind them.
Nico whirled around, drawing his sword. The candle Rachel had been holding went out as she dropped it and the room was pitch black again. But Nico could see Chrysaor in the dim light from his sword. Or he could see the mask Chrysaor wore – the light from his sword reflected off of it.
Nico felt cold. They had been found by Chrysaor. The very monster that wanted to take over Olympus and had successfully kidnapped a goddess. Nico knew they should have just gone down and rescued Tyche, not waste their time going through Chrysaor's charts and notes. If they hadn't stuck around, they probably would've already found Tyche and gotten out of here. Now, they were trapped.
"So, it seems I've been found out," Chrysaor said, waving a hand and causing all the candles in the room to flare brightly. "Congratulations. I've been outwit," he continued, sounding amused, like they were a group of young children who thought they had successfully snuck up on their father and he was humoring them.
"Now. We'll have to do something about this, won't we?" Chrysaor said nastily. He snapped his long brown fingers and ropes shot out from the corner of the room and wrapped around their arms. Chrysaor laughed from beneath his mask, which shimmered like liquid in the candle light.
Nico wondered why he wore the thing. It had to ridiculously heavy, and it was horrible looking as well. The mask was completely gold, made to look like a gorgon's face and hair. It snarled at them, looking way too realistic for Nico's liking. Nico couldn't decide if he thought Chrysaor wore it because he liked it or if he was hiding something under that gold mask.
"Follow me," Chrysaor said, as if they had a choice. An empousa appeared behind them, forcing them to follow Chrysaor. Well, at least they were going to find the way to the cages, Nico thought to himself.
Rachel glanced at Nico as they went down. She seemed to try and communicate the danger they were in, like Nico didn't already know. He only hoped that when they got to the cages, Chrysaor would leave them and they could come up with a plan to get the hell out of there.
Chrysaor led them down a narrow staircase, well lit and with worn down steps. More than once, Nico slipped on the smooth stone and barely kept himself from falling. He walked next to Rachel, Diane in front of them, Chrysaor in front of her, and the empousa behind him.
Nico winced as the empousa hissed at him, her cold breath brushing against the back of his neck. He was finding her constant whispering at him distracting and annoying; like he would actually take her up on any of her offers. He knew she was only after him because he was probably the only male she had seen in who knew how long.
Nico flinched as the empousa nipped at the back of his neck. He felt blood trickle down into his collar. The empousa purred in his ear and Nico leaned his head forward in an attempt to keep her fangs away from his throat. Rachel threw him an amused look and he glared at her. They were basically walking into their graves and she was laughing at his attempts to ward off the flirty empousa.
Nico was actually relieved when they reached the floor of the arena. Chrysaor sent the empousa away and the monster pouted at him as she left. Nico sent the most hateful look he could muster at her and she smirked at him. Nico could see Rachel rolling her eyes at him.
Chrysaor turned to them and his eyes raked over them, like he was trying to decide the most enjoyable way to kill them. His eyes were the only things Nico could see through his mask, just a cruel glint behind the gold. He snapped his fingers again and three cages descended to the ground, the doors already thrown open. Chrysaor flicked his fingers at Nico and he was thrown into the nearest one. Chrysaor did the same to the girls and laughed at them while they righted themselves inside their cages. Nico was in the cage in between Rachel and Tyche and Diane was next to Rachel.
The ropes fell of Nico's arms and curled at his feet. Nico glanced to his left and saw that up close, Tyche was even skinner than he had thought before. Blood crusted her arms and neck and was dried on her clothes. She looked awful. Nico noticed she was wearing two bracelets, both glowing a bright blue and carved with strange symbols. Nico had never seen anything like them before.
Chrysaor crossed his arms across his chest and stared at them. "So, you have deduced enough to know that I believe Olympus's time has ended. You must be bursting with curiosity about everything you don't know."
"Are you really going to do this?" Nico asked before he could stop himself.
"Do what?" Chrysaor asked him silkily in his accented voice.
"Tell us your entire plan. It's stupid really, for you. When we escape we'll know everything you want to do and how you're going to do it."
Chrysaor raised a hand. "And that's just it, son of Hades. You aren't going to escape."
"That's what they all say."
"I am not like them. You will not leave this place alive," Chrysaor said smoothly. Nico had a feeling he was grinning under that mask and he was almost glad he couldn't see Chrysaor's true face. It was probably more disturbing than the gorgon mask.
"Now, that being said, I believe I can tell you what I plan. However, telling you exactly what I plan to do? No. That would be foolish indeed. But since you already know so much, what's wrong with giving you a little more information? I might as well satisfy your curiosity."
Chrysaor started pacing in front of the cages. "I suppose the first thing you're wondering about is how I knew you were here. Well, I knew you were after my trail the second you entered China. I had hoped you would have let it go after all the monsters I sent your way, but you demigods are a persistent lot, aren't you? But of course, no one can enter my ruins without me knowing.
I waited for you to find my…office I guess you would call it. Waited for you to get on the right track. I didn't intend for you to read through my documents, but it hardly matters. I would be surprised if you hadn't already guessed my intentions. Yes," he mused, "I do want to overthrow those moronic Olympian gods. They have ruled for long enough and not the way they should," Chrysaor finished with a growl.
"Their rule is better than any others," Nico told him.
"Bah," Chrysaor waved his hand dismissively, "The Titans, that is who you are thinking about, yes? I do now wish them to rule either. It would be complete anarchy with Kronos ruling the world. Neither he nor Zeus deserve a throne."
"And you think you would be better than either of them?" Rachel demanded.
"I know I would, but I do not plan to rule Olympus or the world. I just simply want their rule to end and let the world go on as it should. Free," Chrysaor said vehemently, stopping in front of her cage door.
"And what would you do with the gods after you defeated them?" Rachel asked.
"The same they did with the Titans. Prisons, torture. What the Olympians deserve."
"That is completely insane," Diane scoffed. "You can't just go and take over Olympus with a bunch of empousai and Scythian dracanae."
Chrysaor turned to her and said nothing for a second. He merely looked at her. "You may believe that now, but imagine what will happen when the gods see how strong I am. They will join me, as they did with Kronos. The Olympians are divided and that makes them weak. If it were another time, I would not dream of taking on the gods, but now, now they cannot hold their own against my forces, or any other. I am going to defeat them before they can become strong again."
Chrysaor seemed manic as he said this. Nico could tell he truly believed he could pull it off. That scared Nico more than the thought of destroying Olympus. Many thought it was time for Olympus to fall, but hardly any of them actually believed they could do it. And if they did, no one actually tried, save for Kronos and a couple other groups that were destroyed easily.
But Chrysaor was right. Olympus was weak and divided. They still had not recovered from Kronos' attack and many gods, especially the ones who sided with Kronos, thought that something should change, that Zeus should change the way he rules over them or step down altogether. Now would be a perfect time for someone to try and overthrow them.
But Nico couldn't imagine a world with the gods imprisoned and nobody to rule. The gods kept the world spinning, controlled the natural order of things. Nico knew what his father did in the Underworld and couldn't imagine what would happen down there if he were gone, if there were no gods or goddesses.
It made Nico feel almost sick to think about what the world would be like without the gods. It would be as bad as when the Titans ruled. He couldn't imagine it. And that is exactly what Chrysaor wanted. Complete freedom from the gods, from any kind of rule. He wanted the world to exist by itself, with no control, no nothing.
"Why?" Nico asked suddenly.
"Why what?" Chrysaor asked politely, cocking his head to the side slightly.
"Why do you want Olympus to fall? What is so bad about their reign?"
"Many things, little demigod," Chrysaor said cruelly. "You may think they are good rulers, but you are a god's offspring. They would have no reason to treat you wrongly. But, for the son of a monster, there is no good treatment at the hands of the gods. For the son of Medusa, there is nothing but cruelty.
You see, I was born when Medusa was slain, born from the blood that fell from her neck. I did nothing to warrant the treatment that was given to me. My birth was not my sin, but the gods treated it as such. They saw only my gorgon mother in me.
And it was only me that was treated that way. My brother was born the exact same way, to the same mother, and he was never treated the way I was. I was treated like a monster while he was revered as a god. He still is held is such high esteem, that blasted winged horse, Pegasus."
"Really? You're going to destroy Olympus because you weren't the family favorite?" Nico said incredulously.
Chrysaor growled, a menacing sound that hissed out through the gorgon's gold mouth. "I never deserved what I got from them. And I will prove myself. I am not some weakling they can push around and bully. I am not weak like my mother was. And for far too long I have accepted my fate, accepted my treatment. But no longer. I will prove that I am strong, as strong as my brother and any god."
"And what exactly does Tyche have to do with any of this?" Rachel asked.
Chrysaor seemed to shrug, but it was hard to tell with his heavy helmet almost resting on his shoulders. "She is the goddess of luck. I could use her help. But she is more stubborn than I had anticipated…"
Chrysaor suddenly shook his head. "Well, that is all you precious demigods need to know," he sighed. He started pacing in front of their cages again. "Hmmm," he murmured. "I wonder which one of you would be best..?" he trailed off, tapping one of his long fingers against his metal chin.
Nico didn't want to know what he was thinking about. Chrysaor stopped in front of each of their cages momentarily, eyeing them with his hungry gaze. He seemed to linger at Diane's, but moved on just the same. Finally, Nico couldn't take his muttering anymore.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he snapped when Chrysaor stopped in front of his cage for the third time.
"Well, it is helpful to know what the enemy side is doing. And here are three, up to date demigods just waiting for their brains to be picked. Well," Chrysaor purred, titled his head toward Rachel, "two demigods and an Oracle." Chrysaor cackled harshly.
Nico suddenly found it hard to breathe. It wasn't hard to figure out what Chrysaor was going to do with them. He wanted information and none of them were going to give it up. He was going to torture them for it, even though none of them knew anything of vital importance.
A sudden thought struck Nico and he whipped his head around to look at Rachel. Chrysaor knew she was the Oracle. He knew she could hold invaluable details of Olympus and a thousand other things, if he could get them out of her. Which he wouldn't. He would end up torturing Rachel to death.
Nico felt nauseous. Chrysaor was going to kill her, probably right in front of him. They had to get out of there.
Chrysaor stopped in front of Rachel's cage and Nico felt his heart skip a beat. But before he could reach for the handle, an empousa stepped up behind him and whispered something that Nico couldn't hear. Chrysaor sighed, seeming resigned to something. He shook his head and looked at Rachel. "Now is not the time for an interrogation it seems. But do not fret, my dear, I will be back soon. And then you can spill all your dirty little secrets." Chrysaor laughed again as he swept out of sight with the empousa trailing behind him.
Nico stared at Rachel's pale face. She looked terrified. Nico wished he could do something about it, but there was nothing. He couldn't do anything from inside this cage and he didn't see any ways out. The metal bars were made of Imperial Gold so he couldn't slice through them and there was no lock on the doors for him to pick. Nico wanted to kick the bars but knew all that would result in was him probably breaking his foot.
But standing there thinking about how awful their situation wasn't going to do anything to fix it.
He reached out and grabbed one of the bars, intending to see how sturdy they were but when his hand touched the metal, it flared, hot and burning, and Nico jerked his hand back, cursing. "Why does that always fucking happen?"
"Maybe you should just stop touching things, Nico," Diane told him.
Nico glared at her and blew on his blistered hand. That hurt like a bitch. "So how the hell are we going to get out of here? And rescue Tyche while we're at it."
"I'm working on it," Diane told him.
Nico watched as Rachel sat down, careful to not touch the bars of her cage. "Well, can we come up with a plan fast? I really don't want to be tortured."
"You aren't going to be tortured," Nico growled. "I am not going to let that happen."
"How are you going to stop it?" Diane raised an eyebrow at him.
"I don't know, but he is not going to hurt her."
Rachel smiled at him. "If we don't find a way out of here, he will hurt me and you too. So let's come up with a plan."
Nico sighed and dropped to the sandy floor, clutching his burned hand to his chest. He glanced over at Tyche's cage and saw that that the goddess was still passed out. Nico wondered if it would be worth it to wake her up, but decided against it. She probably didn't get that much sleep. They could afford to let her rest while they cooked up a plan to get all of them out alive.
Nico tapped his foot on the ground and looked around the arena. There really wasn't anything helpful. There was only one way out and it led straight to Chrysaor's little study, so even if they found a way to escape the cages they would still have to figure out how to escape the ruins.
Then a sudden thought hit him and he stood up abruptly. Both Rachel and Diane stared at him, roused from their own thoughts and plans. "What?" Rachel asked him.
Nico grinned at her and pulled out his ski mask. Rachel blinked and then grinned too. Chrysaor had forgotten to search them.
When Nico got Rachel and Diane out of their cages, they all stood around Tyche's wondering the best way to wake her. Nico thought Diane should go in, as she was Tyche's daughter and the goddess would probably recognize her, but Diane and Rachel thought they should try to wake her up before going in to get her. It was likely Tyche would lash out at anybody who got too close to her.
Rachel walked up close to Tyche's cage and knelt down in front of it. Nico had no idea what she was looking for, but he dismissed it. Rachel always was looking for things he wouldn't think about. He felt Diane looking at him and raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Nothing," she said, walking closer to him. "Just wondering about something."
"What?" Nico asked again.
"Do you really think you're gonna get out of here?"
"Um, yes? Why wouldn't we?"
"Chrysaor seems to want to keep us."
"I don't give a damn what Chrysaor wants. We have to get out of here. And fast."
Diane shrugged. "It's gonna be pretty hard for you to escape."
"What makes you say that?"
"I don't know."
Nico wanted to take a step back. Diane was seriously in his personal space. He turned back to Rachel just in time to see her head whip around and take in her horrified stare. Nico looked back at Diane and saw the grin on her face and the gleam in her eye just before he felt a horrible, sharp, white hot pain in his midriff and the feeling of warm wetness spread across his torso.
Nico looked down and saw the hilt of a knife embedded right below his ribs and then everything went black.