It looks like I survived the angry ranting from Braigi because I exposed a sequel. Good news for you, he said since I brought it up long before the story ended, I'm forced to write a sequel. I'm going to end Choke in a good way, though. It'll be done so that if you don't want to read the sequel, you don't have to. In other words, it'll look like it could end where it is. The ending will work like this, I'll have the big event at the end. Everyone will be all happy and stuff. Then I'll post an epilogue chapter. It'll be wrapping up things and be a series of events leading up to the sequel. Or I might make it an entirely separate fic, just trying to accommodate any of you that may not want a sequel.
In other news, when I'm done with Choke I'll give it a month or so after the epilogue before I start the sequel. That being said, I'll have Sundays free. Now, what that means is, I'll be deciding on what to do with that time. I might take prompts from you guys to write short chapter fics or one-shots, so go ahead and send me your prompts if you want me to write something for you. If I like it and think I can work with it, I'll give it a shot. I already got a request for a Luke/Nico fic. I did turn down a request for that pairing like a week prior, but when I got the second one I said what the hell. So, I might do that. Not deciding on anything until I finish Choke. My other option is, to finish that 'one-shot', The One That Got Away. I got tons of requests to have Percy go after Nico, so I figured I'd see what I could do. Now I already wrote out the second chapter. I've just been too busy to write the third, and probably last chapter. But if I do that, it will take up at least two weeks. The final option is to start an entirely new fic. I do have one or two ideas. If this option ends up happening, I'll postpone Choke's sequel until Sola Amor is finished. Alright let's do some shout outs.
Veerayne: Thank you! I know, he's always so tragic in the books, I just wanted to capture that in this one. I just want to cuddle him. But now you see why he's so damaged in Choke. I don't know what I was thinking when I was writing that scene where he got hit. The back part of my mind, the part mindlessly typing everything out, apparently registered Nico got his back broken. But my main thoughts didn't seem to register that until I got comments on it. It made Braigi facepalm when I mentioned it to him. Haha. Well, now you get to find out what I took out to give you that Will and Nico scene.
Guest: Thank you so much! I never got a standing ovation before. I'm glad you enjoyed Nico's tragic past. I give you an update now :D.
HeyItsAmber: Nobody is supposed to know about that bunny! Although, that might be Nico's personality bunny. I'm not really sure. You stole my bunnies :(. Don't hurt Hellfire bunny, he just got out of the hospital.
Reining: I did! Well, I look like an older Nico. That's the best way to explain that. But they have the best candy. I'm still thinking all of this is a fluke. Screw blackout days! He did! Now, you get fluffy moments this chapter. I don't know how fluff bunny got into this story. I told him he was only allowed in Sola Amor. Yes! I am glad you enjoyed that line! I gave Nico a Percy bunny to cuddle with while in the hospital, I'm sure he'll pull through.
Luckyducky: I'm glad you enjoy my stuff so much!
Guest2: I'm glad you are keeping an eye out for my story. It makes me happy. I add a little drug to the plot...oh wait...that means plot bunnies are getting high. Shit.
Zarterpwns: Aw. Thank you. Yes, there will be a sequel. I don't get a choice anymore. Thanks for the love.
Make-It-Now: Yes, shit always goes down with my stories. Just like Tuesday. You remember what I'm going to say that you said :D. And that big moment in that story that will top all other moments in anything! Mwhahaha (lightning) Ahem. You are always in the shout outs. SKSIEESISLEWIHSFLS deal with it.
Pretty good, eight reviews. Hmm. So, if I can get Braigi to edit an extra chapter for me this week, I will be posting an extra chapter. It'll either be Wednesday or Thursday. Not sure which yet. The condition will be...hmm...I wanna say 5, but that seems like an easy number to get now a days. I guess I could make it ten. I'm confident enough that I could probably get that if it's for an extra chapter. So yes, 10 reviews, and I'll post an extra chapter. Ha. The problem with that is, I'll have to start writing more Choke chapters. I just finished chapter 12, so I'll need to speed up my writing. I'm already doubling up on A Tale of Love and Thrones. Oh, and I changed the imagery as you can see. That's supposed to be Nico in the picture. Creepy, right? I also have started uploading Choke to deviantArt. If you're in the PJO slash group you already knew that, though. Anyways, I've kept you waiting to find out what happened to Nico long enough. On with the chapter!
Disclaimer: Nope
Warning: Dammit, fluff bunny. I told you to stay out of this story. What? You infected the next chapter too? Dammit!
Chapter 10
Jason looked up as Percy and Apollo entered the room. "You're back!" Jason said happily. His eyes flashed with pain as he grabbed his back. His face had a dark bruise on his left cheek and his torso was covered in wrappings. Apollo went and sat down on the bed with him, taking Jason's hand in his own. "What was that commotion outside?"
Percy lowered his gaze, taking a seat next to the bed. "Nico got hurt bringing me back," Percy said quietly.
"Is he alright?" Jason asked, looking between Apollo and Percy.
Apollo stroked his hand. "I don't know. The healers have him," Apollo said quietly.
"What happened to you, Jason?" Percy asked.
Jason leaned back in the bed. "Nico and I were out looking for you. Luke and another agent found us. I got the shit kicked out of me. I was a little distracted at the time. Nico had been porting us around. I was afraid he was worn out. I didn't want him to...lose control."
"What is up with all of that?" Percy asked.
Jason let out a long sigh. "Nico is...damaged. He's powerful and damaged. He's the strongest person here, and probably stronger than the others in the other agency. It's why a problem he has is overconfidence. He knows the limits of his powers in and out. He had to in order to survive before he came here. I-I'm not sure I fully understand why he is the way he is. His powers reflect his state of mind. One half light, the other dark. He uses energy like the rest of us with his powers, but with him it's a little different. His power over light uses more of his energy, so he'll tire faster when using it. His powers over shadow and darkness use less of his energy, but it damages his sanity when he does."
"Does he go back to normal or is it permanent?"
"He can cool off and get back to normal, but I feel like the deeper he goes, the more of himself he loses. Chiron thinks he may eventually reach a point where he just goes insane."
"What would happen to him?"
Jason looked Percy in the eye. "Destruction? He would see everyone as an enemy. He could destroy himself. You saw what he was starting to become the other night, I hear. I think something snapped within him the night his powers emerged. The emotional trauma of losing his family might have been too much for him. My point is: he's powerful. He's my best friend, and I don't want to lose him to his own power."
Percy smiled at Jason. "I'll make sure he doesn't."
An hour passed and they still hadn't heard anything about Nico. "You should go check on him," Jason suggested. Percy nodded and stood up. He gave the two blondes a wave before shutting the door on his way out. He headed down the hall in the direction he saw them take Nico.
He found Chiron standing in front of a glass window. Percy silently walked up to the taller man, looking inside the room. Nico lay on his stomach on a table, three people stood around him. Their hands were placed on Nico's back. Nico let out a loud scream. Percy could see a bone move underneath his skin. Unable to watch, Percy looked up at Chiron. The man's eyes were trained solely on Nico, not even blinking. "Is he going to be alright?" Percy asked in a whisper.
"Yes," Chiron replied. He finally blinked and looked at Percy. "He's made it through worse than this."
"When he shadow traveled us back here, I looked into his mind. I saw something about Nico going to die. This isn't-"
Chiron cut him off. "I cannot say, Percy. It is possible that this was going to be the moment Rachel saw, but I wouldn't fall into a sense of security."
"Why would he do it? Why risk his life for me?"
"You are special, Percy. Nico realizes this. He has always done whatever it took to get a job done. If that means giving his life to ensure the prosperity of the company by letting you do what you need to do, he will do it."
Percy frowned up at the taller man. "I don't want him to, though." There was a pain in Percy's chest as Nico let out another scream.
Chiron placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "It'll be over soon." He guided Percy away from the window. "I take your return as a good sign?"
"I need to finish my training. I don't want to be a danger."
Chiron nodded. "Good. We will start again first thing in the morning. However, you should know that you will always be in danger as long as the Consortium is still standing."
"Who?" Percy asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh, I'm sorry. We haven't told you their name yet, have we?" Percy shook his head. "That is the name of Luke's organization. It's headed by a man named Kronos, a very sinister man."
"He tried to get Nico to join him. He killed Nico's parents."
Chiron eyed him for a moment. "Yes. How did you know that?"
"It was another memory I saw," Percy said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I see. Yes, you will need to learn to control that."
"I know. I don't want to force people to do what I want them to, and I don't want to invade their private thoughts. Knowing what I did the night I escaped, I feel...scared...of myself. Nico didn't have a choice but to obey me. It's scary to think I could accidentally do that, and someone I care about couldn't stop from doing whatever I ordered." Chiron raised an eyebrow at Percy. "I-I mean...Nico...I don't..."
Chiron started to chuckle. "Relax, Percy. I'm not blind to things. I knew Nico had taken a special interest in you before you even arrived here." Percy's cheeks burned slightly. "Now, you should get some rest. Nico should be awake by the time you wake up." Percy nodded, letting out a yawn. He hadn't realized how tired he was until Chiron mentioned sleep.
Percy quietly slipped the door Nico's room. The smaller boy looked over at him as he took a seat in a chair next to the bed. "Hey," Percy said quietly.
"Hey," Nico replied.
"How do you feel?"
Nico rolled his eyes. "Just peachy. I love letting those guys do their thing to me."
"Why did you do it? You could have just lain on the ground and ported us. Why did you push me out of the way?"
Nico looked at the covers on his bed. "I didn't think Chiron would have been happy if you had gotten killed."
"Can you just be honest with me for once?" Percy asked, raising his voice. Nico scowled at him. Nico mumbled something under his breath. "What was that?"
"Because, I didn't want you to get hurt. Happy?" Nico asked, crossing his arms.
A small smile spread across Percy's lips. Nico looked away, his cheeks turning red. "Now, was that so hard?"
"I'm going to stab you if you don't wipe that smile off your face." Percy couldn't help but laugh at the clearly false threat. He stood up and sat on the bed next to Nico. Nico looked at him hesitantly, but didn't move away.
"I'm still not happy about the fact that you lied to me."
"I didn't expect you to be."
Percy brushed his fingers along the back of Nico's hand. The smaller boy looked down at the movement, but he still didn't pull away. "Can you just promise me something?"
"What?" Nico asked quietly.
"Can you just be honest with me? Stop being so defensive around me. I'm not like Luke. I don't want to hurt you." Percy let his finger's wrap around Nico's hand, squeezing it softly. Nico's eyes drifted up to meet Percy's.
"I know you're not. I can't say I'm sorry, though, because I'm not. I did what I felt I had to do to get you here, I don't regret that. I do promise to be more open and honest with you, though." Percy grinned at him. "I swear I'm going to end you, Percy Jackson, if you don't stop smiling like that."
"I don't think you are in any condition to be making threats, Nico," Percy stated, his grin growing wider. He leaned in closer to the injured boy. Nico eyed him suspiciously. Percy's lips brushed against Nico's cheek in a quick kiss. When Percy pulled away he noticed a blush on Nico's cheeks.
"Stop looking so full of yourself dammit!" Nico exclaimed. Percy chuckled. They sat in silence after that, Percy continued to play with Nico's fingers. Nico didn't complain anymore, though. He just watched Percy's fingers stroke his own softly.
There was a knock at the door and Chiron poked his head in. "I thought I'd find you here, Percy. Did you forget we had training?" Chiron asked.
"Oops. I'm sorry, Chiron," Percy replied.
Chiron waved it off. "No need to apologize. If Nico doesn't mind me stealing you away, I'd like to get back to your training."
Nico nodded his head. "I'll see you when I'm done," Percy said. Nico nodded again. Percy gave Nico's hand a final squeeze and followed Chiron out the door.
"What?" Percy asked, blinking at the taller man.
"I said, hit me," Chiron said. He placed his hands behind his back, it unnerved Percy. Percy's eyes flashed with determination, taking up a stance. He rushed at Chiron, ready to strike the man with his hand. Chiron hopped backwards out of Percy's attack, the smaller boy stumbling forward, falling on his face. Percy scowled at Chiron. He jumped back up and ran at the man. Chiron brought out one hand to knock each of Percy's blows away. "Try harder, Percy. You don't need to be afraid of hurting me."
Percy face filled with determination. He felt out around the room with his mind. He raised the box of things Chiron had used on Percy the last time they had been here. Percy flung piece after piece from the box at Chiron. Chiron had a warm smile on his face as he brought both of his hands out from behind his back. He raised his right hand to his face, pointing a finger upwards. One by one, the objects bounced off of an invisible wall in front of Chiron. Percy blinked at the man for a few seconds. He went back to his battle position, clenching his jaw.
He ran at Chiron as he flung the box at the man. Percy ran into an invisible object. It only came up to his stomach, so Percy's chest ended up splayed out over the top of this invisible wall. "How did you do that?" Percy asked.
"Force fields," was Chiron's reply. "My power is in constant effect in order to shield us here from the Consortium's watchful eye. What do you think?" Chiron leaned against the invisible wall that Percy still lay on.
"It's pretty cool. What all can you do with it?"
"Block out trackers, use it as a shield, and trap enemies, to name a few things. You can use it too, to an extent. Telekinesis is just as much of an offensive power as it is defensive. We already covered it slightly when we discovered your power. When you stopped the pillow from hitting you, you shielded yourself. It's all about what you wish to do. Your offensive abilities rely on your willpower to move objects. Your defensive is about stopping objects. You can create a shield, or you can stop something and redirect it. That would allow you to go from defensive to offensive." Chiron stood back up. The wall vanished and Percy fell to the ground. Percy groaned as he sat up. "Your power is heavily reliant on your imagination. You have to be able to imagine the things you want to happen. You must see it clearly in your head. Eventually, you will be able to do everything as if it's second nature to you."
Chiron extended his hand down and helped Percy up. "What about my telepathy?"
Chiron returned his hands to their place behind his back. "Ah, yes. I'm afraid I can't help you with that. I'm not sure anyone can. We've only encountered a few cases throughout history, and none of them were even in my lifetime." He placed a hand to his chin. "I think it's something you will have to learn on your own. I have faith in you to figure it out."
Percy frowned at the man. "What am I supposed to do until then? I don't want to force people to do things they don't want to. I don't want to invade people's thoughts."
"Just try and stay calm, I have a feeling that it reacts to your emotional state." Percy nodded. "Now, I think we are done today. We will pick this up tomorrow. I believe you promised someone to go back and see them."
"Who let you into my room anyways?" Nico asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Jason smiled cheekily at him.
"Aw, come on, Nico. I just want to hear how it went," the blond replied. He was currently sitting in a wheelchair that he had been allowed to use to visit Nico. The two would be out of commission for the next two or three days unfortunately. Nico hated being in recovery. He had such a hard time sitting still.
"Nothing happened."
Jason pouted. "I'm your best friend. You should be able to tell me stuff like this."
"There really isn't anything to tell," Nico said, rubbing his face. "He kissed me on the cheek. That was it."
Jason smiled at him. "It's improvement. Now, you just need to work on getting the real thing."
Nico sighed. "I don't know, Jason. He still has Will hanging around. What if I let myself get attached and he ends up choosing Will?"
"I don't think he would have kissed you at all if you had anything to worry about. He knows your fragile emotional state."
"I am not fragile or emotional!" Nico yelled, eyes glaring at Jason. Jason's smile just grew. A nurse poked her head in to see what the commotion was about, but Jason assured her it was nothing. Nico covered his face with his hands. He groaned loudly. "Now I feel like a girl."
"I don't think Percy would go for you if you were a girl." Nico rolled his eyes at Jason. "Now, all you need to do is get the real kiss. Then, you just need to mount Percy's dick and the two of you can-Hey, Percy!" Jason said as Percy entered the room. Percy looked between the two of them. Jason was smiling like he was up to no good, while Nico had covered his face to hide his embarrassment.
"What were you two talking about?" Percy asked, sitting in the chair next to Jason.
"Oh, just stuff. Nothing particularly interesting."
"How did training go?" Nico asked, clearly ready to change the subject.
"It was fine," Percy replied. "I'm going to go back tomorrow." Nico nodded. Jason stared between the two, clearly feeling the awkward tension between them. "Any update on either of you?"
"It seems we are stuck up here for the next two days," Jason mumbled. Percy laughed at their facial expressions. It was clear neither of them liked being out of the field like this.
They sat and talked for a while after that. Apollo eventually came and dragged Jason back to his room. Percy went down to get some food when a nurse brought some for Nico. When he returned he sat on the bed with Nico and the two ate their food. Percy leaned back against the wall as he watched Nico finish his food. Nico gave him an odd look when he noticed the boy staring at him. "What?" Nico mumbled around his food.
Percy smiled at him. "Nothing," Percy replied. He scooted closer to Nico and let his arm fall behind the boy's back. Nico arched an eyebrow at him, but didn't move away. Nico flipped on the TV and the two sat back to watch. Nico's head started to droop and it fell onto Percy's shoulder. Percy reached a hand up and brushed some of Nico's hair back. He wrapped the arm he had behind Nico tighter, pulling Nico closer to him. The smaller boy sighed contently as he rested his head on Percy's shoulder.
Percy pulled the cover over them and settled into the bed. Nico scooted closer to Percy and rested his hand across Percy's chest. Percy looked down at the boy. He didn't seem so threatening when he was sleeping, he was actually pretty cute. Not that Percy didn't think that Nico was cute when he was awake, there was just something innocent about Nico when he was sleeping. You would not peg him for the violent type by looking at him right now.
Percy raised two fingers and flipped them downwards. The lights shut off and Percy laid himself back on the pillow. He tightened his hold on Nico's waist. He watched Nico's face for a while longer, watching the boy's mouth hang open just a little. He leaned in and kissed the boy's forehead before letting his eyes close.
Percy woke up, not feeling the warmth beside him. He cracked his eyes open to find the bed empty. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. Nico was perched in the windowsill. His foot swung in the air like a cat's tail as his eyes stared out the window. "You shouldn't be out of bed," Percy mumbled, climbing out of bed. Nico turned his head to look at him briefly before returning his gaze outside.
"I feel fine," Nico stated. Percy frowned at the back of Nico's head. He walked over to the boy and tried to wrap his arms around Nico, but the boy just brushed his hands away. Percy sighed and leaned against the wall.
"Why are you being so defensive?"
"I'm just trying to figure some things out right now."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Nico looked over at Percy, staring into his eyes. "I'm just...scared. I don't know what's going to happen in the future."
"You mean Rachel's vision?"
Nico narrowed his eyes. "You did get in my head."
Percy looked down, feeling ashamed. "I didn't mean to. It just happened."
"What else did you see?" Nico asked, turning his body towards Percy.
"A few things, small things. The big things were Rachel's prophecy, your parents being threatened, and the night you discovered your powers."
Nico sighed. "I don't really like to talk about that night. It brings back a lot of bad memories."
"I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'm glad I understand things better now, though. I understand why you hate Luke so much now. I understand why what he did-"
Nico raised his hand to silence Percy. "I said I really don't want to talk about it. Kronos is going to pay for what he did. That's all I have to say."
"I just don't want to lose you to yourself."
"Why do you care? I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that man suffers."
"What do you mean, why do I care? Is that not obvious by now? I'm trying to start something here, but you keep pushing me away," Percy said, reaching a hand out for Nico. The boy stared down at his hand for a moment, contemplating brushing it away, but he didn't. Percy's hand went up to brush Nico's cheek. The boy stared back into Percy's eyes with an unreadable emotion. "I kind of like you, Nico. I just wish we could move past this defensive stage."
"I'm not comfortable with this yet. I haven't been intimate with anyone since Luke." Nico squirmed on the windowsill. "I don't want to start anything with you until you can make up your mind."
"About what?" Percy asked, tilting his head.
"You have to make a choice between me and Will. I don't want to get attached to you, only to have you pick him."
"Oh." Percy frowned. "I understand." He brushed a strand of hair out of Nico's face. "I promise not to make a move on you until I make my mind up."
"Thank you." Nico gave him a weak smile. Nico returned to looking out the window while Percy watched him. Percy had wanted to kiss Nico, but that idea was thrown out the window. He sort of felt bad. He hadn't thought about Will at all since he returned to U.N.I.T. Maybe that was his answer? "You should get going. Chiron will be waiting on you soon, and you should eat breakfast before training."
Percy nodded. He wrapped his arms around Nico and gave the boy a hug. He pulled away and stared into Nico's eyes for a moment before leaving. Being here now felt like torture for Percy, but for a different reason than before.
I'm trying to figure something out with Apollo and Jason. I'll talk more about that in probably chapter 13. Oh, I think I forgot to make a dirty comment about how Nico walked in on them last chapter. I could have totally done a threesome ;). Anyways, you got a little bit of an explanation of Nico's sanity loss. I probably should have gone back and possibly have edited that after writing 12. I did give Nico a slight revamp in his style of his powers. So, I might have changed some of that. Oh well, I'm too lazy to go back and fix any of it if I did change something. I probably didn't, but I thought I'd give a heads up. Don't you love Nico this chapter? :D Haha. I loved writing him and his false threats to Percy. Oh, and now that the chapter is out of the way. The thing taken out for the Will and Nico scene was Percy and Nico finally kissing. Sucks for you guys! A price had to be paid, and that had to be taken out to get Will and Nico in the same room again. Mwhaha. Anyways, how did you like the chapter? It was a change of pace from where we've been. I think this fic just has a dark cloud above it at all times. It borderlines dark a lot. In 12 I actually have to put in a real warning due to blood and gore. If you're guessing Nico goes apeshit crazy, you win a cookie. Anyways, I'm going to get back to work on something. My work is never done I swear. I'll see you guys later this week hopefully with the extra chapter. Remember 10 reviews. See ya.