A/N - Okay, so I crossed 1500 views a few days ago! I know it's like, equal to nothing, but I've never even met a PJO fan in real life, much less another Reynico shipper (heck, I know like, one other girl who reads), so even if 1500 people have read this and even half of them have liked it, I'm still glad.
Anyway, I have 7 reviews and yes, it's nothing (again), but still, thank you QIsForQuagswag, Envied kamikaze, roag123, ro781727 and all the guests for reviewing!
I'd also like to clarify the Helios and Selene thing. Yes, apparently they did fade away, but I liked those guys and felt bad for them. The Romans may have forgotten them, but according to the Greeks (at least, according to some of the stuff I looked up), Helios and Selene remained the Titans of the sun and moon, while the Romans replaced them w/ Apollo and Artemis/Diana. So when Diana appears, she does not call Selene 'Luna' because the 'Luna' part of Selene has faded, but the Greek part still exists and shares all the moon-related duties with her. That's what I was thinking, anyway.
Let's get back to my darling OTP, shall we?
Nico's POV:
How could he? How could Nico have let that one-eyed scumbag stab Reyna in front of his own eyes?
You could run away, never to be seen again, a voice in his head whispered. Nico pushed it down. He was not going to run-not when Reyna (and maybe Percy) needed him. He wasn't that person anymore.
"Reyna!" he cried. Nico wanted to rush to her side, but the Fates had other ideas. His skeletal army lay strewn across the beach the way seashells would be. They weren't going to fight any time soon. The rest of the Cyclopes surrounded him and Percy, advancing steadily.
"Take this, morons!" Percy yelled. A massive wave came crashing down on the Cyclopes. They should have been hurt, but instead, the water washed over them harmlessly. Something-or someone-was protecting them.
"Huh?" Percy's sea-green eyes went wide. He closed his eyes and concentrated, but to Nico he just looked constipated. Someday, he was going to tease Percy about this.
"Worry about that later!" he said. "FIGHT now!" And they attacked. The scumbag who'd stabbed Reyna paid first.
After what seemed like an excruciating eternity, Nico finally ran to Reyna, who was trying to stand up.
"Reyna! Oh gods! I'm so, so sorry!" He wrapped his hands around her, laying her back on the sand. She was in no condition to do anything but heal.
"N-Nico?" she said, her voice weak.
"Yeah, it's me, Reyna. I'm sorry I didn't help you earlier. But I had to keep fighting them. It's okay, they're all gone now." He took out his flask of nectar and poured it into her mouth.
Now for the horrifying part. "I'm going to pull the sword out, Reyna. Before the wound closes." He tugged at it gently, hoping that was all it would take to dislodge it. but of course, it wasn't. He was going to have to hurt the girl he loved in order to heal her. His fingers closed around the hilt, and he pulled quickly.
Reyna screamed. Nico flinched, feeling tears well in his eyes. The sword was out, dripping with blood-Reyna's blood. She had already lost so much of it; at this rate...NO.
"It's okay, Reyna. You're going to be okay." He said, mostly to convince himself than her.
As if the Fates were playing a cruel joke on him, Nico sensed Reyna's soul getting distant, yet closer. Distant as in, away from the mortal world, and closer meaning closer to the Underworld. Closer to death.
"No!" he said, his voice breaking. 'Reyna, hold on. Please..." Tears now rolled down his cheeks. He didn't even care-or notice-that Percy saw him cry. It didn't matter to Percy, though. His friend simply put a hand on his shoulder, extending his silent support.
"Reyna..." Nico shook her shoulders.
"Well, what have we here?" a male voice said.
Nico whipped around. Emerging from the sea was a young guy, probably in his early twenties'. His skin had a pale greenish tinge to it, and his hair was jet black. His face was cold and condescending, just like an immortal's.
"Triton." Percy said, his expression guarded.
"Percy Jackson." Triton spoke, his face just as guarded. He hesitated as he drew closer to the shore, and Nico saw that he had two fish tails-also green.
"Finally helping, are you? I thought you were going to lounge around that camp of yours while Father is in trouble." The other son of Poseidon said.
Percy's jaw tensed. "What happened? Does this have something to do with the army of Cyclopes we just fought?"
"It has everything to do with it, actually. You're going to have to come along to Father's palace, I'm afraid. That is, if you're planning to help."
"Of course I'm planning to help!" Percy muttered.
Triton sighed. "Let's get going, then. We're water traveling. It's similar to what your friend here does, only with water bodies instead of shadows."
"I know that. Nico, you coming? No, wait-" He glanced guiltily at a hopefully-just-unconscious Reyna.
Nico looked down at the Roman praetor in his arms. He could sense her soul, which was back in its place. He sighed with relief. "It's okay. She'll make it."
Triton flashed them an annoyed look. "Will you two please hurry up?"
Nico wondered if he could just shadow-travel back to Camp Half-Blood and leave Reyna there. He couldn't, though. He was already tired after the fight, and one trip to camp might mean him not having enough energy to make another. No, he had to stay, which meant Reyna had to stay. He sighed, lifting her up and stepping toward the water.
"Um, Percy? How are we going to breathe?"
"Here." Nico didn't feel anything, but Percy looked pretty pleased with himself, so it probably worked.
Nico found that it did indeed work. Apparently, Percy had wrapped them in an air bubble that fit their forms.
They swam deeper and deeper, till the light that filtered through from the surface was a murky grayish-blue. Fish swam by, from sharks to tiny bass. Triton led the way, always staying a few feet ahead. It was obvious he didn't like Percy much. Or rather, at all.
Nico was just wondering about how he would feel if he had a brother when Percy spoke.
"So." he began awkwardly.
Nico figured it was time to set things straight between him and Percy. No matter how many times he had told Percy he didn't like him anymore, Percy still got uncomfortable around him. "There's something I want to tell you."
Percy looked horrified for a second, then said, "Sure. What is it?"
Nico smiled. "For the millionth time, Percy. I don't like you, okay? I see you as a friend, that's all. I'm not even gay."
"Really?" A number of expressions seemed to fly across Percy's face. Surprise, realisation, curiosity.
"Is it Reyna?" He looked at her unconscious form in Nico's arms.
Nico winced. Was he being so obvious? Percy had never been able to tell what Nico thought or felt, but here he was, asking about Reyna. Was love turning him into an open book?
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it." Percy said, his voice quiet.
"Is it obvious?"
"Well, you have been spending a lot of time with her lately. And the others don't - didn't know anything about you being gay. There were rumours about you liking Annabeth. But now..."
"There are rumours about Reyna and me." Nico finished.
"Yeah."
"Well, they're not true."
"So you don't like her?"
Nico thought he felt Reyna move. Then it hit him: She was breathing. Alive.
He swallowed, fighting back tears of relief. Deciding to answer Percy's question, he said, "No, I don't like her." I love her, he thought.
A/N - Yup. No demigod/spirit Underworldy love story. If you guys want that, I can put it up as a different story. Anyway, I have a bunch of those big-part-of-your-final-grade tests going on, so I won't update for about a week.
Love ya, review, and keep smiling!
